In reply to:
At Last we agree on something, Joe!

Colin, I believe that we agree on the general basics of the faith once delivered. I really do not mind those that hold to the Post-Mil view... I have many friends that are such.

Where we [img]https://the-highway.com/Smileys/censored.gif[/img] heads is over what I callextreme views: Neo-Calvinism is extreme. Reconstruction and Theonomy are extreme, as well. Balance is what I am after in my Christian life. Not balance at the sacrifice of truth, but the balance in/of/for the sake of the truth. I have seen way too much unbalance in many denominations; some Christian, some cultic:

    A. The Charismatics see a demon behind every tree and think speaking in tongues is the greatest of all gifts.

    B. Those that embrace Annihilationism (not believing in an eternal existence of hell) have exegeted a different gospel and have overlooked the fundamentals of the faith to deter others from the faith once delivered.

    C. The Catholic Church has denied salvation by grace alone and embraced their unbiblical tenets of: baptismal regeneration ("The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are 'reborn of water and the Spirit.' God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism..." ,The New Catholic Catechism 1994), the doctrine of the mass (by claiming that in the mass "the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated" and "the work of our redemption is carried out," Vatican II, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy), the doctrine of purgatory (claiming that "the doctrine of purgatory clearly demonstrates that even when the guilt of sin has been taken away, punishment for it or the consequences of it may remain to be expiated or cleansed," Vatican II, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy), the doctrine of the papacy ( "For 'God's only-begotten Son ... has won a treasure for the militant Church ... he has entrusted it to blessed Peter, the key-bearer of heaven, and to his successors who are Christ's vicars on earth, so that they may distribute it to the faithful for their salvation,'" Vatican II, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Apostolic Constitution on the Revision of Indulgences), the doctrine of Mary ("In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the Saviour's work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace"... Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us gifts of eternal salvation. ... Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix," New Catholic Catechism), the doctrine of the saints ("Thus recourse to the communion of saints lets the contrite sinner be more promptly and efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin," New Catholic Catechism), the doctrine of forgiveness through the church ("There is no offense, however serious, that the Church cannot forgive. ... Christ who died for all men desires that in his Church the gates of forgiveness should always be open to anyone who turns away from sin," New Catholic Catechism), and the doctrine of indulgences ("An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints. ... Indulgences may be applied to the living or the dead," New Catholic Catechism), et. al.

    D. The Jehovah Witnesses are renowned for their word twisting, turning, and torturing of the Holy Text and redefining them to mean something alien to what the Christian Church has taught for centuries. They have even re-written the true Bible, so their heretical views can be supported.

    Likewise, Theonomists and Reconstructionists have gone to extremes as well pushing their theology as the only viable tenet of faith. Even you Colin in the Puritan thread (Who is Your Favorite) had to comment once again pushing ONE topic. While the Charismatics see a demon behind every tree, you see a political structure behind every verse in Scripture—that just are not there. I am saddened anytime I see this almost [cultic reverence for an idea at the sacrifice for the full-Truth once delivered.

    These unbalances (and, of course, there are many more) maime many and do utmost harm to the integrity of the faith of uncertain souls. They undermine the very nature of the Scripture, changing them for the ploys of man's premise instead of the eternal promises of God. We have all heard of the Islamic Jihad which is committed to the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state and the destruction of Israel through holy war. What I see in these extremes is a cultic-Jihad. Instead of a physical war they use a “war” and “terrorism” of unbiblical exegesis against the faith once delivered.

    Thus, though we do agree on some issues in others we wholly do not. As Thomas Brooks once said, Take no truth upon trust; bring them to the balance of the sanctuary. As is meant in all my posts (and most assuredly by others here, save those that are given to gossip, backbiting, and schism...Prov 6:12-19), please understand that I say this not against you personally, but only some of your views. Please do not misunderstand otherwise. My prayer is:Lord, give me firmness without hardness, steadfastness without dogmatism, and love without weakness, so I may preach and teach your balanced truth.
     Please interpret what I have said in this context. May God have mercy.

Reformed and Always Reforming,