Way of Life Literature
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Friday Church News Notes
HILLSONG TO HOST ALPHA CONFERENCE/CATHOLIC MASS (Friday Church News Notes, December 13, 2019, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Hillsong Phoenix is hosting Alpha Conference 2020 on January 30-31, complete with a Catholic mass. Speakers include Sarah Shin of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Francis Chan, Kelvin Walker of the Christian & Missionary Alliance, Catholic priest James Mallon, and contemporary worship leader Matt Redman. The conference opens on Friday morning with a Catholic mass in which a wafer of bread will become the actual body and blood of Jesus and will be worshipped.. Read More
In an open letter to a newspaper editor, Pope Francis says that sincere atheists will be accepted by God. Writing to Eugenio Scalfari, founder of La Repubblica, the pope said: “You ask me if the God of the Christians forgives those who don’t believe and who don’t seek the faith. I start by saying--and this is the fundamental thing--that God’s mercy has no limits if you go to him with a sincere and contrite heart. The issue for those who do not believe in God is to obey their conscience” (“Pope Francis Assures Atheists,” The Independent, UK, Sept. 11, 2013).
This statement made big news, but there is nothing here that evangelicals have not been saying for decades. In fact, this is yet another way in which Roman Catholics and evangelicals are “coming together.” It is another aspect of the building of the end-time, one-world “church.”
A 1996 book by Zondervan Publishing House.. Read More
This statement made big news, but there is nothing here that evangelicals have not been saying for decades. In fact, this is yet another way in which Roman Catholics and evangelicals are “coming together.” It is another aspect of the building of the end-time, one-world “church.”
A 1996 book by Zondervan Publishing House.. Read More
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. "
The rapidly growing global acceptance of homosexuality is a sign of the end times. Sodom is mentioned four times in reference to end times (Lu. 17:28-32; 2 Pe. 2:6; Jude 7; Re. 11:8). See Gen. 19:4-7. The spirit of homosexuality has swept the world in my very lifetime. In the 21st century, same-sex “marriage” has been legalized in 28 nations. It is promoted by major global corporations, such as.. Read More
Gospel tracts and pamphlets are very important tools in evangelism. The printing press is a wonderful gift from God and has been used greatly for the glory of Jesus Christ. The printed page can greatly multiply our efforts in the service of the Lord and tracts can sometimes go places where we cannot go.
Understand why we must preach the gospel to every person.
- To be obedient and to prove our love for Christ (Jn. 14:15; Mt. 28:19-20; Mr. 16:15; Lu. 24:45-48; Ac. 1:8; 2 Co. 5:17-21; Php.. 2:16; 2 Ti. 4:5). God has called every believer to do this work. Each Christian can reach different people.
- To prove our love for men (Mt. 9:36). Don’t you care about your fellow man who is on his or her way to eternal judgment?
- To give men a choice for heaven or hell (Ro. 10:14).
- To take away people’s excuses (2 Co. 2:14-16). When we give the gospel we are doing two things: One, we are offering that person a chance... Read More
Understand why we must preach the gospel to every person.
- To be obedient and to prove our love for Christ (Jn. 14:15; Mt. 28:19-20; Mr. 16:15; Lu. 24:45-48; Ac. 1:8; 2 Co. 5:17-21; Php.. 2:16; 2 Ti. 4:5). God has called every believer to do this work. Each Christian can reach different people.
- To prove our love for men (Mt. 9:36). Don’t you care about your fellow man who is on his or her way to eternal judgment?
- To give men a choice for heaven or hell (Ro. 10:14).
- To take away people’s excuses (2 Co. 2:14-16). When we give the gospel we are doing two things: One, we are offering that person a chance... Read More
Friday Church News Notes
RESPONSES TO “BOB JONES UNIVERSITY’S PLUNGE INTO NEW REFORMED CALVINISM” (Friday Church News Notes, December 6, 2019, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Following are a couple of the responses to the report in last week’s Friday Church News Notes: RESPONSE # 1 - “I am a 1977 BJU grad. I am EXTREMELY upset I am forced to realize that BJU is now a New Evangelical school, having become so without a peep from Dr. Bob Jones the third, as far as I know. Two or three years ago I checked out the website of a man who was scheduled to preach in Bible Conference. On the link for his church's youth group, one can hear hard rock music. Not wimpy ‘soft rock’ but HARD rock. No pastor treating his church kids to hard rock should even be allowed close to the BJU pulpit, much less preach.. Read More
The following is enlarged from the youth discipleship course entitled THE MOBILE PHONE AND THE CHRISTIAN HOME AND CHURCH, available in print as well as a free eBook from www.wayoflife.org. This study on child evangelism is from chapter two: The Parents, point # 5, “Training teens focuses on a biblical conversion experience.”
Unless young people are saved, they can’t be discipled.
This is a frightful fact in light of the shallowness of evangelism in so many churches. The church I grew up in probably didn’t have even one saved young person, though we all knew the right things to say. We “talked the talk,” but we didn’t.. Read More
This is a frightful fact in light of the shallowness of evangelism in so many churches. The church I grew up in probably didn’t have even one saved young person, though we all knew the right things to say. We “talked the talk,” but we didn’t.. Read More
Lester Roloff
John Rice, Lester Roloff Preached Repentance From Sin
In the 1980s, Jack Hyles and Curtis Hutson changed the historic Baptist definition of repentance, which was the biblical definition of repentance. I suspect that the motive was to justify the cheap, numbers-oriented soul winning methodology that was popular in that day. This was the methodology that was foundational to Big-itis (Jumboism) with its emphasis on “the largest ... the fastest growing... the greatest.”I label the numbers-oriented soul winning methodology “Quick Prayerism,” because it is quick to run people through “the Roman’s Road,” quick to “get a decision,” quick to lead them in a sinner’s prayer, quick to give them “assurance,” and quick to pronounce them “saved” and record them as a statistic, even when there is no biblical evidence of regeneration.. Read More
The church must guard the door with wise and biblical standards…
Inactive Church Membership
To maintain a regenerate church membership, it is necessary to practice discipline. The church must guard the door with wise and biblical standards for membership, and it must provide a path out for those who refuse to be faithful. Otherwise, it soon becomes a lethargic, powerless mixed multitude rather than the spiritual house of living stones and serving priests that we see in 1 Peter 2:5.According to Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 4:2; Hebrews 10:25, God requires that church members be faithful to the services, and that is what our church requires. The church’s job is to build up and protect the members (Eph. 4:11-16), but this is not possible if the members aren’t.... Read More
Steve Pettit
Friday Church News Notes
BOB JONES UNIVERSITY’S PLUNGE INTO NEW REFORMED CALVINISM (Friday Church News Notes, November 29, 2019, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Since 2006, we have documented the move toward Reformed Calvinism on the part of many BJU graduates, but it wasn’t clear where the school itself stood. That picture has now come into clear focus, and it is worse than we suspected. In October, BJU president Steve Pettit participated in the “Greenville Conference on Reformed Theology” at Second Presbyterian Church. The other two speakers were Joel Beeke and Richard Phillips. Beeke is a professor at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and Phillips serves on the board of The Gospel Coalition. On November 11-12, Andy Naselli was the guest speaker at BJU for the Stewart Custer Lecture Series. Naselli is a professor at John Piper’s Bethlehem College & Seminary and an elder of Bethlehem Baptist.. Read MoreA Further Conversation About Quick Prayerism
After publishing “Correspondence with a Missionary about Quick Prayerism” (Nov. 6, 2019), I received the following question (which has been edited for publication). We will follow this with my reply to this question, which is expanded from the one I sent to him.Bro. Cloud -
I am an Independent Baptist who has zero use for easy believism, or any other form of tricking people into a prayer. I also believe you are God’s man and I am inquiring and not rebuking you in this email. I enjoy reading your material and think you are incredibly smart as well as wise. I am not a preacher, but simply a business man who reads these daily devotions.
My questions are relatively simple minded and I realize this. I also recognize or get the impression these two ladies might have been Catholic which definitely makes this case different than a traditional lost person and their possible prior belief system.
It just seems like you are taking away the idea that people can’t still come to an old fashion altar (I’m from the Bible Belt which my verbiage will clearly represent) and be under Holy Ghost conviction and be Saved on the spot. When I got Saved 23 years ago... Read More
Preachers and Books
“The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.” (2 Timothy 4:13)Some preachers seem to disdain books. I once heard a preacher at an independent Baptist meeting say, “We don’t need more books; we need more preaching.”
That’s a statement of ignorance. A good Christian book is simply good preaching and teaching.
When God wanted to speak to men, He wrote a Book.
The apostles communicated with the churches and with individual believers through the pen, and we have some of their writings in our New Testament. Had they possessed printing presses, I have no doubt that they would have used them.
The apostle Paul was a student to the end of his life. Even when in prison awaiting his death, he said to Timothy, “The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the... Read More
Those Dreadful Fundamentalist Pharisees
Christians who have strong biblical convictions are often labeled “Pharisees.”The following are a few examples of the probably hundreds of times people have written to call me a Pharisee.
“I wonder what makes Mr. Cloud so sure he’s right and everybody else is wrong? Look at the Pharisees, Mr. Cloud, and then look in the mirror!”
“You’re the best example I think I’ve ever seen of the Pharisee who sits at the front of the synagogue giving thanks for not being a sinner like everyone else.”
“I figured you were a Baptist organization. You are nothing more than modern day Pharisees! Judgmental ignorant people. Get a grip.”
To label a Bible-believing Christian who is passionate to honor Jesus Christ and to obey God’s Word a Pharisee is a vicious slander. The error of the Pharisee was... Read More
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