Gospel Living

John MacArthur on Identifying False Teachers http://www.gty.org/Blog/B130723 "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them." -- Romans 16:17 , KJV Identifying and confronting false teachers is extremely unpopular today. But Scripture calls Christians to discern truth from error, providing guidelines for identifying and dealing with those who try to corrupt Christ's church with false doctrine. John MacArthur elaborates on this in the following audio. Governments recognize the necessity of protecting their citizens. The church should be even more vigilant against spiritual terrorists, especially in light of what's at stake—people's souls. The Strange Fire conference will equip believers to spot false teachers and their destructive heresies. For more information about Strange Fire, please visit the conference website http://www.tmstrangefire.org . In anti...

The sons of Aaron…offered strange fire before the LORD…and fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them. —Leviticus 10:1–2 In case you've missed the buzz, the announced 2013 Truth Matters Bible Conference has been stirring the hornet's nest.  John MacArthur contended for years against the charismatic chaos erupting in Evangelical circles.  Now, prior to the release of his new updated book on the subject, Strange Fire , his church will host a conference by the same name that exposes the present dangers of the movement.  Obviously controversial, this challenging conference will call us to consider whether our worship finds its grounding in Scripture, or in the experiences and traditions of men.  MacArthur anticipates criticism by answering whether his questioning something that benefits others is a loving act: Here's the release: The Lord calls His people to honor Him, to treat Him as holy. Leviticus 10 pictures the consequences ...

( Part 1 | Part 2 ) The first two posts of this series form an important foundation: we must rely on the truth the Holy Spirit revealed to us through His Word, lest we grow arrogant and embrace bold deception in the name of God.  If we lean on our own understanding of how God operates, we will fall.  If we grow unsatisfied with the Bible and seek words and visions, we invite spiritual destruction. Indeed, the light of Proverbs 30:6 dispels our confusion:     Do not add to his words,         lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. In total, we said we must avoid Bethel because it is spiritually dangerous, and we said there are two reasons for that.  The first reason we examined in length last week, that it promotes false doctrine , and we looked at the heretical teachings streaming from the pulpit to computers and MP3 players near you.  If you have not read at least that post, please do so now, beca...

( Part 1 | Part 3 ) In the previous post , I argued that doctrine is not only unavoidable, the Holy Spirit wants us to grow in our knowledge of biblical doctrine.   Even so, I understand the many Christians who, burned by those intellectuals whose convictions were buried in seminary, believe avoiding deep theological study is the best salve for the injured soul.  They believe that you can feed only your intellect or your spirit, seeking a moving experience that is not necessarily meaningful, and missing the fact that God created both in union. As such, some of today's most popular teachers and preachers proceed with that foundation; books and sermons promising bigger and better experiences create many celebrity pastors.  However, upon this foundation a house of theology must reside, inside which a Christians find a spiritually environment that is not up to biblical code.  We will see this with our case in point --- Bill Johnson --- as we exami...

( Part 2 | Part 3 ) Doctrine and theology: sour words in the ears of many today, and with good reason.  Knowledge can puff up (1 Cor 8:1), inflating otherwise well-meaning Christians with hot air.  You probably even know someone seemingly more concerned with crossing the "t" in theology than showing the love of the cross.  Yet, God designed our hearts and minds to grow in doctrine ( instruction or teaching ), and we can't go far in our Christian walk without it.  Consider Jesus, who employed sound doctrine when His proper understanding and application of God's Word defeated Satan's temptation (Mt 4:1-11; Lk 4:1-13).  He also chastised the poor doctrine or teaching of the leaders of Israel, saying, "Have you not read" (Mt 12:3, 5, 19:4, 22:31; Mk 12:10, 26; Lk 6:3).  He equated knowing Scripture to knowing the power of God (Mt 22:29).  His Great Commission includes the directive to make disciples and to teach them (Mt 28:18-19).  As...

Rick Holland, Speaker Rick opens by recounting the life of John Knox, the Reformer who brought the message of the Gospel to Catholic Scotland. Mary, knowing Knox’s prayers against her and the Catholic crown, said she feared his prayers more than all the armies of Europe. Knox feared no man, but labored because of his love for Christ. Today, Knox’s grave is a parking spot, a symbol of what Scotland has done with the Gospel. We should look at 2 Cor 11. In verse 23–27, we read of Paul’s bravery in the face of awesome trials. However, this bold man said he was afraid in verse 3 of the same chapter. He was afraid that the Corinthians would be led astray. There are false teachers, prophets, apostles, and brethren in the church: enough for anyone to fear. Rick calls us to note three applications of pastoral theology: 1. A Fearful Ecclesiology In verse 2, Paul says he “ betrothed ” the Corinthians to Christ. Paul doesn’t call them to allegiance to himself, he wanted to present a trea...