Discussing the Controversy over John MacArthur’s “Beer” Posts
The Grace To You blog has posted another interview of Phil Johnson by Paul Edwards concerning John MacArthur’s recent articles on the Young, Restless, Reformed [YRR] movement. The interview took place on Edwards’ program, “The Center for the Study of God & Culture.” The subject of this interview is Dr. MacArthur’s most recent article, “Beer, Bohemianism, and True Christian Liberty.”
Monday Morning Reading
Here are the links to a few rather interesting reads I came across this morning:
Jamin Hubner at Alpha and Omega Ministries has an interesting article entitled A Lesser-Known Heretic That You Should Know About. The article is about Pastor Joel Finck who is one of the leaders of the Hyper-Dispensationalism movement. It is a very good article dealing with a subject of which I had very little previous knowledge.
You may read the article here.
Over at the Grace To You blog Phil Johnson has some great posts on the topic of gambling.
Is Gambling OK? Don’t Bet on It.
Whatever Happened to Repentance?
One of the great joys that I have as the Pastor-Teacher of a local church is the joy of going out every Saturday morning to do door-to-door evangelism in our community. It is a thrill to be used by the Lord in taking His Gospel to unbelievers. One the interesting scenarios that we have encountered as we have gone out has to do with those occasions when the person who answers the door professes to be a Christian. Since we are fully aware that there are a great many who make false professions of faith [see Matthew 7.21-23], we always probe a bit further with these people in order to determine, to the best that we are able, if their profession is true or not. We will ask them on what they base their assertion that they are a Christian. We will ask them to share their testimony. We will ask them on what basis God is going to let them into heaven. What we have discovered is that very, very few say anything about repentance. In fact, most of the people we have encountered in this way base their belief that they are Christian on either their inherent goodness ["I am a good person"] or their works. From our perspective, this is both good and bad. It is bad in the sense that many people who profess to be Christian are completely ignorant of the Biblical Gospel, and therefore, are deceived into thinking that they are saved when they are not. It is good in the sense that it affords us an opportunity to share the Biblical Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with them. Are they all then saved? No. Do they all even allow us to share the Gospel? No. But some do, and our hope is that God will be pleased to show that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. Continue reading
Al Mohler on Homosexual Behavior in the Animal World
Al Mohler [President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary] has an insightful article on the research being done to explore/discover/explain homosexual behavior in the animal world. As might be suspected, some are pursuing this study in an attempt to justify such reprehensible behavior on the part of human beings. Mohler’s article engages an article on the subject that recently appeared in the New York Times Magazine. Mohler’s perspective is thoroughly Biblical and even-handed. Here are the last few paragraphs of what he wrote:
The political implications of the issue are clear — those pushing for the normalization of homosexuality want to be able to point to research that would prove the normality of homosexuality in nature. This is where Christians need to think very carefully. Some believers will be tempted just to dismiss the research as bogus or irrelevant. This would be a mistake.
The world we know is a world that shows all the effects of human sin and the curse of God’s judgment on that sin. Though the glory of God shines through even its fallen state, nature now imperfectly displays the glory of God. Because of the curse, the world around us now reveals and contains innumerable elements that are “natural,” but not normative. Illnesses and earthquakes are natural, but not normative.
Evidence of homosexual behaviors among animals is just another reminder that we live in a fallen world — one in which every dimension of creation bears evidence of the Fall. This new research points all the way back to Genesis 3.
Efforts to claim a genetic basis for homosexuality are rooted in the assumption that our genes tell us what God’s intention for us is. In a fallen world, that is a faulty assumption. Only the Word of God can tell us what God’s intention is. We cannot derive our sexual morality from a laboratory — much less from observations of an albatross colony.
“What animals do — what’s perceived to be ‘natural’ — seems to carry a strange moral potency,” suggests Jon Mooallem. That is understandable, given the highly contested battles over sexuality that mark our times. Indeed, the Apostle Paul warns us that homosexual behavior is indeed “against nature.” [Romans 1:26-27] But we did not gain that insight by observing albatrosses. We have that knowledge because God spoke it to us in his Word.
You can read the article in its entirety at Dr. Mohler’s website.
Is Regeneration the Result of Faith?
I read an article recently critiquing both Lordship salvation and Calvinism in which the author, who was both kind and gracious throughout, stated in his evaluation of Total Depravity [the "T" of the famous/infamous "T.U.L.I.P."] that faith leads to regeneration. In other words, a person is regenerated as a result of the faith that they have exercised in the Lord Jesus Christ. A person is born again because of the exercise of faith. That is a position that I find to be in conflict with the Word of God and I would like to set forth a few reasons why this is so.
First, the view that faith leads to regeneration contradicts what is plainly put forth in Scripture which is that a person must be born again before they have any faith to exercise.
Jesus told Nicodemus that he had to born again in order to see the kingdom of God.
[John 3:3] Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
When Jesus spoke those words to Nicodemus He was not simply saying that Nicodemus had to born again in order to be a part of the kingdom of God or go to heaven, but that he had to be born again in order to even begin to be able to understand spiritual truth. This most certainly includes the matter of possessing saving faith. Jesus was telling Nicodemus that it all begins with regeneration or the new birth. Before Nicodemus could believe in Jesus as Messiah, he had to be born again; he had to be regenerated. The same is true for all. One must be born again in order to have the faith with which to believe in Jesus. The faith that one must have is a faith that one is given as a result of the new birth and not the other way around.
[John 6:44] "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
[John 6:65] And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father."
Both of those verses declare that God must first do something before a person can be saved and they emphasize the fact of man’s inability to be saved apart from the work of God. Jesus was speaking about an absolute inability; He was speaking of something that was impossible apart from the work of God. Jesus describes this work of God as drawing in verse 44 and granting in verse 65. Jesus was saying that in order for a person to be saved God must do both this drawing and granting. While this does involve more than simply regeneration, it involves no less than that. No one can come to Christ; no one can believe in Him; no one can exercise saving faith in Him, unless such a one has been born again.
[1 Corinthians 2:14] But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
Apart from the new birth [regeneration], no person can comprehend spiritual matters, and this includes the matter of salvation. It is only the sinner who has been awakened to faith in Christ who understands that he must repent and believe in Jesus or else he will die in his sins [John 8.24].
The Bible consistently puts forth the position that regeneration precedes the exercise of saving faith. Unless one is born again, he will have no faith [or desire] with which to believe in Jesus as Christ as be saved.
Second, the view that faith leads to regeneration is a view that puts the initiative in salvation squarely at the foot of sinful man. God is reduced to the level of responder. This Biblical truth is put forth in various passages such as the following:
[John 6:44] "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
[John 6:65] And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father."
[Ephesians 2:1-7] And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
[Acts 16:14] And a certain woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.
[Acts 13:48] And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
[1 Peter 1:3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
In each and every one of those Scriptures, it is God and not man who is taking the initiative in the matter of salvation. God must draw us to Himself; He must grant that we come to Christ. We are dead in our trespasses and sins and God must make us alive in Christ. Lydia did not believe until the Lord opened her heart to do so. The same was true of those Gentiles in Pisidian Antioch. It was God who caused us to be born again, as Peter wrote.
Time and time again, the Scriptures show us that it is God and not man who takes the initiative in the matter of salvation. That would not be the case if regeneration was the result of faith. If the exercise of faith led to the new birth, then the new birth would come about because of the initiative of man. God would be reduced to the level of simply responding to the wishes of man. He would not be sovereign over the matter of salvation and if He is not sovereign over all things, then He is not sovereign and if He is not sovereign, then He is not God and if He is not God then we really are in a mess. It is only the view that regeneration leads to saving faith that keeps God in His rightful place in the work of salvation which is in the place of not only the One who planned it, but also the One who takes the initiative and brings it about.
Third, the view that faith leads to regeneration means that man that something to boast about in the matter of salvation. If man is the initiator and God is the responder, then man has something to boast about in the matter of eternal life. Man can then boast that it was he who reached out to God; that his salvation was of his initiative; that he took the first step in his reconciliation with God. Such a view, however, is at odds with the Word of God. Note what Paul wrote in a often quoted passage from his letter to church at Ephesus:
[Ephesians 2:8-9] For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast.
Those two verses should most certainly put an end to all human boasting. They should enable us to understand that the work of salvation is a work that exalts God and not man; it is a work in which there may be a boasting in God alone.
Salvation is the work of God from beginning to end. It is the work of God and not the work of man. There is nothing in which we may boast, save in Christ alone.
This post has gone a little longer than I originally intended, so I want to bring it to a close. The clear teaching of Scripture is that the new birth produces faith by which a person may repent and believe and be saved. The new birth is a matter of grace. It is not something that we are given as a reward of our faith. Apart from the new birth, there is no faith. This is the view that honors God and gives Him all the glory and credit. This is the view that is put forth in His Word.
Hunting Calvinists in Tennessee Revisited
Yesterday I posted an article about an effort that is taking place in Tennessee to identify and remove Calvinistic/Reformed pastors from Southern Baptist Churches in that state. What I wrote yesterday was meant to be a biblical critique of the whole matter and to show that such a theological witch-hunt is sinful, it does not honor God, and it is very damaging to local churches. Today I want to briefly post on another important consideration in this matter and that has to do with the honesty and integrity of pastors and other church staff members who embrace the doctrines of grace [a term I much prefer to the "Calvinistic" label]. It is beyond question that the Word of God calls the people of God to act with impeccable honesty and integrity in all matters. Those who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ are to be completely truthful in all of their dealings. This includes the matter of theological convictions. If a pastor or staff member is being interviewed by a church as a potential candidate for a position with that church, it is incumbent upon that man to be honest and forthcoming with that church as it concerns his theological views. He must not keep those things to himself with the thought that after he has come to that church he will reveal his theological convictions bit by bit over the course of time. Now I am not saying that he should burst into his meeting with a pastor-search committee screaming, "I am a Calvinist, I am a Calvinist," for that surely would cause much confusion and I rather doubt that most people would have an accurate understanding as to what the man was trying to convey. It is quite likely, at least in some Southern Baptist churches, that if the members of the committee have ever even heard the "Calvinist" it was in a very negative light. Rather, the man should make certain that the committee understands, for instance, that God is fully sovereign over all of the affairs of man; that God has decreed all things whatsoever that come to pass, yet in such a way that He is not the author of sin; that God has chosen a people for Himself from before the foundation of the world; that man is sinful/depraved to such a degree that he has no regard for God or the things of God; that man cannot and will not come to God unless God moves upon him to do so; that those upon whom God moves to hear the Gospel will respond with repentance and belief; that God will save all who call upon Him; that God will eternally keep all those whom He saves; that God has called His people to walk in Godliness and holiness; that God has commissioned His people to go into the world with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ; and that all of this depends upon God and it is all at His initiative. All of the aforementioned are clearly taught in the Word of God and embraced by those who are labeled "Calvinists." The man who holds to those theological convictions needs to be very careful that he presents them as being biblical and simply as a part of a man-made theological system. In other words, make sure that the church sees that those things are taught in Scripture and are not the innovation of man.
Should a man tell the church that his theological position is labeled Calvinistic/Reformed if the church makes that inquiry? Again, we are called to be completely honest. So, yes, he must answer with all honesty and integrity. If he is not called to that particular church on account of his theological views, then he has most likely been spared from a great deal of misery. He must then trust our Sovereign God to open a door of ministry to him elsewhere.
The bottom line of what I am trying to say is this: there is no place for dishonesty in this matter [or any other matter]. If the man of God is to be blameless [1 Timothy 3.2], then he must be honest. Do not hide the truth of your theological convictions. If God has brought you to a particular understanding of His Word, do not be dishonest about the matter.
Finally, let me also say that all of this must be done in a spirit of humility and gentleness. I wrote yesterday that I know that there are some who hold to the doctrines of grace who do so with great arrogance. That is to their shame. That sort of attitude only adds fuel to the fire and reinforces the image of Calvinists that some already have in their minds. Let us keep in the mind the words of one who believed in the doctrines of grace–the Apostle Paul:
The Lord’s bond-servant must no be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. [2 Timothy 2.24-26].
Hunting Calvinists In Tennessee
Tom Ascol posted an article on the Founders Ministries Blog about an effort that is being pushed by some in Western Tennessee to aid Southern Baptist churches in that area to identify and remove pastors who are Calvinistic or reformed in their theology. Tom’s article can be found by visiting this link. It appears as though this theological witch-hunt is not being carried on by official denominational workers, but by some who view the doctrines of grace as heresy. This is taking place via seminars being held in local churches for the purpose of teaching those churches "how to find out if any of your staff are Calvinists and how to get rid of them." At least they are not hiding their agenda,which is about the only positive thing I can say about all of this. It is just this sort of thing that makes me glad that I am no longer in a Southern Baptist church. It also reminds me that conservative Southern Baptists fought the battle over the inerrancy of Scripture and ultimately prevailed over the liberals in that matter, but they somehow forgot the matter of the authority of Scripture. It is right and proper and necessary to declare that all Scripture, which is God-breathed [2 Timothy 3.16], is inerrant, but it is also necessary to submit to those same Scriptures. What is taking place in Tennessee is yet another example of how some Southern Baptists have failed to do the latter. Let me show you what I mean by that by taking a few points from documents produced by the anti-Calvinist group and expose them as both inconsistent and unbiblical.
One document contains a number of bullet points of certain behavior to look out for which if seen will expose a man as one of those dreaded Calvinists. The first of those bullet points states as follows:
Lack of passion in the public invitations for the lost to repent and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior or no gospel invitation is extended.
To begin with, there is absolutely nothing in the New Testament that even remotely resembles the public invitations that are put forth in many, perhaps most, Southern Baptist churches. The sentiment seems to be, "We are going to keep in singing Just As I Am until someone comes forward and prays the sinner’s prayer." What winds up happening is that stanza after stanza of that hymn are sung until finally the one extending the invitation has been able to manipulate the emotional setting so that someone comes to the front of the church, takes the preach by the hand, and prays the prayer asking Jesus into his/her heart. Again, you will not find such a scene in the New Testament. I know that those who promote the public invitation system claim Acts 2 as their biblical support, but an accurate exposition of that passage will reveal that the preach on that occasion–Peter–did not invite his listeners to do anything, much less come to the front and pray a prayer. It was some in the crowd who heard Peter preached and who were pierced in their hearts by the Holy Spirit who interrupted Peter and wanted to know what they were to do in light of what he was telling them [Acts 2.37]. Peter told them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins [Acts 2.38]. Peter did not extend a public invitation, nor did anyone else in the New Testament. It is a matter of historical fact that the public invitation system is a relatively recent invention. Its origins can be traced back to the ministry of Charles Finney and a few of his contemporaries.
The pattern of the New Testament and the pattern that ought to be practiced today is this: evangelism is done by going into the world with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, not by taking a gospel appeal on to the end of a public worship service. As has been pointed out by many, the church gathers for worship [as well as edification, encouragement, and equipping] and scatters for evangelism. My question for those who are behind the plot in Tennessee to search out Calvinists in Southern Baptist churches is this: are you going out into the world with the gospel? Are you taking the gospel to your communities by going door-to-door and seeking opportunities to share the gospel with unbelievers? That is what Jesus sent His disciples to do [see Luke 9.1-11 and Luke 10.1-16], is that what you are doing? If you think that you are fulfilling the Great Commission [Matthew 28.18-20] by extending a public invitation at the end of a corporate worship service or by means of so-called revivals, you are sorely mistaken. You are no different from the religious leaders with whom Jesus had to contend–you reject the commands of God and replace them with the traditions of men. You like to accuse Calvinists of being non-evangelistic, but how evangelistic are you when what you do is held up to the light of Scripture?
One other of their bullet points that I will mention has to do with church government. They write that a sure sign of the deadly disease of Calvinism is a move to "Elder Rule". I suppose that must make Paul a Calvinist because he told Titus to appoint elders in every city [Titus 1.5] and in Titus 1.5-9 and 1 Timothy 3.1-7 he set forth the biblical qualifications for elders. The only form of church government that is set forth in the New Testament is that of elder leadership [or rule, if you prefer]. The church is to be led by a plurality of Godly men who are given the title of elders. By the way this used to be the common practice in Baptist churches. Now, however, according to some in Tennessee, this is a hallmark of heresy. Just think about that: you follow what is put forth in the New Testament and you are a heretic. There is something sadly wrong with that logic, or should I say, illogic; for that line is reasoning most certainly is illogical.
The saddest part of all of this is that this sort of thing tends to be very, very destructive. The Southern Baptist opponents of Calvinism like to say that Calvinism is destructive and that it tears apart churches, and I know that some who embrace Calvinism exhibit far more zeal than humility and thoughtfulness in what they say and do, but it cannot be denied that what those in Tennessee [and anyone else who follows their lead] are proposing is just as damaging. It tends to perpetuate fear, ignorance, and a very vindictive spirit. I pray that this mindset does not take root in Tennessee for I fear that if it does, great harm will be done to the name of Christ. I pray that the good folk of Tennessee will see all of this for what it is and they will refuse to take part in such foolishness. I further pray that God will raise up clear voices to speak the truth on these matters and will use episodes such as this for His glory and honor.
9Marks eJournal
The latest eJournal from 9Marks has been posted. This issue is dedicated to the topic: The Mindset of the New Evangelical Liberalism. Thabiti Anabwile has a very good synopsis of this issue on his site.
The 9Marks eJournal can be found here.
A few of the articles certainly look like a must read:
How to Become a Liberal Without Attending Harvard Divinity School
What kind of pastor is susceptible to liberalism? One who loves self, and even the sheep, more than he loves the Good Shepherd.
By Michael Lawrence
The Real Scandal of the Evangelical Mind
Why do evangelical academics so crave worldly acceptance?
By Carl Trueman
Air Conditioning Hell: How Liberalism Happens
Liberalism happens when we try to save Christianity from itself.
By R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
The Neo-Liberal Stealth Offensive
The gospel’s most dangerous adversaries are not raving atheists. They are church leaders with gentle, friendly, pious demeanors.
By Phil Johnson
John MacArthur Takes on TBN [and others]
Dr. John MacArthur has begun a series of articles dealing with one of the most serious and dangerous attacks on the Truth today: the preponderance of false prophets who dominate religious television. In these articles Dr. MacArthur exposes the heresies as well as the unethical and greedy tactics of charlatans such as Paul and Jan Crouch of TBN fame, Benny Hinn, T.D. Jakes and many others. These are very necessary articles as few Christians are standing up and speaking out against those religious frauds and many well-meaning genuine believers are being led astray. Please see the links below to access the articles.
The first article, A Colossal Fraud.
The second article, Unholy Trinity.
Subsequent articles will be posted on the Pulpit Magazine website.
Welcome to my blog. I am Mark Fuss and I serve as Pastor-Teacher of Sovereign Grace Bible Chapel in Englewood, FL. I have been married to my wonderful wife, Kristy, since 1986 and we have three beautiful daughters and one precious granddaughter.
