Understanding Christianity

The major point of contention between Calvinists and Provisionists over the doctrine of election--especially in Ephesians 1 is this: When does a person get "in Christ?" Does a person ONLY get "in Christ" on the exercise of free will to choose Jesus and thus become one of the elect group? Or are the elect In Christ before the foundation of the world in the covenant of redemption? Is God's election of individuals to salvation unconditional? Or is God's election of a group that is conditioned on faith? Listen as Dr. Sean Cole takes a deep dive into Ephesians 1:3-14 and attempts to show the major differences between the Reformed understanding of election versus the Provisionist understanding. www.seancole.net

In this passage, Jesus teaches that a true child of God will obey the Word of God. What does it mean to be a true child of God? How do you become a child of God? What does this obedience look like? How does it relate to the parable of the soils and final judgment? Listen and find out. www.seancole.net

Pastor Sean preaches on the parable of the soils. In this sermon, he focuses on four main topics: (1) What is a parable? (2) What is the purpose of a parable? (3) The majority of the sermon is exploring the four types of soils and (4) Three practical encouragements in regard to doing evangelism and trusting in the sovereignty of God. www.seancole.net

As a follow-up to our The Times, They Are a-Changin' series, I thought it would be helpful to do an overview of the OT prophetic book of Habakkuk. In light of BLM riots this summer, the increase of violence in our culture, school shootings, and the overall downward spiral of our nation, Habakkuk addresses these issues. You may have never even heard of Habakkuk or listened to a sermon about this interesting prophet, but he lived in a time of Israel’s history much like ours today. www.seancole.net

We’ve explored five truths that are under attack by both the secular world and Progressive Christians. We have seen 5 tactics of secular Marxists: 1) Rewrite history and demonized our past 2) Use social media and schools to further propaganda 3) Curb free speech through shame and cancel culture 4) Sexualize children and confuse at an early age 5) Celebrate socialism and denounce capitalism We have explored the first two responses of what we are called to do: 1) We must declare boldly and live out faithfully Biblical truth no matter what the cost. This involves discipling the younger generation to be equipped with a biblical worldview on these key issues. 2) We must have a proper understanding of how to relate to our governing authorities. Generally, we are to submit to our leaders, but this submission is not absolute. When arbitrary and ungodly laws or orders are passed that prevent us from exercising our religion, we must obey God rather than man. Now we come to our conclusion and we explore the final

Many believers struggle with the reality that Jesus has fully and finally forgiven them of all sin. We may wonder if our past life of sin is too horrible for Jesus to forgive. In Luke 7:36-50, Jesus forgives a sinful woman. She had faith alone in Christ alone. The blessing of her salvation was peace with God through Christ. www.seancole.net

You can’t be neutral with Jesus. Jesus will either foster antagonism or ambivalence. Anger or apathy. But you really can’t be neutral when it comes to Jesus. We see two definitive responses to the ministry of John the Baptist who pointed ultimately to Jesus. What are these two responses? Listen and find out! www.seancole.net

What actually condemns a sinner to hell? Is it merely and only rejecting Christ’s words, or is it their nature as a result of the fall, their guilt imputed from Adam, and their own personal sins that flow from that fallen nature? In a recent YouTube clip, leading Provisionist Leighton Flowers made some confusing statements about what sinners will ultimately be held responsbiel for on the day of Judgement. He argued from John 12:48 and 2 Thessalonians 2:10 that the ONLY reason sinners will be held accountable is for failure to receive the truth of Jesus' Words so as to be saved. Is that the ONLY reason for a sinner's condemnation and final judgment? What about those who have never heard the gospel and had the chance to either accept it or reject it? Do they go to heaven or hell? Based upon what? The Reformed view of Original Sin, Original Guilt, Total Depravity, and understanding o f the role of the Law and works help give a fully developed answer to the question: What actually condemns a person to hell on

As we see our American culture moving further and further to socialism, woke ideology, and an abandoning of God’s law, how do we as Bible-believing Christians respond? What are we to do? In light of the COVID lockdowns and government overreach, Romans 13 has been used frequently the past year to argue for shutting down the church and to do whatever the government tells you to do no matter what—without any qualifications. Dr. Sean Cole dives into this passage and others and shows how we as Christians should respond to the governing authorities. We also explore how the governing authorities should govern justly as ministers of God who will be accountable on the day of Judgment. We cover a great deal of controversial issues in this teaching. www.seancole.net

John the Baptist suffers in prison with major doubts as to who Jesus truly is. Did he somehow get it wrong about Jesus being the Messiah? What does it mean to be offended by Jesus? Why is John the greatest man to ever live according to Jesus? What does this difficult passage of Scripture teach about how we respond to God when He doesn't meet our expectations. Listen and find out. www.seancole.net

We’ve seen the 5 major truths that are under attack today. Truth One: God is the sovereign Creator and Ruler of everything. Attack: The autonomous self is the ruler of all things and self-expression is the highest value. Truth Two: The Bible is God’s inerrant, authoritative, and sufficient Word. Attack: The Bible is not inerrant and we cannot be certain about what it says. It brings up more questions that answers. The real issue comes in the questioning, but we can never be so dogmatic that we can be certain of absolute truth. Truth Three: Jesus is the ONLY way of salvation. Attack: Jesus is a good and helpful model for how to live, but we cannot be so narrow-minded to say that salvation comes exclusively through Jesus alone. Truth Four: A holy God must punish sin and rebellion through the substitutionary atonement of His Son. Attack: The chief attribute of God is love and we must not discuss His wrath, justice, a bloody cross, or the reality of hell as these are offensive to modern sensibilities.

Jesus shows up in loving power in the midst of life’s most heartbreaking moments. When we experience death or loss, we may be tempted to question both the love of God and the power of God. Jesus never promises to take us OUT of trials, but promises His presence THROUGH those trials. What does the raising to life of the widow's son teach us about the final resurrection and the hope we have in Christ? Listen and find out. www.seancole.net

In this session, Dr. Sean Cole addresses the 5 major TACTICS used by the secularist to silence or marginalize Christians. 1) Rewrite history and demonized our past 2) Use social media and schools to further propaganda 3) Curb free speech through shame and cancel culture 4) Sexualize children and confuse at an early age 5) Celebrate socialism and denounce capitalism

Four heartbreaking issues have occurred with the past few years: (1) The Transgender Phenomena of Bruce Jenner (2) former evangelicals who have now embraced same sex marriage such as Matthew Vines, David Gushee, Jen Hatmaker, and Joshua Harris, (3) conservative evangelicals who are making confusing statements and stances on human sexuality and gender such as SBC President J. D. Greear who claims the Bible "whispers" about homosexuality, and and The Revoice Conference in the PCA (4) The progressive legislative agenda of the coming Equality Act. In Session Five we explore the following: God’s written Word remains the eternal and righteous standard which defines the issues of marriage, gender, and human sexuality. Attack: We have evolved over time to see that the Bible is outdated on these issues and we must be open, affirming, and accepting on how people express their gender, marriage, and sexuality.

What is saving faith? We see three aspects of faith in the response of the Roman centurion to Jesus in Luke 7:1-10. Listen and find out what this passage teaches about how a sinner is saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. We must have whole hearted faith in the whole Christ. www.seancole.net

Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Plain with two poignant parables or illustrations. One from agriculture and one from architecture. In this sermon Dr. Sean Cole asks two questions: (1) What kind of fruit are you bearing? and (2) What kind of life are you building? www.seancole.net

In this session, Dr. Sean Cole addresses three crucial truths that are under attack today by both progressive Christianity and our secular culture: (1) The depravity and guilt of humans, (2) The substitutionary atonement of Christ, and (3) hell as a literal place of eternal conscious torment. Progressive Christianity downplays human depravity and says that if we tell people they are sinners, we are commiting "spiritual abuse." They see the cross as cosmic child abuse and deny the reality of hell. Listen as Sean unfolds these truths! www.seancole.net

This is one of the most quoted, yet most misunderstood, passages of Scripture. What does Jesus mean? What does it NOT mean? How can we as Bible-believing Christians remain faithful to the truth and yet not come off as judgmental jerks? How does this manifest itself in our lives and in the church? Pastor Sean addresses these issues in this sermon from Luke 6:37-42. www.seancole.net

Is Jesus merely a good teacher who provides a moral example for us to follow? Is He a social activist or Savior and Lord? Is Jesus fully divine? Is He the ONLY way of salvation? What about those who have never heard about Jesus? Listen as Dr. Cole continues teaching on the dangers of progressive Christianity and cancel culture. He also address issues of free speech and the Constitution. www.seancole.net

Dr. Sean Cole continues this study on how progressive Christianity is impacting the evangelical church. We must believe that the Bible is the inerrant, authoritiative, and sufficient Word of God. There are two attacks upon Scripture (1) The progressive Christian attack which denies the inerrancy of Scripture and (2) the evangelical pragmatic attack that assents to the Bible's authority, but relies on others means to grow the church instead of the sufficiency of the Scriptures alone. www.seancole.net