Ritualism Among the Reformed
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By Dr. Paul M. Elliott
Today we are witnessing a return to legalistic ceremonialism and ritualism in the worship of some Evangelical churches. This is especially true in Reformed churches today. The smells, bells, lamps and candles of the Old Covenant and Romanism are reappearing.
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Today we are witnessing a return to legalistic ceremonialism and ritualism in the worship of some Evangelical churches. This is especially true in Reformed churches today.
The smells, bells, lamps and candles of the Old Covenant and Romanism are reappearing. So are priestly vestments, processions, and a focus on the Eucharist instead of preaching. Congregations are told that they must gather each week for "covenant renewal".
Hebrews tells us that this return to legalism tramples Christ underfoot, makes the blood of the New Covenant a common thing, and insults the Holy Spirit. What is behind this deadly trend? How can believers stand against it? Stay tuned to find out.
http://www.teachingtheword.org/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=6499&url=10&view=post&articleid=83577&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
What is the nature of Scripture -- the Book that we hold in our hands? How are we to use the Bible in our daily lives, and in the life of the church?
These are critical questions for the church in all ages, and they are especially critical in the times in which we live. There is a great deal of confusion about these two questions in the church today, and many wrong answers are widely circulated. We need to be sure of the right answer.
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When we first began the Scripture-Driven Church broadcast several years ago, the first ten messages we produced were a series titled "What Does It Mean To Be A Scripture-Driven Church?" Some of the archived recordings of that series are of rather poor audio quality. But even so, over the years it has been the most-listened-to series in our archive, and also the most-request resource on CD.
Today we present the first message in an updated version of that series. We have added new content to the messages, and of course the audio quality is much improved. We hope this series will be a blessing, encouragement, and challenge to you.
Message number one explores the crisis state of the Evangelical church, in which the Bible has become, as one magazine puts it, "The Greatest Story Never Read."
http://www.teachingtheword.org/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=6499&url=10&view=post&articleid=83217&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Mormons call themselves "Latter-Day Saints." But what is their definition of a saint? Does it pass the Biblical test? Today we shall see that four key elements of Mormon teaching combine to put forth a false gospel that condemns rather than saves.
Mormonism's confusing and contradictory soteriology:
. denies Christ's atonement
. says that each person must atone for his own sins by works
. teaches near-universal "salvation"
. says that Mormon men will become gods ruling their own planets, while all others will be relegated to the status of second- and third-class citizens for eternity.
But what does Scripture say? Stay tuned to learn more.
