If you want to reduce the pastor’s fears/concerns, don’t listen to false teachers. Don’t tolerate a fake Jesus, a foreign “Spirit,” or a false “gospel.” Listen only to those who have demonstrated biblical knowledge and are thoroughly qualified. Be discerning not gullible. Read More ...
Many churches today have been deceived and corrupted by false teachers. The pastors who should be protecting the flock from immorality and deceit have failed to do their jobs. They’ve allowed the false teachers to gain authority within the church. Churches have strayed away from the simplicity of Christ and have accepted error. We must be diligent and discerning so as to avoid that outcome. Read More ...
Churches often become spiritually adulterous; they are disloyal to Christ and the gospel. They accept false teaching and become apostate. Faithful pastors do their best to prevent that from happening. They work to protect the church so that they can present it to Christ as a chaste virgin. Read More ...
We must continually be moving out of the darkness and into the light. We want to move out of the darkness of ignorance and sin and into the light of obedience and righteousness. We want to escape the darkness of ignorance and apathy and move toward the light of knowledge and commitment. We must forsake the darkness of superstition and paganism we see in our world and pursue the light of God as we find it in the Bible. And we want to help others move out of the darkness of sin into the light of salvation. We do that by proclaiming the biblical Gospel and urging people to repent and believe in Jesus. Read More ...
Disciples of Christ follow the teachings of Christ and proclaim those teachings to others. They want others to become followers of Christ. Disciples make or help make other disciples. They want to spread the Gospel so that others hear the message and respond in repentance and faith. Read More ...
It would not do us much good to know that “God, … spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets” (Hebrews 1:1) if the record of those words were lost, garbled, or corrupted. Through the good providence of God, the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments have been preserved over time so that what we have today is the same as what God originally inspired. We can have great confidence that the Bible we hold in our hands today is the inspired, infallible, inerrant, preserved Word of God. Read More ...
Everything that anyone accomplishes in Christian ministry is ultimately for the Lord’s glory and through the Lord’s power. Whatever we are able to accomplish in ministry is because of God’s work in us. God gets the glory for whatever we might achieve. So there’s no room for boasting. Read More ...
The pastor is supposed to use his authority over the flock to build up the flock. Like a shepherd, a pastor should want his flock to be strong and in good health. He wants the flock to prosper and grow spiritually. He wants to promote the best interests and well-being of the flock. He wants the church to be mature, stable, and strong. Read More ...
We must use the weapons God gives us—the word, prayer, truth, love, goodness, beauty, and godly behavior. We don’t use fleshly, carnal, worldly methods in this battle. We try to solve the problem with Christlike humility and gentleness if we can, but if we need to be assertive and stern, we know how to do that as well. Read More ...
The Christian life is a battle or a struggle. We have spiritual enemies—primarily, the world, the flesh, and the devil. In Paul’s case, his enemies were the false teachers who had infiltrated the church and were leading people astray. Paul is ready to go to war with these spiritual adversaries. He’s not going to tolerate them or allow them to have any influence in the church. His intent is to destroy their false ideas. Read More ...