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Webcasting around the world from the desert metropolis of Phoenix, Arizona. This is the dividing line. The Apostle Peter commanded Christians to be ready to give a defense for the hope that is within us.
Yet to give that answer with gentleness and reverence. Our host is dr. James White director of Alpha Omega ministries and an elder at the Phoenix reformed Baptist Church. This is a live program and we invite your participation.
If you'd like to talk with dr. White call now at 602 973 460 to or toll-free across the United States. It's 1 877 7 5 3 3 3 4 1. And now with today's topic here is James white.
And good afternoon. Welcome to the dividing line. I'm watching one of those really cool object desktop widget things that does the the radar and. There's some there are some big storms out there. But I it's really weird when you watch the local stuff and then you watch like the statewide stuff.
It sort of looks like the prevailing winds or the other direction. But it's still sneaking down a little bit into the valley here those if those babies move a little bit faster our direction.
It could be.
It could be very very it could be very bad and we could all sudden just sort of disappear and No longer be here. So if if all of a sudden we're gone, you'll know exactly why it is Because there's some big thunder gusters out there.
Welcome to the program. We've got a couple things to do today before we go to the Material I mentioned on the blog. I just happen to be looking around a bit today. I still in the process of bringing my my library down and I'm just sort of doing it a few boxes at a time bring them down unload them put the boxes back in the car, you know that kind of thing and Be a whole lot more Enjoyable if it wasn't, you know triple digits outside.
So we may just have to wait till you know, October November something like that to finish doing this stuff. Anyway, I Happen to see all of my various copies of the kingdom of the cults and I've got two old ones and then I've got two fairly new ones and So I thought you know Let's let's go ahead and bring them down stick them in the studio along with some other books that I'm sticking in the studio here.
And eventually we're just gonna have a you know, some bookshelves and here in the studio and they make a pretty good insulating material and so I started looking through one and I was checking something out.
And what I was checking out is in the section on Jehovah's Witnesses. Now if you have Old rat it closed if you have a Copy of the kingdom of cults you might find this interesting. Then again, you might not we will we will find out soon enough here Bethany house put one out with the Hank Hanegraaff as a general editor in 1997 all right.
This is yeah 1997 October 1997 expanded anniversary edition October 1997. All right, and.
I.
Have that one and that's the one I've sort of had hanging around and if I had looked something up. That's that's what I would use and Then I don't know where this came from. I'm not totally 100 certain how I even got hold.
Well, it's a that's because it's Bethany house. Okay, it's Bethany sent me the new one that came out in in 2003. And so I decided to check something. So if you've got the new one or if you've got an old one You can go to Jehovah's Witness section go to the section of the deity of Christ in The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society section in the new one.
This is pages 114 and 115. Revelation 1 8. I am the Alpha and the Omega and on page 115 of the newest edition and This is in all the previous editions except for the 97 one. There is a paragraph that begins on page 115 you all are getting a little inside information here.
So only the listeners to this program gets get this kind of inside information. Starting with the line further proof of this synthesis is the fact page 115 That the best and most authoritative manuscripts Sinaiticus Vaticanus, etc.
Have Protoss first the Alexandrian manuscript. Since it possesses no accent marks should be translated original bringer forth Erasmus in keeping with the laws of textual criticism Colossians 115. In short the whole problem is one of accentuation since there are no marks of punctuation or accent in the Alexander Alexandrian Manuscript wording of Revelation once 117 to 8 etc.
And since all the other manuscripts have Protoss first is a contradiction to accentuate Protodocus. So as to make Christ to create being instead of the Creator, it's that paragraph right there if You look at the 97 edition that paragraph Doesn't exist.
It's not there. It just goes from the paragraph before to the next paragraph now. Why do I mention this? Well, if you look at the 97 edition, you will not find my name in it and That was by my request.
But why wasn't that there? Because I took it out. I was asked to look at the chapters on the Witnesses and the Mormons and I basically said to Bethany house to be glad to do so. But what can I do and I thought well, you know the the estate of Walter Martin doesn't want much changed and so I'm like then why are we looking at it and I was reading this and I looked at that statement that the Manuscripts and it lists Sinaiticus and I'm sorry, it lists Sinaiticus and Vaticanus.
Now first of all the entire paragraph to be for progress with I haven't a clue. What Walter Martin was trying to say there? I'm sorry, but that's there's really nothing in that paragraph. That's even semi worthwhile or even worth arguing.
It's just it. I'm sorry, but I know the issues about Protodocus and RK and all that kind of stuff in regards the deity of Christ and it's just it it's a waste of paper. There's there's no there's no merit to it.
But what caught my eye when I was reading it was the reference to Vaticanus. When I was reading this is probably 96 ish around there because it came out in 97 and it was a really difficult editing job and and I remember just looking at it.
In fact, I specifically remember being on an aircraft I was flying someplace and there may have been liquids in the aircraft at that time that's give you an idea of what's going on today in the world, especially listen to archives and.
I looked at that and I remember going wait a minute. That's not possible. You know why it's not possible. From the very beginning as far back as I could go in the kingdom of the cults. This error has been in the text.
I managed to get it taken out and they've put it back in Vaticanus ends at Hebrews 9 14. There is no book of Revelation in Vaticanus. So from the beginning payment the cults has listed Vaticanus is having a certain reading of Revelation and it doesn't contain Revelation.
And I knew that now most people reading Walter Martin don't know the contents of Codex Vaticanus and this was Fairly close after I had been working on the King James only controversy and therefore, you know.
It was just right at the tip of my tongue. It's like yeah, it doesn't doesn't look quite right, you know, and so I made some changes and.
I said look, you know this is why this needs to be changed and this paragraph here is completely irrelevant and it's got bad information in it and So it was changed and if you look at that you have the 97 edition.
You might say well, why did why isn't your name attached because I asked it not be put attached. And then you say why is that because I couldn't make all the changes I wanted to. I Would have had to have made some pretty extensive changes for me to feel Appropriate in having my name attached to the book.
I did the best I could at least trying to take out some places where there are some whoopses like that like saying Vaticanus has such-and-such and this stuff about about. You know this this manuscript doesn't have accent marks.
Well, none of them did that's unsealed text. What was. I'm sorry. I just it didn't hold together. It's not it wasn't good stuff at that point. It doesn't mean there wasn't good stuff elsewhere, but it just wasn't good stuff at that point.
So we've got it fixed and evidently don't ask me why. I guess when they did the 2003 edition with Ravi Zacharias is a general editor. They got rid of Hank Hanegraaff because Walter Martin's estate doesn't like Hank Hanegraaff.
Instead of going back to the edited text. They went back to the old text and just reap they just put it all back out there every Change everything that have been fixed and it reads exactly as it did before and that paragraph is back on page 115 in 2003 edition and it makes no more sense today than it did in in 1996 when I nixed it, but it's back.
So oh well I Just I don't know what made me grab that today and go yeah, it's still a BH people. It's still it's still a Bethany boat, but obviously The people who had been involved in the editing of it and for the 97 edition.
They said we don't want any of that the family said we want to go back to a Walter Martins wrote and whether you know. And it's like okay, but what if he was wrong? You know did he claim infallibility we all make mistakes.
So why not you know, but they didn't do that so anyway, there's An interesting little insight into what goes on the publishing industry and a little warning if you're looking at the King James, I'm sorry the Jehovah's Witness section of Kingdom of the Cults.
Yeah, Walter Martin only isn't yeah Can I say as I promised on the blog I want to start off today with Not gonna get it to all of it because it's a half-hour Thing but I was sent a link and I honestly I didn't even remember I don't remember who sent the link to me I don't know how they got my email address, but they sent a link to me about this this fellow this preacher talking about RC Sproul and I thought well Let's take a listen to what somebody has to say about RC Sproul and I started listening to say and I couldn't believe it as I said my blog I I wrote an email to this gentleman and And I would assume since I don't hear him say his own name that mo de any would be Modine I could be wrong John Modine, but I've just never heard anything like this.
It's just You know, it's one thing to to criticize some it's one thing disagree with somebody I mean this guy just simply dismisses RC Sproul from the kingdom Faults gospel and all the rest of stuff. And of course, he's done the same thing to me, too but I was just I was I could not even begin to believe that someone could could be just so Surface level in their criticisms and yet on the basis that kind of criticism say well, I guess I need to give you some examples.
Here's a here's where it gets started.
Something wrong here. They say they're a church, but something's wrong with the recipe. You can tell if you're saved and filled with the Spirit of God. So you can imagine my shock and surprise and my sorrow when I walked into st. Andrews Chapel and found a non biblical worship service.
That and that was the normal practice of the church at its senior pastor RC Sproul. RC Sproul is truly the emerald legacy of modern American Christianity. He is a famous pastor. He's a famous pastor. If you read Christianity today and you watch Christian stations and listen to Christian radio and you and you attend Christian conferences and you get Christian Mailings and you and you're involved in all this you'll say RC Sproul is famous.
He is was born Robert Charles Sproul born 1939 in Pittsburgh. He is a Calvinist theologian. He is the founder and chairman of Ligonier ministries named after the Ligonier Valley Outside of Pittsburgh where his ministry started he can be heard daily on renewing your mind.
Renewing your mind. It's broadcast all throughout the United States. Ligonier his conference or his Charitable foundation hosts several conferences each year. The main conferences in Orlando. He is the main speaker.
He holds degrees from Westminster College Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in the Free University of Amsterdam and a Whitefield Theological Seminary for degrees proving that education has nothing to do with worship.
Just sorry. But it's it's Sproul, of course, I guess he's never listened to To the program even though he's the such famous preacher. He's never actually heard pronounce his name and that's a Whitfield.
Given how nasty becomes it's sort of hard for me not to chuckle a little bit. When when you know, it's just painfully obviously, but I really know what they're talking about.
He has taught at numerous colleges including Reform Theological Seminary Knox Theological Seminary. He is currently senior minister preaching and teaching at st Andrews Chapel just north of Orlando. He is ordained as an elder of the Presbyterian Church in America.
Although his church has separated from that group He is it's a it's an independent church under no one's authority. It's not part of any denomination. He is obviously a Calvinistic theologian.
He.
He a dominant theme of his renewing your mind lessons his holiness of God. He has a Lesson series called from dust to glory 57 part overview of the Bible like all Calvinists. He is a prolific writer. There's just something about that that causes them to write to to share their their doctrine with everyone else.
His son is RC Sproul jr. Maybe you heard of him recently defrocked kicked out of his Ministry and then he's ignored that order and he's a big supporter of homeschooling and traditional family roles and and conservative political causes in Virginia.
I had gone to st. Andrews expecting a Calvinist focused worship service. That's what I was expecting and what I found was far far different far worse. It was the equivalent of adulterated spiritual dog food.
Worthless for human consumption. He might be famous. He might be highly recommended, but it was still disgusting. I did not get up and walk out. My wife and I said we're gonna sit through this thing to the very end.
It was just an hour-long service. They are on the clock. They have back-to-back services in the morning. And so I would already be you know, I'd be on the clock now be late. Everyone be waiting that that changes things a little bit by the way in worship when you've got to obey the clock not the spirit.
Here's some of the things I found. To my surprise during my visit I found out that the pulpit was not in the center of the platform.
The pulpit was not at the center of the platform. We have that problem, too. Did you know that rich. Have you ever noticed that in our old building? Whoever put together. I don't know if they messed up or if it was just the way the pews are put in.
We're a little bit off-center. There's a little bit more room, let's see if that's a soundbite. We're a little bit off-center. Yeah, I'm sure they go with anything for me. We're a little bit off. In fact, we're even a little off-center with the with the with the pews.
Because the pews are the equals equals I think length on each side. So the if you look at it, the the the pulpit is not quite. It's center of the baptistry. But it's not centered on the actual room itself.
So Which side is it toward. That's the question. Do we lean left or do we lean right? It depends on your perspective. Does it matter whether you're looking out from the pulpit?
Well, we're Reformed Baptist. We can't figure out we can't even decide which the front of the church and the back of the church is.
So anyway, I I'm sorry. I I didn't know that that centering of the pulpit was determined.
I I.
Guess he hasn't been to Europe because there there's a lot of there's a lot of pulpits ain't in the middle there in Europe.
So does the pulpit sit up a little high too? I did that. I don't know. Hey, is that coming next?
Elevated above the people I've been told look I've been told that there's a lot of things at at Sproul's church that a Reformed Baptist would go. It's not a Reformed Baptist Church. Okay, there's no question about that.
And I you know, but man when you can kick somebody out of the kingdom for that. Oh. Somebody's got a lot to answer for some day. So anyway, let's.
Let's that's a small thing. Isn't it? Yeah, it's a small thing. That's a small thing small thing. But I found generally when the pulpits off to the side. Hmm and the altars in the center I found that their theology is wrong.
Whoa, okay. I haven't listened to what Jesus Christ has said in his New Testament. I.
Remember anything about that. I must have missed that part. But there you go. I haven't listened.
It's a sign of what a church and this pastor believes about the Bible what their spiritual ancestry is and what their spiritual destiny might be. The Word of God ought to be at the center of our worship today.
Let me explain this to you if I would.
Yeah, the Word of God should be at the center of our worship. But when did anyone come with the idea center meant? Spatially in the room. Isn't that like supposed to be like that means it's the origin and source of of our preaching and.
Teaching and worship asked you all to come to church without your Bibles. And by the way, most of the people there didn't bring their Bibles. That's another warning.
That's a huge warning sign to me. Now, I I would like to see that because I know that 95 of everybody at my church has their has their Bibles.
But.
Maybe I doubt that would like to know I would like to observe that I I admit you need to have a.
Biblically literate.
Congregation and I know what I'm preaching at my church. I see a lot of Bibles out there. In fact, I I see I see original language texts in front of me and that that makes me.
Glad that I prepared to preach. If I told you and everyone here that I know brings their Bible to church. Sometimes you forget it and there's spares lying around. But if I took all the Bibles out of here and I didn't bring a Bible and you didn't have any Bibles and I said Let's worship and let's not reference the Bible.
We have a hard time worshiping our way. The only way we know God today Is through his word.
You know, I I've read a number of RC's books and I have a hard time with the idea That the normative experience in his church is that there is no Reference to the Bible. Is that really is being suggested here that you know.
If someone showed up at this fellows church during a business meeting or something Would they have a ground to to say that they never preached the Bible there, too. You know you sort of you sort of wonder about that kind of thing.
So anyway, and so if the church says we're gonna take his word and put it off to the side. That says a lot. That says a lot. The Word of God ought to be at the center of our worship today. Not a depiction of angels and Latin script as it is at st. Andrews.
The second thing I found is that now.
Oh, okay. Gotta catch that one everybody knows. Everybody knows that RC likes Latin. Everybody knows that. I've ever noticed that. How how many times when you're listening to RC speaker? I've used his his consequences of ideas Type book on on philosophy in my classes and stuff.
RC likes Latin. He really does and I prefer Greek. Personally looks a lot better, you know but that's that's where the Latin comes from. And later he's gonna mention that some things doesn't like is like solus Christus and soli Deo gloria and sola scriptura.
And you know those little phrases that all of us are so thankful for from the.
They use these huge Colorful paintings. It was the dominating theme of the decor of the church. These paintings are focused on the works of Christ and they Obviously because they've got pictures of Jesus violate what the biblical admonition not to make a graven image.
Now again.
That argument was rather fully discussed I think during the course of.
The.
Passion of the Christ. Discussion. Many of you may recall how often that particular issue came up and we're not going to revisit that one today. There is certainly a ground for being able to Discuss the issue and talk about it and so on and so forth, but this just light easy.
Dismissal, you know if he's covered all that stuff fairly in the past. That's one thing something tells me in light of what we're listening to the idea of.
Fairly in the past is it's the question worship and bow down before it and that's that's pretty obvious scripture. They're violating. But worse than that these pictures to me harken back to Rome and Constantinople.
They hark it back to a different age when there were icons and veneration. People wanted to know the story and the the Theology behind these things so they could venerate them and and and and these images became Became as they were.
Snares to men, you know, God said don't do this because he knows our our frame. Every born-again believer knows that that's in his or her heart. You could start worshiping a thing instead of God. You've got to worship God in spirit and truth not with accurate paintings.
These paintings have naked men on them loincloth men. Depictions of avenging angels as a primitive blood. We're not supposed to drop pictures of angels. I'm not gonna just I'm not gonna disagree with a local church has autonomy do it at once.
But they're they're they're they're obviously setting their people up to be snared then the pastoral prayer was strange. The pastor in this church read in first person the 38th Psalm he read the 38th Psalm as if he was God a Missionary at the end of this prayer was prayed for as he was sent out to the Ukraine and how did they pray for the?
Missionary.
They sell God Send him out there and make him an effective preacher of the gospel Send him out there and help him to reach people with the good news. They said no no, we're sending them out there quote with our C's books and tapes and Help him to spread our C's books and tapes in the Ukraine.
That's what they prayed. I found that strange. That's just strange fire to me I.
Would like you know, I would love to know what the date of this was because I'd like to listen to these these prayers and and things like that and Find out just just what was what was said. How do you read Psalm 38 As if you're God.
A Song of David from memorial. Oh Lord Rebuke me not in your wrath and chasing me not in your burning anger for your arrows have sunk deep into me and your hand has Pressed down upon me. There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation There is no health in my bones because of my sin for my iniquities have gone over my how do you read that as if you're?
God I I'm I Hope in you. Oh Lord. You will answer. Oh Lord my god. How do you what? What I you know without listening to it I have absolutely no idea how in the world you could read that in any other way than than that.
I I that's that's weird. Anyway, there were five hymns songs before thing. I saw five five hymns. You have to understand. I'm talking about RC Sproul. Sproul, this isn't a neophyte. This guy's got four college degrees.
Oh, this guy is all over America. He's one of the most popular pastors out there. People love this man. Mmm, they sang five hymns in that church service that morning by the cup now. Relationship between how populous role is and a number of aggregation.
The choir. The name Jesus Christ was mentioned one time in those five hymns. That must be it. Hmm.
Well, you know. Reading Psalm 38 you probably didn't run across the name of Jesus either at that particular point in time.
You know, I imagine it is possible though would be somewhat unlikely but I imagine it would be possible if You were weren't really paying attention or if you had a focus upon Life of David or something like that and you were Drawing up your hymns and things like that that you'd have a number of hymns that talk about Jehovah and things like that.
But I could see how only one of five in some situations would specifically have the name Jesus in it. I'm trying to remember Sunday if I can't we I I can't I can never remember which hymns they were but.
Yeah, I got our help in ages past.
Trinity hymnal, I don't know. That's that common. I'd have to look. I'm all sir. The name Jesus is very very common. But I mean as far as you're gonna have Given that a lot of Presbyterians sing Psalter hymns.
Mm-hmm. Psalms hymns. You're not exactly going to have a whole lot of references the name of course and Psalm hymns, you know.
Hello.
It makes our sense, but anyway, yeah, I but that's definite definite grounds for kicking RC out of the kingdom. I think that's you know, that's just that's just obvious here one time.
That's strange, isn't it? I mean there was no praise song given to God for salvation. There was no first-person him about oh, thank you for saving me. I was I was lost I was in sinking sand and and I was sinking on a ship and I was on the right there and and I believe there's No song about salvation.
Is that interesting. Faith of our fathers and this and that but but no song. First-person about Jesus Christ saving people no song about Jesus. Here's the other thing. I found it was weird. A strange strange fire attendance was taken.
Oh No attendance at every row was taken. You had to fill out a form if you remember who Was with you and your family and then they asked guests to fill it out, too. That's interesting. You know, I believe each church has a time you do what they want.
But why why would attendance be so important to church? I really can't figure that out. You can't I.
Don't have any problem with that at all. Excuse me, sir. But if you're a shepherd of sheep does a shepherd know which one of his sheep are in the flock.
What's so tough about that? I mean, I would say we take mental role every every Sunday we know who's there and who isn't and. When they've been gone for a certain period of time and stuff like that don't see any problem with that at all the preaching.
Well.
The preaching was probably the saddest thing. It was simply the telling of a few stories that included a historical exposition of the Roman rule and dynastic intrigues of the Herodians just before the time of Christ.
It was not really preaching as the gospel was at no time mentioned Jesus Christ. His role as Savior his blood atonement the fact that you need to believe in him and trust in him for salvation. Was never mentioned one time in the sermon.
That's interesting to me. It was not really preaching as the Bible was not expounded. It was not really preaching as the pastor gave the people no application for the few scriptures. He glossed over. It was not really preaching as the clock not the Holy Spirit was obviously to me in control.
He received a signal the time was short from the booth right behind us and he immediately stopped where he was in the in a where he was talking and segued into talking about communion.
Now again hard to do much commentary. If you've not heard the sermon I would love to find out from this fellow even though like I said The response I got from would be enough to curl your hair if I had any.
So I sort of doubt that I'm gonna get the exact date. But I might just write to him and say I'd like to know exactly what date you were there. I'd like to get obtain the the tapes and I would like to listen for myself to verify the accuracy of your statements and Maybe he would voluntarily provide that because I told him I was gonna talk about it.
The program today gave him the the eight of the eight seven seven number, which toll-free and including in Florida and so on so forth so not keeping any secrets here, but Again since We have all read, you know, I've read the holiness of God and chosen by God and These tremendous works that involve exegesis and and we've all seen videos where RC has gone through Tremendous presentations of justification and the atonement and all the rest of stuff makes you wonder Who would go to a church one time?
One service of someone who has that extensive a published repertoire and Representation of their ministry and on the basis of that one visit Without any reference to all the rest of that. In essence as you're gonna hear kick this man in the kingdom.
He's he's unsaved. He's a false teacher false gospel of Hawaiian yards it's it's all it's all there and Makes you really wonder what kind of.
Person can say that interesting because they knew when communion had to start because the clock was ticking and and here here is finally where confusion Reigned. The bulletin identified this part of the worship service is the Lord's Supper and that's good.
A church can celebrate the Lord's Supper. Do you know when when they can celebrate it? Wherever they want.
Whenever they want.
God gives the church autonomy to do that. RC Sproul talked about how God was going to consecrate the elements to show God's presence. That's interesting language, isn't it? That's confusing. That's not but the Lord's Supper is about consecrating elements.
To show God's presence, you know. That to me was a proverbial slip of the tongue and that showed where RC Sproul's head. He's headed towards Rome.
Whoa back up the truck. Here's here's where a simple ignorance gets you in trouble, okay? Now I as a Reformed Baptist do not like particular forms of language that are fairly common Amongst my Presbyterian brethren.
I prefer ordinances to sacraments and so on and so forth but let's Back it up and think for just a moment who has been in the lead Since the mid 90s in opposing evangelicals and Catholics together Who appeared on the Ankerberg show with John MacArthur?
Criticizing evangelicals and Catholics together who has been in the lead in seeking to defend justification by grace through faith alone against the Roman Catholic resurgence of apologetics on these issues.
To say that RC is on his way to Rome as a result of this is Again to to take a single experience and Your ignorance of the background of that language and just go how about that must be what it means Must be going that direction Again this is the kind of thing that unfortunately keeps meaningful dialogue and conversation from going on between Baptists and Presbyterians between Credo Baptists and pedo Baptists between those who have a more high church viewpoint and those who have a lower church viewpoint whatever the different groups might be when you Make this kind of a statement without at least allowing the person to define his own terms and speak in his own context.
It doesn't do anybody in that's Roman language. That's popish language. That's Lutheran language. That's language. It says in these elements is Christ. It's going to be substantiated. Transformed into Christ.
The deacons or the elders who passed out the bread and wine certainly marched in unison. But I was also troubled by marched in unison. What?
By the way.
Someone in channel just said it said something very good and he said that test this guy's view of monergism and synergism to see who has one foot in Rome. And I can't access my email from here right now.
But the the email that I got did talk about in a disparaging nasty way Calvin's gospel and so yeah, I have a sneaking hunch that if we were to dig around we would discover a rather synergistic hence Roman view of the of the perspective of the will.
That would probably be hiding around there. No no toys about it the way by what they gave out.
Leavened bread isn't that interesting? Leavened bread and. They gave out wine in the center of the trays and grape juice on the outer edge. That's interesting now if you know anything about RC Sproul jr.
He's he's a drunken bum. Okay. I'm just I'm just telling what his people say now here here.
You've got a man standing in front of now. I don't know I've only heard one voice so I this guy could have a congregation of you know three. I don't know, but here you've got someone who is in public simply repeating rumor and things that are currently being discussed and things have been very painful a lot of folks and just doing it for effect and and doing it in just a nasty way just just an absolute nasty way and.
That's why I wrote to him and called him to to repent for this kind of stuff, but of course all I got back was Personal attacks and oh and a threat to preach about me. The funny thing is this is called preaching.
Did you notice. Well we didn't hear anything about this there. The other thing I haven't heard much exegesis in this of you. I haven't either. Oops. Oh, well. We continue. I've never met him.
But I've got pictures of him drinking hearted. Apparently first-person stories from his church say they all get drunk after church. Archie Sproul jr.. That's not a surprise to me. If the church is going to have social drinking They're going to have no problem serving one wine.
For the Lord's Supper.
And but what's interesting me is the double-mindedness because it's like there's some people say oh, that's wrong. So we're going to have one row of grape juice, and then the wine in the center. The leavened bread was really strange.
I mean that to leavened bread you need yeast. Yeast is in the Bible a sign a metaphor a symbol of sin. Why would you why would you use leavened bread? That's not. That's not what Christ used. He break the bread.
He's unleavened breads. Very interesting how they can't figure that out. The double-mindedness the compromise.
That they notice any disagreement with get this guy. I mean he is the definition of orthodoxy man. I mean his understanding is the only understanding there can be. There can be no other understanding it.
We have found Our new infallible rule of faith. And we need to we need to get him to write all this out for us because we've we've been all confused all the.
Harkening back to Rome since the tyranny of the clock was pressing down on pastor Sproul He didn't have time to elucidate on the Romanish words. He had just spoken there simply wasn't a time. But at the very end and the the deacons marched rapidly and things were distributed.
Rapidly if you're wondering. My wife, and I did not partake. But at the very end RC Sproul administered the Lord suffered himself and drank out of a chalice of wine. Alone everyone else had the little thimble cups he drank out of a chalice.
Is that interesting. Reminded me of some Catholic priests I know. I realized then why there was no preaching of the gospel in this worship service. Why there was no reference to the gospel and the new birth and the written materials.
I picked up and had browsed. I Realized why there was no call to believe in Jesus Christ. Is it because at this church the giving of the Lord's Supper was a means of grace?
Now here again we have a person who evidently Either doesn't understand terminology or just automatically assumes certain things about terminology. And you've got this black-and-white worldview where you've got Rome and Then you've got the good guys, and if you use the term means of grace That means you're with Rome.
Problem is of course that the term means of grace has been used of anything that God ordains whereby through our obedience thereto God by his grace Assists us in the living of the Christian life and so for example in our church Will refer to the preaching of the word to the to the proper administration of the ordinances.
We like that term better. To the fact that we gather together in our common confession of faith that these are means of grace not that these are Channels of grace. Not not ex opera operato Sacramentalism.
That's where we would definitely draw a line and say no that's that's not our understanding at all. But the idea that you indeed can buy your obedience to what God calls you to do that this is the normative way in which the church is to function.
And If you don't make meaningful distinctions then you're gonna end up with a little teeny tiny circle around you yourself and yourself and maybe one or two other people and everybody else in the world is going to be part of the big bad enemy.
And The idea of Christ having built his church, it's gonna sort of like fall on its face.
It's what they believe. I should. I Would imagine I didn't examine, but I didn't see a Baptist or either and I would imagine they don't baptize in the church. Except they probably roll out a little thing for infants.
I would imagine.
Hello, he's a.
Presbyterian mate that that if I would have time or the stomach to further Examine the cuisine there. We find that Baptist or the baptism of infants is conducted there. I'm considering a means of saving grace.
Don Don Don.
Sorry, but when you go to a Presbyterian Church Don't be overly surprised if they're pedo Baptists. Hello. I mean, oh, come on. I.
Mean.
Hang the hang the hang the.
Bet they have pedo baptism there. Really you think so. Yeah, Presbyterians do tend to do that and that's why Bill Shishko and I are gonna be debating that subject. But thankfully I know that Bill Shishko will listen to the reform.
He's listened to what reform Baptists have to say and I've listened to what he has to say. And that means we'll actually be debating the other guys position based on the Bible. What a concept that will be.
Now some may object to my objections. They may say you are too judgmental brother Modine. Yeah, I'll make me out as a spiritual bombs or how dare you go down. There's a guest to that church and just I didn't disrupt anything.
I just sat and observed. We're glad I just sat and observed. I'm just that's preaching to you and telling you what I saw. Showing you how it measures up with Scripture. I haven't seen a lot of that. I do preach about religious freedom and liberty and I'm not telling that church they should shut down.
I'm just saying they need to look at the Bible.
Then wait a minute. We're gonna get a little bit farther here and he's gonna say False gospel wrong gospel and R .C. Sproul is a false teacher. So why not say they should shut down. I mean unless you're just simply saying that well, we live in America.
We should have religious freedom. But are we talking about as a Christian Church? Yeah, as far as I can tell he's Not gonna say this is a Christian look at the Bible.
I think they they think they're one. They're going one way, but they're going another way. I really think they're confused. R .C. Sproul is not the pastor of a small church of no reputation. He is a hugely popular speaker.
He is the leader of the alliance between Baptist and covenant theologians and other conservative branches in the evangelical church today. And What's worse than that R .C. Sproul doesn't say in Orlando now.
I just like to stop and put my hand up and say hi. I'm a Baptist and I'm a covenantal theologian. Hello. Hi there. We're still here and we're we've been around for a long time. He doesn't just live in Sanford.
He's out on the road all the time. He's traveling.
He not as much as he used to remember. R .C. Had a stroke a while back and he can't travel nearly as much as he used to. Here's his pulpit.
He shares platforms with men like John MacArthur and Albert Moeller. Mm-hmm, Joseph Stowell Jerry Falwell David Jeremiah Charles Stanley and Steve Lawson a big Baptist pastor in the south. These are men who regardless of their stand on separation Regardless of their stand on ecumenical manners the men I just named are our men who all preach the new birth.
Yeah, and what you're about to be told is that R .C. Sproul doesn't preach the new birth now could he have gone to almost any bookstore and Pulled books by R .C. Sproul off talking about regeneration and the new birth.
Of course he could have but yeah, we didn't.
Say what you will about Charles Stanley and his divorce. He still preaches the new birth. Say what you all about David Jeremiah and his compromise and the way he's changing his church. He still preaches the new birth.
Say what you will about Jerry Falwell and his linking up with some young moon and the moonies and and and and his compromise with The state and his compromise with. Say what you will about about follow.
He still preaches Wow.
If we just start trying to pick up each one of these these bombs flying by here It would be quite interesting but it works.
Say what you will about John MacArthur and his his schismatic teaches about the death of prices versus the blood and and say what you will About who he fellowships with. John still preaches the new birth.
These are men who preach the new birth for salvation. What I'm what I'm talking about is they're re-baptizers. You know what I'm talking about these are men that say that at that that if you come and believe we're gonna baptize you and.
And the fact that you were baptized as a baby doesn't matter they're all Rebaptizers. That word in Old English is Anabaptist. We're corrupted today is Baptist. That's why we're called Baptist. It wasn't because they loved us.
It's because we were re-baptizers. That's just been shortened down a couple of times. We're an event. We're baptizers again here you come in here and believe and we'll baptize you again because the Bible teaches after your new birth you're supposed to be baptized as a Believer not as an infant.
That's what the Bible teaches and these men who share a platform who speak with him who were who who? Fellowship with him pray with him and treat him as a brother. Are all Anabaptists are all re-baptizers.
They all preach and teach the new birth.
Now notice notice the connection that is mistakenly made there the the new birth equals re-baptism. Does he not understand what Sproul believes about this? I don't know I I can't begin to tell but anybody who walks into a Presbyterian Church is surprised they engage in a bit of baptism probably doesn't understand what they understand by that and I would probably bet that that R .C. Sproul does actually Speak at some places with other Presbyterians, so they're not all Baptists.
Yeah, he gets along with us Baptist. I appreciate that and you know. Might have been good to this fellow had listened to the debate between John MacArthur and R .C. Sproul on Baptism. Yeah, I would have been.
That would have been really good. That would have been that would have helped helped a lot, but evidently didn't.
You're not a Christian based on your parents church membership. So all those men agree. Now these men who teach and their churches apparently preach lip service to this baptism believers only. These men who say And teach salvation is something that happens to a sinner when the sinner believes in Jesus Christ and these are men who preach a transactional salvation.
Instantaneous it's not a process and I and I imagine if I study R .C. Sproul's church I'm gonna find out it's not a transactional salvation. He believes in that there are different means of grace. There's the baptism means of grace and the Lord's Supper means of grace and.
See he doesn't understand what means of grace means and he hasn't even bothered to pick up the man's books. Can you imagine preaching a whole sermon just blasting somebody and he's gonna say the guy's a false teacher and.
They're published and you won't even take the time to look at what they've written and when they've written extensively on this stuff. He's written on justification by faith. I'll be the faith means of grace.
They're probably all intertwined and since he's probably not saved he can get away with that sort of confusion. I had assumed that when we went to worship God and R .C. Sproul's Church We would at least have the preaching of the new birth in common.
You see that's very important in worship. If you're gonna worship with people that can preach at least the new birth You've got a lot in common with them. You and I need to worship. We need to cry out to God.
It is normal for us to worship. It is normal. It is normal for us to worship on Sunday. It is not normal to miss church and not where that's abnormal. If you can miss church Sunday after Sunday after Sunday never worship.
There's something abnormal about you. Maybe you've never had the new birth. Maybe you better read first John.
Yeah, I wouldn't happen to disagree at that point. This little Section here the people of God want to meet with the rest of the people of God and they want to worship and they want To fellowship together.
No two ways about it. Do not forsake the gathering together.
We read in Revelation 4 about the the 420 elders falling down and Worshipping him that lives forever and ever. All the examples that exist in the Bible show that believers are to worship. They have to be glad to worship.
They ought to be that would be glad to shout praises. It's a wonderful privilege that we have. The only people by the way worshiping are believers accurately through the blood of Christ. They're born-again believers.
Anyone today who does not enjoy worshiping is most likely not a believer. Anyone today Who can't be bothered to worship is really not ready to be with God.
They're saying I want to be with almost nothing to do. What's going on myself.
Well, of course. Believers therefore ought to be worshiping believers in Jesus Christ people who are united by the new birth and not united by the Pope of Rome. People who are United in the body of Christ by the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
They received at the moment of their salvation. And here at st. Andrews Chapel I found another gospel that's not a gospels being preached. How sad that is now.
Like I said, he was gonna say this is another gospel based on one sermon and Ignoring everything the scroll has said he's gonna he's gonna go ahead and he's gonna kick.
These are kicks for a lot of the King how sad that is. The preacher of that false gospel is in close fellowship with other Pastors and teachers many of them good men. Listen, you can hardly imagine what this does to people.
You can hardly imagine that place was packed twice. It was packed twice with people marching to hell. They've never heard the preaching of the new birth. They're taking communion. They're good. Did you hear that?
Did you hear that? Let's let's stop there because we've got a phone call when you take anyways, did you hear that? They've never heard the preaching the new birth. How on earth. Could someone be so incredibly arrogant as to go to one meeting?
Ignore all the videotapes all the CDs all the debates all the books. Years and years and years and years of ministry and be so arrogant as to say something like that. How is that possible? I I just I I can't begin to conceive of it.
They've never heard the new birth. I went there once and I don't know what they believe. In fact, I think they baptized infants, but they've never heard the new birth. I'm sorry, but when I hear something that I just want to well I like I said pull my hair out if I had it because it to call that grossly unfair.
Misrepresentational straw man argumentation and I think a man who has has Stood for as long as our seashore does somebody's got to stand up and say, you know what mister? I've never heard of you. I've never seen any of your books.
I've not not seen you standing in the gap. I've not seen you putting yourself on the line and this is reprehensible. Absolutely reprehensible. Somebody that you trust needs to call you to repentance for this kind of activity.
It's you just Don't do this, you know, there's there's times to take somebody to the woodshed but you need to know what in the world you're talking about and.
Oh.
Goodness, I just I Wasn't gonna play all that much of it. We're almost toward the end of it. I don't know want to play any more of it, but.
No.
Take a breath. Okay, everybody stand up stretch, you know I'll do that little thing and we're gonna totally shift gears here because we've had someone who has been Waiting online for a long long time and his topic has absolutely positively nothing to do.
That's so ever with RC sprowl. Sorry RC sprowl. But let's let's go go to Chicago and talk with Richard. Hi Richard. Hello. How you doing? Okay. You're gonna have to totally grind our gears here in the last few minutes and totally change our direction, but that's okay.
Okay, this is about a man named Sam. Gip. He's a defender of the King James only issue.
What you need to do is you need to get hold of the eight-part series on the Johnny Ankerberg show on the King James only movement where you will find that Samuel Gip and The two other defenders including a fellow by name of Chambers of the King James only position debated five representatives.
One of the NIV one of the new King James one of the new American Standard and then two professors. Dr Daniel Wallace of Dallas Seminary and myself and so I have sat in John Ankerberg studio and debated Sam Gip on the subject of King James only ism.
So not only do I know him along those lines, but I also cited him in my book the King James only controversy.
When talking about I think the NASB. Yeah, that's that's called a lie.
And it is a well-known and documented lie and has been documented as a lie for a long long time. But the King James only people keep telling the lie. And in fact, if you'd like to go to a omin org, there is a article there where I go through it since I was there Dr. Wilkins who had just flown in from Athens and who takes a migraine the headache medication at the beginning of one of the Episodes I got a frog in his throat and so John Ankerberg said and back that up.
We want to try to get this done a little bit faster. In fact Ankerberg then Chided all of us because we were giving way too long answers to his questions. And this is only a 30-minute program and you don't actually have 30 minutes.
So they backed it up started again. Dr Wilkin went into his response. He responded just fine on the subject of Gail Ripplinger and I actually leaned over to a fellow who's now actually deceased Art farstad of the new King James version and I said to him you watch The King James only people will make something of somebody getting a frog in their throat and he said no way I said you watch and within I'd say three months text Mars put out this idea of someone being struck dumb.
The funny thing is he had all the voice in the world to demonstrate the Gail Ripplinger had no idea what the world she was Talking about after taking a drink of water. So, you know if God's striking somebody without the ability to speak is taken care of by a drink of water That's probably not God doing anything at all.
So We could have I suppose turned the tables and pointed to places where these individuals You know stumbled over a word or something like that. But you know, we don't have to get into that kind of silliness.
We can just let the facts speak for themselves.
Okay, my specific question was the issue with X chapter 12 verse 4 with Easter. Yes, you know, have you dealt with that in your book? I'm not sure. Yes, actually I did and.
His his attempted explanation. There is just absolutely positively amazing once again You have the the original Language right in front of of a bay everybody's faces and if anybody wants to look at that particular text What's being referred to is the fact that?
For example New American Standard says when he had seized him he put him in prison delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him and tending after the Passover to bring him out before the people and the the Greek is top Haska and It is very easy to Go into any of the materials that were written by the Jews around this period of time it is very easy to look at to what they in would have understood that to mean and the only reason that there's any Dispute here.
Is that if you look at the King James Version? It at that point renders instead of Passover It renders it as as Easter now. Of course as most people are aware of the fact that some That particular it says specifically when he had apprehended him he put him in prison and delivered him to four court court quaternions of soldiers To keep him intending after Easter to bring him forth the people well the dating of Easter is dependent upon the dating of Passover and historically that People might be aware of the quarter decimant controversy in church history and the East had one way of determining when Easter was and the West another way to determine when Easter was blah blah blah, but Anyway, the term Easter Would only have meaning to people way down the road looking back at this because it would not have been a term that was in utilization by the people the time and So that's not what the Jews would have understood the term to mean.
Topaska had a specific meaning at that time and That would be the term the Passover only in hindsight could a person say well that eventually was tied into the development of a celebration called Easter and That is why the the King James translators happened to render it that way.
I don't recall looking at it right now I'm looking on the the lemma here. Let me look through the New Testament. I have a feeling let me just look at a couple of yeah Look at John 12 1 for example John 12 1 in the King James says and when six and Jesus and Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany exact same.
Greek term.
You got to remember that the King James translators did not have a editing Committee. In essence there are different translation teams at different places like Oxford Cambridge places like that and the final product Unfortunately is is inconsistent.
For example in Matthew and in Romans the very same Greek phrase You shall not murder is translated in one place. You shall not murder in other places translated. You shall not kill. It's the exact same Greek phrase.
It should be the same in both but the final editing did not smooth those things out and so you can find a number of places where Pascha is in the King James version simply as.
Passover.
Luke 22 11 in the King James version where shall eat the Passover of my disciples. Exact same Greek term. But in that one place they they render it our Christ our Passover lamb first Corinthians 5 7. Over and over again that one place they They missed it and but what the GIP is doing is he's got to defend the King James as the final authority in all things and As a result he has to come up with this incredibly wild way of defending the use the term Easter in that one place.
Which I guess it would be consistent there would mean he'd have to do the exact same thing with all the rest of the appearances Of top Pascha, but he doesn't do so which is what demonstrates the inconsistency.
Sorry, we had to hurry a little bit quickly on that brother, but I appreciate your phone call and Yes, that is addressed in the King James only controversy if you want to take a look at that well Amazing stuff on the program today.
I'll listen to the rest of it see if there's anything edifying or worthwhile to listen to the rest of that particular quote-unquote sermon in regards Darcy's scroll and then continue on with Spong and all sorts of other stuff the next time we gather on the dividing line, which will be next Tuesday morning 11 o 'clock our time.
We'll see you then. God bless.
The dividing line has been brought to you by Alpha and Omega ministries. If you'd like to contact us call us at 602 9 7 3 4 6 0 2 or write us at p .o Box 3 7 1 0 6 Phoenix, Arizona 8 5 0 6 9. You can also find us on the world wide web at a omin org That's a o min dot o RG where you'll find a complete listing of James White's books tapes debates and tracks.
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