'That The Lame May Walk' by Warren Sprouse

There are seven qualities listed in The Bible which, if followed, guarantee that the true Christian will never fall. That these qualities are largely ignored by most of the books written to help New Believers may answer the questions about why The Church is so spiritually weak. This book is offered with the prayer that God would revive His Church, one believer at a time. And that He would start with me. $10.98 Ships in 3–5 business days

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The Bible Forum: A Ministry of Alternatives: Biblical Counseling & Education, Inc., the Bible Forum has been a Wilmington institution since January, 2000. It's a LIVE call-in show, broadcast from a secular talk radio station in Wilmington North Carolina from 8 to 11 pm (Eastern) every Sunday night. The show is video streamed live via the internet from this web site.

From A Biblical perspective we talk about current events, life issues, politics, theology, and anything else that's in the news or on your heart. Generally, we set out to solve all the world's problems in... three hours or less

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The Elephant In The Room

On January 25, James MacDonald and Mark Driscoll held the second "Elephant Room" meeting. The purpose of the Elephant Room is to bring like-minded evangelicals together and discuss issues which threaten to divide Christians. On this occasion Bishop T.D. Jakes was invited, ostensibly to discuss his position on The Trinity.

Bishop Jakes pastors The Potter's House, which is a "Oneness Pentecostal" Church. This term describes those who believe in One God, expressing Himself in Three Manifestations: Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

What's wrong with that, you ask? What's wrong is: This is NOT how The Bible portrays God! This is what's called Modalism, the idea that God takes the manifestation of The Son, when executing His plan, purpose and will, then taking the manifestation of The Holy Ghost, when dispensing the power to make these things happen, then returning to the manifestation of Father, to reign over creation.

In short, this is heresy! The Church of Jesus Christ has always held to One God, in Three Persons. Human Beings exist as 1 person, 1 essence. The One True God of Heaven exists as 1 essence, 3 Persons. The difference may seem subtle and not critically important. I'm guessing that's the way T.D. Jakes and others in this theological camp see it.

However, the 1500-year old Athanasian Creed spells it out, concluding with the affirmation: "except a man believe [One God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity] he cannot be saved." Now, for those of you reading this today, this may sound like two ways of saying the same thing. You also may think such definitive statements are unnecessarily harsh. If so, you do not know Bible Doctrine!

The problems with Elephant Room 2 are many, but for purposes of this treatise, it is noteworthy that Bishop Jakes was NOT pressed on his doctrine of Trinity and subsequent statements by MacDonald indicate that he was satisfied that Jakes is indeed a Brother in the Lord and agrees with the traditional understanding of The Trinity.

Question: Who's confused, here? According to MacDonald [www.jamesmacdonald.com], Jakes disavowed modalism and affirmed trinitarianism, affirming: "God in three persons, eternally existing." No one -- I mean, No One -- agrees with MacDonald!!

Everyone who has commented or written on this event seems to have been left with the same idea: He didn't answer the question!

This is the way with Bible Doctrine. The issues are precise and complex. Most Christians have never heard the word 'modalism' before, therefore they have no understanding of the issues. The sad fact is: Most Pastors have never heard that word, either, and if they have, they don't really know how intricate and precise this issue is.

Listen to Jakes' view of salvation: "Just being saved doesn't make you a son of God...only those who are willing to be led by the Spirit actually realize and manifest sonship." This is confusion at a most critical point. It's a 'salvation' that doesn't really save. But then, he serves a god who is not really God.

I believe the majority of Christendom will 1) never know this discussion occurred, 2, not view the discussion as important and 3, consider those who do to be divisive. It's an 'elephant' in the room that can't be ignored, but is. It's a discussion that begs the question: Does Doctrine Count?

For Jakes and others like him, the answer is a resounding NO! However, it is doctrine that binds brothers and sisters in The Lord, providing both understanding and unity. The criticism that Doctrine Divides is valid: it divides the sheep from the goats!

HERE'S A THOUGHT: Did You Ever Just Want The Devil To Leave You Alone?

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