That's Not God

"Idolatrous views of God are rampant within current evangelicalism. I find a God who is not immutable, who is not infinite, who is not holy, and who is not sovereign. Such a god is simply not God. It is an idol." —R. C. Sproul

But You Still Support Obama?

Let me see if I understand this right, you profess that you are a Christian and love God and His Word but you also support President Obama for re-election who has openly endorsed homosexual marriage and has gone as far as to even celebrate it by making the month of June LGBT Pride Month, but God's Word says they "have committed an abomination;" (Leviticus 20:13) and that it's unnatural (Romans 1:26-27) and those who practice such things are "wicked" and "will not inherit the kingdom of God?" (1 Corinthians 6:9-10), but you still support Obama? Barack Obama is also the most pro-abortion President ever to hold office. He even refused to support the Born Alive Infant Protection Act which would have protected innocent children born in the process of an abortion from being killed after birth which shouldn't bother a pro-abortionist who has no problem murdering a baby in the womb. But the Bible says that God "hates... hands that shed innocent blood," (Proverbs 8:16-17), but you still support Obama? But some still say that they are voting for Obama because they believe “he is better for the economy” (a ridiculous statement IMHO); remember my Christian friend that "the love of money is the root of all evil" (1 Timothy 6:10) and if that is your primary reason for voting for Obama then your love of money has blinded you to the more pressing issues affecting our nation. Now I am not trying to tell you how to vote but if you remain committed to President Obama then please stop calling yourself a Christian because no true Christian could ever endorse such sinful behavior with a clear conscience which God has clearly condemned in His Word. My final word to professing Christian Obama supporters is “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,” (Isaiah 5:20) for you will be held accountable to God on judgment day for supporting a man who’s tract record is clearly opposed to the will of the Living God.

Filth in My Heart

“When I look into my heart and take a view of its wickedness, it looks like an abyss infinitely deeper than Hell. And it appears to me that, were it not for free grace, exalted and raised up to the infinite height of all the fullness of the great Jehovah, and the arm of His grace stretched forth in all the majesty of His power and in all the glory of His sovereignty, I should appear sunk down in my sins below Hell itself. It is affecting to think how ignorant I was when a young Christian, of the bottomless depths of wickedness, pride, hypocrisy, and filth left in my heart.” —Jonathan Edwards (1703 – 1758)

Quote of the Day

"That cherished sin, 'twill cost thee dear." —Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)

The People Wanted Change

Bad change is still change!
Gay Pride Month from the official White House Website.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential-Proclamation-LGBT-Pride-Month/

Abandoned by God

Badness of Heart

"Often I have had very affecting views of my own sinfulness and vileness; very frequently to such a degree as to hold me in a kind of loud weeping, sometimes for a considerable time together, so that I have often been forced to shut myself up. I have had a vastly greater sense of my own wickedness, and the badness of my heart, than ever I had before my conversion. My wickedness, as I am in myself, has long appeared to me perfectly ineffable, swallowing up all thought and imagination. I know not how to express better what my sins appear to me to be than by heaping infinite by infinite. When I look into my heart and take a view of my wickedness, it looks like an abyss infinitely deeper than hell. And yet it seems to me that my conviction of sin is exceedingly small and faint: it is enough to amaze me that I have no more sense of my sin. I have greatly longed of late for a broken heart, and to lie low before God." —Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)

Trail Hitters

2 Thessalonians 2:3 "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;"

"The “falling away” is evidenced on every hand. Not only are many of our Seminaries cesspools of spiritual corruption, not only are hundreds of our pulpits now filled by traitors to the cause they profess to champion, not only is every cardinal doctrine of the faith attacked and denied by the very ones paid to defend them, but the evil effects of such teaching from our religious leaders have influenced multitudes of souls committed to their care. The man in the pew, following the lead of his teachers, has lost faith in the Bible as a Divine revelation, and in consequence, no longer submits to its authority. Hence it is that there is such a “falling away” in the number of genuine conversions — we say “genuine” conversions because there are multitudes of those who come forward to shake some popular preacher by the hand, multitudes of card-signers, “trail-hitters” etc., etc. Hence it is that there has been such a sad and such a wide-spread “falling away” from the old time family worship. Hence it is that we now witness such a lamentable “falling away” from the mid-week prayer-meeting. Hence it is that there is such an awful “falling away” from the observance of the Holy Sabbath.

Hence it is that there is such a fearful “falling away” from the moral standards of former days. Hence it is that there is now such an evergrowing “falling away” from Sunday School attendance all over the land.

Yes, the “falling away” has commenced and is already far advanced...

The “falling away” which characterises our day was referred to by the apostle when he said, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they, heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” ( 2 Timothy 4:8,4). That time has arrived! Church-goers today will not endure “sound doctrine.” Those who preach the total depravity of man, who insist upon the imperative necessity of the new birth, who set forth the inflexible righteousness and holiness of God, and who warn against the Eternal and conscious torment awaiting every rejector of Christ, find it almost impossible to obtain a hearing. Such preachers are regarded as puritanical pessimists, and are not wanted. In these degenerate times, the masses demand that which will soothe them in their sins and amuse them while they journey down the Broad Road. The multitude is affected with “itching ears” which crave novelty and that which is sensational. They have ears which wish to be “tickled,” ears which eagerly drink in the songs of professional and unsaved soloists and choiristers, ears which are well pleased with the vulgar slang of our modern evangelists." —A. W. Pink (1886–1952)

Excerpt taken from "The Redeemer's Return" by A. W. Pink ( 1886-1952)

The Seldom Glance

"I seldom get more than a glance at the true state of my soul in its naked self. But when I do, then I see that I am wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked (Rev. 3:17). I believe every member of our body has been a servant of sin (Rom. 3:13, 18)-throat, tongue, lips, mouth, feet, eyes. Every faculty of our mind is polluted (Gen. 6:5). Besides, you have long neglected the great salvation; you have been gainsaying and disobedient. Oh, that you were brought to pass sentence on yourself, guilty of all! Hear what a dear believer writes of himself. "My wickedness, as I am in myself, has long appeared to me perfectly ineffable, and swallowing up all thought and imagination, like an infinite deluge, or mountains over my head. I know how to express better what my sins appear to me to be, than by heaping infinite upon infinite, and multiplying infinite by infinite. When I look into my heart and take a view of my wickedness, it looks like an abyss infinitely deep, and yet it seems to me that my conviction of sin is exceeding small and faint."

Perhaps you will ask, Why do you wish me to have such a discovery of my lost condition? I answer, that you may be broken off from all schemes of self-righteousness; that you may never look into your poor guilty soul to recommend you to God; and that you may joyfully accept of the Lord Jesus Christ, who obeyed and died for sinners. Oh, that your heart may cleave to Christ! May you forsake all, and follow Jesus Christ. Count every thing loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. You never will stand righteous before God in yourself. You are welcome this day to stand righteous before God in Jesus." —Robert Murray M'Cheyne (1813-1843)

Dressed to Impress

In the Old Testament when the priest went behind the curtain to the Holy of Holies to make supplication for the sins of the people he wore bells and a rope tied around him. If he was struck dead by God the bells would ring and he could be pulled out by the rope. Read the descriptions of the robes and breastplates worn by the high priests in the Levitical lines, how detailed and awe-inspiring they were. The reason I bring this up is to show the honor and respect that was shown to God, and the fear of Him for that matter. Where have either of these things gone today?

Today we have "preachers" in the pulpit with holes in their jeans; their shirts untucked. Basically looking like they just got out of bed picked up whatever was laying on the floor threw it on and ran out the door. But quite the opposite is actually true as these 30 and 40 year old men are probably spending countless hours picking out just the right "cool" clothes and styling their hair just so everyone will think they are cool and relevant. The thing that is really at the heart of this is man wanting to be praised and found relevant.

It can be taken the other way as well; God never called His people to wear an Armani suit or some purple jacket that hangs down past their knees. The people that wear these outlandish and extremely extravagant suits in the pulpit are no different than the guys wearing the jeans and t-shirts. They both simply want you to look at them and praise them for how cool and relevant they are.

What's lost is that we are to be separate from the world. We aren't supposed to attract unbelievers because of what we are wearing. We are to simply be witnesses to a spiritually dead world. God is in control and he will do the drawing of the sinners to the truth. He does not need us to be dressed a certain way to draw people to Him. That is a prideful, arrogant and therefore sinful approach to evangelism. When we are in His house on Sunday mornings we are supposed to be there to worship Him and for nothing else. That being said we should be dressed nicely and respecfully because you are supposed to be there to worship the Almighty God.

They hated and spit on my Lord and Savior; and ultimately crucified Him. So why should I want them to all love me and shower me with praise. We should show love and compassion but we shouldn't strive to be loved by the world by dressing and acting like the world. If you get large crowds and high attendance by looking like everyone else, they aren't there because you are offering something different to them. They are there because you look like them and they feel comfortable singing some catchy tunes about Jesus with you. We are called to be separate from the world. In the world not of the world. Pride is a most heinous sin indeed.

Merit Mongers

I know I have posted this before but it has been almost two years, this is one of my favorite quotes by A. W. Pink, and I believe it gets at the root of the problem with so many church's today.

"God’s sovereign election is the truth most loathed and reviled by the majority of those claiming to be believers. Let it be plainly announced that salvation originated not in the will of man, but in the will of God (see John 1:13; Rom. 9:16), that were it not so none would or could be saved—for as the result of the fall man has lost all desire and will unto that which is good (John 5:40; Rom. 3:11)—and that even the elect themselves have to be made willing (Ps. 110:3), and loud will be the cries of indignation raised against such teaching.

It is at this point the issue is drawn. Merit-mongers will not allow the supremacy of the divine will and the impotency unto good of the human will, consequently they who are the most bitter in denouncing election by the sovereign pleasure of God, are the warmest in crying up the freewill of fallen man." —A. W. Pink (1886–1952)

Quote taken from The Sovereignty of God by A. W. Pink

Disgusting Character

"Your favourite subjects are God's eternal purposes, absolute sovereignty, unchangeable love and distinguishing grace and yet, you neglect the clearest precepts and most important duties of God's Word. Your life is characterized by pride, covetousness, anger, malice and all kinds of other unholy passions, which make you a scandal to Christianity and cause the godly to be sorrowful. What a grievous condition to be in! You may argue with others in seeking to vindicate divine sovereignty but it will do no good, either to others or yourself. It is clear that you are an enemy in your heart and a rebel in your life against the sovereign God whose rights you claim to uphold. By neglecting his precepts and transgressing his laws, you virtually deny his absolute authority and renounce his supreme dominion. You obey the law of your own sinful lusts and pursue worldly pleasure. You do not love your Maker and Lord, neither do you serve him. May that omnipotent, sovereign grace, which you talk about without experiencing it, deliver and save your soul. Truly, it would be hard to find a more disgusting character outside of hell than you." —Abraham Booth (1734-1806)

Excerpt taken from the The Reign of Grace, by Abraham Booth

Sensitiveness to Sin

"No upsurge of religious interest or excitement merits the name of revival if there is no profound sense of sin at its heart. God's coming, and the consequent impact of his word, makes Christians much more sensitive to sin than they previously were: consciences become tender and a profound humbling takes place. The perverseness, ugliness, uncleanness, and guilt of sin are seen and felt with new vividness. Under revival conditions consciences are so quickened that conviction of each person's own sinfulness becomes strong and terrible, inducing agonies of mind that are beyond imagining till they happen. The gospel of forgiveness through Christ's cross comes to be loved as never before, as people see their need of it so much more clearly" —J. I. Packer

Sins of Ignorance

Luke 23:34 "Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

"Sin is always sin in the sight of God whether we are conscious of it or not. Sins of ignorance need atonement just as truly as do conscious sins. God is holy, and he will not lower his standard of righteousness to the level of our ignorance. Ignorance is not innocence. As a matter of fact, ignorance is more culpable now than it was in the days of Moses. We have no excuse for our ignorance. God has clearly and fully revealed his will. The Bible is in our hands, and we cannot plead ignorance of its contents except to condemn our laziness. God has spoken and by his word we shall be judged.

And yet the fact remains that we are ignorant of many things, and the fault and blame are ours. And this does not minimize the enormity of our guilt. Sins of ignorance need the divine forgiveness as our Lord’s prayer here plainly shows. Learn then how high is God’s standard, how great is our need, and praise him for an atonement of infinite sufficiency, which cleanseth from all sin." —A. W. Pink (1886–1952)

The Sinfulness of Sin

"The Christianity which is from the Holy Spirit will always have a very deep view of the sinfulness of sin. It will not merely regard sin as a blemish and misfortune, which makes men and women objects of pity, and compassion. It will see in sin the abominable thing which God hates, the thing which makes man guilty and lost in his Maker's sight, the thing which deserves God's wrath and condemnation. It will look on sin as the cause of all sorrow and unhappiness, of strife and wars, of quarrels and contentions, of sickness and death--the curse which cursed God's beautiful creation, the cursed thing which makes the whole earth groan and struggle in pain. Above all, it will see in sin the thing which will ruin us eternally, unless we can find a ransom,--lead us captive, except we can get its chains broken,--and destroy our happiness, both here and hereafter, except we fight against it, even unto death. Is this your religion? Are these your feelings about sin? If not, you should doubt whether your religion is authentic." —J. C. Ryle (1816-1900)

Excerpt taken from a sermon titled Authentic Religion by J. C. Ryle

Evil Disputings

Mark 7:20-23 “And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”

“Carefully notice the range which this catalogue takes. It is a very singular one, for it begins with thoughts, and then it runs on until it lands us in utter want of thought, or foolishness. Matthew Henry says, “Ill-thinking is put first, and unthinking is put last.” Sin begins with “evil thoughts,” but ends in foolishness. The word rendered “evil thoughts” may be translated evil disputings, evil dialogues. Now this is thought by some to be almost a virtue, certainly a manly exercise. To be able to dispute, to be a questioner, a caviller, a perpetual and professional doubter; that, I say, is highly esteemed among men. What is modern thought but evil thought? David says, “I hate vain thoughts;” and all thoughts which run counter to the revelation of God are vain. In this instance I may quote the Psalmist: “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of men, that they are vanity.” Thoughts which are devout and reverent towards the sacred oracles are to be cultivated; but the thoughts which cavil at revealed truth, and would improve upon the infallible declarations of Jehovah, are evil and vain thoughts. All manner of mischief may come out of thinking in opposition to God; hence it is said, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts.” Thinking contrary to God’s mind, and disputing with the clear statements of God’s own word, may be the first step in a descent which shall end in everlasting destruction.

Rising in evil thought, sin flows through a black country full of varying immoralities, until it falls into the Dead Sea of “foolishness.” How often have I heard it said of a vicious life, when it has ripened into horror: “The man must have been mad! He was not only wicked, but what a fool he must have been! The devil himself seems to have forsaken him. He acted craftily enough at one time; but afterwards he went against his own interests, and insured his own destruction.” Yes, men begin with the thought that they know better than their Maker, and at last they reach utter thoughtlessness, stolidity of conscience, and stupidity of mind. In the end they refuse to think at all, and nothing can save them from reckless defiance of common prudence. They are given over to judicial senselessness. Though God himself should speak, they have no ears for him: their sin has brought on them the punishment of utter hardness of heart. They have made themselves to be as the adder, which will not hear the voice of the charmer, charm he never so wisely. This is the way of sin — to begin with fancied wisdom, and end with foolishness. The man who thought himself more than a man, at last ends as a brute beast devoid of reason. What a range, my brethren, there is between these two points! Read the words again, and see what a terrible zig-zag path lies between wrong thought and no thought at all.” —C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)

Excerpt taken from A sermon delivered on Lord's-Day morning, July 25th, 1886, by C. H. Spurgeon titled Hidenous Discovery.

Judgment Sermon

If you didn't get the free mp3 download from a couple of weeks back at Grace To You titled Judgment on a Reprobate Society this is your second chance to Download It Now. This is a must listen sermon for any born again believer and a great tool to use on your lost friends. Very very powerful message!

"You may try to tell me that this is an intellectual thing, that God blesses homosexuals and all this stuff is hearts and flowers and wonderful relationships and filial friendships, and its all very beautiful and its all very David and Jonathan and so forth and so on, but the fact of the matter is you're nothing but evil, vile, Godless, apostate perverts." —John MacArthur

Burden of Fear

The "Positive-Preacher" can be found today all across this country in every denomination with his ear tickling messages of becoming a better Christian at the expense of neglecting the "SIN" or "HELL" issue so as not to offend peoples consciences with a message of fear and condemnation. But is this popular trend of being a positive only preacher a true mark of a Christ-like preacher?

"Any theory which takes off the pressure of responsibility that rests upon every man, that removes from any man's conscience the burden that Christianity puts there, or lessens his feeling of the awfulness of sin, is unchristlike and dangerous. Christ placed the burden of fear on unrepentant men's consciences; and any one who takes off that burden of fear, is not Christ-like." —Henry Ward Beecher (1813 -1887)

Quote taken from The Sermons Of Henry Ward Beecher, Fifth Series 1871.

Get Out of the Church!

I have to admit this is convicting just to read, I can't imagine what it must have been like to hear from the mouth of Spurgeon himself. This is what the church today needs to hear!

I would say to you, members of this church, "Be holy!" Whatever you are, do seek to be holy. And if you will not be holy- if you have a mind to keep your sins- do us the favor to give up your profession. If you will have your sins, and go to hell, you can do it so much better outside the church than you can inside. I cannot see why you must need to do Christ the double ill-turn to be his enemy, and yet profess to be his friend. Get out of the church, you that are hypocrites! Oh! the great thing the Church needs is more holiness. The worst enemies of the Church are the hypocrites, the formalists the mere professors, the inconsistent walkers. It is shocking to think how persons dare to remain members of Christian churches, and even to enter the pulpit, when they are conscious that their private life is foul. Oh, how can they do it? How is it that their hearts have grown so hard? What! has the devil bewitched them? Has he turned them away from being men, and made them as devilish as himself, that they should dare to pray in public, and to sit at the sacramental table, and to administer ordinances, while their hands are foul, and their hearts unclean, and their lives are full of sin? I charge you, if there are any of you whose lives are not consistent, give up your profession, or else make your lives what they should be. May the eternal Spirit, who still winnows his Church, blow away the chaff, and leave only the good golden wheat upon the floor! And if you know yourselves to be living in any sin, may God help you to mourn over it, to loathe it, to go to Christ about it tonight; to take hold of him, to wash his feet with your tears, to repent unfeignedly, and then to begin anew in his strength, a life which shall be such as becomes the gospel. —C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)

Intolerance of Intolerance?

I am so sick of hearing the word Intolerance, especially from the homosexual community that quotes the word as if it is a four letter word that is supposed to make someone out to be a bad person. As a Christian I have the responsibility to myself, my family and my God to be intolerant, or even discriminate of certain things, ideas, and behaviors. How many of us would tolerate a murderer? Or a cheating spouse? How about a child molester? I dare say none of us, so why should I have to tolerate what the Bible clearly states as an abomination? Now I am not advocating hate for homosexuals, my heart breaks for the homosexual community I long to see them come to Christ and repent of their sins, and not just the sin of homosexuality but all sin. And before I am bombarded with hate comments please read what the Bible says about the sin of homosexuality and then be tolerant of my intolerance or you are guilty of being a hypocrite being intolerant of my intolerance.

Forbidden - Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. (Le 18:22).

Considered an Abomination - And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. (1 Ki 14:24).

Punishment - If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. (Le 20:13).

Unclean - Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.  26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retainh God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;  29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:  32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. (Ro 1:24-32).