Letters | thebereancall.org

TBC Staff

Dear Tom,

I read your lead article in this month’s Berean Call, and while I agree with all you attempt to convey, I think we ought to have genuine sympathy for the many folks who end up in these groups [12-Steps programs] because that’s all they know or have been advised to do—join a group. The general church population is greatly ignorant of the Word’s deeper teachings and how God himself intends for each one...to know Him (and His answers) by seeking Him alone (Psalm:62:1,2)....The people who participate in Celebrate Recovery are  being spoon-fed bits and pieces of spiritual truth but not getting to know God for themselves....Anyone who becomes saturated with the Word of God cannot fail to find God and know His deliverance....Jesus came to set the captive free...why aren’t these verses passed on by those who host Celebrate Recovery?...Only the power of the Holy Spirit can set us free from all our sins and hang-ups. MN (SD)

Dear Dave and Tom,

After just hearing Joel Osteen on Good Morning, America, I had to tell you how very much I appreciate both of you for rightly dividing the Word of truth. Osteen endeavors to make sinners comfortable and has no idea whose side he is on....Those of us who know the truth thank God that He has given us men like you who are not afraid to teach the truth. JW (KY)

Dear Friends,

I would like to comment on the “quotable” from Tozer in the Sep ’05 Berean Call newsletter. Both of the following appear to be biblically true: 1) God elects (chooses) from the foundations of the world those to be His in Christ, and 2) Those who are the elect will freely choose Jesus as Lord and Savior, which is the condition for salvation. In order for these two statements to be compatible (non-contradictory), God’s choice cannot be independent from the choice of the elect individual. With God, time is not a constraint, so that God’s choice involves knowledge of the propensity of our choice. Can we conclude that it is simply not in God’s nature to choose someone who would not choose Him under the circumstances He offers us for salvation? This, to me, implies our free will is very much free (even though God knows the outcome of our exercise of free will) and we remain fully accountable for the choices we make under the circumstances God both allows and orchestrates. LM (CA)

Dear Brother Dave and all at TBC,

Thank you for your important ministry in these last days. Truly Judgment Day is approaching, and sadly, America has lost her way and will be judged with all other nations gathered against Israel. Upon finishing your article on the soon-coming judgment in TBC (June, ’05), I had to stop what I was doing and just say thank you, Dave, and all at the Call, for your excellent ministry...sounding out in a world full of lies....Thanks for your uncompromising stand upon the Word of God. CP (CA)

Dear Dave,

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, unto which thou art also called and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses” (1 Timothy:6:12)....Since we have been receiving your Berean Call, our hearts have been made aware of the dangerous trends as they choke the clear teachings of the Word of God. Thank you for your diligent research and clear analysis. We pray for His protection and provision for your vital ministry. RB (WA)

Dear Dave and Tom,

We are definitely in the last days and the apostasy is growing. It is encouraging that there are still people like you who stand for the truth....Dave’s book Judgment Day is the best I have read on Islam and the end times. I wish that President Bush and all congressmen had a copy. DP (IL)

Dear Dave and T.A.,

Finally, a defense of Ephesians:2:8-9 (Q&A Sep ’05). I was given Grace Unknown (by Sproul) by a man supporting Calvinism. I could not get through that book—there were just too many discrepancies in light of Scripture and one of those being the maligning of Ephesians:2:8-9. My husband is Greek (from Thessolonika) and well trained in the classical language. He is born again (a term loathed by the Orthodox Greeks) and loves to study God’s Word. He concurs wholeheartedly with your translation of Ephesians:2:8-9, a fact I shared with the man who gave me Sproul’s book. LG (SC)

TBC,

Please cancel any further mailings. How good of our church, Mr. McMahon, in graciously welcoming you to our CRS (Celebrate Recovery Summit) 2005 so you could return to Oregon to tear our church and programs apart (TBC Oct ’05). We do believe in the Bible and live by His Word! SW (CA)