Here's the topic for today's discussion: Paul commands Timothy to avoid those who are lovers of money (cf. 2 Timothy 3:1-9). And yet the prosperity preachers are not only tolerated within evangelicalism, they are given a platform and sometimes even commended...
Here's the topic for today's discussion: Prosperity preachers have exploited inherent weaknesses in charismatic theology, and many people—Christian and non-Christian alike—are left poor and disillusioned in their wake...
If you've been with us these past several weeks, you've been on quite a ride. Together, we've unpacked some of the most amazing and practical truths the Lord has for us in His Word. You've learned how to employ the armor of God ... some of it, anyway.
The belt of Truthfulness and the breastplate of righteousness. The shoes of the gospel and the shield of faith. We've covered some of the biggies.
But today, pastor MacArthur is going to teach you how to protect your head. Today, you're going to learn about the impenetrable helmet of salvation. So join us right now to learn about the fourth piece of the armor of God, and its importance in the believers life.
The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace and The Shield of Faith
The believer's walk is defined by opposition. Opposition from the world. Opposition from the flesh. Opposition from the spiritual realm. Spiritual warfare is real. The weapons are powerful and the stakes are eternal. So how do we get prepared to fight? It begins with knowing what to wear.
Pastor MacArthur is about to return to his ongoing series on spiritual warfare and the believer's armor. In today's edition, we'll focus on the shoes and the shield. You won't want too miss this.
And if today's broadcast isn't enough, you can dig into John's complete exposition on the subject in his new book, "Standing Strong." Spiritual warfare, demons and angels, the armor of God -- it's all in here, so request a copy today.
In the meantime, though, let's return to the business at hand. Let's meet John in the pulpit.
Fitting yourself into the spiritual armor God has fashioned to keep you safe is more than a one-time only proposition. You need to protect yourself anew every day.
Pastor MacArthur's CD series titled "The Believer's Armor" is designed to help you do that because you can take it wherever you go. Listen in your car. Download it to your laptop and your iPod. In other words, keep these valuable lessons fresh in your thoughts as you walk -- and wage war alongside -- our Lord.
Profess Christ today and be prepared for an onslaught. The world hates our Lord and just as He promised, it hates those who love Him as well. In other words, living for God is not for the fainthearted.
But your most dangerous opposition is not the world. The battles you'll wage take place in the spirit. The enemies of your faith are also the supernatural enemies of your soul.
Thankfully, none of us is defenseless. Far from it.
Starting today, pastor John MacArthur launches a 6-part series you can't afford to miss on the armor of God. So grab your Bible and let's get dressed for battle.
And you know, Christy, something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French, you know, Napoleon III and whatever, and they got together and swore a pact to the devil. 'They said, we will serve you, if you get us free from the French.' True story. And so the devil said, 'OK, it's a deal.' And they kicked the French out, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free, and ever since they have been cursed by one thing after the other, desperately poor. That Island of Hispaniola is one island cut down the middle. On the one side is Haiti, on the other side is the Dominican Republic. Dominican Republic is prosperous, healthy, full of resorts, etc. Haiti is in desperate poverty, same islands. They need to have, and we need to pray for them, a great turning to God. And out of this tragedy, I'm optimistic something good may come, but right now we're helping the suffering people, and the suffering is unimaginable.
In 2001, Robertson blamed the September 11 attacks on "the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way—all of them who have tried to secularize America," he said. "I point the finger in their face and say, 'You helped this happen.'"
Update: Here's reaction from Michael Lindsay, a Rice University sociologist and author of Faith in the Halls of Power.
“Pat Robertson continues to distinguish himself as American evangelicalism’s most flamboyant spokesperson. When tragedies strike, people naturally ask questions about why bad things happen to the innocent, and millions of Americans see the hand of God or the devil at work in natural calamities,” Lindsay said. “But few religious leaders today draw the kinds of explicit connection as Pat Robertson has done with the Haitian earthquake. Robertson’s comments reflect as much his rhetorical flourish and skill as a ratings booster as they do his theology.”
Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, tweeted: Just talked on radio about Pat Robertson's embarrassing comments about Haiti. Theological arrogance matched to ignorance.
John MacArthur's clear examination of the central Word of Faith premise exposes the complicity of human greed in promoting the doctrines of demons. How do you think this plays out before a watching (and unbelieving) world? And what are the pastoral implications—how do you minister to people steeped in these doctrines?
Chris Armstrong @ Christianity Today presents the origins of New Years' Resolutions, and One Famous List. He notes that like other Christian festivals, the celebration of New Years Day in the West started before the church came into existence.
At first, the Romans celebrated the beginning of the new year on March 1, not January 1. Julius Caesar instituted New Year's Day on January 1 to honor Janus, the two-faced god who looks backwards into the old year and forwards into the new. The custom of "New Years resolutions" began in this earliest period, as the Romans made resolutions with a moral flavor: mostly to be good to others.
In 1752, when Britain and its possessions adopted the Gregorian calendar, that January 1 again came to be recognized and celebrated as the first day of the year.
Puritans urged their young people, especially, to skip the revelry and meditate on the year past and the year to come. Always ready to introspect—in famously excruciating detail—they adopted again the old custom of making resolutions. They vowed to take more care against their besetting sins, make better use of their talents and other divine gifts, and treat others with Christian charity.
One of the most famous list of Resolutions was
created by the American Puritan divine Jonathan Edwards. He penned them, not on a single New Years' Day, but throughout two pivotal years after his graduation from Yale, during which entered his first pastorate, in Northampton, Massachusetts.
During these years, Edwards intensely considered his spiritual state and devised ways he could improve himself as a Christian. The resulting list of resolutions reminded him to dwell each day on his own death and eternal destiny and to bring his every emotion, thought, and action in line with the Word of God:
"48. Resolved, constantly, with the utmost niceness and diligence, and the strictest scrutiny, to be looking into the state of my soul, that I may know whether I have truly an interest in Christ or no; that when I come to die, I may not have any negligence respecting this to repent of."
To read Edwards's full list of resolutions, click here.