Asbury "Revival"

So Methodists are not Christian because they ordain women as pastors?

I personally agree that women are not to be pastors, but I question Sonny Hernandez's response that churches who make that error are satanic.

Perhaps Hernandez would do better to spend more time reading and following God's Word than combating other churches.

 

But, we do need to look at their doctrine (I haven't, but will here)

I like this part:

"Recently, the debate on human sexuality has gripped the Western Church. Some argue that Christian love demands the acceptance of homosexual relations, while others contend that standing firm on Scripture requires excluding homosexuals from the church all together. Again, Asbury Seminary’s stance has not shifted, but remains clear. We will continue to demonstrate God’s love for all people even as we affirm the Bible’s teaching that all sexual relations outside of a committed heterosexual marriage between one man and one woman constitute sin."

But that isn't actually the gospel.

 

Ok...

This is what Asbury Seminary affirms in terms of the gospel:

"We believe:

In the one God, Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinite in love, perfect in judgments and unchanging in mercy. God exists eternally in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit;

Scripture
In the divine inspiration, truthfulness and authority of both the Old and New Testaments, the only written Word of God, without error in all it affirms. The Scriptures are the only infallible rule of faith and practice. The Holy Spirit preserves God’s Word in the church today and by it speaks God’s truth to peoples of every age;

Humankind
That human beings were created in the image of God. This image was marred in every part through the disobedience of our first parents, and fellowship with God was broken. God, in His prevenient grace, restores moral sensibility to all humankind and enables all to respond to His love and to accept His saving grace, if they will;

Jesus Christ
That Jesus Christ is God’s Son incarnate, born of the Virgin Mary. He died for the sins of all, taking on Himself, on behalf of sinful persons, God’s judgment upon sin. In His body he rose from the grave and ascended to the right hand of the Father where He intercedes for us;

Holy Spirit
That the Holy Spirit is God present and active in the world. The Holy Spirit was given to the church in His fullness at Pentecost. By the Spirit, Christ lives in His church, the gospel is proclaimed and the kingdom of God is manifested in the world;

Justification
That God graciously justifies and regenerates all who trust in Jesus Christ. Believers become children of God and begin to live in holiness through faith in Christ and the sanctifying Spirit;

Entire Sanctification
That God calls all believers to entire sanctification in a moment of full surrender and faith subsequent to their new birth in Christ. Through sanctifying grace the Holy Spirit delivers them from all rebellion toward God, and makes possible wholehearted love for God and for others. This grace does not make believers faultless nor prevent the possibility of their falling into sin. They must live daily by faith in the forgiveness and cleansing provided for them in Jesus Christ;

Assurance of Believers
That all believers are assured that they are children of God by the inward witness of God’s Spirit with their spirits, by faith in the gracious promises of God’s Word, and by the fruit of the Spirit in their lives;

Christians in Society
That Christians are called to live in daily witness to the grace which comes to us in Jesus Christ, to preach the gospel to every person according to the command of Christ, and to declare God’s insistence upon righteousness and justice in all relationships and structures of human society;

The Church
That the Church is the people of God composed of all those who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The Church is Christ’s body; it is visible in the world wherever believers, in obedience of faith, hear the Word, receive the sacraments and live as disciples;

Return of Christ
In the personal return of Jesus Christ, in the bodily resurrection of all persons, in final judgment and in eternal reward and punishment;

God’s Ultimate Victory
In God’s ultimate victory over Satan and all evil and the establishment of His perfect kingdom in a new heaven and a new earth.

 

What denomination is immune from error?

Calvinists accuse non-Calvinists of error.
Non-Calvinists accuse Cakvinists of error.
Tithing Baptists accuse non-tithe Baptists of error.
Non-tithe Baptists accuse tithing Baptists of error.
Some Baptists accuse Baptists of error for allowing women to wear pants.
Some Baptists accuse those Baptists of tge error of legalism.

My point is maybe Scripture is correct when it commands us not to judge other churches but to look after our own churches.

 

Oh.....I should add:

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying this is a legitimate revival. This is the first I've heard about it.

BUT I do know that throughout history revivals have occurred among congregations holding different doctrine and God has used godly men who disagreed theologically.

 

Yet the meme has proved itself false. That's why we should trust God's Word and not memes.

 

I'm not disagreeing with your position here.

I am saying that Sonny Hernandez is leaning on what Scripture teaches about pastors while disobeying other passages.

How can we believe Hernandez as he is rejecting God's command concerning other churches?

By your meme, Hernandez's doctrine cannot produce a true Christian, and by Hernandez's standard he is satanic.

 

I take it the meme referred to DL Moody?

 

Because :

Hernanzed (rightly) concluded from Scripture that women should not be preachers.

Hernandez then condemned the seminary as being satanic because it trains women as preachers.

By doing so Hernandez disobeyed Scripture.

He is as guilty as they for disregarding God's Word when it doesn't suit him.

 

I agree.

But here we have an interesting situation.

Scripture does clearly teach that women should not be preachers.

But Scrioture equally teaches that we are not to judge others except in looking to our congregations.

Look at what the seminary teaches. It is the gospel. I disagree with many of its doctrines, BUT Christ will make them stand.

A people can get a lot of things wrong, but if they get the gospel right (and they do) then how can we call them "satanic"?

 

Kinda a loaded statement (not saying you mean it that way).

A revival is an awakening of churches. It is not an evangelistic message but the moving of God that stirs Christians into repentance evangelism.

As such, a revival is not dependent on a gospel message per se (you can't revive what has yet been made alive).

As a seminary, I'd assume each seminarian has accounted for their faith.

That said, I don't know anything about the seminary or this "revival". I'm just speaking in a general way.

What is more interesting is why revivals have not been occurring among churches we tend to think of as having more sound doctrine.

Why are Pentecostals (not Holiness Pentecostals but Christian Pentecostals) reaching more with the gospel? Is it because we are more concerned with condemning them than we are of kingdom work?