Does Hebrews 6:4-6 Teach that Christians Can Lose Their Salvation?

Posted on October 22, 2020October 22, 2020 by markwchristy

Remember, the author of Hebrews defines true believers as those who hold firmly to the end the confidence they had at first (Heb 3:6, 14). He does not define true believers as those who have just “been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, shared in the Holy Spirit, [and] tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age” (Heb 6:4-5). These people would be like the seed that fell in the rock and thorns (Matt 13:20-22). Like these seeds, they will end up not growing to mat...

Thinking and the Bible

Posted on October 22, 2020October 22, 2020 by markwchristy

Jesus confronts wrong thinking in Matt 9:4. In Matt 10:34, he extinguishes incorrect thoughts related to His ministry. He engages Simon with questions to stimulate his thinking (Matt 17:25). In fact, you see Him regularly using questions to stimulate the thoughts of others (Matt 18:12; 21:28; 22:17, 42; 26:53). In Luke 6:8ff, Jesus performs a miracle to counter wrong thinking. He corrects the disciples wrong thinking on who would be greatest in Luke 9:47-48. Consistently, Jesus uses parables to...

Holiness Evangelism (with multiple quotes takes from MacArthur’s commentary on Ephesians)

Posted on October 22, 2020December 23, 2021 by markwchristy

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom [a]every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses k...

Cancellation of Christian Truth-Bearers: A Biblical Response

Posted on October 22, 2020October 22, 2020 by markwchristy

While speaking to a crowd, Jesus delivered a scathing rebuke due their chief concern being for a sign of His validity (and that of His message). Specifically, he said, “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here” (Luke 11:32 NASB). According to Jesus, the crowd had completely failed to come under the truth of His message; furthermore, they had failed to us...

EMERGING CHURCH BIBLIOGRAPHY (as of 2012)

Posted on October 21, 2020October 21, 2020 by markwchristy

This bibliography contains many (and most) books written by Emerging/Emergent Church proponents. In addition, it contains many (and most) books by critics of the Emerging/Emergent Church. A few additional books deal more directly with postmodernism, pluralism, and relativism and were added because of their relevance in regard to the study of the Emerging Church.Anderson, Ray S. AnEmergent Theology for Emerging Churches. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2006.Bass, Diane Butler. ThePractici...

Comments on Leonard Sweet’s “Out of the Question . . . Into the Mystery”

Posted on October 21, 2020October 21, 2020 by markwchristy

The following comments come from excerpts from Leonard Sweet’s Out of the Question . . . Into the Mystery. Quote 1: “The modern church has a propositional attitude rather than a relational attitude” (30). Granted, no church should approach Jesus with the heart of a Pharisee that thinks one can earn one’s relationship with God. Nor can one take on a Gnostic attitude that search for a secret knowledge, propositional or otherwise, should be a means to access God. Sweet would ...

Christianity, Zen Buddhism, and New Age Philosophy

Posted on October 21, 2020October 21, 2020 by markwchristy

Dogen, a 13th century patriarch of the Soto Zen school (see Smith and Novak's Buddhism: A Concise Intro.) said, “In pursuit of the Way, the prime essential is [meditation]. Just to pass time in sitting straight, without any thought of acquisition, without any sense of achieving enlightenment—this is the way of the patriarchs. It is true that our predecessors recommended both the koan [a meaningless phrase] and sitting, but it was the sitting they particularly insisted upon. ...

Leonard Sweet’s Soul Tsunami

Posted on October 21, 2020October 21, 2020 by markwchristy

Leonard Sweet writes, "Invitation to discipleship is not made through propositions or arguments, but with feelings, moods, music, and energy" (Soul Tsunami, 215). How can we communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ apart from propositional truths? Some in the Emerging Church argue that the gospel should be communicated through actions and stories. Obviously, actions alone will fail to communicate the gospel alone. The actions of Jesus Himself were misinterpreted by many of the Jews. As far as ...

A Logical Fallacy from ReJesus by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch

Posted on October 21, 2020October 21, 2020 by markwchristy

"The Hellenists used a tightly contained step logic whereby one would argue from premise to conclusion; each step in the process is linked tightly to the next in a coherent, rational, linear fashion. “The conclusion, however, was usually limited to one point of view - the human being’s perception of reality’” In contrast, Hebraic thinking tended to express concepts in self-contained units, or blocks, of thought. The blocks did not necessarily fit together in an obviously linear or harmonious pa...

Jesus as Truth in Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola’s Jesus Manifesto

Posted on October 21, 2020October 21, 2020 by markwchristy

Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola contend that "According to Scripture, Jesus Christ (and not a doctrine about Him) is the truth. In addition, Jesus Christ (and not an ethic derived from His teaching) is the way. In other words, both God's truth and God's way are embodied in a living, breathing person--Christ" (Jesus Manifesto, 80). Here, Sweet and Viola make a marvelous point--Christianity is a relationship with Christ as opposed to a set impersonal guidelines. Even so, their approach to making...