My name is Mike Ratliff. I am a δουλος (slave) of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have been a Bible teacher since the late 1980's. I am currently learning Koine Greek, which I began in 1992 and will continue to do so until the Lord takes me home. I am Reformed in my theology because I recognize that God is Sovereign over all things. I write these posts as God directs. I am also part of the discernment team at Christian Research Network.
by Mike Ratliff
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV)
As I write this I am listening to my Keith Green collection. I can’t seem to get past his song, “A Billion Starving People,” which is not about people physically starving, but about the vast numbers of people in the world who do not know God. In this song he sings about his drive to “preach the word” to all even if only one is brought to the Father. While the seeker-sensitive advocates proclaim that they have this same vision, they make a mistake in eliminating the meat of the Gospel so the ‘unchurched’ won’t be offended by the truth that all are dead in their trespasses and sins and cannot be reconciled to God outside of coming to the bloody cross to die and be reborn as slaves of Jesus Christ as their Lord. The offense of the cross is eliminated from this “easy-believism” version of the Gospel. Read the rest of this entry »
