The first command of our Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples was, "As ye go, preach." The last command He gave then was, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Jesus "came forth" that He might "preach" the gospel. It was preaching that concerned Him. No sooner had He commanded His disciples, but He "departed to teach and to preach;" and, when the persecutor had imprisoned John the Baptist, Jesus came into Galilee "preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God" (Matt. 10:7; Mk. 16:15; 1:38; 1:14).

The same was true of the apostles, for "daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to preach and to teach Jesus Christ." In fact, the apostles were so consumed with preaching, that they appointed deacons, that they might give themselves continually "to prayer, and to the ministry of the word". When the Apostle Paul received the Macedonian call "Come over and help us," he did not understand it to mean God wanted him to carry food and clothing, but the gospel to the Asians. (Acts 5:42; 6:4)

It is on account of the gospel message that Christians are called "the slat of the earth." Salt is something more likely to bring water to the eye than laughter to the lips. By its very nature, it is more apt to be spit out than swallowed. Accordingly, Jesus prepared His disciples by telling them, "In the world ye shall have tribulation;" so, He prayed, "I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them because they are not of the world" (Jn. 16:33; 17:14).

The apostles "confirmed the souls" of the early Christians by exhorting them that "we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." "Blessed are ye," Jesus said, "when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you" (Act 14:22; Matt. 5: 11, 12).

How deep has apostasy spread in the church when she has turned from preaching, to entertaining them who do not like the gospel! How cruel, how unfeeling it is to amuse the careless, and to provide recreation for the perishing! In John chapter 6, when many were offended at his preaching, our Lord did not turn aside to entertain them. He pitied sinners, He pleaded with them, He sighed and wept over them, but He never amused them.

The prophets and apostles were not imprisoned because they amused the people, but because they refused to amuse them; and they cease to be the servants of Christ who seek to please men (Gal. 1:10). A faithful man (who can find?) cannot be a "good ole boy."

Jesus said, "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." The Apostles Paul confessed, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth." Is it not on account of apostasy that the church has shamelessly ceased to teach and to preach Jesus Christ, choosing rather to "join affinity" with the world? (Mk. 8:38; Rom. 1:16)

When Peter came to the house of Cornelius, the centurion said, "Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God." The professing church of today, far from assembling together to hear all that is commanded them of God, does not even congregate for this purpose. They attend church for entertainment and for fellowship. Entertainment takes priority over preaching. Some attend a church because of "family" or because it is stylish and good for business, but without the slightest regard as to whether the Word of God is faithfully discharged. The truth of God is to them of little importance.

How little interest in the Word of God is to be found among the new breed of "saints!" Their "Bible studies" hardly handle the Scriptures, but are studies in books about the Bible. With such pabulum, Modern saints are fed; and in their leaderless "cells," everyone pools his ignorance. Who would suspect that when the Lord said, "Behold, the days come, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: and they shall wander from see to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it" – I say, who would have suspected that such would ever be said of the church in America? (Amos 8:11,12)

Paul admonished the Romans, "Be not conformed to this world:" and wrote to the Corinthians, "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord." He told the Ephesians, "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." He wrote to the Philippians that they might be "blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation" among whom they shone as "lights on the world, holding forth the word of life. " (Rom. 12:2; II Cor. 6:17; Eph. 5:11; Phil. 2:15, 16).

He cautioned the Thessalonians, "Abstain from all appearance of evil;" and to Timothy, he wrote, "In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work." (I Thess. 5:22; II Tim. 2:20, 21)

To the Hebrews, the Apostle admonished, "Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach;" and James scolded, "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God" (Heb. 13:13; Jas. 4:4).

Peter wrote that Christians should be "Obedient children," not fashioning themselves according to the former lusts in their ignorance, but "as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written ‘Be ye holy; for I am holy." And, the Apostle John warned, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" (I peter 1:14-16; I Jn. 2:15, 16). But, in the contemporary church, Barbara Mandrell can sing the hymn dedicating the Oral Roberts University hospital, and then can participate on "Solid Gold," on the of most pornographic television programs.

Since unconverted people are "dead in trespasses and sins," they have no real interest in the gospel of Christ. Therefore, most of them will not attend church unless it is for a feast, a fight, or for a funeral. The "hip" church, therefore, the one "where it’s at," has added a new facet to the ministry of the World: it now provides recreation, entertainment, and amusement for them who do not like the cross of Christ. A crowd will come to hear a quartet, but who cares to hear a sermon? (Only they to whom the Word of God is precious) Seminars on prophecy will attract some who have no stomach for doctrinal and practical preaching.

In the 18^th century, George Whitefield preached to tens of thousands in the open air; but let 50 people assemble in the modern church, and suddenly it becomes necessary to bring in microphones and amplifiers. Drum beaters, and microphone squealers are not listed among the gifts Christ gave to His church.

The Apostle Paul declared, "I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." When Philip "preached Christ" to the Samaritans, revival broke out; and when the apostles in Jerusalem came to witness the event, they "preached the word of the Lord"... and "preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans." They did not have a "delightful evening" with them who did not believe. (I Cor. 2:2; Acts 8:25).

"Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: and Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ mist needs have suffered, and risen from the dead; and that this Jesus, who I preach unto you, is Christ." Paul continued in Corinth a year and six months teaching the word of God, and when he finally arrived in Rome, he "expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the Law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening." (Acts 17: 1-3; 28:23).

When the early church experienced the "early rain" of persecution, the "seed" of the church swelled, sprouted, and has grown into a tree, the branches of which are found around the globe. The manner in which this came about was that they, who were scattered abroad, went everywhere "preaching the word" (Acts 8:4).

It is about time for the "latter rain" of persecution to "set fruit;" and, probably not until then will the church forget its sports program, and carry the gospel into neighborhoods, and government projects, and conduct open air meetings, and plead with sinners-- black and white, and every color in between, to repent or perish. Perhaps the greatest hour for the modern church will be when our churches are padlocked, and we are forced into the streets, the lanes, and the by-ways with the blessed Word of God! -(Reprinted from The Angelus, Vol. XI, No. 5, August, 1984)

A Response to Dr. James Crumpton

The recent edition of O Timothy (Vol. 13, Issue 2, 1996), published by David Cloud (Oak Harbor, Washington) carried an article by Dr. James Crumpton, pastor of West Side Baptist Church, and President of Maranatha Baptist Mission, in Natchez, Mississippi. The publication of the article in the otherwise excellent publication was disgraceful. It was titled, "For the Lily; Against the TULIP." Since Brother Crumpton has made public his distorted doctrine, we are taking the liberty to publish our response. This is the first of two parts.

April 7, 1996 --Dear Brother:

I read with sadness the article you wrote that was published by David Cloud in O Timothy (Vol. 13, Issue 2, 1996) titled, "For the Lily; Against the TULIP?" It saddened me to read such a distorted and deceitful exegesis of Scripture from an honorable man.

It was doubly grievous that O Timothy --that excellent publication by David Cloud would carry such a misrepresentation of God’s Word. The errors are profuse, and shameful. Listen to yourself.

"The Bible teaches we are totally depraved, but it does not teach total inability.... The Bible teaches that the Lily of the Valley, the lovely Lord Jesus Christ, The light of the world, lights every man who cometh into the world, therefore making him responsible, and giving him the ability to accept Christ as Saviour.... We are born totally depraved, but the Lord Jesus gives enough light to every man to make him responsible to hear and to reject or accept the gospel of the Son of God" (p. 9).

Error #1: Total Depravity means total inability. Paul said to the Christians at Ephesus, "And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins... At that time, ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world" (Eph. 2: 1,12). They were helpless, and their condition was hopeless. You do not believe in Total Depravity.

The Lord Jesus said, "No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him..." (Jn. 6:44). Jim Oates, pastor of Bible Baptist Church in Augusta, has said, "If he can’t can, then, he can’t, can he?" If the sinner can do a good thing, such as receive the Lord Jesus as his saviour, then the sinner is not all bad.

Error #2: Brother, you don’t seem to know to whom John wrote his gospel, for you say that Jesus draws all men unto Him. To support your fallacious position, you quote John 12:32—"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."

By your emphasis on the world "all" I take it you would think one anathema if he puts any limitations upon it; but, tell me, do you believe when Christ was lifted up that he drew all men to Himself: all the Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, Avites, Canaanites, and those who died before the world-wide flood that occurred in Noah’s day? What about the generations of tribes who died before any gospel witness came to them? Come on, brother, be honest: you limit the work of Christ on the cross, but you refuse to limit the work of Christ in your own lifetime because you have judged that God would be unjust if He did not draw "all" men unto Him. You also limit the gospel.

For any other reason, you would be willing to admit John wrote his gospel to the Jews. It was precisely for this reason—that the Jews boastfully flaunted their nationality proclaiming "salvation is of the Jews"—that Jesus proclaimed that if He be lifted up, He would draw all men unto Him (i.e. Gentile people). So, believers shall come from the East and West, and shall sit down in the kingdom with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Paul taught this same thing saying, Christ has broken down the wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles (Eph. 2:14).

Error #3: Brother, responsibility of the sinner has nothing to do with the ability of the sinner. For instance, man has the responsibility to obey the Law of God perfectly, but there is not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not (Eccles. 77:20).

Error #4: You fail to grasp that every thesis has an antithesis. A coin has an obverse, or heads side, and a reverse, or tails side. Some Scripture is designed to express God’s standpoint, while others are intended to express the sinner’s responsibility. Consider—

"No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him…" (Jn. 6:44). And this: "To as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God…" (Jn. 1:12).

"As many as were ordained to eternal life believed" (Acts 13:48). And this: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted..." (Acts 3:19).

Jesus gives eternal life to "as many as" the Father has given him" (Jn. 17:2). And this "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem...how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not" (Matt. 23:37).

Error #5: Listen to yourself: OF Unconditional Election, you say, "This is one of the most horrible things I have ever heard.... Friend, the Bible knows nothing about such a thesis. It is not in here—not from Genesis to Revelation.... Beloved, that is close to blasphemy against our God" (p.10). "...This ungodly doctrine" (11).

Jesus prayed, I thank thee, 0 Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and has revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him" (Mark 11:25-27).

Here, 1.) the Father is expressly said to hide His truth from some, and to reveal it to others. 2.) This occasions Jesus to express gratitude to the Father. 3.) Jesus says this election seemed good in the Father’s sight. Brother, why does not this doctrine not cause you to rejoice? Why does it not seem good in your sight? When "no man knoweth the Father save the Son, and He to whomsoever the Son will reveal him," why does this not evoke glory, and honor, praise, and adoration from you? How can you say you are for the Lily of the Valley, and deny the Lily’s message?

-To Be Continued