Welcome to Summit Theological Seminary
"Teaching God's Word to God's World"
2766 Airport Road, Peru, Indiana 46970, (765) 472-4111
I Calls 'Em As I Sees 'Em
George
L. Faull
Today there is a great shortage of preachers who will state what they believe in plain language. They are not like the old-timers who like umpires would say, “I calls them as I sees them.” They are so “seeker sensitive” and afraid to offend a visitor that they are insensitive to God and they surely must offend Him. It is not just what they do say but what they don’t say that is so cowardly. They are not like the Old Testament prophets, nor the apostles. They are certainly not like the Lord Jesus. He spoke so plain that He often offended men when He spoke against sin, hypocrisy and the tradition of men that set aside the commandments of God.
These preachers attend the meetings of those who are doctrinally apostate to learn how to make the Church grow. They are not messengers, they are marketers. They are not holy they’re hustlers. They are not reconcilers they are retailers. They are not Bereans who make sure truth is taught but “barkers for a circus.” They seek not to be prophets but profit makers.
These gurus of church growth say they will tell you how to make the Church grow, but in the parables of Jesus, He said that a man cast the seed of the Word into the ground and he sleeps and rises day after day until the seed springs forth and grows and he knows not how! But these men claim to know how in spite of the fact that the Holy Scripture says that one plants and another waters but God gives the increase. Their Churches are the result of great marketing strategies. This is not to say all large churches are the result of marketing tactics, but many are and you can tell them by their convert’s fruit.
We do not count ourselves of that number who do not speak plainly if asked a direct question. When we are asked questions, we give you what we believe and what the Scriptures say. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, so we give you the reason for our beliefs.
For example, “Do
you believe you need to be baptized to be saved?” “Yes, because that is who Jesus promised would be saved.” Mark
16:16, “He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved” and Jesus said, “except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of
God.” John 3:5
When Jesus said this He either lied or told the truth. We are told that God cannot lie. He plainly said, “except” and He plainly said, “cannot.” To deny it, is to call Jesus a liar. The Church understood this to refer to baptism for over 1,000 years. The Johnny-come-lately’s have tried to explain it away with all sorts of explanations, but they cannot do so. One cannot be saved without remission of sins. He cannot be saved without the Holy Spirit. He cannot be saved unless he is “in” Christ. He cannot be saved without burying the old man of sin and arising to walk in newness of life.
These are all done at the point of being immersed into Christ as a repentant believer. Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, Galatians 3:27, Romans 6:3-4. It takes professional help to misunderstand these verses and believe me, there are plenty of professionals around who will help you to misunderstand it. The alphabet could yield you many such professionals such as Adrian, Billy, Charles, Chuck, Jimmy, Max and right on down to Zig. Many are like the Scribes and Pharisees that Jesus told who “rejected the counsel of God against themselves by refusing to be baptized of John.” Luke 7:30
If refusing to obey John’s baptism rejected the counsel of God, how much more when one rejects the counsel of God by refusing to obey Him who has authority in Heaven and earth?
The final umpire is Jesus Christ. He says plainly, “The words that I speak unto you will judge you in that day.” What it says now, it will say then with no “ands”, “ifs”, or “buts”.
If you are not building on the rock of His sayings, you are building on sand. Jesus does not grade on the curve. Write us for a new colored tract on “JUDGING OTHERS IN A TOLERANT WORLD.” Until March 1st and we will send it to you FREE