Below is a Special Edition of the Fighting for the Faith radio program that exposes the Cult-Like Hostile Takeover Tactics of Dan Southerland’s Purpose-Driven Church Transtioning Seminar. The list of cult-like tactics employed by Southerland is LONG. They include:
1. Flat out lies and manipulative double speak
2. Blatant Scripture Twisting
3. New & Direct Extra Biblical Revelation and Visions from God
4. Flat out intolerance for anyone who questions or challenges these “new” Extra Biblical Revelations and Visions that are supposedly from God.
If I hear another Baptist Preacher say Brian McLaren is orthodox and worthy of reading I will state to them “you sir are NOT worthy of being in the ministry.”
What does it take in this world of shameful political correctness to call a spade a spade or in this case a heretic?
It wasn’t too long ago that I wrote about Brian McLaren and got in trouble. Reflecting on seeing him speak at a nearby church, I suggested that he appears to love Jesus but hate God. Based on immediate and furious reaction, I quickly retracted that statement. I should not have done so. I believed it then and I believe it now. And if it was true then, how much more true is it upon the release of his latest tome A New Kind of Christianity. In this book we finally see where McLaren’s journey has taken him; it has taken him into outright, rank, unapologetic apostasy. He hates God. Period. Read more here
John Owen, in this Puritan classic, writes succinctly of the matters of the heart in dealing with sin in the life of the Christian. In a way that cuts right to the heart of the matter while leaving no room for excuses, Owen encourages the Christian to “Be killing sin or sin will be killing you.” (Summary written by Stephen Escalera.)
With so many people willing to sell-out there conscience to the clear meaning of the Word of God, be glad the reformers stood in the face of death for the Gospel.
There is a lot of (necessary) talk these days about preaching the gospel to yourself. This is truly a great need for every Christian. We all found ourselves slouching back to the self-promoting, self-worshiping default position of our hearts. That is, we forget the gospel.
But let’s be very clear about what it means to forget. We are not simply talking about forgetting facts or Bible verses. It is not like we somehow can’t remember the definition of substitutionary atonement or that Jesus came to save sinners. No, no, it is much bigger than this.
The Issue is Our Satisfied Delight
When we talk about forgetting the gospel we are talking about forgetting to see the glory of Christ in the gospel. That is, we forget to see the infinite value of Jesus as the redeemer. In this we see our infinite sinfulness, hopelessness, idolatry, and separation from God. The only thing we have to do with God apart from Jesus is to be on the wrong side of his barrel of divine wrath. So in seeing the beautiful sufficiency in Jesus, both his person and his work, we begin to delight in him as our Savior.
In other words, what we don’t just forget facts, but rather to delight in the glorious God behind the facts! Christ and his work is both historical and personal. That is, it happened in time and it happened for sinners like me and you! And the fact that it is successful and available for a rebel like me causes me to be amazed, humbled, refreshed and happy as I bask in the illuminating beams of the glory of Christ through the gospel. continue reading here
Pastor Mike unfurls against the false views of God that “The Shack” promotes. Not for the queasy. The SHAQ VS. The Shack in a no holds barred cage match! Ding! Download podcast Here
No Compromise Radio is a ministry based at BBC. “NoCo Radio” is dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, even Him crucified (1 Cor 2:1), His exclusive and saving gospel, and His inerrant Word.
The theme verse for the show is Galatians 2:5. Paul wrote, “But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.” When anyone declares that “Jesus saves,” but you must keep the commandments in order to be saved, the gospel is imperiled and truncated. God has called His church to defend the doctrine of His free and sovereign grace. We intend, by God’s enablement, to defend the gospel of God by both warning against error and teaching the truth. There should be no safe haven for those who add to, or subtract from, the gospel of the resurrected Christ.
The following is a timely reminder adapted from an essay by J.C. Ryle, on the vital importance of this oft-neglected spiritual discipline. To read the full essay, click here.
I have a question to offer you. It is contained in three words, DO YOU PRAY?
The question is one that none but you can answer. Whether you attend public worship or not, your minister knows. Whether you have family prayers in your house or not, your relations know. But whether you pray in private or not, is a matter between yourself and God.
I beseech you in all affection to attend to the subject I bring before you. Do not say that my question is too close. If your heart is right in the sight of God, there is nothing in it to make you afraid. Do not turn off my question by replying that you say your prayers. It is one thing to say your prayers and another to pray. Do not tell me that my question is unnecessary. Listen to me for a few minutes, and I will show you good reason for asking it.
I ask whether you pray, because a habit of prayer is one of the surest marks of a true Christian.
All the children of God on earth are alike in this respect. From the moment there is any life and reality about their religion, they pray. Just as the first sign of life in an infant when born into the world is the act of breathing, so the first act of men and women when they are born again is praying. Continue reading @ the Pulpit Magazine here
Chris Rosebrough of Fighting For the Faith will be the Crosstalk guest today. Are seeker churches with their refusal to faithfully teach from the Scriptures helping to facilitate the acceptance of homosexual relationships in evangelical churches? Do Christians have enough Scriptural knowledge to even argue effectively about the Bible’s teachings on the matter? Chris Rosebrough will walk listeners through Scriptural passages that clearly instruct us on the subject of homosexuality and warn about the consequences of pandering to unregenerate tastes in the name of “outreach.”
“Every wise workman takes his tools away from the work from time to time that they may be ground and sharpened; so does the only-wise Jehovah take his ministers oftentimes away into darkness and loneliness and trouble, that he may sharpen and prepare them for harder work in his service.”
ROBERT MURRAY MCCHEYENE
Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.
When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.
Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!
Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.
Chorus:
This, the power of the cross:
Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.
Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Every bitter thought,
Every evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.
Now the daylight flees
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
“Finished!” the victory cry.
Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.
This, the power of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us
What a love! What a cost!
Mark 4:8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
The Importance of Hell
There are plenty of people today who don’t believe in the Bible’s teaching on everlasting punishment, even those who do find it an unreal and a remote concept.
by Tim Keller
In 2003 a research group discovered 64% of Americans expect to go to heaven when they die, but less than 1% think they might go to hell. Not only are there plenty of people today who don’t believe in the Bible’s teaching on everlasting punishment, even those who do find it an unreal and a remote concept. Nevertheless, it is a very important part of the Christian faith, for several reasons.
1. It is important because Jesus taught about it more than all other Biblical authors put together. Jesus speaks of “eternal fire and punishment” as the final abode of the angels and human beings who have rejected God (Matthew 25:41,46) He says that those who give into sin will be in danger of the “fire of hell” (Matthew 5:22; 18:8-9.) The word Jesus uses for ‘hell’ is Gehenna, a valley in which piles of garbage were daily burned as well as the corpses of those without families who could bury them. In Mark 9:43 Jesus speaks of a person going to “hell [gehenna], where ‘their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ ” Jesus is referring to the maggots that live in the corpses on the garbage heap. When all the flesh is consumed, the maggots die. Jesus is saying, however, that the spiritual decomposition of hell never ends, and that is why ‘their worm does not die.’ Read more here
Mark 4:5-6 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
A couple of weeks ago I came to one of those times in sermon prep where I was just staring at the Bible and wondering what I was going to do with the passage. Specifically it was in Leviticus 24. This chapter deals with the regulations for the lamp stand and the bread. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, we have a case of blasphemy. The offender is the son of an Egyptian man and an Israelite woman.
(Lev 24.10-11) Now an Israelite woman’s son, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the people of Israel. And the Israelite woman’s son and a man of Israel fought in the camp,11 and the Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the Name, and cursed.
The commentators debate about the specifics of the offense, but suffice it to say, this man spoke in an insulting, irreverent, and unholy manner concerning the Lord God of Israel. He was not impressed by him and felt no obligation to fear him. So like Goliath, he mocked him.
The penalty for this divine hate crime was quick and efficient community execution by way of stoning.
(Lev 24.15-16) 15 And speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. 16 Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death.
The LORD has decreed that the penalty for blasphemy is death. And so it was. continue reading here
Two weeks ago I mentioned in my sermon that God grows Christians by feeding them his Word. One way he does this is by providing the church with teachers and preachers. This means that if we are going to grow we need to be sitting at the feet of reliable carriers of God’s truth. This, however, begs the question: how can we identify a reliable carrier of God’s truth? The Bible makes it clear that there are many unreliable carriers of so-called truth. Satan masquerades as an angel of light seeking to deceive. So we need a lot of biblical discernment here. Just because a teacher or preacher comes in Jesus’ name with a Bible under his arm doesn’t automatically mean he is reliable.
Thankfully both the Bible and church history give us some direction here. So I want to provide you with a brief list of five questions (based on the five sola’s of the Reformation) that can help you discern the reliability of a particular teacher or preacher. read more here
How great an honor will it be to a person to have God at the day of judgment owning a person, declaring before all men, angels and devils that that person is before his all-seeing eyes and that he stands innocent and perfect in his sight, clothed with perfect righteousness and entitled to everlasting glory and blessedness. How honorable will this render them in the eyes of all that vast assembly that will be together at the day of judgment. That will be an infinitely greater honor than any man or any angel declaring that they judge him upright and sincere and that eternal life belongs to him. What can be a greater honor than this — to be owned by the great King and Lord of all things?
Jonathan Edwards, The Glory and Honor of God, edited by Michael D. McMullen, page 61.
Tony Miano conducts a follow-up conversation with Jason, after his conversation with Todd Friel, on Wretched Radio. Jason is 34-years-old. He recently got out of prison after serving time for a parole violation, stemming from a drug dealing conviction. Watch as Jason experiences conviction of another kind.
In today’s spirit of ecumenism, many evangelicals have called for the Protestant Church to lay aside its differences with Rome and pursue unity with the Catholic Church. Is that possible? Is Roman Catholicism simply another facet of the body of Christ that should be brought into union with its Protestant counterpart? Is Roman Catholicism simply another Christian denomination?
While there are many errors in the teaching of the Catholic Church (for example its belief in the transubstantiation of the communion wafer and its view of Mary), two rise to the forefront and call for special attention: its denial of the doctrine of sola Scriptura and its denial of the biblical teaching on justification. To put it simply, because the Roman Catholic Church has refused to submit itself to the authority of God’s Word and to embrace the gospel of justification taught in Scripture, it has set itself apart from the true body of Christ. It is a false and deceptive form of Christianity. Read more here
Watch this powerful video of a Christian woman who is soon going to die. She does a great job of sharing her faith.
Rachel Barkey (nee Sawer) went home to her Lord on July 2, 2009 at 37 years of age. Rachel is survived by her husband Neil and her children Quinn and Kate, parents Ben and Cathy Sawer, brother David (Johanna) Sawer and sister Andrea Sawer. Read more here at deathisnotdying.com
Gregory Koukl From Stand to reason writes a thought provoking article called A good reason for evil.
What is evil? Could it have a purpose? Here is a view of evil from an adult rather than a childish perspective.
The first step in answering the problem of evil is this: We’ve got to get clear on what this thing “evil” actually is. It does seem to follow that if God created all things, and evil is a thing, then God created evil. This is a valid syllogism. If the premises are true, then the conclusion would be true as well.
The problem with that line of reasoning is that the second premise is not true. Evil is not a thing. The person who probably explained it best was St. Augustine, and then Thomas Aquinas picked up on his solution. Others since them have argued that evil has no ontological status in itself.
The word ontology deals with the nature of existence. When I say that evil has no ontological status, I mean that evil, as a thing in itself, does not exist.
Let me give you an illustration to make this more clear. We talk about things being cold or warm. But coldness is not a thing that exists in itself; it has no ontological status. Coldness is the absence of heat. When we remove heat energy from a system, we say it gets colder.
“Cold” isn’t a thing. It’s a way of describing the reduction of molecular activity resulting in the sensation of heat. So the more heat we pull out of a system, the colder it gets. Cold itself isn’t being “created.” Cold is a description of a circumstance in which heat is missing. Heat is energy which can be measured. When you remove heat, the temperature goes down. We call that condition “cold,” but there is no cold “stuff” that causes that condition.
Jesus says in John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Either Jesus was lying or a lunatic or telling the truth when He said these words that He was the only way to the Father. The resurrection of Himself from the dead proves that He(Jesus) was telling the truth and others like Oprah who say there must be another way are liars.
Tim Keller
Preaching Christ in the Power of the Spirit
By Charlie Campbell
Download the sermon 
A great sermon by Phil Johnson download 
The Atlantic Baptist's Blog 
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