Ten Indictments (A Historical 21st Century Message), by Paul Washer

The latest Paul Washer message from SermonIndex:

"Preached Wednesday, October 22nd at the Revival Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Paul Washer delivers a urgent appeal to the Christians and Churches in North America that many have been believing a false gospel and have false assurance of their salvation. He lists 10 indictments against the modern Church system in America. This is a historical urgent message, tell others and spread the message. We need a reformation and revival of a biblical standard!"

Direct link to mp3 message.

Words to the Wise (or Those Who Would Be)

“If you ask me if I believe in the eternal security of the believer, I would say I most certainly do. And I also believe in the insecurity of the make-believer.”
– J. Vernon McGee

“We are playing church. We are so busy trying to be relevant to the world that we have become just like the world….AND the world is not impressed.”
- Nancy Leigh DeMoss

There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, “All right, then, have it your way.”
-C. S. Lewis

“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
-C. S. Lewis

“I gave in and admitted that God was God.”
- C. S. Lewis

“The safest road to Hell is the gradual one-the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without any signposts.”
-C. S. Lewis

“If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”
-Charles Spurgeon

“Could a mariner sit idle if he heard the drowning cry? Could a doctor sit in comfort and just let his patients die? Could a fireman sit idle, let men burn and give no hand? Can you sit at ease in Zion with the world around you DAMNED?”
-Leonard Ravenhill

“The Bible is either absolute, or it’s obsolete.”
-Leonard Ravenhill

“Today’s church wants to be raptured from responsibility.”
-Leonard Ravenhill

“If Jesus preached the same message ministers preach today, He would have never been crucified.”
-Leonard Ravenhill

“The true man of God is heartsick, grieved at the worldliness of the Church...grieved at the toleration of sin in the Church, grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church. He is disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church no longer pulls down the strongholds of the devil.”
-Leonard Ravenhill

“Perhaps if there were more of that intense distress for souls that leads to tears, we should more frequently see the results we desire. Sometimes it may be that while we are complaining of the hardness of the hearts of those we are seeking to benefit, the hardness of our own hearts and our feeble apprehension of the solemn reality of eternal things may be the true cause of our want of success.”
-Hudson Taylor

“I care not where I go, or how I live, or what I endure so that I may save souls. When I sleep, I dream of them; when I awake, they are the first in my thoughts…no amount of scholastic attainment, of able and profound exposition of brilliant and stirring eloquence can atone for the absence of a deep impassioned sympathetic love for human souls.”
-David Brainerd

“We fear men so much, because we fear God so little. One fear cures another. When man’s terror scares you, turn your thoughts to the wrath of God.”
-William Gurnall

How Then Shall We Live?

What if the Rapture of the Church does not occur when we hoped that it would? Should we hang our heads in shame because we were almost positive that it would happen at a certain time, but it did not? Are we disqualified as watchmen and should we quit looking for answers or for signs of the times?


Maybe some better questions to ask are these:

• Did the thought of the Rapture being imminent change how you lived your life?


• Did you grow closer to the Lord in prayer and in reading His Word?


• Did you reach out to others with the message of salvation through Jesus Christ?


• Did you search your own heart for areas that are not pleasing to Him?


• Did you look closely at how you spend the days that God has given you?


• Did you seek to actually follow Jesus Christ as His disciple rather than just calling yourself a Christian and going your own way?


• Were you looking for an escape from your life or were you longing to see Jesus?

In Revelation 2:2-5 , Jesus tells the Church at Ephesus,

"I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place."

Serious words.

Several weeks ago, the Lord showed me how much these verses applied to my life. In the midst of doing good works in His name, testing men's teachings to see if they lined up with Scripture and warning people if they did not and teaching others about the Bible, I had moved away from the Lord and was not even aware of the fact. I was so consumed with my mission and getting things done for Him that I forgot about Him. He said to Peter, "Do you love me? Feed my sheep." My priorities were backwards. I need to love Him first and let everything else flow from that rather than trying to prove by my works that I love Him. My relationship with Him must be personal rather than professional, family rather than business (or busyness!).

Mark 12:28-31 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

There is no commandment greater than these.

I had to ask myself, "Am I being obedient to these commandments? Am I loving Him with everything that is in me? Am I totally His?" I want to return to my first love. I want to do the things that I did at first. When I first met Jesus, I was so in love with Him that I had to tell everyone around me; I could not stay quiet about what He had done for me. So, I need to draw closer to Him, to truly love Him so that my relationship with Him is real and vibrant and alive.

Next, I had to ask, "Am I loving my neighbor? Or am I just being polite? Does my neighbor's life mean as much to me as my own does? Or do I prefer not to be bothered with someone else's problems or the fact that they may be living their life without knowing Jesus?" The closer I get to Jesus, the more I can hear His heart's cry for those who are living without knowing Him. Because I love Him, what is important to Him is important to me. Therefore, I choose to love them and invite them to know Him and His love even if it is not convenient or comfortable for me.

I want to live the rest of my life with my First Love as my top priority. I want to return to the simplicity of loving Him and sharing His love with others. He is my All, my Everything, my Life. And He is coming soon.

A Test for True Believers

The following messages by Paul Washer challenge each of us to consider if we are truly following Jesus Christ.

Our churches are filled with people who call themselves Christians. But do they measure up to what the Bible says a Christian should be and do? Do you?




Is your Christianity costing you anything?

We Have Forgotten That the Way is Narrow

Are you saved?
Are you sure?
How do you know?

Many people have prayed the "sinner's prayer" and think that makes them Christians, but they continue in their worldly lifestyle; they have not repented (turned away) from their sins. This powerful message by Paul Washer, entitled "We Have Forgotten That the Way is Narrow," addresses the issue of casual, carnal "Christianity."

Many people who consider themselves Christians keep on living in the same way as they did before they "asked Jesus into their hearts"; they have no fruit of righteousness in their lives. Jesus said, "You will know them by their fruits." Fig trees produce figs and orange trees produce oranges. These trees are easily distinguished from each other by their fruit. Those who have experienced true Biblical salvation through a relationship with Jesus Christ, will produce evidence of salvation in their lives--fruit that shows their Christ-likeness.

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO HAVE AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE LIVING GOD AND NOT BE CHANGED!!!!

That's My King

This is part of a sermon preached by S. M. Lockridge.

The Rapture and the Second Coming

Many people today are confused about the connection between the Rapture of the Church and the Second Coming of Jesus. Some, the post-Tribulationists, think that these events will occur together at the end of the Tribulation period, while others, the mid-Tribulationists, think that the Rapture will occur in the middle of the Tribulation. The view that agrees most closely with that of the early Church is that the Rapture will occur before the Tribulation period starts and that Jesus will return to earth with His Church at the end of the Tribulation. I believe that one of the reasons for the confusion is that believers today have little or no knowledge of Jewish culture and tradition and thus, have no understanding of the metaphors used in the New Testament writings.

When reading the New Testament, we must take into consideration that the great majority of the early believers were very familiar with Jewish traditions and cultural references. For example, Revelation 16:15 says, "Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed." The Jewish people understood that the "thief" referred to the supervisor of the Temple watch who made unannounced checks on the Levites and priests who were in charge of guarding the Temple. If the supervisor found one of the guards sleeping on duty, he would set his garments on fire at which point the guard would be shamefully exposed. The people knew that Jesus was telling them to stay alert, to be watchful, to take His commandments and commission seriously. If one does not know the metaphoric language, he would not realize the correct interpretation of the phrase. But, one who knows the metaphor has no difficulty making the link.

There was no confusion for the early believers in regards to a Rapture separate from the Second Coming any more than they would mistake a wedding (which must come first) with the birth/revealing of a child (which would come at a later point). When Jesus told His disciples that He went to "prepare a place for you," they knew that He was referring to the groom preparing the bridal chamber (John 14:2). They knew that the Bridegroom would come for His Bride when the Father told Him it was time. They knew that the phrase, "No man knows the day or the hour, but only the Father knows," (Matt. 24:36) was the phrase that a bridegroom would say if someone asked him when the wedding would occur. He said this because the father would watch over the preparation of the bridal chamber, and when it was completed to the father's satisfaction, he would tell his son to go and get his bride. This could happen at any time, day or night. Remember the parable that Jesus told about the wise virgins and the foolish virgins in Matthew 25. He was telling the people to be ready for the wedding departure ("nazal"(Heb.)-catching away, departure= rapture) at any time, just as the bride had to be in constant readiness. They knew that the Father's command to the Bridegroom to go and get His Bride could occur at any instant. The people also knew that immediately after the wedding ceremony, the Bridegroom and the Bride entered into the bridal chamber at the Father's house and stayed in seclusion for 7 days. They did not go out among the people, but rather were hidden away for a week which is a picture of the Church being hidden away or secluded in the heavenly wedding chamber with Jesus for the 7 years of the Tribulation. After this seven-year period, Jesus will return and be revealed to the earth (Second Coming) and will sit on His throne and judge the nations.

Prior to the Rapture and the Second Coming, Jesus said that there would be specific signs in the heavens and in the earth. In Matthew 24:1-35, Jesus spoke about these signs which include the destruction of the Temple, false Messiahs, wars, rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes and persecution. He told them that the signs of His coming would resemble a woman's labor pains which increase in intensity and frequency as the birth draws near. In Luke 17:26-36, Jesus compares that time to the times of Noah and Lot. On the day that Noah and his family entered the ark, the flood came to destroy the wicked. Likewise, on the day that Lot and his daughters left Sodom, fire fell from heaven and destroyed the wicked. After Jesus takes His Bride away in the Rapture, the Tribulation will begin and destruction will come upon the earth. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus tells what will happen when He returns to the earth at the end of the Tribulation. Every eye will see Him as He "comes in His glory and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." At this time, He will bring the righteous into His kingdom and send the unrighteous away to eternal punishment.

Jesus Is

Jesus is:

the Answer to every problem
the Hope in the midst of despair
the Light in the thickest darkness
the Way to abundant life
the Source of strength and wisdom
the First and the Last
the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

Do you know Him? Are you a Christian?

The definition of “Christian” is “one who follows Jesus Christ; a Christ-like one.”

Are you following Him and looking more like Him every day? Are you choosing to live in a way that pleases Him? Or are you going your own way, doing your own thing, living for yourself?

Not everyone who says that he is a Christian really is a Christian.
Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than sitting in a garage makes you a car.
Being a good person does not make you a Christian.
Being born in the United States of America does not make you a Christian.
Repeating a prayer to “ask Jesus into your heart” does not make you a Christian.

How to Become a Christian, a Follower of Jesus Christ


~Admit that you have sinned. If you have ever done anything that you know is not good, you have sinned. For example, have you ever, even as a child, lied or disobeyed or taken something that is not yours? You have sinned. The Bible says, in Romans 3:23, that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” 1 John 1:8 says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”

~Realize that the punishment for sin is eternal separation from God, which is also called “spiritual death.” Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

~Believe that Jesus Christ is God’s Son and that He willingly took the punishment for your sin. John 3:16-18 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” 1 Peter 2:24 says, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.”

~Confess your sins and ask Jesus to forgive you. You must be truly sorry for your sins and repent (turn away) from them. Acts 3:19 says, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that He may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you-even Jesus.”
1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

~Accept the free gift of salvation. Ephesians 2:8,9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast.”

~Be baptized in water and in the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38,39 says, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
Acts 19:4-6 says, “Paul said, ‘John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.’ On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.”

~Live for Jesus. Read His Word (the Bible) daily and talk to Him (pray) continuously so that you can come to know what pleases Him. 1 John 2:3-6 says, “We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. The man who says, “I know Him,” but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys His word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.”

Keep The Fire Burning

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:1,2 (NIV)

When Solomon prayed and dedicated the Temple of the Lord, "fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple." (2 Chronicles 7:1 NIV) The priests were given responsibility to keep the fire burning on the altar continuously. So, too, as believers in Jesus Christ, baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire, we are to keep the fire of God burning in our hearts and "not put out the Spirit's fire." (1 Thessalonians 5:19 NIV) The priests offered animals on the altar, day after day, watching to see that the offering was completely consumed. We are to present our bodies-our whole being-as living sacrifices to the Lord, continually. We must also watch to see that the offering is consumed. Certainly, I am not speaking of an offering for our salvation. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross paid the price for our redemption, and we can add nothing to that with works. But we are to "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling." Our flesh, our will, our minds still need to be surrendered and consecrated to God. This is the sacrifice that Paul speaks of in Romans 12:1,2. We must turn from the pattern of the world and renew our minds-change our focus from what we want to what God wills. The only way to do this is by looking into the Scriptures as one would look into a mirror. When we see the areas of carnality in our lives as revealed by the Word, then we must submit that area to the Lord and allow Him to burn away the sin and purify us just as gold is purified by fire.