In this video, Pastor Mark Driscoll asks Dr. R.C. Sproul a theological question from Facebook: "Does God really want all people to be saved?"
Click through to the Resurgence if you can't see the video.
Check out Pastor Mark Driscoll's newest book: Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions. Find out more.
Like many people, I can still remember the mix of rage and horror I felt as I fought back tears, seeing the television report that an extremist cult compound in Texas had been raided because girls were being held there essentially as slaves to be abused by pedophiles who claimed to be religious leaders.
Thankfully, that case is now coming to trial as the Houston Chronicle reports,
Following that, Jessop will face Jesus Christ, who said tying a rock around his neck and throwing him into the sea would be a better fate than the just and hellish eternity that awaits him.
While we pray for justice to the evil men and loving counseling for the abused girls, the case has brought to light one curious theological question: Is polygamy biblical?
Various cults, aberrant sects, and perverts make the case that the Bible does mention polygamy and so it is biblically acceptable. However, they fail to acknowledge that the Bible speaks of human sin from beginning to end to show the evil horrors of sin. Therefore, just because something is in the Bible does not mean that God approves of it, as is the case with the rapes, murders, and adulteries reported throughout Scripture.
There are many biblical and practical reasons why polygamy is sinful and harmful.
Pastor Mark Driscoll's frank discussion on pornography and masturbation is now available from Amazon. Find out more.
If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah. Isaiah 1:9
Did you notice how God intervened this week? The Church of Jesus Christ did not go completely apostate. The Gospel Coalition did not disown its Confessional Statement. Acts 29 did not repudiate church planting. Together For The Gospel did not fragment in mutual recriminations. Sovereign Grace Ministries did not deny the new birth. And I did not walk away from Jesus.
We all sinned this week, and a lot. No surprise there. After all, original sin means our wills are unfree. But we held fast to Jesus our Savior, and for a whole week.
Truly, the age of miracles is not over.
A collection of fantastic reading material on various important topics, used and shared by Pastor Mark Driscoll. Find out more.
On March 23 and 24, 2007, Dr. Bruce Ware came to Mars Hill Church in Seattle to speak on issues related to the sovereignty of God. Here is all the media from that event:
Session 1: Uncertain Hands of God and Men: Providence in Process Thought and Open Theism – Bruce Ware
Session 2: Independent Hands of God and Men: Providence in Classic Arminianism – Bruce Ware
Session 3: Coordinated Hands of God and Men: Providence in the Reformed Tradition – Bruce Ware
Dr. Ware is coming to Seattle again this weekend to teach an intensive course on Missional Christology at the Resurgence Training Center. Go to ReTrain.org for more info.
Tim Chester and Steve Timmis present a vision for churches centered on gospel community. Find out more.
Discipleship: Click | View Series
MMAWEEKLY recently made the following statement concerning Nate Marquardt: "Greg Jackson disciple Nate Marquardt exploited a gap in footwork and conditioning to secure his seventh victory in the UFC on Saturday." Once again we see this word—disciple—used in the context of martial arts in a way that we can learn from as disciples of Jesus Christ. What makes people call Nate, who is a brother in Christ, a disciple of Greg Jackson?
One of Nate's qualities is a willingness to sacrifice his convenience in order to be under Greg's teaching. Nate lives in Denver, Colorado, and has his own gym there, but Greg teaches in New Mexico. Despite this inconvenience, Nate leaves his family and job in Denver, on a regular basis, to travel to New Mexico and train because he is committed to learning from and becoming a fighter like Greg Jackson.
Recently I met Rich Franklin in Bellevue, Washington, while attending a local fight. Rich lives in Ohio, yet he was in Washington because he trains under Matt Hume. On a regular basis, he leaves Ohio and his wife so that he might learn from and become a fighter like Matt Hume.
These fighters are not alone; Team Quest is full of people who have left their homes and family to move to Gresham, Oregon, in order to become a "Team Quest Fighter." Xtreme Couture is also full of fighters who have left family and friends to move to Las Vegas, so that they might train under Randy Couture. To be a disciple in the fight game means sacrificing part of your personal life and convenience.
In Matthew 4, Jesus calls his first disciples. Peter and Andrew are busy working their jobs as fishermen, and when Jesus calls them, they immediately leave their nets and follow him. Then he sees James and John working with their father, and when he calls them, they immediately leave their job and father to follow him as well. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ requires commitment and sacrifice, and it is interesting to me that the first four disciples left their jobs in order to follow Jesus. For men, this is incredibly applicable since we have a natural tendency to define ourselves by our jobs.
Too often we get our sense of worth from our jobs, we sacrifice our families for our jobs, we live under the authority of our jobs, and we do what our jobs dictate. In short, we can easily worship our jobs. This means that to become a disciple of Jesus Christ we must leave our jobs, not in the sense that we must give up our employment, but rather that we will no longer worship it.
In some extreme situations, we may need to physically leave our jobs. Mark 8:35 says, "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it." The bottom line is that choosing to be a disciple of Jesus will require sacrifice, a sacrifice that God will honor by giving us something better than what we gave up.
The recent terrorist attacks and consequent military action have reminded us in a horribly stark way of how little we know of the future and how tenuous the hold is that we have on life. And as this type of warfare reminds us of how uncertain we must be when we put our hope in what we have in this life, Psalm 46 comes to us with assurance of God's sovereign care over His creation. This psalm reminds us of hope and gives us the assurance that we all need as we live through difficult times.
Ask the average Christian the question in the title of this article and you're likely to get one of two reactions. Some will give you a quizzical look, as much as to say, "All right, what's the catch? Everyone knows the answer to that question." Others will say simply, "Christ died for everyone who ever lived." A small number of people will smell heresy and point an accusing finger. "Aha!" they will cry, "You're a Calvinist!" Without another word they may convey a further disheartening message: you ought to blush with shame and slink back into whatever hole it was that you crawled out of.
Let's take a further look at this last reaction. A frequent complaint against Reformed or Calvinistic people goes something like this: "Your view of the Atonement is not the result of Scripture but of logic. In fact, you are rationalists!" Those are harsh words indeed, but necessary, if true.
When I hear that I am a rationalist I am reminded of something Carl F. H. Henry said in another connection: "Let those who want to defend irrationalism do it with whatever weapons they can find!"
1. How can you trust God after this kind of an event?
The Christian answer to issues of suffering and tragedy always has to do with the Cross. Imagine you are an admirer and companion of Jesus Christ during his ministry. He is such a powerful worker of miracles that disease and hunger are almost banished from the countryside when he is present.
He is such a powerful teacher and spiritual guide that thousands of people hear him gladly and get hope. Then suddenly this man who is the one to help the whole country is cruelly, unjustly cut off in the very midst of his life--at only age 33.
What if you stood at the foot of the cross in front of this apparently senseless act of violence and tragic waste of life, and you said, "I can never, ever trust God again after an event like this!" And what if you went home and completely renounced all belief in God saying, "This proves that God is either a monster or indifferent or he doesn't exist"? If you did that, you would have been missing the greatest act of God's love and redemption in history. But of course no one at that time (and only a few for a good while afterwards) could fathom what had happened.
On March 23 and 24, 2007, Resurgence had the great privilege of having Dr. Bruce Ware come to Mars Hill Church in Seattle to speak on issues related to the sovereignty of God. In this, the third session the conference, given the afternoon of the 24th, watch as Dr. Ware talks about the Reformed Tradition's view of God's work in creation.
To follow along with Dr. Ware's notes, click here.
On March 23 and 24, 2007, Resurgence had the great privilege of having Dr. Bruce Ware come to Mars Hill Church in Seattle to speak on issues related to the sovereignty of God. In this, the third session the conference, given the afternoon of the 24th, listen as Dr. Ware talks about the Reformed Tradition's view of God's work in creation.
To follow along with Dr. Ware's notes, click here.
The Resurgence is a movement that resources multiple generations to live for Jesus so that they can effectively reach their cities with the Gospel by staying culturally accessible and Biblically faithful.
