Dear Saints,
This message is critical. Understanding the sovereignty of God and the accompanying rejection of human free will is vital in the believing of Paul's gospel. Because, if we believe that we choose God (instead of God choosing us), the eradication of our sins depends, not upon the cross, but upon our "free will decision" CONCERNING the cross.
In the fall of 1997, I was challenged by a man called Pastor Clay Kent to a debate on the topic of God's control over humanity. The debate took place in Fairview, SC, at a place called the Grace and Truth Chapel. The moderator of the debate, Rick Farwell, had set the premise of the debate a couple weeks prior: "Man's Will Can Be Independent of God." Pastor Kent and I both agreed to
that premise.
On the night of the debate, however, Pastor Kent entered the chapel, took one look at the premise that I'd written in broad letters on a white board, and thundered: "I'm not having a debate with that written up there!"
We conducted the debate anyway, without a premise, and—as you can guess—it was a mess. This was because Rick and I allowed the rules of the game (the premise) to be erased.
It took me a week of thinking afterward to realize why Kent had done that: He had not counted on being held to one side of the free will argument. Kent, like many Christians, wanted to SAY that God is sovereign (this is the spirit talking), but at the same time wanted to have at least "a little bit" of freedom from God's control. This is the flesh. In order to maintain this
hypocrisy, Kent (like many Christians) had to talk out of both sides of his mouth—and hope that he wouldn't get caught. With the premise written clearly on the board, the "cops" were on patrol, and Kent couldn't straddle his usual fence.
As with my "What is a Believer" talk, I was warned not to talk about the debate. I was warned by people who held Pastor Kent in great esteem. Naturally, I ignored the warning. Because here was a grand teachable moment. Pastor Kent refused to be held to one side of an argument. Why? This was a question I was anxious to answer, once the answer became clear to
me.
Three weeks later, my opportunity arrived in the form of a conference in Newport News, VA, hosted by Pastor Robert Allen. With actual excerpts from the debate accompanying me to the podium, I laid out the lie of human free will in living color.
Anyone with an open mind will watch this video and see the truth. For anyone with even an ounce of the spirit of God, the hypocrisy is laid bare, and the motivation behind it exposed.
This is Part 1 of an eight-part series. Please send the video link far and wide. Understanding this truth is a matter of eonian life or eonian death.
Thank God for Rodney Paris of Texas, who took the original analog cassette tapes from 1997 and digitized them, putting the audio to watchable video and illustrative text frames. Thus, Mr. Paris brings this vital message to a new generation.
I commend this message to you. More to come.
From the edge of the bottom of the Floridan peninsula,
—Martin
