Community

Mark E. Dever (Telling the Truth: Evangelizing Postmoderns)

The Christian life is to be lived, in part, by folding yourself into a series of committed relationships, not just with your friends (with whom you may have all kinds of other things in common) but with a local church, open to all, united around faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you try to live your Christian life without such relationships in such a community, then you must beware, because there are many places in the New Testament that warn you that you could be fooling yourself.

Many biblical passages describe attempts at the rejection of responsibility. Of course, there is Genesis 3, the story of the first couple in the Garden. And 2 Samuel 12 is the incredible story of Nathan confronting David, who comes to see his own fault, though before that time he had completely justified his own actions in his mind. Again, in James 1 Christians are warned not to look at the Word of God and then turn away from it and so deceive ourselves. See too 1 John 4:19-20 and 1 Corinthians 5.

Was Jesus Always "Nice"?

Thursday, September 12, 2013

by John MacArthur

I never could believe in the Jesus Christ of some people, for the Christ in whom they believe is simply full of affectionateness and gentleness, whereas I believe there never was a more splendid specimen of manhood, even its sternness, than the Savior; and the very lips which declared that He would not break a bruised reed uttered the most terrible anathemas upon the Pharisees. –Charles Spurgeon

Modern writers, agnostic academics, and liberal theologians always stress the kindness and gentleness of Christ. Their Jesus—not the One found in Scripture, but the one concocted from their own imaginations and preferences—is effectively an ideological and theological pacifist. He preached only love and self-sacrifice, never judged or discriminated, and wasn’t dogmatic about the truth. In effect, the Jesus they’ve manufactured pleads “Can’t we all just get along?” with people of all faiths.

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Church Membership in the New Testament

by John MacArthur
It’s obvious that the early church knew its flock well. In Acts 20, Paul exhorted the elders of the Ephesian church to faithfully watch over and shepherd their people. But it’s very difficult to shepherd if you don’t know who your flock is. And sheep don’t survive well just roaming around on their own.

While the New Testament never speaks of church membership in today’s terms, the principles of life in the early church lay the foundation for faithfully submitting and belonging to a local congregation. While the original membership process might vary from today’s patterns, there’s no doubt that New Testament Christians were lovingly united and bound to their local body of believers.

How Do You Measure Up?

by John MacArthur

We’ve reached the end of our series on spiritual formation and sanctification, but before we close the discussion, I want to encourage you with some practical ways to evaluate your own spiritual growth.

Yesterday we discussed the true, biblical nature of sanctification—that it’s the work of the Lord in the lives of His people.

However, each of us bears some responsibility for our own spiritual growth, as well. I can’t tell you what percentage of the responsibility falls on you, or exactly how your disciplined life cooperates with God’s work in you (Isaiah 55:9). But I can tell you that faithful Bible study, prayer, and self-discipline play a vital role in your sanctification. As we’ve seen over the last several weeks, we can’t manufacture spiritual growth on our own, but we can certainly hinder it through unchecked sin and spiritual laziness.

What Is Sanctification? (And What It Isn't)

by John MacArthur

You probably know that most people in America and many more worldwide identify themselves as Christians. But how many of them can explain and defend the gospel, articulate basic biblical theology, or live lives that support the claims of their faith? The tragic fact is that compared to the vast number of people who claim to be Christians, very few are actually growing to be more like Christ.

That process of spiritual growth is called sanctification, and it’s a vital part of every believer’s life. For the past several weeks, we’ve been looking at some popular, purported methods of sanctification—commonly called spiritual formation—and weighing them against the biblical models for spiritual growth. As we near the end of this series, I want to highlight some basic, clear teaching from Scripture about the nature of sanctification and help you properly evaluate your own spiritual growth.

Why?

No, That's Not the True Meaning of Christmas

by John MacArthur

The community where I live doesn’t make international headlines very often, but last week the managers of a local residential complex for seniors earned a large-print banner at the top of the Drudge Report. “Christmas Tree Banned: ‘Religious Symbol,’” the headline screamed.