The Shameful Social Gospel

T. A. McMahon

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” Romans 1:16

For various reasons, Christians of different sorts have tinkered with “the gospel of Christ” as though it needed adjustments. Not major alterations, most will tell you, but just some minor tweaking here and there. The changes often begin by one’s declaring that there is no real change involved, simply a shift in emphasis. Yet, no matter what the rationale may be, the end result is being “ashamed of the gospel of Christ.”

To be “ashamed of the gospel” covers a number of attitudes from being totally embarrassed by it to thinking one can improve upon it a bit to make it more acceptable. One example of the former is the recent claim by an Emerging Church author that the teaching regarding Christ’s paying the full penalty for the sins of mankind through His substitutionary death on the Cross is irrelevant and viewed as “a form of cosmic child abuse.” More subtle examples include trying to make the gospel seem less exclusive, and the “softening” of the consequences from which the gospel saves mankind, such as the wrath of God and the Lake of Fire.

Prevalent among many religious leaders who profess to be evangelical Christians (i.e., Bible-believing Christians) is the promotion of a gospel that is acceptable to, and even admired by, people throughout the world. Today, the most popular form of this is the social gospel.

Although the social gospel is common to many new movements among evangelicals, it is not new to Christendom. It had its modern beginning in the late 1800s, when it developed as a way to address the various conditions in society that caused suffering among the populace. The belief was, and is, that Christianity will attract followers when it demonstrates its love for mankind. This could be best accomplished by helping to alleviate the suffering of humanity caused by poverty, disease, oppressive work conditions, society’s injustices, civil rights abuses, etc. Those who fostered this movement also believed that relief from their conditions of misery would improve the moral nature of those so deprived.

Another driving force behind the introduction of the social gospel was the eschatological, or end times, views of those involved. Nearly all were amillennialists or post-millennialists. The former believed that they were living in a (symbolic thousand-year) time period in which Christ was ruling from heaven, Satan was bound, and they were God’s workers appointed to bring about a kingdom on earth worthy of Christ. Post-millennialists also believed they were in the Millennium, and their goal was to restore the earth to its Eden-like state in order for Christ to return from Heaven to rule over His earthly kingdom.

The social gospel, in all of its assorted applications, helped to produce some achievements (child labor laws and women’s suffrage) that have contributed to the welfare of society. It became the primary gospel of liberal theologians and mainline denominations throughout the 20th century. Although its popularity alternately rose and fell as it ran its course, it was often energized by the combination of religion and liberal politics, e.g., Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. Midway through the last century and later, the social gospel influenced developments such as the liberation theology of Roman Catholicism and the socialism of left-leaning evangelical Christians. It is in this present century, however, that the social gospel has gotten its most extensive promotion. Two men, both professing to be evangelicals, have led the way.

George W. Bush began his presidency by instituting the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. His objective was to provide government funding for local churches, synagogues, mosques, and other religious ministries that were providing a social service to their community. Bush believed that programs run by “people of faith” could be at least as effective as secular organizations in helping the needy, and perhaps more so because of their moral commitment to “love and serve their neighbor.” As he prepares to leave office, he has declared that he considers his Faith-Based program to be one of the foremost achievements in his tenure as president. Presidential candidate Barack Obama stated that, should he win the election, he will continue the Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

Rick Warren, the mega-selling author of The Purpose-Driven Church and The Purpose-Driven Life, has taken the social gospel to where it’s never been before: not only worldwide but into the thinking and planning of world leaders. Warren credits business management genius Peter Drucker with the basic concept that he is executing. Drucker believed that the social problems of poverty, disease, hunger, and ignorance were beyond the capability of governments or multinational corporations to solve. To Drucker, the most hopeful solution would be found in the nonprofit sector of society, especially churches, with their hosts of volunteers dedicated to alleviating the social ills of those in their community.

Warren, acknowledging the late Drucker as his mentor for 20 years, certainly learned his lessons. His two Purpose-Driven books, translated into 57 languages and selling a combined 30 million copies, reveal the game plan for what Drucker had envisioned. Warren had local churches implement this vision from his books through his enormously popular 40 Days of Purpose and 40 Days of Community programs. To date, 500,000 churches in 162 nations have become part of his network. They form the basis for his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan.

What is his P.E.A.C.E. plan? Warren’s presentation of the plan to the church is found at www.thepeaceplan.com. On video, he identifies the “giants” of humanity’s ills as spiritual emptiness, self-centered leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy, which he hopes to eradicate by (P)lanting churches, (E)quipping leaders, (A)ssisting the poor, (C)aring for the sick, and (E)ducating the next generation.

Warren uses the analogy of a three-legged stool to illustrate the best way to slay these giants. Two of the legs are governments and business, which have thus far been ineffective, and, just like a two-legged stool, cannot stand. The third very necessary leg is the church. “There are thousands of villages in the world that have no school, no clinic, no business, no government-but they have a church. What would happen if we could mobilize churches to address those five global giants?” Warren reasons that since there are 2.3 billion Christians worldwide, they could potentially form what President Bush has termed a vast “army of compassion” of “people of faith” such as the world has not yet experienced.

In addition to the Christian version, Warren has an expanded inclusive version of the P.E.A.C.E. plan that has drawn support and praise from political and religious leaders and celebrities worldwide. At the 2008 World Economic Forum, he declared, “The future of the world is not secularism, but religious pluralism….” Referring to the ills besetting the world, he declared, “We cannot solve these problems without involving people of faith and their religious institutions. It isn’t going to happen any other way. On this planet there are about 20 million Jews, there are about 600 million Buddhists, there are about 800 million Hindus, there are over 1 billion Muslims, and there are 2.3 billion Christians. If you take people of faith out of the equation, you have ruled out five-sixths of the world. And if we only leave it up to secular people to solve these major problems, it isn’t going to happen” (http://www.youtube.com).

To accommodate working with people of all faiths Warren has revised the “P” in his P.E.A.C.E. from “planting evangelical churches” to “(P)romoting reconciliation” and the “E” from “equipping [church] leaders” to “(E)quipping ethical leaders.” Warren has elsewhere acknowledged his practical shift to pluralism: “Who’s the man of peace in any village-or it might be a woman of peace-who has the most respect?…They don’t have to be Christian. In fact, they could be Muslim, but they’re open and they’re influential, and you work with them to attack the five giants [to which he has added global warming].” He quotes a secular leader who affirms what he’s doing: “I get it, Rick. Houses of worship are the distribution centers for all we need to do.”

Warren has joined the advisory board of Faith Foundation, established by former British prime minister and recent Roman Catholic convert Tony Blair. The Foundation’s goal is to further understanding and cooperation among the six leading faiths: Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and Jewish. How does the Cross fit into this ecumenical gathering? It doesn’t. Critical to achieving that ecumenical goal is the elimination of the problem of exclusive religions, a concern articulated by one of the World Economic Forum panelists: “There are some religious leaders in different religious faiths who, in seeking to affirm their own faith and its authenticity and legitimacy…deny other people their faith with its legitimacy and authenticity. I don’t think we can keep going like this without…spawning the kind of hatred we are all here to try and solve. I think it’s up to us to hold the clergy’s feet to the fire of whatever faith. That we insist that we affirm what is beautiful in our own traditions while at the same time refusing to denigrate other faith traditions by suggesting that they are illegitimate, or consigned to some kind of evil end.”

The Bible declares all the religions of the world to be “illegitimate” and “consigned” not to “some kind of evil end” but to their just end. Only belief in the biblical gospel saves humanity: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name [Jesus Christ] under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved;…He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (Acts 4:12; John 3:36).

The history of the social gospel is, in nearly every case, a sincere attempt by Christians to do those things that they believe will honor God and benefit humanity. In every case, however, the practical working out of “benefiting humanity” has compromised biblical faith and dishonored God. Why is that? God’s Word gives no commission to the church to fix the problems of the world. Those who attempt to do so are starting out under a false premise, “…a way which seemeth right unto a man,” not God’s way. So where can it go from there? “The end thereof are the ways of death,” i.e., destruction (Proverbs 14:12). Furthermore, the problems of the world are all symptoms. The root cause is sin.

What percentage of the “people of faith,” who comprise all religions and make up five-sixths of the world’s population, understand and accept the gospel-the only cure for sin? Or how many of the 2.3 billion “Christians” in the world believe the biblical gospel? The numbers tumble down exponentially. “Yes, but…they are a massive volunteer force and distribution outlet of resources for slaying the giants of world suffering!” What does it profit the billions of “people of faith” who may alleviate some of the world’s symptoms yet lose their very souls?

The social gospel is a deadly disease for “people of faith.” It reinforces the belief that salvation can be attained by doing good works, putting aside differences for the common good, treating others the way we want to be treated, acting morally, ethically, and sacrificially-and that doing so will endear humans to God. No. These are self-deceptive strivings that spurn God’s salvation, deny His perfect standard, and reject His perfect justice. Salvation is “not of works, lest any man should boast.” In fact, it is “by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8,9). Jesus declared Himself to be condemned humanity’s only hope for reconciliation with God: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). There is no other way, because God’s perfect justice demanded that the penalty for sin for every human (“for all have sinned”-Romans 3:23) be paid. Only the perfect, sinless God-Man could and did pay that infinite penalty in full by His death upon the Cross. Only faith in Him reconciles a person with God.

The shameful social gospel today not only promotes “another gospel,” it helps prepare a kingdom contrary to the teachings of Scripture. “For our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). He will return from heaven (John 14:3) to “rapture,” or catch, those who believe in Him (His bride) up into the clouds and take them to heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:17). The kingdom that remains on the earth will be the kingdom of the Antichrist.
Consistent with its amillennial/postmillennial beginnings, the efforts of the social gospel are earthbound in their attempted restoration of the kingdom of God. Eugene Peterson has infiltrated that heresy into his Message Bible: “God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again” (a perversion of John 3:17).

Rob Bell, in his book Velvet Elvis, reflects the “fix the earth” eschatology of nearly all Emerging Church leaders: “Salvation is the entire universe being brought back into harmony with its maker. This has huge implications for how people present the message of Jesus. Yes, Jesus can come into our hearts. But we can join a movement that is as wide and as big as the universe itself. Rocks and trees and birds and swamps and ecosystems. God’s desire is to restore all of it….The goal isn’t escaping this world but making this world the kind of place God can come to. And God is remaking us into the kind of people who can do this kind of work.”

For Emerging Church leader Brian McLaren, this is the future way of life for the Christian. In an interview July 28, 2008, on ChristianPost.com, he said: “I think our future will also require us to join humbly and charitably with people of other faiths-Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, secularists, and others-in pursuit of peace, environmental stewardship, and justice for all people, things that matter greatly to the heart of God.” No, what matters to the “heart of God” is “that all should come to repentance” and believe the gospel.

Anyone who puts his hope in this social gospel, which employs “people of faith” to make “this world the kind of place God can come to,” needs to heed the words of Jesus in Luke 18:8: “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” People of all faiths, yes, but certainly not “the faith,” for which Jude exhorts true believers to earnestly contend. Lord, help us all not to be ashamed of Your gospel! TBC

Quotable

“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). There is a great difference between prayer and the life of prayer. Almost everyone prays, but very few pray without ceasing. This is the habit of devotion. This is the altar of incense ever burning in the Holy Place. This is the fragrance of a heart that lives in the presence of the Holy One, and breathes the very life of God. This is the deep undertone of a sanctified life. It is from this that the sweetness, the gladness, the holiness, and the helpfulness come. Lord, teach us the habit of prayer, the prayer that springs spontaneously from the heart, and which neither secular duty, satanic temptation, nor the waves of sorrow, can interrupt, but which is only stimulated by the things that try us, until every experience becomes transformed into an occasion for communion and fellowship with God.

A. B. Simpson

Q & A

Question: Would you please help me to understand Philippians chapter 1, verses 15-18: “Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel. What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.” It seems like this opens the door to anyone who “names the name of Jesus.”

Response: Paul, who pointedly warned the Corinthians against receiving “another Jesus” (2 Corinthians 11:4) whom he did not preach, could not therefore be giving license to anyone who preaches a false Christ. No, Paul’s concern here was the motivation of the heart of those who preached the biblical Jesus. Some were envious of other Christians and/or their ministries. Though  resentful, their message about Jesus Christ was true to the Word of God. In their methods of ministering, however, they wronged Paul or others who were receiving more attention, who were being more highly thought of, or who had a larger following, etc.

The attitude of those who preached “Christ of contention, not sincerely” involved selfish ambition. They even went beyond inwardly delighting in Paul’s incarceration in Rome to somehow implying that his imprisonment was his own fault, thereby attempting to discredit him among their own supporters and those of Paul.

Paul, however, although he often corrected individuals and ministries that were deviating from the truth of God’s Word, held preaching Christ in truth as paramount. His love of Christ and the gospel transcended his own suffering-in particular, the afflictions generated by envious Christians-yet by God’s grace he could declare, “Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.”

Question: I recently read an article on onenewsnow.com in which T.A. McMahon was quoted as being in opposition to what Rick Warren is doing to encourage Christians to help solve many of the problems that have plagued the world. I’m surprised that anyone who calls himself a Christian would object to his humanitarian efforts. Isn’t Pastor Warren simply exhorting us to fulfill the numerous verses in the Bible that would have us demonstrate our Christianity by our good works?

Response: One of the main purposes of The Berean Call is to encourage believers to check out what they are being told or taught against what is presented in the Scriptures. That is not only what I encourage, it’s what I try to do in my own life. The articles quoted me accurately as I challenged the biblical basis for what Rick Warren is promoting. No matter how sincere someone’s “humanitarian efforts” may be, if they are not supported by the Word of God, they constitute “a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12).

Warren has a goal of trying to solve the most pervasive ills of the world (poverty, disease, ignorance, the environment, etc.) through the involvement of “people of faith,” i.e., those who follow the world’s various religions. Initially (it seemed), his agenda was intended only for Christians and, supposedly, evangelical churches that would prioritize sharing the gospel in addition to doing good works. That later changed to allow the potential inclusion of the 2.3 billion people of every religious grouping that calls itself Christian (Catholics, Baptists, Orthodox, Mormons, Lutherans, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Unitarians, etc.). Now it includes all religious people groups (amounting to five-sixths of the world’s population) and their houses of worship as distribution centers for the goods and services required to meet the needs of the suffering world. This is Warren’s 50-year global P.E.A.C.E plan.1

The practicality of what Warren hopes to do is rife with problems that I doubt many of Warren’s supporters have considered. For example, what religious group is in charge of this global religious operation, and which one will manage it at a regional and local level? Doctrinal differences are no small matter. Catholics today are persecuting evangelicals and Pentecostals throughout South America. Sunnis are killing Shiites and vice versa. Hindus are attacking Christian missionaries. Muslims are murdering Jews and burning Christian churches. Beyond that, and should there be some successes, who is given the glory, and who is to be thanked? Allah? Buddha? Jehovah? The Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints? Ganesha, the Elephant God, or Shiva, the Destroyer?

Warren addressed an audience of diverse religions at the World Economic Forum recently and presented his P.E.A.C.E. plan. He brought up the motivation for doing good, i.e., relieving the suffering of humanity, and noted that his motivation was Jesus Christ. He acknowledged that this wasn’t their motivation and then added that it mattered little to him what their motivation was as long as they “did good.”2 “Good works” is the common denominator that Rick hopes will bring about the cooperative efforts necessary for his P.E.A.C.E. program to be successful. Successful according to whose standard? The world’s or God’s?

The critical question here is: Are Warren’s humanitarian efforts true to the teachings of the Word of God or not? Good works aside for the moment, the fundamental issue is whether or not the Bible teaches an exclusive God and the one way of salvation. That is certainly its claim from Genesis to Revelation. Consider the following among hundreds of verses: “I am the LORD, and there is none else, and there is no God beside me.” (Isaiah 45:5); “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour” (Isaiah 43:11); “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13); “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name [Jesus Christ] under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12); “I [Jesus Christ] am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

If there is no other true God but the God revealed in the Bible, and if salvation comes only through Jesus Christ-as the Scriptures declare-then all other gods and other ways of salvation are false, with no hope for their followers. That’s not a message that paves the way for collaboration among the world’s religions. One of the panelists sitting next to Warren at the Davos World Economic Forum complained that those who claim that their faith is the only true faith, and who deny the legitimacy of other religions, breed hatred and obstruct the cooperation that is imperative among people of faith who are working for the common good. Warren made no comment.

Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that God’s salvation is received only by grace through faith, and that it is “not of [good] works, lest any man should boast.” This belief is contrary to that of all the religions of the world; salvation for their followers is earned, obtained, realized, accomplished, etc., by their good works. To encourage that delusion today is akin to patting the lost on the back for working for the “common good” while ushering them into an eternity separated from God and subject to His wrath and the everlasting torments of the Lake of Fire.

The Bible makes a clear and continual distinction between the saved and the lost, the lives of the regenerate and the unregenerate, and those who are born again spiritually and the spiritually dead. There is nothing “good” the lost can do to please God (Romans 3:10-18). “If righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain” (Galatians 2:21). They can neither receive nor know the “the things of the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:14). They walk “in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness” (Ephesians 4:17-19). They are “dead in trespasses and sins,” subject to “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:1,2). They are God’s enemies (Romans 5:10).

It is for these reasons that the Apostle Paul tells us, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?” (2 Corinthians 6:14,15). The believer is exhorted to minister to unbelievers-but not with them.

Far from being a pride issue among Christians, every believer knows that he or she was once in the condition the verses above describe. Moreover, believers know full well that it is only by God’s grace and mercy that anyone can be saved, and that salvation is freely available to whosoever will receive God’s gift of eternal life
with Him.

Christians certainly can be-and have been-wonderfully involved in humanitarian efforts as witnesses of the love of Christ. Titus 2:14 indicates that those who are saved are to be “zealous of good works.” Ephesians 2:10 tells us that Christians have been saved “unto good works.” However, that witness can be quickly compromised as it accommodates man’s way of accomplishing man’s objectives rather than following the Scriptures. Furthermore, there is not a hint from the life of Christ or the acts of the apostles of any model or organized program for the church directed at eradicating poverty, disease, environmental abuse, ignorance, etc.-all symptoms of the sin condition of the world and the sin nature of mankind. The gospel is mankind’s only hope. Therefore, anything that does not conform to the biblical gospel and to the truth of the Word of God in attempting to aid mankind, no matter how sincere, is a disservice of eternal proportions leading to dreadful consequences.

Jesus warned those who in His name believed they had “done many wonderful works” yet not according to “the will of my Father which is in heaven”: “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23).

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGytW4yh0C8.
2. Ibid.

News Alert

Home School Legal Defense Association 8/11/08, A Great Victory for California Homeschoolers [Excerpts]:In a unanimous decision, the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District ruled that “California statutes permit home schooling as a species of private school education.”

Today’s decision stands in stark contrast to the opinion this same three-judge panel issued in February, which would have made California the only state in the union to outlaw home education had it remained in effect.

“It is unusual for an appellate court to grant a petition for rehearing as this court did in March,” said HSLDA Chairman Mike Farris, “but it is truly remarkable for a court to completely reverse its own earlier opinion. We thank you for your prayers and give God the glory for this great victory.”

When the court vacated its earlier decision on March 25, 2008, it invited interested organizations to file friend-of-the-court briefs. “I have never seen such an impressive array of people and organizations coming to the defense of homeschooling,” said Farris, who was one of the attorneys who argued the case on rehearing along with Alliance Defense Fund attorney, Jeff Shafer.

California’s three largest homeschool organizations, California Homeschool Network, Homeschool Association of California and Christian Home Education Association joined together in one brief to defend the right of all parents to homeschool. HSLDA, Family Protection Ministries and Focus on the Family also joined in a separate brief. Numerous other private organizations came to the defense of home education as did California’s governor, attorney general, and superintendent of public instruction.

[TBC: Amazing, some good news out of California!]

Onenewsnow.com, 8/13/08 [Excerpts from an Albert Mohler editorial]: The Gay Marriage Issue-Proposition 8 will appear on the November ballot in California. The proposition-put on the ballot by public support-is an attempt to return the state’s marriage law to where it stood earlier this year, with marriage defined as the union of a man and a woman. In 2000 the people of California voted by an overwhelming margin to pass an initiative, Proposition 22, which stated: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

That is where the matter stood until May 15 of this year, when California’s Supreme Court ruled by a vote of 4-3 that “same-sex marriages” must be legalized and recognized in the state. Thus, Proposition 22 and all similar laws were struck down by the court, and the court ordered that the state must allow and recognize same-sex marriages, effective approximately one month later.

The California Constitution still does not mention “same-sex marriage.” No such right existed before May 15. The right exists now only by judicial action, not by any amendment to the constitution. [The court ruled] that the right of same-sex couples to marry is a “fundamental right”-a right that is either enshrined within the constitution, drawn from the notion of natural rights, or a necessary implication of the constitution. The court also defined homosexuals as a protected group and thus deserving of special attention in questions of rights.

But the California Supreme Court is not the final authority in such matters-the people are. The court and its decisions are ultimately accountable to the people, who can, when motivated by great concern or outrage, change the court’s composition or amend the constitution itself. The voters of California now have the opportunity to define and defend marriage and to return the state’s definition of marriage to where it stood just three months ago.

[TBC: Is it possible that the "Golden State" could dig up two righteous nuggets in a row?]

Letters

Dearest Dave Hunt & TBC staff,
Your article “In the Name of Jesus” [July 2008], really spoke to me regarding our responsibility in proclaiming the gospel….You…point out the untruths that permeate the world today that affect even the firmest believers. There are few left who truly want to set their hearts and minds on Christ alone and who choose to stand in His truth….I thank you that I have found a common ground with all of you (this ground is shockingly eroding at a faster pace these days). That common ground is the Lord Jesus Christ, our Anchor, our firm foundation, our solid Rock on which we stand….Thank you for speaking so boldly for Him. His glory shines brightly through TBC’s faithful ones. KD (FL)

Hello,
I feel sorry for you to promote the myth and fake teachings about the Jews. Read Genesis 3:15, children of light and children of darkness. I know one thing, I won’t see you in heaven! CG (UT)

Dear TBC,
I just read Dave Hunt’s July article “In the Name of Jesus.” I have been a Christian for more than 50 years and his article is one of the finest articles that I have ever read. He hit the “nail on the head” in every instance. Please express my gratitude to him. SL (OK)

Dear Dave and T. A.,
I wanted to write and thank you for the exhaustive work you guys do in contending for true Christianity. I want to commend [TBC] for the excellent job it does in the prophecy conferences. I’ve not been able to attend a conference, but I do make full use of the videos you offer. I firmly believe  that Christianity is not a “spectator sport,” and since my true conversion I have tried to be as active in the Lord’s work as I can….In these endeavors I encounter almost daily the insidious teachings that try to creep into the church. Your research and insights have been a valuable help to me and my fellow believers. BR (PA)

Dear Dave,
I just looked at a stack of Berean Call newsletters that I have been receiving free of charge and saving since Oct. 2004. I don’t know how to express my gratitude for what your ministry means to me….I used to get angry with you because I thought you were too harsh in pointing out other people’s errors in doctrine. But now I take every word to heart….You are teaching me to be a Berean….I went to a seeker-friendly church for several years….Thanks to you, my eyes were opened and I really began to pay attention. I noticed that the pastor never spoke about certain things in his message, like Israel, the Tribulation, or hell, for example….He was really just a motivational speaker….I’ve since started attending a small church….The very first Sunday the pastor was speaking from Romans about how God is not finished with the nation of Israel. I was so refreshed to hear a Bible-based message instead of a message that’s “all about me.” I love that church! RD (OH)

Dear Dave Hunt and brethren,
Your newsletters are so refreshing to receive every month. I liked your last two (June and July), encouraging us to stand strong for the faith….I was the salutatorian of my [Bible College program] graduating class and had to give a speech….Due to the fact that we had a mixed crowd I gave a speech that was listener friendly to all. Your article “In the Name of Jesus” led me to believe that I was wrong. I was trying not to offend….I should have used the [opportunity] to stand up for the faith. I was not doing anyone any favors by trying not to step on any toes. No true messenger of God’s Word can go through life without offending others….Thanks for your newsletter. It’s a great encouragement. JR (prisoner, MS)

Dear Mr. Hunt,
Please, please continue your work as you tell us plainly and truthfully from the Bible, God’s message, as well as clear up questions, errors, lies, etc. I have found the whole paper very helpful. You expose everything to the True Light and are not swayed. My thanks to you and Tom McMahon. FB (Canada)

TBC Notes

Praying Without Ceasing

As a ministry, we receive numerous requests for prayer, many of them heartrending in nature. We want to assure our readers that we take them seriously and devote our Thursday intercessory prayer time to lifting up your needs. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16) is a challenge and a privilege for each of us here at The Berean Call.

Coveting Prayer Without Ceasing

Dave and I are on the mend, although not without some seeming setbacks. Dave recently had to have spinal surgery and, more recently, had a bad fall resulting in a broken rib. Prior to this, he underwent prostate surgery. I (Tom) am facing additional surgery this month that will have me in the hospital for about a week. We covet your prayers, as we have seen them answered continually throughout our trials. We thank God daily for His loving kindness and tender mercies, and for your loving encouragement and prayer support.

TBC Conference in November

Although our conference is months away, Dave and I are looking forward to it with great expectation. First of all, by God’s grace, we expect to be completely recovered from our recent and pending surgeries. That will be a wonderful relief, enabling us to enjoy fully the fellowship with attendees that has been our delight at past conferences.

Second, Dave is excited to share messages based upon the content of his upcoming book Cosmos, Creator and Human Destiny. He believes it is his most important book yet. I’m thrilled about our other speakers, long-time friend Roger Oakland and fellow Oregonian Don Chittick.

Third, we just toured the recently completed Riverhouse Convention Center, overlooking the beautiful Deschutes River near downtown Bend. I hope many will join us as we glorify the Lord Jesus, proclaim His truth, and encourage one another in the fellowship we have in Him.

Executive Director
T.A. McMahon

TBC Extra

Prayer Grasps Eternity

Excerpt from Why Revival Tarries

No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying. The pulpit can be a shopwindow to display one’s talents; the prayer closet allows no showing off.

Poverty-stricken as the Church is today in many things, she is most stricken here, in the place of prayer. We have many organizers, but few agonizers; many players and payers, few pray-ers; many singers, few clingers; lots of pastors, few wrestlers; many fears, few tears; much fashion, little passion; many interferers, few intercessors; many writers, but few fighters. Failing here, we fail everywhere.

The two prerequisites to successful Christian living are vision and passion, both of which are born in and maintained by prayer. The ministry of preaching is open to few; the ministry of prayer-the highest ministry of all human offices-is open to all. Spiritual adolescents say, “I’ll not go tonight, it’s only the prayer meeting.” It may be that Satan has little cause to fear most preaching. Yet past experiences sting him to rally all his infernal army to fight against God’s people praying…. God is not prodigal with His power; but to be much for God, we must be much with God.

This world hits the trail for hell with a speed that makes our fastest plane look like a tortoise; yet alas, few of us can remember the last time we missed our bed for a night waiting upon God for a world-shaking revival. Our compassions are not moved. We mistake the scaffolding for the building. Present-day preaching, with its pale interpretation of divine truths, causes us to mistake action for unction, commotion for creation, and rattles for revivals.

The secret of praying is praying in secret. A sinning man will stop praying, and a praying man will stop sinning. We are beggared and bankrupt, but not broken, nor even bent.

Prayer is profoundly simple and simply profound. “Prayer is the simplest form of speech that infant lips can try,” and yet so sublime that it outranges all speech and exhausts man’s vocabulary. A Niagara of burning words does not mean that God is either impressed or moved. One of the most profound of Old Testament intercessors had no language- “Her lips moved, but her voice was not heard.” No linguist here! There are “groanings which cannot be uttered.”

Are we so substandard to New Testament Christianity that we know not the historical faith of our fathers (with its implications and operations), but only the hysterical faith of our fellows? Prayer is to the believer what capital is to the business man. Can any deny that in the modern church setup the main cause of anxiety is money? Yet that which tries the modern churches the most, troubled the New Testament Church the least. Our accent is on paying, theirs was on praying. When we have paid, the place is taken; when they had prayed, the place was shaken!

In the matter of New Testament, Spirit-inspired, hell-shaking, world-breaking prayer, never has so much been left by so many to so few. For this kind of prayer there is no substitute. We do it-or die!

Leonard Ravenhill

Doctrine of Divine Essence

You really can’t even begin to know God unless you understand His essence. In essence God is perfect!  The Bible does not seek to prove the essence of God; it simply assumes it to be true.  In fact the Bible teaches that only the fool denies His existence, PSA 14:1.

What is “divine essence”? Divine essence is the description of the characteristics that belong to all three members of the Godhead.

God is declared in many passages to be one God, DEU 6:4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!”

1TI 2:5 “for there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

However the Bible clearly reveals that there are three to whom all the attributes of divine essence apply. The Trinity, or the fact that God is one God with three distinct personalities is taught in ISA 48:16, MAT 28:19, 2CO 13:14, 1PE 1:12.  Therefore, to deny the existence of the three members of the Trinity is to deny the credibility of scripture itself.

Before we begin, we must first of all recognize that man has certain limitations in dealing with the subject of God. Remember there are only three ways you can learn things or three systems of perception:

1) Rationalism

2) Empiricism

3) Faith, as in Hebrews 11:6

Everything that you have learned in life has been through one of these systems of perception.  Rationalism simply means that the mind and the IQ are the criterion for reality.  This is perception through reason!  Empiricism brings the sensory system into the picture; this refers to perception through observation and experimentation! This is the scientific method. Reality in empiricism is what you smell, see, hear, taste, or feel. Faith is the means of perception which accepts an established truth as the basis of reality.  To operate in faith there must be confidence or belief in the authority and truth of another!  Faith says…”on the basis of the authority and the truth of the one stating the fact I believe that what is being said is true!” This means that to try to comprehend the doctrine of the trinity or the doctrine of divine essence by either rationalism or empiricism would inevitably result in rejection.  They must be accepted on the authority and credibility of the word of God!

When the Bible reveals that God is one, it is no way contradictory to the concept of the Trinity.  The oneness of God refers to His essence.  God is one in essence.  This means that all the characteristics of divine essence are resident in each member of the Godhead: Sovereignty, Righteousness, Justice, Love, Eternal Life, Omniscience, Omnipresence, Omnipotence, Immutability, and Veracity. All are possessed equally by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In their essence they are absolutely the same.  However this is the only way in which God is one.  Since each person in the Trinity possesses identical essence, these characteristics are what unite the three as one God.

Let’s note briefly the characteristics of the essence of God.  How can you love someone unless you know them? Obviously you cannot!  Therefore knowing the characteristics of God will increase your love for Him.

First of all, God is sovereign. Sovereignty means that God is supreme in rule and has authority over all things. There is no higher authority in the universe than God!  DEU 4:39, “Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other,” 1SA 2:6-8; 1CH 29:10-12. God is said to be king of heaven and earth, eternal, infinite, and self-determining. ISA 46:10, “My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.”

In harmony with His divine essence it’s important to note that God will never use His sovereignty to coerce human volition.  God honors our decisions, whether they are for Him or against Him!  This means that we cannot blame God for anything that happens!  The sovereign will of God for mankind is expressed entirely in one verse in the Bible, 1TI 2:4 “He desires all men to be saved and to come unto the (epignosis) knowledge of the truth.” The very fact that all men are not saved and that all believers do not come unto the epignosis knowledge of the truth reveals that although God is sovereign He will not violate or coerce human volition! All three members of the Trinity are ascribed sovereignty – the Father, PSA 83:18, the Son, MAT 28:18, and the Holy Spirit, 1CO 12:11.

God is also perfect righteousness! This means that He is absolute righteousness and holiness. The Bible teaches that there is no one holy like the Lord, 1SA 2:2. LEV 19:2 “I the Lord your God am holy.” God is not simply righteous by comparison with someone else; His righteousness is independent and incomparable. We call some people “good” and some people “bad,” yet when we get to know people, we must admit that the bad people have some good in them and the good people have some bad in them. Now how do we make these evaluations?  Well we have set up certain standards in our soul and by comparison we make evaluations!  However God is totally perfect and we cannot even compare with His perfection and His righteousness.  How can we who are imperfect ever have fellowship with God who is totally perfect?  The answer is that God took cognizance of this fact and billions of years ago He made a provision to solve our problem.  In 2CO 5:21, “He made him (the Lord Jesus Christ) who knew no sin to become a sin offering on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Now, it’s impossible to have perfect righteousness without having perfect character and a perfect personality.  The key to personality is not charisma, or a sparkling intellect, the key to perfect holiness is righteousness.  True righteousness does not look down its nose at others who appear to be worse off than they are. God is not fooled by pseudo or phony righteousness.  True righteousness is relaxed and is a very wonderful state to be in.  The Bible also teaches in DEU 32:4, PSA 119:137, and in REV 19:2 that God is also righteous in his attitudes and actions.  Many times things happen in life that we do not understand; they seem to be unfair, but in the end you will find out that God was absolutely right and perfectly just in dealing with the situation the way that He did! DEU 32:4 states that “He is the rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He.” 2SA 22:31 “As for God, His ways are blameless.” This means that as believers we can rely fully on the knowledge that whatever God does in our lives is consistent with His righteous attitudes and actions. God the Father is said to be perfect righteousness in ISA 51:8; God the Son is said to be holy, harmless, undefiled and perfectly righteous in HEB 7:26 and 1JO 2:1. And, the very title of God the Holy Spirit signifies that He possesses this divine attribute as well!

God is also just.  God’s holiness includes His justice as well as His righteousness.  As a part of God’s justice, God is fair.  It is impossible for God to be unfair, 2CH 19:7, “for the Lord our God will have no part in unrighteousness, or partiality, or the taking of bribes.” God is not a respecter of persons, ROM 2:11, “for there is no partiality or respect of persons with God!” There are two ways in which God expresses His justice to believers:

(1) To mature believers God expresses His justice in blessing.

(2) To carnal or apostate believers He expresses His justice through divine discipline as in HEB 12:6.

Justice always administers what righteousness demands! Justice means that in vindicating any believer, God cannot compromise His attributes. This means that because the Lord Jesus Christ satisfied the justice of God the Father, that God is now free to pardon and justify those who trust in His Son. It also means that God is equally free to condemn those who reject His Son’s saving work on the cross as JOH 3:18 states. The justice of God is actually the guardian of His divine essence. It was the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross that allowed the justice of God to release the one attribute that most individuals always focus in on, His love. The fact that God’s justice is satisfied, frees God to love us and bless us. Therefore, His justice is the source of grace!  Justice is the believer’s point of contact with God! Many people cannot conceive of God as any other than a God of love, but justice is as important and as observable as any other characteristic of God’s essence. God the Father is said to be just in DEU 32:4. God the Son is called the righteous judge in 2TI 4:8 and God the H.S. convicts the world of this justice as noted in JOH 16:8.

God is also love, 1JO 4:8, and since God is eternal and immutable His love is unchanging and enduring. The motive behind God’s love is grace! The scriptures teach in ROM 8:38-39 that no matter how a believer fails, no matter what he does, God keeps on loving him.  God’s love always depends on God’s character – never on man’s character! God’s love has no strings attached to it! God the Father is love 1JO 4:8, God the Son is perfect love, JOH 15:13, God the H.S. produces this perfect love in us according to GAL 5:22 and ROM 5:5. So far God is sovereign, righteous, just, and loving.

God is also eternal life.  He always was, always is, and always will be.

In EXO 3:14, He is called the great “I am.” There never was a time when God did not exist. God had neither a beginning nor does He have an end, PSA 90:1-2.  This is very important to understand because technically speaking, there is a difference between eternal life and everlasting life. Eternal life is the life that only God possesses, whereas everlasting life is the life which, according to God’s plan, members of the human race possess. Everlasting life has a beginning but no end. Eternal life has no beginning and no end. For both the believer and the unbeliever, eternity is everlasting. The unbeliever who has failed to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will suffer everlasting punishment and regret, MAT 25:46. The believer, on the other hand, has the assurance of eternal life which is the life that God promised to give all those who believe upon His Son, MAT 25:46, JOH 8:51. The New Testament affirms that eternal life was with the Father, 1JO 1:2.  This same life is in His Son, 1JO 5:11.  This is why the Lord Jesus Christ is described as the Alpha and the Omega in REV 1:8, or the beginning and the end. God the Holy Spirit gives eternal life, GAL 6:8. In fact He is called the eternal Spirit in HEB 9:14.

Therefore, again we see the trinity each possessing the same divine attributes of divine essence.  Where deity is concerned time is non-existent. God merely invented time for humanity, i.e., to accommodate the finite mind of man. Time is actually the boundary lines and the race that man has been placed within. Whether you realize it or not we are all slaves to time.  Our lives, our jobs, our leisure are regulated by the clock. We think in terms of past, present, and future. We also think in terms of short or long periods of time, of years, months, days, hours, minutes, and even seconds.  However our own lives are likened to vapor trails in JAM 4:13-14.  We are here today and gone tomorrow. However the promise is that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

A sixth divine attribute, which once the believer comes to understand is a very comforting attribute, is God’s omniscience. Omni = “all,” science = “knowledge.” God is all knowing; God knows all things.  In JOB 37:16, He is one who is perfect in knowledge. David described the omniscience of the Lord in a fantastic way in PSA 139:1-6, 12.  God’s knowledge is not based upon time; it is not related to or limited by time.  We can usually go back and evaluate things that have happened in the past, see our failures and hopefully, learn from them.  We can even speculate about the future and make some pretty accurate educated guesses.  But none of us knows exactly what will happen tomorrow.  We are all slaves to time.  We are limited by time.

However, God is not limited, and therefore His knowledge is superimposed over time. We continue to learn as long as we live on this earth. God has never had to learn a thing.  He has always known everything: every thought, every motive, every event and every action of every person who would ever live! And He knew this billions and billions of years before they existed. He knows the end from the beginning, ISA 46:8-11.  Notice vs. 8, “remember this and be assured, recall it to mind you transgressors.” Assured means to have assurance and confidence. This is why I said that to the believer who understands omniscience, it is a very comforting attribute to understand! It means that there is nothing in your life that could ever happen that God didn’t know about billions and billions of years ago. Knowing about it, and being perfect, He provided a perfect provision and perfect solution for every problem we would ever face!

Our Lord shared this principle with His disciples when He said in MAT 10:29-30, “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And, yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father’s knowledge, but the very hairs of your head are numbered.” Now because He is omniscient, He knows what is best for those who trust in Him! We may not understand the adversities and the sufferings which come into our lives, yet in the end we will discover that God knew all along exactly what we needed and what was best for us! The Lord Jesus Christ said to Peter one day in JOH 13:7, “What I’m doing you do not realize now, but you shall understand later on.” No one in the human race can ever really understand in depth the principle of omniscience; we can only touch the surface!

As the apostle Paul said in ROM 11:33, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable are His ways.” However, it is God’s intention for every believer to come to understand everything in the Bible, and that is “in time!” Anything which God did not intend for us to know was not included in the canon of scripture. As DEU 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and our children forever.” Certainly, you will not understand the doctrinal content of the Bible all at once, for knowledge is built on knowledge, but if you stay with it long enough it can be done! And it should be done! Remember every book in the Bible was written by a human author who understood what he was recording.

All three members of the Godhead are omniscient. The Father is said to be omniscient and perfect in knowledge, JOB 37:16, MAT 6:8; MAT 10:29-30, ACT 1:24. The Son knows all things – JOH 18:4, MAT 9:44, JOH 2:25. God the H.S. is even called the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and knowledge in ISA 11:2. And the Spirit searches all the deep things of God in 1CO 2:10. In 1CO 2:11 the Holy Spirit knows the thoughts of God the Father.

God is also omnipresence. This means that He is ever present. JER 23:24, “‘Can a man hide himself in hiding places, so I do not see him?’ Declares the Lord. ‘Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?’ Declares the Lord.” God is present throughout the universe.  He is immanent and transcendent. Transcendent simply means that He exists apart from the universe. This explains such phrases like 1KI 8:27, “the heavens cannot contain thee,” or ISA 66:1, “heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.” The principle is, God is both in the heavens and the earth simultaneously. This explains why God had to become a man. Deity cannot reduce itself to one place; therefore He had to become true humanity. When the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross, He did not bear our sins in His divine essence but as 1PE 2:24 says, in His own body. Knowing these divine attributes increases your personal love for God!

It should be a sobering thought for the unbeliever to realize that he cannot escape the presence of God.  PRO 15:3 “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good.” Omnipresence should be a serious issue to the unbeliever, but for the believer it is very comforting. The believer can be assured that God will never leave him nor forsake him. HEB 13:5 for He himself has said, “I will never desert you nor will I ever forsake you.” All three members of the trinity possess omnipresence as well. The Father in 2CH 2:6 “for the heaven and the highest heavens cannot contain him.” In JER 23:23-24 the Father fills heaven and earth. The Son said in MAT 28:20 “I am with you always even to the end of the age.” In fact, the indwelling of the Lord Jesus Christ is a reflection of His omnipresence as well. The Lord Jesus Christ said, “I will be in you and in My Father” - at the same time. How can He fulfill that unless He is omnipresent? The Holy Spirit is ever present, PSA 139:7.

God is also omnipotent! Omnipotence means all-powerful and limitless in ability. He is called God almighty as in GEN 17:1.  Nothing is too difficult for Him says GEN 18:14. PSA 24:8 states He is the king of glory, the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. In ISA 40:26 and JER 27:4b-5, by His power or omnipotence He rules and upholds all things. In 1CH 29:11 both riches and honor come from Him, and He does rule over all, and in His hand is power and might, and it lies in His hand to make great, and to strengthen everyone. PSA 66:7 says that He rules by His power or omnipotence forever. God’s power is not manifested by muscle; His power is in His word. Whatever He says happens!

As HEB 1:3 says He upholds all things by the word of His power. This power is used by God to keep the believer safe for Him forever in 1PE 1:5. God’s power is not limited at all; however you must understand that all that happens is not from the power of God.  God has allowed both angels and mankind to possess volition, and both angels and mankind have used that volition in a negative way.  When we understand the omnipotence of God we will be assured that nothing is too hard for Him, JER 32:7. Or as the Lord Jesus Christ said in MAT 19:26 “with God all things are possible.” Job said, after he went through more suffering than anyone alive, “I know that you can do all things,” in JOB 42:1.

All three members of the trinity possess omnipotence. God the Father does according to MAR 14:36, 1PE 1:5.  Jesus Christ is said to control history and uphold all things by the word of His power in HEB 1:3.  The Lord Jesus Christ is the one who uses His omnipotence to raise us from the dead in PHI 3:21. By His power the Lord Jesus Christ healed the sick and forgave their sin in LUK 5:24. He raised the dead in 1KI 7:22.  He imparts eternal life to those who believe in JOH 10:28. God the H.S. is said to have all power and omnipotence in ROM 15:19.  In fact, the H.S. is the one who brings His power on the believer in the Church-age in ACT 1:8. As ZEC 4:6 says, it’s “not by might nor by power but by My Spirit says the Lord.”

As justice is the guardian of divine essence and the beauty of all of God’s attributes, omnipotence is that which gives life and action to the attributes of God. Now what kind of attitude should the believer have about the omnipotence of God?  Well it is very comforting to know that it’s this same power which keeps us saved and protects us.  This power should lead us to worship and adore such a wondrous, infinite perfect God who along with this power loves us with a divine love which will never change. As a member of the royal family of God and the future bride of Christ your worship and respect toward God is revealed by your confidence you have as a believer. You know nothing is too hard for him.

So far we have noted that God is sovereign, righteous, just, love, eternal life, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.  God is also immutable! Immutability simply means that God is absolute stability. You never have to worry about God getting tired and weary or changing. As Isa said in ISA 40:28 “do you not know? Have you not heard? The eternal God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.” Isaiah is saying that the Lord’s discernment and understanding is unsearchable.  His immutability focuses in on His patience and longsuffering with each and every one of us!

Immutability ties all the divine attributes together. For instance because of His immutability, His love is unchangeable.  His omnipotence or His power can never diminish. His glory can never change. His veracity which is his truth is immutable; according to PSA 119:89, His word is forever settled in heaven. Because of His immutability, His love is eternal.  JER 31:3 says “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” Whatever the attributes of God were before the universe was called into existence, they are precisely the same now and will remain that way forever.

As fallen creatures we are not only mutable, which means prone to change, but everything in us that is of the Adamic nature is opposed to God. As Jud 13 teaches without God we are like wild waves of the sea, casting upon their own shame like foam; wandering stars out of our orbit. ISA 57:20 says we are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, and there is no peace. In other words, fallen man is inconsistent, and self-contradictory even after he is saved; he has that conflict within. The Bible teaches that no human being is to be totally depended upon.  PSA 146:1-5 says if we reject God’s advice concerning this matter than we deserve to be deceived and disappointed by people.

People who like you today may hate you tomorrow, just like the multitude who cried “Hosanna to the son of David,” and then changed overnight to “away with him, crucify him.” Here is some sound Biblical advice that can serve as tremendous comfort. Human nature cannot be relied upon but God can!  However unstable we may be, however our friends may prove, God does not change. When we have doctrine in the soul we have the only stabilizer in life. There is nothing in us that is stable. However, because of His immutability God is faithful. Actually, immutability is the character and essence of God and faithfulness is the expression of that character. Immutability is that which is within, faithfulness is that which is revealed without. God is faithful and his faithfulness stems from His immutability. Unfaithfulness is one of the most commonly committed sins today.

In the business world most men’s word is of little value, although there are some rare exceptions.  In the social world immorality in marriage and unfaithfulness is the norm and standard for society.  Even in the church we are seeing on the part of spiritual leaders academic dishonesty and out-right manipulation.  And, before you recall to mind all those who you think have been unfaithful, think of how many ways and times you have been unfaithful to people, and to the Lord Jesus Christ.  By that I mean to His word and the fantastic privileges that have been entrusted to us.  How refreshing it is to know that in spite of all this there is one who is faithful, faithful in all things, at all times, even unto the end! DEU 7:9, “Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God.” This quality is essential to His being; without it He would not be God. 2TI 2:13 states, “if we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.” We may change toward Him but He will and cannot ever change toward us!

Now it is one thing to accept the faithfulness of God as truth it is another thing to act upon it. God is faithful to us and He is not only faithful to tell us the best but He is also faithful to tell us the worst. He has faithfully described the ruin that negative volition leads to. He has faithfully diagnosed the terrible results and effects of sin.  God is faithful in all things. The Bible states many ways in which God is faithful. For instance God is faithful in keeping his promises. 2CO 1:20, “for as many as be the promises of God, in Him they are.” NUM 23:19, “God is not like man that He should lie, has He not said and He will do it, or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Think of all the rebellion that the children of Israel fell into and yet God was faithful.  Many times they were faithless but He was faithful! Why? Well because TIT 1:2 tells us that it is impossible for Him to lie! In HEB 10:23, it states that He who promised is faithful.   The permanence of God’s character guarantees the fulfillment of his promises.

God is also faithful to forgive 1JO 1:9.  He does not forgive because we feel sorry for our sins or promise never to do them again. He forgives us because Christ has already paid the penalty for our sins. Thirdly, He is faithful in keeping us saved, 2TI 2:12-13. God is faithful to us, and there is nothing we can do to lose our salvation because God is faithful. Since God did the saving work, He does the keeping. 1TH 5:24, “Faithful is He who calls you, and He who also will bring it to pass.” The immediate reference here is to saints being preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is also faithful to deliver us from and in pressure or testing. 1CO 10:13, in 1PE 4:19 to those who are going through some measure of suffering Peter says to entrust your soul to the “faithful Creator” who will do what is right!

He is faithful in stabilizing and protecting the believer, 2TH 3:1-5.  He is faithful in the administration of His plan, 1CO 1:9. God is also faithful in disciplining His people. He is faithful in what He withholds just like in what he gives. He is faithful in sending sorrow as well as in giving joy. And, therefore the faithfulness of God is a truth to be acknowledged by us not only when we are at ease, but also when we are in trouble. To agree with this means that we humble ourselves before Him and realize that we fully deserve His correction. Instead of any murmuring or complaining, we thank Him for it. PSA 119:75, “I know Lord that in your faithfulness you have afflicted me!” God is not only faithful in stopping affliction but in sending it as well. PSA 89:33 “even if they sin and rebel I will not deal falsely in my faithfulness.”

The Father is faithful in JAM 1:17, and the Lord Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever, HEB 13:8. God the Holy Spirit is faithful to indwell us, JOH 14:16, and to teach Bible doctrine to the believer, 1CO 2:13. Understanding these principles will preserve us from worry!  To be worried and concerned is to reject this divine attribute. He doesn’t change, and therefore He who has cared for His child through all the years will not forsake him in old age. He who has heard your prayers in the past will not refuse to supply your need in the present. God is greatly honored when under trial or chastening we have proper thoughts toward Him and recognize His divine attributes in action. The sooner we trust Him in all of our affairs, being fully persuaded and convinced of His love toward us, the sooner we will find true satisfaction in life.

God is also veracity. Veracity means that God is absolute truth, DEU 32:4. If God is to be faithful to us, He must level with us. We must have all the facts concerning God as well as our relationship with Him. Therefore His veracity is manifested in His way, PSA 25:10; PSA 86:15, REV 15:3, His works, PSA 33:4; PSA 111:7; PSA 111:8, DAN 4:37, and in His word, 2SA 7:28, 1KI 17:24, PSA 19:14; PSA 138:2, JOH 17:17, 2CO 6:7, EPH 1:13. The Father is absolute truth and veracity, JOH 7:28, JOH 17:3. The Lord Jesus Christ is absolute truth, JOH 14:6. God the H.S. is called the Spirit of truth, 1JO 5:6.

When you thoroughly understand the doctrine of divine essence and apply it in adversity or prosperity, you will possess and maintain peace and inner happiness in every experience of life.

What Happens When You Die?

by Chuck Missler

We don’t like to think about death. It’s not a pleasant subject, and we avoid even discussing it seriously or giving it any diligent study. If our career plans involved a foreign assignment, our desk would be littered with brochures and travel folders as we would try learn all we could about our forthcoming destination. If we were scheduled for an exam that our lives depended upon, we would be studying in earnest. Yet the most certain event in our future is one we try our best to ignore and attempt to relegate to a comfortable distance.

I once suggested to a financial executive (who was about 50 years of age) whom I was traveling with that he probably had less than a thousand weekends left in his life. He was startled! “What do you mean?” he gasped.

“Do the math,” I suggested. With an actuarial expectation of about 20 years left in his life, and with nominally 50 weeks/year, that leaves him with about a thousand weekends. (When we say “twenty years,” that sounds remote, academic, intangible. When we think of “weekends,” it tends to confront us with a more graspable reality!)

Our appointment with death is an absolute certainty – probably our only certainty. It may come sooner than we expect: a car crash, a stray bullet, an unforeseen stroke. We all know of personal examples where death has come suddenly, without warning, without any preparations. When it finally does come, what do we expect it to be like?

Shedding Our Misconceptions

One of the penalties of our casual – or reluctant – attitude about death and dying is that most people are steeped in myths and misconceptions. Almost every commonly held belief is erroneous, misleading, and contrary to what we do know about the subject.

There are numerous books that have been published about “near-death experiences,” which at best are less than reliable sources, no matter how well intended. But there are several incidences that we can trust as reliable. Stephen, as he was being stoned, gave us a glimpse:

But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. – Acts 7:55,56

So this notion that being greeted by the Lord Himself – at least in his case – is not fanciful. As serious Christians, we can take significant comfort from Stephen’s experience. Paul also speaks of a “near-death” type of experience in which he was caught up to paradise. ¹ Since this happened 14 years before writing about it to the Corinthians, some scholars believe it may have coincided with his experience at Lystra where he was stoned and dragged out of the city and left for dead. ² (Whether this was a “near-death” experience or an actual death-and-return, we’ll have to wait until we can ask him.)

Messages From the Dark Side

What makes this subject so difficult to research is that most information is not only unreliable, it is the specific focus of deceit by the ultimate Deceiver himself. One of the first mistakes is to look for answers in the wrong places. Channeling, necromancy (attempted communication with the dead), and all forms of commerce with demonic activity are expressly prohibited in the Scripture.³ Even such ostensibly harmless things such as a Ouija board or role-playing parlor games can prove extremely dangerous and are not to be taken lightly.

Satan’s deceptions are designed to eliminate any awareness of a coming judgment and accountability, and to promote the perceptions that all roads lead to the same place. (Remember, he is the “prince of this world,” and the “prince of the power of the air.”⁴) Don’t be among the naïve or impressionable: this is very dangerous territory:

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. – 2 Corinthians 11:13, 14

Also, Jesus warned us to:

Enter ye in at the strait [narrow] gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. – Matthew 7:13-15

If the gate you’re relying on is wide, with a large majority taking advantage of it, you’ve got the wrong gate ! And for many, the truth about death should be terrifying. They will be in for a shocking surprise.

Heaven and Hell

This subject also squarely confronts the issues of Heaven and Hell. Unpleasant. Controversial. And clearly the subject of fanciful folklore in all directions and dimensions.

The Hebrew Sheol, and the Greek Hades, are not the grave. The grave is where the body goes. Sheol and Hades is where the departed spirits go. (For this brief discussion, we’ll regard them as equivalent.)

Gehenna, however, is their final disposition. Hades is cast into Gehenna at the end.⁵ (In fact, their topology appears to be opposites: Hades is presented as geocentric; Gehenna is in “the outer darkness.”)

It is significant that Jesus spoke much more about “Hell” than He did about Heaven.⁶ The very concept of the need for a Savior presupposes the avoidance of the otherwise certain destiny of desolation and eternal punishment. The good news is that you and I are the beneficiaries of a love letter: a letter written in blood on a wooden cross erected in Judea about two thousand years ago and which is the fulcrum of all history and the entire universe. The crucifixion was not a tragedy: it was a crowning achievement. His achievement makes it possible to avoid an otherwise certain destiny.

The Physics of Immortality

There are many in the secular world who do not even take the existence of the “afterlife” seriously. There are many who do, however. Frank J. Tipler, Professor of Mathematical Physics at Tulane University, is a major theoretician in the field of global general relativity, that rarefied branch of physics created by Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose. In pursuing a mathematical model involving the end of the universe, Tipler (a professed atheist) came to two conclusions (one obvious, and one stunning):

1) Using the most advanced and sophisticated methods of modern physics, and relying solely on the rigorous procedures of logic that science demands, he discovered a proof of the existence of God. (You’re thinking, “No kidding, Dick Tracy!”)

2) He also now believes that every human being who ever lived will be resurrected from the dead.

He claims to have arrived at these conclusions about God and immortality “in exactly the same way physicists calculate the properties of an electron.” (While I personally disagree with much of his published book, this turnabout for a professed atheist is interesting.⁷ You can learn more about the resurrection from the most important chapter in the Bible: 1 Corinthians 15.)

A far more insightful book is by Erwin Lutzer, One Minute After You Die. He is a truly delightful friend, has pastored the Moody Church in Chicago for over twenty years, and we used his popular book as our point of departure for our current briefing package on this subject. We also explore the intrinsic architecture of man, why he is immortal (saved or not), and we attempt to repair some of the misconceptions about Sheol, Hades and Gehenna, and the real nature of our present physical reality, as well as some of the more problematic issues involved in the “afterlife.”