Take Heart and Be Men of Strength

"Take heart, man. Fear God, and face your accusers. True courage grows strong on opposition. Never think of deserting the army of Christ. Least of all should you play the coward because of the insolence of some ill-mannered bully. Let not your faith be vanquished by such scoffing ." 

~C.H.Spurgeon

1Co 16:13  Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 

Rev 21:8  But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death." 

Worthy Is the Lamb and Amen - Handel's "Messiah"

This is what they are singing from:

Rev 5:12  saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!"
Rev 5:13  And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!"
Rev 5:14  And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped.

The Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ

Luk 24:1  But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.
Luk 24:2  And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
Luk 24:3  but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
Luk 24:4  While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.
Luk 24:5  And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?
Luk 24:6  He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,
Luk 24:7  that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise."

Nearly 70% of People Taking Anti-depressants May Not Actually Have Depression

More than two thirds of people taking antidepressants 'may NOT actually have depression': Doctors discover many do not meet the official criteria

• *Study analysed those taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
• *Found 69% did not meet the criteria for clinical depression
• *And 38% did not meet the criteria for other mental conditions like anxiety 
• *Experts: 'Drugs are prescribed without an evidence-based diagnosis'

~Daily Mail (UK)

That's not surprising to me. The problem is that the entire thing is wholly subjective: based on what the customer "feels" and what the therapist personally  judges as meeting the requirements. No medical tests are needed. How can they? Thoughts and emotions are subjective and ever-changing based on multiple factors (diet, activity, relationships, work, etc). Drugs are the easiest way to "solve" the problem. However they don't solve the problem and usually create new ones.

More info here.

Moderate Islam?

So a homosexual walks into a Muslim bakery in Dearborn, Michigan for a wedding cake....

Exhortation for the Christian

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"How short is life--and how full of trouble! Like a flower, we blossom for a moment--and then wither!" Job 14:1-2. Humbling consideration! But it may be rendered very useful. Let us endeavor to profit by it. 

We shall soon find that . . .
  health gives place to sickness;
  strength gives place to weakness;
  youth gives place to old age!

The dying bed, the coffin, and the grave--are just before us!

Brethren, the time is short! Eternity with all its glories is just before us!

Shall we soon wither and die? Let us therefore . . .
  make our calling and our election sure,
  not be overly concerned by anything that occurs here below,
  set our affections on things above,
  cultivate close and filial fellowship with God,
  aim principally to please Him in all that we do,
  watch against a worldly spirit,
  pass the time of our sojourning here on earth, in fear,
  and lay up for ourselves treasures in Heaven. 

"Like autumn leaves--we wither and fall!" Isaiah 64:6

~James Smith

Think God Is Too Loving To Not Punish You With Your Sin?

"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

Here we see the destruction of the "larger hope".

This cry of the Saviour’s foretells the final condition of every lost soul - forsaken of God! Faithfulness compels us to warn the reader against the false teachings of the day. We are told that God loves everybody, and that he is too merciful to ever carry out the threatenings of his word. This is precisely how the old serpent argued with Eve. God had said, "In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." The serpent said, "Ye shall not surely die." But whose word proved true? Not the devil’s for he is a liar from the beginning. God’s threat was fulfilled, and our first parents died spiritually in the day that they disobeyed his command. Thus will it prove in a coming day.

God is merciful; the fact that he has provided a Saviour, reader, proves it. The fact that he invites you to receive Christ as your Saviour evidences his mercy. The fact that he has been so longsuffering with you, has borne with your stubborn rebellion till now, has prolonged your day of grace to this moment, proves it. But there is a limit to God’s mercy. The day of mercy will soon be ended. The door of hope will soon be closed fast. Death may speedily cut thee off, and after death is "the judgment". And in the Day of Judgment God will deal injustice and not in mercy. He will avenge the mercy you have scorned. He will execute the sentence of condemnation already passed upon you: "He that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:16).

We will not repeat again what has already been said at length; sufficient now to remind the reader once more how this cry of Christ’s witnesses to God’s hatred of sin. Because he is holy and just, God must judge sin wherever it is found. If then God spared not the Lord Jesus when sin was found upon him, what possible hope is there, unsaved reader, that he will spare thee when thou standest before him at the great white throne with sin upon thee? If God poured out his wrath on Christ while he hung as surety for his people, be assured that he will most certainly pour out his wrath on you if you die in your sins. The word of truth is explicit: "he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36). God "spared not" his own Son when he took the sinner’s place, nor will he spare him who rejects the Saviour. Christ was separated from God for three hours, and if you finally reject him as your Saviour you will be separated from God for ever - "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord" (2 Thess. 1:9).

~A.W. Pink

Sin and It's Penalty

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There was no way of transferring sin without also transferring its penalty. Both sin and its punishment were transferred to the Lord Jesus. On the cross Christ was making propitiation, and propitiation is solely Godwards. It was a question of meeting the claims of God’s holiness; it was a matter of satisfying the demands of his justice.

~AW Pink

Rom 3:23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 

Rom 3:24  and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 

Rom 3:25  whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 

Rom 3:26  It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 

So Great A Salvation!

Here then is the basis of our salvation. Our sins have been borne. God’s claims against us have been fully met. Christ was forsaken of God for a season that we might enjoy his presence for ever. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Let every believing soul make answer: he entered the awful darkness that I might walk in the light; he drank the cup of woe that I might drink the cup of joy; he was forsaken that I might be forgiven!

~AW Pink, "The Seven Sayings of the Savior On the Cross"

The Crucifixion of Jesus

1Co 15:3  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
1Co 15:4  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
1Co 15:5  and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Much of God's Glory Lies In His Truth

Much of God’s glory lies in his truth. God has intrusted us with his truth, as a master intrusts his servant with his purse to keep. We have not a richer jewel to trust God with than our souls, nor has God a richer jewel to trust us with than his truth. Truth is a beam that shines from God. Much of his glory lies in his truth. When we are advocates for truth we glorify God. Jude 3. ‘That ye should contend earnestly for the truth.’ The Greek word to contend signifies great contending, as one would contend for his land, and not suffer his right to be taken from him; so we should contend for the truth. Were there more of this holy contention God would have more glory. Some contend earnestly for trifles and ceremonies, but not for the truth. We should count him indiscreet that would contend more for a picture than for his inheritance; for a box of counters than for his box of title deeds.

~Thomas Watson, 'Body of Divinity

Isa 45:19  …I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right.'

1John 2:21… no lie is of the truth.

Isa 65:16  So that he who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth, and he

who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are

forgotten and are hidden from my eyes. 

Joh 16:13  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on

his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are

to come.

Reformers Heading Right Into Rome

Today, even the doctrine of Justification is considered to be an opinion, on a sliding scale. Precision is not demanded on this doctrine any more, even by Calvinists. No, many people give room for justification by works. When it comes to the doctrines of salvation including justification, God says it is a matter of eternal consequence (entire chapters are dedicated to this very doctrine!). There is no wiggle room on justification. At all. None. Nada. Zip.To be wrong on justification IS to have a false gospel which condemns a person to Hell. And to reject being dogmatic to precision on this is to hate the Word of Truth, It's Author ("Hath God really said?"), and the souls of a multitude of men.



Notes Brian McClung:

There is at best a most unfortunate mistake in the Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible concerning the vital doctrine of Justification. At worse, it is the incorporation of false teaching, even Roman Catholic teaching, into this Study Bible regarding the important truth of Justification.

Either way it surely needs, and deserves, an immediate, public clarification and correction!









The footnote in question is found on page 1,623, in connection with Romans 6:1-4. The footnote [pictured above], as it presently exists, reads: Justification is the change of man's moral nature; every justified man is a changed man (Titus 3:4-7).

This statement is doctrinally incorrect. It confuses Justification with Sanctification. Amazingly, not only is it incorrect, it has actually been turned into a statement containing grievous false teaching. In fact, it is Romish teaching to say that justification brings about a change of man's moral character. This very issue, of whether Justification brought about a change in man's moral nature, was a point of contention for the Reformers and Puritans, when opposing the errors of Romanism.

Justification has to do with the acquittal from guilt of those who stand accused of sin. It is a legal, forensic term. The Justification of a sinner is a legal change of position, a legal vindication, before God, the Judge of all men, and not in any way the change of any man's moral nature.

End quote.
More Romanism in the  Reformation Heritage Study Bible:

Excerpts from Brian McClung:

Strange to observe that the "Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible" teaches in its footnotes that Peter is the Rock upon which the church is built, in Matthew 16:18: And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The "Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible" notes at the foot of the page against this verse read:

Peter. Jesus makes a play on Peter's name, which literally means "rock." The rock that Jesus builds His Church upon is most naturally understood as Peter, together with the other apostles in their Spirit-given testimony of Him (Eph. 2:20; Rev 21:14).

This cannot be true on two grounds and it is certainly not the normal position that Protestants have taken over the years. It is wrong, firstly, in that Peter's name does not mean 'rock' but 'stone' [pebble]. Secondly, it is wrong in that the Scriptures clearly teach that Christ is the rock upon which the Church is built. 

This is Romish teaching. The Roman Catholic church teaches that Peter is the rock upon which the church is built and bases her doctrine of the papacy upon this teaching.The Roman Catholic Catechism reads: 

552 Simon Peter holds the first place in the college of the Twelve; Jesus entrusted a unique mission to him. Through a revelation from the Father, Peter had confessed: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Our Lord then declared to him: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” Christ, the “living stone,” thus assures his Church, built on Peter, of victory over the powers of death. Because of the faith he confessed Peter will remain the unshakeable rock of the Church.His mission will be to keep this faith from every lapse and to strengthen his brothers in it.

End quote.

A God Too Wise To Err And Too Loving To Be Unkind To His True Children

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"I delight to do Your will, O my God!" Psalm 40:8

Faith endures the disappointments, the hardships, and the heart-aches of life--by recognizing that all comes from the hand of Him who is too wise to err--and too loving to be unkind. 

There is no higher aspect of faith, than that which brings the heart to patiently submit unto whatever God sends us, to meekly acquiesce unto His sovereign will, to say, "Shall I not drink the cup of suffering which my Father has given me?" Faith when it reaches the pinnacle of attainment declares, "though He slays me, yet will I trust in Him!"

When we receive all that enters our lives as from God's hand, then, no matter what may be our circumstances or surroundings--whether in a hovel, a prison-dungeon, or a martyr's stake--we shall be enabled to say, "The lines have fallen unto me in pleasant place!" But that is the language of faith, not of sight or sense.

"Father, if You are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from Me. Yet I want Your will to be done, not Mine!" Luke 22:42   

"It is not enough to bear the cross, but we must take it up, we must accommodate ourselves to it, and acquiesce in the will of God in it. Not, "this is an evil, and I mustbear it, because I cannot help it;" but "this is an evil, and I will bear it, because it is the will of God." Matthew Henry 

"Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God's wise and fatherly disposal in every condition." Jeremy Burroughs 

The Bible Is No Lazy Man's Book!

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"If you seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure--then you will understand the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God!" Proverbs 2:4-5


"The Bible is no lazy man's book! Much of its treasure, like the valuable minerals stored in the bowels of the earth, only yield up themselves to the diligent seeker." (Arthur Pink)


"Do not be satisfied with a superficial survey of Scripture, as many Christians are. These are not the days of contemplation as the old Puritan times were, we are too apt to be superficial; but do remember that while there are nuggets of gold upon the very surface of Scripture, yet the most valuable mines of gold are far down!" (Charles Spurgeon)


"Truth lies deep, and must be dug for." (William Gurnall)


"Strive to penetrate to the bottom of Divine truths, and never be content with a superficial knowledge." (David Brainerd)

"Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding!" Proverbs 4:7 

End quote.

Short cuts don't cut it. Skip the middle man like creeds, confessions, and catechisms, along with much of today's superficial treatment of Scripture, and go directly to the very Words of God. Know them, love them, live them. We are required to handle the Word of God personally

The Church That Jesus Builds

"Unless you have a company of regenerated and believing people, scripturally baptized, organized on N. T. lines, worshipping God in the ways of his appointing-particularly in having fellowship with the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, maintaining the ordinances, preserving strict discipline, active in evangelistic endeavor—it is not a "New Testament church," whatever it may or may not call itself. But a church possessing these characteristics is the only institution on this earth ordained, built, and approved of by the Lord Jesus Christ..." 

- A. W. Pink 

True Unity

The closer a company of Christians are drawn to their Lord, the closer they are drawn to one another.

~AW Pink

Yahoo "Journalist" Says God-given Rights "Bizarre"? Clearly This Educated Woman Is An Ignoramus of the Declaration of Independence and US History

 

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It is an acknowledgement by the founders of our country, declaring independence from Britain, that human rights are bestowed by God via creation, that the natural state of the human being contains God-given rights. It is the basis, forms the foundation of the founding of our country. And here is more living proof and testimony that this hasn't been taught, nor has history been taught in American education, particularly journalism schools, in way too long...

She tweeted yesterday, Meredith Shiner did, that Ted Cruz talking about God-given rights was bizarre. She said, she tweeted, "Bizarre to talk about how rights are God-made and not man-made in your speech announcing a POTUS bid? When Constitution was man-made?"

We have a glittering jewel of colossal ignorance on full and proud display here. This woman, the political reporter for Yahoo, has no clue about the preamble of the Declaration of Independence. She probably has scant knowledge of the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, the people involved. I wonder what she would do if she heard about the Founders pledging their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, would she call them extremists? Nothing could be worth all of that?

Meredith Shiner is a Yahoo News political reporter, and before Yahoo she spent three years at Roll Call, where she was considered a leader in the newsroom, and then she worked at Politico for two years. She is a graduate of Duke University. She grew up in Chicago. That background I provide on purpose so you can have a great idea of just how ill-educated people coming out of higher education today are and where they end up working: Roll Call, Politico, and now Yahoo News. A graduate of Duke University. She has no idea....

She is totally clueless. The concept -- and this, folks, this is classic. This tells you everything you need to know about modern education, religion, and the way little liberals and journalists have grown to believe that the center of the universe is Washington, DC, and government, and everything comes from there....

But, folks, it's so indicative, it's so illustrative of how education is performing one of the greatest disservices to people whose parents are paying 20 grand a semester, or a year, to have their minds, their skulls full of mush filled up with this kind of drivel.  Meredith Shiner, Duke University graduate, Yahoo News political reporter, Roll Call three years, Politico for two years, has no idea, literally no idea about the founding of this country.  And without that, her work as a journalist is worthless because she doesn't know history.  She hasn't been taught history.  To add insult to injury, this woman thinks she's the one that knows everything, and somebody like Ted Cruz is the dangerous idiot that we have to stop.

~Rush Limbaugh

The Truth of God's Word

Authentic Christianity has always held that the Scripture is absolute, objective truth.  It is as true for one person as it is for another regardless of anyone’s opinion about it.  It has one true meaning that applies to everyone.  Every passage has one true interpretation.  Every passage has one true interpretation that applies to everyone in every age. 

The meaning is determined by God; it is not determined by you, or me, or anyone else.  It isn’t determined by you because you feel this is what it might mean.  It isn’t determined by me because I’m some kind of a scholar.  The meaning is determined by God.  It’s like any other truth; it’s like any other reality.  It is reality; it is truth.  What is true is true. 

In no way is any truth in Scripture decided by your experience.  Whether it affects you or doesn’t affect you subjectively has nothing to do with its truthfulness.  Now this deals a very heavy blow to vast numbers of people in professing Christianity who look at the Bible like some kind of a verbal Ouija board and run their fingers in their minds through it waiting for some kind of esoteric impulse.  And you hear people get together in a Bible study and say, “What does this mean to you?” 

Who cares.  Who are you?  What does this mean to God?  What did He say and what did He mean by what He said?  Biblical truth is objective; it is true in and of itself.  Psalm 119:160 says this:  “The entirety of Your Word is truth.” 

Now, friends, the very starting point and necessary foundation for a truly Christian world view is right there.  The Bible is all true, absolutely true.  It is God-breathed.  Every word has come from God.  It is objective truth in and of itself.  It is external to you, and your experience, and your mystical feelings.  If you give that up, you have wondered into non-Christian paganism.  You give up the ground of biblical truth that is objective, and whatever belief system you have left isn’t worthy to be called Christian, even if it has some vestiges of Christian symbolism. 

You see this all the time.  You listen to people talking about the fact that they’re Christians and they advocate Christianity.  Sometimes they say they’re Roman Catholics.  But they’re for homosexual marriage.  You have just eliminated the foundation of Christianity. 

That’s not Christianity.  You have literally taken the Bible, set it aside, and made yourself God.  You can’t pick and choose.  True Christianity begins with objective truth revealed by God.  That’s the first word, “objectivity.”

Second word, “rationality,” rationality.  What does that mean?  That the objective revelation of God breathed into the Scripture can be understood by normal reasoning.  It can be understood by normal reasoning.  Scripture is logical, non-contradictory, clear, subject to mental assessment. 

Listen, there are no errors; there are no discrepancies; there are no contradictions; there are no lies; there are not unsound principles.  I’ll go step further; anything that contradicts the Scripture is untrue.  There are no fantasies; there are no absurdities; there are no avatars; there are no inconsistencies; there are no weird things; there are no myths; there are no allegories.  It is absolutely true, and it is reasonability true and understood by reason in a normal process of using the mind....

The context informs the reason.  The flow of the argument, every passage of Scripture is making a case, presenting truth, and it is reasonable truth.  There are no secret meanings....

If you’re an engineer, or you’re a mechanic, or you’re an architect, use your reason to do your work and come to the right conclusion.  That’s essentially what a student of the Bible does.  I use my mind.  I don’t sit and wait for some special delivery from heaven.  The meaning of the Scripture is the Scripture, and the meaning is there, clear to be understood by the normal process of reason. 

What do I mean by rationality?  I mean that the Bible is to be understood in normal ways.  It is regular language, real people, actual history; and you learn to interpret it that way...

It’s all true and it’s all necessary for life and godliness.  It’s the truth by which all other truth claims are measured.  It’s the truth which exposes all error.  And you only have the truth if you have the meaning right, and that takes a refined mind and a trained mind.  The Bible is not about inducing feelings or emotions, it’s about divine truth....

We are then committed to the truth.  We have to be committed to the truth.  So when we get into dialog with the sinners of the world, whether they’re our friends, or our family or, classmates, or the guys we work with, ladies we work with, or whether or not we’re in the media or wherever we are, we don’t have dialog.  We don’t have dialog.  Why?  Because there’s really nothing to dialog about.  I’m always happy to show up and say, “I’m glad I’m here because I’m telling you the truth.  I’m just telling you the truth.”

Contemporary evangelicals like the idea of dialog because, again, remember now, if you’re going to make the Bible an issue, hostility toward the Bible is natural to sinners.  So modern evangelicals prefer dialog.  They don’t want to clash with every-other idea, every-other world view.  We want dialog.

So what do we do to get dialog?  We minimize biblical authority; we minimize biblical clarity; we minimize judgment.  I mean we do that all the time anyway....

Do we make enemies?  We already have enemies.  God has enemies; Christ has enemies; the Bible has enemies.  Jesus told His disciples, “If they persecuted Me, they’re going to persecute you.  If they hated me, they’re going to hate you.”  But if you know the truth, then you can only speak with authority; you can only speak with author. 

But it’s not really stylist to speak with authority like that; not really popular, not in this particular age.  People like soft words, words that don’t trouble the mind, don’t trouble the heart and leave room for everybody’s opinion.  They see this as some kind of tenderness, some kind of acceptance, some kind of tolerance.  But it’s really the opposite....

One writer put it this way:  “The one who really wanted a tender heart would be calling for a jackhammer.”  Hard words, hard teaching, hard truth is the jackhammer of God and it takes a great deal to break up hard hearts.  And the God of all mercy is willing to do it, but He always does it according to His Word, and His Word is not easy on us.  

Jeremiah 23:  “Is not My Word like a fire?” said the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces.”

When people call for smooth words, easy words, the result is hard people.  When we submit to hard words, we become the tenderhearted of God.  Well, I hate to tell you folks, but we can say it with love, but we’re the jackhammers in the world, to break up the hard-hearted, buried under lies....

We started with objectivity and then we went to rationality.  We understood that that yields veracity, truth, divine truth. That gives us literally delegated authority from God to speak.  And now the noose tightens right around the neck to the point where you begin to feel the rope burn.  Here is comes: truth is absolutely incompatible with error.

To put it in the language of 1 John 2:21, “No lie is of the truth.”  What a great statement:  “No lie is of the truth.”  Truth is in the end – listen – absolutely and finally intolerant.  It doesn’t mean you have to be mean or unloving, just the opposite.  But the truth itself is intolerant.  It is intolerant.

1 Corinthians 16:22, “If you love not the Lord Jesus Christ, you’re condemned.”  Listen, tolerance toward people is good, biblical.  Tolerance toward error is bad; that’s a sin.

God hates lies, doesn’t He?  The Old Testament says God hates lies.  He hates lying tongues and he hates the liars who waggle them.

Isaiah 8:20, “To the law, to the testimony Scripture: if they do not speak according to this word, it is because no light is in them.”  It’s incompatible with error.  So here we are in the world.  They, by nature, like we were once, hate the Word of God.  And we have the truth, and we have to proclaim it with authority and let them know it is incompatible with all error. 

~ Excerpts from John MacArthur, "The Essentials of Handling the Word of God Part 2"  

I recently shocked and dismayed a Christian by saying that not only does Scripture clearly teach a literal six day Creation week in Genesis 1-2, but that it is sin to believe in the theory of evolution. Before that I had told a young seminary student that John Piper indeed is not faithful to Scripture because he denies Genesis 1-2 as it states (he holds to the fantasy of theistic evolution --old age earth--and denies God is creating on days 2-6). 

Listen, if people reject the Beginning which is so clearly and emphatically stated, then they will reject other portions of Scripture and it's doctrines as well, since they have already sat in judgment against it and denied the foundational truth of Creation. They have committed treason against God and have waged war on the Word. They are in fact, traitors to the Creator Himself and side with Satan who said in the Garden, "Hath God said?" They allow foolish, God-hating, irrational, and hostile men and women of so-called science to interpret the Holy, living, inerrant, and clear Word of God in order to dethrown His lordship, His kingship, and His judgment. They no longer have a Christian worldview. They have borrowed from the atheists and have a worldly worldview, antagonistic and hostile to God's absolute authority  and pronouncements over all Creation and all people everywhere.

Whatever sets itself up against the knowledge of Christ--anything that is not of the pure, pristine, divine truth, is a lie---is to be rejected wholly as treasonous and from God's enemy, not of the Spirit of God in any way. 

2Co 10:4  For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5  We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 

Ideas have consequences. Biblical truth leads to biblical thinking and biblical living. It leads to living by faith and not by sight. It leads to glorifying God in all things beginning with our thoughts. It causes us to stand back and not walk into temptation and sin. It causes us to be wholly loyal to Christ alone. It protects us from spiritual harlotry, as well as physical adultery. It causes us to love God more and to walk in that love. Lies cannot do that because lies are from Satan, the father of lies.

If we claim to be mature, faithful Christians, or if we strive to be so, we must submit ourselves to the Scriptures and stop arguing against it with ungodly hostility and using the world's arguments as  a way to not only not submit to its teaching, but to disobey it's commands.

Hostility Toward God's Word

Authentic Christianity understands that Scripture and the Bible is objective, absolute, external, divine truth.  No person has ever had in himself any idea or any experience that determine divine truth, it comes from God.  No human being has ever been a source for divine truth.  No human being has ever been the one who established divine truth.

“Not an angel,” Galatians 1.  In fact, if anybody, even an angel, comes along with another gospel, he’s cursed.  What someone thinks is true doesn’t make it true.  There is no individual truth.  You don’t have your truth and somebody else has his truth. 

Any faithful, diligent study of this book will yield internal evidence that that claim is absolutely true.  You have sat here long enough under enough preaching and teaching, you have been exposed to verse by verse by verse by verse, examination of the Word of God, and you have seen the test; and the longer you’ve been there listening, the more confidence you have in the Word of God.  It stands every test.

So here’s my question.  Since the Word of God is all this, since the Bible is all this, why is the Bible so intolerable in an age of tolerance?  Since it has no parallel; it has no equal.  Why is it so despised?  Simple answer: hostility toward Scripture resides in the heart of all sinners.  Hostility toward Scripture resides in the heart of all sinners.  Not some sinners, all sinners; all of them.  Now the degree may vary, but the hostility is there.

I was fascinated to see on the news that the pope said it’s okay to spank your children, and now he’s being blasted across the globe for making such an outrageous statement.  And one of the people condemning the pope for that statement said, “Jesus would never do that.”  I would like to find all those people, line them up and say, “The Bible not only suggests spanking, it commands it.”  They hate that.  That’s the least of the things they hate about the Bible.  Hostility toward God’s Word resides in the heart of every sinner. 

Jesus summed it up in that familiar eighth chapter of John when he says, “Why do you not understand what I’m saying?  It’s because you cannot hear My Word.  You’re of your father, the Devil, and you want to do the desires of your father.  He was a murderer from the beginning, doesn’t stand in the truth because there’s no truth in him.  Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he’s a liar and the father of Lies.  But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.  He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason, you do not hear them, you’re not of God.” 

That is Jesus saying hostility toward His Word resides in the heart of every sinner.  It’s not just that they can’t understand it – that true, 1 Corinthians 2:14 – it’s that they resent it.  There always will be, always has been a fundamental, irreconcilable, incompatibility between the revealed truth of God in Scripture and the world; always, always.

Jesus – and I’ve been quoting this recently – summed it up by saying this:  “The world hates Me because I testified to it that its deeds are evil,” that there’s too much sin and too much judgment in the Bible for the sinner to embrace it.  Why?  “Because men love,” John 3:19, “darkness rather than,” what?  “Light, because their deeds are evil.”

Still, understanding the truth of Scripture, understanding its antipathy to everything in the world, understand that sinners are hostile toward it; that’s natural, that’s the default position of every sinner. 

That’s hard to sell in a post-modern world that doesn’t believe in absolute truth.  What you think is true is not necessarily true.  What is true is true; and Scripture is true.  It is not only true, it is perspicuous, it is clear, clearly true.  The meaning is evident on the face of it.  It’s not puzzles hidden; it’s not mysteries; it’s not conundrums; it’s not hopeless allegories.  Yeah, there are some things hard to understand, but the main message of Scripture is clear and unambiguous.  It is not existential; it doesn’t rise from you.  The Bible isn’t inspired because it hits you in certain ways that make you feel something. 

~John MacArthur, "The Essentials Of Handling God's Word Part 2"


I have to add, sadly, hostility toward the Scripture resides in most professing Christians, too.

Jas 1:19  Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

Critiquing the "Critics" of Tim Keller

The best critique of Keller yet, especially on the book by New Calvinists that claim to be critiquing him, yet start  and end with hailing PCA pastor and author Tim Keller as an orthodox Reformed brother. The twisted thinking blows the mind: apparently you can teach falsely about the nature of God, sin, Hell, the Trinity, etc. and still be called a "brother" who is faithful to the Reformed traditions and Scripture. Neither is true. The book reveals not only what is wrong with Keller (it doesn't even mention his view on Roman Catholicism and mysticism for example), but also what is wrong with these expert Calvinists who contradict clear thinking and proclaiming when at once they say he's orthodox and reliable, then turn around and prove he is neither orthodox nor reliable. The free pass to a false teacher is damning for the "critics" in this book, because honestly, they are actually promoting him. 2 John 9-11 clearly states that anyone who welcomes or even greets a false teacher is guilty of the false teacher's wickedness. So far, these men who give lip service to "criticizing" Keller yet hold him up as a brother in Christ whom we can learn from, are then guilty before God of Keller's war on the Truth.

I highly suggest reading the entire article because Williams goes into some of the areas the book touches on. Then Williams goes further (because this book did not) and deals with MORE of Keller's heretical teachings like mysticism and promotion of Roman Catholicism as Christian (after all "Christian" is defined by him as adhering to the "Creeds" (not Scripture, and certainly not Scripture alone--which proves the hypocrisy of Reformers who use creeds as authoritative instead of Scripture ONLY which alone is inspired, living,inerrant, and solely authoritative).

To merely summarize the gist of the article (there were way too many good quotes to narrow down to a few, so please read the article) here's part of the conclusion by ES Williams:

Is Tim Keller a False Teacher? 

Engaging with Keller has dealt with six important areas of Christian doctrine and found Keller to be wanting. While much of the critique of Keller’s theology is well-argued and convincing, as far as it goes, the editors made it clear, even before presenting evidence of deep flaws in Keller’s theology, that he is a good man who supports and teaches orthodox Reformed theology. They reassure their readers that Keller is a sound teacher of the truth, and there is not the slightest suggestion that Keller could be a false teacher. So having rightly identified numerous serious errors in Keller’s theology, errors that truncate the gospel, their readers are exhorted to accept Keller as an orthodox brother in Christ.

Keller’s Flawed Methods of Bible Interpretation

A major finding of Engaging with Keller, which has emerged from all the essays, is that Tim Keller uses flawed methods of Bible interpretation. He consistently distorts Scripture to make it appear to support his agenda. In much of his writings on theological issues, he pays little attention to the teachings of Scripture. In his chapter on the problem of sin, as we have seen, he spends ten pages discussing the ideas of men like Kierkegaard, C.S. Lewis and others, before he even mentions Scripture. And when he does finally mention Scripture, the references are spurious. Keller’s teaching on hell comes not from Scripture, but from the theology of C.S. Lewis. He misuses Lazarus and the rich man, to make the ridiculous claim that no one has ever asked to leave hell. He selects Scripture to teach that the essential attribute of God is love, while ignoring the weight of Scripture that elevates God’s holiness. He wrongly uses the parable of the prodigal son in order to get to the heart of the Christian faith. Richard Holst’s critique is devastating: “One could hardly conceive of a concept more contrary to good hermeneutical procedure than to use a parable to define the Christian faith.”

Dr. Bidwell in his analysis of Keller’s “divine dance” is firm in declaring that there is no scriptural evidence for a movement of dance within the inner life of the Trinity. “We have summarized that the ‘divine dance’ explanation of the Trinity has no biblical warrant.”

Another disturbing example of Keller’s misuse of Scripture, not mentioned in Engaging, is his interpretation of the elder brother in The Prodigal God. Keller claims the Pharisees, whom he says were represented in the parable by the elder brother, “held to the traditional morality of their upbringing. They studied and obeyed the Scripture. They worshipped faithfully and constantly.” Keller infers that the Pharisees are the religious people “who do everything the Bible requires.” But the Pharisees were not people who believed and obeyed the Bible, as Keller asserts. On the contrary, the Pharisees held to the tradition of men. Our Lord said to the Pharisees, “For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do” (Mark 7:8). The Pharisees feigned obedience to God’s Word, but they did not really obey it — they were hypocrites who did not obey God’s moral law, they only kept the ceremonial rites, like hand washing. Jesus called them hypocrites seven times in Matthew 23. So Keller’s statement that the Pharisees obeyed the Scriptures is false and misleading. He draws this false conclusion: “Careful obedience to God’s law may serve as a strategy for rebelling against God.” Our Lord said: “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

End quote.

~ES Williams, "Keller And  His Critics"
(Bold, red, italics, my emphasis)

God's Word Is Not To Be Dissected

"God’s blessed Word is not for dissection by the knife of cold intellectuality, but is to be laid to heart. It is not given for us to display our cleverness and “brilliance” upon, but to be bowed before in true humility. It is not designed for mental entertainment, but for the regulation of our daily lives."

~ A.W. Pink

A Whole Bible Makes A Whole Christian

"It takes a whole Bible to make a whole Christian."

~ Alistair Begg

Indeed, starting with Genesis 1-3 as it is written. 

Mat 4:4  But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

The Ends Do Not Justify the Means

2Co 4:2  But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.

Renounced = reject, disown. This verse clearly teaches against "the ends justify the means".  Trying to lure people in to hear preaching, telling half truths, softening the blow of the bad news--these are things that are to be renounced as sinfully disgraceful and unfit for the churches and the saints in proclaiming the Truth.

The Homofascism of Elton John

So this is very interesting. Sodomites against each other (for now). The controversy is about IVF.

 Apparently Elton John doesn't want people to have a different view point from his own (this was the second time he's done this: last week he wrote an opinion piece slamming Georgia's Religious Freedom Restoration Act which would allow businesses to not be compelled to serve people like sodomites b/c of religious views). He is proclaiming homofacisim. He's a liar when he claims to be all for freedom. No he isn't. He wants freedom ONLY for those who agree with him. That's intolerance of the "tolerant". It's hypocrisy.

Anyway all the Italian sodomite (and likely Catholic I suspect) designer Dolce (of Dolce & Gabbana) said was, according to the Daily Mail:

'You are born and you have a father and mother. At least it should be like that. That's why I'm not convinced by what I call chemical children, synthetic babies.'

That got Elton John IRATE and lashed out and called for a boycott (except yesterday he was seen carrying an D&G shopping bag--the hypocrite).  This goes straight to the heart of one reason why sodomy is so contrary to God's created order: sodomites can't bear children, they cannot procreate. 

The wrath of Elton was seen as wholly (and correctly) intolerant, so this has pit liberals against each other:

But the designers hit back - Stefano Gabbana told an Italian newspaper: 'It's useless, this is just an authoritarian way of seeing things: if you agree with me, good, otherwise I'll attack. And I wrote to him, in the comments on Instagram: fascist.'

Italian senator Roberto Formigoni even likened Sir Elton to the Islamic fanatics who murdered staff at the political magazine Charlie Hebdo. 

In an extraordinary rant, he said: 'The campaign launched against the two stylists by Elton John is shameful and intolerable. 

'Elton John is a Taliban, he is using against Dolce ad Gabbana the same methods used by Taliban against Charlie Hebdo.'

~Daily Mail, UK

I suspect Dolce will come out with a backpedaling statement of some sort, but for now, it is a good example of how rabidly fascism the sodomites really can be.