Hi Pastor Jim,
I heard something today that made me so angry! As you already know, I firmly believe the truth that God elects who will spend eternity with Him and who will perish. I understand that salvation is not dependant on what we do, it's a gift that is freely given to God's chosen children. Well, here's a story about what I heard today. Gotta get your thoughts on this one!
While driving in my car today, I turned on the radio and happened to hear a local pastor preaching a sermon. Thought I would check it out and hear what he had to say. I thought I would be inspired. But instead, I got mad! He was speaking about salvation and whether people will go to Heaven or hell. He actually said that it is up to us to decide whether we will be saved or not. Get this...he actually picked apart Scripture and said that "God's will is that no one shall perish." He used that specific verse to support his reasoning for stating that salvation is strictly based upon free will.
It gets better, or should I say, worse. He continued to say that people have to be given the option of whether or not to choose salvation because if God were to take away that option, then He would be taking away the "free will" of man. At that point, Pastor Jim, I screamed in my car. I WAS SO AGGRAVATED! Wonder if anyone saw me! :)
Anyway, I just immediately felt sick to my stomach because I knew that many people were being misled today because of that broadcast. How can a preacher speak something that is strictly opposite of what God's word teaches? How can their conscience allow them to do it? Or, a better question would be, are they hiding the truth because if they told the truth, not as many people would be filling up the seats in their church?
Through faithfully listening to you for over 9 months now, I've grown so much in my understanding of the Scripture. Thank God that Todd told me about your website. Thank God that there are pastors like you who are not afraid to speak the truth.
You know what I've come to realize as I continue to grow in my understanding of Scripture? I've learned that Christ is the only person that I need to have approval from. I don't need to seek approval from the world. I need to keep seeking God's truth and studying His word. When we sincerely devote ourselves to studying the Bible and to spending quiet time with the Lord, it isn't a chore, it's pure joy. There's nothing that compares to His love. It's incredible!
May God continue to bless you and your congregation for "standing up"
for the truth!
