Nov 24 2012

Eternal Security is not Compatible with a Life of Sin… Even if Once “Saved”

I would like to thank my friend Ruben Birle who drew my attention to the teaching of dr. Charles Stanley on the issue of eternal security.  An internet search reveals that Stanley holds some degree of Arminian views in his soteriology (salvation theology), and was involved with the John 3:16 Conference, which was specifically against Reformation Theology.

In the video below he answers the question: “How can a person be saved, backslide into a life of sin, and still be saved for all eternity?”

My critique follows below.

I strongly believe in the eternal security of the saved, specifically the ones who have truly been born-again.  Salvation belongs to our God not to us, and God is the One Who completes His work toward our glorification, a process in which we fully participate.  The issue in this video comes down to whether the ones living in sin are saved or not.

The views expressed in this clip are not biblical because the entire discussion hinges on the term “life of sin.”  The term is present in the question and Stanley references it multiple times in the video.

It starts off with identifying the person who receives the gift of salvation but “lives pretty much like everyone else” (0:38).  He calls this backsliding, but it is much more serious.  These persons are not even saved because they have not experienced the new birth which is evident as that radical change in their life when they exhibit the fruit of the Spirit.  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).  So how can an unsaved person have eternal security?

Is it possible for a saved person then to live a “life of sin” since this is what the video is addressing?  This answer is a resounding no!  Therefore that person does not have eternal security.  They are lost until they experience the new birth made possible by the Holy Spirit (John 3).

The Bible is firm about any “saved” person who lives a “life of sin.”  These individuals are not saved.  Dr Stanley says that it is possible to experience salvation AND live a “life of sin” and just lose your reward, but not your salvation.  Wrong!  The biblical evidence against dr Stanley’s false teaching in insurmountable!

1 John 3:6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him… 

1 John 3:9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God

1 John 1:6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.

Ephesians 5:3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.

2 John 9 Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God

…and many, many more verses…

Despite what the Bible really teaches, Dr Stanley persists on the idea that one can be “saved,” then live a “life of sin” and still have eternal security, with the stipulation that he will lose his reward. This, my friends is false teaching!  Anyone who continues to live in sin has never been born again!

Nov 23 2012

Black Friday: When Materialism Turns Into Idolatry

Black Friday is the culmination of idolatrous consumerism.  Not because someone wants to shop for a discounted item, but because of the underlying demeanor in the build-up and unraveling of Black Friday.

I confess, I do not have much Black Friday experience…  Last year we made the mistake of going to the local mall on Friday after Thanksgiving sometime in the mid morning, only to turn back home because we could not find parking.   Apparently you had to be there before dawn to get in line.  There are places where lines form days in advance!  These people sacrifice the Thanksgiving holiday and a night in a warm bed for a terribly unpleasant shopping experience.

Why?  Because they will save $200 dollars on a deal?   The average amount spent by the average Black Friday shopper is less than $400, so will a $200 saving really make that much difference in their lives?  In order to answer this question lets look at the things that happen during shopping on Black Friday because they help elucidate who we are as humans.

Shoppers get into a mindless and manic frenzy to the point where an apparel store can look like a category 4 hurricane just went through it.  In the busy stores one can see anger, greed and self elevation at the worst.  It starts with shoving, shouting, and it progresses to cursing, verbal fights, and fist fights.  In extreme cases there have been reports of shoppers and vendors being crushed, stepped on, and it seems like every year we hear reports of fatalities as a result of stampedes and lack of crowd control.  All for an average of $400 of merchandise!

At the core of the issue is human depravity and the worship of self.  The shopper is tricked into thinking it is all about “me, myself and I.”  The goal of the entire Black Friday exercise becomes less about buying a certain item, but beating out your competition to that item!  In some situations, pushing and stepping on another human being becomes part of the process… but it matters not, the depraved shopper must beat his competitor at all cost.

Greed coupled with anger is one of the most potent evil combinations of all human emotions and we see it on display during Black Friday Idolatry.  I call it idolatry because it comes down to serving, satisfying and elevating the self.  It all started with the fall of man after he was created perfect in the image of God.  Man was tempted with becoming just like the One who deserves to receive all worship, and the temptation proved too much.  And on Black Friday we are still dealing with the consequences of appeasing, elevating, and worshiping the self as exemplified by the demeanor and actions of the shoppers.

So, should Christians go and compete in the long lines and spend their $400 today?  If you do, just remember that you do not belong to this world and you must act that way.  Remember that lost people will act lost no matter what the situation, so do not be surprised when you see individuals fighting over that $199 “complete” home theater system, or that discounted video game.  You will see human depravity on display which will remind you where you once were before the Holy Spirit led you to the new birth.

Think of Black Friday as an opportunity to see how God has rescued you from this materialistic and idolatrous world, and how He made you realize that all glory and worship belongs to Him.

“whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1Cor 10:31

Nov 22 2012

Classic Hymn

Here is “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind” sang by a couple of thousand worshipers in Westminster Abbey.  Modern Anglicans are really good at singing hymns, perhaps the best among all Christian branches and denominations.

 

Nov 21 2012

Modern Hymn

In an environment where contemporary Christian music has suffered from the absence of deep theological and lyrical quality, David Crowder Band comes through with a great modern hymn on their 2012 album Give Us Rest.  Jesus is the focus of the song as it paints His sacrifice for us.

The red of blood hit the dirt
And the whole earth mourned and the whole world shook
As we watched them nail Him to a tree
Oh the wretched souls of sinners like me

God you came
God you came
My God you came down

God you came
God you came
My God you came down

Faint and weary you have sought me
Oh my Saviour God through the cross you have bought me
What a love, your Son for my salvation
What a cost, your wondrous incarnation

God you came
God you came
My God you came down

God you came
God you came
My God you came down

Nov 20 2012

Jerusalem, the Intoxicating Drink

A cold and continuous war with occasional hot and deadly eruptions has been going on in the Middle East since 1948. Since the re-institution of its state, Israel has been in continuous conflict with its neighbors.

In a Christian world view, Jerusalem is the epicenter of the World as described in the Bible, and this is evident as religious and secular forces are battling for its control.  All three major religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, claim a stake in this historic city.  Secular forces including the secular state of Israel and terrorist organizations are also fighting over it.

In the last week, close to one thousand Hamas rockets have been fired indiscriminately over civilians in Israel and Jerusalem. Israel responded by targeting the source of the rockets and military targets in Gaza while trying their best to avoid civilians.

Why is Jerusalem so important that everyone wants a piece of it?  Why is Israel isolated like this?  Even its last ally, the United States is showing cracks in its long support for Israel.

The answer is found in Scripture and it has to do with Israel’s hardening and their rejection of the Messiah.

Jesus lamented in Matt 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!  How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!”

As a result of their hardening of heart God proclaims in Zechariah 12:2 “I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink…”  And God continues:  “On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the people.  All who lift it will surely hurt themselves.  And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.”

Jerusalem will become a trap for all those who want to take it from Israel because God promised the father of the Jewish nation, Abraham that “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse” (Gen 12:3).

But divine punishment against Israel for his disobedience will not last forever.  In God’s redemptive plan, the Jewish nation will one day come back to the One Messiah whom they have rejected, Jesus Christ, as explained by Paul in Romans 11:

“25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The deliverer will come from Zion;
he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.

27 And this is my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”

28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs,

29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.

30 Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience,

31 so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you.”

Until the redemption of Israel is here our duty is to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Nov 19 2012

Life Begins at Conception NOT at First Breath!

In another example of apostatic theological interpretation, the prominent and progressive group “the Christian Left” has just used the Bible to endorse abortion in all its forms starting with elective first trimester curettage, all the way to the horrific partial birth abortions!  Unbelievable!  This is the counterfeit church practicing counterfeit christianity!

As if endorsing open homosexuality, gay marriage, ordination of gay ministers, legalization of drugs such as marijuana was not enough for their altar of idolatry, these so-called progressive christians had to endorse the modern-day Holocaust, the murderous spirit of Herod the Great and of Cain, known as abortion.

This is the theological basis of their false argument:  life begins with the first breath… therefore an unborn baby is not alive!  It is stunning to see how Satan has blinded these people.  Here is the Scripture they quote to support the position that life begins only after birth when the baby has the ability to breathe:

Genesis 2:7 “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and it was then that the man became a living being”

Job 33:4 “The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”

Ezekiel 37:5-6 “Thus says the Lord God to these bones:   Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.”

All these references are taken out their proper context and are twisted to say something that they do not say.   According to this position a baby who has a heartbeat, blood flowing through her veins, an intact neurological system that dictates pain, the ability to suck his thumb and comfort himself, etc…  is not alive!  During fetal surgery for spina bifida for example, the baby interacts with the surgeon squeezing his hand (see photo below), grabbing surgical instruments, and withdrawing from any painful stimulus before being anesthetized.  But according to the Christian Left and the Democratic party platform, this person is not alive.

Let’s review the biblical texts which confirm that life begins at conception:

Jer 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart”

Psalm 139:13 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”

Psalm 139:16 “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

Luke 1: 41, 44 “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit… … As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.”

Of all the horrors in the so-called “Romans 1 platform” of self worship and appeasement, I find abortion to be the most severe sin because it involves an innocent third-party who is murdered.  “It’s my body and I do whatever I want with it” has become the motto self idolatry.  They wear t-shirts with “I had an abortion and I do not regret it,” and “Someone you love had an abortion.”

How true rings the voice of the prophet Isaiah in 3:9: “they parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them!”

Let’s face it, we live in days of apostasy, but the real church of Jesus needs to speak out publicly against groups like the Christian Left who pervert and suppress biblical truth, and exchange it for idolatry.

Wake up Church!  “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong”. (1 Corinthians 16:13)

   

Nov 17 2012

How NOT to Have a Baptism!

Every once in a while it is appropriate to present a negative example in order to illustrate how not to do things.  This applies to our spiritual lives as well.

In the clip below we see the opposite of how a baptism should be done.  It serves as a reminder that there are “Christians” who practice a godless form of Christianity, who have no idea what things like baptism mean or what they stand for.

Ridiculous but actually…  funny.

 

Nov 15 2012

Legal Attacks Against Christians in the US on the Rise

In the wake of the ungodly election cycle we just went through, a series of stunning lawsuits against churches and Christian organizations started to take shape within the legal system.  This may be the first time in the history of the United States that a systematic approach has been undertaken to attack organizations of the Christian faith thru the courts.

One of the groups leading this coordinated charge is the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), an organization of 19,000 self-proclaimed non-theists (atheists and agnostics) who want to remove religious (but mainly Christian) influence from society.  Their main underlying argument in most of these cases is separation of church and state, as if the United States is a theocracy where the church is in charge of government.  Anytime a Christian symbol appears in public, they cry a reactionary “this is a violation of the separation of church and state!”

The FFRF has just sued Billy Graham Evangelistic Association for taking out full-page ads in the weeks leading up to election urging people to vote for pro-life candidates.  They are vehemently suing a number of Catholic bishops and parishes who instructed their members to vote based on religious principles involving issues like abortion and contraception mandates.

The October 7, 2012 event “Freedom Pulpit Sunday” where nearly 1,600 pastors decided to openly endorse life, biblical and family values and candidates from the pulpit seemed to have been the pivotal point that started this rage.

But wait… their bold tactic does not end there.   They have just demanded in the letter to the president that the words “so help me God” as well as the placing of the hand on the Bible be removed from the presidential inauguration…  again, based on the delusion that the church and state are one entity in the US!

The main goal of these attacks is to remove the non-profit status of churches and Christian organizations.  That is the goal… for now.  But I am predicting that we will quickly move to the phase of anti-bullying and hate speech legislation against pastors and churches who proclaim biblical truth.  And then Christians will face more than just monetary penalties.   They may face criminal charges and potentially prison for preaching against sin.

Christians in America need to wake up and pray for this nation and its leaders, so that God will not allow this nation to get to that point.  Persecution is coming to America and we need to anticipate it and get spiritually ready for it.

Nov 13 2012

Which Person of the Trinity Should We Pray to?

Christian believers are required to have a continuous life of prayer, and we pray to God and address Him as Lord in our prayer.  If we are to understand the way God is revealed in Scripture, we must realize that God is revealed in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, each being fully God and all three one God.

A logical question then follows, does it matter which person of the Godhead we pray to?  Or should we mainly pray to God as Lord?

Pastor and theologian John Piper answer as follows:  “the pattern that you find almost uniformly – I say almost uniformly – throughout the New Testament is to pray to the Father in the name of the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  Reformed believers pray almost exclusively to the Father because the other persons of the Trinity facilitate our access to the Father.  The Holy Spirit glorifies the Son, and the Son, thru His sacrifice brings us to the Father.  Jesus also prays to the Father and this serves as the ultimate example for us.

But I also believe it is biblical to pray to Jesus and to the Holy Spirit.  Consider the following verses about praying to Jesus:

John 14:13-14 “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do… If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

1 Cor 1:2 “in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”

1 Tim 1:12 “I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord…”

With respect to the Holy Spirit, we must understand that the Holy Spirit facilitates our worship and prayer.  He points to the Son as the only way to the Father.  But since the Holy Spirit is fully God, we may address the Holy Spirit directly in prayer, for example: “come, Holy Spirit.”

Prayer is essentially communication, and when we have fellowship with someone, we communicate with that person.  Paul tells us in 2 Cor 13:14 that we partake in “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.”  Therefore it is not wrong to communicate in prayer with the Holy Spirit.

Piper, concludes: “So my bottom line answer – and I’ve been asked this a lot – is to follow in general the pattern of the Bible, namely, pray to the Father in the name of Jesus by the power of the Spirit, that is, in reliance upon the help of the Spirit.”

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/does-it-matter-which-person-of-the-trinity-we-pray-to-84697/#XryEmI7Sd0EpxOXq.99

Nov 12 2012

Occultism: Entertainment’s New Obsession

The Christian Post is reporting today a disturbing trend among young people who have become obsessed with Hollywood’s glamorous depiction of occult subjects in movies.  With the help of the internet, teenagers are looking into real occult groups, and some may be getting involved in occult practices.  The new Twilight movie is coming out and a new wave of occult fever is about to engulf the teenage crowd.

In the last decade there have been a number of highly successful books and movies such as the Harry Potter series, the Twilight “Saga,” the Underworld movies, and Avatar, which explore subjects like vampirism, Wiccan occultism, and suicide.  Most of these productions are targeting a young audience, especially teenagers whose naive minds are a sponge for new and fresh ideas about life away from truth.

I was shocked to see the existence of online vampire clubs who explore vampire practices mentioned in the CP article.  Normally, I would find this kind of report laughable if the data to back it up was not there at the click of a button.

Avatar is the highest gross income movie of all time at over $2.7 billion.  It explores and even glamorizes the subject of death and transition of the soul and mind into another body that is part of the same physical world.  It is no wonder that if one does a simple search using the terms “Avatar” and “suicide,” one finds numerous articles on a possible connection between the two.

There is definitely a connection between watching the movie and people feeling depressed, a phenomenon described as the “Avatar blues.”  People end up longing for this fantastic world after making the transition from life in this body to an avatar… ridiculous to a person who knows God and His salvation, but intriguing to a corrupt mind who does not know Him.  Again we return to the problem of the human soul who searches for the truth, and when unable to find the truth, it seeks out alternative ways to replace and suppress the truth.

This is the sad reality of our modern society’s obsession with the occult.  Paul tells us in Romans 1 that people have “exchanged the glory of the immortal God” with such idolatrous ideas about life and death.  That is why I believe that children of God, who have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus should not spend their time and money on such entertainment.

My young friends will start calling me old-fashion now.  But that’s ok, the truth needs to be told.