full truth:
The Whole of Scripture (Preached, Taught, Believed & Obeyed)
* Basic Intermediate * In Depth

1. The Full Counsel of God

Defined:

–Where in the New Testament do we find the phrase "the full (whole) counsel (will) of God?Answer
–Why is it important to proclaim the full counsel of God?Answer

Articles: Full Counsel of God

* The Full Counsel of GodBy David SheldonRead Article
* Marks of a True Apostle: Truth, LoveBy Dr John MacArthur

Excerpt:

–"One of the signs, again I say, of depravity is gullibility and that's what sets someone up to be seduced in the kingdom of darkness. And we come against that gullibility with the truth of the Word of God and the gospel to save people, to rescue people from satanic deception."
–"What is tragic, however, is the gullibility of the church...That's why God gave us His Word and He gave it to us to protect us from deception...to protect us from being led astray, protect us from the wolves in sheep's clothing who come and tell us lies and seduce us."
–"He(Satan) sent in false teachers, they brought a bunch of lies. They started to seduce the Corinthian believers. Some of them bought into the seduction and they started down a path demonstrating gullibility even after they had been taught for three years by Paul..."
–"And he (Paul) wants the Corinthians to see the difference between him and them. That was very important to him. The world was full of, and still is, false apostles."
–"In those few verses Paul teaches us the character of a true apostle. He is marked by a relentless humility, a relentless and uncompromising devotion to truth from the depths of his soul right on out and he is marked by a sacrificial love to the degree that he'll give himself away for others. So when you're trying to assess whether one is a true man of God, that's where you look...humility, truth and love."Read Article

2. The Call to Preach and Duty of Ministry

Articles:

* Why I am Committed to Teaching the Bibleby Dr John MacArthur

Excerpt:

"There have always been men in the pulpit who gathered crowds because they were gifted orators, interesting storytellers, entertaining speakers, dynamic personalities, shrewd crowd-manipulators, rousing speech-makers, popular politicians, or erudite scholars. Such preaching may be popular, but it is not necessarily powerful. No one can preach with power who does not preach the Word. And no faithful preacher will water down or neglect the whole counsel of God. Proclaiming the Word--all of it--is the pastor's calling."Read Article

* Marks of the Faithful Preacherby Dr John MacArthur

Excerpt:

"So here we do our ministry then in full view of the one who ultimately will judge. That's compelling...that is compelling. God even Christ Jesus is watching, we are in full view of Him who is very God the sovereign one to whom all judgment has been committed. What a compelling compelling thing that is to think about. I'm not serving in view of men, I'm serving in view of God."Part 1
"The faithful preacher, I believe Paul is saying and it's coming from his own heart, attends not only on what he knows others will see but on what he knows only God may see. He is concerned with the details of his life that may never be public knowledge but that undergird the quality of everything that he does."Part 2
"So the one who serves with excellence is one who is compelled by the seriousness of his commission, the content, the scope, the urgency...and the attitude of his commission." Part 3
"And so God has ordained that certain people preach and teach directly His Word. They are uniquely called. All of us on a general level are called, some of us very uniquely set apart for the direct ministry of the Word of God." Part 4

* 12 Marks of an Excellent Pastoral Ministryby Dr John MacArthur

Excerpt:

"He (the pastor) makes the following commitments. I will warn my people of error. I will devote myself to the study of Scripture. I will avoid the influence of unholy teaching that sucks out my conviction. I will discipline myself in godliness. I will work hard. I will teach with divine authority. I will endeavor to be a model of spiritual virtue. I will maintain a thoroughly Biblical ministry. I will employ my spiritual gift and not neglect it. I will be passionate about this privileged work."Read Article

3. The Perspicuity, Profitability, and Sufficiency of Scripture

Defined:

–What does the word "perspicuity" mean?Answer
–In what regard is the study of Scripture profitable?Answer
–Why is it so important to claim the Scripture as sufficient?Answer

Articles: Perspicuity, Profitability, Sufficiency

* The Sufficiency of Scripture - Part 1by Dr John MacArthur

Excerpt:

"There are many who bow, as it were, to the gods of worldly management technique. Churches are learning those kinds of methods as if they were the keys to building the Kingdom of God. And in a very subtle way, this is an attack on the adequacy of Scripture."
"...there are many people who feel the Scripture is not a sufficient diet for the saints of the church and there must be along with it a certain amount of entertainment. And churches are spending a lot of money to entertain people....In fact, there are many people who seem rather bored with the things of God revealed in Scripture and are really in desperate need of some entertainment."Read Article

* The Sufficiency of Scripture - Part 2by Dr John MacArthur

Excerpt:

"As I pointed out last time, the almost wholesale move in the evangelical church to psychology as a means of solving man's problems, the search for methodology for church growth in the world's patterns of business and corporate structure, the demand for political power as the key to revival as some are saying, the cry for miracles and signs and wonders and new revelations and supernatural activities, the perversion of the simple gospel and the true Word of God into a sort of pop gospel of prosperity, indulgence, sensuality and success propagated by celebrities who are supposed to have a great ability to reach people that the simple Word could never reach all betray to me not only a horrifying worldliness in the church but a woefully weak view of Scripture."Read Article

* Of Straw Men and Slippery Slopes - Part 1by Dan PhillipsRead Blog
* Of Straw Men and Slippery Slopes - Part 2by Dan PhillipsRead Blog
* Tota Scripturaby R.C. Sproul

Excerpt:

"Perhaps most severe is the question, who is it who decides what part of the Bible really belongs to the canon? Once we remove ourselves from a view of tota Scriptura, we are free then to pick and choose what portions of Scripture are normative for Christian faith and life, just like picking cherries from a tree."Read Article

**Scripture: God-Breathed and Profitableby Edward J. Young

Excerpt:

"If we turn to this passage, however, a charge may very well be laid against us. It will be said that we are paying attention to the teaching of Scripture at the expense of its phenomena or characteristics....At first glance, it might appear that there is some justification for the position that the teaching of the Bible and its phenomena are to be placed upon a par each with the other, and that the phenomena of Scripture should be just as regulative of an acceptable doctrine of Scripture as the express teaching thereof. A little reflection, however, should make clear how untenable and unjustified such a position really is."Read Article

4. The Canon of Scripture

Defined:

–What does the word "canon" mean?Answer

Articles: Canon of Scripture

* The Canon of the New Testament By F.F. Bruce

Excerpt:

"The Gospels, recording all that Jesus began both to do and to teach,' could not be regarded as one whit lower in authority than the Old Testament books. And the teaching of the apostles in the Acts and Epistles was regarded as vested with His authority. It was natural, then, to accord to the apostolic writings of the new covenant the same degree of homage as was already paid to the prophetic writings of the old."Read Article

*The Formation of the Canon of the New TestamentBy B.B. Warfield

Excerpt:

"...the Christian church did not require to form for itself the idea of a "canon" — or, as we should more commonly call it, of a "Bible" — that is, of a collection of books given of God to be the authoritative rule of faith and practice. It inherited this idea from the Jewish church, along with the thing itself, the Jewish Scriptures, or the "Canon of the Old Testament." The church did not grow up by natural law: it was founded. And the authoritative teachers sent forth by Christ to found His church, carried with them, as their most precious possession, a body of divine Scriptures, which they imposed on the church that they founded as its code of law. No reader of the New Testament can need proof of this; on every page of that book is spread the evidence that from the very beginning the Old Testament was as cordially recognized as law by the Christian as by the Jew. The Christian church thus was never without a "Bible" or a "canon.""Read Article

** The Formation of the New Testament CanonBy Stephen Voorwinde

Excerpt:

"After almost 2000 years of church history how can Christians be sure that they have the right Bible? Can we indeed be absolutely certain that we have exactly the right books in the Bible — no more and no less? As our standard of faith and practice can we confidently appeal to the canon of Scripture as a collection of authoritative writings to which nothing can be added and from which nothing can be taken away?"Read Article

*** A Brief Introduction to the Canon and Ancient Versions of Scriptureby Michael Marlowe

Excerpt:

"Most people today receive the writings arranged and bound together in their Bibles as Holy Scripture simply because that is what they find bound together under that title in a book they have purchased at the bookstore. Many Protestants are also aware of the fact that in choosing a Bible one must avoid the shelf labelled "Roman Catholic Bibles," because these are designed to promote Catholic beliefs and they also contain some books that we do not even receive as Scripture — the ones we refer to as belonging to the "Apocrypha." But why do we reject these books? Very few of us have even read them. In fact, many Christians have not read all of the books which they do consider to be Scripture. And so it is evident that most of us receive certain books and reject others not because we have personally evaluated them in any way, but because we trust that someone else has evaluated them and decided rightly concerning this matter, so that all scripture and nothing but scripture is between the covers of our Bibles. The question then becomes, who has made this decision, and are they really competent to decide for all of us?" Read Article

5. Christian Worldview & Apologetics

Defined:

–What is a Christian or Biblical Worldview?Answer

Article:

* What's Your Worldview?(Abridged fromThink Biblically!)by Dr John MacArthur

Excerpt:

"How does one form a worldview? Where does one begin? Every worldview starts with presuppositions-i.e., beliefs that one presumes to be true without supporting independent evidence from other sources or systems. Interpreting reality, in part or in whole, requires that one adopt an interpretative stance since there is no "neutral" thought in the universe. This becomes the foundation upon which one builds." Read Article

Defined:

–What is Apologetics?Answer

Articles: Christian Worldview and Apologetics

***The Sufficiency of Scripture in Apologeticsby Michael J Kruger

Excerpt:

"Although appealing to the Bible as the ultimate epistemological foundation for belief may seem simplistic and naive to some (as well as unpersuasive), the following discussion will argue that this is the key to maintaining the full sufficiency and authority of Scripture. Not only does God not call Christians to put the authority of His word "on the shelf" while they argue for Christianity, but doing so will deny the very thing they are setting out to prove, namely, that God's Word should be the authority over every area of thought (including apologetics). Indeed, the Bible is not just sufficient for teaching about the Christian worldview; it is sufficient also for defending the Christian worldview."Read Article

** Christian Apologeticsby Mark A Copeland

Table of Contents

Introduction To Christian Apologetics – 3
The Historical Jesus – 7
Our Dependence Upon The New Testament – 10
Evidence For Early Existence Of The New Testament – 12
Archaeological Support For The New Testament – 15
Manuscript Attestation For The New Testament – 18
The New Testament: Truth Or Lie? – 21
For Your Further Study – 24

Read Article

6. Importance of Discernment

Defined:

–What does the word "discern" actually mean?Answer

Articles:

* Importance of DiscernmentBy David Sheldon

Excerpt:

"According to I John 4:4-6 (See terms & text for reference) we can know the spirit of truth versus the spirit of error by whether or not we listen to the apostles words (teachings). Our proof in knowing God is because we participate with the people of God in the truth. The category of discernment in the text is truth versus error - not loving versus unloving or popular versus unpopular, etc. (We are to be loving as we discern, mind you.) If you remember back to chapter 1 of I John he mentions the fact that the apostles made known the truth of what they had seen, felt, etc. This was so that then the people to whom he was communicating could have fellowship with them. Notice the order: first truth, then fellowship. Fellowship is to always follow after the truth and not vice versa. When truth is at stake, fellowship is temporarily placed upon the back-burner. This is why all calls of unity - even based in Scripture - are to fall on the heels of a call to truth. The perfect example of this is Jesus' High Priestly prayer in John 17. He does not pray simply that Christians are to be one. He prays that we are one as He and the Father are one and that we are set apart both individually and corporately in the TRUTH OF THE WORD! The focus of oneness is not oneness - the focus of our oneness is God and His truth. This focus of oneness upon truth can also be seen in Ephesians 4:1-16 where the command for oneness in Spirit is clearly based in the unity of the faith, the one faith, one Lord, one baptism no longer carried about by every wind of doctrine, and the speaking of truth in love."Read Article

* To Judge or Not To Judge: The Rights and Wrongs of Biblical DiscernmentBy G. Richard Fisher

Excerpt:

"Churches have split along lines of those who wish to make judgments & those who say we cannot. One side accuses the other of being legalistic & loveless while the other side is called liberal and spineless. Rooting out the truth on this subject is essential & a thorough search will reveal that there are different kinds of judgment taught in Scripture."Read Article

**Discernment in an Age of Deception: Defining the Believer's Biblical Call to JudgeBy Bob DeWaay

Excerpt:

"This passage (Matt 7:1-5) concerns peoples' motivations and the degree of their internal righteousness. These matters we are not to judge. Other passages, which we will examine later, are concerned with judging the content of a person's teaching."Read Article

Here is more information on the need for discernment in the 21st century church:Links Page

7. Orthodox, Aberrant, Heretical, Christian Cult

Defined:

–What does the word "orthodox" actually mean?Answer
–Has the church actually defined orthodox teachings?Answer
–What are the five foundational truths of Scripture that make a Christian "orthodox?"Answer

Article: Orthodox

* A Short History of Creeds and ConfessionsBy A.A. Hodge

Excerpt:

"Creeds and Confessions, therefore, have been found necessary in all ages and branches of the Church, and, when not abused, have been useful for the following purposes: (1.) To mark, disseminate and preserve the attainments made in the knowledge of Christian truth by any branch of the Church in any crisis of its development. (2.) To discriminate the truth from the glosses of false teachers, and to present it in its integrity and due proportions. (3.) To act as the basis of ecclesiastical fellowship among those so nearly agreed as to be able to labor together in harmony. (4.) To be used as instruments in the great work of popular instruction." Read Article

Defined:

–What does it mean to be "aberrant" in teaching?Answer

Articles: Aberrant

* Three Kinds of Doctrinal ErrorExcerpt by Richard Muller

Excerpt:

(1) errors directly against a fundamental article (contra fundamentum)
(2) errors around a fundamental or in indirect contradiction to it (circa fundamentum)
(3) errors beyond a fundamental article (praeter fundamentum)
Read Article

* Eight Distinctives of an Aberrational Christian or Bible-Based Groupby New England Institute of Religious Research

Excerpt:

"It is important to remember in identifying an aberrational Christian group that we are not dealing with a thorough going heresy, but often a mainstream group that is in transition from the fringes of Christianity to a heretical group completely outside Christian orthodoxy. For our purposes the difference between the two is this. A heretical group takes something major in Christianity (who Jesus is, salvation, the Trinity, etc.) and either negates it, or makes it minor. An aberrational group, on the other hand, typically takes something minor in Christianity and makes it major (submission to a pastor, baptism, worldliness, holiness, etc.) usually for the purpose of being able to manipulate or control the members." Read Article

Defined:

–What does it mean to be "heretical" in teaching?Answer
–How does the heretic bring in his false teachings?Answer

Articles: Heresy

** What is Heresy....?By Let Us ReasonRead Article
*** Christological Heresies & the Council of Chalcedon (451)By Pastor Charles R BiggsRead Article

Defined:

–What is a Christian Cult?Answer

Article: Christian Cult

** Eight Marks of an Organized Heresy: Which Makes a CultBy Let Us ReasonRead Article

8. Personal Quotes About the Fullness & Sufficiency of Scripture

Compilation of QuotesGurnall, Moody, WatsonRead Quotes

Undermining the Fullness of Scripture

–How is the Perspicuity of Scripture undermined?

A. The Emerging Church Movement

No movement in recent memory has undermined the perspicuity of Scripture like what is defined as the "Emerging" church or the "Emergent Church." At its' roots we would say this movement employs a "conversation" to get at either personal truth or corporate assimilated truth rather than objective biblical truth. Thus, the words and concepts in Scripture are not objectively clear and precise to know and understand the God of the Bible but are there for our subjective experience of personal deity. So its' foundation is mysticism - but that is not necessarily the category they would claim for themselves. As the movement unfolded they indeed wanted their own "reality" to be so nebulous that they had trouble defining themselves, let alone being defined by an outsider. It would seem this movement is now undergoing an embracing of what we would call "spiritual formations" doctrine which we will discuss in our section on undermining the focused truth of Jesus Christ our Great High Priest (and Sole Mediator) in our "next truth."

Here is a page of links to some articles that might help you understand the emerging church. Links Page

–How is the Christian Worldview undermined?

Articles:

* Biblical Versus Post-Modern ThinkingKjos Ministries

Excerpt:

"This chart lists the main postmodern obstacles to victorious faith. It shows the new meanings given to Biblical terms, and it lists Scriptures that clarify the confusion caused by postmodern thinking." Read Article

* Biblical Versus Cultural ChristianityKjos Ministries

Excerpt:

"The ungodly expressions of our human nature may change from culture to culture, but the result is usually the same: the people imagine a god that fits their new cultural wants and values, and they learn to see this distortion of Christianity as the true church."Read Article

* Biblical Truth Versus Consensus ThinkingKjos Ministries

Excerpt:

"Consensus Thinking = Seek peace and unity through consensus for all
Biblical Thinking = Seek peace and oneness in Christ"
Read Article

* Charts Index: Social and Global Transformation Versus the ChurchKjos Ministries Read Article

A. The False Teachings on Spiritual Warfare

The modern day spiritual warfare teachings clearly shift a few Scriptural words/concepts into redefined categories to undermine those very truths. Having first, subtly redefined the very nature of the warfare it then boldly defines the weapons of this fake war. What those who promote or are engaged in this warfare do not realize is that they have been effectively sidelined from true Christian warfare in the name of Jesus Christ into a virtual demonically defined war. They actually believe God is doing something in this war in which they are engaged when in fact they are simply slowly and subtly coming underneath the administration of seducing spirits who have promoted the new fake war. And to keep these "new warriors" engaged they will subtly and methodically employ a lot of sensual apparatus to maintain the deception. Once the seducing spirits of the new war have them hooked they will need to keep them hooked lest they come to their senses and escape.

Here is more info about false teachings on spiritual warfare (also shows up in "charismatic christianity") Links Page

B. The Exaltation of Man in the Word-Faith Teachings

This "movement" and its teachings have by now largely been incorporated into many Pentecostal and Assemblies of God churches throughout the world. It is a clear undermining of sound biblical teachings which exalts the place of man by redefining "faith" concepts in the Word of God. This incredible shift in the nature of faith has even affected their doctrine of the nature of the person and work of Christ. In fact, to such an extent that some of the teachings can be seen as beyond the category of aberrational to heretical.

Here is more information on the word-faith teachings (also shows up in "charismatic christianity") Links Page

–How is discernment undermined?

Article:

* Can You Be Deceived? Why People Are Duped and How Not To BeBy G Richard Fisher

Excerpt:

"Deception can only deceive if it looks somewhat like the real thing. Apologist Craig Hawkins explains:'We must realize that the way to deceive people with counterfeits is to imitate the genuine article as closely as possible. For example, if counterfeiters want to pass off fake one-hundred-dollar bills, they do not print Donald Duck's picture on purple paper. Instead they attempt to duplicate a true bill. Similarly, despicable persons who try to deceive others attempt to appear genuine and sincere. They do not walk up to you and inform you that they are there to deceive and defraud you. The far more effective method is faking friendship and fidelity.'1 Goethe taught that we are never deceived but that we deceive ourselves. It is true that religious hucksters are believed because people want to believe them. People want the claims to be true. One of Martin Luther's favorite sayings was "mundus vult decipi" — the world wants to be deceived. Once a person has invested blood, sweat, tears and money into religious deception, he may be too embarrassed or too stubborn to admit he has been taken. Our hearts are where our treasure has gone. Our vested interest helps us keep the blinders on. We often only "see" what we want to see. The Bible presents a complex picture in regard to deception and assures us that God holds both the deceiver and the deceived accountable."Read Article

–How is the Full Counsel of God undermined?

Article:

NEW * Passivity at the Hands of AntichristBy David Sheldon

Excerpt:

"So, how is it possible for "Christianity" to be filled with the spirit of antichrist? The "spirit of antichrist" is that which pretends fidelity to Christ and yet does not keep His Word. I John 2:4-5 says, "The one who says, 'I have come to know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him." This spirit was obvious and present within the New Testament Apostolic Church. Yet, this very "Christianity" is predicted for the end of this present evil age by the Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2."Read Article

* The Church Growth Movement & PDC versus the Bibleby James SundquistRead Article

–We will also cover the church growth movement under the category of Focused Truth and the undermining of the Gospel itself. But this article will give you a handle on how the CGM undermines the fullness of God's plan and purpose in Scripture.

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full truth:
The Whole of Scripture (Preached, Taught, Believed & Obeyed)
* Basic Intermediate * In Depth

Defined:

Articles: Full Counsel of God

Articles:

Defined:

Articles: Perspicuity, Profitability, Sufficiency

Defined:

Articles: Canon of Scripture

Defined:

Article:

Defined:

Articles: Christian Worldview and Apologetics

Defined:

Articles:

Here is more information on the need for discernment in the 21st century church:Links Page

Defined:

Article: Orthodox

Defined:

Articles: Aberrant

Defined:

Articles: Heresy

Defined:

Article: Christian Cult

Undermining the Fullness of Scripture

A. The Emerging Church Movement

Here is a page of links to some articles that might help you understand the emerging church. Links Page

Articles:

A. The False Teachings on Spiritual Warfare

Here is more info about false teachings on spiritual warfare (also shows up in "charismatic christianity") Links Page

B. The Exaltation of Man in the Word-Faith Teachings

Here is more information on the word-faith teachings (also shows up in "charismatic christianity") Links Page

Article:

Article:

Recommended Reading

–The Word of God is complete and sufficient.

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Go to: Underminings

full truth: The Whole of Scripture (Preached, Taught, Believed & Obeyed) * Basic ** Intermediate *** In Depth

Defined:

Articles: Full Counsel of God

Articles:

Defined:

Articles: Perspicuity, Profitability, Sufficiency

Defined:

Articles: Canon of Scripture

Defined:

Article:

Defined:

Articles: Christian Worldview and Apologetics

Defined:

Articles:

Here is more information on the need for discernment in the 21st century church:Links Page

Defined:

Article: Orthodox

Defined:

Articles: Aberrant

Defined:

Articles: Heresy

Defined:

Article: Christian Cult

Undermining the Fullness of Scripture

A. The Emerging Church Movement

Here is a page of links to some articles that might help you understand the emerging church. Links Page

Articles:

A. The False Teachings on Spiritual Warfare

Here is more info about false teachings on spiritual warfare (also shows up in "charismatic christianity") Links Page

B. The Exaltation of Man in the Word-Faith Teachings

Here is more information on the word-faith teachings (also shows up in "charismatic christianity") Links Page

Article:

Article:

Recommended Reading

–The Word of God is complete and sufficient.

full truth:
The Whole of Scripture (Preached, Taught, Believed & Obeyed)
* Basic Intermediate * In Depth