The "Diabolical" Gospel I believe...

This will be the last post I make to this blog for 2011. I’ll be away over the Christmas/New Year break. Unfortunately it ends on a sad note. Yesterday a comment was left on my blog that I found quite disturbing – making me wonder what some people actually think the gospel is about.

The anonymous commenter quoted something I’d said earlier:

Many make the error of thinking that all sin, past present and future is already dealt with, that it no longer matters.
Through the new birth we are given new, clean start in life, however we are not given immunity from the effects and penalty of future sin.
We are given a new clean start, and then by His Spirit we are given the means by which we are able to continue living a clean life as long as we walk according to His Spirit
And praise God He did not stop there - He made provision for additional cleansing (through confession) if we fall back into sin.

The commenter considers this to be a “diabolical appraisal of what ... constitutes salvation ”.

So:

Is it diabolical to consider that sin still matters to God?

Is it diabolical to see that God gives us a new and clean start to life through the new birth?

Is it diabolical to recognise that we are not immune to sin and its effects and that if we continue in sin there is a penalty to pay?

Is it diabolical to see that God has given His Holy Spirit to equip us to live a clean life as long as we walk in the Spirit?

Is it diabolical to see that God continues to forgive and cleanse us from sin and its effects when we confess our sin?

Again I really wonder what “gospel” some people are following.

Thank God for HIS truth and thank God for the gift of His Son and the salvation available only through Him.

From the Cross

In earlier posts I've shared some scripture related artworks, some done by myself and others done by my friend Chris.

Now my wife has put paint to canvas. This is the first she did. She is now painting a series based on Jesus' words from the cross.



And a work in progress (to be replaced by completed painting when ready)

Art Evangelism

My friend Chris paints scripture. He is the one who encouraged me to start doing do the same.

He believes that scripture in art can access places and reach people where scripture would not normally be read. His paintings are displayed in doctors’ surgeries, hospitals, shops and in private homes.

He is the one who introduced me to the art of Colin McCahon .

These are examples of Chris’s work.

Obama and Osama: Conspiracy or the Gospel?

The last few days have really got the conspiracy-mongers buzzing.

A Royal wedding (did you know William is the antichrist?)

The release of Obama’s birth certificate which proves he’s a natural born Kenyan (despite revealing he was born in Hawaii).

And the death of Bin Laden (who was killed years ago but the US Govt had reasons to keep that quiet until now).
Of course the Sept 11 attacks that Bin Laden was accused of masterminding were really an inside job authorised by George W Bush so he could erode American freedoms.

The disturbing thing is not that these claims are being made – there will always be weird people with even weirder agenda’s to push – the disturbing thing is that these wild conspiracies are being picked up and distributed by “Christians” on Christian websites and forums.

Standing apart from all of this ridiculous distraction; addressing what is REALLY important in relation to Bin Laden’s death, is an article at this link:

Muslims Still Need Jesus

http://arminiantoday.blogspot.com/2011/05/muslims-still-need-jesus.html

Time flies...life is a mist.

I am only a few months away from my 53rd birthday and I’ve been thinking about the years behind and the years ahead. Clearly, after passing the half century mark it is most likely that I have fewer years in front of me than I have behind.

I recall hearing (and saying) that time seems to go faster as we get older. Those school years seemed like they would never end – but as an adult time seems to slip away far too quickly (although the hours at work still seem much slower than hours at home).

I’m beginning to see the reality of growing older and how short our time on earth is.

“What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”

I’m not sure which experience gives the greater understanding of the passing of time and the aging process. Is it my own physical body, its greying/receding hair; the increase in aches and pains; the recognition that I’m not as agile or fast on my feet? Is it the realisation that the daughter I saw being born into this world is now 26 and married? Or maybe it’s seeing my parents fading away with old age and ill health, my dad barely holding on to prove a doctor’s predicted 9 month lifespan has been wrong by at least three years…

Should I still be around twenty years in the future I would have exceeded my “three score years and ten”. I look back twenty years and it seems so close, almost yesterday. At that time I was at University as a “mature age” student, hoping for a new start in life. Putting 13 years of mundane work behind me to increase the chances of getting a job I enjoyed.

While those hoped for changes were never realised and I didn’t seem to gain anything from my studies, I did eventually regain a faith that had slipped away years earlier. No, not merely a regained faith – a renewed faith! In earlier days I had been tossed to and fro from one appealing teaching to another, always searching for something real to give substance to what I knew I needed to believe. I relied on others to show me the way, but each time found my guide was just as desperate and blind as I was.

This renewed faith is more focused. It centres on God and His word rather than the latest “spiritual” fad to hit the church. It centres on God and His word instead of theologies that have been handed down through church systems. It centres on God and His word instead of popular religious opinion.

The Bible describes this as a narrow way accessible through a narrow gate. It is the only way according to Jesus. The way He established. The way centred on Him. He is the Way.

And it is that Way; it is Jesus and Him alone who makes the reality of aging, the reality of the shortness of life, a non-issue.
While this life may be brief – it’s not the be all and end all. There is something far more glorious to come.

“Jesus said … ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.’”

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Goodness separates many from God.

[This is a part repetition/part expansion of my previous post]

We have been led to believe that sin has separated mankind from God – but that is not always the case.
Man’s goodness can be a greater hindrance than his sin.

Acknowledgement of sin can lead to repentance and a desire for forgiveness, but a man’s good deeds often blind him to his need. Surely his good deeds will outweigh those times everyone goes through, where the rules are bent or where behaviour is known to fall short. A few sinful acts will be overlooked when more good deeds are done – won’t they?
Surely keeping more commandments than are broken would give a pass mark (6 out of the 10; or 307 out of the 613 of the Mosaic Law)?

One of the more widely held theological doctrines is that of man’s “Total Depravity” – describing the innate condition which separates man from God. It’s a term I don’t like because it conveys a false impression. The word “total” speaks of fullness, completion, an UTTER state that can't be increased. The term “total depravity”: therefore conveys and impression that ALL men are equally depraved to the full capacity: that ALL men could not be worse than they are.

That is clearly NOT the case. Some men ARE worse than others. Not all are Hitlers, Stalins or Pol Pots. To portray mankind as ALL being equally and fully depraved is a misrepresentation.
How would an unsaved person who is “good” in human terms respond to being putting in the same “TOTAL” category as Hitler? Could they accept that judgement?

NO, because they can see it is not true. Therefore, what is likely to be their response to the offer of cleansing and forgiveness through Jesus?
They won’t see the need!

The thing separating man from God is NOT “total depravity” – it is PARTIAL depravity or SUFFICIENT depravity. To a God who demands perfection, a person does not need to be TOTALLY depraved to miss the mark. The slightest blemish of character will be enough to spoil the perfection required. It doesn’t need the breaking of all commandments or even a majority of them for a person to fall short of God’s standard. Break one and you’ve broken the whole law.
ALL men are sufficiently sinful (depraved) to separate them from God.

There is NOTHING mankind can do to earn or deserve any favour from God. ALL of mankind has fallen short of His perfect standard, with the exception of one man – Jesus. And it is through HIM and HIS righteousness (not our own) through HIS fulfilment of the law (not our own) that relationship with God has been made possible.
It is through trusting HIM instead of ourselves, trusting what HE did instead of what we do, that we will be accepted by God

The Moral Problem of Determinism and Free Will.

If God allows man to sin and lets sinful man go unpunished, there is a problem.
If God ordained man’s sin and then punished man for what God Himself had ordained – THAT is a far bigger problem.

However, if God gave man the freedom of moral choice, making man responsible for his own sin – and if God then provided a way for man to be free of the penalty of his sin by taking that sin and its punishment upon Himself. That is not a problem – that is GRACE.

One New Man and the Gospel of a Jewish Messiah.

Paul writes of Jew and gentile believers in Messiah now being “one new man” – but the unity expressed in that description is not always being demonstrated.

As a gentile believer in a Jewish Messiah I need to consider my relationship with the Jewish people, especially those who have also recognised their Messiah. I need to consider the GENTILE side of the relationship and how I as a gentile believer can see the unity of “one new man” becoming a present day reality with true unity in Messiah between Jewish and gentile believer.

In the first years of the early church Paul went to great lengths for it to be seen that God accepted gentile believers AS gentiles and that we did not need to become Jews to be in relationship with Him.

However, when gentiles became the dominant authority within the church the same attitude was not taken with Jews who came to faith in Messiah. The church went to great lengths to disenfranchise Jewish believers, replacing the feasts of the Lord with alternative feast days adopted from pagan traditions; demanding they worship on Sunday instead of the Sabbath; and requiring change to their diet.

All of this went a long way to destroying any hope of a genuine “one new man” for more than 1700 years.

During that period it was more like a one-sided man, with very little Jewish representation. Such a “relationship” is like a “marriage” where there is only one “partner”. A husband by himself or a wife by herself is not a true marriage in which TWO become one and yet maintain individual identity and gender.

Gentile believers need to appreciate the truth of a comment I recently saw on a Christian forum:

“Personally I don't believe that God wants Jews to convert to ‘Christianity’ at all; He merely wants them to recognise Yeshua as their Messiah and accept him as their King”

We tend to remain (wilfully) ignorant of the fact that gentiles have been grafted into a JEWISH olive tree and not vice versa. It is THEIR Messiah and THEIR new covenant into which we gentiles have been admitted. And yet gentiles over the ages have done our best to take ownership of that tree and to make the natural, cultivated branches become more like the wild branches.

Jewish people, need to be presented with the Jewish Messiah and HIS gospel and not a gentilised religion which has given the impression of a Jew hating Jesus.

Jews do not need to celebrate Easter instead of Passover. They do not need to abandon the Sabbath and replace it with “Sunday worship”. They don’t need to abandon their diet and start eating pork and shellfish. They don’t need to bow to any gentile religious tradition.

They need to meet their King and bow down to Him.

Predestined by God

Here is an excellent article covering predestination, Foreknowledge, OSAS, Romans 9, Free will and many other issues that have been distorted by the theologies of men.

This article brings a BIBLICAL view of these issues.

Predestined by God



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Grace or Man’s Effort: Where does Salvation Start?

I recently came across the claim on a Christian forum, making a distinction between the “true gospel” believed by a particular Calvinist forum participant and the “false gospel” of other forum members:

“In one [gospel], Salvation starts and finishes with God and His Grace, in the other Salvation starts and finishes with man himself”

As is often the case, this Calvinist claim is a total distortion of the facts. Nothing could be further from the truth and it is merely the blind repetition of a clichéd lie.

If the Calvinist claim is a lie, what IS the real belief of the majority of bible believing non-Calvinists?

God and God alone made it possible for man to be saved. God and God alone provided the means for man to be saved. God and God alone can save man.

The salvation that God has made possible is obtained through means that God and God alone established according to conditions that God and God alone determined.
Those conditions are clearly set out in scripture and they require certain things of man.

The salvation God has ordained is not according to a unilateral decree made prior to creation, in which He determined which individuals would be saved.
Before creation God determined that salvation would be through His Son and His Son alone, and that whoever trusts in Him will not perish but will have everlasting life.

THIS is what salvation starting and finishing with God's grace is about. It is about His super-abundant grace extended to all of mankind, offering redemption to all of mankind.
It is not a limited grace extended to an elite few.

What could be a more glorious demonstration of God’s grace than the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ, in which salvation has been opened up to all - not through any complicated and unattainable process of works, but through simple trust in Jesus.
Not through some unchangeable decree which excludes the majority of mankind, leaving them entirely devoid of hope, but through simple faith in Jesus.

What a joy it is to realise that that God isn't against any of us - but He wants everyone to come to knowledge of the truth and everyone to find salvation?

And salvation is obtained through?

- Simple trust in Jesus.

----------

This issue is closely related to one of my earlier blog entries, “Parrot is not a God ordained ministry function” in which I addressed the Calvinist claim that non-Calvinists believe they contribute to their own salvation.

“PARROT” is not a God ordained Ministry Function.

One of the most common (and most ridiculous) accusations levelled against non-Calvinists is that they believe they contribute to their own salvation.

Firstly I have NEVER heard any Christian (non-Calvinist or otherwise) suggesting that any action of their own has in any way made their salvation possible.
Secondly the ONLY people I have come across who make such accusations are those who are parroting what others have said – resorting to clichéd responses learned from other Calvinists rather than through referring to the truth of the situation.

It is an accusation I am fed up of refuting because it is so ridiculous it shouldn’t really need a response. I address the issue here merely as a forewarning that any further use of this accusation in any comment will not be allowed passed the moderation stage.

I can no more contribute to may own salvation through an act of my own will than I can become a millionaire by choosing to be one.
However, if a multi-billionaire made a million dollars available to whoever would receive it, then would receiving of the freely offered gift make the receiver a contributor to their newly affluent state? Of course not! They would only be receiving what another had freely given at HIS cost and not at the receiver’s cost.

Neither does receiving God’s free gift of salvation make anyone a contributor to their own salvation. Accepting the gift doesn’t mean someone has any better attributes than the one who rejects the gift. They are merely responding to the grace that God has extended to all of mankind through the giving of His Son.
Why should it be seen that accepting God’s gift requires someone to be better, smarter, and wiser than someone who rejects it? Why not see the rejecter as someone who prefers his/her own independence? As someone who chooses to remain in their rebellious state? Why suggest that having faith in God is more of a “work” than actively resisting Him?

Of course the claim that someone willing to receive salvation must, in some way, be “better” than those rejecting it (and would therefore be contributing to their own salvation) is yet another clichéd response passed on by Calvinist teacher to unwitting student.

Wake up to the truth. Wake up to the Gospel and abandon man’s corrupt theology. Stop basing beliefs on the parrot-like repetition of theological clichés and seek revelation from God through His word by His Spirit.

A Question for My Beloved Calvinists

Another recommended article written by David Servant.

A Question for My Beloved Calvinists
by David Servant

Those who have been reading with me through the New Testament chronologically---by means of our daily emailed devotional that we call HeavenWord Daily---know that I am not a Calvinist. In fact, practically every time we happen upon one of the many passages of Scripture that contradict the doctrines of Calvinism, I point it out. Consequently, I've pointed out scores of scriptures that illustrate where Calvinism deviates from biblical truth.
For readers who may not know what Calvinism is, let me briefly explain. Calvinists believe that, in eternity past, God sovereignly selected some people to be saved, and thus He also sovereignly selected everyone else to be damned. At a pre-determined point during the lifetimes of those who are allegedly pre-selected for salvation, God draws them irresistibly, and they are born again. Calvinists also believe, and understandably so, that Jesus did not die for the sins of everyone. Rather, He only died for those whom He allegedly predestined for salvation. Finally, because Calvinists believe that salvation does not depend on any person's free will and only upon the sovereign decree and action of God, they also believe that no genuinely-saved person could possibly ever become unsaved. Once genuinely saved, people are guaranteed to be saved in the end, which is probably the most attractive element of Calvinism, and which may explain why some people readily embrace it. Once a person is convinced that he has been sovereignly pre-selected for salvation, he knows he has salvation "in the bag."
I would like to offer some food for thought for Calvinists, ending with a challenge, and at the same time fortify non-Calvinists from being persuaded by some common Calvinist arguments.



Full article is here:

Question for Calvinists

God's Sacrifice

An article and a sermon from two different sources but addressing the same theme: the cross and the sacrificial crucifixion of Jesus.

Article from Judahslion blog
Behold the Lamb

Recorded Sermon from Art Katz
And they Crucified Him

What should be our response?

When His Glory is Revealed.

I have often been accused of having a man-centred gospel; a gospel through which I thought I could save myself – all because I insist that faith and repentance were required conditions of man’s salvation. Many of those accusations have appeared in the comments on this blog and were made by those who insisted that God alone chose those individuals who would be saved.
Those same people follow a tradition that tells us billions of people will be thrown in hell with no chance of salvation entirely because God has not chosen them for salvation.
Somehow this “predestination” for damnation is all for God’s glory.
I know God’s ways are not our ways – but a God who needs to burn billions of people for eternity in order to bring glory to himself is less worthy of glory than a school yard bully who beats up kids half his size and half his age.

I wrote the article “God’s Glorious Gospel” when I was trying to find words to describe the incredible nature of the salvation God has provided. I realised how incapable I was of understanding the glorious nature and means of salvation sufficiently to put it into words.
However, one day the whole extent of what God has done (and is doing) will be completely revealed to those He has saved.
How much glory will He receive when the fullness of salvation is made known?

God’s Glorious Gospel

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. (Revelation 21: 1-7)

The matter of the new heavens and new earth can be quite overwhelming.
It is God’s ultimate intention.
It is the very last revelation God has given to us.
He has not revealed anything beyond the establishment of that new creation.
We can get very caught up with THIS world and OUR lives that we forget that God is moving towards something beyond the here and now. Even the (wrong) perception of “heaven” being our eternal destiny tends to keep our minds fixed on this world, giving the impression that everything will continue on as always: the only difference being a change of residence from earth to heaven as we each reach the end of our earthly life.

The fact is that this world is coming to an end. This world was NEVER intended to be permanent. It was GOOD when God created it but it was never intended to be His BEST.
From the beginning this world had a limited use. It could never go on forever. This can be seen in God’s command to “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it…”
Has anyone ever considered what the outcome would be if man had never sinned (and therefore death had not been introduced) and had continued to be fruitful, increasing in number… how long would it have taken for the world to become impossibly crowded?
That makes it clear that the maintenance of this world was never God’s intention.

Scripture shows us that God’s ultimate goal has always been a new heavens and new earth which will be the home of righteousness. That is the climax of God’s revealed plan for His creation.

The current creation ALWAYS had a potential for sin. The new creation will have NO potential for sin. The potential for sin was necessary to ensure that God could obtain a willingly obedient people to adopt into His family. Willingness requires the provision of a genuine choice. Such a choice also presents the possibility of wilful disobedience. That of course was the outcome when Adam and Eve willingly disobeyed God’s sole prohibition in eating the forbidden fruit an act that led to condemnation for all men.

Of course God was not taken by surprise. He had foreknown Adam’s sin and a plan for man’s redemption had been ordained even before the world had been created. This plan is glorious beyond our comprehension. It enabled the salvation of mankind without being dependant upon anything within mankind. Sinful man could do NOTHING to bring himself again into right relationship with a Holy, just and righteous God. But God didn’t leave man in that helpless and hopeless situation. While man had no power to save Himself, God was more than able and willing.

It is impossible to adequately describe God’s means of saving mankind. Words like glorious, amazing, brilliant and extraordinary are all inadequate. It has incredible breadth and countless facets, all of which turn the focus back on the redeeming creator instead of the redeemed creature.
He has provided a way through which all of mankind has the opportunity to be freed from the sin that has separated us from Him. That way is an expression of God’s mercy, His love and His justice. It is not arbitrary and favours no individual above another. Mankind is given both freedom and responsibility, making us accountable for our sin but giving us the opportunity to be freed from it. God’s justice demands that sin be punished, and in His mercy He Himself took the punishment for our sin.

All of this is part of God’s grand plan. It all fits together. From the initial creation followed by Adam’s sin right through to the destruction of this world and the creation of a replacement. Every part of the process has a reason. Everything is leading up to God making His home with a family chosen from among mankind; from all ages and from all nations, tribes and tongues.

And who is chosen to become part of this “grand plan”? Those who have trusted in His Son and His righteousness instead of trusting in themselves and their own self-righteousness; those who through the working of the Holy Spirit have recognised how unworthy they are and have sought and submitted to His mercy; those who rely on Him to forgive their sins and to cleanse them from unrighteousness; those who will receive the gracious gift He has freely given.

No matter how much I have tried I continually fail to glimpse the glory of God’s gospel. At times it seems like I’ve almost grasped part of it – but when I try to put it into words no language seems sufficient to translate that partial glimpse into something tangible. I think all of our attempts to put the indescribable into words will continually fail until we meet Him face to face..

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
"Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?"
"Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?"
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.(Rom 11:33-36)

Hell: Reason and Necessity.

The thought of God condemning people to hell seems to be a problem for many people. The problem is perhaps increased if we listen to some who say that God does not desire to throw any of mankind into hell but will do so anyway. So what is the situation regarding hell and what were God’s alternatives? Why does there need to be a “hell” and why does anyone need to be condemned to it?

Maybe we can look at some differing scenarios:

1) God allows a moral free-for-all in which no one is held accountable for anything. Therefore no need for hell. (But this earth would be as bad as hell anyway with no moral restraints).

2) God denies mankind any freedom of choice at all. He programmes everyone to be (and to remain) morally perfect. In other words he ends up with a puppet race controlled entirely by Himself. (But there can't be much joy in a family made up of dolls that say "I love you daddy" every time you press the right button). In such a scenario there would be no need for any of mankind to be thrown in hell.

3) Repeat the "denial of choice" scenario of alternative 2, but this time God actually WANTS to throw the majority of mankind into hell. He selects a chosen few (“the elect”) whom He has predestined to save, but He predestines the rest to burn for eternity as a demonstration of His justice. This will bring Him great glory.
Of course those who are thrown in hell are treated in this way because they are depraved sinners and not because God brought them into existence with a depraved and sinful nature: even though they had no choice about that nature and no opportunity to be free from it – that nature being a result of God’s sovereign choice. [Oh the wonders of Calvinism!]

4) God creates mankind with the ability to choose, so that He can obtain a people who will willingly follow Him. This option cuts both ways. The freedom to choose obedience also creates the freedom to rebel.

Such a scenario seems fine in theory, but what if we can’t live up to the standard God expects? According to the bible God has provided for that reality by putting everyone on a level playing field where no one is more advantaged/disadvantaged than anyone else. Romans 11 states that ALL were bound over to disobedience so that He may have mercy on ALL. In this scenario NO ONE is able to fulfil God’s expectations according to our own efforts, but He has provided a way for us to be acceptable through relying on His mercy. This is the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ through which He has made it possible for the worst of men to turn towards God and be changed from a sinner to a saint.

Not only does God give us the choice of turning towards Him, He also adds a big incentive to do so. To the obedient He promises an eventual new creation which will NOT have the potential for evil; from which all rebellion will be barred. It will be populated by only those who have already chosen His (the creator's) way in this current creation.



However, what becomes of those who reject God and His promise?
Jesus describes their destiny in the terms of a garbage dump; using Gehenna, Jerusalem's dump as an illustration.
Like anything that does not fulfil its intended purpose, those who continue in rebellion against God' purpose for them will be thrown out as garbage.

This is NOT done arbitrarily. We ALL have the choice to recognise and respond to our creator in the way that He desires. But most prefer to go their own way and kick against any idea of there being a greater authority to whom they are accountable. Such is the arrogance of mankind. And hell is the ultimate result of ignoring personal accountability in a moral universe created by a Holy, Just and Righteous God

Martyrdom of a friend.

My previous two entries have been historical accounts of people who lost their lives for their faith in the area of England where I spent my childhood.

I now want to make note of another martyrdom that was even closer to home than those above, it happened almost exactly 20 years ago, in August 1989.

I met Jackie Hamill in the mid 1980s. She was a student at the bible college run by Vision Ministries Australia, which at the time was based in Parramatta to the west of Sydney.
The college held regular Saturday night meetings that were open to the public and every couple of weeks I’d make the hour and a half drive to attend. Jackie always made sure that my friends and I felt welcome with her cheerful greeting. Of all of the students, she is the only one I remembered, so it was quite a shock when years later I saw her on the evening news.
She was huddled with a group of people taken hostage by rioting prisoners at a Philippines Jail. In the news footage, the group were being shuffled around the front of a building at gunpoint. Jackie and the others had been taking the gospel to the inmates of the prison when the riot began.

According to reports, she and other female hostages were raped repeatedly, yet witnesses said that throughout the horrific ordeal she continued to sing praise to God and to share the gospel with the others present.
After three days there was a shootout between the prisoners and the authorities. In the exchange Jackie was mortally wounded but continued to sing until her life finally slipped away.

A more vivid account and other details can be found at the following links (but note the dating inaccuracy found in one report:

http://www.historyswomen.com/hamill.htm

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19890822&id=0zcRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7OcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5174,759751

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19890817&id=9d8QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=epEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1441,4671400

GOD’S GOSPEL OR MAN’S?

I want to express some thoughts about the Peter Hansen article “Where did the gospel go.”

On first reading I was a bit wary of statements like these made by Hansen:

“People are seriously desperate for finding a deeper meaning, hope and inner peace. This world seems to have everything to offer, but in reality is more out of control morally and spiritually than ever. I can boldly say that this world needs the full gospel message of Jesus Christ. Not another sermon or conference about self happiness, but the pure full gospel of salvation. That is the one and only thing that can bring peace to the mind and restore the soul.”(my emphasis)

I could see too much of a similarity between THAT kind of gospel and the “gospel” of the “seeker sensitive” churches: “…that feel good gospel, a light lukewarm message that only talks about happiness, prosperity, self-development and “me, me and me” instead of “Him, Him and Him!” This seemed to maintain the focus upon human need, as if the gospel was offering a freedom from that need and providing some kind of fulfilment to humanity.

How easy it is to get caught up with religious attitudes until those attitudes cloud our minds to the truth!

Yes, there maybe some APPARENTLY common elements between the gospel Hansen promotes, (a gospel “that can bring peace to the mind and restore the soul”) and the gospel of the seeker sensitive church that he berates. Both gospels aim to provide something to mankind.
Many would see that aim as being too man-centred and not focused enough on God. And I confess that is the way I saw it at first, hence my initial reservations. But after a while I started to see things differently and I realised how much those reservations were baseless.

I have spent so much time refuting the errors of Calvinism and its God-maligning, man-belittling views that I had started to overlook the fact that God’s gospel is very much man-focused. Without man and man’s need for salvation there would be no need for a gospel. The gospel is God’s message of salvation to bring freedom to mankind. The gospel is God’s message of the benefits He has graciously provided for mankind.

At the start of His own ministry Jesus proclaimed:

Luke 4: 18-19 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news [the gospel] to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Dare we suggest that Jesus gospel was too man-centred because it focused on human need?

The gospel is God’s message offering salvation to mankind. And in case someone missed the point I’ll emphasis it: it is GOD’S gospel. It is about GOD sovereignly acting in love towards mankind.
How easy it is to become overly “pious” in our attempt to glorify God and we can effectively deny the very purpose of the gospel. The intention to glorify God has the opposite effect when His gracious love demonstrated towards mankind is pushed into the backseat (if not out of the rear window).

What is the most significant difference between the two gospels mentioned above?
It is not so much what benefits are available to mankind through the gospel, but what does the gospel require of mankind to enable the receiving of those benefits. Hansen’s message can perhaps be summarised in the following paragraph from his article:

“It is so easy for self-proclaimed prophets to make up weird crazy doctrines and get thousands of followers, because in many churches there is a great lack of Christian discipleship based on the word of God. The focus on Jesus and his teaching and
discipleship has been replaced with “feel-good teachings” that totally lacks the important teachings about repentance, sin, hell, grace and holiness.”

While the gospel IS directed towards mankind, offering mankind benefits we can’t fully understand; OUR RESPONSE to God’s gospel MUST be focused ON CHRIST, in accordance with the conditions HE has established.

WHERE DID the GOSPEL GO?

Here is another article received through Andrew Strom’s mailing list. I would be interested in what others have to say about this message. I have a couple of reservations about parts of the article (which I intend to address in the comments when I get the opportunity).
I agree with the overall message that the true gospel is missing from the “church” and its agenda; that other things have been given priority to the point that the “gospel” has been redefined to suit those changed priorities.

Also see Andrew Strom's own article found here:
We've lost the gospel

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WHERE DID the GOSPEL GO?? -by Peter Hansen.

A Desperate World in Need of the Pure Gospel!

The world is in deep trouble!

Billions of people are living in poverty around the world. About 2.8 billion people are living on less than two dollars a day. Millions are dying from starvation and diseases in the Third World. The global financial crisis has caused millions to lose their home and the world has probably just seen the beginning of a major global crisis that not even the financial experts could have foretold. The threat of nuclear war is hanging in the air and the most powerful nations of the globe are fighting for the last reserves of oil.

While some families can’t even afford a single meal on the table each day, others are addicted to drugs, gambling and alcohol. Millions in the west are so mentally depressed that they try to escape this world of loneliness in alcohol, drugs, perversions and suicide. The world is screaming for help and solutions for a messed up society that has nothing to offer but endless talk shows and online entertainment.

People are seriously desperate for finding a deeper meaning, hope and inner peace. This world seems to have everything to offer, but in reality is more out of control morally and spiritually than ever. I can boldly say that this world needs the full gospel message of Jesus Christ. Not another sermon or conference about self happiness, but the pure full gospel of salvation. That is the one and only thing that can bring peace to the mind and restore the soul.

But how sad it is that the preaching of the full gospel has been downgraded to some cultural light gospel show with fancy stage performance and blinking lights! Where are the full gospel preachers who dare to stand up for the truth, who dare to preach salvation, hope, hell, holiness and grace. Where are those who proclaim that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven?

The problem is that millions of people have been deceived and blinded with a feel good gospel, a light lukewarm message that only talks about happiness, prosperity, self-development and “me, me and me” instead of “Him, Him and Him!”

Where did the gospel go?

Is today’s modern church really afraid of teaching the full living gospel? Is it afraid of being politically incorrect and offending the masses? Many churches are on a very dangerous path. A path that will only lead to possible destruction. Let me point out, that if there is no gospel message of sin, grace, repentance and salvation there is zero!

And while thousands of churches are playing “seeker sensitive churches” and being politically correct, millions of non-believers are screaming for spiritual truth that can give them real hope and reality based on the word of God. The truth of the gospel will set them free, but if there is no one preaching the truth of the gospel, many will go to hell, believing in a different gospel (2 Corinthians 11:3-4) (Galatians 1:6-7) . That is the hard facts. A very good place to read and study what Jesus is saying is in Matthew chapter 24. Jesus mentions here in chapter 24 that many will be deceived by false prophets and teachers.

It is so easy for self-proclaimed prophets to make up weird crazy doctrines and get thousands of followers, because in many churches there is a great lack of Christian discipleship based on the word of God. The focus on Jesus and his teaching and
discipleship has been replaced with “feel-good teachings” that totally lacks the important teachings about repentance, sin, hell, grace and holiness.

On a five week mission trip to Ethiopia recently I was scheduled to speak in different churches. In my sermon preparation I felt a deep conviction to preach and focus more on the gospel that Jesus taught and His life, more than I had ever done before. And the
pastors and local evangelists were amazed and almost shocked by the clear gospel teaching, because they were not used to that!

We have to remember that the gospel is what sets us free. We need to bring the full gospel back in our churches, mission fields and to a desperate seeking world. There is only one hope and that is Jesus Christ. We have to renew our passion for being in the
presence of Jesus. We must take up our cross and lay down our lives and follow Christ and be filled with the Holy Spirit. We must renew our minds daily in God’s presence. We must study the life of Jesus and the Word of God and let it become part of us, inside out.

The living word of God will change your life and you will see its powerful effects, and not only will you be empowered by his Word, the world around you will experience the saving and healing power of Jesus Christ. Make the gospel the focus of your life and ministry and tell others as well.

-Peter Capili Hansen.

SOURCE: gospelmiracle.org

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Andrew Strom,
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LIMITED ATONEMENT IN JOHN 10?

In the comments section of my previous article (Election, Salvation & God’s Purposes) I was asked the following (relating to John 10):

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I have a question; I am curious as to how non-Calvinists will understand a text that (I think) plainly teaches a distinction between those for whom Christ died for and whom he didn't die for. You claim that Jesus died for everyone in your post, so I suppose it is relevant.

How do you interpret the text from the Gospel of John where Jesus is recorded as saying the following:

22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter,
23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon.
24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me,
26 but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock.
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
30 I and the Father are one.”

And prior to this Jesus claims that he lays his life down for the sheep.


Here he clearly, it seems to me, describes two different group of persons: the sheep, for whom he lays his life down, those whom the Father had given him, who will never die (because they have eternal life); the non-sheep, who don't believe in him because they are not a part of his flock, for whom he does not lay his life.

This text seems clear to me; it may not teach exactly what I understand it as teaching however.

What sense can you make of it?

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I see that the question above specifically relates to the Calvinist doctrine of “Limited Atonement” but a second Calvinist doctrine is also inferred due to its close relationship to the first. It is that of Unconditional Election: that God unconditionally elected some to be saved, and that Jesus laid down His life ONLY for those whom God had unconditionally elected for salvation.

Firstly, before considering the portion of scripture quoted, I again draw attention to the fact that scripture as a whole is a revelation of God and His purposes. Any interpretation of a PORTION of scripture MUST be compatible with the revelation contained in the rest of scripture. If an interpretation contradicts the clear meaning of the rest of scripture, that interpretation is clearly wrong.

The excerpt from John, taken in isolation, could be seen to give some support for the Calvinist doctrines that are alluded to in the question. However, should that inferred support lead us to ignore very CLEAR statements elsewhere in scripture that categorically say that God desires ALL to be saved and that he provided His Son to die for ALL and not a limited few?

“This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires ALL people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”(1Ti 2:3-4)

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that ALL should reach repentance.” (2Pe 3:9)

"For God so loved THE WORLD, that he gave his only Son, that WHOEVER believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that THE WORLD MIGHT BE SAVED through him. (John 3:16 -17)

“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL people to myself." (Joh 12:32)

“For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on ALL.” (Rom 11:32)


Could any statements about God’s will be CLEARER than those? Are they in any way compatible with the view that God has already chosen an elect few to be saved, and by His will and His will alone has determined that the rest will be damned for eternity?

Therefore is it even remotely possible that John 10 is promoting those Calvinist doctrines of limited atonement and unconditional election when it is made blatantly clear elsewhere in scripture that He desires ALL to be saved and that he gave His Son for THE WORLD and not for a pre-elected minority?
Clearly not without some very creative redefining of what is meant by some very simple words such as ALL, the WORLD and WHOEVER.
Unfortunately, that is exactly the approach taken by those who choose to protect their theology from the exposing light of scripture. When scripture reads “ALL” the Calvinist sees “All of the elect”, and therefore changes the meaning of scripture to enable him to justify his theology.

So how do we reconcile John 10 with the broader view of scripture, as demonstrated above? Who are the sheep according to Jesus?

The answer is given half way through the excerpt from John 10.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)

His sheep are those who hear His voice and follow Him. Those who do not hear His voice and follow Him are not His sheep. We see elsewhere in scripture that there is a relationship between hearing Jesus’ word and faith.

Rom 10:17, tells us that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ”.
Within its context, this quote from Romans 10 addresses Israel’s disobedience to the word they have heard. They heard the word but remained disobedient and contrary. They heard the word but did not HEED the word.
Faith (belief) will not come to those who do not hear (give heed to) the word of Christ.

This is exactly the picture of those to who Jesus is speaking in John 10. They are people who have witnessed the miraculous works Jesus has done and have heard His teaching, and yet remain contrary in nature – refusing to accept the clear evidence readily available to them, they ask for more.
They refused to heed what Jesus had already said and done and therefore were not His sheep. They did not hear his words so they were denied the faith that comes through the word of Christ.

See another passage also loved by Calvinists that Calvinists assume limits the redeemed to a group specifically chosen and given to the Son by the Father.

Joh 6:37–39 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.

But the following verse adds the qualifying statement of :

Joh 6:40 “For this is the will of my Father, that EVERYONE who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."


EVERYONE who looks on the Son and believes in Him.

Compare with the famous John 3:16 (and especially note its context)

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (Joh 3:14-18)

In the wilderness everyone who LOOKED UPON the serpent were saved from the poison of the snakes. Those who chose not to look upon the serpent were not saved.

Likewise, it is the will of that Father that EVERYONE who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life. Those are the ones who the Father gives to Jesus, those who look upon Him and believe in Him.
Who are those able to believe in Him?

Those who hear and give heed to His word.

Rom 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes”


“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says…”


Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years.
Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.'
As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest.'"
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.
But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."
For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses?
And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?
And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?
So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief. (Heb 3:7-19 )


Relationship with Jesus is conditional upon BELIEVING in Him. Belief (faith) in Him comes through hearing (giving heed to) His word and acting upon it.
Who are the sheep that are able to believe in Jesus? Those who give heed to his word and follow Him.

How can they give heed to his word? Because there is POWER to SAVE in HIS gospel.

So who are you going to hear and heed? Jesus and HIS word? Or the word of man's theology?