Acts 19:1-7
Some people have been poorly birthed into the Kingdom. Paul encountered such in Ephesus and led them to repentance, faith in Christ, water baptism, and the filling of the Holy Spirit. Paul’s instructions give us a blueprint to enable others to get a sure foundation for their Christian lives.
WHY IS UNBELIEF SUCH A SERIOUS SIN?
Jonathan Edwards, but reject, the Lord Jesus Christ! i.e. all those who do not heartily receive Him. Persons may receive Him in profession outwardly, and may wish that they had some of those benefits that Christ has purchased, and yet their hearts not receive Him. They may be hearty in nothing that they do towards Christ; they may have no high esteem of, nor any sincere respect to, Christ; they may never have opened the door of their heart to Him, but have kept Him shut out all their days, ever since the salvation has been offered to them. Though their hearts have been opened to others, their door flung wide open to them, with free admittance at all times; though they have been embraced, and the thrones of their hearts have been allowed them; yet Christ has always been shut out, and they have been deaf to all His calls. They never could find an inclination of heart to receive Him, nor would they ever trust in Him.
Let me now call upon such to consider, HOW GREAT IS THEIR SIN, in thus rejecting Jesus Christ. You slight the glorious person, for whose coming God made such great preparation in such a series of wonderful providences from the beginning of the world, and whom, after all things were made ready, God sent into the world, bringing to pass a thing before unknown, viz. the union of the divine nature with the human in one person. You have been guilty of slighting that great Savior, who, after such preparation, actually accomplished the purchase of redemption; and who, after he had spent three or four and thirty years in poverty, labor, and contempt, in purchasing redemption, at last finished the purchase by closing His life under such extreme sufferings as you have heard; and so by His death, and continuing for a time under the power of death, completed the whole. This is the person you reject and despise. You make light of all the glory of His person, and of all the glorious love of God the Father, in sending Him into the world, and all His wonderful love appearing in the whole of this affair. That precious stone which God hath laid in Zion for a foundation in such a manner, and by such wonderful works as you have heard, is a stone set at nought by you.
Sinners sometimes are ready to wonder why UNBELIEF should be looked upon as A GREAT SIN; but if you consider what you have heard, how can you wonder? If this Savior is so great, and this work so great, and such great things have been done in order to accomplish it; truly there is no cause of wonder that the rejection of this Savior is so provoking to God. It brings greater guilt than the sins of the worst of heathens, who never heard of those things, nor have had this Savior offered to them.”
HT: Chris Arnzen
Back in September 2014, I hosted Dr. James White’s “Dividing Line” Broadcast and discussed something of my journey out of the word of faith movement.
Chris Arnzen writes:
June 4, 2015: TODAY’s GUEST on “IRON SHARPENS IRON” Radio, heard 4-5pmEDT at www.IronSharpensIronRadio.com, is PASTOR JOHN SAMSON of King’s Church in Peoria, AZ (see www.KingsChurchAZ.com & www.EffectualGrace.com) to discuss his JOURNEY OUT OF THE WORD OF FAITH MOVEMENT INTO REFORMED THEOLOGY. John was not only once a “Word of Faith” preacher but also a TALK HOST on the “Word of Faith” movement’s TV oasis, the Trinity Broadcasting Network, before realizing, abandoning & repenting of his heretical ways.
John has filled-in as guest host for Dr. James R. White of Alpha and Omega Ministries on a number of occasions on his “Dividing Line” broadcast, and is the author of “Twelve What Abouts: Answering Common Objections Concerning God’s Sovereignty in Election”.
EMAIL QUESTIONS for John during today’s live broadcast to ChrisArnzen@gmail.com. NOT NEAR A COMPUTER TODAY between 4-5pmEDT??? CALL TO LISTEN ANYWHERE YOU HAVE A PHONE @ (401)283-6754 (follow prompts & press #3 for Christian Radio).
Dr. Steve Lawson, from the 2014 Banner of Truth US Ministers’ Conference:
Family Life in a Post-Christian World – Steve Lawson from Banner of Truth on Vimeo.
The clip below is lengthy (almost 21 minutes) and yet I believe it will be a very profitable use of your time to watch it. It was for me.
The presenter in the video is Banjamin Zander, a master communicator. He is passionate about classical music and is utterly convinced that everyone he speaks to is also, they just don’t know it.
Here’s why this video interested me. I appreciated all that Mr Zander had to say. He makes some excellent points. Yet as I watched I was asking myself the why question. Why is it that Zander communicates so well?
As I thought about my answer, I saw beyond the application to classical music to the gospel of Jesus Christ and the way we communicate it to others (we being all Christians, including of course, us preachers). Please note the following:
1. His obvious passion and energy
2. He knows his subject intimately and loves it deeply
3. He is utterly convinced that if those who hear him catch on to what he is saying, their lives will be forever changed and impacted
4. His optimism is contageous
5. His message is that all people love classical music, they just dont know it.
More could be said, but I think these things are a good starting point.
As I watch Zander, I ask myself, “Could these same 5 things be said about us?.. about you?.. about me?”
If we are energized and excited by the gospel, it will show. I think the greatest sin of a preacher is to make the most interesting and exciting message in history sound boring! Dear God deliver us from boring preachers! There will be no rewards for such a ministry. God will never say “well done, thou good and boring servant!” Our job is not to simply impart information. We are to communicate the joy of knowing Christ, and we do so with more than words. Zander uses his whole body as an instrument of communication. He cannot help it. It is what is in him in abundance… and he has to let it out.
OK, enough said. Got 21 minutes free? Here’s Benjamin Zander on “The transformative power of classical music.”