Faith

by

Quotes (909)

We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with. A nice, middle-class, American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn’t mind materialism and who would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who would not expect us to forsake our closest relationships so that he receives all our affection. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts, because, after all, he loves us just the way we are. A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who, for that matter, wants us to avoid danger altogether. A Jesus who brings us comfort and prosperity as we live out our Christian spin on the American dream. But do you and I realize what we are doing at this point? We are molding Jesus into our own image. He is beginning to look a lot like us because, after all, that is whom we are most comfortable with. And the danger now is that when we gather together in our church buildings to sing and lift up our hands in worship, we may not actually be worshiping the Jesus of the Bible. Instead we may be worshiping ourselves.

– David Platt

by

Till the expiration date do us part.

As if the institution of marriage isn’t already on the ropes, now the inevitable is being suggested: Marriage licenses with expiration dates.

“Lawmakers in Mexico City have proposed a bill to allow temporary marriage licenses, which can be discarded or renewed after a minimum two-year period. When the two-year license expires, the contract simply ends.”

Read more here.

by

Pot meet kettle.

Not able to leave people well enough alone, anti-theists are at it again.

This time a national anti-theist organization is targeting a dot-on-the-map town in Tennessee for having the audacity to display a cross atop their water tower.

Now there’s nothing overtly newsworthy about this story, as Atheists have been bullying their way into building a godless utopia for years one litigious threat at a time. But what makes this particular instance intriguing, as reported by Fox News, is what celebrity anti-theist Dan Barker said. In this article Barker is actually quoted accusing the town’s mayor (who is in favor of the cross remaining) of being the one that’s “against religious freedom.”


by

Sermon of the week: “A Discerning Family” by Akash Sant Singh.

Your sermon of the week is A Discerning Family by Akash Sant Singh. This is another fantastic sermon as Akash delves into 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22, covering such subjects as:

– Do not despise prophecies.

– Test everything.

– Hold fast to what is good.

– Abstain from every form of evil.

Akash covers such topics as what prophecy is and who prophets are, and what the ultimate goal is for those exercising discernment.

This is a message I recommend to DefCon readers and contributors.


by

What Is a True Christian?

What Is a True Christian?

Based on Article http://www.reformation21.org/articles/what-is-a-true-christian.php by Jeremy Walker

2 Corinthians 5:17 is foundational in that it makes a clear declaration that one who is a Christian is one who has been changed! Read and consider it carefully: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Does this describe one who is in love with the sins of his flesh, one who cares not for the Word of God or the ways of God? Or does this describe one who should love the things of God and grow in his understanding of God’s Word and repentance of his sin?

But how can you tell if you really are a Christian? How can you know if you have been born again? What are the definite marks of a new creation in Christ?

An excellent book by Gardiner Spring called The Distinguishing Traits of Christian Character suggests seven things that are not, in themselves, conclusive marks that a professed work of grace is true or false (commentary on each of these points in Walker’s article).

  1. Visible morality
  2. Head knowledge
  3. A form of religion
  4. Eminent gifts
  5. Conviction for sin
  6. Strong assurance
  7. Notable time or manner of one’s professed conversion

    While a Christian will display these in some degree, the mere presence of any or all of these does not prove one’s salvation.

There is almost nothing more dangerous than to imagine oneself saved and yet to remain unsaved. There is nothing more blessed than to know oneself a Christian grounded on a solid foundation.

From the Word of God, we gain a divine understanding of how we can be sure of our own standing in Christ – secure in His righteousness. 1 John gives us at least four indispensable indications of true Christianity (again, commentary on each of these points in Walker’s article).

  1. A humble and wholehearted embrace of the divine diagnosis of and remedy for sin
  2. A humble reverence for and joyful devotion to God and his glory
  3. A principled pursuit of godliness with an increasing attainment in holiness

  4. Affection for and attachment to God’s redeemed people

These four marks will invariably be present in a true child of God. They will not be perfect until glory, but they will be present now.

We cannot afford to be fooled, imagining ourselves saved when we are not.

If these indispensable indications, these marks of a true believer, are not in your heart and life, then you are not a Christian, whatever you claim or imagine, and you should not fool yourself nor dishonour Christ by claiming his name without walking in his ways. You blaspheme Jesus and expose him to scorn by taking the label of a true believer but living apart from his gracious power and saving wisdom.

But if these things are present in you and true of you then you are a Christian, and you should not dishonour Christ by denying the source of grace in you. Some doubting and fearful saints are terrified that they will lay claim to God’s grace in Christ without having it, and so walk in shadow if not in darkness, robbed of joy and neither being blessed nor blessing others as they might.

Jeremy Walker is a pastor of Maidenbower Baptist Church. He blogs at The Wanderer and is co-author of A Portrait of Paul: Identifying A True Minister of Christ (Reformation Heritage Books, 2010). My comment: This book on Paul is a most wonderful book that will benefit any Christian and every pastor.

by

Quotes (908)

voddie-baucham How does a mother build biblical truth into her daughter’s life, nurture her, guard her, and encourage her toward the application of that truth, then send her into an environment that will oftentimes by its very nature be hostile or at least ambivalent toward that truth? How does a father raise his son to respect young women and protect their purity only to send them off to the youth building with exposed midriffs, low-cut tops, and skin-tight jeans?

– Voddie Baucham

by

Quotes (907)

  Christ’s death is the Christian’s life. Christ’s cross is the Christian’s title to heaven. Christ “lifted up” and put to shame on Calvary is the ladder by which Christians “enter into the holiest,” and are at length landed in glory. It is true that we are sinners–but Christ has suffered for us. It is true that we deserve death–but Christ has died for us. It is true that we are guilty debtors–but Christ has paid our debts with His own blood. This is the real Gospel! This is the good news! On this let us lean while we live. To this let us cling when we die. Christ has been “lifted up” on the cross, and has thrown open the gates of heaven to all believers.

– J. C. Ryle

1816 – 1900

HT: JC Ryle Quotes

by

The stranger.

The Stranger

(Author Unknown)

A few months before I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer, and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later.

As I grew up I never questioned his place in our family. Mom taught me to love the word of God, and dad taught me to obey it. But the stranger was our storyteller. He could weave the most fascinating tales. Adventures, mysteries and comedies were daily conversations. He could hold our whole family spell-bound for hours each evening.

If I wanted to know about politics, history, or science, he knew it all. He knew about the past, understood the present, and seemingly could predict the future. The pictures he could draw were so life like that I would often laugh or cry as I watched.

He was like a friend to the whole family. He took Dad, Bill and me to our first football game. He was always encouraging us to see the movies and he even made arrangements to introduce us to several movie stars.

The stranger was an incessant talker. Dad didn’ t seem to mind but sometimes mom would quietly get up while the rest of us were enthralled with one of his stories of faraway places and go to her room, read her Bible and pray. I wonder now if she ever prayed that the stranger would leave.

You see, my dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions. But this stranger never felt obligation to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our house–not  from us, from our friends, or adults. Our longtime visitor, however, used occasional four letter words that burned my ears and made dad squirm. To my knowledge the stranger was never confronted. My dad was a teetotaler who didn’t permit alcohol in his home–not even for cooking. But the stranger felt like we needed exposure and enlightened us to other ways of life. He offered us beer and other alcoholic beverages often.

He made cigarettes look tasty, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (too much too freely) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing. I know now that my early concepts of the man-woman relationship were influenced by the stranger.

As I look back, I believe it was the grace of God that the stranger did not influence us more. Time after time he opposed the values of my parents. Yet he was seldom rebuked and never asked to leave.

More than thirty years have passed since the stranger moved in with the young family on Morningside Drive. He is not nearly so intriguing to my Dad as he was in those early years. But if I were to walk into my parents home today, you would still see him sitting over in a corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.

His name?…..We always just called him…TV

See also The Stranger sermon by Pastor Tim Conway.

by

Sermon of the week: “The Rich Man and Lazarus” by John MacArthur.

Your sermon of the week is on the subject of Hell in the sobering message The Rich Man and Lazarus by John MacArthur.

This sermon is a follow-up to this previous message by MacArthur. I encourage you to listen to them both.

by

Christian Book Distributors now selling the Koran.

If you want to purchase the Islamic Koran you can now turn to the nation’s leading Christian bookselling website. That’s right, you can now buy the Koran from Christian Book Distributors (CBD).

And CBD is even encouraging the mass distribution of this book (that fuels the terrorism that’s raging around the world and which calls for Jews and Christians to be put to death) by offering a discount of fifty cents per Koran if you order forty or more.

Isn’t this like selling your axe to the executioner as you’re laying your head on the chopping block?

CBD also offers Introducing the Qur’an: For Today’s Reader and Islam: A Short Guide to the Faith

The pied pipers of Universalism (and those wishing to eradicate Christians from the face of the earth) get one more voice of solidarity and support from within our own camp.

 I suppose there’s no better time to revisit two questions I posed back in 2008: Are Christian bookstore owners responsible for what they sell? and Do you support your local Christian bookstore?

by

A visit to a megachurch.

Here’s an article by Chris Dunn on his recent experience of visiting a megachurch.

It’s not pretty.

Last Sunday I went to a megachurch.  Normally I attend small churches with a gathering of local believers who strive to live according to the Bible.

Having already attended countless churches from many denominations and faiths, I was eager to see what the average parishioner experienced at one of these stadium-sized complexes.

It was horrific.  Megachurches like this one can have almost nothing to do with biblical Christianity and may actually do violence to the ‘Word of God.’

Continue the article from Collegiate Times here.

HT: The Cross and the Lamb

by

Sermon of the week: “The Sufficiency of Scripture and the Gospel” by Paul Washer.

We who home educate, oppose youth ministries, believe Christians should dress modestly, etc. are often accused of believing this way of life makes one a Christian and makes one holy. And of course, we deny those baseless charges of “legalism” but nevertheless, the accusations are still hurled at us.

This is why I’m pleased to present this Thursday’s sermon of the week entitled The Sufficiency of Scripture and the Gospel. Paul Washer (a home education proponent and youth ministry abolitionist himself) proves that not everyone in this camp is a legalist, and to those in this camp who may tend to lean that way, he does for them in this sermon as he did for the lukewarm in his famous Shocking Sermon from 2003 (found here).

Paul Washer addresses the notion that these wonderful family oriented ideals (along with manners, modesty, etc.), albeit beautiful and virtuous and good, they in and of themselves do nothing to save a man’s soul. And he did this at a conference sponsored by the National Center for Family Integrated Churches.

This is classic Paul Washer.

by

Quotes (905)

 Never are men’s hearts in such a hopeless condition, as when they are not sensible of their own sins. He that would not make shipwreck on this rock, must beware of measuring himself by his neighbors. What does it signify that we are more moral than other men? We are all vile and imperfect in the sight of God. “If we contend with Him, we cannot answer him one in a thousand” (Job 9:3). Let us remember this. In all our self-examination let us not try ourselves by comparison with the standard of men. Let us look at nothing but the requirements of God. He that acts on this principle will never be a Pharisee.

– J. C. Ryle

1816 – 1900

HT: JC Ryle Quotes

by

Sermon of the week: “How Can God Love Sinners?” by Akash Sant Singh.

The glorious doctrine of propitiation is the subject of your sermon of the week, How Can God Love Sinners? by Akash Sant Singh.

In this evangelistic-minded message that you don;t want to miss, Pastor Akash expounds on what propitiation is and does:

1. Propitiation is a sacrifice.

2. Propitiation averts God’s wrath.

3. Propitiation expiates our sin.

4. Propitiation cancels our guilt.

by

If God Would Just Show Me a Miracle…

I think that just about every Christian who has ventured out to share their faith has heard this claim at one time or another. It seems reasonable enough, “God, if you are real, show me!” Why can’t someone make that request of God, right? If He truly wants that person to worship Him, shouldn’t God do what they ask? The problem lies in this, God has already revealed Himself and a miracle would not bring that person one inch closer to saving faith than they already were.

God has revealed Himself in His written word. The Bible is sixty-six books, written by forty authors over a period of time, in different countries, with a consistent theme that God will redeem sinners through the sacrifice of His Son. It has been proven historically accurate, and has more manuscript evidence than any book of antiquity. Yet, this person determines that the Bible is not enough.

God has revealed Himself through His creation. The intricate complex design of the vast universe, from the largest star to the smallest sub-atomic particle practically screams of a Designer. In fact, there is so much evidence of design from the fact that information is built into our very genetic code (which cannot happen by accident) that many non-religious scientists have adopted the study of Intelligent Design. Yet, the vast complexity of our existence is not enough for them.

God is also revealed through the very conscience we possess. Throughout all mankind, a universal knowledge of right and wrong exists, a knowledge of good and evil. True, some societies, including our own, have attempted to alter or water down this objective morality, yet it still exists. It testifies a law that exists outside ourselves, a standard we must all be judged by. And if that law exists, then the Lawmaker exists as well. And if there is a Lawmaker, then He will one day judge us by that standard. Still, this person cries for yet more proof.

Most of all, God is revealed through His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. Second person of the triune God, fully God and fully Man, Creator of all things. Almost 2,000 years ago, Jesus came to Earth, took on human flesh, lived as one of us, tempted in all the ways we are, yet He never sinned. Some thirty to thirty-three years into this life, He willingly laid down His life (John 10: 17-18) to take upon Himself the wrath of God rightfully due to us. Then three days later, He rose Himself from the grave, proving His victory over sin and death. No fact of history has greater proof than the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. These events were recorded by eyewitnesses at the time of other eyewitnesses and would withstand the scrutiny of any legal examination. Yet, this person still demands a sign.

This demand mirrors the one made by the Jews to Christ in His day. Matthew 12: 38-40 states, “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth..” When you read this passage, on the surface, it seems like a legitimate request, just like the one at the beginning of this article. In fact, Jesus’ response almost seems inappropriate and even rude. Yet, when we look earlier in the chapter, we see two incidents that took place which shed more light on the subject.

Continue reading →

by

College conspiracy.

Many have lamented the perils of sending kids to liberal, anti-theist colleges (and rightly so), but the following video opposes sending kids to college for entirely different reasons (the same reasons John Stossel discusses in his article The College Scam). Even though these reasons are secular in nature, they’re still very eye-opening.

by

You might be a Calvinist . . .

The following is from the Disciple Man blog:

You Might Just Be A Calvinist If….

If you have a Martin Luther Jell-O mold… you just might be a Calvinist.

If your DVR has over 25 episodes of Wretched With Todd Friel recorded on it… you just might be a Calvinist.

If your child’s first word was “Westminster”… you just might be a Calvinist.

If your 4 year old can explain what the word “propitiation” means… you might just be a Calvinist.

If you send your mother tulips on Mother’s Day… you might be a Calvinist.

If your passion for evangelism blows away your Arminian friends… you might just be a (true) Calvinist.

If you hate rap music BUT you listen to Lecrea, The Cross Movement, Flame or D.A. T.R.U.T.H. because of the lyrics and theology… you might be a Calvinist.

If quotes from Pink, Spurgeon, Luther, Piper, and McArthur make up 90% of your Facebook statuses…you might be a Calvinist.

Continue reading →