Unworthy, Undeserving. Are these biblical concepts? Rethink

Recently we've been reconsidering many of the things we thought we understood regarding doctrine and faith. We have begun to question certain beliefs, church structures, and practices of the western church. Too often we have discovered unbiblical doctrines and activities. This causes us concern. We have deemed this our “Rethink.”

Our questions include, how did we arrive at our doctrines? Does the Bible really teach what we think it teaches? Why do churches do what they do? What is the biblical basis of church leadership structure? Why do certain traditions get entrenched?

It's easy to be spoon fed the conventional wisdom, but it's an entirely separate thing to search these things out for one's self. In the past we have read the Bible with these unexamined understandings and interpreted what we read through those lenses. We were lazy about our Bible study, assuming that pastors and theologians were telling us the truth, but we rarely checked it out for ourselves.

Therefore, these Rethinks are our attempt to remedy the situation.

We should note that we are not Bible scholars, but we believe that one doesn't need to be in order to understand the Word of God.

What Is Grace? -by R.C. Sproul

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Thankfully, R.C. Sproul manages to quote some Scripture, something that is all too rare for those who would present themselves as Bible teachers. This delights us.

Dr. Sproul provides a definition of "grace," but it is not a Biblical definition. He writes, here’s our working definition of grace—it is un-merit. He spends a lot of time describing merit in connection with grace, that is, we don't merit anything. 

The problem with this definition is, when we think of "un-merit" we think "not merited." "Not deserved." "Undeserving." Yes, it is certainly true that we did not earn our salvation, i.e., God did not give us salvation with regard to any deeds we might have done. However, grace is actually something else, charis:

preeminently used of the Lord's favor – freely extended to give Himself away to people (because He is "always leaning toward them").

5485 /xáris ("grace") answers directly to the Hebrew (OT) term 2580 /Kaná ("grace, extension-toward"). Both refer to God freely extending Himself (His favor, grace), reaching (inclining) to people because He is disposed to bless (be near) them.

Grace is not undeserved/unmerited kindness. Grace is not "un-merit." Grace is God coming near because He loves to be with us and freely bless us.

There is no mention of merit/un-merit in the above definition of "grace." Both are completely absent from the meaning. in fact, God does not deem us undeserving. There is no verse that says that He measured us up and declared us unworthy. It is certainly true we have all sinned [Ro. 3:23], and that we need to repent [Mt. 4:17, Ro. 2:5], but nowhere does the Scripture say God pronounces us unworthy.

He does not consider merit at all, and that is absolute. That is, He neither considered merit nor considered un-merit. Merit/un-merit did not enter the picture. 

Therefore, merit/un-merit is a foreign concept inserted into the definition of grace. 

We should not make the same mistake as the nation of Israel, about whom Paul declared

Ac. 13:46 We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.

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Kyle Rittenhouse Has Gotten Away With Murder—as Predicted - By Elie Mystal

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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The reader will note that the author never addresses the actual evidence, but instead wants to focus on minutiae, recharacterize the rioters, and make it about race.

Plus, the author will have nothing to say about black on black crime, an epidemic that far overshadows issues of "whiteness."

Also, who exactly predicted Rittenhouse would be found not guilty? The entire left wing immediately pronounced him guilty, racist, white supremacist, vigilante, etc. No one on the Left ever thought he would be acquitted.)

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How 'Socialism' Gave us Coronavirus Vaccines and Saved the World From a Worse Pandemic - By Bernard Starr

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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The author lauds government involvement in the development of the vaccine, but somehow never mentions Trump or operation Warp Speed. 

The author alternately accepts then denies the desirability of government money given to the private sector. 

He doesn't know what socialism is. He doesn't know what capitalism is. 

This article is a muddled mess.

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The Most Important Aspect Of Dealing With False Teachers - by DEBBIELYNNE KESPERT

Excerpted from here. Our comments in bold.

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Ms. Kespert has always distinguished herself by avoiding the bomb throwing so prevalent among the group of Christians we have deemed the "Doctrinal Police." For this we commend her.

That doesn't mean she gets it right all the time, however. She is a Calvinist and a John MacArthur devotee, which means she has experienced some bad teaching.

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Who are Jesus' Sheep? - John chapter 10

Jesus' description of the sheep in John Chapter 10 has attracted our attention, because some cessationists claim that the sheep are those who have the Gospel call issued to them, but they are not saved. So, they are not Christians responding to the voice of the Shepherd, but rather they are lost sheep who are being offered salvation. 

Alternately, cessationists will claim that the sheep are indeed Christians, but the Shepherd's voice refers to the Scriptures. They believe that God does not speak to Christians, because we have the complete revelation of God in the form of the Bible. Thus, no prophecy, impression, or "leading of the Holy Spirit" is possible today.

Cessationists make these claims in order to avoid the possibility that Jesus speaks to Christians (contemporary prophecy), which is an idea they reject. 

Charismatics, however, appeal to the verses as proof that Jesus speaks to Christians today. They believe the gift of prophecy continues today. See here and here or our more detailed discussion of prophecy.

We believe that each of these positions are incomplete at best, and misleading at worst. In each case, one's doctrinal predisposition interprets the verse. This is problematic and leads to error.

The Regulative Principle of Worship - by Derek Thomas

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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This is a muddled mess. The author attempts to teach us biblical principles, but he never explains worship, he never explains corporate worship, he never tells us what worship means or his view on what the Bible says about how it is to be practiced.

Plus, this Bible teacher manages to quote only a single Scripture, plus some snippets of a few more, in over 1400 words. But he is able to quote theologians and statements of faith, sometimes at length.

For the author, worship is what happens in church on Sunday. His entire presentation is regarding proper conduct and procedure in a Sunday service. But he will never discuss worship itself.

Worship is proskuneó, which means to kiss the ground when prostrating before a superior; to worship, ready "to fall down/prostrate oneself to adore on one's knees..." Does the author's church proskuneó, or does it simply follow rules taught by men and call it worship?

We don't need to appeal to rarefied principles or lofty terminology. This is our Regulative Principle of Worship: 

Jn. 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth. 

What does God require? 

Mi. 6:8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

We suspect the author does not want to discuss these simple things because he doesn't understand worship. He wants to obscure it behind long, pedantic explanations that don't really explain anything. He wants to make a case for his traditional understanding of how church is practiced on a Sunday morning. He wants to avoid the clarion call to offer God the glory due His name [Ps. 29:2], and worship Him in the splendor of His holiness [Ps. 96:9]. 

He thinks we need a Regulative Principle, dressed up in arcane explanations, when we just need to know how to be worshipers.

If our speculations about the author are false, we apologize. We are simply judging by what he has written.

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Should I Choose a Church for Its Pastor? by: Mark Dever

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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It seems the author wants to talk about something else besides the title's subject. He's actually answering the question, "what should be a church's highest priority," or, "why churches should conduct traditional services."

While no one doubts that the Word ought to be a focus of the church gathering, the problem here is that the Bible does not tell us to come together and listen while an expert explains Scripture. The principal description of a church gathering is found in Ac. 2:42-47:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.

45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

The author does not mention this passage, nor does he mention the instructions Paul gives the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians chapters 11 through 15 about how their gatherings should be conducted. In fact, the author never mentions any Scripture about how a church should conduct its meetings.

Further, the author never explains why a person should choose a church based on the quality of the preaching. Nor does he mention "church shoppers," who want certain things from the church they join with, rather than them going in with the attitude of what they can offer to the church.

Actually, expert, powerful preaching doesn't even need to be a requirement to attend a church. And, preaching doesn't have to be the central ministry of a church. A church with a powerful expositor of the word isn't necessarily a good church. 

A beginning pastor with a halting delivery might be exactly the church someone ought to attend. An elder-led church with a shared leadership [1Pe. 5:1-3] might be a better choice. A church that needs gifted, mature people to manage a revival might be even better.

Ultimately, there is very little good advice in this article regarding choosing a church. The author is actually intent on criticizing is the non-traditional ways churches do their Sunday gatherings. He doesn't like them. They are not what he prefers. In the final analysis, the author wants tradition. He want good little sheep to come every Sunday, sit attentively with their hands on their laps, write out their tithe checks, and go home.  Leave the ministry to the professionals.

Which means for those who value a good sermon above anything else (or perhaps, those who need their ears tickled yet again with the 10,000th sermon they've heard), well, we guess the author has a point.

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THE GREAT EXCHANGE…Romans 8:1 - by ROBIN SELF

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Since the author never quotes the verse, we shall remedy the problem:

Ro. 8:1-4 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

It is important that we have the passage before us as we consider the author's explanation.

We cover in detail the false teaching that the Father punished Jesus here. We refute the idea that the Father turned away from Jesus here. We cover Penal Substitutionary Atonement here.

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Discernment and the Sufficiency of Scripture - by John MacArthur

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Curiously, the article's body deals neither with discernment nor sufficiency as promised by the title. 

Happily, Dr. MacArthur will actually quote Scripture in this presentation. This is rather rare in our experience. 

Curiously, Dr. MacArthur brings a subtle twist to the topic. He wants the apostle Paul to be defending Scripture, but Paul is promoting the teaching delivered to the Thessalonian church. In fact, the word Scripture does not appear in either letter to the Thessalonians.

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Parental Rights and Public Education Shouldn't Mix - By Patrick Mattimore

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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The author makes an exceedingly weak case for excluding parents from the educational process.

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WHEN THE RACE IS WON…Hebrews 12:1- by ROBIN SELF

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Before we begin, let's quote a larger portion of the passage:

He. 11:38-12:1 ...the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

He. 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

With the text before us, let's consider the author's presentation.

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More thoughts from a 80 (now 90) year old woman

 9/1/13 - Don't let anything bother you. Stay always in my presence and you will have peace. Is. 26:3

9/2/13 - Neh 8:10 Ampli "strength" is "stronghold." Phil 4:13 It is Christ that does everything though you as you give up self.

9/4/13 - Prov 4:22-27 I told you to attend to my words. Keep them ever before you.

10/28/13 - Think of Jesus every day and every hour... but to think of Him every minute is a lifetime.

Why the GOP Beats the Pants off the Democrats - By Earl Ofari Hutchinson

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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We don't have a lot to say about this article. It contains numerous characterizations against Republicans, but ironically they are all things Democrats actually do. We see this frequently. Republicans will complain about a anti-republican bias in the media, for example, and will document it. A while later, a random leftist will complain about the media being biased against Democrats. We have deemed this "Irony Alert," and have created a tag called "Mountain Man's Law."

There are several false statements as well, which we have labeled "False" or "Spectacularly False." 

Lastly, there is one surprising true claim: "The other was a mistrust of Democrats. That they were the party that shamelessly pandered to minorities on spending and social programs at the expense of tax-paying middle class and especially working-class whites." We expect that the author will soon be excoriated by his party for this moment of candor.

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What is the gospel? - a bad answer - 9marks

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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The most important message of God to man, salvation by repentance and faith in Jesus, better be clearly communicated. The below is a fail. It contains peculiar language about rescuing people from their enemies, complicates things with inaccurate explanations about the kingdom, and introduces concepts like "mediating priest" and "priestly sacrifice" that would be meaningless to the average non-Christian.

At the end we will offer a clarified version of the author's presentation.

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Existing socialism's successes discredit Friedman's core argument - By Rainer Shea

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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When considering the defenses socialists make regarding their beliefs and their indictments of capitalism, we typically find that the cases they make are superficial, misleading, or founded upon false premises. So we were surprised to find the below article, which is none of these things. The author actually reviews the ideas of a free-market economist (Milton Friedman), critiques the concepts presented, and offers a thoughtful rebuttal.

This almost never happens with socialists.

Now, that doesn't mean the author succeeds in rebutting Friedman or negating capitalism. In fact, he is hindered by the typical socialist obstacles: He misunderstands capitalism, he assumes the superiority of socialism, and he thinks this is about competing economic systems.

We also note that the title of the article suggests that the author is going to name the socialist success stories. He does not do that.

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Warnings to 7 churches are so relevant today - By Elizabeth Prata

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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It is coming to a level of regret that we examine Ms. Prata's writings yet again. This unfortunate woman authors these articles as if she was some sort of authority, completely unaware of her logical foibles. It is a marvel that someone could be so sure of themselves, yet be so utterly unaware of their inadequacies.

It's not that she's stupid, she seems to be a smart woman. Rather, she seems incurious. She recites back everything she's been told without examining it or questioning it. Everything she writes is the "party line;" everything she writes is what someone else has said.

Today Ms. Prata actually quotes a Scripture, and it's a relevant one to the topic she discusses. Unfortunately, rather than consider the Scripture and derive a lesson from it, she simply repeats talking points.

Besides the historical insight gained from these seven first century churches, and besides learning what Jesus values about them, another lesson of these letters is to see if there is something to apply to one's self and motives. Rather than do that, Ms. Prata is looking to assemble her doctrinal enemies in order classify and criticize them. 

Ultimately, her purpose is to attack Joel Osteen. We should note that we do not intend to defend Osteen, we want to examine the author's pronouncements.

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Divisiveness vs. Discernment - by John MacArthur

Excerpted from here. Our comments in bold.

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Dr. MacArthur intends to explain discernment in this excerpt. It is very odd that he ignores the principal Scriptures about discernment, and selects Hebrew and Greek words that do not explain discernment; or perhaps, his explanation avoids the actual word definitions. 

It is a very strange explanation. Dr. MacArthur doesn't quote a single Scripture. It mystifies us how a supposed Bible teacher can teach the Bible without quoting the Bible.

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