This Time…

 

I have just written three articles. One on the foibles of Seventh Day Adventism[1]. One on the mires of the Charismatic Movement[2]. One on the doctrinal difficulties of the Calvinist Movement[3]. These articles can be found on my blog on Walking by the River at Blogger.com.

I have to say that these articles only touch on what I see as the major issues with each sect and are by no means exhaustive even by my standards. If you belong to one of these groups and are easily offended, then I would advise you don’t read my article. I am just attempting to inform those who are interested and attempting to point out the different stances held by each sect?

I believe that there are many true believers in the Adventist Faith and that there are many true believers in the Charismatic Church and that there are many true believers in the Calvinist Churches. However, I also believe that there are also some extensive housekeeping tasks relating to doctrines that need to be undertaken within these branches of Christianity. Keeping in mind that this is unlikely to happen at present.

I also believe that when considering global current events, we are currently moving through Matthew chapter twenty-four and entering the time of birth pangs that our Lord Christ Jesus described. As we move into the time of judgement ahead the Holy Spirit will lead us all to absolute biblical truth at the right time. So those sects that hold controversial doctrines now will drop them when the absolute truth becomes apparent though some may perish because of them.

Those who believe that Christ Jesus is a son of God and not the Son of God equal with the Father will understand exactly who He is. Those who have issues relating to incorrect doctrines of Holy Spirit will repent or perish with the lost. Those who are not sure how the Holy Spirit convicts the unbeliever of their sin will understand.

In the judgement those who belong to the enemy will be completely deceived and be confident that they are correct even in their deception. That they are right in their own eyes. But those who belong to Christ Jesus, even if they are deceived now, their eyes will be opened. They will know the truth and repent of their sins. In that time the sides will be clear for all to see and those who belong to Satan will not tolerate those who belong to Christ Jesus. To pick up your Cross and follow the Jesus in the Tribulation will mean death but take solace, the Kingdom of Heaven will be at hand and Satan and his followers will meet their end quickly.

You have only to listen to Klaus Schwalbe and his vitriol on the damage we are doing to the planet and all that Gaia worshiping nonsense to know that we live in perilous times. I recently read an article posted in News Week by Yosef I. Abramowitz[4]. This was about a group of Interfaith people climbing Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia, during COP 27, to worship Ra the Egyptian Sun God and to put forward an amended version of the Ten Commandments. I suspect they won’t enjoy the plagues that the followers of the beast will endure for the folly of their ways.

Sadly, I believe that billions will die at the hands of these madmen and their climate insanity much as millions died in the second world war at the hands of Hitler and the Nazi’s. In this case the

 gospel will be shared to all the World, and it will be a case of choose Jesus Christ and die immediately to this life to gain eternal life in the Kingdom of God or follow the Beast and face the plagues and eventual death of those who follow him, remaining separated from Yahweh for eternity and undergoing the Second Death.

So finally, I have written this batch of articles to reach out to other Christians wherever they may be in the sure knowledge that many belong to the Adventist, Charismatic or Calvinist movements or are being influenced by people who are adherents of those belief systems. I want you to be aware of the doctrines these groups hold and to make sure you don’t get pulled into the wrong place spiritually in these perilous times. It is fine to belong to a group of believers that are as enthusiastic as you are, but you need to be aware of the implications of what they believe.

A last thought. The Catholic Church, Calvinism and Adventism all teach a range of doctrines that add up to Limited Atonement and an attack on the Deity of Jesus Christ. With the Catholics the promise is that the Church will get you to heaven eventually with some help from your works and a spell in purgatory. With Calvinism God elects some to salvation and some to damnation. Again, it seems that Christ didn’t complete the work on the Cross and His atonement is limited to those who are chosen. The Adventists have their belief that Christ Jesus is Michael the ArcAngel and is a Son of God so the redemptive work at the Cross was demeaned. Under the Investigative Judgement Jesus is in the sanctuary checking to see who has the works to get them into heaven. Limited Atonement again I’m afraid. The thought? One way or another Satan attacks the deity of Jesus Christ by saying that Jesus didn’t manage to pay for the sins of all men through His sacrifice on the Cross. What you believe is up to you…

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[1] https://walkingbytheriverl.blogspot.com/2024/01/what-is-seal-of-god_9.html

[2] https://walkingbytheriverl.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-charismatic-christian.html

[3] https://walkingbytheriverl.blogspot.com/2024/01/calvinism.html

[4] For Our Sin of Emissions: 10+1 Climate Commandments | Opinion https://www.newsweek.com/our-sin-emissions-101-climate-commandments-opinion-1736640

Calvinism

 

I’ve just finished two other articles on the three main sects available to Christians at this time in which we are living. The First two were number one, Seventh Day Adventism[1] and number two, the Charismatic Church[2] or the Tongues Movement. The first article I posted on Facebook as well however in the face of cowardice because I know and love many Charismatics. I only posted the second article on my blog, Walking by the River.

This article will be a hard one to write as I have many friends in the Calvinist Movement. I’m not sure a lot of people really know what Calvinism is. The movement started with John Calvin who lived around four hundred and fifty years ago. He was born in France and educated in Catholic schools there but because of his reformed beliefs he fled to Switzerland and lived most of the rest of his life in Geneva.

He wrote about many Christian topics but is known for his teachings about Predestination and his Augustinian leanings on that subject. Largely He taught that man is so depraved that he / she cannot decide to accept the redemptive works of Christ Jesus on the Cross without God making he / she do it. The obvious problem with this teaching is that if God pre-selects you for salvation because you cannot make the choice if He doesn’t. Then that means he pre-selects your neighbor for damnation because he / she cannot make the decision to reject Christ Jesus unless God makes them do it. Man is that a can of worms.

Add to this the fact that John Wesley led the English Arminian Movement and that he did as all Arminians do. He conceded the point that mankind is totally depraved and cannot choose salvation for themselves. Rather, he argued that the five points of Calvinism, total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace and perseverance of the saints, are wrong.

He suggested another set of parameters based around the idea that mankind is totally depraved but grace enables us to make a choice for or against the gospel. So, we are not predestined but God foresees our willingness to accept or reject salvation and enables us to make our decision when convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit. Rather than never being able to lose salvation he felt you could reject grace later and lose your salvation.

My opinion for what it’s worth is that you can decide to accept or reject salvation as a human being standing before God. Yes, the bible indicates that God predestines us and what ever that means it is the truth because the bible says so. However, to the unbeliever who hears the gospel and comes under conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit. This person has no knowledge of God predestining them or even that they are being convicted of sin. They simply hear the gospel and are compelled to respond to it by saying yes Lord Jesus or no and walking away.

Does this mean that Calvinism doesn’t matter. No, I believe it is an attack on the Protestant Church launched by the Catholics, at the time of the Reformation. and that it was meant to cause strife and confusion which would stop in a large portion the work of those disseminating the gospel. It did this by causing a general malaise and apathy toward preaching the gospel. This is because if God has already chosen who is saved and who is lost. Then there is no point in evangelizing because it doesn’t matter if you preach or don’t preach you cannot make a material difference to who gets saved.

There are group of doctrines which form Calvinist systematic theology that I won’t go into and that only get worse when you dig a little deeper and find that there is another subtle belief at play. Calvinism also holds that the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ had a discussion in the beginning who would be saved and who would be damned based on nothing that the believer or unbeliever had done because they had not lived yet.

The connotations of this belief result in all manner of mayhem. If God predestines the lost, is he responsible for the evil they do. Bear in mind Calvinism entertains the idea that everything we do in life is also predestined by God. A Calvinist friend says that it is all somewhat of a mystery, and I guess I would have to agree. Calvinism is based on scripture but whether that scripture is being interpreted in the right way has always been a point of great contention.

To me the one point that is made again and again in the New Testament is that God so loved the world and all of humanity that He gave His only son, Jesus Christ, to die on the Cross and to pay the sin debt to allow that all who will, may enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

My final idea is that there are things in the bible that only God knows the answers too. To enter the Kingdom of Heaven we must be like little children. We need to be innocent of this kind of pointless debate and seek to follow God and to do His will. Focus on scriptures like Luke 22:20 “And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant in My blood.”

and

Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

You can believe on Christ Jesus and partake in the New Covenant in His blood and take up your cross as you go therefore and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in His name. Arguing about election and predestination is a spiritual no exit road. Just drive right on by.

Finally, a prayer. “Dearest Heavenly Father, please bring all the Adventist Christians, the Charismatic Christians and the Calvinist Christians to a simple faith based around our Lord Jesus. As we go forward into the coming time of judgement give us strength to stand-fast as true saints. Let us read the word and preach the gospel and please pour out the Holy Spirit that the harvest may be great harvest and the new believers will be like grains of sand on the beach. In Jesus name Amen



[1] https://walkingbytheriverl.blogspot.com/2024/01/what-is-seal-of-god_9.html


[2] https://walkingbytheriverl.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-charismatic-christian.html

The Charismatic Church

 

I know that a number of folk will be unhappy with me offering negative opinions about the Tongues / Gifts Movement but honestly it is of concern to me that the three sects of the Church experiencing growth at the moment all have significant doctrinal issues and false teachings. Those being the Pentecostal / Charismatic Movements, the Seventh Day Adventist Church and the Calvinist Movement.

Focusing on the Pentecostal / Charismatic Movement in this article. My concern is that this movement which arose from the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (ccr) began in February 1967, at Pittsburgh’s Duquesne University, Pennsylvania in the United States. 

This was not the only source of the Charismatic Revival that swept the Protestant Church, and the Western World, in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. However, I believe it was crucial to the impetus that the movement gained and the ecumenical essence that has been contained within it ever since.

The Tongues / Gifts Charismatic Movement and revival amongst evangelical Christians has always focused on Baptism of the Holy Spirit and evidence of this baptism by the recipient speaking in tongues primarily and being accompanied by other gifts such as prophecy and healing.

Although on the surface of it there is nothing wrong with any of these gifts on the surface of it. The problems arise when speaking in tongues is made to be of paramount importance in the Christian walk to the exception of the gospel of Jesus Christ; of actual Salvation; of the saints reformed character and with the inclusion of false teaching and shamanistic television evangelists and the like.

The result for Protestant Christianity and the Evangelical Church over the last sixty years has been catastrophic. The movement has led the Church to embrace a weak worldly liberalism that calls the unbeliever to join the Church but to change nothing. A faith in Jesus Christ without repentance and in many cases based around the prosperity gospel.

As our parents of the Great Generation aged and passed away coming into the twenty first century many Churches shut their doors from a lack of congregants. Hence, you can see many old churches throughout the Western World repurposed as dwellings or event venues. Many parishes sought ways to get people to fill the seats in their steadily declining congregations. Many began to adopt the Seeker Gospel which literally preached as I mentioned above that the church needed to change to be more relevant to the modern church goer. So by all means come to church as you are and you need make no changes to fit in. Instead we will adjust our preaching; our teaching and our music to match yours so you will feel more at home.

All along continuing to be infiltrated by satanic and mediumistic forces based around a false teaching about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. In the true gospel the new Christian believes, first, on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and to receive eternal life. They usually move to be baptised in water in obedience to God’s word (Acts 2:38). This is for the remission of sins and in order to receive the Holy Spirit. People are often baptised in the Holy Spirit at this time although there may be a later event at which this happens.

The difference here is that the new believer is saved in Jesus Christ, first, and baptised by the Holy Spirit as a believer. The emphasis in the Charismatic movement is on speaking in tongues and therefore the order of events is not considered to be as important as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the speaking in tongues. This is a problem that leads many Charismatic Christians to be spiritually attacked and to have mental illness because it is a mediumistic attack on the Church.

The result of all of this is a Roman Catholic approach to the Christian walk. The emphasis on Grace plus Works. So, the believer never progresses to Grace alone. Only if your relationship with Christ Jesus informs you that there is nothing that you can bring to the table but yourself alone and that the work of the Holy Spirit is to gradually enact the nature of Christ Jesus and the holiness of God into your heart and mind. The Baptism of Tongues doesn’t seem to lead to this for many. Probably because many are saved before they receive the Baptism of Tongues and although its purpose is to hinder the Christian. Some Christians in the Tongues movement do continue to grow but always purport speaking in tongues as an essential part of Christianity. Those who aren’t believers before they receive the Baptism of Tongues seem to remain as young believers never maturing in the faith and always centered on themselves.

In the end all that I can advise is that anyone who wonders whether to try the Charismatic Church out is to say “Don’t!” The true Baptism of the Holy Spirit imparts many different gifts to the true convert who throws themself on the mercy of Christ Jesus. Those who ask humbly for forgiveness, that the Savior makes his place in their heart, soul and mind, and that they might have eternal life in His name.

SDA: What is the Seal of God?

I was watching an Adventist program in which the speaker was discussing Sabbath Keeping. I understand that the SDA claims that the Sabbath is the Seal of God mentioned in the book of Revelation in the Bible. SDA seems to be stating that during the End Times only those who keep the Sabbath will be sealed as God’s people. This immediately narrows the number of Christians throughout the Church Age who are actually Christian, and will be saved to eternal life, to only those who keep the Sabbath on Saturday.

This brings up an interesting question: “If only those who keep the Sabbath can enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” then why did Jesus say “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me?” Surely these two statements are mutually exclusive. Both cannot be true rather one must be true and the other false. We either enter the Kingdom of Heaven because we keep the Sabbath or we enter the Kingdom because Jesus gave His life on the Cross that He might be the perfect sacrifice and that through His shed blood our sin debt might be paid. So is keeping the Sabbath or dealing with Sin is the issue here?

Another way to look at this conundrum is that it is a question of which covenant we are keeping. If keeping the Sabbath as what seals us to God then the Covenant of the Law is the one we are keeping. If salvation from Sin through the shed blood of the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, is what seals us to God then the New Covenant is the one we are keeping (Luke 22:20). So are we still under the law or are we set free from the law in Jesus Christ? Are we still dead in our sins or are we set free from sin unto eternal life in Christ Jesus?

Another way to look at this problem is this. Sabbath Keeping is covered under the Fourth Commandment. The first four commandments are covered by the Great Commandment. Love the Lord your God with all of your heart; With all of your Soul; With all of your mind; With all of your Strength. So in loving the Lord your God you keep the Sabbath. This is what Jesus said and He was a Jew speaking to the Jews so they were in accord on this matter. Given that we are not Jews, but Gentiles, are we bound by the Law of Moses or are we set free from the Law in Christ Jesus? Such that we don’t have to keep the Sabbath.

In James 2:10 we read “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” So if we fail to keep the Sabbath or any law we are guilty of all of the Law. In Romans 6:23 we read the “The Wages of Sin is Death.” So if we stumble in relation to any law the penalty due is death. How can we avoid this? John 1:7 says this “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” We are set free from the penalty of the Law in Christ Jesus.

If we are guilty of not keeping the Sabbath are we not unrepentant? I cannot answer for God here. I can only give my opinion. Most gentile Christians in the Western World would say that Sunday is the Sabbath. Few would realise that Saturday is the Sabbath and that Sunday is the first day of the Roman week. I would argue that if you are unaware that you are not keeping the Sabbath then you know no better and are not guilty of breaking the Law. Those few of us who know that we keep a different day as Sabbath, would say that as gentiles we are not Jews and that in Christ Jesus we are free to keep a different day. I believe this was the stance that the apostle Paul held too. Romans 14:5 “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” Galatians 5: 13-15 puts it this way “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

So, does the SDA have a point about keeping the Saturday Sabbath? In as much as the Sabbath is on a Saturday in Judaism. Yes they do. Does this mean the Church should adopt the Saturday Sabbath and surrender the Sunday worship? I don’t believe so. The Church in the Church Age is set aside as the Bride of Christ. We are not inherently Jewish but mostly from gentile stock. Through Jesus Christ the gospel was made open to all of the nations that in being convicted of our sins we might repent and be baptised in His name. At the end of the Church Age the baton will be handed back to Israel and the Messianic Christians will be Jewish and keep the Saturday Sabbath as they do now.

Another way to look at this problem is like this. When the apostles shared the gospel with the lost, what was the gospel that they shared? Did they say “ Repent and Keep the Law especially the Sabbath and you shall be saved?” By no means they shared this gospel. “Repent and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and to receive the Holy Spirit.” In Christ our sins are forgiven and we receive the Holy Spirit who writes the Law of God on our hearts and puts it into our minds. Thus as Christians we keep the Law often without realising it as the Holy Spirit reveals the nature of Jesus Christ in us.

Is the Keeping of the Sabbath the Seal of God. No, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and receiving the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the Seal of God. It always has been and it always will be. Acts 2:38 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.