Jesus Christ

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Great Heresies – and the Worldviews that Spawn Them

“1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” – 2 Peter 2:1-3

Lack of clear thinking – which is impossible for the unregenerate mind – will lead one to hold to an unbiblical worldview.

And the five major heresies that have been around since man grew too big for his britches keep popping up with different clothes on the same old bag of lies from Satan.“3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 12 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have.” 2 Peter 1:3-12

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Quotes (918)

. . . [W]e must restore to the family the responsibility of ministering to youth. In many churches–but by no means all–the purpose of the youth group is founded on premises that are an impediment to the training of godly children. Some of these false premises are: 1) That young people need a place where their problems are understood–where others of the same age share the same struggles; 2) that as it is often difficult for parents to communicate with and understand their teenagers, a youth leader who can identify with the young people is needed; 3) that it is important for young people to have fun and to see that “church people” have fun too; 4) that a youth group is needed to reach unsaved youth, and by getting them involved in fun activities, they will be more receptive to the presentation of the gospel.

Following the trends of secular culture, age-segregated groups have been established in church educational programs. Christopher Schlect, in his book Critique of Modern Youth Ministry, explains that the “divisions breed immaturity because they hinder younger people from associating with and learning from their elders.” The group can become the source of authority, thus diminishing the authority of the father and mother.

– William & Colleen Dedrick

From: The Little Book of Christian Character & Manners

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Spiritual Bulimia

Several years ago, the news was full of stories of otherwise normal teenage girls who either didn’t eat enough to nourish their bodies (anorexia) or would consume massive quantities only to barf it up soon thereafter (bulimia). (Fine topics for a breakfast meeting, eh?) Although  there’s not much news coverage of these two debilitating conditions, they are, in fact, running rampant throughout the body of Christ in the spiritual realm. How many Christian men, you and I included, are characterized by these?

Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. – Prov. 23:4

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles. – Prov. 24:17

Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked. – Prov. 24:19

In his book, Point Man, Steve Farrar describes these conditions and the prescription for the cure: Anorexia nervosa is extreme body emaciation caused by aversion to food. Spiritual anorexia is an aversion to reading the Scriptures. Farrar interviewed more than one thousand church going, Bible believing Christian men and found that 45% failed to read the Bible at least weekly. He then observes, the enemy does not mind if you revere the Bible, just so long as you don’t feed from it. Why is it important that we read the Word of God?

Farrar gives us three reasons he starts his day in the Word:

  1. First, it reminds me that there is a God who is ruling over the affairs of my life. Society lives as though there is no God, and I need to be reminded before I face the day that there is a God who is in control of my life and circumstances.
  2. Second, I need to be reminded of what is true. A Christian man in this society is swimming upstream against the current. Without the constant nutrition of the Word, he will soon tire and be dragged off by the sheer forces of the current.
  3. Third, the morning briefing reinforces my convictions. Each day I have to make choices based on my convictions. I need God’s input to make consistently right choices.

God gives us another dose:

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” (Luke 4:1-4).

And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, he said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” (Deuteronomy 32:45-47).

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. (1 John 2:12-14).

As dangerous as anorexia is, something else afflicting Christian men is even worse. It is spiritual bulimia. A young woman with bulimia will binge and take in a tremendous amount of food, only to quickly vomit, thus denying her body of the nutrients it needs. Spiritual bulimia is an aversion to applying the Scripture to my life. Without digestion, I cannot benefit from the nutrients in the food. Without meditation leading to application, there is no spiritual digestion, and I continue to lose strength. Lest we think knowledge of Scripture is the antidote to spiritual bulimia, he reminds us, in the Christian life the opposite of ignorance is not knowledge, but obedience. God does not want to take a new Christian and move him from ignorance to knowledge. He wants to move him from ignorance to obedience.

Are you feeling overwhelmed and discouraged in your walk with Christ? Are you defeated and spiritually ineffective? Have you lost your excitement and enthusiasm in following hard after Christ? Have you so given in to habitual sin that it now threatens to sink you? Have you been duped by the enemy into ignoring the Scripture? Has your schedule become so crowded that you haven’t picked up your Bible in weeks? My friend, you cannot live without the Bible. It is your life.

Back to the Word:

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. (Psalms 1:1-2).

And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.” (1 Samuel 15:22-23).

As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:27-28).

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1:22)

If you are spiritually anorexic, read your Bible. If you are spiritually bulimic, meditate on and obey your Bible. Develop the habit of reading the Word, reach out to another man who will help you walk in obedience. You and I are too weak and too wicked to trust ourselves to walk alone. That’s what the enemy wants you to do.

Rowland Croucher said, “Above all, desire to please Christ; dread his disapproval above everything else.” This one phrase, I believe, captures the essence of Christian life. How it concentrates the focus. Does it describe you? Far too often, I must confess, I find myself the object of my desires. Let each man who claims Christ dig into the Word and spend time in prayer – by these two activities, we will be drawn to know Him better and our desires and dreads will be rightly forged.

Let Christ be your motivation and your guide, everything else will fail you and lead you astray.

HT: http://5ptsalt.com/2011/10/13/spiritual-bulimia/

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Liberian elections.

For those who have been praying for Liberia, I wanted to bring your attention to some news coming out just before the election coming up this Tuesday in the West African country. Less than a week before the election the current president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was just awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This could only be in her favor for reelection.

Liberia has been slowing rebuilding its infrastructure after emerging from the civil war a few years ago and the Liberian Christians I spoke with seemed to be happy with the peace and progress they’ve experienced under President Sirleaf.

There is fear, however, that if Sirleaf’s opponent is elected, the religious freedom that Liberia is now enjoying may very well be stifled and the country could be cast into more civil unrest. This, obviously, would affect missionary efforts on the ground in that country.

Please commit this matter to prayer and pray that God’s will to be done in this upcoming election and continue to pray for the work being done in Liberia.

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Too little too late.

Why is it that today’s “prophets” always tell you about their visions after the events occur and never before? In the following case, Jim Bakker tells viewers on August 12, 2011, that he predicted 9/11.

He was only a decade late in mentioning it.

HT: Slaughter of the Sheep

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Sermon of the week: “The Great White Throne Judgment” by Steve Lawson

Wow. Your sermon of the week, The Great White Throne Judgment by Steve Lawson, is a riveting reminder of what’s to come for the unrepentant, and why it’s so imperative that we never tire of sharing the gospel with the unsaved, because it will be an incredibly terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31).

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Saturday Sermon Series: “The Fear of God” (Parts 7 – 9) by Albert Martin.

Today DefCon wraps up our Saturday Sermon Series by Albert Martin on the fear of God. This timeless message was delivered in 1970 and is as needed to be heard by the church today as it was 41 years ago.

To listen to the previous two installments (the previous six messages) please see parts 1 – 3 here and parts 4- 6 here.

The Fear of God – Part 7  (Relationship to Conduct, Part 1) 

The Fear of God – Part 8  (Relationship to Conduct, Part 2)

The Fear of God – Part 9  (How to Maintain & Increase) 


HT: Abiding Through Grace

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Saturday Sermon Series: “The Fear of God” (Parts 4 – 6 of 9) by Albert Martin.

DefCon continues its Saturday Sermon Series by Albert Martin on the fear of God. Today you can download parts 4 through 6. You can download the first three messages from this series here.

We will conclude with the final three parts next Saturday (one week from today).

The Fear of God – Part 4  (Ingredients, Part 2)  

The Fear of God – Part 5  (Ingredients, Part 3)

The Fear of God – Part 6  (Source)  

HT: Abiding Through Grace

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Saturday Sermon Series: “The Fear of God” (Parts 1 – 3 of 9) by Albert Martin.

In addition to DefCon’s weekly sermon of the week (posted every Thursday), we occasionally feature a Saturday Sermon Series.

For the next three Saturdays we are pleased to present a nine-part series (three parts a week) by Albert N. Martin on the fear of God.

This is a powerful message that every Christian can benefit from.

The Fear of God – Part 1  (Predominance in Biblical Thought)

The Fear of God – Part 2  (Definition, Part 1)

The Fear of God – Part 3  (Definition, Part 2; Ingredients Part 1)

HT: Abiding Through Grace

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Sermon of the week: “Dangers of Calvinism – The Danger of Pride” by John Scheffer.

Someone was finally bold enough to address one of the greatest causes for people to reject the Doctrines of Grace: proud, combative, and caustic Calvinists. John Scheffer boldly goes where few will dare in his candid message Dangers of Calvinism: The Danger of Pride.

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Is a collapse coming?

I consider the subject of economics to be as fascinating as watching paint dry or watching a round of golf, but recently I’ve taken notice of an economic storm brewing on the horizon of our nation that is getting very little attention and very few seem to be talking about, even though it will affect every single American and the way we live.

You simply cannot pay off trillions of dollars in debt by printing more money without drastic ramifications, and these ramifications could very well be the collapse of the American dollar resulting in this nation plummeting into Third-world status overnight.

Here are just a few of the headlines I’ve taken from the Drudge Report over the past month; headlines that are often glossed over because we’ve  been distracted with the Casey Anthony murder trial, the war in Iraq, American Idol, and our sports:

Dollar losing global reserve status

China: USA’s Already Defaulting

China Warns on Risks of Dollar Holdings...

PAPER: Global order fractures as US power declines...

Carville: 2012 could be 'very rough'; Civil unrest 'imminently possible'...

PAPER: USA has record $61.6 TRILLION in unfunded obligations; $534,000 per household...

Daily economic briefings disappear from Obama's White House schedule...

REPORT: Gold headed for $5K an ounce...

Housing Crisis Now Worse Than Great Depression...

IMF cuts U.S. growth forecast, warns of crisis...

Trades reveal China shift from dollar

There’s no doubt that we are on the brink of total economic collapse, but this collapse can be brought on even faster if China or OPEC stops accepting the American dollar as the global reserve, or if we suffer another terrorist attack like 9/11, or if a devastating earthquake hits a major metropolitan area like Seattle, San Francisco, or Los Angeles. When the dollar finally loses its status in the global market we will see the end of our American way of life virtually overnight.

As Christians, our hope and trust is not in politics, economics, money, might, armies, presidents, or kings, but with our nation facing inevitable financial collapse it may be wise and prudent for us to prepare to be able to take care of our families, friends, neighbors, and even strangers if/when this event takes place. If a foreign entity moves in after our collapse, will we be ready to face the possible outlawing of Christianity and the fierce persecution that could come with it?

We need to be prepared to boldly proclaim the gospel to a mass of people who will be dumbfounded at what just took place; a nation of people who never thought they’d see empty grocery store shelves and never imagined that clean drinking water would ever stop flowing from their taps.

An event such as the total collapse of the U.S. economy will cause many to turn away from the false idols that have consumed their lives for so long, but will you and I be ready to point them to the One who can reconcile them to God, or will we be too preoccupied with finding food and water?

We must not keep our head in the sand and expect that our way of life will continue, it simply can’t. Democracies have a shelf-life, and God will not allow us to continue as a nation in our current ways forever. 

Here are just a few videos (there are many more out there) to help you better understand what is likely about to happen. You can do more research for yourself via the internet, and I encourage you to do so.

A dramatization of what could happen very soon in this nation:

How quickly we can run out of food:

More information on our precarious economy in light of Japan’s economic status:

Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise, Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler, Prepares her food in the summer And gathers her provision in the harvest. Proverbs 6:6-8


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Is Federal Vision heresy?

The following is from Flock Alert:

“Many are honestly confused about the Federal Vision, and are looking for a quick, basic understanding of it.  As such, here we offer a crash course about this enormously influential movement.

“The following resources demonstrate that the Federal Vision is indeed a heresy of the worst kind, and perverts almost every doctrine related to salvation.  It is [sic] has much in common with N. T. Wright’s theology, and is essentially a form of Roman Catholicism in sheep’s clothing.  It denies justification by faith alone, Christ’s active obedience, and perseverance of the saints, and holds to salvation by works (for instance, the soul damning heresy of baptismal regeneration).”

Read the entire article here.

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Sermon of the week: “Closet Calvinists – Why Arminians Pre-Suppose the Doctrines of Grace” by Phil Johnson.

Are Arminians really closet Calvinists? Find out in your sermon of the week is Closet Calvinists – Why Arminians Pre-Suppose the Doctrines of Grace by Phil Johnson.

HT: Desert Pastor

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Quotes (895)

[Jonah] was exceedingly displeased and even very angry (Jonah 4:1) because Nineveh had been spared from destruction. Jonah was far more deeply concerned with the fate of a single plant than he was with perhaps a million or more never-dying souls who had just turned to the living and true God.

What a lesson for us today. How many of us are far more deeply concerned over our gardens and our clothes, our houses and our businesses, our cars and our gadgets, than we are with the millions of perishing–yet never-dying–souls all around us. How many of us are “exceeding[ly] glad” for something that adds a little more to our own comfort and ease and luxury, but we are utterly unconscious and without a care or a thought as to whether there is joy, exceeding joy, in Heaven over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10).

Furthermore, like Jonah, we are “exceedingly displeased” and even “angry” if anything happens to disturb our comfort and upset the course of our day. The unsaved in their blindness may bow down to wood and stone, for all we care, provided the worms do not get into our gourds and the hot east wind does not blow upon us.

– G. C. Willis

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Sermon of the week: “Thou Shalt Not Covet” by Phil Johnson.

Your sermon of the week is Thou Shalt Not Covet by Phil Johnson. This is the next installment of Johnson’s series on the Ten Commandments that is being featured on DefCon every other week as your Sermon of the Week (on Thursdays).

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Quotes (891)

Holiness has a mighty influence upon others. When this appears with power in the lives of Christians, it works mightily upon the spirits of men; it stops the mouths of the ungodly . . . . I am sure we have found, by woeful experience, that in these debauched times, when religion is so bespattered with frequent scandals, yes, a general looseness of professors, it is hard to get any to come into the net of the Gospel. . . . If they were but holy and exemplary, they would be as a repetition of the preacher’s sermon to the families and neighbors among whom they converse, and would keep the sound of his doctrine continually ringing in their ears.

– William Gurnall

1617 – 1679