13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
14 I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one. (I John 2)
Listen to Pastor Legare’s teaching on First John later today at http://bit.ly/ccaudios
Six Questions for Evangelicals to Ask Themselves on Reformation Sunday
2. Sola Scriptura. Is Scripture alone the supreme authority to which we direct thoughtful attention each day?
3. Priesthood of Believers. Do our neighbors and friends see in us a commitment to gospel ministry worked out in a regular routine of service?
4. Solus Christus. Do we enter God’s presence directly and with confidence by virtue of the high priesthood of Christ?
5. Sola Fide. Do we rest in our Lord’s finished work, accessed by faith alone, as the sole basis of our right-standing with God?
6. Soli Deo Gloria. Do we regularly communicate the good news of Jesus’ death, resurrection, and new creation, believing that the Holy Spirit will extend redemption through the foolishness of this message to save lost people and transform the world?
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
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
This week our pastor exposited from 2 Peter chapter 1 during his teachings through his study of the Bible Through Three Years. Here is his audio lesson from the teaching. The outline can be accessed here.
Matthew Henry's Commentary is here:
October 25, 2009
1 John 2:27
Exordium: When the men of old Scotland went out to battle by clans they shouted out their slogans. Strong crisp words that said who they were and what they were doing.
That was also the way of the Reformers. They had slogans too.
Sola Gratia-Grace alone
Sola Fide-Faith alone
Sola Scriptura-the Bible alone
Sola Dei Gloria-God’s glory alone and
Sola Ipse-the individual alone.
It is that one that we want to focus on just now “Sola Ipse”. The Reformation has been called “the declaration of intellectual independence”. It stresses the worth and the place of the individual as over against the institution.
And out of that spirit and the writings of the Reformation came democracy in the Western World with its conviction that the state ought to serve the person rather than the person the state.
How indebted we are to this truth of the Sola Ipse. We need to find out more deeply what it means.
{several paragraphs later}
Solo Ipse means you have what you need to understand the basics of Scripture. Don’t surrender that right to that to any other man.
- YET YOU MUST REMAIN IN THIS ANOINTING
Let it be a steady thing for you. Don’t be like a butterfly flitting about with every latest fad and doctrine. Stay with what you have learned. Continue in what your have. “He that endures to the end shall be saved.” Salvation is in the continuance.
Each one must take the responsibility for his own interpretation. The Church is not going to tell you what to believe a verse of the Bible means. We will try to help you know what it seems to mean and what it calls you to. We will do our very best, but in the last analysis you must determine what it means and act upon it.
We tend to believe and apply Scripture according to our likes our dislikes of the preacher. But that is foolish. We shall be held accountable for the whole Word of God and our interpretation of it no matter who the messenger was that first introduced us to it.
You cannot say, if you are wrong, “The Church told me it meant thus and so.” You have the anointing just as your teachers do and you are responsible for what the meaning of Scripture is.
The accountability happens when He returns. When we see Him shall we have confidence that our understanding of what He said squares with what He meant to say to us. Did we get the message right? We will know!
For that, we cannot depend on any human being, but the anointing in us will help us prepare for that moment.
Application: And if this anointing is not yours now, you must ask serious questions. What must I do to be saved? For all who are saved have this anointing. They have the Holy Spirit cooperating with the Scriptures. Therefore, they know all things essential.
What we must have is faith to embrace Christ as our own Savior and He will put the anointing in our hearts by which more and more knowledge about Him will grow in us.
And a word to believers:
Don’t yield allegiance to anything but God-to no rival but God.
Don’t let someone else do your thinking and your discerning for you.
Conclusion: The anointing came first upon Christ and then it dripped down from His Robes on us. (See Psalm 133:2-3) The oil of anointing is what binds the whole body together. The same Spirit dwells in us all. It is that oil that energizes and renews and restores and reforms us.
Glen C. Knecht
To read the article in its entirety, click here.
This is a good, simple explanation. He further talks about it in the comments section found at his blog page. Our question to ourself, for our family should be, “How can we be called a peculiar people if we continue to practice what our culture practices?” There has never been a time that this particular holiday was captured or can be made good for the one who calls himself Christian. This is different than other holidays that do associate themselves at some point in history with Christ (His birth or His resurrection).
Why we don’t do Halloween by Joe Holland
Post reposted from this link.
The Hollands don’t do Halloween.
To be honest, Halloween makes my stomach turn. I’m a pastor. I daily face death and its destruction—physical and spiritual. In hospitals, counseling sessions, and sermons I teach people about Jesus’s triumph over sin, death, and the devil. Mortality, spiritual malevolence, demons, twisted sensuality, devils and the like aren’t just costumes at RiteAid. They are daily realities.
So when it comes around to Halloween and I see ghoulish decorations, 5 year old zombies, 8 year -olds in fish net stockings, bloody corpses in front yards, and resurrecting dead it hits a little too close to home. How can I laugh and give kids sugar highs when I’m facing grotesque, cartoonish representations of the things that literally haunt people’s souls? Do I really want my kids thinking that death and the demonic are only lawn decorations for a few weeks a year?
I know what you’re thinking, “Dude, lighten up!” Well, I’ve tried and have been unsuccessful. I’m not angry at Halloween or the folks that will pad my street on the eve of October 31. I’m not really all that concerned with the historicity of the cultural practice. I don’t even think there is a whole lot of malevolence going on—in fact I’m more concerned with the relative ease in interacting with Halloween on a thematic level.
I just can’t keep from cringing when I think about it.
It comes down to the cross. I actually believe that Jesus triumphed over malevolent spiritual forces at the cross—Col 2:15. The cross has changed me and my affections in ways I could never have predicted. I’m more serious about death and the spiritual world than I’ve ever been. I’m also more joyful in God’s power over sin, death, and devil through Christ than I have ever been.
For so many Halloween is about good times, candy, and fun. Put simply it is joyful frivolity and dress up. For me it is sobering and sharpening.
So we don’t do Halloween. Not because we think it earns us anything with God. It’s just the way the cross has affected me and my family.
Now for all of the disclaimers:
- If you participate in Halloween with a clear conscience then please continue to do so. I don’t think you’re a pagan Satan worshiper.
- I know not all of Halloween is about death and the creepy. If you want your little pumpkin to parade up and down the street with Freddy and 12 year old bar maids, then go for it.
- I love my neighbors and actively and aggressively look for ways to tell them about Jesus. The whole, “You’re not really into evangelizing if you don’t do Halloween” is one of the more stupid arguments I’ve heard.
- I’m not really into Halloween alternatives either.
- The whole argument not do Halloween based on its historical basis is silly too. Although, if Halloween occurred for the very first time this year, would you participate? Something to think about.
- Don’t worry about my poor deprived children. We have a large tupperware full of costumes and I give them enough candy to make a dentist’s drill finger twitch. They do just fine on the other 364 days a year when it comes to dress-up and sugar consumption.
Joe Holland is a church planter in Culpeper, Virginia at Christ Covenant.
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