Who Are God's Chosen People ~ And How Are We Saved

Several weeks ago,  I posted a blog titled "The Dangers Of Liberal Theology In America Today" - and I received an e-mail response from a long time Christian Friend, Norma, who has several very important questions for me, and for all Christians:

Very well written Bill, I agree with conservative Christianity - but did not understand the word "fundamentalism."  You are a very good writer.  I would like to ask you what I believe is a very important question.  "What do you, or the church you go to which is Baptist-based, believe is the outcome of the Jews?" 

As you know I am a very firm believer in Israel and that it is God's land, that the Jews are the apple of His eye.  Although, I do believe that each Jew will be judged individually just as Gentiles are to be judged.   Also the Bible says the scales in their eyes will come off in the end times.  Many churches (people) believe the Christian church has taken the place of Israel and the Jews. 

Also, there was a pastor I came across with the most ridiculous ideology I've ever heard.  He was claiming that you must be baptized in water to be saved.  Otherwise you are not saved.  But the most ridiculous part was it HAD to be done in his little church in Seattle.  I told him, "How can you even believe that so many people will come to your church?  That is making you the high priest and Savior!!"  He answered (with) the verse, "The road is narrow and the pathway slim and God will lead them there."  Oh my!

PS:  This is a pastor that someone had brought to the Senior Apartment where I was staying in for a short time.  My friend invited me to his service.  Needless to say, I walked out.

Wow, Norma, you have touched on several really important and major points of our Christian faith: 

(1) Is Israel still the chosen people of God? 

(2) Did God really give the Promised Land to the Israelites, perpetually?  

(3) Is salvation dependent upon Baptismal Regeneration, i.e., is salvation accomplished through baptism?   

(4) Is Baptism valid only in "my" local church - or even in "my" denomination?

So, let me take them one at a time.

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First, are the Jews, Israel, still the "chosen people of God" - or has the Christian church replaced Israel in the eternal plan of God?  By the way, the name for that erroneous teaching is "Replacement Theology" which teaches that Israel was initially the "physical" chosen people of God - but since they rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah - God has made the Christian church the "spiritual" chosen people of God. 

A number of Liberal churches, including several major denominations, believe and teach that erroneous theology.   To the best of my knowledge, and I feel comfortable saying, that the only Baptist associated denomination, or movement, which believes and teaches Replacement Theology is Jimmy Carter's Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (Movement) based in Decatur, Georgia.   About 20 years ago, Jimmy Carter left the Southern Baptist Convention and joined the Cooperative Baptists because he thought the Southern Baptists were too conservative.  I believe he was also influenced by his daughter, then a product of a liberal college education, who has since been active in pushing a Liberal Theology within their movement.

The Cooperative Baptist not only support Replacement Theology - they also ordain women pastors.  And, I believe they also will ordain gay and lesbian pastors.  On this latter point I may be wrong, but that is my understanding.

According to this web site:  https://www.christiantoday.com/article/lesbian.couple.to.lead.historic.us.baptist.church/103736.htm  -  Calvary Baptist Church of Washington DC is affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship - and has recently ordained two married lesbians to be their co-pastors.  This presents several problems:  Women pastors - Lesbian pastors - Same-Sex couple as co-pastors.

Calvary Baptist Church is a diverse and historic Baptist church in the Chinatown neighborhood in Washington, D.C. affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, the Alliance of Baptists, the District of Columbia Baptist Convention, and the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists.  It severed ties with the Southern Baptist Convention in July 2012.   Since 2017, Calvary's Senior Co-Pastors have been Rev. Sally Sarratt and Rev. Maria Swearingen.

Let's talk more about Replacement Theology:  According to the Bible God made a covenant with Abraham.   In the Bible, there are two basic types of a covenants between God and man.

• A Conditional Covenant is based upon certain obligations and prerequisites binding between and on two parties.  If the requirements are not fulfilled by both parties, the covenant is broken.  In other words, it is basically, "If you do what you promised me - then I will keep my promise to you."

• An Unconditional Covenant is made with no strings attached and will be kept regardless of the other party's fidelity or infidelity.  Basically one party promises to do something for the other party, regardless.  In other words, "I WILL do this for you."

The Abrahamic Covenant found in Genesis 12 is an Unconditional Covenant:

Genesis 12:1-3, "Now the LORD had said to Abram:  'Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you.  I will make you a great nation; I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'"

Notice that God said to Abram (Abraham), "I will make you a great nation;.  .  ."    God did not say, "I will make you a great nation - IF you do this."

Then, God promised Abraham, "And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'"  That is an Unconditional Covenant, not only with Abraham but with all people.  The blessing He is promising Abraham is that He will send His Son into the world as Lord and Savior - through the seed of Abraham.  Notice that there are no conditions - just His "I will. . . " covenant.

Both statements are Unconditional Covenants made by God - with no conditions upon Abraham, nor upon mankind.   So, when the Israelites sinned against God (which they did often) - when they rejected their Messiah - none of that could break the Unconditional Covenant God had made with Abraham.  That is why the nation of Israel is still the Chosen People of God today and eternally.   And, that is why all the people on earth can have eternal life through Jesus Christ.

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Next,God has given the Promised Land to the Israelites - Why is the Holy Land being disputed today and who are the Palestinians?   There is no doubt from the Bible that God gave the land which is now Israel, plus a lot more, to the Jews:

According to Genesis 15:18 and Joshua 1:4, the land God gave to Israel included everything from the Nile River in Egypt to Lebanon (south to north) and everything from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River (west to east).  So, what land has God stated belongs to Israel?  All of the land modern Israel currently possesses, plus all of the land of the Palestinians (the West Bank and Gaza), plus some of Egypt and Syria, plus all of Jordan, plus some of Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Israel currently possesses only a fraction of the land God has promised.   (https://www.gotquestions.org/Israel-land.html)

Who are the Palestinians?  The best guess is that it refers to the extinct Philistinian people.  The name Palestine was given to the land comprised of Judea and Syria in the second century by the Romans - most likely to suppress any national patriotism among the Jews:

After crushing the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135 AD, the Roman Emperor Hadrian applied the name Syria Palestina to the entire region, that had formerly included Judea province.  Hadrian probably chose a name that revived the ancient name of Philistia (Palestine), combining it with that of the neighboring province of Syria, in an attempt to suppress Jewish connection to the land, although the actual Philistines from which the name derives had disappeared from history.  .  .  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syria_Palaestina)

After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in 1923, the Balfour Declaration defined the land of Israel (then called Palestine from the Roman heritage) as including all of current Israel plus the land which is now Jordan - which more closely reflects the larger land God actually promised to the Israelites.   God never promised any land to the Palestinians (extinct Philistines).  That is an act of man.   Israel, plus the land of Jordan and parts of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, etc. are His Promised Lands - and God does not break a covenant.

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So, what about Baptismal Regeneration, i.e., salvation through baptism - true or false?  -  If baptism were a condition of salvation, then Jesus Christ would be a liar.  For He told the unbaptized thief on the cross, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise"  (Luke 23:43).  The thief was not baptized - yet Jesus Christ promised him eternal life.

One of the favorite proof texts for those who teach Baptismal Regeneration, i.e., salvation through baptism, is Acts 2:38, "Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Ephesians 1:13 tells us, "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise."               

So, the moment we believe the Gospel and receive Christ (John 1:12) we are sealed, i.e., indwelled, by the Holy Spirit.  At that very moment, we are saved, we have eternal life in Christ.  That is what Peter meant when he told the people to "repent." 

"But, Bill, Acts 2:38 tells us we are 'baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.'  That means we are saved when we are baptized."

Not really.  Pastor Chuck Smith tells us in his commentary on Acts 2:

Literally in the Greek he (Peter) said, "Repent and be baptized every one of you into the name of Jesus Christ," which is an interesting point to make - into a relationship with Jesus Christ. .  .  . But it's not actually in Jesus' name, but into Jesus' name; into the very relationship with Him, into the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. "And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Also we should look at Ephesians 2:8-9, which tells us, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

This tells us that we are NOT saved by works.  To add to the confusion, our Christian churches seem to go from one extreme to another.  Some Christian churches tell us we are saved through baptism, i.e, baptismal regeneration - not saved unless baptized.   And others, such as our Christian brethren in the Free Grace Movement tell us that repentance is not a part of our salvation.  According to them, repentance plays no part in our salvation - for they view repentance as works. 

How should we look at repentance and baptism relating to works?   Repentance is an internal spiritual change, a change within your heart toward Jesus Christ.  It is not a physical action which one does.  On the other hand, Baptism is a physical action we must do - and according to Ephesians 2:8-9 it does not effect salvation.

Repentance is part of the spiritual change within us when we believe, receive Christ, and are indwelled with the Holy Spirit.  This is all Holy Spirit inspired and accomplished.

Baptism is the physical action which we must take to show, or evidence, that we have trusted Jesus Christ for the remission of our sins.  In other words, we believe that His death and resurrection offers eternal life to all who will believe and receive Him.  Our act of obedience is to step forward and through our act of being physically baptized - tell all the world that we have received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  That is our physical, visible act of obedience.

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Then, how are people saved?  -  Now we are getting down to the real meat and potatoes of our Christian faith.  How are we saved and how can we be assured that we are saved?   How were the people of the Old Testament saved?

Is Jesus Christ really the only Way to eternal life?  YES!  For all people.  Starting from the Creation, until today, through the 1000 year Millennial Kingdom, and into the day Christ takes us into eternity ~ the ONLY Way for anyone to have eternal life is through Jesus Christ:

 "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  NO ONE comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).

From Adam to Abraham, Abraham to Moses, Moses to John the Baptist, from John the Baptist to us today, and throughout the Millennial Kingdom  -  NO ONE enters heaven except through believing and receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

"But, Bill, Jesus Christ was not born in the Old Testament - how could those people be saved through Him?"    Great question.  But, you are looking at only the human nature of Jesus Christ.  His divine nature, His deity, has always existed.

John 1:1-2. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God."

There was never a moment in eternity when He did not exist.  "In the beginning" is referring to the beginning of the creation, the beginning of our linear time which is a part of the creation - not the beginning of eternity.  For eternity had no beginning - and it will have no ending.

If we look in the Old Testament we will find Jesus Christ, the Messiah, all through those pages - starting in Genesis.  "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth"  (Genesis 1:1).  God in Genesis 1:1 is the Triune God - Father, Son, Holy Spirit.  See John 1:3, "All things came into being by Him (Jesus Christ)"   Then look at, "The Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the Waters" (Genesis 1:2).   Always it was the Triune God.  So, from the very first verse of the Bible - Jesus Christ, the Word, was there. 

And, in His omniscience, His omniscient knowledge that man would fall into sin, He was already laying the plan of salvation for all mankind, for all who "by grace through faith" (Ephesians 2:8)  will "believe and receive" (John 1:12) His "paid in full" gift of eternal salvation.

In Hebrews 11, we read: By faith Abel, By faith Enoch, By faith Noah, By faith Abraham, By faith Sarah, By faith Isaac, By faith Jacob, By faith Joseph, By faith Moses, etc.  This was sort of the "Hall of Fame of Believers" in the Old Testament - representing the many Israelites who "by grace through faith" in the Word of God, in their coming Messiah - followed those steps of faith and were believers. 

After death, all those people were residing in Hades/Paradise (Luke 16:19-31) until their Messiah was born incarnate, was crucified, and came into Hades/Paradise to personally lead them into heaven.  At Jesus' resurrection, Hades/Paradise was closed and moved to a new eternal location, i.e., it became Heaven/Paradise.   Jesus Christ and the thief on the cross (Luke 23:43) joined them in Hades/Paradise - and Jesus Christ led them into Heaven/Paradise (Ephesians 4:8).

Jesus Christ has been saving His faithful believers since Adam's disobedience brought sin and death into the creation.

If you will Google the phrase "Angel of the LORD" - you will find Him throughout the Old Testament.  These were theophanies, temporary appearances of Christ before His incarnation, i.e., His birth in His human body.  After His birth, we find the phrase  "Angel of the LORD" used only once in the New Testament.  It is found In Stephen's great sermon before the Sanhedrin, when he gave his history lesson of God's working in mankind - for which Stephen was put to death, the first Christian martyr.  In Acts 7:30, Stephen tells of how the Angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in the flaming bush.

All other mentions in the New Testament refer to the "angel of the Lord" - not the "Angel of the LORD."  These instances are showing the workings of the archangels Gabriel and Michael as they interact with mankind to bring God's messages.

For the thirty-three years He was actively living among mankind - there was no need for a theophany.  He was already there in human form for all to see and believe.  He will appear again, when He comes in the air and we will be "caught up, i.e., snatched out"  (1 Thessalonians 4:17).  In the English transliteration, He will Rapture His followers, the worldwide church.  

Seven years later, He will return to earth, His Second Coming In Glory to establish His 1000 year Millennial Kingdom on the throne of David in Jerusalem (Isaiah 9:7) - where He will rule all the nations of the world, the perfect theocracy, for 1000 years of peace on earth.

So, how are we saved today?  These two passages explain it well:

Ephesians 1:13, 4:30, In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, .  .  . by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

Jesus summarizes salvation this way:

John 1:12, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name."

Okay, that is it for salvation - but what about the Jews, what about the nation Israel?  Are they still the chosen peopleof God?

Short answer:  YES!  But, just as not all Gentiles will be saved - Matthew 7:13-14 tells us that the gate, i.e., path, to eternal life is narrow and few will enter - not all Jews will be saved.  Only a remnant of Israel will be saved.  We read about God saving the remnant of Israel in Isaiah 10: 20-21.

In God's eternal plan, Israel is His main purpose for the seven year Tribulation.  That is His time set aside to bring the remnant of Israel into the fold, into God's family.   God's plan is always perfect.  In His omniscience, He knew that the nation of Israel would reject their Messiah.  And that rejection provided the avenue through which He would establish the Christian church and bring the Gentiles (everyone who is not Jewish) into His family.   That was the apostle Paul's main ministry - the Gentile nations.  But, keep in mind that almost all of the early Christian believers were Jews - as were all the apostles.  Of the forty Bible writers, the only Gentile is Luke.

But, today that leaves a large number of God's chosen people, Israel, standing outside.  How to bring them into the family of God?  First, God will take His church (all Gentile and Jewish believers), all who have by grace through faith have believed and received Christ as Lord and Savior - out of this fallen, mortal world.  That event is called the Rapture.  Then, He will allow Satan to appoint his messiah, the Antichrist, as the world leader aided by the Antichrist's number two man, the False Prophet, who will head up the apostate One World Church.

God will allow Satan to pour out his wrath upon the world, specifically on the people of Israel, for seven years.  And God will add His own wrath and punishment to all who follow this Antichrist during the Tribulation.  But, praise God, the folks who were left behind at the Rapture for not truly believing - will have 144,000 Jewish Billy Graham styled evangelists, appointed and protected by God, to share the true Word of God with them.  And, praise God, a great number of people, a number too great to count (Revelation 7:9), will be saved during the Tribulation.

Rev 7:9-10, 13-15, "After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!' .  .  .  Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, 'Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?'  And I said to him, 'Sir, you know.'  So he said to me, 'These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.'"

God will protect His remnant of Israel throughout the horrible seven year Tribulation - and when Christ returns (His Glorious Second Coming) after the Tribulation, He will convene a judgment seat, the Sheep and Goat Judgment (Matthew 25:31-46), to address all mortals who have survived the Tribulation.  The Sheep, Jewish and Gentile surviving believers, will be on His right and will go into His 1000 year Millennial Kingdom in their mortal bodies - where they will continue to live in their mortal bodies, marrying and having children for 1000 years.

The Goats, Jewish and Gentile non-believers who survive the Tribulation, those who continue to reject Jesus Christ, those who take the Mark of the Beast - will be sent into the lake of fire, hell.

Jesus Christ will reign, the perfect theocracy, over all the nations of the earth for 1000 years,

Isaiah 9:6-7, "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder.  And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever.  The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."

"And the government will be upon His shoulder"  -  This will be fulfilled in the Millennium, when Jesus Christ will rule the earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 20:4-6, Psalm 72, Isaiah 2:1-4, Isaiah 11, Isaiah 65:17-25, Zechariah 14:6-21).

"Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end"  -   The reign of the Messiah will not last just the 1000 years of the millennium.  There will be no end to the reign of the Messiah.  He will rule for all eternity.

"Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom"  -   Jesus will rule on David's throne, ruling over His Millennial Kingdom.  This is a fulfillment of God's covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7:18-29.

Many thanks to my Christian sister and Friend, Norma, for raising these very important questions.  These questions have been debated for many years, and will continue to be debated until we believers rest in peace in His Millennial Kingdom. 

However, I believe that if we take His Bible as the Holy Spirit INSPIRED, Holy Spirit INERRANT, Holy Spirit LITERAL Written Word of God - if we take the Bible as His full revelation to mankind and as our full authority on God's Word to man - and if we do as the apostle Paul teaches us in Acts 17:11, testing all teachings and teachers against Scripture ~ we will not go wrong.

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill

My Friend, Bob White, And The Funk Brothers Of Motown

In 2010 I was sharing with a Christian brother in Mississippi, Jim Miller, and reminiscing about my time when I was stationed at Osan Air Base (K55), Korea, in 1956-57.  Our dialogue turned to one of our favorite subjects, music, and I shared about my best friend when I was stationed at Osan Air Base.

During that year in Korea and Formosa (Taiwan), my best friend was a guitar player named Bob White.  Bob grew up in Detroit and learn to play the guitar in his home town church - and although he did not read music, he was an amazing guitarist.  During our time in Korea,  Bob organized a Jazz Trio and they played on our local base radio station.  Many times I sat in the music room of the Enlisted Men's Club for hours listening to him and his Jazz Trio jam.  Just the three of them, a black piano player, a black bass player, and Bob on guitar - and the audience, me, a skinny white kid from Alabama.

One funny coincidence happened that year.  The Air Force sponsored an Air Force Talent Show and since our Osan Air Base was the Wing Headquarters base - the regional show was held there.  It was a two night event and whoever handled the logistics did not have enough programs printed.   So, on the first night they gathered all the programs and redistributed them the second night. 

Would you believe, in a packed audience both nights - that on the second night I, Bob White's friend, was given the program used the night before by one of the judges.  On the program the judge had written his/her notes from the night before - and the note regarding the Jazz Trio was:  "Guitarist obviously professional."   He wasn't, not yet, but he was that good.

Bob White taught me to love jazz, introducing me to many of the jazz greats.  Bob and I had side-by-side bunks and he kept his record player in between.  Many times we made the trek to the BX (base exchange, i.e, our local store) to peruse and buy 33 rpm LP albums.  For my younger Friends, 33 rpm Long Play albums were our iPod in those days.

In 1957, we were both being rotated from Korea back stateside to Bergstrom Air Force base in Austin, Texas.  Waiting for our transport plane to board - I was shocked when Bob told me, "Bill, you know that when we get back to the states; we won't be able to run around together."  He did not say it to be nasty; but, only as the reality of America in 1957.  I was hurt, shocked, and angry - not at Bob, but at the reality of those times.  And, I suppose I was still a bit naive.  Here I was, a white boy from Alabama - and it took a black boy from Detroit to remind me of the reality of what awaited us back home in America.

When we got out of the Air Force, I lost track of him - and only later learned that he had been one of the founding members of the original Funk Brothers of MoTown fame.  The photo below is of them jamming at a local Detroit night club.

Fast forward to the late 1990s, early 2000s - I had often told my wife, Dory, about Bob and his guitar playing.  She sings, plays piano, and was learning guitar.  I knew she would have loved Bob.  One evening we were watching TV and an infomercial for 1970s style Chicago Jazz comes on.  It had Ray Charles, Etta James, and a few other singers.  And, then, there was a group fronted by a guitar player with no singer.  As I watched, the guitar player made a specific move, a dip related to a certain note, that I had never seen anyone do, except Bob.  I was so excited and told Dory, "That is Bob White."  But, I had no idea how to find him.

Fast forward a few more years.  One day I get the bright idea to send an e-mail to MoTown just to see if anyone had ever heard of Bob White.  In less than half an hour, I received an e-mail from Billy Wilson telling me that Bob was a good friend, the co-founder of the Funk Brothers - but, that he had died in 1994 - in Los Angeles.

Wikipedia tells us:  Robert Willie White (November 19, 1936 – October 27, 1994) was an African-American soul musician, one of the guitarists for Motown's in-house studio band, the Funk Brothers.  White is best known for performing the guitar riff on The Temptations' number-one hit single "My Girl", but played the guitar on many successful Motown records, including "Can I Get a Witness" by Marvin Gaye - "You Keep Me Hanging' On" by The Supremes - "My Cherie Amour" by Stevie Wonder - "Something About You" by the Four Tops - and "It's a Shame" by The Spinners.

White died of complications from open heart surgery in Los Angeles in October 1994, aged 57.

Born: November 19, 1936 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania  ~  Grew up:  Detroit, Michigan  ~   Died:  October 27, 1994 (aged 57) Los Angeles, California.

Can you imagine?  Bob lived here in Southern California and I live here - but, never knew he was here.  As it turns out, I guess in the late 1970s MoTown had moved to Los Angeles.  Bob had started a recording studio with Donna Summers.  In 1994, he had a heart problem and died on the operating table.  All that talent which began in a church in Detroit - was gone.

Another opportunity to have reconnected with Bob was lost in the 1980s.  Through business connections Dory and I became Friends with Eddie and Barbara Singleton.  Eddie and Barbara both had been with MoTown - much closer than I knew at the time.  Barbara was an ex-wife of Berry Gordy, founder of MoTown - and Eddie had been married for a while to Berry Gordy's first wife, Raynoma.   Then, Eddie and Barbara were married and it lasted the rest of their lives.  Eddie and Barbara were very active in MoTown and certainly would have know Bob White - but I never connected the dots while they all were alive.

Another interesting note:  From the first time I heard the Platters sing in 1956 - they were hands down my favorite musical group.  Some of my early romances were enhanced through their music.  In 1964 Barbara Singleton, under her recording name Barbara Randolph, joined The Platters, replacing singer Zola Taylor.  Barbara sang with the Platters for a year and, on December 9, 1964, led the last song that the Platters recorded for Mercury: "Hard Hearted Hannah." An era had ended.  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etsu64oYbXw).

And, the sad part is that during the time we were friends with Eddie and Barbara - I had no idea they knew my friend, Bob White - and I had no idea that on many of the Platters songs I loved to dance to - it was Barbara singing to me.  By the time I learned that Bob White had been with MoTown and lived in Los Angeles - he had died.  And before Dory told me that Barbara had sung with the Platters - she had died of cancer.  Two beautiful opportunities missed.

In Korea and Formosa, while the rest of us would head for the night life in town - Bob White stayed on the base and played his guitar.  Now, I am sure he is playing it in heaven.  One day I will be his audience again as he plays heavenly jazz music.

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

 

 

"Precious Lord, Take My Hand" ~ The Story Behind The Song

In March 2016, I wrote a blog titled "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" ~ The Story.  But the story behind why I wrote it goes back to when I was a new Christian believer in the early 1990s.  I have long loved Gospel music and saw the Gospel songs, Spirituals, and Hymns disappearing from our church worship services.  They were being replaced by Christian contemporary songs and choruses. 

I felt a need for worship music with deeper meaning and my feelings were shared by a Christian brother, Gary Whitlatch, who was a talented singer/musician. 

Let  me digress just a wee bit. In my early childhood, my grandparents had a farm just outside Tuscumbia, Alabama.  I loved being at their farm; I loved the adventures I had on that farm with my cousin, Buddy, and my brother, Bob - riding grandpa's palomino mare, Maudine, and his team of mules as we ventured along the country road to Dean's Market at the nearby junction of Old US Highway 43 and Mountain View Lane, or to Hester's Market a bit further north on Highway 43. 

But, the fondest memory which has stayed in my heart was the times I accompanied my grandparents to their little Baptist church sitting back in the woods, a tent church with sawdust on the ground - and the worship music they sang - hymns such as "Amazing Grace" - "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" - "Leaning On The Everlasting Arms" - "Have Thine Own Way, Lord" - etc.  Those songs bring the sweet memory of my grandfather sitting by his kerosene lamp, reading his Bible.

When I was in Elementary School, we had a marvelous music teacher, Mrs. Alexander, who taught us to sing hymns such as "Fairest Lord Jesus" - "Onward Christian Soldiers" - and many other beautiful songs of our Christian faith and many patriotic songs.  I wasn't really a Christian believer then, but the seeds were planted.

When I did become a Christian believer in 1987, I noticed a growing trend.  The churches were moving away from singing hymns and traditional Christian music - and moving toward singing simple choruses and contemporary Christian music, spurred on, to a large degree, by Calvary Chapel and the developing Maranatha! Music movement which wanted to bring the "milk" of God's Word to a young, drug-ladened hippie population of the 1960s who were not ready for the "meat" of His Word. 

Don't misunderstand, I like many of the contemporary Christian songs.  But, just as I would not want to subsist on a diet of nothing but cake at every meal - I do not like having only the contemporary Christian songs all the time.  In my early Christian walk, most of the churches offered a mix of the contemporary songs along with hymns.  But, gradually, that began to change as hymns were being excluded more and more.

In the early 1990s the beautiful hymn "It Is Well With My Soul" experienced a revival in churches.  This happened when Focus On The Family and other ministries began to feature a short presentation on the radio which basically told this story behind the hymn "It Is Well With My Soul."

Horatio Spafford (1828-1888), a wealthy Chicago lawyer and business man who was also a devout Christian and faithful student of the Scriptures, planned a trip to Europe as a family vacation to help his family recover from the recent loss of their son, and to assist evangelists Dwight L. Moody and Ira Sankey in an evangelistic campaign in England.

Because of a last minute business problem, Spafford sent his wife and four daughters, ages 11, 9, 7, and 2, ahead on an earlier ship and planned to follow on a later ship. The ship his family was on sank at sea and his four daughters were lost.   On November 22, their ship, the S.S. Ville Du Havre, struck another ship and sank within twelve minutes. 

On board a ship to join his grieving wife, Anna, in England - Spafford wrote the words to "It Is Well With My Soul" which included the words "When sorrow like sea billows roll; it is well, it is well with my soul. . ."  By the time he returned from Europe, a friend, Philip Bliss, had set his words to music and the hymn we all love was born.

When people began to hear and understand the story behind that hymn - it began to be sung more often in church worship services.  That gave me the idea to try to do the same with another hymn which I have always loved, "Precious Lord, Take My Hand."

In the mid-1990s, Dory and I got together with our Christian Friend, Gary Whitlatch, who is a gifted musician, and put together the presentation below of the Spiritual "Precious Lord, Take My Hand."

It was our way of helping believers understand why this song was written, hopefully to encourage them to look at it, not as a dusty old hymn - but as a living testimony of how God works in the lives of those who love Him and know that they need Him.

I wrote the script and, with Gary on guitar and acting as co-narrator, I read the part of Thomas Dorsey and Dory led us in singing.   We performed this short presentation at several of our local churches and Bible studies.

Thomas Dorsey wrote this song of prayer and faith shortly after losing his wife and baby when both died in childbirth.  Through the pain of his double loss and his love for God, this song "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" was born:

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PRECIOUS LORD, TAKE MY HAND

BILL:  The apostle Paul, in Colossians, instructs us, "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, sing with thankfulness in your hearts to God."  

Again in Ephesians Paul urges us, ". . . but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;"

GARY:  What did Paul mean in Ephesians and Colossians when he gave those instruction to the first century Christians, that they should sing, "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs"?  The psalms refer to the rich heritage of Jewish music of that time found in the book of Psalms and other Old Testament Scripture, directing man's worship to the greatness and majesty of God the Father. 

His reference to hymns was an encouragement for those early believers to also sing musical expressions concerning New Testament truths and doctrines which reflect the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. 

BILL:  But to give a proper balance to their worship, Paul wisely suggested the use of spiritual or experiential songs, those more spontaneous expressions that flow from one's innermost being, out of a very personal love relationship with the Lord, prompted by the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
 
Isn't that what our praise songs are today?  The spirituals of the early church generations eventually become part of today's hymnals, and as such, now get classified as "old music!"  Perhaps we should take another look.  We just might find that those hymns contain a lot of spiritual "meat."

GARY:   Isn't Paul really saying, "When you sing and make melody with your heart to the Lord, make it a mix of the old, the Psalms - the new, their hymns, songs about what was happening in their daily lives - and the spiritual songs, songs of deep emotion and praise for the Lord."
 
BILL:  The song we are featuring today is one of those very intimate spiritual expressions, "Precious Lord, Take My Hand.”

GARY, ON GUITAR, PLAYS FIRST VERSE OF "PRECIOUS LORD, TAKE MY HAND."

GARY:   "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" was written in 1932 by Thomas Dorsey, a black Gospel musician.  In Thomas Dorsey's own words:

BILL (as Thomas Dorsey):   "I was born in the year 1899.  I grew up in a Christian home in Georgia.  My father was an itinerant preacher and my mother played the pump organ in the church.  By the time I was ten or twelve, I had learned to play that organ too.  As a preacher's kid, I was exposed to quite a bit of religious activity, and maybe that got into me some way, but I didn't follow it."
 
GARY:   Dorsey became interested in jazz music and during the first World War he began composing songs for blues singers, achieving considerable fame and financial success.  He put a band together and traveled a lot while writing over 150 blues songs.
 
But Thomas Dorsey could never forget the influence of his early Christian training, nor the memory of his Godly parents.  Even when busy playing in bars and night clubs around the country, he still thought a great deal about his early life.  Then as a young man in his twenties, Dorsey began to reflect seriously about himself; how God had preserved him on so many occasions, and that he was now foolishly wasting his time and his talents.
 
As Dorsey said,

BILL (as Thomas Dorsey):  "It was in 1924 that I started to come back to God.  I knew that I was ruining my life.  That year I wrote 'If I Don't Get There,' a Gospel song that is still in the books today.  Today I can say that all that I am, and all that I ever will be, all that I have, all that I will ever possess, I owe to God.  He brought me out of my sin."

GARY:  For the next few years, Thomas Dorsey was actively involved in singing for church services and writing Gospel songs.  One day while ministering in a revival meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, he received a telegram that his wife Nettie had just died delivering their first child.  Arriving home in South Chicago, he was met with further bad news, his infant son had also died.  Both were buried in the same casket.  The sorrow was more than Dorsey could bear.
 
BILL (as Thomas Dorsey):  "That was double trouble, and I couldn't take it.  I said, 'God, You aren't worth a dime to me right now.'  I felt as if He had treated me wrong.  A few weeks later I was sitting with a friend, Theodore Frye, the Gospel singer, trying to get over my grief.  As I fingered the keyboard of a piano, I picked up a tune, which wasn't so original, but the words were.  I called it 'Blessed Lord.'  After I had gone over it and over it, I said, 'Come here, Frye.  How do you like this song?'"

GARY:  Theodore Frye responded, "Well, the words are good, but the 'Blessed Lord' won't work.  Why not call Him 'Precious Lord?"

BILL (as Thomas Dorsey):  The next Sunday Frye's choir sang it at the Ebenezer Baptist Church with Dorsey accompanying on the piano and in Dorsey's words, "It tore up the church!"

DORY SINGS FIRST VERSE OF "PRECIOUS LORD, TAKE MY HAND"

GARY:  Until his death in 1965 Thomas Dorsey wrote approximately 250 Gospel songs, including the popular spiritual, "Peace In The Valley."  All of his songs were written with much conviction as shown in his own words:

BILL (as Thomas Dorsey):  "My business is to try to bring people to Christ instead of leaving them where they are.  I write all my songs with a message; If there is no message, there is no need for having a song.  I don't write for races, I don't write for colors, I write for all of God's people.  I want them all to use it.  I want the blessings to go to everybody.  All people are my people.  What I share with people is love, that is, the power of love.  I try to lift their spirits and let them know that God still loves them.  I want them to understand that God is still in business.  He's still saving, and He can still give that power."

GARY:  Thomas Dorsey left these instructions for enjoying Gospel music:
 
BILL (as Thomas Dorsey):  "To listen to a Gospel song properly, you've got to be in the mood.  You have to give God your whole intelligence, your whole heart, your whole feeling.  You have to be able to bring yourself inside the realm of this expression that is being handed out, so it will reach you."
 
GARY:  Yes, spiritual songs like "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" are born in the heart of one believer, often out of much adversity, and then they minister to the heartfelt needs of countless others who may be sharing a similar experience.  That is why the apostle Paul instructed us to sing spiritual songs to one another as an important source of learning and encouragement.

BILL:  You'll find a copy of "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" in your bulletin.  Please stand and join us in singing this beautiful spiritual song.

PRECIOUS LORD, TAKE MY HAND
Written by THOMAS A. DORSEY

Precious Lord, take my hand,
Lead me on, help me stand;
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;
Thru the storm, thru the night,
Lead me on to the light,
Take my hand,  precious Lord, lead me home.

When my way grows drear,
Precious Lord, linger near;
When my life is almost gone,
Hear my cry, hear my call,
Hold my hand lest I fall;
Take my hand,  precious Lord, lead me home.

© 1938 Hill and Range Songs, Inc. License

Now, I invite you to watch these videos and hear from Thomas Dorsey himself about the Gospel music he lived and wrote - and, from him, the story of "Precious Lord, Take My Hand."

Thomas A. Dorsey Discusses His Gospel Song "Precious Lord" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiehRFbpwlk

Thomas Dorsey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEosw5GUCzQ&index=1&list=RDnEosw5GUCzQ

When I was a young boy in Alabama, before Elvis, before rock & roll, before I was a Christian believer - I was often drawn to stand outside a black church near my home just to hear their beautiful Gospel singing.  And, the Gospel music which you find in those videos takes me back home - to that time in my life when God was calling me, but I did not yet know it.

I pray this gives you a better understanding of how and why we need to be eating a balanced diet of all spiritual music - not just subsisting on a limited diet of contemporary Christian music only.  God has given us a full platter.  Why eat just the dessert?

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill

"Hebrews 6 And Salvation - Where Do You Stand?" ~ Revisited

ETERNAL SECURITY IN CHRIST ~ YES or NO?  This week, a Christian Friend and fellow apologist, Matt Solomon, who currently lives in Bangkok, Thailand, posted this question on Facebook:

Question:  Does Hebrews 10:26 teach that a believer can lose salvation?

"For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins"

He was not stating a specific point of view, but was interested in the what other Christian believers who follow his posts had to say about this verse.  Basically it comes down the question:  "Do you believe that the Bible teaches 'eternal security in Christ' - or do you believe that a person who has truly believed can lose that salvation?"    Personally I believe the Bible teaches that a true believer has eternal life in Christ and cannot lose it (Ephesians 1:13, 4:30, John 10:28-29, etc.)

That said, we most certainly can lose rewards in heaven.  There is only one reward which we cannot lose in heaven - and that is the blessed reward of being in heaven, in the presence of God, eternally.   When Jesus Christ comes, in the air, to Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:17) His church from a fallen earth which is about to undergo seven years of horrible Tribulation - all believers will stand before Him in judgment, the Bema Seat Judgment or Believers' Judgment.  That is when we will receive, or forfeit, rewards in heaven depending upon what we did with the talents (gifts, blessings, etc.) He has given us in this mortal life.  Our post-salvation works will be tested (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).

Let me state this Biblical fact:  Christian believers have a Blessed Hope.  And our Blessed Hope is that we KNOW that Jesus Christ is coming again - first in His imminent appearance to Rapture His church - and second, seven years later, when He returns to earth, His Glorious Second Coming.   He will then establish His Millennial Kingdom on earth from the throne of David in Jerusalem, the perfect theocracy, to rule the nations  for 1000 years (Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 2:1-4, Isaiah 11, Isaiah 65:17-25).

And we have a firm foundation for our joy in looking toward the Blessed Hope that He is coming for His church.   His church is ALL believers (Old Testament and New Testament) who have, by grace through faith in the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ - longed for His Coming.  Our solid foundation is His promise that NO ONE can snatch us out of His hands (John 10;28-29).   He has gone to prepare an eternal home for us and He IS coming again to take us HOME  (John 14:1-3).

Matt Solomon's post on Facebook elicited many responses which covered the full spectrum from: "No, we cannot lose our salvation" - to - "Absolutely, if you don't toe the line, you are lost!"

And, the long Facebook discussion which followed led me to revisit a blog I had written and posted on November 17, 2014 titled: "Hebrews 6 And Salvation - Where Do You Stand?"

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One cannot build a theology upon one or two Scripture verses or passages - regardless of which verses or passages are chosen.  Theology, like a house, must be built upon a solid foundation, and constructed using sound teachings taken from all of Scripture.  And, when the house we are building is our "Home of Eternal Salvation" - the only foundation can be Jesus Christ:

1 Corinthians 3:11, "For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."  

So, when we are building a theology which defines our eternal salvation - we begin with the firm foundation, Jesus Christ.   In John 3:3-5 Jesus tells Nicodemus, and us, that to see the kingdom of God, i.e., to have eternal life, a person must be born again of the water and the Spirit.  The Spirit being the Holy Spirit and the "water" being the Word of God (John 4:7-14).

In Ephesians 1:13, we are told that upon hearing the Word of God, i.e., drinking of His Living Water, and believing - we are indwelled and sealed with the Holy Spirit.  That is Justification, we are brought into God's family (John 1:12) "just as if we had never sinned."   We are covered by the spiritual umbrella of the righteousness of Jesus Christ which is imputed, or attributed, to us the moment we believe and receive Him as Lord and Savior (Romans 3:22, 4:5, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Titus 3:5). 

And, we are told in Ephesians 4:30 that, being sealed (Ephesians 1:13), our "Holy Spirit Seal" stays intact until the day of our redemption, i.e., the day we die in this mortal body or the day we are raptured from this mortal body.

That, my Friend, IS "eternal security" - knowing that we have the Holy Spirit within us until the day we are taken up into heaven.

Then, Jesus Christ adds brick and mortar to our "Home of Eternal Security" by telling us, "He who believes HAS eternal life" (John 6:47) - "eternal" having only one meaning:  never ending.

He tells us that NO ONE can snatch the Christian believer from His hands, nor from the Father's hands (John 10:28-29).  Paul assures us, "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1).  That is "eternal security!"  

There are many more Scripture verses/passages which assure us that the Christian believer, who has been Justified by believing and receiving Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior - can never, and will never, lose that assurance of eternal (never ending) life in the presence of God.

However, virtually all non-believers, and many of our Christian brethren whose beliefs are based upon either a legalistic theology or a liberal theology (such as our Arminian brethren and our Roman Catholic friends) - still believe that a true believer can lose his/her salvation.  In other words, our legalistic and liberal theology brethren acknowledge that we are saved "by grace through faith in Jesus Christ" plus nothing else.  Yet, they do not believe that Jesus Christ has the power to keep us saved (compare with Jude 24-25). 

Our Calvinist brethren want to limit the grace of God by saying that He only wants to save some of the people He created in His image, the Elect (a teaching which is denied by 2 Peter 3:9).   And, our Arminian brethren want to limit God's power, His sufficiency, His ability to hold on to those He has saved.  The latter, our Arminian brethren, walk though life always looking over their shoulders, afraid that some small or unknown sin will take away their salvation.

Both of these erroneous teachings, or theologies, occur because these dear brethren want to build their "Home of Eternal Salvation" upon a few selected, cherry picked Scripture verses/passages.  Our theology MUST be built upon the full 66 books of Scripture.

All of these Friends, the non-believers, our Liberal brethren, and our Arminian leaning brethren, have a few pat rebuttals against the Bible's teaching of "eternal security" for believers, i.e., "once saved, always saved" (which they have shortened to the label OSAS):

1. They tell us that if OSAS were true, then a person could become a believer - then, go live like hell, i.e., go back into the world, sin all they want - and still be saved.  They refer to this as our "license to sin."

That is a false assumption based upon a misunderstanding of what happens when a person is saved.  We believers are the promised Bride of Christ - indwelled and sealed by the Holy Spirit of God the very moment we believe and receive Him as Lord and Savior (Ephesians 1:13).  We have committed ourselves to Him, to following Him.  Will we sin?  Unfortunately, yes, for we are all still weak, frail humans with an innate sin nature. 

But, praise God, we are "forgiven sinners" - we are "forgiven sinners" who cannot go back into the world and live an active sin lifestyle.  For we have the Holy Spirit of God living within us, who has sealed us in Christ. 

Sin is when we, either inadvertently or on purpose, do something which is against the will and commandment of God. 

Sin Lifestyle is when we chose to make that sin (homosexuality, adultery, stealing, etc.) our active, permanent way of life. 

If a person does choose to turn his/her back and walk away from Christ when He knocks (Revelation 3:20) and live an active sin lifestyle -  it is obvious that person was never indwelled by the Holy Spirit and has never made an eternal commitment to Jesus Christ.

Another point raised by those who believe that a Christian believer can loose his/her salvation is:

2.  A person can be a true believer - and then decide to turn away from the Christian faith, i.e., just walk away from eternal life in Jesus Christ.  If we show them John 19:27-29, their reply is, "Okay, so no one can snatch you out of His hands - but, you can remove yourself, you can walk away."

Can you really?  Let's examine that Scripture passage, which is the assurance, the promise of Jesus Christ Himself:

John 10:27-29, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.   My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand."

First, "no one" means, well, it means NO ONE!   That "no one" by definition is all inclusive and has to also include the believer himself.

Christ tells us that He gives us eternal life.  Eternal, as I pointed out earlier, has only one meaning:  never ending!  If the life that Christ gives us is never ending - that has to mean that no one could snatch us away AND that we cannot just decide to walk away.  For we have a bilateral commitment - a commitment from us and a commitment from Jesus Christ - that the believer will spend "eternity" - never ending eternity - in the presence of God, in heaven.

A Christian is one who has been redeemed from sin and placed on the path to heaven.  He is a new creation, and his heart has been turned toward God.  His old nature is gone, passed away.  His new nature would no more desire to give back his salvation and return to his old self, condemned to hell for eternity for sin, than a heart transplant recipient would want to give back his new heart and have his old, diseased one placed back in his chest.  The concept of a Christian giving back his salvation is unscriptural and unthinkable.  (http://www.gotquestions.org/give-back-salvation.html)

And, the favorite proof of text our non-believing Friends, and our liberal or legalistic theology brethren is:

3.  Hebrews 6:4-6 is proof that a person can be a believer - and then lose that salvation!

Not true.  Please keep in mind that regardless of how you interpret this Hebrews Scripture passage - it cannot negate the many Scripture passages which assure us of our eternal security in Jesus Christ.  God does not change His mind, God does not lie, and God does not contradict Himself. 

So, when God tells us, "He who believes HAS ETERNAL LIFE" (John 6:47) - we can take that to the bank!  Eternal has only one meaning:  "Never ending!  Lasting or existing forever.  Without end."  Isn't that the kind of assurance that all believers in Jesus Christ should expect?  Isn't that the reward we should expect when our faith has been placed in Jesus Christ?

But, let's talk in more depth about that Hebrews Scripture passage.  We will back up and start with Hebrews 5:11 to get a more complete picture of what the writer of Hebrews (many believe this is Paul) is telling us:

Hebrews 5:11-14, "Concerning Him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.  For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.  For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.  But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil."

Is the writer of Hebrews speaking to believers?  Yes.  But, he is admonishing them.  For he tells them that, by now, they should be mature Christian believers - able to teach others; but, because they are dull of hearing (spiritually), they are still babes, infants, in Christ.  They have allowed the world to distract them from maturing in the Word of God.

Hebrews 6:1-3, "Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.  And this we will do, if God permits."

In the book of Hebrews, we are not told for sure who Paul is addressing.  Some theologians and scholars believe that a large part of this book may have been a sermon, later written into a letter or epistle.  But, the writer is concerned that many of the Jews who had become believers, and then lapsed into "dullness of spiritual hearing" - were in danger of falling back into Judaism. 

Important point:   Not danger of losing their salvation - but the danger of them falling back into the legalistic rituals practiced in Judaism.

Notice that he speaks to them of "repentance from dead works and of faith toward God (i.e., their enthusiasm for doing the work of God is becoming stagnant) - of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment."  In other words, Paul is warning them against falling back into the safety net of rituals and the legalistic teachings of Judaism.

Now we get to the meat of the Hebrews passage.  Is it proof of what our liberal and legalistic brethren tell us - that a true believer can lose salvation?  Or, is there a better explanation which maintains the unity and inerrancy of what the Bible, and the Word of God, teaches us about eternal life, eternal security?

Hebrews 6:4-6, "For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come - and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance (notice this says "repentance" and not salvation), since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame."

Wow, that is heavy!   Are these people believers?  Yes!  You bet they are!  But, is this passage speaking of losing their salvation?  No.  It is warning the Jews not to fall back into the legalistic practices they repented from (turned from) when they left Judaism to become Christian believers.

"Verse 6 concerns falling away from the faith.  The Hebrew Christians were considering a return to animal sacrifices for the forgiveness of their sins (Hebrews 2:1-18, 3:12, 7:11-28, 10:1-18).  Until the death and resurrection of Christ, believers were commanded to offer animal sacrifices that looked ahead to the coming death of the Messiah.  These believers were being influenced to return to the old sacrificial system and to give up the belief that the death of Jesus was enough to pay the penalty for their sins."  (Pastor Freddy Cortez, Jr.)

Let's examine the writings of another recognized and acknowledged teacher and theologian, Dr. J. Vernon McGee:

From J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible Series
"Hebrews Chapters 1-7," by Dr. J. Vernon McGee, pages 109-110

First of all, let me call to your attention that the writer is not discussing the question of salvation in this passage.  I believe he is describing saved people.  They have been enlightened, they have tasted of the heavenly gift, they have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and they have tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the world to come.

The whole tenor of the text reveals that he is speaking of rewards which are the result of salvation.  In verse 6 he says, "If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance" - not to salvation, but to repentance. 

Repentance is something that God has asked believers to do.  For example, read the seven letters to the seven churches in Asia, as recorded in Revelation 2 and Revelation 3.  He tells every one of the churches to repent.  That is His message for believers.

So the writer of Hebrews is talking about the fruit of salvation, not about the root of salvation.  Notice verse 9 again:

"But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation (he hasn't been discussing salvation, but the things that accompany salvation), though we thus speak."

He is speaking of the fruit of the Christian's life and the reward that comes to him as the result.  The whole tenor of this passage is that he is warning them of the possibility of losing their reward.  There is danger, Paul said, of our entire works being burned up so that we will have nothing for which we could be rewarded.

"For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work.  If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.  If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire"  (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).

The work of every believer, my friend, is going to be tested by fire, and fire burns!  The work you are doing today for Christ is going to be tested by fire. . .

Read again (Hebrews 6) verse 1 and notice that the writer is talking to folk about repentance from dead works - not (loss of) salvation, but repentance (from dead works).  You will recall that John the Baptist also preached this to the people: "Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance . . ." (Luke 3:8).   He was referring to that which is the evidence of repentance.  Repentance in our day does not mean the shedding of a few tears; it means turning toward Jesus Christ, which means a change of direction in your life, in your way of living.

Many of the Jewish believers were returning to temple sacrifice at that time, and the writer to the Hebrews was warning them of the danger of that.  Before Christ came, every sacrifice was a picture of Him and pointed to His coming.  But after Christ came and died on the Cross, that which God had commanded in the Old Testament (animal sacrifices) actually became sin.

My Friends, if you are a Christian believer, or if you decide to become a Christian believer - there is one Biblical Truth that you can take to the bank:  When you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior - no power on this earth or in heaven can, or will, take that eternal life in Christ from you.  When you are adopted into the Family of God, you HAVE eternal security, eternal life in Christ - and NO ONE can take that from you. 

From the moment that you "heard the message of truth, the Gospel of your salvation - and believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 1:13).  You are secure in that Holy Spirit indwelling and sealing throughout your full mortal life (Ephesians 4:30).  For "by grace you have been saved through faith" - alone, no works involved (Ephesians 2:8-9).  And, you "HAVE eternal life" (John 6:47).  Could you want more security than that?  Could you have more security than that?

So, relax!  If you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior - you are a Child of God, adopted permanently into the Family of God!  Welcome, brethren!

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill  

 

The Dangers Of Liberal Theology In America Today

Over the years that I have been doing Christian apologetic writing on forums, blogs, and via Christian eNewsletters, those who disagree with my Conservative Christian writings thought they had found a good way to put me down.  Many in the secular world, and even many in the Liberal side of the Christian world - threw the word "Fundamentalist" at me as though they were painting me with some dark, evil slime.   I cannot tell you how many times I have been told, "Bill Gray is a 'Fundamentalist'!"

And, my response would always be, "Yes, I am a Conservative Christian, which can also be called a Fundamentalist Christian."   To me, Conservative Christian and Fundamentalist Christian are synonymous - meaning that I am a Christian whose faith has descended from the first 120 Holy Spirit indwelled disciples who were gathered in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost, 33 AD.  They were the core of the Christian faith - and from those 120 believers billions have come to faith in Jesus Christ.

Those 120 disciples were not Baptists, nor Methodists, nor Roman Catholics, nor any other denomination.  They were just 120 disciples whom the Holy Spirit indwelled and empowered on that wonderful day.  And they went out and began telling people about Jesus Christ and the gift of eternal life He had purchased for them on the cross of Calvary.

God did not create denominations - man did.   Through the forty men God selected to put His Word in writing - God gave us His full revelation on salvation and living the Christian life.  Then men started disagreeing with one another, i.e., what does that Scripture passage really teach us?  Are the books of the Bible the literal Written Word - or just thoughts put in writing by 40 sheepherders?  And on and on.  Man taking the perfect revelation God has given us - and trying to put their own spin on it.  And, that, folks - is how we have come to have so many different denominations and sub-groups within denominations.  Nothing is so perfect that fallen man cannot mess it up!

So, yes, I am a Conservative, Fundamentalist Christian - because I believe there is one Bible written for all mankind - and I believe that Bible is the Holy Spirit INSPIRED, Holy Spirit INERRANT, Holy Spirit LITERAL Written Word of God.  And the only name I wear is Conservative Christian, or Fundamentalist Christian if you desire.  Yet, because my personal Statement of Faith aligns very well with the Baptist Statement of Faith - I suppose you could call me a Baptist-flavored Christian.   In heaven there will be no denominations!

So how did the name "Fundamentalist" come about?   Toward the end of the 19th century (1801-1900) liberal theology was gaining a strong foothold in American churches and educational institutions.   Conservative Christians, i.e., those who hold to the doctrine that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, literal Written Word of God, were growing more and more concerned about the false representation of the Christian faith found in Liberalism, i.e., the late 19th century "theological modernism, whose aim was to revise traditional Christian beliefs to accommodate new developments in the natural and social sciences, especially the theory of biological evolution.  

In other words, they wanted to take the Word of God - and rather than adapting their worldview and thinking to what God has given us - they wanted to adapt God's Word to make it fit the secular worldview and desires.

This we have discussed before as Eisegesis (reading INTO the Bible what you want it to say to support a desired, predetermined theology) versus Exegesis (reading FROM the Bible what God inspired to be written there).

In the early part of the 20th century, two brothers,Lyman and Milton Stewart, successful Christian businessmen, were so concerned over the incursion of liberalism into our Christian faith that they decided to put their money to work in defense of Biblical Christianity.   They financed the writing and publishing of a twelve-volume group of essays titled "The Fundamentals" which they distributed free to over 500,000 pastors, teachers, and theologians, starting in 1910. 

The Stewart brothers also funded the foundation of a Christian college, the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (which later became Biola University).  In 1952 Biola added theTalbot School of Theology, a non-denominational, conservative evangelical Christian theological seminary.  The seminary is named after Dr. Louis Talbot, president from 1932 to 1935 and from 1938 to 1952 - and pastor for many years of the Church of the Open Door in Los Angeles (later pastored by Dr. J. Vernon McGee).  Also, in 1917, the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (Biola) published and distributed the books of essays, The Fundamentals, as a four-volume edition which includes all the initial 12 separate volumes.  I have that four-volume set in my personal library.

The cornerstone of the original Bible Institute building in Los Angeles was laid on May 31, 1913, and dedicated with these words from Lyman Stewart: "For the teaching of the truths for which the Institute stands, its doors are to be open every day of the year, and all people, without reference to race, color, or class will ever be welcome to its privileges."

Another great fighter against the incursion of Liberalism into our Christian churches was Dr. J. Gresham Machen, late Professor of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia.  His book "Christianity And Liberalism," published in 1923, is the seminal book defending Conservative (Orthodox, i.e., the set of doctrines which were believed by the early Christians) Christian theology. 

I have his book in my personal library, but since it is already fragile I have gone online and found a PDF download from which I can copy/paste excerpts.   Below are excerpts from Chapter 4, The Bible:

Modern liberalism, it has been observed so far, has lost sight of the two great presuppositions of the Christian message - the living God, and the fact of sin.  The liberal doctrine of God and the liberal doctrine of man are both diametrically opposite to the Christian view.  But the divergence concerns not only the presuppositions of the message, but also the message itself.  The Christian message has come to us through the Bible.  What shall we think about this Book in which the message is contained?   (page 69).

An objection is sometimes offered against this (inspired, inerrant, literal) view of the contents of the Bible.  Must we, it is said, depend upon what happened so long ago?  Does salvation wait upon the examination of musty records?  Is the trained student of Palestinian history the modern priest without whose gracious intervention no one can see God?  Can we not find, instead, a salvation that is independent of history, a salvation that depends only on what is with us here and now?  (page 70).

But at this point a fatal error lies in wait.  It is one of the root errors of modern liberalism.  Christian experience, we have just said, is useful as confirming the gospel message.  But because it is necessary, many men have jumped to the conclusion that it is all that is necessary.  Having a present experience of Christ in the heart, may we not, it is said, hold that experience no matter what history may tell us as to the events of the first Easter morning?   (page 71).

The contents of the Bible, then, are unique.  But another fact about the Bible is also important.  The Bible might contain an account of a true revelation from God, and yet the account be full of error.  Before the full authority of the Bible can be established, therefore, it is necessary to add to the Christian doctrine of revelation the Christian doctrine of inspiration.   The latter doctrine means that the Bible not only is an account of important things, but that the account itself is true, the writers having been so preserved from error, despite a full maintenance of their habits of thought and expression, that the resulting Book is the "infallible rule of faith and practice."  (page 72).

This doctrine of "plenary inspiration" has been made the subject of persistent misrepresentation.  Its opponents speak of it as though it involved a mechanical theory of the activity of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit, it is said, is represented in this doctrine as dictating the Bible to writers who were really little more than stenographers.  But of course all such caricatures are without basis in fact, and it is rather surprising that intelligent men should be so blinded by prejudice about this matter as not even to examine for themselves the perfectly accessible treatises in which the doctrine of plenary inspiration is set forth.   (page 73).

As a matter of fact, the doctrine of plenary inspiration does not deny the individuality of the Biblical writers; it does not ignore their use of ordinary means for acquiring information; it does not involve any lack of interest in the historical situations which gave rise to the Biblical books.  What it does deny is the presence of error in the Bible.  It supposes that the Holy Spirit so informed the minds of the Biblical writers that they were kept from falling into the errors that mar all other books.  The Bible might contain an account of a genuine revelation of God, and yet not contain a true account.  But according to the doctrine of inspiration, the account is, as a matter of fact, a true account; the Bible is an "infallible rule of faith and practice."   (pages 73, 74)

As a matter of fact, however, the modern liberal does not hold fast even to the authority of Jesus.  Certainly he does not accept the words of Jesus as they are recorded in the Gospels.  For among the recorded words of Jesus are to be found just those things which are most abhorrent to the modern liberal Church, and in His recorded words Jesus also points forward to the fuller revelation which was afterwards to be given through His apostles.  Evidently, therefore, those words of Jesus which are to be regarded as authoritative by modern liberalism must first be selected from the mass of the recorded words by a critical process. 

The critical process is certainly very difficult, and the suspicion often arises that the critic is retaining as genuine words of the historical Jesus only those words which conform to his own preconceived ideas.  But even after the sifting process has been completed, the liberal scholar is still unable to accept as authoritative all the sayings of Jesus; he must finally admit that even the "historical" Jesus as reconstructed by modern historians said some things that are untrue.  (pages 76-77).

Bill Gray Note:  You may download the PDF copy of this book at:  www.extremetheology.com/files/MachenLiberalism.pdf

Another extension of Liberal Theology into our Christian churches and faith today if found under the name:  The Jesus Seminar.  Sounds legitimate, right?  That is what I also thought the first time I read about this group of supposed Bible scholars.  And, I could not have been more wrong.  This group is Liberalism taken to the extreme.

According to the Jesus Seminar web site:

Westar Institute - home of the Jesus Seminar - is dedicated to fostering and communicating the results of cutting-edge scholarship on the history and evolution of the Christian tradition, thereby raising the level of public discourse about questions that matter in society and culture.

The Jesus Seminar was organized in 1985 to renew the quest of the historical Jesus and to report the results of its research to the general public, rather than just to a handful of gospel specialists.  Initially, the goal of the Seminar was to review each of the sayings and deeds attributed to Jesus in the gospels and determine which of them could be considered authentic.

Thirty scholars took up the challenge at the initial meeting in Berkeley, California.  Eventually more than 200 professionally trained specialists, called Fellows, joined the group at various phases. .  .   The Seminar met twice a year to debate technical papers that were prepared and circulated in advance.  At the close of debate on each agenda item, Fellows voted using colored beads to indicate the degree of authenticity of the words and deeds attributed to Jesus in the gospels.

The first findings of the Jesus Seminar were published in 1993 as "The Five Gospels: The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus."

The Fellows used a voting system to evaluate the authenticity of about 500 statements and events.  For certain high-profile passages the votes were embodied in beads, the color of which represented the degree of confidence that a saying or act was, or was not, authentic:

Red beads – indicated the voter believed Jesus did say the passage quoted, or something very much like the passage.

Pink beads – indicated the voter believed Jesus probably said something like the passage.

Grey beads – indicated the voter believed Jesus did not say the passage, but it contains Jesus' ideas.

Black beads – indicated the voter believed Jesus did not say the passage—it comes from later admirers or a different tradition.

They decided which parts of the New Testament were valid by casting colored beads.  Basically, after discussing and voting on the validity of the miracles and teachings of Jesus Christ in the Bible - the Jesus Seminar concluded that over 80% of the sayings of Jesus in the New Testament were not valid, were not from Him - but were inventions of the writers of the Bible.

Also, according to the Jesus Seminar:

Jesus of Nazareth was born during the reign of Herod the Great.

His mother's name was Mary, and he had a human father whose name may not have been Joseph.

Jesus was born in Nazareth, not in Bethlehem.

Jesus was an itinerant sage who shared meals with social outcasts.

Jesus practiced faith healing without the use of ancient medicine or magic, relieving afflictions we now consider psychosomatic.

He did not walk on water, feed the multitude with loaves and fishes, change water into wine, or raise Lazarus from the dead.

Jesus was arrested in Jerusalem and crucified by the Romans.

He was executed as a public nuisance, not for claiming to be the Son of God.

The empty tomb is a fiction – Jesus was not raised bodily from the dead.

Belief in the resurrection is based on the visionary experiences of Paul, Peter, and Mary Magdalene.

According to Greg Koukl, Christian apologist and founder of the Christian apologetics organization Stand To Reason:

Who Are the (Jesus Seminar) Scholars?:    Journalists frequently refer to the 74 "scholars" of the Jesus Seminar as representing the mainstream of biblical scholarship.  Being a bona fide scholar, though, means more than just having a degree.  Generally, a scholar is one who demonstrates a mastery of his discipline and who makes an academic contribution to his field.  By this definition, only fourteen members of the Seminar qualify, including scholars like John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg.  Twenty others are recognizable names in the field.  One quarter of the group, though, are complete unknowns (one is a movie producer), and half of them come from a cluster of three ultra-liberal schools: Harvard, Claremont, and Vanderbilt.

What made The Jesus Seminar dangerous is that the Liberal News Media jumped on their bandwagon and began publicizing their meetings and conclusions.  Folks, because this Ultra Liberal group wears the name "Jesus Seminar" and because the Liberal News Media strongly supports and publicizes anyone who tries to discredit God, the Bible, Jesus Christ, and our Christian faith - that created a grave danger for new believers and for those who are just beginning to seek God. 

And, that my Friends is why it is so important that we Conservative Christians, we who hold to the Biblical teachings of our Christian faith and doctrines - MUST really live the Great Commission, "Go, Make disciples, Baptize them, TEACH them.  .  .  . be My witnesses, in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and in all the world"  (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8, Mark 16:15).  The eternal life of many folks still depend upon us sharing the full Word of God with them.

GO into your own personal Jerusalem (your family, friends, community) ~ GO into your own Judea and Samaria (be willing to stand in the face of opposition, telling your state and federal leaders that we will not evict God from America) ~ GO into all the world sharing the Gospel.  Through the use of the internet and social networking - we now can go into all the world sharing His Word.   Polish up your Great Commission and GO share His Word!

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill