Weeping for Souls - Meet Paul Washer

If you haven't heard or heard of Paul Washer--it's about time. Jeffy Jensen pointed me his direction a few months ago and it has been very helpful and challenging to listen to several of his sermons. Like anyone who is faithful to the Word, he has his enemies. He makes a lot of people angry in the church because he preaches the complete Gospel that often offends religious people. His reliance and emphasis on the monergistic side of regeneration flies offensively in the face of the evangelistic ways of most conservative evangelicals who focus on decisions and "the sinner's prayer." He preaches a true, biblical Lordship Salvation.

Here are two clips that I recommend you watching to get a taste of what I mean. Below are a few sermons I recommend you downloading and listening. Instead of watching "The Office" and "30 Rock" listen to "The Heart of the Gospel" tonight.



Download Washer's "The Heart of the Gospel."

Ten Indictments Against the Modern Church

Sermon - Have You Been Raised from the Dead?

On Easter Sunday I asked (in the sermon):

HAVE YOU BEEN RAISED FROM THE DEAD?

Here is the sermon manuscript and audio.
Right click on "listen" to download.

4.12.09

Have You Been Raised from the Dead?

John 3:1-8

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Read

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The main outline of my sermon was based on five questions--

1. What do I mean by "have you been raised from the dead"? The New Birth/Regeneration
   
2. Why do I ask? (or why is this important?) Without it you will never see the Kingdom of God
   
3. Who has been raised from the dead? (or born again?) I share 1) false assurances, 2) danger markers and 3) indicators of life.
4. How are we raised from the dead? (born again) It is the complete work of God through His Word producing saving faith and repentance.
5. So now what? Words to disturbed believers and unbelievers

Resurrection Through the Word of Christ

Paul Washer is a blessing to the church today. He is a modern day prophet who longs to see the church get the gospel (and evangelism) right. Like any good prophet, he ruffles a lot of feathers.

Here is a short clip from a sermon on Regeneration vs Decisionism that is worth your download and listening.

In this clip he tells a story of his laboring with a soul and God's work of the new birth through the hearing of the Word of Christ (the gospel). In this case it was John 3:16.

Preaching Regeneration

Main Entry: re·gen·er·a·tion

Pronunciation: \ri-ˌje-nə-ˈrā-shən, ˌrē-\

Function: noun Date: 14th century

Wayne Grudem (Systematic Theology) defines regeneration as the "secret act of God in which he imparts new spiritual life to us." It is sometimes called -- "being born again" (John 3:3-8).

In heart preparation for my sermon last Saturday night I read Charles Spurgeon's sermon from 1857 called "Regeneration." In his intro he writes:

I must offer the same excuse, then, for bringing before you this morning the subject of regeneration. It is one of absolute and vital importance; it is the hinge of the gospel; it is the point upon which most Christians are agreed, yea, all who are Christians in sincerity and truth. It is a subject which lies at the very basis of salvation. It is the very groundwork of our hopes for heaven, and as we ought to be very careful of the basement of our structure, so should we be very diligent to take heed that we are really born again, and that we have made sure work of it for eternity. There are many who fancy they are born again who are not. It well becomes us, then, frequently to examine ourselves; and it is the minister’s duty to bring forward those subjects which lead to selfexamination, and have a tendency to search the heart and try the reins of the children of men. (Spurgeon, Regeneration, PSP – Vol 3)

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy CAUSED US TO BE BORN AGAIN..." (1 Peter 1:3)