A LITTLE HELP FROM YOU PREACHERS

A LITTLE HELP FROM YOU PREACHERS

[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service. These articles cannot be stored on BBS or Internet sites without permission from the author. Any articles which are redistributed by e-mail must be left intact and nothing must be removed or changed, including these informational headers. This is a listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. Our primary purpose is to provide information to assist preachers in the protection of the churches in this apostate hour. If you desire to receive this type of material on a regular basis, e-mail us, tell us who you are and where you are located, and request to be placed on the list. Also include your postal address and the name of the church of which you are a member. Some of these articles are from the "Digging in the Walls" section of O Timothy magazine. David W. Cloud, Editor. O Timothy is a monthly magazine in its 14th year of publication. Subscription is $20/yr. The Way of Life web site is http://www.wayoflife.org. The End Times Apostasy Database is located at this web site.]

September 23, 1997 (Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061-0368, fbns@wayoflife.org) - Hello, preacher friends. I need a little help from you if you could take a few moments to write. Recently I received an e-mail from a man identifying himself as a fundamental Baptist preacher (I have no way of knowing who or what he is). He said he wanted to be dropped from the Fundamental Baptist News Service because he found the material continually unedifying. Further, he charged me with slander and gossip. Following is part of his e-mail --

"I agree with you on the vast majority of issues, and I am an Independent, fundamental Baptist pastor, but I am afraid that your list is just a constant stream of words that do not edify. II Tim. 2:14. If you could put some good reports and information in at least half the time, it would be much better. I think many of us, and I include myself, had better be much more careful what we say about others. Matt. 12:36-37, Rev. 12:9. ... I really believe you know deep in your heart that the word of God condemns slander, gossip and malicious speech (and writing) in places like Eph. 4:24-32 and many others. My prayer is that you would diligently study the Word of God on this issue and see that what you are doing is not edifying. To be edified, the teaching must draw one closer to the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 4:12-13). We don't grow in grace by dragging other people down and then comparing ourselves to them, feeling proud that we are not like them (Luke 18:9-14)."

Since this man gave no examples of what he was talking about, I assumed he was probably put off by something I said about some hero of his, perhaps the article about Elisabeth Elliot and the Joyful Woman published by the John R. Rice daughters, since that article was distributed the day before he wrote to me. When I told him that I felt this was probably the case with him and suggested there was a connection between that article and his note, he got very upset at me, claimed that I had proven his doubts about me, told me that I am a carnal, proud man, said he was through with me, and asked that I not write to him again. I tried to apologize for apparently misjudging him, but he refused to answer my e-mail.

I realize there are many weak men who claim to be fundamental Baptists. There are many today who wear the fundamental Baptist label for some reason, but in spirit they are akin to the new evangelical crowd. Even so, I take this charge very seriously. My earnest desire is to be a blessing and an encouragement and a help to Bible-believing preachers in these evil days. As noted in the header to every FBNS article, "Our primary purpose is to provide information to assist preachers in the protection of the churches in this apostate hour."

If you are a preacher and if you do find my material edifying, I would love to hear from you. Let me know what you think about this.

Let me say this in closing. I don't expect my readers to agree with everything I say and every position I take. I don't consider myself the "Bible answer man." I don't have an answer for every question. A steady stream of questions comes my way, and some people expect me to be able to answer questions which would have stumped Solomon. What I believe I am is a man who is willing to speak boldly today on all of the issues which are affecting God's people. God has put me in a position in which I am perfectly free to do so. I don't have a convention or association to worry about. My pastors give me perfect liberty to preach the Word of God as I have done. I believe that we desperately need such men. May their number increase mightily. I might not be 100% correct. (I know I was wrong at least one time several years ago. Just kidding!) I am not an Apostle. I am not an Old Testament prophet. I am a man of God who has a burning in his heart about the truth of God's Word and the defense of the lovely Faith once delivered to the saints in these wicked, wicked times. I do hate every false way (Psa. 119:128). No apology. I did not call myself to this ministry. I did not wake up one day 24 years ago and say, "Well, David, why don't you preach against everything and everyone and become one of the world's most unpopular men"! That didn't happen. I was minding my own foolish business, and the Lord reached down and saved me by His marvelous grace, and He called me to preach and put a mighty burning in my heart about the defense of the faith. He could not have called a weaker man, but call me He did. By God's grace, I am going to fulfill His calling. I am going to expose every false teacher and hurtful compromiser I can find. I am going to name names and I not going to stop. In fact, I am going to name even more names. If you think you can stop me from that by writing to me, you are sadly deceived (God being my Helper). You might as well try to talk a tree into moving into a neighboring field. One compromiser in South Asia who tried to get me to stop preaching negative things finally, in desperation, said, "Dave, you are either a prophet of God or you are the most stubborn man I have ever met." Well, you have to be stubborn if you are going to resist the world, the flesh, and the devil. I am going to preach the Word of God, in season and out of season, and that, my friends, is not slander. God tells me to mark those who teach things contrary to the doctrine of the Apostles (Rom. 17:17). The Lord Jesus Christ said to beware of false teachers. How in the world can you do that without naming their names?

I simply ask that my readers consider what I say before the Lord and that they search the Scriptures to see whether these things are so. If something is wrong, toss it out. I have noticed in my own life that it is immaturity which does not allow us to benefit from the ministry of a man simply because he says a few things with which we might not agree.

For the responses to this request, see the article "Responses from Preachers."