The Atonement and the Trinity

I have made it no secret that I believe the doctrine of the Trinity is a central tenet of the the Christian faith. Far from being a "secondary issue," I believe how we understand the Bible's teaching on the Godhead will also have huge implications on other areas of our theology.

I recently began reading through the newly released book Pierced For Our Transgressions. Last night I came across a few paragraphs that I believe illustrate how the Atonement (as seen in the Penal Substitution view) was clearly the work of One God who exists in a Trinity of Divine Persons. When seen from this perspective, I think it becomes obvious why the doctrine of the Trinity is essential to Christianity:

"The doctrine of penal substitution states that God gave himself in the person of his Son to suffer instead of us the death, punishment and curse due to fallen humanity as the penalty for sin. This summary can be expanded to give some sense of how the doctrine connects with other important biblical themes.

God the Father gave his Son to save rebellious, God-hating people, knowing that he would be despised and rejected by those he had made, that he would be a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. He spared sinful people from condemnation, death and punishment, but he did not spare his own beloved Son, with whom he was well pleased.

God the Son gave himself, willingly undertaking the task appointed for him by his Father. He veiled his glory in a human body, experienced every temptation we face without succumbing to any, and lived a perfect human life. Yet he took our sin and guilt upon himself and died a cursed death, suffering in his human nature the infinite torment of the wrath and fury of his Father. After three days he was vindicated in his resurrection before being exalted to his heavenly throne. From there he rules his kingdom, awaiting the day of his glorious appearing when every eye shall see him, every knew shall bow before him, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

God the Holy Spirit, having been sent by the Father and the Son, now works in our hearts through the proclamation of the gospel to convict us of sin, righteousness and judgment, to draw us to Christ in repentance and faith, and so to unite us to Christ that we may share in every blessing he has won for us.

God the Holy Trinity thus turned aside his own righteous wrath against sinful humanity; endured and exhausted the curse of the law that stood against us; cleansed us of our sin and clothed us in Christ's righteousness; ransomed us from our slavery to sin, the world and the devil by paying our debt, cancelling the devil's power of accusation against us, and liberating us to live new lives empowered by the Spirit; triumphed over all evil powers by punishing evil in the person of the Son; and reconciled us with himself by removing the barrier of sin and enmity between us; in order that we may stand blameless and forgiven in his glorious presence, credited with the perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, as adopted children of God, gazing upon his face for all eternity.

God vindicated his truthfulness by remaining faithful to his promise that sin will be punished; he manifested his justice by punishing sin and acquitting the righteous; he glorified his name by exalting his Son and placing all things under his feet; and he demonstrated his love by dying for sinners and reconciling to himself those who were once his enemies." (Pierced for Our Transgressions: Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution.pp 104 & 105. bold emphasis added)

Soli Deo Gloria!

The Apostles' Creed

"There never was a man in the world without a creed. What is a creed? A creed is what you believe. What is a confession? It is a declaration of what you believe. That declaration may be oral or it may be committed to writing, but the creed is there either expressed or implied." —B.H. Carrol

After posting a the foundational confessions of a couple Baptist churches -one that was well crafted and one that was not- today I want to take a trip back in time and highlight the Apostles' Creed.

This is one of the earliest creeds in Christendom and is used in Catholic and Protestant churches alike. This creed wasn't formulated in such a way as to deal with issues concerning Christ's deity or the triune nature of the Godhead, therefore I've read that even the heretic Arius affirmed it and would often hide behind it when challenged on his teachings!

The Apostles' Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty; Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. *He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence he shall come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

* Please note: the line "He descended into Hell" has been the source of some debate. For more information, please see the following works by Wayne Grudem and John Calvin.

Against Modalism...

In this latest installment on the popular heresy known as Modalism, I am linking to a some resources and articles, as well as quoting a few theologians who have written against the heresy. It is my hope that more people will be alerted about this growing threat to Christian orthodoxy.

(Now, I realize some readers will see this as a heresy hunt or a witch trial. If that's the case, I can only reply that it's sort of a family tradition. Ironically, my 10th great-grandfather was the Rev. John Jones, a Puritan minister born in England who migrated to the American Colonies and was later involved in the 1654 witch trial of Goody Knapp in Connecticut!)

Below are a links and quotes that I hope will be helpful to understanding why the Doctrine of the Trinity is so important to a correct understanding of Theology Proper -as well as redemption:

• First off, I want to recommend a book by Dr. James R. White. It's called The Forgotten Trinity. I have not read it yet, but I understand that it's an excellent treatment of the subject. It's definitely on my short list of books to be read in the near future.


• In this article by Dr. Michael J. Svigel of Dallas Seminary, we learn that all too often, even those who claim to be Trinitarians pray, sing, and illustrate the Godhead in ways that are more Modalistic than Trinitarian.


• Reclaiming the Mind Ministries has some great theological video sessions concerning the Trinity and early heresies concerning the Triune nature of God. I encourage everyone to watch Part 1 & Part 2 of a session that deals with early heresies in the church concerning the Godhead. (See especially part 2 as it deals with the Modalistic heresy from the beginning)


• In this lengthy article, James R. White explains why he "loves the Trinity." He also deals with the theological fall-out and issues surrounding the denial of the Trinity. Christians in our day may not fully realize it, but Dr. White is correct when he writes, "without the Trinity, you have no gospel." If you don't read anything else I've posted, please read this!

Let us now consider a verse of Scripture written by the prophet Isaiah and the comments of the Baptist theologian John Gill concerning it:

"Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD and his Spirit, hath sent me." -Isaiah 48:16 KJV

"Here is a glorious testimony of a trinity of Persons in the Godhead; Christ the Son of God is sent in human nature, and as Mediator. Jehovah the Father and the Spirit are the senders of him; and so is a proof of the mission, commission, and authority of Christ, who came not of himself, but was sent of God, (John 8:42), it may be rendered, "and now the Lord God hath sent me and his Spirit"; both were sent of God, and in this order; first, Christ, to be the Redeemer and Saviour; and then the Spirit, to be the Convincer and Comforter; (see John 14:26). " (from John Gill's Commentary on the whole Bible)

Wayne Grudem also has some valuable incite that goes to the very heart of why I believe this heresy is so dangerous:

"The fatal shortcoming of modalism is the fact that it must deny the personal relationships within the Trinity that appear in so many places in Scripture (or it must affirm that these were simply an illusion and not real). Thus, it must deny three separate persons at the baptism of Jesus, where the Father speaks from heaven and the Spirit descends on Jesus like a dove. And it must say that all those instances where Jesus is praying to the Father are an illusion or a charade. The idea of the Son or the Spirit interceding for us before God the Father is lost. Finally, modalism ultimately loses the heart of the doctrine of the atonement - that is, the idea that God sent his Son in our place, and that the Son bore the wrath of the Father in our place, and that the Father, representing the interest of the Trinity, saw the suffering of Christ and was satisfied (Isa 53:11)." (from Grudem's Systematic Theology ch. 14)

John MacArthur has this to say concerning the Modalist heresy:

"...I think it’s very important for us today to be aware of the fact that we need to uphold the doctrine of the Trinity. I am amazed at how much the Unity Movement has moved into Christianity. It’s really shocking. For example, the largest Pentecostal organization in the world is called the United Pentecostal Church and they deny the Trinity. ...Now beloved to deny the existence of the Trinity is a very serious cardinal error in theology. You are either denying the existence of God the Father, denying the unique existence of the Son, or you are denying the unique existence of the Holy Spirit. And to deny any of those, in my mind, is the ultimate in heresy." (From Q&A session) SOURCE

Indeed in addition to being horrible theology, Modalism makes a mockery of the Bible. Robert Lewis Dabney summed it up well in this statement from his Systematic Theology:

"...if these personal names, of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, meant no more than three influences or energies, or three phases of action of the same person, or three forms of one substance, is it not incredible that all these properties of personality, choosing, loving, hating, sending and being sent, understanding, acting, should be asserted of them? It would be the wildest abuse of language ever dreamed of." (from ch. 16 of Dabney's Systematic Theology)

Once again, I wish to express that my intention in putting the spot light on the Modalist heresy is to alert my fellow Christians to the fact that it's a growing problem. The Doctrine of the Trinity is a central tenet of the Christian faith and must be taught and defended.

When I was a child, sometimes I would tell my (late) father that I needed a new bike (or something else) because the one I had was "old". His reply to me was always, "son, if you don't take care of what you have already, how can I believe you'll take care of a newer one if I get it for you?"

Likewise in our day, lots of Christians seem to be constantly seeking new light or new revelation from God. The sad reality is that the majority of modern evangelicals haven't tried to understand the revelation God has given them already; nor those truths in which our Christian forefathers contended for -often with their very lives.

Like greedy children, many Christians want something new from the Father, all the while neglecting (and in some cases despising) that in which He has entrusted to them already.

May God raise up a generation of Christians in our day who will contend for and teach the historic and orthodox understanding of the Godhead.

Post Tenebras, Lux!

(All pictures from and linked back to wikipedia)

Augustine on Foreknowledge and Predestination

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:29 ESV

Often we hear that when Paul says God "foreknew" those whom He predestined, it meant that God simply knew that in the future some would choose to follow Christ and then predestined them accordingly.

Aurelius Augustine of Hippo (354-430 A.D.), in his On the Gift of Perseverance, saw things quite differently. The extensive quote below comes from chapter 47 of his treatise:

"These gifts, therefore, of God, which are given to the elect who are called according to God’s purpose, among which gifts is both the beginning of belief and perseverance in the faith to the termination of this life, as I have proved by such a concurrent testimony of reasons and authorities,--these gifts of God, I say, if there is no such predestination as I am maintaining, are not foreknown by God. But they are foreknown. This, therefore, is the predestination which I maintain. [XVIII.] Consequently sometimes the same predestination is signified also under the name of foreknowledge; as says the apostle, “God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew.” [Rom. xi. 2] Here, when he says, “He foreknew,” the sense is not rightly understood except as “He predestinated,” as is shown by the context of the passage itself.

For he was speaking of the remnant of the Jews which were saved, while the rest perished. For above he had said that the prophet had declared to Israel, “All day long I have stretched forth my hands to an unbelieving and a gainsaying people.” [Rom. x. 21 et seq.] And as if it were answered, What, then, has become of the promises of God to Israel? he added in continuation, “I say, then, has God cast away His people? God forbid! for I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” Then he added the words which I am now treating: “God hath not cast away His people whom He foreknew.”

And in order to show that the remnant had been left by God’s grace, not by any merits of their works, he went on to add, “Know ye not what the Scripture saith in Elias, in what way he maketh intercession with God against Israel?” [Rom. xi. 4 et seq.] and the rest. “But what,” says he, “saith the answer of God unto him? `I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee before Baal.’” [Rom. xi. 5] For He says not, “There are left to me,” or “They have reserved themselves to me,” but, “I have reserved to myself.” “Even so, then, at this present time also there is made a remnant by the election of grace. And if of grace, then it is no more by works; otherwise grace is no more grace.”

And connecting this with what I have above quoted, “What then?” [Rom. xi. 7] and in answer to this inquiry, he says, “Israel hath not obtained that which he was seeking for, but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.” Therefore, in the election, and in this remnant which were made so by the election of grace, he wished to be understood the people which God did not reject, because He foreknew them. This is that election by which He elected those, whom He willed, in Christ before the foundation of the world, that they should be holy and without spot in His sight, in love, predestinating them unto the adoption of sons.

No one, therefore, who understands these things is permitted to doubt that, when the apostle says, “God hath not cast away His people whom He foreknew,” He intended to signify predestination. For He foreknew the remnant which He should make so according to the election of grace. That is, therefore, He predestinated them; for without doubt He foreknew if He predestinated; but to have predestinated is to have foreknown that which He should do."

Soli Deo Gloria!

Picture from Wikipedia.

What is There to Fear for the Calvinist?

Some Christians believe that the Reformed doctrine of Perseverance will lead to sinful living because a Calvinist "has nothing to fear."

That's not true...

R.L. Dabney explains:

"In conclusion, we believe that all the supposed licentious results of the doctrine of perseverance result from misapprehension; and that its true tendencies are eminently encouraging and sanctifying. (a.) How can the intelligent Bible Christian be encouraged to sin, by a doctrine which assures him of a perseverance in holiness, if he is a true believer? (b.) So far as a rational self–love is a proper motive for a sanctified mind, this doctrine leaves it in full force; because when the Arminian would be led by a backsliding, to fear he had fallen from grace, the Calvinist would be led, just as much to fear he never had had any grace; a fear much more wholesome and searching than the erring Arminian’s.

For this alarmed Calvinist would see, that, while he had been flattering himself he was advancing heavenward he was, in fact, all the time in the high road to hell; and so now, if he would not be damned, he must make a new beginning, and lay better foundations than his old ones (not like the alarmed Arminian, merely set about repairing the same old ones). (c.) Certainty of success, condition on honest efforts, is the very best stimulus to active exertion. Witness the skillful general encouraging his army. (d.) Last: Such a gift of redemption as the Calvinist represents is far nobler and more gracious’ and hence elicits more love and gratitude, which are the noblest motives, the strongest and best.

Just so far as the Calvinist is enabled scripturally to hope that he is now born again, he is, to that extent, entitled to hope that his triumph is sure; that death and hell are disarmed, and that his heaven is awaiting his efforts. To him who knows the weakness of the human heart, and the power of our spiritual enemies, the Arminian’s adoption, beset by the constant liability to fall, would bring little consolation indeed. It is love and confidence, not selfish fear, which most effectually stimulates Christian effort. Let the student see how St. Paul puts this in (1 Cor. 15:58)."

From Systematic Theology, by R.L. Dabney. Ch 26.

The Eschatology of R.L. Dabney

To my sheer delight, the Father's Day gift I received this year was a copy of R.L. Dabney's Systematic Theology. Dabney was a theologian in the Southern Presbyterian Church. He served in the Confederate Army as Chief-of-Staff to General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. No less a theologian than A. A. Hodge refereed to Dabney as "the best teacher of theology in the United States, if not the world."

Seeing how my last couple of posts have been on Eschatology, I would like to share with you some of Dabney's Eschatological thoughts.


The following comes from pp. 837 and 838 of Dabney's Systematic Theology:


"That doctrine which we hold, and which we assert to be the Apostolic and Church doctrine, teaches, just as much as the pre–Adventists, the literal and personal second advent of Christ, and we hold, with the Apostolic Christians, that it is, next to heaven, the dearest and most glorious of the believer’s hopes: as bringing the epoch of his full deliverance from death, and full introduction into the society of his adored Saviour. This hope of a literal second advent we base on such Scriptures as these: Acts 1:11: 3:20, 21; Heb. 9:28; 1 Thess. 4:15, 16; Phil. 3:20; Matt. 26:64, etc., etc.

Before this second advent, the following events must have occurred. The development and secular overthrow of Antichrist, (2 Thess. 2:3 to 9; Dan. 7:24–26; Rev. 17:, 18:) which is the Papacy. The proclamation of the Gospel to all nations, and the general triumph of Christianity over all false religions, in all nations. (Ps. 72:8–11; Is. 2:2–4; Dan. 2:44, 45; 7:14; Matt. 28:19, 20; Rom. 11:12, 15, 25; Mark 13:10; Matt. 24:14). The general and national return of the Jews to the Christian Church. (Rom. 11:25, 26). And then a partial relapse from this state of high prosperity, into unbelief and sin. (Rev. 20:7, 8). During this partial decline, at a time unexpected to formal Christians and the profane, and not to be expressly foreknown by any true saint on earth, the second Advent of Christ will take place, in the manner described in 1 Thess. It will be immediately followed by the resurrection of all the dead, the redeemed dead taking the precedence. Then the generation of men living at the time will be changed (without dying) into their immortal bodies, the world will undergo its great change by fire, the general judgment will be held; and last, the saved and the lost will severally depart to their final abodes, the former to be forever with the Lord, the latter with Satan and his angels."





In case you were wondering, Dabney was a Postmillennialist!

The Enigmatic "Secret Rapture"

Of all the comments I have gotten here at Rhett's Rants, none have been quite as weird as that of the fellow we know as "Secret Rapture." Anytime I post an article dealing with Eschatology, I can always count on getting a comment from this fellow. It's always the same thing: an invite to view "MY INAUGURAL ADDRESS AT THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD."

Recently I decided to stop by the site and check out the "Inaugural Address." I found some interesting material to say the least. (It should probably be rated "R" though...) From skimming the material, I do believe that Mr. Secret Rapture is the sad result of Dispensational Eschatology combined with a large dose of LSD.

I would like to provide a few quotes from his "inaugural address" so you can get an idea of what kind of person we are dealing with here! I believe we may be dealing with an aspiring cult leader or something! I suspect he may even be a left-over from the "Heaven's Gate" cult or some other "UFO religion."

All quotes are directly from his website. I will strive to keep my comments to a minimum. Reader discretion is advised!

Some incite on his experience with the ladies:

"Actually, it wasn't so much that women turned me down, but that they simply ignored me. As a ghost, I can stand in front of a woman, and she looks right through me. They can't see me, and when I speak, they are startled to suddenly see someone standing in front of them!"

Now, I have to admit that I do like this idea:

"I'm going to save you a lot of tax money. I work for free. And the government that I will assemble will be a small fraction the size of the multimillion Federal Government. You'll no longer have to pay salaries for the one hundred Senators or the four hundred plus Congressmen and their thousands of support staff. The size of my Federal Government will be minuscule compared to the present one."

Confession is good for the soul:

"You should have noticed by now that I have a very immature, infantile view of women. This is simply because of the fact that I am an infant!"

I think I'll pass on this next idea:

"Once we get to the New Jerusalem, everyone will know what everyone is doing in the bedroom. This is not your private affair, or your own personal business. It is vital that everyone knows exactly what everyone is doing in the bedroom."

This might be a good thing. I believe in keeping the gene pool pure:

"I have no child, no issue.... no one will carry my genetic information in the next generation."

Now he's talking!!!:

"No one on the planet understands the tax code. I'm going to switch to a value added tax (the Fair Tax) with no more tax forms at all."

His blasphemous Christology:

There are inexhaustible ways to characterize Jesus, but the first way I would characterize him is as a stone age man – a cave man. The simple craftsman life in Galilee was too complex for him. More specifically he was a Stone Age Siberian style shaman. But secondly, he was a rocket man."

Secret Rapture's theory on the origin of cosmetics:

"It was the fallen angels who descended to earth because the women were fair who taught the use of cosmetics."

In an earlier exchange with this individual, I encouraged him to repent and be converted to Christ in order to avoid the torments of Hell, but in his reply, he informed me we are already in Hell!!?

Who is this mysterious "Secret Rapture?" On his website I have seen the name Alvin Miller, but I am thinking this is an alias to hide this person's true identity! For the past 48 hours I have been brainstorming who this mysterious person might really be..

Here's my list of suspects:

• Rosie O'Donnell
• Alec Baldwin
• Paul Ruebens
• Osama Bin Laden
• Elvis Presley
• Marilyn Manson

Please be sure to vote for your favorite in my comment section!

I Confess: I'm a "Cultist" too!

"A cultist is one who has a strong belief in the Bible and the Second Coming of Christ; who frequently attends Bible studies; who has a high level of financial giving to a Christian cause; who homes schools for their children; who has accumulated survival foods and has a strong belief in the Second Amendment; and who distrusts big government. Any of these may qualify a person as a cultist but certainly more than one of these would cause us to look at this person as a threat and his family as being a risk that qualifies for government interference."

- Janet Reno, [Clinton era] Attorney General of the United States. June 26, 1999.

(Printed in the SLRC "Update" Vol 10, Number 2, March 2007)

A Perversion of Perseverance

Of all the doctrines I ever despised in the past, the doctrine of Eternal Security, or "Once Saved, Always Saved," had to be at the top of the list.

I can remember teaching Sunday school during my days in the Church of God of Prophecy, ranting and raving about how Baptists in particular "believe a person can get saved and live like the devil for the rest of their life and still go to Heaven."

To make matters worse, I could look around and see plenty of examples of Baptist folks who were not living up to the faith they professed on Sunday morning. I had seen people who professed faith in Jesus and later became hard hearted "backsliders," therefore I had all the evidence I needed to repudiate the doctrine of Eternal Security -or so I thought....

When I finally decided to investigate the doctrine of Eternal Security, it was because I saw some things in Scripture that I couldn't reconcile with my old semi-Pelagian theology. I began a journey to seek after truth, instead of what fit the mold of my theological tradition. I wanted to understand why seemingly decent Christian people believed that their salvation was eternally secure, while others seemed to use it as a cloak for their sinful living.

I began my search to understand Eternal Security by getting a copy of Charles Stanley's Eternal Security: Can You Be Sure?. I had thought Stanley would be a good source because much of what I had heard him teach sounded okay. As I read his book, some of the arguments made sense to me. Some almost convinced me. Then I hit a big snag...

The snag was in chapter 8. It was there that I could no longer follow Stanley's line of reasoning. You see, in chapter 8, Stanley argues that once a person has made a profession of faith, the person can go as far as totally losing all faith in Christ and yet be Heaven bound!

Stanley compares salvation with getting a tattoo:

"If I choose to have a tattoo put on my arm, that would involve a one-time act on my part. Yet the tattoo would remain with me indefinitely. I don't have to have to maintain an attitude of fondness of for tattoos to ensure that the tattoo remains on my arm. In fact I may change my mind the minute I receive it. But that does not change the fact that I have a tattoo on my arm. My request for the tattoo and the tattoo itself are two entirely different things. I received it by asking and paying for it, But asking for my money back and changing my attitude will not undo what is done. Forgiveness/salvation is applied at the moment of faith. And its permanence is not contingent upon the permanence of one's faith."

Before I was a Baptist I rejected such theology and now that I am a Baptist I still reject such theology!!! In my opinion, this sort of nonsense is why the Southern Baptist Convention has millions of absentee members as well as churches full of false converts!

If Dr. Stanley's theory is true, then even Dan Barker, the faith healing evangelist turned apostate God hating atheist, is just as bound for Heaven as the most God fearing saint alive! Stanley's theology is pure Antinomianism. It's nothing more than "Easy believe-ism," plain and simple. Thankfully, I was able to find out that Stanley's version of Perseverance is not in line with the Bible, nor with historic Baptist theology. It is a perversion of perseverance.

Salvation is in no way analogous with getting a tattoo! A tattoo is only skin deep, but Biblical salvation is a work that takes place in the very soul of a man. For God himself tells us "a new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." (Eze 36:26-27)

Salvation is not a "one time act" on our part: it's a new beginning! It's the temporal realization of what God planned to do in the life of an individual sinner in eternity past! It's a New birth! A life changing experience! Though Stanley's doctrine allows for a person to totally apostatize and eventually be saved, the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith says something quite a bit different:

"And though they may, through the temptation of Satan and of the world, the prevalency of corruption remaining in them, and the neglect of means of their preservation, fall into grievous sins, and for a time continue therein, whereby they incur God's displeasure and grieve his Holy Spirit, come to have their graces and comforts impaired, have their hearts hardened, and their consciences wounded, hurt and scandalize others, and bring temporal judgments upon themselves, yet shall they renew their repentance and be preserved through faith in Christ Jesus to the end." (LBCF 17:3) emphasis added

Stanley believes a person can totally lose his or her faith and still persevere, yet historic Baptist teaching says despite their shortfalls, the believer will be "preserved through faith in Christ Jesus to the end!!!" Quite a difference if you ask me!

Stanley's version of Eternal Security denies that God is "able keep [us] from falling, and to present [us] faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy! (Jude 24) It overlooks the fact that we "are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:5). Once a person has truly met Jesus Christ, they can never be the same. Apostates and those who forsake Christ for "another gospel" show that they were never truly saved to begin with! (1 John 2:19) "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new!" (1 Cor 5:17)

Our security is not based upon our ability to hang on and hold on, but rather we are secure because God is working to "make [us] perfect in every good work to do His will, working in [us] that which is wellpleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ." (Heb 13:21) God has not saved us so that we can live like the devil and abuse his marvelous Grace, but on the contrary, "we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (Eph 2:10)

R.C. Sproul sums up my position well:

"The perseverance of the saints could more accurately be called the preservation of the saints... The believer does not persevere through the power of his unaided will. God's preserving grace makes our perseverance both possible and actual. Even the regenerated person with a liberated will is still vulnerable to sin and temptation, and the residual power of sin is so strong that without the aid of grace the believer would, in all probability, fall away. But God's decree is immutable. His sovereign purpose to save his elect from the foundation of the world is not frustrated by our weakness"

Rejoice dear reader! For if you have been truly saved, you can be "confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ!!!" (Phil 1:6)

Soli Deo Gloria!

John Calvin on Fanatics Abandoning Scripture

"Furthermore, those who, having forsaken Scripture imagine some way or other of reaching God, ought to be thought of as not so much gripped with error as carried away with frenzy. For of late, certain giddy men have arisen who, with great haughtiness exalting the teaching office of the Spirit, despised all reading and laugh at the simplicity of those who, as they express it, still follow the dead and killing letter. But I should like to know from them what this spirit is by whose inspiration they are borne up so high that they dare despise the Scriptural doctrine as childish and mean. For they answer that it is the Spirit of Christ, such assurance is utterly ridiculous. Indeed, they will, I think, agree that the apostles of Christ and other believers of the primitive church were illuminated by no other Spirit. Yet no one of them thence learned contempt for God's Word; rather, each was imbued with greater reverence as their writings most splendidly attest."

- John Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion 1:9:1

Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms

This is probably the most inspiring movie in my collection. Would to God we had a few more Luther's in our day! If you don't own this movie, buy it ASAP!

Fruit of the Spirit..?

TBN co-founder Paul Crouch to his critics:

"I think they're damned and on their way to hell and I don't think there's any redemption for any of them. . . I say, To hell with you! Get out of my life! Get out of the way! . . . And I want to say to all of you scribes, pharisees, heresy hunters-- all if you that are going around picking the bits of doctrinal error out of everybody's eyes. . . Get out of God's way; quit blocking God's bridges, or God's going to shoot you if I don't. . . Get out of my life! I don't want to even talk to you or hear you! I don't want to see your ugly face! Get out of my face in Jesus' name."

["Praise the Lord" broadcast, TBN. April 2 1991, quoted in Charismatic Chaos p.360]

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5: 22-23

Man is the Master of his Destiny?

"If man is in total control of his future, then he should at least be in control of his own body. Instead, he is subject to involuntary yawning, sneezing, breathing, swallowing, sleeping, salivating, dreaming, blinking, and thinking. He can't even control hair and nail growth. He automatically does these things, irrespective of his will. God has set his body in motion and there is little he can do about it. He also has minimal control over his daily bodily functions. His kidneys, bladder, intestines, heart, liver, lungs, etc., work independently of his will. It is ludicrous to say that man controls his future when he has trouble predicting the stock market, political outcomes, earthquakes, and even the weather, let alone having control over these things." --Ray Comfort

(taken from The School of Biblical Evangelism Textbook, p 477)

First words from the Metropolitan Tabernacle:

"I would propose that the subject of the ministry as long as this platform shall stand, and as long as this house shall be frequented by worshippers, shall be the person of JESUS CHRIST. I am never ashamed to avow myself a Calvinist; I do not hesitate to take the name of Baptist; but if I am asked what is my creed, I reply: "IT IS JESUS CHRIST." My venerated processor, Dr. Gill, has left a Body of Divinity, admirable and excellent in its way; but the Body of Divinity to which I would pin and bind myself for ever, God helping me, is not his system or any other human treatise, but Christ Jesus, Who is the sum and substance of the gospel, Who is in Himself all theology, the incarnation of every precious truth, the all-glorious embodiment of the way, the truth and the life." -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon

(from p.7 of The Founders Journal, Summer 2006)

Arminian Contradictions

"If salvation depends upon free will, what do you mean by praying that God will have mercy upon all men, and save them with an everlasting salvation, and then tell the congregation that God has done all He can to save them, and the matter now rests with them, whether they will be saved or not? Surely, such vain jangling can never be acceptable to God, however it may feed the carnal mind of man; for if God has done all He can, why pray for him to do more? And if He has not done all He can, why tell the people He has? Strange as such contradictions may seem to a sensible mind, they are frequently produced in the course of one hour by an Arminian preacher." --From a letter by Willian Gadsby (1773-1844) to Edward Smyth.

-Appearing on p. 91 of the April 2006 edition of the Primitive Baptist publication "Advocate and Messenger."

The 12 Points of an Antichrist

Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. --1 John 2:18-19 ESV

I would like for you to read the 12 point thesis of retired Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong. This comes directly from his own website:

"Martin Luther ignited the Reformation of the 16th century by nailing to the door of the church in Wittenberg in 1517 the 95 Theses that he wished to debate. I will publish this challenge to Christianity in The Voice. I will post my theses on the Internet and send copies with invitations to debate them to the recognized Christian leaders of the world. My theses are far smaller in number than were those of Martin Luther, but they are far more threatening theologically. The issues to which I now call the Christians of the world to debate are these:

1. Theism, as a way of defining God, is dead. So most theological God-talk is today meaningless. A new way to speak of God must be found.

2. Since God can no longer be conceived in theistic terms, it becomes nonsensical to seek to understand Jesus as the incarnation of the theistic deity. So the Christology of the ages is bankrupt.

3. The biblical story of the perfect and finished creation from which human beings fell into sin is pre-Darwinian mythology and post-Darwinian nonsense.

4. The virgin birth, understood as literal biology, makes Christ's divinity, as traditionally understood, impossible.

5. The miracle stories of the New Testament can no longer be interpreted in a post-Newtonian world as supernatural events performed by an incarnate deity.

6. The view of the cross as the sacrifice for the sins of the world is a barbarian idea based on primitive concepts of God and must be dismissed.

7. Resurrection is an action of God. Jesus was raised into the meaning of God. It therefore cannot be a physical resuscitation occurring inside human history.

8. The story of the Ascension assumed a three-tiered universe and is therefore not capable of being translated into the concepts of a post-Copernican space age.

9. There is no external, objective, revealed standard writ in scripture or on tablets of stone that will govern our ethical behavior for all time.

10. Prayer cannot be a request made to a theistic deity to act in human history in a particular way.

11. The hope for life after death must be separated forever from the behavior control mentality of reward and punishment. The Church must abandon, therefore, its reliance on guilt as a motivator of behavior.

12. All human beings bear God's image and must be respected for what each person is. Therefore, no external description of one's being, whether based on race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, can properly be used as the basis for either rejection or discrimination.

So I set these theses today before the Christian world and I stand ready to debate each of them as we prepare to enter the third millennium"


Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us--eternal life. --1 John 2:22-25 ESV

For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. --3 John 1:7 KJV

Are you looking for an antichrist? You don't have to look far... They are all around!

Last Words of Whitefield

George Whitefield (1714-1770), who was probably one of the greatest evangelists in American history, is quoted as saying these words just before he went to be with the Lord:

"Lord Jesus, I am weary in Thy work, but not of Thy work. If I have not yet finished my course, let me go and speak for Thee once more in the fields, seal the truth, and come back home to die."

Even in death, this servant of God had a fervent desire to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. May we too finish our course with as much passion for preaching and teaching God's Word!

Soli Deo Gloria!

A Lesson From The Prince

A few minutes ago, I was browsing around Spurgeon.org and I found a great article by Charles Spurgeon on the topic of preaching.

The article is entitled "Hints on The Voice For Young Preachers" from the July 1875 issue of The Sword and Trowel.

Here's an excerpt from the article just to give you a sample:

"It is an infliction, not to be endured twice, to hear a brother, who mistakes perspiration for inspiration, tear along like a wild horse with a hornet in its ear till he has no more wind, and must needs pause to pump his lungs full again; a repetition of this indecency several times in a sermon is not uncommon, but is most painful. Pause soon enough to prevent that "hough, hough," which rather creates pity for the breathless orator than sympathy with the subject in hand. Your audience ought not to know that you breathe at all—the process of respiration should be as unobserved as the circulation of the blood."

The rest of the article is chock full of great advice from one of great orators of the Faith. I highly recommend preachers read it in its entirety!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Authority in Preaching

The following quote is found on p. 82 of the book Systematic Theology by Dr. Wayne Grudem.

"Throughout the history of the church the greatest preachers have been those who have recognized that they have no authority in themselves and have seen their task as being to explain the words of Scripture and apply them clearly to the lives of their hearers. Their preaching has drawn its power not from the proclamation of their own Christian experiences or the experiences of others, nor from their own opinions, creative ideas, or rhetorical skills, but from God's powerful words. Essentially they stood in the pulpit, pointed to the biblical text, and said in effect to the congregation,'This is what this verse means. Do you see that meaning here as well? Then you must believe it and obey it with all your heart, for God himself, your Creator and your Lord, is saying this to you today!' Only the written words of Scripture can give this kind of authority to preaching."

Spurgeon on End Times Foolishness

Though I am a Premillenialist who holds to the "Pretribulational Rapture Theory", I am not too dogmatic about Eschatology. I frequently read the works of preachers and theologians that hold to various Eschatological positions -and I repect their opinions.

If you happen to be an Amillenialist, a Postmillenialist, or an "historic Premillenialist" such as Charles Spurgeon, I will not break fellowship with you over our differences. My mind is even open to the possibility that I may be the one who is wrong.

One way or the other, Jesus is coming again and my opinion of it won't change how (or when) He does it. I believe these are topics that Christians are free to discuss and debate- just so long as you do affirm the 2ND coming of Christ, we'll be fine.

I'll have to admit though, I do get a bit aggravated with some of these so-called "prophecy teachers", who are constantly looking around trying to figure out which news headline fulfilled some prophecy in Isaiah and/or are trying to identify the Antichrist.

Their nonsense has spilled over into the churches and is having some terrible side-effects. I have known Christians whom -it seemed to me- were not planning for the future because they said they just knew Jesus would return before their children could graduate high school. Now here we are -some years later- and all their children (but one) are grown and have families of their own! I even heard recently that some folks are now going around proclaiming Arnold Schwarzenegger is the Anti-Christ!!! I really think such things are foolishness.

It looks as if this plague has been around long before our times. While reading John MacArthur's book Why Government Cannot Save You, I found a sermon in the appendix by Charles Spurgeon entitled "Citizenship in Heaven". While reading it, I found some words of wisdom concerning the topic of prophecy and this "end times foolishness" -as I have decided to call it. I want to share with you a few paragraphs from the sermon.

Please note that it appears that in Spurgeon's day, the magic year was 1866:

"You know I am no prophet. I do not know anything about 1866; I find quite enough to do to attend to 1862. I do not understand the visions of Daniel or Ezekiel; I find I have enough to do to teach the simple truth in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and the Epistles of Paul. I do not find many souls have been converted to God by exquisite dissertations about the battle of Armageddon, and all those other fine things. I have no doubt prophesyings are very profitable, but I rather question whether they are so profitable to the hearers as they may be to the preachers and publishers. I conceive that among religious people of a certain sort, the abortive explanations of prophecy issued by certain doctors gratify a craving, which in irreligious people finds its foods in novels and romances.

People have a panting to know the future. And certain divines pander to this depraved taste by prophesying for them and letting them know what is coming by-and-by. I do not know the future, and I will not pretend to know. But I do preach this because I know it: that Christ will come, for he says so in a hundred passages. The Epistles of Paul are full of the advent, and Peter's too, and John's letters are crowded with it. The best of saints have always lived on the hope of advent."

After some more wonderful thoughts that I won't take time to quote here, the Prince of Preachers adds more advice I truly desire more Pre-trib, Premillenialists would take to heart:

"Never mind about the last bowls, fill your own bowl with sweet odors and offer it before the Lord. Think what you like about Armageddon, but do not forget to fight the good fight of faith. Guess not at the precise era for the destruction of Antichrist; go and destroy it yourself, fighting against it every day. But be looking forward and hastening unto the coming of the Son of Man, and let this be at once your comfort and excitement to diligence, that the Savior will soon come from Heaven."

Amen, Reverend Spurgeon. Amen!