Gospel Living

Here's how it was, according to Be Not Surprised : Mark Driscoll kept his word and crashed the Strange Fire Conference, handing out free copies of his book A Call to Resurgence with James MacDonald watching from the car.  Grace Church security confronted Driscoll and offered to help him carry his books back to his car. Driscoll instead offered the lot to security as a gift to Grace Church, but then claimed on Twitter that they confiscated them. Both Driscoll or MacDonald stopped at the conference on their way to their own conference to supposedly instruct attendees to " act like men ." And that, in short order, is why conferences calling us back to the Word of God like Strange Fire are so necessary. UPDATE, 23 OCTOBER: Aw, the footage.  What a shame:

Perhaps the best thing about an illustration of the Trinity is to notice how it fails.  All of us attempt to explain this key theology using something within the realm of finite human experience, but God transcends our exposition.  Therefore, once we see how demonstrations of three-leaf clovers and the three states of water can wash away a budding understanding of our Lord, we will see and present the doctrine with new clarity. Arguing that the Godhead is not like a 3-in-1 shampoo, C. Michael Patton at Parchment and Pen sheds light on the fact that our illustrations trivialize God and lead us to heresy .

John MacArthur on Modern Prophets http://www.gty.org/Blog/B130903 Does the office of prophet still exist today? To the hordes of modern, self-appointed spokesmen for God, the answer to that question is a no-brainer. The office of prophet is alive and well in many charismatic churches today—it comes with a detailed job description and is taken with the utmost seriousness. Without a doubt, the enormous influence these "prophets" wield cannot be easily ignored. But does that influence legitimize the office of prophet in twenty-first century churches? In the following audio clip, John MacArthur sheds some much-needed biblical light on that subject. "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son" (Hebrews 1:1--2 ESV). It's no accident that the word "spoken" is in the past tense. God has conclusively spoken to His people through the testimony of His So

John MacArthur on Identifying Your Spiritual Gift http://www.gty.org/Blog/B130827 Recognizing and exercising spiritual gifts is a confusing and difficult issue for many believers. At one end of the spectrum are Christians who may attend a church for many years without ever recognizing any spiritual gift. That causes passivity in the church and can lead to a disabled body of believers—one with severed limbs and missing organs (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:14 --25; Ephesians 4:11 --13). At the other end of the spectrum are professing Christians who presumptuously try to exercise gifts they don't possess. The havoc caused by such people is readily apparent in many charismatic churches—the abundance of self-appointed apostles and female preachers is a prime example. In this clip, John MacArthur discusses the truth about spiritual gifts. If you are a new creature in Christ, the Holy Spirit lives in you and has uniquely gifted you to serve the church. The Strange Fire conferenc

Fatherless homes. Generations of dependance.  Perpetual sin.  Ignorance.  Despair.  Unloved.  Image-bearers in need of redemption.

The kids asked me so many questions after seeing this:

John MacArthur on Blessings, Truth, & Charismatic Error http://www.gty.org/Blog/B130820 "Thou shalt not criticize" has effectively become the eleventh commandment of the modern church. Sadly, the allegiance of many charismatic leaders to that mindset has created a climate where false teaching thrives. Thankfully, there are also those who understand the biblical mandate to expose error for the sake of defending truth (Romans 16:17 ). We don't doubt there are faithful gospel preachers in the charismatic movement—men who see people coming to genuine saving faith through their consistent preaching of God's Word. But tragically, many of those men undermine the very gospel they preach by ignoring, or accommodating, the heretics in their movement who claim to speak for God. For that reason, the Strange Fire conference will provide a service to the charismatic community by addressing its need for biblical discernment—a need made desperate by the silence of

John MacArthur on What It Means to Do Greater Works Than Jesus http://www.gty.org/Blog/B130813 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father" (John 14:12 ). Many charismatic teachers look to the above verse to validate their teaching. They see it as a proof text for the notion that present-day believers can perform miraculous signs and wonders—even more spectacular than Jesus Himself. Reinhard Bonnke, who claims to have raised the dead, is one prominent charismatic who subscribes to that view, and has even written a book offering his interpretation of what Jesus meant by "greater works." But Bonnke's view not only contradicts church history, it also defies Jesus' teaching in Scripture. In the following audio clip, John MacArthur explains the true, and far more profound, meaning of John 14:12 . One of the great tragedies of the cha

Steve Lawson on the Ministry of the Holy Spirit http://www.gty.org/Blog/B130806 Pentecostalism is a charismatic movement that derives its name from the day of Pentecost described in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the members of the early church. That passage remains a centerpiece of Pentecostal teaching to this day. It is ironic that such a "movement of the Holy Spirit" has always paid little or no attention to Jesus' clear description of the Spirit's true ministry in His church. In this video, Steve Lawson explains what that ministry is. Jesus, referring to the Holy Spirit, said, "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment" (John 16:8). He also said, "He [the Spirit] will testify about Me" (John 15:26 ). A clear proclamation of the true ministry of the Holy Spirit, and what that work looks like in the lives of His people, is long overdue—but not for much longer! For i