by Mike Ratliff

And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. (1 Peter 1:17-19 ESV)

Several years ago when I took my first Evangelism Explosion class, our instructor emphasized over and over again that our Lord was both fully God and fully Man. Why is it important that we grasp this about our Lord? Gnosticism, for instance, teaches that Jesus is indeed God, but not really Man. Others teach that He was a Man, but not God. Both extremes are wrong and the heresies which flow from them abound. Sadly, many are ensnared by them. When we see our Lord separate from His humanity or Deity we make the same mistake. We looked at the excellency of His Deity in yesterday’s post. Now, let us look upon the humanity of our Lord which is exceedingly lovely and amiable.

Christ is fully Man, but unlike us, He is free from sin. He is the Lamb of God, without spot, and without blemish (1 Peter 1:19). Adam, at his creation, had this spotless purity (Ecclesiastes 7:29) as had the angels, but they came immediately from the hand of God, not through procreation. Adam sinned. This plunged all mankind, his descendants, into sin and separation from God. However, our Lord Jesus Christ is like a plant and root out of a dry ground (Isaiah 53:2). He is a blossom from the stem of Jesse, a bud from the loins of sinful man–born of a sinner, after there had been no innocent flesh in the world since Adam. All in the line before Him were infected completely by Adam’s sin. Christ as a Man is like a spotless bud brought forth in the wilderness of corrupted nature. All save Him are guilty of Adam’s transgression. Because Christ is Human, but free from guilt, free from stain, free from pollution, this is to be adored.

How is it possible that Jesus is Human, but sinless since Mary bore Him? Remember, in our lineage with Adam we share in His guilt of the first sin. His sin is imputed to all of His descendants.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned– (Romans 5:12 ESV)

All of us are in covenant with Adam. He is not only our natural head, but also our federal head just as Christ is this to all believers. (Romans 5:17; 1 Corinthians 15:22) Adam’s transgression of his covenant with God is reckoned to us. Along with imputation of Adam’s sin to us, we also inherited his polluted, corrupted nature. We are flesh born of flesh. All natural Men have a corrupt wisdom and mind. It is as a polluted fountain that produces polluted streams. From Adam comes our corrupt nature and that nature is passed to us and our descendants. However, praise be to God, Christ is entirely free from this curse. Why?

Christ was never federally in Adam. Because of this He is also not liable to the imputation of his sin. Christ knew no sin until He was made sin on behalf of His people on the cross. (2 Corinthians 5:21) It was through this in which He took away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Our sin was imputed to Him in the covenant of the Mediator through His voluntary reception. He did not inherit it in the covenant of Adam, which would be by legal imputation. No, He was sinless, but took our sin upon Himself deliberately. Consider what our state would be if this was not so. If He was part of the covenant with Adam then he would not be fit to be our High Priest in which He offered Himself as the one and only sacrifice for our sin. Why? Because he would not be separate from sinners and would not qualify. (Hebrews 7:26)

If Adam had not fallen into sin, remaining innocent, Christ would not have become incarnate to have been a mediator for sinners. Why? Because our race would not have become cursed. Yes, Christ is a Man and is, therefore, in Adam in a natural sense and according to the purpose of God (Luke 3:23, 38), He was not in Adam according to the law until after the fall. This made Christ not subject to Adam’s transgression.

Christ is not a partaker of the pollution of our nature. Why? Christ’s conception was by the Holy Spirit, not Man. (Luke 1:35) Yes, He was “born of a woman” (Galatians 4:4), but His conception by the Holy Spirit made Him Holy. While each of us become partakers of the polluted and corrupted human nature through the conjunction and union of soul and body, the Holy Spirit prevented this in our Lord through His sanctifying work. Even in Mary’s womb, He was separated unto God’s Holy purpose. (Hebrews 7:26) According to the apostle Peter, He was sinless and no guile was found in His mouth. (1 Peter 2:22) Matthew tells us that He fulfilled all righteousness. (Matthew 3:15) Because of His Holiness and perfect Righteousness, God was always well pleased with Him. (Matthew 3:17) Even though He was all these things and infinitely more, for our sake, He was contented not only to be esteemed by the vilest of men to be a transgressor, but to undergo from God the punishment due to all of us.

The fullness of grace in Christ’s human nature should bring us to worship and adore Him, to desire to be with Him and serve Him even unto death. Yes, we who know Him and are known by Him are most grateful for our salvation, and we naturally love our Saviour more and more as God builds Christ’s character in us. However, we also should worship Him because He is worthy. His graces are infinite and many manifold. Christ is a fountain of grace by the Holy Spirit given without measure.

For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. (John 3:34 ESV)

Paul tells us that “it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell” (Colossians 1:19) and “that in all things He might have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18). Because of this, those who are in the Kingdom hold Him as the beloved of their souls, “holy, harmless, undefiled”, “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14, 16; 1 Corinthians 11:1; Ephesians 5:2; 1 Peter 2:21; Matthew 3:17; Hebrews 2:18; Hebrews 7:25)

Christ as a Man is:

• full, to a sufficiency for every end of grace
• full, for practice, to be an example to men and angels as to obedience
• full, to a certainty of uninterrupted communion with God
• full, to suit him to all the occasions and necessities of the souls of men
• full, to a glory not unbecoming a subsistence in the person of the Son of God
• full, to a perfect victory, in trials, over all temptations
• full, to an exact correspondence to the whole law, every righteous and holy law of God
• full, to the utmost capacity of a limited, created, finite nature
• full, to the greatest beauty and glory of a living temple of God
• full, to the full pleasure and delight of the soul of his Father
• full to an everlasting monument of the glory of God, in giving such inconceivable excellencies to the Son of man.

From Communion With The Triune God by John Owen, p168.

My brethren, no matter what place God has you right now, on the mountain top, or in the valley, or in the fire, or in the wilderness of a cold and dry heart, take heart. Our Lord Jesus Christ is every way a Man who knows all about your sufferings and temptations. He is sinless yet He is not condemning those in Him who have stumbled. No, all in Him are sealed by the Holy Spirit. Christ’s blood is not only sufficient to cover all of our sins, but it is an eternal covering. Christ’s fulness is complete. His graces are wonderful and complete. Through this, God holds His own until the day of completion. Yes, take heart, but also fear letting your Lord down through your carelessness in taking His grace for granted. He is worthy of the best servants, therefore, let us, by His grace, become those spirit-filled believers who move and run the race with our spiritual sails filled by the Holy Spirit with our eyes firmly fixed on our wonderful, gracious Lord Jesus Christ.

SDG

by Mike Ratliff

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 ESV)

All genuine Christians are involved in some form of spiritual conflict. They are tempted to doubt their salvation because their assurance is under attack or they are being tempted to turn aside for some fleshly “diversion” or they are tempted to compromise in some fashion in a way that would be an act against conscience, et cetera. Some reading this have contacted me for prayer because of family or health issues. We are all in desperate need of our hearts being strengthened in the resignation of ourselves unto the Lordship of  Jesus Christ. We need our affections as the Bride of Christ to be stirred up and made more apparent to our regenerate hearts. How do we do this? What can we do that will endear our hearts unto Christ?

Let us consider one of our Lord’s names. He is “The Lord our Righteousness.” This tells us that our standing before God is because of Christ’s Righteousness, not ours. His Righteousness is imputed to the account of all who believe. 

“He is exceeding excellent and desirable in he Deity, and the glory thereof. He is “Jehovah our Righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:6). In the rejoicing of Zion at his coming to her, this is the bottom: “Behold your God!” (Isaiah 40:9). “We have seen his glory,” says the apostle. What glory is that? “The glory of the only-begotten Son of God” (John 1:14). The choicest saints have been afraid and amazed at the beauty of an angel; and the stoutest sinners have trembled at the glory of one of those creatures in a low appearance, representing but the back parts of their glory, who yet themselves, their highest advancement, do cover their faces at the presence of our Beloved, as conscious to themselves of their utter disability to bear the rays of his glory (Isaiah 6:2); John 12:39-41). He is “the fellow of the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 13:7). And though he once appeared in the form of a servant, yet then “he thought it not robbery to be equal with God” (Philippians 2:6). In the glory of this majesty he dwells in light inaccessible [1 Timothy 6:16]. We “cannot by searching find out the Almighty unto perfection: it is as high as heaven; what can we do? Deeper than hell; what can we know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea” (Job 11:7-9). We may all say one to another of this, “Surely we are more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a a man. We neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy. Who has ascended up into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his Son’s name, if you can tell?” (Proverbs 30:2-4). “ - John Owen from Communion With The Triune God pp159-160

Because our Lord Jesus Christ is God, those who are His have received endless, bottomless, boundless grace and compassion. This grace is not the grace people can create and express. No, this grace is of our Lord’s divine nature. There was  a fullness of this grace in Christ’s human nature (John 3:34). This fullness was as the light of the sun, or of water in the sea. This fullness was above all creation. The grace in our Lord Jesus Christ is that of Deity. This grace is sufficient to fill all who come and drink. Christ was both Man and God. His humanity is inseparably united to the infinite, inexhaustible fountain of the Deity. Therefore, through Christ, believers are saved and sustained and preserved in grace enough because it is from our all-sufficient God. 

Those who refuse to accept that Christ is Deity have some severe theological problems, to be sure, however, we must wonder in what or whom they place their faith. Those who believe that justification is by grace through faith plus works (or anything else) have not learned of God’s grace aright. Those who edit the gospel like this have placed themselves in a situation and process that will only produce doubt and create even deeper unbelief. However, Christians who have come to terms with grace and necessity of the imputation of Christ’s Righteousness to their account will also come to Love their Lord with more and more as they learn to mediate on Him. How wonderful, how awesome, how inexpressible is our Lord! Glory, Glory, Glory unto Him!

Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there.” And now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit. (Isaiah 48:16 ESV)

Christ’s love is eternal my brethren because He is eternal. He is “yesterday, today, and forever!” ( Hebrews 13:8 ) He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the ending, which is, which was, and which is to come. (Revelation 1:11)

Christ’s love is unchangeable. His love is not like ours for we are flawed and are bound to our flesh. However, Christ’s love is like himself. We are like water, but He is unchangeable. He is the same always and so is His love. 

And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.” (Hebrews 1:10-12 ESV)

Christ is the Lord, and He never changes. We must rejoice in this my brethren because if our Lord’s love for us changed as we change then we would be consumed. However, we have our Lord’s promises and can trust that when we are declared righteous by God the Father in Him then we are sealed eternally. Whom our Lord loves, He loves unto the end. (Malachi 3:6; John 13:1) Our Lord’s love is such as never had beginning, and never shall have ending.

Christ’s love is fruitful. Our Lord’s love is both effectual and fruitful in producing all the good things which He wills unto His beloved. What treasure we have who are in Christ! We have good things from our Saviour who wills them unto us. These would be eternal life, grace, and holiness. He loves us into covenant with the Father. He loves us into Heaven. Love in Him is properly to will good to His people. Whatever good Christ by His love wills to us, that willing is operative of that good.  Think of the millions of sins in Christ’s elect. Even just one per person is enough to condemn them all to an eternity in the Lake of Fire. However, Christ’s love have overcome them all! Think of the unbelief in each of those hearts prior to our Lord’s effectual call. Because of Christ’s love for them, that huge mountain of unbelief is removed. Look inward my brethren. What spots and stains, defilements and infirmities, exist in our hearts! Does not our defilements in this also stain and contaminate our Lord? Ah, but what magnificent love our Lord has for us in His bearing this all. It should shame us and lead us to repentance in that we take His love for us for granted like this. 

Our Lord is not our bro, the Big guy, our buddy, or our pal. No, He is God who bore our sins upon Himself. Why? He did this in order to redeem His bride. The Father gave us to Him and He did the work that only He could do to purchase us. All who believe are washed clean through regeneration, given a heart of flesh instead of a heart of stone. This new nature has faith that is alive. It believes God and can obey Him. It is Christ who is both God and Man who loved us even before we loved Him. 

Look at your salvation my brethren. Who accomplished that? Was it you by being religious or was it His work from beginning to end? Have you been taking for granted His love and sacrifice on your behalf? Let us all mediate on our Lord as Deity and why this is essential to our salvation. Give Him the glory due Him. Worship Him in Spirit and Truth. He is our most excellent Saviour whom we will meet face to face soon. Oh, to hear, “Well done good and faithful servant!” He loves us beyond our understanding my brethren. Let us devote our entire lives to serving and obeying Him. 

SDG

by Mike Ratliff

Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.” (Matthew 11:20-24 ESV)

Compromise and tolerance in our day are seen as ultimate virtues. While our flesh-bound reason agrees with this, there is the problem of our Lord’s own words from Sacred Scripture which say the very opposite. In these early years of the 21st Century, the mindset seems to be that we must never take a stand if it can be criticized by anyone. About a year ago I was writing some doctrinal things on this blog which caused many to no longer read or comment here. One of the comments I received at that time caused me to pause and reflect on my motives for doing what I was doing. The comment went something like this, “If you take stands in your articles, like you are doing now, in which you say this or that is the truth then you are opening up yourself to criticism.” Now, what was this person really saying?

It would be so easy to simply write sweet and/or challenging devotions here to be positive and tolerant of everyone, even those who deny the deity of Christ. Yes, it would be much easier, but would I be obedient in that to the calling God has given to some of us to stand in the gap and proclaim what is true even to those who demand compromise and tolerance at all costs? It can be quite discouraging to strike the anvil a full blow, but find a heart that is harder than steel. 

Unbelief is a product of both a hard heart and deception. The person in this horrible state has been deceived with idolatry and has incurred a form of spiritual blindness that can only be broken through by God. These folks can be quite religious and appear to be Christians, but they are really all about serving their idols instead of God. For instance the idols of the emergents and Neo-Evangelicals  are people. The alternate form of the Gospel that serves this idolatrous form of Christianity is the Social Gospel or the positive, feel good Gospel. It is the man-loving Gospel that makes it all about people instead of God and His glory. It is Christianity on ones own terms. 

Debating these folks is quite an experience. They demand that we stop exposing their doctrinal errors. They call those who won’t stop doing this“hypocrites” by taking Jesus’ command to Judge Not out of context. I saw an article on a friends blog today in which someone blasted him for warning his readers about a false teacher. What was the argument the commenter used? She said, “You are a hypocrite, after all you are not perfect so how can you judge this person?” Well none of us are perfect, but we must judge because our Lord tells us too. We are not to judge hypocritically, but it is commanded that we discern what is true and what is false. We are to shun those who preach what is false and we are to warn our brethren as well. The Word of God gives us the standards of what is true and what is false and all genuine believers have the Holy Spirit. 

What creates a lot of this contention is the false view that all professing Christians should just try to get along despite huge doctrinal differences. Unity is the cry. However, this is a call to unify what is true with what is false. My brethren, we cannot do this. We must not do this. Jesus warned us of what would happen when we preach and teach the truth as the truth.

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:34-39 ESV)

The genuine Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ divides people. It does not bring everyone together. The peace that is preached is peace between God and those whom He saves, not between them and those who reject the truth. Jesus said that when we obey Him in standing on His truth that it will cause conflict in every sphere of our lives. However, what is His command to us here? We are to love Him more than those whom are offended against us. We are to love Him more than the possible peace would have if we unified with those who do not hold to His truth. We are to die to self, take up our crosses and follow Him despite the high cost of this conflict. 

There is nothing wrong with debating those who express doubts. However, it is a complete waste of time to continue to cast pearls before swine. Who is this? These are those in unbelief. We must give them the truth, the Gospel, but when they reject it, it is time to move on. Did our Lord do this?

Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.” (Matthew 11:20-24 ESV)

Sounds pretty rough doesn’t it? We don’t have Jesus walking amongst us today doing the mighty works of healing, raising the dead, and preaching the Kingdom. By the way, this should silence those who claim that the purpose of Jesus’ ministry was primarily to do these works and we should be doing them as well. No, these mighty works were evidence of who He is. What happened? Did those people believe? The vast majority did not believe. Only a few did believe. Nothing has changed here my brethren. Most people do not believe the Gospel as preached in the Bible. Why? It is a narrow gate that few find. Only the few find it while most either reject it outright or try to get into the Kingdom some other way. That other way is works or a false gospel or religiosity, et cetera. 

The Reformers from the 16th and 17th Centuries gave us a method of understanding this exclusive Gospel. The Five Solas are the polemic, divisive, markers that are evidence of the genuine Gospel. They state that it is from Scripture Alone that we learn that Salvation is by Grace Alone through Faith Alone in Christ Alone to the Glory of God Alone. Any emphasis outside of this marks that form of the gospel as false. No part of it can be removed and used instead nor can they stand apart from the rest. These Five Solas together with nothing taken away and nothing added seems quite narrow doesn’t it? That is because the Gospel is narrow for it is the narrow gate. Christ is the only way to God and those whom He saves come to Him on His terms, not theirs. These terms do not include religiosity. No, there is nothing added. We come empty handed to the cross. 

Therefore, I can fellowship with Presbyterians, Baptists, Reformed, not Reformed, or any other believer who holds to the Five Solas. This is what is essential to our understanding of the Gospel. The differences in denominational groups outside of the Five Solas is not a barrier to this fellowship. What will divide us? We divide only from those who refuse to accept the Five Solas in whole or in part. For example, if works are added as a requirement for salvation then we should not be united with those who hold to that. If some believe that the gospel is for the benefit of the Earth or mankind as a whole, et cetera, then they have corrupted the Gospel and we should not consider them as our brothers. 

What we must never forget is that God is Sovereign. He is going to save His people, not by our efforts, but as we obey Him in making disciples wherever He has us. He saves His people from first to last. He preserves them eternally. He has graciously given us the opportunity to be part of this great work of bring people into the Kingdom. Let us obey Him in doing this while never forgetting that it is the preaching of the Word of God that He uses to accomplish this. Yes, we will encounter those who are hard of heart and full of unbelief. We must pray that God will open their hearts to the truth. We must not give people the false view that the fulfillment of their faith will be here on Earth by them being religious. Instead, we must teach everyone that we are to serve Him here as He wills, but the fulfillment of our salvation will be when we meet our Lord face to face. 

SDG

by Mike Ratliff

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God; Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father; to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. (1 Corinthians 10:31; 1 Peter 4:11; Revelation 1:6; 2 Peter 3:1; Ephesians 3:21; Revelation 7:12; Romans 11:36)

I heard a comment not long ago describing American Protestantism. The commenter was a Christian from Europe. He said that it was Protestantism, but without the historical context of the Protestant Reformation. In other words, the emphasis on the polemic points that separated Roman Catholicism and Reformed Protestantism was missing. Because of this, there was more tolerance for relativism in the American Church. When I first heard that comment I was not so sure that he was right nor was I sure that that was such a big deal. However, the more exposure I have had with the ‘emergent’ movement, Christian liberals, Christian skeptics, and Neo-Evangelicals, the more I have come to see what that man was talking about. 

There is a definite mindset in today’s Church to discount the Protestant Reformation and to not look to the wisdom and spiritual truths the reformers had, which they gave us through their wonderful books. C.S. Lewis once recommended that for every three or four “new” books Christians read they should read one “old” book. I have become convinced that that ratio should be revised. I try to read one “old” book for every “new” book I read. I suppose I “cheat” a bit here because most of the “new” books I read refer heavily to the “old” ones. In any case, God used the Reformers and the Puritans to define in stark, black and white terms what was orthodox and what was not. What was the mechanism God used for this?

God uses pressure, conflicts, controversies, and all sorts of unpleasantness in Christianity to cause His people to “address” what is Biblical and what isn’t. For example, the Reformation rescued the Gospel from the chains of the apostate Roman Catholic Church. Many reformers paid with their lives in this struggle. Through this “reformation” we received the Bible in the languages of the common people. We also received catechisms and confessions such as the Westminster and the Heidleburg which define very well that which makes up the orthodox faith. 

The Reformation reclaimed the Scriptural teaching of the sovereignty of God over every aspect of the believer’s life. All of life is to be lived to the glory of God. As the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” This great and all consuming purpose was emphasized by those in the 16th and 17th Centuries who sought to reform the church according to the Word of God. In contrast to the monastic division of life into sacred versus secular perpetuated by Roman Church, the reformers saw all of life to be lived under the Lordship of Christ. Every activity of the Christian is to be sanctified unto the glory of God.

In contrast to this we have the movements today in which the orthodox faith as defined by the Reformers is being replaced by a “personal,” self-defined faith. This movement refuses to accept that God defines our faith the same for all. Instead, they teach that we are all on our own separate paths to God that are defined by our own concepts and beliefs. The emergents and Neo-Evangelicals say that they are angry with the fundamentalists for their ‘witch hunts’ against the liberals over the last few decades, rooting them out of their seminaries and pulpits. They use this excuse to reject things such as the 5 Solas as definitive of orthodoxy. 

For example, the first Sola, Sola Scriptura, is essential to the health of the Christian faith. Can a person be saved and not believe in Biblical Inerrancy? Sure, there is no requirement of that in order to be saved. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone. We do not bring anything into this such as works or certain beliefs. However, I assure you, it is imperative that Pastors, teachers and Christian leaders grasp it. Christian Orthodoxy has as it’s foundation the 5 Solas. If we remove any one of them then we have something other than Christianity.

Soli Deo Gloria shows us the reason for our salvation. God saves His people so that they will glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. I find that those who wish to argue about Orthodoxy are not too concerned with living totally for God and His glory. Instead, they are focused on things such as unity at all costs. I am not saying the Church shouldn’t be unified. It should be, but not at all cost. We cannot claim brotherhood with those who reject the deity of Christ for example. Why? This is a major part of Solus Chistus. What about Sola Scriptura? The Bible is our foundation of truth. It is God’s Word and tells us about Christ and that everything God created is for His glory alone. 

I love classical music. I usually listen to it while writing. The composer of my favorite pieces is J.S. Bach. He was a Christian. He signed each composition at the bottom with “SDG.” This stands for Soli Deo Gloria. He was saying through that that his works as a composer was for God’s glory alone. He was living out the 5th Sola in his work. He is quoted as saying, “God writes the notes, I simply put them to paper.” 

Why is it important that the Church understand how imperative it is that we do all for God’s glory instead of ours? Look at the aberrations of the Gospel and the forms of “church” we see around us which are lead by “super star” preachers. What is the emphasis of these ministries? Isn’t it to bring glory to the person instead of the creator? Those who minister this way are pragmatists. That means that instead of obeying God by simply preaching the Word, they use techniques and forms of preaching intended to manipulate and control the outcomes. They change the Gospel from that we see in scripture to a form of easy believism in which people are declared Christian who have only walked an aisle, said a prayer, raised a hand, had a spiritual experience or some religious work. This is done this way in order to maintain numbers of conversions and “grow churches.” This is pragmatism and it is not biblical. This is not done for the Glory of God Alone, but for some other reason. If the emphasis is Soli Deo Gloria then the preachers would not do this, but would preach the whole Gospel that divides everyone into two groups. These two groups are genuine Christians and everyone else. The numbers may not be as large, but the harvest is sure.

When Christians grasp Soli Deo Gloria as their way of life things change. That denying self, dying to self stuff becomes much easier. If the focus of our lives is God’s glory will we drag Him with us into sinful behavior? Won’t we pray more and depend more on His grace to live this Christian life? Won’t this help us live this life as Spirit-filled believers? My brethren, the purpose of this series was not an attempt to force every believer into some form of legalism. Instead, its purpose was to give each and every one of you the foundation that will lead to true freedom in Christ. When we live our lives for God’s glory in all we do He does not leave us helpless, but draws us closer to Him, feeding us from His table and increasing our faith. This opens up our spiritual understanding of the 5 Solas. 

Far be it from us to be legalistic, condemning “Christians” who are always pointing out the faults of others. No, let us take the high road always pointing the way so others may join us in our freedom in knowing and loving God’s Word from which we learn that we are saved by His Grace alone through Faith alone in Christ alone to the Glory of God Alone. 

Sola Scriptura
Sola Gratia
Sola Fide
Solus Christus
Soli Deo Gloria!

In scripture alone we find Salvation is by grace alone Through faith alone In Christ alone For the glory of God alone!

by Mike Ratliff

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. (Colossians 1:13-18 ESV)

As we have seen, Sola Scriptura is essential to genuine Christianity. Sacred Scripture is supreme and authoritative over the Church. It is the only ultimate and infallible authority for faith and practice. From Sola Scriptura flows Sola Graita, Sola Fide, Solus Christus, and Soli Deo Gloria. The individual Solas cannot stand apart from the others. From them we state, From Scripture we learn that our salvation if by Grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone for the glory of God alone. For instance, if someone says that they reject parts of this and simply want Jesus they are violating this and are out of balance theologically. This leads to all sorts of unbiblical behavior in the name of Christ.

I traveled from the Kansas City area on Friday to S.E. Oklahoma for a few days rest. We returned home today. I didn’t count them, but I am certain that we passed hundreds of churches of various denominations on this trip. Some had clear signs declaring what denominations there were part of while others had names such as “Family Worship Center,” or “Covenant Apostolic Healing Center,” et cetera. Why do we have all of these different denominations? Why are there all these one-off churches out there? Is not the Gospel that Paul preached very clear?

“It seems that we are some of the first who ever anywhere in the world, from the foundation of it, thought of ruining and destroying persons of the same religion with ourselves, merely upon the choice of some peculiar ways of worship in the religion” - John Owen from Indulgence and Toleration Considered, 1667

Owen was addressing outright persecution from the State sponsored church of his day which tried to destroy other forms of Christianity in England and the Colonies. To Owen, the Gospel preached by men such as John Bunyan was the same Gospel that He believed and preached even though he was a Congregationalist while Bunyan was a Baptist. These men could fellowship and consider each a brother because they both clung to the 5 Solas as that “spiritual glue” that binds all genuine Christian brothers and sisters together. On the other hand, these men would not find themselves calling a Pelagian a brother in Christ. Why?

Both Pelagianism and Semi-Pelagiansim, violates the 5 Solas in some way. For instance, Pelagianism is more or less just moralism, which refuses to believe that Sola Scripture, Sola Gratia and, therefore, Soli Fide are essential for salvation. They even teach that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was not essential for salvation thereby rejecting Solus Christus.

What is Solus Christus?

We reaffirm that our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of the historical Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father.

We deny that the gospel is preached if Christ’s substitutionary work is not declared and faith in Christ and his work is not solicited.

In other words, the Gospel preached without Christ’s substitutionary work is not the Gospel. Also, we know from the Bible that the genuine Gospel is accomplished by God by His grace through faith. Do you see how genuine salvation is God’s work alone from first to last? Now, what about those “professing Christians” who just want Jesus, but forget this rigid adherence to the Biblical Gospel? Should we just welcome them with open arms or what? That’s not what Paul did. Read his Epistle to the Galatians if you doubt that statement.

Solus Christus means there is only one genuine and saving Christ. He is not only sufficient in his bleeding and dying to save us. He is the only Christ. In our relativistic culture we find that it offers many “Christs” who are not really Christ at all. Asserting solus Christus means that a Christian rejects positions in opposition to it as false (”and therefore we condemn…”). I know that those reading this who are enamored with relativism will not agree, but here are four examples of “another” Jesus that many are in love with who is not the real Jesus.

• Christ the psychotherapist. This is an extremely popular position in today’s evangelicalism. This “Christ” is preached as the one who can heal our inner psychological wounds. He can heal broken marriages, aid us in communication with our children, and deal with other dysfunctional situations.
• Christ our example. Often Christ is preached as a moral example whom we are to emulate. The idea lying behind this view is that our sin is little more than confusion and that we have within us the inner moral wherewithal to do whatever should be done, once we are taught it. The “gospel” of this particular “Christ” is pure law, though few pastors who preach “Christ is your model” seem to recognize this fact.
• Christ who gives health and wealth. Surprisingly common is the preaching of a “Christ” who always grants health or wealth to those whose faith in him reaches the level it should. Those who have watched the Pentecostal televangelists recognize this “Christ.”
• Christ the lover. This is popular in certain seminaries where faculties recommend (or even require) students to read the supposed profundities of the mystics. The idea here is not (as it should be) that the student is enabled to critique these writings as examples of man’s perennial attempts to use inner experience as the basis for his justification before God. Rather, the student is encouraged to see the possible application of such writings to the laity in his parish. But as Luther said, mystical experience is just one more counterfeit “ladder to heaven.” Such examples could easily be multiplied.

There are innumerable others I assure you. It happens every time a preacher or teacher misrepresents Christ, His character, His mission, His deity, et cetera. The real Jesus is the Biblical, historical Jesus whom we learn of in the Bible. He is not subject to philosophies or culture or attempts by cultists and heretics to force their version of Him on everyone else. This is why the 5 Solas must stand together.

The Christian skeptic (is that an oxymoron) says that the Bible is not inerrant. Therefore, nothing in it can be trusted. Therefore, we can reject the necessity of Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Solus Christus, and Soli Deo Gloria. We can make up our own version of Christianity that is just love and compassion saying things like this:

And let me be clear: I do not have a problem with people who believe in inerrancy. I respect that belief. I just personally can’t go there. My problem is when there is no understanding from their perspective for the other point of view. But these matters are trivial…

My larger concern is why we as Christians cannot fully accept brothers and sisters who are 100% committed to living out the way of Jesus but who happen to think differently on theological grounds. Let us be a community of grace and love committed to the community and kingdom of Christ. This is all that I ask.

I have no doubt that this person means this in all sincerity, however, does that sincerity make it right? This was a response to a couple of days of back and forth between me and a commenter on one of my older posts. Do you see the focus of this? This is forcing the Gospel to change in order to accommodate other’s beliefs. This is removing the 5 Solas as essential. This is removing all barriers to fellowship other than Jesus just the way you want to have Him. In other words, this is all about being a Christian on one’s own terms. My friends and brethren, this is not real Christianity.

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26 ESV)

Jesus gives us the standard here for authentic Christianity. What is it? The genuine Christian denies self and takes up his or her cross then follows Christ. This is dying to self. This is being a Christian on Christ’s terms, not our terms. When the believer believes then receives Christ as Lord and Saviour, they become subject to Jesus’ Lordship. This is that dying to self and living for Christ stuff. It is not subject to religiosity nor is it editable.

Sola Scriptura
Sola Gratia
Sola Fide
Solus Christus
Soli Deo Gloria!

In scripture alone we find Salvation is by grace alone Through faith alone In Christ alone For the glory of God alone!

My wife and I are preparing to travel to S.E. Oklahoma tomorrow, returning to the Kansas City area Sunday late. This is our annual trip to Robber’s Cave State Park near Wilburton, OK. I have all of my camera gear ready to go as well as my hiking boots, shorts, and hat. I do not feel as exhausted prior to this trip as I did a few weeks ago when I took the week off, however, I know God will use this time to refresh me and prepare me for what I am to do next week. Sometimes I repost previous articles for times like this, but this time I think I will simply post an article by Dr. Kim Riddlebarger that is in the April 2008 Tabletalk magazine. If you have one, this article is found on pp64-65. Enjoy and be blessed. - Mike Ratliff

by Kim Riddlebarger

Of all the Reformation-era catchisms, perhaps none is as well-loved as the Heidleberg Catechism. In the opening question and answer, the personal and distinctive tone of the catechism becomes evident. “What is your only comfort in life and in death?” This is not a theoretical question — “What would be necessary if God were to comfort sinners?” Rather, this is a very practical question — “How do I have comfort as long as I live and then when I die?”

The key word in the opening question is comfort (German, trost). The word refers to our assurance and confidence in the finished work of Christ. This comfort extends to all of life and even to the hour of death. As one of the authors of the catechism (Zacharius Ursinus) puts it in his commentary on the catechism, this comfort entails “the assurance of the free remission of sin, and of reconciliation with God by and on account of Christ, and a certain expectation of eternal life; impressed upon the heart by the Holy Spirit through the gospel, so that we have no doubt but that we are saved forever, according to the declaration of the apostle Paul: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Note that the catechism speaks of our “only” comfort. There is no other such comfort and assurance to be found apart from Christ.

In answering the opening question, the catechism asserts that “I, with body and soul, both in life and in death,” will have this comfort. A paraphrase of Romans 14:7-8 here, we are reminded that God’s care extends to us throughout the course of our lives. Christ has removed the curse; there is assurance of salvation in this life and the resurrection of our bodies at the end of the age (see Q & A 57-58). This knowledge comforts us now and prepares us for whatever lies ahead.

Our comfort derives from the fact that “I am not my own.” These words are taken from 1 Corinthians 6:19-20” “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” We are Christ’s, and He will do with us as He wills. This comfort is based on the fact that God is sovereign and has the power to do as He has promised.

This wonderful fact is further spelled out in the next part of the answer. “But [I] belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.” The catechism directs us away from out faith (the subjective) to Christ’s obedience — my “faithful” Savior (the objective). Christ fulfilled all righteousness and died for our sin upon the cross for me. The specifics of Christ’s obedience are spelled out in more detail in the next part of the answer: “who with His precious blood.” These words come from 1 Peter 1:18-19: “…knowing that you were ransomed for the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” The death of Christ is the only means by which the guilt of human sin can be removed (expiation) and the wrath of God turned aside (propitiation). The catechism reminds us that the ground of our salvation is the work of Christ for us, not our faith or our won good works.

Next, the first answer of the catechism tells us that the death of Jesus lies at the heart of this promised salvation because He “has fully satisfied for all my sins.” Christ’s death alone satisfies the justice of the holy God (Rom. 3:21-26). No human work or religious ceremony can do this. Not only that, but His death has “redeemed me from all the power of the devil.” This is an echo from 1 John 3:8: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” Satan has been cast out of heaven so that he can no longer accuse us before the heavenly court. Christ’s victory over him is evident at the cross (Col. 2:13-15).

The catechism then states the precious truth that our assurance of salvation and our perseverance in faith are also the work of Christ. “[Christ] so preservers me that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head.” This is taken from Matthew 10:29-30: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from our Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.” To posses the comfort promised in the Gospel, I need to know that God’s sovereign care extends to all aspects of my life. Nothing happens to me apart from the will of God. In fact, “all things must work together for my salvation” (see Rom. 8:28). God has ordained all things. He redeems us from sin. And in the end, God will turn it to my good.

Finally, we learn that this comfort becomes mine through the work of the Holy Spirit. “Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life.” The Holy Spirit bears witness to the truth of God’s Word and confirms the promise God made to me that He will save all those who trust in Christ. This same indwelling Spirit “makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live unto Him.” It is God who will see His good work through to the end. That one who justifies me will also sanctify me. He who began a good work in me will see it through to the end.

Knowing these things gives me unspeakable comfort in life and in death.

Dr. Kim Riddlebarger is senior minister of Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim, California. He is author of The Man of Sin: Uncovering the Truth About the Antichrist.

by Mike Ratliff

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)

With a gloriously monotonous regularity Paul pits faith off over against all law-keeping as its diametrical opposite as to referent. Whereas the latter relies on the human effort of the law-keeper looking to himself to render satisfaction before God, the former repudiates and looks entirely away from all human effort to the cross work of Jesus Christ, who alone by his sacrificial death rendered satisfaction before God for men.➀

For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it– the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: (Romans 3:20-22 ESV)

For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. (Romans 3:28 ESV)

And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, (Romans 4:5 ESV)

For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. (Romans 4:14 ESV)

yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. (Galatians 2:16 ESV)

Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Galatians 3:11 ESV)

and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith– (Philippians 3:9 ESV)

From such verses it is plain that Paul taught that justification is by ‘faith alone’ (sole fide). The Roman Catholic Church has always objected to the use of this sola (”alone”) attached to fide, contending that nowhere does Paul say “alone: when speaking of the faith that justifies, and that where the Bible does attach sola to fide when speaking of justification it declares: “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone: (James 2:24). All this is true enough, but I would insist, as the above citations indicate, that when Paul declares (1) that a man is justified “by faith apart from works of the law,” (2) that the man “who works not but believes in him who justifies the ungodly” is the man whom God regards and righteous, (3) that a man is “not justified by works of the law but through faith,” and (4) that “by the Law no man is justified before God…because the righteous by faith shall live,” he is asserting the “aloneness” of faith as the “alone” instrument of justification as surely as if he had used the word “alone,” and he is asserting it even more vigorously than if he had simply employed alone each time.➁

The “Material Principle” of the Reformation was justification by faith alone. As the Westminster Confession of Faith says, “Faith, thus receiving and resting on Christ and his righteousness, is the alone instrument of justification: yet is it not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, but worketh by love.” The Genevan Confession likewise pointed out the necessity of those justified living by faith saying, “We confess that the entrance which we have to the great treasures and riches of the goodness of God that is vouchsafed us is by faith; inasmuch as, in certain confidence and assurance of heart, we believe in the promises of the gospel, and receive Jesus Christ as he is offered to us by the Father and described to us by the Word of God (Genevan 11).

Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith– just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Galatians 3:5-11 ESV)

My brethren, saving faith comes through the saving power of that faith. This power resides not in faith itself, but in our Lord Jesus Christ on whom it rests. What actually occurs when one is saved is that Christ saves that person through faith. This faith receives what God freely gives.

[Our] Justification is not a reward given to faith, but instead the empty hand of faith, which bringing no plea other than–“Christ is sufficient! Be merciful to me, a sinner! I believe!”–is the only hand that will find itself grasped by the hand of God’s almighty grace.➂

I read once that God saves His people by Grace through the conduit of faith. In Ephesians 2:1-10 we learn that all people, until salvation, are dead in their trespasses and sins, no exceptions. Then, God, being rich in mercy, gifts those whom He saves with salvation apart from any work or effort or merit on their part. Therefore, even the faith, the conduit for God’s Grace, is part of that gift which God gives freely. This regenerated faith is alive because God has quickened our old dead faith enabling us to believe. This faith is also humble. Remember the empty hand. We offer nothing in our salvation. Why did God do it this way?

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)

For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring–not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (Romans 4:15-16 ESV)

Our salvation is God’s work from first to last because if it involved our effort or works then we could boast. These works include works of the law, doing good deeds, avoiding sinful behavior, etc. We should rejoice that our salvation is God’s work instead of ours. Why? If it was ours then we must always be in fear of not having enough faith or the right kind of faith or not enough good works or too many bad works. What bondage that would be! Praise God that we are saved by grace through faith as His gift! Also, if we include our works as necessary for our salvation then we are saying that Christ’s death on the cross was not sufficient to save us. No, we come to God for salvation with an empty hand or we come away with something other than genuine salvation.

➀Robert Reymond, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith (Thomas Nelson, 1998), 732.

➁Ibid.

➂James R. White, The God Who Justifies (Bethany House, 2001), 110.

Sola Fide: We reaffirm that justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. In justification Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God’s perfect justice.

We deny that justification rests on any merit to be found in us, or upon the grounds of an infusion of Christ’s righteousness in us, or that an institution claiming to be a church that denies or condemns sola fide can be recognized as a legitimate church.

Sola Scriptura
Sola Gratia
Sola Fide
Solus Christus
Soli Deo Gloria!

In scripture alone we find Salvation is by grace alone Through faith alone In Christ alone For the glory of God alone!

by Mike Ratliff

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)

“Sir, I understand that you are called an Arminian; and I have been sometimes called a Calvinist; and therefore I suppose we are to draw daggers. But before I consent to begin the combat, with your permission I will ask you a few questions…. Pray, Sir, do you feel yourself a depraved creature, so depraved that you would never have thought of turning to God, if God had not first put into your heart?”

“Yes,” says [Wesley], “I do indeed.”

“And do you utterly despair of recommending yourself to God by anything you can do; and look for salvation solely through the blood and righteousness of Christ?”

“Yes, solely through Christ.”

“But, Sir, supposing you were at first saved by Christ, are you not somehow or other to save yourself afterwards by your own works?”

“No, I must be saved by Christ from first to last.”

“Allowing, then that you were first turned by the grace of God, are you not in some way or other to keep yourself by your own power?”

“No.”

“What, then are you to be upheld every hour and every moment by God, as much as an infant in its mother’s arms?”

“Yes, altogether.”

“And is all your hope in the grace and mercy of God to preserve you unto His heavenly kingdom?

“Yes, I have no hope but in Him.”

“Then, Sir, with your leave I will put up my dagger again; for this is all my Calvinism; this is my election, my justification by faith, my final perseverance: it is in substance all that I hold, and as I hold it; and therefore, if you please, instead of searching out terms and phrases to be a ground of contention between us, we will cordially unite things wherein we agree.” - From the writings of Charles Simeon, a recorded conversation between him and John Wesley on December 20, 1784.

I personally have little use for Calvinists who treat the Gospel as if it is something unpalatable or off limits or to be shared only with a small group of people. No matter if we are Calvinists or Arminians who differ on some doctrinal points, I will consider all my brother or sister in Christ those who profess sola gratia, by grace alone. On the other hand, those who trash the Gospel by making it totally subordinate to men with God a helpless bystander will witness me raising my Monergistic flag. Monergism states that salvation is by grace alone and any addition at all to God’s grace is to destroy its graciousness, its very nature as a gift.

The difference between a monergistic and a synergistic faith, between a God only and God and Gospel, is nothing less than the difference between the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the one hand, and all other religious systems of belief…on the other. There are basically only two alternatives. If man contributes any essential part towards his salvation, he effectively becomes his own savior….

There is here a clear point of demarcation. It is all of God or it is not good news at all. If man is free to resist, God is not free to act, for He is bound by man’s freedom. If God is to be free to act, man must be bound by the will of God….But in a fallen world, God’s grace must be irresistible or man’s will can remain forever opposed to God, and the will of the creature overrides the will of the Creator.

In truth there is no “Gospel” that is not entirely rooted in the sovereignty of God’s grace in salvation, which is the sum and substance of Calvinism….The crucial issue is the sovereignty of God’s grace….

The only defense against Synergism is an unqualified Calvinism ascribing all the glory to God by insisting upon the total spiritual impotence of man, an Election based solely upon the good pleasure of God, an Atonement intended only for the elect though sufficient for all men, a grace that can neither be resisted nor earned, and a security for the believer that is a permanent as God Himself.➀

I fear, however, that some reading this who consider themselves Arminian will take offense by this argument. Please remember the conversation recorded above between John Wesley and Charles Simeon. Wesley was a great evangelist because he was a preacher of righteousness. He preached the depravity of man and the impossibility of salvation without repentance and that ability to do so having to come only from God. My friends, this is sola gratia.

If you had approached me before 2004-2005 in a conversation about Christianity I am pretty sure that you would have come away from it convinced that I was a fundamental Southern Baptist. Up until that time I actually had no idea what Synergism, Monergism, or Arminianism were. I had a vague notion of what Calvinism was, but that came from the many World History classes I took over the years. However, if you had asked how salvation took place you would have received back a conglomerated mish-mash of doctrines that were inconsistent with each other at best. I knew Ephesians 2:8 because I had been an Evangelism Explosion presenter and trainer for many years. However, my understanding of that verse was that the grace only involved salvation while the faith that Paul mentioned was “mine.” Here is the verse again.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:8 ESV)

However, there is a problem with that understanding in light of 1 Corinthians 2:14.

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV)

If the grace is God’s, but the faith belongs to the one being saved then how do we reconcile this passage with that understanding? If the person being saved must decide if he or she truly wants to be saved then they must invite or allow God to come into them to be their saviour. Do you see how this tramples on God’s grace, making it simply an offer that depends on human effort or cooperation in order for God to apply His grace? This is Synergism.

Since we are holders to Sola Scriptura we insist that no outside assumptions or philosophies can override what the Bible teaches. Nor do we hold that these assumptions or philosophies can be added to the Sacred Scripture to enhance it or change it. With this understanding, we take the stand that the Bible does not teach Synergism in Salvation. No, it cannot be found in scripture nor can it be supported from scripture. If any human effort is added to the grace of God then our salvation is not by the grace of God “alone.”

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13 ESV)

Please carefully read that passage. Who are “given” the right to become children of God? It is given to those who received Him and believed in His name. Notice neither of those things were the result of heritage, or the will of the flesh or the will of man. How do they come? They come by the will of God alone. At first glance it looks like the one being saved does work to receive and believe, but then we see that they do so only by the will of God.

Sola Scriptura tells us that salvation is by grace alone (Sola Gratia). I dearly wish I could have grasped this many years earlier than I did. Before I came to grips with Sovereign Grace I always assumed that since I was saved by the exercise of my free will that I also had to obey the rules in my own man-made religion. My religious activities were all up to me and done by my will power. This is a recipe for disaster because it is only a road to no where that requires constant self-effort. This road does not lead to spiritual life. It has no power to bring that life because it is just human activity.

Even after God radically drew me to Himself in 2004, I still struggled with this need to work by will power. However, I knew that something had changed in me and God had done it. It was in 2005 as I studied doctrine in preparation for writing a book that I came across the dispute between Calvinism and Arminianism. As I studied it, I was stunned to find that my own personal doctrine, the religion in my heart, was partially Calvinism and mostly Arminianism. I could not stop researching this. I started this in early Summer 2005. Around the end of October and the beginning of November 2005 I was a five point Calvinist. It took a lot of study and prayer. However, one of the things I am very grateful for in this is that God took me through the zealot stage of Calvinism very quickly. Fortunately I did not have a blog during this period.

It was as I began blogging that God brought all sorts of brothers and sisters in Christ to me. Some were not Calvinists, but obviously knew the Lord, loved the Lord, and served Him while others were. IMHO I contend that as long as people preach the cross and Jesus crucified and hold to Sola Gratia then they are my brethren. After all, I wasn’t a Calvinist when I was born again. Were you?

➀Arthur C. Custance, The Sovereignty of Grace (Philipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1979), 363, 364.

Sola Gratia: In salvation we are rescued from God’s wrath by His grace alone. It is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life. 

We deny that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerated human nature.

Sola Scriptura
Sola Gratia
Sola Fide
Solus Christus
Soli Deo Gloria!

In scripture alone we find Salvation is by grace alone Through faith alone In Christ alone For the glory of God alone!

 by Mike Ratliff

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:2-8 ESV)

Though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:6-10 ESV)

When I was about 10 or 12 years old we went to the Santa Fe Depot in the town I grew up in to meet the train my cousin was on. He and his mother and sisters were traveling from Dallas to see us in Purcell, Oklahoma. In any case, I was excited to see my cousin. As we waited for the train, I did the typical boy thing at a railroad depot. I explored. I found a box on a pole that looked like it had a thermometer in it. I tried to read the temperature, but something had fallen down in front of it. I hit the side of the box to loosen it. It turned out to be a Yellowjacket nest full of Yellowjackets.  The station manager yelled for me to run but it was too late. The next thing I knew I had Yellowjacket wasps all over me. They followed me wherever I went. I could not get away from them. They stung me through my shirt and continued to attack even as I fell to the ground and rolled, trying to get away from them. 

I had no idea why they quit stinging me. I was in a lot of pain. This was the early 1960’s and no one went to the hospital unless it was critical. I waited on the platform with my mother and sister for the train. I was in agony. I felt sick. I thought I was going to die. When my cousin and his family arrived we took them in our car to our house. I had such high expectations for that time, but I was sick and in a lot of pain. It took two or three days for the stings to subside. I think I had ten or so stings on my belly and several on my back. I had jeans on so they didn’t get my legs. I was wearing a sleeveless white t-shirt, but for some odd reason they did not go for my arms. They didn’t sting my face either. In any case, I will never forget that attack. The continual swarming, buzzing, stinging all over. I still fell a little sick when I think of it. What angered me back then was that there was no reason for it. I had done nothing to deserve that. I wasn’t trying to harm their nest.

Over the last several weeks this episode in my past has been relived in a very different way. As many of you know, when I was on vacation earlier this month I received a cry for help and prayer from a friend, Lisa at Deo Volente. She had encountered a group who were continually attacking her, claiming she was not a Christian or she wouldn’t have MS. This lead to me commenting on her blog then receiving hateful and condemning emails about Lisa from the same people. This lead to me demanding that they back away and leave us alone. They would not listen so I posted How to Detect a False Prophet. Things died down for awhile. Then on Friday this week I received over 40 comments from the leader of this group. I detailed this in Sola Scriptura. 

Today I began receiving email from some of you that you had received the comments I deleted in an email from the group leader, Victor. I had tried to spare those he mentioned in his diatribe by deleting them. However, He is determined to tell all of us that we are lost, are not Christians, have never been Christians, and we will all eventually submit to his authority. If it wasn’t so pathetically stupid it would be comical. However, as I read the comments from Victor again I had that image of the Yellowjackets continually trying to destroy me. I had simply tried to help a friend by encouraging her and now her attackers are taking it out on me and you for refusing to listen to him or take him seriously. 

Here are his “prophecies” against us, in case you haven’t received his email.

To those here that participated on Mike Ratliff’s blog entry, How to
Detect a False Prophet, Victor Hafichuk replied to each of you, though
Mike refused to post his answers. I am therefore sending this to you
so you can see Victor’s answers to you, and his reply to Mike (given
first).

Paul Cohen

www.thepathoftruth.com 

Reply to Mike:

Mike Ratliff, Victor Hafichuk here, in the Wonderful Name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, to which Name you bring reproach and cause others to
blaspheme. 

I will address your blog posting of April 20, 2008 and prove it is
against the Lord Jesus Christ and not only against us. 

Your blog is not there for the Lord. You simply use His Name for self-
aggrandizement, taking upon yourself His Name in vain. All those you
entertain with your wickedness, which is paraded as righteousness, are
as you. 

I declare that you have nothing to do with the Lord Jesus Christ, and
He now speaks to you by us. You don’t know Him and He does not know
you, who work lawlessly.  He has never known you, even as He says: 

“Not everyone who says to Me, Lord! Lord! shall enter the kingdom of
Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. Many will say
to Me in that day, Lord! Lord! Did we not prophesy in Your name, and
through Your name throw out demons, and through Your name do many
wonderful works? And then I will say to them I never knew you! Depart
from Me, those working lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:21-23 MKJV) 

You are His enemies, scattering and not gathering. This goes for
several, if not all of your participants, who company with you in the
Lord’s Name. Of and to those who stand against the Lord with Mike,
here is what the Word has to say: 

Proverbs 6:12-19 MSG 

(12)  Riffraff and rascals talk out of both sides of their mouths.

(13)  They wink at each other, they shuffle their feet, they cross
their fingers behind their backs. 

(14)  Their perverse minds are always cooking up something nasty,
always stirring up trouble. 

(15)  Catastrophe is just around the corner for them, a total smash-
up, their lives ruined beyond repair. 

(16)  Here are six things GOD hates, and one more that he loathes with
a passion: 

(17)  eyes that are arrogant, a tongue that lies, hands that murder
the innocent, 

(1  a heart that hatches evil plots, feet that race down a wicked
track, 

(19)  a mouth that lies under oath, a troublemaker in the family.

For those of you who have a problem with Peterson (MSG), take it from
the KJV. 

You quote John 7:17-18. Those words are spoken by the One we serve and
you use them without authority or understanding as He intended them.
Furthermore, they indict you, as is plainly visible by your blog and
your spirit for those with spiritual discernment to see, which you
claim to have but do not.

Concerning your “sister in Christ,” Lisa Nunley, we have already tried
to reason with you concerning your irresponsible conduct in
commenting, and accusing and condemning us without knowledge of the
facts. By your own mouth you confessed you had no idea of whom and
against whom you spoke or why, yet did nothing about it. Only stubborn
fools conduct themselves that way: 

“Answering before listening is both stupid and rude” (Proverbs 18:13
MSG). 

Many have made their ignorant remarks on this blog without knowledge,
much less understanding. Certainly the Lord’s sons and daughters do
not do so. Paul Cohen dealt with you, Mike, on this issue and you were
too proud and stubborn to even try to ascertain the facts, much less
understand them, and where you were clearly proven wrong, you could
acknowledge nothing. 

Why don’t you post Paul’s letters to you and let all see the
correspondence in entirety? Is that too much to ask? We want this all
in the open, unlike the wicked that flee when none pursue or speak
without responsibility or accountability. We have the postings,
including those with Nunley and Elslager, so that all parties may
access the complete dialogue, with nothing omitted: Calvinism with a
Feminine Touch. 

Mike, you accuse us of “attacking” your fellow blogger concerning her
illness. You lie and she lies. We did no such thing. The illness
matter was not an issue to us or to the Lord. It was but a small part
of the picture, a mere symptom, one of many. 

If Lisa Nunley or Jen Elslager or anyone else took it as an attack, we
are not responsible. How is it you automatically judge our motives and
hearts in the matter, yet without fact? Who but the one known as the
liar, murderer, and accuser of the brethren does that? Where is the
substance for your accusation? There is none, Mike, yet you presume to
preach the Gospel and represent Christ? 

What we did do was speak the truth for their sakes, according to the
truth of Scripture, that they might repent and be restored in
spiritual health and thus, Lord willing, physical. Is that an
unacceptable motive to you? Does speaking the truth with the genuine
intent of helping fall into your definition of “attack”? 

We have good cause to speak of illness as a result of sin. The Bible
is unequivocal on that matter. For all those who might have a grain of
interest, objectivity, and desire for truth, read God Heals Today, His
Way. Who are you to judge that their illness is not a result of sin or
that it would not be taken away with repentance? 

You bear a false report, Mike; you lie and evilly judge our
confrontation. Of us and our correspondence, you say, “…where he was
continually attacking her character and salvation. He used
intimidation tactics and used absolutely no biblical references to
support his attacks.” 

My dictionary defines “intimidation” as: “being made to feel afraid or
timid, bullying.” We were not there to do as you evilly surmise.

However, it is true that we addressed her character and false claims,
not to attack but to expose, not for our sakes alone, but more so hers
and the Lord’s. As it says, “Reprove the works of darkness.” Should we
expect darkness to be receptive? 

As for salvation, she is not saved and never was. Professing faith
means nothing. But you scorn that assertion and condemn us because you
are not saved. I know I will not make headway with you now but we will
speak, for the record. You and those with you will be without excuse.

As I have already said, you, Mike, are not a genuine Christian either
– just another tare, a child of the Devil. How do I know? We have told
you: 

“He who is of God hears God’s Words. Therefore you do not hear them
because you are not of God” (John 8:47 MKJV) 

“We are of God. He who knows God hears us. The one who is not of God
does not hear us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit
of error” (1 John 4:6 MKJV). 

We will also specify other fruits. Of you and your friends (and I will
address each and several of them), it is written: 

“They are of the world, therefore they speak of the world, and the
world hears them” (1 John 4:5 MKJV). 

You say we offered no Biblical references?  Again, you lie. As I said,
we provided and do provide the authority of Scripture to substantiate
what we say. All you need to do is avail yourselves of the postings
and papers as linked: Calvinism with a Feminine Touch. 

We are not afraid of you. If you are the righteous and we are the
wicked ones, we ought to be afraid of you, according to the proverb: 

“The wicked are edgy with guilt, ready to run off even when no one’s
after them; Honest people are relaxed and confident, bold as
lions” (Proverbs 28:1 MSG). 

But we are not running, are we? We will scatter the darkness. We have
come across a nest of scorners and ignorant cowards, tares presuming
to be wheat, hypocrites who stop their ears because their mouths are
stopped. And your time is up. 

You wickedly accuse us of conducting a “vendetta” and then write: “I
had to show a great deal of restraint here because the temptation was
to pull out the big guns and go for it, but I refrained.” 

Proud boaster. “I have muscle but I am also pious and self-
restraining; feast your eyes on me.” Do you think you are a mighty
man, Mike? Frankly, you don’t have water pistols. Your holsters are
empty. You pretend righteousness and restraint because you have
nothing or are afraid to show your true colors. 

Don’t refrain; speak up, that is, if you have anything at all to say,
which you don’t. We do, so better you should listen up and shut up, Mike. 

Was that “unloving”? Read The False Religious Love that Hates
(Rejects) God and Does God Speak Only Gentle Words? 

You say, “The most typical indicator of a false prophet or teacher is
that their ways and message are not biblical,” and “How do we know if
a teacher or preacher really is from God? Their message will be
biblical. It will line up with the Bible.” 

Of course false ones are not Biblical - that is like saying pigs have
no wings. But how presumptuous it is of you, as though you have the
ability to judge and use the Bible as a measure! How shall a false
teacher judge? What you do have is your darkened interpretation of
what you think the Bible says and a gross misunderstanding of what it
says, because you do not know the Author of the Bible, the Lord Jesus

Christ. Your doctrines are of men and not of God. You are deceived by
“another gospel,” one that has slain many. Read Diabolical Doctrine 1)

“Accept Jesus as your personal Saviour and you will be saved.”

You suggest, “After reading…I suggest that you go to that site and
with all discernment read what is there.” 

Where are they to receive that discernment? From you, Mike? You
proudly profess to have it, like a little three-year old who thinks he
can push over a house. One of the gifts of the Spirit is discernment,
but not having the Spirit, how can one then discern? Read The Baptism
of the Holy Spirit and the Diabolical Doctrines, 3) “Gifts of the Holy
Spirit are not for today” and  

4) “There are no apostles and/or prophets today.”

Yes, in your antiChrist spirit, you will condemn it as “Pentecostalism.”
But read anyway – one day you may find a way out of your sins. 

Being a Calvinist, for example, and in agreement with that false
teacher’s major doctrines makes you a child of darkness and not of
Light. Read Is Your Profession of Faith Vain, Christian?, Counterfeit
Christianity, The True Marks of a Cult, You Want to Walk with Jesus?
and The Restitution of All Things. No doubt, in your ignorance and
with your indoctrination of devils, you will scoff at what we, the few
in Christ on the narrow path, have to say, according to the Scriptures
and their Author. It’s your choice.  

You say, “Along with this, when they do ‘attack’ genuine Bible teachers or ministers,
they do not use the Bible or, if they do, they twist what it says.” 

Again you accuse us of attacking, and that “genuine Bible teachers.” Would you know if you saw one? Because you have been taught by men as to what are “genuine Bible teachers,” does that mean you were taught by God? Says who, Mike? Are you an authority? Are you appointed of God
to judge these matters? Plainly, you are not, but you don’t know that,
and, frankly, you don’t really care, do you? You are not there for
that. You are quite content with just being heard, recognized, and
praised by men. 

And just how do we twist what the Bible says? Must we have your
understanding to use it aright? Must all believe what you say, without
any substance, simply because Mike says so? And you call us arrogant? 

And how do you test the spirits, Mike? Do you know? We have tested
many and found them wanting. We have tried you, not that we need any
persuasion of your stance and nature, but you had to be told how the
Lord sees you. The Lord has shown us, and so we speak. 

You say, “Another indicator is whether their message and ministry exalts God or themselves.” 

They accused Jesus of bearing witness of Himself. So what makes you
think you know the difference? Where do you see us exalting ourselves?
You don’t say. All you do is the very things of which you accuse us.
You attack us; you criticize and denounce us as false teachers but
give no substance, only opinion. You take general Scripture, put your
spin on it and expect people to believe you. And you will not answer
to your error when we show it to you. 

Mike, you are a phony, through and through. While you have fooled some
people, you have not deceived God. You write, specifying false
teachers: “They have not the Holy Spirit. They are worldly. They may
proclaim that they know Jesus, but they are full of evil.” You speak
of yourself, precisely. 

You write: “In their personal lives, genuine ministers will be marked
by a growing Christlikeness while the false teacher, not being a
Christian, will be marked by a parody of it.” 

My, my, are you growing in Christlikeness, Mike, or is it a parody? Is
your act not a spoof? Who shall say? You say these things of me, and I
of you, but who knows? Your friends? Those who are in their sins and
blinded by false religion with you? 

What does God have to say? That is why we are here, that He may
finally have His say. 

You make many charges but give no specifics, just your opinion. If any
believe you, why do they do so? Is it because they take Mike’s word
for it? Is that the way Mike likes to operate? Or would they like the
truth? This I say: If they want truth, your blog is not the place to
find it. 

You write: “His contention is that men like Kirk Cameron are false
prophets because they use scare tactics when they share the Gospel. He
contends that this doesn’t work.” 

That’s right. A threat of a horrible literal fire for all eternity
without end is the biggest lie one can possibly tell about God. It is
a heinous character assassination, originating in paganism long before
Christ. Yes, we are familiar with all the inane arguments, but you are
not familiar with the Truth. You are painting pictures of Jesus Christ
in the nude, with horns, hooves, tail and trident. That is exactly
what you are doing. It is blasphemy! 

“It’s in the Bible,” you say? You have no idea, so read what the Bible
really has to say about this, your jewel of diabolical doctrines: The
Restitution of All Things. 

You continue: “I had to stop there and ask God for help. Then it came
to me, what was troubling me was that the Holy Spirit was showing me
clearly that this person was part of the Compromised Church and was
defending it’s man-oriented non-gospel while attacking the genuine
Gospel.” 

You heard from your own deceitful, indoctrinated heart, my friend.
Like I said, God does not speak to you. And I can guarantee you that
if you take the time and trouble to read our testimonies in Christ and
our doctrine, there is no way you will find compromise. You, Mike, are
a lying, prating fool, who shoots first and doesn’t even ask questions
later. You don’t care. You have no use for fact or truth whatsoever,
least of all for the One Who laid down His life for you. 

You write: “Another indicator is that false teachers and preachers
will lead their followers to worship other gods. The Compromised
Church worships another Jesus, not the Biblical Jesus. They have
created their god in their own image.” 

Wow! Guess who? You are zealous, but as was Saul of Tarsus before his
conversion, except that he had more knowledge than do you. Will you
also seek to kill us, as Calvin sought to and succeeded in murdering
Servetus and destroying Castellion? You may try, but you will not
succeed, because while Calvin was given to overcome the saints, this
time it is not so. Now we, the saints, being the Lord’s mouthpiece and
representation, will put away the seed of the serpent, which seed you
are. This is the Lord’s Day, a great day for the righteous, but a day
of wrath for you, the wicked. 

We speak and teach of healing, of spiritual gifts, of miracles, of
deliverance, of forsaking all for Him, and not only do we speak, we
experience, but you denounce those very things and then say this: 

“When the gospel is presented as the social gospel or health, wealth
and prosperity, or is robbed of all of its supernatural power then
those doing this have proved themselves to be false teachers and
preachers.” 

Mike, surely you are a liar and a hypocrite. Again, read The True
Marks of a Cult, all of you that read this, and tell us where you
stand with that checklist, which is not one of opinion, neither is it
swimming in carnal subjectivity, as are all other cult analysis
guidelines we have seen, but it is based squarely in Scripture,
pointing to the lives, examples, and doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ
and His disciples. 

Of Paul’s letter, you evilly surmise, “Also, did you notice the
threats and the tactic of attempting to generate fear?” 

Those are the perceptions of a wicked mind, blinded by sin and pride,
Mike. There is no such thing in that letter but the Truth. However, we
understand that you would be afraid of the Truth because Light exposes
darkness, and that, my friend, is why what we speak stings you, not
because it was from the enemy: 

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I did not come
to send peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34 MKJV). 

Quoting your friend, another Paul: 

“A man may preach like an apostle, pray like an angel—and yet may have
the heart of a devil!” 

Think about it, Mike. Though I see no apostolic preaching with you or
prayer as an angel, the latter is certainly true. We know with whom we
deal. 

Another quote: “As many go to heaven with the fear of hell in their
hearts—so many go to hell with the name of Christ in their mouths!” 

You dwell in Hell even now with His Name in your mouth, but those who
are in Heaven along with us have no fear whatsoever of Satan’s lies.
We fear God and love Him because He has given us to love Him. If you
experienced His love and new birth, there is no way that you or your
deceived friend could begin to speak those vile words expressed in the
first line. 

The second line is not quite accurate either. You are in Hell, that
state of darkness, deception and torment, and we know that unless God
grants you repentance, there is more of that to come for you and your
sycophantic friends, who also seek flattery and praise. That is why we
speak – to warn and give you notice of your state and destiny. 

Is Hell a literal fire? It is just like the seven-headed beast that is
thrown into the lake of fire, along with Hell and Death, and so many
other symbolisms in Scripture. 

Is Jesus a literal bleating lamb with hooves and wool? But you are
carnal, stupid, and full of all contradiction, teaching lies. We will
prove it to you as you read our papers, given us of God, the
Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. 

Victor Hafichuk 

Well what do you think? This ‘person’ said all of that, insulted me and my friends with no knowledge of us at all. Why? It was so people will go to his website and read his papers. That is all. I do not at all believe what he says about me or my friends. I pray that you do not either, but don’t take my word for it. Listen to the Spirit. However, it was obvious to me that Victor is a self-righteous hypocrite. He does the very thing he accuses us of doing. Upon what does he base his authority? He bases it upon his own visions and prophecies, not the Bible. As you could plainly see, he has no clue how to handle the Word of Truth. Instead of going to his website and making his hit counter spin, let’s ignore him. All he and his group are are a bunch of deceived people who try to create pain in other’s lives by attacking their salvation based upon his twisted version of the Gospel and scripture in general.  

Victor, this is addressed to you. You try to come across as if you are right at the throne of God and know all things. You are deceived if that is what you really believe. You try to make people believe you are the only true prophet alive on planet Earth today. Well, that is really sad since all you push are the works of other heretics while using a paraphrase of the Bible. All we ever receive from you and Paul are accusations. Where is your scriptural proof Victor? I didn’t see any. Also, you are always going after other’s motives. Huge mistake because that marks you as a false prophet who has no idea how to really debate. This is why I have two rules on my blog just for this sort of thing. You broke them both so I refused to post your comments. The first rule is that I allow no ad hominem attacks on my blog against me or any other commenter. That is all you do. Also, I refuse to allow any Straw Man Fallacy arguments. Well, since you misrepresent what we believe, insultingly I might add, then you are guilty of that as well. These two rules are used here to determine the true from the false. God would never have a prophet of his use either of those types of argument. Therefore, we all know that you are nothing but a false prophet. Everyone that comes here now knows who you are and no one is afraid of you. You can rant and rave and send out emails with all of your hateful remarks, but no one is listening and no one is coming to your site to be deceived. 

My brethren, that was quite painful for me to write. I hate that sort of thing. Victor and people like him draw their power from people who succumb to them by being beaten down by their continual attacks, much like the Yellowjackets did me when I was just a boy. I thought about addressing each of his points from scripture, but it would take a lot more time than I have this evening. However, those of you who have physical problems and know that God is working through them to sanctify you, be strengthened in the Lord. Read these passages and rejoice. 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:2-8 ESV) 

Though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:6-10 ESV) 

I can bear the attacks of people like Victor and Paul without doubting and so can you. How? 

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. (2 Timothy 1:8-12 ESV) 

Aren’t you glad that God is both Holy and Merciful? He is Righteous and Just yet He is also Love and Grace. He is not how Victor presents Him at all. Let us rejoice in our sufferings as we cling to our Lord. Time is short my brethren. I think God is giving us a preview of the irrationality that will prevail in the time to come. Do you think perhaps that God has allowed this to prepare us for that? Could He be training our discernment, raising our ability to see these things clearly? Let us pray for wisdom and discernment and for those deceived souls in Victor’s ‘family’ to be drawn into the light. They aren’t beyond the reach of our God.  

Soli Deo Gloria!

by Mike Ratliff

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 ESV)

We affirm that the text of Scripture is to be interpreted by grammatico-historical exegesis, taking account of its literary forms and devices, and that Scripture is to interpret Scripture. We deny the legitimacy and any treatment of the text or quest for sources lying behind it that leads to relativizing, dehistoricizing, or discounting its teaching, or rejecting its claims to authorship. - Article XVIII of The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy October 1978

The authority of the Bible is based on its being the written Word of God, and because the Bible is the Word of God and the God of the Bible is truth and speaks truthfully, authority is linked to inerrancy. If the Bible is the Word of God, and if God is a God of truth, then the Bible must be inerrant–not merely in some of its parts, as some modern theologians are saying, but totally, as the church for the m