The Strange Fire Conference: Spiritual Discernment According to Calvinism

The Berean Call

The Strange Fire Conference: Spiritual Discernment According to Calvinism

February 1, 2014 • T.A. McMahon

In October 2013, John MacArthur and Grace Community Church hosted a conference to address what he and the other speakers believe are major errors in the teachings and practices of the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements. The conference introduction states: “Strange Fire, part of Grace to You’s Truth Matters conference series, evaluates the doctrines, claims, and practices of the modern charismatic movement, and affirms the true Person and ministry of the Holy Spirit.” Seventeen messages were presented and two Q&A sessions offered. Besides MacArthur, the speakers were R. C. Sproul, Steve Lawson, Conrad Mbewe, Tom Pennington, Phil Johnson, Nathan Busenitz, Justin Peters, Todd Friel, and Joni Eareckson Tada....

Faithful Scribes by Rob Yardley

March 1, 2026

…This word came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, “Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.” Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book….

Mother of the Faithful People?

February 1, 2026

On November 4, 2025, the Roman Catholic Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a document titled Mater Populi Fidelis (MPF, Latin for “Mother of the Faithful People”). Signed by Pope Leo XIV, its primary purpose is indicated in Paragraph 22: Roman Catholics are no longer to refer to Mary as the Co-Redemptrix. This is a step in the right direction, but the title “Mother of the Faithful” alone indicates that this document is not Biblical. The Bible only knows one mother of all believers: “…Jerusalem which is above…is the mother of us all” (Galatians 4:26). Additionally, MPF favorably cites dozens of documents from the Magisterium that allege dozens of unbiblical doctrines regarding Mary. The meaning of MPF is also still a matter of debate within the Catholic Church.

Leadership in the Church and Family

January 1, 2026

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. —Galatians 3:27-28 The call to Jesus Christ as the only savior of mankind is universal: “…God our Saviour…will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all...” (1 Timothy 2:3-6). When the Bible uses male nouns and pronouns (e.g., “man,” “men,” “he”), the context makes it clear whether it is gender-specific: most of the time, it is not...