LIKENESS 2
By Carlos M. Aguilar

God's description of the ark was very specific. As Moses later was commanded by the Lord to build the tabernacle "according to the pattern showed you on the mountain." (Heb 8:5), so Noah was told to minutely follow God's instructions in building the ark. God told him how long, how wide, how high, how many stories He wanted to build it. Noah was not given a choice of blueprints, just one plan, and one pattern, given by God. Jesus built His church according to a pattern also. Just as a tabernacle was built in the wilderness in which the Jews were to offer sacrifices and worship, so the church was built according to a plan, in which God's worshippers may offer spiritual sacrifices. Hebrews, that marvelous book of contrasts, in the 8th chapter, gives us a record of that tabernacle, and compares it with the church. It would be good for us to often read Hebrews, to gain a better understanding of the majesty of God's revealed plan for us today. In Heb 8:1-2 we read, “Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.” May I suggest that the true tabernacle is the church that Jesus built? In verses 3-5 we read, “For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer. For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, "See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” Now here (the latter part of vs 5) we have something, the tabernacle, that is to be built, pitched by man. vs 5. Moses was not allowed to deviate in any particular. Not one! Now the true tabernacle, which was built by Christ, was built without any deviation, because Christ built it. We had nothing to do with the building of it. But may I suggest that we keep our unholy hands off of it, and not violate, not degrade, not desecrate the holy temple, the church, by any extraneous additions to it, nor subtractions from it. Man has, through the centuries, come up with some weird blueprints that in no way resemble the building Christ authorized. But, like Noah's ark, the church had a particular pattern, and both Noah and Christ followed it exactly.

God chose only one material out of which the ark was to be built; gopher wood, well, is not that a pretty narrow conception? Oak is much more beautiful, and has a lovely grain. Wood is wood; what difference does it make? Does that sound like some of the excuses you have heard? God did not reveal why He chose gopher wood, only that He did. Noah, in order to obey, built the ark of gopher wood. There is only one material used in the church today the souls of mankind who have been washed, sanctified, purified for a particular purpose according to God's wisdom in their use. The process by which each piece of material made acceptable for God's purpose is found in the gospel of Christ. Paul writes in 1Cor 6:11, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” One material in the ark: one material in the church.

“One door,” said God to Noah. Why? I do not know; and I do not need to know. Noah did not question it…faith demonstrated leads to complete obedience. Every man, woman and animal that entered that ark entered by that one door. That is true of the church also. There is only one plan given, and all enter by that way. Jesus Christ said in Jn 14:6, “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.: Christ meant exactly what He said; there is no other way. The Testament is plain and easy to be understood on this. There is a plan, and that plan originated with Christ. If we say we accept Jesus, then, of necessity, we accept His plan.

How many windows would you have put in the ark? How was this window constructed? We do not know. What we do know is that God ordained one, and Noah followed instructions. A window admits light. For Noah, it was light from the sun; for us, it points to Jesus as the true light. He is the only source by which we are enlightened today. John writes in chapter 1:4-5, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” The means by which we attain that light is through His revelation. There is no other source of light. The truth of God has been made known to holy men who were guided by the Spirit, and the book we call the Bible is the sum total of God's revealed will, His light to guide us. (1 Jn 1:7).

THE DANGER OF LIBERAL CHURCHES
by Barry M. Grider

Satan is busy at work trying to snatch the souls of our youth (1 Pet 5:8). He cunningly seduces them through humanism, paganism, and materialism. However, one of his most subtle and dangerous mediums is liberalism in the church. Many parents remain in liberal churches simply because their children can be entertained and enjoy a social circle in a "Christian" environment. Regrettably, the child also comes under the influence of damnable doctrine, and his precious soul
is placed in jeopardy. While these same parents are willing to sacrifice time, money, and energy to secure their children's secular
education, the same concern is not given to their biblical training.

When we identify someone as a religious liberal, what do we mean? On one occasion, I attended a preachers' luncheon and a faithful
evangelist mentioned the liberal practices of a certain congregation. Another preacher almost came out of his seat, charging the faithful evangelist with slander for identifying a congregation as liberal. This brother was not guilty of slander, but stating the obvious truth. A congregation that is liberal simply loosens where God has bound. Liberals are irreverent in their attitude toward the
Bible. They do not appreciate book, chapter, and verse preaching.

They often promote false doctrines that faithful brethren of the past debunked in debates with denominationalists.

Interestingly, however, is what is taking place in mainstream denominationalism. A fight is underway between liberal and conservative elements within these bodies. For example, carefully read the following quotation from Adrian Rogers, "pastor" of the
mammoth Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee…

"The Danger of Liberal Churches"

My heart goes out to children whose parents attend liberal churches. It is dangerous for a child to attend a liberal church where they do not believe that the Bible is the inerrant, infallible Word of God. It is dangerous for a child to attend a church where the blood atonement is not taught. Where the full deity of Jesus is not taught. His virgin birth and His vicarious death and His visible return is not taught.

I am amazed that sometimes people will send their child across the nation to get a secular education and will not even drive across town to get them in a Bible-preaching church. May God have mercy.

You say, well our church wasn't always this way. Our church used to be a Bible-believing church and Grandma is buried in the church cemetery in the back yard. Well, Grandma would get up and leave if she could, I guarantee you. Because Grandma believed in the old time-religion. I'm telling you that people ought to be a member of a Christ-honoring, Bible-believing church. It's dangerous for children to be sent to liberal churches that deny the very fundamentals of the faith.

While I certainly do not endorse Mr. Rogers' Baptist doctrine, I do concur with his sentiments expressed in the above statement. It is dangerous for a child to remain in a congregation where the Bible is not respected, the true gospel is not preached, and hearts and lives are not prepared to meet Christ in the judgment. Yes, indeed, if Grandma were living, she would get up and leave. Why then do her children stay? Parents, do not risk losing your souls and the souls of your youth by remaining in liberal churches. Get out today!

CHURCH HISTORY: A BIBLICAL VIEW
Part V - No. 31 Compiled and written by Gary Eubanks

John Calvin was born July 10, 1509 in Noyon, France, fifty-eight miles northeast of Paris. Through the influence of his father, who was a secretary and attorney in the local bishopric, Calvin was introduced to the upper strata of French society and received income from ecclesiastical posts. Initially, he was directed to the study of theology, but after his father's quarrel with local church officials it was determined that he would study law. He studied at the Universities of Orleans and Bourges and eventually graduated in law. Following the death of his father, he studied Greek and Hebrew in the recently-founded College of France.

Though the scholarly atmosphere in which Calvin moved must have been thick with the questions and issues of a reformatory age, he had heretofore placed little importance on religious debates. However, at some point in the years 1532-33 Calvin's attitude underwent a sudden and dramatic change. He became convinced that God's will as revealed through the Scriptures had to be obeyed, and from then on religion occupied first place in his thoughts. Because of his sympathy with Reformation views, he was imprisoned briefly and eventually had to flee to Protestant Basel in Switzerland. There he completed and published in 1536 his famous Institutes of the Christian Religion as a defense against the slanderous charges made against French Protestants.

Not long after the publication of the Institutes Calvin traveled briefly to Italy and France and finally to Geneva, where the fiery Reformer, Guillaume Farel, induced him to remain and assist in the reformation of that city's religious institutions. Calvin and Farel made it their aim to mold Geneva into a model religious community. To that end they made three proposals to the city council. (1) They proposed that the Lord's Supper be administered every month and that certain persons from the various sections of the city be appointed to report the unworthy to the church for discipline. This was a means of enforcing church discipline and independence. (2) They proposed adoption of a catechism composed by Calvin. (3) They proposed imposition of a creed upon each citizen. These measures were adopted by the council with considerable modifications. However, the discipline and demands made by Calvin eventually aroused the opposition of many of the citizens, and the ensuing struggle for dominance finally resulted in the ouster of Farel and Calvin in April, 1538.

It seemed as though Calvin's work in Geneva had come to end. However, it was not long before the opposition party in Geneva committed a political mistake and were thrown out of power. In September, 1541 Calvin was invited back to Geneva to stay. He was now more powerful than ever and was able to secure many of the reforms he desired. A new ecclesiastical constitution, catechism, and liturgy were adopted. Citizens were under the constant and strict supervision of the Consistoire, a body charged with ecclesiastical discipline. The aim was to make Geneva the perfect spiritual community. Protestant refugees flocked to Geneva from many parts of Europe. Despite severe challenges to his government in the years 1548-55, Calvin was able to maintain his mastery of Geneva until his death on May 27, 1564. Through his pattern of church government, his academy, and his commentaries and other writings, he has wielded a lasting influence upon religious minds second only, perhaps, to that of Martin Luther in the Reformation. His disciples went everywhere to propagate his doctrines so that practically every Protestant denomination in existence is heavily permeated with them.

Total hereditary depravity. Known also as "original sin," this doctrine asserts that all men, as a result of Adam's fall, are born with sinful, corrupted natures. Each person inherits Adam's guilt and sin and is absolutely incapable of goodness. The Bible, on the other hand, teaches that (1) children will not bear their parents' iniquities (Ezek. 18:20), (2) men are condemned for their own sins (Rom. 5:12), (3) it is possible for an unconverted person to have a good and honest heart (Lk. 8:15; Acts 10:1,2), and (4) children are not sinful (Matt. 19:14; Rom. 9:11; I Cor. 14:20).

Unconditional election. This doctrine is more commonly known as arbitrary, individual "predestination" or "foreordination." Calvin asserted that God arbitrarily elected, or chose, certain individuals to be saved before they were even born. This He did merely on the basis of "His good pleasure" - not because of anything they had done; hence, "unconditional election." This number of elect individuals is so fixed that it can be neither increased nor diminished. This doctrine (1) denies man's free will (Jn. 7:17), (2) denies man's role in his salvation (Phil. 2:12; Jas. 2:24), (3) makes God a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34,35), and (4) denies God's desire that all men be saved (I Tim. 2:4; II Pet. 3:9; Ezek. 18:23,32). God predestines the saved only in that he predestines them to meet certain conditions (Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:4-6).

Limited atonement. Since only certain individuals were to be saved, there was no need for Christ to die for the non-elect. Hence, Calvin taught that Christ died to atone for the sins of the elect only. This is plainly contrary to what the Scriptures teach. Christ died for all men, including non-believers (I Tim. 4:10; Tit. 2:11; II Pet. 2:1; I Jn. 2:2).

Irresistible grace. According to Calvin, men are so depraved that they cannot do anything to effect their salvation. This is wholly the work of God. Man has no co-operant part in his salvation. God sends the Holy Spirit to work directly and supernaturally upon the heart of the sinner to work faith and repentance in him irresistibly. The elect, then, are literally forced to be saved. This doctrine is untrue because it (1) denies man's free will (Jn. 7:17), (2) the Holy Spirit can be resisted (Acts 7:51; I Thess. 5:19), (3) the word of God provokes men to repentance (Lk. 8:12; 16:27-31; Rom. 10:17), and (4) God employs human preachers to convert men's souls (Acts 8-10).

Perseverance of the saints. This doctrine is more commonly known by such names as "the impossibility of apostasy," "eternal security," and "once saved, always saved." Calvin taught that the elect (saints) who were irresistibly saved could not possibly be lost but would surely persevere to salvation. However, the Bible says a man can fall from grace (I Cor. 10: 12; Gal. 5:4; I Tim. 4:1; Heb. 6:4-6), warns against such (Matt. 13:41,42; Heb. 3:12; Lk. 8:13; II Pet. 2:20-22), and gives examples of such (Acts 5:1-11; 8:18-24; II Pet. 2:1,2).