Theology
The First Church of the Tares.
Quotes (499)
To say that reunion with Rome would be an insult to our martyred Reformers is a very light thing; it is far more than this: it would be sin and an offense against God!
– J.C. Ryle
1816 – 1900
Sermon of the week: “Programs, Get Your Programs: Exposing the Flaws of the Fad-Driven Church” by Phil Johnson.
Your Wednesday sermon of the week is Programs, Get Your Programs: Exposing the Flaws of the Fad-Driven Church, by Phil Johnson. This is a great follow-up to last Wednesday’s sermon of the week (found here).
Those who hold dear to such fads as The Prayer of Jabez, the WWJD junk, the Left Behind craze, and those who adore the likes of Christianity Today, TBN, Jan Crouch, JI Packer, Tony Campolo, Brian McLaren, TD Jakes, George Barna, Ted Haggard, Joyce Meyer, Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, James Dobson, and the can’t-do-no-wrong, practically-walks-on-water evangelical favorite Billy Graham, may take issue with this message. But for the rest of us, it’s a breath of freash air to finally hear someone call a spade a spade.
Run!
Raise your hand.
Ingrid Schlueter has given three cheers to the Catholics for their valiant fight against the billion dollar baby butcher business (while evangelicals are becoming increasingly silent on the issue of abortion).
I too would like to chime in on this issue: I wholeheartedly disagree with the soul-damning false gospel of the Roman Catholic institution, but I have to ask why they continue to fight for the unborn while evangelicals have fallen silent? I believe part of it is that Roman Catholicism is a works-based false religion and thus, its adherents must strive to win God’s favor by their works and what’s more “favorable” to God than protecting the unborn? I believe that the problem on the other side of the coin is that many evangelicals have become so relevant and accommodating to the world that they’ve absorbed the world’s standards, morals, wisdom, and ways and can no longer be distinguished from the world.
As the Catholics continue to take a stand against this murderous rampage perpetrated upon the most defenseless class in our society, many evangelicals have begun to support the shedding of innocent blood by their collective silence and some even voted for our current pro-abortion commander in chief. By abandoning the fight for life, evangelicals actually lend support to the heinous act of abortion.
The church that remains silent on the issue is no better than those whose murderous ways are furthered by such silence.
Quotes (498)
Modern American dating is no more than glorified divorce practice. Young people are learning how to give themselves away in exclusive, romantic, highly committed (at times sexual) relationships, only to break up and do it all over again. God never intended for His kids to live like this. And instead of stepping in and doing something, many Christian parents simply view these types of relationships as a normal and necessary part of growing up. Unless your child is wiser than Solomon, stronger than Samson, and more godly than David (all of whom sinned sexually), they are susceptible to sexual sin, and these premature relationships serve as open invitations. . . . Being involved in such exclusive relationships before you are ready to be married is like shopping without any money; either you will leave frustrated, or you will take something that doesn’t belong to you.
– Voddie Baucham
Is Jesus Christ interfering with your personal life?
Quotes (496)
Our holy Lord requires absolute submission and obedience in all things, both in the inward life and the outward, even to “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Alas that this is so little insisted upon in a day when the high claims of the Savior are whittled down in an attempt to render His Gospel more acceptable to the unregenerate.
– Matthew Henry
1662 – 1714
Update on the post: “Proof That There’s a Hell and a Loving God Will Send The Wicked There.”
This is the face of a cold-blooded murderer of innocent, defenseless children.
DefCon first reported on this horrendous story here. Now, not only do we have a picture of this evil monster who has the blood of the innocent on her hands, but we also have an update on the story.
Belkis Gonzalez was finally arrested in relation to the murder of a child in 2006 after the baby–intended to be murdered in the womb legally–was born alive and was then murdered outside the womb illegally (if that makes any sense).
The mother of the child was 23 weeks pregnant.
Unfortunately, Belkis Gonzalez is not being charged with murder, infanticide, child abuse, child neglect, or even battery. She’s only being charged with practicing medicine without a license and tampering with evidence. Why? Because:
Authorities were unable to definitively determine the cause of death — and Gonzalez’s role in it — preventing the State Attorney’s Office from charging her with murder or manslaughter, Griffith said.
I think there’s enough reasonable suspicion to charge her with murder based on this quote:
The teenage mother, Sycloria Williams, has filed a lawsuit alleging that Gonzalez knocked the infant off the chair where she had given birth, and then scooped the baby, placenta and afterbirth into a red plastic biohazard bag, and threw it out.
Read more of the update here.
Quotes (495)
Saving faith and real converting grace will always produce some conformity to the image of Jesus (Col. 3:10).
– J.C. Ryle
1816 – 1900
National Youth Ministry Conference.
In contrast to the other videos out there produced by “churches” (like these and these) and especially those produced for youth “ministry,” the following videos are rather mild. However, Ingrid Schlueter really hits the nail on the head with the following quote on the state of perpetual adolescence in church leadership. It begs the question Who’s pastoring the youth pastors?
The problem with a lot of youth “ministry” today is that it is all youth and no ministry. With the collective emotional age of a lot of youth pastors not exceeding 12, it is difficult to know what these youth events accomplish aside from furthering the cause of permanent adolescence. Remember Scripture’s injunctions that the older teach the younger? What happens when there is no “older?” What happens when nobody matures mentally or emotionally past childhood? What happens when the supposed “men” are flabby, undisciplined kids who spend their time posting videos of themselves on YouTube? Here’s what happens.
The above video was produced for an announcement segment plugging the 2010 National Youth Ministry Conference in Chicago.
The following video (produced by the same folks) is definitely catering to the lowest common denominator. Violence, youth rebellion, disobedience to authority . . . all the elements you’d expect to see in a video for youth ministry in American Christianity. And by the way, (at the 39 second mark of this video) does the kid’s shirt on the left say what I think it does?
There’s a name for this type of behavior. It’s called Rejuvenile.
Additional worldly and childish “youth ministry” antics:
Quotes (494)
We need to examine with double caution any religious views which deviate from the common teachings of the godly Reformers and Puritans. We need not be worshipers of antiquity as such, but we need to regard with suspicion those “broader” interpretations of God’s Word which have become in recent times.
– A.W. Pink
1886 – 1952
Words of wisdom from a very unlikely source.
Avowed Atheist Penn from Penn and Teller tells of a recent encounter after one of his shows in which a man gave him a Bible. Penn’s take on this may surprise you.
Quotes (493)
The Roman Catholic Church did not exist when the canon was closed in the first century. How do we know? You cannot find any of the following Catholic traditions in the church of the apostles: priests offering sacrifices for sin, purgatory, indulgences, infallible popes, Mary as a sinless mediatrix, etc.
– Mike Gendron
Quotes (492)
Temptations and occasions put nothing into a man, but only draw out what was in him before.
– John Owen
1616 – 1683
Sermon of the week: “Improving the Gospel – Exercises in Unbiblical Theology” by Mark Dever.
Your sermon of the week is Improving the Gospel – Exercises in Unbiblical Theology by Mark Dever. When I heard this message I immediately pushed back all my other scheduled sermons for March to make room for this one; I simply couldn’t wait till April to make this available to the readers of DefCon.
Mark Dever–addressing pastors at the 2008 Together For the Gospel (T4G) conference–systematically explains the five major problems facing evangelism today and what we as Christians should be putting first and foremost in our message to the world. One of the problems Pastor Dever addresses in his message is one that I’ve touched on several times on this blog in such posts as:
Priorities Completely Out of Whack
Distractions, Distractions, Distractions
Pastor Dever’s sermon is a must-hear.
Voddie Baucham sermon jam.
HT: Truth Crossing
Quotes (491)
A faith that can be destroyed by suffering is not faith.
– Richard Wurmbrand
1909 – 2001
Dear Jehovah’s Witness: Is the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society an inspired prophet of God or not?
Is the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society an inspired prophet of God or not?
Yes: They claim to be prophets of God.
“So, does Jehovah have a prophet to help them, to warn them of dangers and to declare things to come? These questions can be answered in the affirmative. Who is this prophet?…This “prophet” was not one man, but was a body of men and women. It was the small group of footstep followers of Jesus Christ, known at that time as International Bible Students. Today they are known as Jehovah’s Christian witnesses….Of course, it is easy to say that this group acts as a “prophet” of God. It is another thing to prove it.” Watchtower April 1, 1972 Page 197
No: They deny that they’re inspired.
“However, the Watchtower does not claim to be inspired in its utterances nor is it dogmatic. It invites careful and critical examination of its contents in the light of the Scriptures.” Watchtower August 15, 1950 Page 263
Two Questions.
1). How can you claim on one hand to be a prophet of God, and yet deny being inspired?
2). If the Jehovah’s Witness organization is an inspired prophet of God, then how do you explain the countless false prophecies and doctrinal flip-flops made by a supposed “inspired” organization? If it is not inspired, then what is the final authority for the rank and file Jehovah’s Witnesses?
Check out more Contradictions in Watchtower Theology at CARM.
Christ Alone Wyoming 