Because God is holy He hates all sin. He loves everything which is in conformity to His laws, and loathes everything contrary to them. . . . It follows, therefore, that He must necessarily punish sin. Sin can no more exist without demanding His punishment than it can without requiring His hatred of it.
– A.W. Pink
1886 – 1952
Your sermon of the week is a fantastic message by John Piper entitled God’s Wrath: Vengeance is Mine, I Will Repay. This message is a must-hear for Jehovah’s Witnesses and others who deny Hell’s existence. It is also for those who limit the reality of Hell’s punishment, intensity, eternality, severity, etc.
This sermon destroys the “no-such-place-as-Hell” lie being espoused by so many false teachers today.
This sermon will lead you to a better understanding of the holiness, wrath, and fear of God. This message will not sit well with those who believe that God’s love means no wrath, but it will be a refreshing teaching for those who really want to know more of God’s holy and righteous nature, and to understand better God’s judgment, wrath, and the inevitable destination of those who reject Jesus Christ.
You can download the sermon for yourself, watch the video, or read the transcript here. You can also listen to part two of this message found on this post.
A few apostates are outspoken and aggressive in their opposition to the truth, but most are subtler. Regardless of how friendly, benign, or self-effacing they may appear, these wolves in sheep’s clothing are invariably driven by evil and self-aggrandizing motives—such as pride, rebellion, greed, lust, or whatever (2 Peter 2;10-19). That is not to suggest they always know full well that they are apostates. Many of them are so blinded by their evil desires that they really imagine they are serving Christ when in fact that are opposing Him (John 16:2).
– John MacArthur
In this day and age of “anything goes” church marketing (like these church advertisements), offering free gas to get people into church no longer surprises me . . .
. . . because for some reason hirelings think that they can somehow manipulate conversions . . .
. . . even if they have to use potty humor to advertise . . .
. . . because after all, the end [false conversions] now justify the means [anything that appeals to the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh]. Welcome to Laodicea!
If it’s true that what you draw them with is what you keep them with, it looks like things could get pretty expensive at over 4 dollars a gallon.
“If you’re preaching to consumers rather than disciples you got to keep their attention and that requires constant innovation. They have to have something new and different every time you get together or you’re going to lose them.” – Kim Riddlebarger
The only saving faith is that which casts itself on God for life or death.
– Martin Luther
1483 – 1546
Once let us see that sin is far viler, and far nearer to us, and sticks more closely to us than we supposed, and we shall be led, I trust and believe, to get nearer to Christ.
– J.C. Ryle
1816 – 1900
Source: Stay, Stay At Home My Heart
There is no temple now. Jerusalem is not the center. Christ is. Do we want to see God? Jesus says, “Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Do you want to receive God? Jesus says, “Whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me” (Matthew 10:40). Do we want to have the presence of God in worship? The Bible says, “Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:23). Do we want to honor the Father? Jesus says, “Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him” (John 5:23).
– John Piper
The Jehovah’s Witnesses deny it, the Mormons reject it, the Gentiles are offended by it, the Jews stumble over it.
Oh, the wonderful cross.
There seems to be a great abyss separating the biblical theologian and the Christian in the pew. While the theologian is able to climb the Everest of God’s truth and be transformed by the vision, he often communicates the vision in a language that is beyond us. Thus, we are left at the mercy of popular Christian literature that is often nothing more than quaint stories, pragmatism, and baptized psychology.
– Paul Washer
Source: Slaughter of the Sheep
Can the Immaculate One take pleasure in “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6)? The best that sinful man brings forth is defiled. A corrupt tree cannot bear good fruit. God would deny Himself, vilify His perfections, were He to account as righteous and holy that which is not so in itself; and nothing is so that has the least stain upon it contrary to the nature of God. But that which His holiness demanded His grace has provided in Jesus Christ our Lord. Every poor sinner who has fled to Him for refuge stands “accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6).
– A.W. Pink
1886 – 1952
Seriously folks, these are real church ads.
And finally, there’s one church advertisement that I found from a Baptist church in Illinois that is an answer to all the junk posted above.
Much of the evangelical movement has been acting for a long time as if our main duty is just to keep in step with the fads of worldly culture in order to gain the approval of each succeeding generation. That strategy will never fail to find enthusiastic support among those who are immature, weak, ignorant, or cowardly, but it can never be truly effective. Without truth, no spiritual transformation is possible (1 Peter 1;22-25; John 17:17).
– John MacArthur
Ingrid Schlueter (of Slice of Laodicea and Hope in Laodicea) hosts this edition of Crosstalk. Her guest is Justin Peters (of JustinPeters.org) and they discuss the heresy of the Word of Faith movement.
In this episode, A Call For Discernment – Exposing the Word-Faith Movement, audio clips from Benny Hinn, Gloria Copeland, and Creflo Dollar are examined. They also discuss Todd Bentley.
This is the meaning of grace. We cannot obtain a right standing with God because of our works. It must be a free gift. We can only receive it by faith, cherishing it as our great treasure. This is why the Bible says, “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Christ suffered and died so that good works would be the effect, not the cause, of our acceptance. Not surprisingly, then, the next sentence says, “For we are . . . created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10). That is we are saved for good works, not by good works.
– John Piper
Do you see any similarities between Mormonism and Charismatics in the following quote from LDS prophet Brigham Young? Aren’t these the same “symptoms” that Charismatics cite as proof of being baptized in the Holy Spirit (and thus, salvation)? Of course, to be fair, the Charismatics don’t believe a person’s blood literally changes when the Holy Spirit comes upon them, but I’m confident that most Mormons don’t believe that now either (darn those advances in science and human anatomy not foreseen by LDS prophets of old).
“Again, if a pure Gentile firmly believes the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and yields obedience to it, in such a case I will give you the words of the Prophet Joseph—’When the Lord pours out the Holy Ghost upon that individual he will have spasms, and you would think that he was going into fits.’ Joseph said that the Gentile blood was actually cleansed out of their veins, and the blood of Jacob made to circulate in them; and the revolution and change in the system were so great that it caused the beholder to think they were going into fits. If any of the Gentiles will believe, we will lay our hands upon them that they may receive the Holy Ghost, and the Lord will make them of the house of Israel. Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Volume 2, Page 269, 1855
Good thing Brigham Young was just giving his opinion and not speaking as a prophet when he quoted Joseph Smith who must have been giving his opinion and not acting as a prophet when he said this!
It is a great mistake to give a man who has not been convicted of sin certain passages that were never meant for him. The Law is what he needs . . . Do not offer the consolation of the Gospel until he sees and knows he is guilty before God. We must give enough of the Law to take away all self-righteousness.
– D.L. Moody
1837 – 1899
Christ Alone Wyoming 