Isaiah 5:11-13

The worse social evil ever to infest this planet is quietly finding its insidious way, at least to some degree, into acceptability with the Bible-believng community. This paper confronts that reality.

This message is for “us.” And who is “us”? It is every child of God who is eager to find truth from God’s Word, the Bible, and to live by that truth, come what may.

If there be any justification for social drinking, it is completely nullified by the harmful effects that seek to overwhelm our society. Even among medical authorities one seldom hears the trumpeting of the use of alcohol for medicinal purposes any more. But, of course, this message is not about alcohol administered under the proper care of one’s physician. I am talking about “the bottle,” and we should just say “No!” [Read more...]

Galatians 1:6-8; I Corinthians 15:1-4

Introduction

Mormonism sponsors musical extravaganzas, advertises the giving of Bibles and literature, features celebrities on television, and often includes politicians running for office. All these create a high profile. If you have ever talked personally to any of them, their conservative life style and often outgoing manner can be impressive.

You may have neighbors or professional people who are Mormons. They prefer to refer to themselves as members of “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints” (LDS). You may be impressed by their upstanding private lives and more. They may very well portray a happy successful image. Who are these people? [Read more...]

Those who study people’s church-going habits tell us that the average person in America, who moves to a new locale, chooses a church primarily on the basis of its location.  “How close is it to my home and how handy is it to get there?”  That seems to be the overriding question in the minds of folks seeking a new church.

Serious Christians ought to go deeper than this.   Not only: “Where is the church?” but “What does this church teach?”  If a family entrusts its children to a church’s ministries, won’t a concerned parent take note of what the children are being taught? Will not the place accorded to the Bible be carefully noted?  Some years ago, a young woman in our congregation returned from a vacation trip during which she and her family attended a church on Sunday.  She engaged me in conversation about it the Sunday she returned.  As she spoke of her family’s church experience, while on vacation, she seemed dismayed by their experience. [Read more...]

Why Be a Baptist?

Rev. Kenneth F. Pierpont, M.Div., M.Ed, D.Min.

You probably know of a church that “used to be a Baptist church” but now goes by another name.  Maybe the new name is “Community Fellowship” or “Abundant Life Church,” or something similar.  But the word “Baptist” is no longer in the name.  This is certainly a growing trend.

Some churches have dropped the Baptist name in recent years in order to appeal to a wider range of the general public.  As the world around us offers more and more leisure-time activities churches and pastors find themselves hard-pressed to bring people under their ministries.   The percentage of population that identifies with any church grows smaller with each passing year. [Read more...]

THE TRAGEDY OF HAITI

Zechariah 14:4-5; Romans 8:18-22

Introduction

It has now been three weeks and five days since the mighty earthquake struck tiny Haiti on January 12, 2010.,  A school teacher in an orphanage was instructing his class.,  Suddenly the building began to tremble and shake violently.,  The terrified children scurried for the door as the,  teacher struggled for composure and shouted for them to flee. Thank God, they made it out! [Read more...]

Last Thursday’s attack on innocent soldiers and civilians at Fort Hood, Texas makes abundantly clear the deadly danger,  of fundamentalist followers of Muhammad to free people everywhere.

Major Nidal Hasan M.D. and his unthinkable crime of slaying and wounding dozens of our troops and others makes abundantly clear the fact that “radical Islam” is perhaps the most dangerous threat to peace-loving people in the world today.

Read again my paper “Muhammad’s Quran Examined by the Scriptures.”,  (below)

by Rev. Kenneth F. Pierpont, M.Div., M.Ed., D.Min.
Copyright 2009
The religion of Muhammad, “Arab prophet and founder of Islam,” is set to become the world’s largest religious movement.   It is currently second only to Christianity and boasts of well over a billion followers. Some of its most vocal followers vow to take over the world.

President George W. Bush referred to Islam as “that great religion of peace.” President Obama said, “Islam never has been the enemy of America and never will be.” Understandably, both presidents wanted to be fair to those followers of Muhammad who are peace-loving.,  Yet, all nineteen hijackers of those aircraft that brought down the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, were followers of Muhammad.,  In both the Iraq and the Afghan Wars we have been fighting since shortly after that unspeakable crime, we have faced the same enemy: followers of Muhammad.,  [Read more...]

Kenneth F. Pierpont, M.Ed, M.Div, D.Min.

On April 3, 2008, the State of Texas raided the compound of the Fundamental Church of Latter Day Saints near Eldorado. Child Protective Services (CPS) with a signed warrant was the authority for the raid.

Local authorities claimed that they had suspected the ranch called “Yearning For Zion” was actually a polygamous community operating in violation of Texas law. The local sheriff was interviewed on television and indicated that he had an “inside person” giving him information about the group. He denied that the person was actually a member of the group, however. [Read more...]

WHAT IS A BAPTIST?

A couple of weeks ago, I preached on “The Seven Baptist Distinctives.”

Here they are, shown for you, in the event you ever wondered what a Baptist was or is.

Sometimes you may see the Baptist distinctives shown by way of an acrostic such as the beginning of the one here:

B= Born again through God’s Word

A= Accepting the Bible as God’s Word

P= Priesthood of all Believers

T= Two Ordinances, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

You get the idea.

This is all right but the listing I have given below is better and more to the point.

Before I show you the list of Baptist Distinctives together with Scripture references, let me say that throughout history there have been churches which have held to some or even all of the seven convictions I am listing, but not all that many. Baptists are not the only ones who “have it right” and we understand that. Nevertheless, Baptist believers have suffered much to defend these Bible principles. Many have died for them. Here they are:

1. SALVATION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST

Ep 2:8-9; Ga 2:16

2. THE BIBLE THE ONLY RULE OF FAITH AND PRACTICE

II Tm 3:16-17; Mt 5:17-18

3. BELIEVER’S BAPTISM

Ac 2:41; Ac 16:14-15; Ac 16:32-34

4. A REGENERATE CHURCH MEMBERSHIP

Ac 2:47; Ro 16:3

5. THE PRIESTHOOD OF EVERY BELIEVER

I Pe 2:9; Re 1:6; I Tm 1:5

6. SOUL LIBERTY (Sometimes called freedom of religion)

Ac 5:29; Ac 15:36-41

7. SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

Lk 20:25; Ro 13:1-7; I Pe 2:13-14

CHU-19

Introduction

Psalm 119:89 says: “Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.” (NASB)
II Timothy 3:16 says: “All Scripture is inspired by God…” (NASB)

At the beginning of this twenty-first century the cock-sure ignorance of modern man has touched the subject of the content of Scripture in a number of ways with the result that now the formerly settled identity of Scripture is itself under fire.

Always, in my ministry, we have made Bibles available to boys and girls as a reward for reciting the names of the Bible books in order from Genesis to Revelation. Forty-five years ago, at the beginning of my ministry, I never dreamed that anyone would ever question whether or not these books themselves would come under question as belonging in the Bible and that to the exclusion of all others.

Alas, now a movement seems to be under way to subvert the confidence of Christian people as to what is truly the full Bible and what is not.

This subject necessarily involves a concept about which the Christian public seldom hears discussion or even gives attention. I refer to the word “canon.”

The word is “canon”, not “cannon” which would be the word if we were discussing an army field gun. Every Christian, in our day, needs to know the truth about the canon of Scripture, spelled c-a-n-o-n.
[Read more...]