Poleblog

Nebuchadnezzar Loses His Mind

2012-04-30T20:25:00.002-06:00

Some great stuff on mental illnesses!

Oliver Cromwell

2012-03-15T19:13:00.001-06:00

New at Polemos
Biographical

Some great history from Pastor Morecraft! Where are the Cromwells when we really need one???

Reflect upon your swinish nature...

2012-01-27T21:07:00.000-06:00

‎"God finds nothing in man to turn His heart, but enough to turn His stomach; He finds enough to provoke His loathing, but nothing to excite His love. Look back upon yourself, O Christian! Reflect upon your swinish nature, your filthy swill, your once beloved mire (2 Peter 2). Behold your slime and corruption. Do not your own cloths abhor you? (Job 9:31). How then should holiness and purity love you? Be astonished, O heavens, at this; be moved O earth. Who but must needs cry, Grace! Grace! (Zech. 4:7). Hear and blush, you children of the Most High. O unthankful men, that free grace is no more in your mouths, in your thoughts; no more adored, admired and commended by such as you! One would think you should be doing nothing but praising and admiring God wherever you are. How can you forget such grace, or pass it over with a slight and formal mention?" -Joseph Alleine (1634-1668)

From:

Inflation is Wicked...

2012-01-25T18:44:00.000-06:00

The Basics of Biblical Courtship #1

2012-01-24T20:58:00.001-06:00

New at Polemos
Courtship
Audio Links

The Basics of Biblical Courtship #1
Paul Washer
(Play Audio) (Download)

Moral and Perpetual Obligation

2012-01-24T05:16:00.000-06:00

“There can be no permanent worship of God, and no permanent religion on earth, without a Sabbath; and hence it was, that while the observance of the feasts of tabernacles, and of the Passover, and of the new moons, made a part of the ceremonial law, the law respecting the sabbaths was incorporated with the ten commandments as of moral and perpetual obligation; and it will be literally true that all the race shall yet be brought to worship God on the return of that holy day. It was instituted in paradise; and as one design of the plan of redemption is to bring man back to the state in which he was in paradise, so one effect of the true religion everywhere will be, and is, to make people reverence the Sabbath of the Lord. No man becomes truly pious who does not love the holy Sabbath. No nation ever has been, or ever can be converted which will not, and which does not, love and observe that day.” - C.H. Spurgeon

The Lord's Day

2012-01-23T21:37:00.000-06:00

1689 London Baptist Confession -Ch. 22 para.7
Westminster Confession –Ch. 21 para.7

“As it is the law of nature, that in general a proportion of time, by God's appointment, be set apart for the worship of God, so by his Word, in a positive moral, and perpetual commandment, binding all men, in all ages, he hath particularly appointed one day in seven for a sabbath to be kept holy unto him, which from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ was the last day of the week, and from the resurrection of Christ was changed into the first day of the week, which is called the Lord's day: and is to be continued to the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath, the observation of the last day of the week being abolished.”

The concord of human relations

2011-07-21T18:56:00.000-06:00

The following quote comes from John Murray's book Principles of Conduct. While John Murray can occasionally make the easiest things difficult to understand, at the same time he always manages to come up with some brilliant insights on the subject he’s discussing. In the following quote he’s discussing personal discord and the Sixth commandment:

"The sixth commandment is but one concrete way of expressing the principle that human life, in all its aspects and in all its relationships, must be guarded and promoted. Have we sufficiently appreciated the fact that, in a sinless world, there would have been no 'against'? The essence of sin is comprehended in the word 'against'. Sin is first of all against God and because we are against God we are against our fellowman. It is an eloquent witness to this fact that, after the first sin of our first parents, the first overt sin in the realm of ethics that is brought to our attention in the Scripture is the sin of Cain in slaying his brother Abel. 'Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him' (Genesis 4: 8). The first sin of our first parents was against God; the sin of Cain was 'against' his brother. It is this 'against' that the sixth commandment condemns and its positive counterpart is that we 'take all lawful endeavours to preserve our own life and the life of others'. The opposite of 'against' is concord, harmony, peace, and love. And the demand of love is no less than that we love our enemies (cf. Matthew 5: 44). We are to love those who are 'against' us. The 'against' on one side does not abrogate the requirement of love on the other; one 'against' does not justify another. It is nothing less than this that Jesus' interpretation and application of the sixth commandment exemplify. Could our Lord's ethic of human relations, summed up in the words, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, have come to more concrete and relevant expression than in his teaching here respecting the sixth commandment? The principle that undergirds the sixth commandment is the sanctity of life. Our Lord shows the endless ramifications of that principle and pushes his analysis to the source and fountain of its preservation and violation. The spring of its preservation is the agreement of love; the root of its violation is the rudimentary feeling of unholy enmity, the disruptive imagination of the thought of the heart whereby the concord of human relations is desecrated. The teaching of our Lord is to the effect that the sixth commandment brings within its purview tin enmity of the heart and all unnecessary and unholy dispute which fans the embers of animosity."

Nehemiah's Nursery

2011-07-20T17:39:00.000-06:00

Nehemiah's Nursery
By: Voddie Baucham

If you’ve walked into a church service lately with a baby in your arms, chances are you are well aware of the new anti-child atmosphere that dominates much of the modern American church. There are smiling men and women stationed at every door ready to “guide” you to the nursery where your child will “have a very enjoyable experience” and be cared for by the best childcare staff in the history of the universe.

Rebuff these helpful people and their smiles will soon be replaced with determined glares. Things escalate slowly at first, but eventually the truth comes out. These people are not here to help you and your child; they are here to protect the sanctity of the sanitized worship environment. Their job is to see that you –and people like you—don’t ruin the service for everyone else...Read More at NCFIC

"Divided the Movie" Watch it free!

2011-07-11T07:27:00.000-06:00

Divided the Movie, watch it absolutely free for a limited time at http://dividedthemovie.com

The Story Behind Divided
The Background:

Young filmmaker, Philip Leclerc, notices that the youth of his generation are abandoning the faith. He sets out on a journey to discover the truth about modern youth ministry, with this question in mind: “Is it an issue with the church, the kids, the parents?”

The Journey:

Interviewing youth, youth ministry experts, and pastors and understanding the history of age-segregated youth ministry, Leclerc learns that modern youth ministry is not founded upon the Word of God but upon the ideas of men. As a result, youth ministries are noticing a widespread youth exodus as kids abandon the faith for the world.

The Solution:

Conformity to the Scriptures and the blessing of God are the keys to rescuing youth. The Scripture does identify the way to reach the next generation with the gospel — biblical discipleship. Through his journey, Leclerc asks questions, tackles problems, and discovers that the Bible is sufficient for the area of youth ministry: both in the content as well as in the methodology.

Lascivious Temptresses

2011-06-24T21:53:00.000-06:00

"If lustful looking be so grievous a sin, then those who dress and expose themselves with desires to be looked at and lusted after...are not less, but even more guilty. In this matter it is only too often the case that men sin, but women tempt them so to do. How great, then, must be the guilt of the great majority of the modern misses who deliberately seek to arouse the sexual passions of our young men. And how much greater still is the guilt of most of their mothers for allowing them to become lascivious temptresses."

-A.W. Pink The Sermon on the Mount,

The "feed me" church mentality

2011-06-21T21:33:00.000-06:00

Sanctified Afflictions

2011-06-07T18:28:00.000-06:00

"Christ chiefly manifests Himself to the Christian in times of affliction because then the soul unites itself most closely by faith to Christ. The soul in time of prosperity, scatters its affections and loses itself in the creature, but there is a uniting power in sanctified afflictions by which the soul (as in rain the hen collects her brood) gathers his best affections unto his Father and his God."

Richard Sibbes (1577-1635)

You are Dumb and Stupid

2011-06-06T20:07:00.000-06:00

"Accept Suffering from God with unquestioning submission. Whatever you do and think, especially in times of suffering, when you are an afflicted Christian, do not, if you believe, sit in judgment on your life and actions; otherwise you will go wrong. You are dumb, stupid, you are being tried and held captive, and you cannot speak aright about your affairs or pass judgment on them. You are told to "wait on the Lord" (Ps. 27:14). And do not be offended; do not murmur and despair. For you are not giving your actions and afflictions the proper name. Your judgment is false, your talk is wrong, your wisdom is foolishness. For the will of God is that the old man be destroyed and the flesh mortified. However, while this is being done, the flesh speaks falsely and judges foolishly. . . . But the spirit conquers and draws this conclusion: What God has in mind with these plans I do not understand, neither do I desire to know it; but I shall bear the hand of the Lord and say: Thou art my God, Thy promise and Word remain forever."

- Martin Luther

The Spectacles of Scripture

2011-06-01T18:20:00.000-06:00

"Just as old or bleary-eyed men and those with weak vision, if you thrust before them a most beautiful volume, even if they recognize it to be some sort of writing, yet can scarcely construe two words, but with the aid of spectacles will begin to read distinctly; so Scripture, gathering up the other wise confused knowledge of God in our minds, having dispersed our dullness, clearly shows us the true God."

-John Calvin in the Institutes of the Christian Religion
(Book 1, Chapter 6)

Is the Sufficiency of Scripture a Biblical Doctrine?

2011-05-29T21:30:00.001-06:00

New at Polemos
Sufficiency of Scripture
Audio Links

Sound Doctrine and Godly Deportment

2011-05-27T15:13:00.001-06:00

From The Doctrine of Revelation
by A.W. Pink
Studies in the Scriptures January, 1947

"...2 Timothy 3:16-17 mentions some of the principal uses and values, which the sacred Scriptures possess for us; and the first mentioned is that they are "profitable for doctrine." There is an inseparable connection between doctrine and deportment: our convictions mould our characters; what we believe largely determines how we act—"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Pro 23:7). To be soundly indoctrinated and to be well grounded in the Truth is one and the same thing; and nothing but the Truth operating in the soul will preserve from error—either theoretical or practical. Of the primitive Christians, it is said, "They continued steadfastly [1] in the apostles' doctrine and [2] fellowship, and [3] in breaking of bread, and [4] in prayers" (Act 2:42)—which at once indicates that they es teemed soundness in the Faith as of first importance; and were of a radically different spirit from those who are so indifferent to the fundamentals of Christi anity—who insinuate, if not openly say, "It matters little what a man believes if his life be good."

The relation between sound doctrine and godly deportment is like unto that between the bones and flesh of the body, or between the tree and the fruit which it bears: the latter cannot exist without the former. The first epistle of the New Testament exemplifies our remark: three-fourths of it is occupied with a laying down of the essentials of Christianity; ere the apostle shows what is the requi site for the adornment of the Christian character. The history of Christendom during the last four centuries strikingly illustrates our contention. Examine the writings of the Reformers, and what do you find? Why, that exposition of doc trine held the foremost place in their ministry: that was the light which God used to deliver so great a part of Europe from the popish ignorance and super stition which characterized "the dark ages"! The moral tendency upon the masses, and the spiritual blessings communicated to God's people by doctrinal preaching, appear in the time of the Puritans. Since that day—in proportion as the churches have departed from their doctrinal fidelity and zeal—has close walking with God, purity and uprightness before men, and morality in the masses declined."

The Sufficiency of Scripture and the Gospel

2011-05-17T21:11:00.002-06:00

New at Polemos
Sufficiency of Scripture
Evangelistic
Audio Links

An awesome presentation of the gospel message by Paul Washer from the SOS conference. Truly a must hear message:

The alternative to God’s law

2011-05-17T18:23:00.000-06:00

"The alternative to God’s law is not no law at all, but human law; governments which do not guard the majesty of God and His righteous law have no alternative and choice but to uphold the majesty of their own human authority ... If no higher law is adhered to, then the law of man is absolute; there is no logical barrier to stop such a state from becoming totalitarian. When the state’s will is substituted for God’s will, then the only real crimes become crimes against the state (as in Imperial Rome, present day Russia, and much of the United States), for example, treason, defection, and so forth ... There is no appeal beyond the state and its rulers when God’s law is put aside; man has no realm of justice to which he has recourse in opposing the will of the state ... For Christians the choice is between a law order based on God or the potentially tyrannical oppression of a law order resting in the arbitrary will and power of the secular state."

- Greg Bahnsen, Theonomy in Christian Ethics

there will be another life

2011-05-17T18:21:00.000-06:00

"....since we see the pious laden with afflictions by the impious, stricken with unjust acts, overwhelmed with slanders, wounded with abuses and reproaches; while the wicked on the contrary flourish, are prosperous, obtain repose with dignity and that without punishment—we must straightway conclude that there will be another life in which iniquity is to have its punishment, and righteousness is to be given its reward. Furthermore, since we observe that believers are often chastised by the Lord's rods, we may with full assurance believe that one day the wicked must no less suffer his lash. Indeed, Augustine's remark is well known: "If now every sin were to suffer open punishment, it would seem that nothing is reserved for the final judgment. Again, if God were now to punish no sin openly, one would believe that there is no providence."

-John Calvin in the Institutes of the Christian Religion
(Book 1, Chapter 5)

Sufficiency of Scripture for Culture and Aesthetics

2011-05-16T20:06:00.000-06:00

New at Polemos
Sufficiency of Scripture
Audio Links

So how do we define "Aesthetics"? Is art just the self-expression of the artist? Is beauty just in the eye of the beholder? Or does God define Aesthetics? When Scripture tells us to do all to the glory of Christ, does that include the arts? Or are the arts a God-free zone defined by man? More importantly, why do we so rarely hear Christian teachers address such a subject as this? Probably because the church at large has entirely abandoned the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture.

A very interesting message on the Sufficiency of Scripture for Culture and Aesthetics from the SOS conference by Doug Phillips:

Scripture is Sufficient for Personal Evangelism

2011-05-10T20:34:00.000-06:00

New at Polemos
Sufficiency of Scripture
Evangelism
Audio Links

Does God really love everybody and have a wonderful plan for their lives? Is that really the gospel message? Could you imagine Noah shouting such a trite slogan to the drowning masses outside of the Ark? In this message Paul Washer addresses this and many other Christian misconceptions of the glorious gospel of salvation. An awesome message on Evangelism and the sufficiency of Scripture:

His Wisdom Manifests His Excellence

2011-05-09T19:14:00.000-06:00

"In no greater degree is his power or his wisdom hidden in darkness. His power shows itself clearly when the ferocity of the impious, in everyone's opinion unconquerable, is overcome in a moment, their arrogance vanquished, their strongest defenses destroyed, their javelins and armor shattered, their strength broken, their machinations overturned, and themselves fallen of their own weight; and when their audacity, which exalted them above heaven, lays them low even to the center of the earth; when, conversely the humble are raised up from the dust, and the needy are lifted up from the dung heap [Ps. 113:7]; the oppressed and afflicted are rescued from their extreme tribulation; the despairing are restored to good hope; the unarmed, few and weak, snatch victory from the armed, many and strong. Indeed, his wisdom manifests his excellence when he dispenses everything at the best opportunity; when he confounds all wisdom of the world [cf. I Cor. 1:20]; when "he catches the crafty in their own craftiness" [I Cor. 3:19 p.; cf. Job 5:13]. In short, there is nothing that he does not temper in the best way."

-John Calvin in the Institutes of the Christian Religion
(Book 1, Chapter 5)

Saint Augustine; My Mother, Your Faithful One

2011-05-08T16:04:00.001-06:00

“But You sent "thine hand from above" (Ps. 144:7) and drew my soul out of that profound darkness because my mother, Your faithful one, wept over me to You, more than mothers weep when their children die. She, by that faith and spirit which she had from You, discerned the death in which I Lay, and You heard her, Lord. You heard her and did not despise her tears when, streaming down, they watered the ground under her eyes in every place where she prayed.”

Saint Augustine as quoted in The Confessions of St. Augustine

Charles Spurgeon; The Instruction of my Mother

2011-05-08T08:03:00.000-06:00

"Fathers and mothers are the most natural agents for God to use in the salvation of their children. I am sure that, in my early youth, no teaching ever made such an impression upon my mind as the instruction of my mother; neither can I conceive that, to any child, there can be one who will have such influence over the young heart as the mother who has so tenderly cared for her offspring. A man with a soul so dead as not to be moved by the sacred name of "mother" is creation's blot. Never could it be possible for any man to estimate what he owes to a godly mother. Certainly I have not the powers of speech with which to set forth my valuation of the choice blessing which the Lord bestowed on me in making me the son of one who prayed for me, and prayed with me. How can I ever forget her tearful eye when she warned me to escape from the wrath to come? I thought her lips right eloquent; others might not think so, but they certainly were eloquent to me. How can I ever forget when she bowed her knee, and with her arms about my neck, prayed, "Oh, that my son might live before Thee!" Nor can her frown be effaced from my memory—that solemn, loving frown, when she rebuked my budding iniquities; and her smiles have never faded from my recollections— the beaming of her countenance when she rejoiced to see some good thing in me towards the Lord God of Israel."

-Charles Spurgeon as quoted in Charles Haddon Spurgeon Autobiography: The Early Years 1834-1860 Volume 1