The Free-Will song…uh…did you forget something?

Defending the truth put this video up and I thought it was very well done.

The exaltation of the free will of man in the church today has risen to Idolatrous proportions, and as this video shows…this…libertarian free will is a baseless assumption.

A snippet by Pastor Jim McClarty…

You may not know who Pastor Jim McClarty is, but you should. He’s the Pastor of Grace Christian Assembly that I posted about right before this.

I found this on his Q&A page…it’s just a small snippet..but it’s insightful.

Long ago, God proclaimed His absolute supremacy over all things, causing the prophet Isaiah to write:

“That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.”
(Isa. 45:6-7)

Jehovah of Scripture describes Himself as being the Creator, the cause, the purpose and the final end of all things. When He calls Himself El Shadday, or God Almighty, certain implications become axiomatic. For instance, if God is indeed omnipotent, or all-powerful, then there is no residual power separate from Him. No event empowers itself in a universe ruled by one who has “all power.” That is why God declared His absolute authority over light and dark, peace and evil. The Lord does all these things. Without Him nothing is formed, nothing exists, nothing occurs.

“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
(John 1:3)

But, even beyond the fact that all creation was manufactured by God, it is equally true that all creation was formed for God. It all serves His purpose.

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
(Rev. 4:11)

All things that are, or which have ever been, find their purpose in the glorification of God. God empowers all things; therefore all things happen in accordance with His will and good pleasure. The events of history, playing out in time, serve God’s greater purpose: the revelation and glorification of Himself.

But — For some inexplicable reason, human beings think that God’s absolute supremacy stops at the doorstep of their “free will.”

With almost unimaginable hubris, the creature stiff-arms the Creator, shoving His hand in the Almighty’s face and announcing, “I will decide for myself how much influence I will allow you to have over me!”

Free book download: “By Grace Alone” by Pastor Jim McClarty

I’ve read this book several times, and given my last copy out.

I stumbled across the free PDF online and so I thought you’d like to check it out. If you like what you read here (and you can read the whole book if you wish) then buy one from Pastor McClarty; Pastor of Grace Christian Assembly…and thereby support a solid ministry. This is a time when any crackpot can spread whatever false doctrine they wish, but in this, you’ve found a gem; Pastor McClarty writes clearly and engagingly. He supports every point with clearly explained scripture.

Here is an excerpt:

As a Bible teacher, I am often asked, “What does your church believe?” It
hardly suffices to answer, “We believe the Bible.” Most Christian churches
would say the same. So, the purpose of this book is to clarify what we at
Grace Christian Assembly believe and why we believe it.
I am not the first writer to attempt presenting these doctrines in the
contemporary forum. But these are weighty subjects. So, far too often,
this material is presented in a manner so full of theological jargon that
the average layman is left as perplexed at the last page as he was at the
first. Therefore, it is my hope and intention that this presentation is clear
and concise and fully accessible to every reader “with eyes to see.”
The first rule of Bible interpretation has always been: The Bible says
what it means and means what it says. The second rule is like the first:
Scripture interprets Scripture.
It is not at all uncommon for preachers to “hunt and peck” through
Scripture, searching for out-of-context verses that appear to support the
particular theology, tradition, or “philosophical presupposition” the man
or his denomination holds dear. But, the Apostle Paul warned –
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 (Colossians 2:8).
For this reason, we have supported each of these doctrines with a
variety of Scripture references. But, we are quick to point out that this is
far from an exhaustive study. When it comes to considering the work and
nature of Christ, even the apostle John had to conclude “…if they should
be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain
the books that should be written” (John 21:25).

 

Check it out HERE

The value of a CONSISTENT Systematic Theology…

I’ve recently been engaged in discussions with several Christian brothers and sisters on theological matters. Of course everyone has their opinion…and while it’s true that nobody has perfectly formed beliefs, we all go on the assumption that we are essentially correct until we are persuaded otherwise.

One thing that I see in many a Christian position on any point of theology  is the lack of consistent systematization, that is: everyone has a “systematic theology” but not necessarily a consistent one.

For example: I’ve been speaking with a brother who will affirm that God is unchanging, yet at the same time affirm that “God repented that He had made man” in the same way that men are said to repent; that our minds were changed.

The two cannot logically co-exist; either God is unchanging, or he changes his course of action for a better one when He discovers it.

With that, I’d like to post a little thing by A.W. Pink on the Immutibilty of God. It’s well thought out and presented clearly…I think you will benefit from reading it.

The Immutability of God
Arthur W. Pink

IMMUTABILITY is one of the Divine perfections which is not sufficiently pondered. It is one of the excellencies of the Creator which distinguishes Him from all His creatures. God is perpetually the same: subject to no change in His being, attributes, or determinations. Therefore God is compared to a rock (Deut 32:4, etc.) which remains immovable, when the entire ocean surrounding it is continually in a fluctuating state; even so, though all creatures are subject to change, God is immutable. Because God has no beginning and no ending, He can know no change. He is everlastingly “the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (Jam 1:17).

First, GOD IS IMMUTABLE IN HIS ESSENCE. His nature and being are infinite, and so, subject to no mutations. There never was a time when He was not; there never will come a time when He shall cease to be. God has neither evolved, grown, nor improved. All that He is today, He has ever been, and ever will be. “I am the LORD, I change not” (Mal 3:6) is His own unqualified affirmation. He cannot change for the better, for He is already perfect; and being perfect, He cannot change for the worse. Altogether unaffected by anything out-side Himself, improvement or deterioration is impossible. He is perpetually the same. He only can say, “I AM THAT I AM” (Exo 3:14). He is altogether uninfluenced by the flight of time. There is no wrinkle upon the brow of eternity. Therefore His power can never diminish nor His glory ever fade.

Secondly, GOD IS IMMUTABLE IN HIS ATTRIBUTES. Whatever the attributes of God were before the universe was called into existence, they are precisely the same now, and will remain so for ever. Necessarily so; for they are the very perfections, the essential qualities of His being. Seniper ideni (always the same) is written across every one of them. His power is unabated, His wisdom undiminished, His holiness unsullied. The attributes of God can no more change than Deity can cease to be. His veracity is immutable, for His Word is “for ever.. settled in heaven” (Psa 119:89). His love is eternal: “I have loved thee with an everlasting love” (Jer 31:3) and “Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end” (John 13:1). His mercy ceases not, for it is “everlasting” (Psa 100:5).

Thirdly, GOD IS IMMUTABLE IN HIS COUNSEL. His will never varies. Perhaps some are ready to object that we ought to read the following: “And it repented the LORD that He had made man” (Gen 6:6). Our first reply is, Then do the Scriptures contradict themselves? No, that cannot be. Numbers 23:19 is plain enough: “God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent.” So also in 1 Samuel 15:29, “The Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for He is not a man, that He should repent.” The explanation is very simple. When speaking of Himself, God frequently accommodates His language to our limited capacities. He describes Himself as clothed with bodily members, as eyes, ears, hands, etc. He speaks of Himself as “waking” (Psa 78:65), as “rising up early” (Jer 7:13); yet He neither slumbers nor sleeps. When He institutes a change in His dealings with men, He describes His course of conduct as “repenting.” Yes, God is immutable in His counsel. “The gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Rom 11:29). It must be so, for “He is in one mind, and who can turn from Him? and what His soul desireth, even that He doeth” (Job 23:13).

Change and decay in all around we see, may He who changeth not abide with thee.

God’s purpose never alters. One of two things causes a man to change his mind and reverse his plans: want of foresight to anticipate everything, or lack of power to execute them. But as God is both omniscient and omnipotent there is never any need for Him to revise His decrees. No, “The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations” (Psa 33:11). Therefore do we read of “the immutability of His counsel” (Heb 6:17).

Herein we may perceive the infinite distance which separates the highest creature from the Creator. Creaturehood and mutability are correlative terms. If the creature was not mutable by nature, it would not be a creature; it would be God. By nature we tend toward nothingness, since we came from nothing. Nothing stays our annihilation but the will and sustaining power of God. None can sustain himself a single moment. We are entirely dependent on the Creator for every breath we draw. We gladly own with the Psalmist, Thou “holdeth our soul in life” (Psa 66:9). The realization of this ought to make us lie down under a sense of our own nothingness in the presence of Him in Whom “we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

As fallen creatures we are not only mutable, but everything in us is opposed to God. As such we are “wandering stars” (Jude 13), out of our proper orbit. “The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest” (Isa 57:20). Fallen man is inconstant. The words of Jacob concerning Reuben apply with full force to all of Adam’s descendants: “unstable as water” (Gen 49:4). Thus it is not only a mark of piety, but also the part of wisdom to heed that injunction, “cease ye from man” (Isa 2:22). No human being is to be depended on. “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help” (Psa 146:3). If I disobey God, then I deserve to be deceived and disappointed by my fellows. People who like you today may hate you tomorrow. The multitude who cried, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” speedily changed to “Away with Him, crucify Him.”

Herein is SOLID COMFORT. Human nature cannot be relied upon; but God can! However unstable I may be, however fickle my friends may prove, God changes not. If He varied as we do, if He willed one thing today and another tomorrow, if He were controlled by caprice, who could confide in Him?

But, all praise to His glorious name, He is ever the same. His purpose is fixed, His will is stable, His word is sure. Here then is a rock on which we may fix our feet, while the mighty torrent is sweeping away everything around us. The permanence of God’s character guarantees the fulfillment of His promises: “For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee” (Isa 54:10).

Herein is ENCOURAGEMENT TO PRAYER. “What comfort would it be to pray to a god that, like the chameleon, changed color every moment? Who would put up a petition to an earthly prince that was so mutable as to grant a petition one day, and deny it another?” (Stephen Charnock, 1670). Should someone ask, But what is the use of praying to One whose will is already fixed? We answer, Because He so requires it. What blessings has God promised without our seeking them? “If we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us” (1 John 5:14), and He has willed everything that is for His child’s good. To ask for anything contrary to His will is not prayer, but rank rebellion.

Herein is TERROR FOR THE WICKED. Those who defy Him, who break His laws, who have no concern for His glory, but who live their lives as though He existed not, must not suppose that, when at the last they shall cry to Him for mercy, He will alter His will, revoke His word, and rescind His awful threatenings. No, He has declared, “Therefore will I also deal in fury: Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in Mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them” (Eze 8:18). God will not deny Himself to gratify their lusts. God is holy, unchangingly so. Therefore God hates sin, eternally hates it. Hence the eternality of the punishment of all who die in their sins.

“The Divine immutability, like the cloud which interposed between the Israelites and the Egyptian army, has a dark as well as a light side. It insures the execution of His threatenings, as well as the performance of His promises; and destroys the hope which the guilty fondly cherish, that He will be all lenity to His frail and erring creatures, and that they will be much more lightly dealt with than the declarations of His own Word would lead us to expect. We oppose to these deceitful and presumptuous speculations the solemn truth, that God is unchanging in veracity and purpose, in faithfulness and justice (John Dick, 1850).”

The Immutability of God
Arthur W. Pink

IMMUTABILITY is one of the Divine perfections which is not sufficiently pondered. It is one of the excellencies of the Creator which distinguishes Him from all His creatures. God is perpetually the same: subject to no change in His being, attributes, or determinations. Therefore God is compared to a rock (Deut 32:4, etc.) which remains immovable, when the entire ocean surrounding it is continually in a fluctuating state; even so, though all creatures are subject to change, God is immutable. Because God has no beginning and no ending, He can know no change. He is everlastingly “the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (Jam 1:17).

First, GOD IS IMMUTABLE IN HIS ESSENCE. His nature and being are infinite, and so, subject to no mutations. There never was a time when He was not; there never will come a time when He shall cease to be. God has neither evolved, grown, nor improved. All that He is today, He has ever been, and ever will be. “I am the LORD, I change not” (Mal 3:6) is His own unqualified affirmation. He cannot change for the better, for He is already perfect; and being perfect, He cannot change for the worse. Altogether unaffected by anything out-side Himself, improvement or deterioration is impossible. He is perpetually the same. He only can say, “I AM THAT I AM” (Exo 3:14). He is altogether uninfluenced by the flight of time. There is no wrinkle upon the brow of eternity. Therefore His power can never diminish nor His glory ever fade.

Secondly, GOD IS IMMUTABLE IN HIS ATTRIBUTES. Whatever the attributes of God were before the universe was called into existence, they are precisely the same now, and will remain so for ever. Necessarily so; for they are the very perfections, the essential qualities of His being. Seniper ideni (always the same) is written across every one of them. His power is unabated, His wisdom undiminished, His holiness unsullied. The attributes of God can no more change than Deity can cease to be. His veracity is immutable, for His Word is “for ever.. settled in heaven” (Psa 119:89). His love is eternal: “I have loved thee with an everlasting love” (Jer 31:3) and “Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end” (John 13:1). His mercy ceases not, for it is “everlasting” (Psa 100:5).

Thirdly, GOD IS IMMUTABLE IN HIS COUNSEL. His will never varies. Perhaps some are ready to object that we ought to read the following: “And it repented the LORD that He had made man” (Gen 6:6). Our first reply is, Then do the Scriptures contradict themselves? No, that cannot be. Numbers 23:19 is plain enough: “God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent.” So also in 1 Samuel 15:29, “The Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for He is not a man, that He should repent.” The explanation is very simple. When speaking of Himself, God frequently accommodates His language to our limited capacities. He describes Himself as clothed with bodily members, as eyes, ears, hands, etc. He speaks of Himself as “waking” (Psa 78:65), as “rising up early” (Jer 7:13); yet He neither slumbers nor sleeps. When He institutes a change in His dealings with men, He describes His course of conduct as “repenting.” Yes, God is immutable in His counsel. “The gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Rom 11:29). It must be so, for “He is in one mind, and who can turn from Him? and what His soul desireth, even that He doeth” (Job 23:13).

Change and decay in all around we see, may He who changeth not abide with thee.

God’s purpose never alters. One of two things causes a man to change his mind and reverse his plans: want of foresight to anticipate everything, or lack of power to execute them. But as God is both omniscient and omnipotent there is never any need for Him to revise His decrees. No, “The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations” (Psa 33:11). Therefore do we read of “the immutability of His counsel” (Heb 6:17).

Herein we may perceive the infinite distance which separates the highest creature from the Creator. Creaturehood and mutability are correlative terms. If the creature was not mutable by nature, it would not be a creature; it would be God. By nature we tend toward nothingness, since we came from nothing. Nothing stays our annihilation but the will and sustaining power of God. None can sustain himself a single moment. We are entirely dependent on the Creator for every breath we draw. We gladly own with the Psalmist, Thou “holdeth our soul in life” (Psa 66:9). The realization of this ought to make us lie down under a sense of our own nothingness in the presence of Him in Whom “we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

As fallen creatures we are not only mutable, but everything in us is opposed to God. As such we are “wandering stars” (Jude 13), out of our proper orbit. “The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest” (Isa 57:20). Fallen man is inconstant. The words of Jacob concerning Reuben apply with full force to all of Adam’s descendants: “unstable as water” (Gen 49:4). Thus it is not only a mark of piety, but also the part of wisdom to heed that injunction, “cease ye from man” (Isa 2:22). No human being is to be depended on. “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help” (Psa 146:3). If I disobey God, then I deserve to be deceived and disappointed by my fellows. People who like you today may hate you tomorrow. The multitude who cried, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” speedily changed to “Away with Him, crucify Him.”

Herein is SOLID COMFORT. Human nature cannot be relied upon; but God can! However unstable I may be, however fickle my friends may prove, God changes not. If He varied as we do, if He willed one thing today and another tomorrow, if He were controlled by caprice, who could confide in Him?

But, all praise to His glorious name, He is ever the same. His purpose is fixed, His will is stable, His word is sure. Here then is a rock on which we may fix our feet, while the mighty torrent is sweeping away everything around us. The permanence of God’s character guarantees the fulfillment of His promises: “For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee” (Isa 54:10).

Herein is ENCOURAGEMENT TO PRAYER. “What comfort would it be to pray to a god that, like the chameleon, changed color every moment? Who would put up a petition to an earthly prince that was so mutable as to grant a petition one day, and deny it another?” (Stephen Charnock, 1670). Should someone ask, But what is the use of praying to One whose will is already fixed? We answer, Because He so requires it. What blessings has God promised without our seeking them? “If we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us” (1 John 5:14), and He has willed everything that is for His child’s good. To ask for anything contrary to His will is not prayer, but rank rebellion.

Herein is TERROR FOR THE WICKED. Those who defy Him, who break His laws, who have no concern for His glory, but who live their lives as though He existed not, must not suppose that, when at the last they shall cry to Him for mercy, He will alter His will, revoke His word, and rescind His awful threatenings. No, He has declared, “Therefore will I also deal in fury: Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in Mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them” (Eze 8:18). God will not deny Himself to gratify their lusts. God is holy, unchangingly so. Therefore God hates sin, eternally hates it. Hence the eternality of the punishment of all who die in their sins.

“The Divine immutability, like the cloud which interposed between the Israelites and the Egyptian army, has a dark as well as a light side. It insures the execution of His threatenings, as well as the performance of His promises; and destroys the hope which the guilty fondly cherish, that He will be all lenity to His frail and erring creatures, and that they will be much more lightly dealt with than the declarations of His own Word would lead us to expect. We oppose to these deceitful and presumptuous speculations the solemn truth, that God is unchanging in veracity and purpose, in faithfulness and justice (John Dick, 1850).”

What does a Christian look like?

Well, I can tell you what one DOESN’T look like.

This is Michael Markley; an iterant preacher who goes by the handle: Open Air Preacher and preaches out of a motor home; has no “home church,” no eldership to answer to, nor what seems like a Christian bone in his body. He spews nonsensical hatred at anyone who would challenge his heretical “sinless perfection” doctrines.

What follows is an illustration of how NOT to represent Christianity on one side, and what a Christian attitude is on the other.

This is a short exerpt of a dialogue between Open Air Preacher and a man with the screen name; Partxykell. Notice how respectful Partxykell is and what he get’s in return from Open Air Preacher:

From OpenAirPreacher to partxykell:
“you are of the devil,,, you keep commiting sin…
1 John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Jesus has not destroyed the works of the devil in your life by your testemony,,, you keep sinning,, your demonically controlled

to which Partxykell replied:
“That’s an interesting comment, but what I was particularly interested in was a brief definition of sin, so that we can be sure that we are talking about the same thing. This is the 6th time (I think) that I have asked this, and I really would be interested in your thoughts on this.”

(A sincere attempt at getting dialogue going; done in a respectful, and God honoring way…but does Open-air-I-am-sinless-Preacher respond in kind? Nope. Here is the vile stuff he spewed)

From OpenAirPreacher to partxykell:
partxy
you want sinning to be acceptable so you can glorify your god by sinning

Partxykell recognized that as gibberish and replied:\
“You know, it sounds as though you have lots of insulting things written on pieces of paper, and you just draw them randomly out of a hat when “replying” to your comments. I actually make some effort with my comments, but your responses are lazy and superficial, and have nothing to do with who I am. How could they? You don’t know anything about me. You are morally, spiritually and intellectually LAZY.

(Now, do you think even those accurate observations got Open Air Preacher thinking about his own behavior? That he would become repentant and discuss the video in an intellectually honest way?)

Nope…here is his reply:

From OpenAirPreacher to partxykell:
“partxy
evil man if you knew Jesus you would not ask
1 John 3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.”

(Now I’m fairly certain that Open Air Preacher is not 5 years old; he looks to be in his 50s or so…but as you can see from his responses; they are neither well thought out, nor Christian in their tone.)

Sad, isn’t it?

Nor is that an isolated incident. Does Open Air Preacher confine his nonsense insults to Christians? No. During an exchange in the comment boxes of one of his videos, a young man going by the screen name of fd9w4dcm claiming to be an atheist asked a question:

fd9w4dcm to Open Air Preacher
“What kind of Christians are the good ones? I only meet angry and hating Christians.. :/

Oh, and is it OK for an atheist to go to church?”

I replied to him:
“that might be the saddest and funniest thing I’ve read in a long time.
PLEASE don’t just Christianity by Mr Hater here…he’s an example of what NOT to be as a Christian.

PS: yes…please come to church. “

To which he (the young atheist) replied:
“Yes, quite sad. Alot of Christians I’ve met are just angry (lol), especially on YouTube. Maybe I’ve been unlucky.
I’ve just moved and don’t really know alot of people here, so some friends or just someone to talk to might be fun, be it Christian or not, I don’t care ;P
Also, I’ve wanted to just visit the church for a while, but I’ve had this weird thought that they wouldn’t like me.
Not to be disrespectful or anything, but I don’t believe in God tho’, but it’s still ok?

I told him:
“fd9w4ncm,
You can email me directly and you can talk anytime.
It’s not respectful to be honest about your disbelief in God…

You must know that I do and I think that you are wrong to disbelieve but I also believe that I cannot “argue” you into belief or “insult” you into belief…God must do the heart changing.

click my name if you need to talk about this kind of thing.”

So the young man replied:

Thanks, will try to remember that.

And then here comes our representative of what a Christian should not act like; Open Air Preacher, who said:
“fd9w
you can join ravich’s church ,keep sinning and join him here trashing Jesus…remember they are calvinists and follow John Calvins teaching..
Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church;
Calvin also had twenty women burned at the stake after accusing them of causing a plague that had swept through Geneva in 1545.”

Well, what a sorry example of Christian behavior that is…not to mention a whole host of logical fallacies thrown in for good measure.

When given the chance to witness Christ to a professing Atheist, our own Open Air Preacher would rather show him what Christianity is not.

No surprising as Jesus himself said when referring to false teachers:

“…by their fruits you will know them”

As if he’s not sullied the name of Christ enough for one day, Open Air Preacher adds:
“Church is for saints saints forsake sinning…atheists should never be allowed in church  also Hypocrites like these religious bastards who say they sin daily,,,, Jesus is coming and will have His angels clean the swine out of the church,,,

get right with God,,,, Love Jesus and stop sinning!

I post this for one reason; an object lesson. If you’re a Christian; please, know what you believe, defend it with gentleness and reverence. Give your reason for the hope that lies within you but don’t do it like our friend Open Air Preacher.