An Issue Worth Blogging About, Part 2

DISCLAIMER:

The following views are mine and are not meant to reflect the views of anybody else involved in Bezeugen Ministries.

To sum up my thoughts on this whole Mark Cahill "situation"...

Should Jon Speed have posted "an open letter to Mark Cahill" in which he urged Mr. Cahill to repent of his sowing of discord among the brothers?

Yes, he should have. It's a good thing.

For those who disagree with how Mr. Speed handled this situation, let me ask you this...

Suppose that you and I are friends as well as being brothers in Christ. When I'm around you, I'm quite the jovial chap and I always try to be positive and encouraging to you (just like K-LOVE!). You always appreciate how I treat you when we're around each other.

Then, one day, you learn that--privately--I have been telling other Christians that you worship a false god and you preach a different Jesus than the one in the Bible. You find out that I have been doing this for a period of time. You are stunned upon finding this out because I never--to your face--told you that I believed such things.

Wouldn't you want to know if I was doing such a thing to you behind your back? And when you found out, wouldn't you be Biblically justified in confronting me about it? And shouldn't you warn your brothers and sisters in Christ about me if I were behaving in such a manner? And wouldn't it be especially important to make my behavior public if I was involved in a very public ministry?

Proverbs 6:19 tells us that the LORD hates the sowing of discord among brothers. Mark Cahill's behavior is doing damage to the body of Christ. It gives me no pleasure to state this. I have been an admirer of Mr. Cahill for quite some time, having read "One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven" and recommended it to many of my Christian friends. One strange aspect of this entire story is the fact that Mr. Cahill uses many quotes by Charles Spurgeon in his book, and Spurgeon is well-known as a staunch Calvinist! It wouldn't take but some surface-level research to learn that Pastor Spurgeon was a "5-pointer."

So for those who disagree with what Mr. Speed did in posting his open letter and cutting ties with Mark Cahill, I can only wonder what you would do in the same situation.

Contrary to how this entire affair is being constructed, this is not just another Calvinism/Arminian debate.

We can have that debate. In fact, might I humbly suggest that we absolutely MUST have that debate.

This is not a tertiary issue like whether or not we should sprinkle water on babies. Nor is it a third-tier issue like whether or not the 1000 years is literal or not (it's not literal, by the way ; )).

This is about the GOSPEL. And we definitely should have this debate. For those who don't like the word "debate," then call it a "discussion." Call it whatever you like, but we need to determine what the Bible teaches about the sovereignty of God in salvation and then GO WITH IT.

We need to preach the Gospel APOSTOLICALLY. If our gospel preaching doesn't line up with the teaching of the apostles, then we need to drop it.

I am speaking first and foremost to myself here. I have been convicted of some sloppy preaching myself in the past.

The unashamed worker is the worker who RIGHTLY handles the word of truth. The major problem I have with Arminianism is that those particular doctrines simply do not rightly handle God's word.

The challenge I would put forth to those who find terms like "election" and "irreistable grace" distasteful is this:

Search the Scriptures, and if these teachings are plainly spelled out in Scripture, then change your tastes.

Personally, I don't think that all Arminians worship another god and a different Jesus. Some certainly do, and those who have slipped entirely into the heresy of Pelagianism are indeed believing in the "contrary gospel" of Galatians 1.

So, if you're Arminian and you're reading this, I'm not automatically assuming that you're an idolater.

And if you're reading this and you find youself disgusted with the entire concept of labels such as "Calvinism" and "Arminianism," let me explaint to you why I have no problem calling myself a Calvinist.

I consider it a "shout-out," if you will, to our church fathers. To call myself a Calvinist simply means that I want to acknowledge those early theologians who worked so tirelessly and devoted their lives (some even unto a painful death) to the advancement of sound doctrine and the preservation of God's word.

Sound Biblical doctrine is not something to be downplayed, discounted, or distanced from.

In fact, those who refuse to learn and practice sound doctrine need the Law in order to show them their sinfulness.

"Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.
(1Ti 1:8-11 ESV)

Those who persist in teaching false doctrine should take note that the Scriptures describe them in graphic terms...

If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.
(1Ti 6:3-5 ESV)

The qualifications of an elder--qualifications that every Christian man should strive to live up to--includes this...

He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
(Tit 1:9 ESV)

As Paul instructed Titus, so we in ministry should take heed to this instruction...

But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.
(Tit 2:1 ESV)

That is why we need to keep discussing Calvinism/Arminianism. Through this discussion, we can clarify our doctrine. We can explain our positions and make them known. We can hold each other accountable for what we are learning and what we are then teaching to others.

May God grant me the grace to be teachable.

Pray for Mark Cahill. Pray for all of those who are so quick to dismiss the importance of sound doctrine. Pray for those who hold to a "love at all costs" mentality in the Christian community.

We are taught that we need to love sinners enough to tell them the truth, and that is true.

We also need to love our brothers enough to hold each other accountable to a Biblical standard.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Keep on proclaiming...

- Shane