Loving Christ-MacArthur devotional (20100712)

"This precious value, then, is for you who believe" (1st Peter 2:7). (NIV,KJV,ESV)

First Peter 2:7 speaks of the believer’s affection for Christ as contrasted to an unbeliever’s rejection of Him. The first part of that verse could be translated, "To you who believe, He is precious." "Precious" means "valuable," "costly," "without equal," or "irreplaceable." Christ is all that, but only believers recognize His supreme value and regard Him with affection. Affection for Christ is the bottom-line characteristic of true believers. Believing in Him and loving Him are inseparable.

In John 16:27 Jesus says, "The Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed." In Matthew 10:37 He says, "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me." Believers have a compelling and surpassing love for Christ.

To His antagonists Jesus declared, "If God were your Father, you would love Me"(John 8:42). Anyone who truly loves God will love Christ.

Those antagonists claimed to be children of God, but their deception was revealed when they tried to kill Jesus for preaching God’s truth. They were in fact children of the devil (v. 44).

In John 14 Jesus adds, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. . . . He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him. . . . If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words" (vv. 15, 21, 23- 24).

Many people are confused about what it means to be a Christian. But you have the privilege of clarifying the issue as you esteem Christ highly, love Him deeply, and demonstrate your love by obeying His Word. May God bless you richly as you pursue that goal today.

Sorting Gospel from Gimmickry

Evangelical Leaders Sort True Gospel from ‘Gimmickry’

Originally posted Tue, Mar. 30 2010 at the Christian Post

Evangelical theologians expressed concern at a recent conference that fewer churches in America seem to be preaching the biblical Gospel.

The Gospel is not "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life," nor is it "God gives you meaning for life," said Dr. R.C. Sproul, prominent author and founder of Ligonier Ministries.

Sproul was in Los Angeles this past weekend for Ligonier’s West Coast conference, which ran under the theme "Christless Christianity." He was joined by prominent theologians including Dr. Michael Horton, John MacArthur and Peter Jones to examine the popular misunderstandings of the Gospel today.

"Together we’ll sort the true gospel from the gimmickry," conference organizers said.

Objectively, the Gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, being born under the law, as a human, living a perfect life (by the aid of the Holy Spirit), and giving His life as a substitutionary sacrifice for others, Sproul explained to conference attendees.

But it doesn’t stop there, he continued. By the power of the Holy Spirit He was raised from the dead, ascended into heaven, and promises to return to consummate His kingdom.

And it is by faith alone – sola fide – that we are justified, he added. Righteousness is imputed to you and appropriated to us by faith alone, the theologian stressed.

The biblical Gospel, however, is not being faithfully preached in many churches, the speakers indicated.

MacArthur, pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, Calif., specifically criticized one of America’s most well-known pastors – Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church in Houston.

He accused Osteen of making Jesus "a footnote in his ministry to satisfy his critics" and for offering "the unregenerate" things that appeal to their immediate desires.

Osteen, MacArthur said, has no biblical understanding of God or man. The Houston pastor teaches that everyone was made to be winners but the idea that man is helpless and hopeless, a loser, is also the most Christian doctrine, MacArthur noted.

Borrowing Osteen’s bestselling book title, MacArthur said this is not "your best life now."

Our best life, he said, is what is to come.

Amid much misguided teachings, Horton noted that a majority of Americans are religious but have their own spiritual playlist.

Christianity for many is just "a subjective affair between the individual and his own construct of God," said Horton, professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California.

The movie of our life is about us and God just has a supporting role, he lamented.

Christians today are shifting from a historic faith towards a more amorphous spirituality – epitomized by the trivializing of God, our human condition, and the salvation wrought by God in Christ for us, Horton said.

The professor called for leaders who will pass down the historic Christian faith and for churches where the Word of God is rightly taught, the sacraments rightly administered, and church discipline practiced.

Ligonier Ministries is an international Christian education organization committed to faithfully present the "unvarnished truth of Scripture and help people grow in their knowledge of God and His Holiness." The Lake Mary, Fla.-based ministry will hold its national conference in June in Orlando.

Embracing the Truth – MacArthur devotional (20100119)

"In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation–having also believed" (Ephesians 1:13).

After stating salvation from God’s perspective in verse 12, Paul here states it from man’s perspective. Faith in Christ is your response to God’s elective purpose in your life. Those two truths–God’s initiative and man’s response–co-exist throughout Scripture.

Paul rightly called the gospel "the message of truth" because truth is its predominant characteristic. Salvation was conceived by the God of truth (Psalm 31:5); purchased by the Son, who is the truth (John 14:6); and is applied by the Spirit of truth (John 16:13). To know it is to know the truth that sets men free (John 8:32). Believers are people of the truth (John 18:37), who worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24), and who obey the Word of truth (John 17:17).

Yet as profound and powerful as God’s truth is, people have rejected, neglected, redefined, and opposed it for centuries. Some, like Pilate, cynically deny that truth even exists or that it can be known by men (John 18:38). Others foolishly think that denying truth will somehow make it go away.

Perhaps you’ve heard someone say, "Jesus may be true for you but that doesn’t mean He has to be true for me." That view assumes that belief somehow determines truth. But just the opposite is the case. Truth determines the validity of one’s belief. Believing a lie doesn’t make it true. Conversely, failing to believe the truth doesn’t make it a lie.

The gospel is true because Jesus is true, not simply because Christians believe in Him. His resurrection proved the truth of His claims and constitutes the objective basis of our faith (Romans 1:4; 1st Peter 1:3).

You enter this day armed with the message of truth and empowered by the Spirit of truth. Truth is your protection and strength (Ephesians 6:14). Lost souls desperately need to hear that truth. Represent it well and proclaim it with boldness.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Thank the Lord that by His Spirit He has enabled you to understand His truth (1st Corinthians 2:14-16).
Ask for wisdom and boldness to speak His truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).

For Further Study:

Read 1st Corinthians 15:1-11 and Acts 17:30-31.

What key elements of the gospel does Paul list?
What is the relationship between Christ’s resurrection and God’s judgment on sinners?

From Drawing Near by John MacArthur Copyright © 1993. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com.

Exposing Dead Faith – MacArthur devotional (20090628)

Exposing Dead Faith

"What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,’ and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself"
(James 2:14- 17).

Jesus said, "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). Your righteous deeds illuminate the path to God by reflecting His power and grace to others. That brings Him glory and proves your faith is genuine.
Your deeds also serve as the basis of divine judgment. If you practice righteousness, you will receive eternal life; if you practice unrighteousness, you will receive "wrath and indignation" (Romans 2:6-8). God will judge you on the basis of your deeds because what you do reveals who you really are and what you really believe. That’s why any so- called faith that doesn’t produce good works is dead and utterly useless!

James illustrates that point in a practical way. If someone lacks the basic necessities of life and comes to you for help, what good does it do if you simply wish him well and send him away without meeting any of his needs? It does no good at all! Your pious words are hypocritical and without substance. If you really wished him well, you would do what you can to give him what he needs! Your unwillingness to do so betrays your true feelings. Similarly, dead faith is hypocritical, shallow, and useless because it doesn’t put its claims into action–indeed, it has no divine capacity to do so.
I pray that your life will always manifest true faith and that others will glorify God because of your good works.

Suggestions for Prayer:
Perhaps you know someone whose claim to Christianity is doubtful because his or her life doesn’t evidence the fruit of righteousness. If so, pray for that person regularly and set an example by your own good works. For Further Study:

Read John 15:1-8.

• What illustration did Jesus use for spiritual fruitfulness?
• What is the prerequisite for fruitfulness?

From Drawing Near by John MacArthur Copyright © 1993. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com.

 

Grace and peace be with you.

Quick takes – 20090108

I thought I’d take a break and give visitors as well, a break from the recent round of long winded posts.

First up, from R.C. Sproul: "The Carnal Christian"

If the Apostle Paul were to give you a spiritual assessment, would you be considered spiritually mature, immature but growing, or perhaps carnal?

Next up, an article titled: "Intimacy with Christ" by John MacArthur (Phillipians 3:10).

Philippians 3:10
10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

Finally, from the apologetics side of the house Chris Rosebrough of Fighting for the Faith presents: "Idolatry and is Believing in the Trinity Optional?"  Other program highlights include Ashland First Congregational United Church of Christ’s (Oregon) refusal to issue marriage licenses to heterosexual couples until the same "rights’ are afforded to GLB "couples".  More on this story from Christian Research Network.

Grace and peace be with you.