Debating Unto The Glory of God - Is That Possible?

You are not going to convince anyone by debating.
When Christians argue, the whole Church suffers. They will know we are Christians by our love for each other, not by how well we beat each other up with the bible. Have you heard some of those sentiments before? Sometimes discussions between Christians do get out of hand, but those kinds of excuses are convenient for Christians who wish to remain intellectually unchallenged in their traditions. I'm happy to report that this isn't always the case however; one example being the longest thread ever on Old Truth (240+ comments). It's a story of an age-old debate, and a few pastors and laymen who gathered here in cyberspace over several days, to reexamine it with their bibles open. Some will be surprised to find out that the result was neither stalemate nor digression into conquest-driven bickering. ... [Read More!]

God Has Determined: Some Won't Hear The Gospel   Robert Reymond

It is difficult to believe that the Triune God intended Christ's death for every man, woman and child, the blessing of which is enjoyed upon condition that they believe in him, when he has not arranged for everyone to hear the gospel. While it is true that Christ has commanded his church to carry the gospel to the nations, it is equally true that many people throughout the course of the centuries have lived and died in spiritual darkness, never having heard the gospel. And the biblical evidence would indicate that God, by determining as he has the recipients of special revelation and by governing the geographic directions of missionary history, determined that some people would not hear the gospel. ... [Read More!]

Did Spurgeon Create Converts With Altar Calls?

"Nowadays, the rule seems to be, send off a paragraph to the newspapers saying that there were, So many in the enquiry-room; so many converted on such-and-such a night. Blow the trumpets! Beat the drums! Let everybody know! But that was not Jesus Christ's way of working". Those remarks by Charles Spurgeon are interesting in our own generation in which convert-counts are commonplace. Notice also that he mentioned something called an enquiry-room. Recently a friend of mine was engaged in a conversation with one of the many pastors today who fancy themselves as fans of Spurgeon while at the same time rejecting his theology. On this particular day, the pastor was attempting to defend the modern practice of Altar Calls, by saying, "Spurgeon used them but he called them enquiry-rooms". So in this post, we'll take a look at that claim, and hopefully learn something about altar calls and conversion-conjuring as well. ... [Read More!]

Picturing The Absurd: "Worse Than Muslims"?

Last week, a convert from Islam, now serving as the seminary President at Jerry Falwell's college, identified a group that he labeled as "worse than Muslims". Who are they? You might be surprised to find out that the Puritans were among them, so was the evangelist George Whitefield, and so was the hymn writer of Amazing Grace. Remember Matthew Henry whose bible commentaries are on most pastor's bookshelves? He's one of them too, as are numerous missionaries and martyrs in church history. If I were Jerry Falwell right about now, I'd be thinking that I have a loose cannon onboard the SS Liberty. This post takes a not-so-politically-correct look at the 'Jihad' that one man brought upon himself with his outrageous behavior. ... [Read More!]

"I Don't Believe THAT!" - Maybe You're an Atheist   RC Sproul

I began [a seminary class by reading this from] the Westminster Confession: God, from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass. I stopped reading at that point. I asked, "Is there anyone in this room who does not believe the words that I just read?" A multitude of hands went up. I then asked, "Are there any convinced atheists in the room?" No hands were raised. I then said something outrageous: "Everyone who raised his hand to the first question should also have raised his hand to the second question." ... [Read More!]

Mailbag: If Election is True Why Bother . . .

I just received an email asking a common set of questions about election. For example, if election is true - why bother preaching the Gospel, why did Jesus have to go through His death on the cross, etc. Here are some thoughts. ... [Read More!]

Is Synergism The Cause of Seeker-Centered?

Consider the implications of these two statements from the princes of the church-growth movement: Rick Warren said:
"It is my deep conviction that anybody can be won to Christ if you discover the key to his or her heart, and the most likely place to start looking for that key is within the person's felt needs". Bill Hybels said: "If they'll sustain that kind of all out effort, they're going to break through all the barriers keeping them from belief". What's biblically wrong with those statements, and how might this thinking have lead to our modern seeker-centered madness?... [Read More!]

Was Anyone Saved at the Cross?

There would seem to be no better day than the holiday known as "Good Friday", to ask some questions like: Who (if anyone) was actually saved at the Cross? And what did His death actually accomplish? Did Christ die for Judas? What about the people who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah, and were already in eternal punishment by the time Jesus went to the Cross; did He die for them? But the one question that needs a precise answer is this: Did Christ actually make a substitutionary sacrifice for sins or didn't He? If He did, then it was not for all the world, otherwise all the world would be saved. ... [Read More!]

Should They Accept Christ as Personal Savior?

In an effort to get sinners saved we often hear them exhorted to "Accept Christ as their personal Savior"
as though those who are slaves of Satan and captives of the Devil could do so and be saved if they did so.
But this is utterly foreign to Holy Scripture; there is no foundation in Holy Writ for it. It presents a false way of salvation, and therefore should be discarded along with other similar expressions such as
"Give your heart to Jesus", "Take Jesus as your Savior", etc. ... [Read More!]

'Decisions For Christ' - The Measure of Success?

Trophies for "decisions" are imaginative to say the least, but they would be iconic of the popular mindset in evangelism. Churches and ministries today are doing outreach differently than in the past, and they are looking for validation of their new techniques. Decision-counts have become the standard unit of measure for quantifying God's blessing on: evangelism techniques, leadership methods, and sermon content. In this posting, we'll explore the claims, concept, and counting of "decisions for Christ". ... [Read More!]

God did it. Man did it! Which is it?

If I asked you who wrote the book of Romans, would your answer be Paul or would your answer be God? Both answers are true. But it's not right to give them both equal credit. Why not? Because God is the ultimate source; they are the words that He wanted written, so we must give Him full credit. And yet, Paul and the other human authors of scripture were not merely puppets on a string; they used their own words, mind, and personality in their writing. Do you agree with everything I've just said? If so, then you also have the basic framework in place for understanding how a soul is saved. ... [Read More!]

"Power Team" Uplifts Souls, Promises Results

What if your church could do something to increase it's attendance by over 20% in the next year. What if that same "something" was proven effective, and would result in as much as 30% of your visitors making decisions for Christ? You must be thinking: what is it - a new mega-church purpose program perhaps? No, it's a bunch of itinerant weight lifters known as the "Power Team", and they feel strongly about their ability to predict how many souls will be saved through their power-packed performance. ... [Read More!]

Salvation Turned On and Off By Man?

It seems unbelievable, but it's entirely possible now days to run into people who testify: "I've tried God, and He didnt work". Some will even tell you that they've been saved 4 or 5 times already. What's going on here? How are they getting the perception that they've come to Christ, and the experience failed to live up to some expectation of theirs? And what kind of an attitude towards true-Christianity does it leave them with, after having tried an impostor-Christianity that crashed and burned? They think they've had the real thing, and it was no good. What's at the core of this? ... [Read More!]

Presumptuous Synergism: Save A Soul For $48

It's that modern synergistic mindset again, but maybe a little more bold.

Here's a ministry that's so confident in their crusades and evangelism campaigns that they are convinced of their ability to predict how many souls will be saved through their efforts. What's more, they've also done the math to determine how many donation-dollars will be required for each soul saved.

On their website, the leader of the ministry states: "I was [visiting a church] and made the statement that for every $48.00 given to [our ministry] someone will get saved. A couple after the service said to me, 'Why don't you start a Soul-A-Month club. We would like to send you $48.00 a month.' Ministry born!"
... [Read More!]