Sneak Peak Inside The Master's Seminary

For those of you who wonder what it's like to sit in class at the Master's Seminary, you are going to enjoy this! This is Dr. John Macarthur's opening address to the newest intake of biblical expositors. What would John Macarthur say to the preachers of the future? No need to wonder any more . . .

 

Phil Johnson And James White Locked In A Room Without Elephants - ER Saga (Part 11)

I've been itching for this video to come out since June! What do you get when Mike Abendroth locks Phil Johnson, James White, and Carl Trueman in a room? You get what the Elephant Room fantasizes about being. Buckle up for some refreshing, frank, and no holds barred insights on what is really going on out there in the bizarre world of modern evangelicalism . . .

No Co Ever: Episode 1 from No Compromise Radio on Vimeo.

Go Back To Part 10
Go Back To Part 1

When A Failure To Confront Is A Failure To Love

One disturbing evangelical trend of the last century finds little or no basis in historic Christianity. There are a lot of Christian teachers, who are excellent in their handling of God’s Word, people from whom I have learnt so much from, and yet err on the side of civility when it comes to responding to false teaching that happens in their own backyard. I cannot get over how many times I have seen or experienced this.

Of course, we can easily maintain our favorite punching bags without becoming controversial. Criticizing Barack Obama, renouncing those responsible for mass shootings, and protesting against those who protest against Chick Fil A, certainly are actions that lend credence to our card carrying membership of conservative evangelicalism. But what about the more pressing biblical mandate to confront professing Christians when they are in sin (Proverbs 27:6, Matthew 18:15-16), practice church discipline (Matthew 18:17-20, 1 Corinthians 5), and mark false teachers as enemies of the Christian Gospel (Romans 16:17, Galatians 1:8-9). Our reluctance to confront is often done out of “love” for these people, all the while being the most unloving thing we could do to them and the body of Christ.

I am currently reading Paul Tripp’s book “Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands” and he had some fascinating comments about how the practice of confrontation is deeply rooted in Jesus’ two great Commands to love God and love our neighbor (pages 200-202). Tripp says that:

Confrontation is rooted in a submission to the First Great Command. This command calls us to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). Twice the Leviticus passage says, “I am the Lord.” God intends confrontation to be an expression of our submission to Him in our relationships with others. From God’s perspective, the only reason we confront one another is that we love the Lord and want to obey him. Our failure to confront one another biblically must be seen for what it is: something rooted in our tendency to run after god –replacements. We confront unbiblically (or not at all) because we love something else more than God. Perhaps we love our relationship with this person so much that we don’t want to risk it. Perhaps we prefer to avoid the personal sacrifice and complications that confrontation may involve. Perhaps we love peace, respect, and appreciation more than we should. Here is the principle: To the degree that we give the love of our hearts to someone or something else, to that degree we lose our primary motive to confront. But if we love God above all else, confrontation is an extension and expression of that love.

Tripp then continues on discussing the relationship between biblical confrontation and Jesus’ command to love our neighbors as ourselves:

Confrontation is rooted in the Second Great Command, which calls us to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). Isn’t it interesting that the Old Testament call to love your neighbor as yourself is tied to this call to frank rebuke? A rebuke free of unrighteous anger is a clear sign of biblical love, but I am afraid we have replaced love in our relationship with being “nice”. Being nice and acting out love are not the same thing. Our culture puts a high premium on being tolerant and polite. We seek to avoid uncomfortable moments, so we see, but do not speak. We go so far as to convince ourselves that we are not speaking because we love the other person, when in reality we fail to speak because we lack love.

Please don’t misunderstand. True love is not offensively intrusive or rude. But the Bible repudiates covering sin with a façade of silence. It teaches that those who love will speak, even if it creates tense, upsetting moments. If we love people and want God’s best for them, how can we stand by as they wander away? How can we let them deceive themselves with excuses, blame, and rationalizations? How can we watch them get more and more enslaved by the fleeting pleasures of sin? How can we let a sufferer add to his suffering by the way he responds to his own experience? True love is neither idle nor timid. It is other centered and active.

A Biblical Response To The "Homosexual / Gay Agenda"

I was asked to teach one session at the recent Reformation Resurrection conference in Denmark. I strongly sensed the need for a presentation that applies the biblical worldview to the many facets of the rampant homosexual agenda that is on the warpath everywhere we look. Based on what we see around us among churches that claim to represent Christ - this is a desperately needed presentation that addresses the many various issues raised by the gay propoganda/homosexual agenda that is running wild in every western country right now.

In this sermon I will address the need to:
1. Be Gospel centered in reaching out to the homosexual culture.
2. Remember the desperately sinful lives that we lived prior to conversion.
3. Rightly portray God's character in this debate.
4. Recognize the current forcefulness of the "gay agenda" as an outpouring of God's wrath, rather than a cause of God's wrath.
5. Learn from an honest assessment of history.
6. Respond biblically to all different sins rather than singling out this particular sin.
7. Recognize that false teachers who deny what the Bible says on this subject are the true enemy of the Christian.
8. Recognize that those trapped in this lifestyle of sin are not our enemies but are our mission field.
9. The need to practice church discipline in accordance with the clear biblical commands that are given.
10. To interpret the biblical texts faithfully to what God has clearly spoken.

Whether you are a Christian, a homosexual, or just plain confused on the whole subject; I ask that you would please take the time to watch this video and at least consider the points that are raised . . .

(the following sermon is in English with Danish translation)



If you would like a copy of all my notes that includes citation of sources, a bibliography of recommended books, and a comprehensive Scripture index on the subject of homosexuality; then please email me with this request at buettel69@gmail.com

Shocking Secrets Hidden By The Pro Homosexual Lobby

As Christians, our primary argument against the homosexual lifestyle must be God's clear repudiation of homosexuality in Scripture (Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, Deuteronomy 23:17, Matthew 19:4-6, Romans 1:18-32, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 1 Timothy 1:8-11, Jude 1:7). In 2 Corinthians chapter 2 we see that we, as Christians, are the aroma of Christ. To those who are being saved this is the smell of life. But to those who remain dead in their sin the aroma of Christ is the stench of death. We cannot remove everything offensive from the Gospel and expect there to be anything left. The cross of Christ is offensive precisely because the horrific price that our Lord paid points to the horrific depth of sin we have committed. Removing homosexuality from that list of crimes against God is not only a lie to those who are in bondage to this lifestyle. It also steals from them the reason why they would need such a wonderful Savior to suffer God's wrath in their place.

CJ Mahaney says: "You will never see the cross as something done for you unless you first see it as something done by you."It's why the famous song asks the question: Were you there when they crucified my Lord? It's why Luther said that we all walk around with His nails in our pockets. And it's why rejecting the imputation of Adam's sin to us also is a rejection of our sins being imputed to Christ. Seeing our own sin makes us love our Savior and makes it easy to love homosexuals trapped in their own sin. And if we really love homosexuals then we must do all we can to help them see their own sin that they too may love our glorious Savior.

Having said this, during some recent research on this subject for a presentation I was delivering, I was shocked to discover some highly concealed statistics regarding those who indulge in the homosexual lifestyle.

Life Expectancy:
Practicing homosexuals, on average, have a vastly reduced lifespan. Thomas Norup of Statistics Denmark provided data for the years 1990 through 2002. On average, ever-married men outlived the ever-homosexually-partnered by 23 years in Denmark (74 years v. 51 years) (Presented by Dr. Paul Cameron of the Family Research Institute at the March 2007 Eastern Psychological Assn Convention, in Philadelphia).

Likelihood of Contracting HIV/AIDS:
The US Center for Disease Control said, in 2009, that a homosexual male is 44 times more likely to get HIV/AIDS than a heterosexual male.

Connections with Pedophilia:
Although homosexuals account for less than two percent of the population, they constitute about a third of child molesters. (K. Freund and R.I. Watson, "The Proportions of Heterosexual and Homosexual Pedophiles Among Sex Offenders Against Children: An Exploratory Study," Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy 18 (Spring 1992): 3443, cited in "The Problem of Pedophilia," op. cit. Also, K. Freund and R.I. Watson, "Pedophilia and Heterosexuality vs. Homosexuality," Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy 10 (Fall 1984): 197, cited in NARTH Fact Sheet.)

Further, as noted by the National Association for research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), "since homosexual pedophiles victimize far more children than do heterosexual pedophiles, it is estimated that approximately 80 percent or pedophile victims are boys who have been molested by adult males. (7. Thomas Schmidt, Straight and Narrow? Compassion and Clarity in the Homosexuality Debate (Downers Grove, IU.: Intervarsity Press), p. 114, cited in "The Problem of Pedophilia, op. cit., p. 2. )

If the secular authorities are so dedicated to the education of our children about this "lifestyle" why are they not mentioning these statistical realities? What follows is John Macarthur giving a lengthy presentation on thinking biblically about homosexuality:

I Married Above My Pay Grade

It is a tragic fact that too many popular questions are built on too many wrong premises. I can clearly remember RC Sproul being asked “why do bad things happen to good people?” Sproul responded immediately, profoundly, and simply; “that only happened once and he volunteered!” Our preoccupation with the quest for fairness often buries the fact that God is not fair. Furthermore, the good news of God’s unfairness is a truth lost on too many who profess to know Him. If God was preoccupied with fairness then He would have crucified me.

I have to confess that this reality has become all too easily forgotten by myself, a man with whom the Creator has dealt so graciously. It is a reality that should inform my approach to marriage. It is one thing for God to grant me a wife who is way beyond my pay grade. It is another to fail so abysmally in my duty to love her as Christ loved His Church.

I was once asked if the Bible had much to say about being a husband. The answer to that question is that it doesn’t and it does. Before anyone hurls the nasty accusation of postmodernism my way, please let me clarify. In one sense the only instruction the Bible gives husbands is to love their wives as Christ loved the Church. But this single instruction then unpacks into the infinite depths of exploring Christ’s love for His Church.

I am currently on a plane over the Atlantic as I write this. The twelve hours since I kissed my beautiful wife goodbye now seems like twelve days. This solitude has left me wounded with the deep conviction of my failings as a husband. Why would God bless me with such a beautiful and godly wife? How could I take His immense kindness so much for granted? Where is my devotion to the pursuit of loving my wife as Christ first loved me?

All this points to my constant need for the Gospel. To be found in the Savior. To have His righteousness imputed to my account. To get on the phone as soon as possible!

I’m already counting the days until I see you again Majbrit. Thank you for the honor of being your husband. May God, by His Spirit, conform me more to Christ!

The Gay Agenda's Intolerance Of Traditional Marriage

Even though I am outside the USA right now it the outbreak of a second Civil War in America seems to be global news. Chick Fil A President Dan Cathy decided to spew forth vicious hate speech against all homosexuals by stating his support for the biblical understanding of marriage! Don't you just feel the hate?

I make no secret of the fact that I love Chick Fil A and have always taken the principled stand to support them through regular visits to my local Santa Clarita store in southern California. Quite simply, it is a matter of mathematics:

Christian Values + Mouth Watering Spicy Chicken Deluxe Sandwich = A Principled Stand

But what exactly were the hate filled words of Dan Cathy? Here is the explosive portion of his interview with Baptist Press that unleashed the firestorm of outrage:

Some have opposed the company's support of the traditional family. "Well, guilty as charged," said Cathy when asked about the company's position.

"We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.

"We operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that," Cathy emphasized.

"We intend to stay the course," he said. "We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."



The roar of protest was immediate. Picketers were deployed to stand outside their local franchise and "spread their message of tolerance". The mayor's of Chicago and Boston pledged their commitment to shut Chick Fil A out of their cities because of it's intolerance. Great way to display your commitment to tolerance guys! Roseanne Barr launched an expletive riddled diatribe against the company (she has a way with words that is never worth repeating) declaring that anyone who eats (Expletive) Fil A deserves to get cancer.



Even the Jim Henson company, who brought us Kermit the Frog and the Muppets, has severed all ties with Chick Fil A over their hate filled intolerance and will no longer be supplying toys for their "kids meals". To add insult to injury, the Swedish Chef has now removed chicken from his menu, Animal the drummer no longer does his "bite the head off a chicken routine", and Kermit is now on the lookout for a new diversionary food for all lovers of frog legs. Even Miss Piggy is encouraging food lovers to boycott Chick Fil A and eat bacon instead!

But there has also been a backlash to the backlash with hordes of chicken lovers descending on franchises all over the country to send a clear message of their support. Chick Fil A reported their biggest day of sales ever. Clearly, the chicken sandwich has found itself in the center of the culture war on Christian liberty. Al Mohler commented in his blog just two days ago that:

The threats made against Chick-fil-A betray the principle of religious liberty that is enshrined within the U.S. Constitution. Civic officials in some of the nation’s largest and most powerful cities have openly threatened to oppose Chick-fil-A for the singular reason that its president openly spoke of his Christian convictions concerning marriage.

When Quinn, one of the most powerful officials in New York, announces, “I do not want establishments in my city that hold such discriminatory views,” is she also threatening the Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Jewish synagogues and Islamic mosques?

They, along with evangelical Christian denominations, openly oppose the legalization of same-sex marriage. Cathy’s statements are completely consistent with his own denomination’s statement of faith and official declarations. He was speaking as a Christian and as a Southern Baptist, and he was speaking as a man who does his best to live and speak as he believes.

When Emanuel and Moreno tell Chick-fil-A to stay out of Chicago, are they audacious enough to deliver that same message to the churches, mosques and synagogues of their city that also oppose same-sex marriage? What do they do with the fact that their own state does not allow same-sex marriages?

This country is deeply divided over the issue of same-sex marriage, and the controversy over Chick-fil-A is an ominous sign that many of the proponents of same-sex marriage are quite willing to violate religious liberty and to use any and all means to silence and punish any individual or organization that holds the contrary view – a view sustained by the voters in 29 states by constitutional amendments.

It warms my heart greatly to see so many people coming out in support of a Christian man who runs a good business on Christian principles. I am concerned however, that this could spill over into a fast food franchise at the epicenter of a moralistic us against them contest. It is a gross Christian error to go to war against our mission field. And I'll say more about that later . . .