Those Dangerous Calvinists!

by Bruce Mills

Recently another of the elders at the church I serve called my attention to information posted on Pastor Tom Ascol’s blog, Founders’ Ministries Blog, regarding documents that are circulating among Southern Baptist Churches in western Tennessee.  These documents are intended to teach people in those churches how to determine if any of their church staff are Calvinists and then get rid of any that they may find.  You can view them here.  This information is apparently being spread by individuals who consider the doctrines of grace to be heresy.

The first document is titled "Reformed Red Flags" and it contains a list of 16 "behaviors" to look for when seeking to determine who the Calvinists pastors may be.  Some of these “behaviors” are quite surprising.  Included on the list are:

“Use of the ESV Study Bible” – This is simply another way of promoting the KJV Only position.  Prior to the emergence of the ESV, most of the KJV Only proponents directed their assault on the NIV, but now that the ESV has become widely accepted among reformed evangelicals, they are now redirecting their slander on this fine translation.

“Moving the church to be under Elder Rule” – Perhaps these folks should go back and read Titus 1:5 where Paul clearly instructed Titus to appoint elders in the churches in the cities of Crete.  Apparently God, who inspired Paul to write that instruction, believes that elders are to be the leaders of the church rather than the congregation.

“Focusing on creating the ‘true’ church” – Clearly this is aimed at Grace Life Church of the Shoals in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, a strongly Calvinistic Southern Baptist church which holds an annual “True Church” conference.  Closely related is another statement regarding the use of church discipline.  The unknown author considers the purpose of church discipline to be an attempt to purge the church of anyone who is not part of the “true” church.  While that is never the primary intent of church discipline, the purification of the church is a secondary result.  Apparently those circulating these documents consider that to be a bad thing.

“Look for the men they quote in their sermons; do they mainly quote Calvinists such as John Piper, R. C. Sproul, James White, Jonathan Edwards, and others?” – Wow!  Some of America’s greatest theologians and teaching pastors whose ministries have led countless hundreds and thousands to saving faith in Jesus Christ are persona non grata to these people. 

“Tendency toward a highly logical systematic theology…” – I think it’s clear that they prefer a highly illogical disorganized theology in which anything and everything is up for grabs.

The second page of the document purports to explain the theological differences between what the author describes as “Traditional Southern Baptists” and “Extreme Calvinists.”  For me, the most interesting statement had to do with God’s knowledge.  The writer states: “Traditional Baptists believe in an all knowing God, but they are not determinists, because they do not believe God has planned everything that happens (emphasis mine).  Through His eternal foreknowledge, He knows what is going to happen, but He doesn’t over-ride man’s freewill.” 

This statement clearly shows that the distance from Arminianism to Open Theism is very short!  I’m not sure what they believe the things are that God has not planned, because He stakes claim to both the good and the bad events of our lives and this world (Amos 3:6, 4:6-13; Job 1:12-22; Isaiah 45:7; Lamentations 3:38).  So the writer’s view isn’t significantly different than the Open Theist whose God sits in heaven, captive to the decisions of man, reacting only after man has exercised his sovereign freewill. 

Notice that the writer says that man has the ability to exercise freewill and that God knows what man will choose, but doesn’t override it.  The problem with such a view is that unregenerate man’s will is not free; it is enslaved to sin (Romans 6:6-20).  So man’s “freewill” really isn’t free.  And since the pursuit of sin is his nature, he will pursue sin.  A pig acts like a pig because it is the nature of a pig to do so.  And the same principle applies to sinful man.  And unless God steps in and overrides man’s will, drawing him to Christ, that man would never choose to believe.

So what’s my conclusion?  Simply this: It’s very, very sad when churches reach the point that their greatest concern is not making sure the Gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed, souls are rescued from eternal hell, and God is glorified, but rather that they root out the dangerous Calvinists who might be lurking in their pulpits!  I pray that God will protect other churches and believers who might be tempted to fall into the same dangerous trap as have these men.

Philippe, the Postmodern Evangelist

by Bruce Mills

In my many ramblings around the cyberworld of evangelical blogs, I occasionally encounter something which is so rich that it is worthy of being reposted.  What follows is the text of an article by Krista Graham which was first posted on “The Sacred Sandwich” blog.  This is a great rework of the biblical story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch as it would have been if Philip had taken a post-modern approach to evangelism and the gospel.  I don’t know why Ms. Graham spells Philip’s name with a French spelling, but that is how she does it, so I have reposted it exactly as she wrote it.  Enjoy!

Once there was a man named Philippe. He was a spiritual guide in an emerging community. One day he decided to go on a journey. So, he did. As he was walking along the road, focusing on the journey and not the destination, he found himself alongside the chariot of an African official. The man in the chariot was reading from a parchment scroll. He was reading aloud, so Philippe was able to overhear what the man read.

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”

Philippe caught up to the chariot and said, “You read that text beautifully. It made me feel significant and connected to ancient traditions to hear you read it.”

“I just wish I could understand it,” the man replied.

“Understand it? You don’t need to understand it. Just to experience it. Read it again, more slowly this time. I want to hear the poetic forms and imagine myself in the context of the ancient tradition,” said Philippe.

“Who is he talking about?” the man persisted. “Is the prophet writing about himself or about someone else?”

“I think he is writing about all of us,” said Philippe. “I think we are all a part of the larger story.”

“But what story?” asked the official. “It seems to me that the writer is talking about something in particular, and I sense that it is important. I just wish I knew what it was. What exactly does this mean?”

“What do YOU think it means?” asked Philippe.

“I don’t know. That is why I am asking YOU.”

“Well, it is true that I am a Christ-follower, and my tradition does impose certain meanings on this text. But I would not want to force my truth claims on you. Your truth claims would be equally valid. As you see, we are both on a journey; and we both find ourselves on the same road. So, it follows that our destination is also the same. So, let’s just enjoy this time of community and not divide ourselves by discussing meanings and dogma,” said Philippe.

After awhile, they came to a pool of water by the side of the road. There was also a fork in the road at this point, and the official chose the road to the right. Philippe planned to take the road to the left, but first he sat down by the edge of the pool to journal his experiences of the day. He was delighted that he had had an unique opportunity to engage in a dialogue with a person of a culture so diverse from his own.

Meanwhile, the African official went on his way, still searching for the meaning of the text that could have brought him eternal life.

Global Warming and God’s Word

by Bruce Mills

As I have watched the weather reports this year—storm after storm dumping record amounts of snow in the eastern US, unprecedented long periods of cold weather in Florida, unusually warm weather in the northwest—I understand how many people are led to question the validity of the global warming claims.  But the truth is that a single extra long and cold winter does not prove that global warming is a myth anymore than an excessively hot summer proves its validity.  Climate patterns are established over lengthy periods of time, not by a single year’s weather. 

However, I admit that I find the science behind the claims of man’s impact on the world’s climate to be highly questionable at best and completely bogus at worst.  The recent revelations that the Nobel Prize winning organization, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), went to great length to manipulate the data, to marginalize opposing viewpoints, and to mask the truth about the lack of global warming over the past fifteen years by destroying the records, has intensified the criticism of the claims of the climate change scientists.

But the primary reason why I do not worry about global warming and its alleged impact on our future environment is because God has clearly stated in Scripture that nothing will alter His created climate until He chooses to alter it.  Genesis 8:22 says, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”  Clearly, God intends to sustain this earth and its climate until He destroys it all at the end of the age (2 Peter 3:12).

Believers need to understand that the great reformational statement, Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), is essential to our faith when we are faced with the so-called “scientific evidence” that contradicts what God has said.  We must never allow man’s wisdom to be given greater credence than God’s wisdom.  He has revealed His truth in His Word, and for Christians, God’s Word must be given the supremacy in every conflict with man’s scientific claims.  This is particularly true with such issues as evolution and global warming.

So when your unsaved friends (and even some of your saved friends) buy into the world’s philosophy and alleged “scientific proof” that climate change is in the process of destroying our world, don’t buy it!  Remember: God has clearly said that He will sustain the environment just as it is until the day that He chooses to destroy the earth.  So trust Him and His Word more than you trust man and his science!

The Danger of Falling Away

by Bruce Mills

Sometime back a good friend approached me, concerned that it might be possible that a true believer in Jesus Christ might be able to lose his salvation. His concern arose after reading one of the most misunderstood passages in all of Scripture, Hebrews 6:4-6. This passage says, “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”

Admittedly this is one of the most difficult passages in Scripture to interpret properly. Numerous views have been postulated as to how to best understand this difficult passage. But the key issue to keep in mind is that whatever view one takes, it must be consistent with the rest of Scripture.

After studying this passage and the various views that have been proposed to explain it, I have concluded that the individuals who are discussed in this passage are those who were never genuine believers, but who participated in the activities of the church, understood the message of the gospel with full understanding of its impact on their lives, shared in the blessings which came from the Lord upon those who were genuine believers, and yet never genuinely trusted in Christ as Savior and Lord, but instead chose to turn their back on him.

While the terms used in Hebrews 6:4-6 can be used of genuine believers, they are terms which can also be used of those who participate in the fellowship of the church but who have never genuinely received the forgiveness that Christ offers and submitted their lives to His authority. They have been partakers of some of the benefits that the Holy Spirit gives, but only in a peripheral sense; that is, because of their affiliation with genuine believers, they have seen what the Holy Spirit does in the life of a true believer, they have understood the gospel with full comprehension of its implications for their lives, they have received the “overflow” of the blessings which come from the Holy Spirit’s work within a group of true believers, and they have understood the message of God’s Word and the power of the coming age. But despite having all those benefits and that full revelation of the truth, they reject and walk away from it to their eternal perdition.

So let’s go through and examine each part of these verses and see if we can determine what they mean.

First, it says that the Jews whom the writer is addressing were “those who have once been enlightened.” That term does not conclusively mean “born again” or “made righteous.” None of the normal New Testament terminology for salvation is used. The enlightenment here has to do with intellectual perception of spiritual and biblical truth.

When Jesus first began His ministry, Matthew’s gospel tells us that this was to fulfill Isaiah 9:1-2 which says, “The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light.” All who saw and heard Jesus saw this “great light,” but not all who saw and heard were saved. They were enlightened, but they were not transformed by that light. They had natural knowledge; that is, factual knowledge about Him. They experienced firsthand the power of His message and His miracles, yet they rejected the truth of who He was and His claim on their lives. The light of the gospel had personally broken in on their darkness, but most of them did not genuinely believe in Him.

The same is true of those being discussed in Hebrews 6:1-8. They were enlightened but not saved. Consequently, they were in danger of losing all opportunity to be saved and, instead, of becoming apostates. They are just like those Peter discussed in 2 Peter 2:20-21— For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.

Next, the writer says that this group had not only seen the heavenly light, but had “tasted of the heavenly gift.” There is an interesting Greek word, horaō, which is translated in our English Bibles as “to see.” But the implication of this word is more than just “to see.” It is better understood as “to see with understanding”; that is, to see something with comprehension as to the meaning and purpose. In Hebrews 3:7-11, another warning passage which is parallel to the Hebrews 6 passage under discussion, the writer uses horaō in describing how the Israelites in the wilderness responded to the Lord. Here was a group of people who were led by God’s Shekinah glory in the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. They had the blessings of God given to them via manna from heaven and water from a rock. They were the beneficiaries of all of God’s blessings upon them. Yet the writer warns his Hebrew readers: “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, and saw (horaō) My works for forty years. Therefore I was angry with this generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, and they did not know My ways’; as I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’”

So here was a group of people who were enlightened by God and received all of His blessing. They saw and understood His works for forty years! That means they understood that what they saw was God at work. They understood His purposes and meaning for them, and yet they still rejected His leadership and authority over them. And the sad result is that God killed all of them in the wilderness and none of them entered into His rest. After forty years, they still did not believe and trust Him; they only followed Him for the blessings He gave them.

And the writer of Hebrews concludes that warning passage in chapter 3 with these words: “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God” (3:12). That is the same message as that found in Hebrews 6:1-8. The writer is saying, “Don’t be like those who were enlightened and tasted God’s heavenly gift (a parallel to the manna), and partook in the pouring of blessings from the Holy Spirit (a parallel to the water from the rock; i.e., the Holy Spirit is often compared to water in the NT; examples: Luke 3:16, Acts 2:33), heard the message of God, and saw the demonstrations of His power, yet walked away. If you do, you will never be able to repent.”

So these verses do not teach that a true believer can lose his or her salvation. Instead, they serve to warn those who, with full knowledge and understanding of who Jesus Christ is, what He has done, and have been the beneficiaries of His blessings by their association with believers, continue to reject Him as their Lord and Savior.

How Many Angels Are There?

by Joe Trofemuk

How many angels are there? The answer is 5,000,000,014..... Just kidding.

We do not know from Scripture an exact number of angels. But we do know that there are thousands upon thousands upon thousands from verses like Deuteronomy 33:2. The term “ten thousand” could be translated “myriads.” Or “ten thousands”.

This is what we find in Psalm 68:17. This psalm is talking about the armies of the Lord being so mighty, and it references chariots. But the likely occupants of God’s chariots would be the angels of God. This is certainly the picture painted in 2 Kings 6:15-17 when Elisha’s servant was given a glimpse of God’s army protecting Elisha.

Jesus himself alluded to the twelve legions of angels at His disposal in Matthew 26:51-53. A Roman legion often had around 6000 troops. Jesus was probably speaking merely of a large number, but in a practical sense He is saying He could, in an instant, have 72,000 angels at His disposal.

All this establishes that there are massive numbers of angels who did not rebel against God. This angelic number is often referred to as the host of heaven, as in 2 Chronicles 18:18 and Jeremiah 33:22. There is a large army of angels ready to do the bidding of the Lord.

Perhaps the most expansive description of the vast number of angels that exist is found in Revelation 5:11-12. Myriads and myriads of angels, thousands and thousands of angels.

One other note on this point. It seems best to understand from the totality of Scripture that the number of angels existing today is the same number that existed at the time they were originally created. This is an inference from a contrast Jesus made between humans and angels in Matthew 22:30, Mark 12:25, and Luke 20:34-36. These verses seem to show a fundamental difference between the nature of humans and angels. Humans marry, in part, to procreate. Angels don’t marry at all. It is a reasonable inference that this means that unlike humans with flesh and blood bodies, angels do not reproduce.

There is not even any reference in Scripture to angels having different sexes. Humans are male and female, created that way by God. There is no such reference regarding angels. In fact despite all the feminine angels present as Christmas decorations and in popular art, there is not a single instance in Scripture where an angel is specifically noted to have appeared in the form of a female. But this is not likely an indication that all angels are actually males. It is more likely that angels are altogether different creatures. Their taking on human form is more likely God enabling them to be seen by humans so that God’s will is carried out, such as in Hebrews 13:2.

How many angels are there? We simply cannot say with certainty. There are likely millions, if not billions of angels. God alone knows the exact number.

The Chuck Norris Bible

by Bruce Mills

Many thanks to my good friend and fellow blogger, Josh Waulk, (www.waulkthisway.blogspot.com) for pointing this out.  It is hilarious!  Please, don’t take this serious; it’s a joke!  But there is a sense in which it is good commentary on the extreme ridiculousness of some people in the American evangelical movement, particularly the KJV Only types.