Mormonism Declared War on Christianity

Courtesy of Apprising Ministries:  

Apprising Ministries is an online apologetics and discernment work the Lord has raised up to help you see the abysmal apostasy spreading now even throughout the mainstream of the evangelical community.

1 Peter 4:17 judgments sent by Jesus Himself are falling upon His visible church as spiritual darkness grows. A good example today is the April 2012 Christian Post pieceRomney Not Cultist, Fuller President Says Cautiously.

Therein we’re told Richard Mouw, who in my opinion is an absolutely pitiful example of a Christian leader, continues trying to muddy the waters around the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons):

As Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith has become an issue in the GOP presidential nomination race prompting the Latter-day Saints to launch an ad campaign, President of Fuller Theological Seminary Richard J. Mouw has declared, though cautiously, that Mormonism is not a cult.

“While I am not prepared to reclassify Mormonism as possessing undeniably Christian theology, I do accept many of my Mormon friends as genuine followers of the Jesus whom I worship as the divine Savior,” Mouw, head of the Pasadena, Calif., seminary wrote in an article on CNN Sunday.

But can Mormons be called Christians? Mouw said that’s a “complicated question.”
(Online source)

Here, let me once again help out this president of one of the most visible evangelical institutions in the United States: No, faithful Mormons cannot be called Christians; Mormonism is a non-Christian cult, period. And who cares if Richard Mouw’s not prepared to reclassify Mormonism; he hasn’t any authority to do so anyway.

In his day Dr. Walter Martin (1928-1989), author of the classic textbook The Kingdom of the Cults, was a universally recognized expert in the field of Comparative Religion and non-Christian cults having their origins in the United States, such as Mormonism. He wrote:

A cult, then, is a group of people polarized around someone’s interpretation of the Bible and is characterized by major deviations from orthodox Christianity relative to the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith, particularly the fact that God became man in Jesus Christ.[1]

Martin classified Mormonism as a non-Christian cult because:

The Savior of Mormonism, however, is an entirely different person, as their official publications clearly reveal. The Mormon “Savior” is not the second person of the Christian Trinity,… Mormons reject the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, and he is not even a careful replica of the New Testament Redeemer.

Read more --> HERE.

Iron sharpens iron

Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. ~ Proverbs 27:17

Pondering upon this verse...iron, sharpen, countenance, friend...

Browsed commentaries and settled on Matthew Henry:

Proverbs 27:17

"This intimates both the pleasure and the advantage of conversation. One man is nobody; nor will poring upon a book in a corner accomplish a man as the reading and studying of men will. 

Wise and profitable discourse sharpens men's wits; and those that have ever so much knowledge may by conference have something added to them. It sharpens men's looks, and, by cheering the spirits, puts a briskness and liveliness into the countenance, and gives a man such an air as shows he is pleased himself and makes him pleasing to those about him. 

Good men's graces are sharpened by converse with those that are good, and bad men's lusts and passions are sharpened by converse with those that are bad, as iron is sharpened by its like, especially by the file. Men are filed, made smooth, and bright, and fit for business (who were rough, and dull, and inactive), by conversation.

This is designed:

1. To recommend to us this expedient for sharpening ourselves, but with a caution to take heed whom we choose to converse with, because the influence upon us is so great either for the better or for the worse.
2. To direct us what we must have in our eye in conversation, namely to improve both others and ourselves, not to pass away time or banter one another, but to provoke one another to love and to good works and so to make one another wiser and better."

Bad men's lusts and passions are sharpened by converse with those that are bad...made me think of this verse:

Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. ~ 1 Corinthians 15:33

Which made me think of this verse:

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. ~ Galatians 6:7

O' Lord help us Your children to be faithful unto You...to not be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, that we may prove what is good and profitable.  Help us to encourage and be encouraged by our fellow sojourners.  Give us strength for the days ahead...let us ever be mindful of being found faithful servants in Your field.

Are we supposed to pray for the wolves?

Courtesy of Defending. Contending.

Imagine if you will, the following scenario:

A shepherd guarding his sheep observes a wolf among the flock cloaked in sheepskin. He stands up and yells “Wolf! Wolf! Run! Run!” And immediately the sheep begin to scatter, but not all. A small group turn to the sheep dog and, with an arrogant smirk plastered across their faces, respond, “But did you pray for the wolf?”

Bewildered as to why these sheep were ignoring his warning, the shepherd reiterates the danger of the wolf’s presence with an even more impassioned plea for the sheep to escape the impending doom that’s about to befall them. However, they stand firm and go back to their grazing on the plush green grass beneath their feet.

Mumblings of,”Who is he to judge?” and, “As for me I’ll be praying for the wolf” can be heard among them as they reassure themselves of their peace and safety while the wolf takes them out one by one until there are none left.

There are many one-liners regurgitated by ‘wolf defenders’ designed to silence those who would try to warn the flock. If you’ve ever exercised your discernment regarding a false prophet, there’s no doubt you’ve encountered the all famous “judge not” defense ripped and twisted from its context.

However, there’s another less popular but equally insidious argument used by wolf defenders that’s designed to put shepherds, sheep dogs, and watchmen on the defense. The diversionary tactic I speak of is “Are you praying for _________?”

This trite platitude is usually employed in the context that we’re not supposed to expose the wolves but only pray for them, and if we have not prayed for them then we are somehow committing a greater wickedness than the wolves themselves if we dare criticize them (woe to those who call evil good and good evil).

This often-used excuse to avoid defending truth and to–conversely–help further the advance of those devouring the flock got me wondering; are wesupposed to pray for the wolves?

First of all I want to say up front that I do not believe praying for a wolf is wrong, a sin, nor am I saying that you shouldn’t do it. Furthermore, this post is not intended to discourage you from doing so, but only to raise the question are we supposed to pray for the wolves?

I would also like to preface this thesis by clarifying that when I speak of wolves in this post, I am not referring to the rank and file who have fallen under the spell of their leaders, but the leaders themselves (Think: Helen Ukbato, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Gloria Copeland, Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, et al).

With that said, allow me to present some thoughts on this matter.

Read more-->HERE.

God's Wrath and Evangelism

Courtesy of Sovereign Grace Church - Pastor Bill Cain

Purpose: To see the necessity of "Hellfire and brimstone" as a Gospel message.

Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ~ Luke 3:7

Elements of evangelism from this question:

1. God is angry;
2. This anger is simply God’s righteous reaction to our sin;
3. This bad news is the prerequisite for the Good News;
4. This is bad news about ourselves;
5. The bad news of our sin tells us that only God can remedy the problem;
6. This is something about ourselves, then, which we cannot simply undo, erase, or recover from;
7. A day is established when God will deal with man in His just anger;
8. This coming day is part of our appeal to men;
9. Baptism is held forth as a symbol for those who desire inner cleansing;
10. A man's motives in responding to a call to repentance are not safely assumed to be altogether sincere; and
11. It is God who must warn us of the coming vengeance.

Conclusion: God's wrath is unpopular today, even in the Church.  We deemphasize it as a trait less worthy of the God we love. We thereby cripple our fear of God and introduce men to a God they cannot fear.  Can this ever be the real God-the One who wrote the Bible?

To listen to the sermon -->Message Link

Are You Being Changed Into His Image?

Blog post from Sovereign Grace Apologetics



Let me preface this blog post by noting that sanctification has multiple meanings but I will only be dealing with sanctification as it pertains to holy living.

The biblical teaching of sanctification is one that is neglected much today. This doctrine alone would show us that much of what is called Christianity in America is nothing more than paganism with biblical names attached to it. Why do I say this? Well because God has promised that those He saves, He will also bring about a practical holiness in their lives for His glory. Let’s see a couple of verses about this promise. These verses actually teach more than one doctrine, first regeneration then sanctification.

Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

Eze 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Notice verse 26 teaches regeneration but then God follows by saying He would cause us to walk in His statutes. Does this mean that we will keep God’s commandments perfectly? Of course not! The word “walk” is used for a way of life. Our way of life as Christians is keeping the commandments of God. This is our practice, as Christians we are not workers of iniquity (Ps. 5:5; Matt. 7:23) but workers of rigteousness. (1 Jn. 3:6-7) We seek to glorify God in all things, though we fail often, we try. We set Christ before our eyes and seek to move closer to Him and by doing so we pluck out eyes, we sever limbs, we forsake all to get a better glimpse of His glory!

The Christian life is by no means a walk in the park. Now it’s true that in position we are perfectly holy, righteous, and sanctified by faith in Christ. (Rom. 4; Eph. 2:8) It is also true that we are called to live holy lives in this crooked and perverse world. The unbelieving cannot do this because the unregenerated mind is at enmity with God and cannot submit to His laws. (Rom. 8:7)

The only reason any Christian will keep God’s commandments is not only because the Spirit regenerates our hearts but also because the Spirit is still working in us to keep His commandments. (Phil. 2:13) Like the verses that were mentioned in the beginning of this post, God promised He would cause us to keep His commandments! What God promises to do He does! If He promises that those He saves will walk in His commandments they will because He will make sure of it. There is no such creature as a true Christian who doesn’t obey Christ. Jesus said, “if you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (Jn. 14:15) This is the essence of being a Christian, loving Christ. If we don’t love Christ we are none of His and He doesn’t love us. (Matt. 7:23) It’s not our love for Him that compels Him to love us though. It’s His love for us that initiates us to love Him in return. (1 Jn. 4:19) Then in our love for Him we obey Him. It’s not guilt that compels true obedience but love. So as preachers we have an obligation to continually reinforce God’s love for His elect, which is the same love He has for His Son. (Jn. 17:23)

So in closing let me point some things out. First, as Christians we will no doubt seek to serve God and love Him more and more. Why? Because God promised it and makes sure it comes about. Second, as Christians we serve and love Him because He loves us. He loves us so much that He chose us before the foundation of the world, He came and died to secure our salvation, He indwells us with His Spirit, and He moves us into a sanctifying lifestyle by the power of His Spirit. God says, “without holiness (sanctification) no man shall see,” Him and He makes sure His people are being sanctified.

The Reformed Sermon Archives

The Reformed Sermon Archives

Richard Baxter - 22 sermons

John Calvin - 25 sermons

Stephen Charnock - 3 sermons

Jonathan Edwards - 43 sermons

John Flavel - 19 sermons

Thomas Goodwin - 7 sermons

William Guthrie - 17 sermons

Christopher Love - 5 sermons

Martin Luther - 26 sermons

John Owen - 30 sermons

J.C. Ryle - 47 sermons

Charles Spurgeon - 32 sermons

Thomas Watson - 7 sermons

George Whitefield - 38 sermons

Puritans

While out browsing :-) I found this site with links to a variety of Puritan writers.  Enjoy.

Anne Dutton (1692-1765) (4 links)	Charles Simeon (1759–1836) (3 links)
Christmas Evans (1766-1838) (3 links)	Christopher Love (1618-1651) (6 links)
Cotton Mather (1663-1728) (11 links)	David Clarkson (1622-1686) (5 links)
David Dickson (1583-1662) (8 links)	Edmund Calamy the Elder (1600-1666) (1 links)
George Gillespie (5 links)	George Whitefield (1714–1770) (32 links)
Henry Scougal (1650 - 1678) (4 links)	Herbert Palmer (1601-1647) (2 links)
Historical and Acedemic Resources (22 links)	Hugh Binning (1627-1653) (11 links)
Isaac Ambrose (1604-1663/4) (2 links)	Isaac Watts (1674–1748) (8 links)
Jeremiah Burroughs (1600-1646) (16 links)	Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667) (17 links)
John Angell James (1785—1859) (22 links)	John Ball (1585 - 1640) (1 links)
John Bunyan (1628-1688) (36 links)	John Colquhoun (1748-1827) (6 links)
John Cotton (1585-1652) (4 links)	John Flavel (1628-1691) (43 links)
John Howe (1630-1705) (11 links)	John Hurrion (1676–1731) (3 links)
John Lightfoot (1602-1675) (6 links)	John Newton (1725-1807) (27 links)
John Owen (1616-1683) (107 links)	John Robinson (1575-1625) (3 links)
John Welsh (1568-1622) (1 links)	Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) (157 links)
Joseph Alleine (1634-1668) (6 links)	Joseph Hall (1574-1656) (11 links)
Matthew Henry (1662-1714) (28 links)	Matthew Mead (1629-1699) (4 links)
Misc. Puritans (22 links)	Philip Doddridge (1702-1751) (8 links)
Ralph Erskine (1685-1752) (29 links)	Ralph Venning (1621-1643) (1 links)
Richard Baxter (1615-1691) (40 links)	Richard Sibbes (1577-1635) (36 links)
Robert Baillie (1602-1662) (6 links)	Robert Leighton (1611-1684) (7 links)
Robert Traill (1642-1716) (16 links)	Samuel Bolton (1606-1654) (5 links)
Samuel Clarke (1675-1729) (1 links)	Samuel Rutherford (1600–1661) (14 links)
Simeon Ashe (d. 1662) (3 links)	Stephen Charnock (1628-1680) (21 links)
Thomas Boston (1676-1732) (41 links)	Thomas Brooks (1608-1680) (40 links)
Thomas Cartwright (1535-1603) (3 links)	Thomas Case (1598–1682) (3 links)
Thomas Doolitle (1630-1707) (4 links)	Thomas Goodwin (1600-1680) (37 links)
Thomas Gouge (1605-1681) (1 links)	Thomas Hooker (1586-1647) (2 links)
Thomas Manton (1620-1677) (25 links)	Thomas Shepard (1605-1649) (31 links)
Thomas Vincent (1634–1678) (8 links)	Thomas Watson (1620—1686) (106 links)
Walter Marshall (1628-1680) (4 links)	William Ames (1576-1633) (2 links)
William Bates (1625-1699) (6 links)	William Bradford (1590-1657) (4 links)
William Bridge (1600–1671) (6 links)	William Cave (1637-1713) (4 links)
William Gurnall (1617-1679) (9 links)	William Guthrie (1620-1665) (29 links)
William Perkins (1558-1602) (2 links)