Jesus Christ

by

Quotes (889)

Today’s families are suffering because the concepts of biblical family government–unknown to many in these last generations–have been replaced by humanistic and so-called “modern” ideas about child rearing that have produced anarchy in the home. Home has become simply a “crash pad”–a place to make a quick stop for food, clothes, and sleep. Each family member’s energies are focused on relationships and activities outside the home; there is little life within the family circle. The wisdom of past generations is disregarded; hence, grandma and grandpa find it best to live far away. Fathers focus all their attention on their work outside the home to supply the material needs of the crash pad and the family’s ever-increasing lust for entertainment. Mothers seek outside responsibilities in response to their discontent with life at home. Children put their trust in the wisdom of the group and seek security in peers, demanding more and more entertainment outside of the home.

– William & Colleen Dedrick

From: The Little Book of Christian Character & Manners

by

They just don’t get it.

For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Romans 10:2-4

They just don’t get it.

The false religions and cults simply cannot grasp the simplicity of the gospel message. This is evidenced anytime you have a conversation with one of them about sin, grace, faith, and justification.

You can go round and round in debate with a member of one of these organizations and you often walk away with a headache because they can’t see the forest for the trees.

They have been so indoctrinated to believe their respective organization’s interpretations of biblical texts that when someone presents them with the proper interpretation of biblical texts (using Scripture to interpret Scripture) they simply reject it.

It is so sad to watch the deceived continue in their deception, especially when they are leading others down the same broad path.

It’s like trying to convince a fish that it’s wet; the fish has known nothing but wet, so it cannot even fathom what dry is.

Recently the Jehovah’s Witnesses stopped by my home and dropped off an advertisement with my wife for an upcoming event. They won’t stay to talk (our house has been flagged for almost five years now) but they will occasionally still drop off literature . . . and run.

In their latest dump-and-run literature drop they gave my wife a flier for their upcoming commemoration of the anniversary of Jesus’ death. Here’s the opening line from that advertisement:

“John the Baptizer stated that Jesus ‘takes away the sin of the world.’ (John 1:29) This drew attention to Jesus’ role in saving obedient mankind.”

Jesus saved the obedient? 

See how subtle their deception is?

The obedient don’t need a Savior. Jesus Himself said He came for the sinner, not the righteous (Matthew 9:13, Mark 2:17).

This declaration by the Jehovah’s Witnesses is predicated on the erroneous assumption that our obedience is a prerequisite for Christ to be able save us. This is classic Watchtower Organization rhetoric and is essentially the doctrine of all cults and false religions: Believing you must do your part and cooperate with God to help Him or enable Him to save you.

They just don’t get it.

If the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe obedience is required as a means or requirement of salvation (which anyone who knows Watchtower doctrine can attest that this is indeed their position) then they better be obedient to all the Law without ever sinning once from cradle to grave, otherwise they will be found guilty of breaking all the Law (James 2:10):

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

But what’s even more damning to those seeking salvation via the conduit of obedience is the fact that they are under a curse for doing the very thing they think will save them (Galatians 3:10):

For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM.”

What Jehovah’s Witnesses (and Mormons, and Roman Catholics, and Muslims, etc.) fail to understand is that regeneration comes before obedience, not the other way around. Romans 8:6-8 makes our inability very clear:

For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

It’s a classic case of putting of the cart before the horse.

They just don’t get it.

It’s only after we’ve been saved, regenerated, made alive in Christ, been born again, that our works and obedience are pleasing and acceptable to God 

Our obedience is borne out of a love and desire to please the One who purchased us with His own blood, not out of us trying to appease Him and merit His favor like the pagans try do for their idols.

Our obedience, and the good works we do after being saved, come from God and are prepared beforehand for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10). This is why our behavior should reflect our conversion (Matthew 3:8, Luke 3:8, Acts 26:20, Ephesians 4:1) and why the absence of which should cause us to question whether or not we’ve been genuinely converted.

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you– unless indeed you fail the test?  2 Corinthians 13:5

Simply put, regeneration precedes obedience (John 14:15, John 14:21-24, 1 John 3:24).

What obedience did Abraham offer to become righteous before God (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3)? What obedience did John the Baptist declare to those coming to be baptized (Matthew 3:2)? What obedience did Christ declare upon the start of His earthly ministry (Matthew 4:17) or later in His ministry (Luke 13:5)? What obedience did the thief on the cross exhibit to be with Jesus that very day in paradise (Luke 23:39-43)? What obedience did Paul tell the Philippian jailer he needed to perform to be saved (Acts 16:30-31)?

The false faiths that dot the landscape of Christianity like pock marks all invalidate the word of God for the sake of their traditions (Matthew 15:6), and their works-righteousness gospel is in complete contradiction to Jesus’ teaching of the means of the free gift of God’s grace and mercy as cited in His example of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14. You cannot read those words of our Lord and still believe that your obedience (or anything for that matter) merits you any favor in God’s eyes. If you still believe otherwise, then you make Christ’s brutal, bloody, and barbaric sacrifice null and void because it was all done in vain. 

I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly. Galatians 2:21

See also: Why Don’t They Get it?

by

Sermon of the week: “Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness” by Phil Johnson.

Your sermon of the week is Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness 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).

by

When silence is not golden.

Ingrid Schlueter recently posted a short but poignant piece on Christian cowardice. In light of the abandonment by fellow Christians after her resignation from VCY America (and after this utterly horrendous debacle), her recent post holds much weight. Here’s a quote from The Color of Silence:

“You find out very quickly who your Christian friends are when you tell the truth in a difficult situation. Those you have known for decades and assumed were godly Christian friends will abandon you overnight if they stand to lose something by associating with you.”


by

Perpetual spiritual infancy.

The Christian life is supposed to be one marked by sanctification and spiritual growth, but far too many in church–after years of being a Christian–are no further along in their faith than day one. Essentially they are still nursing on milk when they should be eating meat.

Churches too often make excuses for this lack of fruit in the lives of the masses of professing believers that fill pews on any given Sunday. Others simply pronounce “Judge not” if anyone dares to point out the problem.
But what if we could capture a glimpse of what this would look like in the physical realm? What if we could see with our eyes what this perpetual spiritual infancy looks like?

Wonder mo more. The man in this video could be the poster child for the average American churchgoer.

See related post: Gerber’s New Christian Baby Food

by

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

Your sermon of the week is Thou Shalt Not Steal 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).

by

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

Your sermon of the week is Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery 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).

by

The improbability of evolution.

From Samaritan Ministries:

This is the human genome in book form. If you were to print all of your DNA in only one cell of your body, it would fill all of these books in this bookcase. It’s estimated that the human body has 50 to 75 trillion of these bookcases.

by

Lying: When being yourself just isn’t good enough.

It is not uncommon to hear about a pastor (i.e. hireling) lying about one thing or another: Lying about personally seeing the dead raised (usually in some foreign country where verification is not possible), lying about their “relationship” with their secretary, lying about the church finances, or lying about what the Bible says on a particular subject (just to name a few). But every now and then you read about a pastor’s lie that just makes no sense.

Take for example the lie that Pastor Jim Moats told about his military experience, even going so far as to give an interview in the local paper about his military exploits that never occurred.

In the wake of the dramatic Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound earlier this month, it was perhaps to be expected that some expansive soul would step forward to claim the prestige of a fabricated tour as a SEAL for himself. Such tall tales are not uncommon, after all, amid high-profile military actions.

This time the exposed fabricator was a preacher–though at least one person who monitors this brand of public lie notes that members of the clergy are often tempted into such misrepresentations. More curious still, the prevaricator in question seems to have lifted at least some details of his account from the 1992 Steven Seagal SEAL-themed blockbuster, “Under Siege.”

Since when does preaching Christ and Him crucified fail to be enough to get you out of bed in the morning?

Perhaps Mr. Moats will do well to meditate on John’s statement “He must increase, but I must decrease”(John 3:30).

You can read the entire article on Jim Moats here.


by

Really? Are these products necessary?

Here’s the product description of this Bible designed to dumb down and trivialize God’s Word for kids.

Let this family of adorable bruins introduce your little cubs to God’s Word!Color pages featuring favorite Berenstain Bears characters * Complete NIrV written at third grade level * Book introductions * Dictionary * Reading plan * Presentation page * For early readers ages 4 to 7 * Size: 5.5″ x 8.5″ x 1.75″ * 2048 pages, hardcover from Zonderkidz

I wonder how kids ever learned the Bible for the past two thousand years before the Berenstain Bears came along.

And after your little ones grow up (in age, not in godly maturity) you can ween them off Bible stories told by silly bears as you introduce them to r father n hvn: up 2 d8 txts frm d bible.

Here’s the product description:

“T8st & C dat d Lord is good! Psalm 34:8.” Message your friends with these cryptic biblical texts. Includes a dictionary of abbreviations and symbols; brief summaries of books of the Bible; insights into the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes; and more. 144 pages, softcover from Westminster John Knox.

And here is how the publisher describes the book:

Ride the next wave of electronic communication! This book is a collection of “up 2 d8 txts frm d bible,” guaranteed to get you and your text-messaging friends laughing as well as reflecting on “d word” as never before Included are text messages sent from around the world to the ship-of-fools.com website and complemented throughout by Simon Jenkins’ witty cartoons.

Do you still ponder what’s wrong with the church in the West?

by

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

Your sermon of the week is Thou Shalt Not Kill 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).

by

Sermon of the week: “The Deity of Christ – An Examination of the Verses the Cults Use” by Charlie Campbell.

Your sermon of the week is one that defenders of the faith are going to love. The Deity of Christ – An Examination of the Verses the Cults Use by Charlie Campbell examines the eight most commonly used verses that Jehovah’s Witnesses employ to attack Christ’s deity. Campbell does a fantastic job of presenting the texts as the Jehovah’s Witnesses do (twisted and out of context), then he goes point by point as he dismantles each of their misrepresentations using the light of Scripture.

HT: The Atlantic Baptist

by

Samaritan Ministries endorsement.

I wanted to share with the readers of DefCon how thoroughly thrilled my wife and I are about Samaritan Ministries. As an alternative to the high cost of secular insurance companies (many of which fund practices opposed to Christianity), Samaritan Ministries helps Christian families cover medical expenses by use of a network of contributors (members).

Instead of paying a monthly insurance fee, your monthly contribution goes directly to an actual family in need. You receive the name, address, and need of the family assigned to you, then you send your designated share amount directly to that family (along with a card or note of encouragement if you wish). Other needs that are not publishable (meaning they are not covered by Samaritan Ministries) are advertised in the monthly newsletter and members can give to those needs if they choose.

In the event that you incur a medical expense, you simply submit your need to Samaritan Ministries and you receive checks (along with cards or notes of encouragement) from other members to cover your medical expenses. 

I wholeheartedly endorse this ministry and can speak first hand about the value and effectiveness of it. We’ve been members for over a year and have benefited twice: once when one of our children was having breathing problems requiring two separate trips to the E.R. and most recently when our youngest was born, Samaritan Ministries covered the entire cost of the midwifery services and all associated tests and bloodwork. It is virtually impossible to find an insurance company willing to cover maternity unless it is through an employer. Samaritan Ministries recognizes that children are a blessing and by covering maternity needs they don’t perpetuate the idea (directly or indirectly) that children are a burden (financially or otherwise).

Notable members of Samaritan Ministries include Doug Phillips and Voddie Baucham. Baucham offered this endorsement:

Coming into the whole Samaritan Ministries thing and not knowing how it worked, not understanding anything about it, and just really wondering…was terrifying. Then I turned around and watched how Samaritan took care of that whole need [for a fellow pastor’s son]. Samaritan members came along, helped them…the doctors were happy to work with them…it was after that I signed up.

I understand better now than I did before how corrupted medicine has become because of the insurance industry. We walk in and say we’re self-pay, and immediately they take 30, 40, 50 percent off the top. That’s just because all the markup that exists because of insurance and also because of Medicare. These doctors are so happy to not have to deal with all that stuff, that they pass those savings on to you.

When you’re going to the doctor’s office and all you have to do is pay the $10 co-pay, you’ll go for any little thing. Your sense of independence, your sense of trusting in the Lord, your sense of trying to take care of things and do preventative medicine-that goes out the window if the only thing you have to think about is that $10 co-pay, not realizing at all that by participating in that system, you’re actually contributing to these escalating prices.

We love it. I enjoy sitting down, writing my check to a family, feeling that I’m just directly partnering with them, partnering with that need, praying for them. It’s wonderful, and that has been helpful to us.

I encourage readers to check out this wonderful ministry of Christians helping Christians. You can learn more by going to their website:

http://www.samaritanministries.org/

Also check out their blog:

http://www.samaritanministries.org/blog/

And you can even find them on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/samaritanministries

You can also learn more about this incredible ministry for Believers by Believers by viewing this video: