Glory Only in the Cross - by Mike Ratliff

Excerpted from here. Our comments in bold.
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Mr. Ratliff makes another appearance in our blog. He is a Reformed/Calvinist, and as is typical for those of this persuasion, he is entirely convinced of his doctrinal superiority. Many Calvinists have an overconfidence bordering on arrogance.

Also typical for the Calvinist is a singular, almost obsessive focus on the particular doctrines of Calvinism. They will never talk about the Bible unless they can teach Calvinism. This always makes us pause because this kind of dogmatism can be cultic. 

Today we can only manage to examine an excerpt of a long, unfocused ramble that is supposed to be about the cross. Mr. Ratliff will devote only about a half of one paragraph to the actual topic, but again, since he's a Calvinist he must insert his Calvinism. 

Note that Mr. Ratliff will make numerous undocumented claims in this one paragraph, some of which are not found in the Bible, some that are true, and others which are completely false.

Because Mr. Ratliff cites no Bible verses for any of these assertions, we must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

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What is “the gift of God” in John 4:10? - gotquestions

Found here. One of those rare times when we can shout a hearty "amen" about gotquestions. They nailed this one.

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Question

What is “the gift of God” in John 4:10?

Answer

Separate Ways - by J.V. Fesko

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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The author presumes that any person who wants to attend a Reformed/Calvinist church is automatically correct, but if this person's spouse doesn't want to, well, they need to be "gently" persuaded.

Doctrine is the measure. And it's a very particular set of doctrines. These doctrines are an end to themselves, doctrine for doctrine's sake. Such doctrines don't edify, don't encourage holiness, and are in the end of no practical use. 

The fact that these odd doctrines occupy such prominence in a church is telling. While we don't doubt that Reformed/Calvinists on the whole are Christians, this article has troubling cultic undertones. It's presented as practical advice, but it is a bit creepy.

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What Is God’s Providence? Learning to See God’s Hand in Everyday Life - by Danson Ottawa

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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The author is Reformed/Calvinist, and as is typical for these kinds of teachers, uses his 1600 words to make seemingly endless assertions and presumptions. He teaches relatively basic concepts using terminology that requires advanced knowledge. He doesn't really explain anything, presuming that the reader already possesses this knowledge and agrees with it.

The author uses the word "providence" and its variants nearly two dozen times, but never really defines it. He uses the term "sovereign" about a dozen times and does not actually define it either. The closest he comes is to describe it as the "providential rule of God," which of course uses an undefined word to define the word. Ugh.

Then he connects the two without explanation, all the while introducing additional new terminology without explanation.

We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

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They don't want you to know the REAL reason Social Security is in trouble, But I'm going to tell you anyway - by Robert Reich

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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One can be sure that if a leftist is going to explain something, it will not be accurate, it will not clarify, and it will not be intended to impart information.

That's because leftists like Dr. Reich are only interested in The Narrative, that is, the talking points and bumper sticker slogans promulgated by Central Command. The Narrative is circulated throughout the media landscape every day, and leftist writers, commentators, and news operations dutifully regurgitate it.

So Dr. Reich pretends to be a truth teller, but he's simply doing his duty to repeat The Narrative, spouting agitprop in service to The Agenda. The Agenda is the dismantling of the system. The system, being racist, unfair, and hurtful to the worker and minorities, must be replaced. 

But in actual fact, none of these issues are important to the Left. They are simply excuses for advancing the leftist dream. So, nothing you will read below will be true, accurate, logical, or helpful. 

Dr. Reich is a calculating liar. He's sold his soul to The Agenda, and that is the only reason he supports Social Security. 

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Bad Worship Songs - Tremble, By Mosaic MSC (Bentley, Fieldes, Figueroa, McManus)

From time to to we examine the lyrics of worship songs. Our desire is not to mock or humiliate, but rather to honestly examine content with a view to calling forth a better worship expression.

With the great volume and variety of worship music available, none of us should have to settle for bad worship songs. We should be able to select hundreds or even thousands of top notch songs very easily.

What makes a song a worship song? Is it enough to contain words like God or holy? How about vaguely spiritual sounding phrases? Should Jesus be mentioned?

We think an excellent worship song should contain the following elements:

• A direct expression of adoration (God, you are...)
• A progression of ideas that culminates in a coherent story
• A focus on God, not us
• Lyrics that do not create uncertainty or cause confusion
• A certain amount of profundity
• A singable, interesting melody
• Allusions to Scripture
• Doctrinal soundness
• Not excessively metaphorical
• Not excessively repetitive
• Jesus is not your boyfriend

It's worth noting the most worship songs contain at least something good. That is, there might be a musical idea or a lyric that has merit. Such is the case with this song, Tremble.

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Does Prayer Make a Difference? - by Justin Huffman

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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We have commented on Mr. Huffman's articles before, and have found him to be a doctrinaire Calvinist/Reformist, though a somewhat gentler variety. Nevertheless, his Calvinism colors his doctrine and his thinking process to the point where we cannot trust that he is telling us the truth.

The crux of this article is that God does not change, and He does not change His mind. This would mean that prayer does not influence God in any way. God has already purposed the entirety of existence and what He has purposed will come to be. Prayer will not change that.

Ancillary to this, the author states that God determines both the ends and the means. The necessary conclusion from these premises is that human activities are completely moot. If God has pre-ordained everything that will happen and does not change His mind, then his creation merely goes through the motions of existence.

That can only mean that if we pray or don't pray, there is no effect. If we say yes or no, it doesn't matter. Sin or believe. Nothing changes our destiny. These conclusions are inescapable. If God predetermines everything, nothing matters because nothing happens outside of God's direct purpose and pre-chosen will. Life is merely theater. 

The Bible has some other things to say about the issue, but the author will either ignore or omit every bit of contrary biblical information. We therefore must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

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Bernie Sanders: The Public Should Own Half of the Big A.I. Companies - By Scott Baker

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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After reading this, our conclusion is inescapable: Socialists are dumb. Stupid, dim, cognitively impaired, idiotic. Period. 

Socialist Bernie thinks that the government should own 50% of AI companies, so he intends to simply take it. That's right, he wants the government to just help themselves. On what basis? He wants the government to redistribute the profits. And the author of the article admires him.

Truly dumb.

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God’s Sovereignty and Human Responsibility: Why They Are Friends, Not Enemies - by Alistair Chalmers

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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The author uses the words "sovereign" and "sovereignty" nearly thirty times in his article, but astonishingly, he never defines it. Nearly as astonishing is the fact that though the author does manage to quote a few Scriptures regarding ancillary topics, he never quotes a single one that deals with God's sovereignty.

We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

It is interesting that Calvinists and Reformists give so much emphasis to the sovereignty of God. The KJV doesn't use the sovereign/sovereignty at all, while the ESV first uses the words in Acts 4:24, then again in 1 Tim. 6:15, and lastly in Rev. 6:10. Strangely, the old NIV (the version we use) employs the words over 300 times. Very odd indeed.

Let's explain what sovereignty is, since the author never does. Acts 4:24 reads, 

Act 4:24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, "Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them..."

The Greek word for "sovereign" is despotés, a word used ten times in the NT: (despótēs) implies someone exercising "unrestricted power and absolute domination, confessing no limitations or restraints..." 

Mostly used in terms of a monarchy, sovereignty describe a position of highest authority and absolute rulership. A king has unquestioned authority, with even the law itself being subject to him. His commands are law, his desires are carried out without question.

Sovereignty is a position, not an activity. Sovereignty doesn't describe actions, because the king as sovereign determines his own actions as he chooses. His subjects operate according to his rulership, but he does not go to every field and tell the plower how to do his plowing. He does not show up to explain to the baker how to make bread. He does not personally go to the seamstress to see if she's sewing correctly.

The king is the ultimate authority, but he has no need to control every single thing in his kingdom, because he delegates his authority. He has agents to do his bidding, and they operate with authority under the king's authority. We see this in Gabriel's words: 

I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. Lk. 1:19

The centurion amazed Jesus when he placed himself in subjection to Him: 

For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, "Go," and he goes; and that one, "Come," and he comes. I say to my servant, "Do this," and he does it. Lk. 7:8 

This chain of authority descends down to the lowliest subject in his kingdom. Even the poorest sap has a modicum of authority as he lives out his life in the kingdom. That is why the king has no need to dictate every action of every soul in his kingdom. His authority descends down to the lowest place.

So we must understand that sovereignty doesn't speak to actions. Sovereignty doesn't require action or forbid his action, because the king determines his sovereignty as it pleases him. He is not subject to any required action. He is not forbidden from any action. If he was required to to act, he would not be sovereign. If he was required to stand there and make sure the baker made every single loaf of bread correctly, he would be at the mercy of what he was required to do.

Thus sovereignty is a position, not an action. The actions of a sovereign are a matter apart from his position.

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Are We Forgiven for the Sins We Can’t Remember and Therefore, Don’t Confess? - by Randy Alcorn

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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A very good article, reminding us of the goodness and faithfulness of God, who forgives all our sins. Mr. Alcorn explains Scripture, encourages and exhorts, and teaches the topic quite well.

Except for him quoting John Piper. Inexplicably, he inserts statements by Dr. Piper that are unbiblical. We are going to quote the entirety of it and insert our comments in italics:

"John Piper reminds us that “'The payment was perfect. You can’t add to it at all. You can’t add to your sin-covering at all.'” (We do not have a "sin-covering," our sins are completely washed away. We explain this here.)

"He says in a message about why we confess sin, when we are aware of it:

'Jesus, once for all, by his life and death, purchased our forgiveness (Jesus did not purchase our forgiveness, His blood was spilled and washed us clean. There was no transaction.) 

 

'and provided our righteousness. (Jesus made us righteous, He did not "provide" our righteousness.) 

 

'We can add nothing to the purchase or the provision. We share in the forgiveness and the righteousness by faith alone. But in view of the holiness of God and the evil of sin, it is fitting that we appropriate and apply what he bought for us by prayer and confession every day. “Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:11–12). Daily request for bread, because he has promised to meet every need; daily pray appropriation of forgiveness, because it is fully purchased and secured for us by the death of Jesus.'" (Dr. Piper doesn't seem to understand Jesus' sacrifice.)

Dr. Piper enjoys a reputation as an excellent Bible teacher, but we have examined several of his explanations and have found them lacking. 

Particularly this article, where he completely botches the nature and purpose of Jesus' death, all the while imposing his Calvinism on the entire equation. We examine this article here.

Which means Mr. Alcorn's otherwise excellent article is made into Bad Bible Teaching by the inclusion of Dr. Piper's false doctrine.

Unfortunate, indeed.

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Why Don’t Our Sermons Change People? - by Alistair Chalmers

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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We have reviewed several of the author's teachings and found them lacking. But credit given where credit is due. The author provides a good teaching here, contrary to one we evaluated previously. 

There is a glaring exception, however. The author does not explain the crucial element of the Holy Spirit's work through the preaching. It takes the author over 850 words of this 1300 word essay to get to the true transformative agent of men's souls, but he never discusses this element.

But on the whole, a good article.

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The God Who Keeps His People; Assurance, Perseverance, and the Comfort of the Gospel - by Alistair Chalmers

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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The author will refer to the doctrine of perseverance. This is one of the petals of  Calvinistic TULIP, though the author will never mention Calvin. TULIP is 

• Total Depravity
• Unconditional Election
• Limited Atonement
• Irresistible Grace
• Perseverance of the Saints

The last one is the one he intends to explain. However, he doesn't explain, he simply asserts his doctrine without explanation. The verses he appeals to are the ones theologians have debated for centuries, and could go either way.

But the biggest problem with perseverance is that is impossible to know if one is saved and therefore will persevere. After all, false converts believe they're saved. False converts study the Bible, try to live holy lives, and yet fall away. In fact, false converts can be false yet live their entire lives thinking their Christians.

Therefore, perseverance is fruitless theological debate. There is no way to know who is a false convert and who isn't.

Lastly, the author will never quote a single Bible verse about perseverance. Astonishing. We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

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Recommend a Church - by Michelle Lesley If you’re searching for a new church

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Those who have "discernment ministries' (actually, these are not actual ministries, they are mostly a single individual with a blog and a sour disposition) have a tendency to find heresy under every rock. They have severe and exacting standards, and anyone that violates a single jot or tittle from their micro doctrines is cast into the outer darkness. We have deemed these folks the doctrinal police.

Ms. Lesley has been bestowed this honor more than once in our blog, so much so that we have awarded her her own tag.

Today we are posting Ms. Lesley's standards for being able to recommend a church. Astonishingly, there are 14 requirements, some of which exclude entire denominations. Remember, these are the criteria for her to be able to recommend a local church. 

Ms. Lesley doesn't quote a single word of Scripture. We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

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Dressed in His Righteousness Alone: What Is Justification by Faith? - by David Briones

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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We're going to get into the weeds on this one, mostly because we need to chase the author into the weeds. The author could have explained justification in couple of paragraphs, but ends up wandering far and wide in search of a coherent thought.

We apologize for the insult, but he's supposed to be a teacher of the Bible. He seems to be unable to do that correctly, even when he quotes Bible verses that contradict him.

We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

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“Praying in the Holy Spirit”: What Does Jude 20 Mean for Christians Today? - by Alistair Chalmers

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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The author is going to do his best to stay within his Calvinistic/Reformed views (which he describes as a "conservative evangelical perspective"), but he is clumsy in doing so, to the point that he violates Scripture and even his own doctrine.

The problem is, he's walking a tightrope. He wants to restrict prayer to a doctrinal system where nothing supernatural is allowed, even as he talks about the Holy Spirit's influence. He's deathly afraid that Charismatics will pray in tongues (1Corinthians 14:14 refers to praying in tongues), but admits there is a supernatural something involved in praying.

So, his general effort is to encourage Christians to pray, but to only go so far.

Lastly, because he generally avoids quoting Scripture, and misrepresents other Scripture, we must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

We discuss tongues here.

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The State of Theology - Canadians in 2026

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Keep in mind the premise of the survey as you read the questions. Some questions have nothing to do with theology, and some are "testing" how well people know Calvinism. 

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All of the Good Shepherd’s sheep will believe and repent and be saved by Grace through faith - by Mike Ratliff

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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Mr. Ratliff makes an appearance in our blog once again. He is a Calvinist (i.e., a Christian who believes the doctrines of John Calvin, a French theologian who lived in the 1500s), so he believes in a set of peculiar doctrines known as TULIP:

• Total Depravity
• Unconditional Election
• Limited Atonement
• Irresistible Grace
• Perseverance of the Saints

The underlying assumption in all these is predestination. The centerpiece of Calvinism is that God has chosen all those who will be saved, and who have been destined for hell, and there is nothing anyone can do about it, pro or con. So Mr. Ratliff's purpose is to explain our obligation to evangelize in light of predestination, even though evangelizing makes no difference at all. 

Thankfully, he quotes several Scriptures, a welcome departure from the Scriptureless Calvinistic Bible teaching we are accustomed to seeing. But he will use terminology based on the assumption that we know what it means. For example, he will use the terms like "Arminian," "sovereign," and "Pelagian" without explanation. Thus he presumes his readers possess a deep existing knowledge while simultaneously teaching basic concepts to them. Odd indeed.

The irony of all this is that Calvinism doesn't matter. None of it comes to bear on any obligation or privilege we have as Christians. Possessing "correct" knowledge about predestination does not influence worship, generosity, holy living, repentance, or any other operational part of our faith. Thus Calvinism is a fruitless intellectual exercise. 

Lastly, we note that Calvinists are always explaining Calvinism. Over and over again. They will never explain the Bible unless they can talk about Calvinism. We think this is cultic behavior.

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The Plurality of Elders Protects a Pastor (& a Church) from Disaster - by Jonathan L. Shirk

Excerpted from here. Our comments in bold.

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We think this fellow is on the right track to understanding proper church leadership. He's not all the way there yet, however.

He accurately teaches that the church is to be led by a plurality of elders, and cites the appropriate Scriptures to illustrate this fact. He acknowledges the perils of being a pastor/chief leader of a church and how it endangers the pastor. But he doesn't put two and two together. 

Biblically speaking, pastors do not lead churches. At all. Pastors aren't necessarily even in church leadership. Pastoring arises out of the eldership as one of their duties. The author quotes the verse from 1 Peter chapter five that explains this: 

...shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you...

Peter exhorted the elders to be pastors and overseers. He doesn't tell them to install a pastor or overseer. The author sees and acknowledges all of this, yet still describes himself as "the minister of Jerusalem Church." He advocates for elder leadership yet seems to be the singular leader, presumably with underling elders performing delegated tasks.

This traditional view of pastor as the CEO leader of the church is a difficult one to shake off. So many people want to be spoon fed the faith, and so many pastors clamor to give the people what they want.

We don't wish to suggest that this man scratches itching ears, but rather, he seems to be content to partake in an unbiblical system because that is what history and tradition have handed down.
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Where Was Jesus Between the Cross and the Resurrection? Why Jesus Didn’t Need to Go to Hell - by Alistair Chalmers

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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In the course of explaining what happened after Jesus died, the author repeats some commonly beliefs held by Calvinists/Reformists. We will take issue with these as they come up in his presentation. 

But more importantly, the author never really tells us the answer to the question contained in the title. It seems like he wrote the article as an excuse to talk about other things.

We will try to sort this out below. In the meantime, we must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

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Real revival versus the "show" - Faceborg conversation

Faceborg friend Elijah posted something, and as it happens, the conversation veered to the subject of what constitutes real revival:

Me: We seem to want to revive and/or reinforce old paradigms about the spirit realm, where people see demons and angels, spiritual warfare is about legality and territories, and spiritual things must look and sound exactly the same as they did in the 80s and 90s.

I have little patience for digging up the corpses of the revivals of decades ago. But for some reason we insist that getting slain in the spirit, or holy laughter, or whatever the previous evidence of the Holy Spirit's move was, that this is the only evidence of a move of God today.

*Dismounts soapbox*

Sorry about that.

I'm this old guy, but too often it seems like the younger crowd is entrenched in tradition while I'm pushing for what the Holy Spirit is doing now. Why?

Elijah: Don’t use a soap box! 🙌 The stage is yours. Come up to the place of honor: the seat is freely yours. What’s the Holy Spirit doing now?