is Charles Stanley still regarded as a Good Bible teacher?

How awesome! I have a toy Phantom poodle (in the pic/he was abandoned), a black miniature poodle and 2 calico cats. I love my pets. They are gifts from God for sure. (Peanut, Teddy, Gracie, and Patches)

 

Correct. A version of millinual exclusion is promoted in chapter 14 of his "Eternal Security" book.

 

What does he say about it? I'm shocked.

 

Since this subject is banned for discussion on this board, I will not go into the details. In my 1990 publication his Eternal Security book, the millinual exclusion discussion is on pages 126-128 under the subtitle of "Weeping and Gnashing of teeth".

 

I don't think we have been banned from explaining Mil Ex, only promoting it.

 

The pages are too long to quote on here. Basically he says that those Christians who have not made significant contributions to the work of the Lord, will "suffer loss and weep, and gnash their teeth in frustration over their shortsightedness and greed". He also says that no one knows how long this time of sorrow will last before they join the other Christians.

To get the total picture of what he says, I suggest you get his book. Since I don't believe it, I am probably not presenting a well balanced picture here.

 

If that's what he believes, I'm disappointed. That is an unbiblical belief. Thanks for your comments.

 

:tonofbricks::BangHead::tonofbricks::BangHead:

Where do you come up with this stuff?

 

Last time I asked it was theopedia

 

:laugh:

.....

 

I would like to interject my own view on this matter.

First: If you want real pets, West Highland White Terriers (Westies) are the best.

Oh, and about Charles Stanley.

I am certain that he should stepped down from the pastorate. I am not saying he couldn't still write, evangelize, and teach. But the pastor is an awful special set of qualifications. Divorce, even if he didn't want it, isn't holding the standard.

Christ uses the marriage as a living picture of His relationship to the church.

The church can never be divorced from Christ. Can't happen. So when divorce takes place, especially in a pastor, it distorts the picture. He needs to step down.

Remember Charles Weigle the author of "No one ever cared for me like Jesus?"

His wife left him because she didn't like being a preacher and evangelist's wife. He was devastated, but God continued to use him. Not as a pastor but he mentored thousands.

Charles Stanley should step down as a pastor. I am disappointed he hasn't.

 

is Charles Stanley still regarded as a Good Bible teacher?

Not by me. I never listened to him very much anyway, but I do remember him saying approx. 15-20 years ago that a divorced man could not have an office like pastor, teacher, or deacon in the church. Then it happened to him, and I'm sure you know what he did and didn't do. I'm less certain about this part, but didn't he say he continued as pastor because of so much "support" by face-to-face and cards and letters? Does he really think the Word is based on popular support?

 

He still does some solid bible teaching and preaching and overall we are better off with him than without him (regardless of his views on prophecy--and to his credit he seldom speaks on that subject). But he is not perfect. He doesn't know why Christ was baptized. He thought about it and came up with his own answer instead of just reading what the bible has to say on the subject. But still I believe his heart is in the right place.

As you know if you follow my posts I have posted most often on the subject of eschatology, but I listen to many pastors who I have disagreement with on that subject.

I think Stanley and many other pastors who don't get everything exactly right are still used by the Lord for good, to lead people to Christ, and to help develop the sanctification of believers.

There aren't any perfect pastors or teachers or Christians, but God has spread Christianity around the globe with imperfect vessels.

 

--Over the years I think Dr. Stanley has grown a bit "soft" in his preaching. That does not mean I no longer benefit from his ministry (I do) and I still provide support for In Touch. However I really enjoy listening to his sermons from the late 80s to early/mid 90s. Good stuff.

As for his divorce, I think this issue has been blown way out of proportion. Based on public information she left him. They tried to work it out but it could not be done. She never accused him of being unfaithful (etc). To the question of his remaining a pastor, I don't see the problem. The Bible never says a divorced man cannot pastor. The "husband of one wife" clause most likely refers to polygamy or adultery (unfaithfulness). Even if, however, we apply it to divorce it would only apply to those who divorce and re-marry (which Stanley has not done). I'm sure it was easy for him, and others, to say what they would or would not do in a given situation. This proves that we need to be careful what we say. Because we never know where we will be in five, ten, twenty years.

 

--You can find the referenced section on pages 124-128 in "Eternal Security: Can You Be Sure?". I find it interesting that I have never heard Dr. Stanley preach this nor is it repeated in his Life Principles Study Series book "Understanding Eternal Security". A few years ago I emailed In Touch about this issue. The response department was puzzled by the section in "Eternal Security: Can You Be Sure?". In fact, if memory serves me correct, they pointed me to places where Dr. Stanley says the passages in Matthew 24 refer to hell. In my opinion, when Dr. Stanley wrote the book he was under the influence of the late Zane Hodges. Hodges was part of the so-called "free grace movement" which promotes the controversial teaching on outer darkness. In my opinion, Dr. Stanley's "Eternal Security: Can You Be Sure?" book needs to be updated on several points.

 

You are right about his connection with Zane Hodges. At the end of the chapter (14), he references Zane Hodges' book. Note that Stanley's book "Eternal Security" was issued in 1990 and later in 2002, with the same words on this subject. So he agreed with Zane Hodges for some period of time and has not indicated any change of position on this subfect.

 

==In "So Great Salvation" Ryrie certainly goes in that direction. However he is not as comfortable with that idea as Zane Hodges was. Stanley takes that position in his book "Eternal Security: Can You Be Sure?".

 

I don't pretend to know everything about Charles Stanley but, I do watch him every Sunday and have for a very long time. I also listened to Adrian Rodgers until he passed away, And most certainly the same J vernon Mcgee on the radio. The particular doctrines they held to most is the Bible doctrine. J Vernon Mcgee was a Calvinist. Yet that doesn't mean I agree with him on that point. Stanley does believe somethings I do not agree with but they are minor and not really worth mentioning. He does skate close to Calvinism in some of his sermons as well but as I do with all TV evanglist. I absorb only that which I have checked in scripture.

The majority of Calvinism for instance is not the tulip. They generaly believe Salvation is eternal though the tulip suggest they have to persevere to keep it. Which would make Salvation conditioned on your perseverance