MacArthur On The Dangers of Non-Lordship Doctrine

Hope of Glory,

This may not have been your intent, but your post comes across that you think anyone who disagrees with your theology doesn't "put the Scriptures first."

 

First of all, it's not my theology. I take it directly from Scriptures.

Second of all, I am familiar with, and fellowship with, many people who have different opinions with what Scriptures say, but they put Scriptures first. Their intent is to accept the Scriptures as true and without error, even if it contradicts their denominational doctrines.

When someone states specifically (or shows through actions) that they don't care what the words actually say, I don't care how close or how far they are from me doctrinally, they reject the words of God.

That's what I have a problem with. Not whether they agree or disagree with me, but whether they accept or reject the words in the Scriptures as truth.

 

That's what we all think, don't we?

 

Calvinists and Arminians both use the same Scriputures.

If they are honest, there can be fellowship, in spite of differences.

If they don't care about what Scriptures say, they cannot.

If someone shows me in Scriptures where he thinks I'm wrong, or he's right, fine. A local Nazarene pastor comes to my house periodically to watch a movie and eat a pizza. We have some pretty major doctrinal differences, but we both want the truth.

But, when a person simply says he doesn't care, that's a problem.

If I were to take a doctrinal stand, with no scriptural basis, then it would become my theology.

 

HoG,

I guess my experience is different than yours. You indicated that you've found the vast majority of Baptists and other Christians simply do not care what the Scriptures say. I don't deny there are some out there that are like that. But my experience is that they are in the minority among conservative Evangelicals. Maybe their number has grown recently, but they are still in the minority. There is a lot of confusing and mixed up doctrine out there, but I think most people are making a good-faith effort to understand the Scriptures, even if not very successfully.

 

It seems to me that most are making a good-faith effort to believe what their pastor says or what the Sunday School material says without studying the matter out for themselves. Not many people that are actually reading and thinking for themselves these days

 

Noticed that too, hunh?

Ed

 

I take it then that you won't be inviting people to discuss your theology off-line and to provide them with your materials, because they do not need to listen to your teaching, since they should just be able to read the Bible and discover it for themselves.

Cuts both ways.

 

Those would be your words and not mine. Why is it that people's statements have to be taken WAY out of context. Never did I say preachers/teachers aren't needed. But yes we should be able to go to the Scriptures in prayer and see whether or not what we are being fed is nutritious or laced with posion!

People are intellectually lazy these days. People want someone else to do their thinking for them. Everyone wants their information in 30-second sound bites. This should be obvious in a number of walks of life, not just when dealing with Scripture. Do you really not see that?

It would be appreciated if you would just stick to the comments made and not insert your own commentary into them. If you need clarification on something just ask. Although unfortunately I'm not going to hold my breath that will actually happen

 

I agree with you here in general. But laziness and stubornness (i.e., willfully ingnoring the Scriptures) are not the same thing, as HoG was indicating earlier.

Also, some people have more gifts and time to spend studying the Word. So one man may have been gifted by God to study X amount of time, while another man may have been gifted to study X-Y time. The first man should not look down on the second, because of the gift God gave him. But I agree that there are probably many out there who squander any gift of time they are given.

 

I think you and J. Jump are talking about two different things.

When I preach, almost all the time, I will have you turn to the passage (or have a printout if there are a lot of verses) instead of just reading it to you. That's because I want you to see it for yourself in the Bible.

I've had people complain because they don't want to think that hard, and since I'm a preacher, I'm just supposed to tell them what to think about it.

 

Well, I agree with you here. I think it is important for people to be Bereans and search for themselves. I also think it is vitally important for people to bring their Bibles to church, and like you said, for them to read along and study along with the Pastor as he preaches/teaches.