I was stopped at an intersection a few hours ago, and behold... hear he came with bucket in hand and a big smile on his face. He said something to the effect "want to help our Christian cause?"
To which I replied, "You know as Christians we should be giving TO the community rather than taking FROM it." To which he replied that they were giving to the community, helping drug addicts and such.
As I attempted to ask another question, he started rattling off some bible verses, and ended with (Matthew 9:37 ESV) “... The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; "
Which I responded to him that that verse in Matthew is NOT referring to getting a harvest of money for the poor, which he had just said it did. I told him that the passage was referring to the harvesting of souls, which he declined. He was convinced that it was a verse to use to beg for money.
I told him that they were twisting Scripture as I drove away (green light).
This is so typical of American, moralistic Christianity.
I sincerely wonder that if they are twisting the Scriptures so... then just how much of a non - gospel are their recipients getting?
11/29/2010
Removal of Commandments... How ironic !!!
Remove the "10 Commandments"!!! I read about it all the time - From secularists & Christians. *** But what the secularists have done - the Christians have done to doctrines, Same arguments, Same results....
Remove the "10 Commandments"!!! I read about it all the time - From secularists & Christians...
I get emails and see articles all the time,from "concerned Christians" who oppose the taking down of the 10 Commandments in government buildings and schools.
And I hear from them about things like just how bad society is because of it, and see their statistics, their analogies of how crime is out of control, how kids have no respect for the law, etc...
Yet how ironic...
Most Churches never have a sermon series on the 10 Commandments.
To most Churches, all but the current one I am going to, the 10 Commandments are a Sunday school subject for children.
In fact, out of thousands of "Christians" I have met over the last 5 years of evangelizing, only 2 have known all 10. And they were not Pastors, and I have witnessed to many "Pastors" on the streets. I literally made a T-Shirt that offered people $20.00 if they could name them. I have never had to pay the $20.00 even once... But with the T-Shirt did get the opportunity to share the Gospel with them.
But oh, how they will fight, rant, and carry on for the right to have on display 10 of something they do not know themselves, but is more of a right to display a tradition, as opposed to displaying what is in their hearts.
Which brings us to not only do many, many Pastors and professing Christians not know the 10 Commandments, but they do not want to teach or talk about them.
Why?
Because, they are a path to Doctrines... That almost forbidden word, just as the Commandments are made forbidden in secular society, Christians have made Doctrines to be as irrelevant to Christianity as the 10 Commandments are to the separation of Church and State.
How ironic that as many can see and point to the loss of the 10 Commandments to being a detrement on society and having people fall away from being law abiding citizens... They cannot see that loss of doctrines has brought about a Church in America that has fallen away from being one of biblical believers, to one of universalism.
And I can tell you that universalism is big time in "Christian churches".
Their excuse is that doctrines divide, and we don;t want to exclude anybody.
Which is completely diametrically opposed to Scripture...
(Galatians 1:6-7 ESV)
"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. "
A different Gospel, a different Doctrine, a different message and the understanding there of.
But many, many are told it matters not!
Yet The Holy Writ shows different...
Does doctrine divide, yes and it should. We are called to teach the Gospel of Christ, and if it divides and separates those who want to hear other things, things that are not Christ centered, but tickle their ears, then it is good to separate, and have Holy division.
Separate, that is part of the call Christians are to be, we are to be Holy.
Remove the "10 Commandments"!!! I read about it all the time - From secularists & Christians...
I get emails and see articles all the time,from "concerned Christians" who oppose the taking down of the 10 Commandments in government buildings and schools.
And I hear from them about things like just how bad society is because of it, and see their statistics, their analogies of how crime is out of control, how kids have no respect for the law, etc...
Yet how ironic...
Most Churches never have a sermon series on the 10 Commandments.
To most Churches, all but the current one I am going to, the 10 Commandments are a Sunday school subject for children.
In fact, out of thousands of "Christians" I have met over the last 5 years of evangelizing, only 2 have known all 10. And they were not Pastors, and I have witnessed to many "Pastors" on the streets. I literally made a T-Shirt that offered people $20.00 if they could name them. I have never had to pay the $20.00 even once... But with the T-Shirt did get the opportunity to share the Gospel with them.
But oh, how they will fight, rant, and carry on for the right to have on display 10 of something they do not know themselves, but is more of a right to display a tradition, as opposed to displaying what is in their hearts.
Which brings us to not only do many, many Pastors and professing Christians not know the 10 Commandments, but they do not want to teach or talk about them.
Why?
Because, they are a path to Doctrines... That almost forbidden word, just as the Commandments are made forbidden in secular society, Christians have made Doctrines to be as irrelevant to Christianity as the 10 Commandments are to the separation of Church and State.
How ironic that as many can see and point to the loss of the 10 Commandments to being a detrement on society and having people fall away from being law abiding citizens... They cannot see that loss of doctrines has brought about a Church in America that has fallen away from being one of biblical believers, to one of universalism.
And I can tell you that universalism is big time in "Christian churches".
Their excuse is that doctrines divide, and we don;t want to exclude anybody.
Which is completely diametrically opposed to Scripture...
(Galatians 1:6-7 ESV)
"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. "
A different Gospel, a different Doctrine, a different message and the understanding there of.
But many, many are told it matters not!
Yet The Holy Writ shows different...
Does doctrine divide, yes and it should. We are called to teach the Gospel of Christ, and if it divides and separates those who want to hear other things, things that are not Christ centered, but tickle their ears, then it is good to separate, and have Holy division.
Separate, that is part of the call Christians are to be, we are to be Holy.
11/17/2010
Old Church Youth up to the same...
My, my, my... “look!”
Declares LWC youth-ministry... “We are just like the world!” Congo Wars
But, LWC is like so much of the typical American church, declaring to the world, NOT “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17 ESV)... But rather declaring a changed, new and politically correct, non confrontational message... “Come and join us for fun and games, look we are not that different from you. Sure we may slip in a little about Jesus, but it won't take long, and then we'll get right back to fun and games.
I am reminded of an experience shared by a Brother who has traveled the world in his ministry... He was in Africa, and in the building there were some teens having a discussion that was getting louder and louder... it grew quite heated...
Now being used to American boys he assumed it was about something like which sports team was better or was the X-Box better than the Nintendo...
But it was not... it was about whether Johnathan Edwards view was more Supralapsarianism or Infralapsarianism. ( SUPRALAPSARIANISM is the view that God, contemplating man as yet unfallen, chose some to receive eternal life and rejected all others... INFRALAPSARIANISM (also known sometimes as "sublapsarianism") suggests that God's decree to permit the fall logically preceded His decree of election. )
“Theology!” These were teens in Africa, a country that most American Christians feel they need to send missionaries to... Yet their teens are not only debating Theology, but are excited to do so..
And here in the “supposedly” christian nation, the vast majority of our teens are having their intensity focused on “dodge ball”, and transforming the main wing of a Church into an “all out battle zone!”
Nothing mentioned about God, Christ, or the Holy Spirit, but just a mention that church is where they will meet, and that they get to turn part of the church into a all out battle zone! And that they highly recommend for students to prepare themselves for battle! (but they are NOT talking about a Christians battle here)
Wow! This may sound like I am trying to rain on their parade (circus), but I used to be part of shams like this. I only write in concern. I have net some of our older youth now, on the streets, and some are Atheists, some are Agnostic, and some although declaring they believe, are outwardly living sinfully.
I used to be part of these fun and silly and Pizza circuses that are so popular.
This is why I would not let my grandchildren go to 99% of so called church youth groups in this country. They generate excitement about a secular event, not excitement about Gods Word, but excitement about a secular event (their draw card),then they plan a party around it with food and games, then they will slip in a little message about God and try to guilt some kids into raising their hands to accept Jesus (as if He was the one who needed accepting), and then they can get back to the real reason they came... Fun and games... And then the leaders can report on Sunday that they had kids they led to the Lord...
Think I exaggerate? Watch how the kids gather for prayer time, and then watch the excitement and gleam in their eyes when they are dismissed to get back to playing war games, how they run, yell, and scream...
I am speaking of the majority here if not all, there may be some whos parents have read Scriptures with them every night and do have a focus on Christ over worldly things or maybe a child who does not have parents who attend church and read to them, but none the less, are excited about God.
Although it may not seem so, I write this out of concern not malice... I see a trend that is just continuing on a bad course.
11/15/2010
Cruseship or Church...
"The church used to be a lightning bolt, now it's a cruise ship. We are not marching to Zion – we are sailing there with ease. In the apostolic church it says they were all amazed – and now in our churches everybody wants to be amused. The church began in the upper room with a bunch of men agonizing, and it's ending in the supper room with a bunch of people organizing. We mistake rattle for revival, and commotion for creation, and action for unction." Leonard Ravenhill
The above quote hits an ever growing trend...
But it does not reflect Christs sheep. It is more of a reflection of the goats and the zoo of animals calling itself Christian. Christs sheep hear Gods Word as a lightning bolt. When His sheep attend a mixed fold of sheep and goats, they should recognize when they are not getting pure sheep food (Truth).
But many I feel are in a fold such as I was, a fold where there is sheep food but it is mixed in with goat food. And the leaders are deceivers in many places. Deceptive enough to feed just enough truth and blur the lines of truth and deception well enough to keep people there.
My point being that we need to be aware of these deceivers yet not let it rule our day. As Paul and Jesus did, we need to be ever vigilant of the deception, but not let it wavier us from celebrating that Gods Will, will be done. That Jesus will have ALL that God has promised Him, not one missing.
The above quote hits an ever growing trend...
But it does not reflect Christs sheep. It is more of a reflection of the goats and the zoo of animals calling itself Christian. Christs sheep hear Gods Word as a lightning bolt. When His sheep attend a mixed fold of sheep and goats, they should recognize when they are not getting pure sheep food (Truth).
But many I feel are in a fold such as I was, a fold where there is sheep food but it is mixed in with goat food. And the leaders are deceivers in many places. Deceptive enough to feed just enough truth and blur the lines of truth and deception well enough to keep people there.
My point being that we need to be aware of these deceivers yet not let it rule our day. As Paul and Jesus did, we need to be ever vigilant of the deception, but not let it wavier us from celebrating that Gods Will, will be done. That Jesus will have ALL that God has promised Him, not one missing.
11/10/2010
Michael Adams Quote 01 - "Religious Tolerance"
"Religious Tolerance" is Satan's finest accomplishment! - It is his way of voiding Jesus command of the "Great Commission". And yet not only has the Secular World embraced it, but an ever-growing number of churches are embracing it, Seminaries are adopting it, and the average Church goer follows the flow. I believe this is mostly due to Solid Doctrines no longer being embraced and taught today, but rather being scoffed at as intolerant. - - Michael Adams - -
10/23/2010
10/12/2010
Paul Washer Quote and My comment
The only thing that’s going to save the Church in America–there’s only two possibilities:
One is total reformation in our preaching, in our study of the word of God.
Or the other is fierce horrifying persecution.
That’s the only thing that’s going to save the Church in America.
Paul Washer
My comment:
The Church or Christianity in America is an exact replica of "Luke Warm"...
And what happened in the Luke Warm church...
They were confident and content with their "salvation".
They went about their life's business.
Their fire and passion was NOT for the things of Christ, but on earthly things.
Jesus says he will vomit them out of His mouth, because they are neither Hot not Cold.
In other words, they are comfortable.
Christians, people truly following Christ, are passionate about Him.
To say that you are a follower of Jesus Christ, but not Passionate about Jesus Christ, is just not seen in the Scriptures, and the opposite is actually proclaimed, that if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, it is because the Holy Spirit dwells within you. And to say that the Holy Spirit dwells within you, but you do not have a Passion for Jesus, is a deceiving lie to ones self.
One is total reformation in our preaching, in our study of the word of God.
Or the other is fierce horrifying persecution.
That’s the only thing that’s going to save the Church in America.
Paul Washer
My comment:
The Church or Christianity in America is an exact replica of "Luke Warm"...
And what happened in the Luke Warm church...
They were confident and content with their "salvation".
They went about their life's business.
Their fire and passion was NOT for the things of Christ, but on earthly things.
Jesus says he will vomit them out of His mouth, because they are neither Hot not Cold.
In other words, they are comfortable.
Christians, people truly following Christ, are passionate about Him.
To say that you are a follower of Jesus Christ, but not Passionate about Jesus Christ, is just not seen in the Scriptures, and the opposite is actually proclaimed, that if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, it is because the Holy Spirit dwells within you. And to say that the Holy Spirit dwells within you, but you do not have a Passion for Jesus, is a deceiving lie to ones self.
10/10/2010
On Election...
I know very many decent people who seem to have resolved never to come to Christ until they can understand how the doctrine of election is consistent with the free invitation of the Gospel. I might just as well determine never to eat a morsel of bread until it has been explained to me how it is that God keeps me alive, and yet I must eat to live.
- Charles Spurgeon
1834 – 1892
10/04/2010
Dwell on this...
"It is partly because sin does not provoke our own wrath that we do not believe that sin provokes the wrath of God."
-R.W. Dale
-R.W. Dale
10/03/2010
Sharing a Quote
“To say that God the Father has purposed the salvation of all mankind, that God the Son died with the express intention of saving the whole human race, and that God the Holy Spirit is now seeking to win the world to Christ; when, as a matter of common observation, it is apparent that the great majority of our fellowmen are dying in sin, and passing into a hopeless eternity; is to say that God the Father is disappointed, that God the Son is dissatisfied, and that God the Holy Spirit is defeated.” AW Pink
10/01/2010
Mark Cahill anti-Calvinist and on the attack!
Brothers, I share this with you not with the intent of slander or malice. But I share this with the request for your prayers for Mark Cahill, not that he come to our side, or an understanding of it, but that God will capture his heart, and open his eyes to the Doctrines of Grace.
In the last 2 weeks I have been exchanging emails with Mark. It started with my sending him an email requesting any information that he may have on a possible DVD he was to create concerning the Catholic Church.
He had responded that “The man who has the footage of the talk still has not given it to me. it is a crazy situation.”
And he closed his email to me with, “I saw the ‘reformed’ in your email. You aren’t into the false teachings of calvinism are you Michael?”
My email signature is as follows:
=====================================================================================
Michael Adams...
Remember... the Gospel is ours to Proclaim, not to edit!"
The chief reason I am a Reformed Christian...
is not a heartfelt devotion to the Magisterial Reformers like Martin Luther or John Calvin.
Although God used these men mightily, they are not the reason!
The main reason is...
That the Reformed message, thunders out from the pages of Scripture...
when the principles of hermeneutics (the science of biblical interpretation) are applied.
When the text is left to speak for itself, within its own context, the truth is clearly seen.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
“But His Word was in my heart like a
BURNING FIRE shut up in my bones...”
“Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”
(Jeremiah 20:9 - 1 Corinthians 9:16)
May the Grace, peace and Love of Christ be upon you...
======================================================================================
So I responded that I hoped that he would get the footage he needed for the DVD he wold like to put together. And then I responded that I was NOT surprised by his question about Calvinism.
I have clearly see an Arminian flare in his talks and writings, but as stated from another Brother...in another post.
And I did respond “But I am surprised that someone who quotes CH Spurgeon as much as you have, would think that the Doctrines of Grace are false.” I then quoted “"The old truth that Calvin preached, that Augustine preached, that Paul preached, is the truth that I must preach today, or else be false to my conscience and my God. I cannot shape the truth; I know of no such thing as paring off the rough edges of a doctrine. John Knox's gospel is my gospel. That which thundered through Scotland must thunder through England again." —C.H. Spurgeon
I explained in my response to Mark, that I never set out to be referred to as a Calvinist, but “after reading the Bible, and then learning from men who put what I read and learned into words so much better than myself, like Spurgeon, Luther, Bunyan, Edwards, Calvin, MacArthur, Comfort, Whitefield etc... I grew from milk to meat, is the only way I can explain it.”
And I ended writing “Calvinism vs Arminianism can be compared to Monergism vs Synergism or Regeneration vs Decision-ism. May I ask (in Love) what part of Monergism it is that you feel is false, or what merits Synergism has over Monergism, or Decision-ism has over Regeneration? (Question not meant to be loaded, but direct) “ And I attached a PDF of Spurgeon's Defense of Calvinism.
His reply to my response startled me...
He stated “I put Spurgeon in my books not knowing he made false statements like “calvinism is the gospel.’ That is not even close to being Biblically correct. The good news is that spurgeon is no longer a Calvinist. That all changed when he died.”
And he also stated in his letter...
After my shock and prayer, I wrote back that I was responding not to debate, but to converse with him as a much respected teacher. Then I wrote in detail some of the things that did thunder in the Scriptures proving the Doctrines of Grace (Calvinism).
His response was disappointing, not that I was seeking approval, but simply gave a “Shot-Gun” answer.
I had at this point decided to let it go for the time, but was saddened.
Then about 5 days later he sent me some John Calvin quotes, so I read through them, and responded, “Brother Mark, I am so glad you took the time and thought to write...”
I then went on to explain to him that I did not find the Doctrines of Grace through Calvin's writings directly, but rather through 1st Reading the Bible from cover to cover, then by the teachings of men such as Luther, MacArthur, Bunyan, AW Pink, Paul Washer, Thomas Watson, Mark Kielar, John Newton, and even from the teachings of Ray Comfort, although I never heard him take a position, but I can see through his teachings he is on the same page.
I also exclaimed also that I have heard from “Arminian preachers. Some include Rick Warren (before I was Regenerated I had taken his purpose driven class 3 times, I was really misled by much of what he teaches) Charles Stanley ( I really got lost in his teachings that the "outer darkness and gnashing of teeth" is NOT Hell, but rather an outer part of Heaven), Dave Hunt (he has many mis-quotes, and I am not talking about mis speaks we all can have, but rather a pattern of them, he follows a close second to Stanley in re-defining terms as in no flames in Hell), Joel Osteen (Your best life now, I did not read much of it as I seen right away this was not Scriptural) And a few others...”
So I gave a rather detailed outline of the Path God has placed before me. And I included a PDF from the “Calvin 500” explaining that perhaps he has been thinking Hyper Calvinists were all Calvinists, and explained that the PDF gave a good clear teaching on Calvinism.
And I thanked him again.
I did not hear from him for several days and came across a Fox News Article “ Survey: Many Americans Know Little About Religion”, This had nothing to do with our previous discussions, but as he preached in the streets so often, I though he may enjoy it.
But his response was directly to my signature, and the links were ignored, “Reformed theology does not thunder out from the pages of Scripture, Michael. You are taking your preconceived notions to the text.
I replied one last time:
And his last reply to me was:
I was saddened greatly by a complete lack of hermeneutics and a ripping out of context by ignoring the entire sentence, let alone passage. The I came across that the same thing has happened to others by MarkCahill.
http://lostcauseministries.com/?p=665
*** The entire email is here http://5-pointer.blogspot.com/2010/10/entire-email.html
In the last 2 weeks I have been exchanging emails with Mark. It started with my sending him an email requesting any information that he may have on a possible DVD he was to create concerning the Catholic Church.
He had responded that “The man who has the footage of the talk still has not given it to me. it is a crazy situation.”
And he closed his email to me with, “I saw the ‘reformed’ in your email. You aren’t into the false teachings of calvinism are you Michael?”
My email signature is as follows:
=====================================================================================
Michael Adams...
Remember... the Gospel is ours to Proclaim, not to edit!"
The chief reason I am a Reformed Christian...
is not a heartfelt devotion to the Magisterial Reformers like Martin Luther or John Calvin.
Although God used these men mightily, they are not the reason!
The main reason is...
That the Reformed message, thunders out from the pages of Scripture...
when the principles of hermeneutics (the science of biblical interpretation) are applied.
When the text is left to speak for itself, within its own context, the truth is clearly seen.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
“But His Word was in my heart like a
BURNING FIRE shut up in my bones...”
“Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”
(Jeremiah 20:9 - 1 Corinthians 9:16)
May the Grace, peace and Love of Christ be upon you...
======================================================================================
So I responded that I hoped that he would get the footage he needed for the DVD he wold like to put together. And then I responded that I was NOT surprised by his question about Calvinism.
I have clearly see an Arminian flare in his talks and writings, but as stated from another Brother...in another post.
“That, in itself, does not have to be an issue as far as we are concerned, although we do steadfastly believe in these doctrines. We have never regarded adherence to these doctrines as a test of fellowship if:
1) we can focus on the gospel when we are on the streets and
2) those who differ from us have not slipped into some outright heresy (denial of original sin, openness of God theology, etc.), in which case we would have to break fellowship.”
And I did respond “But I am surprised that someone who quotes CH Spurgeon as much as you have, would think that the Doctrines of Grace are false.” I then quoted “"The old truth that Calvin preached, that Augustine preached, that Paul preached, is the truth that I must preach today, or else be false to my conscience and my God. I cannot shape the truth; I know of no such thing as paring off the rough edges of a doctrine. John Knox's gospel is my gospel. That which thundered through Scotland must thunder through England again." —C.H. Spurgeon
I explained in my response to Mark, that I never set out to be referred to as a Calvinist, but “after reading the Bible, and then learning from men who put what I read and learned into words so much better than myself, like Spurgeon, Luther, Bunyan, Edwards, Calvin, MacArthur, Comfort, Whitefield etc... I grew from milk to meat, is the only way I can explain it.”
And I ended writing “Calvinism vs Arminianism can be compared to Monergism vs Synergism or Regeneration vs Decision-ism. May I ask (in Love) what part of Monergism it is that you feel is false, or what merits Synergism has over Monergism, or Decision-ism has over Regeneration? (Question not meant to be loaded, but direct) “ And I attached a PDF of Spurgeon's Defense of Calvinism.
His reply to my response startled me...
He stated “I put Spurgeon in my books not knowing he made false statements like “calvinism is the gospel.’ That is not even close to being Biblically correct. The good news is that spurgeon is no longer a Calvinist. That all changed when he died.”
And he also stated in his letter...
“And remember since people are dead in their sins, and they example used by Calvinists is a dead person, your preaching is in vain. They desire nothing of the God that you talk about. funny though how I find people all the time, an atheist named Kyle the other day, very interested in the topic of God and eternity. I guess he wasn’t a dead person was he Michael? Calvinism is wrong on so many fronts.
If you choose to believe that, that is your choice. Just please don’t lead anyone else into that false doctrine.”
After my shock and prayer, I wrote back that I was responding not to debate, but to converse with him as a much respected teacher. Then I wrote in detail some of the things that did thunder in the Scriptures proving the Doctrines of Grace (Calvinism).
His response was disappointing, not that I was seeking approval, but simply gave a “Shot-Gun” answer.
“Interesting email Michael. It looks like the deception is complete in you. Sorry to hear that.”
“Anyone out there tonight can repent of their sins and believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Period. The Bible teaches that and Calvinists do not believe that. Get away from this false doctrine as soon as you can Michael.”
I had at this point decided to let it go for the time, but was saddened.
Then about 5 days later he sent me some John Calvin quotes, so I read through them, and responded, “Brother Mark, I am so glad you took the time and thought to write...”
“I have seen some of these before. But I must caution you on something you may already know. John Calvin did not write Calvinism or the 5 points. And being a man who Loved God and His Holy Word as you and I do, he was still human, and like all of us, had flaws in his understandings as do you and I, as also do CH Spurgeon, Martin Luther, Whitefield, Newton, Bunyan, etc...
You may know that the 5 points were not just drafted up, but they were a result of establishing what was already doctrine, from the attack of new doctrines being introduced (again), into the Church. They were in response to the 5 points of Arminianism, which was not a result of Jacobus Arminius either. But rather his followers pushing forth upon his work.”
I then went on to explain to him that I did not find the Doctrines of Grace through Calvin's writings directly, but rather through 1st Reading the Bible from cover to cover, then by the teachings of men such as Luther, MacArthur, Bunyan, AW Pink, Paul Washer, Thomas Watson, Mark Kielar, John Newton, and even from the teachings of Ray Comfort, although I never heard him take a position, but I can see through his teachings he is on the same page.
I also exclaimed also that I have heard from “Arminian preachers. Some include Rick Warren (before I was Regenerated I had taken his purpose driven class 3 times, I was really misled by much of what he teaches) Charles Stanley ( I really got lost in his teachings that the "outer darkness and gnashing of teeth" is NOT Hell, but rather an outer part of Heaven), Dave Hunt (he has many mis-quotes, and I am not talking about mis speaks we all can have, but rather a pattern of them, he follows a close second to Stanley in re-defining terms as in no flames in Hell), Joel Osteen (Your best life now, I did not read much of it as I seen right away this was not Scriptural) And a few others...”
So I gave a rather detailed outline of the Path God has placed before me. And I included a PDF from the “Calvin 500” explaining that perhaps he has been thinking Hyper Calvinists were all Calvinists, and explained that the PDF gave a good clear teaching on Calvinism.
And I thanked him again.
I did not hear from him for several days and came across a Fox News Article “ Survey: Many Americans Know Little About Religion”, This had nothing to do with our previous discussions, but as he preached in the streets so often, I though he may enjoy it.
But his response was directly to my signature, and the links were ignored, “Reformed theology does not thunder out from the pages of Scripture, Michael. You are taking your preconceived notions to the text.
Man has the right and responsibility to choose. Yes, choose. That thunders from the garden of eden all the way to Revelation.”
I replied one last time:
“Brother, I only meant to share with you the news article that reflects much of what you probably already find on the street.
Although it may appear (from mans perspective) that he has a choice to make, and a some passages may seem to reflect that.
Back in the 1500's Martin Luther had the same debate with Roman Catholic Apologetic Desiderius Erasmus.
Luther referenced over 300 Scriptures, when in context, prove that Salvation is of the Lord, and is of the Lords doing, and is of the Lords will, and reflect to a "T" what God said and recorded through John: "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
(John 1:12-13 ESV)
That is thunder, and it is everywhere in Scripture.
If I send you something in the future, since I know that doctrine offends you, I will leave off my signature so as not to offend.
Or if you request, I will just not email you if you are offended.
It is not my intention to offend you. I have a high regard for you, and share your books with others.
But will respect it if you request that I not contact you.
Thank you for your time. “
And his last reply to me was:
“Thanks Michael. I am on enough forwards.
“But as many as received him…” It is man’s responsibility to receive. It is not irresistible grace that never is mentioned or shows up in the bible.”
I was saddened greatly by a complete lack of hermeneutics and a ripping out of context by ignoring the entire sentence, let alone passage. The I came across that the same thing has happened to others by MarkCahill.
http://lostcauseministries.com/?p=665
*** The entire email is here http://5-pointer.blogspot.com/2010/10/entire-email.html
9/28/2010
Obama a true Arminian...
Obama a true Arminian, sums up pretty good what “Easy Believable” and “Arminianism” teach...
http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/09/28/obama-christian-choice?test=latestnews
With statements like “...the kind of life I would want to lead ” and that we should “... see God in other people and do our best to help them find their own grace. ”
Notice the power, and to whom it belongs to. "The kind of life I would want to lead. And this comes from a man who prides himself on his writing and speeches, one who prides himself on his ability to craft words to express what he wants. So it is in all fairness to dissect his crafted speech.
He followed a life that "he" would "want"... Lets stop there a second... This is a life that he wants, that he desires, and notice what follows... not him, he does not want to follow Jesus, he wants to lead... you could say that that is a figure of speech, but his actions prove otherwise on many levels, he does not want to follow, but to lead, and what allows him to lead???
Not the Jesus of the Bible who commands that all men repent, and do the will of the Father... But the Jesus of the Arminian who starts off with an equal relationship of God and man, not Father and child as seen in Scriptures, but as Buddies, Homies, Pals...
There is a major difference in proclaiming that you God is your friend and your God is your Home-Boy. And although Arminianism does not directly teach this, this is the path that it puts its foot on, and that it leads to when followed through.
He also states like may do... “... express my Christian faith “ In typical American Christian (Arminianism*) beliefs, that it is his faith as opposed to "The Christian" faith.
Although this may seem like nit-picking, I can attest through many witnessing opportunities, that one thing Americans are into and that is Universalism, both inside the church and outside the church. So in our speech, we should need to be careful to be sure that people understand that we are not sharing “our” faith, but rather “the Biblical” faith. There is a difference!!!
As clearly seen in Obama's faith, it could be said that it is Obama's Christianity, and his Christianity allows for murder of the un-born, and his Christianity allows for striking out all references to sodomy and homosexuality.
Clearly the popular "personal relationship" mentality has run a-muck, but because he chose God, then he dictates other things. Think about it, the relationship that has just "supposedly" started between Jesus and the Arminian, has them on equal terms, one could not do anything with out the other.
Poor little Jesus probably had to make a deal so that he would get chosen.
* Arminianism not all, but it is from Arminianism that place the next step in this direction.
http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/09/28/obama-christian-choice?test=latestnews
With statements like “...the kind of life I would want to lead ” and that we should “... see God in other people and do our best to help them find their own grace. ”
Notice the power, and to whom it belongs to. "The kind of life I would want to lead. And this comes from a man who prides himself on his writing and speeches, one who prides himself on his ability to craft words to express what he wants. So it is in all fairness to dissect his crafted speech.
He followed a life that "he" would "want"... Lets stop there a second... This is a life that he wants, that he desires, and notice what follows... not him, he does not want to follow Jesus, he wants to lead... you could say that that is a figure of speech, but his actions prove otherwise on many levels, he does not want to follow, but to lead, and what allows him to lead???
Not the Jesus of the Bible who commands that all men repent, and do the will of the Father... But the Jesus of the Arminian who starts off with an equal relationship of God and man, not Father and child as seen in Scriptures, but as Buddies, Homies, Pals...
There is a major difference in proclaiming that you God is your friend and your God is your Home-Boy. And although Arminianism does not directly teach this, this is the path that it puts its foot on, and that it leads to when followed through.
He also states like may do... “... express my Christian faith “ In typical American Christian (Arminianism*) beliefs, that it is his faith as opposed to "The Christian" faith.
Although this may seem like nit-picking, I can attest through many witnessing opportunities, that one thing Americans are into and that is Universalism, both inside the church and outside the church. So in our speech, we should need to be careful to be sure that people understand that we are not sharing “our” faith, but rather “the Biblical” faith. There is a difference!!!
As clearly seen in Obama's faith, it could be said that it is Obama's Christianity, and his Christianity allows for murder of the un-born, and his Christianity allows for striking out all references to sodomy and homosexuality.
Clearly the popular "personal relationship" mentality has run a-muck, but because he chose God, then he dictates other things. Think about it, the relationship that has just "supposedly" started between Jesus and the Arminian, has them on equal terms, one could not do anything with out the other.
Poor little Jesus probably had to make a deal so that he would get chosen.
* Arminianism not all, but it is from Arminianism that place the next step in this direction.
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