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One would think that an appeal designed to draw people out of error and into the truth would not be phrased to alienate them. We think the typical charismatic would find this sermon condescending and insulting. Rather than treating his adversaries as thoughtful people, he denigrates them, stereotypes them, and considers them his inferiors.
There isn’t really a whole lot that needs to be said at this point. (Yet he will continue on, speaking an astonishing 7300 more words...)
I believe the case that we have made this week can withstand the most intense scrutiny, and I would eagerly invite any who have heard what has been said and find it hard to believe to take a Bible and take the book and measure carefully the arguments against the Word of God. We invite that scrutiny. (Indeed, a primary focus of our blog is our response to this challenge. We think we have ably refuted cessationist doctrine, so we invite the reader to read our multi-part cessationism series. In addition, the reader can review hundreds of our critiques of cessationist writers, which includes many articles critiquing Dr. MacArthur as well.)
(...) (deleted a long, irrelevant defense against his critics)
There are others who criticize by saying - and this came pretty early in this conference, “You’re attacking brothers. You’re attacking brothers.” I wish I could affirm that. We said this one way or another already this week. This is a movement made up largely of non-Christians, non-Christians. (These are the kinds of statements that gall us. Dr. MacArthur is apparently endowed with a spiritual gift no one else has, and that is to know the salvation status of millions of people. And he's mystified that people criticize him?)
(...) (deleted long, irrelevant tangent)
And then we have been accused of offending people and hurting their feelings. I don’t want to purposely do that. I was introduced by a charismatic leader once at a book sellers convention who introduced me as, “This is my friend, John MacArthur, who is much nicer in person than he is in his sermons.” I hope that’s always true. I hope that I hold the truth with kindness. I hope I hold the truth with love. But when I open the Word of God, it must speak. And to be honest with you, I do care about the feelings of people. I do care about offending them. But not nearly as much as I care about offending God.
This is an alien movement. It is an alien movement. (Insult...)
Now listen, that text is meaningless – meaningless - if the signs and wonders and miracles and tongues and prophecy and healing belong to everybody and everybody’s experience today. It’s meaningless. It isn’t any sign of anything. (??? Why is it meaningless? Surely with 7000 words available, you could take the time to actually explain and document your key point?)
Furthermore, when continuationists use the terminology of the New Testament gifts but then define them to mean something else, they depreciate the remarkable character of the real thing. They diminish the glorious way in which the Holy Spirit worked in the foundation of the church. If the gifts practiced in charismatic churches today are equivalent to the gifts described in the New Testament, (This is an Appeal To Contemporary Practice. We want the biblical case.)
The very idea that Christians should expect extra-revelation, extra-biblical revelation from God, mystical experiences, words of prophecy just creates a theological train wreck. When you get beyond the Word of God, you can’t contain the error.
Number five, by insisting that God is still giving new revelation to Christians today, the continuationist movement tacitly denies the doctrine of Sola Scriptura. (This is not true. Contemporary revelation has nothing to do with Sola Scriptura.)
A lot more can be said about that, and you’re going to read a lot of detail about it in the book. But I’m convinced that the broader charismatic movement has opened the door to more theological error – listen - more theological error than any other doctrinal aberration in this modern day. Liberalism was bad. Psychology was bad. Ecumenism was bad. Pragmatism was bad. Mysticism was bad. Nothing is as bad as charismaticism cause of its extensive impact. And once that kind of experientialism gets a foothold, there’s no brand of heresy or wickedness that will not ride it into the church. (Remember, this is an appeal to Dr. MacArthur's charismatic friends, an attempt to persuade them to change to his doctrine.)
So that charismatic theology then becomes the strange fire of our generation and evangelical Christians have no business flirting with it at any level. And I think this is the time for the true church to respond. This is a time for the people who now stand on the shoulders of the reformers in every area of their theology to be faithful to reformation theology to its full rich intent. (Um, shouldn't we be faithful to the Bible?)
That’s a final signoff in the first epistle that he writes to Timothy as he passes the baton. The last word “guard the treasure of the truth, avoid the worldly, empty chatter, the arguments of false ‘knowledge’ - which some have professed and gone astray from the faith.” This is a foundational responsibility of the man of God is to be a guardian of the treasure, to protect the treasure in his time and to pass it on for subsequent times.
Paul’s very concerned about Timothy. So after writing to Titus, which is the next to the last Pauline letter, he writes a final letter to Timothy, that’s 2 Timothy. Look at it. A final letter. He’s very concerned about Timothy, very concerned. Verse 6 he says, “Kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” He was ordained into the ministry for the preaching of the Word of God. (No, Paul tells us directly:
There is no mention of any sort of ordination, especially since Timothy was not the pastor.)
How serious is it? Verse 13, “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.” I get it today. There are all kinds of people whose stock in trade is their communication ability. They’re cool, glib, clever, captivating audiences, but the instruction from Paul to Timothy is about retaining sound words and guarding the truth as a treasure. (Dr. MacArthur takes a gratuitous shot at his theological adversaries.)
Ministry is a guardianship. We not only proclaim the truth, we protect the truth. Paul’s heart is really broken at the end of his life. He says to Timothy in verse 15, “You’re aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.” Everybody had abandoned him. (No, everyone in Asia. We can read the text for ourselves.)
Everybody had abandoned Paul. (...except Onesiphorus...)
Now it grieves me all the time to see these sort of quasi-churches that pop up that identify themselves as being isolated from anything in the past. (??? Which churches identify themselves this way?)
This is the ultimate, ultimate word for any young minister. (Again, Timothy was not the pastor.)
One would think that an appeal designed to draw people out of error and into the truth would not be phrased to alienate them. We think the typical charismatic would find this sermon condescending and insulting. Rather than treating his adversaries as thoughtful people, he denigrates them, stereotypes them, and considers them his inferiors.
But more to the point, this long sermon is completely absent of documentation of his central points. We realize it is the conclusion of several days of preaching, but we still require documentation of the assertions he makes.
As he wanders off course into a tangent, he does manage to quote a number of Scriptures, but he only supplies references to his ancillary points. But he is unable or unwilling to document his doctrinal claims about charismatics.
As an aside, we should not that this sermons was delivered several years ago. But since Dr. MacArthur is still speaking against nameless charismatics to this day, we think it's still worthy of our analysis.
There isn’t really a whole lot that needs to be said at this point. (Yet he will continue on, speaking an astonishing 7300 more words...)
(...) (deleted long, irrelevant tangent)
I believe the case that we have made this week can withstand the most intense scrutiny, and I would eagerly invite any who have heard what has been said and find it hard to believe to take a Bible and take the book and measure carefully the arguments against the Word of God. We invite that scrutiny. (Indeed, a primary focus of our blog is our response to this challenge. We think we have ably refuted cessationist doctrine, so we invite the reader to read our multi-part cessationism series. In addition, the reader can review hundreds of our critiques of cessationist writers, which includes many articles critiquing Dr. MacArthur as well.)
(...) (deleted a long, irrelevant defense against his critics)
There are others who criticize by saying - and this came pretty early in this conference, “You’re attacking brothers. You’re attacking brothers.” I wish I could affirm that. We said this one way or another already this week. This is a movement made up largely of non-Christians, non-Christians. (These are the kinds of statements that gall us. Dr. MacArthur is apparently endowed with a spiritual gift no one else has, and that is to know the salvation status of millions of people. And he's mystified that people criticize him?)
(...) (deleted long, irrelevant tangent)
And then we have been accused of offending people and hurting their feelings. I don’t want to purposely do that. I was introduced by a charismatic leader once at a book sellers convention who introduced me as, “This is my friend, John MacArthur, who is much nicer in person than he is in his sermons.” I hope that’s always true. I hope that I hold the truth with kindness. I hope I hold the truth with love. But when I open the Word of God, it must speak. And to be honest with you, I do care about the feelings of people. I do care about offending them. But not nearly as much as I care about offending God.
This is an alien movement. It is an alien movement. (Insult...)
I don’t want to get into all the history of that, but I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. There is a stream of sound teaching, sound doctrine, sound theology that runs all the way back to the apostles. It runs through Athanasius and Augustine, and it runs through Luther and Calvin, and it runs through the great reformation and the reformers, and it runs through, as we were hearing last night, the Puritans, and everything seemed to clear to them. And it runs through the Westminster Divines, and runs through the pathway of Charles Spurgeon, and David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and it keeps running. And it runs through people like S. Lewis Johnson, and Jim Boice, and names that we’ve used. And it runs down through today to the R.C. Sprouls and others, and that’s the stream of sound doctrine.
The heroes of this generation of people in that stream, we know who they are. You’ve been hearing about them this week. Our heroes run back down through that same stream. We go back to the John Rogers. We go back to the 288 Marion martyrs. We go back to Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, and we shed tears on the pages of that book when we see what was done to the people who carried the truth to the next generation at such a great price. We have a deep and abiding love for a person like William Tyndale for what he has done. Those are our heroes. (Appeal To History. We would like the biblical case, please.)
But you have to understand, this other stream of evangelicalism goes back about to 1966, 1966, when the hippies came out of San Francisco, showed up in Orange County, joined Calvary Chapel, and we had the launch of an informal, barefoot, beach, drug-induced kind of young people that told the church how the church should happen, how it should act. (Insult...)
The heroes of this generation of people in that stream, we know who they are. You’ve been hearing about them this week. Our heroes run back down through that same stream. We go back to the John Rogers. We go back to the 288 Marion martyrs. We go back to Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, and we shed tears on the pages of that book when we see what was done to the people who carried the truth to the next generation at such a great price. We have a deep and abiding love for a person like William Tyndale for what he has done. Those are our heroes. (Appeal To History. We would like the biblical case, please.)
But you have to understand, this other stream of evangelicalism goes back about to 1966, 1966, when the hippies came out of San Francisco, showed up in Orange County, joined Calvary Chapel, and we had the launch of an informal, barefoot, beach, drug-induced kind of young people that told the church how the church should happen, how it should act. (Insult...)
Hymns went out. Suits went out. For the first time in the history of the church, the conduct of the church was conformed to a sub-culture that was born in LSD and marijuana in San Francisco, migrated to Southern California. ("They aren't like us" isn't a defense, it's sour grapes. The fact that so many were saved out of drugs and sexual sin [they were not "born in," they were delivered out of, by the power of God] ought to be a matter of celebration for Dr. Mac Arthur, but instead he condemns them based on forms and practices.)
It’s a completely different stream. That launches the informal, culturally-driven, culturally-defined, give them what they want kind of church that ends up in the seeker-friendly church, takes a branch in the Vineyard, and the Vineyard leads to the excesses of the contemporary charismatic movement. That’s a completely different stream. That’s not our stream. Those aren’t our heroes. (The smugness is palpable. The fact that there is "different stream" of revival so offends Dr. MacArthur that he cannot accept that God would move in a manner apart from his preferences.)
I don’t go back to Lonnie Frisbee, who led the Jesus Movement and died of AIDS as a homosexual. I don’t go back there. That’s not my stream. (Apparently Lonnie Frisbee is the only person he can name names about. And apparently Dr. MacArthur never struggles with sin and the flesh. So he simply uses Lonnie Frisbee to besmirch all that God did through the Jesus People movement.
It’s a completely different stream. That launches the informal, culturally-driven, culturally-defined, give them what they want kind of church that ends up in the seeker-friendly church, takes a branch in the Vineyard, and the Vineyard leads to the excesses of the contemporary charismatic movement. That’s a completely different stream. That’s not our stream. Those aren’t our heroes. (The smugness is palpable. The fact that there is "different stream" of revival so offends Dr. MacArthur that he cannot accept that God would move in a manner apart from his preferences.)
I don’t go back to Lonnie Frisbee, who led the Jesus Movement and died of AIDS as a homosexual. I don’t go back there. That’s not my stream. (Apparently Lonnie Frisbee is the only person he can name names about. And apparently Dr. MacArthur never struggles with sin and the flesh. So he simply uses Lonnie Frisbee to besmirch all that God did through the Jesus People movement.
Calvary Chapel came out of this movement, which has grown to 1800 churches. Vineyard also came out of this movement and now consists of 2400 churches. So we would ask, how many people have been saved as a result of this movement, Dr. MacArthur?)
But that’s the stream that has produced the culturally-bound, culturally-driven, seeker-driven church movement. (Um, sir. Rick Warren comes out of the Southern Baptists. He's one of yours, Dr. MacArthur. If you have a problem with something in your movement, maybe you should concentrate on policing your own ranks.)
Ironically, the charismatic movement itself derives from his branch of Christianity.)
And while there are good, and bad, and better, and best, and worst elements of it, that’s where it comes from.
We’re very different, very different. (Condescension.)
We’re very different, very different. (Condescension.)
Our heroes are very different. We know who our people are, and if you’re safe you say you’re on this side, and you are on this side, then you have a responsibility to be faithful to this marvelous history. (Shouldn't we be faithful to the teachings of the Bible rather than the teachings of those who interpret the Bible?)
If anybody is going to police this movement, it has to be the people here. (Of course, the self-appointed police of the charismatic movement. What could go wrong? Overlooking the problems in his own movement, he'd rather focus on some other stream.)
This concerns me so much that if you haven’t seen it already, I wrote a 12th chapter in the book - don’t open the book. I want you to read the book. But in the opening chapter, the title of the chapter is “An Open Letter To My Continuationist Friends,” “An Open Letter To My Continuationist Friends.”
Who are my continuationist friends? (Is this how he treats these friends?)
This concerns me so much that if you haven’t seen it already, I wrote a 12th chapter in the book - don’t open the book. I want you to read the book. But in the opening chapter, the title of the chapter is “An Open Letter To My Continuationist Friends,” “An Open Letter To My Continuationist Friends.”
Who are my continuationist friends? (Is this how he treats these friends?)
People who are my friends, real friends of mine whom I respect, who have made great contributions to the church, the body of Christ, who’ve taught all of us, who’ve taught me, who’ve ministered alongside me, hand-in-hand with me, with whom I’ve prayed, sometimes for hours and hours, with whom I’ve spoken, and talked, hammered out convictions. But they call themselves “continuationists” because they want to give place to the charismatic movement. (Or maybe because they believe the Bible teaches something different than Dr. MacArthur believes.)
I want to suggest that they’re not helping, they’re not helping. We need them to help police the movement. (There is nothing in the NT that gives anyone authority to police other churches.)
I want to suggest that they’re not helping, they’re not helping. We need them to help police the movement. (There is nothing in the NT that gives anyone authority to police other churches.)
And in that final chapter, “Open Letter To My Continuationist Friends,” I give 8 important statements as to why they must help us. (If only they were biblical reasons.)
Number one, the continuationists’ position gives an illusion of legitimacy to the broader charismatic movement. If you say, “I’m a continuationist,” you’ve just given credence to that movement. You may want to contain that a little bit. You may want to control that. But when theologically respected conservative continuationists, who represent a very small minority in the charismatic movement, when they give any credibility to the movement, the whole movement gets respect because of who they are. (Reason number one. A foundation of disrespect.)
And then you have this young generation of young, restless, reformed young people coming along and attaching to their heroes, who are open to this charismatic movement, and affirming the continuation of the signed gifts, and so they follow their heroes and either embrace that idea of continuation, or are open to that idea, which is essentially one and the same.
When notable continuationist scholars give credence to charismatic interpretations, or fail to directly condemn unbiblical charismatic practices, they provide theological cover for a movement that is deadly dangerous.
Secondly, the continuationist position degrades the miraculous nature of the true gifts that God bestowed upon the first century church. And we’re summing up with these statements what you heard this week. The second point again, continuationist position degrades the miraculous nature of the true gifts that God bestowed upon the first century church. (All gifts of the Spirit are miraculous. All are supernatural empowerments. All are endowed by the Holy Spirit.)
We know God was giving revelation during the time of Christ and the apostles. And the gifts, signs, and miracles were to validate those who were proclaiming and writing that revelation. Hebrews 2:3, the gospel “at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness, both with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His will.” (Our first Scripture, finally. But it doesn't say what Dr. MacArthur says it does. First, it isn't "the Gospel" being discussed, it is "a great salvation" [sótéria]. That means the way of salvation was being validated
Number one, the continuationists’ position gives an illusion of legitimacy to the broader charismatic movement. If you say, “I’m a continuationist,” you’ve just given credence to that movement. You may want to contain that a little bit. You may want to control that. But when theologically respected conservative continuationists, who represent a very small minority in the charismatic movement, when they give any credibility to the movement, the whole movement gets respect because of who they are. (Reason number one. A foundation of disrespect.)
And then you have this young generation of young, restless, reformed young people coming along and attaching to their heroes, who are open to this charismatic movement, and affirming the continuation of the signed gifts, and so they follow their heroes and either embrace that idea of continuation, or are open to that idea, which is essentially one and the same.
When notable continuationist scholars give credence to charismatic interpretations, or fail to directly condemn unbiblical charismatic practices, they provide theological cover for a movement that is deadly dangerous.
Secondly, the continuationist position degrades the miraculous nature of the true gifts that God bestowed upon the first century church. And we’re summing up with these statements what you heard this week. The second point again, continuationist position degrades the miraculous nature of the true gifts that God bestowed upon the first century church. (All gifts of the Spirit are miraculous. All are supernatural empowerments. All are endowed by the Holy Spirit.)
We know God was giving revelation during the time of Christ and the apostles. And the gifts, signs, and miracles were to validate those who were proclaiming and writing that revelation. Hebrews 2:3, the gospel “at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness, both with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His will.” (Our first Scripture, finally. But it doesn't say what Dr. MacArthur says it does. First, it isn't "the Gospel" being discussed, it is "a great salvation" [sótéria]. That means the way of salvation was being validated
Second, this means the apostles were not being validated. Indeed, no Scripture says such a thing.
Third, notice that signs and wonders are mentioned separately from the spiritual gifts. It doesn't say "prophecy, tongues, and words of knowledge," it says "various." All the spiritual gifts testify to this "great salvation."
Fourth, notice also that it says, God bearing witness. God testifies of this. Present tense:
laleó strictly denotes the act of one who utters words with the living voice, when writers speak of themselves or are spoken of by others as λαλοῦντες, they are conceived of as present and addressing their readers with the living voice.
The "living voice" is still speaking today.
We discuss this passage in detail here.)
Now listen, that text is meaningless – meaningless - if the signs and wonders and miracles and tongues and prophecy and healing belong to everybody and everybody’s experience today. It’s meaningless. It isn’t any sign of anything. (??? Why is it meaningless? Surely with 7000 words available, you could take the time to actually explain and document your key point?)
Furthermore, when continuationists use the terminology of the New Testament gifts but then define them to mean something else, they depreciate the remarkable character of the real thing. They diminish the glorious way in which the Holy Spirit worked in the foundation of the church. If the gifts practiced in charismatic churches today are equivalent to the gifts described in the New Testament, (This is an Appeal To Contemporary Practice. We want the biblical case.)
then those original gifts were nothing special, and so the era was nothing special. Hijacking New Testament terminology and redefining biblical gifts essentially degrades what was genuinely miraculous and what God was doing in the first century. Reformed continuationism aids this misrepresentation.
Thirdly, the continuationists position severely limits the ability of its advocates to confront others who fall into charismatic confusion. What are they going to say to people who plunge into chaos and confusion? In the book, you’re going to read some of the most bizarre things that have been basically proffered as spiritual experiences by some of the very most well-known charismatics, one of whom was even here today. You’re going to read about the most bizarre kind of things that should be wholesale denounced. And we keep waiting for the denunciation to come from the continuationists you would think would know better.
But it doesn’t come. They have given up the high ground and they can’t speak because they allow for it. So by what criteria do they then discredit the claims? (Um, the biblical case? Please?)
Number four, by insisting that God is still giving new revelation to Christians today, the continuationist movement opens the gates to further confusion and error. (Still not the biblical case.)
Thirdly, the continuationists position severely limits the ability of its advocates to confront others who fall into charismatic confusion. What are they going to say to people who plunge into chaos and confusion? In the book, you’re going to read some of the most bizarre things that have been basically proffered as spiritual experiences by some of the very most well-known charismatics, one of whom was even here today. You’re going to read about the most bizarre kind of things that should be wholesale denounced. And we keep waiting for the denunciation to come from the continuationists you would think would know better.
But it doesn’t come. They have given up the high ground and they can’t speak because they allow for it. So by what criteria do they then discredit the claims? (Um, the biblical case? Please?)
Number four, by insisting that God is still giving new revelation to Christians today, the continuationist movement opens the gates to further confusion and error. (Still not the biblical case.)
I mean, this is just another way of saying what we’re saying. They say there’s prophecy today, but it can be wrong. There’s tongues today, but it’s not languages. There’s healing today, but it’s not like the healings in the time of Christ and the apostles.
The continuationist position, then, invites any Christian to interpret anything as from God. Any kind of gibberish, any kind of supposed spiritual experience, or impression, or notion, or idea that floats into the head can be considered prophecy. It removes the authoritative, objective standard for questioning the legitimacy of anybody’s claim to revelation. Continuationists, by allowing for any of it, end up allowing for all of it, because they don’t have any criteria to decide what is and what isn’t accurate. (This of course is false. Prophecy was part of the NT church, so by Dr. MacArthur's standard it couldn't function properly during the first century either. If prophecy is a problem today, it was a problem 2000 years ago.
The continuationist position, then, invites any Christian to interpret anything as from God. Any kind of gibberish, any kind of supposed spiritual experience, or impression, or notion, or idea that floats into the head can be considered prophecy. It removes the authoritative, objective standard for questioning the legitimacy of anybody’s claim to revelation. Continuationists, by allowing for any of it, end up allowing for all of it, because they don’t have any criteria to decide what is and what isn’t accurate. (This of course is false. Prophecy was part of the NT church, so by Dr. MacArthur's standard it couldn't function properly during the first century either. If prophecy is a problem today, it was a problem 2000 years ago.
There are several biblical tests regarding prophecy, including the Bible, the Holy Spirit, the ministry of the saints, and the fruit that is born. We're surprised that Dr. MacArthur is unaware of them.)
The very idea that Christians should expect extra-revelation, extra-biblical revelation from God, mystical experiences, words of prophecy just creates a theological train wreck. When you get beyond the Word of God, you can’t contain the error.
Number five, by insisting that God is still giving new revelation to Christians today, the continuationist movement tacitly denies the doctrine of Sola Scriptura. (This is not true. Contemporary revelation has nothing to do with Sola Scriptura.)
I don’t need to camp on that because Steve made an unforgettable case for that last night. And I’ll tell you this, none of my friends, none of my reformed continuationist friends would deny the closing of the canon. They wouldn’t deny that. They certainly wouldn’t deny there are 66 books in the Bible. They wouldn’t deny the authority of Scripture. They wouldn’t deny the sufficiency of Scripture. (Hmm. He walks it all back...)
Yet they default on the very thing they deny because they teach believers to expect extra-revelation. (HE reasserts his point without bothering to explain or document.)
There’s so many ways that can be abused. And I’ll tell you who abuses it most, people in positions of power who want you to think they speak for God. (Hmmm, like pastors? It seems to us that the abuse is an issue apart from contemporary prophecy. And could we ask, how did the first century church handle this supposed abuse of prophecy?)
Number six, by allowing for irrational tongues speaking even as a private prayer language, continuationists open the door to a mindless ecstasy of charismatic expression. (Is this the best Dr. MacArthur can do, make repeated slippery slope arguments? Is he going to discuss the Bible, or is he going to continue to rail against his theological opponents?)
Number six, by allowing for irrational tongues speaking even as a private prayer language, continuationists open the door to a mindless ecstasy of charismatic expression. (Is this the best Dr. MacArthur can do, make repeated slippery slope arguments? Is he going to discuss the Bible, or is he going to continue to rail against his theological opponents?)
They will admit that tongues is not a language today, so what is it? It’s this simple. If the prophecy today isn’t like the biblical prophecy because today’s prophecy is fallible, if the tongues isn’t like the biblical tongues because it’s gibberish and not a language, if the healings aren’t like the healings of Christ, they’re not continuationists. They’re closet cessationists. (This is just dumb. Dr. MacArthur creates an abiblical standard of performance which charismatics do not share, then proclaims they're actually cessationists. What?)
They’ve just said it’s not what it was, so what have they done? They’ve simply accepted a counterfeit. (Continual undocumented statements. This is growing tiring.)
You can’t be proud about that. That’s not a noble posture to accept a counterfeit. And it’s a counterfeit by their own admission. (????)
Number seven, by asserting the gift of healing has continued to be present, the continuationist position affirms the same basic premise that undergirds the fraudulent ministry of charismatic faith healers. If you say the gift of healing is still around, and you say it whimsically, there’s no evidence it’s around, either experimentally or biblically, but if you say it’s still around, then you have just validated healers. (What? Believing in the gift of healing validates the charlatans? How is that even a sensible statement?)
Who would want to do that? Are they not the lowest of the low? Are they not the worst of the worst? They don’t go to hospitals. They prey on the most desperate, the most severely ill, the most hopeless, the most destitute, very often the poorest, telling them lies and getting rich. Who would want to do anything to aid and abet them?
And finally, the continuationist position ultimately dishonors the Holy Spirit by distracting people from His true ministry, enticing them with counterfeits. Is it not enough to have the indwelling Spirit and the fullness of the Spirit? Is it not enough to have the gifts of the Spirit, to have the fruit of the Spirit, to be graced by the Spirit? Is it not enough to have all the promises of the Spirit? Do I need to come to God and say, “Give me more, give me that other thing”? I want that. What kind of deficiency are you accusing the Spirit of? (In other words, by believing in the ministry of the Holy Spirit beyond the parameters of Dr. MacArthur, one is dishonoring the Holy Spirit. Again, another statement that makes no sense.)
You have dishonored the Holy Spirit. And you have enticed people toward counterfeits, rather than heart-felt, all-consuming gratitude for the fullness of all that the Spirit has given us. (Remember, this is an appeal to Dr. MacArthur's charismatic friends, an attempt to persuade them to change to his doctrine.)
Number seven, by asserting the gift of healing has continued to be present, the continuationist position affirms the same basic premise that undergirds the fraudulent ministry of charismatic faith healers. If you say the gift of healing is still around, and you say it whimsically, there’s no evidence it’s around, either experimentally or biblically, but if you say it’s still around, then you have just validated healers. (What? Believing in the gift of healing validates the charlatans? How is that even a sensible statement?)
Who would want to do that? Are they not the lowest of the low? Are they not the worst of the worst? They don’t go to hospitals. They prey on the most desperate, the most severely ill, the most hopeless, the most destitute, very often the poorest, telling them lies and getting rich. Who would want to do anything to aid and abet them?
And finally, the continuationist position ultimately dishonors the Holy Spirit by distracting people from His true ministry, enticing them with counterfeits. Is it not enough to have the indwelling Spirit and the fullness of the Spirit? Is it not enough to have the gifts of the Spirit, to have the fruit of the Spirit, to be graced by the Spirit? Is it not enough to have all the promises of the Spirit? Do I need to come to God and say, “Give me more, give me that other thing”? I want that. What kind of deficiency are you accusing the Spirit of? (In other words, by believing in the ministry of the Holy Spirit beyond the parameters of Dr. MacArthur, one is dishonoring the Holy Spirit. Again, another statement that makes no sense.)
You have dishonored the Holy Spirit. And you have enticed people toward counterfeits, rather than heart-felt, all-consuming gratitude for the fullness of all that the Spirit has given us. (Remember, this is an appeal to Dr. MacArthur's charismatic friends, an attempt to persuade them to change to his doctrine.)
And He gives not His Spirit by what? By measure. The continuationist position, I think, sends stumbling blocks into the path of sanctification, spiritual growth. For two reasons. One, it makes people think they don’t have what they need. And two, it makes people think there’s something they need to chase. It’s really sad.
A lot more can be said about that, and you’re going to read a lot of detail about it in the book. But I’m convinced that the broader charismatic movement has opened the door to more theological error – listen - more theological error than any other doctrinal aberration in this modern day. Liberalism was bad. Psychology was bad. Ecumenism was bad. Pragmatism was bad. Mysticism was bad. Nothing is as bad as charismaticism cause of its extensive impact. And once that kind of experientialism gets a foothold, there’s no brand of heresy or wickedness that will not ride it into the church. (Remember, this is an appeal to Dr. MacArthur's charismatic friends, an attempt to persuade them to change to his doctrine.)
So that charismatic theology then becomes the strange fire of our generation and evangelical Christians have no business flirting with it at any level. And I think this is the time for the true church to respond. This is a time for the people who now stand on the shoulders of the reformers in every area of their theology to be faithful to reformation theology to its full rich intent. (Um, shouldn't we be faithful to the Bible?)
If we claim allegiance to the reformers, then we ought to conduct ourselves with the same level of courage. Don’t call yourself a charismatic Calvinist. John Calvin would reject that. John Calvin did reject that. You’ll have to drop the “Calvinist” part.
I’m concerned because I think these good and godly friends could make a massive difference in what this young generation and next generation believes about this movement, if they would take a stand where they need to take a stand.
Now, you might think I’m done, but I’m not. (Dr. MacArthur has yet to make a coherent, biblical point.)
I’m concerned because I think these good and godly friends could make a massive difference in what this young generation and next generation believes about this movement, if they would take a stand where they need to take a stand.
Now, you might think I’m done, but I’m not. (Dr. MacArthur has yet to make a coherent, biblical point.)
I want you to open your Bible to the last chapter of 1 Timothy. And I’m not going to take a lot of time with this, but there’s one other thing I need to say, and it is this. If I did not take this stand and if these other men did not take the stand they’re taking with me, we would be unfaithful to our pastoral calling.
This isn’t a pet peeve of mine. This isn’t a personal issue with me. This is a discharge of my duty as a pastor, and I will be held accountable before God for the discharge of this responsibility. As Paul winds down his life, as Conrad was saying to us earlier, he writes to Timothy. He’s passing the baton. He’s passing the mantle. (Dr. MacArthur will at this point completely abandon his stated reason for speaking and embark on a long and irrelevant explanation of Paul and Timothy. Apparently he forgot he was supposed to be making a heartfelt appeal to charismatics to abandon their doctrine and return to the fold.)
He reminds Timothy in 1 Timothy 6 that it’s been a fight. It’s been a fight, “a good fight,” he calls it, faith. It’s been a battle. And then he tells Timothy 6:20, “O Timothy,” “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you.” (Finally, back to the Bible.)
This isn’t a pet peeve of mine. This isn’t a personal issue with me. This is a discharge of my duty as a pastor, and I will be held accountable before God for the discharge of this responsibility. As Paul winds down his life, as Conrad was saying to us earlier, he writes to Timothy. He’s passing the baton. He’s passing the mantle. (Dr. MacArthur will at this point completely abandon his stated reason for speaking and embark on a long and irrelevant explanation of Paul and Timothy. Apparently he forgot he was supposed to be making a heartfelt appeal to charismatics to abandon their doctrine and return to the fold.)
He reminds Timothy in 1 Timothy 6 that it’s been a fight. It’s been a fight, “a good fight,” he calls it, faith. It’s been a battle. And then he tells Timothy 6:20, “O Timothy,” “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you.” (Finally, back to the Bible.)
What’s he talking about? What do you mean “what’s been entrusted to you”?
Literally, “guard the treasure.” (Well.
Literally, “guard the treasure.” (Well.
"guard" is phulassó - to keep from being snatched away, preserve safe and unimpaired
"entrusted" is parathéké - a deposit, anything committed to one's charge or trust
"entrusted" is parathéké - a deposit, anything committed to one's charge or trust
Paul was instructing Timothy to keep something safe. What was that? Let's see what Dr. MacArthur thinks it is...)
What’s the treasure? Divine revelation. Divine revelation. (Nope, wrong. Paul uses the same Greek words in his second letter to Timothy, which tells us what Paul was referring to:
2Ti. 1:13-14 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you — guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
"The pattern of sound teaching" is not "divine revelation.")
Guard what has been deposited into your mind, divine truth, and “avoid worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called ‘knowledge’ - which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith.”
That’s a final signoff in the first epistle that he writes to Timothy as he passes the baton. The last word “guard the treasure of the truth, avoid the worldly, empty chatter, the arguments of false ‘knowledge’ - which some have professed and gone astray from the faith.” This is a foundational responsibility of the man of God is to be a guardian of the treasure, to protect the treasure in his time and to pass it on for subsequent times.
Paul’s very concerned about Timothy. So after writing to Titus, which is the next to the last Pauline letter, he writes a final letter to Timothy, that’s 2 Timothy. Look at it. A final letter. He’s very concerned about Timothy, very concerned. Verse 6 he says, “Kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” He was ordained into the ministry for the preaching of the Word of God. (No, Paul tells us directly:
2Ti. 1:6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord...
Timothy received encouragement from Paul and a reminder of his ministry to Timothy. He received spiritual gifts [power, love, and self-discipline], which he needed to fan into flame. The purpose was so that he would have courage to evangelize [testify].
There is no mention of any sort of ordination, especially since Timothy was not the pastor.)
And he had allowed that to fall into disuse. He was intimidated by people in the church who were giving him difficulty. He was intimidated by the threat of persecution outside the church, the intimidation from within, the intimidation from without was pushing him into silence. This was cowardice.
In verse 7, “God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power and love and discipline.” This is scary time for Paul because the baton will be passed to Timothy, and Timothy is looking weak. (??? Baton? Paul is passing something on to Timothy? What might that be, since the text gives no indication of such a transaction.)
“Don’t be ashamed of the truth,” is what he’s saying in verse 6. Don’t be ashamed to preach and proclaim the truth through the gift that is yours and was confirmed by the laying on of the hands of the elders. Don’t be a coward. In verse 8, “Don’t be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.”
Are you kidding? You mean Timothy, after all those years with Paul, after seeing all the triumph of Paul’s ministry, could be caving in and becoming ashamed of the testimony of the Lord and ashamed of being identified with Paul? Apparently this is a fearful time, I think, in Paul’s life, and he’s fearful for Timothy.
In verse 7, “God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power and love and discipline.” This is scary time for Paul because the baton will be passed to Timothy, and Timothy is looking weak. (??? Baton? Paul is passing something on to Timothy? What might that be, since the text gives no indication of such a transaction.)
“Don’t be ashamed of the truth,” is what he’s saying in verse 6. Don’t be ashamed to preach and proclaim the truth through the gift that is yours and was confirmed by the laying on of the hands of the elders. Don’t be a coward. In verse 8, “Don’t be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.”
Are you kidding? You mean Timothy, after all those years with Paul, after seeing all the triumph of Paul’s ministry, could be caving in and becoming ashamed of the testimony of the Lord and ashamed of being identified with Paul? Apparently this is a fearful time, I think, in Paul’s life, and he’s fearful for Timothy.
How serious is it? Verse 13, “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.” I get it today. There are all kinds of people whose stock in trade is their communication ability. They’re cool, glib, clever, captivating audiences, but the instruction from Paul to Timothy is about retaining sound words and guarding the truth as a treasure. (Dr. MacArthur takes a gratuitous shot at his theological adversaries.)
Ministry is a guardianship. We not only proclaim the truth, we protect the truth. Paul’s heart is really broken at the end of his life. He says to Timothy in verse 15, “You’re aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.” Everybody had abandoned him. (No, everyone in Asia. We can read the text for ourselves.)
He was alone. Just amazing. Except for “the house of Onesiphorus, who often refreshed me and wasn’t ashamed of my chains.” (So he wasn't alone...)
Everybody had abandoned Paul. (...except Onesiphorus...)
The price was too high. Paul is at the end of his life, “Please, Timothy, I’ve given you the treasure. Guard the treasure. Retain sound words.” Chapter 2, he carries on the same cry. “Be strong in the grace that is Christ Jesus. The things you’ve heard from me, - ” this is the treasure, revealed truth that came through the apostle Paul, “ - you heard it in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” There’s four generations: Paul to Timothy, to faithful men, to others, also. You’re in the relay.
Now it grieves me all the time to see these sort of quasi-churches that pop up that identify themselves as being isolated from anything in the past. (??? Which churches identify themselves this way?)
This is not your grandfather’s church. This is not your grandmother’s church. We don’t have an organ. (This is an Appeal To Tradition.)
Come as you will. Anything to create some kind of image that is completely isolated from anybody’s experience of a church. ("Anything?" These unnamed churches will do "anything?" Where is the evidence for this astounding statement?)
Paul says, “I gave you the truth. You give it to the next generation so they can give it to the next.” (No, again, we can read it for ourselves: ...entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also... Timothy's task was to install men who could teach. Timothy was facilitating the organization and future of this church, so that it would have a sound foundation of leadership and teaching. The men he was to install were to take over after he had left to go to his next assignment.)
Paul says, “I gave you the truth. You give it to the next generation so they can give it to the next.” (No, again, we can read it for ourselves: ...entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also... Timothy's task was to install men who could teach. Timothy was facilitating the organization and future of this church, so that it would have a sound foundation of leadership and teaching. The men he was to install were to take over after he had left to go to his next assignment.)
It’s all about being faithful to retain what has been handed to you. Not about creativity. Then he says, “Suffer hardship, like a good soldier of Christ. Don’t entangle yourself in the affairs of everyday life. Complete like an athlete.” He just goes through all of those pictures: The athlete, the farmer, the soldier, the teacher. Verse 9, after saying, “Remember Jesus Christ,” He’s your model of faithfulness. “I suffered hardship even to imprisonment; but the Word of God is not imprisoned.”
This is the ultimate, ultimate word for any young minister. (Again, Timothy was not the pastor.)
From the apostle, who is about to put his head on a block, an ax head will flash in the sun and sever it from his body and he’ll be with the Lord, and the next generation is going to be in the hands of Timothy. (No, Timothy is not part of a chain. He's simply doing his assignment, after which he will move on to the next church.)
I think about that when I look at the character and the style of many of these men who are pastors. What will the next generation be like if what they receive is in their hands? What must Timothy do? Verse 14, “Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. But be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who doesn’t need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” There it is. Retain sound doctrine, guard the treasure, handle the truth accurately. That’s the mandate.
Avoid again, “avoid worldly empty chatter. It just leads to further ungodliness, and that kind of talk spreads like gangrene - ” it does great damage, leads people away from the truth.
Then in verse 20, as we just kind of move through here, “in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but vessels of wood and earthenware, some to honor and some to dishonor.” Can I be a little bit crude for a minute? Every house in ancient times had these kind of vessels. Didn’t have the advantage of plumbing to bring the water in or take the waste out. So they had vessels of gold and silver. Vessels of gold and silver were for honorable things. Put the food on it, you serve the food on it. Vessels of wood and earthenware were for dishonorable things. Took out the garbage. You took out the waste. What do you want to be? You want to be a privy pot, as it was called? Or do you want to be a golden platter?
“If someone cleanses himself from these - ” what? What do you mean “these”? The influence of empty worldly chatter that leads to ungodliness and talk that spreads like gangrene. “If you cleanse yourself from - ” the influence of unbiblical things, “ - you will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Flee from youthful lust and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing they produce quarrels.” (Dr. MacArthur just keeps going on and on. Will he get to the point?)
I mean, all of this goes down the same path, doesn’t it? The same path. And we heard from Conrad so ably today, stick with the Scripture. Down in 3:15, they are “able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, training in righteousness; so the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
And remember that everything you do is “in the presence of God in Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom - ” and then the command “ - preach the Word - ” all the time, even in a “ - time when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires.”
I mean, do you get the tone of all of this? You know, from the time that I was a young man when my father gave me the first Bible I began to preach out of, he wrote in the front of it, “Dear Johnny, Preach the Word.” And he passed the mantle to me. Preach the Word.
It didn’t take me long to find out that the command to preach the Word had a context, and that context we just looked at, and that I had an accountability to God to be faithful to the Word. And what that meant was faithfulness to sound doctrine, to guard the treasure that had been entrusted to me.
Paul closes out his life, really, by reminding Timothy again, “I fought the good fight, - ” There he says it again. It’s been a fight. “ - finished the course, kept the faith; - ” the faith, the body of truth that constitutes the Christian faith. And I’m going to go onto my reward. (Dr. MacArthur just keeps going on and on. Will he get to the point?)
It hasn’t been easy for him. All who are in Asia forsake him. Verse 10, “Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me.” Imagine everything that he had done, and he’s all alone, and he’s lonely, and it’s only Luke, and he asks for Mark to come for fellowship, and for a coat, and for some parchments.
“At his first defense - ” verse 16 “ - no one supported me,” he said. “But everybody deserted me. May it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Dr. MacArthur just keeps going on and on. Will he get to the point?)
It’s going to be like that. You know, I’m surrounded by wonderful people. I’m so blessed. I can’t say with Paul, “Everyone has forsaken me.” I’m blessed. Not everyone has forsaken me. But I think any of us who takes stands on issues like this know what it is to be vilified, and falsely accused, and attacked, and assaulted. And at the end of the day, we just say, “The Lord strengthen me.” You’re going to have to do that. You may find yourself isolated in a situation trying to take a stand on this issue. The Lord will strengthen you and He will reward you for your faithfulness. (Dr. MacArthur just keeps going on and on. Will he get to the point?)
What a heartfelt letter to Timothy. If you wonder how Timothy responded, the answer to that comes at the end of Hebrews when the writer of Hebrews writes this, Hebrews 13:23. “Take notice that our brother Timothy has been released.” From where? Prison. Timothy was in prison. He was released. Timothy had let his gift go silent to avoid that. He was a coward when Paul wrote. This was what he was trying to make sure didn’t happen. He got that letter. I think it gripped his heart. I think he became bold and he went to prison. But he was released. Just a small word, I’m glad it’s there. I’m so glad it’s there. (Dr. MacArthur just keeps going on and on. Will he get to the point?)
Paul’s letter changed the course of Timothy’s life. And may it do the same for you, for all of us. May we guard the treasure, retain sound words, study to show ourselves approved unto God, workmen needing not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word, and then having rightly divided the Word, may we preach the Word faithfully. And if no one stands with us, so be it. The Lord will not forsake us. (Dr. MacArthur just keeps going on and on. Will he get to the point?)
(Nope...) Father, we thank You for our time together in these days. It has been beyond a blessing. We feel like we have been to the mountain. We’ve come close to the glory, and it should be our feelings, should be our attitude, because we have, because we’ve been intently focused on You and Your Word, and that is where the glory resides. For it is in Your Word that You are revealed as the all-glorious one.
Thank you for the fellowship we’ve enjoyed. Thank You for the fresh new friendships we’ve made. And, Lord, we’ve endeavored to offer You an offering of service in this conference, to lift up before You our minds and hearts, to be prepared for a new level of service, a new level of usefulness to You who, in our own small way, individual by individual, stem the tide that brings dishonor to You.
God, our Father, Christ our Savior, and blessed Holy Spirit our strengthener, our Helper. All of this is for Your glory and Your honor, all of it. And we have offered it humbly, knowing the best we can give is far short of what You’re worthy. All our words, all our thoughts, all our insights, all our efforts, whether speakers or listeners, all that we have brought to this, we have done to give You glory. May it be only the beginning, only the start of lives that are committed to this for Your glory.
May we feel the pain when You were dishonored. And may You use us, Lord, as instruments to snatch brands from the burning and to help believers to escape unnecessary deception.
We offer this week up to You as the truth reverberates from this place around the world. Take it where You will. Use it as You desire, and that’s all we can ask. And we rejoice and rest in what You do with what we have placed on the altar. Be glorified, O Lord, we pray. Amen.
I think about that when I look at the character and the style of many of these men who are pastors. What will the next generation be like if what they receive is in their hands? What must Timothy do? Verse 14, “Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. But be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who doesn’t need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” There it is. Retain sound doctrine, guard the treasure, handle the truth accurately. That’s the mandate.
Avoid again, “avoid worldly empty chatter. It just leads to further ungodliness, and that kind of talk spreads like gangrene - ” it does great damage, leads people away from the truth.
Then in verse 20, as we just kind of move through here, “in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but vessels of wood and earthenware, some to honor and some to dishonor.” Can I be a little bit crude for a minute? Every house in ancient times had these kind of vessels. Didn’t have the advantage of plumbing to bring the water in or take the waste out. So they had vessels of gold and silver. Vessels of gold and silver were for honorable things. Put the food on it, you serve the food on it. Vessels of wood and earthenware were for dishonorable things. Took out the garbage. You took out the waste. What do you want to be? You want to be a privy pot, as it was called? Or do you want to be a golden platter?
“If someone cleanses himself from these - ” what? What do you mean “these”? The influence of empty worldly chatter that leads to ungodliness and talk that spreads like gangrene. “If you cleanse yourself from - ” the influence of unbiblical things, “ - you will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Flee from youthful lust and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing they produce quarrels.” (Dr. MacArthur just keeps going on and on. Will he get to the point?)
I mean, all of this goes down the same path, doesn’t it? The same path. And we heard from Conrad so ably today, stick with the Scripture. Down in 3:15, they are “able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, training in righteousness; so the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
And remember that everything you do is “in the presence of God in Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom - ” and then the command “ - preach the Word - ” all the time, even in a “ - time when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires.”
I mean, do you get the tone of all of this? You know, from the time that I was a young man when my father gave me the first Bible I began to preach out of, he wrote in the front of it, “Dear Johnny, Preach the Word.” And he passed the mantle to me. Preach the Word.
It didn’t take me long to find out that the command to preach the Word had a context, and that context we just looked at, and that I had an accountability to God to be faithful to the Word. And what that meant was faithfulness to sound doctrine, to guard the treasure that had been entrusted to me.
Paul closes out his life, really, by reminding Timothy again, “I fought the good fight, - ” There he says it again. It’s been a fight. “ - finished the course, kept the faith; - ” the faith, the body of truth that constitutes the Christian faith. And I’m going to go onto my reward. (Dr. MacArthur just keeps going on and on. Will he get to the point?)
It hasn’t been easy for him. All who are in Asia forsake him. Verse 10, “Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me.” Imagine everything that he had done, and he’s all alone, and he’s lonely, and it’s only Luke, and he asks for Mark to come for fellowship, and for a coat, and for some parchments.
“At his first defense - ” verse 16 “ - no one supported me,” he said. “But everybody deserted me. May it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Dr. MacArthur just keeps going on and on. Will he get to the point?)
It’s going to be like that. You know, I’m surrounded by wonderful people. I’m so blessed. I can’t say with Paul, “Everyone has forsaken me.” I’m blessed. Not everyone has forsaken me. But I think any of us who takes stands on issues like this know what it is to be vilified, and falsely accused, and attacked, and assaulted. And at the end of the day, we just say, “The Lord strengthen me.” You’re going to have to do that. You may find yourself isolated in a situation trying to take a stand on this issue. The Lord will strengthen you and He will reward you for your faithfulness. (Dr. MacArthur just keeps going on and on. Will he get to the point?)
What a heartfelt letter to Timothy. If you wonder how Timothy responded, the answer to that comes at the end of Hebrews when the writer of Hebrews writes this, Hebrews 13:23. “Take notice that our brother Timothy has been released.” From where? Prison. Timothy was in prison. He was released. Timothy had let his gift go silent to avoid that. He was a coward when Paul wrote. This was what he was trying to make sure didn’t happen. He got that letter. I think it gripped his heart. I think he became bold and he went to prison. But he was released. Just a small word, I’m glad it’s there. I’m so glad it’s there. (Dr. MacArthur just keeps going on and on. Will he get to the point?)
Paul’s letter changed the course of Timothy’s life. And may it do the same for you, for all of us. May we guard the treasure, retain sound words, study to show ourselves approved unto God, workmen needing not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word, and then having rightly divided the Word, may we preach the Word faithfully. And if no one stands with us, so be it. The Lord will not forsake us. (Dr. MacArthur just keeps going on and on. Will he get to the point?)
(Nope...) Father, we thank You for our time together in these days. It has been beyond a blessing. We feel like we have been to the mountain. We’ve come close to the glory, and it should be our feelings, should be our attitude, because we have, because we’ve been intently focused on You and Your Word, and that is where the glory resides. For it is in Your Word that You are revealed as the all-glorious one.
Thank you for the fellowship we’ve enjoyed. Thank You for the fresh new friendships we’ve made. And, Lord, we’ve endeavored to offer You an offering of service in this conference, to lift up before You our minds and hearts, to be prepared for a new level of service, a new level of usefulness to You who, in our own small way, individual by individual, stem the tide that brings dishonor to You.
God, our Father, Christ our Savior, and blessed Holy Spirit our strengthener, our Helper. All of this is for Your glory and Your honor, all of it. And we have offered it humbly, knowing the best we can give is far short of what You’re worthy. All our words, all our thoughts, all our insights, all our efforts, whether speakers or listeners, all that we have brought to this, we have done to give You glory. May it be only the beginning, only the start of lives that are committed to this for Your glory.
May we feel the pain when You were dishonored. And may You use us, Lord, as instruments to snatch brands from the burning and to help believers to escape unnecessary deception.
We offer this week up to You as the truth reverberates from this place around the world. Take it where You will. Use it as You desire, and that’s all we can ask. And we rejoice and rest in what You do with what we have placed on the altar. Be glorified, O Lord, we pray. Amen.
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