MacArthur's Life Testimony, The Bible's Trustworthiness, & Gospel Tract Tips For Doctor Appointments

A TESTIMONY WORTH YOUR TIME
I came across John MacArthur's life testimony online the other week, and though I had heard some of the things before, I found it fascinating.  You can listen to or read it for yourself.
(It is not the same as the video that Tim Challies put out recently.)

John's Life Testimony

IS YOUR BIBLE TRUSTWORTHY?

Do we have the Word of God today?
Don Green answers this question on The Truth Pulpit.

Ancient Manuscripts and Biblical Authority, #1

GOSPEL TRACT TIPS

Perhaps you have already been placing tracts at different locations.

If you have some good tracts, medical offices are places where many people do get bored while waiting.
I have seen people pick up a tract, so I know that some do get viewed (though someone may toss them).

I have not used tracts from the site that the video below mentions.
I recommend carefully reading the texts of tracts on any tract site and selecting only the ones that line up best with Scripture.

"Christian" Idolatry

We are seeing more and more people who are professed Christians who have been so influenced by the world that they ignore Scripture under the guise of "love."

Sadly, many well-known individuals have no solid grounding in the Scripture or sound Theology - which leaves them open to being tossed here and there by every wind and wave of "doctrine" as well as feel-good lies.

Even those who might seem to start well have let what others think - or their own desires -  guide their beliefs (rather than the Scripture).
What is worse is that these individuals have many followers that they are leading away from the truth.
They have the appearance of being reasonable and spiritual to those who have not been immersed in Scripture, but they actually are devoid of Biblical truth.
It's even more frightening when they speak a lot of truth at first, but error - like poisonous gangrene  -begins to fester.

Recently, I've seen people posting about Nichole Nordeman & Jen Hatmaker.
If someone tells you that LBGTQ  is acceptable to God, then they have rejected what the Scripture says as their authority.
Romans 1:21-32 & 1 Corinthian 1:6-11 make it clear that these kinds of behavior are not what should be practiced by Christians.

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.  
Ephesians 5:6 NASB

Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;  
Ephesians 5:11

In a culture where people seek after fame (which is often a form of self-idolatry) and where people are desirous to have heroes to look up to (which can turn into idolatry when people blindly follow others), we need to be more like the noble-minded Bereans who examine the Scriptures to see if those we are following are actually leading us toward Christ or away from Christ and Scripture.

Even the apostle Paul's goal was not to seek glory from men.  We, as Christians, must seek to be holy...not like the Pharisees... but seeking after genuine holiness.

For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness—
nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority.
1 Thessalonians 2:5-6 NASB

Galatians 1:6-10 serves as a warning to us as Christians to make sure that those we are listening to don't corrupt the Gospel.  Timothy was even warned to avoid opposing arguments which are falsely called "knowledge" ( 1 Timothy 6:20-21).

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.  Colossians 2:8 NASB

I want to obey Christ and follow His Word.

Muslim Dreams & The Closed Canon

I recently had discussions online about dreams that people claim led them to seek Christ, and about whether the canon of Scripture is closed.

Muslim dreams - If someone claims they were led to seek Christ by dreams, should we be concerned?
Is it nitpicking to question it?

An Evaluation of Muslim Dreams...

My additional thoughts:
When people claim to see Biblical characters (even though not Jesus) in their dreams, we should not give it weight.
What leads to Christ is the Spirit at work, and faith comes when people actually hear or read the truth of the Bible.
Believe me, if I followed my dreams, I'd be in deep trouble, so I don't put stock in them.
Dreams may reflect your anxieties, lusts, or even positive desires in your subconscious, but I am very concerned about people giving any weight to dreams & visions in their testimonies when the canon of Scripture is closed.

The canon of Scripture closed:

Part 1  Prophecy And The Closed Canon

Part 2  Prophecy And The Closed Canon

Part 3  Prophecy And The Closed Canon
"Attempts to add to the Bible, and claims of further revelation from God have always been characteristic of heretics and cultists, not the true people of God."

This is something Christians should also consider:

Why do we recognize only 66 books of Scripture?

Why Christianity & Roman Catholicism Are Not The Same Thing Part 1

Some people assume Christians and Roman Catholics are the same - just belonging to different denominations.  Others realize that one or the other has got to be in error.

The things that separate Christians from Roman Catholics are our views of the authority of Scripture and the Gospel message itself (with a lot of other important issues I plan to delve into in future posts).
They are the differences between truth and error - the destiny of Heaven or Hell.  People have been willing to be killed and have actually been martyred as Christians in the past over the issues, so this is very serious.


Today I want to start with questions about the authority of Scripture: 

How was the canon of Scripture discovered to be Scripture?
(Also, Why the Apocrypha is not in the Bible)

Can there be confidence that the Bible today is accurate? 

Did the Roman Catholic Church give us the Bible? 


Timeline of Biblical Inerrancy - click on the names to see info. 

Problems with Roman Catholic Sacred Tradition: 

If Roman Catholic Sacred Tradition contradicts the Bible, which will you believe - Sacred Tradition or the inspired Words of God?   God's Words should not be added to (Prov. 30:6)
So, when Sacred Tradition claims Mary is a mediator, faith alone in Christ alone is considered anathema (https://carm.org/council-trent-canons-justification) , that grace can be merited,  and that Muslims adore the one, merciful God, do you believe Sacred Tradition or the Bible (which contradicts these claims)?
For a more complete list of Roman Catholic teachings and Bible verses which contradict them: https://carm.org/list-of-roman-catholic-false-teachings


We know that the Bible warns about the traditions of men (Colossians 2:8) ...plus that the Pharisees & Judaizers were confronted over human traditions added. What is your absolute source and standard of truth?   Are you trusting in a council or a creed or a pope as being on par with the inspired Words of God Himself???

Psalm 19:7-9 ...The law of the Lord is perfect (this means whole or complete or sufficient in the Hebrew. The Word of God is clearly sufficient: http://www.gty.org/blog/B140421/discernment-and-the-sufficiency-of-scripture 

But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”  Matthew 4:4 ESV