This was a topical sermon I preached at Lake Drive Baptist Church, Milwaukee, WI in the spring of 2011 on the issue of what true saving faith is. Although more could certainly be said about the nature of true saving faith, in this sermon I addressed three vital characteristics of faith that saves: drastic, visible, and persevering.
The Privilege of Persecution
Philippians 1:28-29 – And not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.
How do we view persecution? Many Christians probably have a tendency to view persecution as something unfortunate. But scripture presents being persecuted for the name of Christ as a privileged and honored, despite how unpleasant it may be. Continue reading
8 Cautions Concerning Teaching Individuals to Pray a Prayer to Be Saved
Before I can present to you my eight cautions for teaching people to pray a prayer to be saved, we must first set the basis of how one is actually saved.
In Ephesians 2:8 Paul states that one is saved by grace (God’s unmerited favor) through faith (belief, trust)[1]. The question is, faith in what? One must believe the Gospel. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul states that the Gospel, the good news, is “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (v. 3-4). In other words, one is saved by grace through truly believing that Christ died for His sins, was buried, and literally rose to life on the third day.
Now that we have formed a rather summary basis of how scripture states one is saved, let’s take a look at eight reasons why we shouldn’t teach people to pray a prayer to be saved.
Continue reading
Implications from Romans 3:11: God Pursued Us
Romans 3:11 – No one understands; no one seeks for God.
This simple statement is loaded with theological concepts, making it not so simple. Rather than solely stating the fact that men do not seek God, this verse implies that God seeks men.
John 1:14a – And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. . . .
What Fundamentalism Must Do to Survive: Preface
I would like to introduce the beginning of a new series entitled, “What Fundamentalism Must Do to Survive.” A large part of what has sparked this articles series is due to some recent events in which an extremely large segment (practically the entire movement) of Fundamentalism was attacked. (Without diverting from the issue at hand, I should add that the attack was done in a wrong method as well as included all of Fundamentalism in a critique that is only true of a portion of the movement). However, being quite a critic myself, this attack on Fundamentalism did make me think. Although this attack was invalid in several ways, it provides a great opportunity for Fundamentalists to do some searching and self-criticism in regards to what truth there was in the attack (no matter how small it may be) and to look for further problem areas of Fundamentalism, because that is always a good thing to do.
But first, allow me to give a brief definition of Fundamentalism for those who know nothing anything about Fundamentalism or those who might have a different idea of what Fundamentalism is than myself (so that we are all on the same page on how the term is used). Continue reading
Kirk E. Miller 