Monthly Archives: November 2014

A Thanksgiving Gospel Message

Posted on November 26, 2014 by | 23 comments

By Jack Weaver and johninnc

Colossians 2:6-15:

[6] As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
[7] Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
[8] Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
[9] For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
[10] And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
[11] In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
[12] Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
[13] And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
[14] Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
[15] And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

From Wikipedia: Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year.

For Christians, abounding in thanksgiving is an integral part of our walk in the Lord Jesus Christ.   We should be exceedingly thankful for our Savior – for who He is, for what He has done for us, and for our resultant position in Him.

Jesus is God our Savior – in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily (verse 9). He is the head of all principality and power (verse 10).

Jesus died for our sins (verse 14), was buried, and was raised from the dead (verse 12).   He triumphed over the principalities and powers of this world (verse 15).

Once we received Him by faith, He made us partakers in His life (verse 13), freed us from the law (verse 14), and forgave ALL of our sins (verse 13) – past, present, and future. We are complete in Him (verse 10). Our bodies of sin have been put off by Him (verse 11). We are reconciled to God. We have eternal life that can never be lost or forfeited.

Thank you Jesus!

PS – don’t let anyone spoil (ruin) you by leading you astray with fleshly, man-made philosophies that are based on the principles (rudiments) of this world (verse 8).  This includes Calvinists, Lordship “salvationists”, and all of the various  accusers of the brethren.

If you would like to know how to have the gift of eternal life click here: Eternal Life for You

We thank the Lord for all of our visitors and readers at ExPreacherMan.  And, we thank the Lord for the opportunity to read, discuss, and spread His Word.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

23 Comments

Posted in Assurance, Eternal Security, Free Grace, Lordship Salvation, Once saved always saved, Salvation, Thansgiving

A Distressing and Dangerous Email Message

Posted on November 22, 2014 by | 81 comments

By Jack Weaver

A couple of days ago I received an email from Miami International Theological Seminary (MINTS), promoting the seminary. MINTS is a moderate in size but is an influential seminary located just a few miles from my home.

I received the email because MINTS founder and President, Dr. Greg Hauenstein was a friend who testified to having trusted Christ as his Savior some 34 years ago at a youth meeting in my home. Soon after testifying to being a believer in Christ, Greg enrolled in and attended Florida Bible College (FBC). FBC is my alma mater, and I believe it was Biblically sound at the time Greg attended. But, while he was attending FBC, Greg was lured away by a charismatic Presbyterian preacher who, to my dismay, had been invited to be a guest speaker at an FBC Chapel service.

This should be a stern warning to anyone who thinks we are being “picky” or “pedantic” or “argumentative” when we insist that we have no fellowship with people who teach false doctrine. False doctrine can spread like wildfire. That is why the Bible tells us:

Romans 16:17: Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

Under the protective wing of his new friend and pastor, Greg attended a Calvinist seminary, came back and became lead Pastor of the Calvinist Presbyterian church that had been pastored by the man who lured Greg away from the faith. While pastoring the church, Greg founded MINTS and later resigned his pastorate to focus his attention on building and supporting MINTS. By man’s standards, Greg has been quite successful in building MINTS. There are now over 510 study centers/schools in 68 countries in multiple languages with over 13,000 students in degree programs.

Aside from the number of new Calvinist teachers, the most distressing part is that MINTS is one of many Calvinist seminaries that is producing Calvinist leaders and teachers by the thousands. Each of these new leaders and teachers has the potential to create even more converts to the vile false gospels of Calvinism and Lordship “salvation” (LS).

Our mission at ExPreacherMan is to preach and teach the gospel clearly, and to debunk the false gospels of Calvinism/LS. It is frustrating to watch thousands of lives ruined by groups such as MINTS.

If you are reading this, and are unfamiliar with Calvinism or LS, let me provide some quick definitions:

Calvinism – a series of false tenets that starts with the false notion that God has selected some people to go to heaven, and others to be consigned to hell. The individual has no choice in the matter. It follows with the false belief that someone whom God has chosen to be saved will automatically persevere in a lifetime of good works and following Christ in discipleship and obedience.  If that doesn’t happen, according to this false belief, it proves that a person was never saved.  So, the focus becomes not what Christ has done, but the works that a believer has done.

LS – the unsupportable belief that the PERFORMANCE of works, the PROMISE of works, or the EVIDENCE of works must accompany faith in Christ in order to establish, or provide evidence, that such faith has resulted in eternal life.

Some of the people lured by MINTS are believers who have turned from the Christian faith to the counterfeit Calvinist/LS lies. The Bible speaks of believers becoming bewitched by false gospels, and the devastating consequences. While such people remain eternally secure Christians, they have set aside all power for Christian living and witnessing. If they teach the accursed gospels they have adopted, they are also under God’s curse, essentially “playing for the other team.”

As they attempt to replicate themselves, Calvinists/LSers have two groups upon whom to prey. They can prey on believers, causing some to fall from grace. Or, they can prey on unbelievers who try to become Christians by believing their false gospels, and thus remain unsaved.  Of course, they prey on both groups.

Meanwhile, we struggle to set Calvinists and LSers free of that bondage with the message of the free will Gospel of God’s Grace.   And, although our ministry is small, and the numbers of Calvinist/LS ministries are great, we routinely receive entreaties, snarky, and derisive comments that tell us that WE are teaching a false gospel.

Tom Cucuzza touched on this in a recent sermon, which is excerpted below:

However, there are those, though, who are fixed on preaching error and teaching error. And when they are approached with the truth – and we try to make that clear – they say: “That’s not true! I don’t believe that. I believe you’re the one who’s teaching falsehood.”

Of course the perplexing question remains: why do Calvinists educate and send folks out to teach their accursed message when they claim that their god has already predestined those who would be “saved”, thus leaving the balance of the world to be condemned to hell by their god’s alternative choice?

And we wonder why Calvinism is taking the world by storm. They are eager to spread their false message. Why? Because they have been blinded to the Truth, and are deluded.  They apparently seek for power, prestige and, not uncommon in some Calvinist circles, the financial profit that ensues.

Greg professed his decision to believe in Jesus as his Savior in my presence some 34 years ago. One wonders why he would, for years now, relish and promote a message contrary to God’s Word and the simplicity that is in Christ.

Distressing !!!!

If you have been lured by the false gospels of Calvinism or LS, and would like to know the truth of how to have eternal life, click here:  The Real Story

81 Comments

Posted in Calvinism, Lordship Salvation

Lordship Salvation: How U (1/2) 2 Fans Reject Christ

Posted on November 16, 2014 by | 42 comments

By johninnc and janeinnc

Ephesians 2:8-9: [8] For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast.

There have been many articles written on the subject of Lordship “salvation” and what it is, and isn’t.

What LS is: LS is salvation by faith in Christ + works. LS is a formula for rejecting Christ.

LS is the unsupportable belief that the PERFORMANCE of works, the PROMISE of works, or the EVIDIENCE of works must accompany faith in Christ in order to establish, or provide evidence, that such faith has resulted in eternal life.

The Bible teaches that faith and works do not mix for salvation:

Romans 3:28: Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Since faith and works cannot be mixed for salvation, LS is simply salvation by works.

What LS isn’t: LS isn’t faith in Christ. LS isn’t the gospel. LS isn’t Christianity.

Are Lordship “salvationists” (LSers) saved? It depends on whether they have ever had a moment in which they trusted in Christ ALONE as Savior.

Either way, LSers do not believe the gospel now.

The false LS formula is: “Salvation” = Faith in Christ + U (½) 2*

* “You have to”

Common forms of “you have to”:

  • You have to desire a relationship with Christ
  • You have to want your life to change for the better
  • You have to want to stop sinning
  • You have to love God
  • You have to have your heart set on obeying Christ
  • You have to be passionate
  • You have to believe in your heart, not just your head
  • You have to confess your sins
  • You have to be willing to turn from your sins
  • You have to surrender your life to Christ
  • You have to commit your life to Christ
  • You have to show evidence of good works
  • You have to be moving in the right direction
  • You have to love your fellow man
  • You have to follow Jesus in discipleship
  • You have to persevere in your faith
  • You have to, you have to, you have to…!

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Following are excerpts of a Facebook interchange between Jane and a U (½) 2 proponent (LSer), in which the LSer reads, and summarily rejects, the truth of the gospel:

LSer: Salvation by grace is one of the bedrock teachings of Baptists. For most of us it is in our blood. I speak as a Baptist preacher’s kid, a deacon, and a frequent short term foreign missionary. Nobody does salvation by grace like us.

Jane: Look at the Southern Baptist Convention website “How to be Saved.”You will see 3 works you must do to be saved – none are biblical: 1. It plainly states that receiving salvation is a commitment before it even tells you the plan of salvation. (The receiving of salvation does NOT involve a commitment! If you must make a commitment, you are doing a work.); 2. Repent of your sins. (The Bible tells us to repent (change the mind), but never to repent of our sins – unless you are reading another version where that was added, so that is a work); 3. You are told to “confess Jesus as your Lord and your God – this is to surrender control of your life to Jesus” (If you must surrender control, then that is also a work).

LSer: …so a dispassionate statement of belief, with nothing behind it, and no intention to serve God in any way is all it takes…interesting belief. Never heard that before.

Jane: That does not surprise me. Most people have never heard the Gospel clearly explained. The Gospel is not about what we do for Christ, it’s about what He has done for us. If one thinks he must serve God in order to be saved, he is not trusting in Christ alone, he is trusting in Christ plus his commitment. Salvation is not a trade of our commitment in exchange for eternal life. It is the receipt of the free gift of eternal life through faith in Christ. If we could be saved by our commitment to Christ, He died in vain.

LSer: The difference of opinion is about what constitutes works. Accepting Christ as our Savior certainly sounds like a relationship to me.

Jane: Nope. Not a relationship, a gift. If you were to pull my drowning carcass from a lake, I may just walk off without a 2nd thought, I may spend the rest of my life thanking you, or I may drift in and out of your life to express appreciation from time to time. Regardless, in all circumstances, I have still been saved from death.

LSer: I guess the bottom line is that if you are going to define belief as any of us would, but commitment as works, we’ll never get together on this. Take care of yourself.

Jane: I’m sorry that you can’t let go of the commitment part. If you are even remotely curious, please check out the following: expreacherman.com, a blog where many articles have been written and biblicly supported regarding this topic, and northlandchurch.com, the website for Northland Bible Baptist Church (unaffiliated, of course). Dr. Cucuzza has an excellent video presentation of the grace plan of salvation.

42 Comments

Posted in Assurance, Eternal Security, Faith, Lordship Salvation, Southern Baptist Convention

Lordship Salvationists Fail Their Own Test

Posted on November 8, 2014 by | 93 comments

by Jack Weaver and johninnc

One of Jack’s long-ago friends and a great help in his church in South Florida, Tom Croley, dropped this excellent observation to Jack last week. What a classic dilemma this presents for Lordship “salvation” pushers (LSers).

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The other day the Lord gave me an observation about LS that I have never put together before. You have probably already thought of it but here it is.

The same people that say you must examine your faith to make sure your faith is genuine (“true faith”) usually teach that God chooses who will be saved and who will not and the associated erroneous teaching that “faith is the gift of God”.

They never seem to think about what they are telling people.

Suppose I am in the congregation listening to them expound on all the “tests” of true faith and I decide that … “Whoa! I don’t have genuine faith after all.” THEN what can I do about it?

Nothing! Because the same preacher on another Sunday will tell them that God gives you faith. So if you discover that your faith is not genuine upon hearing said sermon, you might as well get up and walk out the door and deposit your Bible on the way out — because according to them, you cannot DO anything about it you’re just not chosen, tough luck!

It makes you wonder why they even bother to preach sermons on “testing your faith to see if you are really saved.”

After all, what are they going to do…. “believe harder?” Or maybe they should go out and do a bunch of extra good works to prove that their faith is real after all?

Since nobody does get up and walk out, it shows that people are not listening, or if they are, they smugly think that their Pastor must be talking about someone else, because “there is nothing wrong with my faith” and “I don’t need to do any more good works.”

This is a form of arrogance. We can always do more for Jesus.

Praise God for Acts 16:31:

“And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

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Jack’s friend Tom Croley makes an excellent point. Of course, the scriptural passages that LSers misuse to come up with their non-Biblical, gospel-eviscerating “tests”, cannot possibly mean what they say they mean.

The Bible says that one can have assurance of eternal life as soon as he has believed in Christ as Savior:

John 5:24: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

But, a new Christian doesn’t have anything of himself to examine for salvation. If a new Christian can have assurance of salvation without looking to himself, SO CAN ANY CHRISTIAN!

One CANNOT POSSIBLY look to his works, attitudes, good intentions, commitment, passion, feelings, emotions, direction of his life, sinning less, being more sensitive to sin, or any of these things to affirm, or even to corroborate whether or not he has eternal life.

The Bible teaches that works do not enter into the equation of whether or not someone goes to heaven or hell.

Romans 11:6: And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

LSers are left on the horns of a dilemma: How can they trust in Christ alone as Savior, yet look to their works for assurance of salvation?

Perhaps as you’ve read this article, it has dawned on you that the “tests of life” that pastors have been teaching are not Biblical.

And, maybe it has dawned on you that in relying on these “tests”, you have never trusted in Christ alone as your Savior.

If you would like to know how to have eternal life, click here:  Gospel link

 

93 Comments

Posted in Assurance, Calvinism, Free Grace, Lordship Salvation, Salvation