Evangelism

The Fall of the Pastorate: An Indictment against the Unbiblical Criteria Used in the Hiring of Pastors and a Call for Change

Posted on by markwchristy
By Mark W. Christy, PhD Nowadays, every church (or so it seems) wants to be that next mega-church, and every pastor is often judged solely by the number of those in attendance. This hyper-focus on numerical results has coincided with a devaluation in the biblical appeals for Godly character, soundness in doctrine, and steadfastness in proclamation. Instead of these biblical qualities which should be exhibited by pastors and reproduced in the laity, the qualities that now achieve prominence i...
Read More

Does God Hate the Sin but Love the Sinner?

Posted on by markwchristy
By Mark W. Christy, PhD In the ever-growing theological vacuum that continues to engulf the present era, many herald God’s omnibenevolence in such a way that God is proclaimed to be unibenevolent. In other words, they perceive of God’s love as the overarching characteristic which subsumes any other aspects of His being. For them, the love of God is so completely indiscriminate that even hardened sinners have little need to fear. So common is their view of God’s love that many affirmatively r...
Read More

Recurring Problems with Salvation Plans

Posted on by markwchristy
By Mark W. Christy, PhD Every true Christian should be motivated to share the good news. In line with this right motivation, many evangelical churches invite their members to participate in evangelistic training which frequently involves some sort of material offering a simplified version of the gospel along with a simplified method of delivery. Among Southern Baptists, some of these include the FAITH gospel presentation, the Four Spiritual Laws, Steps to Peace with God, and the ABC’s of Sal...
Read More

Replacing the Sinner’s Prayer with the True Gospel

Posted on by markwchristy
By Mark W. Christy, PhD In many evangelical churches, it is not uncommon for those who wish to convert to be led in what is known commonly as the sinner’s prayer. At many of these churches, there exists a desire to see people come to Christ which may indeed be genuine even while at times misguided. At others, the drive for success, which unfortunately is determined by the number of converts, may have become the primary motivating factor. Nonetheless, the usage of the sinner’s prayer is extre...
Read More

Being a Light for Christ in the Workplace

Posted on by markwchristy
By Mark W. Christy, PhD After giving His Sermon on the Mount which lists the identifying marks of true believers, Jesus said this of Christians, “You are the light of the world” (Matt 5:14).[i] Those who follow Jesus, who is Himself the “Light of the world,” are therefore expected to exhibit Christlikeness in all aspects of their lives (John 8:12). Paul put it this way, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of ...
Read More

A Call to Personal, Persistent, and Powerful Prayer for the Lost (Col 4:2-3)

Posted on by markwchristy
By Mark W. Christy, PhD In Colossians 3:5-4:1, Paul addresses the qualities of a born-again, Spirit-filled believer followed by a discussion of his/her relationships. In Colossians 4:2-6, Paul gives instructions on how believers are to pray for and converse with non-believers. First, Paul discusses the need for persevering in prayer (v.2). In his many epistles, Paul constantly advocates dedicated, steadfast, and persistent praying. He tells believers to be “devoted to pray” (Rom 12:12), “...
Read More

The Deciding Factor in Our Salvation

Posted on by markwchristy
By Mark W. Christy, PhD Classical Arminianism and Calvinism both affirm the bondage of the human will due to the sin of Adam. Both also agree no one can be saved apart from God’s prevenient (coming before) saving grace working in the human heart (inner person including the mind and thoughts) in such way that a person is enabled to respond to the gospel in repentance and faith. In 1610, the followers of Arminius wrote in defense of their view: “That man has not saving grace of himself, nor...
Read More

The Southern Baptist Half-Way Covenant

Posted on by markwchristy
Before beginning, it is important to note that there are many Bible-believing Southern Baptists who affirm that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Among them however, many disagree on the role of the free will in regard to salvation. Some suggest God elects those He saves in such a way that He Himself ensures those whom He chooses will indeed respond to the gospel through the God-given gifts of repentance and faith. Others hold that these gifts of grace are g...
Read More

The Only Authentic Response to the Gospel that Leads to Salvation

Posted on by markwchristy
By Mark W. Christy, PhD In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus discusses four different types of reception to the gospel proclamation (Luke 8:4-15). It is clear from the range of responses that the gospel is to be preached to all. Furthermore, the central factor in salvation, in this parable, is shown to be the receptivity to the gospel and not the skill or methodology employed by the proclaimer. The first type of response is given by those who simply reject the gospel outright from the start...
Read More

The Gospel by Those Frequently Charged with Being False Teachers

Posted on by markwchristy
By Mark W. Christy, PhD In this article, the salvation plan of various individuals who frequently are associated with the Prosperity Gospel Movement are laid out and examined to determine the degree of similarity and whether or not potential errors may be involved. Overall, they typically present a soteriology that could easily be construed to be correct given the simplicity and lack of detail in their statements. While their approach does not typically cross the line into confirmed heresy, ...
Read More