I do not recall the exact time I heard it called “a stinky flower,” but it has stuck with me ever since. I am talking about the acrostic TULIP which outlines the five major tenets of Calvinism:
John Calvin (a 16th Century reformer) was credited with making these teachings popular hence the name of Calvinism. Though these ideas did not necessarily originate with him, he did make them very accessible. Like Hymenaeus and Philetus, the message has spread like cancer (2 Tim. 2:17). You will find Calvinistic teaching in almost every denomination and some cults, and sadly it has permeated some of the thinking of the church. It is false to the core on all five points. Let us examine that first tenet known as total hereditary depravity. Imagine a world in which newborn babies are born totally separated from God as guilty as the devil himself. In fact, their souls could not be any darker! Imagine a world where we inherit the guilt of our ancestors’ sin regardless of any choice we have made. This is the basic teaching of total hereditary depravity. The Bible teaches that we are all born into this world innocent as the offspring of the righteous and holy God (Ecc. 7:29; Ac. 17:28; Ps. 106:38). Christ embraced children and proclaimed of such is the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 19:14). Unless an accountable person is converted and become as little children he or she cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 18:3). It would be absurd for Jesus to tell Nicodemus that a person must be born again to see the kingdom of God if children are born sinners (Jn. 3:1-5). Sin is a choice, and each of us will bear our own guilt (1 Jn. 3:4; Jm. 4:17; Ezek. 18). We will be judged according to what we did in our own bodies (2 Cor. 5:10). Total hereditary depravity reflects horribly upon God and to this we wholeheartedly reject it. A stinky flower indeed! Trent Thrasher
The gospel of Christ will be preached in its purity and simplicity by Mike Bonner beginning on Sunday. Please consider the following suggestions for a great gospel meeting:
The above phrase is found four times in the Bible:
On May 5-8, Mike Bonner will bring us some ways that we can be holy and reverent in the matters of worship, church roles, morality, and stewardship. Be sure to make plans to attend and encourage others to attend through handing out flyers, sharing the Facebook event, and/or sharing a link to our website. Becoming more holy should be all of our desire as children of God. Whether we see God or not depends upon our holiness (Heb. 12:14). Let us make this Gospel meeting a great success for the Lord by exposing as many as we can to His holiness! Trent Thrasher
“but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’” (1 Pt. 1:15-16 NKJV) The apostle Peter instructs those in Christ Jesus (cf. 1 Pt. 5:14), to be holy in all of their conduct. Conduct describes our manner of life or behavior. The reason our conduct must be holy is because God is holy (cf. Lev. 11:44-45). His very name is holy (Ps. 111:9). What does it mean to be “holy” though? The word “holy” means to be set apart exclusively for the service of God. Holiness is the opposite of profane or common (cf. Ex. 31:14; Lev. 21:6). God made a distinction between the Egyptians and Israel with several of the plagues (Ex. 8:23, 9:4, 26, 10:23). This is significant as it shows very well the concept of holiness. Israel was God’s holy nation (Ex. 19:6), the church is Israel today (Gal. 6:16), thus the church is God’s holy nation (1 Pt. 2:9). Christians are to be set apart from the world as we have been called out of the world (darkness) into God’s marvelous light (1 Pt. 2:9; 1 Jn. 5:19; cf. Jn. 15:19). Our goal is to imitate Christ and Christ is holy (1 Cor. 11:1; Heb. 7:26). Holiness keeps God in His proper place in our hearts, and places us in our proper place (cf. Mt. 6:33, 22:37-38; Jn. 10:1-5; 1 Cor. 11:3). A failure to understand holiness is a big reason why the church is more like the world than she should be. When darkness begins to snuff the light instead of the light dispelling the darkness, the church’s influence wanes. This is why Jesus told His disciples not to hide their light (Mt. 5:14-16). Let us not talk like the world, dress like the world, and behave like the world. Instead, let us be more and more like God’s holy Son, Jesus! Trent Thrasher
AI or Artificial Intelligence has come on the scene of late and is finding its way into our phones, software programs, and now even Bible study software. It is significant that the first definition for “artificial” in the first dictionary I researched reads, “humanly contrived often on a natural model: man-made” (Merriam-Webster). The word “man-made” has as its definition, “manufactured, created, or constructed by human beings specifically: synthetic” (Merriam-Webster). In other words, those things that are artificial are made by human beings. Can humans really manufacture or create intelligence? When we discuss intelligence, we are discussing the ability to learn, understand, and reason. All these things come from one source ultimately, and that is God (Pr. 2:6). God is our teacher (Jn. 6:45; Mt. 11:29, 23:10) and His Word thoroughly equips us for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17). God called the wicked Israelites to reason with Him regarding their sin in Isaiah 1:18, “‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ Says the LORD, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.’” God has knowledge and understanding that far transcends mankind (Ps. 139). Furthermore, we must take our direction from God, or the results are disastrous (Jer. 10:23; Pr. 3:5-6, 14:12). It is the epitome of pride for humankind to think they can contrive their own intelligence. Make no mistake about it, those that have cut God out of their thinking march headlong into foolishness, quite the opposite of intelligence (Ps. 14:1-3). Nobody or nothing can learn for us. Nobody or nothing can understand for us. Nobody or nothing can reason for us. Nobody or nothing can study the Bible for us as God has required each individual to show themselves approved to Him (2 Tim. 2:15). Be sober, be vigilant, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (1 Pt. 5:8-9; Php. 2:12). Trent Thrasher
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