i thank God for Fred and his family and pray for their work. I never miss a sermon, fred is extremely knowlegable about scripture and brave and took on civil rights cases back in the 60's when no one in his jim crow town would touch them. I take comfort from the fact that i understand his preaching it gladdens my heart i and count it as one of the evidences of my election and calling. It is a measure of the lateness of the hour that our gracious God has sent fred and his family to the world. If you dont like the phelps and dont understand them then you are probably rather worldly and have some doctrinal issues or are simply not one of the elect
"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
"Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things."
Are you really certain you want to live and die by the kind of attitude and preaching you are talking about?
Maybe some Calvinists are letting God's word speak plainly about Christ's atoning sacrifice which is "not for our sins only, but for the sins of the whole world." And in my opinion, if people are totally depraved(which I concur), it takes more than a limited atonement to deal with their sins and give eternal life. If the new life in Christ is eternal, what's the use of a limited atonemnet. If life is unlimited, why is the atonement limited?
As for Westboro, I voted ignore them, but I'll add they are borderline cult. Sure, homosexuality is sin, but Westboro's methods and obsessions with the sin are unfounded among the Apostles.
All phony “Calvinist” preachers today are 2 or at most 3 point, only preaching the easy stuff, from Irresistable Grace upwards – not even Limited Atonement. Phelps is full 5 point , starting from T (and proves it brilliantly). It’s RUBBISH preaching the I, when people don't believe the T! But then useless 2/3 point "preachers" shout "hyper"!
WBC taught me, convicted me, after 35 years of “Reformed” churchianity, I was yet an unsaved, self-righteous, hell-bound, blinded sinner! Thank you! They are Puritans.
But my eyes were opened by watching one of their TV interviews on youtube. The Phelps girls wore pants (even the female TV presenter wore womens clothes) and complained about a immoral TV show that they had watched. The TV presenter said the obvious thing "don't watch such a show if you feel you will be offended".
So the Phelps girls quoted back a grossly out of context scripture claiming that they were not defiled by what entered into them - in other words they believe they can watch any ungodly and immoral rubbish on TV without being defiled!!
They went on to defend the use of little children in their protests - children so young they should not have even heard the words homo or f-g yet.
I came to realise that they are just another bunch of worldly nominal Christians; just a bit wackier than most with a weird homo fixation.
I am sure it has been tried and what probably ends up happening is that they come picket your church and call you insulting names like sodomite lovers.
Should have been --- that their evil deeds Might Be **REPROVED**
Oops !!!
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Westborough Baptist church group does not want to HEAR that what they are doing is WRONG !?!
Godly men should confront them and if they will not HEAR --- you have done your best.
*Pray for them !!!.
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*It is just like the parable of The Prodigal Son ---
*The only difference is this ---ANY man, woman or child that comes to the realization that they are wallowing in the filthy quagmire of THE DARKNESS of the stench of life and by an act of their own will they *CHOOSE* their evil deeds rather than coming to THE LIGHT that their evil deeds Might Be REVROVED ---Well, what should be said for such a WILLFUL act of stupidity ???
We Know THE LIGHT is only found *IN* Christ At The Foot Of The Cross Through THE ILLUMINATING LIGHT Of GOD'S WORD...
So we see ---*The Prodigal Son *Came To Himself* (*Came To His Senses*) And *DETERMINED* In His Heart That *He WOULD* Get Up And Go Where THE LIGHT Of TRUTH And LOVE Was The Way Of LIFE...
And that is the difference ---
Those that *come to their senses*, Unlike The Prodigal Son, they DETERMINE In their Hearts that they like THE FILTH of their lives just fine and they Don't Want To Be Told HOW they ARE TO LIVE...
Sound Familiar ???
With Love *IN* Christ, KK
And why the condemnation? "..he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
And what is this condemnation? "..light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light,.."
And why did they love darkness rather than light? "..because their deeds were evil."
How did they know their deeds were evil, that they should seek darkness to hide in? Because they understood the difference between evil and good.
How do we know they knew the difference? Because (John 3:20) "..every one that doeth evil hates the light, neither cometh to the light,.."
Why do they hate and avoid the light? "..lest his deeds be reproved."
Why does he who does evil not want his deeds reproved? Because he knows they're evil, but he wants to do them anyway.
He hates light, therefore he must recognize that it is light in order to hate it and avoid it.
He loves darkness rather than light in order to hide his sin, which he knows is sin, else he would not hide it.
Love: a choice.
Rather than: a choosing.
His condemnation comes of his own efforts. It is earned, not preordained.