Dane's Blog: Recent Comments 2009-01-07T00:07:40Z http://dane.brcconline.org/comments/atom.aspx Quick Blogcast Comment on The Truth, tender and terrible tag:dane.brcconline.org,2009-01-04:1675383 Susan Mathews http://www.lovewithoutreason.org 2009-01-04T13:43:17Z 2009-01-04T00:36:51Z www.lovewithoutreason.org]]> Comment on The Truth, tender and terrible tag:dane.brcconline.org,2008-12-24:1646532 Patrick http://www.flynns.info 2008-12-24T22:14:21Z 2008-12-24T22:07:44Z Comment on Joy Cometh! tag:dane.brcconline.org,2008-12-16:1622668 Daniel 2008-12-16T13:19:03Z 2008-12-16T13:05:12Z

________

So true, Daniel.  Thanks for the insight.

Dane]]> Comment on Are there many "paths" to God? tag:dane.brcconline.org,2008-12-11:1607672 Dane Gressett 2008-12-11T06:52:29Z 2008-12-11T06:52:29Z
Yes I have thought deeply and for almost two decades regarding this dichotomy.  Why over there so powerfully and here so rarely?  I don't know all the reasons but have begun to see a biblical pattern.

There is a special apostolic grace in every generation for establishing the church among those who have not heard.  This is not building where others have labored.  It is largely breaking new ground.  Paul exemplifies this in the NT.  He got rejected by the establishment (Jews) everywhere he went. 

Jesus said that Elijah and Elisha could have been sent to Jewish people who were sick or hungry, but weren't.  Instead they were sent to Gentiles.  J. Oswald Smith said, "Why should someone have the opportunity to hear the gospel twice before so many have heard it once?"  This is more than a burden for evangelism.  This is an apostolic view.  The gospel preached in all the world as a witness to all the people groups...and then the end will come. (Mt. 24:14)

Gospel hardening is a phenomenon we see in every land and in every generation.  True, we should not give up at home.  But we shouldn't miss what God is doing in the greater context in our world.  We are seeing some people come to the Lord here in Virginia.  But the response is much greater abroad.  So we must keep in step with the Spirit.]]> Comment on Are there many "paths" to God? tag:dane.brcconline.org,2008-12-10:1607121 Daniel Lunsford 2008-12-11T06:44:15Z 2008-12-10T23:58:51Z
We are faced with a two-fold reality: first, we are not doing our duty in reaching the lost and unchurched in our nation, and second, there is a true price to pay for the rebellion against Truth. "For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it" (Matt 7:13). This does not alleviate the responsibility of the church to evangelize their community, but rather increases the urgency of us not only KNOWING the Truth but SPREADING it as well. This Scripture simply addresses the masses who believe they are able to save themselves, but in reality are headed down the path of destruction.

Trying to stay away from the polarizing topic of Calvinism/Arminianism, but why do you think that we see so many of these exciting conversions taking place overseas? Many unbelievers in "closed" countries experience God in dreams or in some other phenomenal way, whereas it seems that God has stopped moving in this manner among Americans. He can certainly do anything and win anyone to Himself, so why are we seeing 80% of churches in either a plateau or decline? Any opinions on this?]]> Comment on Grace for Confronting Sin tag:dane.brcconline.org,2008-10-28:1484862 Dane Gressett 2008-10-28T19:03:39Z 2008-10-28T19:03:39Z Comment on Grace for Confronting Sin tag:dane.brcconline.org,2008-10-28:1484788 Niklas http://www.ps24-7.blogspot.com 2008-10-28T19:01:41Z 2008-10-28T18:40:42Z Comment on Healing Oppression tag:dane.brcconline.org,2008-07-28:1233793 Dane Gressett 2008-07-28T16:02:29Z 2008-07-28T15:44:20Z Good points, Daniel.

John Wesley wrote in his diary about a demon who was being driven out of a person telling him that "he had permission" to enter a certain person after leaving his current host.  Though most (not all!) Methodists today would laugh at the mention of evil spirits, their founder didn't.  We can't trust a word that comes out of the mouth of demons, nonetheless Wesley's experience does seem to reveal that God not only "allows" the devil to operate but that He exercises sovereignty over it.

But there is this clear tension in the Scripture, where we see that God sometimes allows what He hates...for a limited time.  We must not malign the character of God over what He sometimes allows.  This is what so many unbelievers do when wrestling with the problem of evil in our world.  Since God could stop it now and hasn't, they conclude that He must not be good. 

The other part of the tension is the clear enmity between Jesus and Satan.  Though God is sovereign over Satan, the devil is certainly not on God's team!  The Seed of the Woman has enmity for the serpent.  Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil.  Paul employed warfare terms to describe our relationship with the spirits of darkness.  Peter referred to Satan as "your enemy the devil".  Though I am "mostly" Reformed in my theological persuasion, when hyper-Calvinists downplay deliverance ministry because "the devil is a pawn in God's hands", I wonder what Bible they read?  Jesus needs to be our model for dealing with demons.  He healed all who were oppressed by the devil.  He "greatly rejoiced in the Spirit" when his disciples came back from their first ministry assignment and were amazed and joyful over the fact that the demons were subject to them in Christ's name.  He also chided the disciples for not having sufficient faith to drive the demon out of the boy who was mute.

]]> Comment on Healing Oppression tag:dane.brcconline.org,2008-07-28:1233340 Daniel Lunsford 2008-07-28T15:24:21Z 2008-07-28T13:24:59Z Comment on Are you seeking God or just His plan? tag:dane.brcconline.org,2008-07-18:1205875 Ricky http://christian-penpals-blog.com 2008-07-18T11:17:16Z 2008-07-18T11:17:16Z