Case against the R-rated church

The Wrath of God is Coming

Discipleship in an evil day.

C. H. Mackintosh.

At the opening of chapter 1 we have a most discouraging picture of the state of things, in reference to the ostensible witness of God on the earth. "In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, came Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar, to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the house of his god." (Daniel 1: 1, 2) Here then we have an aspect of things quite sufficient, if looked at from nature's point of view, to discourage the heart, to damp the spirit, and paralyse the energies. Jerusalem in ruins, the temple trodden down, the Lord's vessels in the house of a false god, and Judah carried away captive. Surely the heart would feel disposed to say, There is no use in seeking to hold up the standard of practical discipleship and personal devotedness any longer. The spirit must droop, the heart must faint, and the hands must hang down, when such is the condition of the people of God. It could be naught but the most contemptible presumption for any of Judah's sons to think of taking up a true Nazarite's position at such a time.

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Every Sorrow and Trouble of Our Earthly Pilgrimage

by J.C. Ryle

"He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?" Romans 8:32

If God has given His Son to die for us, let us beware of doubting His kindness and love in any painful providence of our daily life. Let us never allow ourselves to think hard thoughts of God. Let us never suppose that He can give us anything that is not really for our good.

Let us see in every sorrow and trouble of our earthly pilgrimage--the hand of Him who gave Christ to die for our sins. That hand can never smite us except in love! He who gave His Son to die for our sins--will never withhold anything from us that is really for our good. Let us lean back on this thought and be content. Let us say to ourselves in the darkest hour of trial, "This also is ordered by Him who gave Christ to die for my sins. It cannot be wrong! It is done in love! It must be well!"

Grace Gems

WARNING - Professing Christians

False Prophets

by Mike Ratliff

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:15-23 ESV)

The attack on Sola Scriptura is nothing new nor should we be surprised by the shrill and accusing voices of those whom seem bent on leading their adoring followers into greater and greater error and apostasy. This attack on the Word of God is first seen in Genesis 3 when our enemy asked of Eve, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” This enemy has raised up his own false prophets and teachers since the fall who are bent on creating “alternate truths” and creating paradigms which are structured as counterfeits of the genuine Christian religion. These “alternates” come in a very large variety of forms and flavors. Each is designed to draw a group of people into error and cause their irreparable separation from God. This isn’t a very hard job since the natural man is born spiritually dead and has no ability to know God or His truth. Those our enemy targets with his most virulent lies, however, are the religious. He works continually to use his charlatan prophets and teachers to keep in darkness the religious who follow them.

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The ONLY Road to Heaven

Brokenness

"And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied." Ezra 9:3

I read from the book of Ezra at bedtime last night, and I was so moved by what I read, I jotted down some notes to share. Brothers and sisters in Christ, please consider the aforementioned verse in your heart this day.
Ezra was broken over the sin of intermarriage by the Israelites to Gentile women. They had clearly violated their covenant with God in Deuteronomy 7:3, 'Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son'. I found Ezra's response to the people's sin amazing, and yet, convicting. Sin grieved Ezra to the point of tearing his clothing. In Ezra's day, clothing was valuable. It wasn't like he could go to the mall and replace his garment, it wasn't that easy. Ezra also plucked out his own facial hair, as well as the hair on his head. Why would a man react this way to someone else's sin? Ezra, being a priest and a God-fearing man, understood what the sins of the people would bring...God's judgment. This is what grieved him, he knew what was coming next. Ezra's reaction resulted from a heart that was not selfish; in his heart his people were more important than even his own self. Ezra's understanding of the great wrath of God produced grief in his heart for his fellow man. He had witnessed Israel's rebellion before, and the judgment their rebellion brought.

After all this, Ezra sat down 'astonied'. In other words, he was devastated, horrified, and appalled over the sins of the people. He fasted until the evening sacrifice, at which time he fell to his knees and spread out his hands to the Lord God. Ezra cries out 'O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens'. Even though Ezra was innocent of this grievous sin, he includes himself knowing full well the contaminating affect sin has, it is like a fast spreading cancer.
Ezra's utter brokenness over the sins of the people cut me to the heart. I asked myself these questions, and I ask you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, to ponder on them as well...
How do we react when we hear 4,000 babies are murdered each day here in America? Do we tear our clothing? Are we broken over the sins of this nation? Or do we say 'how sad' and go on about our business?
The continual push for acceptance and tolerance of sexual perversion, sodomy, is marching forward with little resistance from many 'professing Christians'; does this push drive us to our knees? Or do we think 'moral laws' will combat the problem?
The covenant of marriage and institution of family is broken, adultery is rampant. Sexual immorality is the theme of the day. We live in a culture that is saturated with fleshly desires, with an insatiable appetite for more.
We can clearly see where America is headed...for judgment. Does it grieve us to know this? What about the nation in which you live? Are you grieved over the sins of your people? It is past time to rend our garments, pluck out our hair, and be utterly astonied.

I urge you, my brothers and sisters in the Lord, to cry out to Him for our nation's sins; may it grieve us deep in our hearts to the point of brokenness, just like Ezra. May the Lord our God hear...may He be merciful.

Absolute Surrender

by Andrew Murray
“And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it. And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben-hadad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine. And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine and all that I have” (1 Ki. 20:1-4).

What Ben Hadad asked was absolute surrender; and what Ahab gave was what was asked of him—absolute surrender. I want to use these words: “My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have,” as the words of absolute surrender with which every child of God ought to yield himself to his Father. We have heard it before, but we need to hear it very definitely—the condition of God’s blessing is absolute surrender of all into His hands. Praise God! If our hearts are willing for that, there is no end to what God will do for us, and to the blessing God will bestow.
Absolute surrender—let me tell you where I got those words. I used them myself often, and you have heard them numberless times. But in Scotland once I was in a company where we were talking about the condition of Christ’s Church, and what the great need of the Church and of believers is; and there was in our company a godly worker who has much to do in training workers, and I asked him what he would say was the great need of the Church, and the message that ought to be preached. He answered very quietly and simply and determinedly:
“Absolute surrender to God is the one thing.”

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Let's not fail to pray for these dear sisters in Christ

I read this and wanted to share the story of these dear sisters in Christ. Let us drop to our knees and cry out to God for both of these women, as well as many, many others who face persecution at a level we cannot begin to understand.


BREAKING NEWS: Jailed Iranian Women Refuse Court Pressure To “Deny Christ”
Monday, August 10, 2009 (1:08 pm)
By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent ife TEHRAN, IRAN (Worthy News)--

Two young Iranian women who may face the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity have told a court that they will not abandon their faith in Christ, despite harsh treatment in one of Iran's most notorious prisons, Christian trial observers confirmed to Worthy News Monday, August 10. Maryam Rustampoor, 27, and Marzieh Amirizadeh, 30, appeared Sunday, August 9, in front of a 'revolutionary court' in the capital Tehran where they were pressured to return to Islam, according to well-informed Christians linked to Elam Ministries, a group supporting Iran's growing church movement. "Though great pressure was put on them, both women declared that they would not deny their faith," the Christians said. Both women, who reportedly suffer health problems, were detained March 5 for converting to Christianity. They endured solitary confinement, interrogations "for many hours while blindfolded" and other mistreatment in Tehran's Evin prison, well-informed Christians said.

You can read the full news article here...

A Prayer

Good God! what a mighty felicity is this to which we are called! How graciously hast thou joined our duty and happiness together, and prescribed that for our work, the performance whereof is a great reward! And shall such silly worms be advanced to so great a height? Wilt thou allow us to raise our eyes to thee? Wilt thou admit and accept our affection? Shall we receive the impression of thy divine excellencies, by beholding and admiring them,—and partake of thy infinite blessedness and glory, by loving thee, and rejoicing in thee? O the happiness of those souls that have broken the fetters of self-love, and disentangled their affection from every narrow and particular good! whose understandings are enlightened by thy Holy Spirit, and their wills enlarged to the extent of thine! who love thee above all things, and all mankind for thy sake! I am persuaded, O God, I am persuaded, that I can never be happy, till my carnal and corrupt affections be mortified, and the pride and vanity of my spirit be subdued, and till I come seriously to despise the world, and think nothing of myself. But O when shall it once be? O when wilt thou come unto me, and satisfy my soul with thy likeness, making me holy as thou art holy, even in all manner of conversation? Hast thou given me a prospect of so great a felicity, and wilt thou not bring me unto it? Hast thou excited these desires in my soul, and wilt thou not also satisfy them? O teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God; thy Spirit is good, lead me unto the land of uprightness. Quicken me, O Lord, for thy name’s sake, and perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever, forsake not the works of thine own hands.”

From Henry Scougal's 'The Life of God in the Soul of Man'

The Days of Noah

True Christianity

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Is Christ's Return Imminent?

John MacArthur

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The NT is consistent in its anticipation that the return of Christ might occur at any moment. That pervading perspective of imminence prompts three questions. The first question pertains to whether the Tribulation will precede Christ’s coming for the church. The answer to that question is that it will not because the church is never asked to look forward to the tribulation, but they are asked to look forward to Christ’s coming. The second question revolves around how the return of Christ could have been imminent in the early church. The answer here is that no one but the Father knows when the coming will occur, so that Christians including the early church must always be ready. The third question asks why Christ’s imminent return is so important. This answer relates to the motivation it supplies for believers to purify their lives and thereby progress toward the goal of sanctification and Christlikeness. The threefold call of the imminence doctrine is to wake up and obey right now, to throw off the works of darkness, and to put on the garments of holy living.

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Christ could come at any moment. I believe that with all my heart—not because of what I read in the newspapers, but because of what I read in Scripture.

From the very earliest days of the church, the apostles and first-generation Christians nurtured an earnest expectation and fervent hope that Christ might suddenly return at any time to gather His church to heaven. James, writing what was probably the earliest of the New Testament epistles, expressly told his readers that the Lord’s return was imminent:

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Do you desire God?

The 'Carnal Christian' Doctrine Pt. 2

The 'Carnal Christian' Doctrine

The Coming of the Kingdom of God

by Mike Ratliff

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:3-14 ESV)

When I was a youth back in the 1960’s I remember hearing many sermons in our church about how the signs of the end of the age were upon us and that it would only be a short time until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1970 Hal Lindsey published his book The Late Great Planet Earth. I read it while I was in the Navy. I bought it at the bookstore of a church in Washington, D.C. that I was attending at that time. The focus of that book was to get the reader to buy into the fact that the signs of the times were indicating that the Great Tribulation was very near. One of the points they used during that time to show that we were in the birth pangs was how horrible things were throughout the world morally, politically, militarily, and how the “gospel” was being preached around the world. Here we are over 30 years later and I defy anyone to say that things have improved in any of those categories since then. In Matthew 24:3-14, which I placed at the top of this post, our Lord tells us what the world would be like leading up to the end of this age. This age began at the Cross and will continue until the cup of God’s Wrath is filled.


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