Welcoming In The New Year

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The Spirit Behind The Words

Act 19:13  But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches."
Act 19:14  Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.
Act 19:15  And the evil spirit answered and said to them, "I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?"

Some people think that if words are in line with Scripture, we can use them to worship God or teach truth. This argument was used at a church we were members of in regard to singing songs in corporate worship. Our argument was that we should not be singing songs written by unbelievers like Roman Catholic monks (or Word of Faith leaders like John Wimber, who's song was in our hymnal). The elders, after nine months, finally got back to us on this issue and stated as long as the words are in line with the Bible, it doesn't concern them who wrote the words. However, that is not what Scripture states.

Acts 19:13-15 is an example of how mere words--in this case the name of Jesus--is not enough. It is the spirit behind the words that matter. The demon did not recognize the Jewish high priests sons who used the name of Jesus to exorcise demons because they were not in Christ Jesus.

Also, it's tantamount to offering strange fire to God in worship.

Exo 30:9  "You shall not offer any strange incense on this altar, or burnt offering or meal offering; and you shall not pour out a drink offering on it.

Lev 10:1  Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them.
Lev 10:2  And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.
Lev 10:3  Then Moses said to Aaron, "It is what the LORD spoke, saying, 'By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.'" So Aaron, therefore, kept silent.

This shows the lack of reverence, fear, and faith in God. Attempting to worship God in the flesh is not pleasing to God. What is not of Christ, what is not wrought by the HOLY Spirit, is simply unacceptable to God. A song that is written with "right" words but is written in the flesh, out of an UNHOLY spirit, is unacceptable to God and we cannot join ourselves to it and then call it "worship". it is spiritual harlotry.

Co 6:14  Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?
2Co 6:15  Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
2Co 6:16  Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
2Co 6:17  "Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE," says the Lord. "AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you.

Joh 4:24  "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

Seek To Be A Blessing To Others, Not Self-Advancement

Do not try to draw attention to yourself, to make people know that you did this or that beautiful thing. Be content to pour your rich life into other wasted, weary lives, and see them blessed and made more holy--and then withdraw and let Christ have the honor. Work for God's approval, and even then, do not think much about reward. Seek to be a blessing to others--and never think of self-advancement. Do not worry about credit for your work, or about building monuments to yourself; be content to do good in Christ's name. ~JR Miller

Php 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

To Comfort God's Afflicted People

If we are to comfort God’s afflicted people, we must, first, be afflicted ourselves. Tribulation will make our wheat fit to be bread for saints. Adversity is the choicest book in our library, printed in black letters, but majestically illuminated.

Job makes a glorious comforter and preacher of patience, but no one turns either to Bildad, Zophar or Eliphaz, who were “miserable comforters” because they had never been miserable.

~Spurgeon

Why the Word Is Necessary For The Christian

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Genuine Faith- Don't Deceive Yourself

"Genuine faith produces good works. They who think themselves to be savingly trusting in the blood of the Lamb, while disregarding His commandments, are fatally deceiving themselves."

~ Arthur Pink, "Interpretation of the Scriptures"

Remember Dear Christian

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The "Gospel" Coalition Pushes Sodomy

The "Gospel" Coalition continues to push acceptance of homosexuality by attempting to subtlely (although it isn't subtle at all) blur the lines between "attraction" and action of sodomy. It seeks to remove the labels and claims Scripture places on homosexual desires and behavior (Romans 1) by re-naming it as "non-straight Christians" and appealing to emotions (they just see beauty in the same sex). This is another attempt at guilting Christians away from "traditional" views of sodomy and to one of acceptance. It is the same old argument of recent years that one can be a homosexual of the heart and yet be a Christian. This is  a lie according to Romans 1. Moreover, it has the flavor of the Hegelian dialectic method; that is, Mao's Law of the Unity and Struggle of Opposites.  "Between the opposites in a contradiction there is at once unity and struggle, and it is this that impels things to move and change.” This is also used by Rick Warren in his inter-faith attempts.

Here are some excerpts from TGC's article by Ed Shaw reviewing a new book from Nate Collins in All But Invisible: Exploring Identity Questions at the Intersection of Faith, Gender, and Sexuality. It's worth noting the article bio of Shaw: "Ed Shaw is the pastor of Emmanuel City Centre in Bristol, England, and part of the editorial team at Living Out. He loves his family and friends, church and city, gin and tonic, and music and books. He is the author of Same-Sex Attraction and the Church: The Surprising Plausibility of the Celibate Life (IVP)"

Quote:

These complex and subtle differences require deep thought, and Collins’s book is an important entry in this category. He provides new vistas in this conversation which deserve our attention. Though he lands in some different places than we do (for instance, in how we choose to label our sexual orientation), we both benefited from reading his book....

The most important idea is Collins’s presentation of aesthetic orientation. He argues that viewing gayness and straightness through the primary lens of sex urges misrepresents the experience of gay people and furthers the stereotypes of gays and lesbians as sexual deviants. Instead, he proposes placing the locus [sic]of orientation in beauty, rather than sex. This move has at least two strong positives that are desperately needed in the conservative church.

First, it militates against both shame and stereotype: we don’t need to feel guilty when we notice God-given same-gender beauty; we do need to confess sin when we imagine having sex with the beautiful person in question. Moral culpability is rightly placed on our response to temptation, not on the presence of temptation itself.

Second, it rightly captures the nuance of attraction. That pull toward another human is so much more than physical, and those of us who experience same-sex attraction deal with this pull in many ways.

However, the label of “aesthetic orientation” also presents some mild problems. It relies heavily on the subjective experience of each person’s attraction, and may overemphasize the difference between straight and gay responses to beauty on this basis...

End quote.

He also says,

Notably, Collins acknowledges that “one of [his] main arguments in this book is that being gay (understood as an aesthetic orientation) is not sinful in itself” (303). 

The biggest weakness of All But Invisible is its academic tone.

End quote.

I have said previously on this issue:

I consider this book and author and teaching to be another attempt at shaming Christians for their rightful disdain for sodomy. It is an attempt at trying to shame a normal reaction to such utter perverted wickedness such as sodomy (and in increasingly with pedophilia). It is to side with the world on this, even if he claims that he's in the "non-affirming" camp. That, by the way, isn't the same as rejecting all of homosexuality. It's a step down to seem more "balanced" and not as sharply against it. God however, is against sodomy and sodomites: it is a damning sin and one so wicked and perverted that He destroyed entire cities (at least three or four) because of it.

God's condemnation of homosexuality is abundantly clear--He opposes it in every age.

- In the patriarchs (Genesis 19:1-28)
- In the Law of Moses (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13)
- In the Prophets (Ezekiel 16:46-50)
- In the New Testament (Romans 1:18-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Jude 7-8)

God says that even the desires of homosexuality is perverted (see Romans 1).

In Matt. 5 Jesus says that the lusts in the heart are tantamount to doing the sin with the body before God. Moreover in Romans 1 sodomy is listed as "LUSTS of their HEARTS" that God finally turned those who refused to acknowledge Him, over to; that He gave them up to "a debase MIND".Scripture also lists sodomy as "unnatural", "dishonorable passions", and"consumed with passion for one another". Such is the description of those who refuse to acknowledge God as Creator. For those in Christ, they DO acknowledge Him as Creator and moreover, love and obey Him, therefore they don't suffer such hardness of hearts. They have a NEW heart at regeneration. Previously I posted on God's plan for the homosexual agenda. In it I quoted John MacArthur [his note of where Scripture condemns homosexuality] and I think it bears repeating: God's condemnation of homosexuality is abundantly clear--He opposes it in every age. - In the patriarchs (Genesis 19:1-28) - In the Law of Moses (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13) - In the Prophets (Ezekiel 16:46-50) - In the New Testament (Romans 1:18-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Jude 7-8)

So if God is so clear on homosexuality, there is no way to accept it on any level, but that's what the liberals are doing as they secretly sneak in among us and then redefine things by trying to cloud the issue regarding sodomy. They try to use "science" and psychology, and even try to equalize the unnatural passion and lust of sodomy as if its like any other sin. That way they can play the victim and say it's merely a struggle like, say, drinking (eternal victimhood is a play right out of psychology's playbook---you never have victory over the sin or its desire but rather always struggle, thus always "recovering" but never recovered).... If liberals can't get sodomy into the churches by full frontal attack, they'll do it by a more subtle means--incrementalism, psychology, the great sin-equalizer, and victimization....

Yet in all cases homosexuality and it's lusts of the heart are condemned throughout all of Scripture. It is a damnable sin according to  1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Jude 7-8.

More on articles I've posted on the issue of sodomy and Evangelicalism here.

~ Preston Sprinkle On Sodomy and Christians

Here I posted on the sin of sodomy desires.

The Gospel Coalition should be renamed The Great Compromise. It no longer stands for the biblical Gospel and frankly it hasn't for quite some time.

Scripture, Salvation, and Sanctification

Never believe the Roman Catholic lie that without her, Christians didn't have the Bible. God Himself has not only preserved His Word, but it is through that Word that we are born again and sanctified. Without Scripture, neither can happen.

1Pe 1:23  for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. 
1Pe 1:24  For, "ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF,
1Pe 1:25  BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER." And this is the word which was preached to you.

Joh 17:17  "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 

Unbelief Is Not Passive Nor Neutral

"Unbelief is much more than a lack of believing or failure to assent unto the Truth; more than an error of the judgment. It is not simply an infirmity of human nature, but a vicious and culpable thing. Unbelief is a virulent and vicious principle of opposition to God. So far from being passive, it is an operative and active principle. It has a rooted aversion of God: “They did not like to retain God in their knowledge” (Rom 1: 28). It is that which causes the wicked to say unto God, “Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways” (Job 21:14). It has an inveterate hatred against a life of holiness (Pro 1:29; 5:12, etc.)."

~ Arthur Pink, "Brethren, Beware!"

God's Word

"Gods Word is to be received with childlike simplicity and not quibbled over: received as a whole, and not merely those parts which appeal to us or accord with our views.....Where a prejudiced mind and a caviling spirit obtain, argument is useless; and we can but leave them unto the sovereign mercy of the Lord.....When God has spoken, that settles the matter. No room is left for debating or reasoning. It is vain for us to discuss and dispute. Our duty is to submit. The Word itself must regulate our worship and service, as well as everything else. Human opinions, human traditions, custom, convenience, have nothing to do with it. Divine revelation is our only Court of Appeal."

~ Arthur Pink 1886-1952

Growing In Grace

Not an intellectual pursuit. Not knowing Greek or Hebrew. Not knowing *about* God & doctrine. Not a tagline. Not a commodity to make a career in saying such things. But actual, real, living humility before God MORE than when we first begun.

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Jeremiah 33: The Sound Doctrine of Creation Married To Several Other Doctrines

Jer 33:2  "Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it to establish it, the LORD is His name,
Jer 33:3  'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.'

More examples of how sound doctrines are inseparably married to each other; specifically the sound doctrine of Creation. In Jer. 33 it begins:

Jer 33:25  "Thus says the LORD, 'If My covenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established,
Jer 33:26  then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.'"

The sound doctrine of Creation is inseparably bound to the doctrines of:

God's nature and memorial name

Omniscient,OmnipotenceEternality,Just,Wrathful,Righteous,Merciful,Faithful,Merciful,Forgiving,

and doctrines:

Soteriology,Christology,Eschatology,Bibliology

and covenants:

Abrahamic Covenant,David Covenant

Another passage that links the sound doctrine of Creation to other doctrine is found in the chapter before:

Jer 32:17  'Ah Lord GOD! Behold, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power and by Thine outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for Thee,
Jer 32:18  who showest lovingkindness to thousands, but repayest the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O great and mighty God. The LORD of hosts is His name;
Jer 32:19  great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds;

So you can see that the sound doctrine of Creation isn't a secondary issue but rather an essential one! The sound doctrine of Creation cannot be divorced from any other doctrine it is married to because God Himself has married them together & they all are bound to His nature & are His Word.

More examples of the sound doctrine of Creation bound to other doctrine here and here.

The Importance of Scripture

"To realize that the Holy Scriptures are a revelation from the Most High, communicating to us His mind and defining for us His will, is the first step toward practical godliness. To recognize that the Bible is God's Word, and that its precepts are the precepts of the Almighty, will lead us to see what an awful thing it is to despise and ignore them."

~ Arthur Pink, "The Sovereignty of God"

The profile of the Pharisees and Scribes according to Scripture

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Based on Matt. 15,23, and Luke 18:9-14

religious

prayed

talked about the Scriptures

knew the Scriptures

worshiped God

tithed

gave honor to God

educated

asked Jesus questions

fasted twice a week

observed religious holidays and feasts

hypocrites

fools

blind guides

trusted in themselves as righteous

saw themselves as more righteous than others

had contempt for others

went beyond Scripture on tithing

while they honored God with their lips, their hearts were far from Him

worshiped God in vain

taught men's precepts as if biblical doctrine

judged others by their traditions, not Scripture

repeatedly broke the very Law they claimed they knew

listed other's sins while applauding self righteousness before God in prayer

lack of mercy, faithfulness, and justice

no integrity-they swore by things in the temple & on the alter-triaged these things

low view of God and His temple

triaged the law, the temple, the people

dead inside

pretty outside

defiled inside

unclean inside

murderers

liars

worried about appearances

worried about maintaining political sway with the peopl

sought John's baptism for pragmatic reasons

impediment to the salvation of others making them twice the sons of devils than they

feared the masses

asked insincere questions of Jesus in order to trap Him

judged Jesus

underhanded to obtain false witness testimony to get Jesus killed-unjust

hated Christ

hated Christ's disciples and apostles

claimed lineage to Abraham as authority

claimed position as authority

worked with their enemies in order to get Jesus killed (pragmatic, political)

no faith in God

God's Word

"Gods Word is to be received with childlike simplicity and not quibbled over: received as a whole, and not merely those parts which appeal to us or accord with our views."

~ Arthur Pink, "The Life of Arthur W. Pink"

Believer's Baptism Is a Test

Obedience to the King's last commands prior to His ascension in Matt. 28:19-20 is the test of whether you bow to His lordship. Believer's baptism isn't an option. It's a command from the King. If a “Christian” refuses to submit to HIS baptism (“baptizo”-immersion of a believer), then he is in unrepentant rebellion against one of the clearest commands in all of Scripture. Such a man cannot therefore, speak with any authority on any other part of Scripture.

Beware of "Jesus Is Calling" Endorsements

Be careful to not follow the endorsements of these celebrity "Christians" (which includes "Baptist pastors" as well as country music stars) because "Jesus Is Calling" is an occultic book. It isn't Jesus who is calling the reader, it's the devil. Do NOT let these "pastors" and others convince you to enter into a yoke with Satan. Listen to the voice of the Shepherd, the Jesus of Scripture, who has already spoken in Scripture.

Heb 1:1  God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
Heb 1:2  in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
Heb 1:3  And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Rev 22:18  I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book;
Rev 22:19  and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

Piper: your cross is about your feelings

More man-centered false gospel from Piper:

Desiring God‏Verified account @desiringGod

The reason God gives us a cross is because he wants us to have more joy than our sinful pleasures could ever deliver.

Deny Yourself for Greater Joy

When God calls his people to deny themselves and take up their crosses, he is inviting them to walk along the path of purest pleasure.

3:03 PM - 13 Oct 2017

Piper turns sanctification and it's goal into being all about our subjective feelings. This more snake oil selling of the heretical "Christian hedonism".

Part 1 - Piper's Journey Into Hedonism

Part 2 -Into the Darkness

Piper also redefines "lostness" as "not merely rebellion against God's authority, but blindness to His beauty."

Desiring "God" Continues The Error of John Piper's Works-Salvation

More error on the doctrine of justification coming from Desiring "God".

Quote:

If you have a pet sin, you must renounce it at once. Your salvation depends on it.

Only those who have a string of sin’s carcasses behind them will enter into heaven. Only those who “work out [their] own salvation with fear and trembling” knowing that God is working in them “to will and to work for his good pleasure” will be saved (Philippians 2:12–13).

But what about being saved by faith alone? You’re not. You’re justified through faith alone. Final salvation comes through justification and sanctification — both initiated and sustained by God’s grace.

There is a holiness that, if you do not have it, will keep you from seeing the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13).

~Greg Morse,Content strategist, desiringGod.org (bold, my emphasis; italics original)

While biblical Christianity rejects a lawless Christianity (which is what Piper teaches*), the twisting is slick. There's no "final" salvation or second step. We are saved completely but our glorification (when we are shed of the body of sin and are like Christ when we see Him as He is), is something that comes after we die. We are absolutely commanded to grow into a mature man, to consider our old man dead, etc, but the notion of a final salvation and final justification by works Morse gets from Piper's "Future Grace" and Piper is wrong. The Trinity Foundation dealt with Piper's unbiblical view of Justification here.
In part, The Trinity Foundation's John Robbins' article says:

Piper’s focus, as one can tell from the title, is what he calls “future grace.” The phrases “future grace” and “faith in future grace” appear hundreds, if not thousands, of times in the book. It is a clever propaganda device that has been used many times: Repeat a phase so often that the reader cannot get it out of his mind. But what does Piper mean by the phrase? In fact, what does he mean by “faith”? The answers are revealing. Here are his own words: “....the focus of my trust is what God promised to do for me in the future” (6).

This may not be the central error of Piper’s book, but it comes close. The focus of saving faith is not what God has promised to do for us in the future, but what God has already done for us in Christ. Christians preach and trust only Christ crucified, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Christ crucified is the sole focus of Biblical, saving, faith; it is the focus of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, by which we remember the Lord’s death; and it is the focus of worship in Heaven (see Revelation 5), with endless future ages before it. Piper wants to change that focus, from Christ crucified to something else. In attempting to change the focus of our faith, he avoids discussing, although he grudgingly admits, that all the benefits Christians receive from God are because of what Christ has already done on their behalf and in their place.(11) Piper’s admission is grudging, for he wants to argue that our future happiness, benefits, and final salvation depend upon our meeting conditions that God has established for receiving those blessings. In Piper’s Plan of Salvation, despite what Christ said on the cross, “It is not finished.” The be-liever must complete the work of salvation that Christ began. Future grace is conditional, and it is we, not Christ, who must meet those conditions.

Because Piper’s focus is on benefits we may receive in the future, this long and repetitive book omits any discussion of the Satisfaction by Christ of the justice of the Father (although Piper has a great deal to say about our being satisfied); it fails to discuss either Christ’s active or passive obedience; it omits any serious discussion of the imputation of sin and righteousness (imputation is mentioned in passing); it omits any discussion of the law of God; it omits discussion of the covenant of works; it fails to mention Adam and Christ as our legal representatives; and it depreciates the law and justice of God.

End quote. (bold, my emphasis) Robbins goes on to show Piper's penchant for Post-Modernism's slight-of-hand with words. Just as he did with "hedonism" by trying to change it's definition by marrying it to "Christian"--he also  also redefines "lostness" as "not merely rebellion against God's authority, but blindness to His beauty", so he does with "works" (notice his similarity with Romanist theology of "congruent merit"--this isn't the only time Piper shows a Romanist influence on his thinking (no doubt in part thanks to his hero C.S. Lewis):

Piper tells us that future grace is conditional grace, but meeting these conditions is not meritorious: “It is possible to meet a condition for receiving grace and yet not earn the grace. Conditional grace does not mean earned grace” (79). Those acquainted with Romanist theology may recognize here in Piper’s conditions something akin to the Romanist doctrine of congruent merit. Meeting conditions is not an example of condign merit-that is, Real Merit, but it is an example of congruent “merit,” a “merit” that is not really merit.

How does Piper try to evade the charge of teaching salvation by works? Simple: He redefines works. “The term ‘works,’ “ he asseverates, “refers to the warfare of righteousness unempowered by faith....in future grace” (220). So, by definition, a person who has “faith in future grace” cannot do any works. His efforts, his labors, his doings are not works, because they are “empowered by faith in future grace,” and therefore his salvation is not and cannot be conditioned on works, but on the “obedience of faith.” Theology is a word game for the Neolegalists.

End quote.

Eph 2:8  For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9  not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

While the evidence of a saved life is proven in one's increasing sanctification, reflecting Christ more and more, our salvation is not contingent upon our works of righteousness, otherwise it is works salvation. To "ensure" our salvation by works is another way to say one is keeping one's self saved by works righteousness. That's a false gospel. The subtle twisting of the Truth continues to flow from the DG group and people ought to steer clear of it.

*E.S. Williams' video on Piper's antinomianism (which is also in his new book "Christian Hedonism?"):

Piper's Sick Analogy

Titus 1:15  To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. 16  They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.

If you thought John Piper couldn't get any worse, you're wrong. He continues to morph into the male version of Ann Voskamp.

The most exquisite sexual ecstasies in this age are like a child’s enjoyment of ice cream. There is as much distance between sexual pleasures in this world and the ecstasies of the spiritual body in the age to come as there is between a child’s enjoyment of ice cream and the pleasures of his marriage bed twenty years later.

Childlike ice-cream pleasures are prelude and pointer to adult sexual pleasure. Similarly, sexual pleasure in this age is prelude and pointer to unimaginably greater pleasures of the spiritual body in the age to come.

~John Piper, "Matrimony No More"

He's learned quite a lot from his mentor Mark Driscoll.

The Heart

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Friendship Alliances Is What Built T4G and TGC

This is how the Evangelical Machine works. Who you are friends with matter because they will influence you for good or bad. Here, it's for bad. Quote:

At the Gospel Coalition Conference in Chicago last week, I was asked by Stephen Um (during a Panel discussion) and by many others (in private conversations): what is the difference between the Gospel Coalition and Together for the Gospel?

I tried to give a brief response to that during the panel discussion, but more could be said. I will say a few things about that here.

1. T4G is a biennial conference that grew out of a set of (now 8) Gospel friendships. Mark Dever, Al Mohler, C.J. Mahaney and I had all been friends for a number of years (Mark, Al and I have known one another since the 1980s, and Mark introduced Al and me to C.J.). Furthermore, Mark and C.J. had fraternal relationships with and deep appreciation for John Piper, Al had a close friendship with and profound respect for John MacArthur, and I had a good friendship with and had worked alongside R.C. Sproul – though all of us knew, appreciated and gladly worked with each of these brothers. Meanwhile, Thabiti Anyabwile was an elder at Mark’s church and now pastor in Grand Cayman. Mark introduced C.J. and me to him, and then to Al and John Piper. We all get together as often as we can. We so enjoy and spiritually profit from the rather unique fellowship we have (composed as it is of Calvinstic Baptists, Confessional Presbyterians, a Reformed Continuationist and a Reformed-Dispensational Independent who disagree about many things, but agree on many more and share a common concern for central Gospel issues), we thought that there might be a wider Gospel benefit in inviting others to join in on and in extending that friendship. From that root idea grew the T4G conferences.

1. The Gospel Coalition is a biennial conference that grew out of a collaboration that grew into a friendship between Don Carson and Tim Keller. Don was editing a book on worship in which Tim was participating and got to know Tim while visiting NY (having admired Tim’s ministry from afar for some time). The two of them started wondering how they could foster a “network of networks” that would be Gospel-driven, and robustly biblical and theological. They called together about 40 or so folks and began exploring how we could work together for the sake of the Gospel, and how this “network of networks” might speak prophetically to evangelicalism (and to the wider culture) from the center rather than from the margins of evangelicalism (as is so often done today), as well as resource and encourage church leaders, churches and families of churches.

more to follow . . .

End quote. ~T4G

John MacArthur Scheduled To Pulpit Fellowship With False Teachers

Yet another event is coming in 2018. This one is with the Gettys. It's "Sing" 2018.

Speakers for Sing! 2018 include Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, Tim Keller, Ravi Zacharias, John Piper, John MacArthur, Alistair Begg, Ligon Duncan, J.D. Greear, Stuart Townend, Bob Kauflin, Andrew Peterson, Shane and Shane, and many more!

So it seems MacArthur is just another New Calvinist who has no discernment and will pulpit fellowship with false teachers. It makes for money and book selling (another of his sermons is being turned into a book for sale, by Phil Johnson which will come out no doubt, by then--so as with these events, his book may be for sale at the event).

Here is why these men are unprincipled and should be rejected.

Tim Keller.

John Piper.

Ravi Zacharias.

JD Greear.

Because MacArthur pulpit fellowships with these men, he too should be rejected according to 2 John 9-11.

2Jn 1:9  Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. 
2Jn 1:10  If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; 

2Jn 1:11  for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.

How much more to pulpit fellowship with these men? How about selling their books at the church's bookstore? This is inexcusable. 

When Politics Parallels Evangelicalism

“They think you’re a pack of morons, they think you’re nothing but rubes, they have no interest at all in what you have to say, in what you have to think or what you want to do.

~ Steve Bannon speaking about the GOP establishment's view of the voters. 

The same mentality is very true of the Evangelical Establishment. It's the same exact thinking and thus treatment of those without a seminary degree, those not in the popular, inner circle of approved elite types (yes, that's how immature they are in their thinking--it's high school all over again), those who haven't written a book, are on the speaking circuit, or conference tours (I should  say, "approved" books, conferences, etc).

Much like the way the apostles (boy they learned their lesson I am sure--clearly they had to be humbled and taught by the Lord and the Spirit and I do believe they did) dismissed the children and especially the women (the woman at the well, the women to whom the angel spoke to when Jesus was resurrected, and infamously, the sharp rebuke out of anger of the woman who used her own personal vial of expensive perfume to pour on Jesus just prior to His death).  

Then there was the treatment of Jesus by the religious elite:

Mat 21:23  When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?"

Today's religious Evangelical experts consider the children of God to be nothing more than uneducated, useless sheep which they can manipulate to gain a following, money, and power. Care for the souls of men and actually treating Scripture AS Scripture instead of sitting in judgment of it ("doctrinal triage") is greatly missing from most of these leaders. Worse, they train other men to be the same way. But this isn't the way of Christ Jesus.

What an indictment upon these "experts" that the Lord's sheep actually have more reverence for His Word (it's ALL important and cannot be sliced into categories they deem as important or less important), more reverence for God (they care about their sin before the Holy One of Israel---even those most Evangelical leaders dismiss as sin), more discernment (they know a wolf when they see one because they know Scripture intimately and have done their research on the wolves), and a burden for their fellow sheep (they warn of the wolves coming in).

The wrath of God towards the priests in Jeremiah 23, etc. ought to ring loudly in their ears because they are committing the same types of error and have the same kind of pride. Those truly in Christ serve and worship the God who really does see, hear, and act.  He will vindicate His sheep and He will judge quite harshly these overbearing overlords (1Peter 5:2-3). God doesn't play favorites. In fact, He judges the teacher far more strictly. He can't be fooled.