The Most Fundamental Truth of Salvation

Watch, listen or download the full message by John MacArthur given at the 2013 Shepherd's Conference here.

A High View of Christ

Watch, listen or download the full message by Steve Lawson given at the 2013 Shepherd's Conference here.

Regeneration - The Sinner's Greatest Need (Trailer)

Watch, listen or download the full message by Colin Mercer here.

Dead in Trespasses and Sins

For men to be saved there is only one way and that is for one man like Ezekiel to step out in the midst of that valley and preach the only message God has promised to bless and that is the gospel of Jesus Christ

Watch, listen, read or download the full message: Regeneration vs Decisionism by Paul Washer here.

False Conversion: Man Centered Salvation

There are many in our churches that came to Christ for what they could get out of it. They do not really want Jesus, they just want His blessing. If all we have done is add Jesus to our life, we need to examine ourselves and see if we are truly saved.

Watch, listen or download the full message by Daniel Walton here.

Can You Say, “Father”?

That famous example of prayer we often call “The Lord’s Prayer” (Matthew 6:9-13) begins with “Our Father which art in Heaven.” Everything that follows: conversing with Him, praising Him, petitioning Him—these things all start by knowing Him as “Father.”

Is God your Father? Put another way: Are you a child of God? Some people think we are all God’s children, but Jesus taught otherwise. He told those who opposed Him that they were children of the devil (John 8:44). The Bible goes on to teach that all who have not answered God’s call to repent and put their trust in Jesus are “children of disobedience” upon whom the “wrath of God” will one day fall (Colossians 3:6).

This raises some interesting questions with regard to prayer. Does God hear the prayers of those who are not His children? How can your prayers be heard by God?

Prayers of the Unsaved

Because God is omniscient, He sees and hears everything; however, He does not promise to listen to or answer the prayers of the unsaved. Notice who it is that God takes notice of and listens to: “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry” (Psalm 34:15).

Most prayers offered up by people who are not God’s children rise no higher than the ceiling. On the other hand, there is one prayer of the unsaved that God always hears and answers. He has promised that “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). When a sinner realizes his lost condition, turns to God, and cries out for help, He answers that prayer every time!

Becoming a Child of God

To come into God’s family requires a spiritual birth—Jesus said “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7). By nature, all people are “dead in trespasses and sins,” and our only relationship with God is one of being “strangers” who are “far off” (Ephesians 2:1,12,13). But God’s Son, Jesus Christ, opened the way for us to be brought into a relationship with God when He willingly laid down His life as the sacrifice and payment for our sin.

How can you be washed clean and made new in God’s sight? Read this carefully: “By grace are ye saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). God, in His grace, rescues us when we put our trust in Jesus Christ. Salvation is a gift—bought and paid for by Jesus—which God gives to all who see their need of it and look to Him in faith.  

“Call unto Me, and I will answer thee” (Jeremiah 33:3).

“As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12).

“Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus…. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Galatians 3:26; 4:6).

---

“Without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

Source: http://www.mwtb.org

The New "Missional" Church

Beware of the new "missional" church whose agenda has changed from that of preaching the Gospel and saving lost souls.
Watch, listen or download the full message: "Truth & The Emergent Church" by Phil Schlamp here.

Which Church Saves?

Two people were having a discussion on religion one day. This is how it went:

“Do I have to become a Protestant to be saved?”

“Not at all! I wouldn’t waste my time trying to convert you to Protestantism.”

“But you don’t believe that the Catholic Church can save, do you?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Well, I am a Roman Catholic and my friends are members of the Greek Orthodox Church. You say that neither one can save, and you are a Protestant. Don’t you want us to turn Protestant also?”

“No, I don’t. I have never asked any Catholic to become a Protestant.”

“You haven’t! I don’t understand. Don’t you believe that Protestantism can save?”

“No, I don’t.”

“You don’t! What then—? How can one be saved?”

“Neither the Roman Catholic, the Greek Orthodox, or the Protestant Church can save your soul. No church can save, but the LORD JESUS CHRIST can.”

“JESUS!”

“That’s right: one is not saved by a Church, either Catholic or Protestant, but through a Person—the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son.”

“Can it be possible? I’ve never heard this before!”

“You see, it would do you no good to become a Protestant, for there are thousands of Protestants who are not saved; there are thousands who have embraced Christianity, but have never accepted the Christ of Christianity personally as Saviour.”

“Is that why we have not found peace? Is there no peace in Catholicism?”

“No, there’s not—and none in Protestantism either. Peace is only found in Jesus. Religion cannot save; Christ alone can.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“Don’t just take my word for it. God says very plainly that salvation is only through Jesus: ‘Nor is there salvation in any other [Protestant, Catholic, or other], for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:12).”

“Is that the only Scripture that says this?”

“No, turn to Matthew 1:21: ‘You shall call His name JESUS, for He [not the Catholic priest nor the Protestant minister, but He—Jesus Christ] will save His people from their sins.’”

“I’ve been trusting the wrong things! What should I do?”

“‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved’—‘as many as received HIM, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name’ (Acts 16:31; John 1:12).”

“But are you sure that He will receive me?”

“Jesus Himself said, ‘The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out’ (John 6:37). He loves you so much that He died for you. He bore your sins as He hung on Calvary, facing God’s judgment in your place. Now accept Him, trust His finished work as all the payment necessary for your salvation. God says that salvation is a “free gift” that is simply accepted “through faith … not of works” (Romans 5:15; Ephesians 2:8,9). Trust Him—and only Him—now as your Saviour and Lord, for He will have mercy and abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:7).”

“Thank God!”

“When you do this, you will not only be saved, but you will be a member of the only Church the Bible knows—the Body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22,23; 1 Corinthians 12:12,13), of which Christ alone is the Head (Colossians 1:18). The Lord Himself adds to this Church daily those who are saved (Acts 2:47).”

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24).

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9).

Source: http://www.mwtb.org

Is This Your Last Day?

On the day of your death, do you think you will wake up knowing that it is your last day? No matter how much we try to extend our lives with regular exercise, a nutritious diet, and the best medical care,  our “last day” will still come, and often without warning. How many people, minutes before a fatal crash, can even imagine what the moments ahead will contain? And of those who stare death in the face for a second or two before it comes, how many do you suppose have time to turn their thoughts to God for salvation? Are they not rather in extreme terror, or suffering, frantically seeking a way out of calamity, desperately trying to escape destruction?

Tragedy most often strikes unexpectedly, without warning. It comes as a shock, abruptly cutting off pleasure and comfort, and shatters the normal course of life. “Like fish taken in a cruel net, like birds caught in a snare, so the sons of men are snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them” (Ecclesiastes 9:12). Tragedy “comes suddenly, in an instant” (Isaiah 30:13).

God in His mercy has not left us without warning concerning our eternal destiny, and pleads for sinners to repent. “Turn at my rebuke; surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you” (Proverbs 1:23). “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7).

You only live today. The past is gone, and the future is unknown, making the present the only time you are sure to have. If you are ever to turn to God from your sin it will not be tomorrow, for tomorrow never comes. Now is the only time you have! “Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). “Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1).

Do you imagine that one day you will wake up and say, “Today is the day I die. I will now get right with God”? No, you wake up each day going about your normal affairs, never considering the end of life. It is a dangerous thing to put off the question of your responsibility for your sins. There is “a time to be born, and a time to die” (Ecclesiastes 3:2). “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many” (Hebrews 9:27,28). You will stand before God!

God has patiently given you time, but He is calling you to repentance now. Will you put Him off? There is a time when it will be too late, for God has said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever” (Genesis 6:3). “Once the Master of the house has … shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you’ ” (Luke 13:25).

Dear reader, this may be the last day that you have to accept God’s free, loving offer of forgiveness and salvation. Repent of your sins to Jesus Christ who died for you and is risen again. Trust Him to save your soul. Do it now, before it is too late! “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
(John 3:16-18). —Ron Melick

Source: http://www.mwtb.org

Why Pray?

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:18).

When we stop to weigh the meaning of these words, the child of God is driven to say, “I must pray, pray, pray. I must put all my energy and all my heart into prayer. Whatever else I do, I must pray.” Why is constant, persistent, sleepless, overcoming prayer so needful?

1. There is a devil. He is cunning, he is mighty, he never rests, and he is always plotting the downfall of the child of God. If the believer relaxes in prayer, the devil will succeed in ensnaring him. This is the thought in the context of Ephesians 6, which describes our spiritual battle and the need for the Christian to take up the armor of God. Paul tells us that to all else we must add prayer—constant, persistent, untiring, sleepless prayer in the Holy Spirit, or all else will go for nothing.

2. Prayer is God’s appointed way for obtaining things, and the great secret of all lack in our Christian experience is neglect of prayer. James brings this out very forcibly: “Ye have not, because ye ask not” (James 4:2). Many Christians are asking, “Why is it I make so little progress in my Christian life?” Ministers and Sunday school teachers are asking, “Why is it I see so little fruit from my labors?” God answers us all: “Neglect of prayer. You have not because you ask not.”

3. The apostles regarded prayer as the most important business of their lives. When the multiplying responsibilities of the early church crowded in upon them, they recruited helpers so they could “give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:4). Paul, in what he wrote to churches and individuals about praying for them, made it evident that much of his time and strength were given to prayer.

4. Prayer occupied a very prominent place in the earthly life of our Lord. He was not unfamiliar with “rising up a great while before day” (Mark 1:35), or spending “all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12). The words pray and prayer are used at least twenty-five times in connection with our Lord in the brief record of His life in the four Gospels, and His praying is mentioned in other places where these words are not used. A man or woman who does not spend much time in prayer cannot properly be called a follower of Jesus Christ.

5. Praying is the most important part of the present ministry of our risen Lord. Christ’s ministry did not close with His death. After Christ accomplished His atoning work, He rose and ascended to the right hand of the Father, where “He ever liveth to make intercession for [believers]” (Hebrews 7:25). “It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Romans 8:34). The ministry of intercession (praying for others) is a glorious and mighty ministry, and we can all have a part in it.

Nothing has so impressed me with a sense of the importance of prayer as the thought that it is the principal occupation of my risen Lord. I want to have fellowship with Him, and to that end I have asked the Father to make me an intercessor, to make me a man who knows how to pray, and who spends much time in prayer.

—Adapted from How to Pray by R. A. Torrey.

Source: http://www.mwtb.org