Showing posts with label John MacArthur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John MacArthur. Show all posts
Monday, July 4, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Slaves of Christ - John MacArthur
"Father, that I would be nothing, if not a slave of Christ."
Being a Christian doesn't mean that I'm a servant of Christ. Rather, a slave.
What is a slave, but somebody who has no freedom - no rights - no ownership of anything - no legal recourse in the courts - no citizenship - no possibility of doing what they wanted to do. They were totally dependent on those who owned them.
The difference between slaves and servants is obvious. Servants were hired to work for wages, and they could quit. Slaves were owned, and they could not quit. If they ran away, they were arrested - taken back - flogged, and sometimes crucified (publicly) as a demonstration of what could happen to the other slaves if they ran away.
In Galatians 1:10, Paul says, "If I was trying to please men, I would not be a slave of Christ." That's the seal of focus of being a slave - you don't have to please a lot of people - you only have to please one.
It came down to this...do what He says, and do what pleases Him.
Being a Christian doesn't mean that I'm a servant of Christ. Rather, a slave.
What is a slave, but somebody who has no freedom - no rights - no ownership of anything - no legal recourse in the courts - no citizenship - no possibility of doing what they wanted to do. They were totally dependent on those who owned them.
The difference between slaves and servants is obvious. Servants were hired to work for wages, and they could quit. Slaves were owned, and they could not quit. If they ran away, they were arrested - taken back - flogged, and sometimes crucified (publicly) as a demonstration of what could happen to the other slaves if they ran away.
In Galatians 1:10, Paul says, "If I was trying to please men, I would not be a slave of Christ." That's the seal of focus of being a slave - you don't have to please a lot of people - you only have to please one.
It came down to this...do what He says, and do what pleases Him.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Be Killing Sin, or Else (part 1)
If someone were to ask you, “What’s the most dangerous spiritual responsibility to neglect?” You might think of Scripture reading, prayer, evangelism, listening to preaching, or attending corporate worship. And it’s not that you’d be wrong…God commands all believers to pursue those things. They’re non-negotiable.
But there’s another spiritual responsibility we often overlook.
It’s an intimate, unpleasant, and exhausting duty—killing sin. Maybe that’s a provocative thing to say, and some might want to challenge it. After all, didn’t Christ deliver a crushing blow to sin when He rose from the dead? Wasn’t it His job to kill sin at Calvary? Well, yes, and that was the fundamental beginning to His judgment against sin.
Christ removed the penalty of our sin on the cross. As Christians, you and I no longer stand accused under the righteous requirements of the law (Romans 8:4). There’s no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1). The work of Christ also removed sin’s power over believers. Having been crucified with Christ, we’re no longer enslaved to sin’s grip. Christ rendered it powerless when He rose from the dead (Rom. 6:14, 22). So if Christ removed sin’s penalty and power, what’s left to kill?
Too few Christians are asking that question today, and too few pastors are bringing it to their attention. That wasn’t true of Puritan pastor John Owen. He dealt comprehensively with the question, teaching Christians from Scripture how to kill remaining sin. In one of his classic works, The Mortification of Sin, there’s a famous quote from Owen I’ve never forgotten: “Be killing Sin, or sin will be killing you.” That’s right—kill or be killed. Take your pick.
Thankfully, other faithful pastors followed in Owen’s footsteps to expound on the Bible’s teaching on the believer’s relationship to indwelling sin. They understood the reality of remaining sin, took its threat seriously, and labored to help the body of Christ adopt biblical strategies for killing it. We owe the Lord a deep debt of gratitude for them for helping us with such practical issues in our sanctification.
It was about 5 years ago through the “Grace to You” podcast when I heard what proved to be one of the most impactful and helpful messages from John MacArthur. The sermon was called, “Hacking Agag to Pieces,” and it aired as part of the sermon series, Dealing with Sins of the Mind. I remember the powerful analogy John made in that sermon; he compared the remaining sin in the life of a believer with King Agag, the wicked ruler of the Amalekites in the Old Testament.
As the story goes, God sent Samuel to rebuke King Saul because he allowed Agag to live in disobedience to His command to annihilate the Amalekites. Samuel announced the end of Saul’s throne, and then turned to Agag to take care of a more gruesome business. Samuel hacked Agag to pieces with a sword.
I’ve never forgotten that graphic illustration of how serious God is that we be relentless to pursue and put to death every remaining sin in our lives. Here’s John’s conclusion to that message:
Until then, be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.
Source: Tommy Clayton, Grace to You Blog
But there’s another spiritual responsibility we often overlook.
It’s an intimate, unpleasant, and exhausting duty—killing sin. Maybe that’s a provocative thing to say, and some might want to challenge it. After all, didn’t Christ deliver a crushing blow to sin when He rose from the dead? Wasn’t it His job to kill sin at Calvary? Well, yes, and that was the fundamental beginning to His judgment against sin.
Christ removed the penalty of our sin on the cross. As Christians, you and I no longer stand accused under the righteous requirements of the law (Romans 8:4). There’s no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1). The work of Christ also removed sin’s power over believers. Having been crucified with Christ, we’re no longer enslaved to sin’s grip. Christ rendered it powerless when He rose from the dead (Rom. 6:14, 22). So if Christ removed sin’s penalty and power, what’s left to kill?
Too few Christians are asking that question today, and too few pastors are bringing it to their attention. That wasn’t true of Puritan pastor John Owen. He dealt comprehensively with the question, teaching Christians from Scripture how to kill remaining sin. In one of his classic works, The Mortification of Sin, there’s a famous quote from Owen I’ve never forgotten: “Be killing Sin, or sin will be killing you.” That’s right—kill or be killed. Take your pick.
Thankfully, other faithful pastors followed in Owen’s footsteps to expound on the Bible’s teaching on the believer’s relationship to indwelling sin. They understood the reality of remaining sin, took its threat seriously, and labored to help the body of Christ adopt biblical strategies for killing it. We owe the Lord a deep debt of gratitude for them for helping us with such practical issues in our sanctification.
It was about 5 years ago through the “Grace to You” podcast when I heard what proved to be one of the most impactful and helpful messages from John MacArthur. The sermon was called, “Hacking Agag to Pieces,” and it aired as part of the sermon series, Dealing with Sins of the Mind. I remember the powerful analogy John made in that sermon; he compared the remaining sin in the life of a believer with King Agag, the wicked ruler of the Amalekites in the Old Testament.
As the story goes, God sent Samuel to rebuke King Saul because he allowed Agag to live in disobedience to His command to annihilate the Amalekites. Samuel announced the end of Saul’s throne, and then turned to Agag to take care of a more gruesome business. Samuel hacked Agag to pieces with a sword.
I’ve never forgotten that graphic illustration of how serious God is that we be relentless to pursue and put to death every remaining sin in our lives. Here’s John’s conclusion to that message:
When Agag comes to you cheerfully and says, "Surely the bitterness of death is past," which is another way of saying, "Well the war is over, you're saved, you're on your way, I'm defeated, don't worry about me." When Agag and his Amalekite friends want to make friends with you and declare an end to hostilities, that's when you grab your sword and hack them to pieces.As believers, indwelling sin continues to trouble us, but God calls us to treat that remaining sin like Samuel treated Agag. Kill it. Be brutal about it. But how do we do that? That’s the question we’ll explore in the next post, with the help of the Apostle Paul, John Owen, and John MacArthur. Sound good? Stick around.
Until then, be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.
Source: Tommy Clayton, Grace to You Blog
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Who Do You Think I Am?
With that brief question Jesus Christ confronted His followers with the most important issue they would ever face. He had spent much time with them and made some bold claims about His identity and authority. Now the time had come for them either to believe or deny His teachings.
Who do you say Jesus is? Your response to Him will determine not only your values and lifestyle, but your eternal destiny as well.
Consider what the Bible says about Him:
JESUS IS GOD
While Jesus was on earth there was much confusion about who He was. Some thought He was a wise man or a great prophet. Others thought He was a madman. Still others couldn't decide or didn't care. But Jesus said, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). That means He claimed to be nothing less than God in human flesh.
Many people today don't understand that Jesus claimed to be God. They're content to think of Him as little more than a great moral teacher. But even His enemies understood His claims to deity. That's why they tried to stone Him to death (John 5:18; 10:33) and eventually had Him crucified (John 19:7).
C.S. Lewis observed, "You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet
and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to" (Mere Christianity [Macmillan, 1952], pp. 40-41).
If the biblical claims of Jesus are true, He is God!
JESUS IS HOLY
God is absolutely and perfectly holy (Isaiah 6:3), therefore He cannot commit or approve of evil (James 1:13).
As God, Jesus embodied every element of God's character. Colossians 2:9 says, "In Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form." He was perfectly holy (Hebrews 4:15). Even His enemies couldn't prove any accusation against Him (John 8:46)
God requires holiness of us as well. First Peter 1:16 says, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."
JESUS IS THE SAVIOR
Our failure to obey God--to be holy--places us in danger of eternal punishment (2 Thessalonians 1:9). The truth is, we cannot obey Him because we have neither the desire nor the ability to do so. We are by nature rebellious toward God (Ephesians 2:1-3). The Bible calls our rebellion "sin." According to Scripture, everyone is guilty of sin: "There is no man who does not sin" (1 Kings 8:46). "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). And we are incapable of changing our sinful condition. Jeremiah 13:23 says, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil."
That doesn't mean we're incapable of performing acts of human kindness. We might even be involved in various religious or humanitarian activities. But we're utterly incapable of understanding, loving, or pleasing God on our own. The Bible says, "There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one" (Romans 3:10-12).
God's holiness and justice demand that all sin be punished by death: "The soul who sins will die" (Ezekiel 18:4). That's hard for us to understand because we tend to evaluate sin on a relative scale, assuming some sins are less serious than others. However, the Bible teaches that all acts of sin are the result of sinful thinking and evil desires. That's why simply changing our patterns of behavior can't solve our sin problem or eliminate its consequences. We need to be changed inwardly so our thinking and desires are holy
Jesus is the only one who can forgive and transform us, thereby delivering us from the power and penalty of sin: "There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Even though God's justice demands death for sin, His love has
provided a Savior, who paid the penalty and died for sinners: "Christ ... died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18). Christ's death satisfied the demands of God's justice, thereby enabling Him to forgive and save those who place their faith in Him (Romans 3:26). John 3:16 says, "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." He alone is "our great God and Savior" (Titus 2:13).
JESUS IS THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE OBJECT OF SAVING FAITH
Some people think it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you're sincere. But without a valid object your faith is useless
If you take poison--thinking it's medicine--all the faith in the world won't restore your life. Similarly, if Jesus is the only source of salvation, and you're trusting in anyone or anything else for your salvation, your faith is useless.
Many people assume there are many paths to God and that each religion represents an aspect of truth. But Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me" (John 14:6). He didn't claim to be one of many equally legitimate paths to God, or the way to God for His day only. He claimed to be the only way to God--then and forever.
source: John MacArthur, GTY.org
Who do you say Jesus is? Your response to Him will determine not only your values and lifestyle, but your eternal destiny as well.
Consider what the Bible says about Him:
JESUS IS GOD
While Jesus was on earth there was much confusion about who He was. Some thought He was a wise man or a great prophet. Others thought He was a madman. Still others couldn't decide or didn't care. But Jesus said, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). That means He claimed to be nothing less than God in human flesh.
Many people today don't understand that Jesus claimed to be God. They're content to think of Him as little more than a great moral teacher. But even His enemies understood His claims to deity. That's why they tried to stone Him to death (John 5:18; 10:33) and eventually had Him crucified (John 19:7).
C.S. Lewis observed, "You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet
and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to" (Mere Christianity [Macmillan, 1952], pp. 40-41).If the biblical claims of Jesus are true, He is God!
JESUS IS HOLY
God is absolutely and perfectly holy (Isaiah 6:3), therefore He cannot commit or approve of evil (James 1:13).
As God, Jesus embodied every element of God's character. Colossians 2:9 says, "In Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form." He was perfectly holy (Hebrews 4:15). Even His enemies couldn't prove any accusation against Him (John 8:46)
God requires holiness of us as well. First Peter 1:16 says, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."
JESUS IS THE SAVIOROur failure to obey God--to be holy--places us in danger of eternal punishment (2 Thessalonians 1:9). The truth is, we cannot obey Him because we have neither the desire nor the ability to do so. We are by nature rebellious toward God (Ephesians 2:1-3). The Bible calls our rebellion "sin." According to Scripture, everyone is guilty of sin: "There is no man who does not sin" (1 Kings 8:46). "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). And we are incapable of changing our sinful condition. Jeremiah 13:23 says, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil."
That doesn't mean we're incapable of performing acts of human kindness. We might even be involved in various religious or humanitarian activities. But we're utterly incapable of understanding, loving, or pleasing God on our own. The Bible says, "There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one" (Romans 3:10-12).
God's holiness and justice demand that all sin be punished by death: "The soul who sins will die" (Ezekiel 18:4). That's hard for us to understand because we tend to evaluate sin on a relative scale, assuming some sins are less serious than others. However, the Bible teaches that all acts of sin are the result of sinful thinking and evil desires. That's why simply changing our patterns of behavior can't solve our sin problem or eliminate its consequences. We need to be changed inwardly so our thinking and desires are holyJesus is the only one who can forgive and transform us, thereby delivering us from the power and penalty of sin: "There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Even though God's justice demands death for sin, His love has
provided a Savior, who paid the penalty and died for sinners: "Christ ... died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18). Christ's death satisfied the demands of God's justice, thereby enabling Him to forgive and save those who place their faith in Him (Romans 3:26). John 3:16 says, "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." He alone is "our great God and Savior" (Titus 2:13).JESUS IS THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE OBJECT OF SAVING FAITH
Some people think it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you're sincere. But without a valid object your faith is useless
If you take poison--thinking it's medicine--all the faith in the world won't restore your life. Similarly, if Jesus is the only source of salvation, and you're trusting in anyone or anything else for your salvation, your faith is useless.
Many people assume there are many paths to God and that each religion represents an aspect of truth. But Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me" (John 14:6). He didn't claim to be one of many equally legitimate paths to God, or the way to God for His day only. He claimed to be the only way to God--then and forever.source: John MacArthur, GTY.org
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
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