Most Baptist Churches Do Not Exercise Discipline
One of the root problems with the lack of spiritual power and zeal in Baptist churches today is the neglect of discipline. This affects the nation as a whole. When President Bill Clinton committed adultery and lied to the country about it and tried to pervert the judicial system to cover himself, there was a call for his home church to exercise discipline. Bill Clinton is a member of Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. At that time, an Associated Press article quoted Timothy George, dean of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University (Southern Baptist) as follows: “Church discipline was common among Baptists until early this century, when it faded as people abused the system to carry out vendettas” (AP, Sept. 12, 1998). Dean Register, president of the Mississippi Baptist Convention, confirmed this, saying: “It’s very unusual for Southern Baptist churches to take disciplinary action against an individual” (The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Mississippi, Sept. 13, 1998). Read More...
Christ's Great Commission
July 22, 2010 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
The Great Commission is a name for the work of world evangelism that Christ preached after He rose from the dead. It is called Great because it is repeated five times in the New Testament (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:44-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8). Repetition in the Bible has two very important purposes. First, repetition is for emphasis. By repeating this command so many times, God is saying it is important. Second, repetition is for instruction. Each mention of the Great Commission adds more instruction. We will examine four of the passages:
MATTHEW 28:18-20
1. We see the authority for the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18). Jesus has all authority, and when we preach the gospel we do so in His authority. Thus, we have the authority to go to any nation and to speak to any person in His name. Many people have the idea that “religion” is a private matter, but Jesus has made it our business to proclaim the gospel. The Bible says that every born again person is an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-20). We go in His name and authority.
2. We also see the work that is involved in doing the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).
Ten Tips for Daily Bible Reading
It is the Word of God that has the power to sanctify the believer and build him up in Christ. It imparts conviction, enlightenment, spiritual strength, faith, wisdom, repentance. Consider the following Scriptures:
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (Joshua 1:8).
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper” (Psalms 1:1-3).
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalms 119:9). Read More...
Do We Have the "Right to Die"?
* In 1985, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that all life-sustaining medical treatment can be withheld from terminally ill patients, whether incompetent or competent. In that ruling the court included feeding tubes as “medical treatment.”
* In 1985, a Virginia woman who killed her cancer-ridden husband with an ice pick was sentenced merely to two years’ probation and psychiatric treatment.
* The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled in 1986 to allow a woman to stop the feeding of her comatose husband.
* In 1987, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled unanimously that an alert, mentally competent but dying woman, suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease, a fatal nerve disorder, should have been allowed to order her respirator disconnected. The woman had died a few days before her case reached the Court. The same court ruled to allow a man to remove the feeding tube from his 32-year-old wife. Read More...
Knowing God's Will
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness” (Romans 12:1-8).
We see here that God has a great work in this world and He has called on His people to participate. There is a perfect will of God for each believer. If you are saved, you are called.
We see that the will of God must be proven. Salvation is a gift but God’s will is a prize to be sought.
The Garden of Eden
October 29, 2009 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
The following is excerpted from the new Sunday School course “Fundamental Lessons in the Old Testament,” which is available from Way of Life Literature.
It is impossible for us to imagine in a precise manner man’s condition in the Garden of Eden before the fall, but a little sanctified thinking can doubtless give us a vague idea. This world, though fallen, contains the basic elements of paradise lost.
There was a perfect environment
There would have been an ideal climate, not too hot or too cold, gentle breezes, sparkling sunlight, the clear moon reflected through the earth’s firmament.
No Dogs, Ducks or Dinosaurs in Heaven!
Not Even Cats, Cows or Crows....
The following is by Don Boys, P.O. Box 944, Ringgold, GA 30736, 706-965-5930,
Today I enter into a controversy that I cannot win. It is in fact, like sitting on a buzz saw: Do animals go to Heaven? Most sensible people, not controlled by their emotions, would declare that our time, talents, tithes, and teaching, etc., should be spent trying to get people to go to Heaven.
Please note that I admit that animals can be fantastic companions especially to lonely people. They are very important to the blind and efficient in apprehending drug pushers. They are often great as watchdogs and often beneficial to children. But dogs don't go to Heaven. Neither do cats.
Les Kinsolving is an excellent writer for whom I have great respect, even admiration for him holding politicians' feet to the fire; however, in a recent WND column Les went off the rails in a column advocating that dogs and other animals will be in Heaven! He was writing from his heart not his head. He was not driven by facts but by fantasy.
CREMATION: WHAT DOES GOD THINK?
Updated September 2, 2009 (first published via the FBIS January 10, 1998) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) –
In a book on the subject of Christian funerals, a writer gives the following advice regarding cremation:
“Personally, the minister may or may not approve of such proceedings. Privately, he is free to hold any opinion that he will. But officially he should keep an open mind. In the Christian religion there is nothing that frowns upon cremation or requires burial.”
Is this sound advice? Is cremation a matter of Christian liberty? In certain places land space is so crowded that burial plots are very expensive and in some cases there are efforts by the governments to discourage burial in preference to cremation. That this problem has become acute in Singapore is referred to in the following official statement made by the Bible Presbyterian Church of Singapore in May, 1987--
THE SPIRIT OF NICENESS
The following is excerpted from The Tragedy of Compromise: The Origin and Impact of the New Evangelicalism by Dr. Ernest D. Pickering (Bob Jones University Press, 1994, Greenville, SC 29614) --
Franky Schaeffer put it this way: "The clear, loud call for accommodation comes wrapped in the name of the Gospel of Niceness. Sin as the source of all human problems is banished and a call for repentance is rarely made" (Schaeffer, Bad News for Modern Man, p. 45).
Evangelicalism today is consumed with relationalism, the fine art of getting along with people. Bruce Larson, a leading New Evangelical author himself, advises us that "the quality and scope of relationships and the ability and willingness to relate are marks of orthodoxy rather than doctrine" (Larson, The Relational Revolution, p. 32). In other words, the emphasis in theology becomes relational and not conceptual. This tendency, by the way, accounts for a major shift in expectations of the average church member toward the ministry of the pastor. Many want the pastor to center his preaching around "how to" themes rather than doctrinal themes. More will be said about this later.
Read More...
DREAD OF CONTROVERSY
The following was written by Robert Haldane in 1874 --
THE CREATION MUSEUM: MANY INFALLIBLE PROOFS
The impressive facility was completed three years ago at the cost of $40 million and was visited by 400,000 people in its first year. The 70,000 square foot facility consists of a large museum, a planetarium, three theaters, lecture rooms, and four cafes. There are also botanical gardens and a petting zoo. The facility has been so successful that Answers in Genesis is in the process of expanding it with a new 600-seat auditorium and other things.
The Creation Museum is the center for serious education. In addition to the museum itself, there are ongoing lectures, seminars, and courses for adults and children. The museum also operates a large bookstore stocked with hundreds of books and DVDs. Read More...
THOSE FUNDAMENTALIST PHARISEES
Updated June 23, 2009 (first published August 2, 1996) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
Christians who stand for the details of the Word of God and preach against that which they believe to be error, who exalt biblical morality and preach against immorality, and who have strong biblical convictions are often labeled “Pharisees.” Many of the Promise Keepers supporters who have written to me to rebuke me for reproving their movement, call me a Pharisee. Consider a couple of examples:
“Rev. Cloud says ‘Our sole authority is the Bible.’ No one who participated in the Council of Carthage in 387 which settled for all time the canon of the NT would agree with Rev. Cloud on this issue. ... Such arrogance! ... I take it then, that you’re the only one going to heaven. It’s going to be awfully lonely there. Such arrogance! ... Such arrogance! ... I wonder what makes Mr. Cloud so sure he’s right and everybody else is wrong? Look at the Pharisees, Mr. Cloud, and then look in the mirror!”
“You’re the best example I think I’ve ever seen of the Pharisee who sits at the front of the synagogue giving thanks for not being a sinner like everyone else.”
Henry Morris III of the Institute for Creation Research has also called fundamentalists Pharisees. Commenting on Matthew 23:13, Morris said:
THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE
The following is enlarged from the Way of Life Advanced Bible Studies Course UNDERSTANDING BIBLE PROPHECY (third edition, March 2009). This thorough and practical course enables the student to understand and enjoy Bible prophecy. It deals with the interpretation of prophecy, dispensationalism, the covenants, the kingdom of God, the nations in prophecy, and Messianic prophecy. A large section is devoted to “a prophetic overview of the future,” detailing the Bible’s prophecies that have not yet been fulfilled. Other sections deal with the prophecies of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation. 219 pages, $9.95
_____________________________
The word “rapture” does not appear in the Bible, but it is a term used to describe the catching away of the saints of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. The term “caught up” in 1 Th. 4:17 is also translated “pluck” (Jn. 10:28), “take by force” (Acts 23:10), and “pulling [out of the fire]” (Jude 23). It refers to a forceful seizing and a snatching away. It is used of the Spirit of God snatching away Philip after the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:39). This is exactly what Christ will do to the New Testament believers before the onslaught of the Great Tribulation.
Notes on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18:
1. The Rapture is (1) a resurrection of the dead in Christ (v. 14-16), (2) a catching up and translation of the living New Testament saints (v. 17).
2. The dead in Christ are with Him in heaven (v. 14).
3. The Rapture is the believer’s hope (v. 13). It is what we are looking forward to.
4. The Rapture is certain. (a) It is as sure as Christ’s resurrection (v. 14). (b) It is the word of the Lord (v. 15).
5. The Rapture is a comfort (v. 18). If this translation did not occur until the end of the torments of the Great Tribulation, it certainly would not produce solace for the Christian standing on this side of the Tribulation.
6. The Rapture is before the day of the Lord’s wrath (5:1-5, 9).
This event is also described in 1 Corinthians 15:51-58.
THE WOMAN’S HAIR AND HEAD COVERINGS
1 Corinthians 11:3-16
3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.
5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.
9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.
11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.
12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.
13 Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?
14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
16 But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God. Read More...
IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE SAVED THROUGH CHRIST WITHOUT BELIEVING IN CHRIST?
IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE SAVED THROUGH CHRIST WITHOUT BELIEVING IN CHRIST?
October 16, 2008 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
A popular doctrine among evangelicals, emergents, and contemplatives today is the idea that a sinner can be saved through Christ without actually believing in him.
In January 2007 Tony Campolo told the Edmonton Journal (Alberta, Canada) that he is not sure who will go to heaven. Asked by the paper, “Do you believe non-Christians can go to heaven?” Campolo replied:
“That’s a good question to ask because the way we stand is we contend that trusting in Jesus is the way to heaven. However, we do not know who Jesus will bring into the kingdom and who He will not. We are very, very careful about pronouncing judgment on anybody. We leave judgment in the hands of God and we are saying Jesus is the way. We preach Jesus, but we have no way of knowing to whom the grace of God is extended” (“Canada’s Different Evangelicals,” Edmonton Journal, Jan. 27, 2007).
This is contradictory emerging church gobbly-gook! If we believe that “trusting Jesus is the way to heaven,” then we most definitely DO know who Jesus will bring into the kingdom. He will bring those that trust Him and He will not bring those that do not trust Him. As for pronouncing judgment on people, it is not our judgment; it is God’s.
Brian McLaren says, “I don’t think it’s our business to prognosticate the eternal destinies of anyone else” (A New Kind of Christian, p. 92) and offers a quote from a C.S. Lewis novel as his authority. In this novel Lewis’s character was a soldier who served a false god named Tash all his life, but he was accepted nonetheless by Aslan, who represents Christ.
“Alas, Lord, I am no son of Thine but the servant of Tash. He answered, Child, all the service thou has done to Tash, I account as service done to me. ... Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath’s sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him.”
According to C.S. Lewis, who is deeply loved by all branches of the emerging church, an individual might be saved even if he follows a false religion in this life and makes no personal profession of faith in Jesus Christ.
Karen Ward XE "Ward, Karen" says:
“I affirm no other Savior than Jesus Christ, yet at the same time, I feel no need to know with certainty the final destination of those of other faiths who either have no knowledge of Christ or who do not accept the Christian claims of the atonement” (Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches, p. 46).
This is typical emerging church gibberish. Ward thinks she can hold these contradictions in perfect harmony, but it is impossible. If Jesus Christ is the only Saviour, then we CAN know with certainty the final destination of those who do not receive Him, and that destination is Hell! This is not our judgment; it is Almighty God’s as revealed plainly to us in Scripture!
Leonard Sweet XE "Sweet, Leonard" says:
“One can be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ without denying the flickers of the sacred in followers of Yahweh, or Kali, or Krishna” (Quantum Spirituality, p. 130).
What does this mean? Have those “flickers of the sacred” put their adherents into saving relationship with Almighty God and take them to heaven?
Henri Nouwen XE "Nouwen, Henri" , whose writings are constantly referenced by the emerging church and the contemplative movement, said:
“Today I personally believe that while Jesus came to open the door to God’s house, ALL HUMAN BEINGS CAN WALK THROUGH THAT DOOR, WHETHER THEY KNOW ABOUT JESUS OR NOT. Today I see it as my call to help every person claim his or her own way to God” (Sabbatical Journey, New York: Crossroad, 1998, p. 51).
Dallas Willard also holds this heresy. In an interview he was presented with the following question:
“I still struggle with how I should view those who have other beliefs. I’m not sure I am ready to condemn them as wrong. I know some very good Buddhists. What is their destiny?”
To this he replied XE "Universalism" :
“I am not going to stand in the way of anyone whom God wants to save. I am not going to say he can’t save them. I am happy for God to save anyone he wants in any way he can. IT IS POSSIBLE FOR SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT KNOW JESUS TO BE SAVED. But anyone who is going to be saved is going to be saved by Jesus” (“Apologetics in Action,” Cutting Edge magazine, winter 2001, vol. 5 no. 1, Vineyard USA, http://www.dwillard.org/articles/artview.asp?artID=14).
REFUTATION OF THIS HERESY
The idea that someone might be saved who doesn’t know Jesus might sound wise and compassionate, but it is plainly refuted by Scripture and is therefore a fool’s dream.
Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). The new birth is a very real spiritual event, and it happens only when a sinner consciously puts his faith in Christ. In the same passage Jesus explained how to be born again. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). He plainly stated, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).
Therefore, if a person does not consciously believe in Jesus Christ he is condemned. Jesus concluded that sermon by saying, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36). Words could not be clearer.
Jesus said further:
“I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” (John 10:9).
A man can enter in through Christ and find acceptance with God, but any other door leads to destruction. And to say that an individual could enter into salvation through Christ and not know it is as ridiculous as it is unscriptural.
John said:
“He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:10-12).
The person that “hath the Son” is the person who believes on him, and the person that “hath not the son” is the one that does not believe. There is no such thing as “unconscious saving faith.”
There is simply no other way of salvation than to put one’s faith in Jesus Christ and to receive Him in such a manner that one is born anew.
Beware of those who refuse to accept the plain teaching of God’s Word. They are heretics, regardless of how cleverly they cloak their unbelief.
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JAMES 3 AND CHURCH SPLITS
JAMES 3 AND CHURCH SPLITS
September 16, 2008 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
“Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace” (James 3:13-18).
THE WISDOM FROM BELOW IS DESCRIBED IN VERSES 14-16.
1. The fruit of evil wisdom is bitter envying and strife.
Envy is jealousy. One can be envious because another person has more money or has a better position or is better looking or is better gifted or is perceived to be better liked or more popular or whatever. Envy does not have to have a basis in reality; it can be the mere product of one’s imagination.
Envy is a trait of the old fallen flesh (Rom. 1:29; Titus 3:13). It means that I am not content with what God has given me. Instead, it bothers me when others prosper and when they advance and when they have things and positions that I do not have. To envy means I am unwisely comparing myself with others. It means I am selfish. It means I am lacking in compassion and that I do not love others as myself. (1 Cor. 13:4).
Envying embitters. “Though these may not be expressed by words, or actions: envy at the happiness of others ... is a root of bitterness in the heart, which bears wormwood and gall, and produces bitter effects in the persons in whom it is; it embitters their minds against their neighbours and friends; it is rottenness in their bones, and slays and destroys those who are so silly as to be governed by it” (John Gill).
Strife is the opposite of peace. It refers to quarreling and stirring up trouble. It refers to backbiting and gossiping, talking against the brethren because I don’t like them and I don’t like what they do. Such strife is not caused because I love the truth but because I care more for my own selfish interests and my own desire to injure others than I do for the work of God. Even if the church splits apart, that will not bother be greatly. There is a hardness of heart caused by the sin of envy. It is the opposite of gentleness and compassion and longsuffering.
Observe that envy and strife are intimately associated. Burkitt says, “Envy is the mother of strife.” If I have envy toward others I will eventually cause trouble among my brethren. The Philistines envied Isaac and stopped up his wells (Gen. 26:14-15). Rachel was envious of Leah and caused strife in her own home (Gen. 30:1-2). Korah and his followers envied Moses and Aaron and stirred up opposition against them (Psa. 106:16-18; Num. 16:1-4). Joseph’s brothers were envious of him and sold him into slavery (Acts 7:9). The Jewish religious leaders envied Jesus and stirred up the people and the government against Him and caused His death (Mark 15:10). They also envied the crowds that followed the preaching of the gospel and stirred up strife against it (Acts 17:5).
2. Envying and strife produce confusion and every evil work.
When envy is nurtured instead of confessed and rejected, and when strife begins to run its course, there is no telling where it will lead. It led Joseph’s brothers to disregard their father’s feelings and the great love he had for Joseph and to dishonor their father by kidnapping their younger brother and to harden their hearts against his crying and even to contemplate murdering him. All of this started when they envied Joseph and nurtured this envy in their hearts month after month instead of renouncing it to God (Gen. 37:11). This led to hatred, strife, kidnapping, and lying.
3. James is emphatic that this type of thing is not of God but is of the earth or the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Worldliness does not consist merely of external things such as drinking and smoking and wearing immodest clothing. It is also a matter of one’s heart condition. One can be impressively clean on the outside and worldly on the inside. This was the condition of the Pharisees (Mat. 23:25). Worldliness consists of “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16), and those are sins of the heart that have external fruits.
The world, the flesh, and the devil are closely associated. If I walk according to the evil ways of the world and the flesh, then I am walking according to the devil, because he is the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4) and the one that “worketh in the children of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2).
The devil is the father of envy and strife and of the selfish pride and lack of compassion that produces it (1 Tim. 3:6). When we commit these sins, we are walking in the devil’s own footsteps.
4. James warns us not to be deceived and to lie against the truth. This describes many professing Christians. They live in carnal strife and gossiping and backbiting and envy and hatred and other sins, but they claim to be right with God. Some judge themselves only by the externals. They even think of themselves as wiser and more spiritual than others. They refuse to heed reproof and repent, even though they fail the test of true wisdom.
5. Those who say they are walking in light and wisdom but live like this are liars (v. 14). They deceive themselves (Jer. 17:9), and they try to deceive others, which is hypocrisy.
6. The first step toward true wisdom is to acknowledge one’s actual condition. If I agree with God’s Word and confess my sin of walking according to the world, the flesh, and the devil, I can obtain God’s mercy and life-changing power. But if I pretend that everything is fine and refuse to acknowledge my sin, there is no spiritual progress, because I am walking in the darkness rather than in the light (1 John 1:5-9).
7. In this context, confession of sin is not a once-for-all thing but a continual, day-by-day process. Spiritual victory in the Christian life is a matter of growing in grace (1 Peter 2:1-2; 2 Pet. 3:18).
THE WISDOM FROM ABOVE IS ALSO DESCRIBED IN THIS PASSAGE.
This is a description of Christ, whereas the wisdom from below is a description of the devil.
It is FIRST PURE (Jam. 3:17). This refers to being pure from sin; it refers to holiness (1 Tim. 5:22). The same Greek word is translated “chaste” in 2 Corinthians 11:2; Titus 2:5; 1 Peter 3:2. God is first and foremost holy, and if He is effectively working in a person’s life, then that person will pursue holiness. This shows the error of “rock & roll Christianity” which emphasizes the love of God and tolerance of sin more than moral purity and holy separation.
It is PEACEABLE (Jam. 3:17).
True wisdom always inclines toward peace if there is any godly possibility of it. It desires peace, and will not cause strife based on its own selfish and sinful purposes.
This does not mean that true wisdom keeps peace at any cost. It does not care more for peace than for truth and righteousness. The Lord Jesus said that He did not come to bring peace to the earth but a sword (Mat. 10:34). This is because this world is at war with the truth. Peace at the expense of truth is carnal and cowardly compromise. The apostle Paul did not pursue peace with false teachers. Rather, he confronted them (Acts 13:7-11), exposed them (1 Tim. 1:19-20; 2 Tim. 2:16-18), and warned the churches of them (e.g., Acts 20:28-30; Rom. 16:17; 1 Cor. 15:33-36; 2 Cor. 11:1-4; Gal. 1:6-9; 1 Tim. 4:1-5).
It is GENTLE AND EASY TO BE INTREATED (Jam. 3:17). True wisdom is willing to listen to others and to submit to the truth. It is not self-opinionated. It doesn’t reject good counsel. It is willing to answer questions and try to explain itself. It is eager to solve difficulties. This is a picture of Jesus. He was easily approachable. He allowed men to ask questions. He was gentle and easy to be intreated. He explained Himself clearly.
It is FULL OF MERCY AND GOOD FRUITS (Jam. 3:17).
True wisdom is merciful and patient and kind. This is what is required of peacemakers.
True wisdom is full of good fruits. It is not content to excel in only one or two spiritual things. It wants to add to “faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brother kindness; and to brother kindness charity” (2 Pet. 1:5-7). It is full of “compassion and beneficence to the poor; feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the widows and fatherless in their affliction; and doing all other good works and duties, both with respect to God and man, as fruits of grace, and of the Spirit” (John Gill).
It is WITHOUT PARTIALITY (Jam. 3:17). True wisdom does not play favorites. It doesn’t show respect to persons. It applies the truth equally to all men. Compare 1 Timothy 5:21. “I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.” True wisdom does not treat the rich church member differently than the poor. It does not exercise discipline against some members while ignoring the same kind of sins of others. It does not require some workers and leaders to meet the Bible’s standards and the church’s covenant while allowing others to get by with things. It does not allow some to get away with gossip and strife while coming down hard on others for the same thing.
It is WITHOUT HYPOCRISY (Jam. 3:17). True wisdom does not preach one thing to others while living contrary to the preaching with no repentance and no intent of changing. It does not make a show of being what it is not. It does not condemn others for things that it is guilty of. It does not condemn relatively small sins in others while allowing more serious sins in itself. It does not condemn a new church member for something like wearing a modern fashion that is not exactly modest or for wearing too much makeup or such things, while allowing envy and hatred and pride and strife to rule in his own heart.
It is MEEK (Jam. 3:13). It is pride that stirs up carnal strife in churches, but true wisdom is meek. It is not self-willed. It does not think of itself more highly than it ought to think (Rom. 12:3).
THIS PASSAGE IS A TEST FOR THOSE WHO LEAVE CHURCHES.
There is a proper time to leave a church, if it is not following God’s Word, but there is a proper way to leave and many times people leave churches for carnal reasons and in a carnal manner. If someone leaves a church for biblical and spiritual reasons, the fruit will be characterized by the description in James 3:17-18--purity, peaceableness, gentleness, easy to be entreated, mercy, without partiality, without hypocrisy. Someone leaving in this mode will speak the truth in love. He leaves because he is convinced it is God’s will, but he does so in a peaceable and godly manner. He is respectful of the leaders even if he doesn’t agree with them, and he harbors no ill will toward the leaders or the church.
But if someone leaves a church for carnal reasons the fruit will be characterized by the description in James 3:14-16--bitterness, envy, strife, confusion, and other evil works. This is not of God! Many times I have observed this. People get upset at something and they leave a church, but they do not do so in a godly manner. They cause all sorts of trouble and try to hurt the church, both before they leave and after. Many times they won’t even talk about the matter with the leaders in a gracious, open manner. They are not “easy to be entreated.” All of the love they once had for the church and its leaders disappears. They deal deceitfully. They go behind the pastor’s back and despise his position.
[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE or to UNSUBSCRIBE or to CHANGE ADDRESSES or to RE-SUBSCRIBE UNDER A NEW ADDRESS, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. If you have any trouble with this, please let us know. And please be patient with us. We do not ignore any unsubscribe request, but we cannot always get to your request immediately as each person involved with maintaining the Way of Life web site does this only on a very part time basis and is busy with many other major activities, such as pastoring and missionary work. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 25th year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://wayoflife.org/catalog/catalog.htm Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org. We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but from those who are. OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/offering.html. PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org]
EMERGING CHURCH HYPOCRISY
EMERGING CHURCH HYPOCRISY
September 10, 2008 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
The following is excerpted from What Is the Emerging Church? which is available from Way of Life Literature.
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There is a great hypocrisy that permeates emerging church writings.
They denounce dogmatism in the most dogmatic terms!
They reject judgmentalism in the most judgmental terms, having nothing to say of fundamentalist Christianity except ridicule and denunciation.
They reject traditional patterns of Bible “spirituality,” such as daily devotions, as dull and legalistically obligatory, but they accept the most stringent forms of Catholic “spirituality,” such as lectio divina and keeping “the hours” and monasticism, as exciting and life-giving.
And they claim to be “Red Letter Christians,” when in reality they don’t keep the commands Christ gave in the Gospels.
Tony Campolo says:
“By calling ourselves Red-Letter Christians, we are alluding to the fact that in several versions of the New Testament, the words of Jesus are printed in red. In adopting this name, we are saying that we are committed to living out the things that He said. Of course, the message in those red-lettered verses is radical, to say the least. If you don’t believe me, read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). ... Figuring out just how to relate those radical red letters in the Bible to the complex issues in the modern world will be difficult, but that’s what we’ll try to do” (“Red Letter Christian,” Oct. 25, 2007, http://livingintentionally.wordpress.com/2007/10/25/red-letter-christian/).
Jim Wallis of Sojourners says the same thing.
“In Matthew 5, 6, and 7, Jesus offers his Sermon on the Mount, which serves as the manifesto of his new order, the Magna Carta of the new age, the constitution of the kingdom” (The Great Awakening, p. 62).
But Campolo, Wallis, and other emergents are very selective in their obedience to the Sermon on the Mount. In fact, the Sermon on the Mount clearly refutes emerging church theology.
Christ warned against breaking even the least of God’s commandments (Mat. 5:19). This is in contrast to the emerging church’s position that only the “cardinal” doctrines are of great significance.
Christ frequently warned about hell fire (Mat. 5:22, 29-30), but this is a subject that emergents grossly neglect and even blatantly deny.
Christ warned about imprisonment for disobedience to God’s Word (Mat. 5:25-26), but emergents do not take this literally.
Christ warned strongly against divorce and remarriage (Mat. 5:31-32). In contrast we have the emerging church’s tendency to downplay the importance of strict morality. The emerging church is even hesitant to condemn homosexuality, but if it is adultery in God’s eyes for a man to divorce his wife and marry another woman, except for fornication, how much more is it immoral for a man to sleep with a man or a woman with a woman?
Christ taught against laying up treasures on earth (Mat. 6:19-21), yet Campolo and most other emergents and their churches and organizations have a great many treasures on earth. In an interview with Campolo in February 2008 at the New Baptist Covenant Celebration in Atlanta, Georgia, I asked him if he obeys the Lord’s command in the Sermon on the Mount to sell what you have and give alms. He admitted that he is something of a hypocrite in that area. He drives a nice car, lives in a nice house, has nice clothes, heaps of possessions, a retirement fund, etc. There are exceptions, but in general the emergents really don’t take this part of Christ’s Sermon all that seriously!
Christ taught the people to be heavenly-minded (Mat. 6:19-21), but the emerging church ridicules this mindset and instructs us to be earthly-minded.
Christ said to take no thought about food or clothing (Mat. 6:25, 31), but the emerging church typically takes plenty of thought about this.
Christ said to take no thought for tomorrow (Mat. 6:34), but the emerging church makes detailed plans.
Christ said not to give holy things to dogs (Mat. 7:6), but the emerging church doesn’t want to believe that there is a great difference between holy and unholy and does not believe in dividing people into groups and calling some dogs, disliking “judgmentalism” and “labeling.”
Christ taught that men are evil (Mat. 7:11), but the emerging church thinks that this is not necessarily true.
Christ taught that the way of salvation is narrow and few are saved (Mat. 7:13-14), but the emerging church claims that the way of salvation is broad and many might be saved, even if they don’t have personal faith in Jesus.
Christ taught that we should be on the outlook for false teachers (Mat. 7:15), but the emerging church claims that we should relax and not be uptight about doctrine and error.
Prominently in His teaching on the kingdom of God, Christ commanded men to repent of their sin. “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mat. 4:17). Yet the emerging church is exceedingly weak about the business of repentance and is not even certain that homosexuals have anything to repent of!
Further, the Sermon on the Mount reminds us that Christ was a bold and dogmatic preacher, whereas the emerging church doesn’t like such preaching, preferring story-telling and “sharing.”
Thus, this idea that we should be Red Letter Christians is not consistently followed even by its own proponents. The Gospels do not present a Christ that looks anything like the emerging church.
The hypocrisy within the emerging church is amazing to behold.
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This is excerpted from What Is the Emerging Church? which is available from Way of Life Literature.
[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE or to UNSUBSCRIBE or to CHANGE ADDRESSES or to RE-SUBSCRIBE UNDER A NEW ADDRESS, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. If you have any trouble with this, please let us know. And please be patient with us. We do not ignore any unsubscribe request, but we cannot always get to your request immediately as each person involved with maintaining the Way of Life web site does this only on a very part time basis and is busy with many other major activities, such as pastoring and missionary work. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 25th year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://wayoflife.org/catalog/catalog.htm Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org. We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but from those who are. OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/offering.html. PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org]
EAT THE MEAT, SPIT OUT THE BONES
EAT THE MEAT, SPIT OUT THE BONES
September 9, 2008 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
There are a lot of clever-sounding sayings that make the rounds among Christians, and one of these is “eat the meat, and spit out the bones.” Many have written to exhort me to do this, and they mean that I shouldn’t worry so much about exposing error. They wonder why I can’t just “eat the meat, and spit out the bones.”
There is a bit of truth to this saying, in that God’s people are always to exercise biblical discernment when hearing sermons or reading Christian books. We are to “prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
But the Bible also twice warns that “a little leaven leaventh the whole lump” (1 Cor. 5:7; Gal. 5:9) and exhorts us to mark and avoid those who teach doctrine contrary to that which we have learned in Scripture (Rom. 16:17). There is great danger in eating the wrong spiritual meat!
What if the meat is rotten or poisoned or hasn’t been cooked or properly stored? The U.S. government regulates how restaurants must cook meat, because undercooked meat is dangerous. When I worked in a restaurant in my youth, I was taught to handle the meat very carefully and to store it properly, because it spoils easily. If you eat meat that is spoiled or poisoned or undercooked, even if you spit out the bones, you will be in trouble. The writings of men like Brian McLaren and Richard Foster and Chuck Colson and Rick Warren and C. S. Lewis contain plenty of rotten meat. Those who advise God’s people to “eat the meat, and spit out the bones,” must explain to us how they know that this “meat” is safe.
Also, what if the bones have splinters or what if you get a bone stuck in your throat? When I was growing up in Florida, I went fishing often with my dad and granddad, and they were careful about which fish they kept and which they threw away, because some had too many bones to eat safely. And Mom was very careful to keep an eye on us when we were eating fish because of the ever-present danger of getting a bone stuck in our throats. This happened from time to time anyway, and it was a very unpleasant thing and, in fact, can be fatal. Likewise, very few Christians are able to wade through sermons or books by compromising preachers on their own and expertly spit out all of the “bones” of error. One of the reasons why so many fundamental Baptists are becoming New Evangelical is because they are reading New Evangelical books and blogs and listening to New Evangelical sermons.
And what if you don’t know the difference between meat and bones? A toddler doesn’t know the difference, and if it tries to eat meat and spit out bones, it will quickly be in trouble. Likewise, the average Christian today is far too biblically ignorant and carnal to distinguish properly between truth and cleverly presented error.
My friends, beware of clever sayings that aren’t supported by Scripture.
We live in a shallow, apostate, carnal age, and it behooves us to study the Bible diligently and to think biblically!!!!
One pastor who read this article replied:
“The problem I have with this statement is that sometimes the truth is hard to swallow, so it is spit out and called ‘bones.’ The ‘eat the meat, spit out the bones’ mentality is pretty much the same as Burger King’s ‘Have it your way’ mentality. Sinful man is always prone to create a hybrid Christianity that suits his tastes and preconceived notions about what he wants God to be.”
[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE or to UNSUBSCRIBE or to CHANGE ADDRESSES or to RE-SUBSCRIBE UNDER A NEW ADDRESS, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. If you have any trouble with this, please let us know. And please be patient with us. We do not ignore any unsubscribe request, but we cannot always get to your request immediately as each person involved with maintaining the Way of Life web site does this only on a very part time basis and is busy with many other major activities, such as pastoring and missionary work. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 25th year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://wayoflife.org/catalog/catalog.htm Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org. We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but from those who are. OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/offering.html. PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org]
THE INCARNATIONAL DOCTRINE
THE INCARNATIONAL DOCTRINE
July 31, 2008 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
The following is excerpted from our new book What Is the Emerging Church? This is available from Way of Life Literature.
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A foundational teaching of the more conservative side of the emerging church is the idea that Jesus was incarnated into the culture of this world and the Christian is commissioned to do the same thing. They call this “missional.” Note the following statements by Mark Driscoll:
“Jesus’ incarnation is in itself missional. God the Father sent God the Son into culture on a mission to redeem the elect by the power of God the Ghost. After his resurrection, Jesus also sent his disciples into culture, on a mission to proclaim the success of his mission, and commissioned all Christians to likewise be missionaries to the cultures of the world (e.g., Matt. 28:18-20; John 20:21; Acts 1:7-8). Emerging and missional Christians have wonderfully rediscovered the significance of Jesus’ incarnational example of being a missionary immersed in a culture” (Confessions of a Reformission Rev., p. 26).
“Missions is every Christian being a missionary to their local culture” (Confessions of a Reformission Rev., p. 19).
The liberal emerging church believes the same thing. Mars Hill Graduate School proclaims:
“We believe a person or community can never receive a hearing, nor offer the gospel, unless it incarnates the gospel through joyful participation in a culture's glory and honest engagement in its darkness. We wish to develop lovers of language, story, drama, film, music, dance, architecture, and art in order to deepen our love of life and the God of all creativity” (Mars Hill Graduate School, http://www.mhgs.edu/common/about.asp#scpriture).
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
In answering this we must first emphasize that every Christian IS to be a missionary, and this is an important and biblical challenge.
Too many members of even staunch Bible-believing churches are half-hearted at best about evangelism and have little or no concern for the unsaved. Too often we don’t even pass out gospel tracts; we don’t spending time each week sharing the gospel with sinners; we don’t befriend unbelievers with the goal of winning them to Christ; and we don’t have any unbelievers on our daily prayer list.
The conservative emerging church challenges believers to take their responsibility as ambassadors for Christ seriously, and that is a something that needs to be shouted from the rooftops. Consider the following challenge:
“At a recent staff retreat we each wrote out ‘missionary letters’ like overseas missionaries do when they raise support. We wanted to ask how we are doing as ‘missionaries’ and what stories we would tell. How do we schedule our week as missionaries?” (Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches, p. 103).
This is a good idea. Each member of a New Testament church should consider himself or herself a missionary and should be fully engaged in missionary work. Writing a missionary prayer letter would help the individual see how seriously he is taking this work.
Along this line, it is important for believers to be equipped to deal with the people they meet, whether they are Hindus or Buddhists or New Agers or agnostic evolutionists or whatever. Consider the following statement:
“Our culture is now flooded with pluralistic religions and mixed spiritual beliefs. Our culture is spinning out of control with sexual, religious, and moral confusion and choices. How do we respond to the somewhat parallel words of Jesus and Buddha? How do we answer the pro-gay theological arguments given today? What about euthanasia? What about women in ministry?” (Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches, p. 87).
That is a good challenge. Believers should be trained to deal with people wherever they might be in their thinking. In particular, we need to learn how to use the Bible effectively. It is not enough to know a simple Romans Road plan of salvation.
In 1973 I was pursuing a self-centered life of pleasure and had cobbled together a religious philosophy from bits of the Bible, Hinduism (via Paramahansa Yogananda and the Self-Realization Fellowship Society), Christian Science, Buddhism (via Herman Hesse), New Age (via The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ), and other things. One day I was driving in my car near Miami, Florida, and passed by a man riding on a bicycle. For some reason, I turned the car around and pulled alongside of him and asked him where he was going. He said he was going to Mexico. I told him that I was going a couple hundred miles north to Lakeland and offered to give him a ride. He agreed, so we put the bicycle into the trunk of the car and drove down the road. I broached the subject of religion and asked him if he believed in God. He said, “Yes,” and pulled a Bible out of his pocket and we began discussing the serious issues of life. As it turned out, I spent four or so days with the man, traveling from Florida to Mexico and back to Florida, and I was converted to Christ at the end of that journey.
The reason why I was willing to travel with him to Mexico in the first place was that I was impressed with his knowledge of the Bible. He was able to answer my questions and challenges with appropriate and powerful statements from Scripture, and he could take me right to the passages. I was amazed that the Bible was so practical. When I told him that I believed in reincarnation, he showed me Hebrews 9:27, which says that men are appointed to die once and then the judgment. When I told him that I was following my heart, he showed me Jeremiah 17:9, which says the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. When I told him that I believed that God will accept any man as long as he is sincere in his faith, he showed me Proverbs 14:12, which says there is a way that seems right to a man but the end thereof are the ways of death. When I told him that I believed that there were many paths to God, he showed me John 14:6 and Acts 4:12. When I told him that I didn’t believe it was possible to know the truth for certain, he showed me John 7:17 and 8:31-32.
I am thankful that this man was equipped to deal with me effectively.
The challenge that churches need to equip the saints to do the work of evangelism in this age is an important one that we need to take seriously. Churches should offer courses on how to understand and deal with Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, New Age, and whatever other isms that we have to confront today. At the very least they should make good literature readily available for private study on these things.
But above all, they should train the people to be serious students of the Bible so they can answer people with God’s infallible Word.
The emerging church also challenges Christians to be hospitable to unbelievers and not to keep them at arm’s length, and that is a good challenge. Consider the following:
“Very simply, we need to show grace-giving acceptance more than behavior-centered judgment to an unbelieving world. The problem with practicing this theology comes down to messiness. If we really live out grace, not just as words we say, but as a way we treat people, all kinds of messy people may just feel accepted enough to crash our church-party, and that would feel a lot different than the party of near-perfect people some of us have come to enjoy. But that’s how grace works--by making beauty out of ugly things. If you owned a Rembrandt covered in mud, you wouldn’t focus on the mud or treat it like mud. Your primary concern would not be the mud at all, though it would need to be removed. You’d be ecstatic to have something so valuable in your care. But if you tried to clean the painting by yourself, you might damage it. So you would carefully bring this work of art to a master who could guide you and help you restore it to the condition originally intended. When people begin treating one another as God’s masterpiece waiting to be revealed, God’s grace grows in their lives and cleanses them. We have watched gay people, radical feminists, atheistic Harvard grads, homeless crack addicts, couples living together, porn addicts, and greedy materialists come into our church, hang out around the body of Christ, find faith, change, and grow to wholeheartedly follow Christ (but for some it takes a long time, and some never change). Could those people, good and bad, come to your church? Can you picture it?” (Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches, pp. 66, 67).
While we reject the New Evangelical non-judgmental philosophy in no uncertain terms (see Ephesians 5:11; 2 Timothy 4:2; Titus 2:15), it is true that believers should extend God’s grace to other sinners in a compassionate and friendly and patient manner.
I am thankful that I know many Biblicist churches that do this.
I think of the man who led me to Jesus Christ. When I met him I was a hitchhiking, drug-abusing, jail-going, Hindu meditation practicing reprobate, but he loved me enough to spend a few days with me, putting up with my worldly behavior, my constant smoking, my foul mouth and pathetically proud attitude, patiently answering my brash challenges from Scripture. After a couple of days I told him it was ridiculous to base all of one’s thinking on the Bible and that he should toss his Bible out the window so we could have a decent conversation. I reproved him for quoting Scripture and not having any thoughts of his own. In spite of this he stayed with me and even shared his hard-earned money with me, because I didn’t have any, and he bought me a beautiful leather-bound Bible and a Strong’s Concordance.
I think of the first church I joined after I was saved. The founding family of that church, the Hooveners, opened their home to young people who were in the world and loved many of them to Christ and discipled them, and as a result young people went out of there to Bible College and then on to serve the Lord in various ministries. I was already saved when I met them, but I was a new Christian and still had shoulder-length hair and smoked and loved rock music and trashy movies and had a lot of emotional problems that stemmed from heavy drug use. They loved me and instructed and discipled me, and as a result I gradually cut my hair and quit smoking and gave up rock music and gained some emotional stability and confidence and began to be grounded in a right understanding of the Scripture.
I think of one of my cousins in Florida. He opens his home one evening each month to people who are visiting America from other countries. He has traveled extensively to various parts of the world and thus understands foreigners better than the average American, but it is his Christian love and kindness that is the main attraction. He invites some of his Christian friends and relatives to join them, and they play games and talk and just get to know one another, and they also witness to the unbelievers and invite them to church.
I think of a church in Norfolk, Virginia, pastored by a friend named Jerry Matson. For decades, he has ministered to sailors who work on commercial ships that dock at the nearby shipyard. He goes on the ships and meets the men and invites them to visit his service center. There they are befriended and loved and fed and entertained and allowed to make phone calls home and are patiently taught the gospel of Jesus Christ. As a result, some have come to Christ and gone back to their homes in various parts of the world as missionaries.
In our missionary work in South Asia, we try to make Hindus feel welcome in our church services and encourage them to stay afterwards so that we can answer their questions about Christ and the Bible. We serve snacks and drinks. It usually takes several weeks and even months before they really understand the gospel and come to repentance and faith. Some Hindus have also lived at our house for various periods of time.
That being said, we do not agree with the idea that Jesus was a missionary to culture or that believers are missionaries to culture.
First, Jesus was not a missionary to culture but to people.
Christ came to seek and to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). It is the people in the world that God loves, not the culture of the world (John 3:16). Jesus did not adapt Himself to man’s culture so much as He challenged it. He did not do what was expected, neither what was expected by the Jews nor what was expected by the Gentiles. He boldly disregarded the tradition of the Jews as well as that of the Samaritans (Matthew 15:1-2; Luke 6:1-9; John 4:9, 20-23). Christ did not give us an example of being a “missionary to culture” but of being a missionary to men while challenging culture.
Second, believers are not commanded to be missionaries to cultures but to preach the gospel to people.
Driscoll actually sites the Great Commission as support for his doctrine (Matthew 28:18-20; John 20:21; Acts 1:8-8), but these passages say nothing about being incarnated like Jesus or being a missionary to culture. The Great Commission says we are to preach and baptize and teach and disciple. We are to “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Preaching the gospel to every nation and baptizing and making disciples does not add up to the emerging church’s incarnational doctrine or to the idea of being a missionary to culture.
John 20:21 is perhaps vague enough to support such a doctrine, but only if it had support from elsewhere in the New Testament. In John 20:21 Jesus said, “Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” If this verse were isolated, it might be construed as saying that as Jesus was incarnated so must the believer be incarnated, but this interpretation is contradicted by the wider context. The Lord Jesus gave the Great Commission five times in the Gospels and Acts (Matthew 28:28-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:44-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8). To interpret John 20:21 as saying something different than the other references is a presumptuous exegesis. What Jesus was saying in John 20:21 is that as the Father sent Him to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15; 1 John 4:14), even so should His followers dedicate their lives to the same task.
Third, the book of Acts gives the divinely-inspired example of the fulfillment of the Great Commission, and there we do not see the Christians being incarnated like Jesus or being missionaries to culture.
In Acts we see the believers living holy, separated lives, preaching the gospel to unbelievers in the power of the Holy Spirit, and baptizing and discipling those that God saved.
What is needed to reach unbelievers is not incarnating into their culture but simply preaching the gospel with power. You don’t have to understand or appreciate their music or know anything about their movie stars or think their fashion is cool. You just have to care about them and proclaim God’s message of reconciliation in a biblical fashion. That is what we see in the book of Acts.
I think of my wife. She has worked with Hindus in South Asia since she first went there as a single missionary nurse in 1975. She doesn’t dress like a Hindu or listen to their music or watch their movies. She isn’t even an expert on Hinduism. She just loves them and patiently tells them about Jesus, and she has seen many of them come to Christ.
I think about my maternal grandmother. When I was out in the world far from Christ, she didn’t know anything about my music and philosophies and ways, but she loved me and always reminded me of Jesus and the Bible and prayed for me with fasting and tears, and in this way she had a great part in my conversion.
It is true that people live in cultures and we must try to communicate the gospel in a way that they can understand, but this does not add up to being a missionary to a culture.
The missionary to culture idea smacks of an excuse to be worldly even while claiming to be holy, to love rock & roll, beer and gambling, R-rated movies, and champagne dance parties.
Fourth, culture is not innocent.
Culture is permeated with sin and idolatry, because it was fashioned by rebellious men and is part of the darkness of this world ruled by the devil (2 Cor. 4:4). Take the South Asian culture, for example. It is permeated with idolatrous Hinduism and Buddhism as well as evil western influences, and the missionary must teach the people to reject everything in the culture that is associated with idolatry and darkness. We do not build western style churches there, but we do teach the believers to reject everything within the culture that is wrong. In the churches we plant in South Asia the people speak their own languages and sit on the floor and shake their heads sideways to indicate yes and wear saris and kurta sudawals and eat daal baht with their fingers and never hand you something with the right hand and typically come to services late, all of which are cultural customs. But they do not wear “holy strings” or tikas or red saris or anything else associated with Hinduism, and they learn how to wear their saris and kurta sudawals in a modest manner and how to reject the immodest unisex fashions that are coming from the West and they learn that “spiritual songs” acceptable to a holy God are different in character than the world’s party music. The music that our churches sing is largely indigenous, written by national Christians, but it sounds distinctly different from the music that is heard on the FM pop stations or in the pagan festivals.
Finally, the apostle Paul did not support the “be like them to win them” philosophy.
Paul’s statements that “all things are lawful to me” and “I am made all things to all men” have been wrongly used to justify the “missionary to the culture” philosophy. We have considered these verses in their proper context in the chapter on the liberal emerging church. See “Liberal Emerging Church Error # 9: Worldliness.”
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The previous is excerpted from our new book What Is the Emerging Church? This is available from Way of Life Literature.
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BIBLICAL REPENTANCE
Updated and enlarged August 21, 2008 (first published June 13, 1999) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org) –
Any evangelist will have false converts. Even the apostles did (Acts 8:20-21). But something is seriously wrong when only a very tiny percentage of one’s reported “converts” exhibit any evidence of salvation. It would seem that this would encourage a man to rethink his methodology, but I have found that many men are content to mark up large numbers of empty professions year after year; and rather than welcoming a biblical re-examination of their evangelistic program, they take great offense when someone challenges them about the reality of the reported numbers. They would rather lash out at such a man and claim that he is an enemy of soul winning or that he preaches “lordship salvation” or “works salvation,” and blacklist him, try to dig up dirt on him, etc., than face the facts from the Word of God.
For those who do this, there is little hope for change; but we praise the Lord that there are men among our fundamental Baptist brethren are not content to accept man-made doctrines and methodologies. They are not afraid to examine what their schools and leaders have taught and to reject things that are wrong even if they must reject things that are popular with “the brethren.”
When I first published the article “Pentecost vs. Hylescost” in August 1998, I received a huge volume of response from fundamental Baptist men. Most of the replies were extremely positive. Many of the replies came from graduates of Hyles Anderson College and other independent Baptist Bible schools that promote a “quick prayerism” program. These men thanked me for tackling a very unpopular subject and for exposing an error that has seriously weakened the fundamental Baptist movement and that has damaged many souls.
One observant pastor described the fruit of the “quick prayerism” program as “SOULS BETRAYED IN THE NAME OF SOUL-WINNING.”
Biblical repentance as preached by John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the apostles, is A CHANGE OF MIND TOWARD GOD AND SIN THAT RESULTS IN A CHANGE OF LIFE. IT IS A SPIRIT-WROUGHT CHANGE OF MIND THAT LEADS TO A CHANGE OF LIFE. It is not a change of life. That would be a works salvation. It is a radical, Spirit-wrought change of mind toward sin and God, such a dramatic change of mind that it changes one’s actions.
This is how I have always defined repentance. It is how I defined it as a young missionary in the 1970s, and it is how I defined it in the Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible & Christianity when it was first published in 1994.
Note the following summary of Paul’s message: “But showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that THEY SHOULD REPENT AND TURN TO GOD, AND DO WORKS MEET FOR REPENTANCE” (Acts 26:20). The gospel message preached by Peter on the day of Pentecost and by Paul after Pentecost required repentance and defined that as a mindset to turn to God from evil works. Paul summarized His gospel message as “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). The gospel requires that the sinner exercise repentance toward God and faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Biblical repentance is a change of mind toward God and sin that results in a change of life. To say that it has nothing to do with one’s attitude toward sin is to throw away the Bible and nineteen centuries of Bible-believing preaching.
REPENTANCE WAS PREACHED BY BIBLE PREACHERS
Those who do not preach repentance or who make light of it or who claim it is the same as faith or who redefine it so that it has nothing to do with sin are not following the Bible pattern for evangelism. They are following a manmade program. The bottom line is that Bible preachers proclaimed repentance. If faith is the same as repentance, this would make no sense. Those who follow the Bible will preach repentance and will require evidence thereof.
Repentance was preached by John the Baptist
“In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire” (Matthew 3:1-10).
Repentance was preached by Jesus Christ
“From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).
“But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:13).
“Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes” (Matthew 11:20-21).
“And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:2-5).
“I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. … Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth” (Luke 15:7, 10).
“And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:46-48).
Christ’s goal in dealing with men was not merely to lead them in a sinner’s prayer, but to bring them to repentance and genuine salvation. He described salvation in terms of coming to repentance.
Repentance was preached by Christ’s Disciples
“And they went out, and preached that men should repent” (Mark 6:12).
Repentance was preached by Peter
“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).
“Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:31).
“Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity” (Acts 8:22-23).
Repentance was preached by Paul
“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30).
“And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:20-21).
“But showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance” (Acts 26:20).
The Bible says that God is “longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). There is no Bible example of people being saved who did not evidence a change in their lives. The Apostle Paul, reviewing his ministry before King Agrippa, noted that he went about preaching to Jews and Gentiles “that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance” (Acts 26:20). This is exactly the message we are to preach today.
WHAT BIBLICAL REPENTANCE IS NOT
REPENTANCE IS NOT MERE HUMAN REFORMATION
Men have the ability to reform their own lives in some sense. It is not uncommon for men who have gotten into trouble to come to their senses and to change their ways. Drunkards have stopped drinking; wife beaters have ceased from their violence; thieves have become honest citizens; harlots have turned from a life of infamy. This in itself is not biblical repentance.
First of all, reformation is man-centered and this-world-centered; whereas repentance is God-centered and eternity-centered. The man who merely reforms has his eyes on the people he has offended and the consequences of his actions in his present life. The gospel, on the other hand, calls for “repentance toward God…” (Acts 20:21). The Prodigal Son’s repentance was demonstrated by his change of attitude toward God as well as toward his father. “I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I HAVE SINNED AGAINST HEAVEN, and before thee” (Luke 15:18).
Furthermore, reformation is problem-centered, whereas repentance is sin-centered. The man who reforms his life looks upon his actions as problems and faults, but not as wicked sin against a holy God. Those who repent, on the other hand, confess that they have SINNED against God. They do not soft-peddle their sin. This is why it is crucial that people be taught plainly what sin is from the Bible. To tell people that they have sinned is not enough, because the sinner does not naturally think of himself as truly evil. He will admit that he has faults, problems, weaknesses, lack of self-esteem, etc., but this is not the same as admitting that he is a wicked and undone sinner before God.
REPENTANCE IS NOT PENANCE
Many Catholic Bibles translate “repentance” as “do penance,” according to Catholic theology that replaces biblical repentance with a sacramental duty. Penance is a Catholic sacrament whereby sins “done after baptism” are absolved by the priest upon the confession and good deeds of the penitent. The four parts of penance are confession, contrition, absolution, and satisfaction. The satisfaction refers to various duties prescribed by the priest, such as praying the Rosary. Satisfaction is defined by the authoritative Addis and Arnold Catholic Dictionary as “a payment of the temporal punishment due to sin through works which are good and penal and are imposed by the confessor.”
This is not biblical repentance. Sinners are not commanded to go to priests for forgiveness. They are not told to confess their sins to a priest or to do good works with the hope that their sins will thereby be forgiven. All of the elements of Catholic penance are unscriptural.
REPENTANCE IS NOT MERE REMORSE FOR WRONG ACTIONS
The Bible tells us that men can be remorseful about their actions without exercising genuine repentance unto salvation. This is described as the “sorrow of the world” in 2 Cor. 7:10. There are key examples of this in the Old and the New Testaments. King Saul is the prime Old Testament example. He was sorry that he got caught in various sinful acts, but he did not demonstrate repentance because his actions did not change (1 Sam. 15:24; 24:17; 26:21). Judas is the fearful New Testament example of a man who was remorseful but did not repent toward God (Matt. 27:3-4). Like reformation, remorse is man-centered rather than God-centered. Those who repent change their mind about their relationship with God and this results in a change in the way they live. Judas regretted his actions, but he did not turn to God.
REPENTANCE IS NOT MERE CONFESSION OF OR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF SIN
Repentance is also not mere acknowledgement of sin. Pharaoh did this, but he did not repent toward God and his actions did not change (Exodus 9:27). While working in a county jail ministry for several years, I saw many men and women who acknowledged that they had sinned, but most of those did not exercise repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
REPENTANCE IS NOT MERELY CHANGING FROM UNBELIEF TO BELIEF
The late Pastor Jack Hyles, First Baptist Church, Hammond, Indiana, who was an influential independent Baptist preacher, defines repentance to mean turning from unbelief to belief. He stated this in his 1993 book, The Enemies of Soul Winning. One chapter is titled “Misunderstood Repentance: An Enemy of Soul Winning.” He builds his doctrine of repentance largely on human reasoning: since unbelief is the only sin that sends men to Hell (so he claimed), unbelief is the only sin that must be repented of. That sounds reasonable, but it is contrary to the clear example and teaching of the Word of God. Biblical repentance as preached by John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Apostles, involved a change of mind TOWARD GOD AND SIN. Note the following summary of Paul’s gospel message: “But showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and DO WORKS MEET FOR REPENTANCE” (Acts 26:20). The gospel message preached by Peter on the day of Pentecost and by Paul after Pentecost required repentance and defined that as a turning to God from evil works. Biblical repentance is a change of mind toward God and sin that results in a change of life. To say that it has nothing to do with one’s attitude toward sin is to throw away 19 centuries of Christian preaching.
REPENTANCE IS NOT MERE CHANGING ONE’S MIND
Another man who has widely influenced the doctrine of repentance held by independent Baptists is the late Curtis Hutson, former editor of the Sword of the Lord. His 1986 booklet “Repentance: What Does the Bible Teach?” has been distributed widely. Hutson boldly denied that repentance means to turn from sin (p. 4). He denied that repentance is sorrow for sin (p. 8). He even denied that repentance means “a change of mind that leads to a change of action” (p. 16). He claimed that repentance simply is “to change one’s mind” and that it did not necessarily result in a change of life. In an attempt to build his doctrine of repentance, Curtis Hutson quoted Scripture that appears to support his position but he ignored the Scriptures that plainly denounce his position. He misquoted the writings of men like his predecessor John R. Rice. He also mixed in a heavy dose of human reasoning. For example, he stated that repentance couldn’t mean to turn from sin because man cannot turn from all sin. That is a smokescreen, because no one has defined repentance as turning from all sin. The historic definition of repentance, as it applies to salvation, is a change of mind toward God and sin that results in a change of life. Repentance is not turning from all sin in the sense of some sort of sinless perfection; it is a change of mind toward sin so that the sinner no longer intends to walk in rebellion against God. Dr. Hutson also reasoned that to say repentance involves turning from sin is a works salvation. That is nonsense. The Thessalonians turned from the sin of idolatry (1 Thess. 1:9). Obviously, that does not mean they thought that their works had a part in their salvation. The fact that God requires that we turn from sin does not mean that salvation is by works. We know that the works are the fruit of genuine salvation, not the cause of it. Repentance, defined as turning to God from sin, is not a works salvation, as Dr. Hutson falsely claimed. It is the sinner’s obedient response to the Holy Spirit’s conviction (John 16:8). Dr. Hutson’s entire line of reasoning about repentance was unscriptural.
Hutson even carried his false doctrine of repentance so far that he modified the 1989 edition of “Soul-Stirring Songs and Hymns,” which is the hymnal published by the Sword of the Lord. Under the direction of Pastor Tom Stastny the members of Beaver Valley Baptist Church of Montrose, British Columbia, went through the hymnal and documented many changes. In an open letter to Independent Baptists of Canada dated April 1, 2000, Pastor Stastny wrote: “Several of the changes center around the doctrine of repentance i.e. #245 (The Old Account Was Settled”), #288 (“I Am Resolved”), #318 (“Give Me Thy Heart”), #444 (“Almost Persuaded”). The 1989 version greatly weakens this doctrine in its overall message.” Following are the changes that were made to these four hymns:
“The Old Account Was Settled”
4th verse -- “O sinner seek the Lord, repent of all your sin, For thus He hath commanded if” CHANGED TO “O sinner, trust the Lord, be cleansed of all your sin, For thus He hath provided for.”
“I Am Resolved”
4th verse DELETED (“I am resolved to enter the Kingdom, leaving the paths of sin...”)
“Give Me Thy Heart”
2nd verse -- “turn now from sin and from evil depart” CHANGED TO “trust in me only, I’ll never depart.”
“Almost”
1st and 2nd verses DELETED -- “Almost I trusted in Jesus, Almost I turned from my sin; Almost I yielded completely to the sweet striving within.” “Almost I said, ‘Jesus, save me.’ Almost submitted my will; Almost persuaded to serve Him, but I rejected Him still.”
In a letter to Pastor Statsny dated March 31, 2000, Shelton Smith promised that the Sword would publish a new edition of the hymnal that would “use the original editions” of the hymns. As of 2007 this has not been done, and the changes themselves in the 1989 edition under Hutson’s administration speak for themselves.
REPENTANCE IS NOT MERELY THE SAME AS BELIEVING
Dr. Dwight Pentecost is among those who define repentance as merely believing in Christ. “Repentance is not a prerequisite to salvation; for if repentance is required, salvation is based, at least in part on works. … We would suggest to you from the Word of God that repentance is included in believing. It is not a separate act which conditions salvation, but rather it is included in the act of believing” (Pentecost, Things Which Become Sound Doctrine, 1965, pp. 70, 71). This sounds correct to many people, but it is wrong. First, as to repentance being a works salvation, that is nonsense. To say that repentance results in works is not the same as saying that repentance is works. Saving faith also produces works, but this is not to say that saving faith is works. Repentance, in fact, is so far from a work that it is a gift of God’s grace. “When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18).
I will reply to the idea that repentance is the same as faith by asking the following questions:
(1) If repentance and faith are the same, why does the Bible make such a plain distinction between them? “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). In reality, repentance and faith are two different actions though they are intimately connected and cannot necessarily be separated in time. Repentance is acknowledging one’s sin and rebellion against God and changing one’s mind about sinning against God. Faith is trusting the finished work of Christ for forgiveness. Repentance and faith are the two aspects of man’s response to God’s offer of salvation.
(2) If repentance and faith are the same, why did all of the New Testament preachers proclaim repentance? Many arguments have been given to justify not preaching repentance, but the bottom line is that the Bible preachers proclaimed repentance. If repentance is totally wrapped up in believing, why did the Lord Jesus Christ preach “except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3)? Why did Peter preach, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted” (Acts 3:19)? Why did Paul preach, “God ... now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30)? Or, “[men] should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance” (Acts 26:20)?
(3) If repentance and faith are the same, why did the Lord Jesus Christ say that repentance is a part of the Great Commission? “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). The answer is that repentance is to be preached, and faith is to be preached. While these doctrines are intimately connected, they are not the same. Biblical salvation involves both: “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). That is what the Lord’s Apostles preached, and they are our only infallible guides. Those who claim that repentance does not have to be preached or that it is exactly the same as faith are denying the plain teaching of the Word of God.
A SURVEY OF THE BIBLE’S TEACHING ON REPENTANCE
In the following study, we examine most of the Bible passages dealing with repentance toward God. Our study is an expansion of one done by Bruce Lackey. He defined repentance as “a change of mind that results in a change of action.” That is a biblical definition. The Bible’s examples of repentance show a clear change in people’s behavior. The change itself does not save us from sin, but IT IS the fruit of Bible salvation.
Exodus 13:17. “And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt.” God led Israel through the wilderness rather than through the land of the Philistines ‘lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt.’ God knew that their change of mind would result in a change of action. In this instance, a change of mind without the resulting change of action would have been meaningless. Repentance is defined in this verse as turning.
Judges 21:1,6,14. “And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.” The men of Israel had sworn that they would not give any of their daughters as wives for the Benjamites, but they repented and gave them wives (vv. 6,14). Again, the change of mind without the resulting change of action would have been meaningless.
1 Kings 8:47-48. “Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and REPENT, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, SAYING, WE HAVE SINNED, AND HAVE DONE PERVERSELY, we have committed wickedness; And so RETURN UNTO THEE WITH ALL THEIR HEART, AND WITH ALL THEIR SOUL, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name.” God promised that if captive Israel would repent He would hear them. He defined repentance as acknowledging their wickedness and turning to God with the whole heart.
Job 42:6. “Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” Here, again, we see that repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of action. Obviously, the dust and ashes were a change of action.
Jeremiah 8:6. “I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.” Repentance is defined as acknowledging and turning from sin.
Ezekiel 14:6. “Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.” God defined repentance as turning from sin and idols. Surely, no one thinks that God would have been satisfied if they had merely changed their minds without changing their actions.
Ezekiel 18:30. “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.” Again, repentance is defined as turning from sin and idols.
Jonah 3:5-8. “So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.” The word repentance is not used in the Jonah passage, but in Matthew 12:31 Jesus said they repented. The repentance of the people of Nineveh was witnessed in their actions. True repentance is always observable by a change in one’s manner of living.
Matthew 3:1,8. “And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. ... Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.” John the Baptist defined repentance as a change in life. He demanded ‘fruits meet for repentance,’ which obviously meant that he wanted to see some evidence that they had repented, before he would baptize them. The specific changes of action are listed in the parallel passage of Lk. 3:8-14. The various kinds of people had to show different changes of action, because their particular sins had been different.
Matthew 9:13. “But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Jesus defined repentance as a sinner changing his attitude to sin.
Matthew 11:20-21. “Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” Christ defined repentance as a dramatic change in one’s attitude toward God and His Word. He said this change of mind is evidenced by a change in action.
Matthew 12:41. “The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.” Jesus stated that the men of Nineveh ‘repented at the preaching of Jonas.’ Jonah 3 shows that they heard the Word of God, believed God, fasted, put on sackcloth, and turned from their sin. Christ considered their actions to be a result of their repentance. Would He have approved what they did if there had been no change of action? The answer is obvious.
Matthew 21:28-29. “But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.” The son’s repentance was witnessed by his change of mind and his obedience. A mere change of mind without a change in action would not have satisfied the father’s command.
Luke 5:32. “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Christ’s objective was not merely to bring men to a mental belief in the Gospel but to bring them to repentance, which, as we have seen, means a turning from sin, a change of mind that results in a change of life.
Luke 13:3-5. “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Christ absolutely requires repentance for salvation.
Luke 15:7-10. “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” Again, we see that Christ requires repentance for salvation. God and Heaven do not rejoice merely because someone prays a prayer in the name of Christ (Mt. 7:21) or because someone makes a mental assent to the Gospel (James 2:19-20). God and Heaven rejoice when a sinner repents.
Luke 19:1-10. “And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Zacchaeus’s repentance was a change of mind that resulted in a dramatic change of life. The evidence of his repentance was that he gave half his goods to the poor and restored five-fold that which he had stolen through his tax collecting business.
Luke 24:47. “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Repentance is part of the Gospel message that is to be preached to the ends of the earth. Repentance is part of the Great Commission.
Acts 2:37-41. “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” The Jews in Acts 2 who heard Peter’s sermon repented, and the evidence of this is that they gladly received his word, were baptized, and joined themselves with the hated Christians. Again we see that repentance is to turn one’s life from sin and rebellion to God and obedience; it is a change of mind toward God and sin that results in a change of life. The first church was built on the preaching of repentance!
Acts 3:19. “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” Repentance is God’s requirement for every sinner who will be saved. Repentance precedes and brings conversion and forgiveness of sin.
Acts 5:31. “Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” Repentance is required for and precedes forgiveness of sin. It is a work of Christ in the heart of the responsive sinner.
Acts 8:21-22. “Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.” Peter warned Simon to repent of his covetousness, which meant he was to turn from it, to reject it, to change his mind about it and to stop it.
Acts 11:18. “When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” Note that the disciples described salvation as repentance. They thought of salvation commonly in these terms. Note, too, that repentance is a work of God in the heart of the responsive sinner.
Acts 17:30. “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.” Paul preached repentance to the idolatrous people at Athens. He did not even mention faith in Christ, but he explained that God demands repentance. The preaching of God’s holiness and righteousness and man’s fallen condition and need of repentance precedes and prepares the way for the preaching of the Cross.
Acts 20:21. “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” This verse summarizes Paul’s preaching and the true Gospel message: repentance toward God and faith in Christ. The sinner must repent about his disobedience toward God and exercise faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ for his sin.
Acts 26:20. “But showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.” Paul preached the same message as John the Baptist, so no one can limit this to the dispensation of the law. The words of this verse, ‘that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance,’ show that repentance is not a work! When we preach repentance for salvation, we are not preaching a works salvation, as some have charged. When we say that repentance produces a change of works, it would be ridiculous to say that the two are one. Food produces energy and strength; labor produces sweat; but they are different things, so repentance and works are two separate things. Repentance produces and results in good works, but repentance itself is not works salvation. The bottom line is this: Paul preached repentance and required that repentance produce a change in the life. We must do the same today. Those who accept a mere prayer as salvation and who baptize people who demonstrate no change in life are not following the Bible pattern of evangelism.
Romans 2:4. “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” God does many things with the objective of bringing men to repentance. This is another reminder that God desires that all men repent.
2 Corinthians 7:9-11. “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.” Lessons: (1) Repentance is the product of God’s Word (v. 8; Jonah 3:5; Acts 2:38-41). (2) Repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of life. The Corinthians’ repentance produced a great change in their manner of living: ‘carefulness ... clearing of yourselves ... indignation ... fear ... vehement desire ... zeal ... revenge.’ (3) Repentance is not the same as reformation or other forms of “the sorrow of the world.” Repentance has to do with God and sin, whereas reformation has to do with other people and with conditions and things in this world. Many people, when they get into trouble, are sorry for the trouble and they determine to change certain things in their lives that produced that trouble. This is not repentance, because it does not deal with one’s wickedness against Almighty God and does not result in a change of attitude and action in relation to God. (4) True repentance is permanent (v. 10).
2 Corinthians 12:21. “And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.” Repentance is not about sin in general; it involves a change of mind and a change of action concerning specific sins.
1 Thessalonians 1:9-10. “For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” This passage gives a perfect definition of salvation repentance. It is turning to God from idols to serve the living and true God. Note that repentance is directed to God (compare Acts 20:21; 26:20). Repentance results in a change of life (turning from idols to serve God).
2 Timothy 2:25-26. “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” Repentance produces ‘acknowledging of the truth’ and recovery from the snare of the devil. Repentance is a work of God in the heart of a responsive sinner. God convicts of sin and calls the sinner to repentance and faith in Christ, and if the sinner responds, God grants salvation and fulfills His work of repentance in the sinner’s life.
Hebrews 6:1. “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.” The ‘repentance from dead works’ is obviously a change of mind that results in a change of action.
Hebrews 12:17. “For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.” Esau ‘found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.’ Bruce Lackey says: “Since there is no record of Esau trying to change the sale of his birthright to Jacob (Ge. 25:29-34), this must refer to his effort to get Isaac to change the blessing from Jacob back to himself (Ge. 27:34). Some interpret this to mean that Esau could not repent; I think it means that he could not get Isaac to repent of having given the firstborn’s blessing to Jacob. In either case, the meaning of repentance would be the same. Esau found a place to change his mind, but he could not find a place to change the action. This is one of the strongest proofs in Scripture that a change of action must take place, or there is no repentance.”
2 Peter 3:9. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Again, we see that the Bible frequently describes salvation in terms of repentance. God requires repentance for salvation.
Revelation 2:5. “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” Repentance obviously involves turning from actions that are wrong to doing actions that are right. It means to change one’s mind about a wrong behavior so that one determines to change that behavior by God’s grace.
Revelation 2:16. “Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” The Christians at Pergamos were instructed to repent of the sin and error that they were allowing in the church, which meant they were to turn from the things that Christ mentioned.
Revelation 2:21-22. “And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.” Christ required that the people ‘repent of their deeds.’ He surely would not have been satisfied with a change of mind without a change of action.
Revelation 3:3. “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” The repentance Christ required produced a complete change in attitude and action about specific sin and error.
Revelation 9:20-21. “And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.” From these verses, we see that repentance that is acceptable before God is to reject and turn from sin, idolatry, and error.
Revelation 16:9,11. “And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.” These passages say that tribulation sinners will not repent ‘of their deeds.’ Their lack of repentance is connected with their refusal to turn from their evil doings. Repentance is a turning to God from sin, a change of mind about sin that results in a change of action.
REPENTANCE DEFINED BY BAPTISTS OF THE PAST
To define repentance merely as turning from unbelief to belief, or to claim that repentance has nothing to do with turning from sin, ignores not only the Bible, as seen above, but also nineteen centuries of Bible-believing Christian scholarship. This is not how Baptists have defined repentance in the past.
The following are only a few of the examples that could be given. Statements by men are not our authority, but it is not wise to ignore what Bible-believing men of old have believed. Though we would not agree with every detail of the following statements, we believe they reflect the true definition of biblical repentance in contrast to the shallow definition that is popular today.
“Unfeigned repentance is an inward and true sorrow of heart for sin, with sincere confession of the same to God, especially that we have offended so gracious a God and so loving a Father, together with a settled purpose of heart and a careful endeavor to leave all our sins, and to live a more holy and sanctified life according to all God’s commands” (The Orthodox Creed, Baptist, 1679).
“This saving repentance is an evangelical grace, whereby a person, being by the Holy Spirit made sensible of the manifold evils of his sin, doth, by faith in Christ, humble himself for it with godly sorrow, detestation of it, and self-abhorrency; praying for pardon and strength of grace, with a purpose and endeavor by supplies of the Spirit to walk before God unto all well-pleasing in all things” (Philadelphia Confession of Faith, Baptist, 1742).
“Repentance is an evangelical grace, wherein a person being, by the Holy Spirit, made sensible of the manifold evil of his sin, humbleth himself for it, with godly sorrow, detestation of it, and self-abhorrence, with a purpose and endeavor to walk before God so as to please Him in all things” (Abstract of Principles, Southern Baptist Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky, 1859).
“Just now some professedly Christian teachers are misleading many by saying that ‘repentance is only a change of mind.’ It is true that the original word does convey the idea of a change of mind; but the whole teaching of Scripture concerning the repentance which is not to be repented of is that it is a much more radical and complete change than is implied by our common phrase about changing one’s mind. The repentance that does not include sincere sorrow for sin is not the saving grace that is wrought by the Holy Spirit. God-given repentance makes men grieve in their inmost souls over the sin they have committed, and works in them a gracious hatred of evil in every shape and form. We cannot find a better definition of repentance than the one many of us learned at our mother’s knee: ‘Repentance is to leave the sin we loved before, and show that we in earnest grieve by doing so no more’” (Charles Haddon Spurgeon, “The Royal Saviour,” Metropolitan Tabernacle, London, England, Feb. 1, 1872).
“…repentance … is a turning from sin, a loathing of it; and if thou hast that, thou hast sure repentance; but not else. Repentance is also a sense of shame for having lived in it, and a longing to avoid it. It is a change of the mind with regard to sin--a turning of the man right round. That is what it is; and it is wrought in us by the grace of God. Let none therefore mistake what true repentance is” (Charles Haddon Spurgeon, “Mistaken Notions about Repentance,” Metropolitan Tabernacle, London, England, April 20, 1879).
“Repentance is a change of mind or purpose. Until a man repents he commonly feels comfortable about himself and his ways; but when the Saviour, through the Spirit, gives him repentance, he changes his mind about himself, and seeing nothing good in his heart or in his works, his whole soul cries out, ‘Lord, be merciful to me a sinner’ (Lk. 18:13)” (William Cathcart, The Baptist Encyclopedia, 1881).
“Repentance and the firstfruits of repentance [baptism and other steps of discipleship mentioned in Acts 2:38-42] were generally inseparable. The former could not be genuine without manifesting itself in the latter. And in the circumstances of that day a willingness to be baptized was no slight evidence of a new heart” (Horatio Hackett, Commentary on Acts, American Baptist Publication Society, 1882).
“To repent, then, as a religious term of the New Testament, is to change the mind, thought, purpose, as regards sin and the service of God--a change naturally accompanied by deep sorrow for past sin, and naturally leading to a change of the outward life” (John A. Broadus, An American Commentary on the New Testament, Matthew, 1886).
“The preacher who leaves out repentance commits as grave a sin as the one who leaves out faith. I mean he must preach repentance just as often, and with as much emphasis, and to as many people as he preaches faith. To omit repentance, to ignore it, to depreciate it, is rebellion and treason. Mark its relative importance: You may make a mistake about baptism and be saved, for baptism is not essential to salvation. You may be a Christian and not comprehend fully the high-priesthood of Jesus Christ (Heb. 5 :11), but ‘Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish.’ So said the Master Himself. Repentance is a preparatory work. For thus saith the Lord: ‘Break up your fallow ground and sow not among thorns.’ I submit before God, who will judge the quick and the dead, that to preach faith without repentance is to sow among thorns. No harvest can be gathered from an unplowed field. The fallow ground needs to be broken up. The most striking instance on record of repentance as a preparatory work was the ministry of John the Baptist. He was sent ‘to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’ He did it by preaching repentance, and Mark says his preaching was ‘the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.’ Here is the true starting point. Whoever starts this side of repentance makes a false beginning which vitiates his whole Christian profession. When true repentance was preached and emphasized, there were not so many nominal professors of religion. TO LEAVE OUT OR MINIMIZE REPENTANCE, NO MATTER WHAT SORT OF A FAITH YOU PREACH, IS TO PREPARE A GENERATION OF PROFESSORS WHO ARE SUCH IN NAME ONLY. I give it as my deliberate conviction, founded on twenty-five years of ministerial observation, that the Christian profession of today owes its lack of vital godliness, its want of practical piety, its absence from the prayer meeting, its miserable semblance of missionary life, very largely to the fact that old-fashioned repentance is so little preached. You can’t put a big house on a little foundation. And no small part of such preaching comes from a class of modern evangelists who desiring more for their own glory to count a great number of converts than to lay deep foundations, reduce the conditions of salvation by one-half and make the other half but some intellectual trick of the mind rather than a radical spiritual change of the heart. Like Simon Magus, they believe indeed, but ‘their heart not being right in the sight of God, they have no part nor lot in this matter. They are yet in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.’ Such converts know but little and care less about a system of doctrine. They are prayerless, lifeless, and to all steady church work reprobate” (B.H. Carroll, Baptist, Repentance and Remission of Sins, 1889).
“Repentance being, as it is, an inward change of purpose resulting in an outward change of life, cannot be performed by one person for another. Repentance is a turning from a life of self and sin to a life of submission and obedience to God’s will. Repentance, as used in the New Testament, means a change of mind, but it is a word of moral significance and does not mean merely a change of opinion. Such a change often takes place without repentance in the New Testament sense. The will is necessarily and directly involved, as well as the emotions, but in scriptural repentance there is a change of mind with reference to sin, a sorrow for sin and a turning from sin. Repentance means sins perceived, sins abhorred and sins abandoned. This change is wrought by the power of God through the Holy Spirit, the word of truth being used as a means to convict the sinner of sin and lead him to forsake it and to resolve henceforth to walk before God in all truth and uprightness” (W.D. Nowlin, Baptist Fundamentals of the Faith, c. 1897).
“The New Testament emphasizes repentance and faith as fundamental conditions of salvation. Repentance is a change of mind toward sin and God, and a change of will in relation to sin and God. Repentance is not merely sorrow. It is rather godly sorrow which turns away from all wrong doing and enters upon a life of obedience. Faith is belief of God's Word concerning his Son, and trust in his Son for salvation” (E. Y. Mullins, DD., LL.D., Late President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY, published by The Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1920).
“We believe that repentance and faith are sacred duties, and also inseparable graces, wrought in our souls by the regenerating Spirit of God; whereby being deeply convinced of our guilt, danger, and helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ, we turn to God with unfeigned contrition, confession, and supplication for mercy; at the same time heartily receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as our Prophet, Priest and King and relying on him alone as the only and all-sufficient Saviour” (Baptist Faith and Message, Southern Baptist Convention, 1925).
“To repent literally means to have a change of mind or spirit toward God and toward sin. It means to turn from your sins, earnestly, with all your heart, and trust in Jesus Christ to save you. You can see, then, how the man who believes in Christ repents and the man who repents believes in Christ. The jailer repented when he turned from sin to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ” (John R. Rice, What Must I Do to Be Saved?, 1940).
“We believe that Repentance and Faith are solemn obligations, and also inseparable graces, wrought in our souls by the quickening Spirit of God; thereby, being deeply convicted of our guilt, danger and helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ, we turn to God with unfeigned contrition, confession and supplication for mercy at the same time heartily receiving the Lord Jesus Christ and openly confessing Him as our only and all-sufficient Saviour” (Baptist Bible Fellowship, Articles of Faith, 1950).
“Repentance is a godly sorrow for sin. Repentance is a forsaking of sin. Real repentance is putting your trust in Jesus Christ so you will not live like that anymore. Repentance is permanent. It is a lifelong and an eternity-long experience. You will never love the devil again once you repent. You will never flirt with the devil as the habit of your life again once you get saved. You will never be happy living in sin; it will never satisfy; and the husks of the world will never fill your longing and hungering in your soul. Repentance is something a lot bigger than a lot of people think. It is absolutely essential if you go to heaven” (Lester Roloff, Repent or Perish, 1950s).
“Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior” (Baptist Faith and Message, Southern Baptist Convention, 1963).
“What do I mean by repent? I mean to turn your heart from your sin. Turn from sin in your heart and start out to live for God. … A penitent heart that turns from your sin and turns to Jesus” (John R. Rice, “Repent or Perish,” Sword of the Lord, March 3, 1971).
“The Greek words [for repentance] mean ‘a change of mind which results in a change of action.’ When that refers to man, there is a sorrow for sin involved. This definition is substantiated both by the scholarship of Trench and Thayer, as well as by the New Testament usage” (Bruce Lackey, Repentance Is More Than a Change of Mind, 1989).
“Scriptural repentance is a change of mind which leads to a change of heart, a change of attitude and a change of conduct; a change of attitude toward self, toward sin, and toward the Lord Jesus Christ. It is an about-face of a soul that has been going away from God” (Roger Voegtlin, “God’s Command to Repent,” Fairhaven Baptist Church, Chesterton, Indiana, 1998).
“Repentance expresses the conscious turning from sin, a change of mind and of the whole inner attitude to life, without which true conversion is not possible” (Chris McNeilly, The Great Omission: Whatever Happened to Repentance, 1999).
ILLUSTRATIONS OF REPENTANCE
1. Repentance is the Prodigal Son coming to himself, confessing his sin against God and his father, and returning home. “And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him” (Lk. 15:17-20).
2. Repentance is the Thessalonians turning to God from idols to serve the living and true God. “For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thess. 1:9).
3. Repentance is Zaccheus turning from corruption to uprightness. “And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham” (Lk. 19:8,9).
4. Repentance is Nebuchadnezzar humbling himself before God. “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase” (Dan. 4:37).
5. Repentance is the Philippian Jailer running from his sin to Jesus Christ and becoming a kind helper of Christians. “And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house” (Acts 16:33-34).
6. Repentance is the Christ-rejecting Jews at Pentecost turning to Christ and His church. “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. … Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:38-42).
7. Repentance is a sinner raising the white flag of surrender to God. Repentance is a sinner who is at enmity with God laying down his arms, raising the white flag of surrender, and submitting to the One against whom he was before in rebellion.
8. Repentance is a U-Turn. Repentance is when a sinner is heading one direction, which is the way of sin and self-will, and he stops and turns around so that he is now going God’s way. This definition of repentance is seen in Exodus 13:17: “Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt.” The repentance of the Jews would mean they turned around from following God to return to Egypt. This is the opposite of what a sinner does for salvation, but it gives the correct definition of the term repentance.
9. Repentance is an assassin laying down the knife. “The hand that clutches the assassin’s knife must open ‘ere it can grasp the gift its intended victim proffers; and opening that hand, though a single act, has a double aspect and purpose. Accepting the gift implies a turning from the crime the heart was bent on, and it was the gift itself that worked the change. Faith is the open hand, relatively to the gift; repentance is the same hand, relatively, not only to the gift but more especially to the dagger that is flung from it” (James Stewart, Evangelism, pp. 48,49).
10. Repentance is the thief returning the stolen property. “I believe we ought to make right what we can make right. What if I was staying with a group of preachers and one of them stole my wallet while I was sleeping? The next day he comes up to me and tells me he is terribly sorry and asks me to forgive him. I would be glad to hear that he is sorry for stealing my wallet, but I would certainly want and expect more than that from a repentant thief. I would want my wallet back! I don’t believe he has really repented unless he brings my billfold back. I DON'T BELIEVE YOU HAVE REPENTED UNTIL YOU GET RIGHT AND SAY, ‘LORD, I’M GOING TO LIVE DIFFERENT FROM NOW ON,’ AND BY THE GRACE OF GOD YOU WILL LIVE DIFFERENT” (Lester Roloff, Repent or Perish).
REPENTANCE AND FAITH
Some men point to John 3:16 and Acts 16:31, claiming that it is not necessary to preach repentance since we don’t see it in these passages.
It seems to me, though, that this is a strange way to use the Bible, since it is so obvious from other passages that repentance is necessary. Jesus said it is necessary (Luke 13:1-5); Paul said it is necessary (Acts 17:30, etc.); Peter said it is necessary (2 Pet. 3:9). If preaching repentance is not necessary and we only need to preach faith, why did Christ Himself preach repentance?
I would say to the issue of why verses such as John 3:16 and Acts 16:31 don’t mention repentance is that proper saving faith includes repentance and proper repentance includes faith. I say this because repentance and faith are sometimes spoken of in Scripture as both being necessary for salvation (i.e., Acts 20:21; Heb. 6:1), while at other times only one or the other is said to be necessary.
Salvation is referred to as coming to repentance with no mention of faith in Matthew 9:13; 11:20-21; 21:32; Mark 1:4; 2:17; 6:12; Luke 15:7; 24:47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 11:18; 26:20; 2 Corinthians 7:10; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; 2 Timothy 2:25; and 2 Peter 3:9.
Then in other passages, such as John 3:16 and Acts 16:31, salvation is referred to as believing and repentance is not mentioned.
By comparing Scripture with Scripture (rather than isolating Scripture, which is the method used by false teachers), I conclude that saving faith includes repentance.
Preaching repentance depends on the soul winning context.
The Philippian jailer was obviously under deep conviction when he cried out, “What must I do to be saved.” Doubtless Paul and Barnabas had been witnessing to him. Now he was fully ready to do whatever God told him to do. There was no need to go into repentance. He was already repenting! I, too, have met men in jails that were ready to be saved. They had heard the gospel and God was working in their hearts; they knew that they were sinners and were deeply sorry for their past lives and were ready to bow before God. All that was needed was to explain to them how to put their faith in Christ in a saving manner (e.g., Romans 10:8-13).
On the other hand, when Paul preached to the idolaters at Athens who were looking on the matter of Christ and the resurrection as merely another philosophical debate, he told them that God “now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30).
Pastor Dave Sorenson says:
“Saving faith includes repentance. Repentance is not doing anything. It is not a deed, act, work, or rite. Rather, it is a change of the direction of one’s heart. It basically means an attitude of the heart in turning from sin and self and turning to God. That’s what Paul was referring to in Acts 20:21 when he referred to ‘repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Saving faith is the human heart turning to God and then trusting in Jesus Christ. ... Even as there is the part of trusting Christ, there is also the part of turning to Him. That may seem inconsequential, but I believe that here is a spiritual reason they some go through the motions of believing in Christ but are not really born again. They seemingly want the fire escape but there is no interest in turning to God. There is no interest in repentance. They have the attitude, ‘God, gimme salvation, but I’m gonna keep on doing my own thing.’ ... However, if there is no real turning to God from the heart, they have missed the prerequisite for actually trusting Christ” (Sorenson, Training Your Children to Turn out Right, 1995).
Repentance and faith are two separate things that come together for salvation, but they act together as one thing.
“Repentance is included in believing. Howbeit, repentance is not faith, nor faith repentance. ‘He that believeth,’ implies repentance. ‘Repent and be converted,’ involves faith. ‘The hand that clutches the assassin’s knife must open ‘ere it can grasp the gift its intended victim proffers; and opening that hand, though a single act, has a double aspect and purpose. Accepting the gift implies a turning from the crime the heart was bent on, and it was the gift itself that worked the change. Faith is the open hand, relatively to the gift; repentance is the same hand, relatively, not only to the gift but more especially to the dagger that is flung from it.’ ... Repentance is one threefold action: in the understanding--knowledge of sin; in the feelings--pain and grief; in the will--a change of mind and a turning around” (James Stewart, Evangelism, pp. 48, 49).
“While it is true that upwards of one hundred and fifteen N.T. passages condition salvation on believing, and fully thirty passages condition salvation on faith ... nevertheless, repentance is an essential condition in God’s glorious Gospel. It is also true that in the last analysis repentance and faith are one and the same act. ‘Ye turned to God from idols’ (1 Th. 1:9). Repentance is included in believing. ‘Howbeit, repentance is not faith, nor faith repentance. ‘He that believeth,’ implies repentance. ‘Repent and be converted,’ involves faith. ... Repentance and faith can never be separated. ‘Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Ac. 20:21). ‘Ye repented NOT ... that ye might believe Him’ (Mt. 21:32). ... Repentance is denying (negative), faith is affirming (positive). Repentance looks within, faith looks above. Repentance sees our misery, faith our Deliverer. Repentance is hunger, faith is the open mouth, and Christ is the living food” (James Stewart, Evangelism, p. 49).
“Repentance never saved a soul by its merits; it lays the needful foundation for the temple of faith in the heart. But all the penitential sorrows of Adam’s family would not remove one faint stain of sin. If a man borrowed five thousand dollars, for which he gave security, and squandered it most foolishly, and afterwards, filled with true repentance, he solicited and expected the forgiveness of the debt because he was sorry for it, the spendthrift would only meet with contempt in his application; his sureties would have to pay the money. Faith alone in the Crucified cleanses from all sin, and repentance is God’s instrumentality for leading the sinner to the Lamb of God, the Great Remover of sin” (William Cathcart).
TO PREACH REPENTANCE MEANS TO DEAL PLAINLY WITH SIN
The sinner who would be saved must repent, which repentance will always result in a changed life. This means that we cannot have the attitude that we will only deal with specific sin after the person receives Christ. That is the philosophy of many. If the sinner brings up his love for liquor, or his love for immoral relationships, or his love for gambling, some think it best to delay dealing with such things until after that one has come to Christ. And sometimes this is the best policy, but only if the sinner is clearly under the conviction of the Holy Spirit about his sin and is clearly ready to turn to Christ. On the other hand, if the sinner obviously still wants to hold onto his sin, the personal worker must deal with the fact that he must turn from it.
When my wife and I first began our work in South Asia in 1979, our landlord began coming to our house to have Bible studies. He was a wealthy middle-aged Hindu and had a concubine that he spent most of his time with, though he was married and had grown children. After we went through the gospel a few times, he told me he was interested in receiving Christ, but he needed to know what he would have to do about two specific things in his life—his shady business practices, and the illicit relationship with his concubine. I could have said, “Don’t worry about those things. Just pray to receive Christ and those things will work out later.” I don’t believe that is proper biblical counsel. I don’t believe he could receive Christ and be saved unless he was WILLING to repent of his immorality and his dishonesty. I told him that the Christian life is not a life that I live in my own power, that Christ lives the life in me. It is not just a new religion to practice. It is Christ living in me. I told him that if he received Christ the Holy Spirit would come into his life and he would be a changed man and he would be able to do things he never thought possible. But I also told him that he was going to have to repent of his sin and BE WILLING for God to take control. I believe that this willingness, this surrender of the will, is the essence of repentance. He argued that it was not possible to be honest in his country and to be rich, and he never returned for another Bible study.
During the 17 years we have spent in South Asia, we could have gotten large numbers of people to pray a prayer if that had been our objective. If we had simply asked if they wanted to go to Heaven when they died and if they believed that Jesus died for their sins and if so would they pray a sinner’s prayer, a large percentage of them would have muttered a prayer. They are accustomed to mantras and chants and would have seen the sinner’s prayer in the same light. If we had urged them only to “believe” without dealing with them about repentance, we would have had a multitude of unrepentant, “believing” Hindus on our hands--but believing in what? They eagerly believe that Jesus was a god, that he was good, that he loved them. It is very common, though, that instead of turning to Christ exclusively as God and turning FROM their idols, they merely want to add Jesus to their other gods.
Without repentance, there is no salvation. “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Lk. 13:5). It is imperative to deal with people about their sin and about repentance.
Someone might say, “Yes, but that is in Asia where people have never heard the gospel; things are different here in America.” It is true that things are different in America, but the average person in North America today is almost as gospel ignorant as someone in South Asia. The average person we meet in many parts of North America has no knowledge of the Bible’s teaching, not even of its stories and basic content. His mind is filled with the evolutionary, new age myths. Someone who has been educated in the North American public school system and who has had no sound Bible training is actually more prejudiced against believing that the Bible is the infallible Word of God than a Hindu in darkest Asia. The same is true for England and Europe and Australia.
The Bible principles of dealing with people are the same no matter where those people are found, and the Bible requires repentance.
A church in Maine had a soul winning campaign a few years ago and the people were instructed to go house to house and ask the following question of those who opened the door: “If I could tell you that you can go to heaven when you die and you won’t have to change anything, would you be interested?” I believe that type of methodology is heresy and deception. It is a lie to tell a sinner that he can go to heaven when he dies without changing anything. There must be a turning, a yielding, a surrender of the will to Almighty God. There must be a change of direction, a change of mind that leads to a change of life. We must tell people the same thing that the apostle Paul told them, that “they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance” (Acts 26:20). Anything less is an unscriptural program of evangelism.
Thomas Smith, pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in St. Clair, Missouri, had a conversation once with another pastor who was committed to “Quick Prayerism.” Pastor Smith said, “What if you were dealing with someone like Dennis Rodman [the professional basketball star who openly lives the most reprobate life] and you told him that he needs to receive Christ as his Saviour and he replied, ‘That is all well and good but I have no interest in changing my life,’ would you try to lead him in a sinners prayer anyway?” The other pastor replied, “Yes.”
This is definitely not what we see in Scripture.
When the Lord Jesus dealt with the rich young ruler who inquired about salvation, He did not tell him just to pray a prayer. He dealt with him plainly about his covetousness and pride and self-righteousness. The young man had to repent of such things before he could be saved. The Bible says that he went away sad because of his great riches.
Consider also Christ’s dealings with the woman at the well. He faced her squarely with the immorality that had controlled her life.
This is the way God always deals with people, and it is the way we must deal with them, too, if we want to follow the Bible in our gospel work. To preach repentance means to deal with sins that people are holding onto and to tell them plainly that they must repent of sinning against God; they must yield their lives to Him; they must change directions; they must surrender. God will do a new work in their lives but they must be ready for that to happen. They must have a change of mind about God and sin that will result in a change of life.
This is not “lordship salvation.” This is not Calvinism. This is not some kind of puritan methodology. It is simple Bible evangelism.
[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE or to UNSUBSCRIBE or to CHANGE ADDRESSES or to RE-SUBSCRIBE UNDER A NEW ADDRESS, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. If you have any trouble with this, please let us know. And please be patient with us. We do not ignore any unsubscribe request, but we cannot always get to your request immediately as each person involved with maintaining the Way of Life web site does this only on a very part time basis and is busy with many other major activities, such as pastoring and missionary work. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 25th year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://wayoflife.org/catalog/catalog.htm Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org. We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but from those who are. OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/offering.html. PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org]
IS THE KJV IN ERROR IN ROMANS 8:16?
August 20, 2008 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
“The Spirit ITSELF beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”
Is it an error to refer to the Holy Spirit as “itself”? Were the translators of the King James Bible committing a blasphemy by doing so?
This is what Doug Kutilek charges.
He is a man who has tried to make a name for himself by “taking on” the defenders of the King James Bible, and toward this end he thinks he has found all sorts of glaring “errors” in the old English Bible.
Kutilek is an expert, but not in anything of consequence. He is an expert in straining at gnats and swallowing camels. He is incredibly adept at setting up strawmen and finding red herrings. He excels at refuting Ruckmanism, all the while implying that all defenders of the KJV are Ruckmanites.
In all of this he shines, but when it comes to spiritual discernment in regard to the Bible Version issue, he has none.
Kutilek says:
“Any honest evaluation of the King James Version leads to the conclusion that it has numerous defects as a translation, some major, most minor. But of these defects, among the most serious, quite probably the worst of the lot, is its occasional use of the English pronoun ‘it’ to refer to the Holy Spirit. ... I will plainly state my opinion on the matter: I think that here the KJV comes dangerously close to blasphemy, if it does not in fact actually wander into it.”
KUTILEK VS. THE KJV: WHO SHOULD BE FOLLOW?
I will answer this, first, by observing that Doug Kutilek is not a Bible translator of renown nor a recognized Greek or Hebrew scholar, whereas the men on the august committee that gave us the King James Bible were all of that and more. For Kutilek to condemn their work in such a glib manner is like a person who paints by numbers authoritatively criticizing Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. (In The Glorious History of the King James Bible we give the credentials of the KJV translators.)
It amazes me how that a man with literally no serious credentials in anything rushes in with no compunction to criticize a translation that went through such an extensive purifying process.
The KJV is not just another English version. It was a thorough revision of the Tyndale translation, which was already excellent. William Tyndale had a rare gift of translating Greek and Hebrew into simple, lovely, and forceful English, and the KJV committee left most of his work intact (e.g., nine-tenths of the First Epistle of John and five-sixths of the Epistle of Ephesians is Tyndale’s).
The KJV committee consisted of roughly 50 scholars, many of whom were incredibly gifted and knowledgeable. They were divided into six companies, and the revision went through the hands of each company. The finished product was submitted to a 12-man final-review committee composed of the two chief men from each company. By this process each part of the translation was examined at least 14 times. Further, the committee received assistance and feedback from other scholars throughout England. I am not aware of any Bible translation in history that has gone through such an extensive sifting process.
The King James Bible is an absolute masterpiece. It is a solid translation of the Hebrew and Greek and its English is peerless. It has been called “The Miracle of English Prose,” whereas the modern versions have never been called a miracle of anything.
I have about 100 books in my library that extol the excellence of the King James Bible, and that is not counting those that were written by its current defenders over the past 30 years.
In 1824 William Orme said that as a whole it has “no superior” and “has seized the spirit and copied the manner of the divine originals.” In 1850 John Dowling, famous Baptist leader and author of The History of Romanism, called the KJV “wonderful” and said that “to introduce any material alterations would be like gilding refined gold.” (Doug Kutilek is capable of doing exactly this!) In 1857 Arthur Cleveland Coxe called it “the noblest heritage of the Anglo-Saxon race” and said that “to complain of its trifling blemishes, is to complain of the sun for its spots.” In 1861 influential Presbyterian leader Joseph Philpot said the KJV translators “gave us a translation unequalled for faithfulness to the original, and yet at the same time clothed in the purest and simplest English.” In 1911 William Muir called it “a rare jewel fitly set” and said, “It has the divine touch, even in its diction.” In 1987 Gerald Hammond said that the KJV translators “have taken care to reproduce the syntactic details of the originals.”
Those are only a few examples of the testimonies and information that we have carefully documented in our book The Glorious History of the King James Bible.
I say all of that to say this: For Doug Kutilek and his buddies to boast that they can find errors so easily in the KJV is actually humorous to behold.
As to the issue of the translation of “it” in Romans 8:16 referring to the Holy Spirit, this is actually a non-issue.
IT IS A NON-ISSUE, FIRST, BECAUSE THE KJV IS AN ACCURATE TRANSLATION OF THE GREEK.
How can an accurate translation of the Greek be labeled an error? Isn’t the accuracy of a translation dependent upon how exactly and properly it translates the original language?
The phrase “the Spirit itself” is translated from the Greek “auto to pneuma.” The pronoun “auto” is correctly translated “it.” It is a neuter or genderless pronoun referring to a neuter noun. If Kutilek has a problem with that, he needs to take it up with the Holy Spirit, because it is the Holy Spirit who gave Paul these exact words by divine inspiration. And I would say that the Holy Spirit knows how to refer to himself in a proper manner.
In an e-mail to me dated July 21, 2008, Dr. Thomas Strouse of Emmanuel Baptist Theological Seminary observed: “Actually, the KJV translators had the choice to translate the Greek idiom (neuter noun and neuter pronoun) or put the Greek idiom into an English idiom ‘Spirit Himself.’ In some places, they, as well as other translations, have chosen the English idiom over the Hebrew/Greek idiom.”
The early Wycliffe translated Romans 8:16 “that Spirit.” The later Wycliffe translated it “the like Spirit.” The Tyndale, Geneva, and Bishops translated it “the same Spirit.”
All of these translations -- that, like, same, itself -- are proper.
THIS IS A NON-ISSUE, SECOND, BECAUSE THE WORD “ITSELF” IN ENGLISH DOES NOT NECESSARILY REFER TO A “THING.” IT ALSO PROPERLY REFERS TO A PERSON.
When we understand the English language properly we see that in using “itself” the KJV translators were not referring to the Holy Spirit as a non-person and there was nothing blasphemous about it. Such a charge is as ridiculous as it is ignorant.
The following is from Will Kinney:
“The Random House Webster’s College Dictionary of 1999 lists under the second definition of ‘itself’ -- ‘used to represent a PERSON or animal understood, previously mentioned, about to be mentioned, or present in the immediate context.’ Examples given are: ‘Who is it? It is John.’ Did you see the baby? Yes, isn’t it cute.’ The Webster’s 1967 Collegiate Dictionary defines ‘it’ as ‘a PERSON or animal whose gender is unknown or disregarded.’
“The Father and the Son are clearly masculine, but the Spirit is sometimes referred to as masculine and sometimes as neuter, not because He is neuter, but rather because the gender is disregarded or not taken into account in that particular context. ...
“The NASB and NIV have two interesting and parallel verses in the NEW TESTAMENT. Both Matthew 12:45 and Luke 11:26 speak of a ‘spirit that takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than ITSELF.’ Here is a case of a spiritual entity that can see, hear, speak and has a personality, yet the gender is disregarded in the NASB and NIV and is referred to as ‘itself.’ This spirit was not an inanimate object, but rather a spiritual being with a distinct personality” (Kinney, “The Spirit Itself”).
THIS IS A NON-ISSUE, THIRD, BECAUSE THE BIBLE REFERS TO THE LORD JESUS IN THE SAME WAY THAT ROMANS 8:17 REFERS TO THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Again we quote from Kinney:
“All Bible versions at times speak of Jesus Christ as being a thing or something neuter. In Matthew 1:20 the angel of the Lord says to Joseph, ‘fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for THAT WHICH is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.’ Notice the angel does not say ‘he,’ but ‘that which’: it is neuter both in Greek and in English. In Luke 1:35 the angel says to Mary, ‘The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also THAT HOLY THING which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.’ That holy thing is neuter, yet we all know that Jesus Christ is a person, in fact, God manifest in the flesh.
“The book of 1 John opens with a reference to Jesus Christ, yet it refers to Him as a thing. ‘That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life.’ Yet Christ is not a thing, but a person. In 1 John 5:4 we are told: ‘WHATSOEVER is born of God overcometh the world.’ This is a neuter. Are we to assume that everyone who is born of God is a thing?” (Kinney, “The Spirit Itself”).
THIS IS A NON-ISSUE, FOURTH, BECAUSE THE KJV IS NOT ALONE IN TRANSLATING “AUTO” IN ROMANS 8:16 AS “ITSELF” OR “IT.”
This translation is also found in Alford, Darby, the NRSV, and Green’s Interlinear.
The fact that this translation is repeated in these versions does not prove the KJV is accurate, but it does prove that the KJV is not alone here.
Friends in Christ, beware of pompous men who have been bitten by the debilitating bug that David Otis Fuller identified as “scholarolatry.”
[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE or to UNSUBSCRIBE or to CHANGE ADDRESSES or to RE-SUBSCRIBE UNDER A NEW ADDRESS, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. If you have any trouble with this, please let us know. And please be patient with us. We do not ignore any unsubscribe request, but we cannot always get to your request immediately as each person involved with maintaining the Way of Life web site does this only on a very part time basis and is busy with many other major activities, such as pastoring and missionary work. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 25th year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://wayoflife.org/catalog/catalog.htm Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org. We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but from those who are. OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/offering.html. PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org]
WHY DOESN’T JOHN 3:16 AND ACTS 16:31 MENTION REPENTANCE?
WHY DOESN’T JOHN 3:16 AND ACTS 16:31 MENTION REPENTANCE?
August 19, 2008 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
For more on the following subject see our 180-page book Repentance and Soul Winning, which is available from Way of Life Literature.
__________________
Some men point to John 3:16 and Acts 16:31, claiming that it is not necessary to preach repentance since we don’t see it in these passages.
It seems to me, though, that this is a strange way to use the Bible, since it is so obvious from other passages that repentance is necessary. Jesus said it is necessary (Luke 13:1-5); Paul said it is necessary (Acts 17:30, etc.); Peter said it is necessary (2 Pet. 3:9). If preaching repentance is not necessary and we only need to preach faith, why did Christ Himself preach repentance?
I would say to the issue of why verses such as John 3:16 and Acts 16:31 don’t mention repentance is that proper saving faith includes repentance and proper repentance includes faith. I say this because repentance and faith are sometimes spoken of in Scripture as both being necessary for salvation (i.e., Acts 20:21; Heb. 6:1), while at other times only one or the other is said to be necessary.
Salvation is referred to as coming to repentance with no mention of faith in Matthew 9:13; 11:20-21; 21:32; Mark 1:4; 2:17; 6:12; Luke 15:7; 24:47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 11:18; 26:20; 2 Corinthians 7:10; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; 2 Timothy 2:25; and 2 Peter 3:9.
Then in other passages, such as John 3:16 and Acts 16:31, salvation is referred to as believing and repentance is not mentioned.
By comparing Scripture with Scripture (rather than isolating Scripture, which is the method used by false teachers), I conclude that saving faith includes repentance.
Preaching repentance depends on the soul winning context.
The Philippian jailer was obviously under deep conviction when he cried out, “What must I do to be saved.” Doubtless Paul and Barnabas had been witnessing to him. Now he was fully ready to do whatever God told him to do. There was no need to go into repentance. He was already repenting! I, too, have met men in jails that were ready to be saved. They had heard the gospel and God was working in their hearts; they knew that they were sinners and were deeply sorry for their past lives and were ready to bow before God. All that was needed was to explain to them how to put their faith in Christ in a saving manner (e.g., Romans 10:8-13).
On the other hand, when Paul preached to the idolaters at Athens who were looking on the matter of Christ and the resurrection as merely another philosophical debate, he told them that God “now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30).
Pastor Dave Sorenson says:
“Saving faith includes repentance. Repentance is not doing anything. It is not a deed, act, work, or rite. Rather, it is a change of the direction of one’s heart. It basically means an attitude of the heart in turning from sin and self and turning to God. That’s what Paul was referring to in Acts 20:21 when he referred to ‘repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Saving faith is the human heart turning to God and then trusting in Jesus Christ. ... Even as there is the part of trusting Christ, there is also the part of turning to Him. That may seem inconsequential, but I believe that here is a spiritual reason they some go through the motions of believing in Christ but are not really born again. They seemingly want the fire escape but there is no interest in turning to God. There is no interest in repentance. They have the attitude, ‘God, gimme salvation, but I’m gonna keep on doing my own thing.’ ... However, if there is no real turning to God from the heart, they have missed the prerequisite for actually trusting Christ” (Sorenson, Training Your Children to Turn out Right, 1995).
Repentance and faith are two separate things that come together for salvation, but they act together as one thing.
“Repentance is included in believing. Howbeit, repentance is not faith, nor faith repentance. ‘He that believeth,’ implies repentance. ‘Repent and be converted,’ involves faith. ‘The hand that clutches the assassin’s knife must open ‘ere it can grasp the gift its intended victim proffers; and opening that hand, though a single act, has a double aspect and purpose. Accepting the gift implies a turning from the crime the heart was bent on, and it was the gift itself that worked the change. Faith is the open hand, relatively to the gift; repentance is the same hand, relatively, not only to the gift but more especially to the dagger that is flung from it.’ ... Repentance is one threefold action: in the understanding--knowledge of sin; in the feelings--pain and grief; in the will--a change of mind and a turning around” (James Stewart, Evangelism, pp. 48, 49).
“While it is true that upwards of one hundred and fifteen N.T. passages condition salvation on believing, and fully thirty passages condition salvation on faith ... nevertheless, repentance is an essential condition in God’s glorious Gospel. It is also true that in the last analysis repentance and faith are one and the same act. ‘Ye turned to God from idols’ (1 Th. 1:9). Repentance is included in believing. ‘Howbeit, repentance is not faith, nor faith repentance. ‘He that believeth,’ implies repentance. ‘Repent and be converted,’ involves faith. ... Repentance and faith can never be separated. ‘Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Ac. 20:21). ‘Ye repented NOT ... that ye might believe Him’ (Mt. 21:32). ... Repentance is denying (negative), faith is affirming (positive). Repentance looks within, faith looks above. Repentance sees our misery, faith our Deliverer. Repentance is hunger, faith is the open mouth, and Christ is the living food” (James Stewart, Evangelism, p. 49).
“Repentance never saved a soul by its merits; it lays the needful foundation for the temple of faith in the heart. But all the penitential sorrows of Adam’s family would not remove one faint stain of sin. If a man borrowed five thousand dollars, for which he gave security, and squandered it most foolishly, and afterwards, filled with true repentance, he solicited and expected the forgiveness of the debt because he was sorry for it, the spendthrift would only meet with contempt in his application; his sureties would have to pay the money. Faith alone in the Crucified cleanses from all sin, and repentance is God’s instrumentality for leading the sinner to the Lamb of God, the Great Remover of sin” (William Cathcart).
_________________
For more on this subject see our 180-page book Repentance and Soul Winning, which is available from Way of Life Literature.
[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE or to UNSUBSCRIBE or to CHANGE ADDRESSES or to RE-SUBSCRIBE UNDER A NEW ADDRESS, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. If you have any trouble with this, please let us know. And please be patient with us. We do not ignore any unsubscribe request, but we cannot always get to your request immediately as each person involved with maintaining the Way of Life web site does this only on a very part time basis and is busy with many other major activities, such as pastoring and missionary work. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 25th year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://wayoflife.org/catalog/catalog.htm Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org. We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but from those who are. OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/offering.html. PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org]
INFORMATION ABOUT CHARITY MINISTRIES AND THE REMNANT MOVEMENT
Updated July 7, 2008 (first published June 7, 2007) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
Charity Ministries was founded in the 1980s by a Baptist named Denny Kenaston and a former Amish named Mose Stoltzfus. In 1982 they founded Charity Christian Fellowship in Leola, Pennsylvania. Since then the ministry has expanded greatly and encompasses a bimonthly magazine called HEARTBEAT OF THE REMNANT with a circulation of 4,000, a large tape ministry, dozens of associated churches (that often use the name Charity), and missionary work in Africa.
Kenaston’s teaching on godly family life, child training, and modesty has attracted many to the ministry. He has a tape series called The Godly Home Series and a book titled Pursuit of Godly Seed. Many have moved to Pennsylvania from other parts of North America to join Charity Christian Fellowship because of this teaching.
The doctrinal stance of Charity Ministries is similar to that of the conservative Mennonites with a slight Baptist, Amish and Pentecostal flavor.
I tried to talk with Kenaston personally about his doctrinal stance when I was in Pennsylvania on a preaching engagement in May 2007. I even stopped by the headquarters for his organization in Ephrata and tried to meet him and left my name and phone number, asking him to contact me, but he did not. I was in the area for several days, but he made no attempt to reply to my request to ask him a few questions. There is a lot of information, though, on their web site, including a confession of faith, and I also obtained a set of the tapes on The Godly Home and listened to them and read some back issues of Heartbeat of the Remnant.
They require that members renounce the doctrine of Eternal Security. Steven Pawley, pastor of Antioch Bible Baptist Church in Lockport, New York, told me in an e-mail dated May 24, 2007: “With regard to conditional security with Charity, I heard Mose address this clearly in their men’s leadership meeting in February 2006. The series was on discernment and the last message was called something like ‘on to perfection.’ You can get those tapes from Charity. Denny K. was in the room and they are in complete agreement. They gave each pastor a portion of the original larger group right there in the Ephrata, PA area. I know of a family in particular that moved out of state to a ‘Charity’ work in Ohio and were told they could not join that fellowship unless they renounced eternal security. They refused and have since left and gone back to a Baptist work. This doctrine is clearly taught and not hidden as far as I can tell and is a key component of the ‘Charity’ works.”
They believe that the apostolic gifts, including tongues and prophecy, are still operative. Their confession of faith says, “We confess the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit found in I Cor. 12 to be valid through the New Testament dispensation.”
Women must wear head coverings and not cut their hair. Their confession says, “Sisters will not cut their hair. They cover their head with a distinctive Christian veil.”
They are pacifistic and do not allow members to serve in the armed forces. Their confession says, “Participation in the kingdom [of God] prevents serving in armed forces...”
They do not believe in participating in the “affairs of state.” Their confession says, “Participation in the kingdom [of God] prevents participation in the affairs of state...”
They hold to six church ordinances: baptism, communion, foot washing, devotional head covering, holy kiss, and anointing with oil.
They do not believe there is any legitimate cause for divorce or for remarriage. Their confession says, “We further believe that God forbids divorce or marriages with divorced persons having former companions still living. Marriage by or with such persons is the forming of an adulterous relationship.”
They teach that there should be an equality of living standard among church members. Their confession says: “All property is held in stewardship as God’s. There is a conscious effort made to discern the needs of others and to share to the point of an equality of living standard. The Bible warns of the danger of accumulating riches and therefore demands distribution according to ability.”
After I published the first edition of this report, two people contacted me to share that there is a very strong influence in Charity by Bill Gothard.
One wrote:
“The real issue appears to be the leaven of Gothard which has so totally permeated this denomination as to make it almost an arm of Gothard’s army. Not all in leadership are happy about this, including especially Moses Stolzfus with whom I've spoken directly a number of times. Homeschoolers are often recruited to join this ministry because of Gothard.”
Another wrote:
“Denny Kenaston actively promotes Bill Gothard’s basic and advanced seminars and probably half of his members use the ATI homeschooling curriculum. Many of the families that move here to join Charity are recruited through contacts made at the ATI meetings in Knoxville and other places. ... They exercise a cultic like sociology among their people. If you leave you are shunned. ... Courtship is tightly controlled and parents must approve on both sides, and even with unsaved parents you are told you must obey, which is another carryover from Gothard. There are many sincere people like us who we moved to be part of what they thought was a Mennonite church (because of the dress and headcovering and nonresistance teachings), only to realize later that it is very controlling. ... The turnover is very high, and the control emphasis is strong. This group bears watching as they mushroom across the country.”
(For more about Bill Gothard use the search box at the Way of Life web site.)
Another man, whose sister got caught up in Charity, suggested that I add the following two points:
“Wedding rings are not allowed. They are considered part of the attire of the harlot. In my view this demand so insidiously interjects the leadership of the group making the demand into the relationship between husband and wife as to form a watershed in the establishment of control.
“The group also has no position on what constitutes baptism. Immersion, pouring, sprinkling?”
[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE or to UNSUBSCRIBE or to CHANGE ADDRESSES or to RE-SUBSCRIBE UNDER A NEW ADDRESS, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. If you have any trouble with this, please let us know. And please be patient with us. We do not ignore any unsubscribe request, but we cannot always get to your request immediately as each person involved with maintaining the Way of Life web site does this only on a very part time basis and is busy with many other major activities, such as pastoring and missionary work. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 25th year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://wayoflife.org/catalog/catalog.htm Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org. We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but from those who are. OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/offering.html. PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org]
ISP PULLS PLUG ON APOLOGETICS MINISTRY AFTER COMPLAINT BY ANTI-FUNDAMENTALIST
ISP PULLS PLUG ON APOLOGETICS MINISTRY AFTER COMPLAINT BY ANTI-FUNDAMENTALIST
July 27, 2008 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
The commercial Internet service provider IPowerweb has shut down the Apprising Ministries web site because of an unsubstantiated complaint.
Richard Abanes, who claims to be an “established apologist” and a “best-selling author,” wrote to IPowerweb, charging that Ken Silva, director of Apprising Ministries, had posted an article about him that was slanderous and demanding that they terminate Silva’s website. (Silva is an exceedingly rare animal, a Southern Baptist pastor with a warning ministry.)
Apparently without investigating whether Silva had actually slandered Abanes, IPowerweb wrote to Apprising Ministries on July 24 demanding that it remove the article in question or its web site would be terminated within 48 hours. They then carried out this action based on one man’s unsubstantiated complaint and his threat to “turn this situation over to my attorneys.”
Had they investigated properly, they would have learned that the article in question had been posted since 2005 and Abanes has never contacted Ken Silva about the matter.
IPowerweb’s policy prohibits the utilization of their ISP “for or in connection with any activities or content determined by IPOWER, in its sole discretion, to be related to ... harassment, defamation, libel and hate speech or other offensive speech or content...”
This is broad enough to prohibit anything that IPowerweb deems improper. Thankfully, there are plenty of alternatives to IPowerweb’s hosting services, but if the time comes when the entire Internet is government controlled, as it is already in China, or if “hate crimes” laws are enacted broadly, all Bible-believing Christians who try to warn about error could be shut down if God allows. (But that is a big if!)
As for Abanes, it appears that he has it in for fundamentalists. SlideofLaodicea reports:
“Richard claims he never contacted Ken about it because he thinks Ken is arrogant and wouldn’t have changed any offending inaccuracies. This is the crux of the problem. The first step in any blog or website dispute over material is to contact the offender personally and ask for corrections or removal, based on what the issue is. That isn’t just Christianity 101, that’s common sense. Richard admits that Ken is a Christian brother. How much more important, then, that this step be followed. It was not, and now Ken’s site is in serious jeopardy because of Abanes’ bullying tactics.
“I want to address something related here. There is a vast difference between someone giving a theological critique or opinion even in a hostile and unfair way, and someone posting personal attack material that makes moral slurs on your character. ...
“Ken’s choice was to either knuckle under to Abanes’ demands that he censor his own website of an opinion article, about which he has never been contacted, or be deleted. What a dangerous precedent this is if Abanes succeeds. Every blog that expresses an honest opinion, even a harsh opinion which happens to be protected by the 1st Amendment, is put at risk by behavior like this. ...
“Abanes’ site has articles attacking a number of fellow Christians, and he concludes the attacks with the words, ‘You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting’” (“Attack on Apprising Ministries,” July 26, 2008, http://www.sliceoflaodicea.com/?p=1246).
The Lighthouse Trails web site calls Abanes an apologist for Saddleback Church (http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/).
[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE or to UNSUBSCRIBE or to CHANGE ADDRESSES or to RE-SUBSCRIBE UNDER A NEW ADDRESS, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. If you have any trouble with this, please let us know. And please be patient with us. We do not ignore any unsubscribe request, but we cannot always get to your request immediately as each person involved with maintaining the Way of Life web site does this only on a very part time basis and is busy with many other major activities, such as pastoring and missionary work. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 25th year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://wayoflife.org/catalog/catalog.htm Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org. We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but from those who are. OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/offering.html. PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org]
THOSE FUNDAMENTALIST PHARISEES
Republished July 14, 2008 (first published August 2, 1996) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
Christians who stand for the details of the Word of God and preach against that which they believe to be error, who exalt biblical morality and preach against immorality, and who have strong biblical convictions are often labeled “Pharisees.” Many of the Promise Keepers supporters who have written to me to rebuke me for reproving their movement, call me a Pharisee. Consider a couple of examples:
“Rev. Cloud says ‘Our sole authority is the Bible.’ No one who participated in the Council of Carthage in 387 which settled for all time the canon of the NT would agree with Rev. Cloud on this issue. ... Such arrogance! ... I take it then, that you’re the only one going to heaven. It’s going to be awfully lonely there. Such arrogance! ... Such arrogance! ... I wonder what makes Mr. Cloud so sure he’s right and everybody else is wrong? Look at the Pharisees, Mr. Cloud, and then look in the mirror!”
“You’re the best example I think I’ve ever seen of the Pharisee who sits at the front of the synagogue giving thanks for not being a sinner like everyone else.”
To label a Bible-believing Christian who has zeal to obey God’s Word a Pharisee is a slander, because the error of Phariseeism was not their zeal to obey the Scripture. They had no such zeal. They were zealous, rather, to make up their own religious system and to rule over the people.
It is important to note that Jesus Christ did NOT rebuke the Pharisees for their zeal in obeying the details of the law. He said to them: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Matt. 23:23).
Christ did not rebuke the Pharisees for paying attention to the less weighty things in the law. He rebuked them for focusing on the lesser matters to the neglect of the weightier ones.
The Bible-believing fundamentalists that I know do not neglect the weightier matters of the New Testament faith. They aim, rather, to follow Paul’s example and to give heed to “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). They preach the virgin birth, blood atonement, resurrection, and ascension of Christ and justification by grace and the Trinity and the personality of the Holy Spirit and the other “weightier” matters of the faith, but they also preach church discipline (1 Cor. 5) and the restrictions upon the woman’s ministry (1 Tim. 2:12; 1 Cor. 14:34) and due order among men and women, which even touches on their hair styles (1 Cor. 11:1-16) and other things that are less weighty than salvation by grace and the deity of Jesus Christ.
We can see what Phariseeism is by examining what Christ rebuked for:
(1) Phariseeism is supplanting the Word of God with man-made tradition and thereby making the Word of God of none effect. “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:7-9).
(2) Phariseeism is rejecting Jesus Christ. “Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils” (Matt. 12:22-24).
(3) Phariseeism is perverting the Gospel of the free grace of Christ into a work’s salvation. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves” (Matt. 23:15).
(4) Phariseeism is self-righteousness. “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess” (Lk. 18:9-12).
(5) Phariseeism is gross hypocrisy. “In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Lk. 12:1).
The Pharisees were at the forefront of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and of the persecution of the early Christians.
It is a great error to label a Christ-loving, Bible-honoring, grace gospel-preaching, self-debasing, peace-loving Christian a Pharisee.
I can’t speak for all Bible-believing fundamentalists and fundamental Baptists, but I can speak for myself; and I have no confidence in my “righteousness.” I know that I have no righteousness apart from Jesus Christ. I look down upon no man, for I know that any spiritual victory I have enjoyed and any blessing in my life is only because of the grace of Christ. When I attempt to expose false teaching and sin, I am not looking down upon other men; I am simply striving to obey the Word of God.
The modern Pharisee would be more akin to the Roman Catholic priest with his sacramental gospel and his traditions exalted to the place of Scripture and his long history of persecuting the saints. The ecumenical crowd doesn’t call Catholic priests Pharisees, though. They don’t seem to be concerned about all of the souls who have been led astray by these contemporary Pharisees.
The only men they seem to be concerned about are those dreadful old fundamentalists with their strong Bible convictions and their refusal to smile at error. Oh, those dreadful old fundamentalist Pharisees!
[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE or to UNSUBSCRIBE or to CHANGE ADDRESSES or to RE-SUBSCRIBE UNDER A NEW ADDRESS, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. If you have any trouble with this, please let us know. And please be patient with us. We do not ignore any unsubscribe request, but we cannot always get to your request immediately as each person involved with maintaining the Way of Life web site does this only on a very part time basis and is busy with many other major activities, such as pastoring and missionary work. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 25th year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://wayoflife.org/catalog/catalog.htm Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org. We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but from those who are. OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/offering.html. PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org]
WHAT THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHES ABOUT SALVATION
July 9, 2008 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
A growing number of Roman Catholics are familiar with biblical terminology about salvation, such as born again, and some have been trained to reply affirmatively to the question, “Are you saved? Have you been born again?”
The problem is that they do not mean by this what the Bible means. Rome’s doctrine of salvation is not full and sure salvation through personal faith in Christ. It is a gospel of works that is sometimes presented under the guise of grace.
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH’S DOCTRINE OF SALVATION CAN BE SUMMARIZED AS FOLLOWS:
Rome’s gospel centers in the Catholic Church, the pope, and the sacraments. While Catholicism teaches that Christ died on the cross to purchase man’s salvation, it is not satisfied simply to invite men to receive this salvation by faith directly from the resurrected Christ. Rome teaches that Christ, having purchased redemption by His blood and death, delivered it to the Catholic Church to be distributed to men. Consider the following quotes from the Vatican II Council:
“For ‘God’s only-begotten Son ... has won a treasure for the militant Church ... he has entrusted it to blessed Peter, the key-bearer of heaven, and to his successors who are Christ’s vicars on earth, so that they may distribute it to the faithful for their salvation. They may apply it with mercy for reasonable causes to all who have repented for and have confessed their sins. At times they may remit completely, and at other times only partially, the temporal punishment due to sin in a general as well as in special ways (insofar as they judge it to be fitting in the sight of the Lord). The merits of the Blessed Mother of God and of all the elect ... are known to add further to this treasury’” (ellipsis are in the original) (Vatican II, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Apostolic Constitution on the Revision of Indulgences, Chap. 4, 7, p. 80).
“For it is through Christ’s Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help towards salvation, that the fulness of the means of salvation can be obtained. It was to the apostolic college alone of which Peter is the head, that we believe that our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant, in order to establish on earth the one Body of Christ into which all those should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the people of God” (Vatican II, Decree on Ecumenism, chap. 1, 3, p. 415).
ROME’S PLAN OF SALVATION HAS SEVERAL STEPS
The First Step is Baptism. According to Rome, salvation begins with baptism. It can be infant baptism for those born into Catholic homes or adult baptism for those who approach the Roman Church later in life. Either way, the Catholic Church teaches that through baptism a person receives spiritual life.
“By the sacrament of Baptism, whenever it is properly conferred in the way the Lord determined and received with the proper dispositions of soul, man becomes truly incorporated into the crucified and glorified Christ and is reborn to a sharing of the divine life” (Vatican II, Decree on Ecumenism, chap. 3, II, 22, p. 427).
Next Steps are the Other Church Sacraments.
After baptism a person is considered to be born again and part of the body of Christ, the Church. This new life is said to be nurtured and kept alive through Confirmation, Mass, Penance and the other sacraments.
“Just as Christ was sent by the Father so also he sent the apostles ... that they might preach the Gospel to every creature and proclaim that the Son of God by his death and resurrection had freed us from the power of Satan and from death, and brought us into the Kingdom of his Father. But he also willed that the work of salvation which they preached SHOULD BE SET IN TRAIN THROUGH THE SACRIFICE AND SACRAMENTS, around which the entire liturgical [ritualistic] life revolves” (Vatican II, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Chap. 1, I, 5,6, pp. 23-24).
“THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS ARE THE NECESSARY MEANS ESTABLISHED BY CHRIST THROUGH WHICH HIS REDEEMING, LIFE-GIVING, SANCTIFYING GRACE IS IMPARTED TO INDIVIDUALS’ SOULS. You must centre your life upon the sacraments established by Christ if you want to save your soul. means of salvation. ... The sacraments are the source of your real life, the divine life that will unite you with God in this world and in eternity. Let nothing make you think that you can get along without the sacraments. Without them your soul must die. ... IF YOU DON’T RECEIVE THE SACRAMENTS AT ALL, YOU DON’T RECEIVE GRACE. If you don’t receive them properly, that is, if you receive them seldom and with little devotion, you receive less grace” (L.G. Lovasik, The Eucharist in Catholic Life, pp. 14,15).
Thus we see that the Roman Catholic plan of salvation is faith in Christ PLUS baptism PLUS continuing in the sacraments.
ROME TEACHES THAT SALVATION IS BY THE GRACE OF JESUS CHRIST AND IS THROUGH FAITH, BUT IT DENIES THAT IT IS BY GRACE AND FAITH ALONE.
Let us hear this in the words of a modern Catholic theologian. The following statement is made by a Roman priest well known for his emphasis upon the necessity for personal faith in the exercise of the sacraments, yet he is careful to remind us that the sacraments are as necessary as the faith.
“In recent years the church has reiterated again and again that we are saved by faith AND the sacraments of faith. BOTH ARE NECESSARY” (J.D. Crichton, Christian Celebration: The Sacraments, p. 65).
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH REDEFINES GRACE
This confuses many people. When a Roman Catholic priest speaks of salvation through the grace of Jesus Christ, he does not mean the unmerited, free grace of Christ whereby a man is eternally and completely and once-for-all saved from sin when he puts his faith in Christ. By “grace,” the RCC means divine help to live a righteous life.
Consider the following quote from Vatican II:
“All children of the Church should nevertheless remember that their exalted condition results, not from their own merits, but from the grace of Christ. If they fail to respond in thought, word and deed to that grace, not only shall they not be saved, but they shall be the more severely judged” (Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, chap. 2, 14, p. 337).
This is a strange kind of grace. It is a grace that does not provide eternal certainty, but only the POSSIBILITY of living up to God’s requirements. It is a subtle and unscriptural MIXTURE OF GRACE PLUS WORKS that is severely condemned in Galatians 1:6-8.
THE BIBLE’S ANSWER TO ROME’S DOCTRINE OF SALVATION
1. Sacramental salvation is contrary to the examples of salvation in the book of Acts (Acts 10:43: 11:16-18; 14:27; 15:9-11; 16:30-31). The souls that were saved in the early churches were saved once and for all by putting their faith in Jesus Christ. Their salvation was not a process of sacramentalism.
2. Sacramental salvation is contrary to the teaching of the book of Romans. This book is written expressly to reveal the way of salvation (Romans 1:15-17).
Consider Romans 3:21-24; 4:4-6; 11:6. Notice in the last reference that God says it is impossible to mix grace and works for salvation. We are saved by grace or we are saved by works; it cannot be a mixture of the two as the Catholic Church teaches!
3. Sacramental salvation is also contrary to the Gospel of John, which was written expressly to lead men to eternal life in Christ (John 20:31).
The first twelve chapters of John describe Jesus’ ministry to the world of lost men. In these chapters, we are shown by unmistakable emphasis that eternal life and salvation are received by faith in Jesus Christ and faith in Christ alone. “Believe” is the key word in these chapters. See John 1:12; 3:16-18, 36; 5:24; 6:28-29; 7:38-39; 8:24; 9:35-38; 11:25-26; 12:36-37. Notice that in all of these verses we are told that salvation is obtained through faith in Christ and there is no hint of sacramentalism.
4. Sacramental salvation is contrary to the summary of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Here Paul summarizes the gospel that he preached, and it is faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Period. There is no sacramentalism whatsoever. No priests; no church; no works; no sacraments.
5. Sacramental salvation is contrary to the summary of the gospel in Ephesians 2:8-10. This passage teaches that salvation is a free gift of God’s grace and that works follow as the evidence. This puts everything into proper order and perspective. It is God’s will that men live holy lives, but holy living is the product of salvation and not the way of salvation.
6. Sacramental salvation is contrary to the summary of the gospel in Titus 3:4-8. This passage also teaches that salvation is a free gift of God’s grace and that works follow as the evidence and product.
This is true Bible salvation. Eternal life, forgiveness of sin, righteousness, and the Holy Spirit are received when an individual acknowledges his sinfulness, repents of his sin and trusts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It is only after this that a person can do any work to please God. Works and ceremonies, such as baptism and the Lord’s Supper, in themselves have nothing to do with forgiveness of sin, eternal life, the new birth, or becoming a child of God. Rather, obedience to God follows salvation as naturally as living follows ones natural birth. First we must receive new life through personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Then, having life, the regenerated believer serves his Master.
QUESTIONS TO ASK A PERSON WHO CLAIMS TO BE A SAVED ROMAN CATHOLIC
By Alex O. Dunlap
Occasionally, some well-meaning Christian thinks he knows a “saved Roman Catholic.” We invite such a person to introduce us to his friend so that we may, in his presence, ask the Roman Catholic these questions. His answers will easily determine that he is not saved in the true, biblical sense. The new “accommodation” approach of the Roman Church in these ecumenical days of apostasy is to use the same expressions as Fundamental Christians. Christian love is not shown by permitting these people to believe they are saved, when they are not. Christian love is shown by making the true Gospel plain and clear so that the “religious but lost” person will realize his unsaved condition and his need of a Saviour. He must receive the true Christ of the Bible, not a counterfeit, as in the Roman, Greek and many other churches. The Apostle Paul said that he was free from the blood of all men because he did not withhold from them all truth. May the same be true of every genuine witness for Jesus Christ! Here are the questions:
1. When were you converted?
2. How were you converted?
3. To what, or to whom, were you converted?
4. What do you believe now that you did not believe before your conversion?
5. What does it mean to be saved?
6. On what scriptural promises do you base your salvation?
7. What does it mean to be born again?
8. Are you sure today that if you die tomorrow, or at any time in the future, you will be in heaven immediately after death?
9. What do you believe about Purgatory?
10. What do you believe about the Mass?
11. Do you still participate in the Mass?
12. Do you believe that any sinner can be saved who dies without trusting in Jesus Christ alone for the salvation of his soul and forgiveness of his sins?
13. Do you believe that Mary and Roman Catholic saints can answer your prayers or help you get to heaven?
14. How do you believe that the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ is applied to your soul?
15. Have you told your priest you have been saved?
16. Do you believe you will still go to heaven if you leave the Roman Catholic Church, receive believer’s baptism and join a fundamentalist Bible believing, non-Catholic church?
17. When and where do you plan to do this?
As questions such as these are discussed in detail, it will become evident that the person is trusting in his works, merits, baptism, confirmation, sacraments, or something BESIDES OR PLUS, Jesus Christ, and not in Christ and Christ ALONE. He can then be shown the difference between his unbiblical form of salvation and the saving faith of the Bible.
[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE or to UNSUBSCRIBE or to CHANGE ADDRESSES or to RE-SUBSCRIBE UNDER A NEW ADDRESS, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. If you have any trouble with this, please let us know. And please be patient with us. We do not ignore any unsubscribe request, but we cannot always get to your request immediately as each person involved with maintaining the Way of Life web site does this only on a very part time basis and is busy with many other major activities, such as pastoring and missionary work. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 25th year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://wayoflife.org/catalog/catalog.htm Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org. We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but from those who are. OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/offering.html. PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org]
TRUE CHRISTIAN UNITY
Updated and enlarged June 5, 2008 (first published October 18, 1995) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
The cry for Christian unity is heard on every hand today, from Catholics and Protestants, modernists and evangelicals, emergents and even some fundamentalists.
What we need to do is get beyond the emotionalism of this movement and consider what the Bible itself teaches about unity.
JOHN 17:21 -- “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”
The modern ecumenical movement has taken John 17:21 as one of its theme verses, claiming that the unity for which Christ prayed is an ecumenical unity of professing Christians that disregards biblical doctrine. The context of John 17 destroys this myth. In John 17 the Lord plainly states that the unity that He desires and the unity for which He is praying is one based on salvation and truth and separation from the world.
“I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and THEY HAVE KEPT THY WORD. ... For I HAVE GIVEN UNTO THEM THE WORDS WHICH THOU GAVEST ME; AND THEY HAVE RECEIVED THEM, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. ... I HAVE GIVEN THEM THY WORD; AND THE WORLD HATH HATED THEM, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ... Sanctify them through THY TRUTH: thy word is TRUTH. ... And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified THROUGH THE TRUTH” (Jn. 17:6, 8, 14, 17, 19)
This is not a unity of true Christians with the false, of the nominal with the genuine, of sound doctrine with heresy. It is not a unity that ignores doctrinal differences for the sake of an enlarged fellowship.
In fact, there is nothing in Christ’s prayer to indicate that man is to do anything whatsoever to create the unity described herein. John 17 is not a commandment addressed to men; it is a High Priestly prayer addressed to God the Father, and the prayer was answered. It describes a spiritual reality that was created by God among genuine born again saints who are committed to the Scriptures, not a possibility that must be organized by man.
1 CORINTHIANS 1:10 -- “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”
Biblical unity is first of all a matter of having one mind. This is contrary to the ecumenical philosophy of “unity in diversity.” The type of “unity” that we find in the ecumenical movement is not unity at all; it is confusion; it is “Babel.”
Observe, secondly, that the unity that God requires is in the assembly. This exhortation was addressed first of all to a church. It is possible to have type of unity described here in the congregation, because doctrine can be agreed upon and enforced. In the church we can have the same doctrine of Christ, the Holy Spirit, Salvation, spiritual gifts, sanctification, Christian living, prophecy, you name it, because we have a statement of faith and requirements for church membership and we have pastors and discipline; but this is impossible in a broader context.
EPHESIANS 4:1-6 -- “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”
In this passage we see true biblical unity and it is far removed from the ecumenical philosophy.
First, it is a unity of the Spirit (Eph. 4:3). This means that it is a unity involving those who are regenerated by and led by the Spirit of God. Contrast this with the ecumenical concept of bringing together anyone that names the name of Christ regardless of their actual spiritual condition. At a large ecumenical conference in St. Louis in 2000 (the North American Congress on the Holy Spirit & World Evangelization), I asked many of the people who were manning ministry booths, “When were you born again?” Not one gave a scriptural answer. Some said they were born again when they were baptized. Some, when they had a charismatic style experience. Others weren’t familiar with the term. Yet all of these people are intimately involved in leadership within the ecumenical movement.
Second, it is a unity of the one faith (Eph. 4:5). Biblical unity is impossible apart from the one true and settled faith taught by the apostles. God’s people are called upon to “earnestly contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). There is no unity between those who believe and follow the Bible and those who do not. Note that “the faith” is not divided into cardinal and secondary issues. In Matthew 23:23 Jesus taught that while not everything in Scripture is of equal importance, everything has some importance. Nothing clearly taught in Scripture is to be despised and set aside for the purpose of unity. In 1 Timothy 6:14, Paul taught Timothy to keep all of the apostolic doctrine “without spot” until the return of Christ. Spots are small, seemingly insignificant things. Thus, Paul was teaching Timothy to value everything in Scripture. The theme of 1 Timothy is practical church truth (1 Tim. 3:15). In this epistle Paul dealt with things such as church government (1 Tim. 3), the woman’s role in church work (1 Tim. 2), care for the widows (1 Tim. 5), etc. These are the very things that are typically downplayed in ecumenical ventures, because they are considered of “secondary” importance. Yet Paul taught Timothy to keep all of these things without spot. Timothy was instructed to allow “no other doctrine” (1 Tim. 1:3). That is the strictest kind of standard for doctrine, and when one holds that standard of doctrine it is impossible to be ecumenical even in the mildest New Evangelical sense.
Third, it is a unity that is found in the New Testament assembly. The command in Ephesians 4:3 is addressed to the church at Ephesus (Eph. 1:1). It was not addressed to “the worldwide body of Christians.” As we have seen, it is possible to practice biblical unity within the assembly because doctrine and righteousness can be enforced and preserved there. Outside of the assembly, though, there is no biblical discipline, leadership, or oversight. When Christians attempt to practice interdenominational and parachurch unity, there is always compromise because respect for every aspect of the New Testament faith results in division rather than unity. I am not responsible to maintain a unity with every professing Christian in the world but with the believers in my assembly, in my local body, and with others with whom I am truly likeminded. The Bible says we are to glorify God “with one mind and one mouth” (Rom. 15:6). That is not a description of any type of ecumenism! This is only possible in the New Testament assembly, where believers can be united together in doctrine and spirit and purpose in a way that is impossible apart in a broader context.
PHILIPPIANS 1:27 -- “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”
The teaching of this passage is that, first, biblical unity is a function of the local church. This instruction was addressed to the church at Philippi. True Christian unity is not a parachurch or interdenominational issue.
Second, biblical unity means having one mind. It is not an ecumenical “unity in diversity.” Compare Romans 15:5-6; 1 Corinthians 1:10; 2 Corinthians 13:11.
Third, biblical unity means total commitment to the one apostolic faith. The New Testament faith is not many separate doctrines but is one unified body of truth into which all doctrines fit. It is unscriptural to think that only a few “cardinal” Bible doctrines are necessary while other New Testament teachings and practices are tertiary and can be ignored for the sake of unity. As we have seen, the apostle Paul instructed Timothy to keep every aspect of biblical truth “without spot” until the return of Christ (1 Tim. 6:14). This refers to the details of the Word of God. It is impossible to stand unequivocally for New Testament truth in all its aspects and to be ecumenical at the same time. As one wise pastor observed, we will either limit our message or we will limit our fellowship. If you determine to preach everything in Scripture, then you will automatically limit your sphere of fellowship. The choice is clear. If one is faithful to the New Testament faith, it is impossible to have a wide fellowship in this apostate hour, and if one is committed to a wide fellowship he must be willing to limit his message.
[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE or to UNSUBSCRIBE or to CHANGE ADDRESSES or to RE-SUBSCRIBE UNDER A NEW ADDRESS, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. If you have any trouble with this, please let us know. And please be patient with us. We do not ignore any unsubscribe request, but we cannot always get to your request immediately as each person involved with maintaining the Way of Life web site does this only on a very part time basis and is busy with many other major activities, such as pastoring and missionary work. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 25th year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://wayoflife.org/catalog/catalog.htm Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org. We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but from those who are. OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/offering.html. PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org]
THE POWER OF GOOD CHRISTIAN BOOKS
Enlarged June 2, 2008 (first published May 23, 2007) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
“The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.” (2 Timothy 4:13)
“The man who doesn’t read isn’t any better off than the man who cannot read.”
“Five years from now you will be the same person except for the people you meet and the books you read.”
“Gentlemen, either read or get out of the ministry” (John Wesley).
“What has exceedingly hurt you in time past, nay, and I fear to this day, is want of reading. I scarce ever knew a preacher read so little. And perhaps by neglecting it you have lost the taste for it. Hence your talent in preaching does not increase. It is just the same as it was seven years ago. It is lively, but not deep: there is little variety; there is no compass of thought. Reading only can supply this, with meditation and daily prayer. You wrong yourself greatly by omitting this. You can never be a deep preacher without it any more than a thorough Christian. O begin! Fix some part of every day for private exercises. You may acquire the taste which you have not; what is tedious at first will afterwards be pleasant. Whether you like it or no; read and pray daily. It is for your life; there is no other way; else you will be a trifler all your days, and a petty, superficial prayer” (John Wesley to John Trembeth, August 1760).
“I’ve devoted my life to the distribution of books, Bibles and tracts and anything that will help to further the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The reading of good Christian books is one of the best ways to challenge and encourage Christians” (Larry Harrison).
“Only Heaven will determine which was the most important in my earthly ministry--my preaching or the distributing of books.” (Peter Cartwright, circuit riding preacher)
“If religious books are not widely circulated among the masses in this country, I do not know what is going to become of us as a nation. If truth be not diffused, error will be; if God and His Word are not known and received, the devil and his works will gain the ascendancy; if the evangelical volume does not reach every hamlet, the pages of a corrupt and licentious literature will; if the power of the gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of the land, anarchy and misrule, degradation and misery, corruption and darkness, will reign without mitigation or end” (Daniel Webster, 1823).
The following is from Charles Spurgeon’s comments on 2 Timothy 4:13 entitled “Paul: His Cloak and His Books,” Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, volume 9, year 1863:
“Even an apostle must read. ... He is inspired, and yet he wants books! He has been preaching at least for thirty years, and yet he wants books! He had seen the Lord, and yet he wants books! He had had a wider experience than most men, and yet he wants books! He had been caught up into the third heaven, and had heard things which it was unlawful for a man to utter, yet he wants books! He had written the major part of the New Testament, and yet he wants books! The apostle says to Timothy and so he says to every preacher, ‘GIVE THYSELF UNTO READING.’
“The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains, proves that he has no brains of his own.
“Brethren, what is true of ministers is true of all our people. YOU need to read. ... We are quite persuaded that the best way for you to be spending your leisure, is to be either reading or praying. You may get much instruction from books which afterwards you may use as a true weapon in your Lord and Master's service. Paul cries, ‘Bring the books’ -- join in the cry.
“Our second remark is, that the apostle is not ashamed to confess that he does read. He is writing to his young son Timothy. Now, some old preachers never like to say a thing which will let the young ones into their secrets. They suppose they must put on a very dignified air, and make a mystery of their sermonizing; but all this is alien from the spirit of truthfulness. Paul wants books, and is not ashamed to tell Timothy that he does; and Timothy may go and tell Tychicus and Titus if he likes--Paul does not care.
“Paul herein is a picture of industry. He is in prison; he cannot preach: What will he do? As he cannot preach, he will read. As we read of the fishermen of old and their boats. The fishermen were gone out of them. What were they doing? Mending their nets. So if providence has laid you upon a sick bed, and you cannot teach your class--if you cannot be working for God in public, mend your nets by reading. If one occupation is taken from you, take another, and let the books of the apostle read you a lesson of industry.
“He says, ‘but especially the parchments.’ I think the books were Latin and Greek works, but that the parchments were Oriental; and possibly they were the parchments of Holy Scripture; or as likely, they were his own parchments, on which were written the originals of his letters which stand in our Bible as the Epistles to the Ephesians, the Philippians, the Colossians, and so on. Now, it must be "Especially the parchments" with all our reading; let it be especially the Bible.
“Do you attach no weight to this advice? This advice is more needed in England now than almost at any other time, for the number of persons who read the Bible, I believe, is becoming smaller every day. Persons read the views of their denominations as set forth in the periodicals; they read the views of their leader as set forth in his sermons or his works, but the Book, the good old Book, the divine fountain-head from which all revelation wells up--this is too often left.
“You may go to human puddles, until you forsake the clear crystal stream which flows from the throne of God. Read the books, by all manner of means, but especially the parchments. Search human literature, if you will, but especially stand fast by that Book which is infallible, the revelation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (Charles Spurgeon, 1863).
[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE or to UNSUBSCRIBE or to CHANGE ADDRESSES or to RE-SUBSCRIBE UNDER A NEW ADDRESS, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. If you have any trouble with this, please let us know. And please be patient with us. We do not ignore any unsubscribe request, but we cannot always get to your request immediately as each person involved with maintaining the Way of Life web site does this only on a very part time basis and is busy with many other major activities, such as pastoring and missionary work. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 24th year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://www.wayoflife.org/catalog/catalog.htm Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org. We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but from those who are. OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/offering.html. PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org ]
THE “NORMAL LITERAL” METHOD OF THE INTERPRETATION OF BIBLE PROPHECY
May 29, 2008 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
The following is an excerpt from the 202-page Advanced Bible Studies Series “Understanding Bible Prophecy,” available from Way of Life Literature:
The “normal literal” method of Bible interpretation refers to the way human language is ordinarily interpreted. God has revealed His truth through the normal means of human language. Thus, the normal literal sense of Scripture must rule. Dr. David L. Cooper wisely observes: “When the plain sense of scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense, but take every word at its primary literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context clearly indicate otherwise.”
WHAT ABOUT ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION?
The allegorical method of interpretation refers to spiritualizing the prophetic portions of Scripture instead of interpreting them literally. In this methodology, the Old Testament prophecies of a glorious earthly kingdom for the nation Israel are considered allegorical pictures of the existing church age. In other words, “Zion” is taken to mean the church instead of the city Jerusalem. The desert blossoming as a rose (Isaiah 35) is taken as a picture of the present fruitfulness of the gospel instead of a literal future condition on earth. The temple in Ezek. 40-48 is taken as a symbolic representation of the church rather than a literal future temple. By this manner of interpretation the events recorded in Revelation—the judgments upon the earth, the wars, the Two Witnesses, the sealing of the 144,000 Israelites, the binding of Satan, and the 1,000-year earthly rule—are viewed symbolically rather than as literal future events.
The Geneva Bible note at Revelation 9:11 identifies “the Angel of the bottomless pit” as “Antichrist the Pope, king of hypocrites and Satan’s ambassador.” There is no reason, though, to see the angel of the bottomless pit as anything other than a literal fallen angel in a literal bottomless pit.
The Lion Handbook of the Bible (1983) gives an allegorical interpretation of the book of Revelation. The two beasts of Revelation 13 are said to be “the Roman Empire and emperor-worship.”
The Illustrated Bible Handbook, edited by Lawrence Richards and published by Word Publishers in 1982 and by Thomas Nelson in 1997, takes a non-committal approach to Revelation, presenting both the literal-futurist and the allegorical-historical view, without exposing the error of the latter. The 144,000 in Rev. 7 is said to be “a perfect number (12 X 12 X 1000) representing the church of all ages.” The two witnesses in Rev. 11 are “not individuals but represent the whole church.” The death of the witnesses “symbolizes the church silenced by persecution.” The 1260 days (3.5 years) is “symbolic” and represents “periods of affliction.” The 42 months in Rev. 13:5 “represents the entire gospel age.” The binding of Satan in Rev. 20 “took place at the birth of Jesus.”
Harold Camping, founder of Family Christian Radio, recently came up with the following allegorical interpretation of Revelation 11:7. He says the two witnesses represent the church. The church has been in the great tribulation but has now been killed. Therefore, the church is dead; God is through with churches and pastors and they have no more Scriptural authority.
THE HISTORY OF ALLEGORICALISM
First century believers did not interpret the prophecies allegorically. In fact, it did not arise until some 200 years after the apostles.
1. A school was established at Alexandria, Egypt, which became the headquarters for the allegorical method of interpretation. The first head of the school was Pantaenus. Clement headed the school from 190 to 202. He intermingled the philosophy of Plato with Christianity. He helped develop the doctrine of purgatory and believed that most men would eventually be saved. He was mystical in his approach to Christianity. He taught that salvation was through knowledge rather than through the blood of Jesus Christ.
2. Origen (A.D. 185-254) was one of the chief fathers of allegoricalism. He led the school at Alexandria from 202 to 232. Though he endured persecution and torture for the cause of Christ under the emperor Decius in 250, Origen was loaded with false teachings. Following are some of the strange heresies of Origen: (a) He taught that celibacy was a holy state above marriage. (b) He lived an ascetic life contrary to the example of the apostles. (c) He taught a mixture of pagan philosophy and Christianity. (d) He taught baptismal regeneration. (e) He believed in purgatory. (f) He taught that all men and even Satan and demons would eventually be saved. (g) He taught the preexistence of the human soul. (h) He taught that the Holy Spirit was the first creature made by God. (i) He did not believe that the Scriptures are infallible. (i) He doubted that Jesus Christ is fully God. (k) Christ, in his atonement, made a ransom to Satan. Origen’s character is described by the Lutheran historian Mosheim as “a compound of contraries, wise and unwise, acute and stupid, judicious and injudicious; the enemy of superstition, and its patron; a strenuous defender of Christianity, and its corrupter; energetic and irresolute; one to whom the Bible owes much, and from whom it has suffered much.”
3. Another father of allegoricalism was Augustine (A.D. 354-430), also one of the fathers of the Roman Catholic Church. Augustine was also a heretic. (a) He was a persecutor and the father of the doctrine of persecution in the Catholic Church. The historian Neander observed that Augustine’s teaching “contains the germ of the whole system of spiritual despotism, intolerance, and persecution, even to the court of the Inquisition.” He instigated bitter persecutions against the Bible-believing Donatists who were striving to maintain pure churches after the apostolic faith. (b) He was the father of a-millennialism, teaching that the Catholic Church was the kingdom of God. (c) He taught that the sacraments were the means of saving grace. (d) He taught that Mary did not commit any sin. (e) He believed in purgatory. (f) He was one of the fathers of infant baptism, claiming that unbaptized infants were lost, and calling all who rejected infant baptism “infidels” and “cursed.” (e) He exalted the authority of the church over that of the Bible.
4. The Roman Catholic Church has continued to interpret the Bible allegorically throughout its history.
On the other hand, separatist Bible believers, such as the School of Antioch in the 2nd and 3rd century, some of the Waldensian groups, and various Anabaptists, have rejected allegoricalism and interpreted the Bible literally. We give two examples:
The School of Antioch was founded in the third century by Lucian (died A.D. 312) and trained preachers who rejected the allegorical method of interpretation. Some of these were Theodore, pastor of Mopsuestia (A.D. 350-428), Chrysostom (A.D. 354-407), Thodoret (A.D. 386-458), and Diodorus of Tarsus. “Diodorus of Tarsus’ books were devoted to an exposition of Scripture in its literal sense, and he wrote a treatise, now unhappily lost, ‘on the difference between allegory and spiritual insight’” (F. W. Farrar, History of Interpretation, pp. 213-15).
William Tyndale was the translator of the first English Bible from the Greek and Hebrew in the early 1500s and was put to death by Rome for his noble work. He said: “Thou shalt understand, therefore, that the Scripture hath but one sense, which is the literal sense. And that literal sense is the root and ground of all, and the anchor that never faileth whereunto if thou cleave, thou canst never err or go out of the way. And if thou leave the literal sense, thou canst not but go out of the way. Neverthelater, the Scripture useth proverbs, similitudes, riddles, or allegories, as all other speeches do; but that which the proverbs, similitude, riddle, or allegory signifieth, is over the literal sense, which thou must seek out diligently…” (William Tyndale, cited by Charles Briggs, General Introduction to the Study of Holy Scripture, pp. 456-57).
WHY WE REJECT ALLEGORICALISM
1. GOD GAVE THE SCRIPTURES TO REVEAL TRUTH TO MAN, NOT TO HIDE IT.
It is given for light, not confusion. “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deut. 29:29). Thus, in the Scriptures God uses the normal rules of human language.
2. GOD CREATED HUMAN LANGUAGE (Gen. 1:27-28; 2:19). Man is made in the image of God, and he thus has amazing communicative abilities. The first purpose of human language is that man might know and communicate with God. When Adam was first created, there were no other people to talk with. Adam talked only with God, and it is reasonable to assume that God gave man the linguistic ability to communicate with Him efficiently. God also created the different languages at the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:9). When God has spoken to men from the creation until now, He has always done so through normal human language. According to 1 Cor. 2:10, the Scriptures in normal human language are capable of communicating the “deep things of God.”
3. BIBLE PROPHECIES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN FULFILLED LITERALLY. Examples are the prophecies concerning the nations (such as Babylon and Tyre), the prophecies of Israel, and the prophecies of the first coming of Christ. All of these have been fulfilled literally in every detail, and it is reasonable to assume that unfulfilled prophecies will likewise be literally consummated.
Prophecies of Israel:
Deuteronomy 28
Verse 36 – Lam. 2:9; 2 Ki. 17:4-6; 2 Ch. 33:11
Verse 37 – Lam. 1:21; 2:15-16; 3:45-46
Verse 38 – Joel 1:4
Verse 41 – Lam. 1:5,16; 2 Ki. 24:10-16; Dan. 1
Verse 43 – Lam. 1:1, 5; 5:2-4
Verse 48 – Lam. 1:11, 14; 4:8-10; 5:5; Jer. 28:14; 4:13; Hab. 1:6-7
Verse 49 – Lam. 4:19; Ezek. 17:3, 12; Hab. 1:8; Jer. 5:15; 48:40; Hos. 8:1
Verse 50 – Lam. 4:16; Is. 47:6; 2 Ch. 36:17
Verse 51 – Is. 1:7
Verse 52 – Lam. 2:5; 7:9; 2 Ki. 25:1, 2, 4; 17:5-6; 18:13
Verse 53 – Lam. 2:20; 4:5, 10; 2 Ki. 6:28-29; Jer. 19:9
Verse 62 – Neh. 7:4; Is. 1:9; Jer. 4:2
Verse 64 – Jer. 16:13; Ezek. 11:16
Verse 65 – Lam. 1:3, 13; 3:4-7; 5:5, 9
Prophecies in 1 Kings
1 Kings 11:31 – fulfilled 1 Ki. 12:16-17
1 Kings 13:2 – fulfilled 2 Ki. 23:15-16
1 Kings 14:10 – fulfilled 1 Ki. 15:28-29
1 Kings 16:3 – fulfilled 1 Ki. 16:11-12
1 Kings 21:19 – fulfilled 1 Ki. 22:38; 2 Ki. 9:24-26
1 Kings 21:22 – fulfilled 2 Ki. 9-10
1 Kings 21:23 – fulfilled 2 Ki. 9:36
The Prophecies of the Nations:
SAMARIA: Micah 1:6 predicts utter ruin to Samaria, even down to its foundations. Tan reports, “During the time of Christ, Samaria was still a prominent city and was visited several times by Christ. But now, the old city stands no more.” “Vegetation grows on the hillsides of Old Samaria. The stones of the palaces have been thrown down and many of them have found their way to the valley below” (Martin Wyngaarden, The Future of the Kingdom in Prophecy and Fulfillment, p. 20).
TYRE: Ezekiel 26:3-16 predicts seven steps to the destruction of Tyre:
(1) Nebuchadnezzar shall besiege and sack Tyre (vv. 7-11).
(2) Many nations will participate in destroying Tyre (v. 3).
(3) The city will be made flat like the top of a rock and even the dust will be scrapped (v. 4).
(4) Its stones and timbers will be laid in the sea (v. 12).
(5) Other cities will fear greatly at Tyre’s fall.
(6) It is to become a place for the spreading of nets, referring to fishing (v. 5).
(7) The old city of Tyre will never be rebuilt (v. 14).
“This prophecy against Tyre was partly fulfilled in 586 B.C. when King Nebuchadnezzar took the mainland city of Tyre after a siege of thirteen years but was unable to take its nearby island to which most of the people had fled. In 322 B.C., Alexander the Great, by scraping up the stones and timber of the mainland city as building material, built a great causeway to the heavily-defended island, and so completed the conquest of Tyre. Today, the site of ancient Tyre has fresh water supply enough for a large modern city, but it has not been occupied for 2,300 years. However it is very popular with fishermen!” (Tan, p. 65).
The Prophecies of Christ’s First Coming: Psalm 22. In this Psalm alone, there are many specific prophecies about Christ’s death:
v. 1 – Matt. 27:46
vv. 6-8 – Matt. 27:39-44
v. 9-10 – Matt. 1:18-23
v. 11 – Mk. 14:50; Heb. 1:3
vv. 12-13 – Matt. 27:39
v. 14-16 – Matt. 27:35
v. 17 – Jn. 19:33
v. 17b – Mat. 27:36
v. 18 – Matt. 27:35; Jn. 19:24
Thus, we see that Bible prophecy has always been fulfilled literally, and there is no reason to believe that future prophecies will be fulfilled any differently.
4. EVERY MAJOR SECTION OF THE BIBLE FORETELLS IN DETAIL THE SAME EVENTS. In this way, God is emphasizing the literalness of these events. If a person studies Old Testament prophecies, Jesus’ prophecies, the Apostles’ prophecies, and the prophecies described in Revelation, he will see a repetition of the same events. All give details of the same major scenes—the worldwide tribulation, a wicked world ruler, Christ’s second coming in glory, destruction of rebels, restoration and national regeneration of Israel, the glorious earthly reign of Christ.
MAJOR PROPHETIC EVENTS FORETOLD IN ALL PARTS OF THE BIBLE
Event O.T. Jesus Apostles Revelation
Antichrist Dan. 9-12 Ma. 24:15 2 Th. 2:1-12 Rev. 13
Great Tribulation Is. 2;13;24;34 Ma. 24:21 1 Th. 5:1- 3 Rev. 6-18
Glorious Return Ze. 14:1-4 Ma. 24:29-30 2 Th. 1:6-10 Rev. 19:11-16
Conversion of Israel Jer. 31-33 Ma. 19:28 Rom. 11:25-27 Rev. 7
Destruction of Rebels Ze. 12-14 Lk. 19:27 Jude 14-15 Rev. 19:17-21
Glorious Kingdom Is. 35 Ma. 25:31 Rom. 11:25-27 Rev. 20
5. JESUS TAUGHT MEN TO UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPTURES THROUGH NORMAL MEANS (Lk. 10:25-26).
6. JESUS SAID THESE EVENTS ARE YET FUTURE. He pinpointed the general time of their fulfillment to be just before His coming in glory (Mt. 24:15-29).
7. THE EARLY CHRISTIANS INTERPRETED PROPHECY LITERALLY (ACTS 3:19-21; ROM. 11:25-27). THIS IS ADMITTED BY ALMOST ALL CHURCH HISTORIANS. “The most striking point in the eschatology of the ante-Nicene age is the prominent chiliasm, or millenarianism, that is the belief of a visible reign of Christ in glory on earth with the risen saints for a thousand years, before the general resurrection and judgment” (Phillip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, 1884, II, p. 614).
8. THE PROPHECIES ARE BEGINNING TO BE FULFILLED LITERALLY. The machinery for the one world government and religious organization described in Rev. 13 is being set up. Earthquakes, wars, famine, and false teachings are increasing just as Jesus said they would (Mt. 24:3-8). The nation Israel is back in its land in preparation for the literal fulfillment of all the prophecies pertaining to it. This supports the belief that God has not permanently rejected the nation Israel, but has only temporarily set them aside until He is ready to fulfill His promises to them (Rom. 11:25-29). There is no good reason to doubt that Bible prophecy will be wholly fulfilled in the future.
9. PRACTICAL NECESSITY ALSO DEMANDS THE LITERAL INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY. To interpret Bible prophecy allegorically destroys the absolute sense of God’s Word. If prophecy does not mean exactly what it says, there is no way to discern exactly what it does mean.
For example, consider Revelation 20:1-3. If this passage does not mean that a literal angel binds a literal devil in a literal bottomless pit for a literal thousand years, we have no means of knowing what it does mean. If it does not mean what it says, it could mean anything that any interpreter says it means. Thus, the teaching of the Bible is thrown into complete and permanent confusion.
“The literal method is a true and honest method. It is based on the assumption that the words of Scripture can be trusted. It assumes that since God intends His revelation to be understood, divine revelation must be written based on regular rules of human communication. To interpret literally means to explain the original sense of the speaker or writer according to the normal, customary, and proper usages of words and language. In order to determine the normal and customary usages of Bible language, it is necessary to consider the accepted rules of grammar and rhetoric, as well as the factual historical and cultural data of Bible times. It is proper for a word to have various meanings and senses. However, when a word is used in a given situation, it should normally possess but one intended sense or meaning. This is the regular law of linguistic exchange among sensible people. Music lovers seek to understand music composers, not by out-thinking and out-sensing the composers, but by following the latter’s choice and use of precise musical notes. Students of Music Appreciation courses do not go about trying to listen for something which is not there, but attempt rather to know the intended meaning and mood of a given composer through his use of the notes. Otherwise what the composer is trying to say is ignored and what the interpreter wants to say becomes the important factor. Literal interpreters believe that Scriptural revelation is given to be understood by man. It believes the Bible to be revelation, not riddle” (Paul Lee Tan, The Interpretation of Prophecy, p. 29-30).
10. ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION MAKES THE BIBLE STUDENT A SLAVE TO ENLIGHTENED TEACHERS WHO HAVE THE “KEY” OF UNDERSTANDING. This is how the Catholic Church has kept its people enslaved to its unscriptural traditions and dogmas. Rome taught the people that the Bible can only be understood properly by the priests.
“Whether it is the interpretation of prophecy or non-prophecy, once literality is sacrificed, it is like starting down an incline. Momentum speedily gathers as one succumbs to the temptation to spiritualize one passage after another. ... Moreover, under the method of spiritualization, there is no way for an interpreter to test the validity of his conclusions, except to compare his works with that of a colleague. Instead of ‘a more sure word of prophecy’ (2 Pet. 1:19), interpreters end up with an ‘unsure’ word and chaos in the ranks” (Paul Lee Tan, The Interpretation of Prophecy, pp. 73,74).
“If we preach the Bible literally, it is like telling the truth. You do not have to remember what you said. But if you spiritualize . . . what you said about a passage yesterday may be diametrically opposed to what you make it mean today. . . . A man will find himself contradicting himself over and over again as he preaches through the years” (W.A. Criswell, Why I Preach that the Bible is Literally True, p. 145).
Beware of the “Keys” to Bible Interpretation
If there is such a thing as the “KEY” to Bible interpretation, it is to study the Bible through the literal normal method and to let the Bible speak for itself. Yet, there are many strange “keys” promised by various groups.
The Christadelphians have a Bible study course called “The Key to Bible Understanding.” According to this “key,” salvation is achieved by faith plus works, death is to cease from breathing and does not mean man’s spirit goes to heaven or hell, resurrection is not for the wicked, baptism is required for salvation, hell is not a place of eternal torment, etc.
Mary Baker Eddy of Christian Science wrote the “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.” By this “key,” hell and death and sickness are not real but are merely illusions.
A new book that uses the hyper-dispensational approach, “One Book Rightly Divided,” has a cover illustration featuring a key lying on a Bible. By this “key,” Paul preached a different gospel than Peter, only Paul’s epistles are for the churches, Hebrews and James teaches you can lose your salvation, 1 John teaches that salvation is by faith plus works, and men will be saved by works during the Tribulation.
One web site features the “kitab-i-iqan: the key to unsealing the mysteries of the Holy Bible.” This describes the teachings of someone named Shoghi Effendi who has allegedly broken the seals of Bible prophecy. By this “key,” grave refers to error, heaven refers to divine revelation, tribulation is “not knowing where to go for the truth,” earthquake is “the hearts of believers being moved by the Holy Spirit,” being raised from the dead means having faith, clouds are “things contrary to the desires of man,” and angels are “people who have replaced faults with divine attributes.”
Another web site that features a “key to Bible prophecy” interprets the beast of Revelation as America and the destruction of life described in Revelation as the abortion of babies today.
Catholic Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s “key to the Bible” was “divine nuptials” or the struggle to form a faithful people. He taught that salvation is through the Catholic sacraments, that Mary is the Queen of Heaven, and that God exalts virginity and devalues marriage and the sexual relationship between a man and woman.
The “Key to Bible Understanding” by O.L. Dunaway of Truth Gleaner ministries, teaches that hell is not a place of eternal torment, that death is not a journey to heaven or hell, that baptism is necessary for salvation, etc.
The “Key to Understanding Bible Contradictions” by Gary Naler claims that contradictions in Scripture are “Yahweh’s intended riddles” and he proposes that men did not see this “key” for 2,000 years. One of the supposed riddles is Jesus teaching on the new birth in John 3! According to this “Remnant Bride” teaching, God is calling a remnant out of the organized churches, all of which are apostate, and this remnant is Elijah who will prepare the way for the return of Christ.
According to the “House of Israel Bible Studies” the “key” to the Bible is the covenant of David which supposedly has passed to the “lost tribes of Israel,” which are now found in England and the United States; Manasseh and Ephriam are now the United States and England; the British throne can be traced back to the kings of Judah; the pyramid on the U.S. dollar refers to its connection with Israel, etc.
Beware of the “keys” to the Bible that are offered by false teachers. Any claim that someone has discovered a “new key to” or has only recently learned the “real meaning of” Scripture is false. “If it is new it is not true, and if it is true it is not new”! The real key to understanding the Bible is simply to take God at His word, to approach the Bible through the rules of normal language, and to let the Bible interpret itself.
WHAT ABOUT THE ALLEGORY IN GALATIANS 4:21-31?
1. This is the only case of an Old Testament event seen by the New Testament as an allegory.
2. This method however is entirely different from the allegorical method of non-literal interpreters, because in Galatians 4, Paul assumes the literal existence of Hagar, Sarah, Mount Sinai, Jerusalem, etc. He cites them as allegories only for the purpose of illustration. The prophetic allegorists, though, say that Zion is not Zion and that the 144,000 in Rev. 7 is not 144,000 and that the 1,000 years in Rev. 20 is not 1,000 years. This is not what Paul was doing.
3. Paul never interpreted Bible prophecy allegorically, always literally – literal tribulation (1 Thess. 5:1-3), literal antichrist (2 Thess. 2:8-12), literal resurrection (1 Cor. 15), literal return of Christ with his saints (1 Thess. 3:13; 4:14), literal kingdom (2 Tim. 4:1), literal fulfillment of Israel’s promises (Rom. 11:25-27).
WHAT ABOUT APPLICATION AND THE DEVOTIONAL USE OF SCRIPTURE?
“The literal method of interpretation is concerned with interpretation, not with application. Applications are fair to the Bible when they are based on that which has been literally interpreted. To base interpretations of the Bible on applications is erroneous and will end in chaos. ... The literal interpreter, by insisting on the literal sense of Scripture, does not imply that the Bible has no depth or latent riches. God’s Word contains truths, principles, and applications which every interpreter must fathom. Some of these are latent, inward, and hidden; others are patent, outward, and obvious. ... The correlation of both the simple and the profound in God’s Word is wonderful to behold. But this licenses neither a mystical approach nor a forced search for some superadded ‘spiritual’ sense. There is nothing clandestine about Christianity. The proper approach to God’s Word is the reverent one of accepting what it says and then making applications to life” (Paul Tan, p. 31).
For example, we interpret the prophecies about return of Christ literally as belonging to the future and the prophecies of the Lord’s blessing upon Israel as literal events of the future, but we also get spiritual application from those prophecies for our Christian lives today. An example is Isaiah 59:18-21.
18 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.
19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.
20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.
21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.
This passage describes the coming of the Lord and the establishment of His kingdom. Verse 18 refers to His judgments during the Great Tribulation; verse 19 refers to the worldwide kingdom; verses 20-21 refer to the restoration of Israel and the New Covenant. This is the interpretation, but there are many applications for church age believers. Some of these are the following: God judges sin. The Lord is to be feared. God is the God of the whole earth. The Lord protects His people against the enemy’s most fierce attacks. The Lord is the Redeemer, the Savior. God demands turning or repentance. God offers a covenant of salvation today through Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God opens men’s hearts and minds to the truth. Salvation is eternal. Thus, we see that there is a literal interpretation and there is an application.
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THE HERESY OF SEPARATION
Updated and enlarged May 28, 2008 (first published December 11, 1996) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” (Romans 16:17).
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness” (2 Corinthians 6:14).
“Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us” (2 Thessalonians 3:6).
“If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness ... from such withdraw thyself. (1 Timothy 6:3-5).
“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” (2 Timothy 3:5).
“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3).
The entire world, secular and religious, is crying out today against separation. The Biblicist Christian who seeks to obey the Bible’s commands to separate from false teaching is mocked and slandered on every hand. With each passing year, the hue and cry against the doctrine of separation grows louder.
Let’s take a brief survey:
SEPARATION IS CALLED HERESY BY THE NEW AGERS AND BY THE WORLD
New Age is not merely a religious movement or cult; it is a spirit and philosophy that is permeating the secular and religious world in these end-times. New Age teaches that separation on the basis of religion, theology, etc., is an evil thing that hinders the evolution of the world. They teach that such separation is the opposite of love. Those who love will not practice separation, and those who separate are not loving. The December 1996 issue of “Emergence Online,” a publication of the Tara Center, Benjamin Creme’s New Age organization, contained the following statement:
“REMOVE THE WALL -- Each one of us has a wall around himself: a wall of resistance, of fear and anxiety. ... We know very well what takes place when there is a wall -- then we have resistance, conflict, everlasting battle and pain, because ANY SEPARATIVE MOVEMENT, ANY SELF-CENTERED ACTIVITY, DOES BREED CONFLICT AND PAIN. ... When we remove the division between the ‘me’ and the ‘you’, the ‘we’ and the ‘they’, what happens? ONLY THEN AND NOT BEFORE, CAN ONE PERHAPS USE THE WORD ‘LOVE’. And love is that most extraordinary thing that takes place when there is no ‘me’ with its circle or wall” (J. Krishnamurti, ‘You Are the World’, quoted in Emergence Online, December 1996).
Global oneness and breaking down every barrier that separates people is a theme that is repeatedly heard in the world today. Rock singers proclaim “We are the world.” Disney theme parks proclaim “It’s a small, small world.” The United Nations seeks to break down national barriers. International news organizations glorify global unity. All of this is a cry against separation.
SEPARATION IS CALLED HERESY BY ROME
The Pope, of course, has always considered separation heresy. The Waldenses, Albigenses, Lollards and other Anabaptist and separatist Christian groups through the centuries were charged as heretics. Force was frequently used to bring the separatists into the fold, and Rome’s attitude has not changed. It still considers itself the only true church in which the fullness of Christ and truth abide. It claims to be the “mother church.” Those who are separated from Rome are being wooed into the fold today through ecumenical gestures. In November 1964, during the Vatican II Council, Pope Paul VI issued the “Decree on Ecumenism,” which launched Rome’s direct and open participation in the modern ecumenical movement. Vatican II had also declared that the Roman Catholic Church is the only true church:
“THIS IS THE SOLE CHURCH OF CHRIST which in the Creed we profess to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic, which our Saviour, after his resurrection, entrusted to Peter’s pastoral care. ... This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the present world, SUBSISTS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, WHICH IS GOVERNED BY THE SUCCESSOR OF PETER AND BY THE BISHOPS IN COMMUNION WITH HIM” (Vatican II, “Dogmatic Constitution on the Church,” chap. 1, 8, p. 329).
Having reiterated its dogma that the Catholic Church is the sole church of Christ, Rome then stated its ecumenical policy:
“The Church established by Christ the Lord is, indeed, one and unique. Yet many Christian communions present themselves to men as the true heritage of Jesus Christ. To be sure, all proclaim themselves to be disciples of the Lord, but their convictions clash and their paths diverge, as though Christ himself were divided. WITHOUT DOUBT, THIS DISCORD OPENLY CONTRADICTS THE WILL OF CHRIST, PROVIDES A STUMBLING BLOCK TO THE WORLD, INFLICTS DAMAGE ON THE MOST HOLY CAUSE OF PROCLAIMING THE GOOD NEWS TO EVERY CREATURE” (Vatican II, “Decree on Ecumenism”).
Rome has been very plain about its ecumenical position. It has only one goal, and that is to bring every church and denomination into its fold. It considers separation from itself to be contrary to the will of Christ. Pope John Paul II dedicated himself untiringly to the task of bringing the “separated brethren” back into his fold. He often spoke of “THE INTOLERABLE SCANDAL OF DIVISION BETWEEN CHRISTIANS.”
At an ecumenical service conducted at the Vatican in 1985, the Pope embraced the three non-Catholic observers and said, “DIVISIONS AMONG CHRISTIANS ARE CONTRARY TO THE PLAN OF GOD.”
SEPARATION IS CALLED HERESY BY THE LIBERAL PROTESTANT ECUMENISTS
The liberal ecumenical denominations (such as United Church of Christ, Episcopal Church, United Methodist, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., United Church of Canada, The Church of England, the Uniting Church in Australia, and others associated with the World Council of Churches) boast of their broadmindedness. They can smile at practically any attack upon the Word of God or the Lord Jesus Christ. If a “clergyman” or “clergywoman” denies or questions Christ’s virgin birth or resurrection, that is tolerated. If he or she claims the Bible is filled with myths, that is tolerated. If he or she is an adulterer or a practicing homosexual, that is tolerated. There is one “heresy,” though, which is not tolerated, and that is the “heresy” of a dogmatic fundamentalist faith in the Word of God and the “heresy” of biblical separation.
In the early 1950s World Council of Churches’ leader Lesslie Newbigin (a bishop in the Church of South India who helped form the WCC) published The Household of God (SCM, London, 1953). He divided Christianity into Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Pentecostal. Newbigin called on Pentecostals to discard their separatist stance and join hands with the liberal ecumenical crowd:
“We must therefore assure our brethren of our willingness to learn from them in the fellowship of the ecumenical movement. ... We must tell them that in order to enter into the ecumenical conversation with us it is not necessary for them to abandon any of their distinctive convictions, but only to recognize us as fellow Christians sharing with them -- even though we be in error -- the same Spirit. WE MUST ASK THEM TO CONSIDER WHETHER BY DENYING ALL FELLOWSHIP WITH US, THEY DO NOT SIN AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT WHO IS IN THEM, AND WHETHER FAITHFULNESS TO THEIR LORD AND OURS DOES NOT ABSOLUTELY REQUIRE US TO SEEK UNITY WITH ONE ANOTHER.”
In June 1984, World Council of Churches leaders received Pope John Paul II to the WCC headquarters in Geneva. They conducted an “ACT OF PENITENCE,” SEEKING PARDON FOR “OUR DIVISIONS and for our failure to overcome them” (Evangelical Press Service, June 16-20, 1984). WCC General Secretary Philip Potter initiated the meeting with a prayer that it “be for all of us a step forward in our search for the unity of the church.”
In 1987 the National Council of Churches in America welcomed John Paul II to their nation with these words: “We join Pope John Paul’s conviction that CHRISTIAN DIVISIONS ARE “AN INTOLERABLE SCANDAL which hinders the proclamation of the Good News in Jesus Christ.”
This attitude toward separation among liberal ecumenists was illustrated when Episcopalians and Roman Catholics in Minnesota formed local ecumenical ties. A covenant was signed by representatives of both denominations, affirming the things they hold in common, and pledging members of the denominations to “ASK GOD’S FORGIVENESS FOR OUR SINFULNESS IN FOSTERING THE DIVISION OF THE CHURCH” (Episcopal News Service, Nov. 7, 1996). The covenant was signed by Episcopal Bishop James Jelinek and Roman Catholic Archbishop Harry Flynn in a solemn ceremony at the Cathedral Church of St. Mark in Minneapolis.
SEPARATION IS CALLED HERESY BY MANY EVANGELICALS
From our files we could pull hundreds of statements by Evangelical leaders who claim that biblical separation is wrong. The Promise Keepers movement was founded upon this philosophy. In an interview on the national radio program Promise Keepers This Week (August 31, 1996), PK Founder Bill McCartney said:
“Promise Keepers is going to have to understand that more and more Catholics are going to participate. And what every guy needs to do is, STOP LOOKING AT PEOPLE’S LABELS, and ask this question: ‘Does this guy know Jesus? Does he love Jesus with all his heart? Has he been born of the Spirit of God?’ And if you see that fruit, then QUIT MAKING JUDGMENTS. ... So LET’S NOT START CATEGORIZING PEOPLE. Let’s just allow God to be God and he can bless who He chooses to bless. And that’s how Promise Keepers is going to grow.”
McCartney does not believe we should make judgments and separate on the basis of doctrine, at least that is what he repeatedly states. As long as someone “loves Jesus,” we are to accept him and work with and fellowship with him.
The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) promotes the same philosophy. The 54th Annual NAE Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 3-5, 1996, had the theme: “Reaching America: ONE VOICE IN UNITY.” Speaking before this convention, Joseph Stowell, president of Moody Bible Institute, used John 17 as his text, “That they may be one.” Stowell said:
“GOD NEVER INTENDED THAT OUR DIFFERENCES WOULD DIVIDE US. We belong to Christ so our mission and purpose are the same. If you belong to Christ you are lifted above the differences, and all else becomes secondary. Promise Keepers Clergy Conference in Atlanta showed the unity that is possible. ... WE MUST REPENT OF OUR ATTITUDES as I did in Atlanta. I WENT TO A MAN WHO HELD DIFFERENT DOCTRINES THAN I HELD AND APOLOGIZED because I never cared about him. Our differences are not that big, and we must realize this is what will build trust. Revival happens when God’s people network together. The world shall know we are one by our love” (“A Report on the 54th Annual Convention of the NAE,” Ralph Colas, American Council of Christian Churches).
Robert Webber, long-time Wheaton College professor and influential voice in the contemplative movement and the emerging church, says:
“We evangelicals need to turn our backs on the old separatist model” (Ancient-Future Faith, p. 86).
SEPARATION IS CALLED HERESY BY MANY CHARISMATICS
The Charismatic movement is the neo-Pentecostal movement. Old-line Pentecostal denominations such as the Assemblies of God were separated from other groups on the basis of doctrine until recent decades. The Charismatic movement, on the other hand, has, from its inception in the 1960s, been extremely ecumenical and inter-denominational. It has been one of the chief instruments in these last days for breaking down doctrinal divisions and creating of a one-world church. The attitude toward doctrinal divisions that permeates the Charismatic movement was illustrated in 1975 at the Fifth International Lutheran Conference of the Holy Spirit. A Catholic cardinal and a Lutheran pastor publicly embraced before the 12,000 in attendance and asked for mutual forgiveness. Lutheran Pastor Donald Pfotenhauer asked Cardinal Leo Suenens to forgive Lutherans for their sins against Roman Catholics, “so the Lord may release His Spirit upon us” (F.E.A. News & Views, Fundamental Evangelistic Association, November-December 1976).
At the 1975 Atlantic City Conference, a Roman Catholic charismatic meeting which included many non-Catholics, Catholic priest John Bertolucci led in prayers for the healing of church divisions. The scene that followed is described by a participant:
“Protestants were asked to stand and Catholics who were next to them were asked to seek forgiveness from their Protestant brothers and sisters for all the pain and hurt caused by their church’s office over the past 400 years. We Protestants did the same ... This night became, for all of us, the time when the Lord chose to heal 400 years of hurt, pain and division between the Catholic and Protestant churches” (Thomas Twitchell, That They May Be One, Logos, 1978, pp. 137-138).
Twitchell ended his book with the exhortation to “hold our leaders, shepherds and ourselves accountable to do all we can to bring together the body of Christ -- today” (Ibid., p. 216).”
Influential Episcopalian Charismatic leader Michael Harper, writing in 1978 of Christ’s return, stated: “THE CHURCH MUST FIRST BE UNITED. It is as inconceivable to think of Jesus returning for a disunited Church as it is to an unevangelized world” (Christian Life, August 1978). In his book The Three Sisters, Harper called for the unity of Evangelicals, Charismatics, and Roman Catholics. “I must confess to a deep longing to see these sisters reconciled to each other; to see them openly united in Christ and the Spirit; learning from each other and humbly listening to each other” (The Three Sisters, p. 11).
SEPARATION IS CALLED HERESY BY MANY NEO-FUNDAMENTALISTS
A new generation of fundamentalists has arisen which has rejected the militancy of its forebears. These neo-fundamentalists still claim to be fundamentalists but they sound like and they act like New-Evangelicals. Two key examples of this phenomenon are Jerry Falwell and his Liberty University among independent Baptists and Cornerstone College and many of the other schools and missions associated with the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches.
Interestingly, the belligerence of the Neo-Fundamentalist toward the old-line fundamental separatist is even more vicious than that of some of the other groups. Consider a statement that appeared in Jerry Falwell’s now defunct and misnamed publication “The Fundamentalist Journal.” The author labels the old-line fundamentalist who seeks to practice separation from error and compromise a “pseudo-fundamentalist” --
“Pseudo-Fundamentalists craft their doctrines and rules carefully. THEY BUILD MASSIVE WALLS OF SEPARATION AROUND THEMSELVES and take great pride in standing ‘all alone,’ besieged by wickedness from without and compromise from within. They set themselves as the ultimate standard of orthodoxy and stand prepared to cross swords with any who attempt to breach the walls. ... What should we do? We must take the whole armor of God, and IN HIS MIGHT COMMAND THAT THE WALLS BE BROKEN DOWN, and walk through into the light of day. Fundamental Christianity, strong and robust as ever, must not succumb to these modern-day Pharisees who find contentment only when they effectively mute God’s church” (Daniel R. Mitchell, “The Siege Mentality of Pseudo-Fundamentalism,” The Fundamentalist Journal, February 1987, p. 59).
The hour is very late. The end-times spirit that will produce the one-world Harlot church described in Revelation 17 is moving powerfully. The pressure to “give up and join in” with the ecumenical movement is increasing with each passing year. Great numbers of men who once stood firm against ecumenism are weakening. There is less forthrightness in the preaching, less clarity in the identification of error.
May God give us boldness to stand! The man who has the mindset and testimony of the sweet Psalmist of Israel will not be able to join hands with anyone who errs from the Word of God: “Therefore I esteem ALL thy precepts concerning ALL things to be right; and I hate EVERY false way” (Psalm 119:128). Biblical love requires biblical hate. Biblical unity requires biblical separation. A wise pastor once said, “I you refuse to limit your message, you will be required to limit your fellowship.”
[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE or to UNSUBSCRIBE or to CHANGE ADDRESSES or to RE-SUBSCRIBE UNDER A NEW ADDRESS, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. If you have any trouble with this, please let us know. And please be patient with us. We do not ignore any unsubscribe request, but we cannot always get to your request immediately as each person involved with maintaining the Way of Life web site does this only on a very part time basis and is busy with many other major activities, such as pastoring and missionary work. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 25th year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://wayoflife.org/catalog/catalog.htm Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org. We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but from those who are. OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/offering.html. PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org]
THE END RESULT OF IMMORALITY
May 27, 2008 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
The following is from the new Advanced Bible Studies Series course on the book of Proverbs.
Proverbs warns frequently of the danger of the “strange woman,” referring to all forms of immorality. It also teaches us that one important way of victory over the strange woman is to ponder her end. Hollywood, as Satan’s instrument, commonly fails to show the end of sin, tending to make it appear glamorous and exciting and rarely showing its awful consequences. God’s Word, on the other hand, shows the end of sin in the plainest manner as a warning to men. Proverbs 5:4-23 describes six results of immorality. Though the deeds of the strange woman appeal to the flesh and there are pleasures in her sin for a season, her end is what we must consider, and her end is fearful in the extreme.
(1) The strange woman leads to hell (Prov. 5:4-5). The Bible warns often about hell. Jesus preached about it many times and warned people not to go there (e.g., Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:22-31). In Proverbs 5:4-5 hell is likened to the bitterness of wormwood and the pain of a sharp sword. In fact, it is far worse because the pain of hell has no end.
(2) The strange woman leads to the loss of honor (Prov. 5:9). Consider David, the sweet Psalmist of Israel, and how that his honor is stained to this very day by his dalliance with immorality. I think of many preachers who have committed adultery during my lifetime and they are out of the ministry and their dishonor remains in spite of the good that they accomplished.
(3) The strange woman leads to the loss of wealth (Prov. 5:10). Samson lost everything to immorality. An article in the Baptist Press that described two ministers who became addicted to pornography concluded with these words: “Both of the guys I’m dealing with right now, here’s what they’ve lost: They’ve lost their marriage. They’ve lost their job. They lost a lot of friends in the sense it will never be the same. They’ve lost custody of their children and now they are both doing something that they don’t really want to do or feel called to do, and they’re just trying to get by” (“Flood of Pornography Breaching the Church,” Baptist Press, Jul. 6, 2007).
(4) The strange woman leads to the loss of health (Prov. 5:11). God has loosed special diseases into the realm of immorality. There are many venereal diseases that a person will never catch if he remains morally pure and faithful to his marital spouse. There is also often loss of health through the drunkenness and drug abuse that often accompanies immoral living. This has resulted in the early death of tens of thousands of rock & rollers. We think of Elvis Presley, who died at age 42 because of his debauched lifestyle. We also think of Hollywood movie stars such as Errol Flynn, who died at age 50 from his “kamikaze lifestyle” and lost much of his money to multiple divorces and careless sexual relationships.
(5) The strange woman leads to remorse (Prov. 5:12-14). Those who follow the strange woman are temporarily blinded by lust, but they wake up one day to find that they have lost much. They are filled with remorse that they did not listen to the voice of wisdom. They hated instruction and despised reproof and obeyed not the voice of their teachers, but it is too late to go back. What is done is done and cannot be undone. We must understand that remorse is not the same as repentance unto salvation. Paul contrasted these two things in 2 Corinthians 7:10. He mentioned the sorrow of the world as opposed to godly sorrow that worketh repentance to salvation. The sorrow of the world is to be sorry for the consequences of sin, but it is not to be sorry toward God in the sense of repenting of breaking His laws and being ready to change direction in life and submit to Him. The sorrow of the world is centered upon this world, whereas repentance is centered upon God. While working in a county jail ministry for a few years I met many men who had the sorrow of the world. They were sorry that their actions had gotten them into a lot of trouble and had brought dishonor upon them and had hurt their loved ones, but they were not repentant toward God and were not ready to be saved.
(6) The strange woman leads to slavery (Prov. 5:22-23). Solomon ends with this warning because it explains why the sinner cannot easily walk away from the strange woman after once entertaining her. There are strong cords associated with sin, and those cords grow tighter with time, and few cords are stronger than the cords of immorality. Those who are addicted to pornography can testify to this. Compare John 8:34 and 2 Timothy 2:26.
In light of these warnings we need to thank the Lord that He offers salvation to sinners, and that salvation brings cleansing from all sin. When Proverbs says the sinner “shall die without instruction” (Prov. 5:23), it is speaking from the standpoint of the Law of Moses rather than the grace of the gospel. The Bible’s Good News is that Jesus Christ died on the cross and shed His blood to make atonement for our sins, and by faith in Him we can be forgiven and converted. See 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.
[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE or to UNSUBSCRIBE or to CHANGE ADDRESSES or to RE-SUBSCRIBE UNDER A NEW ADDRESS, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. If you have any trouble with this, please let us know. And please be patient with us. We do not ignore any unsubscribe request, but we cannot always get to your request immediately as each person involved with maintaining the Way of Life web site does this only on a very part time basis and is busy with many other major activities, such as pastoring and missionary work. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 25th year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://wayoflife.org/catalog/catalog.htm Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org. We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but from those who are. OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/offering.html. PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org]
UNQUESTIONING LOYALTY TO PASTORAL LEADERSHIP THE MARK OF A CULT
Updated May 8, 2008 (first published September 10, 1999) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
For church leaders to demand unquestioning loyalty is a perversion of biblical truth and is the mark of a cult. The Bible gives authority to pastors and elders (Heb. 13:7, 17), but that authority is not unlimited or unquestionable. Those who demand blind obedience from their people are cult leaders. Consider the following description of the authority that was wielded by James and Ellen White in the early days of the Seventh-day Adventist cult:
“ELDER AND MRS. WHITE RAN AND RULED EVERYTHING WITH AN IRON HAND. Not a nomination to office, not a resolution, not an item of business was ever acted upon in business meetings till all had been first submitted to Elder White for his approval. Till years later, we never saw an opposition vote on any question, for no one dared to do it. Hence, all official voting was only a farce. The will of Elder White settled everything. If any one dared to oppose anything, however humbly, Elder White or wife quickly squelched him. LONG YEARS OF SUCH TRAINING TAUGHT THE PEOPLE TO LET THEIR LEADERS THINK FOR THEM; HENCE, THEY ARE UNDER AS COMPLETE SUBJECTION AS ARE THE CATHOLICS” (D.M. Canright, Seventh-day Adventism Renounced, 1898).
This description was given by a man who was a faithful member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church for 28 years and who became one of its top leaders. D.M. Canright knew James and Ellen White intimately. He left the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1884 and became a Baptist pastor in Michigan until his death in 1919.
THE FRIGHTFUL FACT IS THAT THE ABOVE DESCRIPTION OF THE PERVERTED AUTHORITY THAT WAS EXERCISED BY JAMES AND ELLEN WHITE IN THEIR ADVENTIST CULT PERFECTLY DESCRIBES THE AUTHORITY THAT IS EXERCISED BY SOME FUNDAMENTAL BAPTIST PASTORS. If I were to publish Canright’s description of perverted church authority without including the names of James and Ellen White and without explaining who this describes and when it was written, some church members in independent Baptist churches would be tempted to write to me and charge me with libeling their own pastors!
SPIRITUAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PASTOR’S AUTHORITY
There are two problems that I see pertaining to pastoral authority in fundamental Baptist churches today: One, there is rebellion against pastoral authority on the part of some church members; and two, there is misuse of pastoral authority on the part of some pastors.
Pastors have God-given authority. God’s word says, “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you” (Heb. 13:17). Church members do not all have the same authority in the congregations. Pastors have ruling authority, and those who are not pastors are to submit themselves to this authority. Sadly, there is widespread rebellion against pastoral authority. Many people who leave GOOD fundamental Baptist churches do so because they do not understand or they refuse to submit to biblical pastoral authority. They think they have just as much right as the pastor to make decisions in the church, but that is not true. We have dealt with this in articles such as “SEVEN KEYS TO FRUITFUL CHURCH MEMBERSHIP” (see the Church section of the End Times Apostasy Database at the Way of Life web site -- http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/sevenkeys.htm).
At the same time, the authority exercised by a pastor or elder is to be distinctly different from that exercised by leaders in the secular world, and there are pastors who are abusing their authority. That is the focus of this article. Consider the biblical characteristics of proper and godly pastoral authority.
FIRST, THE PASTOR’S AUTHORITY IS A MINISTERING AUTHORITY--the authority of a shepherd (Mark 10:42-45; Acts 20:28; 2 Cor. 1:24; 13:10; Titus 1:7; 1 Pet. 5:2). The authority of a pastor is strictly for building up and protecting God’s people and work. It is not for his own pleasure and design.
“But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and THEIR GREAT ONES EXERCISE AUTHORITY UPON THEM. BUT SO SHALL IT NOT BE AMONG YOU: BUT WHOSOEVER WILL BE GREAT AMONG YOU, SHALL BE YOUR MINISTER: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:42-45).
“NOT FOR THAT WE HAVE DOMINION OVER YOUR FAITH, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand” (2 Cor. 1:24).
“Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to THE POWER WHICH THE LORD HATH GIVEN ME TO EDIFICATION, AND NOT TO DESTRUCTION” (2 Cor. 13:10).
“For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; NOT SELFWILLED, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre” (Titus 1:7).
“Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. NEITHER AS BEING LORDS OVER GOD’S HERITAGE, but being ensamples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:2).
SECOND, THE PASTOR’S AUTHORITY IS A SUBMISSIVE, HUMBLE AUTHORITY--the authority of a steward (Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 3:9; 4:1; 12:7; Tit. 1:7; 1 Pet. 4:10; 5:3-5).
“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).
“For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God’s building” (1 Cor. 3:9).
“Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor. 4:1).
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal” (1 Cor. 12:7).
“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Pet. 4:10).
“Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:3,5).
The pastor is to rule under the direction of the Lord Jesus Christ, not by his own mind or will. The church is God’s property; the people are God’s people; the work is God’s work. The pastor is merely a steward or caretaker.
Contrast this with the ministry of proud, willful Diotrephes (3 Jn. 9-10) who lorded it over the flock and who quenched the spiritual ministry of men of whom he did not approve even though their ministries were scriptural.
SOME OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A DIOTREPHES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
First, he demands unquestioning loyalty and does not teach the people that his authority is restricted and does not encourage the people to test him by God’s Word. He emphasizes certain passages that refer to one aspect of pastoral authority (such as Hebrews 13:17), but he ignores the passages that limit his authority (such as Mark 10:42-45; 2 Cor. 1:24; and 1 Peter 5:2). This is the way that all false teachers misuse the Bible. They develop doctrines from pet verses that appear to support their views while ignoring or explaining away those verses that disprove their views. Second, he wants people to be dependent upon him for direction in life and ministry instead of being dependent upon the Lord Himself. He makes the people feel that they cannot make important decisions and know God’s will without him. Contrast this with Acts 13:3-4, where it was the Holy Spirit who guided the church at Antioch and called Paul and Barnabas to their missionary work.
Third, he exalts himself before the people.
Fourth, he ridicules his associates, making them look small in the eyes of the church members, thus increasing his own prestige and authority and decreasing theirs.
Fifth, he uses an Old Testament pattern for church government to bolster his demand for unquestioning loyalty. He compares himself to Moses, Joshua, and David, failing to note that the New Testament pattern of church government is dramatically different from that of Old Testament Israel. The nation Israel was a kingdom, a theocracy. The New Testament church is the body and flock of Christ. The human leaders in the churches are not lords or potentates or generals or presidents, but are humble shepherds. The Lord Jesus Christ left no doubt about this (see Mark 10:42-45).
THIRD, THE PASTOR’S AUTHORITY IS A KINDLY, LOVING AUTHORITY--the authority of a father (1 Th. 2:7-11).
The pastor is to have a godly, loving, tender, sacrificial consideration for the welfare of the people. His rule is not to be an overbearing, self-serving type of rule.
“But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children: So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe: As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children” (1 Thess. 2:7-11).
One of the marks of a cult is the way people are treated when they refuse to follow the leadership unquestioningly or when they leave. When D.M. Canright left Adventism after 28 years, he was treated like a fool and an evil man. All friendship and kindness was withdrawn by the Adventist leaders. They even lied about him mercilessly for many years afterwards. This is a mark of a cult. People are only treated kindly and lovingly if they submit to the doctrines and “authority” of the cult’s leaders; if they question the leadership or if they leave the church, they are fair game to be treated without mercy.
This is exactly what we find in some large (and small but would-be-large) cult-like independent Baptist churches. As long as people unquestionably submit to the pastor, they are treated kindly. As soon as they question his leadership and leave, the kindness is removed and they are treated unkindly.
FOURTH, THE PASTOR’S AUTHORITY IS A LIBERATING AUTHORITY--THE AUTHORITY TO BUILD UP NOT HOLD DOWN (2 Corinthians 10:8; Ephesians 4:11-12).
“For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed” (1 Cor. 10:8).
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12).
A godly pastor’s objective is to build the people of God up in the faith so that they are strong and can stand on their own feet under Christ their one Head. He wants to see their spiritual gifts and callings developed to the fullest extend possible, and he wants to do everything he can to encourage them to fulfill their calling.
LIMITATIONS TO THE PASTOR’S AUTHORITY
A pastor only has such authority as is delegated to him by God. Christians are never told to submit blindly to a church leader, but to submit to truly God-called men who are leading according to the Word of God. As the Apostle Paul said, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). Paul could demand that others follow him because he was following Christ and was faithfully preaching the message given to him by Christ. Apart from that, even Paul had no authority. He warned the churches of Galatia that if even he were to preach any other gospel, they were to reject him (Galatians 1:8). Even in matters pertaining to his own associates, Paul’s authority was not absolute and unquestionable. When Paul “greatly desired” for Apollos to minister at Corinth, Apollos refused (1 Cor. 16:12).
A pastor’s authority is limited in the following ways:
(1) A PASTOR’S AUTHORITY IS LIMITED BY THE BIBLE. Hebrews 13:7 instructs Christians to submit to those who have spoken to them the Word of God. A preacher does not have authority in himself; his authority is the Word of God. If a pastor or teacher strays from the Bible, his listeners have no responsibility to follow him; he has exceeded his authority. The Bereans are praised because they carefully examined Paul’s preaching instead of blindly following a man (Acts 17:11). God’s people are instructed to “prove all things” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Every sermon is to be judged by those who hear it (1 Corinthians 14:29). A pastor does not have authority to lord it over every detail of the people’s lives. They are the Lord’s people, not the pastor’s. He is a humble undershepherd who is temporarily caring for the Lord’s flock. The people have the indwelling Spirit of God and He is their main teacher. “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him” (1 John 2:27).
(2) A PASTOR’S AUTHORITY IS BASED ON HIS CALL FROM GOD (Acts 20:28). The elders of the church at Ephesus were appointed by the Holy Spirit. This is a foundational basis for spiritual authority. Christians are only to submit to men who give plain evidence that they are called of God. The pastor’s qualifications are clearly stated in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. Many men are unfit to exercise pastoral authority because their marital status is not the example it should be (pastors are to be examples to the flock of God’s perfect will--1 Peter 5:3), or their wives are unspiritual, or because their children are unruly, or because they have a poor testimony in the community, or for other reasons clearly spelled out in the Bible.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PASTORING AND LORDING
“The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:1-3).
Pastors have real authority in the church, but it is a different kind of authority than that exercised by the world. Note some of the differences as follows:
Scriptural pastors love the flock and lead by compassion, but lords typically despise compassion; they don’t encourage; they merely demand (1 Thess. 2:7-8).
Scriptural pastors lead by example, but lords merely make demands with little or no awareness or concern that they must model what they demand (1 Pet. 5:3).
Scriptural pastors know that the flock is not their own, but lords feel that they own the people and thus can control them according to their own will (1 Pet. 5:2, 3 “flock of God,” “God’s heritage”).
Scriptural pastors care more about the welfare of the saints than their own profit, but lords rule for personal gain and are not afraid to abuse the people (1 Pet. 5:2).
Scriptural pastors are humble and do not consider themselves greater than the flock, but lords exalt themselves high above the people (1 Pet. 5:2 “among you”; 1 Pet. 5:5).
Scriptural pastors aim to build up the people and free them to do God’s will (Eph. 4:11-12; 2 Cor. 10:8), but lords want to control the people and hold them down. The Greek word translated “destruction” in 2 Corinthians 10:8 is elsewhere translated “pulling down” (2 Cor. 10:4).
Brethren, we must submit ourselves to God-called pastors who are leading the churches according to the Word of God. We should follow them and encourage them and always give them the benefit of the doubt. Not to do so is rebellion and confusion.
We must also beware of men who exercise an unscriptural, cultic type of authority, regardless of what denominational label they wear. The Diotrephes mentality eventually led to the formation of the Roman Catholic Church, with its hierarchy of archbishops and cardinals and popes. We don’t need any more popes!
“But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:42-45).
[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE or to UNSUBSCRIBE or to CHANGE ADDRESSES or to RE-SUBSCRIBE UNDER A NEW ADDRESS, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. If you have any trouble with this, please let us know. And please be patient with us. We do not ignore any unsubscribe request, but we cannot always get to your request immediately as each person involved with maintaining the Way of Life web site does this only on a very part time basis and is busy with many other major activities, such as pastoring and missionary work. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 25th year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://wayoflife.org/catalog/catalog.htm Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org. We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but from those who are. OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/offering.html. PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org]
THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Updated and enlarged May 6, 2008 (first published December 18, 2007) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence” -- Jesus Christ to Pilate just before His crucifixion, John 18:36
There are many heretical teachings on the kingdom of God today. There is, for example, the charismatic “kingdom now” theology with its pathetic attempt to exercise apostolic miracles in this present time. And there is the Emerging Church with its equally pathetic attempt to build the kingdom of God through social-justice and artistic endeavors.
By surveying the Old and New Testaments we can see exactly what the Bible means by the term kingdom of God.
1. In the Old Testament the kingdom of God was God’s rule over all creation (Psa. 103:19) and on earth it referred to His kingdom in Israel (1 Chron. 28:5; 2 Chron. 13:8).
That kingdom was destroyed because of Israel’s disobedience, but Old Testament prophecies predicted that the kingdom would be re-established on earth by Christ, David’s greater Son, and that He will reign in truth and righteousness (Isaiah 9:6-7; Daniel 2:44; 7:14).
2. Christ came to Israel and preached the kingdom.
The gospel of the kingdom is the gospel that Jesus preached when He presented Himself to Israel as the Messiah. Both John the Baptist and Jesus preached, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mat. 3:2; 4:17). This was the announcement of the kingdom promised to David’s Son (Isaiah 9:6-7). (The kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven are largely synonymous in the Gospels. One emphasizes the fact that it is God’s kingdom, while the other emphasizes that it is a kingdom that will come from heaven.) Christ came to His own people, Israel, but they rejected Him (John 1:11; 19:15), and He warned them that the kingdom would be taken from them because of their rebellion and given to another nation (Mat. 21:42-26). Christ preached a literal glorious kingdom that would be established on earth. Peter, James, and John were given a foreview of it on the Mount of Transfiguration (Lk. 9:27-31). Christ taught His disciples to pray that God’s kingdom would come to earth (Luke 11:2). He said Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be in the kingdom (Lk. 13:29). He corrected the view of those who thought the kingdom of God was going to be established at that time, saying that the kingdom would not be established until the “noble man” goes into a far country and then returns” (Lk. 19:11-27). Christ said the kingdom would be established after the Great Tribulation (Lk. 21:31). He said He would drink the fruit of the vine with His disciples in the kingdom (Lk. 22:18). When the disciples were arguing about who would be great in the kingdom of God, Christ corrected their thinking about the nature of greatness but He also confirmed that the kingdom of God is a literal kingdom that will be established at His return (Lk. 22:24-30). Jesus plainly stated that His kingdom is not of this world NOW (John 18:36). His kingdom will come when He comes in power and glory to establish it.
Jesus came unto His own people, Israel, and was rejected, and this had been prophesied in Scripture. He then turned his focus from Israel and said, “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mat. 16:18). Christ stopped announcing the kingdom and turned His attention to dying on the cross for man’s sin, and after He rose from the dead He sent His disciples forth to preach the gospel to every nation (Acts 1:8). In this present church age Christ is calling out a people for His name from among the Gentiles while Israel is largely blinded, but when this dispensation is finished He will turn His attention back to Israel and fulfill His covenants with them (Rom. 11:25-27).
3. The kingdom of God is in a mystery form during this present church age (Mat. 13:10-11).
A “mystery” is truth that was hidden in the Old Testament but revealed in the New (Rom. 16:25-26). The Old Testament did not see the church age in between Christ’s two comings.
During the church age, the kingdom takes a strange form not described in Old Testament prophecy. The king is in heaven and the kingdom is not yet established on earth. Instead, the kingdom of God resides in the small, despised apostolic churches, while the devil’s false kingdom grows quickly and spreads throughout the world (Mat. 13:31-32).
4. Believers enter a spiritual kingdom of Christ when they are born again (Col. 1:13).
This is the kingdom comprised of all who submit to God’s authority.
5. The kingdom of God will come to earth in its prophetic fullness at the return of Christ. See Acts 14:22; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Thessalonians 2:12; 2 Timothy 4:1; James 2:5; 2 Peter 1:11; Revelation 12:10.
Believers are not building the kingdom of God on earth today. They are snatching brands from the coming fire before the day of salvation is finished (1 Cor. 9:19; 10:33; 2 Cor. 5:11, 18-21; 6:2; Jude 23). Today the “whole world lieth in wickedness” (1 John 5:19), and the devil is its god (2 Cor. 4:4). The apostles and prophets in the early churches (as described in the book of Acts and the Epistles) did not band together to accomplish grandiose social-justice projects; they did not pursue artsy activities; they did not try to save the earth; they preached the gospel and shined as lights in this dark world by their holy lives. Christ’s Great Commission emphasizes gospel preaching (Mat. 28:18-20; Mk. 16:15; Lk. 24:46-48; Acts 1:8). After Christ rose from the dead and as He was preparing them for His ascension, the disciples asked Him, “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). Jesus’ reply is very instructive. He did not correct their understanding of the establishment of a literal kingdom of earth. He told that it was not time for that long-expected kingdom to be established and that our duty in this church age is to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. “And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:7-8). After this, Christ ascended to heaven and poured out the Holy Spirit upon the disciples to empower them for this great work. This commission of world evangelism will not be abrogated until church age saints are removed from this world and the Lord regenerates Israel and restores them to the front burner of His plan for the ages.
The rod of iron
The Bible says that in the kingdom of God the Law will be enforced with a rod of iron (Rev. 2:26-27; 12:5; 19:15; Psalm 2:7-9). Christ’s kingdom will not be a democracy but a divine dictatorship, a theocracy, and no one will be given a choice as to whether to obey Him or not. Christ’s law will be established as international law and every individual will be required to obey it, and disobedience will be dealt with quickly and rigorously. Justice and righteousness will reign because injustice and unrighteousness will be punished and punished quickly. If the emerging church is truly building the kingdom of God today, they should be wielding this rod. The very fact that believers are not wielding this rod today is evidence that we are not establishing the kingdom of God on earth. The kingdom of God will be established by supernatural power, not by the feeble efforts of non-empowered saints in this present world in which the devil is god and believers are suffering pilgrims (2 Cor. 4:4).
What about Luke 17:20-21?
“And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
In interpreting this passage we must first note that there is a sense in which the kingdom of God WILL come with observation, as Jesus stated in verse 24 of this same passage. “For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.” Christ taught the same thing in Luke 19:11-27 and many other places, as we have seen in the previous study on the kingdom.
In what sense, then, is Christ saying that the kingdom of God “cometh NOT come with observation” and “the kingdom of God is within you”? These statements are addressed to the Pharisees.
Jesus was saying that the kingdom of God would not come with observation in the sense of searching for it in various places. It would not come by searching. See verse 21 and Matthew 24:26-27. It would also not come with observation in the sense of demand. It would not come by demanding it in that present time. The Pharisees were demanding that Jesus show them the kingdom of God, and their demand would not be fulfilled. They had rejected Him as Messiah, so the kingdom of God was not going to come in that present time.
The kingdom of God was in them in the sense that it was already in their midst because Christ the King was present. The term “kingdom of God” is used repeatedly in this sense in the Gospels, as Christ was presenting Himself as the Messiah of Israel. “The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you” (Lk. 10:9). Note the following passages carefully: Luke 10:9, 11; 11:20; 13:28-29; 14:15; 19:11; 21:31; 22:16, 18; 23:51.
Jesus was not saying that the kingdom of God was in the midst of the Pharisees in the sense that it was inside of them in a spiritual sense, because they were not saved. He said elsewhere, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44).
As we have seen, the Bible is clear on its teaching of the kingdom of God, and Jesus made it plain that He was referring to a kingdom that was promised to Him as the Son of David and that would be established at His return. To take Luke 17:20-21, which is a relatively obscure passage, and build one’s doctrine of the kingdom primarily upon it and then use it to overthrow the teaching of many plain Scriptures is upside down hermeneutics. This is the way that false teachers (mis)use the Scripture.
What about Romans 8:16-25?
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.”
The emerging church uses this passage in support of its doctrine that the kingdom of God is being built on earth today, but in fact it teaches the exact opposite. I was amazed when I first saw this passage used by an emerging church writer, because it actually refutes their position. Paul is contrasting the believer’s condition in this present life with his condition in the future. In this present life we are subject to the pain and suffering caused by the fallen state of the earth and mankind. Presently we are subject to vanity, to the bondage of corruption, to groaning and travailing, and to waiting for redemption. It is in the future that we will experience the redemption of the body and the glorious salvation promised in the prophecies. This points to the return of Christ and the resurrection of the saints and the supernatural establishment of the kingdom on earth. The redemption described in this passage is something that will occur in the future and is certainly not occurring today! It is something that Christ will accomplish by His infinite power and not something that we can possibly bring about through socio-political endeavors.
“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence” -- Jesus Christ to Pilate just before His crucifixion, John 18:36
[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE or to UNSUBSCRIBE or to CHANGE ADDRESSES or to RE-SUBSCRIBE UNDER A NEW ADDRESS, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. If you have any trouble with this, please let us know. And please be patient with us. We do not ignore any unsubscribe request, but we cannot always get to your request immediately as each person involved with maintaining the Way of Life web site does this only on a very part time basis and is busy with many other major activities, such as pastoring and missionary work. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 25th year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://wayoflife.org/catalog/catalog.htm Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org. We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but from those who are. OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/offering.html. PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org]
BIBLICAL REPENTANCE IS IMPORTANT
April 3, 2008 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
The following is by Pastor Buddy Smith, Malanda, Queensland
My study is a small room at the end of our garage, but I have a “window on the world” that lets me browse libraries around the world and study the works of wise men. My window is the good websites on the internet that offer sermon downloads, study helps, or books I have longed for.
I recently stumbled across two intersecting lines of Divine Providence. A book I had wanted to buy for forty years was reprinted and is now available at a good price, and the same day I saw the ad for the book I found a website that offered the book as a free download. The book is by Harry Ironside and is titled Except Ye Repent. You can download it or read it at http://www.wholesomewords.org/siteindex.html (a good website to bookmark.)
The doctrine of repentance has fallen on hard times in many churches. We preach much about faith, but are strangely silent on the subject of repentance. These two essential doctrines, repentance and faith, are the femurs of the body of Christ. By that I mean that they are the longest and strongest bones in our doctrinal skeleton. They are the load bearing framework of truth in our preaching that makes the long strides of evangelistic work possible. They provide the balance we need to stand against the wiles of the Devil. On these we run the race with patience. By these we bear one another's burdens. This is not to make light of the glorious gospel of Christ. Surely that is the heart of the body. Nor is it intended to ignore the authority of Christ as head of the church, But the femurs must be repentance and faith. Dr. Paul Brand once told of a man he examined who had no tibia in one of his legs. His foot was held in place by a brace he wore over the outside of his leg. So it is in the body of Christ, the loss of any part of our doctrinal skeleton will require us to replace it with an invention of man, and will impede our walk, our warnings, and our warfare. Fundamental churches are in dire need of sound, doctrinal preaching. In a world that resembles Ezekiel's valley of dry bones with all its scattered and lifeless philosophies, pastors who are committed to preaching the whole counsel of God display to men the skeletal framework of sound doctrine. There is a tendency, as Tom Malone once said, for modern churches to be composed mostly of jawbone and wishbone and lacking in backbone. It is only when we assemble the whole “skeleton” together, including the femurs of repentance and faith, that the life of the body of Christ can be what God intended.
So what about the doctrine of repentance? Is it only an Old Testament doctrine and no longer needed by the church? Is it a work for salvation? Is it the same as faith? Is it absent from the preaching of Christ and the apostles?
I see some very interesting sights as I look out my window on the world. I see men, good men, looking everywhere but in the Word of God for answers to these questions. It is this simple observation that troubles me. Isn't the man of God to look first to God by looking in the Scriptures for answers? Even without Harry Ironside's book, or anybody else's books or sermons, I should be able to dig out the truth about repentance by simply consulting a concordance and then studying every verse in the Bible on the subject. After all, in the words of the old black preacher, “The Bible sho' do throw a lot of light on that there commentary.
Repentance is not just an Old Testament doctrine. It is not a work for salvation and never was. It is a change of mind that involves a change of attitude toward myself, my sin, and my God. It is a change of mind that can no longer tolerate disobedience to God. It is as much a forerunner of faith as John the Baptist (with his clarion call for Israel to repent!) was to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is as inseparable from saving faith as John was from Christ. It is the continual experience of the saints, whether it is Job (42:5,6) or Peter, or Paul, or the Corinthian church members (II Cor. 7:8-11). It is as old as the book of Job and as new as the book of Revelation.
There are strange people on the streets these days. Body piercings and mutilations of every kind shock us speechless. But surely the worst mutilation of all is that of the body of Christ, scarred and twisted almost beyond recognition by pastors who are forever removing the doctrinal and structural framework of our faith. One of the Hollywood harlots of years ago is reported to have had two of her lower ribs removed in order to enhance her figure. We scoff at this mutilation and then turn a blind eye toward present day mutilation of the body of Christ. I
visited one of these mutilated churches not long ago for an ordination service (never again!) The head elder preached his Calvinistic errors to a congregation of ecumenical hippies, old and young. The pianist, in his baseball cap and tattered jeans played his five note CCM chorus (of 25 verses) and the congregation waved their hands in the air and shouted hallelujah. Oh yes, and the candlesticks on the platform were filled with votive candles, burning brightly.
How did a Baptist church come to this mutilated distortion of the Christian faith? It's quite simple, somewhere along the way, the church did what teens are doing all over the world. The church decided it was stylish to mutilate the body by adding to or taking away from that “form of sound words” (2 Tim. 1:13) which is given us in the Holy Scriptures.
I suspect the world is watching to see how long we can remain standing after we have discarded the femur of repentance.
No church has ever stood for long or gone far on one leg.
Isn't it about time to go back to the Bible and get our other leg back?
[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE or to UNSUBSCRIBE or to CHANGE ADDRESSES or to RE-SUBSCRIBE UNDER A NEW ADDRESS, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. If you have any trouble with this, please let us know. And please be patient with us. We do not ignore any unsubscribe request, but we cannot always get to your request immediately as each person involved with maintaining the Way of Life web site does this only on a very part time basis and is busy with many other major activities, such as pastoring and missionary work. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 25th year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://wayoflife.org/catalog/catalog.htm Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org. We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but from those who are. OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/offering.html. PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org]
CALVINISM ON THE MARCH
Updated March 29, 2008 (first published October 18, 2006) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
CALVINISM ON THE MARCH AMONG EVANGELICALS
A 2007 study shows that Calvinism is on the rise in the Southern Baptist Convention and is especially prominent among recent seminary graduates. Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research, says that nearly 30% of recent graduates now serving as pastors are Calvinists (“Calvinism on the Rise,” Christian Post, Nov. 29, 2007). Roughly 10% of SBC pastors at large define themselves as Calvinists, but that includes only those who hold to all five points of TULIP theology and not those who hold to sovereign or unconditional election but not necessarily to all other points of Calvinism. LifeWay Research limits their surveys to a very narrow definition of Calvinism, and I suspect it might not want to know the true influence of Calvinism in the convention.
A report in Christianity Today for September 2006 was entitled “Young, Restless, Reformed: Calvinism Is Making a Comeback--And Shaking up the Church.” It documents the rapid spread of Calvinism in Evangelical circles, and I am seeing the same thing among Fundamentalists.
The report cites John Piper, R.C. Sproul, R. Albert Mohler, Louie Giglio, Joshua Harris, J.I. Packer, and the Puritans as among the chief influences responsible for the upsurge in Calvinism. Piper’s book “Desiring God” has sold more than 275,000 copies.
The trend toward the acceptance of Calvinism is evident at leading evangelical seminaries such as Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Under the direction of Al Mohler, Southern Seminary has become “a Reformed hotbed” and is turning out “a steady flow of young Reformed pastors.”
Writing in SBC Life, Malcolm Yarnell, associate professor of systematic theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, observed that TULIP theology is causing division in churches. Steve Lemke, provost of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, warns: “I believe that [Calvinism] is potentially the most explosive and divisive issue facing us in the near future. It has already been an issue that has split literally dozens of churches, and it holds the potential to split the entire convention” (“The Future of Southern Baptists as Evangelicals,” April 2005). Lemke says that “the newest generation of Southern Baptist ministers” is “the most Calvinist we have had in several generations.” He warns that Calvinism can result in a lowered commitment to evangelism, saying: “For many people, if they’re convinced that God has already elected those who will be elect … I don’t see how humanly speaking that can’t temper your passion, because you know you’re not that crucial to the process.
There are exceptions to this, but in my estimation there can be no doubt that Calvinism tends to cool evangelistic fervor. Among Calvinists, evangelism is done IN SPITE OF Calvinism, not because of it. Those who protest that it doesn’t hinder evangelism point to EXCEPTIONS rather than to the rule. While Charles Spurgeon was an evangelistic Calvinist, for example, a large number of Calvinists of his day opposed him and denounced his broad, indiscriminate invitations for sinners to come to Christ. One Calvinist publication warned in Spurgeon’s day, “... to preach that it is man’s duty to believe savingly in Christ is ABSURD” (Earthen Vessel, 1857; cited in Spurgeon vs. the Hyper Calvinists by Iain Murray).
Calvinism almost killed the evangelistic zeal of the Baptist churches of England in the 18th century. Baptist historian Thomas Armitage wrote: “William Carey’s ‘Inquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use means for the Conversion of the Heathen’ was published in 1792, but it found few readers and produced little effect. To most of the Baptists Carey’s views were visionary and even wild, in open conflict with God’s sovereignty. At a meeting of ministers, where the senior [John] Ryland presided, Carey proposed that at the next meeting they discuss the duty of attempting to spread the Gospel amongst the heathen. … Ryland, shocked, sprang to his feet and ordered Carey to sit down, saying: ‘When God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your aid or mine!’
CALVINISM ALSO ON THE MARCH AMONG FUNDAMENTALISTS
A few years ago I visited the Bob Jones University bookstore and was amazed at the large number of volumes that were available on Puritanism, and there is no warning about the Reformed theology. I thought to myself at the time that this probably signifies that many BJU teachers and graduates are being influenced by Puritan theology.
Since then I have seen growing evidence of this. I know of formerly non-Calvinist Baptist churches that have become Calvinistic after BJU graduates were called to the pastorate. On a recent trip to Australia I was shown a publication (“Why Read the Puritans Today”) that was sent out to an independent Baptist mailing list by a BJ graduate. The booklet lists 10 reasons for the renewed interest in Puritanism. The recommendation was not accompanied by any warning about Reformed theology and its attendant Calvinism and Amillennialism. I don’t know if this BJ grad is a Calvinist, but he is certainly helping to promote Calvinism with this type of thing.
And this is not something limited to those associated with Bob Jones. In 2005 an extensive survey was done of “young fundamentalists.” Entitled “Young Fundamentalists’ Beliefs and Personal Life,” the survey results are available online at http://www.sharperiron.org/ downloads/ 2005%20Young%20Fundamentalists%20Survey%20Results.pdf. For the purposes of the survey, a “young fundamentalist” is one who is under 35 years old. The survey contained 135 questions pertaining to life and doctrine, and roughly 1,100 surveys were completed. The vast majority of respondents identified themselves with three fundamentalist schools: Bob Jones University (29%), Maranatha Baptist Bible College (22%), and Northland Baptist Bible College (21%). When it comes to Calvinist views, an amazing 58% of the respondents hold a Calvinist view of sovereign election, with another 8% unsure. THUS ONLY ABOUT 35% OF THE RESPONDENTS TO THE FUNDAMENTALIST SURVEY REJECT CALVINISM. Some 14% of the respondents hold to either amillennial (8%) or postmillennial (5%) views, which goes hand in hand with Reformed theology. I believe we will see this percentage increase in coming days, with a growing rejection of the pre-millennial, pre-tribulation position.
When someone put the original edition of my article on the growth of Calvinism (from our Friday Church News Notes) on the Shaperiron.org web site as a blog, there were 16 pages of responses and most of the replies were either in favor of or sympathetic toward Calvinism or were neutral. Many of them ridiculed me in a fashion that I have found to be typical among “young” Calvinists. A haughty smirkness characterized many of the responses.
FEEDBACK FROM PASTORS
In response to an article I posted to the Fundamental Baptist Information Service on September 25, 2006, I got many e-mails from pastors who confirmed my view that Calvinism is growing among fundamental Baptists. Following are a few excerpts from these e-mails:
“I would have to say that from what I have seen your concern about Calvinism growing in our circles is not unfounded. The Bible college from which I graduated took a stand against Calvinism (and still does officially), but during some recent turmoil there, they have brought back to head the Bible department a man who just a few years ago was pressured to leave because of his calvinistic beliefs. ... it is disappointing to see how few preachers even recognize the calvinistic nature of his teachings, or are willing to look into them. He and the school deny any calvinism, but I have seen his class notes, and talked to students in his classes, and the calvinism is plain to see for anyone looking for it.
“I see Calvinism as becoming a greater and greater problem as time progresses and I have stated the same to my own church family as well. Not only are many of the independent Baptist churches leaning towards Calvinism, but the one IFCA church in town is also infiltrated by Calvinism. At the very least, much of what I have seen amongst Independent Baptist Churches around here is a softness regarding Calvinism -- a refusal to address the false teachings that John Calvin and his followers propagated.
“I think that Calvinism has long been in Independent Baptist churches. I left Tennessee Temple Seminary in 1978 because I was discouraged by the Calvinism there. Dr. Wingate was the main culprit but there were others. Dr, Preston Philips was a 5 pointer.
“I have also noticed a Calvinistic trend among ‘young fundamentalists’ who blog a lot online. The typical ‘young fundamentalist’ blogger, from what I’ve seen, is one reared in a Hyles type church, who may have even attended H.A.C., and who later rejects the ‘hysterical’ elements of that kind of fundamentalism, including the shallow soul-winning techniques. By the by, they drop a lot of what they formerly stood for, including the KJV, etc. Once they get past the ‘A B C repeat after me’ salvation formula, their soteriology often seems to come full swing into the realm of Calvinism. I view it as a matter of backlash against the methods they were trained with. They begin to question the shallow side, and rightly so, but while still in that questioning phase they are ripe for the pickings to false teachers of every sort on the subject. Their natural inclination is to run as far away as they can from the false no-repentance salvation, and they run right past the Biblical position straight into the arms of Calvin. They also tend to get mixed up on exactly what is and what is not properly to be labeled ‘Lordship Salvation.’ ... You have to figure for so many that are out there blogging, there must be hundreds that are not. It makes you wonder how pervasive and common it really is, especially among the younger set, and especially among those who leave Hyles-ism behind them.
“You are absolutely correct in your assumption that Calvinism is growing among fundamentalism. I've been a fundamentalist all my life, and I was at one point a 5-point Calvinist. I am NOT any longer, but I do believe I can look at this particular subject from an ‘inside’ view. I knew at my college (Pensacola Christian College) there was (and I believe still is) a large Calvinist ‘underground.’ In fact, there is at least one Bible faculty member there who is rumored to be one. The most obvious place to look is on the Sharper Iron blog (www.sharperiron.org). You can see it there in the forums. I think this may also be attributed to the growing influence of John MacArthur, John Piper and Mike Dever among fundamentalists.
“I believe Calvinism is rapidly spreading through fundamental Baptist circles fueled mainly by the theological inclusivism of many of our Bible Colleges and seminaries.
“Simply said, I know of several young graduates who have come out of Bob Jones who have this Calvinistic mentality who did not enter with it.
“I hear that Calvinism is being promoted in many fundamental Bible colleges and seminaries. I notice more and more Calvinistic and Banner of Truth books each time I visit the BJU campus bookstore. ... I think many younger preachers start reading Calvinists and eventually become ‘Five-Pointers.’
“Most of the ‘conservative’ pastors in the upstate South Carolina area align themselves with the idea that they are a 2 to 3 point Calvinist. However, when I first became a pastor in the area over 11 years ago the men that were 2 to 3 points are now full 5 point Calvinists and 9 out of 10 are in the purpose driven/Rick Warren influence. It may also be noted that all the Baptist Churches that are dropping the Baptist name and becoming a purpose driven church are pastored by 5 point Calvinists. One even is named Five Point Fellowship.
“I have personally witnessed Calvinism on the rise in Fundamental Baptist circles ever since the 1960's. I am from upstate NY, and my family attended a Dutch Reformed church where Calvinism is essential to the belief system which includes both Covenant and Reformed Theology. Both independent Baptist churches in our area were heavily influenced by Calvinistic teachings in the 1970's from BBC Clarks Summit. ... Here in Illinois, I have engaged a new pastor who adopted Calvinism while a missionary. ... He claims to be leading his people into the views of amillenialism, while he is feeding them a weekly diet of calvinistic and covenant theology.
“I am deeply concerned with the spread of Calvinism in fundamental schools today. I’m afraid many young preachers are accepting the Calvin Philosophy as an easy way out to avoid to the work of soulwinning. Sadly, we have a lot of ‘professional pastors’ but very few ‘soulwinning pastors’ today. I know all the theological problems with Calvinism, but how about addressing the practical problems like churches not growing, souls not being saved, drawing people from other churches but seeing very few salvations. Our churches are in trouble and we had better get back to some old-fashioned evangelism!
“A very good friend of mine said to me, ‘Bob, what changes have you seen here in American churches since you've been back?’ I quickly noted the rise in reformed theology in some of my supporting churches, as well as just talk along those lines that pastors have alluded to or directly spoken in support of getting back to reformed thinking. He said he had not noticed that but would pay more attention. About a month later, he phoned me and said that I was right. He is seeing it more and more, and reviewing some past occasions, he remembers more talk in that area. So, there truly is a trend developing here in this area.
WHY CAVINISM IS GROWING AMONG INDEPEPENDENT BAPTISTS
The following are some of the replies I received from pastors in regard to why Calvinism is increasing among fundamental Baptists:
The following is from Pastor Wilber Unger, Bethel Baptist Church, London, Ontario,
“First, I think it is a response to the sickening practice of shallow, unscriptural methods of evangelism in our Baptist Churches. Any believer with spiritual discernment must conclude, in time, that what we have seen for the last 35 years is not true Biblical evangelism. As a movement in general we have deceived people who are now hanging on to a false hope and will die and go to hell--little different than the RC church or any other false religion. ... As a consequence of the above mentioned condition, some churches may now be swinging the pendulum in the opposite direction. I think I did that at one point.
“Secondly, there are a lot of popular names in our day who are promoting Calvinism. A large percentage of the books available are written by Calvinists who are subtly promoting their unscriptural teachings. Many people will accept what they say based on the credibility the so-called Christian community has given them. In my opinion, very few people really accept the Word of God as their rule for faith and practice. Most people are content to accept what they hear because they trust the speaker or writer. Following a leader who is persuasive and seemingly sincere and popular is good enough for them. Bible truth is of lesser importance. If the plain words of Scripture don’t mean what they say and if new definitions have been given to words and people willingly accept such serious error how can you help them?
“Thirdly, I think there is a serious ignorance as to the heresy in Calvinism. Augustine, who is accepted by Rome as one of its church fathers, is quite heretical in many of his teachings. When Luther and Calvin came along, they came part of the way out of Rome and gave new life to some of Augustine’s teaching. In some cases, Calvin exceeded Augustine’s heresies. Both men kept infant baptism, and both persecuted and killed “heretics”--those who followed the word of God faithfully and rejected the heresies of Calvin. I think if people knew the history of Calvinism and its heretical position from the beginning, they wouldn’t be so easily deceived by it.
“Fourthly, Reformed theology has become popular and Premillenialism is losing its appeal and influence. I believe this is in preparation for the whole Protestant movement to make its way back to Rome. It is very sad to see Baptists who are so loose and careless with God’s Word, move in the direction of compromise; first with the worldly evangelicals and later with Rome. God forbid!
“Fifth, I think it is unwise to align ourselves in any way with Calvinists who seem to be evangelistic, and some are! For example, Ian Paisley’s group or Peter Masters in London, England. I have listened to some of Ian Paisley’s sermons and I think he is a powerful preacher and filled with the Spirit, but he holds to Calvinism, and that is dangerous.
“My burden and prayer is to see God raise up a new generation of Baptist believers who truly follow God’s word as their only rule for faith & practice. May God in His rich and wonderful grace give us a harvest of souls and laborers to do the work of taking the gospel to our community and beyond.
The following is from Pastor Bobby Mitchell, Mid-Coast Baptist Church, Brunswick, Maine www.midcoastbaptistchurch.com:
“You may know this, but I am convinced that an important link to the influx of Calvinism among fundamentalists is Ian Paisley and the Free Presbyterians. Dr. Paisley has been introduced to young Baptist men and women for decades at BJU and other schools, now including Crown College. My dad was a student at BJU in the early 1970's. He has told me many times that Paisley was the favorite preacher there. Of course, students bought his books and were influenced further by him.
“My dad can point you to young men that left BJU’s undergraduate programs to enroll in Presbyterian seminaries because of the Paisley influence. Of course, there are Free Presbyterian churches in Greenville, such as the one my dad’s old college friend joined and had his babies sprinkled in. This man left the Baptist ranks because of the Paisley influence at BJU. Another Baptist preacher who I am close to lost his ‘Timothy’ to Presbyterianism after this young man left Ambassador Baptist College and went to BJU for his master’s work. There he was introduced to reformed theology and is now a baby-sprinkler.
“Clarence Sexton had Ian Paisley and other Presbyterians in to preach at his church and school over the last year. I listened via the internet as he introduced Paisley and made light of the fact that he is a Presbyterian and we are Baptists. There was no warning of the fact that the Free Presbyterian church views baptism as a ‘controverted issue’ that is a matter of ‘personal liberty.’ There was no refutation of their Calvinism. As a matter of fact, the Reformers' portraits line the halls of Temple Baptist Church.
“Because Dr. Paisley is such a tremendous speaker I predict that many of the young preachers training at Crown will become further involved with his books and theology. I will not be surprised to see a battle over Calvinism taking place in the dormitories and classrooms of Crown College in the future.
“He is presented as ‘a Baptist that goes by the label Presbyterian,’ but we know that is not the truth. Dr. Paisley is an avowed Presbyterian. The difference should be defined and clear to Baptists. The pastors and students that I know of who protested the preaching of Paisley and other Presbyterians at a Baptist conference (Temple/Crown) have either been ignored by Pastor Sexton or told things like, ‘don’t be divisive.’
The following is from Pastor Chris Matthews, Smoky Valley Independent Baptist Church
“I am not certain if this will be what you are looking for or not. These are some observations I have made over time, they are solely my opinions.
“1. Many have turned to Calvinism as an answer to the lactose or nonexistent presentation of repentance in salvation given by most present day IFBs. 1-2-3 repeat after me is the extreme opposite of Calvinism and both are ditches on either side of the narrow way.
“2. Others yet have seen it as the ‘intellectual’ theological view. This is how many on the web present the doctrine, especially as they speak of the reformers’ writings.
“3. Another possibility is that many want to have an excuse to live like the devil and blame the fact that their kids turned out like hellions on ‘my children were not of the elect.’ I don't see this as a conscious decision but a possible reason none the less.
“4. Most have not heard a clear cut presentation on the errors of Calvinism from their pastors and/or church leaders. Nor have they heard the biblical definitions of biblical words that Calvinists pervert.
“5. Many look at Charles Spurgeon as next in line after the trinity and want to be like him. It would be better in my opinion if they would just smoke his cigars instead of choking on his Calvinism.
“6. It is a status symbol to say I am of the elect.
“7. Calvinism's cohorts seem to think that they have a better understanding of God than anybody else.
“8. Possibly the biggest reason is the infiltration of churches by Calvinists. Every now and then you hear about a church into which a family comes and secretly spreads the lie of Calvinism among the people and then leads a church split. This is not just happening in Baptist or fundamental churches, either.
“There are probably many more reasons and even more exceptions to those reasons. We as pastors and preachers need to teach our people the errors of Calvinism and of its torch holders. I have expressed to our congregation that the quickest way for somebody to be removed physically from the premises is for them to propagate the false teachings of Calvinism or Charismaticism.
There is no doubt that Calvinism is increasing among independent Baptists. It is prolific within the General Association of Regular Baptists and is increasing dramatically among Southern Baptists.
As already noted, a chief culprit in the growth of Calvinism is literature. The writings of John Piper and John MacArthur are popular among fundamentalists. The writings of the Puritans and of Charles Spurgeon, who was deeply influenced by the Puritans by his own testimony, also contribute to the growth of Calvinism. On a recent trip to England I had a nice visit with Dr. Peter Masters at Metropolitan Tabernacle. He graciously showed me the various artifacts associated with previous esteemed pastors, particularly Charles Spurgeon and John Gill. Dr. Masters told me that visiting preachers often like to sit in Gill’s chair, which is located in a hallway outside of Masters’ office; but I told him that I would be afraid that I might catch Gill’s Calvinism!
I admire a great many things about Spurgeon and the Puritans and many modern-day Calvinists, but I vehemently disagree with Reformed theology regardless of who teaches it and how much I might agree with them on other matters. I must make an issue of it, because they make an issue of it!
I reject the Quick Prayerism doctrine that is so prevalent among independent Baptists just as vehemently, and I have no doubt that the unscripturalness of this popular evangelistic program and the doctrinal shallowness of many independent Baptist churches and schools has caused some to fall into the arms of Calvinism and its more intellectual approach.
Having studied the Bible earnestly and prayerfully for 34 years and having studied both sides of this issue, I am convinced that neither Calvinism nor Quick Prayerism is Scriptural.
I have no ill will toward those who differ, and I thank the Lord for every good thing in them; but here I must stand, and I believe it is an issue worth standing for.
For more on this subject see
“The Calvinism Debate” - http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/calvinismdebate.html
Dave Hunt’s Refutation of Calvinism - http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/davehunt-calvinrefutation.html
“Calvin’s Camels” - http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/calvins-camels.html
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THE CALVINISM DEBATE Part 2 of 2
Part 2 of 2
Republished March 26, 2008 (updated and enlarged February 16, 2006; first published December 12, 2001) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
Following is Part 2 of 2 of this article:
The entire article can be found at the following link -- http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/calvinismdebate.html
4. CALVINISM INTERPRETS SCRIPTURE BY THEOLOGY RATHER THAN BY CONTEXT.
Its doctrines are not supported by the plain language of Scripture but are read into the Scripture. In Bible interpretation, the principle rule is to interpret according to the plain language of the text and according to the context.
Calvinism assigns preset definitions to theological terms instead of allowing the context to define them.
God’s omnipotence means God’s will cannot be resisted by man.
Election means man has no choice.
Total depravity means man is unable to respond to God and cannot even believe.
Let’s consider the doctrine of Total Depravity more carefully. According to this doctrine man so dead in trespasses and sins in such a sense that he cannot even believe on Christ for salvation, that he cannot make any choice in regard to salvation. I have challenged Calvinists to give me even one Scripture that teaches this, and I have examined books by Calvinists for such a proof text, but in vain. The Scriptures they quote do not teach their doctrine. They cite, for example, Eph. 1:1-4, but that passage says nothing about the sinner not being able to believe. It says the sinner is dead in trespasses and sin, walks according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, is a child of disobedience, and is by nature the child of wrath. But that is not the same as the Calvinist doctrine of total depravity which goes beyond the actual words of Scripture and adds the business about the sinner not being able to believe. They also cite Gen. 6:5 and Jer. 17:9 and Isa. 64:6-7 and Rom. 3:10-18, but again there is nothing in these verses about the Calvinist doctrine that the sinner is unable to believe, that he cannot exercise his will in receiving or rejecting salvation. After citing the previously mentioned Scriptures, Jeffrey Khoo of the Far Eastern Bible College concludes: “Man’s freedom of choice has been forfeited since the Fall. ... The Bible teaches human inability and total depravity” (Arminianism Examined, p. 4). Yes, the Bible definitely teaches that man is totally depraved in the since that the sinner is corrupt and there is nothing good in him that would warrant or that could earn salvation, but the Calvinism goes beyond this and adds its own unique twist that is not supported by Scripture.
Consider the doctrine of Limited Atonement, that Christ died only to save the elect and that He did not die for the non-elect. “He died in order to procure and secure the salvation of the elect only. ... the atonement is limited or particular in its design and intention.” Khoo quotes Augustine, who said that Christ’s death was “sufficient for all, efficient for the elect.” In other words, though Christ somehow made it possible for all sinners to be saved in this age, only the elect can actually be saved, because only they are effectively drawn and regenerated. There is not one Scripture to support this doctrine. Khoo quotes Matt. 1:21, which says Jesus will “save His people from their sins,” but this does not say that Jesus died for the elect only. “His people” here refers to the Jews, and we know that Jesus did not die only for the Jews. The Calvinist quotes Eph. 5:25, that Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it, but this does not say that Christ died only for the elect. That Christ gave Himself for the church is not to say that Christ gave Himself ONLY for the church or any other such Calvinistic twist. The Calvinist quotes John 6:38-39, where Christ said, “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” Again, this does not support the Calvinist doctrine of Limited Atonement. In fact, it says nothing whatsoever about the extent of the atonement.
The Calvinist must support his doctrine, every point of it, from the Scripture alone interpreted properly by the plain meaning of the words and by context. This he cannot do. If he is not allowed to read his doctrine into the Scripture, he is not able to support his doctrine from Scripture.
5. CALVINISM MISSTATES WHAT NON-CALVINISTS BELIEVE.
There are many strawman arguments that the Calvinist erects and defeats, but by defeating them he has only defeated a figment of his own imagination.
Calvinists claim, for example, that the non-Calvinist doesn’t believe in God’s sovereignty. I can’t speak for others, but this non-Calvinist certain believes in God’s sovereignty. God is God and He can do whatsoever He pleases whensoever He pleases. As one man said, “Whatever the Bible says, I believe; the Bible says the whale swallowed Jonah, and I believe it; and if the Bible said that Jonah swallowed the whale, I would believe that.” If the Bible taught that God sovereignly selects some sinners to go to heaven and sovereignly elects the rest to go to hell or that He chooses only some to be saved and allows the rest to be destroyed, I would believe it, because I believe God is God and man cannot tell God what is right or wrong. But the Bible reveals, rather, that the sovereign God made man with a will and that the sinner can still exercise that will in receiving or rejecting Christ. This does not detract from God’s sovereignty one iota.
They claim, further, that the non-Calvinist believes man is saved by his own will. I can’t speak for others, but this non-Calvinist does not believe that. No sinner can believe unless God enables him to do so. The Bible plainly states that Jesus enlightens (Jn. 1:9) and draws (Jn. 12:37) every man. Man is not saved by his will; he is saved by the grace of God in Christ and because of the blood of Christ. Jn. 1:12-13 leaves no doubt about this. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Verse 12 says as many as receive Jesus and believe on His name are born again, but verse 13 says this salvation by faith is not “the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Thus, believing on Christ is not some sort of “will salvation.”
They claim that the non-Calvinist doesn’t believe that salvation is 100% of God, that by saying that the sinner can believe on Christ is to say that “he contributes to his salvation” and “thus, the work of salvation is not totally God’s” (Jeffrey Khoo, Arminianism Examined, Far Eastern Bible College, Singapore, p. 2). Arthur Pink says that if the sinner could yield to or resist Christ, “then the Christian would have ground for boasting and self-glorying over his co-operation with the Spirit...” (p. 128). Again, while I can’t speak for others, this non-Calvinist most definitely believes that salvation is 100% of God. It is God who enlightens (Jn. 1:9), convicts (Jn. 16:7-8), draws (Jn. 12:32), and saves. Man does nothing but receive a Gift and that is not a work and is not something to boast of! As with salvation, so with Christian living, it is all of God and man has nothing to boast of. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13); and, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). Salvation is all of Christ, from beginning to end. This idea that receiving a gift leaves the recipient in a position to boast is ridiculous. The recipient of a Priceless Gift does not boast of himself but of the Giver. The man who is rescued from the sea and escapes certain death does not brag about what he did for himself but about what the rescuer did, even though the drowning man perhaps took hold of a life preserver that was thrown to him or relaxed in the arms of the life guard.
They say that the teaching that man can believe on or reject Christ means that one believes that the sinner is not truly depraved and that man is a “free moral agent.” Arthur Pink says this in his chapter on “God’s Sovereignty and the Human Will.” He presents many strawmen in this section. He says, “Does it lie within the province of man’s will to accept or reject the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour? ... The answer to this question defines our conception of human depravity. ... Man is a rational being and as such responsible and accountable to God, but to affirm that he is a free moral agent is to deny that he is totally depraved...” (p. 138). I certainly don’t believe that the sinner is a “free moral agent,” and I believe that man is totally without righteousness before God, dead in trespasses and sins, etc. I simply agree with what the Bible says about man believing the gospel. The Bible says that “whosoever believeth in him shall not perish” (Jn. 3:16). That teaches me that a sinner can believe on Christ, but to go beyond this simple concept and to claim that such a position is to deny human depravity or is to make him into a “free moral agent” is nonsense. Romans 3:10-18 and Eph. 2:1-4 are key New Testament passages on the depravity of the sinner, but neither passage mentions man’s will or whether he can or cannot believe on Christ for salvation. The same is true for every passage in the Bible that deals with man’s depravity in Adam, such as Gen. 6:4; Psa. 51:5; 58:3; Prov. 22:15; Ecc. 9:3; Isa. 64:6; Jer. 17:9; and Mat. 15:9. Again, the Calvinist reads his own theology into these passages.
Pink and other Calvinists even liken the non-Calvinist’s position on so-called “free will” to that of the Roman Catholic Church. Pink quotes from the Council of Trent, which said, “If any one shall affirm, that man’s free-will, moved and excited by God, does not, by consenting, co-operate with God, the mover and exciter, so as to prepare and dispose itself for the attainment of justification; if moreover anyone shall say, that the human will cannot refuse complying, if it pleases; but that it is unactive, and merely passive; let such an one be accursed.” Pink then concludes: “Thus, those who today insist on the free-will of the natural man believe precisely what Rome teaches on the subject! ... the Roman Catholics and Arminians walk hand in hand...” (The Sovereignty of God, p. 139). This is libelous in the extreme. The Roman Catholic Church believes that man is not utterly unrighteous in his fallen state and that he can actually cooperate with God in his justification, that salvation is by faith plus works and sacraments rather than by faith alone. The non-Calvinist does not believe anything like this. He simply believes the Scripture when it says that “whosoever believeth in him shall not perish” (Jn. 3:16) and he doesn’t try to bend such Scriptures to conform to the TULIP mold.
There are only a few examples of how the Calvinist tends to misstate and misrepresent what the non-Calvinist believes.
6. CALVINISM CONFUSES THE CHURCH WITH ISRAEL AND NATIONAL ELECTION WITH PERSONAL (Rom. 9:9-24).
John Calvin’s major argument for unconditional election and reprobation is based on God’s dealings with Israel. This is described in Calvin’s Institutes, Book III, Chapter 21, “Eternal Election.”
Romans 9:9-24
9:9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.
10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
This is doubtless the Calvinist’s favorite proof text for sovereign election. Does Romans 9 teach that God arbitrarily or sovereignly chooses some sinners to be saved and the rest to be lost? Let’s consider eight important facts about this passage:
(1) The example of Esau and Jacob does not refer to election pertaining to personal salvation but to election pertaining to nations in God’s overall program. Verse 12 makes this clear. “It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.” The promise of God to Rebecca was about the elder son serving the younger, not about their personal salvation. Esau could have gotten saved. He could have believed in God and been in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. This passage does not teach that Esau was sovereignly predestined to be reprobate. It teaches that God sovereignly chose Christ’s lineage.
(2) As for Pharaoh, it is important to understand that he first hardened his own heart. “But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said” (Ex. 8:15). This is not a case of “sovereign reprobation.” The Scripture teaches that it is always God’s will for men to serve Him, but when they reject Him He rejects them and judges them and makes examples of them. Compare 2 Thess. 2:10-12 -- “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; BECAUSE THEY RECEIVED NOT THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH, THAT THEY MIGHT BE SAVED. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: THAT THEY ALL MIGHT BE DAMNED WHO BELIEVED NOT THE TRUTH, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” These sinners will be damned but not because they are not sovereignly elected and not because they are sovereignly reprobate but because of their personal decision in regard to the truth. Words could not be plainer. God did make an example of Pharaoh, but to go beyond what the Bible says and to claim that God chose to create Pharaoh for the purpose of reprobating him is a great error and is to malign the name of the loving God.
(3) Rom. 9:22-23 does not say that God sovereignly fits some sinners to destruction and some to glory. The phrase “vessels of wrath fitted to destruction” allows for a variant voice; according to the PC Study Bible, it can be both the passive and middle voice in Greek; middle means to fit oneself. In the middle voice the subject acts in relation to him/herself. Consider this note from Vincent Word Studies: “NOT FITTED BY GOD FOR DESTRUCTION, but in an adjectival sense, ready, ripe for destruction, the participle denoting a present state previously formed, BUT GIVING NO HINT OF HOW IT HAD BEEN FORMED. That the objects of final wrath had themselves a hand in the matter may be seen from 1 Thess. 2:15-16.” By allowing the Bible to speak for itself through the plain meaning of the words and by comparing Scripture with Scripture we see that the sinner fits himself for destruction by his rejection of the truth. Even those who have never heard the gospel, have the light of creation and conscience and are responsible to respond to the light that they have that they might be given more light (Acts 17:26-27).
(4) Rom. 9:23-24 does not mean that God calls only a certain pre-chosen elect group to salvation. “And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles.” One has to read that into the language of the verses. The Calvinist claims that verse 24 refers to “effectual calling,” which is a term that describes the “irresistible calling of the elect,” but this is adding to God’s Word, which is a great error. The Bible plainly states that God has called all who will come to Christ. God calls through the gospel (2 Thess. 2:14) and the gospel is to be preached to every creature (Mk. 16:15). God calls “whosoever will” (Rom. 10:13; Rev. 22:17). God calls every one that believes on Christ. “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day” (Jn. 6:40).
(5) God’s salvation even of the Jews was not a matter of “sovereign” election but was based on an individual’s faith in His Word. “But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; as it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed” (Rom. 9:31-33).
(6) Romans 10 leaves no doubt about this; the promise of salvation proves that it is not God’s arbitrary or “sovereign” choice (Rom. 10:8-13). Note the words “whosoever” and “all.” Would God mock sinners by promising them salvation if they believe in Christ and then only enable those who were sovereignly elected to actually exercise such faith?
(7) God’s sovereignty does not mean that His will is always accomplished in man. “But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people” (Rom. 10:21). See also Matt. 23:37: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” God has made man in His image. Man is not a robot. He can exercise his will in saying no to God, and man has said no to God and has resisted God from Genesis to Revelation. If God’s sovereignty means that His will is always done, this world would make no sense! It is God’s will, for example, for every believer to “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:16), but we know all too well that this is not always the case and is never the case perfectly.
(8) God’s blinding of Israel was not a matter of sovereign election but it was because they first hardened their own hearts. Consider Ezek. 12:2; Mat. 13:15 and Acts 28:25-27:
Ezekiel 12:2 -- “Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house.”
Ezekiel says the cause for Israel’s blindness is her own rebellion.
Matthew 13:15 -- “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and THEIR EYES THEY HAVE CLOSED; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”
Matthew says Israel closed her own eyes and that is the reason they were not converted. There is no sovereign reprobation here.
Acts 28:25-27 -- “And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and THEIR EYES HAVE THEY CLOSED; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”
Again, Acts says Israel closed her own eyes lest she be converted. There is no support for the Calvinist doctrine of sovereign reprobation here.
7. CALVINISM GOES BACK TO THE “CHURCH FATHERS” FOR AUTHORITY INSTEAD OF STRICTLY TO THE NEW TESTAMENT APOSTLES AND PROPHETS.
Calvin freely acknowledged that his authority was Augustine. Consider the following quotes:
“If I were inclined to compile a whole volume from Augustine, I could easily show my readers, that I need no words but his” (Institutes, Book III, chap. 22)
“Let Augustine answer for me…” (Ibid.)
“[Augustine is the one] we quote most frequently as being the best and most faithful witness of all antiquity” (Institutes, Book IV, chap. 14)
“Augustine is so wholly with me, that if I wished to write a confession of my faith, I could do so ... out of his writings” (Calvin, “A Treatise on the Eternal Predestination of God,” trans. by Henry Cole, Calvin’s Calvinism, Grandville, MI: Reformed Free Publishing, 1987, p. 38; cited in Laurence Vance, The Other Side of Calvinism, 1999, p. 38).
WHO WAS AUGUSTINE? He was so polluted with heresy that the Roman Catholic Church has claimed him as one of its “doctors.”
Augustine was a persecutor and the father of the doctrine of persecution in the Catholic Church. The historian Neander observed that Augustine’s teaching “contains the germ of the whole system of spiritual despotism, intolerance, and persecution, even to the court of the Inquisition.” He instigated bitter persecutions against the Bible-believing Donatists who were striving to maintain pure churches after the apostolic faith.
Augustine was the father of a-millennialism, interpreting Bible prophecy allegorically; teaching that the Catholic Church is the kingdom of God.
Augustine taught that Mary did not commit sin.
Augustine believed in purgatory.
Augustine was one of the fathers of the heresy of infant baptism, claiming that unbaptized infants were lost, and calling all who rejected infant baptism “infidels” and “cursed.”
Augustine exalted church tradition above the Bible and said, “I should not believe the gospel unless I were moved to do so by the authority of the Catholic Church.”
8. CALVINISM CANNOT EXPLAIN CHRIST’S WARNINGS AND HIS JUDGMENTS.
Repeatedly, Christ warned sinners that except they repent and believe on Him they would perish (e.g., Lk. 13:3, 5; Jn. 8:24). Christ also issued judgments upon sinners because they did not believe.
Luke 10:12-16 -- “But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell. He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.”
In light of Calvinism’s definition of sovereign election and the irresistible drawing and regeneration of the elect, Christ’s warnings and judgments make no sense. Why would He warn sinners to repent and believe or perish and pronounce severe judgment upon sinners for not believing if He knows that only those who are sovereignly elected can do such a thing?
Calvinists have made pathetic attempts to answer this, but in my estimation the fact of Christ’s warnings simply and plainly refutes their doctrine.
9. CALVINISM CANNOT EXPLAIN THE APOSTLE PAUL.
Paul attempted to win the more. “For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more” (1 Cor. 9:19). How can I win more if the number of the elect has been settled from eternity?
Paul’s goal was to “save some.” “To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some: (1 Cor. 9:22). Isn’t the election of the saved already assured without Paul’s help? How could anything he did in his life and ministry have any affect upon the elect?
Paul sacrificed so that men would be saved. “Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved” (1 Cor. 10:33). If election is sovereignly predetermined and irresistible, Paul’s statement makes no sense.
Paul persuaded men. “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences” (2 Cor. 5:11). If Paul were a Calvinist, he would know that the elect don’t need persuading and the non-elect can’t be persuaded!
Paul was willing to go to hell for the unsaved Jews. “For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh” (Rom. 9:3). How could a mere man care more about the destiny of the unsaved than God? We are convinced that the cry of Paul’s heart here is merely a mirror of the cry of God’s own heart for all lost sinners.
10. CALVINISM CANNOT EXPLAIN THE BOOK OF HEBREWS.
The book of Hebrews refutes the Calvinist or TULIP doctrines of unconditional and “sovereign” election and irresistible grace, that God sovereignly and arbitrarily chooses who will be saved and irresistibly and absolutely draws them so that on one hand it is impossible for the non-elect to be saved and on the other hand it is impossible for the elect not to be saved. If this were true, the Holy Spirit would not give such dire warnings and exhortations to professing believers about the possibility of apostasy, because if they are elected they could not possibly perish and if they are not elected, nothing they could do would change their status. Consider, for example, the following passages:
Consider Hebrews 2:3: “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.”
This exhortation makes no sense in light of Calvinist doctrines. If election is as the Calvinist teaches, how could the elect neglect salvation and how could the non-elect do anything other than neglect salvation?
Consider Hebrews 3:12-14: “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end.”
If the elect are predetermined “sovereignly” and if election has nothing whatsoever to do with the sinner himself and if he is irresistibly drawn, what could this exhortation possibly mean? How could a sovereignly elected, irresistibly drawn believer depart from God, and how could the non-elect do anything other than depart from God?
Consider Hebrews 4:9-11: “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”
How could this exhortation possibly apply to TULIP type election? This passages says the rest of salvation is something that every person must seek to enter into and all are urged to do so, but the doctrine of “sovereign” election teaches us that those elected to God’s rest are predetermined solely by God and they have no choice in the matter and will assuredly enter into that rest.
Consider Hebrews 6:4-6: “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”
If TULIP theology is true, why the exhortation? How could the elect fall away? And how could the non-elect do anything but fall away?
Consider Hebrews 10:26-29: “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?”
Again, if TULIP theology is true, why would such an exhortation be given to professing believers? If they are sovereignly elected, they will surely persevere and if they aren’t they surely won’t. According to Calvinist doctrine, it has nothing to do with them or what they do.
If election is “sovereign” and “unconditional” in a Calvinist sense and the believer has no choice whatsoever in the matter of salvation, these passages don’t make any sense.
If, on the other hand, election involves an element of foreknowledge (1 Pet. 1:2) and involves a personal choice on the part of the sinner (“whosoever believeth,” Jn. 3:15, 16; 12:46; Acts 10:43; Rom. 9:33; 10:11; 1 John 5:1; Rev. 22:17; etc.), the exhortations and warnings in Hebrews make perfect sense. Because if this is true, and we know that it is because the Bible everywhere teaches it, then the sinner, being given light from Christ (Jn. 1:9) and being drawn by Christ (Jn. 12:32) and being convicted and enlightened by the Holy Spirit (Jn. 16:8) can, because of this gracious divine enablement, either believe on Christ or not and it is also possible for a sinner to come close to salvation without actually possessing it. Therefore he needs to be exhorted to believe on Jesus Christ truly and sincerely and not to turn away before he has been genuinely born again and indwelt by the Holy Spirit and adopted into God’s family.
11. CALVINISM CANNOT EXPLAIN PRAYER.
Arthur Pink says, “God’s will is immutable, and cannot be altered by our cryings” (The Sovereignty of God, p. 173).
In fact, God’s will can be altered by our prayers.
Prayer can never demand that God do something. Prayer is not demanding but asking. Prayer must always be “by the will of God” (Rom. 1:10). ‘If we ask anything according to his will he heareth us” (1 Jn. 5:14). But that is not to say that prayer is merely a robotic response to that which God has eternally predetermined. God has given man the responsibility to pray and has pledged Himself to answer, as long as the prayer is in accordance with His will. That means that it is up to man whether to pray or not to pray, how much to prayer, and how earnestly. And those prayers change things in things world!
Prayer can even change God’s mind. Consider the following amazing scene that occurred on Mt. Sinai:
“And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: NOW THEREFORE LET ME ALONE, THAT MY WRATH MAY WAX HOT AGAINST THEM, AND THAT I MAY CONSUME THEM: AND I WILL MAKE OF THEE A GREAT NATION. And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. AND THE LORD REPENTED OF THE EVIL WHICH HE THOUGHT TO DO UNTO HIS PEOPLE” (Ex. 32:9-14).
God told Moses that He would consume Israel and make a great nation of Moses, but Moses pleaded with Him and the Bible says that God repented. Where does this fit into Calvinism’s emphasis upon God’s absolute sovereignty? Here we see God interacting with man and His mind literally being changed by man’s pleas.
Someone will ask at this point about Numbers 23:19, which says, “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
There is no contradiction between Num. 23:19 and Ex. 32:14. In Numbers 23 Balaam is speaking about God’s eternal plan for Israel, and in that He will not repent. “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Rom. 11:29). But within the context of God’s overall plan for the ages, He does repent or change His mind in relation to man’s actions in many ways, and that is the mystery of prayer.
What about 1 Sam. 15:29, which says, “And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent”? This statement was made by Samuel after God had rejected Saul and chosen David as the new king. Saul was pleading with Samuel to change his mind about that decision, and Samuel replied that God’s decisions in such matters are unchangeable.
There are times in which God’s mind can be changed and there are times when it cannot. At one point, God told two of the prophets not to pray for Israel (Jer. 7:16; Ezek. 14:4), but that was after Israel had gone too far in rebellion and God had determined to judge them. After other times, prayer, such as that of Moses in Exodus 32, drove back God’s wrath and gave Israel more time.
Neither Num. 23:19 nor 1 Sam. 15:29 change the fact that God repented of His plan to destroy Israel in Exodus 32 in response to Moses’ earnest intercession.
The fact is that man is an amazing creation. He is made in God’s image, and he is not a robot or a puppet. God is still God, but God has ordained that man has a will and can say yes or no to Him. Men can even change God’s mind through earnest entreaties! That is the wondrous power of prayer.
Consider another prayer scene in Scripture. In Isaiah 38 we read that King Hezekiah was sick unto death and God told the prophet Isaiah to go to him and say, “Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not life” (Isa. 38:1). Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and wept and “prayed unto the Lord.” The Bible says that after this, God sent Isaiah back to the king to say, “Thus said the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years” (Isa. 38:5).
In response to earnest prayer God gave him this man 15 more years of life on earth. Prayer changes things!
“What takes the greater power (omnipotence): to create beings who have no ability to choose--who are mere pawns on God’s cosmic chessboard--or to create beings who have the freedom to accept or reject God’s salvation? I submit, the latter. ... Would a God who ordained the existence of immortal beings without making any provision for them to escape eternal torment be a cruel being? What kind of God would call on mankind to ‘believe and be saved’ when He knows they cannot [and] what kind of relationship is there between God and people who could never choose Him--but are ‘irresistibly’ called...? For these and other reasons I question the idea that individual unconditional election and five-point Calvinism best reflect the attributes of God. A God who sovereignly offers salvation to all through His elect Saviour reflects both power and love.” (Philip F. Cogdon, “Soteriological Implications of Five-Point Calvinism,” Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society, Autumn 1995; cited from Dave Hunt, A Calvinist’s Honest Doubts Resolved, p. 76).
WHAT ABOUT HYPER-CALVINISM?
Hyper-Calvinism is a label that some Calvinists have put upon other Calvinists. For example, in “Hyper-Calvinism Examined” Jeffrey Khoo, who is a Presbyterian Calvinist and a staunch defender of the faith and of the Greek Received Text and the King James Bible and a man that I have a high regard for, analyzes a position that he labels “hyper.” He says:
“Calvinism is that system of doctrine derived from the great French theologian--John Calvin. ... What then is Hyper-Calvinism? The prefix ‘hyper’ (Gk: hyper) means ‘above’ or ‘beyond.’ Hyper-Calvinism is a twisted form of Calvinism that goes beyond what Calvin in accordance to Scriptures had taught.”
Dr. Khoo presents two characteristics of Hyper-Calvinism: “(1) denial of common grace, and (2) denial of the free offer of the gospel.”
Common Grace vs. Saving Grace, Degrees of Love
Khoo claims that Calvin taught that there is both a common grace and a saving grace, and that failure to distinguish between the two is a mark of Hyper-Calvinism. Saving grace is “the Holy Spirit’s regenerative work on the sinner through the Gospel,” whereas common grace is “God’s favourable bestowal upon all of mankind of those things necessary for creaturely existence on this sin-plagued earth.”
Khoo says that Hyper-Calvinists reject the doctrine of common grace and that according to them, God hates all non-elect and works all things towards their destruction, whereas John Calvin taught that God does not hate the non-elect and that this is evident because He bestows upon them “common grace.”
Calvin taught that not only does God bestow common grace upon the reprobate, He also loves them to some degree. Expositing on Mark 10:21, which says Jesus loved the rich young ruler, Calvin said: “... God loves all His creatures without exception. It is therefore important to distinguish degrees of love. ... sometimes God is said to love those whom He neither approves nor justifies.”
What do we say about this? If I were the non-elect, I would wonder what kind of grace God has given me and what kind of love God has bestowed upon me, seeing that it is impossible for me to be saved and escape hell! “Common grace” and a degree of love might sound pleasant to ear of the Calvinist theologian, but it won’t get the “reprobate” into heaven.
The Free Offer of the Gospel
Khoo says that the second mark of Hyper-Calvinism is to reject the doctrine that the gospel should be preached to all men indiscriminately and that God sincerely invites everyone, elect and reprobate, to repentance and salvation in Christ; whereas Calvin Calvinists believe these things.
Khoo quotes John Calvin’s comments on John 3:16 and similar passages to prove that he believed that God “invites indiscriminately all to share in life” and “shows He is favourable to the whole world when He calls all without exception to the faith of Christ” and “no man is excluded from calling upon God” and “the gate of salvation is set open to all.”
When reading these quotes, one thinks for a moment that perhaps Calvin truly believed that all men can be saved through the gospel, but this is not at all what he means! While saying that the gospel is universally offered out of one side of his mouth, Calvin rendered the universal aspect of the gospel meaningless in any practical sense with his doctrine of sovereign election, because they are the only ones who are drawn effectively and regenerated and given the “gift of faith.”
Calvin went on to say: “God does not work effectually in all men, but only when the Spirit shines in our hearts as the inward teacher. ... The Gospel is indeed offered to all for their salvation, its power is not universally manifest.” Commenting on 2 Peter 3:9, Calvin asks the following important question: “If could be asked here, if God does not want any to perish, why do so many in fact perish?” The non-Calvinist Bible believer would reply that so many perish because God has decreed that man not be a robot but that he be given a choice in the matter of the gospel. But John Calvin must fall back upon his doctrine of sovereign election: “My reply is that no mention is made here of the secret decree of God by which the wicked are doomed to their own ruin ... GOD STRETCHES OUT HIS HAND TO ALL ALIKE, BUT HE ONLY GRASPS THOSE (IN SUCH A WAY AS TO LEAD TO HIMSELF) WHOM HE HAS CHOSEN BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.”
Desiderative vs. Decretive Will
According to Khoo, the Hyper-Calvinist’s problem in not being able to “see how God can be willing to save all when He has already willed that only the elect would be saved” is solved by the simple solution of understanding that God has both a “decretive” and a “desiderative” (from “desire”) will.
God’s decretive will is His sovereign election of some sinners to eternal salvation, whereas His desiderative will is His general concern for all sinners. According to the decretive vs. desiderative idea, salvation is offered to all mankind but given only to the elect. In the words of Augustine, Christ’s death was “sufficient for all, efficient for the elect.”
My friend, if you think this is some sort of “mumbo jumbo” or “gobbly gook,” you are not alone!
The Hyper-Calvinist would open shop and offer the Gift of Salvation only to the elect, while the “Calvin Calvinist” would open shop and offer the Gift of Salvation to whosoever will but only give it to the elect!
Do you see any significant difference between these two views?
It appears to me that Calvin believed that God plays a cruel joke upon the non-elect or “the reprobate,” as he calls them. He “sincerely” invites “whosoever will” to come and to believe on Christ and to be saved, but He knows that only the elect can do any of that. Thus, the non-elect can do nothing in regard to the “universal offer of salvation but to confirm his unbelief and his reprobate condition.
In my estimation, Hyper-Calvinism vs. Calvin Calvinism is more of a semantics game than anything else. The “Calvin Calvinist” wants to think that he believes what 1 Timothy 2 and 2 Peter 3 says about God willing that all men be saved, but when his position is analyzed carefully, he believes no such thing in any practical sense. The elect are still sovereignly elect, the only sinners who can be saved, and the reprobate are still sovereignly reprobate, unable to be saved and eternally locked out of heaven. Actually the Hyper-Calvinist is more consistent with the Five Points of Calvinism and with the Calvinist position on divine sovereignty in teaching that God does not truly love the non-elect and that He has no interest in their salvation.
The “Calvin Calvinist” is no more faithful to the Scripture than the Hyper-Calvinist. Both twist the Scripture to fit their theology and read their theology into the plain words of Scripture.
I DO NOT TREAT ALL CALVINISTS THE SAME
It is important to understand that there is a great variety of doctrine and practice among Calvin