[redleghunter]

PING

[CynicalBear]

I’m finding that I’m having some issues with what John MacArthur is saying. I’ve never paid much attention to him but have had a couple of encounters with his speeches lately that bother me. When I got to the part where he says “if you are really saved there will be righteousness, there will be holiness,” the red flags went up and they didn’t go back down as I read the rest of the transcript. Sure there will be a changed life and as the new Christian grows there will be more but his focus on what WE are to do is somewhat troubling. It’s Christ’s righteousness and holiness that show through. The whole thing reminded me of the Catholic approach to man doing the work. I see many who “do good works” and rely on those “good works” as their entry into salvation.

[roamer_1]

Thanks! Having read this previously, I am still impressed that this is very close to the Gospel originally given. The proofs to me, are in the essence though - that 'sin' and 'iniquity' have no meaning without the Torah, and that Yeshua actually presented a more strict interpretation of the Torah (the thought in the mind is every bit as bad as taking the action)... so the onus upon the Christian is necessarily harder on the Christian (having been given that directive as a disciple), albeit that we can throw away the interpretations in the tradition of the rabbis. What is sin, if not the transgression of the Torah? And Yeshua made it more so, not less.

I believe I have said before that the Hebrew sense of 'believe' is to 'hear and do', and 'easy-believism', as you have put it, eliminates the 'do' part, having left the Torah, and resigning 'sin' to something defined ethereally by men, rather than by the only definition that there is, or ever can be. And the believer is left without any proof, any gauge, to see how he is doing, or even an inkling that he should be proving his faith.

An excellent, excellent sermon!

[redleghunter]

Below link is part 2 to this topic for those interested:

Examine Yourselves Part 2

I want to thank all who responded and commented.

God Bless!