One of our problems today is that we no longer do our own thinking. Newspapers do it for us, the people interviewed on Radio and Television do it for us, and we sit back and listen. That is one of the manifestations of the breakdown of self-discipline. We must learn to discipline our minds!
– Martyn Lloyd-Jones
1899 – 1981
You can tell a man by the friends he keeps and likewise you can tell a church by the associations it keeps. So this Reformation Day, let us take a stroll through the halls of Roman Catholicism’s past and present as a simple reminder why true Biblical Christianity will never be at peace with the false religious system and counterfeit Christian organization of Rome.
You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. Leviticus 19:17
There is a special obligation upon friends to be helpful to one another in this matter. The laws of friendship require us to discover what things endanger us. . . . Silence or concealment in this case is treachery. He is the most faithful friend, and worthy of most esteem and affection, that deal most plainly with us in reference to exposing our sin. He that is reserved in this case is but a false friend, a mere pretender to love, whereas, indeed, he hates his brother in his heart.
– David Clarkson
1622 – 1686
Your sermon of the week is Soli Deo Gloria: The Supremacy of God in All Things by Brian Borgman. This is part two 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. Look for each additional installment every couple weeks. You can find part one, A Tale of Two Gospels, here.
The most spiritual attainment of a Christian in the world, the most spiritual, evangelical mourning and repentance that can be done by a Christian, is a mourning over his unbelief; that the Word of the Lord is not more precious to him; that he cannot trust God’s Word naked without props; that he doubts it so often, when darkness comes on; and that he lets go of this great rock, the faithfulness of God.
– Robert Traill
1642 – 1716
You simply must download and listen to this speech, Death Is Not Dying, by Rachel Barkey. You will be encouraged, you will be moved, you will be challenged, you will need a tissue. I listened to it twice in two days and wanted to share it with the readers of DefCon.
Mrs. Barkey gave this speech in March 2009 to over 600 women after learning that she would be dead in a few short months; she died July 02, 2009. You can read more about her story here.
HT: Atlantic Baptist
From the standpoint of the redeemed, the punishment of the wicked is an act of unspeakable mercy. How dreadful would it be if the present order of things should continue forever, when the children of God are obliged to live in the midst of the children of the Devil. Heaven would at once cease to be Heaven if the ears of the saints still heard the blasphemous, filthy language of the reprobate. What a mercy that in the New Jerusalem “there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination” (Revelation 21:27)!
– A.W. Pink
1886 – 1952
It is written in the Scriptures that the gospel of Jesus Christ “…is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Rom 1:16) Likewise, it is written that if anyone one “…be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (II Cor 5:17)
Today, countless people have religion that purports itself as Christianity. Yet this religion has no power to save and no power to transform their lives. Rather, it is dead religion not unlike what one would have found with the Pharisees and their disciples during the days when Jesus walked the earth. Rote, ritualistic and repetitious; this religion is found across our land. Here, countless people are raised in such faiths from babes upward and have been taught the traditions of men from their religion’s hierarchy as to what they must do and must not do in order to be “right” with God and rewarded with eternal life.
Or, we have so-called pastors instructing millions that salvation is simply raising their hand to “ask Jesus into their heart” or the repeating of the “sinner’s prayer.” Scant mention is ever given to the gospel, repentance and what salvation truly is; rather the bulk of their appeal is made to the flesh. This done through various mediums with the most popular being music where skilled musicians take the congregants on an emotional roller coaster ride so as to get as many as possible to raise their hand or come forward to the “altar.”
Yet I ask how many of these persons are ever changed by the power of God through the gospel? How many can truly testify that they are new creatures in Christ where they have put to death the old man and are now walking in newness of life? How many can say that the darkness they use to love and run to, they now hate and flee from? How many can profess that the light they use to hide from and scorn, they now seek out and proclaim from the rooftops? Truly some can and to God we give all the glory for this, but many cannot because sadly for these once the music dies down, the lights dim and the crocodile tears dry, they are the same person they were before every praying that prayer or making their purported profession of faith.
The conversion of Pasha, a Russian immigrant in the 1800’s, is no such empty profession or example of impotent religion. Rather, it is an amazing testimony of the power of God through the gospel to totally transform a wretched sinner. A story that will surely bring tears to your eyes not only as you see how great the gospel is and the God who has given it unto this world, but also for his tender mercies to shower rich blessings on his children. Please take the time to read it as you will be greatly blessed therein.
My hope for the true Christian is that reading it may give you great joy as your love is increased for the God who hath graciously saved you even if your testimony or mine is not as stunning as Pasha’s. For the Christian in name only, I pray your reading it may give you a longing in your heart to be set free from your sin and changed by the power of the God through the gospel even as Pasha was.
The full text can be found here.
Nate’s back with another powerful, must-see video.
You can also download the audio version of this video by right-clicking here.
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See Nate’s other warning for the church here.
See also A Test: Are you Loving or Unloving?
Learn to apply Scripture. Take every word as spoken to yourselves. When the Word thunders against sin, think thus: “God means my sins.” When it emphasizes any duty, “God intends me in this.” Many put off Scripture for themselves, as if it only concerned those who lived in the time when it was written; but if you intend to profit by the Word, bring it home to yourselves: a medicine will do no good, unless it is applied.
– Thomas Watson
1620 – 1686
As a follow up to last week’s sermon on Isaiah 53 by J. Randall Easter (see here), I present this Wednesday’s sermon of the week also on Isaiah 53 by Phil Johnson entitled The Atrocity That Pleased God.
Faith is not built by preaching introspectively (constantly challenging people to question whether they have faith); faith is not built by preaching moralistically (which has exactly the opposite effect of focusing attention on the self rather than on Christ, in whom our faith is placed); faith is not built by joining the culture wars and taking potshots at what is wrong with our culture. Faith is built by careful, thorough exposition of the person, character, and work of Christ.
He that says he will be good tomorrow, says he will be wicked today.
– James Janeway
1636 – 1674
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
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
Christ Alone Wyoming 