Fight Hard Against Sexual Sin — Especially Pastors & Leaders in the Church!

This is a needed reminder for those of us in full-time pastoral ministry. God's Word demands that we be above-reproach & integrity-filled when it comes to our sexual purity. 

Here are Armstrong’s eight suggested ways that pastors should plan to prevent sexual sin (pp. 174–81):

1. “Understand the nature of sexual temptation.” “In two areas, traveling and counseling, a pastor must take precautions.” [Cf. Josh Harris on how guys and girls are “wired” differently sexually.]
2. “Understand the power of the seductive woman.” “The pastor must be especially careful to guard himself when he detects the first mannerisms that indicate a woman may have feelings that are beyond those of a healthy and pure relationship.”
3. “Guard your mind.” “The pastor must guard his mind by staying away from explicitly erotic material, as well as television programs and images that fuel the fires of lust. . . . Pornography surrounds us, acting as a poison that corrupts healthy sexuality.” [Cf. Joe Tyrpak, "Help for Fighting Lust: A Meditation Plan"; Mike Salvati, "The God of Truth and the Lies of Porn."]
4. “Cultivate and protect your own marriage.” “This seems to be the plainest meaning of the wisdom given in Proverbs 5:15–23: You must enjoy your wife physically and her alone.”
5. “Take precautions as you minister.” “The wise pastor cannot be overly careful.” [Cf. Mark Minnick, "Maintaining Moral Purity in the Ministry."]
6. “Maintain relationships where accountability is real.” “Every pastor needs several relationships where he is mutually accountable for his actions and relationships with others.” [Cf. Phil Gons, Matthew Hoskinson, and Andy Naselli, "Accountability."]
7. “Cultivate your spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being.” “You must know yourself and take care of your body and soul to remain strong.”
8. “Consider regularly the consequences of sexual sin.” “What will this sin mean to your wife? Your children? Your congregation? Your closest friends? Your future ministry? We need to do this because the outcome of this particular sin is so deceiving.” [Cf. Randy Alcorn's "purity principle": purity is always smart; impurity is always stupid.]

From: John H. Armstrong. The Stain That Stays: The Church’s Response to the Sexual Misconduct of Its Leaders. Fearn, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications; Reformation and Revival Ministries, 2000.

HT: Andy Naselli

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Lust is Greed; Porn is Greed.

Great lines from Ed Welch:

Sexual "looking", whether we are looking at a real person, a digital one, or an imaginary one, is about greed.

What I “see” is what I want to possess. Porn is not about our vision. It is about our hearts. I am saying, I WANT THAT AS MY OWN, which is exactly what the picture promises. The person in the photograph wants to belong to you and you alone. Sexual "looking", whether we are looking at a real person, a digital one, or an imaginary one, is about greed. I want to accumulate for my own kingdom.

Amen & amen. Ephesians 5:1-5 confirms this.

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Resources on the Will of God & Biblical Decision Making

Here are some helpful resources on biblical decision making & the will of God.

Gary Friesen, Decision Making & the Will of God: A Biblical Alternative to the Traditional View.

Colin Hamer. Finding God's Will: Reaffirming the Sufficiency of Scripture.
 
John MacArthur, Found: God's Will, God Wants to Give Your Life Direction & Purpose.

James C. Petty, Guidance: Have I Missed God's Best?

Stuart Scott, A Study of Decision Making God's Way (DMin Dissertation)

M. Blaine Smith, Knowing God's Will: Biblical Principles of Guidance.

Bruce K. Waltke, Finding the Will of God: A Pagan Notion?

The most helpful ones if I had to pick two:
Colin Hamer, Finding God's Will (short & very readable)
Gary Friesen, Decision Making & the Will of God (much longer, thorough, & practical!) 

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The Bottom Line of a Christian as a MISSIONARY

This puts it so well:

Rather than waiting for some kind of mystical 'call' from God, every believer should respond to the revealed will of God (in Scripture) by giving serious consideration to becoming a cross-cultural missionary.
The command to "make disciples of all nations" was given to the disciples of Christ and remains in effect even until the end of the age (Matt 28:19-20). For the believer, personal involvement in the cause of world missions is not optional. We don't need a call -- we've already been commissioned. Every single Christian is to be making some contribution to the objective of world evangelization and discipleship.

From Gary Friesen, Decision Making & the Will of God, p.330.

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The role of Scripture in decision making...

Here are some helpful reminders on making biblical decisions.

1. Studying Scripture deepens your consciousness of God.

2. Studying Scripture also brings us into contact with God.

3. Scripture informs us of God's principles.

4. Biblical passages may also confirm a particular decision.

5. The Bible can be an invaluable aid in praying for guidance (Ps 143:8, 10; 51:10-12; 5:8; 19:12-14; 25:4-5, 21; 27:11; 31:3-4; 86:11; 119:5, 10, 35-36, 80, 133, 176; 141:3-4).

From M. Blaine Smith, Knowing God's Will: Biblical Principles of Guidance, 57-59.

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Family Worship — A Necessary but Culturally Dead Practice.

Family worship is so 'out of date' that many hear of it and what it may entail and quickly think that you are still living in the 17th century Puritan era.

But I think that the principle of FAMILY WORSHIP ought to be regularly practiced by all Christian households.

John Knox, the Scottish Reformer, wrote:

Dear brethren, if you look for a life to come, of necessity it is that you exercise yourselves in the book of the Lord your God. Let no day slip or want some comfort received from the mouth of God.

Open your ears, and he will speak even pleasant things to your heart. Close not your eyes, but diligently let them behold what portion of substance is left to you within your Father’s testament. Let your tongues learn to praise the gracious goodness of him, whose mere mercy has called you from darkness to life. Neither yet may you do this so quietly that you admit no witness. No, Brethren, you are ordained of God to rule your own houses in his true fear, and according to his word.

Within your houses, I say, in some cases, you are bishops and kings; your wife, children, servants, and family are your bishopric and charge. Of you it shall be required how carefully and diligently you have instructed them in God’s true knowledge, how you have studied to plant virtue in them, and [to] repress vice. And therefore I say, you must make them partakers in reading, exhorting, and in making common prayers, which I would in every house were used once a day at least.

But above all things, dear brethren, study to practice in life that which the Lord commands, and then be you assured that you shall never hear nor read the same without fruit. And this much for the exercises within your homes.

I would call each man to examine himself in his leadership in the home with the following heart-searching questions:

1) Do you feed your own soul daily with the food of God's Word?
2) Do you passionately pursue and tenaciously frequent the secret closet of prayer to God?
3) Do you shepherd your wife & children in the Word of God, the ways of God, prayers to God, and catechism? If so, how?
4) Do you feel confused and unable to perform this spiritual practice?

Let me help by proffering a few suggestions:

Read — Open the Bible with the entire family together and read a portion of it.
Sing — Sing a hymn and teach the family a verse/stanza of solid theology.
Pray — You as the head of the household pray for the family (or, go around and ask each member of the family to pray)
Catechize — Go through a catechism and teach yourself, your spouse, and your children solid theology.

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Two essential attitudes in a godly marriage.

In this article I am by no means saying that these are the only two essential attitudes that can make a marriage function. But what I am saying is that with the many commands and attitudes that must be enveloped in a Christian marriage, these two must be evidenced. The two key attitudes that I am referring to are self denial and self-giving. Allow me to deal with each one individually so we may be those who have these essential attitudes in marriage for the honor and glory of God.

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Behold the Omniscience of God!

1 Chronicles 28:9    "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.

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Passion Week of Christ Conference with Dr. Doug Bookman UPDATE

For those planning to attend the Passion Week of Christ conference with Dr. Doug Bookman, the first session has been CANCELLED for tonight only due to a flight delay.

We will begin the conference TOMORROW, May 1st, at 6:30pm at Christ Fellowship & then resume as planned.

The *REVISED* schedule —

Tuesday, May 1        
6:30-7:30pm    Session 1
7:45-8:45pm    Session 2
Wednesday, May 2    
6:30-7:30pm    Session 3
7:45-8:45pm    Session 4

Location:
2501 Rockford Ave.
St Louis, MO 63144 (map here)

More info at the CFBC website.

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2012 — What Will Happen in the End Times? A Biblical Perspective

If you're in the St Louis area, join us tonight at 7pm as we examine the issue of 2012 — WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE END TIMES? A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE.

When: Friday, April 27th at 7pm
Where:
5182 Golf Ridge Lane
St. Louis, MO 63128
What: A lecture & discussion on what the Bible teaches about the end of the world.

See you there!

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What do you do with sexual immorality in the local church?

When the apostle Paul heard that there was immorality in the Corinthian church, he was shocked. The brand of immorality was of such a kind that the sensibilities of the pagan world would even be offended—"a man has his father's wife". But his amazement was mostly because the church tolerated it as a badge of honor. The church had so distorted the meaning of love that it was proud of its acceptance of such persons. "And you are arrogant. Ought you not rather to mourn?" exclaimed Paul.

This revealing episode in early church history, found in 1 Corinthians 5, could not be more relevant.
As Paul said, "Your boasting is not good." The idea that some associations of professing Christians actually lead out in the fight for same-sex unions, homosexuality in the priesthood, and other practices mitigating against sexual purity and the bond of marriage, would certainly evoke Paul's righteous indignation if he were alive today.

The church is not a volunteer club made up of people of any persuasion or behavior, an amorphous entity, accepting anyone who wishes to join in the fun and excitement. It is a serious society with boundaries. It is for those who have been given life from God, have confessed that change openly through baptism, and are committed to walking in obedience and repentance all the days of their lives. It is a union full of love, but not mere sentimentality. It is a love that demands holiness. (2 Tim. 1:9; Gal. 5:13; Rom. 6:1)

Paul lists some of the boundaries of a Christian fellowship in this passage. Among those the church should remove and "not associate with" are ". . . anyone who bears the name of brother [that is, a 'so-called brother'], who is guilty of sexually immorality, or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler . . ."

So what should we do when we find immorality in the church? There really cannot be any mistaking the answer:

• "Let him who has done this thing be removed from among you."
• "you are to deliver this man to Satan [that is, by removing him you are to leave him in the world and under Satan's control]"
• "Cleanse out the old leaven."
• "I am writing to you not to associate with anyone . . . who is guilty of sexual immorality, greed," etc.
• "[you are] . . . not even to eat with such a one."
• "Purge the evil person from among you."

In the case of such notorious sins as immorality, church discipline is to be done quickly and decisively. Why?

"Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?" is the explanation. The longer leaven (yeast) remains in a lump of dough, the more it spreads. Paul uses the Old Testament Passover feast to make his point. At that feast all leaven was to be taken out of the home since it was a symbol for sin. Paul says that the Passover Lamb has been slain (that is, Christ has been crucified). We as the church should "celebrate the feast" (that is, live out our lives to the full in Christ) without the old leaven of evil.

Paul passionately argues for the purity of the church. On the one hand we discipline because it is the best for the individual. It is really the only loving thing to do. To allow a church member to continue in sin is like allowing a child to abuse himself and his siblings without correction. But on the other hand, we discipline because God has called the church to purity.

When a chicken becomes rotten and maggot-infested, are you able to make it better by putting a fresh chicken in the same bag with it? Of course not. The infested and rotten always spoils the fresh, not the other way around. As Paul wrote in the same letter, "evil company corrupts good morals."

Have you fallen for this old Corinthian problem of boasting in indiscriminate toleration?

One pastor said, "I could never lead our church to discipline its members. There are so many immoral people among us at present that it would cause a huge conflict."

This mindset is precisely the reason why so many churches are ineffective in changing the culture and in bringing people into a lifestyle that is radically different.

From: Jim Elliff, What Do You Do With Immorality?

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Passion Week of Christ with Dr Doug Bookman

Christ Fellowship Bible Church is excited to host Dr. Doug Bookman for a conference on the Passion Week of Christ.

Here is the conference information:
Theme:
“Behold, the Lamb of God!” A Detailed and Devotional Study of the Passion Week of Jesus Christ

Schedule:

Monday, April 30    
7:30-8:30pm    Session 1
Tuesday, May 1        
6:30-7:30pm    Session 2
7:45-8:45pm    Session 3
Wednesday, May 2    
6:30-7:30pm    Session 4
7:45-8:45pm    Session 5

Location:
2501 Rockford Ave.
St Louis, MO 63144 (map here)

Info:
No cost; no sign ups; just come & enjoy a conference on the Passion Week of Christ if your schedule allows!

Questions:
Contact us at CFBC for more information!

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The Challenge to Pray

Be exhorted and challenged to more fervent & frequent prayer in preparation for heaven's praises.

JC Ryle writes:

We must pray on earth, or we shall never praise in heaven. We must go through the school of prayer, or we shall never be fit for the holiday of praise. In short, to be prayerless is to be without God -- without Christ -- without grace -- without hope -- and without heaven. It is to be in the road to hell.

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The assured efficacy of the preached Word

What does God’s Word accomplish when it is preached?

1. It  converts  the  sinner  so  that  God’s  glory  is  supremely  manifested  in  his/her  salvation.
2. It  encourages  the  regenerate  to  grow  in  their  faith.
3. It  equips  the  saved  to  evangelize,  walk  in  holiness,  and  grow  in  sanctification.
4. It  reminds  believers  of  the  sovereignty  of  God  and  the  salvation  He  has  given.
5. It  confronts  believers  living  in  sin  to  repent,  change,  and  begin  to  walk  in  newness  of   life.
6. It  comes  across  as  foolishness  to  the  unredeemed  sinner  who  walks  away  from  the   gospel  unchanged.
7. It  further  hardens  the  reprobate  so  that  God’s  glory  is  supremely  manifested  in  his/her   judgment.
8. It  takes  the  hardened  sinner  to  the  point  where  he  is  “beyond  redemption”  and  is  an   apostate.

The  point  is  this:  the  preacher  doesn’t  know  what  God  is  sovereignly  doing  with  each  person   in  the  audience  at  that  particular  time.  But  one  thing  is  for  certain:  God  is  working  and  His   Word  never  returns  void.

Isaiah 55:11 — So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

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The Preacher's Fellowship — CFBC

Here is one of the ways that we at Christ Fellowship Bible Church endeavor to equip, teach, and see men that God has gifted and called to teach & preach in various capacities.

It is called THE PREACHER'S FELLOWSHIP. There are men at CFBC that know God's Word, have been in pastoral ministry, desire to be in pastoral ministry, or have a heart for being a Godly leader. And one such element that that Scripture brings out is a leader should be equipped to teach God's Word. One way that this can evidence itself is through THE PREACHING of God's Word.

We plan to meet every other Saturday morning from about 8-9:30am at the church for a time of teaching, preaching, critiquing, and dialogue.

PURPOSE? This is to help you understand what is involved in preaching, how to prepare a sermon, and how to improve at the preaching of God's Word so that we can grow in our ability to teach & preach God's truth to God's people (2 Tim 4:2 - "preach ... be ready in season & out of season"). America & the Church needs more POWERFUL, FIERY, URGENT, BIBLICAL, and ENGAGING preachers!

FOR WHOM? This Preacher's Fellowship is for any man who aspires to know how to preach God's Word, construct a sermon, & actually preach & receive helpful encouragement & critique.

WHEN? The Preacher's Fellowship would meet every other Saturday morning from 8-9:30am (or earlier if you wish) so we are done & you can get home to be with your families for the day.

TYPICAL FORMAT:
8:00-8:20am    TEACHING on sermon prep, delivery, construction, etc.
8:20-8:40am    SERMON #1
8:40-9:00am    SERMON #2
9:00-9:30am    CRITIQUE & FEEDBACK on the two sermons that were preached.

WHAT IS REQUIRED? You would have the opportunity to prepare & preach a 20 minute sermon before the men (depending on how many men commit to this, you'd probably preach once a month). The benefits: you would be IN God's Word during the week, studying a given text, working through an outline, the intro, the conclusion, application, illustrations, etc. Then you would deliver it & we as your brothers would encourage you in what you did well & provide constructive criticism of the sermon as well.

Follow us on Twitter as we post frequent updates about the Preacher's Fellowship!

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An accurate assessment of the health, wealth, & prosperity message

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Guard against hypocrisy!

Jesus confronted the religious leaders of the day and called them hypocrites (ὑποκριταί) because they offered lip service to God but by their actions they showed that their hearts were far from Him. Jesus said:

Matthew 15:7-9   7 "You hypocrites (ὑποκριταί), rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:  8 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.  9 'BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'"

JC Ryle puts it so well:

I do not deny that there are many hypocrites in religion. There always were, and there always will be, as long as the world stands. As long as there is good gold and silver coin in the realm, so long there will be forging, coining, and counterfeit money. The very existence of bad coins is an indirect proof that there is something which it is worth while to imitate, and that there is such a thing as good current money in circulation. It is just the same with Christianity! The very fact that there are many false professors in the churches is an indirect proof that there are such people as true-hearted and sound believers. It is one of Satan’s favorite devices, in order to bring discredit on Christianity, to persuade some unhappy people to profess what they do not really believe. He tries to damage the cause of our Lord Jesus Christ in the world by sending out wolves in sheep’s clothing, and by raising up men and women who talk the language of Canaan, and wear the coat of God’s children, while they are inwardly rotten at heart.

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Easter Sunday at CFBC

Here are the songs that we plan to sing this Easter Sunday as we worship the Lord together at Tilles Park in St. Louis. Come join us at 10:00am! For more info, check out Christ Fellowship Bible Church's website.

1. Come, Christians join to sing

2. Come people of the risen King

3. O Church arise

4. In Christ alone

5. Mighty to save

Click on the links & listen. Prepare your hearts! See you there!

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Hey — Are You Boasting in the Lord?

I received this email from a good friend:
What does it exactly mean to boast in the Lord? I have a vague idea of what it means however what does it truly mean? And where in the bible does it talk about it?

Here is my answer to him:

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The Power & Trustworthiness of the Bible

The Bible is trustworthy. The heart of the Christian is a library that must hold, keep, & store the Word of God. It is dependable, trustworthy, powerful, effective, supernatural, and divinely given. Last night I had the privilege to preach what God has taught me this past week regarding the supernatural power and Spirit-given assurance that God's Word is truly that — God's Word.

Listen to and apply this sermon here. I feel that Spurgeon's remarks aptly conclude a discussion on the trustworthiness of Scripture:

God’s word is the soul’s manna and the soul’s water of life. How greatly we ought to prize each word of divine teaching. But, dear brethren, do you not think that many are very neglectful of God’s instructive voice? In the Bible we have precious doctrines, precious promises, precious precepts, and above all a precious Christ, and if a man would really live upon these choice things, he might rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. But how often is the Bible left unread! And so God is not heard.

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Look to Christ!

Reader, trust Christ, look to Christ, cry to the Lord Jesus Christ, if you never yet believed, about your soul. If you have not the right feelings yet, ask Him to give you right feelings.  If you dare not think that you have true faith yet, ask Him to give you faith.  But in any case do not sit still.  Do not idle away your soul into hell in ignorant, unscriptural sloth.  Do not live on in senseless inactivity,—waiting for you know not what,—expecting what you cannot explain,—increasing your guilt every day,—offending God by continuing in lazy unbelief, —and hourly digging a grave for your own soul.  Arise and call upon Christ!  Awake and cry to Jesus about your soul!  Whatever difficulties there may be about believing, one thing at least is abundantly clear,—no man ever perished and went to hell from the foot of the cross.  If you can do nothing else, lie down at the foot of the cross.

— JC Ryle

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The importance of domestic piety (=holiness)

Here is a marvelous reminder from J.H. Merle D'Aubigne (Swiss pastor, 1827):

But, my brethren, if the love of God be in your hearts, and if you feel that, being bought with a price, you ought to glorify God in your bodies and spirits, which are his, where do you love to glorify him rather than in your families and in your houses? You love to unite with your brethren in worshipping him publicly in the church; you love to pour out your souls before him in your closets. Is it only in the presence of that being with whom God has connected you for life and before your children, that you can not think of God? Is it, then, only, that you have no blessings to ascribe? Is it, then, only, that you have no mercies and protection to implore? You can speak of every thing when with them; your conversation is upon a thousand different matters; but your tongue and your heart can not find room for one word about God! You will not look up as a family to him who is the true Father of your family; you will not converse with your wife and your children about that Being who will one day, perhaps, be the only husband of your wife, the only Father of your children!

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Creation as a Theater

John Calvin said: "the created order is a theater of the glory of God."

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Charles Spurgeon — The Nineteenth Century Calvinistic Evangelist!

Here are quotes from Steve Lawson's session on Charles Spurgeon - the Evangelistic Zeal of a Calvinist. (Forgive me for any typos — I tried to type fast while Lawson spoke.)


INTRO:
“If you’re going to be a fisherman, you must cast the line, draw the fish.”

Be committed to the sovereignty of God in salvation & have an evangelistic heart and fervor.

“The only preacher who plays with a full deck is a Calvinistic evangelist.” He is a force to be reckoned with.

CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON
The “prince of preachers” - the greatest preacher the church has ever known since Paul.

He stands at the head of the list of every survey of great preachers.

If Calvin was the greatest theologian, if Edwards was greatest philosopher, and Whitefield was greatest evangelist, then SPurgeon was the greatest evangelistic pastor to occupy one pulpit over a period of time.

WHY SPURGEON???

One of the greatest preachers of the last century, if not the greatest of all time (Lloyd Jones on Spurgeon)

Spurgeon was one of the greatest evangelists England has ever seen … Spurgeon was one of the staunchest defenders of the doctrines of grace (Boice)

Spurgeon preached a full bodied gospel with … Calvinist convictions and evangelistic appeal (Al Mohler)
    --> he had the depth of Calvinism
    --> he had the breadth of evangelism
    --> WE NEED THIS

“We need depth fo reformed thinking & breadth of evangelistic zeal & fervor. When you bring them together, it’s like GAS and FIRE ---- an explosion takes place.”

He was bold, courageous, larger-then-life personality. As he stood in the pulpit, he roared like a lion.

Spurgeon was in ONE pulpit for 38 years and thousands came to faith in Christ.

HIS LIFE…

HIS AUTHORITY.
His foundation was built on the authority of God’s Word.

He was personification of sola scriptura.

One ounce of what God has to say is worth more than 40 tons of what man has to say (Steve Lawson paraphrasing Spurgeon)

“I believe nothing because Calvin taught it but because we find his teaching in the Word of God.”

“I am content to be a mere repeater of Scripture. If it’s new it’s not true.”

“Great men help us to understand the truth. But we believe what we believe because we can put a finger on chapter and verse.”

WHAT WAS SPURGEON’S CALVINISM (sovereignty of God in salvation):
The old truth that Calvin preached … must thunder through England again.

Sovereignty of God in Salvation
1, TOTAL DEPRAVITY
The totality of our humanity is tainted by sin and corrupted by sin. Every inch and every ounce as born in Adam’s fallen race. We are all under the plague of sin.

Our mind, heart, and will is under dominion of sin.

Every son and daughter of Adam’s race has moral inability. No one can come to God nor believe in Christ.

2. UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION
Election is written with an iron pen. It is forever etched in God’s Word.

Spurgeon championed the doctrine of God’s sovereign choice of whom he would save before time began.

3, DEFINITE ATONEMENT/PARTICULAR REDEMPTION
Every person for whom Christ died must beyond a shadow of a doubt be cleansed from sin and be washed in the blood before the Father’s throne.

He believed in actual atonement.

4. IRRESISTIBLE GRACE
A man is not saved against his will; but he is made willing by the operation of the Holy Ghost.

A mighty grace which he does not wish to reisst enters into the man, disarms him, makes him a new creature and he is saved.

The holy Spirit triumphs in the hearts of all those whom the Father has chosen.

By the power of his effectual grace, He said “I must I will come I” and then he turned my heart, and made me love him”

5. PRESERVING GRACE
I could not keep myself, but if Christ promised to keep me then I’d be safe forever.

God would save me forever --- that is sovereign grace” (Lawson)

SERMON: text: Matt 8:11 - many shall come from the East & West…
In this sermon, Spurgeon drew focus on the word shall ---- many shall…

The gospel does not ask for your consent, it gives it.”

“It does not say: “will you have it” but it makes you willing in the day of GOd’s power.”

Christ says: “You shall be saved.”

“Oh the evangelistic power of preaching the DOCTRINES OF GRACE” (Lawson)

Pride must be crushed in order for sinners to come to faith in Christ.

For God to put something in the Bible and you NOT proclaim it is nothing but POPERY (what the Catholic church does).

“It claims elitism with Rome, the Pope & Cardinals. To withhold the preaching of the doctrines of predestination & election is nothing more than Roman Catholicism in the Evangelical Church”

“If you think something in the Book is not fit, then go complain to God, … not men.” (Spurgeon)

If we are going to have REVIVAL, then we MUST dust off the old doctrines and preach them under the power of the Holy Spirit of God (Lawson)

SPURGEON’S EVANGELISM
Not only did God appoint the end, but the means to that end. God has ordained gospel preaching and prayer for lost souls & holy living and personal witnessing & its not either or (w/ election) but BOTH and.

Spurgeon had one model in the ministry == GEORGE WHITEFIELD

Whitefield was my own model (Spurgeon).

SERMONS:
Nov 13, 1864 - John 6.37 - “All that the Father has given shall come to me.”

Luke 14:23 - “Go out into the highways & hedges & compel them to come in”   TITLE:  Compel them to come in

“It is not enough merely to present the gospel; it’s not enough merely to tell people about the gospel. We must plead with them, we must persuade them, reason with them, urge them, compel them to come in.”

Too many of us who hold to Reformed truth are too proud to beg with sinners to repent.” (Lawson)

I compel you to come (here is Spurgeon’s OUTLINE):
I invite you to come
I command you to come
I exhort you to come
I reason with you to come
I entreat you to come
I threaten you to come
I weep for you to come
I pray for you to come.


2 Cor 6.2 - “Behold now is the accepted time”    TITLE: “NOW”

SPURGEON’S BOLDNESS
Come on fire for God and people will come and see you burn (Spurgeon)

Preach the gospel; the gates of hell shake. … it is the Master’s mandate (Spurgeon)

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Quotes from Alex Montoya's Seminar on Preaching with Passion

Here are some quotes from Montoya's seminar at the Shepherd's Conference yesterday on PREACHING WITH PASSION: (sorry for the misspellings — I was typing quickly as he spoke.)

Preaching is not an end in of itself; preaching is the declaration of God’s Word to mankind that man might repent of his sin & come to saving faith.

Preaching is the finest way that we can present every man complete in Christ.

“For us to preach or teach a boring sermon is a great sin.”

“We are entrusted with the oracles of God --- it is an exciting book.”

“Normally when people don’t like your preaching they don’t write you poems, they send white powder in little envelopes.”

“Preach God’s WOrd effectively; preach it in such a way that what you say is important but how you say it is important.”

“Preach the Word of God that it comes across with great passion, with great energy, with great fire.”

“Witohut passion, the sermon becomes a lecture or a moral speech.”

A dull minister creates a dull audience. A dull preacher is a contradiction in terms.

“Come to God as a clean preacher and not an unclean preacher.”

You may be a cracked vase, but may you be the cleanest vase in the cabinet.

Preaching with passion comes from one who has communion with God.

“Spiritual power comes when you know God has called & commissioned you.”

Preach a text that keeps you awake Saturday night. It keeps you awake & you can’t sleep.

“If you love your people you cannot ever preach a bad sermon.”

“Don’t be so deep and in a deep well that there’s nothing down there but an old shoe & a dead cat.”

What we need today is preachers in pulpits who preach with authority. Not giving suggestions, opinions, not making some remark, but every time you declare God’s Word say “Thus says the LORD.”

We’re killing our church b/c our preachers can’t preach, they don’t bother to think and improve at preaching.

Preaching is delivering truth with deep urgency.

Preachers must become gospel maniacs; and we must be captivated and recaptivated by Christ.

Always think of Judgement. Think of the judgment of sin. Sin is the enemy of God and of the soul. It is a ruthless enemy. And it needs to be assaulted by preachers.

“Preach towards a verdict. Call men to a verdict. You must do something about this message. We must persuade men.”

If you preach apathetic sermons then you’ll preach with no effect.

“If you don’t preach expecting change then people won’t change.”

“Take your life and pour the truth on you and when you preach preach with great passion and fire to the glory of God.”

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Coffee with the Pastor

On Sunday evenings after our worship service, you are most welcome to drop by our home for a time of coffee, fellowship, & discussion about Christ Fellowship Bible Church.

If there are any questions you have about CFBC feel free to bring them. We would also love to hear your testimony, how you heard about CFBC, and what God is doing in your life.

For more info, contact us through the CFBC website.

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LIVE-STREAM the Shepherd's Conference

This upcoming week the SHEPHERD'S CONFERENCE will be live-streamed so you can watch the general sessions online. Here is the schedule (all times are PST).


March 7-9, 2012.  Click HERE for the Live-Stream link.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012
8:00 am	Registration
10:00 am	General Session 1 - John MacArthur
11:30 am	Lunch*
1:30 pm	Seminar Session 1	Details
2:45 pm	Break
3:15 pm	General Session 2 - Tom Pennington
4:30 pm	Dinner Break
7:00 pm	General Session 3 - John MacArthur
Thursday, March 8, 2012
9:00 am	General Session 4 - Voddie Baucham
10:15 am	Break
10:45 am	General Session 5 - John MacArthur Q&A
Noon	Lunch*
2:00 pm	Seminar Session 2	Details
3:15 pm	Break
3:45 pm	Seminar Session 3	Details
5:00 pm	Dinner Break
7:00 pm	General Session 6 - Al Mohler
Friday, March 9, 2012
9:00 am	General Session 7 - Phil Johnson
10:15 am	Break
10:45 am	Seminar Session 4	Details
Noon	Lunch*
2:00 pm	General Session 8 - Steve Lawson
4:00 pm	Dinner Break
7:00 pm	General Session 9 - John MacArthur

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The Collapse of Commitment — Church Membership & the Reluctance to Commit

Tim Witmer has a great comment in this regard in his book on The Shepherd Leader:

People are showing increasing reluctance to identify themselves with a particular flock, to make the commitment of church membership vows, and to submit to the authority of shepherd-elders inherent in those commitments. Even within the church, however, Christ's sheep are transgressing the bounds of safety and security established in His Word. Church leaders, on the other hand, are showing unwillingness not only to embrace the standards of the Chief Shepherd and his Word but reluctance to courageously seek those who have strayed for the glory of God and the health of his flock. The danger of the age in which we live is the collapse of commitment: to the Lord, to his standards, and to the authorities he has established.

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JUSTIFICATION by faith alone in Christ alone by grace alone.

Martin Luther once remarked concerning the doctrine of justification:

a Christian is righteous and holy by an alien and foreign holiness --- this mercy and grace is not something human; it is not some sort of disposition of the heart; but it is a divine blessing, given through the true knowledge of the GOspel, when we know or believe that our sin has been forgiven through the grace and merit of Christ … is not this righteousness an alien righteousness? … Therefore, a Christian is not formally righteous; he is not righteous according to substance or quality.

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Pray for Pastor Youcef & for his strength during time of imminent death.

Pray for Pastor Youcef & his family during this time:

A trial court in Iran has issued its final verdict, ordering a Christian pastor to be put to death for leaving Islam and converting to Christianity, according to sources close to the pastor and his legal team.

Supporters fear Youcef Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old father of two who was arrested over two years ago on charges of apostasy, may now be executed at any time without prior warning, as death sentences in Iran may be carried out immediately or dragged out for years.

It is unclear whether Nadarkhani can appeal the execution order.

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Philosophy of "The Sinner's Prayer"

Philosophy of “The Sinner’s Prayer”
By: Geoffrey R. Kirkland
CFBC

Many evangelists and pastors have utilized “the sinner’s prayer” for many years. One may share the gospel with someone and then call them respond by praying the sinner’s prayer. This is the prayer that sinners pray which “seals the deal” and confirms someone to be a Christian. Or does it? It may shock some that the sinner’s prayer is nowhere found in the Scriptures and it is, in fact, a practice introduced very late in church history—and that amongst the Arminian movement. A number of reasons could be given as to why the sinner’s prayer is not the best way of calling people to salvation. In other words, it is the persuasion of CFBC that the sinner’s prayer is not a biblical element in evangelism and should therefore be discarded. The following reasons provide support for this statement.

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Teach Your Children...

Deuteronomy 6:20–21:

When your son asks you in time to come, "What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?" then you shall say to your son, "We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand."

Charles Spurgeon:

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a healthy fear of the LORD

Numbers 17:12-13 12 Then the sons of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, "Behold, we perish, we are dying, we are all dying! 13 "Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the LORD, must die. Are we to perish completely?"

In God's Word, the people of Israel were in the wilderness and as they journeyed through the arid desert, a group led by Korah assembled together "against Moses and Aaron" (Num 16:3) and accused them of "exalting themselves above the assembly of the LORD" (16:3b).

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the seriousness of idolatry — false worship.

From Leviticus 20:

Leviticus 20:4-5 4 'If the people of the land, however, should ever disregard that man when he gives any of his offspring to Molech, so as not to put him to death, 5 then I Myself will set My face against that man and against his family, and I will cut off from among their people both him and all those who play the harlot after him, by playing the harlot after Molech.

Leviticus 20:4-5
4 וְאִם הַעְלֵם יַעְלִימוּ עַם הָאָרֶץ אֶת־עֵינֵיהֶם מִן־הָאִישׁ הַהוּא בְּתִתּוֹ מִזַּרְעוֹ לַמֹּלֶךְ לְבִלְתִּי הָמִית אֹתוֹ
5 וְשַׂמְתִּי אֲנִי אֶת־פָּנַי בָּאִישׁ הַהוּא וּבְמִשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ וְהִכְרַתִּי אֹתוֹ וְאֵת כָּל־הַזֹּנִים אַחֲרָיו לִזְנוֹת אַחֲרֵי הַמֹּלֶךְ מִקֶּרֶב עַמָּם

In the Mosaic, Old Testament Law, God said that if His covenant people, Israel, should ever disregard a man when he gives any of his offspring to Molech — the Phoenecian & Canaanite god — so as to not put him to death, then God Himself will set his face against that man & his family and cut him off from the covenant people.

From these verses we can see a number of helpful thoughts to bear in mind:

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Spurgeon's biography

This is well worth your time! It's an hour-long biography of Charles Spurgeon's life.

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Spurgeon on Family Worship

"To neglect the instruction of our offspring is worse than brutish. Family religion is necessary for the nation, for the family itself, and for the church of God. . .. Would that parents would awaken to a sense of the importance of this matter. It is a pleasant duty to talk of Jesus to our sons and daughters, and the more so because it has often proved to be an accepted work, for God has saved the children through the parents' prayers and admonitions. May every house into which this volume shall come honor the Lord and receive his smile."

Quoted in Voddie Bauckham, Family Shepherds, 19.

So HOW do you do family worship, you ask?

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The Pastor's Primary Responsibilities in a Church Plant

The Pastor’s Primary Responsibilities in a Church Plant
By Geoffrey R. Kirkland

These are not exhaustive nor are they unchanging. These five principles serve to keep the pastor’s focus on keeping the main thing the main thing and not becoming sidetracked with the many—innumerable—responsibilities that may arise. At the outset of a church plant with one man on staff and a small church, the focus must be very narrow and clear.

1. Preach the Word of God.

The pastor must study the Word of God so that he is adequately prepared to preach the Word of God in an expository way weekly.

2. Shepherd the People of God.

The pastor must tend his sheep. He must know them, learn them, love them, care for them, pray for them, counsel them, rebuke them, correct them, and train them. The best way to be an effective shepherd is to know the sheep.

3. Pray for the Unction of God.

The pastor must learn to be alone with God. He must love isolated times of communion with God. The pastor must pray for and depend on the unction—the power—of God the Holy Spirit in every aspect of the ministry. Prayer is not secondary or tertiary; it must be primary.

4. Train Men in the Word of God.

The pastor must make it his goal to train up “faithful men who will be able to train others” for the furthering of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The pastor can meet weekly with the men of the Church to preach, teach, exhort, and pour into the men so that the church will be full of masculine men who are biblically-grounded and theocentrically focused.

5. Focus on the Glory of God.

The pastor must anchor his mind and heart on the glory of God in all things. That God is glorified in everything that happens is clear from Scripture. Therefore, the pastor should bear in mind that when the good and the hard times come in church planting, the magnificent glory of God must fill the pastor’s heart and soul.

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how the sovereignty of God is necessary for Christ's substitutionary death to have any meaning.

“It is a part of sovereignty to transfer the penalty due to the crime of one upon another, and substitute a sufferer, with the sufferer’s own consent, in the place o a criminal, whom he had a mind to deliver from a deserved punishment.

God transferred the sins of men upon Christ, and inflicted on him a punishment for them. He summed up the debts of man, charged them upon the score of Christ, imputing to him the guilt and inflicting upon him the penalty: 'the Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all;' he made them all to meet upon his back: 'He hath made him to be sin for us' (2 Cor 5:21).

He was made so by the sovereign pleasure of God; a punishment for sin, as most understand it, which could not be righteously inflicted had not sin been first righteously imputed, by the consent of Christ, and the order of the Judge of the world.

Without this act of sovereignty in God, we had forever perished: for if we could suppose Christ laying down his life for us without the pleasure and order of God, he could not have been said to have borne our punishment

It was an act of Divine sovereignty to account Him that was righteous a sinner in our stead, and to account us, who were sinners, righteous upon the merit of his death."

Stephen Charnock, The Existence & Attributes of God, 1:424-25.

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a helpful plan for BIBLE READING and EVANGELIZING.

So a fellow pastor may ask: "how do I get out on the street and start open-air preaching?"

I would reply by saying that an option would be to take what you read this morning in God's Word and go out and proclaim that text, exposit it, apply it, enlighten it, and show how that text fits into the greater redemptive plan of God.

For instance, this morning if you read Exodus 13-14 you could go on the streets and proclaim the Exodus account and how God demanded the blood of an innocent animal in order to pass over His people. But those who were not covered with blood were destroyed by the angel of death.

Furthermore, if you studied Matthew 26 and examined the betrayal of Jesus Christ by Judas, the heartfelt prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the evil plotting of the Jews to put Christ on the cross, one could go on the streets and talk about the wretchedness of sinners and the pervasiveness and extremities of our sins. Indeed, Christ died for our sins. One could preach on how Christ prayed to the Father in the Garden because He knew that the infinite wrath of God Almighty was about to be poured out upon Him on Calvary's tree. Preach propitiation! Preach justification! Preach Christ's substitutionary death in the place of god-hating rebels.


Ah, but you say that you're not a preacher. Then I would beseech you to take what you read in the mornings and try to bring those texts or topics up in daily conversation with people (lunch break, coworkers, on the streets, on the subway, etc.).

If we are in God's Word every day and God's Word speaks to our own hearts, we can also try to bring these texts, chapters, themes, and gospel-truths to bear as we interact with others throughout each day.

Try it. Pray about it. See how God begins to open opportunities for you to share the gospel & what you read that morning with folks who desperately need the gospel.

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premillennialism in the early church

Here are some early Christian writers who held to premillennialism:

Clement of Rome (c. 30-95AD)
Of a truth, soon and suddenly shall His will be accomplished, as the Scriptures also bear witness, saying, 'Speedily will He come, and will not tarry,' and the Lord shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Holy one, for whom ye look (First Letter to the Corinthians, 23).

Let us then wait for the kingdom of God from hour to hour in love and righteousness, seeing that we know not the day of the appearing of God (Second Letter to the Corinthians, 12).

Didache (c.100AD)
And then shall appear the signs of the truth; first, the sign of an outspreading in heaven; then the sign of the sound of the trumpet; and the third, the resurrection of the dead; yet not of all (16:6-7).

Shepherd of Hermas (c.140-150AD)
You have escaped from great tribulation on account of your faith, and because you did not doubt the presence of such a beast. Go, therefore, and tell the elect of the Lord His mighty deeds, an say to them that this beast is a type of the great tribulation that is coming (Visions, 1.4.2).

Polycarp (c.70-155AD)
If we please Him in this present age, we shall receive also the age to come, according as He promised to us that He will raise us from the dead, and that if we live worthily of Him, 'we shall also reign with Him.'

Adapted from Zuck, Basic Bible Interpretation, 233.

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the rampant nature of PORN and the urgency of teaching & educating our children (and churchgoers) of the heineousness of this sin.

From some research on Teens and Porn, mark the following startling (!) statistics:

• 93% of boys and 62% of girls are exposed to internet porn before the age of 18.
• 70% of boys have spent more than 30 consecutive minutes looking at porn.
• 35% of boys have done this on more than ten occasions.
• 23% of girls have spent more than 30 consecutive minutes looking at porn.
• 14% of girls have done this on more than one occasion.
• 83% of boys and 57% of girls have seen group sex on the internet.
• 69% of boys and 55% of girls have seen porn showing same-sex intercourse.
• 39% of boys and 23% of girls have seen online sex acts involving bondage.
• 32% of boys and 18% of girls have seen beastiality on the internet.
• 18% of boys and 10% of girls have seen rape or sexual violence online.
  
• 15% of boys and and 9% of girls have seen child pornography online.

NOTE: That means that only 3% and 17% of girls have never seen internet pornography.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

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go and MAKE DISCIPLES — the great commission.

Here's an interesting point to remember regarding the Great Commission & our evangelism:

Matthew 28:18-20 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Matthew 28:18-20 18 καὶ προσελθὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς λέγων· ἐδόθη μοι πᾶσα ἐξουσία ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. 19 πορευθέντες οὖν μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, βαπτίζοντες αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος, 20 διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς τηρεῖν πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν· καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ μεθ᾽ ὑμῶν εἰμι πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος.

Last week I heard a sermon from Kevin DeYoung on the Mission of the Church & he argued that the mission of the Church is the great commission. That should be our foremost focus. I agree with him in this regard. But he made a passing statement that caught my ear & I think it is worthy of mention.

The importance of this commission given by Jesus to His followers cannot be overestimated. He calls His followers to go into all the world and make disciples (μαθητεύσατε). Isn’t it interesting that Jesus used that word for the mission of His followers? Speaking to this, Kevin DeYoung note that “Jesus said ‘Go and make disciples!’ He did not say ‘Go and get decisions!’” I think there is something to this.

Often Christianity in today’s culture seeks to get decisions for Christ and count the number of people that at a camp, a service, a retreat, or a public rally make a “decision” for Jesus Christ. And yes, becoming a Christian does—and it must!—include an intellectual knowledge of Christ and His work on the cross and a determined effort to follow Him as Lord and Savior. But at the same time, a “decision” for Christ does not make someone saved. A one-time choice does not validate someone’s conversion. Search the Bible. Search the New Testament. You won’t find it.

What is it, then, that shows or validates whether someone is truly saved? If someone is walking in holiness, obeying Jesus Christ, and bearing Godly fruit, then his election is sure (cf. 2 Pet 1; 1 Thess 1:4). And this is precisely what our Lord states in the Great Commission. Go and make disciples. And this mission to make disciples involves teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. A true disciple is one who obeys Jesus Christ. A true follower of Jesus Christ is one who determines to follow Christ and it is one who is evidencing the sovereign regeneration in his heart by walking in purity, holiness, godliness, and the enjoyment of God.

Would it be that in our church ministries and as you evangelize with others that we would be less concerned with “decisions” and much more concerned with ongoing, life-on-life, honest discipleship where the sinner who repents of sin and believes in Christ then grows in Christ, matures in Christ, and increases in sanctification thus being conformed more and more to the image of Jesus Christ.

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the importance of family worship & how to do it.

January is FAMILY WORSHIP month and I want to piggy-back on that and express my heartfelt commitment to this biblical & historical means of grace. I believe that family worship is eminently important.

We are told in God's Word that the husband IS the head of the home (Eph 5:22-25) and that he is to shepherd and wash his wife with God's Word (Eph 5:25ff). He is to instruct and teach his children in the truth (Eph 6:4). This practice of teaching, instructing, and even catechizing children goes back in history to God's people, Israel (cf. Deut 6:5ff).

On our church website, I posted a brief video as to the importance of FAMILY WORSHIP and how we as a family do family worship in our home. It must be deliberate or the business of life will crowd it out. But when it becomes a habit it becomes part and parcel of who you are as a family & it is well worth the effort, time, & diligence!

I have posted on this topic earlier here and here. See this also and my brief article here.

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your duty is to proclaim the JESUS of the bible. no other Jesus will do.

From John Stott:

Our responsibility in evangelism is neither to create a Christ of our own who is not in Scripture, nor to embroider or manipulate the Christ who is in Scripture, but to bear faithful witness to the one and only Christ there is as God has presented him to the world in the remarkably unified testimony of both the Old and the New Testament Scriptures.

FROM: John Stott, Christian Mission in the Modern World, p.74.

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i'm overwhelmed by this. and you should be too.

This following excerpt is amazing.

The purpose of God is "absolute and unconditional, independent of the whole finite creation, and as originating solely in the eternal counsel of His will. God is seen as the great and mighty King who has appointed the course of nature and who directs the course of history even down to its minutest details. His decree is eternal, unchangeable, holy, wise, and sovereign.

It extends not merely to the course of the physical world but to every event in human history from the creation to the judgment, and includes all the activities of saints and angels in heaven and of reprobates and demons in hell. It embraces the whole scope of creaturely existence, through time and eternity, comprehending at once all things that ever were or will be in their causes, conditions, successions, and relations.

Everything outside of God Himself is included in this all-embracing decree, and that very naturally since all other being owe their existence and continuance in existence to His creative and sustaining power.

It provides a providential control under which all things are hastening to the end of God's determining . . . . Since the finite creation through its whole range exists as a medium through which God manifests His glory, and since it is absolutely dependent on Him, it of itself could originate no conditions which would limit or defeat the manifestation of that glory. From all eternity God has purposed to do just exactly what He is doing.

He is the sovereign Ruler of the universe and 'does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?' Dan 4.35. Since the universe had its origin in God and depends on Him for its continued existence it must be, in all its parts and at all times, subject to His control so that nothing can come to pass contrary to what He expressly decrees or permits. Thus the eternal purpose is represented as an act of sovereign predestination or foreordination, and unconditioned by any subsequent fact or change in time."

(From: Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, 13-14). Man, I had to read that a few times yesterday and again today & my heart is uplifted in worship.

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talk about a distraction while you're preaching!!!

Gideon Ouseley, an open-air preacher in Ireland in the 18th century was preaching one day in the open fields and then the account is told:

"He closed his [opening] prayer, and began to preach; but evidently his audience were not disposed to hear him. Before many sentences had been uttered, missiles began to fly--at first not of a very destructive character, being refuse--vegetables, potatoes, turnips, etc., but before long harder materials were being thrown--brickbats and stones, some of which reached him and inflicted slight wounds. He stopped, and, after a pause, cried out, 'Boys dear, what's the matter with you to-day? Won't you let an old man talk to you a little?'

Quoted in Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, p.248.

I must admit — I've never had that happen while I was preaching. Maybe I'm not preaching hard enough or out in the 'open-air' enough, then.

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the prerequisite for seeing the glory of the gospel

There is an obviously universal thrust of condemnation found in Rom 1:18 and 32.

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

Romans 1:32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Thus, these verses make clear:

"that this foolish and culpable rejection of the knowledge of God is repeated in every generation, by every individual. Every person is 'without excuse' because every person—whether a first-century pagan or a twentieth-century materialist—has been given a knowledge of God and has spurned that knowledge in favor of idolatry, in all its varied manifestations. All therefore stand under the awful reality of the wrath of God, and all are in desperate need of the justifying power of the gospel of Christ.

We will never come to grips with the importance of the gospel, or be motivated as we should be to proclaim it, until this sad truth has been fully integrated into our worldview."

From: Douglas Moo, Romans, NICNT, p.98.

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the book of REVELATION in a few words...

From John Phillips:

"One day, however, [Jesus] is coming back with His glory unveiled to smash the opposition of the world and to wield a scepter of iron. He is coming back in pomp and power to reign backed by the hosts of heaven. His deity, manifest even now to the eye of faith, will blaze forth like flaming lightning then. In the book of Revelation, the Person of Christ is unveiled, and we are given view after view of that glorious Man who fills all heaven with His praise" (from Exploring Revelation, 12).

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RESOLVED 2012

If you have not been to the RESOLVED conference, I strongly encourage you to check it out — and then do whatever possible to get out there! — as it is a highlight of the year for me & my wife, Elizabeth.

Solid preaching, gospel-centered truth, deep conversations, awesome music, great fellowship, and lots of fun all describe the RESOLVED conference weekend.

Here are a few highlight videos:

Resolved 2011, Day 1 from Resolved on Vimeo.

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And Can It Be . . .

From Charles Wesley:

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
and clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
and claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Amazing love how can it be?
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

That is filled with remarkable and endless truth to ponder as you live today. See a video of Enfield singing "And Can It Be" at RESOLVED here.

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Prayer & Fellowship THIS Friday

Hey CFBC family,

Let's meet at the Kirkland's Home at 7:00pm this Friday for a time of prayer & fellowship. We'll have a time to prayer for our unsaved friends & family, for the church, for each other, & a time of focused fellowship as we enjoy gospel-centered conversation together.

If you have any questions, check out the church website.

See you there!

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the preaching of john the baptist.

Have you ever realized what kind of message John the Baptist preached? If you read the biblical account of how John preached and what he said, I doubt many churches nowadays would welcome him to fill the pulpit — much less be their pastor!

The very first words we have of him comes in Matt 3:2 where he calls all the people who come to hi in the wilderness of Judea to "repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near" (μετανοεῖτε· ἤγγικεν γὰρ ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν). Not only was he a little funny looking (Matt 3:4) but he was a prophet of the Lord. He was called to prepare the way for the Lord (Matt 3:3).

Meanwhile, "many" of the Pharisees and Sadducees came to him and he initiates conversation with them and says the following:

1. You men are a "brood of vipers" (γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν)
2. Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath (φυγεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς μελλούσης ὀργῆς)?
3. Bear fruit worthy of repentance (ποιήσατε οὖν καρπὸν ἄξιον τῆς μετανοίας)!
4. Do not think to say to yourselves: "we have Abraham as our father." (That is, they would pride themselves and find comfort knowing they are reconciled to God simply because they are Jews.)
5. The axe is already laid at the root of the tree & every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire (ἤδη δὲ ἡ ἀξίνη πρὸς τὴν ῥίζαν τῶν δένδρων κεῖται· πᾶν οὖν δένδρον μὴ ποιοῦν καρπὸν καλὸν ἐκκόπτεται καὶ εἰς πῦρ βάλλεται).
7. The one who comes after me will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
8. The winnowing fork is in His hand and He will thoroughly cleanse His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the storehouse but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire (συνάξει τὸν σῖτον αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην, τὸ δὲ ἄχυρον κατακαύσει πυρὶ ἀσβέστῳ)!

NOTE: in John the Baptist's message of proclamation in preparation for the Messiah, a number of key elements are found:

1. The call to repent!

2. The acknowledgement that there is only One Savior & Deliverer — Jesus, the Coming One.

3. There is such a thing as "coming wrath" — and it's harsh and just!

4. It does no good to try and come to God on your own terms (social identity, religious identity, morality, etc.).

5. The evidence of true salvation is "bearing good fruit." And if NO good fruit is borne, then that person is thrown into the unquenchable fire.

6. The hope for true believers, however, is that those who do bear "good fruit" evidencing that true regeneration and change has taken place are surely to receive the blessing of being gathered into the storehouse of the Lord — eternal bliss & blessing.


This is the gospel. I wonder how many of these elements are absent in much preaching in our culture? Let's be faithful to proclaim the truth as we learn from John the Baptist.

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