Megachurches 'shallow in theology'

Yes, it is a problem, but you can start your own group using church members and sing in other places. We do a lot of singing in retirement homes and hospitals.

Nothing says you are limited to worship in the sanctuary. Quite frankly, outreach to people who really need His love is as important as "singing to the choir" in a worship service.

Possibly more important.

Also, you have creative control.....hehehehe

Talk about your pot and kettle. The WCC and NCC are both about as shallow in terms of theology and deep in terms of socialism as you can get.

My thought exactly !

Your view is pure Roman Catholicism, whether you agree to see it or not.

No, it is Bible, not philosphical speculation.

God ordained the elect from before the foundation of the world, based on nothing in the individuals themselves, based solely upon His good pleasure. Or else our righteousness saves us. And Scripture clearly says it doesn't.

Well, you haven't provided any that proves that.

What Scripture does say is that God wants all men to be saved (1Tim.2:4), Gave His Son so all men could be saved (Jn.3:16), That when Christ was raised up, He would draw all men to Him (Jn.12:32), that those who do not come to Him do so because they love not the truth (Jn.3:20), that faith is not a work (Rom.4:3-5).

No one is Predestinated to be saved, they are predestinated because they are saved.

If God saves men on "foreseen" faith, they why does he go ahead and make someone anyway whom He knows will not "choose" faith and who will burn in hell? Doesn't seem like much of a "choice" to me.

Gee, and since when are your God?

Funny, how Calvinists talk about how they know exactly how God should behave.

That was Calvin's biggest mistake, he thought he was smarter then God.

So it makes more sense that God himself creates the people to send them to hell without any choice?

No God wants them be saved, but it is they who choose against God.

God's love wants only those who want Him.

That works for me. Ephesians shouts it. God decides who goes to heave; we don't. If we had the last yea or nay, we would be the final arbiter to our salvation. "ye shall be as gods..."

No, we have the final say on deciding on accepting the offer of salvation.

That doesn't make us 'gods' that makes us dependent on the gift for our eternal salvation.

Eph. speaks of being in Christ and that is how one gets Predestinated to be conformed to Christ's image.

God see's who would believe and get into Christ and on that basis they are locked into a predestinated eternal plan.

Calvin's view of predesination was simply a futile attempt at maintaining eternal security.

Eternal security is based on being in Christ (Eph.4:4:30, 5:30, 2Tim.2:13), not some Sovereign choice by God to save some and damn others.

Read some more of the Institutes, not just an Arminian commentary. 8~)

I have them read and marked.

It is not an Arminian commentary that undermines the Institutes, it is the Bible itself.

Gotta go. Can't play today. Enjoy the weekend.

I hope you had a blessed weekend, as did I.

bflr

Faith, like all gifts from God, is bestowed by His benevolent mercy, and is not a work of our own fallen hearts. Given a choice, men will always revert to their true nature and flee God. That's what Scripture tells us. To deny this is to deny what God has told us of ourselves. More importantly, it denies what God has told us of Himself. A big no-no.

Amen, Dr. Eckleburg. A great post and thanks for the ping! :)