Tertullian on Truth Part 3

From ‘The Prescription Against Heretics’ by Tertullian.

Now the reason of this saying is comprised in three points: in the matter, in the time, in the limit. In the matter, so that you must consider what it is you have to seek; in the time, when you have to seek; in the limit, how long. What you have “to seek,” then, is that which Christ has taught, (and you must go on seeking) of course for such time as you fail to find, —until indeed you find it. But you have succeeded in finding when you have believed. For you would not have believed if you had not found; as neither would you have sought except with a view to find. Your object, therefore, in seeking was to find; and your object in finding was to believe. All further delay for seeking and finding you have prevented by believing. The very fruit of your seeking has determined for you this limit. This boundary has He set for you Himself, who is unwilling that you should believe anything else than what He has taught, or, therefore, even seek for it. If, however, because so many other things have been taught by one and another, we are on that account bound to go on seeking, so long as we are able to find anything, we must (at that rate) be ever seeking, and never believe anything at all. For where shall be the end of seeking? where the stop in believing? where the completion in finding? (Shall it be) with Marcion? But even Valentinus proposes (to us the) maxim, “Seek, and ye shall find.” (Then shall it be) with Valentinus? Well, but Apelles, too, will assail me with the same quotation; Hebion also, and Simon, and all in turn, have no other argument wherewithal to entice me, and draw me over to their side. Thus I shall be nowhere, and still be encountering(that challenge), “Seek, and ye shall find,” precisely as if I had no resting-place; as if (indeed) I had never found that which Christ has taught—that which ought to be sought, that which must needs be believed.

Tertullian on Truth Part 2

From ‘The Prescription Against Heretics’ by Tertullian.

I now purposely relinquish this ground of argument. Let it be granted, that the words, “Seek, and ye shall find,” were addressed to all men (equally). Yet even here one’s aim is carefully to determine the sense of the words consistently with (that reason), which is the guiding principle in all interpretation. (Now) no divine saying is so unconnected and diffuse, that its words only are to be insisted on, and their connection left undetermined. But at the outset I lay down (this position) that there is some one, and therefore definite, thing taught by Christ, which the Gentiles are by all means bound to believe, and for that purpose to “seek,” in order that they may be able, when they have “found” it, to believe. However, there can be no indefinite seeking for that which has been taught as one only definite thing. You must “seek” until you “find,” and believe when you have found; nor have you anything further to do but to keep what you have believed provided you believe this besides, that nothing else is to be believed, and therefore nothing else is to be sought, after you have found and believed what has been taught by Him who charges you to seek no other thing than that which He has taught. When, indeed, any man doubts about this, proof will be forthcoming, that we have in our possession that which was taught by Christ. Meanwhile, such is my confidence in our proof, that I anticipate it, in the shape of an admonition to certain persons, not “to seek” anything beyond what they have believed—that this is what they ought to have sought, how to avoid interpreting, “Seek, and ye shall find,” without regard to the rule of reason.

Tertullian on Truth Part 1

Some ‘live’ person needs to say this.  This comes from ‘The Prescription Against Heretics’ by Tertullian.

I come now to the point which (is urged both by our own brethren and by the heretics). Our brethren adduce it as a pretext for entering on curious inquiries, and the heretics insist on it for importing the scrupulosity (of their unbelief). It is written, they say, “Seek, and ye shall find.” Let us remember at what time the Lord said this. I think it was at the very outset of His teaching, when there was still a doubt felt by all whether He were the Christ, and when even Peter had not yet declared Him to be the Son of God, and John (Baptist) had actually ceased to feel assurance about Him. With good reason, therefore, was it then said, “Seek, and ye shall find,” when inquiry was still be to made of Him who was not yet become known. Besides, this was said in respect of the Jews. For it is to them that the whole matter of this reproof pertains, seeing that they had (a revelation) where they might seek Christ.“They have,” says He, “Moses and Elias,” —in other words, the law and the prophets, which preach Christ; as also in another place He says plainly, “Search the Scriptures, in which ye expect (to find) salvation; for they testify of me;” which will be the meaning of “Seek, and ye shall find.” For it is clear that the next words also apply to the Jews: “Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” The Jews had formerly been in covenant with God; but being afterwards cast off on account of their sins, they began to be without God. The Gentiles, on the contrary, had never been in covenant with God; they were only as “a drop from a bucket,” and “as dust from the threshing floor,” and were ever outside the door. Now, how shall he who was always outside knock at the place where he never was? What door does he know of, when he has passed through none, either by entrance or ejection? Is it not rather he who is aware that he once lived within and was thrust out, that (probably) found the door and knocked thereat? In like manner, “Ask, and ye shall receive,” is suitably said to one who was aware from whom he ought to ask,—by whom also some promise had been given; that is to say, “the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob.” Now, the Gentiles knew nothing either of Him, or of any of His promises. Therefore it was to Israel that he spake when He said, “I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Not yet had He “cast to the dogs the children’s bread;” not yet did He charge them to “go into the way of the Gentiles.” It is only at the last that He instructs them to “go and teach all nations, and baptize them,” when they were so soon to receive “the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, who should guide them into all the truth.” And this, too, makes towards the same conclusion. If the apostles, who were ordained to be teachers to the Gentiles, were themselves to have the Comforter for their teacher, far more needless was it to say to us, “Seek, and ye shall find,” to whom was to come, without research, our instruction by the apostles, and to the apostles themselves by the Holy Ghost. All the Lord’s sayings, indeed, are set forth for all men; through the ears of the Jews have they passed on to us. Still most of them were addressed to Jewish persons; they therefore did not constitute instruction properly designed for ourselves, but rather an example.

Regarding Baptism

I’ve been away from the blog for awhile contemplating on what to post.  Now Jeremy has many pithy articles and since the last time I posted I tended to show my ability to talk with my foot in my mouth. I thought perhaps I should think a bit before posting.  And in truth I have been over whelmed with work to the point where thinking was really more than I could handle. 

However, while in a chat room, I met a young person who had a few questions on many different subjects one of which was baptism.  Now when I was younger and unreformed in my theology I played the great american game of church hopping with my wife.  Looking for that perfect church.  At the time I was Scofieldian in my outlook and so went and visited with those of the same or similar outlook.  What has this to do with baptism?  Glad you asked.  My wife convinced me for a time to sojourn at the same church that her mother had taken up residence in, she had assured my wife that they were good bible teaching people and that we would learn much.  It turned out the this church had the dispensational distinctive that taught that the actual historical beginning of the Church “occurred some time after the conversion of the Apostle Paul and before the writing of his first epistle.” 

One of their other distinctives was: “The issue of water (ritual) baptism has caused great confusion and division among believers for many centuries. There are many disagreements about the purpose and practice of water baptism in the Church today. Paul, the Apostle sent by God to minister to the Gentile world, was not sent to baptize with water, but to preach the gospel. Nowhere in the epistles of the Apostle Paul do we find any clear instruction for emphasis upon water baptism as essential for the Church the Body of Christ. In light of this, we do not believe that water baptism is a sacrament or an essential practice for the church today.”

So I was not too surprised when this young stalwart said to me:  “I’m not sure that water baptism is necessary” or words to that effect.

Now let me state for the record that with regard to this so called “church” they are in error not only with regards to the beginning of the Church but also their stance on baptism.   

Let’s take a look at the LBC 1689 in modern english with regard to the ordinance of baptism.

CHAPTER 28 – BAPTISM AND THE LORD’S SUPPER

1. Baptism and the Lord’s supper are ordinances which have been explicitly and sovereignly instituted by the Lord Jesus, the only lawgiver, who has appointed that they are to be continued in his church to the end of the world.

CHAPTER 29 – BAPTISM

1. BAPTISM is an ordinance of the New Testament instituted by Jesus Christ. It is intended to be, to the person baptized, a sign of his fellowship with Christ in His death and resurrection, and of his being engrafted into Christ, and of the remission of sins. It also indicates that the baptized person has given himself up to God, through Jesus Christ, so that he may live and conduct himself ‘in newness of life’.

2. BAPTISM is an ordinance of the New Testament instituted by Jesus Christ. It is intended to be, to the person baptized, a sign of his fellowship with Christ in His death and resurrection, and of his being engrafted into Christ, and of the remission of sins. It also indicates that the baptized person has given himself up to God, through Jesus Christ, so that he may live and conduct himself ‘in newness of life’.
   Mark 1:4; Acts 22:16; Rom. 6:3-5; Gal. 3:27; Col. 2:12.

3. The only persons who can rightly submit themselves to this ordinance are those who actually profess repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, being willing to yield obedience to Him.
   Mark 16:16; Acts 2:41; 8:12,36,37; 18:8.

4. The outward element to be used in this ordinance is water, in which the believer is to be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
   Matt. 28:19,20; Acts 8:38.

5. Immersion, that is to say, the dipping of the believer in water, is essential for the due administration of this ordinance.
   Matt. 3:16; John 3:23.

 

To be continued…

Article 3 of the Baptist Faith & Message

III. Man

Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them  male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God’s creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.

Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5,7,18-22; 3; 9:6; Psalms 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isaiah 6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32; 3:10-18,23; 5:6,12,19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18,29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19,21-22; Ephesians 2:1-22; Colossians 1:21-22; 3:9-11.

This article first tells us of the origins of mankind, that is, that we are the ‘special creation of God’.  This language is used in order to set humanity apart from the rest of creation as unique.  Not that the rest of God’s creation isn’t unique or special, but that man has certain qualities given to him that other parts of Creation do not receive.

This uniqueness of man is found in the facts (1) that man is created in God’s own image, (2) that man was given the gift of freedom of choice, and (3) that the Son of God became man and died as a substitute for man.  These three points are closely related.  Because man sinned by his own free choice, a God-man must redeem man from his sin.  Because God had previously made man in His own image, then the way for the God-man was ready.  These truths point us to the fact that God in His sovereignty had already planned His actions from the beginning.  Neither sin nor salvation are a ‘Plan B’.  They are parts of ‘Plan A’, which is being fulfilled in history, that is, that God will have a redeemed humanity as part of the ‘saints’ that will worship Him for eternity.

Although man was originally created in innocence, Adam fell into sin, and in so doing, has brought sin upon all his posterity.  All of Adam’s children have a sin nature.

One sentence that is troubling for me, is, “Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation.”

It is fairly clear to me that better language could have been used in this instance.  Note the language of the BF&M 1925, “…whereby his posterity inherit a nature corrupt and in bondage to sin, are under condemnation, and as soon as they are capable of moral action, become actual transgressors.”

In the BF&M 1925 condemnation is connected to our sin nature, while in the BF&M 2000 condemnation is connected to our actions.  This language was no doubt adopted in order to give hope for those who have had children who died in infancy.  It is unfortunate language, but it is language we must deal with.  Here’s how I deal with it.  There is nothing in the statement that negates what I believe about man being under condemnation because of his sin nature.  It is simply omitted. And, as soon as we are capable of moral action, we do become transgressors.  And we will be condemned for our own personal sins.  We are under condemnation outside of Christ, but we are also under condemnation for our own sinful actions.  While our condemnation in Adam is not stated, our condemnation for our own sins is stated.

The good news, amidst all of this talk of condemnation, is that God in His grace redeems condemned sinners.  He does this by sending His Son into the world to live the life of righteousness that Adam (and all of us) did not live, dying the death that Adam (and all of us) deserved, and exchanging our sinfulness for His righteousness.

Martin Luther on…

Justification

Here are a couple of quotes form Luther’s Tabletalk;

All heretics have continually failed in this one point: that they do not rightly understand or know the article of justification.  If we had not this article certain and clear, it would be impossible for us to criticize the pope’s false doctrine of indulgences and other abominable errors, much less be able to overcome greater spiritual errors and vexations.  If we only permit Christ to be our Saviour, then we have won, for He is the only girdle which clasps the whole body together, a Saint Paul excellently teaches.

 A popish priest once argued with me in this manner:  Evil works are damned, therefore good works justify.  I answered: Your argument is worth nothing.  It concludes not ratione contrariorum; the things are not in connection.  Evil works are evil in complete measure, because they proceed from a heart that is altogether spoiled and evil.  But good works, yea, even in an upright Christian, are incompletely good; for they proceed out of a weak obedience but little recovered and restored.  Whoso can say from his heart, “I am a sinner, but God is righteous;” and who, at the point of death, from his heart can say, “Lord Jesus Christ, I commit my spirit into your hands,” may assure himself of true righteousness, and that he is not of the number of those that blaspheme God, in relying upon their own works and righteousness.

FYI-Blog Rating

Since I said ‘dead’ three times, ‘death’ two times, and ‘slap’ (?) once, I only have a ‘PG’ Rating. For some real raw material go to Provocations and Pantings. Timmy got a ‘PG-13′ Rating.

After some intensive research I have found some words that will likely make me an ‘R’ Rated blog.

Shoot, Missionary, Hurt, Blood, Shot, Homosexual, and Murder. I’ll update you on my rating later.

HT: Timmy Brister

Update: Mission Accomplished!

David, Goliath, and the Purpose of Life…

Not a VeggieTales Gospel.

Mention David and Goliath to me and I immediately picture Junior Asparagus fighting a Giant Pickle.  Yes, I admit it.  I own nearly all of the VeggieTales videos.  So don’t imagine this is a rant against the videos themselves.  This is a rant against an evil far more sinister than vegetables pretending to be Bible characters.  This is a rant against Sunday School teachers, curriculum, and how our children are taught in our Churches.  It is precisley this evil that has given rise to what some have called the VeggieTales Gospel.

Surprisingly, the VeggieTales Gospel is much older than the VeggieTales videos are.  I was taught a VeggieTales Gospel on many different occasions as I was growing up in conservative, Bible-believing and preaching Churches in the Bible Belt.  What is this VeggieTales Gospel?  It is a Gospel that takes Old Testament stories of heroes and their faith in God to deliver and twists them into morality lessons.

Take David and Goliath, for example.  Over the years I heard about how that I should be like David and stand up against bullies, cut the head off of sin in my life (of which the applications can be endless as I remember one lesson where little Goliaths with various sins written on them were cut into pieces), help my friends when they are in trouble, and become self-confident.

All of those lessons are true, for the most part.  Sometimes you gotta stand up against bullies, you gotta help your friends, a little self-confidence never hurt anyone (as long as we remember that the Gospel requires that we have no confidence in the flesh), and, to paraphrase John Owen, ‘Ya gotta kill sin or sin’ll kill you.’

But what if I were to say that none of those applications are in the story of David and Goliath?  They’re not.  The story of David and Goliath is a story about God who takes down His enemies, God who delivers His friends, God who David trusts in, and God who takes care of our sin problem.  The application of the story is not, ‘Be like David’, but instead, ‘You are Israel on the sidelines waiting for a Deliverer.’

Do you get the picture?  Israel out there on the battlefront, playing like they’re ready to whip up on some Philistines, when in reality they are scared stiff.  They’re scared stiff for forty days as morning and evening a nine and a half foot monster walks out onto the battlefield to challenge them.  “If you came to fight, then lets fight.  If not, then let’s not waste our time here.  Just go ahead and surrender and we’ll go home and you can be our slaves.  Or you can send someone out to fight me and the winner gets to take the other side as slaves.”

But Israel has a problem.  The man who had delivered them before, their King (Saul), no longer has the Spirit of God or the Word of God.  The Spirit of God left Saul when he disobeyed God’s Word spoken by His prophet. (1 Samuel 15)  Israel has not been left without a deliverer, however.  A young boy by the name of David has been anointed by Samuel with oil, but by God with the Spirit. (1 Samuel 16)

So here comes Spirit-filled David to the battle on the fortieth day.  He hears the giant defy the armies of Israel and recognizes that it is not only flesh and blood that is being defied, but that God’s name is being blasphemed.  And one thing David knows is this, God’s name is not to be blasphemed.  David then decides God has put him on earth in Israel at this moment for a reason.  He has placed David in a position where he may deliver God’s people from God’s enemies, and that he might magnify God’s name in all the earth. (1 Samuel 17:45-47)

Long story short, David, by the supernatural aid of God defeats Goliath.  The Anointed King of God’s people kills God’s enemy.  Sound familiar?  It should.  That’s what Jesus has done for us.  When we were in a helpless situation, God became man and defeated His enemy for us.  Not just because we are soooo special, but because our enemy is God’s enemy, and because by defeating this enemy, God’s name should be magnified in all the earth.

The battle is over.  We didn’t win it.  Jesus won it.  Let the nations rejoice and exult in the Name of the Lord our God!  That is the purpose of life, isn’t it?

Article 2 of the Baptist Faith & Message

II. God

There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

A. God the Father

God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.

Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11ff.; 20:1ff.; Leviticus 22:2; Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Isaiah 43:3,15; 64:8; Jeremiah 10:10; 17:13; Matthew 6:9ff.; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:6; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:6; 12:9; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7.

B. God the Son

Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.

Genesis 18:1ff.; Psalms 2:7ff.; 110:1ff.; Isaiah 7:14; 53; Matthew 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16,27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6,19; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18,29; 10:30,38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16,28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20,28; Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5,20; Romans 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3,34; 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8,24-28; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; 8:9; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15,24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Revelation 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16.

C. God the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.

Genesis 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Psalms 51:11; 139:7ff.; Isaiah 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10,12; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4,38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17,39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Romans 8:9-11,14-16,26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11,13; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; 1 Timothy 3:16; 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:14; 3:16; Hebrews 9:8,14; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Revelation 1:10; 22:17.

In the interest of keeping this post short, I’m only going to hit the highlights.

The BF&M is Trinitarian in it’s view of the unity of the Godhead.  This means that it does not give room for unitarianism, oneness theology (Jesus only), or pantheism.  We believe that God is a unity of three distinct persons.  Those persons are, the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit.  Each one is God, but they are not three Gods.

We believe the Father to be God who creates, ordains, and orders all things after the counsel of His own will.  His providentially cares for all of His creation, especially those who have become sons of God by faith in Christ.

We believe the Son to be the eternally begotten Son of God, without beginning, eternally co-equal with the Father.  He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary, becoming fully man while remaining fully God, in order that He might live a perfect life and thereby offer a perfect sacrifice for fallen humanity.  He was killed by crucifixion on our behalf, but He rose again bodily on the third day, and has ascended tot he right hand of the Father where he lives to make intercession for all who trust in His name.  He will return again to judge the living and the dead.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son, co-equal with both the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit inspired the Scriptures that reveal God to us, convict of sin, and regenerate us so that we may believe.  He also sanctifies us and keeps us for our ultimate salvation, at the return of Jesus Christ.

This article of the BF&M stands in the tradition of the Apostolic, Nicene, Chalcedonian, and Athanasian Creeds.

Do you REALLY believe Salvation is by Grace alone?

The Word of God proclaims that salvation is by God’s grace alone. Most professing Christians today will unreservedly avow that they too believe that salvation is by “grace alone”.  And that’s a good thing. However, there is reason to believe that the theology that is embraced by the vast majority of those who affirm the Reformation doctrine of  “Sola Gratia” is antithetical to the biblical truth; “Salvation is of the Lord.” (Jonah 2:9). What follows is a graphical representation of the understanding of the doctrine of salvation held by most Evangelicals today. It is hoped that this will aid many to think seriously about what they believe, at least intellectually, and realize that it does not represent in actuality the truth that “Salvation is of the Lord God; by His grace alone!”

Take up and read the rest…

 

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