The Truth Pulpit

The Truth Pulpit features the dynamic Bible teaching of Don Green, founding pastor of Truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.

[Truth Community Church @truthcommchurch]

Well, this post will probably cost me some invitations to parties. 🙂

There comes a time when you realize life is serious, and frivolous humor isn’t as appealing as you once thought it was.

2 It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living takes it to heart.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for when a face is sad a heart may be happy.

4 The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, while the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure. (Ecclesiastes 7:2-4)

- Pastor Don Green
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[The Truth Pulpit @thetruthpulpit]

A Refresher on Marriage #2 (Selected Scriptures)
https://t.co/5L7eqUwiDm

[Truth Community Church @truthcommchurch]

If a young Christian asked me how he could begin to prepare for a life in Christian ministry, I'd tell him to start here:

“Make your bed each day and speak lovingly and respectfully to your parents.”

There's no need to talk about greater, public things if you neglect the (seemingly) lesser, private things.

Godliness and self-discipline, which are foundational to biblical ministry, start in the seclusion of your home and in your closest relationships.

If you’re not interested in that, you should pursue something else in life.

“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much” (Luke 16:10).

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you” (Exodus 20:12).

- Pastor Don Green
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[The Truth Pulpit @thetruthpulpit]

A Refresher on Marriage #1 (Selected Scriptures)
https://t.co/l8ya7iSsoE

[Truth Community Church @truthcommchurch]

Think this one over, my Christian friends, which I paraphrase from Spurgeon. It takes time to sink in.

Don’t read the promise of God in light of the providence of God. Read the providence of God in light of the promise of God.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you.” (Isaiah 43:2)

17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,

18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

(2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

We walk by faith, not by sight.

- Pastor Don Green
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[The Truth Pulpit @thetruthpulpit]

A Marrying Kind of Woman #2 (Ruth) The Truth Pulpit Podcast
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[Truth Community Church @truthcommchurch]

Today, I have come to the end of an extended break from my ministry at Truth Community Church. While I was away, I heard teaching ostensibly aimed to help people understand the gospel.

Who, what, and where don't really matter. It is fair to say that these teachers did not tell their respective audiences that they were lost and needed to be converted.

Everybody just assumes that everybody is okay. They miss the most basic and important point in the universe.

I can't help their audiences, but I can at least give you something to think about in light of the repeated biblical warnings against self-deception. Scripture says that unless a man is born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 3:3).

A sinner does not truly come to God unless there has been a far-reaching, thoroughgoing change in every aspect of his inner man. Without explaining all the terms here, which would make this a post of unwieldy length, there are four areas that need to be understood and made real under the power of the Holy Spirit:

1. You need a change of nature: regeneration.

Everyone born into the world is spiritually lifeless, with a dead heart toward God. We all need a new heart from God or we will be lost.

2. You need a change of direction: repentance.

The unbelieving heart is hostile to God, unwilling and unable to submit to him. People pursue their own thoughts and desires. They must fundamentally forsake and turn from that ungodly disposition and submit to Christ and His Word.

3. You need a change of confidence: faith in Christ alone.

In this insufferable age of self-esteem, men and women consider themselves to be pretty good people--not perfect perhaps, but certainly better than many others. They have a natural assumption that they will go to heaven because God will accept such a good person as themselves.

That reflects a self-confident, proud spirit in the presence of a most holy God. All not true.
Rather than trusting the goodness of one's self to be right before God, there must be a forsaking of any claim to self-righteousness.

In its place, there is trust in the righteousness and shed blood of Christ alone to reconcile us to God.

4. You need a change in status: justification.

God condemns our innate sinfulness and ungodliness. Scripture says that he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

"Guilty" is, as it were, tattooed on our soul and defines our status before God. We need God to pardon our sins and accept us as righteous in His sight and in His court of justice.

So ask yourself, and help others to understand, the significance of these questions:

1. Do you realize that your very nature is wrong? Have you been born again by the Spirit of God?

2. Do you realize your fundamental life direction is wrong? Have you repented in the presence of God?

3. Do you realize that your confidence in self is wrong and misplaced? Do you trust Christ for access to God rather than your own goodness?

4. Do you realize that God condemns the natural man, and that we must seek a new status before Him in Christ?

The answer to these four dilemmas are all offered to us in the gospel of Christ: that Christ died for sinners, was buried, and was raised on the third day to take away the sins of all who turn to Him in humble, repentant faith.

God imparts new life through that message, and the resultant faith in Christ answers those four needs and so much more.

We have to know these things and teach them patiently to smoke out the self-righteousness of man, so that he knows deep in his soul "Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling."

This book can help you or someone you love with these essential truths from the original post: https://t.co/yWAhLPUtwy

- Pastor Don Green

[Truth Community Church @truthcommchurch]

It is not arrogant to stand firm for the faith that has been delivered to the saints once for all and for God’s revealed and inerrant word.

To the contrary, it is arrogant men who cast doubt on Scripture, who soften the demands of the gospel, who falsely question the very concept of truth itself, and who falsely tell sinners that there are multiple ways to reach God.

Jesus Christ did not come into the world to add an additional way of salvation to many pre-existing paths that all lead to heaven.

He came because you and I, and all men everywhere, would be miserably lost and doomed to eternal damnation without Him and His once-for-all atoning work on the cross.

And God did not give us the 66 books (and no more) of the English Bible to stand alongside other so-called revelation from other religions. He gave those books to us over the course of 1500 years because there is no other source of truth that can save the souls of men.

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

- Pastor Don Green

[The Truth Pulpit @thetruthpulpit]

A Marrying Kind of Woman #1 (Ruth) The Truth Pulpit Podcast
https://t.co/ao2A5L6yEX

[Truth Community Church @truthcommchurch]

Five Brief Books You Can Actually Read (and Should)

Several years ago, I posted this modest list of book recommendations. With many new followers since then, I am happy to repeat the post. But first, an important word of context.

(1) These books are short. Several can be read in one day. So this list is for ordinary, sincere Christians who have trouble reading long books. I’m not giving a seminarian his semester assignments or showing off for my fellow pastors here.

(2) This is simply *my* list. These books (or their authors) have been personally valuable to me over decades. There's no need to ask why I didn't include the latest book from today's hotshot.

(3) These books are not exhaustive. There are other great books and authors. I’m just trying to get you started.

(4) These books introduce you to authors whose other works you can safely read.

Without further ado, and in reverse order:

5. Church History 101: The Highlights of Twenty Centuries (Sinclair Ferguson and others; 99 pp.)
Church history and historical theology are grossly neglected by most Christians. Too bad. It’s fascinating and edifying. This little handbook will get you started.

4. The Cross: The Pulpit of God’s Love (Iain Murray; 40 pages).

Iain Murray is without question one of the most valuable Christian writers of the past century. I once set aside a few months to read books only by him. Think of this booklet as a Costco sample that will make you want more.

3. The Reformed Faith (Loraine Boettner; 28 pages)

Has the sovereignty of God in salvation ever been more ably defended in such a condensed format?

2. Only Jesus (John MacArthur; 173 pages)

This is an abridgement of John’s classic The Gospel According to Jesus. What did Jesus mean when He said, “Follow Me ”?

1. From Fear to Faith (Martyn Lloyd-Jones; 78 pages)

Don’t get me started on why this book gets top billing.

Decades ago, it changed my life. It prepared me for a ministry of preaching more than any other single book.

Every Christian needs to turn off the cell phone and read it thoughtfully.

I can't help you with links today. If you can't find it on Amazon, do a search on https://t.co/R41xOxojHG. I have literally purchased thousands of books from that website.

- Pastor Don Green

[The Truth Pulpit @thetruthpulpit]

A Marrying Kind of Man #2 (Ruth 4:1-6) The Truth Pulpit Podcast

https://t.co/H7Fv3RbbR9

[Truth Community Church @truthcommchurch]

No fear of death. None whatsoever.

The righteousness and shed blood of Christ seal His people once and for all, instantaneously, and forevermore.

One sacrifice and no more.

By faith alone and not by works or rituals of any kind.

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)

- Pastor Don Green

[The Truth Pulpit @thetruthpulpit]

128: The Shortest Psalm (Through the Psalms) Psalm 117
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[The Truth Pulpit @thetruthpulpit]

A Marrying Kind of Man #1 (Ruth 4:1-6) The Truth Pulpit Podcat
https://t.co/xmym8pzY5Y

[The Truth Pulpit @thetruthpulpit]

Saints in Christ Jesus #2 (Philippians 1:1) The Truth Pulpit Podcast
https://t.co/cKmgSijNVd

[Truth Community Church @truthcommchurch]

To my knowledge, there aren’t many people from my native Jennings County, Indiana that are aware of my presence on Facebook. But for the few that are, there’s a piece of history you ought to know.

I don’t remember how I originally learned this, but it wasn’t in school or through local oral history.

Vernon, Indiana (2020 population: 236) was the birthplace of a seven-term Congressman named Lincoln Dixon (1860-1932). He served as a U. S. Representative from 1905-1919 after a highly successful career as a local prosecuting attorney in Jennings County.

He is one of only two U.S. Congressmen who were born in Jennings County; Jeptha New (1830-1892) being the other.

(In the words of Curt Cignetti, Google him.)

Locals will remember the magnificent home of Dr. Louis Calli, just a stone’s throw from the current Dove-Sharp & Rudicel Funeral Home on State Street. What few would know is that that home was, according to my sources, built by Lincoln Dixon.

Dixon was a Democrat, which had different connotations back then than it does today. Whatever his politics may have been, he was apparently respected across the aisle. Two Republican Presidents—Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover—appointed Dixon to serve on the United States Tariff Commission. He was serving on that commission at the time of his death on September 16, 1932, in Lyndon, Kentucky.

Dixon is buried in the Vernon Cemetery, with a most humble stone marking his final resting place.

I have zero connections with local leaders in Jennings County, and I wouldn’t blame them for dismissing this post if it somehow comes to their attention. They have pressing needs of today to fill their time.

That said, if I were in a position of leadership, I would want to resurrect Dixon’s memory for the sake of historical preservation and civic pride. A historical marker in the town of Vernon or elsewhere would be appropriate in my humble opinion.

Thanks for listening. History matters.

- Pastor Don Green
https://t.co/8M93fkvWk8

[Truth Community Church @truthcommchurch]

I have been going through old files, both physical and electronic, in the past few days. I came across this photo and wanted to share it with those of you who know Phil and Darlene Johnson. It may not be my place to say these things, but I'll say them all the same.

Phil's father was a heroic man named Ray Johnson. I only knew him later in life, when his eyesight was failing and his body beginning to yield to its age. But he made an impression on me all the same.

Ray did not have the theological sophistication of his acclaimed son (but then who does?), but the star of his testimony to Christ and his trust in Christ shines brightly in the galaxy of saints from all the ages.

He was so kind and approachable and deeply loved by everyone who ever met him. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Phil has said, “He was quite literally the best man I ever knew.”

Yet for all the human esteem rightly given to him, Ray himself trusted not in his own goodness but in the righteousness of Christ alone for his acceptance with God.

In this age of power and self-glory, Ray’s humble faith points to the only way to be received by a holy God.

I have known four generations of the Johnsons. I’m a better man for it.

This photo is from December 18, 2010. My family and I visited Ray briefly in Oklahoma as we traveled home for the holidays.

- Pastor Don Green

[The Truth Pulpit @thetruthpulpit]

Saints in Christ Jesus #1 (Philippians 1:1) The Truth Pulpit Podcast
https://t.co/efpvSR8ObO

[Truth Community Church @truthcommchurch]

https://t.co/PElitWQ8gt

[Truth Community Church @truthcommchurch]

On another matter, I have been burdened to say this for a long time. I can’t make the influencers pay attention, but I can at least discharge my duty to say it.

Biblical truth is addressed to the mind. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Those who worship God must do so in spirit and in truth.

God preserved his special revelation for us in a book, not in video format. His truth is appropriated by sustained attention over time.

So I caution one and all to beware of embracing and adapting biblical ministry to sound bites and fast edit videos. It does not matter if you exponentially increase your social media views.

You may get audience reactions. That doesn’t mean you’re actually influencing them for truth or that you are truly ministering to genuine spiritual needs. The fact that someone thinks your video is cool doesn’t mean that truth has reached their heart.

Catering to short attention spans and emotional reactions, that bypass the mind’s sober reflections on propositional truth, will condition people to despise the preached Word in the context of a biblical local church.

I won’t take time to prove this next statement, but I am convinced it is true. The path of short-form, kinetic videos ultimately will lead people back to Rome with its focus on imagery rather than proclamation.

Yes, I understand there is an audience for highly produced video content. There is an even greater audience for smut. Don’t tell me that demand shapes what is righteous, wise, and good.

The audience doesn’t dictate the message or the medium we are called to deliver. Re-read Ashamed of the Gospel of you must.

We must preach the truth, call people to submit to the truth, and trust the Holy Spirit to bless God’s appointed means over time rather than letting culture chew up our very distinctives and spit them back in our face.

There’s a reason why most of my posts are literary rather than visual in nature. I know that to some I may look like a dinosaur who doesn’t play to the algorithms.

The way a ministry handles media tells you far more about its philosophy than most people stop to consider. I’m not imputing ill motives to anyone, but I do not apologize for warning people about dangers that they do not see

- Pastor Don Green