Therapeutic Gospel = False Gospel: Self-esteem vs Christ-esteem

Therapeutic Gospel = False Gospel: Self-esteem vs Christ-esteem

by Patte Smith on Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 8:01pm ·

in our culture — even in the church — it's common to interpret human desires automatically as givens. They're seen as unalterable and valid wants that must be fulfilled. The troubles that beset our desires arise because our desires are not fulfilled, our felt needs have not been met.

When this way of looking at things is ported into Christianity, then the gospel of Jesus becomes the better way to 'meet your needs.' Perhaps your sin is that you look to your girlfriend/boyfriend or spouse to meet your need for love, when Jesus is the one who lives to meet that need. In this way of looking at things, God's chief purpose is often portrayed as merely giving us what we deeply desire, gratifying our deepest instinctive longings. This way of describing how God interacts with our desires is a "therapeutic gospel." It offers to heal the woundedness we feel because our needs weren't met. It offers to fill those empty places inside with Jesus.

I think that the therapeutic gospel gets it wrong. It gets God wrong. It gets people wrong. It gets suffering wrong. It gets the gospel wrong.

... I want us to carefully understand what's at stake. I want us to truly see and feel the inner logic of both the therapeutic gospel and the ordinary gospel. We'll start in what might seem like an odd place: in Russia, almost 150 years ago, in the pages of Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel, The Brothers Karamazov. The appeal of a "therapeutic gospel" drives the action in the most famous chapter in all of western literature. In the chapter "The Grand Inquisitor," Dostoevsky imagines Jesus returning to 16th century Spain. But Jesus is not welcomed by church authorities. The cardinal of Seville, head of the Inquisition, arrests and imprisons Jesus, condemning Him to die. Why? The church has shifted course. It has decided to meet instinctual human cravings, rather than call people to repentance. It has decided to bend its message to "felt needs," rather than call forth the high, holy and difficult freedom of faith working through love. Jesus' example and message are deemed too hard for weak souls. And so the church has decided to make it easier. The Grand Inquisitor visits Jesus in His prison cell and interrogates Him. He asks again the three questions the devil put to Jesus in the wilderness centuries before. He argues with Jesus' answers. People are hungry, so the church will give earthly bread instead of the bread of heaven. People need a sense of mysterious powers, so the church will offer religious magic and miracles instead of faith in the Word of God. People need political stability, so the church will exert temporal power and authority instead of serving the call to freedom. "We have corrected Your work," the Inquisitor says to Jesus. In each of His answers to temptation, Jesus set the bar too high for normal people.

The Inquisitor's gospel is a therapeutic gospel. It's structured to give people what they want, not to change what they want. It merely makes people feel better. It centers exclusively around the immediate welfare of man and temporal happiness. It discards the glory of God in Christ. It forfeits the narrow, difficult road that brings deep human flourishing and eternal joy.

This therapeutic gospel accepts and covers for human weaknesses, seeking to ameliorate the most obvious symptoms of distress. It takes human nature as a given, because human nature is too hard to change. It does not want the King of heaven to come down. It does not attempt to change people into lovers of God who embrace the truth of who Jesus is, what He is like, what He does.

..In this new gospel, the great evils to be redressed do not call for any fundamental change of direction in the human heart. Instead, my deepest problems are merely limited to what has happened to me. It's not something about me that has also gone woefully astray. It's only about my sense of rejection because others have not loved me thoughtfully and well. It's my corrosive experience of life's vanity, because I haven't been able to have the impact I want, to be recognized as Somebody Who Matters. It's my nervous sense of self-condemnation and diffidence, because my self-esteem is wobbly. It's the imminent threat of boredom if my music is turned off. It's how so much of life is routine; I love the adrenaline rush, and I don't like it when a long, slow road lies ahead. The gospel is enlisted to serve these particular cravings; Jesus and the church exist to make you feel loved, significant, validated, entertained and charged up.

This gospel ameliorates distressing symptoms. It makes you feel better. The logic of this therapeutic gospel is a Jesus-for-Me who meets individual desires and assuages psychic aches... [It] downplays the agency of the sinful human heart. It says "You are not the agent of your deepest problems. You might have some outward sins, but you are a mostly a sufferer and victim of unmet needs." The offer of a cure logically skips lightly over the sin-bearing Savior. It's more important that He meets your sense of need than that He was crucified in your place. Repentance from unbelief, willfulness and self-centeredness is not really the issue. Sinners are not called to a U-turn and to the new life that is life indeed. Such a gospel massages self-love. There is nothing in its inner logic to make you love God and love any other person besides yourself. This therapeutic gospel may often mention the word "Jesus," but He has morphed into the meeter-of-your-needs, not the Savior from your sins. It 'corrects' Jesus' work. The therapeutic gospel unhinges the gospel.

Because the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, we keenly feel a different set of needs when God comes into view and when we understand that we stand or fall in His gaze. My instinctual cravings are replaced (sometimes quickly, always gradually) by the growing awareness of true, life-and-death needs:
I need mercy above all else:


  "Lord, have mercy on me."
    "For Your Name's sake, pardon my iniquity for it is very great."


I want to learn wisdom, and unlearn willful self-preoccupation:
"Nothing you desire compares with her."


I need to learn to love both God and neighbor:
    "The goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith."

I long for God's name to be honored, for His kingdom to come, for His will to be done on earth, for His whole church to be glorified together.


I want Christ's glory and lovingkindness and goodness to be seen on earth, to fill the earth as obviously as water fills the ocean.
I need God to be my refuge and deliverer, setting me free from enemies, sufferings, sorrows, death, temptations.

I long for the Lord to wipe away all tears.

I need God to change me from who I am by instinct, choice, and practice.

I want Him to deliver me from my obsessive self-righteousness, to slay my lust for self-vindication, so that I feel my need for the mercies of Christ, so that I learn to treat others gently.

I need God's mighty and intimate help in order to will and to do those things that last unto eternal life, rather than squandering my life on vanities.

I want to learn how to endure hardship and suffering in hope, having my faith simplified, deepened, and purified.

I need to learn, to listen, to worship, to delight, to trust, to give thanks, to cry out, to take refuge, to obey, to serve, to hope.

I want to attain the resurrection to eternal life:
"We groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body."


I need God Himself:"Show me Your glory."

"Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus."

Make it so, Father of mercies. Make it so, Redeemer of all that is dark and broken.

Prayer expresses desire. Prayer expresses your felt sense of need. I've phrased these requests in the first person singular — I, me, my — to highlight the contrast with the list of psychological desires. The singular is not wrong as far as it goes. But each renewed desire functions on behalf of others also. (This stands in profound contrast with the psychological felt needs, which are always and only first person singular. Which of them ever becomes a felt longing for someone else to have gratified desires?!)

...There are no prayers or songs in the Bible that take their cues from the current therapeutic felt needs.

That mere fact should give serious pause to anyone drifting in the direction of a therapeutic understanding of how unexamined desires link up with Jesus' gospel. Imagine, "
My Father in heaven, help me feel that I'm OK just the way I am. Fill me with self-confidence. Protect me this day from having to do anything I find boring. Hallelujah, I'm indispensable, and what I'm doing is really having an impact on others, so I can feel good about my life."

Have mercy upon us! Instead, in our Bible we hear a thousand cries of need and shouts of delight that orient us to our real needs and to our true Savior.

...the diagnostic labels (and street wisdom...) never mention the E-word: evil. What distorts our lives? Evil. What breaks our lives. Evils, both inside and out. Something very dark and very complex is going on. Bad stuff comes at you, and bad stuff is an operating system inside you. No one can fail to see evidence of evil. You feel it. You participate. But people don't want to name it for what it is. We might admit the evil of a Hitler or a suicide bomber killing innocent children. We fail to see the evils operating in normal problems. ..If you acknowledge the scope of the problem of evil, then you realize you need a Savior. If evil infects us all, then someone not under the power of evil must bring light and life from outside the system of darkness and death. That person is Jesus Christ. ...God sees what's operating on the inside, as well as what's oozing out for all to see. He sizes it up for what it is, and then helps us to understand life the same way he does.

These patterns of inner motivation are what the Bible calls your "heart." We generate substitutes for God. The false masters are "little gods" that become 'I GOTTA HAVE THAT!' Our blind, misplaced devotion enslaves us. We express our submission to little gods by destructive lifestyles, by our emotions, thoughts, words, and choices that the Bible calls foolish. God wants us to see our hearts the way He sees us. Inside and out, this is exactly what Jesus came to forgive and aims to transform.


    Jesus died to overthrow the dictatorship of the flesh
    Jesus died so that you won't die clinging tight to your idols
    Jesus died so you won't waste your life massaging and refining self-preoccupation
    Jesus lives to become your true Master

Here's the whole message in a sound bite:  

"He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves
but for Him who for their sake died and was raised"
~ 2 Corinthians 5:15

David Powlison

In thanks to God for those who persevere in ministering at abortuaries

In thanks to God for those who persevere in ministering at abortuaries

by Patte Smith on Wednesday, November 23, 2011 at 11:11am ·

 
John Barros preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to abortion-bound mothers and fathers with the truth horn.

Perseverance in serving Jesus is rare. Perseverance in serving Jesus as a missionary outside abortuaries is even rarer. How beautiful to see a servant of the Lord remain faithful to go to the killing fields to rescue the perishing. The definition of pure and undefiled religion in the Bible is:"to visit the orphans ... in their affliction" (James 1:27), yet, in truth, how many practice this kind of Christianity? How many believers make their way to intervene for the poor helpless imperiled babies, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year?  Few. Very, very, very few. Truly, these dear Christians are those ...
'Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." I Peter 1: 5

Charles Spurgeon's devotional on 'Acquiring Perseverance' made me think about John Barros and the other faithful believers who have been raised up and kept to bring Him glory in the bloody field of souls called 'abortion clinics'. Today's note is to honor and thank God for His grace which keeps these dear soldiers of the Cross going when they are weary, faint and tempted to abandon the most neglected mission field in America. It is a tribute to those who do not grow weary in well-doing. You know who you are.

And let us not be weary in well doing:
for in due season we shall reap,
if we faint not.
Galatians 6:9

Patte Smith
Sanctuary Ministries
www.sanctuaryministries.blogspot.com


The LORD thy God
will put out those nations before thee
by little and little.
Deuteronomy 7:22

We are not to expect to win victories for the LORD Jesus by a single blow. Evil principles and practices die hard. In some places it takes years of labor to drive out even one of the many vices which defile the inhabitants. We must carry on the war with all our might, even when favored with little manifest success.

Our business in this world is to conquer it for Jesus. We are not to make compromises but to exterminate evils. We are not to seek popularity but to wage unceasing war with iniquity.

The LORD our God can alone accomplish this. He works by His faithful servants, and blessed be His Name. He promises that He will so work. "Jehovah thy God will put out those nations before thee." This He will do by degrees that we may learn perseverance, may increase in faith, may earnestly watch, and may avoid carnal security. Let us thank God for a little success and pray for more. Let us never sheathe the sword till the whole land is won for Jesus.

Courage, my heart! Go on little by little, for many littles will make a great whole.

~ Charles Spurgeon

Christianity 101: Human Depravity

Christianity 101: Human Depravity

by Patte Smith on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 3:44pm ·

We live in a culture that has elevated pride to the status of a virtue. Self-esteem, positive feelings..are what our society encourages people to seek. At the same time moral responsibility is being replaced by victimism, which teaches people to blame someone else for their personal failures & iniquities. Frankly, the biblical teachings about human depravity, sin, & guilt are not compatible with any of those ideas.
~ John MacArthur

Fundamental Christian/Biblical Doctrines are basics to the faith, yet many, if not most, Christians are woefully uneducated regarding the foundtional truths of Christianity. Everyone who claims Christ should be familiar with them. Human Depravity is most certainly one of those fundamentals.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the Word of truth.
~ II Timothy 2:15

Here are some excerpts on HUMAN DEPRAVITY for you to study.

The testimony of Scripture is explicit, both as to man's inability to perceive the glory of God, and the total absence from his heart of anything answering to a genuine love. Every Scripture which teaches that his understanding is blinded by sin, that his mind is darkness, that he needs a special illumination of the Spirit of God in order to be able to cognize Divine things, teaches most explicitly that in his natural condition he is destitute of the lowest germ of holiness. 
~ James Henley Thornwell

I will show you the eight particular properties of a man without Christ.

     1. Every man without Jesus Christ is a base man.
     2. He is a bondman.
     3. He is a beggarly man.
     4. He is a blind man.
     5. He is a deformed man.
     6. He is a disconsolate man.
     7. He is a dead man; and
     8. He is a damned man.

Every man who is out of Christ comes from a base origin. He does not have his origin from the Spirit, but from the flesh. He does not proceed from God who is the Father of lights, but from the devil who is the prince of darkness.

He is base because he commits base actions. All the actions and services of a Christ-less man, at best, are but as filthy rags and dead works. A man, in his unconverted state, is the slave and drudge of the devil, a worker of wickedness, still fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, being given over to vile affections.

He is a base man who is without Christ because he aims at base ends in whatever he does, and that two ways.
(1) In this world he aims at base ends in his hearing, reading, praying, and profession of religion. He minds himself and his own ends in all that he does.
(2) All his actions tend to base ends in another world. As the actions of a man in Christ tend to salvation, so the actions of a Christ-less man tend to damnation.
Second, a man without Christ is not only a base man, but a bondman. This Christ tells you in John 8:36, If the Son shall make you free, then are you free indeed, intimating that if you do not have an interest in Christ to free you from the slavery of sin and Satan, you are slaves indeed. This bondage and slavery, likewise, consists in three particulars: 1. they are slaves to sin; 2. to the devil, and 3. to the law.

1. Every Christ-less man is a slave to sin. In John 8:34, Jesus says, Verily I say unto you, whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin, and in 2 Peter 2:19, While they promise them liberty, they themselves are servants of corruption, for of whom a man is overcome, of the same he is brought into bondage. Every man, by nature, is a slave to his lusts, a slave to sin..

2. He is not only in bondage and slavery to sin, but to the devil, too. The last two verses of 2 Timothy 2 say, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance, to the acknowledging of the truth, that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

3. He is in bondage to the law, that is, he does nothing in obedience to the law; and this is the great misery of a man without Christ. He is bound to keep the whole law of God...All wicked men are slaves to antichrist, to sin and to the law, and this is the great misery of an unregenerate man.

You are..but a beggarly man, too, without Jesus Christ; for all the treasures of grace and mercy are hid and locked up in Christ.. Colossians 2:13, In Him are hid all the treasure of wisdom and knowledge. If you are out of Christ, you have nothing.

A man without Christ is that he is a blind man. Wicked men, during their unregeneracy, are called "darkness." Ephesians 5:8, You were sometime darkness, but now are you light in the Lord, walk as children of the light. So light is come into the world, and yet men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.

Jesus Christ is to the soul that which the sun is to the earth. Take away the sun from the earth and it is nothing but a dungeon of darkness. So take away Christ from the soul and it is nothing but a dungeon of the devil. Though there is a Christ in the world, if the heart is shut and Jesus Christ is not in you, you are in a state of darkness and blindness.

Every man without Christ is a deformed man..
A man without Christ is like a body full of sores and blotches. He is like a dark house without light and a body without a head, and such a man must be a deformed man.

A Christ-less man is that he is a disconsolate man. Christ is the only spring of comfort and the fountain of all joy and consolation. Take away Christ from the soul and it is as if you took the sun away from the firmament...There is nothing in the world that sweetens the comforts and gives us joy in the possession of the things of this world more than having an interest in Jesus Christ...Though you have abundance of the things of this life, though you have more than enough, yet if you do not have an interest in Christ, you have nothing.

A man out of Christ is that he is a dead man. You know that common place in I John 5:12, He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son hath not life. Hence we read in Ephesians 2:1 that unregenerate men are dead in trespasses and sins, and the reason is that Christ is a believer's life. Colossians 3:3, Our life is hid with Christ in God. Take away Christ from a man and you take away his life, and take away life from a man and he is a dead lump of flesh. Unregenerate men are termed...dead in their sins... He is spiritually dead...He does not feel the weight and burden of all his sins...So, being spiritually dead, you can lay claim to nothing, neither to grace, nor mercy, heaven, or happiness by Jesus Christ.

A dead man is still rotting and returning to the dust from whence he came; and so a man who is spiritually dead falls from iniquity to iniquity, and from one sin to another, until at last he drops down into hell fire.

A Christ-less man is that he is a damned man. If he lives and dies without Christ, he is a damned man. So says John 3:18, 'He that believeth not, he is condemned already.'..You who are without Christ must be without heaven, and consequently without happiness and salvation, and therefore you must be damned.
So that you see in these eight particular properties, in what a sad and miserable condition every Christ-less man is in, and oh! that what has now been declared concerning the wretchedness of a Christ-less man might provoke every soul among you to a holy eagerness and earnestness of spirit, above all your gettings to labor to get Jesus Christ.
~ Christopher Love
http://www.puritansermons.com/sermons/love1.htm

Are human beings basically good or basically evil?

The Bible says that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
Despite this verdict on human shortcomings, the idea persists in our humanistically dominated culture that... people are inherently good.

Next to Adolf Hitler the ordinary run-of-the-mill sinner looks like a saint. But if we lift our gaze to the ultimate standard of goodness - the holy character of God - we realize that what appears to be a basic goodness on an earthly level is corrupt to the core..


The Bible teaches the total depravity of the human race. Total depravity means radical corruption... Total depravity means that I and everyone else are depraved or corrupt in the totality of our being. There is no part of us that is left untouched by sin. Our minds, our wills, and our bodies are affected by evil. We speak sinful words, do sinful deeds, have impure thoughts. Our very bodies suffer from the ravages of sin.
Perhaps "radical corruption" is a better term to describe our fallen condition than "total depravity." ..."Radical" comes from the Latin word for "root" or "core." Our problem with sin is that it is rooted in the core of our being. It permeates our hearts. It is because sin is at our core and not merely at the exterior of our lives that the Bible says: "There is none righteous, no not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one." Romans 3:10-12

It is because of this condition that the verdict of Scripture is heard: we are "dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1); we are "sold under sin" (Romans 7:14); we are in "captivity to the law of sin" (Romans 7:23); and "by nature children of wrath" (Ephesians 2:3). Only by the quickening power of the Holy Spirit may we be brought out of this state of spiritual death. It is God who makes us alive as we become His craftsmanship (Ephesians 2:1-10).

Summary:

1. Humanism sees sin at the edge or periphery of human life. It considers
human beings to be basically good.

2. Biblical Christianity teaches that sin permeates the core of our life.


3. Total depravity is not utter depravity. We are not as wicked as we
possibly could be.

4. Radical corruption points to the core sinfulness of our hearts.

Biblical passages for reflection:
Jeremiah 17:9
Romans 8:1-11
Ephesians 2:1-3
Ephesians 4:17-19
1 John 1:8-10

~ RC Sproul
http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/sproul/depravity.html

• Psalm 143:2 - ...no one living is righteous before you.
• Romans 3:23 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
• 2 Chronicles 6:36 - "there is no one who does not sin"
• Isaiah 53:6 - All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way 
• Micah 7:2-4 - The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind; they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net. Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together. The best of them is like a brier, the most upright of them a thorn hedge.
• Romans 3:9-12 - What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (c.f. Psalm 14:1-3, 53:1-3)
• 1 John 1:8,10 - If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say we have not sinned, we make [God] a liar, and his word is not in us.
• Mark 10:18/Luke 18:19 - And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone."

c.f. 1 Kings 8:46; 116:11, 130:3, 143:2; Proverbs 20:9; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Jeremiah 2:29; Micah 7:2-4, Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19; Romans 5:12-14; 1 Corinthians 5:9-10; James 3:2; etc., etc.

• Mark 7:21-23 - "For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." (c.f. Matthew 15:19)
• Psalm 5:9 - For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.

Heart/Mind (Deceitful)

• Jeremiah 17:9 - "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"
• Titus 1:15-16 - to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
• Ecclesiastes 9:3 - Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
• Romans 1:28-31 - And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were... foolish
• Ephesians 4:17-18 - you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
• Jeremiah 10:7-8,14 - among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you. They are both stupid and foolish... Every man is stupid and without knowledge
• Matthew 15:19 - "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander." (c.f. Mark 7:21-23)
• Genesis 6:5 & 8:21 - The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually... from his youth.
• Proverbs 10:20 - the heart of the wicked is of little worth.
• Proverbs 28:26 - Whoever trusts in his own [heart] is a fool

c.f. Deuteronomy 29:2-4; Psalm 10:4, 36:1-2, 58:4-5, 94:11; Proverbs 10:20; Ecclesiastes 8:11; Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26; Matthew 13:14; Mark 7:21-23; Romans 8:7; Ephesians 4:17-18, 23
Will/Choosing (Enslaved)

• John 8:34 - Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin."
• 2 Peter 2:19 - They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.
• Titus 3:3 - For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
• Galatians 4:8-9 - Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?
• Romans 6:6,16,17,19,20 - We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey...? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed... For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
• Romans 7:14 - For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.
• 2 Timothy 2:25-26 - God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

c.f. Isaiah 42:6-7; Psalm 51:12; John 8:31-32,36; 2 Corinthians 3:17
Affections/Desires (Perverted)

• Romans 1:24-27 - Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
• Ephesians 2:3 - we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
• Proverbs 21:10 - The soul of the wicked desires evil
• John 3:19 - And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
• John 8:44 - "You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires."

c.f. Genesis 3:16; Psalm 4:2, 52:3-4 140:8; Proverbs 10:23; 2 Timothy 3:2-4; 2 Peter 2:13
et al (Utter Ruin)

• Titus 1:15-16 - to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
• Romans 7:18 - For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.
• Isaiah 1:5-6 - The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil.

Can men change themselves or still do good when they want to?

• Jeremiah 13:23 - Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil.
• 1 Samuel 24:13 - "As the proverb of the ancients says, 'Out of the wicked comes wickedness.'"
• Matthew 7:18 - "A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit." (c.f. Luke 6:43)
• Matthew 12:34-35 - "How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil."
• Romans 8:7 - For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
• Genesis 6:5 & 8:21 - The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually... from youth.
• Titus 1:15-16 - to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

c.f. Job 14:4; Matthew 12:34; John 15:5; Romans 14:23; Philippians 1:11; 1 John 5:18-19
Are men at least born pure? What about the "tabula rasa"?

• Psalm 51:5 - Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
• Genesis 8:21 - the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth."
• Psalm 58:3 - The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
• John 3:6 - "That which is born of the flesh is flesh"

c.f. Proverbs 22:15
What is the natural disposition of man toward God?

• John 3:20 - "For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed."
• Romans 8:7-8 - For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God
• Colossians 1:21 - And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds

c.f. Romans 1:28-30; James 4:4
What is man's relationship to God?

• Psalm 58:3 - The wicked are estranged from the womb;
• Ephesians 2:12-13 - remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
• Ephesians 2:3 - among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

c.f. Isaiah 59:2
Can man then do anything to please God?

• Proverbs 15:9 - The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord
• Proverbs 15:8 - The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord (c.f. Proverbs 21:27)
• Proverbs 28:9 - If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
• Isaiah 64:6 - We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
• Hebrews 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please [God]
• Romans 8:7-8 - Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

c.f. Psalm 50:16; Proverbs 21:4; Isaiah 1:10-15; Amos 5:21-24

Are men at least seeking God?

• Psalm 10:4 - In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
• John 3:20 - "For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed."
• Isaiah 65:1 - "I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.
• Isaiah 64:7 - There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.
• Romans 3:10-12 - "no one seeks for God."

c.f. Romans 10:20

Then what becomes of our boasting?

• Romans 3:27 - It is excluded.

c.f. 1 Corinthians 1:28-29, 4:7; Ephesians 2:9-9
http://www.traviscarden.com/articles/total-depravity-verse-list

Sin is called the plague of the heart (I Kings 8:38), foolishness bound up in the heart (Prov. 22:15), "the stony heart" (Ezek. 11:19), "the evil treasure" of the heart (Matt. 12:35). It is designated "the poison of asps" (Rom 3:13), "the old man," because it is derived from the first man and is part and parcel of us since the beginning of our own existence, and "the body of sin" (Rom. 6:6), for it is an assortment of evils, the "sin that dwelleth in me" (Rom. 7:17). It is labeled "another law in my members" (Rom. 7:23) because of its unvarying nature and power, "the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:2), "the carnal mind" which is "enmity against God" (Rom. 8:7). It is frequently spoken of as "the flesh" (Gal. 5:17) because conveyed by natural generation, "the old man, which is corrupt" (Eph. 4:22), "the sin which doth so easily beset us" (Heb. 12:1), man’s "own lust" (James 1:14), which inclines him to evil deeds.

It should be quite plain from our definitions and descriptions of congenital sin that the human constitution is not merely negatively defective, but positively depraved. There are in man’s heart not only the lack of conformity to the divine law but a deformity. Not only is the natural man without any desire for holiness; he is born with a disposition which is now radically opposed to it. Therefore he not only has no love for God, but is full of enmity against Him. Sin is also likened to "leaven" (I Cor. 5:6-7). Sin is not only the absence of beauty, but the presence of horrid ugliness; not simply the unlovely, but the hateful; not only the want of order, but real disorder. As "righteousness" expresses objectively the qualities which constitute what is good, and "holiness" the subjective state which is the root of righteousness, so sin includes not only outward acts of transgression, but the evil and rotten state of the whole inner man which inclines to and animates those external iniquities. Very far from being only an "infirmity," indwelling sin is a loathsome disease.
~ AW Pink
http://www.reformationfiles.com/files/displaytext.php?file=pink_depravity.html#chapter7

The sin of presumption

The sin of presumption

by Patte Smith on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 12:47pm ·

Shaniqua arrived to kill her baby this morning. She says she is a Christian. She has a Bible in her car. She says that she has already asked for forgiveness. Jesus was kind to send one of His servants, John Barros, to speak the truth in love to this wayward religious woman. Shaniqua spurned his holy counsel and warning from the Lord. She is counting on the grace of Jesus to atone for her sexual immorality and the murder of this, and perhaps other, infants. Shaniqua is like many professing Christians we meet who comfort themselves with religious lies, saying "Let us do evil that good might come. Let us sin more that grace might abound." (Romans 3:8;6:1-2) God forbid!

No murderer has eternal life abiding in him....
But..murderers..shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone:
which is the second death.
~ I John 3:15;Revelation 21:8 

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
~ Hebrews 10:31

What does the Bible have to say about presumptuous sin?

The following is excerpted from Thomas Watson's brilliant and penetrating biblical treatise on Degrees of Sin. Watson writes:


Some sins have a greater degree of punishment than others. 'Ye shall receive the greater damnation.' Matt 23: 14. 'Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?' God would not punish one more than another if his sin was not greater. It is true, 'all sins are equally heinous in respect of the object,' or the infinite God, against whom sin is committed, but, in another sense, all sins are not alike heinous; some sins have more bloody circumstances in them, which are like the dye to the wool, to give it a deeper colour.

Such sins are more heinous that are committed presumptuously. Under the law there was no sacrifice for presumptuous sins. (Numbers 15: 30). What is the sin of presumption, which heightens and aggravates sin, and makes it more heinous?

To sin presumptuously, is to sin against convictions and illuminations, or an enlightened conscience. 'They are of those that rebel against the light.' Job 24: 13. Conscience, like the cherubim, stands with a flaming sword in its hand to deter the sinner; and yet he will sin. Did not Pilate sin against conviction.. in condemning Christ? (Matt 27: 18.) He confessed he 'found no fault in him.' Luke 23: 14. His own wife sent to him saying, 'Have nothing to do with that just man.' Matt 27: 19. Yet for all this, he gave the sentence of death against Christ. He sinned presumptuously, against an enlightened conscience. To sin ignorantly does something to extenuate and pare off the guilt. 'If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin,' that is, their sin had been less. (John 15: 22). But to sin against illuminations and convictions enhances men's sins. These sins make deep wounds in the soul; other sins fetch blood; they are a stab at the heart.

When a man sins after counsels, admonitions, warnings, he cannot plead ignorance. The trumpet of the gospel has been blown in his ears, and sounded a retreat to call him off from his sins, he has been told of his injustice...yet he would venture upon sin. This is to sin against conviction; it aggravates the sin, and is like a weight put into the scale, to make his sin weigh the heavier... it is presumption; and if he be cast away, who will pity him?

When a man sins against express combinations and threatening. God has thundered out threatenings against such sins...Though God set the point of His sword to the breast of a sinner, he will still commit sin. The pleasure of sin delights him more than the threatenings affright him... 'he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.' Job 41: 29. Nay, he derides God's threatenings. 'Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it:' we have heard much what God intends to do, and of judgement approaching, we would fain see it. (Isa 5: 19). For men to see the flaming sword of God's threatening brandished, yet to strengthen themselves in sin, is in an aggravated manner to sin against illumination and conviction.

Those sins are more heinous than others which are committed under a pretence of religion. To cheat and defraud is a sin, but to do it with a Bible in one's hand, is a double sin. To be unchaste is a sin; but to put on a mask of religion to play the whore makes the sin greater. 'I have peace offerings with me; this day have I paid my vows; come let us take our fill of love.' Prov 7: 14, 15. She speaks as if she had been at church, and had been saying her prayers: who would ever have suspected her of dishonesty? But, behold her hypocrisy; she makes her devotion a preface to adultery. 'Which devour widows' houses, and for a show make long prayers.' Luke XX 47. The sin was not in making long prayers; for Christ was a whole night in prayer; but to make long prayers that they might do unrighteous actions, made their sin more horrid.

You see all sins are not equal; some are more grievous than others, and bring greater wrath; therefore especially take heed of these sins. 'Keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins.' Psa 19: 13. The least sin is bad enough; you need not aggravate your sins, and make them more heinous. He that has a little wound will not make it deeper. Oh, beware of those circumstances which increase your sin and make it more heinous! The higher a man is in sinning, the lower he shall lie in torment.

What are you looking at?

What are you looking at?

by Patte Smith on Monday, November 21, 2011 at 11:21am ·

When You said, "Seek My face," my heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek."
~ Psalm 27:8

What are we putting before our eyes?

"I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes:
I hate the work of them that turn aside;
it shall not cleave to me."
 ~ Psalm 101:3

Do you hate the work of them that turn aside from the truth, or do you waste hours watching it?

Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity;
and quicken Thou me in Thy way.
~ Psalm 119:37

Don't be deceived. If you spend much time watching a television, you are being affected spiritually.
At the very least, you are wasting time God has given you for more noble pursuits,
and at the worst, you are being trained by the devil's children to think the way they do.

Satan is only too happy to keep you chained to his flashing images.

Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt...
~ I Corinthians. 15:33

"I only watch sports..."
You participate in the idolatries of this world, squandering the time God has given you for greater things--such as active fatherhood, being the active priest of your home, and other ministries you could pursue with the wasted time.
~ Melissa Bannan Robinson

Remove far from me vanity and lies..lest I...
take the Name of my God in vain.
~ Proverbs 30:7-9

We'll be filled with whatever we fill ourselves with!
Fill yourself with the junk of the world and reap the rottenness and darkness of it.
Fill yourself with God's Word, praise and worship and reap the joy and light of it!
Media has a stronger influence on us than we realize and if it's not specifically godly, it's just clutter at best! ~ Rachel Giarrizzo

Lightening hit our tv years ago and I sang in my heart when it happened.
We will never replace it.
~ Deb Maxwell

If the eyes do not see, perhaps the heart may not desire:
at any rate, one door of temptation is closed when we do not even look at the painted bauble.
Sin first entered man's mind by the eye, and it is still a favorite gate for the incoming of Satan's allurements: hence the need of a double watch upon that portal.
The prayer is not so much that the eyes may be shut as "turned away";
for we need to have them open, but directed to right objects.
Perhaps we are now gazing upon folly, we need to have our eyes turned away;
and if we are beholding heavenly things we shall be wise to beg that our eyes may be kept away from vanity. Why should we look on vanity? - it melts away as a vapor. Why not look upon things eternal?
Sin is vanity, unjust gain is vanity, self conceit is vanity,
and, indeed, all that is not of God comes under the same head.
From all this we must turn away.
~ Charles Spurgeon

I don't think Christians understand the impact filthy, useless vanity and empty religion has on their souls. It's a faith & holiness drain. Spurgeon gets it! Why do we settle for painted baubles when we can have our eyes on the all-glorious One? If our eyes and hearts are directed towards our Beloved, we are filled with His beauty and goodness and a burning hatred of sin and evil. The more we drink of the living waters of life and eternity the more we will want more of the the Truth and the more we will spurn and abhor the counterfeit and lies of the world and worldly, hollow religion.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
Romans 8:14

A person who has never been healthy and strong will not know how poorly they are. They will come to believe that malaise and fatigue is 'normal'. It is the same with spiritual health. I am afraid that most church-goers are content with so very little and only have a vague sense of the impoverishment of their souls. They are suckling from the tainted milk of the world, even IN the church, and never develop a taste for strong meat. These are perpetual infants or, at best, adolescents ~ including the pulpiteers.

For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the Word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
~ Hebrews 5:14

Milk is the food of children. Those who are immature neither desire, nor can digest, anything else. We need grown men & women who are not addicted to the artificial non-dairy creamers of the world. It would be wonderful if the heads of the home were desperately hungry for spiritual meat instead of craving worldly fare. It would be such a blessing if the leaders of the various gatherings of the Body (under-shepherds) were the most spiritually-minded meaty people in their fellowship. Sadly, this is often not the case. They too are on a steady diet of vanity & unredemptive entertainment. Do not follow such men.

Yes, they are greedy dogs Which never have enough.
And they are shepherds who cannot understand;
they all look to their own way,
every one for his own gain, from his own territory.
 ~ Isaiah 56:11

Beware. This is the way and life of the hypocrite. The churchlings may not notice it, but you can be sure the worldlings recognize their own and mark them well. Those who are without observe that the affections of the professing Christian are worldly and they see how he minds earthly things, and how his way and walk are sensual and carnal. Joseph Alleine describes the wondrous way of true spiritual conversion:
It makes a new man in a new world.
It extends to the whole man—to the
mind, to the members, to the motions of the whole life.
Conversion turns the balance of the judgment, so that God
and His glory outweigh all carnal and worldly interests.You can hear Pastor John Piper's concern for the souls of professing Christians as he writes:
There is a kind of cavalier attitude toward our security today. There is little trembling. Little vigilance and earnestness and caution and watchfulness over our souls. There is a kind of casual, slack, careless attitude toward the possibility that we might make shipwreck of our faith and fail to lay hold on eternal life. We have the notion that security is a kind of mechanical, automatic thing. We prayed once to receive Jesus. We are safe and there is not place for "working out your salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12)....I plead with you, to "keep the presence of God." It is not automatic.

2 Chronicles 15:1-2 "The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you." Since we do not want God to forsake us, we must be watchful over our souls lest we forsake Him. It is true that God will never forsake His own children. But the proof that we are His children is that He works in us the vigilance not to forsake Him. God's not forsaking us is the work He does in us to keep us from forsaking Him (Philippians 2:12-13).

In 2 Corinthians 3:18 Paul says, "We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another." In other words, seeing the glory of Christ in the gospel is a great means of becoming like Jesus. This is how we are sanctified — seeing Christ.
~ John Piper


The Holy Spirit warns God's people:

Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world.
If any man love the world,
the love of the Father is not in him...
You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God...
 And be not conformed to this world:
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable,
and perfect, will of God.

~ I John 2:15, James 4:4, Romans 12:2


C. S. Lewis observed: “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

We are settling for cotton candy when we should be looking to the Cross. We look to the carnal when we can embrace the Incarnate.  Look to Jesus! They looked unto Him, and were lightened:
and their faces were not ashamed.
~ Psalm 34:5

Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth:
for I am God, and there is none else.
~ Isaiah 45:22

Thomas Watson admonished his brethren against chasing other lovers:

All the danger is when the world gets into the heart.
The water is useful for the sailing of the ship;
all the danger is when the water gets into the ship;
so the fear is when the world gets into the heart.

Let us repent of our 'inch deep, mile wide' Christianity.

Brethren,
be not children in understanding:
...but in understanding
be men.
1 Corinthians 14:20

Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding,
but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
~ Proverbs 17:24

Follow the Lamb! Jesus is all glorious! Christ's ways are perfect!

Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore!
~ Psalm 105:4

Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness,
you who seek the LORD:
look to the Rock from which you were hewn...
~ Isaiah 51:1

Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy;
Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD,
Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
~ Hosea 10:12

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected;
but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind;
and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.
~ Philippians 3:12-15

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above,
where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
~ Colossians 3:1-4


Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens.
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters,
as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He has mercy on us.
Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us!
~ Psalm 123:1-3

Diluted = Polluted

Diluted = Polluted

by Patte Smith on Sunday, November 20, 2011 at 4:59pm ·

Biblically-Anemic Preaching:
The Devastating Consequences of a Watered-Down Message
by John MacArthur

There are plenty of gifted communicators in the modern evangelical movement, but today’s sermons tend to be short, shallow, topical homilies that massage people’s egos and focus on fairly insipid subjects like human relationships, "successful" living, emotional issues, and other practical but worldly—and not definitively biblical—themes. These messages are lightweight and without substance, cheap and synthetic, leaving little more than an ephemeral impression on the minds of the hearers.

I took a yellow legal pad and a pen and began listing the negative effects of the superficial brand of preaching that is so rife in modern evangelicalism... I’ve distilled them to fifteen.. I offer them as a warning against superficial, marginally biblical preaching—both to those who stand behind the pulpit and to those who sit in the pews.

1. It usurps the authority of God over the soul. Whether a preacher boldly proclaims the Word of God or not is ultimately a question of authority. Who has the right to speak to the church? The preacher or God? Whenever anything is substituted for the preaching of the Word, God’s authority is usurped. What a prideful thing to do! In fact, it is hard to conceive of anything more insolent that could be done by a man who is called by God to preach.

2. It removes the lordship of Christ from His church. Who is the Head of the church? Is Christ really the dominant teaching authority in the church? If so, then why are there so many churches where His Word is not being faithfully proclaimed? When we look at contemporary ministry, we see programs and methods that are the fruit of human invention, the offspring of opinion polls and neighborhood surveys, and other pragmatic artifices...When Jesus Christ is exalted among His people, His power is manifest in the church. When the church is commandeered by compromisers who want to appease the culture, the gospel is minimized, true power is lost, artificial energy must be manufactured, and superficiality takes the place of truth.

3. It hinders the work of the Holy Spirit. What is the instrument the Spirit uses to do His work? The Word of God. He uses the Word as the instrument of regeneration (1 Pet. 1:23; Jas. 1:18). He also uses it as the means of sanctification (John 17:17). In fact, it is the only tool He uses (Eph. 6:17). So when preachers neglect God’s Word, they undermine the work of the Holy Spirit, producing shallow conversions and spiritually lame Christians—if not utterly spurious ones.

4. It demonstrates appalling pride and a lack of submission. In the modern approach to "ministry," the Word of God is deliberately downplayed, the reproach of Christ is quietly repudiated, the offense of the gospel is carefully eliminated, and "worship" is purposely tailored to fit the preferences of unbelievers. That is nothing but a refusal to submit to the biblical mandate for the church.

5. It severs the preacher personally from the regular sanctifying grace of Scripture. The greatest personal benefit that I get from preaching is the work that the Spirit of God does on my own soul as I study and prepare for two expository messages each Lord’s Day. Week by week the duty of careful exposition keeps my own heart focused and fixed on the Scriptures, and the Word of God nourishes me while I prepare to feed my flock. So I am personally blessed and spiritually strengthened through the enterprise. If for no other reason, I would never abandon biblical preaching. The enemy of our souls is after preachers in particular, and the sanctifying grace of the Word of God is critical to our protection.

6. It clouds the true depth and transcendence of our message and therefore cripples both corporate and personal worship. What passes for preaching in some churches today is...often ..simplistic, if not utterly inane. There is nothing deep about it. Such an approach makes it impossible for true worship to take place, because worship is a transcendent experience. Worship should take us above the mundane and simplistic. So the only way true worship can occur is if we first come to grips with the depth of spiritual truth. Our people can only rise high in worship in the same proportion to which we have taken them deep into the profound truths of the Word. There is no way they can have lofty thoughts of God unless we have plunged them into the depths of God’s self-revelation. But preaching today is neither profound nor transcendent. It doesn’t go down, and it doesn’t go up. It merely aims to entertain.

By the way, true worship is not something that can be stimulated artificially. A bigger, louder band and more sentimental music might do more to stir people’s emotions. But that is not genuine worship. True worship is a response from the heart to God’s truth (John 4:23). You can actually worship without music if you have seen the glories and the depth of what the Bible teaches.

7. It prevents the preacher from fully developing the mind of Christ. Pastors are supposed to be under-shepherds of Christ. Too many modern preachers are so bent on understanding the culture that they develop the mind of the culture and not the mind of Christ. They start to think like the world, and not like the Savior. Frankly, the nuances of worldly culture are virtually irrelevant to me. I want to know the mind of Christ and bring that to bear on the culture, no matter what culture I may be ministering to. If I’m going to stand up in a pulpit and be a representative of Jesus Christ, I want to know how He thinks—and that must be my message to His people too. The only way to know and proclaim the mind of Christ is by being faithful to study and preach His Word. What happens to preachers who obsess about cultural "relevancy" is that they become worldly, not godly.

8. It depreciates by example the spiritual duty and priority of personal Bible study. Is personal Bible study important? Of course. But what example does the preacher set when he neglects the Bible in his own preaching? Why would people think they need to study the Bible if the preacher doesn’t do serious study himself in the preparation of his sermons? There is now a movement among some in ministry to trim, as much as possible, all explicit references to the Bible from the sermon—and above all, don’t ever ask your people to turn to a specific Bible passage because that kind of thing makes "seekers" uncomfortable. Some churches actively discourage their people from bringing Bibles to church lest the sight of so many Bibles intimidate the "seekers." As if it were dangerous to give your people the impression that the Bible might be important!

9. It prevents the preacher from being the voice of God on every issue of his time. Jeremiah 8:9 says, "The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken. Behold, they have rejected the Word of the Lord; so what wisdom do they have?" When I speak, I want to be God’s messenger. I’m not interested in exegeting what some psychologist or business guru or college professor has to say about an issue. My people don’t need my opinion; they need to hear what God has to say. If we preach as Scripture commands us, there should be no ambiguity about whose message is coming from the pulpit.

10. It breeds a congregation that is as weak and indifferent to the glory of God as their pastor is. Such preaching fosters people who are consumed with their own well-being. When you tell people that the church’s primary ministry is to fix for them whatever is wrong in this life—to meet their needs, to help them cope with their worldly disappointments, and so on—the message you are sending is that their mundane problems are more important than the glory of God and the majesty of Christ. Again, that sabotages true worship.

11. It robs people of their only true source of help. People who sit under superficial preaching become dependent on the cleverness and the creativity of the speaker. When preachers punctuate their sermons with laser lights and smoke, video clips and live drama, the message they send is that there isn’t a prayer the people in the pew could ever extract such profound material on their own. Such gimmicks create a kind of dispensing mechanism that people can’t use to serve themselves. So they become spiritual couch potatoes who just come in to be entertained, and whatever superficial spiritual content they get from the preacher’s weekly performance is all they will get. They have no particular interest in the Bible because the sermons they hear don’t cultivate that. They are wowed by the preacher’s creativity and manipulated by the music, and that becomes their whole perspective on spirituality.

12. It encourages people to become indifferent to the Word of God and divine authority. Predictably, in a church where the preaching of Scripture is neglected, it becomes impossible to get people to submit to the authority of Scripture. The preacher who always aims at meeting felt needs and strokes the conceit of worldly people has no platform from which to confront the man who wants to divorce his wife without cause. The man will say, "You don’t understand what I feel. I came here because you promised to meet my felt needs. And I’m telling you, I don’t feel like I want to live with this woman anymore." You can’t inject biblical authority into that. You certainly wouldn’t have an easy time pursuing church discipline. That is the monster that superficial preaching creates. But if you are going to try to deal with sin and apply any kind of authoritative principle to keep the church pure, you must be preaching the Word.

13. It lies to people about what they really need. InJeremiah 8:11, God condemns the prophets who treated people’s wounds superficially. That verse applies powerfully to the preachers who populate so many prominent evangelical pulpits today. They omit the hard truths about sin and judgment. They tone down the offensive parts of Christ’s message. They lie to people about what they really need, promising them "fulfillment" and earthly well-being when what people really need is an exalted vision of Christ and a true understanding of the splendor of God’s holiness.

14. It strips the pulpit of power. "The Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword" (Heb. 4:12). Everything else is impotent, giving merely an illusion of power. Human strategy is not more important than Scripture. The showman’s ability to lure people in should not impress us more than the Bible’s ability to transform lives.

15. It puts the responsibility on the preacher to change people with his cleverness. Preachers who pursue the modern approach to ministry must think they have the power to change people. That, too, is a frightening expression of pride. We preachers can’t save people, and we can’t sanctify them. We can’t change people with our insights, our cleverness, by entertaining them or by appealing to their human whims and wishes and ambitions. There’s only One who can change sinners. That’s God, and He does it by His Spirit through the Word.

So pastors must preach the Word, even though it is currently out of fashion to do so (2 Tim. 4:2). That is the only way their ministry can ever truly be fruitful. Moreover, it assures that they will be fruitful in ministry, because God’s Word never returns to Him void; it always accomplishes that for which He sends it and prospers in what He sends it to do (Isa. 55:11).

~ excerpted from http://www.gty.org/Resources/Articles/A118

Oh Dear Mothers...

<3 O dear mothers <3

by Patte Smith on Sunday, November 20, 2011 at 9:26am ·

O dear mothers, you have a very sacred trust reposed in you by God! He hath in effect said to you, “Take this child and nurse it for Me, and I will give thee thy wages.” You are called to equip the future man of God, that he may be thoroughly furnished unto every good work. If God spares you, you may live to hear that pretty boy speak to thousands, and you will have the sweet reflection in your heart that the quiet teachings of the nursery led the man to love his God and serve Him. Those who think that a woman detained at home by her little family is doing nothing, think the reverse of what is true. Scarcely can the godly mother quit her home for a place of worship; but dream not that she is lost to the work of the church; far from it, she is doing the best possible service for her Lord.
Mothers, the godly training of your offspring is your first and most pressing duty.

~ Charles Spurgeon


Speak thou the things which become sound doctrine...Teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,  
to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands,
that the Word of God be not blasphemed.

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,  teaching us that,
denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;  
looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;  Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity,
and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority.

~ Titus 2