3/17/07 - "God believes in you" says insearchoftruth.org

I have been considering closing this blog down due to my need to focus on another ministry I am involved with. But while browsing the Internet tonight for some ideas for an article I'm composing, I found this doozy of a "Did You Hear What You Said?" entry. I don't know who the author is. I looked around the web site and couldn't identify him/her. All the more to the good, because I believe that someday, if "insearchoftruth" ever actually finds it (the truth), he/she will be very embarrassed by the statements I've copied here.

(underlines are mine)

From the web site http://www.insearchoftruth.org/articles/God_who_hopes.html

The God Who Hopes

Introduction

Most people expect Christians to have hope in God and His promises. The hope that follows faith and commitment to Jesus Christ is indeed a powerful blessing beyond exchange (Hebrews 6:15-20). But, did you know that God has hope in you? He is an optimistic God, who believes in you!

(skip several paragraphs)

There is one who would accuse us, but his ultimate aim is to accuse our Father (Revelation 12:10). Our God has exhibited great confidence in us. Let us not fail Him. Rather, let us "walk worthily" of His investment and of Him, since He has given us all things, even His own Son, so that we may be reconciled to Him. By sacrificing Jesus on our behalf, He as already demonstrated His belief in us. Will you reciprocate His optimism, confidence, and love by believing in Him?

SO LET ME ASK YOU, "INSEARCHOFTRUTH", DID YOU HEAR WHAT YOU SAID? DID YOU REALLY MEAN TO SAY THAT?

Some free advice for "insearchoftruth" -- Try this: SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES. And keep searching.

John 2:24-25 (KJV) 24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, 25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

Dave Hunt Tells Us What God Cannot Do

In an article entitled "What a Sovereign God Cannot Do" (we could stop right there and talk about that phrase alone) Dave Hunt tells us many, many things that he believes God can not do. Among them is this:

"It is impossible that the power of choice could challenge God's sovereignty..."

Did you hear what you said? It's like saying "it's impossible for a challenge to God's sovereignty to challenge God's sovereignty", or, "God is the boss, but only if I say so."

Would you like to be the person to walk up to the throne and tell God that he must respect your decisions?

To learn some more things a (supposed) sovereign god can not do, see the article:

http://www.thebereancall.org/Newsletter/html/2001/feb01.php,

11/3/2006 Sword Editor: Calvinism leaves a dearth in its wake.

From the 3 Nov 06 edition of the Sword of the Lord, Shelton Smith, Editor, Murfreesboro TN, page 20, "Noteworthy News Notes", "Ten Percent of SBC Pastors Call Themselves Five-Point Calvinists", Editor's Comments:

It is our studied opinion that given room to flourish, Calvinism leaves a dearth in its wake. It is virtually impossible for evangelism to flourish where Calvinism is promoted strongly.

I guess somebody forgot to tell Edwards, Keach, Gill, Spurgeon, Bunyan, Kennedy, Knox, Calvin, Luther, Hus, Wycliff, Tyndale, Whitefield, Carey, Fuller, Judson, and any historically significant Baptist before 1900 that can be named.

My question is - can ANY evangelism flourish without the blessing of the current or former editors of the Sword of the Lord?

6/2/06 Baptistboarders: Hell is full of forgiven people

Can you believe it? There are some people in Hell that have been forgiven of their sins, yet remain in hell! No kidding, that's what some people believe. Here are the direct quotes from Baptistboard. They can be found in the thread entitled "Is hell full of forgiven people?" in the Baptist Theology forum:

Post #6: "Yes Christ died for his sins which put him there in hell."

Post #10: "Yes hell is full of forgiven people." "If those in hell have mental faculties they will have to recognize for all eternity, that they didn't have to go to hell because Jesus paid their sin debt for them."

DID YOU HEAR WHAT YOU JUST SAID? If Jesus paid their sin debt for them, then why, oh why, are they paying it themselves? Either He paid the debt or He didn't. Which is it?

Post #18: "Atonement is the settling of accounts with God. So it is true that no man goes to hell because of sin." "So while all sin is atoned for by Jesus' work on the Cross, not all sin is forgiven and, in fact, there is one which CANNOT be forgiven -- although it has been atoned for."

I can't even muster a reply to that! A is not B therefore A is B? All sin is atoned for, but not all are forgiven, therefore there are forgiven people in hell? There is a sin which CANNOT be forgiven, although is has been atoned for? So the blood of Christ is NOT sufficient to forgive the elect of their sins????

And this person takes her theology seriously! God help us.

3/20/06 David Cloud: C.H. Spurgeon's Beliefs Dangerous to Bible-Believing Churches

David O. Cloud, from his website www.wayoflife.org, SOME MAJOR FALSE DOCTRINES THAT ARE A DANGER TO BIBLE-BELIEVING CHURCHES TODAY, dated November 3, 2005 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org.

The following are some of the major false doctrines that are a particular danger to Bible-believing churches in our day and a concise biblical refutation of them. We use the following to train our church members. (emphasis added)

1. The false teaching that salvation is by grace plus works (Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Church of Christ, Roman Catholic Church)

2. The false teaching that Jesus is not God (Jehovah’s Witnesses)

3. The false teaching that God is not a Trinity (Jehovah’s Witnesses)

4. The false teaching that baptism is necessary for salvation (Church of Christ)

5. The false teaching that infants should be baptized (Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist)

6. The false teachings of the Pentecostal-Charismatic Movement (Assemblies of God, etc.)

7. The false teaching that death is a sleep and not a journey (Seventh-day Adventists)

8. The false teaching that Hell is not eternal torment (Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists)

9. The false teaching that Sabbath worship is for the churches today (Seventh-day Adventists)

10. The false teaching that the Prophecies of Matthew 24 and Revelation 6-22 are not for the future but are being fulfilled today (Roman Catholic, most Protestant denominations such as Presbyterian and Lutheran, etc.)

11. The false teaching that God is finished with the nation Israel; that the church has replaced Israel (Roman Catholic, most Protestant denominations such as Presbyterian and Lutheran, etc.)

12. The false teaching that God chooses who will be saved and that only those who are chosen can be saved (Calvinism)
13. The false teaching that the believer can only eat certain things (Seventh-day Adventist)

14. The false teaching that there should only be one church in each village and city

Did you see that? Did you hear what you said, David Cloud? You placed calvinism, a doctrinal system held by:

C.H. Spurgeon, Martin Luther, John Hus, William Tyndale, John Bunyan, John Knox, the Waldenses, Johnathan Edwards, George Whitfield, Matthew Henry, the Puritans, Roger Williams, John Newton, B.B. Warfield, J.L. Dagg, John Gill, et al, et al, and ME,

on par with:

Roman Catholics
Seventh Day Adventists
Jehovah Witnesses
Pentecostal
Charismatic
and Assemblies of God.

Did you really mean to say that?

3/8/06 "Love, Age, Logic, and Trials make it harder to keep the faith"

From the January/February 2006 issue of "The Baptist Magazine", published by Longview Baptist Temple, Longview TX; an article entitle "Keeping the Faith" by Dr. Bob Gray:

"The truth is it is not always easy to keep the faith. It becomes harder as one grows older. You love more deeply and desire to offend less. Age makes it harder to keep the faith. You want to be loved more as you grow older and it makes it harder to keep the faith. Your logic improves and it is easily captured by your vanity, which makes it harder to keep the faith. Trials multiply and tempt you to doubt, making it harder to keep the faith. You feel less secure and wonder more about your financial future as you grow older and it becomes harder to keep the faith."(emphasis added)

Isn't the real problem that as we age, we begin to see the truth of things which we have heretofore denied, and we, in our old age, are faced with confessing our errors? Isn't it our desire to validate our past that makes "keeping the faith" hard? Isn't it truely our VANITY, and not logic, that stands in the way of the "peace of God that passes all understanding"?

3/5/06 "God exists in order to bless man"

The following statements were made by Adrian Rogers, on his television program "Love Worth Finding", Trinity Broadcasting Network, channel 18 on the Comcast Sourth Jersey system, on Sunday, 5 March 06, approx 12:50 p.m.

(1) "God exists to bless you".

(2) "Your decision determines destiny".

Mr. Rogers is to be admired for his many good works of faith. But did he really intend to say those things? Do they make sense to you?

J.D.