Evangelicalism

In this video, Lane Chaplin interviews Phil Johnson about Evangelicalism, including the historical meaning of the term "Evangelical," and the push to redefine Evangelicalism. Johnson points out something interesting about modern Evangelicalism, especially in light of people like Rob Bell trying to redefine the term: “I see it as one more sign of a widespread meltdown in the Evangelical movement itself where people who call themselves Evangelicals these days have so moved away from their Evangelical moorings. They don’t really understand what the word means anymore, they don’t remember what their heritage is, they don’t believe what their spiritual forefathers taught, so there’s this great movement to redefine Evangelical….I see it as a significant sign that the Evangelical movement is melting down severely, if not completely dead.” Mike Horton, in his book Christless Christianity: the Alternative Gospel of the American Church, a book which I intend to review at a later date, asks this question: "judging by its commercial, political and media success, the evangelical movement seems to be booming. But is it still Christian?" (Horton, pg. 19)

John MacArthur on Roman Catholicism

J.C. Ryle (1816-1900), the first Anglican Bishop of Liverpool once stated: "Romanism in perfection is a gigantic system of Church-worship, Sacrament-worship, Mary-worship…image-worship…in one word, a huge organised idolatry…idolatry has decidedly manifested itself in the visible Church of Christ and nowhere so decidedly as in the Church of Rome…"

In a similar tone, Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892), the great Baptist preacher once stated of Roman Catholicism that "the church of Rome and her teachings are a vast mountain of rubbish covering the truth," and "worse hindrance to the gospel than all the errors which had preceded it."

Along these same lines, Dr. John MacArthur works to expose the false system of Rome for what it is.

In the first series of lectures, MacArthur explains the Roman Catholic Mass.
"Explaining the Heresy of the Catholic Mass
http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/90-318

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/90-319

In this series of lectures, John MacArthur deals with the unbiblical, and sometimes outright bizzarre, and clearly idolatrous Roman Catholic doctrines on Mary.
"Exposing the Idolatry of Mary Worship"
http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/90-314

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/90-315

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/90-316

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/90-317

I urge anyone who is Catholic who reads this blog to repent, and to trust in Christ ALONE for the forgiveness of sins.

What Happened to Christ on the Cross

In this video, from just a couple days ago, Paul Washer speaks on what happened to Christ on the cross. The text that he bases it off of is 2nd Corinthians 5:21, which states: "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." About halfway through the sermon, Paul Washer makes a very interesting statement: "The pain of the cross is not what puny men did to the mighty Christ. The pain of the cross is what God the Father did to His only begotten Son."

The Pharisees & Sadducees

In the New Testament, we read quite a bit of Jesus' confrontation with the Pharisees & the Sadduccees. In Matthew 3:7, John the Baptist refers to the Pharisees & Sadducees as a "brood of vipers." Paul himself also comments in Phillipians 3:5 that he himself was a Pharisee. However, I think that a lot of people don't really know the beliefs of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and I was delighted to see that my Bible had a chart highlighting the beliefs of the Pharisees and Sadducees, along with the Zealots and Essenes. So, I'm using this chart to list the beliefs of the Pharisees and Sadduccees.

The Pharisees
They apparently were rooted in the Hasidim in the 2nd Century BC
The Pharisees accepted the inspiration of the Oral Tradition, as well as the TOrah.

They held a mediating view that didn't allow for God's sovereignty or free will to cancel each other out

They held to a developed hierarchy of angels & demons

They believed in a future for the dead, the immortality of the soul and reward & punishment for a soul after death

They championed human equality

Their teachings moreso focused on ethics as opposed to theology

The Sadducees
They apparenlty probably begun during the Hasmonean Period (166-63 BC) & their demise occured with the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD
They denied the authoritative and binding nature of the oral law

They were more literalistic in interpreting the Mosaic Law

They were exacting in Levitcal puirty

They believed into free-will & attributed all to it

They didn't believe in an afterlife, a ressurection of the dead, or an afterlife (hence their question to Jesus in Matthew 22:23-28)

They didn't believe in angels & demons, nor a spiritual world

They believed that only the books of Moses were canonical Scripture

"Lordship Salvation"

This past summer, I was having a discussion with a friend of mine. Apparently, the father of one of my friend's friends implied that Paul Washer was a false teacher, or, at least, had some wacky theology because he believed in what's termed "Lordship Salvation." In this video, Pastor Jim McClarty explains what Lordship Salvation is.



According to Todd Friel, in the video below, a lot of the controversy came about 20 years ago, from those who were not only light on repentence, but who also believed that a person could be a "carnal Christian."



Now, I don't remember who said it, but apparently, the doctrine of carnal Christianity came from a rather liberal theological seminary. But, as Paul Washer once, quite right pointed out, "the doctrine of a Christian living in a continuous state of carnality is absolute heresy."

A Brief Look at the Emergent Church

PBS did this brief look at the Emergent Church, interviewing such influential Emergent leaders such as Brian McLaren & Tony Jones, as well as doing a brief look at their worship style & beliefs. The main problem I have is that they feel that they're questioning traditional doctrines of the faith. John MacArthur once stated that "the idea that the Christian message should be kept pliable and ambiguous seems especially attractive to young people who are in tune with the culture and in love with the spirit of the age and can’t stand to have authoritative biblical truth applied with precision as a corrective to worldly lifestyles, unholy minds, and ungodly behavior. And the poison of this perspective is being increasingly injected into the evangelical church body."

In fact, we read in 2nd Peter 2:1-3 that: "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep."

Saved from God Himself

In this sermon, preached at Grace Community Church, Pastor Tim Conway preaches on the wrath of God, and that those who are saved are saved from God Himself. The texts that he uses are Romans 10:9-13, Matthew 10:28 and Luke 12:5.