If you were to ask people what the problem is with the Church today, you would get varied responses.   If you asked the fundamentalists, they would site the lack of “standards”, modern music, lack of soul winning, and those evil baby baptizing devotees of John Calvin.  The Evangelicals, on the other hand would point the finger at those legalistic fundamentalists with their extra Biblical standards and high pressure soul winning.  Granted, there would be some on both sides that would condemn the shallow doctrine, easy believism (which pervades the modern Church), and feel good preaching.  While some of these are definite problems and others just silly distractions, I do not believe that they are the primary problem in the church.  Though it is true, that shallow preaching may produce shallow Christians, and legalistic or fluffy preaching may produce legalistic and fluffy Christians, that is not the biggest problem.

The biggest problem is you.  Okay, the biggest problem is us.  The fact of the matters is, three to four hours of church per week ought not make or break a person’s walk with Christ.  If I hear contemporary Christian music at church, followed by a speech from some guy with a plastic smile and a mullet, that doesn’t make me any more or less of Christian.  Likewise, if I go to Church and listen to hundred year old hymns (my preference) and then follow that with a sermon from a guy that looks and sounds more like Sergeant Carter than Joel Osteen, that does not add to or take away from my walk.  I am not saying that worship style is of no importance,  I am saying that my walk with Christ is personal, not corporate.  Corporate worship is important for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that it is commanded.  I want you to understand that you can have a close walk with God regardless of what is around you.  Noah found Grace in the eyes of God when he was apparently one of the few righteous men left.  I know of several people who are not in what I would classify as a “good” Church, yet they love God with all their heart and desire to see people come to the knowledge of the truth.

So what is the problem?  I suppose a better question would be, what is the solution.  The problem as I see it is that of the myriad of professing Christians, very few are in the Word.   The simple truth is that if I am not in the Word consistently, and if I am not spending time communing with the God of Heaven, I will not grow no matter what type of Church I am in.  As I said earlier, Christianity is a personal walk with God.  Jonathan Edward grew up in a church that practiced the half way covenant and consequently was filled with lost church members, yet he as a young man would go sit by the river and think on divine things.  I suppose Peter said it best when he exhorted believer to desire the sincere milk of the Word.

I am aware that many will not apreciate this post.  Please understand, it is not my desire to tear away at the necesisty of Christ exalting worship and Bible based preaching.  Those are topics for another day.  What I am saying is that we need to stop pointing.  Let us agree with Isaiah who cried, ‘Woe is me”.

I’m sure that we all have have our preferences when it comes to preaching styles.  Some prefer the preacher that is in a constant roar, these guys are often referred to as wind suckers.  There is also a group referred to as hackers.  Their sermons go something like, “I’m glada that Jesus saves sinersa.”  Perhaps you prefer the kind of preacher that is a silver tongued orator.  These guys could bring an audience to tears while describing the story of Humpty Dumpty.  Whatever your preference, it is a mistake to dismiss a guy simply on the grounds of style.  The wonderful thing about the gospel is that it’s efficacy does not rest in the individual speaker.  I remember hearing my pastor say on several occasions that the power of the gospel does not rest in the strength of ones voice.  My Pastor did not say this to defend his quiet voice, his voice measures on the Richter scale.  I have heard it said by many people that a certain preacher is a dead head all on the grounds that he is monotone or soft spoken.  I have also heard a preacher discredited for yelling everything from start to finish.  I hope that you will have confidence in a gospel that can soften the heart of the vilest sinner no matter who the preacher happens to be.

Paul decalred that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.  The gospel then is all that is needed for a sinner to be called to salvation.  The gospel has the abiltiy to draw the sinner whether it be spoken, written, or sang.  The word of God is quick and powerfull no matter whether a windsucker gives it or that guy that just wants to chat with you.  Not by might nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord.

It is a serious problem when the effectiveness of the gospel is thought to hinge on the individual.  To say that a speaker is dead or boring because he is not not loud and stimulating is to say the gospel is inefective when the speaker does not fit your particular taste.  The obvious conclusion that can be drawn from such rational is that the gospel is not powerful until the preacher makes it poweful.  It is also a mistake to didain a sermon because of the yelling preacher.  Does the gospel lose it’s power because the guys yelling annoys you or makes you uncomfortable?

I will close with a few verses since it is inevitable that some will still not understand that the gospel is effective no matter who is presenting it.  We simply have the wonferful oportunity of being ambassadors for Christ.

Isiah 55:11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

In other words, every single time the gospel is presented it accomplishes God’s purpose, no matter how individuals respond

John 6:37  All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

As you may have noticed I have not written a new post in a while.  I first want to thank all of my adoring fans for thier patience.  For those of you that are dying to know where I have been, I have a list prepared to inform you of my whereabouts.

1.  I have been away teaching a certain prominant fundamentalist the art of exposition

2.  I have been away teaching a certain prominant fundamentalist the meaning of exposition

3.  I have been away because my friend Joe Cassada is now blogging and he gives me an inferiority complex

4.  John Hardin told me that my blog site was actually fictitious

5.  I have spent alot of time planning my plot for world domination

6.  Dr Phill says that I dont need to blog in order to gain acceptance

7.  I have been to busy eating bon bons and watching old episodes of The A Team on Hulu

8.  Many theologians from the non reformed perspective have had a price on my head

9.  I have been studying the parable of the prodigal son for hidden codes that reveal the date of the Lord’s  return

10.  I have been writing a book on Baptist history revealing that Baptists actually date back to Abel.  All other denominations are the devil.

I am sure you have all heard men stand in their pulpits and decry the evils of Calvinism. I am equally sure that you have also heard those same men from those same pulpits quote such great men of God as, Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, John Gill, Matthew Henry, John Bunyan, and countless others. I could list many more, but I think the point is well made. What is even more amazing is that many of these preachers use commentaries written by some of these men who would be according to most Baptists today, “heretics”

While this post is not intended to argue for or against Calvinism, it is intended to expose the hypocrisy among many fundamental Baptists. I am personally not as concerned with how you define election as I am with how you answer the the question, “What must I do to be saved.” There are many who would condemn others for their views concerning sovereign grace, yet are consistently making men two fold children of Hell with their soft Soteriology and refusal to allow the Holy Spirit to actually draw the sinner and regenerate him. My point, however, is that it is extremely hypocritical to hail the men afore mentioned as great men of God ( which they were) and on the other hand dismiss every present day Calvinist as heretic.

The logical conclusion that one is left to come up with then is that it was alright to be a Calvinist then but certainly not today. To bolster my point let me ask one question. Would any of the men that quote Spurgeon or Edwards ( or any other Calvinist from the past) allow a present day Calvinist to speak in their Church? The answer is a resounding no, because as I said earlier there is blatant double standard. It is my prayer that these unfair attacks would cease so that we can all busy ourselves with the task at hand which is the call for sinners to repent and turn to Christ.

As I said earlier this post is not intended to argue for or against Calvinism,  my biggest concern is that we are  actively  trying to  reach sinners  for  the glory of God, and that we are not watering down the gospel.  All I am saying is that we should know who we are quoting before we blast modern Calvinists.  As long as a man is preaching the gospel and trying to reach sinners, lets not attack him because of how he interprets certain passages of Scripture.

I pray that no one takes this post the wrong way.  I would ask that before you judge me, take time to listen to my sermons so that you will know where I stand. I love the Lord, I love sinners, and I want to help God’s people.