Keruxai.com - Latest Comments

Re: Sermons

Mymate3 — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:41:20 -0000

Excellent teachings. With my Bible in hand and earphones on, I was both fed mentally and spiritually, listening to these sermons.
'To the praise of the Glory of His Grace.'
Brother James. UK

Re: The “Word of Faith”: False Gospel, False Faith & False Teachers — Part 3

Joe Haynes — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:43:07 -0000

Thanks Johnny. It's common sense that just because an ancient writer thought a particular event was still future to him, that he cannot be claimed to be a futurist on that basis alone. Likewise with the writers of the Reformation period speaking of future events: that they believe some events are future is not a vote for futurism. Futurism is unique in that it holds that all or most events predicted in Revelation are still future today. And yes, Ribera did indeed revive futurism under a new form, namely that the events of Revelation would occupy only a brief period immediately before the second advent. Up until that time, the dominant view within Catholic circles was an amillennial idealism that did not compress Revelation's predictions into such a short, future period.

Luther and Wycliffe, however, are both well-documented in their identification of the papacy as the Man of Lawlessness and Antichrist. Nor did they expect a single, one-man Antichrist, but rather the office of the Popes itself was known to be the Antichrist. When Luther spoke of the futurity of the book of Revelation, he was saying that it was "intended" by John as a "revelation of things that are to happen in the future" from John's point of view.
Not sure what you were pointing to when asking that I Google "pretrib rapture secrets". I wasn't sure what you were recommending among the search results.

Re: The "Word of Faith": False Gospel, False Faith & False Teachers — Part 1

Ericgross-lowery — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 02:30:00 -0000

MY NAME IS ERIC DAVID LOWERY AND I THINK THAT ALL FALSE TEACHERS SHALL BE OFF OF THE AIR SO THAT ALL OF GODS CREATIONS AND ALSO/ALSO/EVEN GODS PEOPLE ARE NOT ALWAYS BEING CONSTANTLY DECEIVED AND ALSO LED ASTRAY BY FALSE TEACHERS AND THEIR MINISTRIES UNTIL ALL OF THE FALSE TEACHERS REPENT AND ASK FOR FORGIVENESS FROM GOD/GODS FORGIVENESS I AM 41 AND FROM EL CAJON,CALIFORNIA

Re: The “Word of Faith”: False Gospel, False Faith & False Teachers — Part 3

Johnny Ward — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:42:46 -0000

[Keruxai: Have lately been finding gems on the web. Here's just one.]

Futurism Was, Is, and Is To Come

     Preterists claim that the "Antichrist" and the "great tribulation" were fulfilled during the 70 AD period.

If so, why do we find that the arrival of the Antichrist was regarded
as a future event by writers who lived during and after 70 AD?
     Polycarp (70-167) wrote that "He comes as the Judge of the living and the dead."

Justin Martyr (100-168) said that "[Antichrist] shall venture to do
unlawful deeds on the earth against us the Christians...."
     Irenaeus (140-202) wrote that the ten kings (Rev. 17)"shall give their kingdom to the beast, and put the church to flight."

It's not true that Francisco Ribera (1537-1591) "revived" futurism
because it was never lost during the Middle Ages or prior to that period
of time.
     Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) stated: "There
remains only one thing - that the demon of noonday [Antichrist] should
appear."
     Roger Bacon (1214-1274) spoke of "future perils [for the Church] in the times of Antichrist...."
     John Wycliffe (1320-1384) referred to "the hour of temptation, which is coming upon all the world, Rev. iii."

Martin Luther (1483-1546): "[The book of Revelation] is intended as a
revelation of things that are to happen in the future...."

(Google or Yahoo "Famous Rapture Watchers" to see quotes from many
Christian leaders throughout the Church Age which prove that they
expected a future Antichrist and a future great tribulation.)

Preterists use Matt. 24:34 ("This generation will not pass....") to try
to prove a 70 AD fulfillment of "Antichrist." Since many of them see
"these" (Matt. 25:46) fulfilled in the future in Rev. 20, why can't they
apply futurism as easily to Matt. 24:34? After all, the word "this" is
the singular form of "these"!
     To see something that preterists, historicists, and futurists can all agree on, Google "Pretrib Rapture Secrets."

Re: Putting the REACH back in Preach

mike — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:26:18 -0000

Hi Joe. Great article. I was just “passing through” and
stumbled on your post. I am amazed that there are seemingly so many great Bible
believing churches in Vancouver. How awesome! You said something in your post
that I would like to ask you to reconsider.

First, I would like to let you know that I agree with
much if not most of what you have written. I too believe that the Holy Spirit may
choose to start drawing unsaved people/saved people to churches who preach God’s
Word. And I agree that what Tim Keller has said it right on. What I am
concerned about though, if we are seeking to invite people to a corporate
gathering, is that all of a sudden, a
Gospel believing, Gospel faithful, Gospel loving people will not become Gospel
sharing people.

With a church model that encourages their congregation to
bring in friends so that they may hear the word faithfully preached, takes the “pressure”
off of the congregation. In a very real sense, the Evangelical church begins to
resemble the Catholic church. Where the
Catholic church made the priest “the man”, we, especially those of us who are
reformed, tend to do the same thing with our pastors. In a sense they get put
on a pedestal and they become the central figure instead of Jesus being the
Central Figure.

I think that maybe we need to instead, seek to share the
Gospel in everyday life. The Gospel should permeate us and as a result, “God
talk” will become something that we exude. People should be seeking us out
because we, being God’s instruments for making Him known, are speaking Truth
and people are hearing Jesus in our words and seeing Him being lived out. They should not be seeking our pastor out. When
they hear/see Him in our lives, then I believe it is the best time to invite
them to church as we begin the process of planting the idea of them being part
of a church plant in their own community.I would like to know your thoughts on this. Thank you for such a great and thought provoking post!Blessings,mike

Re: Contact Me

P Helmus — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:04:05 -0000

Just saying hi. I'm still in Maple Ridge.
Peter Helmus
p.helmus@gmail.com

Re: J’adore cette ville

Leeinthejungle — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:50:36 -0000

I wish it were true that there were church planters coming to Quebec city ... there is so much need, but all of the church plantering organizations i have contacted for Quebec are based only in Montreal and there are no future plans for Quebec city. The Quebec culture is hardened and closed against religion, yet their hearts are yearning for something real and true. Please keep praying for Quebec, and for church planters to respond to the silent, yet desparate call to come here.

Re: Bible Study in Ephesians #1 – Featuring BibleWorks 9

StevenLong — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 16:59:17 -0000

Joe,

I concur. God does not produce evil in the hearts of men. Men are evil without God's help (no pun intended) :-)

Anyway, I've enjoyed reading your posts on this series so far. Hopefully, after the New Year during tax season I will be able to invest in Bible Works 9. I have watched all the videos on their web site several times. I can't wait (hopefully) to get my own copy and dig in. God bless.

Sincerely,
Steven Long

Re: The Bud May Have a Bitter Taste But Sweet Will Be the Flower

Randy — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 16:42:27 -0000

thank you for sharing brother. As a fellow pastor who knows something of the bitter bud, my heart and prayer join yours for Christ to be exalted through our weaknesses and (seemingly) bitter circumstances and ministry. May we remain faithful until the end, for neither the praise of men or the temporary comforts that outward success fleetingly promises. All things for His glory and 'smile' ... His divine pleasure in our growing dependence on Him in and through our frailty... may the treasure of Christ become all the more glorious and treasured by us and those we love and serve. May we become nothing... even as His promise to us comes to light - in particular, His promise that we will be spoken falsely of, we will be persecuted for His name, misunderstood and falsely accused... often in the Name of God... In all of these we participate in His sufferings while He continues to reveal our faults and sins to us that He might not only sanctify us I believe, but also receive all the glory in all things.
For Christ
Randy

Re: Parents & Internet Safety

Joe — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 08:03:44 -0000

On Monday the 28th of November, use promo code "cyber" for $25 off!

Re: Parents & Internet Safety

J.Luesink — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 05:51:29 -0000

Hi Joe/Heather - I can't seem to find the 20% discount code - is it still active? Jon

Re: The Great Commission: Animated Version

Joe Haynes — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 01:37:04 -0000

That's just the kind of thing a hypocrite would say. While surfing insignificant blogs like mine.

Re: The Great Commission: Animated Version

Willem — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 04:34:54 -0000

Animations can teach us important things ... like this animation did. A good animation with a spot on message.

Re: The Great Commission: Animated Version

Greg Tenni — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 03:56:16 -0000

Hmmmm. What if we spent less time making animations ....

Re: Faith Is Not A Law

Joe Haynes — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 02:13:52 -0000

I noticed, after publishing the above blog entry, that the site I quoted the introductory statement from went on to comment that "every man has faith". This was also a key point the evangelist this morning emphasized: that every human being, Christian or not, has faith. It is up to him what to do with that faith.

The site linked at the top of this page gives this Scripture reference as proof:
Romans 12:3 "For l say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." (emphasis in the original quote)

The problem with this argument is that it is not what the verse actually is saying. This is easy to show. And it is typical of the poor Bible study skills employed by Word of Faith teachers and adherents.The portion of Romans 12:3 highlighted above in boldface says, "God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith", which is interpreted by the author of the source web page to mean that God gives every human being some amount of faith. But this isn't what the verse actually means.The verse began, "For I say... to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought..." So here Paul is giving an instruction to who? "To every man that is among you". What is the instruction? "Not to think of himself more highly than he ought." What else? "To think soberly." How should "every man that is among you" ... "think soberly"? The answer is at the end of the verse: "...According as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." In other words, "every man" here does NOT refer to every human being, but rather to "every man that is among you", with regard to how they are to think soberly in light of how much faith they have received from God. This shows us two things that contradict the Word of Faith teachers: 1) that there is no Scriptural basis for thinking every human being has faith, and 2) that nobody has faith unless God gives it to them (since "every man that is among you" to whom Paul was writing had received his faith as a gift from God, "according as God hath dealt" it).

Re: Bible Study in Ephesians #1 – Featuring BibleWorks 9

Joe Haynes — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 17:08:50 -0000

P.S. - When I argue that God is sovereign in meticulous detail over every act of sin and evil in history, and that such things happen because of the foreknowledge and because of the definite plan (c.f., Acts 2:42) of God, I am IN NO WAY suggesting that God is morally responsible (in other words "guilty") for sin or evil. I have dealt with this troubling question before here: http://historicism.com/blog/?p...

If, after reading the above linked blog article, you still struggle with the idea that God plans and pre-decides all events but is not at all guilty of evil, please let me know by posting a comment below. I'll try and do justice to your question or comment.

Re: Why I love Victoria – #2

Joe Haynes — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 02:08:30 -0000

Cheryl, thanks so much for your prayers! Indeed, it is shocking. But the Holy Spirit can change that, and I believe He already has begun to do so.

Re: Why I love Victoria – #2

C1lenny — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 01:38:47 -0000

James Bay was wear I lived, fifty plus years ago. I attended a small brethren gospel hall and was saved at a crusade. I am shocked there is not a evangelical church in James Bay. I have many nostalgic memories of that neighbourhood. I will be praying.
Cheryl Lenny

Re: What a Refuge!

Joe Haynes — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 02:19:46 -0000

Again:
" 14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;" (Heb 12:14-15 ESV)

"Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you." (Heb 13:17 ESV)

Re: What a Refuge!

Joe Haynes — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 01:58:54 -0000

Hi again Wally.

With all respect, merely implying that I have misunderstood or misapplied Hebrews 13:17 without giving any argument showing in what way I have misunderstood the passage is extremely poor form. You appear to be trying to discredit my use of that passage by casting doubts. If you wish to try and demonstrate how I have misused the verse, please feel free.

"As for the websites..." What? Is it appropriate for people to check out a church by visiting the local, bitter gossips to hear what they have to say about a church? I think not. Nor are those websites appropriate resources to learn about Sovereign Grace Ministries or any of their churches.

"...You are either in denial of would SGM is about or you haven't research the information yourself" [sic]. Again a bad tactic to try and discredit without giving any substantive argument. You seem to imply that because I do not agree with you I MUST be either a) in denial or b) uninformed. What arrogance.

"I am not steering people away from any church..." Yes you did in fact try to steer away from Crossway: you wrote, "I would highly recommend that you find another church in the area." It seems like you are not being honest, since your very own words contradict your claim of not steering people away from any church. If it is not a matter of dishonesty then it could be a matter of simply being very careless with words.

I did not merely say Crossway was "Gospel-centred, Bible preaching, warm and welcoming." I said that Crossway was "a Gospel-centred, Bible-preaching, Jesus-worshipping, Spirit-led, people-loving, welcoming, warm church." If that is true, by definition, then, it can not be a cult. If you wish to demonstrate that Crossway is not these things, that it is in fact a cult, I will allow you to post your argument here after you have talked to Tony, Fred, Pat or one of the elders at Crossway.

Judging from the things you say and the way you say them, I am beginning to see why you are no longer in a Sovereign Grace Church, and why you are bitter toward them.

Re: What a Refuge!

Wally — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:51:42 -0000

Heb 13:17 - One of the most over used (often misunderstood) passage in the bible.

As for the websites... it is important that people understand the organization that a church is apart of before they get involved. It would seem that like many of the churches of SGM, you are either in denial of would SGM is about or you haven't research the information yourself. I am not steering people away from any church, I would only recommend that they research it first before getting involved, whether it be Crossway or any other church. There are a lot of cults out there that are Gospel-centred, Bible preaching, warm and welcoming.

Re: For the Former Things Had Passed Away

Rivwatch — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 03:04:41 -0000

Unimaginable, but, oh, so much better than here! And to think that God did everything, EVERYTHING that needed to be done so we could go there.The voices of a thousand angels could not express my gratitude.

Thanks Joe for reminding me about Heaven tonight. I needed that focus. Maria

Re: What a Refuge!

Joe Haynes — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:58:24 -0000

Wally,
I can appreciate that your experiences in a Sovereign Grace Ministries church were negative, perhaps even painful for you. I don't intend to minimize that.

The links you suggested in your comment, and which you asked me not to censor, were the same as recommended by Steve240 previously. I removed the links from your comment for the same reasons I gave to Steve240 in my two replies to his comment (see http://historicism.com/blog/?p... ).

I find it shocking that someone who claims to be a Christian would say, "I would highly recommend that you find another church in the area", when I have already shared that the SGM church in question, Crossway Community Church in Langley, BC, is a Gospel-centred, Bible-preaching, Jesus-worshipping, Spirit-led, people-loving, welcoming, warm church. That was our experience. It's scandalous that you would steer people away from such a church. It's also shameful that you commit the same error as Steve240: painting all Sovereign Grace Ministries churches with the same brush based on your personal experience at one particular local church within the network.

Here's what I recommend you do, just as I advised to Steve240:

"...go to your former SGM leaders, apologize, repent and ask their forgiveness. Then, if you cannot fully agree with the policies and doctrines of SGM, go find a local church with whom you can fellowship and ask the elders to shepherd you, committing to them that you will submit to their authority and imitate them as they imitate Christ."

" 14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;" (Heb 12:14-15 ESV)

Re: What a Refuge!

Wally — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 02:44:24 -0000

I second Steve240 comments. As a former member of the church I experience first hand the negative effects of the authoritarian leadership. It is part of a group of churches called SGM. I would highly recommend that you find another church in the area. See the following sites for testimony of other people who have left or been forced out of the organization. Please try to avoid censoring this information.

[link removed]

Re: The Homeschooler, the Public Schooler, the Controversial Blogger

Jaireidca — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 21:45:04 -0000

Good post - just as an addition, I'm a homeschooler in the GTA region of Ontario, and attend a church with attendance of around 1000 yet we're currently the only family I'm aware of that homeschools (though most people who become aware that we are doing that are very positive towards us about it). Our homeschool association covers an area where at least 500,000 people live, but there would be less than 100 families in that area that we know of who homeschool (we recognize there are lots who aren't part of an association, but I think it is clear that to say that the majority of Christians homeschool in Ontario would be a gross over-statement).