5 Marks of Biblical Reformation
5 Marks of Biblical Reformation

Author: C. Matthew McMahon

Publisher: Puritan Publications

Published: 2019-09-24

Total Pages: 159

ISBN-13: 162663338X

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How many ministers have you met who are sowing reformation in their churches in tears? In our day, the current temperature of the Evangelical church has been watered down by shallow, non-doctrinal preaching that tickles the ears and woos people into the pews. Churches are filled with emotionally charged seeker sensitive services, catering to jingles and emotional feel-good “worship” that erradicates true worship and exalts feeling good over glorifying Christ. People attend churches based on criteria surrounding whether or not the foyer’s coffee shop serves hot lattes, how short the service is on Sunday so they can get home to mowing the lawn, or whether they can conveniently go to a thirty-minute Saturday night service and disregard the Lord’s Day all-together. Is this biblical reformation? Not at all. It’s quite the opposite. So, what are the marks of true biblical reformation? Do you know what they are? Are you set on fire through the unction and power of the Spirit of God and his word to reap something spiritually beneficial, heartily reformed yet laced with Christian joy? Are you on fire for Biblical Reformation before God for the glory of Jesus Christ? C. Matthew McMahon, Ph.D., Th.D., is a Reformed theologian, and pastor of Grace Chapel in Crossville, TN. He is the founder and chairman of A Puritan's Mind, the largest Reformed website on the internet for students of the Bible concerning Reformed Theology, the Puritans and Covenant Theology. He is the founder of Puritan Publications which publishes rare Reformed and Puritan works from the 17th century, specializing in the Westminster Assembly. He is also a managing partner at Reformed.org, and the Center for Reformed Theology and Apologetics.

5 Marks of Christian Resolve
5 Marks of Christian Resolve

Author: C. Matthew McMahon

Publisher: Puritan Publications

Published: 2020-12-01

Total Pages: 139

ISBN-13: 162663386X

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There is no real commendability in a mere resolve. If Christians resolve to do something, and never actually get around to doing it, what good is that? A weak and wobbling resolution in this way, holds in it nothing of real value. But if Christians desire to glorify the living Christ in their kingdom service, then such service does, truly, come in light of biblical resolution. For a true and Spirit-guided resolution to take place, the Christian mind considers many things. All Spirit-filled Christians turn all resolving powers into execution. Having a resolve to do something is a wonderful beginning. It ties two parts of a duty together for the Christian; to resolve and to do. Being resolved as a Christian, sets forth a deliberation of the mind about the thing to be resolved on. No wise Christian will ever resolve to do anything until he has considered the action, and weighed it in the balance of Scripture with himself, and fully debated its necessity and expedience. How might a Christian be resolved in the work of doing good always before God? And in what main categories might resolution take place? In considering a holy resolve, a fixed determination of serving King Jesus, this book will cover five marks: Mark 1: resolved to do great works for the glory of God in everything. Mark 2: resolved to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. Mark 3: resolved to reject all earthlimindedness. Mark 4: resolved to righteously use the means of grace for further sanctification as Christ prescribes. Mark 5: resolved to continue to do good without growing weary.

Knowing Sin
Knowing Sin

Author: Mark Jones

Publisher: Moody Publishers

Published: 2022-02-01

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 0802476554

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The first rule of combat is: know your enemy. We don’t talk a lot about sin these days. But maybe we should. The Puritans sure did—because they understood sin’s deceptive power and wanted to root it out of their lives. Shouldn’t we want the same? Though many books have been written on the “doctrine of sin,” few are as practical and applicable as this one. In Knowing Sin, Mark Jones puts his expertise in the Puritans to work by distilling the vast wisdom of our Christian forebears into a single volume that summarizes their thought on this vital subject. The result isn’t a theological tome to sit on your shelf and gather dust, but a surprisingly relevant book to keep by your bedside and refer to again and again. You’ll come to understand topics like: Sin’s Origin Sin’s Grief Sin’s Thoughts Sin’s Temptations Sin’s Misery Sin’s Secrecy and of course . . . Sin’s Defeat! None of us is free from the struggle with sin. The question isn’t whether we’re sinful, it’s what we’re doing about it. Thanks be to God, there is a path to overcoming sin. And the first step on that path to victory is knowing what we’re up against. Start Knowing Sin today!

What is Reformed Theology?
What is Reformed Theology?

Author: R. C. Sproul

Publisher: Baker Books

Published: 2016-09-13

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1585586528

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What Do the Five Points of Calvinism Really Mean? Many have heard of Reformed theology, but may not be certain what it is. Some references to it have been positive, some negative. It appears to be important, and they'd like to know more about it. But they want a full, understandable explanation, not a simplistic one. What Is Reformed Theology? is an accessible introduction to beliefs that have been immensely influential in the evangelical church. In this insightful book, R. C. Sproul walks readers through the foundations of the Reformed doctrine and explains how the Reformed belief is centered on God, based on God's Word, and committed to faith in Jesus Christ. Sproul explains the five points of Reformed theology and makes plain the reality of God's amazing grace.

5 Marks of Devotion to God
5 Marks of Devotion to God

Author: C. Matthew McMahon

Publisher: Puritan Publications

Published: 2020-02-11

Total Pages: 178

ISBN-13: 1626633525

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Do you long for a closer relationship to the Savior Jesus Christ? Do you desire a more intimate communion with God each day? Every true Christian does. The purpose of this volume in the "5 Marks Series" is to cover the spiritual disciplines housed in private devotions and family worship. It is a study on how the biblical doctrines of reading Scripture, prayer and godly meditation practically work in the life of the believer. These spiritual disciplines will help further conform them into the image of their only Savior Jesus Christ, both individually pressing them towards a godly reformation, and also to reform the family as a Christian household. It is to come to know God in a deeper and more intimate manner, and to be empowered by the Spirit of God for the glory of Christ. This work covers the following five marks of devotion to God: Mark 1: Daily Bible Reading and Study Mark 2: Daily Meditation Mark 3: Daily Prayer Mark 4: Fasting Mark 5: Family Worship

Extravagant Grace
Extravagant Grace

Author: Barbara R. Duguid

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781596384491

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Why do Christians even mature Christians still sin so often? Why doesn't God set us free? We seem to notice more sin in our lives all the time, and we wonder if our progress is a constant disappointment to God. Where is the joy and peace we read about in the Bible? Speaking from her own struggles, Barbara Duguid turns to the writings of John Newton to teach us a theology with a purpose for our failure and guilt one that adjusts our expectations of ourselves. Her empathetic, honest approach lifts our focus from our own performance back to the God who is bigger than our failures and who uses them. Rediscover how God's extravagant grace makes the gospel once again feel like the good news it truly is

Still Time to Care
Still Time to Care

Author: Greg Johnson

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 2021-12-07

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 0310116066

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At the start of the gay rights movement in 1969, evangelicalism's leading voices cast a vision for gay people who turn to Jesus. It was C.S. Lewis, Billy Graham, Francis Schaeffer and John Stott who were among the most respected leaders within theologically orthodox Protestantism. We see with them a positive pastoral approach toward gay people, an approach that viewed homosexuality as a fallen condition experienced by some Christians who needed care more than cure. With the birth and rise of the ex-gay movement, the focus shifted from care to cure. As a result, there are an estimated 700,000 people alive today who underwent conversion therapy in the United States alone. Many of these patients were treated by faith-based, testimony-driven parachurch ministries centered on the ex-gay script. Despite the best of intentions, the movement ended with very troubling results. Yet the ex-gay movement died not because it had the wrong sex ethic. It died because it was founded on a practice that diminished the beauty of the gospel. Yet even after the closure of the ex-gay umbrella organization Exodus International in 2013, the ex-gay script continues to walk about as the undead among us, pressuring people like me to say, "I used to be gay, but I'm not gay anymore. Now I'm just same-sex attracted." For orthodox Christians, the way forward is a path back to where we were forty years ago. It is time again to focus with our Neo-Evangelical fathers on care--not cure--for our non-straight sisters and brothers who are living lives of costly obedience to Jesus. With warmth and humor as well as original research, Still Time to Care will chart the path forward for our churches and ministries in providing care. It will provide guidance for the gay person who hears the gospel and finds themselves smitten by the life-giving call of Jesus. Woven throughout the book will be Richard Lovelace’s 1978 call for a "double repentance" in which gay Christians repent of their homosexual sins and the church repents of its homophobia--putting on display for all the power of the gospel.

Reformation of the Heart, Soul and Mind
Reformation of the Heart, Soul and Mind

Author: C. Matthew McMahon

Publisher: Puritan Publications

Published: 2021-09-26

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 1626634181

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In this study, McMahon considers the universal and perpetual teaching of loving God and loving one’s neighbor, as it pertains to the heart, soul and mind of a Christian. His main text is taken from Christ’s words in Matt. 22:37-39, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” The love that Christians ought to have in light of biblical reformation, consist in loving God with all the heart, soul and mind, and loving one’s neighbor. Though this is often thought of as a nice “religious” sentiment, many Christians have no idea how that works out in the life of the Christian. Where did Jesus get such a notion, and what was he teaching? Biblical reformation is set within this “love to God” and that without it, no one can ever be reformed, and no revival will ever take place in the whole world. In this, Jesus’ words are far reaching, and they are a basic fundamental tenant of the Christian religion. Jesus did mean what he in fact said, to love God in heart, soul and mind is loving him in a superlative degree, the highest degree. Does this seem impossible? How does reformation and loving God fit together? And how does reformation of the heart, soul and mind for God’s glory and our good work itself out in light of Scripture? This is the substance of this work.

5 Marks of a Biblical Church
5 Marks of a Biblical Church

Author: C. Matthew McMahon

Publisher: Puritan Publications

Published: 2018-11-07

Total Pages: 104

ISBN-13: 1626633169

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Scripture furnishes Christ’s blood-bought church with everything it needs to worship God effectively with the greatest degree of honor (John 4:24). The holy exaltation of God by his people is vital to giving him high praise in glorifying Christ in their worship before his uncompromising majesty. Such a congregation of holy worshippers have certain qualities that distinguish them from the world. In such a distinction, there are five non-negotiable marks of a biblical church without which, a church unchurches itself. These marks not only aid Christians to discern the nature of a healthy church, but differentiate the Spirit empowered qualities of a biblical church from that which is false. From 1 Tim. 3:14-15, McMahon explains what it means for the church to conduct itself in God’s house, “which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” He biblically and historically sets down the five invariable marks of the church: Mark 1: Biblical Preaching Through Sound Doctrine Mark 2: Biblical Administration of the Sacraments Mark 3: Biblical Administration of Church Discipline Mark 4: Biblical Leadership Mark 5: Biblical Worship