The Berean Call Podcast

<p>Torn between their sincere desire to serve and honor their Lord and the inner turmoil of fleshly lusts and the seductive pull of worldly pleasures and honors, many Christians struggle to live for Christ. For them, Christianity involves great effort, little joy, much frustration and disillusionment, and the loss (when they have enough will power to deny themselves) of so much they once enjoyed in life. They struggle to avoid Paul’s list of “don’ts” in Colossians 3:5-8<br>“Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is <a href="http://idolatry...put" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">idolatry...put</a> off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.” <br>Failing repeatedly, they repent remorsefully and puzzle over their inability to live as they know they should—but seemingly can’t...</p>

<p>A few years ago I had the wonderful privilege of ministering to a very elderly lady who was about to be operated on for a cancer issue. It was not a life-or-death-related surgery, but at her advanced age there were some definite concerns. As we awaited the gurney to transport her to surgery, I asked her a question that had been pressing on my heart. I was aware that she may not have known the Lord beyond her social Christian upbringing. She knew a number of things about Jesus, but I wasn’t confident that she was born again. So I asked her simply, “What’s next?” I could tell that she was apprehensive about the pending surgery, and my question startled her. She asked what I meant. Trying to be as sensitive to the situation as I could, I nevertheless told her that I felt compelled to ask her if she thought about what was next for her should she not survive the surgery...</p>

<p>These are troubling times for every born-again Christian. The apostasy seems to be increasing exponentially. Biblical Christians are having greater difficulty finding churches that preach and teach the Scriptures. Extra-biblical content has captured the imaginations of growing numbers of Christians as they turn to religious bestsellers and “biblical” movies rather than to the written Word of God. Even with the rise of discernment ministries and “watchmen” blog sites, doctrinal confusion has increased, seemingly unabated.</p>

<p>The doctrine regarding the Trinity (the three Persons of the Godhead) isn’t something that any finite individual can fully comprehend. The concept is beyond the grasp of our mortal minds. And yet, God has given to mankind a great deal of information about the Trinity throughout the Scriptures—information that His created beings may and must understand, albeit imperfectly. Although the term “Trinity” isn’t found in any Bible verse, that which the Trinity comprises is found from Genesis through Revelation...</p>

<p>Knowing that we are in the last of the last days, with an imminent Rapture a very real hope, our thoughts often (and indeed should) turn to the signs that Christ said would herald the nearness of His return. The signs that are most widely cited include “wars and rumours of wars...[when] nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against <a href="http://kingdom...and...famines" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">kingdom...and...famines</a>, and pestilences, and <a href="http://earthquakes...these" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">earthquakes...these</a> are the beginning of sorrows” (Mt 24:6-8)...</p>

<p>Views about “self” today are confusing at least. The world has a number of them. All teach the importance of one’s having a positive regard for one’s self. The Bible, on the other hand, has nothing good to say about self. Nevertheless, the church, particularly in the last one hundred years, has increasingly reflected what the world preaches rather than what the Scriptures teach. As Dave Hunt reminds us, “Although we cannot define self any more than we can define soul or being or beauty, we can clearly see where self was first manifested, how it happened, and the eternal result. We can also see that self not only defines one person as distinct from all others, but it also defines man as distinct from God. What the Bible seems to mean by self is man cut off from God , acting and possessing independently”</p>

<p>The term “fitness” is one of the favorite marketing buzzwords that has attracted many to health clubs and spas, and it even has an appeal for those who are so out of shape that it remains yet wishful thinking. There is little doubt that the physical part of life just seems better when one is physically fit.<br><br>The Bible gives some credence to this idea in 1 Timothy 4:8, where Paul tells Timothy that bodily exercise profits [a] little. The verse continues, “but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” In other words, godliness, which is the spiritual exercise of living out what the Word of God teaches, is significantly more to be sought than “bodily exercise” in order to improve a believer’s everyday life on earth as well as to yield rewards in one’s eternal life...</p>

<p>“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me....” — Galatians:2:20<br><br>Anti-Christian elements in the secular world would like very much to do away with all public display of the cross. Yet it is still seen atop tens of thousands of churches and in religious processions, often made of gold and even studded with precious stones. Most frequently, however, the cross is displayed as popular jewelry hanging around necks or dangling from ears. One wonders by what strange alchemy the bloodstained, rugged cross of torment upon which Christ suffered and died for our sins became so sanitized and glamorized...</p>

<p>As was noted in part one of this series, prophecy is a very important ingredient in the Bible. In a general sense, the entire Bible is prophecy because God has given mankind His words through His prophets. It is also God foretelling what will take place in the future. That forecasting is what God presents to set Himself apart from the false gods that mankind is deceived into worshiping. God alone knows the future events, which He has declared hundreds and even thousands of years before they take place. Moreover, His foreknowledge of such events, revealed in more than a quarter of the Scriptures, is proof of the supernatural origin and nature of the Bible—that it is indeed God’s communication to mankind (Isaiah:42:9; 46:9-10; 48:5)....</p>

<p>“And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times….”<br><br>— 1 Chronicles:12:32<br><br>As many of you know who subscribe to this newsletter, one important objective of The Berean Call is to help equip the upcoming generation of believers so that they might be steadfast and fruitful in the faith. We believe that to be biblically steadfast, a believer must have the ability to discern truth from error as he or she begins to understand and live out the teachings and practices given in Scripture.</p>

<p>Originally published in May 2003<br><br>In spite of thousands of years of inquiry into the universe, and the super-technology of today’s computer-aided science, we still know almost nothing in comparison to all there is to know. We don’t know what energy is, or what gravity or light or space are. Referring to the physical universe, British astronomer Sir James Jeans declared that “we are not yet in touch with ultimate reality.”</p>

<p>Prophecy is a very important part of Scripture. In fact all of Scripture is prophecy. In some places, the Bible gives us God’s words as He reveals to us what He wants us to know and do (or not do), and in other places, it gives us His revelation concerning what will take place in the future. Prophecy has been referred to as “forth telling” and “foretelling.”...</p>

<p>If I could go back and correct anything attitude-wise about my walk with the Lord for nearly four decades, it would be that early on I would like to have had more of an eternal perspective. I didn’t exactly buy the lie that “to be too heavenly minded is to be no earthly good,” but in some ways my thoughts and actions reflected that idea. I’m much older now, which has certainly increased the amount of time I spend thinking about Heaven. I’m sure that happens to all of us seniors who know and love the Lord. Wanting to be with Him for eternity is an exciting desire soon to be realized by us, unless—better yet—the Lord hastens the event by His imminent return for His saints....</p>

<p>How does your church provide counsel for its fellowship? That’s a critical question for the body of Christ. The answer ought to be “God’s way.” Yet for more than half a century, due primarily to the influence of so-called Christian psychology, the church, with rare exceptions, has been counseling man’s way in one form or another. The consequence has been that many believers have little more success in overcoming sins that are related to problems of living than do unbelievers. Indeed, even when the flesh is well-meaning—it profits nothing. Jesus declared, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John:10:10), but this lack of success would seem to deny His words. Furthermore, looking to worldly sources for help in sin-related mental, emotional, and behavioral problems is a rejection of the authority and the sufficiency of God’s Word...</p>

<p>First published in December 1993<br><br>God’s holiness and justice require that sinners be eternally separated from Him. To be cut off completely and eternally from that Love for which one was created will be to burn with a thirst that will only grow ever more unbearable. God, however, graciously and freely offers salvation from that most dreadful condemnation. “The gospel of God’s grace” declares that God became a man through virgin birth, that this sinless God-man died for our sins, satisfying His own justice by suffering the eternal punishment we deserve, resurrected the third day, and that all who believe in Him are forgiven and receive eternal life as a free gift. Salvation is that simple—and wonderful—and must be preached in that simplicity.</p>

<p>Here we go again. For those who may agree but are a little tired of my crying out for discernment regarding “biblical” movies, you have my apology…in the midst of my growing concern. Nevertheless, I covet your prayers for our brothers and sisters in Christ and for the multiple millions of the lost who are being presented with a caricature of the biblical Son of God in yet another Hollywood translation of the Word of God.</p>

<p>The Bible gives the body of Christ complete instructions for ministering to one another, yet in rebellion to its teachings and the enablement that the Word of God supplies, the church for decades now has turned to man’s ways and means.</p>

<p>In October 2013, John MacArthur and Grace Community Church hosted a conference to address what he and the other speakers believe are major errors in the teachings and practices of the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements. The conference introduction states: “Strange Fire, part of Grace to You’s Truth Matters conference series, evaluates the doctrines, claims, and practices of the modern charismatic movement, and affirms the true Person and ministry of the Holy Spirit.” Seventeen messages were presented and two Q&A sessions offered. Besides MacArthur, the speakers were R. C. Sproul, Steve Lawson, Conrad Mbewe, Tom Pennington, Phil Johnson, Nathan Busenitz, Justin Peters, Todd Friel, and Joni Eareckson Tada....</p>

<p>First published in January 1996<br><br>Once again we have entered upon a new year welcomed with wild celebrations at midnight, December 31. Such festivities are questionable at best. And why celebrate the reminder that, just as a year has vanished into the past, so all too quickly must our earthly lives pass as well? That fact should bring sober contemplation and prayer rather than loud rejoicing.<br><br>Time passes and cannot be recalled. The poet wrote of her memory running “like a hunted thing down paths I cannot retrace.” Time is mysterious, beyond our ability to fathom. We know some things about time, but what it really is eludes our most advanced science. Essential for change and motion in the physical universe, time will be absent in eternity. Nothing changes or ages in eternity; it is one eternal now , impossible for us at present to comprehend...</p>

<p>"The B-I-B-L-<a href="http://E...Yes" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">E...Yes</a>, that's the book for me!" was once the happy refrain of all believers young and old in churches throughout the land. But years have come and gone since that time. Has the first love of your faith, too, grown old? In this special series, TBC Executive Director T. A. McMahon encourages believers of all ages to "stand alone on the Word of God: the B-I-B-L-E."</p>

<p>"The B-I-B-L-<a href="http://E...Yes" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">E...Yes</a>, that's the book for me!" was once the happy refrain of all believers young and old in churches throughout the land. But years have come and gone since that time. Has the first love of your faith, too, grown old? In this special series, TBC Executive Director T. A. McMahon encourages believers of all ages to "stand alone on the Word of God: the B-I-B-L-E."</p>

<p>We live in strange times. When I became a born-again believer nearly four decades ago following thirty years as a Roman Catholic, not one non-Catholic Christian chided me for leaving the Church of Rome. In those days it was fairly obvious to evangelicals that the teachings and practices of Roman Catholicism were at odds with the teachings of the Bible. Yes, there were a few things, at least superficially, that Catholics and Bible-believing Christians held in common. The virgin birth of Christ, which involved the conception of Jesus by the Holy Spirit, is one example. Yet, regarding Christ’s miraculous birth, the Catholic Church added to the virgin Mary the dogmas of her Immaculate Conception, i.e., her having been conceived without sin, and her perpetual virginity. Although those extra-biblical teachings are serious errors, they do not directly contradict the gospel that is essential for salvation...</p>

<p>"The B-I-B-L-<a href="http://E...Yes" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">E...Yes</a>, that's the book for me!" was once the happy refrain of all believers young and old in churches throughout the land. But years have come and gone since that time. Has the first love of your faith, too, grown old? In this special series, TBC Executive Director T. A. McMahon encourages believers of all ages to "stand alone on the Word of God: the B-I-B-L-E."</p>

<p>“Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:12-13)<br><br>Those verses include a warning from the Lord for His people—and the reason for the warning. They are the consequences of His followers forsaking Him by turning from “the fountain of living waters.” Although addressed to the Jewish people during the time of Jeremiah the prophet, God’s words of admonition also seem to be directed at the Christianity of our day.</p>

<p>"The B-I-B-L-<a href="http://E...Yes" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">E...Yes</a>, that's the book for me!" was once the happy refrain of all believers young and old in churches throughout the land. But years have come and gone since that time. Has the first love of your faith, too, grown old? In this special series, TBC Executive Director T. A. McMahon encourages believers of all ages to "stand alone on the Word of God: the B-I-B-L-E."</p>

<p>"The B-I-B-L-<a href="http://E...Yes" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">E...Yes</a>, that's the book for me!" was once the happy refrain of all believers young and old in churches throughout the land. But years have come and gone since that time. Has the first love of your faith, too, grown old? In this special series, TBC Executive Director T. A. McMahon encourages believers of all ages to "stand alone on the Word of God: the B-I-B-L-E."</p>