The Allure of "Relevance and Practicality"

Not long ago, John Macarthur was asked what he thought of Steven Furtick, the "pastor" of the so-called Elevation Church. After a pause, Macarthur uttered a single word: “unqualified.” It was obvious that brother Macarthur was nonplussed about the question and that he is not, to say the least, a fan of Mr. Furtick. Anyone who has listened to Mr. Furtick "preach" and who is not a sycophant who attends Elevation Church or a like-minded mega church, understands why brother Macarthur used that single, suggestive word in describing this individual.

Perseverance Of The Saints

Finally, we come to the “P” which is Perseverance of the Saints. We often hear this doctrine called, “Once saved, always saved”. The Scriptures teach that man has the ability to choose whom he will serve and that his eternal soul will be judged on that choice. No one who believes in “Once saved, always saved” would deny that Paul was one of the “elect”. Yet when we read 1 Corinthians 9:27 we find that he constantly “worked” to stay in that saved condition. We can also look to Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8) as one who was saved and then lost. Judas was another. He was given the ability to do miracles like the rest of the disciples (Matthew 10:1). No one can deny that he was saved. Yet we know that he fell away. It will be our actions that will be judged on the judgment day hence, we decide whether we will go to heaven or hell by those actions (2 Corinthians 5:10).

The first and most glaring problem that this person has when it comes to the perseverance of the saints is that, as with the other points of doctrine already examined, he really doesn’t know what it means. Perseverance of the Saints does not mean “once saved always saved.” Although the true believer will endure to the end, what is often meant by once saved always saved is that, regardless of what a person does once he has made a decision for Christ he will be saved in the end (one of the many problems that the decisional salvation model holds). Although many will reject that idea, in practice that is what often ends up being taught. It is obvious that such is not what we believe. But when we speak of the perseverance of the saints, we do not look at it from man’s point of view as much as from God’s point of view. Let me explain.

“I Need More Evidence!”

“I’m sorry, but I am not convinced by your arguments, and I find myself unable to believe something without evidence. I’m sure if there is a supreme being as described by the average Christian, he or she would know that my “belief” was false and based on fear tactics. It just doesn’t make sense to me. Also, being an atheist just means you don’t believe in a god, other than that atheists are as different from each other as strict Geek (sic) Orthodox adherents and snake handlers.”

From time to time I get something in my inbox telling me that someone has made a comment about one of my videos. The paragraph above is the latest of these efforts and was motivated by a video I did some time back reviewing a website called “Infidels.org.” As one can imagine, the website is dedicated to denigrating religion in general, especially Christianity, and for the average atheist to bask in the glory of their supposed superior intellect. After all, who but a complete ignoramus would be so gullible as to believe that there is a God and, even worse, that He came to earth and died and rose again.