Understanding Christianity

Idolatry is a devastating sin because it demotes God to someone we can domesticate or try to control or who we hope will bless us or bring us comfort and convenience. We want a God we can control on our own terms but not the true God of the Bible, who is worthy of worship and obedience. We see two major themes in this passage: (1) If left unchecked, individual idolatry will spread quickly and infect others on a massive scale. (2) Idolatry will only leave you empty, frustrated, and insecure. When you do what is right in your own eyes, and you do not submit yourself to King Jesus, you fall easily into idolatry. Your heart is drawn away to things that only make you feel empty, frustrated, and insecure. Only Jesus, as your true King, can give you salvation, peace, and security and free you from idols. www.seancole.net

Being adopted by God as your Father is the highest privilege of your salvation. J. I. Packer states, “If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all.” What are the blessings of being a child of God? Listen and find out. www.seancole.net

Dr. Sean Cole teaches one of the most important doctrines of the Christian faith: Justification by faith alone. How can guilty sinners be declared righteous before a holy God? NOT with an infusion of righteousness, but an imputation of Christ's perfect record and the complete forgiveness of sins. www.seancole.net

These later chapters comprise the third major section of Judges. With the death of Samson, God no longer raises up any leader. There are no more Spirit-empowered leaders to save Israel from their enemies or hold back their idolatry. Israel has degenerated into paganism, and now we see how “ordinary—every day” Israelites act in rank paganism when there is no king. The main point of Chapter 17 is: We must worship God as He is, not as we want Him to be.

Dr. Sean Cole concludes this sermon series on Spiritual Warfare by addressing some common, yet unbiblical, practices and beliefs that have taken evangelicalism by storm in the past 50 years. The four classic passages on spiritual warfare are Ephesians 6:10-20, James 4:7, 1 Peter 5:8-9, and 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. We stand in the truth, resist the devil in the gospel, and take these false thoughts, arguments, and worldviews captive to Christ. The ultimate issue is the Lordship of Christ and His truth. These strongholds are pulled down by the power of the GOSPEL. However, since the late 60s, a newer type of spiritual warfare strategy has emerged markedly different from the historical model practiced for the first 2000 years of church history. Can Christians be demon-possessed? Should we rebuke Satan and demons? What does it mean to bind Satan? Should we "plead the blood" in "power encounters" with the demonic? How do these fairly recent practices compare with the historic understanding of spiritual warfare

If the gospel call goes out universally, why do some people accept it and others do not? Is it an issue of using free will to accept or reject the call, or is there another type of calling that overpowers the most resistant of hearts and causes a sinner to come to Christ? How can a person who is dead in sin and who could not come to Christ accept the call, repent of their sins, and trust in Christ? When an elect sinner hears the gospel call given outwardly through the preaching of the gospel, God also does an internal, effectual call that PRODUCES by grace the faith and repentance needed to come to Christ. In other words, God has to cause the sinner to be born again and grant them saving faith as a gift of grace. www.seancole.net

In this second sermon in the Spiritual Warfare series, Dr. Sean Cole preaches Ephesians 6:10-20. The choice is not whether you will engage in the battle as a Christian. You will be attacked, and you will face spiritual warfare as a reality. The question is, will you be EQUIPPED and PREPARED for the battle? What does it mean to STAND? How do each piece of armor help you in this spiritual warfare? Listen and find out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc_gg_z3tj4 www.seancole.net

What exactly is free will? How is natural liberty different than libertarian free will? Dr. Sean Cole explores Chapter 9 of the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession which teaches how the will operates in the four states of mankind. First, how did free will operate for Adam before he fell in the Garden? Second, how does free will operate for sinners who have not been regenerated by the Holy Spirit but are still dead in their sins? Third, how does free will operate for a saved person who has the Holy Spirit living inside of them but still struggles with sin? Fourth, how does free will operate when we get to heaven and will live eternally in our glorified and perfect bodies? The rest of these paragraphs answer those questions, and they come from Augustine, who first articulated these four areas: State One: Adam Pre-Fall: He had the power NOT to sin and the power to sin. State Two: Unregenerate Man: Man lost the power NOT to sin and can only SIN and continue to sin. State Three: Regenerate Man: Saved

Dr. Sean Cole begins a new sermon series on Spiritual Warfare. What exactly is spiritual warfare? What role does Satan play in my life? Does he have unlimited power? How do I fight the good fight? Do I have to engage in weird things like exorcisms or things I see in horror movies to fight Satan? In this first sermon, he answers some basic questions about this ongoing battle with the forces of evil. The battle began in Genesis 3 and will continue until Satan is thrown into the lake of fire. Ultimately, the devil wants to do two things to the church: (1) DISTORT the truth of the gospel, and (2) DISRUPT the unity of the Body. www.seancole.net

Dr. Sean Cole continues Chapter 8 of the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession on Christ the Mediator. He focuses on the WORK of Christ by addressing SIX truths including Limited Atonement: (1) As fully God and fully man, he was thoroughly qualified to be our one Mediator. (2) He perfectly fulfilled the demands of the Law and lived the life we could never live. (Active Obedience of Christ) (3) He exhaustively endured God’s righteous judgment on the cross, bearing our sins. (4) He victoriously rose from the dead, ascended to heaven and is now seated at God’s right hand, interceding for us as our King. (5) He will literally return to earth in power and glory. (6) Jesus actually, not potentially, paid for our sins on the cross, securing our eternal redemption, not just making us savable--DEFINITE ATONEMENT or particular redemption. www.seancole.net Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sean.cole.16144/videos/1184496299378053

Dr. Sean Cole interacts with a tweet on X from Leighton Flowers at Sotierology 101 concerning regeneration. He mischaracterized what the Reformed view is by asserting that we believe sinners undergo an ONTOLOGICAL change in nature. Since Provisionism denies total inability, they logically deny any need for an internal, sovereign, and efficacious work of grace in the mind, heart, and soul of a dead sinner to bring about new life. What actually happens in regeneration? Sean also plays a short clip from the John 6:44 debate with James White where Leighton answers a question bout the miraculous nature of conversion. There are stark differences between Provisionism and Reformed theology on the nature of the fall, the spiritual condition of man, and what happens when God regenerates a sinner. www.seancole.net

Dr. Sean Cole preaches from Acts 3:1-21 for Resurrection Sunday. What does this miracle say about Jesus? What is the significance of the resurrection? What are the wonderful blessings of repentance? They killed the Author of Life. How ironic that the Jewish leaders, the Roman soldiers, thought that by killing Jesus, they were doing the world a favor when, in reality, they were killing the very AUTHOR of life—if that was even possible. They did kill the Author of Life, but since Jesus is the Holy and Righteous One who is King of kings and Lord of lords, they could not keep Him in the grave! www.seancole.net https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXcGeJnlOv0

In Judges 16, we see the epic failure of Samson at the hands of Delilah. He ends up captured, enslaved, and blind with no hope. However, he finally repents and cries out to the LORD for sovereign grace. This passage teaches us that no true believer who fails Jesus is beyond His amazing grace. How does the death of Samson compare to Jesus' death on the cross? There are surprising similarities. As we prepare for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, may we all find REST in Jesus alone. www.seancole.net

Dr. Sean Cole covers paragraphs 1 and 2 in Chapter 8 on Christ the Mediator. What does it mean that Jesus is our Prophet, Priest, and King? He also focuses on five absolutely essential truths from paragraph 2 that teach the nature and person of Christ. (1) Jesus is the eternal Son of God, (3) Jesus was born of a virgin, (3) Jesus came in the flesh as fully man. (4) Jesus never once sinned in thought, word, and deed, and (5) Jesus was one person with two natures--human and divine. He is truly man and truly God. He also addresses two heresies that deny the truth about Christ. Check out Sean's two books: 40 Days in Philippians: Finding Joy in Jesus https://g3min.org/shop/books/g3press/40-days-in-philippians-finding-joy-in-jesus-sean-cole/ Your Identity in the Trinity: Discovering God's Grace in the Gospel https://www.amazon.com/Your-Identity-Trinity-Discovering-Gospel/dp/153267385X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KIeKb-Q5beNqevUYicehf7XYgmQPS6Lk2f5ooq2qfKLw__5j4XwDuivd

In Judges 15, Samson retaliates against the Philistines. He gets captured by his own fellow Israelites--the tribe of Judah. He supernaturally burst the bonds and killed 1000 men with the jawbone of a donkey. Afterward, he gets extremely thirsty and, for the first time, cries out to the LORD for help. What's the point of this narrative? Only Jesus can truly satisfy your thirsty soul? How does Judges 15 point us to Jesus and His final words on the cross? How does God bursting water from a rock correspond to Jesus' promise to give living water to all who thirst? Listen and find out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_oYeERztoQ

In Judges 14, we see Samson who wants to marry a pagan Philistine girl because he was driven by the lust of eyes. In verse 4, we find the theological key to the entire narrative. God may purposely create conflict in your life to purify you from sin. This passage teaches compatibilism. (1) Samson acts freely out of his sinful desire and disobeys God’s moral will, and (2) God also acts freely out of his sovereign desire to accomplish a greater purpose. What do we mean by the theological term “Compatibilism”? The basic definition is that God’s absolute and meticulous sovereignty over everything is compatible with human freedom. The Bible affirms two simultaneous truths: (1) God is absolutely sovereign, and (2) humans are responsible and accountable creatures who act freely by our nature. These two truths are not in conflict with each other but coexist. While we may be unable to explain HOW these things work, the Biblical revelation affirms that these two truths exist side by side. https://www.youtube

Dr. Sean Cole teaches Chapter 7 of the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession on God's Covenant. A covenant framework is key to understanding the Bible. The Bible teaches THREE covenants: The Covenant of Redemption took place within the Trinity before the foundation of the world. This covenant of redemption among the Persons of the Trinity is the eternal foundation for the work of the three Persons in the history of redemption. From all eternity, the Father agrees to send the Son, and the Son is willingly sent. The Covenant of Works took place in the Garden of Eden between The LORD and Adam. The Covenant of Grace, announced right after the Fall, and culminates in Christ's death and resurrection. The Covenant of Grace was revealed in steps or progressions in the OT until Jesus inaugurated the New Covenant in His death on the cross. Only the New Covenant of grace can bring sinners salvation. After the Fall, we cannot stand as Adam did in innocence; instead, we are guilty. In addition, we cannot be save

Judges Chapter 13 begins with Samson's miraculous birth. The angel of the Lord's visit symbolically foreshadows Jesus's death, resurrection, and ascension as our one Mediator. We need a Substitute because God is holy and a consuming fire whom nobody can see and live; we cannot approach Him in our sins. We would be obliterated by our guilt. God would have to kill us because of our sins, but instead, God ACCEPTED the sacrifice of Jesus in our place so that we would not have to endure His justice. How do you respond to this great salvation? Listen and find out. www.seancole.net You can watch this sermon on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/blmTZykOoDY?si=_5In7StGRQZ6Rwf1

Dr. Sean Cole teaches Chapter 6 of the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession on The Fall, Sin, and Its Punishment. He explores Genesis 3 and then shows four results from the fall: (1) Inherited Guilt, (2) Universal Depravity, (3) Spiritual Deadness, and (4) Total Inability. He unpacks Romans 3, 5, and 8 as well as Ephesians 2:1-3. www.seancole.net

Jephthah shows us Israel at its lowest point so far in Judges. Where are the spiritual leaders? He teaches us the importance of biblical manhood. In this sermon, Dr. Sean Cole challenges MEN to step up to the plate and be a godly leader in three spheres: (1) the Home, (2) the Church, and (3) in Society at large. This is a powerful call for men to be the godly leaders God has called them to be for His glory alone. www.seancole.net