If you were ever born of God, the principle of sin has been broken and the practice of sin

has been interrupted. If somebody looks like they're a Christian and all of a sudden wanders

off into sin and stays there, they never had that new birth. Because if they had a new birth,

if they were born of God, no one who was born of God practices sin.

The story is told of some people who lived along a coastline that was notorious for shipwrecks.

They put up a small building, a life-saving station where volunteers could watch for shipwrecks

and bring in the people they rescued. A nobel endeavor, and yet over time the station became a mere

social club, a place to enjoy each other's company, not a place that had a serious mission.

It's original strategic purpose saving lives was forgotten.

Well, with that story in mind, how focused is your church on its God-given mission in your

community? Is your church known more for its social gatherings or for its commitment to the

life-saving gospel of Christ? Practical questions to consider today as John MacArthur continues

his series called, Delivered by God. Now here's John MacArthur with the lesson.

It has been of grave concern to me that the evangelical church has seemingly been willing

and content to abandon sound doctrine. I'm not talking about liberal churches, I'm talking about

those that would be confessedly evangelical. Many popular evangelical leaders and writers

pastors, professors, people who are the influencers, are content with a lack of discernment as if it were

some spiritual virtue. They have entered upon what I suppose if we were living in Spurgeon's time

would be called a downgrade. The church is on a slippery slope. The evangelical church is

progressing down away from the heights of truth and the honor of God. It is willingly abandoning

its discernment, willingly abandoning Bible exposition and therefore a deep and accurate

understanding of truth. Luther in 1533 said, the word of God is the greatest, most necessary,

...