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| Link | Quote | Stars | Tags | Author |
| 5050db7 | Salvation is not merely professing to be a Christian, nor is it baptism, moral reform, going to church, receiving sacraments, or living a life of self-discipline and sacrifice. Salvation is believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Salvation comes through giving up on one's own goodness, works, knowledge, and wisdom and trusting in the finished, perfect work of Christ. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 2e61355 | Using psychology for soul-care is like dressing cancer with Band-Aids. It may temporarily relieve the pain or even mask the symptoms, but it will never penetrate the issues of the heart like God's Word. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 5b151dd | In spite of their gross theological error, charismatics demand acceptance within mainstream evangelicalism. And evangelicals have largely succumbed to those demands, responding with outstretched arms and a welcoming smile. In so doing, mainstream evangelicalism has unwittingly invited an enemy into the camp. The gates have been flung open to a Trojan horse of subjectivism, experientialism, ecumenical compromise, and heresy. Those who compro.. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| ba5a7a4 | Meanwhile, modern feminists heap scorn on women who want family and household to be their first priorities--disparaging the role of motherhood, the one calling that is most uniquely and exclusively feminine. The whole message of feminist egalitarianism is that there is really nothing extraordinary about women. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 4d29872 | The truth divides people. The more fundamental the truth, the deeper and wider the division. The goal of Christian preaching--the goal of presenting the gospel, the goal of the church--is not just to open the door so wide that we can suck everybody in and make them feel comfortable. The goal is to preach the truth to as many people as possible, so that we can sort out the true from the false. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 3b5bf20 | The bottom line is this: looking beyond all of your false assurance, religious activity, or fair exchanges, do you live with a desire for obedience to the Word of God? Is that the goal you're striving for--not for the perfection of your life (which comes only in heaven)? And when you disobey it, as we all do daily, do you have a sense of conviction and remorse that draws you to confess it to God? If that isn't there, it's a fair question wh.. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| e8c7010 | Christian bashing" is increasingly popular. It has become a favorite pastime among journalists in the liberal media and among liberals in education, the arts, and politics. Bigotry is back in style, and the politically correct form of it is to assault Christians. Often it is those who preach "tolerance," "nonjudgmentalism," and "intellectualism" who are most intolerant." | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 7a690e3 | Our duty as we relate to an increasingly secular and ungodly culture is not to lobby for certain rights, the implementation of a Christian agenda, or the reformation of the government. Rather, God would have us continually to remember Paul's instructions to Titus and live them out as we seek to demonstrate His power and grace that can regenerate sinners. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 077b438 | The hallmark of grace is an obedient heart. Again, we must be clear: obedience does not produce or maintain salvation, but it is the inevitable characteristic of those who are saved. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 7e1f61a | Some people are just die-hard critics. You can't avoid them, and you can't win them over, whether you try to spin the gospel to suit their tastes or you tell the truth and hope God will work in their hearts. They're not even looking for the truth. They just want to find everything wrong with Christ and Christianity, which is a tragic response. In the end, the truth will be justified by what it produces. And they may not know the truth until.. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 840a89d | When the world is hostile and persecuting, when the world moves against him and ostracizes or alienates him, a true disciple is not afraid, because he has utterly and totally given himself over to the lordship of Christ, confident in His care no matter what, even against the hostility of the world. Another characteristic of discipleship is that a true disciple is loyal to his Lord. In verse 32 Jesus told us, "Therefore whoever confesses Me .. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| ad3868f | We can't protect or expand the cause of Christ by human political and social activism, no matter how great or sincere the efforts. Ours is a spiritual battle against worldly ideologies and dogmas that are arrayed against God, and we achieve victory over them only with the weapon of Scripture. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 03700f3 | Their famous attempt to make clothing of fig leaves perfectly illustrates the utter inadequacy of every human device ever conceived to try to cover shame. Human religion, philanthropy, education, self-betterment, self-esteem, and all other attempts at human goodness ultimately fail to provide adequate camouflage for the disgrace and shame of our fallen state. All the man-made remedies combined are no more effective for removing the dishonor.. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 99f2b3c | God simply is not calling us to wage a culture war that would seek to transform our countries into "Christian nations." To devote all, or even most, of our time, energy, money, and strategy to putting a facade of morality on the world or the appearance of "rightness" over our governmental and political institutions is to badly misunderstand our roles as Christians in a spiritually lost world. God" | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 6cae1bb | God help us! We have turned the holy fire of God into a circus sideshow--and naive Christians are buying this without realizing that such shenanigans are actually blasphemous.21 | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 46468a8 | We shouldn't expect popularity. What should we expect? Paul gave us the list: affliction, crushing, persecution, being knocked flat, and always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus. That doesn't describe some mystical asceticism; it simply means that He was always on the brink of death, always ready to die, always being pursued by some who were plotting death. He knew that every day He awakened could be the day He died. Death was w.. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 8b96734 | But avoidance is only part of the biblical approach to media. The Christian life is not only concerned with avoiding immorality; it is also consumed with pursuing Christ. In putting off "the deeds of darkness," we must also "put on the armor of light" (Romans 13:12)." | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| b9ba2e3 | When you eagerly give your life in submission to the Lord, He takes over and everything begins to unfold, and from there on He begins to empower and change you. C. S. Lewis has a marvelous illustration of this: When I was a child I often had a toothache, and I knew that if I went to my mother she would give me something which would deaden the pain for that night and let me get sleep. But I did not go to my mother--at least, not till the pai.. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| ece7099 | Adam's reply reflects his fear, as well as a note of deep sorrow. But there's no confession. Adam seems to have realized that it was pointless to try to plead innocence, but neither did he make a full confession. What he did was try to pass off the blame. He immediately pointed the finger at the one closest to him: Eve. Also implicit in Adam's words (The Woman whom YOU gave) was an accusation against God. So quickly did sin corrupt Adam's m.. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 0faad59 | Don't believe anyone who says it's easy to become a Christian. Salvation for sinners cost God His own Son; it cost God's Son His life, and it'll cost you the same thing. Salvation isn't the result of an intellectual exercise. It comes from a life lived in obedience and service to Christ as revealed in the Scripture; it's the fruit of actions, not intentions. There's no room for passive spectators: words without actions are empty and futile... | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 7499818 | The disastrous result of this is seen in human societies where sexual passion knows no restraint, where homosexual perversions are celebrated, and where each individual's conscience is terminally warped and full of corruption. Though man continually and blatantly rebels against Him, God patiently withholds the outpouring of His holy wrath against sin (Romans 1:18,24-32). Yet judgment is certainly coming. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| b3a0a4a | In other words, contrary to what many people assume, we don't fall from a state of complete innocence into sin individually, on our own. But Adam, who in effect was acting as an agent and proxy for the entire human race, plunged all of humanity at once into sin. In the words of Romans 5:19, By one man's disobedience many were made sinners".Every one of Adam's progeny was condemned by his actions. And that is why the whole human race is said.. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 6891769 | Theodore Roosevelt once said, "There has never yet been a man who led a life of ease, whose name is worth remembering. Certainly when the Lord calls us to be His disciples, He does not call us to a life of ease. A missionary whose story has influenced my life greatly is a man mentioned earlier named Henry Martyn. After a long and difficult life of Christian service in India, he announced he was going to go to Persia (modern Iran), because G.. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| e64e259 | The Pharisees weren't teachable; you couldn't tell them anything. So many people are like that; they profess Christ but don't want to hear all that true Christianity demands. The call to self-denial, they reject. They hold high their own ideas, goals, and designs. They want to go their way, and when you try to teach the right way instead, they don't want to hear it. It's not because they're unteachable Christians; it's because they're sham .. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| d252c46 | People can deny reality, and they can distract themselves with fantasy, but they cannot change the fact that one day they will stand before God (Hebrews 9:27). At that moment, the riches, pleasures, and accomplishments of this world will be of no use to them. The parable of the rich fool is a striking example of this type of foolhardy shortsightedness. Jesus tells the story in Luke 12:16-21: | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| aaf9ab4 | Biblical compatibility has little to do with similar interests, but rather, differing roles (Ephesians 5:22-33; Titus 2:2-8). | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 6665fce | Compatibility does not diminish the need for completing the other with sanctifying interaction. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| f778f61 | You've probably had a similar experience with someone you know. I've already recounted the stories of three of my closest friends--one in high school, one in college, and one in seminary--who seemed so dedicated to serving the Lord, and yet all of them eventually turned their backs on Him. One became a dope-smoking rock-concert promoter, and another became a Buddhist. These were not casual acquaintances, but friends at a very close level. I.. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| c251a7a | God's sovereignty does not excuse human sinfulness or irresponsibility. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 889b40b | The fact is that far too many professing Christians live their lives, day in and day out, on the basis of something other than the Bible. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| a2a7f0a | True Christianity is not defined on the basis of external moralism, religious traditionalism, or partisan politics, but on the basis of a personal love for Jesus Christ and a desire to follow Him no matter what the cost (John 14:15). | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 5101c3f | This is one of the most serious problems with seeker-sensitive churches. I was talking to a pastor at a seeker-friendly church not long ago about his idea that prospective Christians needed to "feel welcome" and "accepted" before anything else: no "threats," no "judgmental baggage." I asked, "If you had a person living in sin come to your church, would you confront him?" He furrowed his brow and shook his head disapprovingly. "Oh, no! We'd .. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 7abddc7 | Almost no one tolerates the exclusivity and supremacy of Christ these days, even some who profess to be Christians. The message of the cross is not politically correct--it's the singularity of the gospel, on top of everything else, that bothers people. Can you imagine for a moment what might happen if a celebrity or political leader just said, "I'm a Christian and if you're not, you're going to hell"? Yikes! And then imagine if he said, "Al.. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 939c392 | The real Holy Spirit is not an electrifying current of ecstatic energy, a mind-numbing babbler of irrational speech, or a cosmic genie who indiscriminately grants self-centered wishes for health and wealth. The true Spirit of God does not cause His people to bark like dogs or laugh like hyenas; He does not knock them backward to the ground in an unconscious stupor; He does not incite them to worship in chaotic and uncontrollable ways; and H.. | John F. MacArthur Jr. | ||
| 27ca689 | Meanwhile, Quakers used outrageous behavior to draw more attention to their beliefs and provoke a response. A Quaker man walked into a Boston church holding a bottle in each hand, then smashed them to the floor; he shouted, "Thus will the Lord break all to pieces!" A Quaker woman stripped herself naked and paraded through the Newbury church during worship. Another Quaker woman paraded nude through the streets of Boston." | John M. Barry | ||
| 87d5b7c | In my unfortunately infrequent encounters with real passion, I'm rarely as careful as I ought to be. The rationalization goes something like: With all the bullets and mortar rounds I've survived, I must be immune to sexually transmitted diseases. Stupid, I know. More likely, fate will indulge its taste for irony by killing me with AIDS os some other unpleasant alternative. | die-by-the-sword humor personal-beliefs | Barry Eisler | |
| ec2b4c3 | Williams created the first government in the world which broke church and state apart. Because those who had linked the two believed that political authority came from God, this led to a fission whose fallout included the new and equally explosive concept that the state derives its authority from and remains subject to its citizens. | John M. Barry | ||
| 3903d1f | Customs Internal Affairs knew everything I knew about Thornburgh, Bush, Noriega, Jose Busto, Jimmy Buffet, the Caribbean branch of CIA drug ops, the arming of Nicaragua's Contras, and the destabilization of the Middle East through the arming of Afghanistan and Iraq. Mark and I knew we had strong support, and friends as dedicated as we are to dismantling the criminal corruption that was eroding the soul of America. | Cathy O'Brien | ||
| e872c9a | Multi-generational sexual child abuse is such a common cause of the proliferation of pedophilia that Hitler/Himmler research focused on this genetic trait for mind control purposes. While I personally could not relate to the idea of sex with a child, I had parents and brothers and sisters who did. I still believe that George Bush revealed today's causation of the rapid rise in pedophilia through justifications I heard him state. The rape of.. | Cathy O'Brien | ||
| 64d30ea | People would rather hold on to their illusions than face the truth." "It seems to me that people have to know their own truth before they can embrace someone else's," I philosophized. Mark elaborated, "The average public is socially engineered to the point where they no longer think to look within." | Cathy O'Brien | ||
| d3d27d4 | Mark and I were launching an international awareness campaign that would eventually result in thousands of letters from all over the world asking Governor McWherter "what does 'national security' have to do with the documented rape and molestation of a child's mind and body?" | Cathy O'Brien | ||
| 1f2f2f1 | The US was in tumultuous political turmoil, yet a physical revolution wouldn't guarantee a change of leadership. This wasn't about finger pointing at certain corrupt individuals who took over our government; it was about us all. Spiritual evolution through truth's wisdom was the only way to peace. Wisdom was the only way humankind would think to stop following leaders hell-bent on enslaving us. Attuned with telepathy Marta added, "Freedom i.. | Cathy O'Brien | ||
| 3ecd2ef | By 1986, Noriega's blatant cocaine dealings threatened to further complicate the ongoing Iran Contra hearings. In an effort to threaten Noriega into silence and temporary inactivity, a meeting took place in Bradenton Beach, Florida near McDill Air Force Base. I was there on Noriega's yacht along with Oliver North and Aquino, among others12. The object of "Operation Shell Game" was to appeal to Noriega's superstitions since a logical approac.. | Cathy O'Brien | ||
| 0f379dd | Agents Rudolph and Devaney were kind and compassionate. Their boss in Florida worked directly under Von Raab, and it was during the course of these interviews that we learned the extent to which Von Raab had succeeded against insurmountable odds in weakening the drug operations. When George Bush, Sr. was head of the CIA, he oversaw this same southeast region through which CIA drug ops were established14. Overcoming Bush's obstacles to unvei.. | Cathy O'Brien |