# 1
IS GOD’S GRACE SUFFICIENT?
I recently attended the funeral of a lady whose grandson I knew. This funeral was conducted by another order that considered itself Baptist by faith. The sermon was rather lengthy and I found myself carefully analyzing everything that the man had to say, comparing it to Scripture and testing the validity of his words. One thing that came across as upsetting was the way the gentleman portrayed the grace of God. Being an Old Line Primitive Baptist, I am often found rejoicing in the joyous truths of God’s mercy and grace. I rejoice in knowing that the grace of God is sufficient and any additional blessings are just icing on the cake. But this “Baptist” minister didn’t have the same confidence in the grace of God that I did.
No, he went on about the importance of the lost removing themselves from a dead state in sin, and totally failed to recognize that it is only God who can give a dead man life. He stated that people need to “get” their name written in the Lamb’s book of life even though the Bible teaches that the names of God’s people were written therein before the foundation of the world. He stated that people had to keep themselves in the grace of God and that if they didn’t the Lord would lose them and hell would be their doom—but the whole time he neglected the fact that nothing can separate the children of God from His love (Rom. 8:38-39).
As I left the service and started toward home, I began to think about the faculties of this man’s god. He served a god who wanted mankind to do something, but he didn’t have the power to bring it to fruition. His god was busy writing down names in the book of life one day and erasing them the next, no doubt a bag of mixed emotions. His god wanted desperately to save men but could only do so if they would let him. In my final conclusion I realized that his god was, in his view of the matter, full of grace, but from my observation it was a rather insufficient amount of grace. I am glad that the God of the Bible is a merciful and gracious God, and I rest in the comfort of knowing that His grace is sufficient.
# 2
SOVEREIGNTY AND POWER
Many people this day and time confuse the sovereignty of God with the power of God. It is in this brief article that I hope to differentiate between the two. Although the two are closely related they are distinctively different. Many Arminians speak boldly of the power of God but rarely do we hear them speak in regards to the sovereignty of God. There is a reason for their lack of attention to His sovereignty. To speak of an infallible, supreme, all-powerful God, who works all things according to the council of His own will is often too much for many to swallow.
When instructing my students on the four basic parts of a “state” they are often confused by the fourth and final part, which is sovereignty. Over the years I have developed a personal definition of the term, which is as follows: “To be sovereign is to have absolute and total control of all things within one’s territorial boundaries, not answering to any outside entity.” Given this definition, it is necessary to understand that when one takes into consideration the subject, which in this case is God, everything that is, was and ever will be, falls within the limitless boundaries of God. Suffice it to say that there are no territorial boundaries with God.
The word sovereignty also takes into consideration the fact that God answers to no one, and that He has absolute authority and power to execute His will and judgment without being subject to any superior authority. The place where Arminians come to show their denial of a sovereign God is in regard to eternal salvation. They are often heard stating that the Lord will save you, or that He wants to save you “if you will only let Him.” The moment that they make that statement they are putting limitations on God’s power and they are essentially stating that an entity within the confines of God’s territory has power to resist His almighty will. This is contradictory and shows their lack of belief in the sovereignty of God.
Arminians will, however, discuss the power of God and will often speak of it in much the same manner that we Old Baptists speak of the sovereignty of God. It is important to understand, however, that power is an attribute of God. The Arminians often speak of God’s power and agree that God has power to move mountains and power to heal the sick as well as power to perform certain miracles. This is all true, but then they refuse to believe that God would quicken a dead alien sinner without first seeking his permission to do so. They choose “a way that seemeth right unto man” and argue that a sovereign method of salvation would leave mankind out of the loop and deny him the right to choose his own salvation.
Although many continue in error and confuse the power of God and the sovereignty of God, it does not diminish the fact that He is indeed sovereign. None can stay His hand or say unto Him, “What doest thou?” for He is God and beside Him there is none other. Their refusal to believe in the sovereignty of God will not destroy the simple, yet plain, truth—salvation is in none other than the Lord!
#3
“In my distress I cried unto the Lord and He heard me.” Psalms 120:1
How many times in our life have we found ourselves in distress? How many times have we found ourselves with nowhere to turn, not a friend in site and the feeling that all hope is lost? I cannot speak for you the reader but for myself the times are seemingly innumerable.
I have often reflected and recalled the most trying times in my life. In each instance it appeared to me that indeed all hope was lost. However, in each instance help was never too far away, in fact it was in the peace and solitude of a quiet room absent from friends, family and all worldly faculties that I found great comfort and relief. It was here that I was able to find refuge during the storms and trials that faced me. It was in the sweet communion of prayer that my burdens were lifted and I was made to taste sweet relief. Although, in many of the instances I did not receive immediate deliverance, I did receive comfort in knowing that I have a rich almighty friend who is more than able to hear my sad cry and deliver me from my afflictions.
I often remember that as a child, when I was in trouble or perhaps injured that I would call upon mother or dad, and they never failed to come to my assistance. The precious Lord however, is so much closer, he is so much more able than mom or dad, and when they fail or pass away one thing remains constant. Our Lord and Saviour said that he would never leave us nor forsake us, he informed us that he would go with us all the way even until the end. When all else fails, when the friends of the world have gone astray, when mother and dad are no longer able, when the waves of sorrow are crashing all about us the Lord is still there to hear our distressful cry. Praise God for he is worthy to be praised!
#4
“Verily, Verily I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” John 6:47
One of the fundamental errors of Arminianism is that it requires a person to believe in God in order to have eternal life. The scriptures however state differently. The Arminian doctrine argues that a required action will cause a person to come into possession of eternal life. For example they insist that a person can have eternal life if they will only believe the gospel. The above quoted scripture however states “he that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” In other words the fact that the person believes is not the reason or cause of his or her eternal life but rather the evidence of their possessing eternal life.
The Arminian doctrine insists that actions introduced and acted out by the dead alien sinner will cause or bring about his eternal life. This falsehood would make God indebted to the sinner for his actions and the bible plainly teaches that salvation is not owed to the individual but rather that it is given graciously by God. The Arminians have a hard time defending their cart before the horse doctrine of works creating a just due salvation. Paul clearly stated that we are “saved by grace through faith, that not of yourselves; for it is the gift of God: not of works lest any man should boast.” This verse alone destroys the Arminian idea of conditional salvation, let us hope that we can avoid such nonsense and cling to the truth that life proceeds action.
#5
A SECRET RAPTURE?
In most orders dominated by popular religion the teaching of a secret rapture is widely held as biblical truth. This idea however can only be traced back to the early 1800’s. Many who hold to this notion are known as premillennialist. The notion of this doctrine argues that Christ will return and secretly rapture the saints away to glory, from this incredible event will come mass hysteria and confusion to a wicked world. The precept behind this doctrine is taken from the first book of Thessalonians 4:13-18.
The chief verse which pre-millennialist use to make their point is the 17th verse “ Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Although the word “rapture” is never used in the bible, the truths of it are understood in this chapter and verse, but not in the context of a secret rapture. The supporters of this doctrine claim that the second coming of the Lord will take place in two stages, one being the secret rapture which will occur before a seven year tribulation period and the other final coming at the end of this same tribulation period. Simply dividing the second coming into “two” parts or comings should be strange enough doctrine to cause many to question such teaching, however this is currently the most widely held teaching among popular religion.
The ideology behind the “secret rapture” theory goes much deeper than the error filled interpretation of first Thessalonians, however due to the length of this article I will only concentrate on the “secrecy” of the event. First of all brethren the idea of the second coming or “rapture” being secretive is totally contrary to scripture. Today this idea can often be seen depicted on T.V. or in books. The authors of this confusion paint a picture of society wondering and searching for missing individuals who suddenly and mysteriously disappear. They create visions of airplanes arriving at their destinations with many passengers no longer on board, of cars careening out of control because the drivers suddenly vanish, of children vanishing from their beds leaving their parents in a state of hysteria. All of these events will, according to them, take place and those left behind will not be able to answer how, who or why? Although these ideas make good fiction they are unsound and not according to scripture.
What saith the scriptures? In the book of Revelation 1:7 we read “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen” brethren does this sound like a secret rapture? Notice the words “and every eye shall see him,” does this sound like some will not know that the Lord has made his presence? I think not. Not only will the Lord be visible in his return but He will also be audible in his coming. In I Thessalonians 4:16 we read “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” Brethren, does this sound like a silent/secret return of the Lord? Of course not, in fact it is a rather loud event that will be heard throughout the entire earth, to deny this fact is to deny the simple plain teaching of the bible. Finally, I would like to refer to one more piece of scripture, John 5:28-29 “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” It should be rather clear that when the Lord returns it is with purpose, He is coming forth to claim that which he bought and paid for, His elect, His bride, His church and when He does they will come forth to the resurrection of life. The dispensationalist would have you believe that the wicked will be left behind for seven more years to “get right with God.” But in close examination of this verse you see that not only are the elect of God coming forth, those that have done good, but also those who have done evil, this composition of good and evil coming forth would leave no one left behind and thusly destroy the false teaching of a secret rapture.
It is my hope that the doctrines of man would be adamantly opposed and rejected amongst our people. Although the world is enamored with this teaching let us patiently await until our change comes, resting assured that when the Lord returns that it will be a triumphant return and all will know that He is God and besides Him there is none other.
#6
THOSE STRANGE PEOPLE
Recently while conducting a class on World History my students and I were studying the various religions of the world. During our discussion one of the students was trying to explain “orthodoxy” to the class. In their example they made reference to a funeral of which they once attended. The student went on to state that she had once been to a funeral were the people appeared to be very orthodox. She went on to explain that the people who conducted this funeral didn’t play any music, they had no choir, and the preacher “got down on his knees to pray!” The student seemed most marveled at the unusual, or as she called it weird, practice of shaking hands and “going around hugging everybody!” She went on to say that she figured that what she saw was pretty old fashioned and would be the best example that she could give for orthodoxy. Her explanation led to a barrage of comments most of which where in agreement. The students found the simplicity of the service to be ignorant and old fogey, some even stated that they would never attend such a church, especially since there was no music.
I had never taken the time to really consider how the majority of others view the Primitive Baptist, it was a topic I suppose that I had never really pondered upon. The thoughts and comments of these students made me realize a few things and actually brought warmth to my heart. When others are engrossed with the instrumentality of music, we the Old Baptist understand the joy of making a melody in our heart. When others are full of vanity and find it demeaning to bow down and pray, we the Old Baptist are blessed to understand the humility of our presence before Almighty God. When others are too proud to demonstrate affection, we the Old Baptist are blessed to understand the joy of heartfelt expression. It is indeed a shame that the inventions of man can lead even the youngest of minds to think that the most simple and precious things are strange.
