For A Drop Of Pleasure

(Thomas Watson, "The Ten Commandments")

"You shall not murder." Exodus 20:13

Many murder their own souls! They willfully damn themselves, and throw themselves into hell!

Who are those who murder their own souls?

They willfully murder their souls—who have no sense of God, or the world to come, and are past feeling. Tell them of God's holiness and justice—and they are not affected at all. "They made their hearts as an adamant stone." Zech 7:12. Sinners have adamantine hearts—nothing will work upon them, neither ordinances nor judgments. They do not believe in God; they laugh at hell. Thus they murder their own souls, and throw themselves into hell as fast as they can!

They willfully murder their own souls—who resign themselves to their lusts, let what will, come of it. "Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more." Eph 4:19. Let ministers speak to them about their sins, let conscience speak, let afflictions speak—they will have their lusts, even though they go to hell for them! Do not these murder their own souls? Many say in their hearts, "let our sins damn us—just so that they but please us!" Herod will have his incestuous lusts though it costs him his soul. For a drop of pleasure—men will drink a sea of wrath! These massacre and damn their own souls!

"A wicked man’s iniquities entrap him; he is entangled in the ropes of his own sin. He will be lost because of his great stupidity." Proverbs 5:22-23

Oh! take heed of murdering your own souls!

MEMORIAL DAY

What Must I Do To Be Saved?

Great Quotes to Ponder Today

"Does the world satisfy thee? Then thou hast thy reward and portion in this life; make much of it, for thou shalt know no other joy" (Charles Haddon Spurgeon).

"Every sin is an act of cosmic treason, a futile attempt to dethrone God in His sovereign authority" (R.C. Sproul).

"I am persuaded that if the truth were known, we would be shocked to discover how small the remnant of true believers is" (Conrad Murrell).

"Idolatry is not simply worshiping a stone image, but idolatry is any concept of God that reduces God to less than who He really is" (A.W. Tozer).

"A true faith in Jesus Christ will not suffer us to be idle. No, it is an active, lively, restless principle; it fills the heart, so that it cannot be easy till it is doing something for Jesus Christ" (George Whitefield).

"Though Christians be not kept altogether from falling, yet they are kept from falling altogether" (William Secker).

"Assurance is the result of a competent spiritual knowledge of the person and work of Christ as revealed in the gospel, and a consciousness of dependence on Him and His work alone for salvation" (John Newton).

"Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right" (Charles Haddon Spurgeon).

"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 gained by reciting mere words. Saving faith transforms the heart, and that in turn transforms behavior. Faith's fruit is seen in actions, not intentions. There's no room for passive spectators: words without actions are empty and futile. Remember that what John saw in his vision of judgment was a Book of Life, not a Book of Words or Book of Intellectual Musings. The life we live, not the words we speak, reveals whether our faith is authentic" (John MacArthur, from his book entitled 'Hard to Believe').

--More to come--

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

Minced Oaths (Proceed with CAUTION!!)

GIVING DUE REVERENCE TO OUR LORD, EVEN IN OUR SPEECH!!

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength [my Rock], and my Redeemer" (Psalm 19:14)

"Sound Speech, that cannot be condemned" (Titus 2:8)

The words of our mouth ought to be well pleasing to the Lord Jesus Christ who purchased us with His own blood "that He might redeem us from all iniquity [lawlessness] and purify unto Himself a peculiar people [a people of His own], zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14). May the fruit of our lips always honor "that worthy Name by the which ye are called" (James 2:7).

As blood-bought children of God we should be very thoughtful about the words that we use, and very careful in our choice of words. This is especially true at times of surprise or amazement or sudden pain or disappointment when we tend to burst out with an exclamatory word or comment. Those of the world blurt out all kinds of inappropriate words, not giving much thought to what they are really saying. All such careless speech and profane cursing should find no place on the lips of a redeemed saint: "Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips" (Psalm 141:3).

What is a MINCED OATH? The verb "mince" means "to lessen the force of, to weaken, as by euphemism." What does the word EUPHEMISM mean? A euphemism is "the use of a word or phrase that is less expressive or direct but considered less distasteful, less offensive, etc. than another" [from a tract entitled, "Christian Cursing" by J. W. Hiebert, published by Tabernacle Baptist Church in Lubbock, TX]. What we have then is one word or phrase being substituted for another. Instead of using the Name of God, we use a substitute word in place of God's name that sounds better and is less offensive. Instead of using a swear word we use a substitute word that actually means the same but does not sound as bad. Thus we can say that a MINCED OATH is "a form of cursing that replaces a direct curse word with a more acceptable word [better sounding word] which in effect does the same thing." [Ibid.]

"Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain" (Exodus 20:7) Consider some of the words that are used as substitutes for the Name of God. Look up these words in a good dictionary and you will find the following: GOSH is "a substitute for God used in minced oaths." GOLLY is "a euphemism for God." EGAD is "a softened or euphemistic form of the oath `by God.'" GOODNESS is a word substituted for God (compare Matthew 19:16-17).

GOODNESS GRACIOUS are two key attributes of God used in a careless and irreverent way. The expression MERCY or MERCY SAKES is another thoughtless use of a precious attribute of God. HOLY COW, HOLY MACKEREL, HOLY SMOKE are expressions that make fun and make light of the awesome holiness of our God. If we really believe Revelation 15:4 ("for Thou only are holy") then we will not call other things holy in a thoughtless and frivolous way. May the Holy Spirit control our lips.

Those who are outwardly lawless and wicked often are heard saying, "for God's sake" or "for Christ's sake." It is done in an irreverent, blasphemous way. Those who are more cultured use substitutes: "for Goodness sake" "for Pete's sake" "for the love of Mike" "for crying out loud" etc.

In a similar way the Name of Christ is abused. GEE is a "euphemistic contraction of Jesus." The same is true of other words such as GEE, GEEWHIZ, GEEZ or CHEEZ, CHEESE, CHEECE, SHEECE, "all of which relate back to the Lord Jesus Christ when used as an exclamatory remark" [Ibid.] It's not difficult to figure out the origin of such expressions as JIMINY CRICKETS and JEEPERS CREEPERS.

Curse words and swear words have also been softened by minced substitutes. Remember, garbage is still garbage, even if it is placed in a nice container. We need to detest all curse words and realize that the substitutes stink as well.

It is of interest how the ungodly so often speak on themes of judgment, hell and damnation. Deep in their hearts they blaspheme and rebel against a God whose right it is to damn all those who reject His beloved Son (John 3:18). DARN simply is a substitute for "damn, a euphemism for the curse." HECK is "an exclamation used as a euphemism for hell."

"All of this, while deplorable, is nevertheless a sort of backhanded acknowledgment that God is real and Biblical revelation is true. It is significant that adherents of other religions never take the names of their gods in vain! Who ever heard of a Buddhist, or a Muslim, or a Hindu do such a thing? If they want to swear, they also will often inadvertently use the Name of the true God, or His Christ, in vain. Even atheists frequently sprinkle their conversations with blasphemous Christian epithets, calling on God [whom they claim doesn't exist] to send someone to hell [which they claim doesn't exist]" [from Days of Praise by Henry Morris, October 25, 1990]. Satan, who energizes these people (Eph. 2:2), knows so very well the reality of God and hell, and his children (John 8:44) give evidence of this by their cursing.

"The third commandment requireth the holy and reverent use of God's Name, titles, attributes, ordinances, words and works" [The Westminister Shorter Catechism]. As heavenly citizens, may our God keep us from profanity and from "near profanity" (from anything that comes close to it). When other believers are found to use minced oaths, seek to gently and lovingly and tactfully point this out to them, remembering that at times we have all been guilty of the careless use of language (James 3:2). May the fruit of our lips consist of praise to God and thanksgiving to His Name (Hebrews 13:15).

"A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned" (Matthew 12:35-37)

"Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?" (James 3:10-11)

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers" (Ephesians 4:29).

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Originally Posted by The Middletown Bible Church on their website: http://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/christia/minced.htm
(Note: The author of this blog is unfamiliar with this particular church, so he is not necessarily endorsing it and may not agree with their doctrinal position.)

How To Find A Good Church

By Todd Friel

23 questions that will save you a lot of Sundays

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Looking for a good church? Join the club. Church-shopping can be a long and painful process.

To shorten your search, call the pastor of the church before you visit and ask the following questions. This might save you a lot of Sundays.

1. What is man's biggest problem? Seeker sensitive and felt-needs churches focus on man's hurts and problems. The Bible says that man's biggest problem is sin.

2. What must a man do to inherit eternal life? Repent and trust is the Biblical answer. If the word "repent" is never used, say, "Thank you."

3. How do you deliver the salvation message? Ask the pastor to describe specifically what he says. Does he encourage people to simply say a prayer? Does he tell people to ask Jesus into their hearts? The salvation message should include: God's holiness, man's sinfulness, God's response (hell), God's kindness (Jesus on the cross), man's response (repentance and faith).

4. How hard is it to become a Christian? The "formula" is simple, doing it is not. It is not easy to believe.

5. How often do you talk about sin, righteousness and judgment? Balance is key. This should not be the only emphasis, but it should be a regular emphasis.

6. How seeker sensitive is your church? It is o.k. for a church to be "seeker aware" but seeker sensitive means that they lean toward seekers and not the saved.

7. Who do you do church for, seekers or members? "Both" is not acceptable. Church should be done for members and the unsaved are welcome to attend.

8. Do you dumb down your sermons? If he says yes, he is probably not trying to wean his members from milk to meat. Answers like, "We try to make our sermons accessible to everyone" are sermons that are not meaty.

9. What is your mixture of topical vs. expository preaching? Topical preaching is fine, but if a pastor never or rarely preaches expositionally (verse by verse), then you are going to be learning from the pastor and not God's Word.

10. Do your sermons emphasize theology or are they relevant? Everyone should say their sermons are relevant, what you are looking for is if they teach theology.

11. Describe your youth programs. If fun and games is the major (and usually first) emphasis, you have a youth program that is trying to compete with MTV.

12. Describe your evangelism programs. Don't just accept, "We have an evangelism committee." Dig. Are they serious about saving souls?

13. What church growth model do you follow? Hopefully they don't have one. Churches should be reaching out to the lost, but churches that are plugged into new church growth models tend to follow man's modern ideas rather than the Bible.

14. How much do you give to missions and the hungry? Again, this reveals the heart of the church. While most churches give to missions, many never consider the poor.

15. Do you believe the Bible contains no errors or contradictions? No equivocation allowed here.

16. Do you believe in a literal 6 day creation? Jesus did (Matt.19:4).

17. Do you believe in a literal hell and eternal punishment? Jesus did (Matt.25).

18. When you distribute the Lord's Supper, do you emphasize the need to examine yourself? Paul did (I Cor.11:27-32).

19. Can a person who is living in a persistent lifestyle of sin inherit eternal life? Sinners can certainly be forgiven, but practicing sinners cannot inherit eternal life (I John 3:8,9).

20. Does your church exercise church discipline? Paul said we should (I Cor.5).

21. Do Sunday school teachers, nursery, and youth volunteers fill out an application to answer questions about their core beliefs, or are all volunteers accepted?

22. What are the essentials of the faith? Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Salvation through faith alone, the inerrancy of Scripture.

23. Do you have a cross in your sanctuary? Many remove it because they fear it will turn off seekers. They should glory in the cross.

The cross should be the central focus of every church.

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Distributed by www.ChristianWorldviewNetwork.com

Devotion to Christ

Devotion to Christ - Bob Jennings from I'll Be Honest on Vimeo.

Another Gospel (A. W. Pink)

This is a "must read" sermon!!

Another Gospel

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A Pretty, Cultured Sort of Evangelism

(Legh Richmond, "Domestic Portraiture" January 6, 1825)

For the most part, we are a nation of Christians by profession—and a nation of heathens in practice.

There is to be found in the religious world—what may be termed—a pretty, cultured sort of evangelism, which too well combines luxurious ease, and serving of the world, and the flesh—not to say of the devil also. But such kind of religion will not prepare the soul for sickness, death, and eternity. At best, it will leave the soul a prey to the most fearful delusions of false peace. The way that leads to eternal life is much more narrow than many of our modern professors are aware of—the gate is too straight to allow all their trifling, and self-will, and worldliness, and carnal-mindedness, to press through it.

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13-14

(From GraceGems.org)