Modalism Revived

There has been a storm a brewing for sometime now within the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). It seems that we have some within the SBC who are being blown around by every wind of doctrine to the point that they have actually invited false teachers in through the back door. I am referring to Pastor Ed Young and his upcoming Creative Church Conference 2007 (C3 2007) featuring Oneness Pentecostal Bishop T.D. Jakes. If your not familiar with this momentous occasion; that's OK because I am sure you will be able to see Pastor Young promoting his conference on TBN over and over before the conference deadline. Pastor Young is treading on some very dangerous ground by inviting Bishop Jakes into a SBC event, I don't believe he sees the error of this, nor do I think he really cares that Bishop Jakes has a flawed theological view on the Trinity. Jakes draws big crowds, and big crowds means cash money baby! Just look at the title of this conference; Creative Church Conference? What are they creating? Big bank accounts that's what! Anyway I was at A Puritans Mind and downloaded the podcast from the Wild Boar where Dr. Matthew McMahon gives a heads up on the topic of "Modalism Revived - TD Jakes". Check it out it's a very enlightening seven minute piece, he says quote "Peddle a false god and people will always come running. That’s why mega-churches exist. Give the people enough religion to satisfy them and they’ll come running and pack the house out. They’ll give money too in support of something that appeases them, and things that they like." That hit the nail on the head but my favorite quote comes at the end of the piece where Dr. McMahon says "The soul of a man would get more support from a Playtex bra than listening to T.D. Jakes peddling a false god, wise up America before it's to late." Personally I wish he had said wise up SBC.

Quote of the Day

"let us beware of that unscriptural, unphilosophical sentimentalism which affirms that the heart may be all right when the head is all wrong." - Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)

CD's Be Gone

Well I finally broke down and forked over the big bucks for the best digital audio and video hand held device on the planet; a 30 gig iPod, and I am thrilled with being able to carry my Grace To You archives where ever I go, not to mention a video player as well. A few things caught me off guard is first the great image quality it has on the 3.5 inch screen and with the ability to upload images as well it makes for a great wallet photo album. Also you are able to load .txt files that are under 4KB which is great for what ever type of notes you want to keep. So the first thing I did was load up over 80 John MacArthur sermons and some of my favorite family photos, Fernando Ortega's latest CD and then I subscribed to Renewing Your Mind, and The Wild Boar. I am sure more will come, this is fun. If you can afford one of these toys do yourself a favor and get one.

What's In a Name?

I seen this video which pits a Christian against a Christ-Follower which is quite obviously meant to be-little the so called Christian for studying his Bible and books too much and it has become clear that historical Christianity is headed into a time of severe persecutions. I have noticed a growing trend within the seeker sensitive movement and the emerging church movement to banish the name "Christian" from their vocabulary altogether. At first glance this seem totally harmless, but let's take a closer look as we let H. A. Iroside weigh in on what's so important about the name "Christian" and why it's trying to be removed from our vocabulary today.

The name "Christian" is not found very often in the New Testament, but is the distinctive title of those who belong to Christ. We read of it in Acts 11:26 where it was conferred upon the Gentile believers at Antioch by divine authority; for the word "called" there literally means "oracularly called," and therefore it was not the Antiochians alone who bestowed this name upon the believers, but God Himself who so designated them. That it has become their well-known appellation is evident from Acts 26:28, where we read that King Agrippa exclaimed, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian!" When Peter wrote his letter some years later he uses it as the commonly recognized name of the pilgrim company, and he tells us that it is praiseworthy to suffer as a Christian.

1 Peter 4:16 "but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name." None needs to be ashamed to suffer because of his faithfulness to the hallowed name he bears. The disciples, as we have noticed already, where called Christians first at Antioch (Acts 11:26). and this name has clung to them ever since, It signifies their union with Christ, and therefore is a name in which to glory, however the world may despise it! Let us therefore never be ashamed of this name and all that it implies, but be prepared to suffer because of it, knowing that we may thus glorify the God who has drawn us to Himself and saves us through His blessed Son, who bore our sins in His own body on the tree.

Let us not be-little the title which the Lord Himself has given us or diminish it with a new catch phrase that won't offend the seeker, but rather let us stand firm for the name in which some of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ has suffered and died for in the past.

Excerpt taken from "Expository Notes on The Epistles of James and Peter" by H. A. Ironside, Loizeaux Brothers, Inc. 1947

Nothing but a Dreamer

Have you been wondering just what the emerging church really wants? Well just listen to Dave Parker host of "The Living Room" as he shares his dream for the emerging-church gathering that he calls GOD'S DREAM. This will give you an exact overview of probably what the newest church in your community will be all about. Be sure to listen for the subtle attack on the authority of scripture and the man-centeredness of his dream, he starts out by saying it's his dream but then goes on to blame God for it by calling it God's Dream, he wants a "community of church people who gather to be un-churched" or better yet he wants them to question what they believe to even be true, but he still wants to hold the Bible in high esteem. Be sure and see how he questions the authority of the Bible by saying "The explanation of the truth, or God's Word, the Bible didn't hinge on any one person's the buck stops here preaching, but rather on creative teaching and the community's collective responses and thoughts on the matter where people are free to think, to think of questions and to question the answers." Dave that is no way to hold the Bible in high esteem, the truth is not hinged on collective responses by the community, but rather the truth was nailed to the Cross and the preaching of the Cross brings about the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. Why do you want to question that? Also notice that Dave wants homosexuals to find commonality at the foot of the Cross, surely Dave wouldn't call this vision of his God's Dream if he had ever read in the scripture, 1 Corinthians 6:9 NASB "do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,", or maybe he just doesn't care if his dream lines up with scripture. Does Dave really want people to think that God's Dream differs from his Word?

Jude 1:8 Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. NASB

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,' you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk So you shall purge the evil from among you. NASB

Cross-less Christianity

If you haven't been to The Shepherds Scrapbook you should really take the time to visit, Tony Reinke is a dear brother who has a vast knowledge of great Christian literature and a heart to share the Gospel message revealed in them. One of his latest recommendations is a book by WM. P. Farley titled "Outrageous Mercy" which is now out of print (thanks Tony, I picked it up for $5.00), In the opening chapter I find it to be very insightful and humbling because of it's cross-centered message and why the cross is the central message that should be embeded into our thoughts and affections to the point that a deep sense of spiritual poverty overwhelmes our everday life to the result of deep humility, vs a contrast of a cross-less message which can only produce pride.

"The presence or absence of cross-centeredness impacts behavior. Christianity that is not cross-centered will be sympathy without decisiveness, kindness without justice, charm without backbone, and sentimentality without action.

Christianity then becomes a religion for the deserving but not for sinners, a message for the upper-class but not for the lower-class. Without the cross, justification by faith alone degenerates into moralism, and God's holy wrath morphs into tolerance for the well-intentioned. A cross-less Christianity tames the terrible God enthroned between the cherubim before whom the nations tremble. God becomes love, but nothing else. In short, when the message of the cross is removed from the center of Christianity, Christianity removes itself from the center of our thoughts and devotions. A bushel basket is placed over the lamp. It is that simple.

Most importantly, cross-centered Christians grow progressively humble. I fellowship with one church that preaches the cross. The sing it, they preach it, they read about it, and they exult in it. Therefore, they feel deeply their sinfulness and unworthiness. Humility is their outstanding quality.

Another church in my area believes in the cross, but transforming the culture is their central focus. They write about culture, sing about it, and discuss it constantly, By contrast, their outstanding quality is pride. They look down on other Christians. The are contentious and lack grace."

Excerpt taken from WM. P. Farley, Outrageous Mercy: Rediscover the Radical Nature of Christianity (Baker: Grand Rapids, MI) 2004. Page 19-20.

Scary Stuff

If you haven't been to the world famous website www.youtube.com lately you might be shocked to see what is there under the search of Church, it's really embarrassing. There is also some clips exposing the false teachers of today that gather on TBN, you can really spend hours watching these heretics being exposed. Just do a search for Circus Church, TBN, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin and any such names you see on TV and you'll see what I mean. Also check out Benny Hinn's wife in rare form, this one really makes me want to spew. There is even one where Benny Hinn talks about blowing the head off one of the heretic hunters (John MacArthur and/or Mike Horton). I can't help but wonder where is the Gospel message in all this stuff? Any way the video I have linked to on the picture is flat out scary you will have to see it to believe it.

Update: Benny Hinn and his lawyers are actively pursuing removal of all damaging video of his heretical behavior and teachings on YouTube.com so with that said it is getting more and more difficult to view this video of Mr. Hinn and his bizarre antics.

Definition

As I continue to research the doctrine of Election I came acorss this definition in the Nelson's Bible Dicitionary, I thought it would make for a good post.

ELECTION — the gracious and free act of God by which He calls those who become part of His kingdom and special beneficiaries of His love and blessings. The Bible describes the concept of election in three distinct ways. Election sometimes refers to the choice of Israel and the church as a people for special service and privileges. Election may also refer to the choice of a specific individual to some office or to perform some special service. Still other passages of the Bible refer to the election of individuals to be children of God and heirs of eternal life.

Throughout the history of redemption, election has characterized God’s saving activity. He chose and called Abraham from Ur to Canaan, making an everlasting covenant with him and his offspring (Gen. 11:31–12:7; Neh. 9:7; Is. 41:8). God also called Moses to lead His people out of bondage (Ex. 2:24–3:10; Deut. 6:21–23; Ps. 105). He chose Israel from among the nations of the world to be His special covenant people (Deut. 4:37; 7:6–7; Is. 44:1–2).

Election to salvation takes place “in Christ” (Eph. 1:4; 2:10) as a part of God’s purpose for the human race. As part of His eternal plan, God allows us to use our freedom to rebel against Him. Thus it is gracious of God to save those who find salvation through Jesus Christ. It is not unjust of Him not to save everyone, since no one deserves to be saved (Matt. 20:14; Rom. 1:18; 9:15). Election is gracious; it is also unconditional and unmerited (Acts 13:48; Rom. 9:11; 1 Pet. 1:2). It is an expression of the eternal, sovereign will of God who cannot change (Rom. 8:29; 2 Thess. 2:13). Therefore the salvation of the elect is certain (Rom. 8:28, 33).

Election is a necessary condition for salvation; faith is the sufficient condition. The elect inevitably believe, but they do not believe against their will. They have a God-given desire and ability to trust in Christ for salvation (Acts 13:48; 1 Cor. 15:10; Phil. 1:29; 2:13). The elect choose God because He effectively calls them through the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ; they choose Him because He first chose and called them to Himself (Rom. 8:28). That initiating love of God is reflected in Jesus’ statement, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you” (John 15:16).

A careful study of the Bible’s doctrine of man cures any romantic notion of a human will that is free to choose for or against God. Those who are slaves to sin and its power (Rom. 6:6) neither understand nor seek after God in and of themselves (Rom. 3:11; John 14:17; 1 Cor. 2:14). Outside of Christ, people are spiritually dead rebels who neither desire to submit to the Lord Jesus Christ nor are able to. Apart from God’s gracious, free, eternal, and sovereign choice of sinners to become His children, none would be saved but would remain forever under His wrath (Rom. 1:18).

Election is not to be a source of complacency (2 Pet. 1:12) or presumption (Rom. 11:19–22) on the part of Christians. They are to make their calling and election certain by growing in godliness (2 Pet. 1:2–11) as they respond with gratitude to God’s electing love (Col. 3:12–17).God has chosen Christians to bear the image and glory of Christ (Rom. 8:29; 2 Thess. 2:14). They have been elected to be holy in conduct, like Christ (Eph. 1:4). Like Him, they are also to be glorified in their whole being in the life to come (2 Cor. 3:18; Phil. 3:21). The ultimate goal of our election is that we might bring praise and glory to God (Eph. 1:6; Rom. 11:33; 2 Thess. 2:13).

Taken from the "Nelson's new illustrated Bible dictionary"; Nashville: T. Nelson. (1995)

Partaker of Divine Grace

"I suppose there are persons whose minds naturally incline towards the doctrine of free-will. I can only say that mine inclines as naturally towards the doctrines of sovereign grace. Sometimes, when I see some of the worst characters in the street, I feel as if my heart must burst forth in tears of gratitude that God has never let me act as they have done! I have thought, if God had left me alone, and had not touched me by His grace, what a great sinner I should have been! I should have run to the utmost lengths of sin, dived into the very depths of evil, nor should I have stopped at any vice or folly, if God had not restrained me. I feel that I should have been a very king of sinners, if God had let me alone. I cannot understand the reason why I am saved, except upon the ground that God would have it so. I cannot, if I look ever so earnestly, discover any kind of reason in myself why I should be a partaker of divine grace. If I am not at this moment without Christ, it is only because Christ Jesus would have His will with me, and that will was that I should be with Him where He is, and should share His glory. I can put the crown nowhere but upon the head of Him whose mighty grace has saved me from going down into the pit." By Charles H. Spurgeon 1834–1892 from the sermon titled "A Defense of Calvinism"

Excerpt taken from Heritage of great evangelical teaching : Featuring the best of Martin Luther, John Wesley, Dwight L. Moody, C.H. Spurgeon and others. 1997, c1996. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Emphasize the Negative!

Matthew 7;21-23 "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

"Our Lord teaches us to beware of this terrible, alarming possibility of deceiving ourselves. We are all quite clear about conscious hypocrisy. The conscious hypocrite is not a problem; he is obvious and self-evident. What is so much more difficult to discern is unconscious hypocrisy, when a man not only misleads others but also deceives himself, when a man not only persuades others wrongly about himself, but persuades himself wrongly about himself. That is the very thing with which our Lord is dealing here, if we believe the New Testament is true, then there is nothing more important than that we should examine ourselves in the light of a statement such as this.

If, then, what we are describing is unconscious hypocrisy, does it not follow that we can do nothing about it? Is it not by definition something with which a man cannot deal with? If it is a condition in which a man is deluding himself, how can he possibly safeguard himself against it? The answer is that, on the contrary, a great deal can be done. The first and most important thing is to consider the cause of self-deception. That is the way to discover it in ourselves. If we can arrive at a list of the causes of self-delusion and self-deception, and the examine ourselves in the light of these causes, we shall be in a position to deal with them. And the New Testament is full of instruction with respect to that. That is why it is always exhorting us to test and to examine ourselves; that is why it is always exhorting us to prove and try the spirits, and indeed to prove all things. It is a great Book of warning. That is not popular today. People say that that is being negative; but the New Testament always emphasizes the negative aspect of truth as well as the positive.

What, then, are the common causes of self-deception in this matter? First: there is a false doctrine of assurance. This is the tendency to base our assurance only upon certain statements which we ourselves make. There are those who say, "Scripture says, 'He that believeth on him is not condemned' but shall receive 'everlasting life'; 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved'; 'Whosoever believeth in his heart and confesseth with his mouth shall be saved.'" They interpret such statements as meaning that as long as they acknowledge and say certain things about the Lord Jesus Christ, they are automatically saved. Their error is surely this: The man who is truly saved and who has a genuine assurance of salvation does make, and must make, these statements, but the mere making of these statements does not of necessity guarantee, or assure, a man of his salvation. The very people with whom our Lord is dealing with do say: "Lord, Lord," and they seem to put the right content into that statement; but, as we have seen, James reminds us in his Epistle that "the devils also believe, and tremble." If we read the Gospels, we discover that the evil spirits, and devils, recognize the Lord. They refer to Him as "the Holy One of God." They know who He is; they say the right things about Him. But they are devils and they are lost. So we must be wary of that very subtle temptation, and remember the way in which people wrongly persuade themselves. They say "I do believe, and I have said with my mouth that I believe Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God, and that He has died for my sins, therefore..." but the argument is incomplete. The believer, that Christian, does say these things, but he does not stop at merely saying them. That is what is sometimes described as "fideism" or "believism," which means that a man is really putting his final trust in his own faith, and not the Lord Jesus Christ. He is relying on his own belief, and on his mere assertion of it."

Excerpt taken from a two-volume set, titled "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1896-1981)

Unspeakably Glorious

This is so rich and so true I just had to post it here.

Divine love can only spring from the teachings and operations of God upon the heart. Our "carnal mind is enmity against God"—nothing but implacable, irreconcilable enmity. But when the Lord is pleased to make himself in some measure, known to the soul; when he is pleased, in some degree, to unveil his lovely face, and to give a discovery of his grace and glory—immediately love springs up. He is so lovely an Object! As the Bride says, He is "altogether lovely." His beauty is so surpassing, his grace so rich, his mercy so free—all that he is and has is so unspeakably glorious—that no sooner does he unveil his lovely face, than he wins over all the love of the heart, takes possession of the bosom, and draws every affection of the soul to centre wholly and solely in himself.

J.C. Philpot (1802-1869)

You Can't Ignore It

"The doctrine of election is so practical, it is so powerful, when I understand it it literally changes one's entire life to understand this doctrine. When you understand that you're elect, the practical ramifications of that will change the way you live every day. The doctrine of election will deal with your pride. That's right. It will deal with the matter of worship in your heart. It will deal with the issue of joy. The doctrine of election will tell you all you need to know about benefits and spiritual privileges. The doctrine of election will compel you to certain kinds of behavior like no other doctrine will ever compel you. The doctrine of election will produce power in your life in ways that perhaps you would never be able to understand if you didn't understand this doctrine. You can't ignore it. You absolutely cannot ignore it."

Excerpt taken from a sermon by John MacArthur titled "Chosen by God, Part 2" it is part of an audio series titled "Chosen for Eternity" you can download this sermon at www.gty.org it's tape #60-3

Crown Him

I recently bought the new Fernando Ortega CD which is titled "The Shadow of Your Wings: Hymns and Sacred Songs" I love this CD it's a powerful testimony to the Lord and I have a hard time taking it out of the CD player to listen to my daily sermons. There is one track you must hear it's the track titled "Crown Him With Many Crowns" it's a rendition of the ole hymn by Mat­thew Bridg­es and it's just absolutely beautiful.

Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne. Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own. Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee, And hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity.

Crown Him the Lord of love, behold His hands and side, Those wounds, yet visible above, in beauty glorified. No angel in the sky can fully bear that sight, But downward bends his burning eye at mysteries so bright.

Crown Him the Lord of life, who triumphed over the grave, And rose victorious in the strife for those He came to save. His glories now we sing, Who died, and rose on high, Who died eternal life to bring, and lives that death may die.

Crown Him the Lord of years, the Potentate of time, Creator of the rolling spheres, ineffably sublime. All hail, Redeemer, hail! For Thou has died for me; Thy praise and glory shall never, never fail throughout eternity.

Footsteps of Mercy

A few nights ago my pastor tackled the subject of the doctrine of Predestination, and so it has been on my mind non-stop ever since and I have downloaded a few of MacArthur's sermons to get a better grasp on what the Bible actually says. At the end of one of his messages titled Chosen By God, Part 2 he reads this quote by C. H. Spurgeon which my good friend Brodioi thought would be a great piece to post here, I would have to agree with him.

Before Salvation came into this world, Election marched in the very forefront, and it had for its work the billeting of Salvation. Election went through the world and marked the houses to which Salvation should come and the hearts in which the treasure should be deposited. Election looked through all the race of man, from Adam down to the last, and marked with sacred stamp those for whom Salvation was designed. "He must needs go through Samaria," said Election; and Salvation must go there. Then came Predestination. Predestination did not merely mark the house, but it mapped the road in which Salvation should travel to that house, Predestination ordained every step of the great army of Salvation, it ordained the time when the sinner should be brought to Christ, the manner how he should be saved, the means that should be employed; it marked the exact hour and moment, when God the Spirit should quicken the dead in sin, and when peace and pardon should be spoken through the blood of Jesus. Predestination marked the way so completely, that Salvation doth never overstep the bounds, and it is never at a loss for the road. In the everlasting decree of the Sovereign God, the footsteps of Mercy were every one of them ordained.

Excerpt from a sermon delivered on Sabbath Morning, September 20, 1857, by the REV. C. H. Spurgeon at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens; Entitled "Things That Accompany Salvation".

Emerging Discussion

If you haven't downloaded the latest podcast from Grace To You radio, don't wait any longer. Grace To You has added a full length feature on the topic of the emerging church movement to the end of their regular broadcast. It's a one on one conversation with John MacArthur and Phil Johnson discussing what is so bad about the emerging church movement. It's a great tool to have in our defense of the truth as the church faces an onslaught from yet another false movement. You can download it here or here as well.