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by Dr. R. L. Hymers, Jr.

A sermon preached at the Fundamentalist Baptist Tabernacle of Los Angeles

Lord’s Day Evening, September 17, 2000

"Give diligence to make your calling and election sure:

for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall"

(II Peter 1:10).

     Last Sunday morning we had an outburst during the sermon. A first-time visitor stood up, ran to the back of the room and started shouting. Dr. Cagan took him out in the foyer and talked with him. This young man shouted, "I don’t want to sit down. I want to stand and hear that man preach the Word of God."

     Dr. Cagan politely told him that he needed to remain seated. He then shouted that we were judgmental and legalistic and said, "I know how to take the bus." He ran out of the front door speaking sarcastically.

     Of course, he was a new-evangelical! When he first caused that ruckus and started yelling during my sermon, I immediately thought, "That man must be an evangelical." Why would I think that? Why were my thoughts confirmed? How did I know what his religious background was when he caused that outburst? Simply because almost no other religion would produce a person like that - filled with rebellion and defiance - in a gospel preaching church on Sunday morning. There were about ten to twelve lost Roman Catholics in the auditorium at the time. None of them understood or agreed with this man’s strange behavior in the house of God. You see, classical Roman Catholics have been trained to be quiet and respectful in a house of worship. New-evangelicals in Southern California (and increasingly across the U.S.) have been taught to be rebellious smart-alecks.

I. First - let us consider five ways that many new-evangelicals are worse than classical Catholics.

     I am very much afraid that these "evangelicals" have given Christianity a very bad name. So-called "born again Christians" have given fundamentalists a bad name, because the lost world doesn’t understand that there is a difference between us and them.

"For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you" (Romans 2:24).

1. New-evangelicals think they can be Christians without going to church. No classical Catholic thinks that - which strangely puts those Catholics closer to the Bible than the evangelicals on this subject. The Bible says,

"And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be (those who were being) saved" (Acts 2:47).

So, in the New Testament, everyone who got saved was added to the local church. New-evangelicals don’t believe that. They think you can pop in and out of church - and go when and where you feel like it. They are led by their "feelings" rather than the Bible. They are totally in rebellion against the Biblical idea of membership and commitment to a local fundamental Baptist church. Strangely, this makes a classical Catholic a better prospect for a fundamental Baptist church than a new-evangelical. The Catholic may not go to church every Sunday, but he knows he’s supposed to. The evangelical, on the other hand, says, "You don’t have to go to church to be a Christian!" By believing that Satanic lie, he is farther from the truth than a Catholic!

2. New-evangelicals think they can be Christians while living in habitual sin. Now, no classical Catholic believes that. They say if you die in "mortal" sin, you go to Hell. Although their idea of "mortal" sin is wrong, it does make them more open to what the Bible teaches than most new-evangelicals. The Bible says:

"In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God…" (I John 3:10).

Again, the Bible says,

"Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him" (I John 3:6).

Again, the Bible says,

"He that committeth sin is of the devil" (I John 3:8).

And, yet again, the Bible says:

"Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof" (Romans 13:12-14).

And, one more verse:

"He that doeth good is of God; but he that doeth evil hath not seen God" (III John 11).

New-evangelicals literally hate these verses, though we have not interpreted them - but only quoted them.

3. New-evangelicals make selfishness and rebellion part of their religion - a strange religion indeed! Thus, they turn grace into freedom from all rules and restraints (Jude 4). But instead of making him more humble and easy to get along with, new-evangelical religion actually makes a person more rebellious and more selfish. In my experience classical Catholics are far easier to get along with than such rebellious, know-it-all evangelicals. This in-your-face rebellion is described in Jude 4 and II Timothy 3:1-9. These new-evangelicals are "Trucebreakers, false accusers…fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors…" (II Timothy 3:2-4). "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof" (II Timothy 3:5).

4. New-evangelicals also reject the role of the pastor as given in the New Testament. They will often say, "I don’t need any man to tell me what to do!" They are extremely antinomian and rebellious concerning the New Testament’s teaching about pastors:

"And he gave some…pastors…For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry" (Ephesians 4:11-12).

"Remember those who have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow…"  (Hebrews 13:7).

"Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls…" (Hebrews 13:17).

Dr. John MacArthur is wrong on some doctrines, but who would disagree with his note on Hebrews 13:17?

The pastors of the church exercise the very authority of Christ when they preach, teach and apply Scripture.

(MacArthur Study Bible, note on Hebrews 13:17).

Catholics are much less likely to rebel against New Testament pastoral authority than evangelicals, I have found.

5. Finally, new-evangelicals confound the Persons of the Trinity. They are far more likely to do that than a classical Catholic. John 3:16 makes it crystal clear that the Father and the Son are two distinct and separate Persons of the Trinity. But even though most evangelicals know John 3:16, few of them have ever thought of the fact that this best-loved verse clearly separates the Father and the Son as two distinct, different Persons in the Godhead. Another clear verse tells us:

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (I Timothy 2:5).

But the evangelical speaks of "the Lord" without making any distinction in the Persons. He will often pray to Jesus, then say "God" and end up asking "the Spirit" for help - as though each Person were exactly the same. If a pastor will carefully question evangelicals, he will find that almost all evangelicals are heretics on the Trinity. They are modalistic heretics. Modalism is a major reason so few evangelicals are saved. Classical Catholics are much more likely to be correct on the Trinity than modern evangelicals. Remember, this is not a trivial question - because the Trinity is God! It is horrible that the average evangelical is a heretic on the subject of God!

 

"Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues" (Revelation 18:4).

1. They depend on good works to save them. But the Bible says:

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

2. They "pipe" salvation through confession, the "sacraments" and the Roman Catholic "priesthood."

CATHOLICS: ‘JESUS ALONE’ NOT ENOUGH - The following is an excerpt from a quote in David Cloud’s 8/29 Fundamental Baptist Information Service e-mail (dcloud@wayoflife.org, 1701 Harns Rd., Oak Harbor, WA 98277 >http://wayoflife.org/~dcloud>) quoting from the writings of a former Roman Catholic, Bill Webster. In his book Salvation, the Bible and Roman Catholicism Webster wrote: "It is quite clear from this that in Roman Catholicism faith in Christ alone is not sufficient for salvation. It is also necessary that one keep the Ten Commandments, be baptized, become a member of the Roman Catholic faith and partake regularly of the sacraments. It is not Jesus alone but Jesus plus all these other things. Significantly all these other things are practically identical to the Judaiser’s system and teachings." (Calvary Contender, September 15, 2000).

The Bible teaches that we are saved directly by Christ, without these other things needed as a pipe through which to receive Him. The Bible says that Christ will save anyone who trusts directly in Him:

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31).

"While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him" (Romans 5:8-9).

3. They believe that justification is through "infusion" rather than imputation. They teach that grace is "infused" through the Mass, sermons, etc. But the Bible teaches that justification is not "infused" or piped into you. It is when God declares you not guilty and imputes the righteousness of Christ to your record! You are not justified by swallowing communion. It isn’t "infused" into you by swallowing. Justification is imputed - a legal term which shows that you are declared righteous by believing on Jesus.

"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted (imputed) for righteousness" (Romans 4:5).

"(righteousness) shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification" (Romans 4:24-25).

4. They create many mediators between God and men, such as Mary, the Holy Spirit, the saints, the Catholic Church, the priest, and many other mediators between God and men. But the Bible says:

"There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (I Timothy 2:5).

5. They say Christ is crucified again in each Mass. But the Bible says, "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many" (Hebrews 9:28). As He died, Jesus said, "It is finished" (John 19:30).

 

"Give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall" (II Peter 1:10).

1. Be part of a New Testament Baptist church.

2. Break off your sins.

3. Listen to the pastor of the New Testament church.

4. Do not confound the Persons of the Trinity.

5. Depend on the Son of God alone to forgive and save you.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved" (John 3:16-17)

ARE NEW-EVANGELICALS BETTER

by Dr. R. L. Hymers, Jr.

"Give diligence to make your calling and election sure:

for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall"

(II Peter 1:10).

I. Ways many new-evangelicals are worse than classical Catholics, Romans 2:24.

1. They think they can be Christians without going to church, Acts 2:47.

2. They think they can be Christians while living in sin, I John 3:10;

I John 3:6; I John 3:8; Romans 13:12-14; III John 11.

3. They make selfishness and rebellion part of their religion, turning

grace into freedom from all rules and restraints, Jude 4;

II Timothy 3:1-9.

4. They reject the role of the pastor, Ephesians 4:11-12; Hebrews 13:7,17.

5. They confound the Persons of the Trinity, I Timothy 2:5.

II. Ways that classical Catholics are wrong and unscriptural, Revelation 18:4.

1. They depend on good works to save them, Ephesians 2:8-9.

2. They "pipe" salvation through confession, the "sacraments" and

the Roman Catholic "priesthood," Acts 16:31; Romans 5:8-9.

3. They teach that justification is through "infusion" rather than

imputation, Romans 4:5; Romans 4:24-25.

4. They create many mediators between God and men - rather than

Christ alone, I Timothy 2:5.

5. They say Christ is crucified again in each Mass, Hebrews 9:28;

John 19:30.

III. Ways to make your calling and election sure, II Peter 1:10; John 3:16-17.