For a generation now the church has been concerned about whether or not the world is listening to our message. Books and articles continue to bemoan our plight of a decreasing effectiveness in evangelism and church attendance. This has caused many to make drastic changes to the methodology and polity of the church. But even […]
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Author: Rick Shrader
Does the Rapture Still Make Sense? (Part...
The rapture of the church still makes sense to the premillennial, dispensational position. Because God’s plan for Israel and the Church are different, the Church is not appointed to the time of Israel’s tribulation. Also, because God’s promises to Israel are taken literally, the events surrounding the Day of the Lord (judgment, return in glory, […]
Does the Rapture Still Make Sense? (Part...
I grew up listening to prophetic preaching. There was no doubt that this preaching was premillennial as well as dispensational. The rapture was always presented as pretribulational (occurring before the great tribulation period). For me these were grand days of my young adulthood. The church I grew up in was large with well-known guest speakers […]
Let the Church be the Church (Part 2)
Having shown that our conservative, traditional churches are not guilty of legalism, it is also necessary to show that our familiar form of local church polity is still closer to the New Testament pattern. Paul’s letter to the church at Galatia was written mostly to combat (true) legalism, but it was also written to expose […]
Let the Church be the Church (Part 1)
There is a common canard today that our conservative churches are full of legalists. We have been called grace killers, fighting fundamentalists, Pharisees, and a host of other colorful descriptions. The charge of legalism, of course, is not only false but is a misleading and sometimes dishonest accusation. The truth is that there is no […]
Jesus in the Midst
We often talk about Jesus being the center of our lives but we are not always so consistent in showing it. John was on the Isle of Patmos for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ when Jesus appeared to him standing in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks (Rev. 1:12-13). […]
Is Prophecy for Today? (Part 2)
Prophecy was an important and primary gift in the Scripture. In the last issue I explained that the miraculous gifts which were given to the first century church ceased at the end of that century. Three reasons have been given and three more are given in the remainder of this article. God’s Church The […]
Is Prophecy For Today? (part 1)
Jesus warned that as the end times begin, many false prophets shall arise and deceive many (Matt. 24:11). It is not hard to find religious groups of all kinds offering prophetic words and predictions for the time in which we live. The twentieth century brought about the charismatic movement with its miracle workers, tongues speakers, […]
Pilgrims and Strangers: A Christian Cul...
A few years ago, R.C. Sproul wrote, “Adjusting to the customs and worldview of one’s environment is one of the strongest pressures people experience. To be ‘out of it’ culturally is often considered the nadir of social achievement.”1 Unfortunately, this bothers most Christians and, because it does, they have spent over half a century defining […]
The Coming Apostasy
Apostasy can mean different things to different people. To those of us who believe in the eternal security of the believer, it cannot mean losing the salvation that one once had, but rather (and most commonly among us) we believe it is the falling away by a mere professor of salvation. We often hear the […]