The Gospel Of Repentance

There are many that believe we can create what we want with our words. Do human words have that kind of power?  The quick answer is no! Those that believe this lie are victims of the positive confession movement, name-it-and-claim-it which is prevalent in Word of Faith Churches.  The idea is that if you positive confess something enough times and you believe in what you are confessing, then it will come to pass. Actually what this is, is new age mysticism, not faith. This is also called the Law of attraction. In this "law", like attracts like. For instance, if you are uttering negative words in the universe, that is what the universe will bring back to you. Also if you are speaking positive things, then you expect positive things from the universe. This has some similarities to karma that is practiced in the Hindu and Buddhist religions. Those that believe humans can call things into existence by speaking words have not really taken the time to analyze the ...

These are doctrines that speak to the outward and inward call of God toward all of humanity. What I need to discuss are the differences between the two.  The outward call of God is presented to all of humanity but can be resisted. When we talk about the call of God, we are talking about the gospel invitation and command for man to repent of his sins and believe in Christ. The scripture says. "He that has the Son has life. He that does not have the Son does not have life (i.e. eternal life), but the wrath of God abides on him (John 3:36)".  Many respond to the outward call of God and often become members of the visible Church only. I believe these type of people are described in Matthew 13:20-22, "The one to whom the seed (i.e. God's word) was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself but is only temporary, and when persecution comes because of the word, immediately he stumbles and fa...

The quick answer to this question is yes! God the Father did forsake his Son at the cross and I will explain why. Believe it or not, that was the pre-determined plan of God (Acts 2:23). Also, when Jesus cried out "My God My God why have you forsaken me?", he was fulfilling Psalm 22:1. It is crucial to remember that Jesus was being made an offering for sin by the Father God on purpose. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "He who knew no sin was made sin so that we might become the righteousness of God in him (Christ)".   Mankind's sins state was so hopeless that it required the advent of the perfect sinless Son of God to die ultimately by the hands of God the Father to deliver us from our sins which gave birth to our spiritual death (Eph 2:1; Col 2:13). The Father punished his Son on the cross and it pleased him to do it (Isa 53:10). Why? Because God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son to save the world (John 3:16-17). In order for man to receive...

If a non-religious person were to ask a Christian the above question most would say "no Christianity isn't a religion, its a relationship!" Is that a cliche' or a true statement? Many Christians look at the word religion as a bad word. Why? The reason being is that most "religious" people only look at religion as a system of do's and dont's. Their religious activity is emotionless, a mechanistic tradition passed down often from their parents and grandparents.  Often times people are involved in religious activity without even understanding why they are doing it, and what it all means. And in that case, one needs to examine themselves and their religion. There are also numerous others that are very impassioned about their religion because they are convinced it helps them, and they believe they are hopefully appeasing the god or ideology they worship. Then there are others that feel that what they are doing centers them - keeps their mind and...

This article is a sequel to the previous one: The doctrine of Reprobation. For those who militate against Divine Election and Reprobation because in the human mind they appear to make God a mean ogre, I want to attempt to prove how wonderful both of these doctrines are, and how neither is a hindrance to the gospel, but rather how the gospel is enhanced by them.  I want to start with the negative view of what many say how preaching the gospel in light of divine election is pointless. Those who do not like divine election and predestination say that preaching the gospel is pointless because the elect are going to believe no matter what and the non-elect are not going to believe no matter what So why preach the gospel at all?! That type of reasoning is called Hyper-Calvinism. This is the fatalistic approach to the matter: Since God has already determined all things that will ever happen, why do anything at all? God has already made up his mind and nothing can c...

The doctrine of reprobation I believe is the absolute hardest doctrine in all of scripture. It is so painful that many scholars and theologians do not discuss it. It has been my experience that only those in the Reformed or Calvinistic camps discuss the matter. So, what is the doctrine of reprobation and is it Biblical? In order to understand this doctrine one has to place it in juxtaposition to the doctrine of sovereign election. The doctrine of election as I have explained several times before is defined is that God before time and creation decided to foreknow and chose some to be recipients of his saving grace in time  when he determined. In other words, exactly when God wanted, he would save them through the preaching of the gospel message - guaranteeing their salvation when they believed (Eph 1:4). The doctrine of reprobation is that God before time decides not to choose others before the foundation of the world - leaving them in their sins to be judged by God at t...

Malachi 1:2-3 it says, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated". The Apostle Paul quotes this same passage in Romans 9:13. Why did God hate Esau? It's not that God had this seething malicious hatred toward Esau in as much that he preferred Jacob over Esau. Why? Because it served God's purpose. Keep in mind that God made the decision to choose Jacob and Esau's destinies before they were born (Rom 9:11). It also very important to remember that God's purpose included not just the twins boys but their descendants as well. Esau was the father of the Edomites. Jacob whose name was changed to Israel in Genesis 32:28 became the father of the Israelites or Hebrews (or who we call Jews or Israelis today). Jacob was chosen to be blessed in a way the Esau was not. Jacob was no better than his brother but was favored by God to receive benefits that Esau never received. The benefits, of course, have extended to the Hebrew race as they exist to this day. Edomite...