JeremiahCry Ministries

The Gospel By Paul Washer

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Ryle - A Sketch of the Life and Labors of George Whitefield

Ryle - A Sketch of the Life and Labors of George Whitefield:







There are some men in the pages of history, whose greatness no person of common sense thinks of disputing. They tower above the herd of mankind, like the Pyramids, the Parthenon, and the Colosseum, among buildings. Such men were Luther and Augustine, Gustavus Adolphus and George Washington, Columbus and Sir Isaac Newton. He who question their greatness must be content to be though very ignorant, very prejudiced, or very eccentric. Public opinion has come to a conclusion about them - they were great men.
But there are also great men whose reputation lies buried under a heap of contemporary ill-will and misrepresentation. The world does not appreciate them, because the world does not know their real worth. Their characters have come down to us through poisoned channels. Their portraits have been drawn by the ill-natured hand of enemies. Their faults have been exaggerated. Their excellences have been maliciously kept back and suppressed. Like the famous sculptures of Nineveh, they need the hand of some literary Layard to clear away the rubbish that has accumulated round their names, and show them to the world in their fair proportions. Such men were Vigilantius and Wickliffe. Such men were Oliver Cromwell and many of the Puritans. And such a man was George Whitefield.
There are few men whose characters have suffered so much from ignorance and misrepresentation of the truth as Whitefield's.
That he was a famous Methodist, and ally of John Wesley, in the last century; that he was much run after by ignorant people, for his preaching; that many thought him an enthusiast"

Thursday, July 16, 2009

"God's Ultimate Purpose" by D.M. Lloyd-Jones

"God's Ultimate Purpose" by D.M. Lloyd-Jones: "D. M. Lloyd-Jones

God’s plan, according to Paul, is to re-unite all things in Christ, to gather them together again, to bring back, to head up once more all things in Christ. The expression immediately suggests that things have already been in a perfect condition once, but that they are no longer in that condition. But they will be so again. They are to be ‘re-united’.
Originally all things were in a perfect state of harmony under our Lord Jesus Christ, as we are told in the first chapter of the Epistle to the Colossians, verses 15-20: ‘Who [referring to the Lord] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.’"

Thursday, July 9, 2009

What does the term “perseverance of the saints” mean, and does the bible teach it?

Reformation Theology
HT:ReformationTheology


What does the term “perseverance of the saints” mean, and does the bible teach it?
The term “perseverance of the saints” means that every true “saint,” or in other words, all who have actually been “sanctified by the offering up of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10), will certainly persevere in faith until the end, and so be finally saved. The term does not mean that true Christians will never have seasons of doubt, nor ever fall into sin, but rather that God will always cause their faith to triumph at the last, and will never allow them to remain in gross sin indefinitely, but will continue the work that he first began in them, bringing it to perfection in the Day of Jesus Christ (see Philippians 1:6). Neither does the term mean that no one who makes a profession of faith will finally fall away: on the contrary, there are many false professions, and there are different kinds of false faiths that flourish for awhile but then wither away (e.g. Matthew 7:21-23; 13:1-23); but all who have been granted true faith, which God alone can give (e.g. Joh 3:27; Phi 1:29; 2Pe 1:1; Act 16:14; 18:27; Eph 2:8-10; Act 5:31; 11:18; 2Ti 2:25-26; 1Co 4:7), will continue in the faith until they reach their blessed end in heaven.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

"Preaching the Law of God" by Walter Chantry

"Preaching the Law of God" by Walter Chantry: "by Walter Chantry

Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsover thou hast, and give to the poor. [Mark 10:19-21a]

First nine commandments
The more closely we analyse our Lord’s message to the rich sinner, the more striking becomes the contrast with modern evangelism. After mentioning the holiness of God, Jesus spent most of the remainder of the interview talking about God’s holy law,1 especially as summarized in the Ten Commandments.
In a sense His first remark to the young man was related to the perfect Law of God. The moral law reveals the character of God. A distorted knowledge of God had kept the inquirer from adequately worshipping according to the first four commandments. He seemed to be more ready to praise men than God. Jesus’ rebuke should have convicted the ruler of breaking the ‘first table of the law.’
Our Lord went on with an explicit quotation of the next five commandments, although not in their exact order. Doesn’t this seem to be an odd answer to ‘What shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ Surely Jesus didn’t imagine that this fellow could have eternal life by keeping the law. ‘A man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ ... for by the works of the law shall NO flesh be justified’ [Galatians 2:16]. Why didn’t Jesus speak of the free gift offered to all? That’s it! Why not offer Himself as a ‘personal Saviour?�"

Decisional Regeneration by James E. Adams

Decisional Regeneration by James E. Adams: "DECISIONAL REGENERATION
James E. Adams

Introduction

What is Regeneration?
'Except a man be born again1, he cannot see the kingdom of God' (John 3:3). Our Lord Jesus Christ taught that the new birth is so important that no one can see heaven without it. Mistakes concerning this doctrine have been very destructive to the Church of Christ. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God. It is not a work of man. It is not something that man does but something that God does. The new birth is a change wrought in us, not an act performed by us. This is stated so beautifully by the Apostle John when in the first chapter of his Gospel he speaks of the children of God as those 'which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God' (v. 13).
What is 'Decisional Regeneration'?
The history of the Christian Church has seen many errors concerning the new birth. These teachings depart from Scripture by attributing to man the ability to regenerate himself. When these false concepts of man and the new birth are adopted, churches soon become corrupted with false practices. The Roman Catholic church, the Anglican church, the Lutheran church and many other churches have all been corrupted at different times and to different degrees with the teaching of Baptismal Regeneration. Because of this erroneous teaching on regeneration, these churches have embraced false practices.
In the nineteenth century few controversies were so heated as the one over Baptismal Regeneration. It is interesting to note that C. H. Spurgeon (1836-1892), the most prolific preacher of that century, had printed in 1864 more copies of his sermon denouncing Baptismal Regeneration than of any other sermon. Baptismal Regeneration teaches that the new birth is conveyed by"

Saving Faith by A.W. Pink

Saving Faith by A.W. Pink: "'Saving Faith'
Arthur W. Pink

PART I
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
It is generally recognized that spirituality is at a low ebb in Christendom and not a few perceive that sound doctrine is rapidly on the wane, yet many of the Lord?s people take comfort from supposing that the Gospel is still being widely preached and that large numbers are being saved thereby. Alas, their optimistic supposition is ill-founded and sandily grounded. If the 'message' now being delivered in Mission Halls be examined, if the 'tracts' which are scattered among the unchurched masses be scrutinized, if the 'open-air' speakers be carefully listened to, if the 'sermons' or 'addresses' of a 'Soul-winning campaign' be analysed; in short, if modern 'Evangelism' be weighed in the balances of Holy Writ, it will be found wanting?lacking that which is vital to a genuine conversion, lacking what is essential if sinners are to be shown their need of a Saviour, lacking that which will produce the transfigured lives of new creatures in Christ Jesus.
It is in no captious spirit that we write, seeking to make men offenders for a word. It is not that we are looking for perfection, and complain because we cannot find it; nor that we criticise others because they are not doing things as we think they should be done. No; no, it is a matter far more serious than that. The 'evangelism' of the day is not only superficial to the last degree, but it is radically defective. It is utterly lacking a foundation on which to base an appeal for sinners to come to Christ. There is not only a lamentable lack of proportion (the mercy of God being made far more prominent than His holiness, His love than His wrath), but there is a fatal omission of that which God has given for the purpose of imparting a knowledge of sin. There is not only a r"

The Moral Law a Rule of Obedience by Samuel Bolton (1606-1654)

The Moral Law a Rule of Obedience by Samuel Bolton (1606-1654): "THE MORAL LAW
A RULE OF OBEDIENCE
by Samuel Bolton

QUERY I: Are Christians freed from the moral law as a rule of obedience?
Our text (John 8.36) is the main basis whereon this doctrine of Christian freedom is built. But many have endeavoured to build their own superstructures, hay and stubble, upon it, which the foundation will never bear. Indeed, there are so many opinions which plead patronage from this doctrine that I conceive it is my great work to vindicate so excellent a doctrine as this is-true Christian freedom - from those false, and I may say licentious, doctrines which are fastened and fathered upon it. I must show you that neither this doctrine, nor yet this text, will afford countenance to, or contribute any strength to the positions and opinions which some would seem to deduce from it and build upon it.
The work is great, for I am to deal with the greatest knots in the practical part of divinity, and men's judgments are various. Scripture is pleaded on all hands. The more difficult the work, the more need of your prayers, that the Father of lights would go before us, and by His own light lead and guide us into the ways of all truth. In this confidence we shall venture to launch into these deeps, and begin the examination and trial of those doctrines which are deduced from, and would seem to be built upon, this text. The first doctrine, and the main one, that they would seem to build upon this text is, that believers are freed from the law. And this shall be the first question we will examine.
In answer to this query as it is propounded, we must confess that we are not without some places of Scripture which declare the law to be abrogated, nor without some again that speak of it as yet in force. We will give you a taste of some of them;"

“The Terror of the LORD” by John H. Gerstner

“The Terror of the LORD” by John H. Gerstner: "John H. Gerstner

Paul preached: “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men.” (2 Cor. 5:11) I am constantly impressed that we hear little or nothing of the terror of the Lord except in some fundamentalistic groups. By contrast, in Jonathan Edwards’ Northampton congregation (1726-1750), where there was little or no open or gross vice, the people heard of it, constantly being warned that all were in danger of hell unless they were born again. In one sermon preached in May 1741, for example, he said: “I don’t desire to go about to terrify you needlessly or represent your case worse than it is, but I do verily think that there are a number of people belonging to this congregation in imminent danger of being damned to all eternity.”
I have been reading in “Dear Abby,” as well as her sister and many other pop counselors, of the numerous reports of promiscuous sex in many college dormitories today. The parents who wrote protested the veritable brothel conditions not befitting disreputable hotels. That such behavior guaranteed eternal damnation is never reported by the counsellors. The “terror of the Lord” does not exist for our culture generally, in spite of the wide-spread profession of belief in God. Yet someone has written that if God does not judge us, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah
Very recently a Gallup poll listed the percentage of students who engaged in promiscuous sex: the percentage of Roman Catholics, the percentage of Protestants, and the percentage of evangelical students. Even approximately twenty percent of evangelicals think they can be evangelical and live in disobedience to Christ. The terror of the Lord doesn’t even frighten them. America’s bes"

“Alarm to Sinners” by Thomas Watson

“Alarm to Sinners” by Thomas Watson: "“I will wait till my change come.”
Job 14:14

If all that has been previously said will not stop men in their sins, I shall add little more; only let me make this one motion to them, that they would remember their mortality and think seriously how soon a change may come, and how terrible it will be to die in their sins, John 8:21. For this purpose, let them hearken to this deathwatch in the text, “I will wait till my change come.”
This book of Job treats much of mortality. Job looked upon himself as a man who was not long for this world. Job 17:1, “The graves are ready for me.” And he loved to be walking often among the tombs, and so to familiarize death to him. “I will wait till my change come.”
“Till my change come” — that is, till death comes. So Aben Ezra, Drusius, and our Annotators render it.
In the text there is:
Job’s resolution, “I will wait.”
The length of time he will wait, “till my change come.” From which words flow three propositions:
Death is a change.
This change will come.
It is a high part of Christian prudence to wait until this change comes.
DOCTRINE 1. Death is a change. There is a three-fold change:"