Heretic’s Hideout

Full Story at MSNBC.com

PORTLAND, Ore. - Two provisions of the USA Patriot Act are unconstitutional because they allow search warrants to be issued without a showing of probable cause, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken ruled that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, as amended by the Patriot Act, “now permits the executive branch of government to conduct surveillance and searches of American citizens without satisfying the probable cause requirements of the Fourth Amendment.”

This is some of the better news I have read this week.

My wife has been scheduled for induced labor this Sunday morning. They say that the baby is going to be a biggun. Pray for my wife and for the baby to be delivered safely.

One of the reasons that I believe the doctrine of Millennial Exclusion is true is because of the harmony that it brings to the scriptures. Verses that seem to be dark sayings to many have become illuminated by the light of truth. The second chapter of James is a perfect example. If a man were to come to these scriptures with an understanding of salvation by grace through faith and nothing more, he would likely come to the conclusion that James was a contradiction and that perhaps a mistake has been made somewhere. Martin Luther came to much the same conclusion. He writes:

“In the first place it is flatly against St. Paul and all the rest of Scripture in ascribing justification to works 2:24). It says that Abraham was justified by his works when he offered his son Isaac (2:20); Though in Romans 4:22-22 St. Paul teaches to the contrary that Abraham was justified apart from works, by his faith alone, before he had offered his son, and proves it by Moses in Genesis 15:6. Although it would be possible to “save” the epistle by a gloss giving a correct explanation of justification here ascribed to works, it is impossible to deny that it does refer to Moses’ words in Genesis 15 (which speaks not of Abraham’s works but of his faith, just as Paul makes plain in Romans 4) to Abraham’s works. This fault proves that this epistle is not the work of any apostle. ” Source: http://matt1618.freeyellow.com/preface.html

Many who are not willing to ascribe the fault to scripture will correctly state that the problem lies in our understanding of what James said. But then they explain that James really meant something else other than what he plainly wrote. They will say that James is not saying that a man is justified by works, but rather that ‘true faith’ will produce works, thus the works prove that a man is justified by faith. While this sounds to me like justification by works anyway, it also is directly in contradiction with what James said.

James 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

James said plainly that a man is justified by works. So now instead of James contradicting Paul, we have James supposedly contradicting himself, which doesn’t do a whole lot for the inerrancy of scripture nor the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith alone. Now we have just taken the works and implanted them into faith itself, so faith is no longer belief, but belief with works added to it. While James does state that faith without works is dead, that doesn’t mean it is not faith. He makes this clear.

James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Faith without works is dead, being alone. Read it backwards and you see that faith alone (that is faith without works) is dead faith. How then does a man say that he believes salvation is by faith alone, and then in another breath say that faith alone is not truly faith? And again James shows this is false.

James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Would a man be so inclined to say that a body without a spirit is not really a body? No, it is a dead body, and faith without works is dead faith, but faith nonetheless. If a man is saved by faith alone, then a man is saved by dead faith, for that is the definition of dead faith. Many will disagree with that statement, that a man can be saved by dead faith. They will cry “No, dead faith cannot save you. You must have a living faith, one that is evidenced by good works.” Well now, what does Paul have to say about faith and works?

Romans 3:24-28
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

What is faith without the deeds of the law? Thats faith alone, the faith that according to some won’t save you. Brethren, if James and Paul are talking about the same thing, we are in a mess. Praise God there is another way to resolve and harmonize these scriptures that does not involve changing the Bible or defiling reason. The simplest explanation is that James and Paul are using similar language to speak about two different things, two different ‘justifications’. Paul in Romans is speaking of the absolute justification we have in Christ through his sacrifice alone, with no works added to it whatsoever. James is speaking of the practical justification of a believer, one who already has been justified by faith and is going to be judged as a believer for his works. When a believer appears at the judgment seat of Christ, he is not going to be able to point to the cross as an explanation of why he didn’t do those works that James is talking about.

James 2:13-16
13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

James asks a rhetorical question in verse 14. If a man has not shown mercy, he will receive judgment without mercy. Can faith save him? The answer is no. Faith alone cannot overcome this judgment of believers. Christians have a duty to serve the one who saved them by His blood.

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

The man that says ‘Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled’ to his hungry, naked brother is the man that is going to receive that judgment without mercy. That man will still be saved, but he is going to be receiving for the things he has done.

Hebrews 10:30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

Faith alone will justify a man in eternity. At the great white throne, salvation will be based solely on whether or not that man has believed on the Lord and his atoning sacrifice. But faith alone will not justify a man in regard to temporal reward and punishment at the judgment seat of Christ. The Lord shall judge his people! What a statement, one that should cause at least minor discomfort in any believer. But if we were to really believe that Christ were going to judge His people and that He will recompense our works (whether good or bad, 2Corinthians 5:10) what trembling should be wrought among the sleeping saints and would we not awake and arise from our slumber and get busy about the Master’s business? Think not that I exclude myself from this charge, I am writing this in order to stir myself up as much as to stir up others.

James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

This verse is often held up as a proof text that faith alone will not save a man in eternity. See, the devils believe, so belief alone will not save you. You have to have works to prove that your faith is really saving faith. These people have missed the point of James’ statement entirely. What works could the devils add to their faith to make it true saving faith? Can a devil be saved? Did Jesus Christ take on the form of a devil and die to save devils? James is not using the devils as an example of faith that won’t save a man. James is using the devils to shame those presumptuous believers who imagine they will be standing before the Son of God without any danger of judgment! Even the devils have enough sense to tremble at the thought of whats to come for them. But Christians, who think that they have nothing to fear at the judgment seat of Christ, will float through life with nary a thought of future recompense.

Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Ephesians 6:5-6
5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

Brethren, the devils believe and tremble. Do you?

I don’t know if anyone else has this problem, but whenever I embed YouTube videos in my posts, it causes my layout to go nuts. I thought that I had it whipped, at least it seems ok in Firefox. But right now I am at a customers site using a PC with IE 6 and it sure don’t look good. I need to work on it I guess.

This is yet another documentary chronicling the devastation being wrought in the lives of countless children who are needlessly medicated in order to line the deep pockets of pharmaceutical companies. It is hardly shocking to anyone who has been paying attention, but if you never knew what was going on before, you should watch this video. One of the best reasons to homeschool your children is to keep something like this from happening to them. Public schools have become the best source of new customers for these drug pushers.

I’m getting sick of reading about and seeing videos of people getting stunned with tasers for minor nuisance offenses. Some guy at FSU had the nerve to stand up at an open microphone and ask questions about why John Kerry didn’t contest the election that he lost to Bush, and why he hasn’t supported impeaching Bush, and the cops drag him out of the auditorium and hit him with a taser. Is this how a free democratic society is supposed to operate?

This happens over and over and over, and it is going to continue. See this article, The Tasering Will Continue Until You All Submit.

I have argued in the past that the device is just begging to be abused. When police have to decide whether to use lethal force, they are much more reserved in their judgment. But when you give them an option that is supposed to incapacitate without causing permanent damage, whats to think about? Just hit them with the taser and sort it out in court, right? Despite the evidence that tasers have been at least partly responsible for perhaps hundreds of deaths, the police continue to show that they are not squeamish about shocking someone into submission when ever they feel ‘threatened’. I know there are a lot of good officers out there and this type of behavior reflects badly on them. But this type of anti-American, anti-freedom abuse of authority needs to be addressed quickly, before addressing it gets you tasered.

My wife started having contractions yesterday, so we got to spend a few hours in the maternal observation unit of the hospital. She ended up being released after they gave her something to try and stop the contractions. She started having some more today, so I told her to call me when her water broke. She’s not due until October 13, but I know it could be any time now. Pretty excited about having another baby in the house! Pray for us.

I have been reading the book of 1 Samuel. I am always amazed at how Saul begins so well, and ends so wrong. When Saul was anointed by Samuel, he was humble.

1 Samuel 9:20-21
20 And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father’s house?
21 And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?

Later, as Samuel rebukes Saul for not utterly destroying the Amalekites and their substance, he makes the same observation.

1 Samuel 15:16-19
16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?
18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?

Was it not simply pride that caused Saul to stumble? Did he allow himself to be lifted up in his own heart? Lord God, help us to not think too highly of ourselves! I tried to see when this change occurred. When Saul and the Israelites were given the first victory over the Ammonites, Saul gave the glory to God.

1 Samuel 11:12-13
12 And the people said unto Samuel, Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over us? bring the men, that we may put them to death.
13 And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for today the LORD hath wrought salvation in Israel.

We see a humble man attributing his victory to the Lord. But a couple of years later, it seems that Saul had perhaps begun to give himself more credit.

1 Samuel 13:3-4
3 And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear.
4 And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal.

I think Saul still gave God credit, but think he became important in his own eyes. Maybe he even began to think himself indispensable in some way, that without him, God could not deliver Israel from her enemies. Perhaps this is why he began to show contempt for God’s commands which ultimately ended up getting him replaced. It is important to understand that God has a use for us if we will submit to Him and allow Him to use us. But we are merely tools in His hands, and God has a large toolbox with many tools. We should give Him the glory when he works through us and be thankful that we have an opportunity to serve Him, and remember that just as Saul was chosen, he could be unchosen and so could we.

Christian polygyny is not a term that you see in print every day. For those who don’t know, polygyny is the practice of a man having more than one wife. I was surprised to find a man on the Fighting Fundamental Forum who claims to promote this practice for believers. My brother Hugh is a brave man to publicly state his position, that polygyny is not only allowed by God, but that it is perhaps even something to be desired by Christians. Forgive me if I misrepresent you Hugh, for I am still not one hundred percent sure of your position, and have no clue as to your motive for promoting polygyny. I can only assume that it is your sincere belief that this is the teaching of the word of God, and not merely the product of a desire to fulfill what some men might think of as a dream, while others who have been there might call it a nightmare. I am sure that many men throughout the ages have thought that it might be grand to have an extra wife or two. I will confess that I have entertained the notion, but I have since thought better of it. I will take the position that, while polygyny may not be a sin in the sense that it goes against God’s permissive will, I do not believe it to be part of God’s beneficent will for His people. In other words, while God may have allowed it, He does not wish it to be the practice for His children, it will not produce the pure and peacable state of marriage that He intended when He created man and gave him one woman to be his help, and it is likely to cause much grief that would be wholly avoidable by taking the advice of the wisest man on earth, who even though he had a thousand wives and concubines penned these words:

Proverbs 5:18-19
18  Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
19  Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.
(more…)