12 Steps for the Recovering Pharisee (like me): Finding Grace to Live Unmasked, John Fischer, 2000.
This book uses a somewhat tongue-in-cheek 12-step model for recovery from the spiritually deadly disease of performance based righteousness and elitism. The medicine goes down smoothly with a healthy dose of humor.
The Problems of Calvinism, Part 2 is a few scattered thoughts on why I reject Calvinism, based in its not representing the facts of Scripture.
These are just my thoughts and observations. The Problems of Calvinism Part 2
The Problems of Calvinism, Part 1 is a few scattered thoughts on why I reject Calvinism, based in its not representing the facts of Scripture.
This article is just a sheet of my thoughts about the problems of Calvinism, and as I review sources on this, I add the ideas in a format that I can easily find things. The Problems of Calvinism Part 1
Emergent Church Refutation
By David Cox
The problem is that the Emergent Church is just wrong. If you are going to believe the Bible at all, if you are going to accept Jesus as your Savior, then you are going to have to accept that information on some basis. That basis is on the authority of the Word of God, the Scriptures, the Bible. If the Bible is true, then it has the divine authority of God, and anything against or contradicts the Bible is false and to be rejected.
This is a matter that the Emergent Church lays the foundation of man’s pleasure over and above God’s authoritative Word (which securely expresses God’s will). This is the most clear way to see this issue, and if so, then we must side with God against man’s ideas no matter how we “feel” about them. If we distrust the Bible, then nothing we know about God is true. Yet there is no reason to distrust the Bible because everything it has and does tell us is right on.
The Fruit of a False Prophet: Obedience part 3
Obeying God willingly
By David Cox
Summary: This study will investigate what the fruit (life and ministry) of a false prophet. Part 3 of this series is simply an introduction, and begins by contrasting a man of God’s fruit (piety and holiness) with the false prophet’s fruit (sin, not doing God’s will).
The Fruit of a False Prophet willfulness part 4
By David Cox
Summary: This study will investigate what the fruit (life and ministry) of a false prophet. Part 4 of this series is simply an introduction and begins by contrasting a man of God’s fruit (piety and holiness) with the false prophet’s fruit (sin, not doing God’s will).
For an overview of this, see
False Prophets and Teachers Overview
Pleasing God. The root issue here in total depravity is whether a person or a thing please God. It would behoove us to search the Scriptures to see if there are verses that speak of something pleasing God, and note the circumstances.
I will note an aspect of this. 1) We are sinners. That displeases God. 2) Being sinners, the Bible commends certain people who “tried” to please God. 3) Although we do note that some people “pleased God” this in no way is to say that God accepted them into heaven and as having salvation simply because they pleased God in some aspect of their lives. 4) Pleasing God with your life is not the same as gaining heaven through good works. We need to separate the two ideas as being totally separate and apart. We should not let one “bleed over into the other”. 5) God, in general, instructs all men in how to live morally, and when they follow these moral principles, whether saved or not, God blesses those obedient to his commands and curses those who are disobedient. In general, all thieves have the curse of God on them, and all people who work honestly have a certain “blessing” of God on them. This is not because God has “elected them from eternity past” to be blessed, but God has blessed his moral principles, and by following these principles, one receives a benefit here in this world, but not necessarily entrance into heaven for obeying these other moral principles (the key point then is faith in the work of Christ on the cross as being THE THING that one has to “do” in order to be saved).
1Sam 12:22 For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.
What we see here is that it pleased God to make Israel “his people.”
Bible Versions. I should start off this post by saying that I believe and use the KJV as my Bible version when I use an English Bible. I am a missionary fluent in Spanish, and use a Spanish Bible version in my church in Mexico City. Let me just say that people who are honest and look at this issue from all sides, and if that person is a modern day “Fundamentalist”, he would have problems “getting into bed” with any one of these theories floating around out there.
How to tell if you are in cult #5 teaching by personal example is lost, biblical phraseology is lost to unique terms of the cult, authority is in people and organizations instead of the Bible. This is a study of some simple elements that are very common in cults, false religions, even bad political groups.
In this post we example how Job’s righteousness was declared by God to Satan, and Satan did not presume it to be “all of God”, but God attributed it to Job’s will and actions. The piety of Job (Jobs Piety) is a problem for Calvinists because in God’s eyes, Job was just. Not just to get into heaven, but just in his life before God.
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Why do I Attend Church? Biblical Reasons for attending and participating in Church.
Description: Salvation, in part, is communing with the saints.
TOPICS: Salvation is to be part of the Redeemed | Who do you get together with? | What do you declare with your actions? | God's Worship | God's Praise | The Sacrifices: Singing with Joy | The Sacrifices: The Offerings | The Sacrifices: The Prayer | A Community of Perfect Love (Fraternal Love) | Serving the Brethren | Heavenly Clothes: Good Works Here.
Read/Download the Tract:
Why do I Attend Church? Biblical Reasons for attending and participating in Church.
More Tracts on Attendance, Participation in Church:
● Ch09 Our One another Relationship
● ch15 Congregating because we Love
● ch17 Why do I Attend Church?
● ch28 Difference between sheep and goats?
eva11 What happens after I die? This salvation tract explains what the Bible declares to us about the afterlife or what happens after we die, heaven or hell. Topics: There are only two Possibilities. | There are no Second Chances | What is Heaven like? | What is Hell like? | Jesus has warned us. | But it gets even Worse Yet | You must be born again. | There are no other Options.
Read the Tract: eva11 What happens after I die?.
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Helping Returning Missionaries are my thoughts and suggestions for missionaries returning on furlough to the States, also those on deputation.
Topics: How are we helping returning missionaries? | Let me put forth my mindset. | Coming Home and Culture Shock | The Problems of Cyber Space and Missionaries | Stick to Standard Forms of Communication | You can Help Returning Missionaries by understanding their lifestyle | More Lifestyle Differences | Helping Missionaries with Dental, Eyecare, Medical Care | Churches can help Returning missionaries - Housing | Small stuff | Get expert Advice | My Best Experiences with Visiting a Church as a Missionary Speaker.
Read the Article: Helping Returning Missionaries.
Job 13:15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
There is an attitude within much of Christianity that sickness in any form is bad, and God does not have anything to do with it. For these Christans, they ask God to take the sickness away, and sometimes (as though it was their right to be health) that they demand God to remove their sickness. The reality of life is that they continue ill, and many have a crisis of faith over this. For them, God is impotent, or God does not love them. In other words, their confidence, faith, and love of God depends on God always sending them good things. But this is not how the Bible indicates life is. God uses calamity and sickness for His own purposes and we have to understand this (and accept it).Please support our tract ministry by donating on the tract website (see sidebar). Because of your donations we can offer these tracts online, and for free. Read the Tract CH34
Dagg Manual of Theology (and links to this work in various other formats).
Dagg Manual of Theology (MySword for Android)
Dagg Manual of Theology (theWord Bible Format)
Dagg Manual of Theology (esword format)
Dagg Manual of Theology (PDF Format)
Spiritual Change is our Goal is a post about what leaders and preachers should be focusing on in our churches. Making people into the image of Christ.
Topics: What should be our Focus | The Key | Change is our Goal | The Pastoral Requirement.
Excerpt: In the ministry of God's work, the laborers need to have a clear head and a very narrow focus in order to please God. We do not have the liberty to do what we want to do per se, but rather we are servants of God to fulfill His work in His way and in His timing. The work of God is clearly defined in the Bible as the salvation of souls and their subsequent sanctification.
Read Article: Spiritual Change is our Goal.
