Author: Mark Anthony Escalera

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Acts 2 – The 21st Century Version

Today, I feel it is appropriate to share this short blog from another believer in Christ. Brothers and sisters, my heart breaks when I read things like this brother has written because I know that more times than not, it is the sad truth. Church is rarely a true family that seeks to look to the Lord in such a way that the world sees a foretaste of the reality of what eternity will look like for those who are true believers. Evangelical Christianity does not need to be rearranging deck chairs on the great ship “Relevant-ic” but needs to get back to true 1st Century Biblical Christianity.

titanic

Daniel from the site Daniel and Friends wrote,

The Glory Has Departed

“So then, those who had raised their hand were baptized, and there were added that day about three souls.
And they were occasionally devoting themselves to the pastor’s sermon, and to cordial chit-chat, to a cracker and juice, and to prayers for healing and prodigal children.
And everyone kept feeling a sense of boredom, and many feverish labors were being done by the pastor’s hands.
And all those who believed were busy, and had few things in common. And they began buying more property and possessions, and rented storage space for the extras. And those who had need were aided by the government.
And once a week meeting at the church building they were taking their coffee and donuts together with dissipation and distraction of heart, praising their sports teams and being unnoticed by most outsiders.
And the cool band and relevant messages were occasionally adding to their number those who were being immunized against the true gospel.”

This parody of Acts 2:41-47 is not meant to be humorous or even sarcastic. Read it with tears, not with chuckles or smirks. How far our American churches have fallen from the glory of Pentecost (or even the glory of the Reformation). I am thankful to be in a church that this parody does not describe. But we too have a long ways to go. May the Lord purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good works.”

Jeremy Strang followed this with a few of his own comments included here for our edification.

I, not Daniel, would go on to say this, as a whole the professing church in the modernized nations, especially in the US, the church has become this thing we do on Sunday rather than who we are in Christ and how and why we meet together. It seems as if we are more concerned with the Sunday meeting, which looks more like the Greek orators during the early days of Christian persecution (that is focusing or concentrating upon, and even being entertained by, men or mere traditions), than how Jesus demonstrated the meeting together by being concerned with prayer, the breaking of bread (not just communion but meals), fellowship and the word of God being read/taught.

I agree with Daniel, “But we too have a long ways to go. May the Lord purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good works.”

Blessings!

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5 Saviors or Just One?

There is ONLY one mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus! There is NO hope in any other. Buddha cannot save. Mohammad cannot save. Religion cannot save. There will be no person who will dare to stand before God on the day of judgment and say, “You have not done enough to provide salvation!”

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Is it NOTHING to YOU?

A popular song written by a godless man named John Lennon includes the following lyrics:

“Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today…Imagine”

Tragically for Lennon, he was wrong. Thankfully for those still living, he was wrong.

imaginetrib

There are many who try to imagine there is no heaven and no hell. They think that if they merely use the power of positive thinking that eventually everybody in the world will simply “live for today.” Yet, Lennon wrote in a world where depravity abounds more and more. He wrote of a world that knows war, famine, and disease. His words struck a chord of hope, although a false hope, with millions though and still do today with people who are just living for today. These individuals think that they live in some kind of utopic stupor, and if they only imagine hard enough things will change.

King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:9 that “there is nothing new under the sun.” Less than 350 years later, we find a prophet who is sits weeping and wailing before God facing this same challenge that we see today.

The remaining inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem are living in a utopic stupor. They believe their problems are going to get better. The people approach Jeremiah and even ask him to pray and seek the face of God in Jeremiah 42 on their behalf. Then, they promise him that whatever the Lord says whether good or bad, they will be willing to follow. God speaks with Jeremiah and receives word that destruction and devastation will fall upon the land from the king of Babylon.

Immediately, the people seek forgiveness from God, turn from their wicked ways, and God relents and grants pardon! Praise be to the everlasting God for His abundant mercy! This is the way the story SHOULD have ended.

However, that is NOT what happened. Just one chapter later in Jeremiah 43, they immediately turned on the prophet and called him a liar. They told him and sought to influence others that God would not really send judgment to the land. Their words implicated them in their own sin as they tried to convince themselves that not only did Jeremiah not have a message from God, but that he was not a true messenger. The people’s imaginations were vain and their hearts were hardened.

Now destruction has befallen the land. War has arrived and the land has been besieged and then plundered. The physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing of the people left has been destroyed by the wanton rape, murder, and assault by the foreign soldiers of Nebuchadnezzar’s army. Further, Jerusalem is in ruins. The glorious city that graced the hills of Judea, along with the magnificent temple built by Solomon, has been destroyed BECAUSE OF SIN! The sin probably did not even start out very big, but little by little they gave in to the lusts of their heart and God was quickly forgotten.

weeping prophet
Now, Jeremiah weeps and wails his heart-rending laments and cries aloud in Lamentations 1:12 – “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the LORD afflicted on the day of his fierce anger.”

Can you see him sitting with sackcloth covering his body, throwing dust into the air over his head, his eyes swollen red and grotesque in shape, and his entire body racked with sobs as he ponders what has taken place? He is not denying the sin that took place either in his own heart and life, nor the sin that befell the nation of Israel and Judah. He wails because he has lived to see the results of what sin will do if left unchecked and unrestrained and then allowed to continue until judgment falls from God.

He is willing even for strangers to stop and lament with him. He wants somebody, anybody, to mourn and lament with him over the desecration of the temple and of Jerusalem. However, nobody is stopping. They do not care. Destruction arrived and even in the middle of its arrival, there are still some who are living in a dream world just “knowing” that things will get better soon. The problem is that “soon” will not arrive.

In Lamentations 1:10, we hear the prophet’s lament and like Nehemiah who would come approximately 70 years later, we understand part of what his concern is. “The enemy has stretched out his hands over all her precious things; for she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary, those whom you forbade to enter your congregation.”

His heartbreak is real. The glory of God rested upon the Holy of Holies in the Temple. It was such a terrible place to be if you were not the high priest who was allowed to enter just once per year. It was a terrible place even if you were the chosen high priest to go in where you would face God. I can imagine that more than one high priest must have trembled when he entered that sacred realm to offer the blood of the sacrifices as an atonement. Sadly, the trembling had ceased a long time ago. Worship was no longer present, and it was little more than a frivolous atmosphere that greeted those who still bothered to go and give worship and praise to God.

Now, the prophet has watched as foreign troops not only invaded the land, but completely desecrated that which was to remain holy. The soldiers trampled under foot the holy items and the holy place because they had no appreciation for the God that rules over all. Their only concern was in looting whatever they wanted and assaulting whoever they chose.

What a great tragedy that befell Israel, and the messenger of God is as devastated in heart, mind, and soul as the devastation that has even overturned the gates and stones of the city and temple.

Can you see the connection between what took place in Jeremiah’s day and today? Sin abounds more and more. The world is NOT getting better. The true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ cannot imagine a better world in this life because they are fully aware that the only way a better world will come is when the Prince of Peace appears.

But my concern today is not just in reading the laments of Jeremiah over the city. The concern that grows on me daily is that destruction is coming and few seem to really care. I am not concerned about those who belong to Satan and are under his control. My heartache comes from knowing that those who are claiming the name of Christ, those who are supposed to be working to make themselves pure before the return of the Lord, those who are to be different from the world, those who have been made a new creation in Christ Jesus and are clothed with the garments of His righteousness. These are the people to whom I write.

isitnothing

“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?”

The buildings, in which we worship, have been desecrated underfoot by the feet of those who do not belong. God, long ago, laid out the demands for what He expects in worship from His people but these have been ignored.

“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?”

Pastors fail to preach truth because they are afraid of what they may lose, and prefer earthly treasures over heavenly ones.

“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?”

Leadership teams fail to hold one another accountable based on the standards of Scripture, and instead, seek to govern from business perspectives that are modeled after worldly psychological methods.

“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?”

Marriages in our churches are falling apart at the same rate as those in the world. Parents have little respect from their children. Fathers have failed to be spiritual leaders in the church and in their home. Mothers are taking on responsibilities that do not belong to them both in the church and in the home.

“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?”

Children are following hard after drugs, alcohol, and premarital sex. They are running away from the church because all they see is hypocrisy. Dad and Mom live during the week something different than what they portray in their once or twice a month church appearance.

“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?”

Parents want to come and cry out for prayer that God will bring their children back to the church. Their prayer should be first that God would break their own hearts and seek repentance for their sin and duplicity before God and before their children. Then, God will hear the prayer of the righteous person and may in turn be gracious in His mercy and longsuffering to bring salvation to the children.

“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?”

The unsaved are being permitted to become members of local body of believers without ever having made a true profession of faith in Christ Jesus. So, the churches are being taken over by those who care not one bit for the things of Christ. The buildings are filled with people who are man-centered, and not God-centered, and in so doing, they have become little more than social clubs.

“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?”

The gospel has been watered down so much that it is no longer recognizable as Scripture. It has become a little feel-good message that seeks to allow into heaven all who do not belong there. The message is so smooth and culturally relevant that myriads gather every Sunday and they are rarely, if ever, convicted over the depravity of their own hearts.

“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?”

Entertainment and programs are the order of the day because we are concerned that the goats may leave if they are not made to feel happy or good about themselves. Our worship does not reflect praise of God because we come to hear about God instead of coming to learn from Him and to offer the worship that is due His name alone.

“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?”

Our churches care little for true missions because we are rarely concerned about what we cannot see. More times than not, missions has been reduced to feeding the poor, building nice buildings, clothing the ragged, and educated the uneducated. Churches pat themselves on the back for having done something great for God while these same people head straight for hell because many so-called “mission societies and organizations” only preach a social gospel message.

“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?”

Prayer is mostly absent, if not, almost extinct. Prayer meetings and Bible studies are often attended by less than 5% of the total membership. And we wonder why there is NO POWER in our gathering together. We talk about it every now and then, but few are willing to give up some comforts in order to see something changed.

“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?”

Friends, we need more like Jeremiah who will weep and wail at sin, at the coming destruction, at the reality of hell and judgment from a holy, righteous God, at the sad state of affairs where people wink at sin and refuse to stand for truth, and also because of what is taking over in many parts of evangelical Christianity.

I am tired of worrying about what other people may think of me. My heart is heavy because I am afraid for too long in my Christian life that I have not been concerned enough about what God KNOWS of me.

My challenge with this post is to point out the reality of what is around us. The Scriptures are clear that if we forget God, we will face judgment. We need to get back to a standard that speaks of Holiness to the LORD. We need to pray, repent and confess our sins, turn from our wicked ways, and seek the face of the Almighty God. We need to pray that God does not allow such destruction among His people that somebody in the future will look back and lament about what happened to the church of the living God.

“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?”

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Give us Love – Not Doctrine!

This is the mantra that is being proclaimed loud and long across this nation. Love and unity at the expense of doctrine has watered down the message so as to try and make it palatable to the goats, and it no longer feeds sheep. Yes, we must share the truth in love, but we dare not state that the only truth is love minus doctrine. Sound biblical doctrine will always produce godly results in that the church will be edified, believers will learn what it truly means to love one another and the world, and most importantly, Jesus Christ will be exalted and glorified – not man!

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Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?

An excerpt from a message preached by Charles Spurgeon – this kind of preaching is rare in the world of the 21st century. Too many think we can amuse goats instead of feed sheep. In the end, the minister loses because he has failed in his commission. The sheep are not being fed and will drift away, and the goats for which the services were catered have moved on to the next best thing – but still lost!

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Better Never to Have Been Born!

The warning of Scripture is clear. Oh friends, as Steve Lawson notes, if you are not a true believer in Jesus Christ alone, by grace through faith alone, you will wish you had never been born – just one second after death. No true Christian would ever desire the destruction of their lost friends, family or neighbors. This is why we seek to passionately deliver the truth of God’s Word before it is eternally too late! Hear Christ call and run to Him for mercy!

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No Interview Like It!

This blog and video was posted at The Gospel Coalition by Thabiti Anyabwile. It is an amazing interview that would definitely not even be permitted in England and probably not even in America in many places.

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Thabiti Anyabwile is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman in the Grand Cayman Islands and a Council member with The Gospel Coalition.

Will We Ever See Another Interview Like It?

Perhaps you’ve already seen the 1970 interview of Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones by Dame Joan Bakewell on the nature of man. If not, you owe it to yourself to check out this 19-minute conversation recently released by the Martyn Lloyd-Jones Trust.

The interview is striking for a number of reasons.

First, it’s conducted in the U.K., where most observers would guess such a fair and engaging interview would be all but impossible today.

Second, the interviewer’s familiarity with basic doctrinal Christianity and the contentions of the broader culture set her apart from the talking heads today.

Third, it seems there may be very few evangelicals today of the stature of Lloyd-Jones who could command any interest from secular television.

Fourth, most sadly, are there any evangelical pastors who would be so thoroughly convinced and unashamed of the Bible’s teaching about man, sin and salvation in Jesus Christ alone?

So, I guess you should view the interview because we’re not likely to see its like in our lifetimes.

HT: The Gospel Coalition

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The Scandal of the Semi-Churched!

Kevin DeYoung writes this excellent post on “The Scandal of the Semi-Churched.” Every true believer should read and prayerfully consider these strong words of exhortation and edification.

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churchThe Scandal of the Semi-Churched

This is one of those posts I’ve wanted to write for awhile, but I wasn’t sure how to say what I think needs to be said. The danger of legalism and false guilt is very real. But so is the danger of disobedience and self-deception.

I want to talk about church members who attend their home church with great irregularity. These aren’t unchurched folks, or de-churched, or under-churched. They are semi-churched. They show up some of the time, but not every week. They are on again/off again, in and out, here on Sunday and gone for two. That’s the scandal of the semi-churched. In fact, Thom Rainer argues that the number one reason for the decline in church attendance is that church members don’t go to church as often as they used to.

We’ve had Christmas and Easter Christians for probably as long as we’ve had Christmas and Easter. Some people will always be intermittent with their church attendance. I’m not talking about nominal Christians who wander into church once or twice a year. I’m talking about people who went through the trouble of joining a church, like their church, have no particular beef with the church, and still only darken its doors once or twice a month. If there are churches with membership rolls much larger than their average Sunday attendance, they have either under-shepherds derelict in their duties, members faithless in theirs, or both.

I know we are the church and don’t go to church (blah, blah, blah), but being persnickety about our language doesn’t change the exhortation of Hebrews 10:25. We should not neglect to meet together, as some are in the habit of doing. Gathering every Lord’s Day with our church family is one of the pillars of mature Christianity.

So ask yourself a few questions.

1. Have you established church going as an inviolable habit in your family? You know how you wake up in the morning and think “maybe I’ll go on a run today” or “maybe I’ll make french toast this morning”? That’s not what church attendance should be like. It shouldn’t be an “if the mood feels right” proposition. I will always be thankful that my parents treated church attendance (morning and evening) as an immovable pattern. It wasn’t up for discussion. It wasn’t based on extenuating circumstances. It was never a maybe. We went to church. That’s what we did. That made the decision every Sunday a simple one, because their was no real decision. Except for desperate illness, we were going to show up. Giving your family the same kind of habit is a gift they won’t appreciate now, but will usually thank you for later.

2. Do you plan ahead on Saturday so you can make church a priority on Sunday? We are all busy people, so it can be hard to get to church, especially with a house full of kids. We will never make the most of our Sundays unless we prepare for them on Saturday. That likely means finishing homework, getting to bed on time, and foregoing some football. If church is an afterthought, you won’t think of it until after it’s too late.

3. Do you order your travel plans so as to minimize being gone from your church on Sunday? I don’t want to be legalistic with this question. I’ve traveled on Sunday before (though I try to avoid it). I take vacation and study leave and miss 8 or 9 Sundays at URC per year. I understand we live in a mobile culture. I understand people want to visit their kids and grandkids on the weekend (and boy am I thankful when ours come and visit). Gone are the days when people would be in town 50-52 weeks a year. Travel is too easy. Our families are too dispersed. But listen, this doesn’t mean we can’t make a real effort to be around on Sunday. You might want to take Friday off to go visit the kids so you can be back on Saturday night. You might want to think twice about investing in a second home that will draw you away from your church a dozen weekends every year. You might want to re-evaluate your assumption that Friday evening through Sunday evening are yours to do whatever you want wherever you want. It’s almost impossible to grow in love for your church and minister effectively in your church if you are regularly not there.

4. Are you willing to make sacrifices to gather with God’s people for worship every Sunday? “But you don’t expect me to cancel my plans for Saturday night, do you? I can’t possibly rearrange my work schedule. This job requires me to work every Sunday–I’d have to get a new job if I wanted to be regular at church. Sundays are my day to rewind. I won’t get all the yard work done if I go to church every week. My kids won’t be able to play soccer if we don’t go to Sunday games. If my homework is going to be done by Sunday, I won’t be able to chill out Friday night and all day Saturday. Surely God wouldn’t want me to sacrifice too much just so I can show up at church!” Not exactly the way of the cross, is it?

5. Have you considered that you may not be a Christian? Who knows how many people God saves “as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:15). Does going to church every week make you a Christian? Absolutely not. Does missing church 35 Sundays a year make you a non-Christian? It does beg the question. God’s people love to be with God’s people. They love to sing praises. They love to feast at the Table. They love to be fed from the Scriptures. Infrequent church attendance–I mean not going anywhere at all–is a sign of immaturity at best and unbelief at worst. For whenever God calls people out of darkness he calls them into the church. If the Sunday worship service is the community of the redeemed, what does your weekly pattern suggest to God about where you truly belong?

HT: The Gospel Coalition

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The Truth About Hell!

This message should be preached over and over and over until the church that claims the name of Jesus Christ falls to its knees either to seek forgiveness for not proclaiming this truth, or because it realizes for the first time that it has not been a true believer.

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A Call to Anguish!

The words of the message were very convicting. We need more men like Nehemiah who was willing to weep in anguish over the fallen down walls of Jerusalem and the destruction that has assaulted the walls of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. We need more willing to weep over the sin that has run rampant through the halls of our churches. We need more who will seriously pray that God will break us, and that whatever it takes to be a pure church that He will bring it to pass in our lives.

Here is a link to the entire message as well.

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Mandela in Heaven or Hell?

nelson-mandela
This last week beginning on December 5, Thursday, the world began to mourn a man who has been considered as one of the greatest men of the 20th and 21st centuries. Sadly, even Christians have lauded this man without bothering to see the truth of what he believed.

The reality is that Nelson Mandela was a Marxist, a Communist, a terrorist, a leader of an organization that used such bizarre and horrific practices known as necklacing in order to achieve his own ends. Necklacing was the use of rubber tires hung around the necks of a victim and set on fire. He was not a man of peace, but a promoter of war and hatred. Further, he hated God and loved the abominations that God hates.

This post in no way can be assumed as a promotion of apartheid because we believe that it was wrong. However, we must remember that two wrongs never make a right.

Some would question why we are trampling on the grave of a man that has not yet even been dug in South Africa. The reason is because too many Christians are buying into the media hype without seeing the truth.

The bottom line is this though. No matter what Mandela did and no matter what anybody thought of him, the moment he died he found himself facing the sovereign Creator of the Universe who is the all-seeing and all-knowing Judge of the souls of men.

If Mandela crossed the line into eternity without having ever placed his faith in Christ alone, by grace through faith alone, and been brought to repent and confess his sins before a holy, righteous God, then he will pay the ultimate penalty for his sins in hell forever. He will not be in hell because he was a terrorist, a Marxist, or a Communist. He will be in hell because of his rejection of Jesus Christ.

This is not something we rejoice in, but it does serve as a warning to all those who think they can mock God and get away with it. Judgment will come because it is appointed unto man once to die and after that moment the time of judgment arrives.

American Vision has a great article that we recommend to our readers on The Real Mandela.

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Alas! and Did My Saviour Bleed?

A little something different this morning. The gospel in the hymn of Isaac Watts, but with a little different arrangement. May you be encouraged with these beautiful words.

And another beautiful old hymn to remind us that while He did die for us and shed that precious blood, He is also coming again. Truly what a day that will be!

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Sissified Needy Jesus?

Pastor Voddie Baucham preaches the truth firmly and solidly from the Scriptures. His message is loving but it is a warning to those that think Jesus Christ is just some mamby-pamby God who has to have us in order to justify His own existence. He needs nothing from us.

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America Abandoned By God!

This is a portion of a timely message by Dr. John MacArthur. America has been abandoned by God, and we have been left to wallow in the sexual perversions of the depravity of the human heart.

Truth is the ONLY solution. Repent America, and take heed to the Word of God. A famine of hearing the Word of God will never produce revival. Ministers, take a stand for truth no matter what it may cost you!

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Fire! Fire!

lakeoffire

There is such a place as hell. Let no one deceive you with vain words. What people do not like, they try hard not to believe. When the Lord Jesus Christ comes to judge the world, He will punish all who are not His disciples with a fearful punishment: all who are found unrepentant and unbelieving, all who have clung to sin, all who are stuck to the world, and all who have set their affections on things below. All who are without Christ shall come to an awful end. Whosoever is not written in the book of life shall be “cast into the lake of fire.” [Rev 20:15]

I call on all who profess to believe the Bible, to be on their guard.

1) Some do not believe there is any hell at all. They think it impossible there can be such a place. They call it inconsistent with the mercy of God. They say it is too awful an idea to be really true. The devil of course, rejoices in the views of such people. They help his kingdom mightily. They are preaching up his old favorite doctrine, “You shall not surely die.”

2) Some do not believe that hell is eternal. They tell us it is incredible that a compassionate God will punish people forever. He will surely open the prison doors at last. This also is a mighty help to the devil’s cause.

3) Some believe there is a hell, but never allow that anybody is going there. All people with them are good. As soon as they die, all were sincere, all meant well, and all, they hope, got to heaven. Alas! what a common delusion this is!

Summary: If I never spoke of hell, I should think I had kept back something that was profitable, and should look on myself as an accomplice of the devil. Beware of new and strange doctrines about hell and the eternity of punishment. Beware of manufacturing a God of your own: a God who is all mercy, but not just; a God who is all love, but not holy; a God who has a heaven for everybody, but a hell for none; a God who can allow good and bad to be side by side in time, but will make no distinction between good and bad in eternity. Such a God is an idol of your own.

~ J.C. Ryle

Read the entire portion of Ryle’s tract on Hell ► Fire! Fire!

HT: JCRyle.Net

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Few Will Find It – The Rest Will Be Damned!

Today is the first day of the last month of 2013, and while for some it is a day of worship in church, for many thousands, it will be their final day on earth. For them, the day of judgment will arrive whether they believe it or not, and whether they like it or not will not matter one iota.

Today is the day of salvation for those who have never placed their faith in Jesus Christ. Flee to him and plead for mercy before it is too late.

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Osteen Waffles on the Gospel!

It is a sad day when some within evangelicalism would classify Joel Osteen as an evangelical Christian. There is no room in Scripture for waffling on the gospel. A person who claims to be a minister of the gospel and yet claim that he doesn’t know whether Jews, Muslims, or Hindus would go to hell if they do not believe in Jesus Christ alone is not worthy to be a minister, and according to Scripture this man is not even a true believer himself. His teaching is nothing short of heresy. True believers, be warned of this wolf in sheep’s clothing. Dr. Steve Lawson does an excellent job addressing Osteen’s waffles.

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Your Only Hope – Christ Alone!

Dr. Steve Lawson produces an amazing impromptu message on the gospel. Truly, this is the only Biblical gospel that can and must be preached in the world today for there is NO HOPE in anyone or anything else. Flee to Christ while there is yet time!

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The Most Terrifying Truth of Scripture!

The gospel cannot be made any clearer than this. This is the message that is simple and free to all who will come and plead for mercy at the feet of a holy, righteous God.