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The Troubling Marks of Disdain
The Troubling Marks of Disdain
An Investigation of the Doctrine of Carnal Christianity
by Dr. Kevin Hartley
Introduction
"For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof (II Tim. 3:2-5a)".
Immorality, indifference, divisions, factions, heresies, and a mere semblance of love sordidly mark evangelicalism in our day. We find ourselves in a day of peril, in which it has become incumbent upon the bride of Christ to turn her attention to this debilitating infirmity. Left upon its present course, evangelicalism will soon eclipse all eras as the darkest of all ages.
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TELEPATHIC TERRORIST
Eric says he is the BLACK HITLER OF WHITE CHILDREN. I am going to Michigan to kill Emine s daughter. They(HAILEY MATHERS)just got married slut!, I will kill LEXI2LEGIT eric WAS IT LISTENING TO SHOW TUNES Yes I did do that to Mike TYSONS kid signed eric porter synonymous with killing children telepathically roooah, eric called childrens legs stilts telepathically to make them cry, Eric says repeatedly he is Christie brinkley and he s beautiful and exillerating. 645am June 8 2024 eric says Eminem made Kim look a certain way, Eric says im always badgering him , eric is starting to instruct me on what to say to my family on why I canes come to the family reunion this Fathers day , lost debit card and eric tries to do me , eric said help rent gay porn and make kids watch it everyday while they were in school, June 9 eric lost another war of words and didn leave, Eric says he s training to be a truck driver, Eric told me I could not have a 30 minute break from him after 15 years 6:03 pm June 10 2024, June 9 I asked Eric if I can have one day to myself 24 hours he said NO!, I asked if I can work by myself today ? Or have from sun up to sun down to myself he said NO!, your black hide on my wall is the only thing I want from you, June 12 4:15 am ARE youuu mad at meeee because I won letchu go to your family reunion and see your ugly ass daughter on Fathersday?,
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The Comfort of Irresistible Grace
In the eleventh chapter of John’s gospel, where we read that Christ spoke to His disciples about Lazarus’ sickness and subsequent sleep, John notes that the disciples misunderstood the Lord, thinking Lazarus was merely asleep. It was then that John noted that Christ said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.” Even then the disciples would have no awareness of the true power of Christ, concluding as Thomas said, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” Upon Christ’s arrival at Bethany, there was further evidence of the dullness of men. When Martha met Christ, He declared Himself to be the Resurrection and the life, only to have her debate with Him theologically in her own skewed awareness, concluding that the Lord could only be speaking of the final resurrection alone. She would have no thought of the Lord’s power to raise the dead immediately, even though Jesus said to her plainly, “Thy brother shall rise again.” The theology made sense to her, but not the true power and nature of Christ. When the dullards of Bethany gathered at Lazarus’ tomb to debate with Christ about rolling back Lazarus’s tombstone, it is said that the fury of Christ was as groaning. The unbelief of all those present at Lazarus’ tomb led to that most succinct of verses, “Jesus wept,” not out of pity, but out of sorrow at the prevailing disbelief of all. So let all today consider, does not the Lord still weep over the insipidness of unbelief?
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Christian Assurance: A Balanced Trust
In the book, Between Two Truths—Living with Biblical Tensions, the following illustration is given, "Once the Devil was walking along with one of his cohorts. They saw a man ahead of them pick up something shiny. 'What did he find?' asked the cohort. 'A piece of the truth,' the Devil replied. 'Doesn't it bother you that he found a piece of the truth?' asked the cohort. 'No,' said the Devil, I will see to it that he makes a religion out of it.' "i Travelers that have happened upon pieces of truth along the course of life, fashioning them into religions have, since its inception, plagued Christianity. Of the shiny nuggets of truth that have been fashioned by travelers along the road of Christendom into aberrant notions and false religions, the nugget of good works has caused far too much trouble. Too often misguided travelers have left the road of theology with either a doctrine of faith at the expense of works or a doctrine of works at the expense of faith. Rarely has a traveler succeeded in gleaning a balanced wealth of faith and works along the road of theology. A proper, balanced theology declares salvation by faith alone apart from works and works as the fruit of true faith has often escaped the traveler's grasp. Such nuggets have been difficult to gather. Thus, many have suffered theological poverty regarding a balance between the doctrines of justification and sanctification. A proper balance in our theology inculcates saving faith with sanctifying grace.
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The Beauties of Grace
One of the first games some children learn is how to pluck the petals of a daisy while reciting the phrase, "he loves me, he loves me not," however, no one uses tulips to play the same game. Those who plant tulips highly prize them and would take great offense at their utilization in a game. The tulip is a beautiful flower whose beauty fades with the loss of each petal. Daisies line the roadside and are quickly trampled underfoot, but tulips are carefully cultivated to be admired by all.
As most Christians know, the tulip is the flower used to describe the doctrines of God’s grace. Someone has jokingly said, "The Arminian flower is the daisy. It symbolizes the uncertainty of salvation. As you pick the pedals, you can say, 'He loves me, He loves me not.'" In the Arminian theology of free will, little is lost when the petals of incoherent doctrine are plucked away, but when the biblical doctrines of grace are separated, the very heart of the truth of sovereign grace is destroyed and trampled underfoot. There is great beauty in the tulip of grace. Each petal is vital to its beauty and each fold is like a shroud hiding the beauty of Christ that blossoms when the flower of grace unfolds its petals. One cannot separate the varying aspects of the sovereign grace of God in salvation. We may isolate them in order to study each aspect of grace, but we cannot deny any essential part. Any attempt to do so is a dreadful deed that makes the flower wilt, and the awesome beauty of true grace is lost.
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Liberty Unto Perseverance
A perusal of the historical and current documents dealing with the doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints, leaves the reader uninformed and less than certain as to the historical agreement between reformed theologians on this crucial point. It appears the most reliable writers of the past have held to the necessity of consistently lived obedience to Christ in the believer’s life, but they have hedged in the areas of assurance and failed to agree wholly on the manner of life one must live. Current trends in Evangelicalism, taking a road apart from the men of the past, have succeeded in the development of such faulty doctrines as ‘eternal security’ and ‘carnal Christianity.’ In doing so, they have done a great disservice to the biblical doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints, which has resulted in misplaced assurances and false hopes of salvation.
Clearly these new doctrines have done nothing more than foster a godless and mindless mentality of ‘once saved always saved, though I go and live like the devil.’ We are not at all suggesting that this mentality was the conscious goal of these new doctrines but an honest evaluation of the present situation must admit it has been the result. Having replaced the ‘wait and see’ mentality of the reformers with the anxious seat of a man named Finney, these doctrines promise absolute assurance to the most godless and irreverent of professing believers.
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What about those Enthusiasts?
In a concluding look at Jonathan Edwards's monumental work, A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections, we shall deal with one of the most hotly contested issues of the modern church. Are bodily excitations a valid proof of one's spirituality? When Benny Hinn strikes a person upon the head and that person falls, supposedly 'slain in the spirit', are we seeing a true manifestation of God's holiness or just a sideshow of a most detestable display by a charlatan? The matter is not new to Christianity, but has time and again raised an eyebrow throughout Protestant history. America movements like the Quakers, the Pentecostals, and the Charismatics, have championed the external evidences of true religion. In our day, the airwaves are filled with countless examples of visible displays of supposed spirituality, and therefore it is a branch of American religion that cannot be ignored. A common response among the less visibly enthusiastic saints of our day is to deny out of hand the validity of these movements. For example, John MacArthur in his book, Charismatic Chaos, strives to invalidate the movement from an exegetical approach, at times perhaps overstating the case of scripture. Which of us can deny that we have used 1 Corinthians 13: 10, "But when the perfect thing comes, then that which is in part will be caused to cease," as a proof text against the enthusiast, even if it meant sacrificing context? MacArthur, does a commendable job from the vantage of the text of scripture, yet, as is often the case, his argument is most influential among those outside the enthusiast movement. It is difficult to debate a movement that equates experience with scripture as a rule of faith.
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The Comfort of Irresistible Grace
In the eleventh chapter of John’s gospel, where we read that Christ spoke to His disciples about Lazarus’ sickness and subsequent sleep, John notes that the disciples misunderstood the Lord, thinking Lazarus was merely asleep. It was then that John noted that Christ said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.” Even then the disciples would have no awareness of the true power of Christ, concluding as Thomas said, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” Upon Christ’s arrival at Bethany, there was further evidence of the dullness of men. When Martha met Christ, He declared Himself to be the Resurrection and the life, only to have her debate with Him theologically in her own skewed awareness, concluding that the Lord could only be speaking of the final resurrection alone. She would have no thought of the Lord’s power to raise the dead immediately, even though Jesus said to her plainly, “Thy brother shall rise again.” The theology made sense to her, but not the true power and nature of Christ. When the dullards of Bethany gathered at Lazarus’ tomb to debate with Christ about rolling back Lazarus’s tombstone, it is said that the fury of Christ was as groaning. The unbelief of all those present at Lazarus’ tomb led to that most succinct of verses, “Jesus wept,” not out of pity, but out of sorrow at the prevailing disbelief of all. So let all today consider, does not the Lord still weep over the insipidness of unbelief?
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Redemptive Histroy: An Investigation
Theology proper is a discipline that seeks a clear and accurate knowledge of God. For one to know God one must study God, and to study God one must investigate God. God can only be investigated, and discovered, in accordance with His revelation of Himself; for God is a Spirit and not a man, and He sovereignly chooses in what manner, fashion, and timeliness He will reveal Himself. God has chosen to reveal Himself through two mediums, creation and the Holy Scriptures. Theologians designate these two revelatory conduits with the categories of general and specific revelation. General revelation concerns the revelation of God in creation; special revelation concerns the revelation of God in the Holy Scriptures. One can look at the universe and empirically draw indisputable conclusions about God, just as one does in scripture. Together these two means are employed to reveal the redemptive glory of God. Thus, to know God is to know Him as He has shown Himself in creation and scripture.
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NCT/CT Debate
The Endeavor of NCT is neither to be new for the sake of novelty nor polemical for the gain of notoriety. NCT is simply an endeavor to affirm the truth as contained in the word of God. Therefore this debate is approached with first this as its governor: "Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason…I am bound by the Scriptures…and my conscience is captive to the word of God (Luther’s Works Phil: Muhlenberg Press, 1958, v. 32, pp. 112-13)." Second with this as its allowance: reformata sed semper reformanda, as John Murray so gives such allowance, "Theology must always be undergoing reformation…However architectonic may be the systematic concstructions of any one generation or group of generations, there always remains the need for correction and reconstruction so that the structure may be brought into close approximation to the Scripture and the reproduction be a more faithful transcript or reflection of the heavenly exemplar (John Murray, The Covenant of Grace, London: Tyndale Press, 1953, 5.)." With this then we petition for not only proper governance of these proceedings but also due allowance for their conduct.
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New Hampshire Conference 2001 Message 1
Fundamental to every theological discussion, formulation, or concoction is a presumed understanding of the Adamic economy. Adam was the immediate goal of God’s creation, the capstone of his creative enterprise, and the consummation of his expressed divine will. It was the first historical event in which God’s will to love an elect people, expressed in his foreknowledge, and his divine council, in his divine determination called predestination. As it is first in scripture it is presupposed in every text of God’s word, and thus, it is presupposed in every theological discussion. A proper understanding of salvation, doctrine, and our triune God, begins with a proper understanding of the Adamic economy. A skewed view will result in a manifest aberration in every discipline. Our view of man’s depravity is derived from our understanding of the fall. Our view of man’s condemnation is based upon our understanding of the judicious nature of Adam’s relationship to God. Our view of Christ and our union with him, including our understanding of the extent of his atonement, each are antecedently determined by our understanding of the Adamic economy. It is first in scripture and first in theology and thusly first in need of clarification.
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The Troubling Marks of Disdain
Redemptive history is forward, progressive, and designed to accomplish the divine will, that being God’s desire to be in union with a people in Christ. We saw last that the Adamic administration was both primordial and demonstrative of this purpose, but only the first step towards consummating God’s design. The next stage in redemptive history is the postlapsarian economy preceding the first advent of Christ. One cannot deny the prevalence and importance of the old covenant in redemptive history. Its designation and station are critical to theological formulation; the amount of biblical text devoted to it is far greater than that given the Adamic economy. Necessarily then, how one extrapolates from the biblical text the relevance of those days from Adam to the first advent of Christ has a tremendous impact upon one’s theology. Just as a presumed understanding of the Adamic economy is fundamental to every theological discussion, formulation, and theological concoction, so is a presumed understanding of the Mosaic economy equally pervasive, if not more so, in one’s understanding of this age. How one estimates the importance of the Mosaic law and the people of Israel has a direct bearing upon their view of the church, the issues of continuity and discontinuity, and the relation of the believer to the law. A theology that stresses the newness of the new covenant has a distinct view of the postlapsarian age leading up to the first advent of Christ.
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New Hampshire Conference 2001 Message 3
We have thus far established a new covenant view of the Adamic administration and addressed the nations and their place in God’s covenants. It is incumbent upon us then to take in hand the matter of defining the nature of the biblical covenants and their relationship to one another. The covenants are numerous, beginning explicitly with the Noahaic. There are the covenants of Abraham, Sinai, and David, and the new covenant, all agreed upon as of paramount importance in redemptive history. There are though numerous other covenants that interleave the biblical record. Most thought are time specific and are not directly related to the overall redemptive scheme, as we shall demonstrate from the new testament record.
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Loci communes Romans 3: 24 – 25
In the fall of 1515, Dr. Martin Luther, professor of Sacred Theology at the University of Wittenberg, Saxony, began to expound to his students the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans (Mueller). This was two years before he posted his ninety-five theses, October 31, 1517. As Luther painstakingly prepared his lectures, he gradually came to a clear knowledge of the central teaching of Scripture, the doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone in Christ apart from works. These are immortalized by the Latin phrases we Protestants have made our battle cry; Sola Gratia, Solus Christus, Sola Scriptura, Soli Deo Gloria, and Sola Fide. Later, Luther’s student, Melanchthon, took over lecturing on Romans and from his lectures came the first Lutheran manual of Christian doctrine called Loci Communes, the "Common Topics" of the Christian faith. This day in Augsburg, a gathering of Lutheran and Catholic theologians are preparing to sign an historic agreement asserting that the principles that once separated the church in the great schism of the Reformation have found unifying correspondence between both faiths. Yet, one will find that these particular Lutherans have adultered their faith and are set by their pens to blot out Luther’s thesis, to call common what is not common, and to cross the road of modern trends of unity at the sake of truth. It was only a few years ago at the anniversary of the council of Trent that Pope John Paul reasserted the enduring validity of the findings of the Council of Trent that declares that anyone professing the doctrine of justification by faith alone is anathema. Brethren, upon this 482nd anniversary of that day, when Luther arose and posted his disputation, known as the 95 Thesis, we recall the words of that immortal script that once called all to heed,
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Dispensationalism Defined
A system of theological dogma is fundamentally identified by its view of Gods relationship to men. Dispensationalism, as a system, has a specific view of this relationship. The most fundamental, distinctive presupposition of Dispensationalism is its tenet that affirms the continuing existence of the nation of Israel in the redemptive plan of God into the church age and beyond. Charles Ryrie has written:
A dispensationalist keeps Israel and the church distinct This is probably the most basic theological test of whether or not a person is a dispensationalist the one who fails to distinguish Israel and the church consistently will inevitably not hold to dispensational distinctions; and one who does will.1
It can be said that Dispensationalism defines Gods relationship with men in one of two ways due to ethnic identification. If a man is a Jew, God has a particular economy of redemption for that person, and if he is not, God has a different means to the redemption of that person. The use of the term redemption is broad, speaking to the design and implementation of salvation in its consummate usage from beginning to the conclusion of all things. This does not necessarily mean that God has a different soteriological design for Israel from the church, but rather that in the accomplishment of their salvation, God relates to Israel one way and to the church another way. Much has been made of the early charges against classic Dispensationalists; that they define two plans of salvation between God and men. Robert L. Saucy writes, dispensationalists have more recently been careful to explain that the progression in the dispensations involves no change in the fundamental principle of salvation by grace.2 This progress in dispensational theology is erasing the early acrimony aroused by overt statements of discontinuity in the plan of God.