Brace yourselves. You will receive more biblical, unadulterated, gospel-preaching truth in the next 12 minutes than what comes from most pulpits in America in a year. You will be moved.
You can download the audio version of this video by right-clicking here.
HT: Regenerated Adam
Any mother who walks into the average American church with six or seven children will tell you, the pagan, secular humanist culture at large is not alone in its negative attitude toward children. Moreover, look at the divorce rates among Christians compared to those of non-Christians, and you will see that our attitudes about and commitment to marriage is anything but exemplary.
– Voddie Baucham
A lot of Christians are opposed to presenting the law before the gospel, and say Ray Comfort’s method is unbiblical. They generally say that his series of questions isn’t found in the Bible, and they would be right. However, no one has said that they were in the Bible, and there are many ways to present the law and the gospel without using Comfort’s spiel.
I really have no interest in defending Ray Comfort or Kirk Cameron. On the other hand, if someone wants to disagree with their method, they have their work cut out for them. Ray Comfort should get a lot of credit for popularizing biblical witnessing, but he didn’t make up “law to the proud, grace to the humble” by himself. Here are a few quotes about the law and its proper use:
How is it that all these men came to believe the same thing about the law? Because that is what the Bible teaches.
If you’ve never taken the time to listen to Hell’s Best Kept Secret, you definitely should do so.
To all of our friends in God’s vineyard,
We greet you from the fields white unto harvest. It is from Liberia we write where we are working to make sure that the work left with us is done properly till He come. We send our hello.
I am Pastor Philemon Gwelikporlusohn, a Liberian serving in Liberia trying to accomplish the GREAT COMMISSON of our Lord. My family and I are involve with Church planting ministry. We love the Lord and the job He give us. pray for us that we continue till Christ.
I am a graduate of the Maranatha Bible Collage, Accra Ghana. I am married to a young lady called Dylin for almost 20 years. God has blessed our union with 6 girls. She also serves as the foster mother of 3 other children who has been unfortunate due to the civil crises in our country.
We are right now pastoring a Church near Monrovia, it is called Highland Hills Baptist Church. This is our fifth churchplant in Liberia. The Lord is adding to the Church numerically, and we are trusting the Lord for spiritual growth and to work in our lives. Discipleship is our focus. Please pray with us as we plan for other areas which keep coming before our hearts and minds in order to start new mission stations. We have recently started a new mission station at the St John, Bong Mine. As the vision continues to grow, I will keep reminding you for more prayers.
We are very thankful to you for your prayers and monetary gifts to us in times like this especially after our house was robbed earlier this month.
Your gifts to us will continue to speak wherever I preach the good news in Liberia and beyond. For your reminder, the Lord is not unjust that He cannot pay you for all you have and is doing because of Him.
Brothers, we greatly appreciate your gifts, thank you for remembering us. Our fellow Christians are in our prayers from now on till we see our Christ come.
In His service,
Pastor Philemon
The following is an article by James Swan refuting an attempted defense of Roman Catholicism’s great heresy: The Immaculate Conception. I found the timing of this to be highly apropos in light of a continued discussion that is taking place on this very subject on the comment thread from this post.
How To Prove The Immaculate Conception Without Biblical Proof
10/04/2009 – James Swan
The constant dilemma of the Roman Catholic apologist is to insert doctrines into the Bible that aren’t there to begin with. Their argumentation of meandering logic seeks to demonstrate: a) The Bible doesn’t contradict the doctrine being inserted; b)There are indirect Bible passages that if interpreted by first granting the validity of the extra-biblical doctrine, actually support the extra biblical doctrine. Catholic apologist John Martignoni’s most recent newsletter is a perfect example. He presents “Challenge/Response/Strategy” in defending Mary’s immaculate conception. This argumentation is for his upcoming book on basic Roman Catholic apologetics.
In Martignoni’s argumentation, the immaculate conception must first be brought to the biblical text. That is, by a plain reading of the Bible, one would not read from Genesis to Revelation and conclude Mary was born sinless and remained free of sin her entire life. Martignoni’s apologetic then is to prove the immaculate conception is not disproved by anything the Bible states, and that certain texts can be utilized as indirect proofs. I outlined Martignoni’s hypothetical challenges and his responses in the order he presented them. My counter responses are in red.
Argument 1: The Bible doesn’t use the words immaculate conception. Therefore it is an unbiblical concept.
Martignoni’s Response: The words Trinity and Incarnation are not found in the Bible either.
Swan’s Counter: I know of no serious Protestant apologist that actually uses such an argument. The question is not whether the phrase is found in the Bible, but are there specific direct passages that substantiate such a concept? To substantiate such a concept as a clear teaching of scripture one needs direct passages, not a few vague inference passages.
Argument 2: Trinity and Incarnation are concepts supported by the Bible, the immaculate conception has no such support.
Martignoni’s response: There is no passage in Scripture which directly states that Mary was not conceived without original sin, or that she was not immaculately conceived.
Swan’s counter: Aside from the fact this response doesn’t follow from the argument, this type of argument can [be] applied to many individuals within the Bible. The Bible doesn’t say Priscilla was conceived without original sin, or that she was not immaculately conceived, yet we don’t assume she was. A lack of evidence does not bolster or further an argument.
Argument 3: Romans 3:9-12 and 3:22-23 says all are under the power of sin and that all have sinned, therefore Mary sinned.
Martignoni’s response (four points):
A. Such an argument does not address Mary being immaculately conceived, it addresses whether or not she was sinless her entire life, which is a different question.
Swan’s Counter: Under the heading of “The Immaculate Conception,” the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “By the grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long” (CCC 493), so it is not a different question.
B. There is no passage in Scripture which directly states that Mary was not conceived without original sin, or that she was not immaculately conceived.
Swan’s Counter: Luke 1:35 positively says Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. There is no such verse about Mary’s conception. There is no verse that states Mary must be sinless in order to bear the Son of God. Martignoni offers no similar positive evidence that would separate her from the rest of humanity described in Romans 3.
C. Some Protestants believe things not found in the Bible. Catholics likewise should be allowed to believe things not directly stated in the Bible. Example: The Bible nowhere says contraception is okay, yet most protestants believe it is.
Swan’s Counter: Martignoni’s argument would not work against Protestants who deny both the immaculate conception and contraception. To prove some Protestants may believe something not found in the Bible does nothing more than prove an inconsistency. To prove such offers no positive support for an extra-biblical belief in the immaculate conception.
D. Some Scripture passages indirectly support the Immaculate Conception, like Genesis 3:14-15. Mary is the woman described. Enmity exists between Satan and the woman. Martignoni says, “If you have sin in you, can you say that there is enmity between you and Satan?” Only a sinless being can be at enmity with Satan. Therefore Mary was not conceived in sin, and did not commit personal sin.
Swan’s counter: This is Martignoni’s only attempt to present positive argumentation. He candidly admits his Biblical proof is indirect. The argument has an unproven assumption: only a sinless person can be an enemy of Satan, at war with Satan. But, there has always been enmity between believers and Satan. One does not have to be sinless to be at war with Satan. Why would Paul exhort the Ephesians to put on the full armor of God “so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes“? Wouldn’t he first clarify that in order to put on the armor, one must be entirely sinless? Similarly, why would Peter exhort Christians to resist the Devil (1 Peter 5:8), or James to resist the devil (James 4:7)? Here we have direct proof that all Christians are enemies of Satan, at war with Satan. John warns us that “if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves.” Christians are sinners, and they are at war with Satan. Nothing could be clearer.
Martignoni states that he was limited with the amount of time he had to put into this argumentation. Then again, he states this argumentation is for a book (as if the world needs yet another book repeating arguments already put forth by other writers). If he’s going to continue with a similar line of reasoning, perhaps he should back up a bit and explain his proofs are not proofs, but inferences. He claims to be presenting “biblical, historical, and logical perspectives” as to the immaculate conception. His reasoning though amounts to inferences and leaps of logic read into the text.
HT: Isaiah
Rome never changes. Rome will never admit that she has made mistakes. She burned our English Reformers 300 years ago. She tried hard to stamp out by violence the Protestantism which she could not prevent spreading by arguments. If Rome had only the power, I am not sure that she would not attempt to play the whole game over again.
– J.C. Ryle
1816 – 1900
Your sermon of the week is The Suffering Servant by Pastor J. Randall Easter. Pastor Easter preaches a great sermon from Isaiah 53 that I wished to share with the readers (and listeners) of DefCon. I plan to provide you with a sermon on the same subject by Phil Johnson next week.
HT: The Bororean
All the while you delay, God is more provoked, the wicked one [Satan] more encouraged, your heart more hardened, your debts more increased, your soul more endangered, and all the difficulties of conversion daily more and more multiplied upon you, having a day more to repent of, and a day less to repent in.
– George Swinnock
1627 – 1673
This short video is from Reidhead’s sermon Ten Shekles and a Shirt and can be listened to in its entirety on this previous post.
Here’s a quote from the sermon not found in the video:
If I had my way, I would declare a moratorium on public preaching of “the plan of salvation” in America for one to two years. Then I would call on everyone who has use of the airways and the pulpits to preach the holiness of God, the righteousness of God and the law of God, until sinners would cry out, “What must we do to be saved?” Then I would take them off in a corner and whisper the gospel to them. Such drastic action is needed because we have gospel-hardened a generation of sinners by telling them how to be saved before they have any understanding why they need to be saved.
The overwhelming majority of today’s evangelical sophisticates would clearly prefer it if no one ever criticized evangelical Golden Calves. Rampant error doesn’t unsettle them in the least. They are quite happy to live with it and even actively make peace with it.
But let someone dare to voice an objection to a troubling doctrine in the latest best-seller making the rounds on campus—even a denial of the Trinity or some other soul-destroying soteriological or Christological novelty—and the very people who profess to hate criticism (and who work so hard to seem agreeable in their dealings with with the unorthodox) will heap the nastiest kinds of vituperation on the soul of the one who has dared to criticize unorthodoxy and thereby threaten the “unity” evangelicals think their timid silence has won them.
– Phil Johnson
“When they can get rid of me, the Devil will also go.”
Joseph Smith (First false prophet of the Mormon organization)
History of the Church, Volume 6, Page 409
“The Christian God is the Mormon’s Devil.”
Brigham Young (Second false prophet of the Mormon organization)
Journal of Discourses,Volume 5 Page 331
The anathema of the Pope, words that would strike moral terror in the hearts of men and women throughout time who lived under the tyranical rule of the self-professed Vicar of Christ. One who not only took upon himself the power to kill men in body, but one who also brazenly claimed the power to destroy men’s souls. Thereby in effect making himself equal with God (see Mt 10:28).
Below we will read the curse pronounced by Pope Pius IX upon Victor Emmanuel, where in Grover’s “Romanism The Danger Ahead”, it is written:
Victor Emmanuel and his patriotic countrymen wrested the temporal power from Pius IX., and liberated the Italian people from the power of the Church of Rome forever, so far as civil government is concerned. Being otherwise powerless, the pope strikes back, with a curse, which is here given, as printed in the Philadelphia Morning Post. It is the perfection of pious swearing by the Vicegerent of God, who said “swear not at all.” (1)
It is also said that this curse was pronounced on the Rev. Wm. Hogan, (a converted Roman Catholic priest), in Philadelphia. (2) One might also image that less explicit curses and anathemas as found in pronouncements from councils like Trent, carry with them the same underlying intent. So when you read of the papal curses still on the books, which have never been revoked by Rome, keep these words in mind that flow forth from lips of the man who dresses like an angel but speaks like a dragon.
Let us now read the words of the Pope:
“Pronounced on all who leave the Church of Rome. By the authority of God Almighty, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and the undefiled Virgin Mary, mother and patroness of our Saviour, and of all celestial virtues, Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Dominions, Powers, Cherubim and Seraphim, and of all the holy Patriarchs, Prophets, and of all the Apostles and Evangelists, of the holy innocents, who in the sight of the holy Lamb are found worthy to sing the new song of the Holy Martyrs and Holy Confessors, and of all the Holy Virgins, and of all the Saints, together with the Holy Elect of God,–MAY HE BE DAMNED. We excommunicate and anathematize him, from the threshold of the holy church of God Almighty. We sequester him, that he may be tormented, disposed, and be delivered over with Datham and Abiram, and with those who say unto the Lord, ‘Depart from us, we desire none of thy ways;’ as a fire is quenched with water, so let the light of him be put out forevermore, unless it shall repent him, and make satisfaction. Amen.
“May the Father who creates man, curse him. May the Son, who suffered for us, curse him! May the Holy Ghost who is poured out in baptism, curse him! May the Holy Cross, which Christ for our salvation, triumphing over his enemies, ascended, curse him!
“May the Holy Mary, ever Virgin and Mother of God, curse him! May all the Angels, Principalities, and Powers, and all heavenly Armies curse him! May the glorious band of the Patriarchs and Prophets curse him! “May St. John the Precursor, and St John the Baptist, and St. Peter and St Paul, and St. Andrew and all other of Christ’s Apostles together curse him and may the rest of the Disciples and Evangelists who by their preaching converted the universe, and the Holy and wonderful company of Martyrs and Confessors, who by their works are found pleasing to God Almighty; may the holy choir of the Holy Virgins, who for the honor of God have despised the things of the world, damn him. May all the Saints from the beginning of the world to everlasting ages, who are found to be beloved of God, damn him!
“May he be damned wherever he be, whether in the house or in the alley, in the woods or in the water, or in the church! May he be cursed in living or dying!
“May he be cursed in eating and drinking, in being hungry, in being thirsty, in fasting and sleeping, in slumbering, and in sitting, in living, in working, in resting, and in blood letting! May he be cursed in all the faculties of his body!
“May he be cursed inwardly and outwardly. May he be cursed in his hair; cursed be he in his brains, and his vertex, in his temples, in his eyebrows, in his cheeks, in his jaw-bones, in his nostrils, in his teeth, and grinders, in his lips, in his shoulders, in his arms, and in his fingers.
“May he be damned in his mouth, in his breast, in his heart, and purtenances, down to the very stomach!
“May he be cursed in his reins and groins, in his thighs and his hips, and in his knees, his legs and his feet, and his toe-nails!
“May he be cursed in all his joints, and articulation of the members; from the crown of the head to the soles of his feet, may there be no soundness!
“May the Son of the living God, with all the glory of his majesty, CURSE HIM! And may Heaven, with all the powers that move therein, rise up against him, and curse and damn him; unless he repent and make satisfaction! Amen! So be it. Be it so. Amen.” (3)
Endnotes
1 Ray, D. B. The Papal Controversy Involving The Claim Of The Roman Catholic Church To Be The Church Of God Between “American Baptist” and “Church Progress”. St. Louis, MO.: National Baptist Publishing Company, 1892. Online at: Source.
2 Richardson, Sarah J. Life In The Grey Nunnery. Boston: Edward P. Hood, 1857. Online at: Source.
3 Ray, D. B. 1892.
I just completed the book Why Johnny Can’t Preach by T. David Gordon. It is a well thought-out thesis addressing the source of the problem with the ineffective preaching in most Christian churches in the West.
Gordon highlights some of the reasons why preaching in the West is a failure (and consequently some of these are the very reasons why people like Osteen, Warren, Driscoll, Schuller, Noble, and the likes are so popular).
Gordon advances the (lost) notion that preaching from the pulpit should be Christ-centered (it’s sad he has to even mention that which should be a foregone conclusion). His call is reminiscent of a similar call I was sounding back in 2007 with a short post entitled A Sobering Call To Pastors, Preachers, And Teachers.
Christ-centered preaching is the New Testament way of advancing the Gospel that has sadly been hijacked by the hirelings and replaced with preaching such as Moralism messages, How-To lectures, Introspective talks, and the ever popular Culture War sermons.
These things, Gordon says, are valid as “occasional secondary results of Christ-centered preaching” (save the How-To lectures), but they should never be the purpose of preaching.
Gordon also directs us to Robert Lewis Dabney’s seven Cardinal Requisites of preaching; the seven things every sermon should contain to be effective that unfortunately most American sermons are missing on a regular basis.
Why Johnny Can’t Preach is a book that every preacher, pastor, and teacher who’s serious about their call to feed the flock should read. It will undoubtedly help to make the bad preacher (bad not by his doctrine but by his delivery) good, and the good preacher better in his proclamation of the only thing that matters: Christ and Him crucified!
Here’s a quote from the book:
Several of the more incompetent preachers I’ve heard have jumped on the emergent bandwagon, and their ministerial careers are undergoing a resurgence now, as people flock to hear their enthusiastic worship leaders and to ogle their PowePoint presentations. Their churches are no longer moribund, but then the annual carnival isn’t either–it, too, is full of enthusiasm, activity, and lively entertainment. But I’m not sure these emergent activities have any more spiritual effect than the pig races at the carnival.
Here’s another quote:
While it is not my purpose here to present an in-depth discussion of the so-called contemporary worship that has crept across the Christian landscape like a plague, I must observe here how profoundly trite it ordinarily is. Pop music, as an idion, simply cannot address that which is weighty . . . its idiom itelf is faddish, glib, superficial. Therefore, serious lyrics don’t fit in this idiom (nor does there appear to be any effort to accomplish this). Though lamentale, it is not at all surprising to me that the church in a trivial culture becomes a trivial church with trivial liturgy. I am fairly seriously considering following this book with another: Why Johnny Can’t Sing Hymns.
You can purchase this book here at the Westminster Seminary Bookstore.
The main business of entertainment is to please the crowd, but the main purpose of authentic Christianity is to please the Lord. Both the Bible and history have repeatedly shown that it is seldom possible to do both at the same time for very long.
– Gary Gilley
With NASA’s planned bombing of the moon this Friday (see the news article here), I have to ask again (as I did last year when the announcement was first made), Will the Mormon church be able to stop NASA’s planned assault of the moon?
Since Mormon leaders have taught that the moon is populated (along with the sun), I anticipate that the LDS church will vehemently protest this planned attack on the moon. I expect to see the LDS church publicly confront NASA on their disregard for human life and their insensitivity to the inhabitants of the moon.
This NASA experiment has the potential to not only harm the human inhabitants of the moon, but if the moon dwellers are growing any of those spiritual LDS vegetables, those crops and their entire agricultural infrastructure are sure to be decimated as well.
Can the LDS save the moon people and spiritual veggies in time? If they don’t take a stand here and now Kolob may be next!
As a Christian, you may be called before you are aware, into the field either to suffer for God or from God. . . . God can soon change the scene in which you live, the public affairs and the conditions. Maybe, at present the authorities smile on the church of God; but within a while it may frown, and the storm of persecution arise. There was a time when the churches had “rest throughout all Judea” (Acts 9:31). It was a blessed time. But how long did it last? Alas! Not long.
– William Gurnall
1617 – 1679
What could we conclude about preaching today, other than that the great transaction of the Sin-bearer’s suffering for sinners has receded in importance from our churches? Many, many things feature more prominently in (allegedly) Christian proclamation today, with the necessary logical corollary that they are deemed more important than the atonement.
– T. David Gordon
Your sermon of the week is A Tale of Two Gospels by Brian Borgman. This is part one of a thirteen part series entitled Introduction to the Reformed Faith that Pastor Borgman gave in 1998. DefCon will be posting all thirteen sermons in this series over the next few months (although not consecutively). Look for each additional installment (in order) every couple weeks.
Imagine if you will, the following scenario:
A shepherd guarding his sheep observes a wolf among the flock cloaked in sheepskin. He stands up and yells “Wolf! Wolf! Run! Run!” And immediately the sheep begin to scatter, but not all. A small group turn to the sheep dog and, with an arrogant smirk plastered across their faces, respond, “But did you pray for the wolf?”
Bewildered as to why these sheep were ignoring his warning, the shepherd reiterates the danger of the wolf’s presence with an even more impassioned plea for the sheep to escape the impending doom that’s about to befall them. However, they stand firm and go back to their grazing on the plush green grass beneath their feet.
Mumblings of,”Who is he to judge?” and, “As for me I’ll be praying for the wolf” can be heard among them as they reassure themselves of their peace and safety while the wolf takes them out one by one until there are none left.
There are many one-liners regurgitated by ‘wolf defenders’ designed to silence those who would try to warn the flock. If you’ve ever exercised your discernment regarding a false prophet, there’s no doubt you’ve encountered the all famous “judge not” defense ripped and twisted from its context.
However, there’s another less popular but equally insidious argument used by wolf defenders that’s designed to put shepherds, sheep dogs, and watchmen on the defense. The diversionary tactic I speak of is “Are you praying for _________?”
This trite platitude is usually employed in the context that we’re not supposed to expose the wolves but only pray for them, and if we have not prayed for them then we are somehow committing a greater wickedness than the wolves themselves if we dare criticize them (woe to those who call evil good and good evil).
This often-used excuse to avoid defending truth and to–conversely–help further the advance of those devouring the flock got me wondering; are we supposed to pray for the wolves?
First of all I want to say up front that I do not believe praying for a wolf is wrong, a sin, nor am I saying that you shouldn’t do it. Furthermore, this post is not intended to discourage you from doing so, but only to raise the question are we supposed to pray for the wolves?
I would also like to preface this thesis by clarifying that when I speak of wolves in this post, I am not referring to the rank and file who have fallen under the spell of their leaders, but the leaders themselves (Think: Helen Ukbato, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Gloria Copeland, Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, et al).
With that said, allow me to present some thoughts on this matter.
Christ Alone Wyoming 