Monthly Archives: April 2011

Is “Lordship” Salvation by MacArthur, Chan, et al Error?

Posted on April 28, 2011 by | 19 comments

Dear readers,

This is about theologians who would teach that a believer in Christ WILL be obedient or WILL do good works. (Washer, MacArthur, Chan, et al. I suggest some of my links with further details – footnotes below)

Just to be clear, yes, I agree with the Bible that by all means a believer in Christ SHOULD be obedient, but….

If we teach or preach that just because one is saved there “will be” obedience and good works, this assumption is contradicted by over half of the New Testament which urges, beseeches, begs and implores believers to be obedient and do good works befitting a believer in Christ.

God’s Grace provides us the means whereby we are empowered and enabled (but never forced) to be obedient.
1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all:yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

A few examples of the Apostles Paul and Peter begging believers in Christ to obey Scriptures:
Beseech = Greek, Parakaleo = invoke or implore, beg.
Ephesians 4:1
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, [As believers in Christ we are called to be witnesses for Christ]

1 Peter 2:11
Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

1 Thessalonians 4:1
Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

1 Corinthians 1:10
Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Romans 12:1
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Ephesians 4:24
And that ye put on [you array yourself – something you do] the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Romans 13:12
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off [something we do in obedience] the works of darkness, and let us put on [something we do in obedience] the armour of light.

We believers should enjoy and relish the Lord leading and discipline (teaching) us by His Grace into obedience to Him — but our disobedience never puts our salvation in doubt in God’s eyes, only man’s. And because the unsaved see believers and (right or wrong) judge Christ by us, we SHOULD be obedient to our Savior, because we ARE saved eternally — but thankfully not to be or stay saved.

Footnotes:

1. Lordship salvation Calvinism and One-naturism <<Click

2. Lordship Salvation [Chan] teaches Confusion. << Click (A pitiful true story)

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Posted in Atheism, Atheist, Calvinism, Chan, Christian, Christianity, Communism, Conservative, Cross, Danger, Emergent, Emerging, Faith, Free Grace, Grace, John MacArthur, Lordship Salvation, New Age, Reformed theology, Religion, Salvation

The Resurrection? What’s That?

Posted on April 21, 2011 by | 10 comments

The Resurrection (Greek “Anastasis” = raised to life again) of Jesus Christ is the bedrock of Biblical Christianity – if missing and not true, as so many New Age, Contemplative leaders declare, our faith is void and useless. The Resurrection truth is the very reason so many left-leaning “theologians” and new paraphrases of God’s Word try to downplay and ignore it.

However, Jesus Christ is God in the Flesh, the Savior. After He was resurrected from the dead, He was not an apparition, nor a phantom nor a ghost. He was/is the Messiah, Jesus Christ in the Flesh.

The Truth from God’s Word, KJV:
“In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. HE IS NOT HERE: FOR HE IS RISEN, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” Matthew 28:1-6

HE IS RISEN!! The resurrection of Jesus is not only Biblical fact but is also recorded in secular history. One such historian is Josephus, a Jewish Pharisee and possible a near contemporary of Jesus testifies to the reality of Jesus and His resurrection. (Jewish Antiquities, 18.3.3 §63 )

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope [guarantee] by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,“ 1 Peter 1:3

The Gospel: “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:” 1 Corinthians 15:1-5

“And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain [useless]. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” 1 Corinthians 15:14-18

Without the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we as well as all believers in Jesus throughout history have no hope, no Heaven, no fellowship with Christ and no eternal life.

But YES!!
“And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.” 1 Corinthians 6:14

The Resurrection of Jesus is real, factual and not to be denied or minimized. We thank God for His promise of eternal life. We all deserve to be eternally separated from God but Christ paid that death penalty for everyone and said that all who Believe or Trust in Him alone (without works of righteousness, not joining, not “following”) HAVE eternal life. Then we who have trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior will likewise be with Him eternally in Heaven!

“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 5:8

Jesus died and arose, that’s history.

Jesus died and arose for ME and I believe it, that’s Salvation.

Click here — Find out how to be absolutely sure of Heaven.

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Posted in Atheism, Atheist, Calvinism, Christian, Christianity, Conservative, contemplative, Cross, Easter, Emergent, Faith, Free Grace, Grace, Jews, Lordship Salvation, Marxism, New Age, Religion, Resurrection, Salvation

Discussing Lordship Salvation and Calvinism is Not Theater.

Posted on April 16, 2011 by | 45 comments

Please forgive my laxity in posting.. I have had some serious problems with my lungs and my last “good” eye.. but will continue to post as long as I am able, Lord willing.

~~~~~~~~

I have noted recently that some proponents of Lordship Salvation and
different shades of Calvinism seem to think opposition to their position is
simply theological theater, a lark, a passing fancy, a nuisance.

We must realize that what we discuss here is not theater but reality with dire consequences, especially for those who hold the theory that God’s Gift of Eternal life can, in any way, be gained or kept by behavior, good works or simply “because God chose me to be saved.” Such teaching is false and contrary to God’s Word. God says, “Whosoever believeth,” and it is a choice!

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

And likewise, I grieve for anyone who embraces the theory that God’s Gift of
Eternal life is merely a temporal probation (“salvation” — but not really) that can be removed, lost, thrown away or abandoned. There are some who contend that salvation can be lost by any person who at one time received God’s Free Gift of salvation by choice, made the honest, one-time, personal decision to simply trust exclusively in Jesus Christ alone for his salvation. The Biblical word for
Eternal Life is from the Greek aionios “perpetual (also used of past
time, or past and future as well) :- eternal, for ever, everlasting, world
(began).” Strong’s Greek 166

It is bordering on blasphemy for such famous proponents of Lordship Salvation, Calvinist John MacArthur to teach: “Salvation is for those who are willing to forsake everything.” (MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus, p. 78.)

Please, never allow anyone to convince you that your salvation, present or future depends on “forsaking everything … giving your all to Jesus .. following Him in service, Jesus is Lord of all or not Lord at all, etc.” These are lies, straight from the Great Deciever.

Trusting Jesus Christ alone as your Savior means you simply decide to believe and rely completely on His death and resurrection as being totally sufficient to have paid the death penalty price for the sin debt that you owe (we all do). That means you no longer rely upon any of your good works, nor your church, your
Pastor, your mentor — nothing or no one but Jesus Christ and Him crucified for you. That is God’s Grace.

As the Apostle Paul said to the carnal Christians, believers in Christ at
Corinth:

“And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” 1 Corinthians 2:1-2

Let us speak the Truth, words easy to be understood. We are talking about God’s irrevocable contract to every believer, sealed with the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, testified by God’s Holy Spirit indwelling and sealing every believer eternally. This
contract is dependent completely upon God Himself keeping His promise, His Covenant. Christ Himself said:

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” John 10:28

God will keep His promise and once you decide to trust Jesus Christ for your Eternity, it is out of your hands — and completely in His — eternally.

Aren’t you glad it depends upon Him and His faithfulness and not upon you?

The Lord is faithful, we rarely are.

How to be absolutely sure of
Heaven.

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Posted in Atheism, Calvinism, Christian, Christianity, Conservative, Danger, Faith, Free Grace, Grace, John MacArthur, Lordship Salvation, New Age, Reformed theology, Religion, Salvation

Discernment Ministries Gone Wrong

Posted on April 8, 2011 by | 61 comments

I am usually the optimist, yet somewhat suspicious and skeptical at times.

It pleases me to find many friends commenting on our posts who are fellow discerning believers in Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord for you.

There are times when we find links to some great clear Grace Blogs and Conservative web sites.

Some web sites we independently investigate claim the “Grace” title, and yet upon close examination they turn out to be either “Calvinist grace” or Lordship faith blogs like John MacArthur’s – Grace to You.”) While I admit Mac is an avid opponent of the terrible ecumenical Manhattan Declaration, New Mysticism, Yoga and Contemplative Spirituality, etc, he still promotes his theory of “lordship or commitment faith” for salvation.

And then we see many Discernment Ministries, which I have recommended on this Blog, promote some bad doctrinal errors.

Apprising Ministries, Ken Silva: Advertises MacArthur’s Web site, Grace to You as well as Alpha and Omega Ministries, an extreme Calvinist web site, plus many more.

The Berean Call, A great resource for sound Biblical Doctrine yet – they frequently and favorably quote John MacArthur. I sent a note and questioned Dave Hunt “Why??” Tom McMahon gave the answer as — MacArthur frequently has great thoughts that should be repeated (and credited to Mac?).  Hmmmmm. That is rubbing shoulders with and promoting an enemy of the Gospel of God’s Grace.

Lighthouse Trails Research, Another excellent resource on the wrongs of New Age, Contemplative Spirituality, etc, yet they frequently and favorably quote MacArthur, either purposely ignoring or oblivious to Mac’s Lordship/Commitment “salvation” message.

Ingrid Schleuter – While great on the Emergent Church, Warren’s Purpose Drivel, New Age, etc she strongly promotes Calvinistic and or lordship teachers, such as MacArthur, Paul Washer, John Piper, Ray Comfort, etc.

These are just a few examples that really disappoint me and it hurts that there are many more.

I am at a loss for a solution except that we who are discerning believers in Jesus Christ must be Bereans and search the Scriptures daily, “whether those things were so.”

“And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These (Bereans) were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:10-11

Do you, dear readers, have any ideas or solutions?

Eternal Life IS Free

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Posted in Calvinism, Christian, Christianity, Conservative, Faith, Israel, John MacArthur, Lordship Salvation, Marxism, New Age, Reformed theology, Religion, Rick Warren, Salvation, Socialism