A.W. Pink

Why is it that all are not saved, particularly all who hear the Gospel? Do you still answer, Because the majority refuse to believe? Well, that is true, but it is only a part of the truth. It is the truth FROM THE HUMAN SIDE. But there is a DIVINE SIDE too, and this side of the truth needs to be stressed or

God will be robbed of His glory. The unsaved are lost because they refuse to believe; the others are saved because they believe. But why do these others believe? What is it that causes them to put their trust in Christ? Is it because they are more intelligent than their fellows, and quicker to discern their need of salvation? Perish the thought—

“WHO maketh thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou didst not RECEIVE? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).

It is GOD HIMSELF WHO MAKETH THE DIFFERENCE between the elect and the non-elect, for of His own it is written,

“And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true” (1 John 5:20).

Now all will acknowledge that from the foundation of the world God certainly fore-knew and fore-saw who would and who would not receive Christ as their Savior, therefore in giving being and birth to those He knew would reject Christ, He necessarily created them unto damnation. All that can be said in reply to this is, No, while God did foreknow these ones would reject Christ, yet He did not decree that they should. But this is a begging of the real question at issue. God had a definite reason why He created men, a specific purpose why He created this and that individual, and in view of the eternal destination of His creatures, He purposed either that this one should spend eternity in Heaven or that this one should spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. If then He foresaw that in creating a certain person that that person would despise and reject the Savior, yet knowing this beforehand He, nevertheless, brought that person into existence, then it is clear He designed and ordained that that person should be eternally lost.

Again; faith is God’s gift, and the purpose to give it only to some, involvesthe purpose not to give it to others. Without faith there is no salvation—

“He that believeth not shall be damned”— hence if there were some of Adam’s descendants to whom He purposed not to give faith, it must be because He ordained that they should be damned.

[A.W. Pink. Sovereignty of God, Baker Publications not Banner!]

The truth of reprobation has always been a thorny subject for Christians. Even those who deem themselves Calvinists and believers in the absolute sovereignty of God shy away from this truth which God has chosen to reveal in the Scriptures. And sadly, those who should know better for the most part ‘explain it away’ in such a manner that it does not stir up any controversy or awe, and neither raises the question which the Apostle anticipated; i.e. “Why doth He yet find fault? For who hath resisted His will”? [Romans 9:19]

The Bible speaks of men hardening their hearts against God! And this hardening is spoken of as both Judicial and Sovereign.

Judicial hardening is God hardening the hearts of men because they have rejected Him and His Truth, while Sovereign hardening, like election finds its cause only in the good pleasure of Him who doeth all things after the counsel of His own will! Or as the Master said, “Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in Thy sight”! [Matt 11:26]

While the average Calvinist or Reformed preacher is only too happy to expound and preach profound sermons on Judicial hardening, he is for the most part silent on Sovereign hardening and Sovereign reprobation! And the reason is not too far to seek. Judicial hardening raises no eyebrows nor offends the nominal ‘Christian’ who comes Sunday after Sunday to warm the pew and pay his tithes and offerings to keep the ‘ministry’ running; while sermons on Sovereign hardening, or the fact that God does not love everybody, or that Christmas is Pagan and the like would soon clear his Church and leave him without a ‘ministry’!

But thanks be to God for those preachers who can say with the Apostle –“I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God”! [Acts 20:27]

Let us consider God’s Sovereign hardening as it is revealed in Romans 9.

“Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth”! [Romans 9:18]

This passage in Romans 9 is the clearest of all! The whole chapter is concerned with God’s sovereignty as it relates to Israel. First God showed His sovereignty in connection with Abraham’s seed [vs 7] in passing by Ishmael and calling Isaac. Second God showed His sovereignty in connection with Isaac’s sons [vs 10-13] in loving Jacob and hating Esau. Third the question is raised: “Is there unrighteousness with God”? [vs 14] Is it not unjust for God to show ‘partiality’? The answer is-certainly not, or  “God forbid” – God cannot deal unjustly! But He can and does bestow His favor on whom He pleases, for He is sovereign, saying- “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy’ etc [vs15]. Fourth, in vs 18, this solemn truth is pressed one step further: not only does God have mercy on whom He will, but “whom He will He hardeneth”, and it from this point onwards to the end of the chapter that most preachers are radically unsound!

What even the majority of those who deem themselves ‘Calvinists’ say concerning this is – “What is in view here is ‘Judicial hardening’ i.e. a forsaking by God, because these subjects of His judicial hardening first forsook Him, rejected His truth etc. In support of their contention, appeal is made to such scriptures as Romans 1:19-26 – ‘God gave them up’ i.e. “those, who when they knew God, glorified Him not as God” [vs 21]. Also 2Thes 2:10-12 is quoted to buttress their view. That these last two quoted passages refer to judicial ‘hardening’ we will allow, though the word ‘harden’ occurs in neither of them. But our objection is that neither of them are in anywise relevant to the point raised in Romans 9:18, which to our mind has no reference at all to ‘judicial hardening’!

Clearly in Romans 9:18 the Apostle is not speaking of God hardening those who had first turned their backs on His truth, but instead, is insisting that in ‘hardening’ (as much as in showing mercy) God is exercising His own sovereignty! Note, beloved, the precise wording of verse 18, (so different to man’s glosses upon it) – “Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will (not all who have rejected His truth) He hardeneth”! the ‘therefore’ which begins verse 18, in our judgment points back, particularly to verse 17 where Pharaoh is mentioned as a sample case of God’s sovereignty in “hardening whom He wills.”

The case of Pharaoh is clear enough though man has done his best to hide the truth. True, we read both of Pharaoh hardening his own heart, and also of God hardening his heart. But which is mentioned first? See Exodus 4;21 where the word occurs for the first time in connection with Pharaoh. Man always reverses God’s order. Pharaoh hardened his heart because God had first hardened it, and not vice versa as we are asked to believe!

The passage in Romans 9:18 of God’s sovereign ‘hardening’ of sinner’s hearts in contradiction to judicial hardening (because of truth rejected) – is not alone! We quote now one other passage in the New Testament, i.e. John 12:37-40 – “But though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, (why?) because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; (why? Most preachers say because they refused to believe on Christ etc. but how different the solemn Word of God which follows) that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them”!

Now beloved it is just a question of whether or not we will “believe” what God has told us in His Word! It is not a matter of prolonged searching or profound study, but childlikeness that is needed!

Returning now to Romans 9:19, another difficulty or objection is now faced: “Thou will say then unto me, then why doth He yet find fault”?! Now beloved, we ask you, what do, or what can, these words mean? Answer yourself before you read ours. Can the force of the Apostle’s question be any other than this: “If it is true that God has “mercy” on whom He wills, and also “hardens” whom He wills, then we are no more than puppets and in such a case it is unjust for God to find fault with His helpless creatures! Such, we take is the real force of the objection.

Note the “then” used as an inference or a consequence drawn from what the Apostle has said in previous verses. And mark, beloved, that the Apostle readily saw that the doctrine he had presented would raise this very objection, and unless what we have written concerning ‘God’s sovereignty’ also raises the same objection, it proves that either we have not faithfully stated the doctrine of Romans 9 or else human nature has changed since Paul’s day!

Note further in verse 19, the same question is repeated, now in a slightly different form – repeated so that the Apostle’s meaning may not be misunderstood, i.e. “For who hath resisted His will”? Now mark particularly the last two words: “His will” It is a question of God’s will the Apostle is discussing, i.e. His sovereign ways, which confirms what we said concerning verses 17 and 18, i.e. it is not judicial hardening which is here in view, (that is hardening because of previous rejection of truth), but sovereign hardening, that is, for no other reason than that which inheres in the “will” of God!

Now how does the Apostle meet the objection raised (anticipatedly) in verse 19? Does he say the objection is pointless and groundless? Does he tell the objector that his inference is a false one, that his conclusion is unsound? Not at all.  By no means. Instead he rebukes the objector for his impiety. He reminds the objector that he is merely a ‘man’, a creature – and that as such it is most impertinent and unseemly for him to ‘reply’ (to argue or reason) against God. Further he tells him that he is merely a thing that has been ‘formed’ – hence it is madness and blasphemy to rise up against the “Former” Himself.

Before passing to the next verses, we would call your attention to the last words of verse 20 – “why hast Thou made me thus”? What can be its force in the light of the immediate context? Surely, why (like in the case of Pharaoh) hast Thou made me simply to “harden” me? Can it signify anything else, in the light of the context?

Lastly in Romans 9:21-23 the Apostle furnishes a full and final reply to the objections named in verse 19. First, he asks, “ Hath not the potter power” –a different word from that translated “power” in verse 22, where it can only signify His might; but here in verse 21, the “power” spoken of must refer to the Creator’s rights or sovereign prerogatives; that this is so appears from the fact that the same Greek word is employed in John 1:12 – “gave he “power” to becomes the sons of God’ which as you probably know, means, the right or privilege to become the sons of God.

“Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor”? Certainly He has, because He is God the Creator! Does He exercise this ‘right”? Yes, as verse 17 clearly shows, “for this same purpose have I raised thee (Pharaoh) up” etc. Second the Apostle now tells us, why God acts thus – differently with different ones, having mercy on some and hardening others, making one vessel unto “honor” and another unto “dishonor.” Notice, in verse 22 the Apostle first mentions “the vessels of wrath” before he refers in verse 23 to the “vessels of mercy”! Why is this? Because it is the “vessels of Wrath” who are the subjects of the objection in verse 19!

Notice also that in verse 22 the Apostle does not say that these vessels of Wrath were “fit for destruction” but rather “ fitted for destruction” which in the light of the immediate context means sovereignly ordained to destruction by the Creator!

“(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated!” [Romans 9:11-13]

Let us assert in conclusion that the only reason that we know that God “loved” Jacob is because He looked at him ‘in Christ’ (the sole reason why He loves you, me or anyone else whom He calls and saves); and that He hated Esau before he was born, not because of any evil acts or even evil nature, but because Esau sinned “in Adam” and thus provoked God’s holy wrath! It is lamentable how little the doctrines of ‘imputation’ and ‘representation’ are understood today even by eminent theologians!

[Paraphrased from A.W. Pink’s letter to his friend and publisher I.C. Herendeen, July 21st 1918]

It has been customary to say God loves the sinner, though He hates his sin. But that is a meaningless distinction. What is there in a sinner but sin? Is it not true that his “whole head is sick”, and his “whole heart faint”, and that “from the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness” in him? (Isaiah 1:5,6). Is it true that God loves the one who is despising and rejecting His blessed Son? God is Light as well as Love, and therefore His love must be a holy love. To tell the Christ rejector that God loves him is to cauterize his conscience, as well as to afford him a sense of security in his sins. The fact is, that the love of God, is a truth for the saints only, and to present it to the enemies of God is to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs. With the exception of John 3:16, not once in the four Gospels do we read of the Lord Jesus—the perfect Teacher— telling sinners that God loved them! In the book of Acts, which records the evangelistic labors and messages of the apostles, God’s love is never referred to at all! But, when we come to the Epistles, which are addressed to the saints, we have a full presentation of this precious truth—God’s love for His own. Let us seek to rightly divide the Word of God and then we shall not be found taking truths which are addressed to believers and misapplying them to unbelievers. That which sinners need to have brought before them is, the ineffable holiness, the exacting righteousness, the inflexible justice and the terrible wrath of God. Risking the danger of being mis-understood, let us say—and we wish we could say it to every evangelist and preacher in the country—there is far too much presenting of Christ to sinners today (by those sound in the faith), and far too little showing sinners their need of Christ, i.e., their absolutely ruined and lost condition, their imminent and awful danger of suffering the wrath to come, the fearful guilt resting upon them in the sight of God—to present Christ to those who have never been shown their need of Him, seems to us to be guilty of casting pearls before swine.

If it be true that God loves every member of the human family then why did our Lord tell His disciples, “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father….. If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him” (John 14:21,23)? Why say “he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father” if the Father loves everybody? The same limitation is found in <200817>Proverbs 8:17: “I love them that love Me.” Again; we read, “Thou hatest all workers of iniquity”—not merely the works of iniquity. Here, then, is a flat repudiation of present teaching that, God hates sin but loves the sinner; Scripture says, “Thou hatest all workers of iniquity” (Psalm 5:5)! “God is angry with the wicked every day.” “He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God”—not “shall abide,” but even now—”abideth on him” (Psalm 5:5; 7:11, John 3:36). Can God “love” the one on whom His “wrath” abides? Again; is it not evident that the words “The love of God which is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:39) mark a limitation, both in the sphere and objects of His love? Again; is it not plain from the words “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” (Romans 9:13) that God does not love everybody? Again; it is written, “For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth” (Hebrews 12:6). Does not this verse teach that God’s love is restricted to the members of His own family? If He loves all men without exception, then the distinction and limitation here mentioned is quite meaningless. Finally, we would ask, Is it conceivable that God will love the damned in the Lake of Fire? Yet, if He loves them now He will do so then, seeing that His love knows no change—He is “without variableness or shadow of turning”!

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Attractions in 2010

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‘Preterism’ another Eschatological view or Heresy? June 2010
1 comment

Jesus Christ Divides Families! June 2010

John MacArthur, Jr., an Arminian in Calvinist Clothing! October 2009
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The Duty of Sex! June 2010
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A.W.Pink’s Blog! August 2009
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A.W. Pink

“Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen…for the CUSTOMS of the people are vain” (Jer. 10:1-3).

Christmas is coming! Quite so: but what is “Christmas?” Does not the very term itself denote it’s source – “Christ-mass.” Thus it is of Roman origin, brought over from paganism. But, says someone, Christmas is the time when we commemorate the Savior’s birth. It is? And WHO authorized such commemoration? Certainly God did not. The Redeemer bade His disciples “remember” Him in His death, but there is not a word in scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, which tells us to celebrate His birth. Moreover, who knows when, in what month, He was born? The Bible is silent thereon. It is without reason that the only “birthday” commemorations mentioned in God’s Word are Pharaoh’s (Gen. 40:20) and Herod’s (Matt. 14:6)? Is this recorded “for our learning?” If so, have we prayerfully taken it to heart?

And WHO is it that celebrates “Christmas?” The whole “civilized world.” Millions who make no profession of faith in the blood of the Lamb, who “despise and reject Him,” and millions more who while claiming to be His followers yet in works deny Him, join in merrymaking under the pretense of honoring the birth of the Lord Jesus. Putting it on it’s lowest ground, we would ask, is it fitting that His friends should unite with His enemies in a worldly round of fleshly gratification? Does any true born again soul really think that He whom the world cast out is either pleased or glorified by such participation in the world’s joys? Verily, the customs of the people are VAIN; and it is written, “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil” (Ex. 23:2).

Some will argue for the “keeping of Christmas” on the ground of “giving the kiddies a good time.” But why do this under the cloak of honoring the Savior’s birth? Why is it necessary to drag in His holy name in connection with what takes place at that season of carnal jollification? Is this taking the little one with you OUT of Egypt (Ex. 10:9-10) a type of the world, or is it not plainly a mingling with the present day Egyptians in their “pleasures of sin for a season?” (Heb. 11:25) Scripture says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6). Scripture does command God’s people to bring up their children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4), but where does it stipulate that it is our duty to give the little one a “good time?” Do we ever give the children “a good time” when we engage in anything upon which we cannot fittingly ask THE LORD’S blessing?

There are those who DO abstain from some of the grosser carnalities of the “festive season,” yet are they nevertheless in cruel bondage to the prevailing custom of “Christmas” namely that of exchanging “gifts.” We say “exchanging” for that is what it really amounts to in many cases. A list is kept, either on paper or in memory, of those from whom gifts were received last year, and that for the purpose of returning the compliment this year. Nor is this all: great care has been taken that the “gift” made to the friend is worth as much in dollars and cents as the one they expect to receive from him or her. Thus, with many who can ill afford it, a considerable sum has to be set aside each year with which to purchase things simply to send them out in RETURN for others which are likely to be received. Thus a burden has been bound on them which not a few find hard to bear.

But what are we to do? If we fail to send out “gifts” our friends will think hard of us, probably deem us stingy and miserly. The honest course is to go to the trouble of notifying them – by letter if at a distance – that from now on you do not propose to send out any more “Christmas gifts” as such. Give your reasons. State plainly that you have been brought to see that “Christmas merrymaking” is entirely a thing OF THE WORLD, devoid of any Scriptural warrant; that it is a Romish institution, and now that you see this, you dare no longer have any fellowship with it (Eph. 5:11); that you are the Lord’s “free man” (1 Cor. 7:22), and therefore you refuse to be in bondage to a costly custom imposed by the world.

What about sending out “Christmas cards” with a text of Scripture on them? That also is an abomination in the sight of God. Why? Because His Word expressly forbids all unholy mixtures; Deut. 22:10-11 typified this. What do we mean by an “unholy mixture?” This: the linking together of the pure Word of God with the Romish “Christ-MASS.” By all means send cards (preferably at some other time of the year) to your ungodly friends, and Christians too, with a verse of Scripture, but NOT with “Christmas” on it. What would you think of a printed program of a vaudeville having Isa. 53:5 at the foot of it? Why, that it was altogether OUT OF PLACE, highly incongruous. But in the sight of God the circus and the theater are far less obnoxious than the “Christmas celebration” of Romish and Protestant “churches.” Why? Because the latter are done under the cover of the holy name of Christ; the former are not.

“But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto perfect day” (Prov. 4:18). Where there is a heart that really desires to please the Lord, He graciously grants increasing knowledge of His will. If He is pleased to use these lines in opening the eyes of some of His dear people to recognize what is a growing evil, and to show them that they have been dishonoring Christ by linking the name of the Man of Sorrows (and such He WAS, when on earth) with a “MERRY Christmas,” then join with the writer in a repentant confessing of this sin to God, seeking His grace for complete deliverance from it, and praise Him for the light which He has granted you concerning it.

Beloved fellow-Christian, “The coming of the Lord draweth nigh” (Jas. 5:8). Do we really believe this? Believe it not because the Papacy is regaining its lost temporal power, but because GOD says so – “for we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). If so, what effects does such believing have on our walk? This may be your last Christmas on earth. During it the Lord may descend from heaven with a shout to gather His own to Himself. Would you like to be summoned from a “Christmas party” to meet Him in the air? The call for the moment is “Go ye OUT to meet Him” (Matt. 25:6) out from a Godless Christendom, out from the horrible burlesque of “religion” which now masquerades under His name.

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). How solemn and searching! The Lord Jesus declared that “every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Matt. 12:36). If every “idle word” is going to be taken note of, then most assuredly will be every wasted energy, every wasted dollar, every wasted hour! Should we still be on earth when the closing days of this year arrive, let writer and reader earnestly seek grace to live and act with the judgment seat of Christ before us. HIS “well done” will be ample compensation for the sneers and taunts which we may now receive from Christless souls.

Does any Christian reader imagine for a moment that when he or she shall stand before their holy Lord, that they will regret having lived “too strictly” on earth? Is there the slightest danger of His reproving any of His own because they were “too extreme” in “abstaining from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11)? We may gain the good will and good works of worldly religionists today by our compromising on “little (?) points,” but shall we receive His smile and approval on that day? Oh to be more concerned about what HE thinks, and less concerned about what perishing mortals think.

“Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil” (Ex. 23:2). Ah, it is an easy thing to float with the tide of popular opinion; but it takes much grace, diligently sought from God, to swim against it. Yet that is what the heir of heaven is called on to do: to “Be not conformed to this world” (Rom. 12:2), to deny self, take up the cross, and follow a rejected Christ. How sorely does both writer and reader need to heed that word of the savior, “Behold, I come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown” (Rev. 3:11). Oh that each of us may be able to truthfully say, “I have refrained my feet from EVERY evil way, that I might keep THY WORD” (Psa. 119:101).

Our final word is to the pastors. To you the Word of the Lord is, “Be THOU AN EXAMPLE of believers in word, in deportment, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim. 4:12). Is it not true that the most corrupt “churches” you know of, where almost every fundamental of the faith is denied, will have their “Christmas celebrations?” Will you imitate them? Are you consistent to protest against unscriptural methods of “raising money,” and then to sanction unscriptural “Christmas services?” Seek grace to firmly but lovingly set God’s truth on this subject before your people, and announce that you can have no part in following Pagan, Romish, and worldly customs.

For further reading –

The Calvinist and Christmas!

Of those who justify Christmas – Objections answered!

Is your ‘Pastor’ a ‘Dumb Dog’?!

A.W. Pink ...... a Lion among Reformed Preachers!

‘Preterism’ another Eschatological view or Heresy?

True Christians through the ages have held many Eschatological views concerning the last days and the Second Coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We ought not to refuse or reject a brother or sister in Christ just because they hold a different view concerning the Second Coming!

Until lately I had come to believe that Preterism was just another Eschatological opinion held by sincere Christian brethren and was a harmless and ‘non-essential matter’. But God is faithful and so is His Spirit which leads us into all truth and exposes the lie.

The Christian’s hope while he still tarries on this devil infested earth is this – the glorious coming of our great God and saviour Jesus Christ and the redemption from this body of death! [Titus 2:11-13; Romans 8:22,23]
Preterism denies and destroys both of these with a vengeance! Nothing of our hope is left! With the scoffers of II Peter 3:4, it asks, “Where is the promise of his coming?” With Hymenaeus and Philetus, it says that “the resurrection is past already” (II Tim. 2:18).

Hymenaus and Philetus also taught that the future resurrection had already taken place just as modern consistent Preterism teaches today. Unfortunately, it does not stop with the resurrection, but to be consistent they teach that all prophecy is fulfilled. Any prophetical passage in all of Holy scripture you can name, any future event the in God’s Word, it has already taken place; everything to the point they teach we are now living in the new Heaven and new Earth. Beloved, this is not a new doctrine, and is believed and propagated even among those that call themselves Landmark Baptists. Hymenaus and Philetus might have taught church truth. You may have heard a hearty amen from them hearing a message on the doctrines of Grace; but they taught a deadly heresy, and there are some who do the same.

Preterism holds that the time of Jesus’ second coming (Greek: parousia) was A.D. 70. The second coming of Jesus was the destruction of Jerusalem in that year. Preterism holds that the second coming of Christ promised in scripture was exclusively the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. A.D. 70 was the end of the ages prophesied by scripture. Christ came then; the dead were raised then; the final judgment took place then; creation was renewed then.

To expect a visible, bodily coming of Jesus, a resurrection of the dead, a final judgment, and a cataclysmic destruction of the present creation in the future on the basis of any prophecy of scripture is a mistake. All is past. Preterism also makes much of the fact that scripture teaches that Jesus’ coming is “near,” or “at hand.” Explaining this “nearness” in terms of a very brief period of time according to man’s standards, it concludes that the New Testament predicted the coming of Christ within 40 years at the most. This prediction was fulfilled in A.D. 70. It was completely and exhaustively fulfilled in A.D. 70.
They rest their proof of Christ’s so-called AD 70 coming on the historical works of men, and Josephus in particular. You cannot take the scripture and prove such a belief system. You cannot not read your Bible and become a Preterist because they rely extensively on extra-biblical testimony. Let God be true and every man a liar. scripture declares – ‘Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen! [Rev 1:7] Every eye did not see the Lord Jesus Christ. When He comes, every eye shall see him! Only a gross spiritualization of Holy Writ could explain away such passages as “every eye shall see him when He comes in glory”. And again, ‘And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory’. [Mat 24;30].

The main cardinal doctrine of the Christian faith that Preterism stands contrary to, is on the resurrection, claiming it is already past and even goes so far as to a complete denial of a bodily resurrection, claiming only a spiritual resurrection. In order to make their AD 70 theory fit, their doctrine now has to do something with the resurrection. Preterism, like most dangerous heresies will use the same words as you and I, but apply their own definition to them. For example, if you ask a Preterist if they believe in the resurrection, they will answer yes. If you ask them if they believe in the resurrection of Christ, they will say yes; but what they mean by resurrection and what the bible means by resurrection are two completely different ideas. Preterist, when speaking of resurrection, mean a spiritual resurrection, or the new birth, it has nothing to do with the body, and if you press a consistent Preterist for an answer they will, if they will be honest with you, deny Christ’s bodily resurrection as well. Very deceptive, is it not? That is why it is dangerous, you must define the terms every step of the way to find out what they truly believe. General questions, unfortunately, will not get you to the bottom of their belief system. Notice, in the frequently asked questions of a prominent website dedicated to Preterism, concerning the resurrection: “Preterism does teach the Resurrection of the dead, however it does not subscribe to a physical resurrection of bodies” (PlanetPreterist.com FAQ ). What kind of resurrection is that? What blatant double talk. What does the word resurrection mean? You have to believe in the resurrection to believe the bible; the problem comes when people make up their own definition as to what words mean. Preterism is directly contrary to the Word of God which very clearly and quite often speaks of the bodily resurrection of the saints of God.

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. [Romans 8:11]

Present-day preterism, draws heavily from a book by the 19th century Congregational writer, James Stuart Russell. The book is The Parousia: a Critical Inquiry into the New Testament Doctrine of Our Lord’s Second Coming. [Kingdom Publications, Bradford, PA, 1996]

According to Russell, the second coming of Christ that is foretold in I Thessalonians 4:13-17 and in II Thessalonians 1 and 2 happened in A.D. 70 in the destruction of Jerusalem (pp. 165-190). The resurrection of the dead promised in I Corinthians 15 happened in A.D. 70 in the destruction of Jerusalem (pp. 199ff.). The public, final judgment of Matthew 25:31-46 is not the future, “final judgment of the whole human race, but that of the guilty nation … of Palestine … whose day of doom was now near at hand” (p. 108). The renewal of creation described in Romans 8:19-22 is not a coming deliverance of the “irrational and inanimate creation,” but the liberation of groaning, “suffering and down-trodden humanity” when “the whole visible fabric and frame of Judaism were swept away” in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 (pp. 222-232).

The entire book of Revelation, with the embarrassing exception of the millennium of chapter 20, found its complete fulfillment in the destruction of Jerusalem (pp. 362ff.).

Russell’s preterism is consistent. Every prophecy of scripture about the coming of Christ and the end of the world was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

We are compelled … to conclude that the Parousia, or second coming of Christ, with its connected and concomitant events, did take place, according to the Saviour’s own prediction, at the period when Jerusalem was destroyed, and before the passing away of “that generation” (p. 549).

As this quotation indicates (“according to the Saviour’s own prediction”; “passing away of ‘that generation’”), Russell’s interpretation of New Testament eschatology is squarely based on his explanation of Matthew 24 as referring exclusively to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Russell affirms that the language of Matthew 24 (and 25) “is not only appropriate as applied to the destruction of Jerusalem, but that this is its true and exclusive application” (p. 82).

This is heresy! Russell admits as much. Having annihilated the expectation of Christ’s coming on the part of the church and the Christian, he imagines his readers asking, “Whither are we tending? What is to be the end and consummation of human history?” Indeed! What are our prospects? What were the prospects of the believers and their children after A.D. 70? Russell’s answer? “scripture prophecy guides us no further” (p. 549). And, “Where nothing has been revealed it would be the height of presumption to prognosticate the future” (p. 550).

God’s Word leaves us completely in the dark as regards the future.

The church and the believer are hopeless. Since we are saved by hope, according to Romans 8:24, preterism strips us of our salvation.

The danger of this teaching is if our resurrection is past and if there is no bodily resurrection for us, then there was also no resurrection of Jesus Christ, and if no resurrection of Christ, our hope is in vain! Our future resurrection is tied to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have hundreds of eye witnesses, credible witnesses of the friends of Christ, also the enemies of Christ, and most of all, the divinely inspired record of the Holy scriptures; and I know by faith, the faith given to me by the risen Lord that He bodily arose from the dead! This makes Preterism a damnable heresy. If you deny our resurrection, you deny the resurrection of Christ, if you deny the resurrection of Christ, you are not saved! No matter what you say about doctrines of Grace, the church, baptism, etc, if you deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, you are on your way to Hell.

But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. [1Cor 15:13-20]

[The above is condensed from the writings of Douglas Newell and Prof. David Engelsma]

Brethren, recently I visited a blog where a sincere brother had raised the need of praying for our wives and what to pray for them. But in all that he said, he had forgotten to mention one principle factor that is very important in every marriage and I trust most honest men will agree with me.

Without beating around the bush, I shall get directly to the point. In all our praying for our wives, should we not pray that they would (in submission to the scriptures and the Spirit) be faithful to the ‘duty of sex’?

Agreed, that the primary goal of Christian married couples coming together sexually is procreation [Malachi 2]. But the Apostle exhorts the unmarried and even the widows that if they cannot contain they should marry. And he gives the reason why – ‘for it is better to marry than to burn’! [1 Cor 7:8-9].

In another place he says, ‘to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband’. [1 Cor 7:2].

As a preacher, I have counseled many married men, and except for very few exceptions the lament of most of them is; that after the initial zeal of the marriage wears off and especially after the couple has been blessed with two or more children, the wife looses all interest in sex and if at all engages in it does so drudgingly.

It was not until I was a few years into my own marriage that I began to understand the Apostles admonition in Colossians 3:19. There he says, “Husbands love your wives, and be not bitter against them”. It is indeed easy for a husband to become bitter against an unyielding wife. And what is worse, this opens a door for the devil to come in with all his wiles. [see 1 Cor 7]

The wise man in the Proverbs writes, “Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?” [Prov 5:20].

What becomes of the man who does not find fulfillment with his wife is clearly implied in the above scripture!

Beloved this is a serious issue. I have spoken to many a true child of God who became a victim to sexual sin because of this. Yes it is good for a man not to touch a woman, but not all men have this gift [1 Cor 7:1 & 7].

Many a godly man has fallen into pornography, fornicated and in some cases has even suffered a divorce because of an unyielding wife!

So the subject at hand is indeed a serious one and not one that can be swept under the carpet or one that deserves an ostrich syndrome.

The need for sex is a real one, and when one cannot find it within the marriage bond, one makes himself an easy prey for the wiles of the devil!

So in all our praying for our wives (or husbands, as the case may be [see 1 Cor 7:5) let us fervently pray that they will be faithful to the ‘duty of sex’!

Gentlemen, you have all agreed that strong drink in ‘moderation’ is ok. But could you please explain where we draw the line as far as ‘moderation’ is concerned. If you mean, how much we can handle and still walk the straight line; some of us ex druggies can handle quite a lot and still behave ‘normal’. Does that mean its ok?

Does not scripture warn that, ‘Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is
deceived thereby is not wise’.[Prov 20:1]. And again, ‘Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. [Prov 23:31,32].
“Oh but you don’t know me, I can sure hold my drink and know my limits”! Ha, so said every drunkard now lying in the gutter. [Probably Noah and Samson also reasoned thus!]

Strong drink, whether wine or whisky is something that defiles a man. The question of temperance or moderation does not arise at all. “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. [Dan 1:8]. “But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. [Isa 28:7].

King Lemuel’s mother was convinced that strong drink had the potential to destroy. Hence she warns her son, “Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. [Prov 31-5].

Our Lord Jesus Christ hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father [Rev 1:6]. So please let us quit justifying ourselves in that which we allow. Let us consider the preponderance of the scriptures on every given issue. If pretty much the whole tenor of scripture forbids and warns about the dangers of wine drinking, and a verse here or there seems to support it, we ought to know what judgement to make.
Yes, Wine is the gift of God. “It maketh glad the heart of man.” [Psa 104:14, 15.] Yea — by a bold figure of its refreshment — it is said to “cheer God” also. [Judg 9:13.] Yet it is not for Christians— for their indulgences and sinful excitement, but for those that need it. As restoratives and refreshments cordials are seasonable in the hour of need. Give strong drink to him that is ready to perish; as the Samaritan gave it to the wounded traveler [Luk 10:34]; and as Paul prescribed it for “the infirmities” of his beloved son in the faith. [1 Tim 5:23.] Many a sinking spirit may be revived, and forget his misery under a well-timed restorative.

But so much for the ‘benefits’.
When we are done quoting all the scripture we can find to justify our boozing, let us go and learn what that meaneth –

“Whoredom and wine and new wine TAKE AWAY THE HEART! [Hosea 4:11].

A Brother in Christ recently wrote to me – “I have friends who can accurately reference specific footnotes from books they read 20 or more years ago! Those friends not only read a lot, they remember just about everything. I find this very discouraging. I recently finished a 676-page biography, and yet when I closed the book and communicated to others how much I enjoyed the book, there was really only one sentence I clearly remembered—which is one reason why I dog-ear and mark paragraphs and sentences in my books. I try to read a lot but unfortunately I forget a lot, too. Did I mention how discouraging this is”?

This is the lament of many of God’s children. The Lord laid on my heart a burden to write a few words on reading and how to remember what we have read.

Like every other faculty of our beings, the memory has been affected by the Fall and bears on it the marks of depravity. This is seen from its power to retain what is worthless, and the difficulty encountered to hold fast that which is good. A foolish nursery-rhyme or song heard in youth, is carried with us to the grave; but a helpful sermon is forgotten within twenty-four hours! The first five times the word “remember” is used in Scripture, in each case it is connected with God.  And God remembered Noah, and God remembered Abraham etc. But the first time it is used of man we read, “Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgot him” (Gen. 40:23)!  [A.W. Pink]

How true this is. Though many of us have been blessed with a photographic mind, some of us have run out of film! Scripture constantly admonishes us to remember and chides us for having forgotten. “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee” [Duet 32:7] ‘Remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ’ [Jude 17] etc. And again – “Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not Remember? [Mk 8:18]

Good memory is indeed the gift of God as all other good gifts [Jam 1:17] Arthur W. Pink was an exacting person. He was blessed (some say plagued) with a photographic memory. He never forgot what he had read, and upon occasion would prove it by stating the volume and page where he read a certain comment. Because of this, some found him hard to bear, since, if he were challenged, he could quote Scriptures by the hundreds to back up a statement of his.

Though all the saints are not SO blessed, yet God has in his divine power given all His saints all things that pertain unto life and godliness, and one of them is a good memory. But like all other natural faculties, it is one which must be improved upon.

Memorizing Scripture and Godly quotes from Godly men is hard work indeed. Scripture speaks of those who labour in the Word and doctrine. [1Tim 5:17]. Though this is a reference to the ‘Elders’ and ‘Preachers’ of God’s Word, yet every child of God should be diligent and passionate to study God’s Word and memorize. ‘Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. [Job 22:22]

The benefits of such a discipline are manifold.

First, it keeps us from that abominable thing that God hates – SIN! “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee” (Psalm 119:11). ‘The only effective way of keeping a plot of ground from being overgrown by weeds is to sow good seed therein: “Overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). So the more Christ’s Word dwells in us “richly” (Colossians 3:16), the less room will there be for the exercise of sin in our hearts and lives. ‘By the word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer’. [Psa 17:4; see also Psa 119:9]

Secondly, it will keep us from error and heresies. Scripture admonishes us to try the spirits whether they are of God [1Jn 4:1], for many false prophets have gone out into the world. But how shall we test them if we are ignorant of God’s Word? Let us be like the Bereans, who not only ‘received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. [Act 17:11]

Thirdly, it makes us better comforters and counselors. ‘Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee? [Prov 22:20,21]. The Apostle admonished, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God” [1Pet 4:11]. The trouble with most preachers in our day is that they do not speak according to God’s word! ‘To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them. [Isa 8:20]

Finally it helps us to know our Lord more deeply, intimately and personally. “SEARCH the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me”. [Jn 5:39]

A FEW SIMPLE TIPS ON BIBLE STUDY -

FIRST, PRAY FOR GOD’S GUIDANCE AND REVELATION. All true knowledge concerning any spiritual subject, be it God, Man, Sin or the Devil, comes through revelation. So pray – “OPEN Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law”. [Psa 119:118]

SECOND, MAKE NOTES IN YOUR BIBLE. Many believe that the Bible is to be treated with reverence and should never be marked in. Only the message contained within should be revered, etc. The paper, ink, and leather that make up the physical Bible are not holy.  Mr. Philpot aptly said – ‘If your religion is only in the Bible, and has no existence out of the Bible in your own soul, which is the case with thousands who are considered great Christians, the same fire that will at the last day burn up the Bible will burn up your religion with it”.

Making notations in your Bible helps AMPLIFY and REINFORCE God’s message, and is acceptable to Him. Marking the Bible helps us internalize the precious truth that so many have taken for granted. If you have neglected this, NOW is a good time to get back into it. Some who have been in the Church for awhile mistakenly assume that they have already heard it all. But, God‘s mercies are new EVERY MORNING!

MEDITATE ON WHAT YOU READ AND TRY TO RECOLLECT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. “O how I love thy law! it is my meditation all the day”. [Psa 119:97]. Imitate the Godly man in ‘Psalm One’ whose delight was in the law of the LORD; and meditated on it day and night. Recollecting what you have read is a very sure way to improve and sharpen your memory.

FINALLY, SHARE WITH OTHERS WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT. There is really something about sharing with others what God has revealed to you. ‘The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself’. [Prov 11:25].

The admonition of the Apostle to Timothy applies to all of us who love the Lord –

“Till I come, give attendance to READING, to EXHORTATION, to DOCTRINE’! [1Tim 4:13].