The true gospel is radically exclusive. Jesus is not a way; he is the way, and all other ways are no way at all... We live in an age of humanism - over the last several decades, man has fought to purge God from his conscience and culture. He has managed to make himself the center of all things.
If someone is truly converted, they will publicly confess Christ in word and deed. That does not mean presenting them in front of the church on the night of their supposed conversion.
Again, the moment a person calls on the Lord he is saved. But the evidence is not that one time in their life they were sincere when they prayed a prayer. The evidence of their salvation is ... is there genuine repentance? Is there faith? And do both those evangelical graces continue on in their life and grow?
God is an inexhaustible source of all we need. Our unbelief is discovered in how little we avail ourselves of this infinite fountain
The greatest act of judgment that God can pour out on a people is being poured out on America, and it is this: He's taken away the knowledge of God, and He's closed the mouth of those who are supposed to be speaking for Him. So that little boys lead us with their silly little ideas and we like it that way, because we really do want our best life now.
If we judge our lives by what we know or by what we say, we can easily deceive ourselves into thinking that we are something we are not; it is wiser to evaluate ourselves by the amount of truth we actually live. This is very humbling.
Are we willing to risk being misunderstood and maligned in order that truth might be told and men might be saved? Identifying a malady and explaining its seriousness are always the first steps to finding a cure... God has ordained that men come to conviction of sin, repentance, and saving faith through preaching. Yet how can the [Holy] Spirit use our preaching if we are not willing to expose sin or call men to repentance?
A Theologian has nothing on a man who has experienced God
The Christian ministry is difficult, and we must not be lazy or trite. However, we often place burdens upon ourselves and make demands upon ourselves that are not according to the will of God. The more I know God and understand His perfect work on my behalf, the more I am able to rest.
Prior to the reign of the godly King Josiah, the law of God had been lost in the temple for many years. Has the same thing occurred among us? Has the evangel been lost among evangelicals?
The question is not whether you would like to pray this prayer and ask Jesus to come into your heart - after all, you know, the handle to your heart is on the inside and if you do not open it Jesus cannot come in. My friend, Jesus is Lord of your heart and if He wants to come in, He will kick the door down.
Most of you live your life on flimsy little songs, not upon the word of God.
Maybe that is why there are not a whole lot of problems between the church and worldly culture today, because we are not confronting the culture around us.
We are Christians because we find our identity, life, and purpose in Christ. We are evangelical because we believe the gospel and esteem it as the great central truth of God's revelation to men.
We have taken that truth, that if you truly believe and you confess Christ even if it costs you your life ... we have taken that beautiful truth and reduced it down to, "If you pray a little prayer before a bunch of people in a church in America, you can be guaranteed you were saved if you think you were sincere."
The most precise and thoughtful scholar is limited in what he knows and wrong in some things that he affirms; the most devoted saint is stained with sin and full of error; the bravest heart among us will fail and break; but Christ is altogether lovely, holy, and unfailing.
Christ is not knocking on the door of a sinner's heart, but on the door of a wayward church.
We deal five minutes with a person and their conversion and then we spend the next fifty years trying to disciple a goat into a sheep. I'm not saying this because I'm angry. I'm saying this because countless people are being deceived.
We don't have a lot of churches in America; we have a lot of really nice brick buildings on finely manicured lawns! Just because someone says they are of the Church or they are Christian, doesn't make it so.
To the self-righteous, being judged according to deeds does not seem too alarming but to the man who knows himself the thought is terrifying.
You have Jesus and Jesus has you or you are barren and wasted and lost!
Jesus ... HIS sheep, they know His voice and they follow Him whether you disciple them or not!
God does not call men to make Jesus Lord (as though they had such power), but to live in absolute submission to the Lord He has made.
Christ's lordship is a blessed hope for some & a terrifying nightmare for others. Regardless of our response, it is an unalterable reality.
Look to the fields white unto harvest; pray for the fields; prepare for the fields; go to the fields or support those who go.
