--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 262 INT. BIBLE STUDY Ref: F2E00002Date: 02/09/98 From: CHARLIE RAY Time: 08:08pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: ACE Modern REFORMATION (July / August 1996) Not all the articles from this issue are available in electronic form. To order the complete issue, call 1-800-956-2644. An Introduction to The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals' Cambridge Summit Meeting by James M. Boice 1996 Modern Reformation / ACE --------------------------------------------------------------------------- April 17, 1996 I'd like to tell you a little bit about the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is a little hard to know exactly what to say because we have so many concerns. Years ago I was involved in something very similar to this called the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy where we also had a council and we called a meeting much like this one in Chicago. But compared to what we are concerned about here, the task that we were faced with at ICBI was a breeze. We only had a single issue. It was the inerrancy of the Bible and our goal was to lift that up as a doctrine without which you lose the full authority of Scripture. But our problem here is to talk about the weakness of the evangelical church as we see it, and that's not just a single issue, it is a very complex and widespread matter. To put it in a word, it is the lack of theology in the church. People who have done surveys like Gallup and Barna have come back with statistics that just scare us to death. We cannot believe there is so much ignorance of basic theology out there. And as a result or consequence of that lack of a well-defined theology, we find evangelicals buying into all of the world's ways of doing things. I sometimes say what you've got in the evangelical church today is what a generation ago the liberal church was guilty of. They were guilty of pursuing the world's theology, the world's wisdom, the world's agenda, and the world's methods. And as I look at the contemporary situation today it seems to me that that is exactly what has happened with evangelicals. We have the world's theology: people are basically good and all by ourselves we can choose to get into heaven or not-we don't really need grace. And if we talk about faith, sure it is good but works have to be added to it; you at least maintain yourself in a state of grace by your works. All this gets to be Roman Catholic theology before long. When you go down all the distinctives of the Protestant Reformation not only do you find that evangelicals fail to understand these basic doctrines, but in the opinion of many of us, they have slipped back just to where the church was in the middle ages before the time of Martin Luther. So that's the kind of thing that concerns us and the kind of thing we want to deal with here. Let me say a couple things about the location. We picked this site because it is Harvard Square. If there is an intellectual capitol of America it is here at Harvard University. And what we are concerned about are the intellectual undergirdings-the truth-of the Christian faith. I'm sure by now you've seen the Harvard logo around here, and as you know it has that shield right in the middle of it with the latin word veritas, meaning truth. It is a reminder that our Puritan forefathers and mothers who founded these institutions throughout the colonies were concerned about truth. And they didn't mean truth in a general or broad liberal way, as that has come to be interpreted today in the universities, but it was the truth of God. And they were concerned to train up ministers to understand that truth, to proclaim it and to let it permeate a culture. Well, that's why we're here. We want to say once again that truth matters, and if there is a context in which that can be recovered and proclaimed it should be the context of the evangelical movement. We consider ourselves evangelicals in that sense, not in the debased sense that has become so popular today, but just as evangelicals of the past have stood for the gospel, the truth of the Word of God, and the great doctrines. That is precisely the kind of thing we would like to recover in our own time. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals exists to call the church, amidst our dying culture, to repent of its worldliness, to recover and confess the five "solas" of the Reformation, and to see them embodied in our doctrine, worship, and life. For more information about Alliance resources, conferences, or broadcasts, call 215-546-3696. The web site address for this document is: www. remembrancer.com/ace. Sincerely in Christ, Charlie Ray, Chaplain 1 Timothy 4:16 Watch you life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both your self and your hearers. (NIV). chaplain@isgroup.net --- * WR # 461 * Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Sola Scriptura, Solus Christus. * Origin: Doc's Place, Clw Fla. (USA) telnet://docsplace.dyn. (1:3603/140) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 262 INT. BIBLE STUDY Ref: F2E00003Date: 02/09/98 From: CHARLIE RAY Time: 08:29pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Modernism Gene E. Veith (Prof., Concordia University, WI): Today, modernism, though existing in certain isolated pockets, is all but over. The promises of reason, the notion that the human mind can engineer the perfect society, that science and technological progress can solve all problems, have faded in bitter disillusionment. The reasons for the passing of modernism are complex, ranging from the findings of technical scholarship to the practically universal disenchantment with the bloodshed, tyranny, and corruption of the 20th Century, that "modern age" looked to with such optimism by believers in progress. Around the time of the 1960's, academics were dismantling the claims of reason, and the general public turned away from the apparent meaninglessness of the objective world and began an inward quest for subjective fulfillment. Today we hear casual epistemological statements that would stagger both classical and modernist philosophers. "That may be true for you," someone says in a discussion of religion, "but it isn't true for me." Every casual discussion seems to end with the mantra, "everyone is entitled to their own beliefs." The assumption is that everyone is locked into their own private virtual realities. Since there are no objective criteria for truth applicable to everyone, attempts to persuade someone to change his or her beliefs are interpreted as oppressive acts of power: "You have no right to impose your beliefs on someone else." The language of rational assent is replaced by the language of aesthetics. Instead of saying "I agree with what that church teaches," people say, "I like that church." Instead of saying, "I believe in Jesus," people say, "I like Jesus." Of course, they usually do not "like" the Bible's teachings on sin, Hell, and judgment. What they do not like, they do not believe. Truth gives way to pleasure; the intellect is replaced by the will. When people exclude truth, basing their faith on what they enjoy and what they desire, they can believe in literally anything. While relativism may be postmodern, it is not particularly new. The notion that truth is unknowable, that morality varies from culture to culture, and that there are no absolutes was first articulated in ancient Greece by the Sophists. In reaction, Socrates rose up to show that there are indeed absolutes, thereby, with Plato and Aristotle, founding classical philosophy. When classical civilization was exhausted, relativism returned with the Stoics, Epicureans, and the cultural diversity of the Roman Empire. This may well be reflected in Pilate's comment, "What is truth?" (John 18:38), when the Truth was standing right in front of him. The era which entertained itself with sex and violence and tolerated all religions except Christianity turned out to be the greatest age of the Church, which not only remained faithful, but converted the whole Empire to Christ. The early church was not market-driven. It did not make Christianity particularly user-friendly. Converts had to go through extensive, lengthy catechesis and examination before they were accepted for Baptism. In the ultimate barrier to new member assimilation, those who did become Christians faced the death penalty. Nevertheless, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Church grew like wildfire. The temptation to preach what people want to hear is always great, but today it has become in some circles almost a homiletical principle. My own pastor tells of attending a Church Growth conference in which he was told, "Don't preach sin anymore. People don't want to hear that. You need to give them a positive message." Of course, people have never wanted to hear about sin. Repentance hurts. And yet, people need to hear God's demands, particularly now in this age of moral relativism; we need to be convicted of sin, so that we can turn in faith to God's forgiveness in Jesus Christ. Those who do not want to be told they are sinners have a special need to hear God's Law. Those who want to hear about how they can be happy need to hear about bearing the Cross. To be most relevant, a sermon should preach against the culture. The tendency today is to pick and choose teachings from the Bible that correspond to our likes and interests. But the test of following the Bible is accepting what goes against one's personal preferences. The Bible is thermostatic, humbling the exalted and exalting the humble (Luke 14:11), and so should our sermons be. Ultimately, though, a sermon will contain only two messages: the Law and the Gospel. Each must convey the truths of God's Word. The truth of the Law must be preached in all its severity. The preaching of the Law is not mere moralism, however. The temptation is to water down God's transcendent, all-consuming demands so that they are more easily fulfilled. This only creates self-righteousness, which is the greatest barrier to faith in the Gospel. Moralistic preaching can easily become self-congratulatory, giving the congregation smug reassurance about how good they are. Such preaching creates not Christians but hypocrites. The preaching of God's objective, transcendent law, and its condemnation of the specific sins of relativism and self-righteousness is only a prelude to proclaiming the real solution to the postmodernist condition, the truth of the Gospel. On the Cross, Truth was crucified, objectively, outside ourselves. With Him, our relativism, subjective experiences, and attempts to evade truth are put to death, nailed to that objective tree. In the same way, our sins-both our sinful actions and our sinful condition-are objectively removed from us. Ours is an objective Atonement, which means that we do not have to rely on our changeable moods and experiences, our illusions and petty choices. Because Jesus is the truth, we are liberated from our unstable, reinvented selves. When Jesus objectively rose from the dead, our salvation was won, not as a subjective interpretation, but as a fact. Preach the truth of the Law and the truth of this Gospel, against all pressure, and the barriers against Christianity, no matter how formidable they seem, will, like the walls of Jericho, come tumbling down. Sincerely in Christ, Charlie Ray, Chaplain 1 Timothy 4:16 Watch you life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both your self and your hearers. (NIV). chaplain@isgroup.net --- * WR # 461 * Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Sola Scriptura, Solus Christus. * Origin: Doc's Place, Clw Fla. (USA) telnet://docsplace.dyn. (1:3603/140) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 262 INT. BIBLE STUDY Ref: F2E00004Date: 02/04/98 From: RANDG WOOD Time: 10:22am \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: FRESH MANNA, Ac 2:38 || |||||||| || How beautiful on the mountains || are the feet of those ... who || proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" Pastor RALPH & GENE ANN WOOD --Isaiah 52:7 (NIV) E-mail: randg.wood@encode.com FRESH MANNA, 07/11/1995, 04/02/1998 ................... ACTS 2:38 {38} And Peter [said] to them, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, on [= calling upon] the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit ..." --ACTS 2:38 (RLW) This verse is a key Scripture in helping us to understand one very important aspect of baptism. When you are baptized, you are "calling upon" the name of Jesus-- i.e., trusting Jesus Himself-- for the forgiveness of your sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. In ACTS 2:1-37, we see this:-- when Peter preached the first, great Christian sermon, in Jerusalem, at Pentecost, all the vast crowd were brought under deep conviction of sin. Their resulting cry, "What shall we do?" was their confession of sin, declaration of repentance, and petition for forgiveness, all rolled into one. Peter exhorted them to do what John the Baptist had prepared them to expect, "... repent and be baptized ...". But he added something new, "... [calling] upon the name of Jesus Christ ...". This was a reference to JOEL 2:32a, from his main preaching text, cited in ACTS 2:21, "And it shall come to pass [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be saved" (KJV). This may soon have become a custom, in the Church; at least, we see Ananias exhort Saul, "... Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord" [ACTS 22:16b (KJV)]. When we are baptized, calling upon the name of Jesus Christ, we are confessing our faith in Him as Saviour, and our fealty to Him as Lord of our lives [see ROMANS 10:9-10]. We are calling upon Him for forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. We are trusting in Him as God [LORD, JEHOVAH]-- God the Son, by whose death and resurrection we are saved, in the Holy Spirit's power.. THIS, then, qualifies a person to be baptized by the Church, according to the command of Christ in the Great Commission, "in [= into] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" [MATTHEW 28:19b]. For, when we "call upon" the name of Jesus as Saviour and Lord, God the Father adopts us as His own children [see JOHN 1:12-13], and we are prepared to receive the Holy Spirit, and the church can baptize us into the full name of God. Let us then be encouraged by this; that in baptism we call upon Jesus, and trust Him for everything! --RLW & GAW --- QScan/PCB v1.17b / 01-0313 * Origin: Encode Online Orillia,Ont.705-327-7629 (1:229/107) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 262 INT. BIBLE STUDY Ref: F2E00005Date: 02/08/98 From: CHARLES CREAGER, SR. Time: 08:52pm \/To: ANNE MCREARY (Read 0 times) Subj: Fido Feeds ... Dear Anne & Charlie Ray, I was very disappointed to come into this board and find repeated messages back and forth on "Fido Feeds." My Fido does not need feeding because I only have cats for pets. In all seriousness, this board was suppose to be on the Open Bible. Yet I found only two posts and those were repeats on any Bible subject. I am willing to discuss the Bible, but can we cut personal messeges on internetting? Then, I won't have to waste time on this board to find posts of interest. Respectfully, CPCSr --- WM v3.10/92-0423 * Origin: Blackbeard's Tavern 803-294-9657 (1:3639/3) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 262 INT. BIBLE STUDY Ref: F2E00006Date: 02/09/98 From: ANNE MCREARY Time: 03:38pm \/To: CHARLES CREAGER, SR. (Read 0 times) Subj: Fido Feeds ... Hello Charles! Sunday February 08 1998 20:52, Charles Creager, Sr. wrote to Anne Mcreary: CS> I was very disappointed to come into this board and find repeated CS> messages back and forth on "Fido Feeds." My Fido does not need CS> feeding because I only have cats for pets. In all seriousness, this CS> board was suppose to be on the Open Bible. Yet I found only two posts CS> and those were repeats on any Bible subject. I am willing to discuss CS> the Bible, but can we cut personal messeges on internetting? Then, I CS> won't have to waste time on this board to find posts of interest. As one of the moderators of this echo I can understand your concern. I also have a concern that our readers are able to obtain this echo. Now, would you like to post something we can discuss? Take care! Anne McReary mcreary@gte.net http://home1.gte.net/mcreary With links to PCPBBS and these fine Networks: AFN, ICFN, CYBCH, MJCN, PATNET, STN, PNFN, HCN, FIDO and much more! --- * Origin: Point & Counter Point * Lakewood, WA * (253) 589-8804 (1:138/323) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 262 INT. BIBLE STUDY Ref: F2F00000Date: 02/10/98 From: WILLIAM PUTNAM Time: 02:19pm \/To: CHARLIE RAY (Read 0 times) Subj: Modernism, etc. CHARLIE RAY spoke thusly about: Modernism Just a quick note to let you know that I saved to floppy, all of your recent material on this and other subjects. Makes for good read to make sure one knows what he is talking about when referencing such terms as fundimentalism, evangelism, etc. God bless, PAX Bill --- * PW * Regina Angelorum, ora pro nobis! --- WILDMAIL!/WC v4.12 * Origin: Serendipity BBS. Pensacola Fl. 1-850-457-4066 (1:3612/63.0) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 262 INT. BIBLE STUDY Ref: F2F00001Date: 02/10/98 From: RANDG WOOD Time: 02:36pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: FRESH MANNA, 2 Cor 7:1 || |||||||| || How beautiful on the mountains || are the feet of those ... who || proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" Pastor RALPH & GENE ANN WOOD --Isaiah 52:7 (NIV) E-mail: randg.wood@encode.com FRESH MANNA, 10/02/1998 ....................... 2 CORINTHIANS 7:1 {7:1} Therefore having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every pollution of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in [the] fear of God. --2 CORINTHIANS 7:1 (RLW) This is the climax and conclusion of the great exhortations given in 2 CORINTHIANS 6:14-7:1-- "Do not become unequally yoked with unbelievers", "Therefore come forth out of their midst and be separate", "Do not touch anything unclean". How this applies in our moral and spiritual lives is shown in an old joke I heard long ago. It would seem that two men were working at cleaning out a septic tank. They had dug out the sod, and set it aside, to put back in place when they were finished. They dug up the soil that covered the lid. By this time, one of the men had got warm, and had taken off his jacket, slinging it over his shoulder. As they wrestled the lid of the tank out of place, the jacket fell off his shoulder, into the sewage below. Taking a stick, he fished around in the filth, and brought up his jacket. His companion exclaimed, "Why did you do that, it's ruined, you won't want to use it again!" "True", he replied, "but you see, my lunch is in the pocket." Now our question to you is this:-- "If this gentleman offered to share one of those sandwiches with you, would you accept it?". I asked this during our worship service last Sunday, and everyone agreed they wouldn't want any part of that lunch. And not just because it would be polluted on the outside, but because it would be polluted on the inside as well. In MARK 7:14-23, Jesus gives us several examples of the sorts of things that pollute -us-- not just on the outside, but on the inside as well. Other Scriptures give other examples; of physical, moral and spiritual defilement. Belonging to Jesus, being temples of God, adopted as His sons and daughters; of course, we want God to dwell with us, as He has so wonderfully, graciously promised He'll do. How urgently then, do we want to cleanse ourselves of pollution He cannot tolerate! But, if we wouldn't want God to find us unclean, neither would we want people around us, who know what we're like, what we say, and what we do- to turn away from Jesus, because they see -we- are defiled! So, let us indeed keep up continual efforts to perfect holiness unto the Lord, just as He says! Amen! --RLW --- QScan/PCB v1.17b / 01-0313 * Origin: Encode Online Orillia,Ont.705-327-7629 (1:229/107) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 262 INT. BIBLE STUDY Ref: F2F00002Date: 02/10/98 From: RANDG WOOD Time: 07:55pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: FRESH MANNA, 1 Tim 6:9-10 || |||||||| || How beautiful on the mountains || are the feet of those ... who || proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" Pastor RALPH & GENE ANN WOOD --Isaiah 52:7 (NIV) E-mail: randg.wood@encode.com FRESH MANNA, 10/02/1998 ........................ 1 TIMOTHY 6:9-10 {6:9} But they that are minded to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition. {6:10} For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil: which some reaching after have been led astray from the faith, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows. --1 TIMOTHY 6:9-10 (ASV) "Money is the root of all wealth"! Thus proclaimed a tagline, a cute quip added to a message posted in a discussion conference on our computer bulletin board service, a couple of months ago. Obviously a play on words, in disrespectful parody of our text. But when I saw the tagline, at first glance I thought it read, "-Monday- is the root of all wealth". Hmm. A true thought, you know, as far as it goes. If you consider it: for most people in Christian cultures, Sunday, the actual first day of the week, is a day of rest, and, for Christians, of worship as well. Hence, for many, Monday is in effect the first day of work in the week. And, if you are "minded to be rich" in this world's goods, it would be well to get your work week off to a -good- start. Thus, "Monday -is- the root of all wealth"! This is borne out in the book of PROVERBS, where sluggards and lazy persons are promised failure and poverty; those who are diligent, wealth and success. But what sort of wealth is worth going after with such ardent desire, with such great "Monday" effort, with such a love? Well, Paul shows us here, that love of this world's riches of goods and possessions, does not bring contentment, but innumerable griefs. The book of PROVERBS shows the pursuit of wisdom-- listening to the word of God, knowing His will and doing it-- as alone worthy of all our best effort. And in 1 TIMOTHY 6:6, Paul affirms that "godliness with contentment is great gain" (ASV). Not to forget that Jesus said there is such a thing as "true" riches, greater than "unrighteous mammon" [see LUKE 16:11], "treasure in heaven" more important than earthly possessions [see MATTHEW 6:19-21]; and, "Seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" [MATTHEW 6:33 (ASV)]. So, when you wake up, Monday morning, ready to serve Jesus, remember this maxim, "Monday is the root of all wealth"; and go ardently, zealously after true riches, both for yourself and for others! And, may God bless all your efforts abundantly! --RLW --- QScan/PCB v1.17b / 01-0313 * Origin: Encode Online Orillia,Ont.705-327-7629 (1:229/107)