Langstaff Gospel Hall,Toronto, denies deity of Christ

The following is quoted from the Gospel Page, Langstaff Gospel Hall, Toronto.

"Regardless of your religious beliefs there is no denying the historical reality of Jesus Christ. As is true with any historical event, your decision to believe it or not has no bearing whatsoever on its authenticity. The facts are that Jesus was born to a young virgin girl in the town of Bethlehem over 1900 years ago (Matthew 1:23).  When He was a young child, His parents moved to Egypt for a short time before returning to the rural area of Galilee known as Nazareth (Matthew 2:14-23). There Jesus grew up humbly working with His father Joseph [ my italics – RS] as a carpenter. At roughly age 30 He moved out, was baptized (Matthew 3:13-17), and gathered a small group of followers…..

…..All of the above are historical facts [my italics_RS], and while it is not the place here, if you have questions about the historicity of these events we’d love to hear from you, and would welcome the opportunity to discuss these things further." -  Langstaff GH

It is a historical fact that Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit. The Toronto Gospel Hallers seem to regard this information as not suitable for publication, if they believe it at all.

The Lord rebuked His mother when, under stress, she inadvertently referred to Joseph as the father of Jesus, Luke 2;49, and he said unto them, how is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?  

It is a historical fact that Joseph was not Jesus’ father. In their attempt to be clever and give a 21^st century response, these Langstaff folk have fallen into deep error.  Joseph may have acted as a father figure during the childhood years of Jesus, but he disappears from the Biblical narrative early on. It is therefore also fiction to suggest that He grew up humbly working with His father as a carpenter. It is worse than fiction. It is blasphemous.

Matt. 1: 20 states, That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost,  and, with the Virgin Birth, is essential to the gospel of Christ. To deny this or even to play it down, is wickedness.

RS (thank you, Michael Penfold of Bicester, for drawing out attention to the above statement)

Precious Seed publishes DOCTRINES OF DEVILS

Ian Jackson   writes in the May issue of Precious Seed, an article headed The Sovereignty of God in Salvation. 
He does not get his theology from the Bible but from the depths of hell.
Jackson's theology is based on the errors of Augustine; father of Popery and at the same time, father of Reformism. We have answered his errors in the past and will be satisfied now to add a paragraph from a modern Calvinistic theologian:-

I maintain that the doctrine of predestination is not an invention of John Calvin in the 16th century. In this respect, all the reformers were Augustinians.

However, I wanted to go to the roots. If Augustine – with St. Paul – can be called the founding father of this specific doctrine of free grace (Pranger 2002:273), grounded in God eternally electing sinners to salvation in Christ, where was this doctrine first thought through? During the Arminian controversy, the claim was made that the old Augustine taught the doctrine of (double) predestination, but that the young Augustine’s doctrine of grace was to be preferred. The old Augustine is best known for the diptych De praedestinatione sanctorum and De dono perseverantiae of his old age (428). When John Calvin defended this doctrine described in the Institutio of 1539 against Albert Pighius and Jerome Bolsec, he quoted extensively from these two treatises. When the Congrégation sur l’élection eternelle de Dieu of 1551, addressed to the public and therefore written in the vernacular, was published, the editor filled the remaining pages at the end of the book with long quotes from these treatises in French. If they represent the mature theologian, when did this African father begin to teach a doctrine of predestination in the early years of his development as an expositor of Scripture? This, then, is the question with which my research for this lecture began. In which constellation of ideas in Augustine’s development was the concept of predestination born and formulated?

In Ad Simplicianum, Augustine explains predestination as God’s propositum of graciously calling some sinners and effectively granting them faith, which together is election. [my font colouring –RS] He finds it expressed in Romans 11:5 as “a remnant that was chosen by grace”. The deepest ground “is so very hidden that it can by no means be discerned by us who are in the same lump” (I 2.22). Augustine ends his answer to his old friend Simplician by inviting him to “say ‘Alleluia’ and join in a canticle”, as St. Paul ended Romans 9-11 in doxology.  ̶   De Boer, EA ; Augustine on Election: The Birth of an article of faith. 

The whole of DE Boer’s article may be downloaded in pdf. format,  www.ajol.info/index.php/actat/article/download/86006/75835

Work is Worship??

Stephen Grant, in his book Of No Reputation, (published by J Ritchie Ltd.) is promoting the “work is worship” philosophy. He admits to being influenced by John Piper and John MacArthur. Both these men have been exposed for their liberal culturism. Piper boasts of being a spiritual hedonist.

John Piper has a website, DesiringGod.com,  where he states “whatever your job, it can be an expression of worship if you do it unto the Lord.”

Rick Warren also teaches this view. He wrote; “Your work is worship” and bases it on a depraved reading of Col. 3: 23, which has, “whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as though you were working for the Lord”. (TEV). He also wrote, “if your heart is not in it you are in the wrong job. If you are not working with all your heart you are sinning.  (purposedriven.com )

Work is worship philosophy is not limited to Christendom. It is at the heart of Hinduism. 

 Swami Sivananda writes on the Hindu Divine Life Society:

Work is worship. Work is meditation. Serve all with intense love without any idea of agency and without expectation of fruits or reward. You will realise God. Service of humanity is service of God.

Work elevates when done in the right spirit without attachment or egoism. If you are a Bhakta (devotee), feel you are a Nimitta or instrument in the hands of God. If you adopt the path of Jnana, feel that you are a silent Sakshi (witness) and that Prakriti does everything. All work is sacred. There is no menial work from the highest view-point (from the view-point of the Absolute, from the view-point of Karma Yoga). Even scavengering, when done with the right mental attitude as described above, will become a Yogic activity for God-realisation. 

Hinduism teaches that all have the divinity within. There is no place for a fallen nature.

This where S Grant is taking us. He writes;

Work was never a consequence of sin or a punishment meted out to mankind as a result of their disobedience.

This is a cunning denial of Genesis 3: 19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.  Grant suggests that work was necessary in the garden of Eden and therefore nothing really has changed.

But Scripture does not speak of work involving laborious toil in the garden. This aspect is certainly a punishment for the human race. Most of the world knows this even in the 21^st century in the struggle for survival. Science has done its best to remove the strain and stigma of labouring to produce food. If the significance of Genesis 3: 19 is removed, then all work can become worship and the worker is not contaminated by a fallen nature. We become as gods as Satan and the Hindus insist.

 Swami Sivananda preaches the state of quietude. Grant teaches the aspiration to a quiet life. He believes Paul was telling the Thessalonians to calm it. They were going over the top in their zeal for the Lord. Better to keep your head down and your mouth shut. Do not earnestly contend for the faith. Never rebuke error. Mind your own business and leave the perjurer to his devices. Stop preaching and concentrate on washing the dishes.

Grant urges his readers to look at the Theology  of Work website. There you will read “God created people to work. Not as a punishment but as a pleasure and a way of relating to God himself.”

There is no distinction between people, therefore. Salvation is not required. Work, being worship, is salvation.

“….of no reputation” is a term unique to Christ. He made Himself thus in taking upon Himself the likeness of sinful flesh. The title of Grant’s book is misleading. Perhaps this is intentional.