Agonize!

“Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” (Luke 13:24, KJV)

No doubt one of the mantras of our age is the refrain that to become a Christian is easy and, furthermore, you need only receive Christ and all your worries will be a thing of the past. “Let Jesus into your heart” the preacher will tell us, “and He will give you peace and joy and you’ll never have to worry about anything anymore.” To be sure, the idea that becoming a Christian will solve all your problems, cure all your ailments and make right whatever is wrong in your life is not new. But it seems it has never been as prevalent as it is today. The so-called “prosperity gospel” is perhaps the greatest purveyor of such silliness. Alas, it is not surprising in a generation that is desperately trying to find meaning while at the same time spurning the God who alone can give it to them.

The Perfect Choice, part 3

Last time we discussed the importance of a proper hermeneutical and exegetical approach when we study any passage of scripture. We did so in connection with the contention of many that 1 John 2:2 demonstrates that the atonement was carried out for the entire world, every single person without exception, rather than being limited to those whom God had chosen for salvation. This time we want to get into the specifics of the particular passage and determine whether this passage does indeed, teach what many would have us believe.

Predestination: God's Wonderful Plan

The excerpt below is taken from Ichabod Spencer’s A Pastor’s Sketches. It is the best definition of the purpose of the doctrine of predestination that I have yet read. It is unfortunate that so many look upon this doctrine as though God made some arbitrary decision who to save and who to condemn. In reality, it is the Great God of the Universe marking out a people to save in Christ in order to glorify Himself for all eternity.