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The Mail Room
Letters from Volume 21 Welcome to the Mail Room for Present Truth Magazine! This is where we post some of the interesting letters which we receive from our viewers. All of our viewers are invited to E-mail us your comments and views and we will post these views for all to consider! Out of Place Valuable Contribution Greetings! Please let me thank you for your kindness in sending Present Truth Magazine to me. I have discovered it to be a stimulating magazine, and I believe that I have been profited by a great deal of the paper's content. You make a strong and spiritual case for objective truth, and in these days of rampant "experience teachers" that is an excellent thing. Your treatment of the law and of sanctification is most scriptural and, as you say, 'fussless." It was refreshing to read a magazine that rejoiced in the grand old historicist interpretation of prophecy. Futurism has well-nigh swept the board over here. Wildfire of Futurism We in the U.S.A. who have been bold enough to oppose the wildfire of futurism are greatly encouraged to learn of your work. We are aware that your main thrust is the great truth of justification by faith, as was also Luther's. And we are in accord with your statement on page 23 of the September issue of Present Truth: "It is important, indeed most urgent, that we realize the relationship between the light on justification by faith and the identity of antichrist." Antichrist Today I very much appreciate Present Truth Magazine. I do not agree with your eschatology, but agree wholeheartedly with your upholding of the objective gospel amid the present deluge of religious subjectivism. While in college I gave a report on subjectivism in religion as exemplified by George Fox, John Wesley, French Schleirmacher and Ludwig Feurbach. I believe that the teachings of these men are at the root of the emphasis upon subjectivism that we see today. An article on the rise of subjectivism would be very useful. Incoherent Mixture I have finished reading your Present Truth Magazine ("Antichrist Today") for the fifth time. It and other issues will be placed in my reference file, which I like to think is limited to the very best of biblical and Christian literature. My own church (Anglican) is rapidly losing its Protestant base to an incoherent mixture of Roman and liberal thought. I therefore greatly enjoyed the J. C. Ryle sermon. Conflict of Interests There seems to be a conflict of interests within the principles which you set forth in your magazine, Present Truth Magazine . In the masthead on page two you say that your magazine is dedicated to the restoration of New Testament Christianity and at the same time to upholding the Reformation principle of justification by faith. Gospel Centered I commend you for setting forth the gospel before you take up such subjects as sanctification, eschatology, etc. To know the gospel is to know everything, because the gospel sheds light on everything. I also commend you for standing up for justification by faith when most of the religious world seems to be bored with the whole thing. Excellent Your special issue on the subject of "Sanctification" was excellent. I have read many articles and books on sanctification, but Present Truth Magazine has explained it more clearly than any. Satisfied a Deep Need I have been continually praising the Lord since reading your special presentation on "Sanctification". I teach an adult Sunday School Class and have felt helpless in my approach to sanctification both personally and instructively. I sense a note of defensiveness among Christians any time they are exhorted to holiness. The frequent reply is, "I can do nothing; God has to do it in me." Your presentation of sanctification has satisfied a deep need in my life. Angry! Did you make me angry! I have always had a warm spot for the charismatic movement, though I never did join it. I did not join because there always seemed to be something that did not quite ring true. Then came along a couple of issues of Present Truth Magazine. I got angry when I saw this beautiful charismatic movement being exposed. Then, the more I read, the more I realized that the "expose' " dealt with the very factor that has been disturbing me but on which I had never been able to lay my finger. How naive I had been! How shallow my insights! Whereas once I was blind, now I see. I shall ever be grateful to you for setting forth so clearly the meaning and significance of the Reformed faith. Great Entertainment If you are as incorrect in other areas as you are concerning Pentecostal teaching and experience, your total beliefs are a travesty. I wish that you would spend your time and energy winning the lost to our Reformation Christ instead of playing the ignominious role of a barking dog at those who do. In God's declared estimation, "He who winneth souls is wise" . . . not smart. I wonder how former generations survived without you . . . you grand darling and self-appointed gift to the world. And, horror of horrors, what will future generations do without you when you are gone! Finally, to one who is ostensibly intoxicated with his own verbosity, may we Pentecostals dare tell you that our mottoes are now and always have been sole Scripture, sole gratia, sole fide and solo Christo. This is not at all new to us. We fully believe that the Bible was given so we all might have the "subjective" experience of being ready when Jesus Christ returns. Eternity is a long time to regret a lifetime of fostering confusion and division. However, please keep sending your paper. It's great entertainment. Where it is not pathetic, it is humerus. The Half Not Told Sir: Having been raised in the Pentecostal movement, the son of a Pentecostal minister and active as an ordained minister in that movement, I know by close observation the truth of your brochure, Protestant Revivalism, Pentecostalism end the Drift Beck to Rome. Having left the movement in 1970, convinced of its error, let me assure you that the half has not been told. Food for Thought I received a copy of your special issue, "Justification by Faith and the Charismatic Movement." As I was personally involved in this movement some years ago, having experienced tongues, etc., and the "subjectivism" of it all, I am finding much food for thought in the very first article. I have not been able to get past that one yet. Thank you for your magazine. Significant Issues Sir: I have very much appreciated receiving Present Truth Magazine and am convinced that your handling of the issues is in accord with the truth of the Word of God. I would like to order several copies of your pamphlet, "The Baptism of the Holy Spirit," for use in our church. I plan to have a "mini-course" on the Scriptural teachings with regard to the work of the Holy Spirit, and I am sure that much of what I have read and studied in Present Truth Magazine will be used in that course. Thank you again for your clear, scriptural presentation on these significant issues of our day. Plans Altered Sir: Being a fourth year student in a Pentecostal college is a difficult place to be presented with your publication. Regardless of the problems created, I have learned as much by your careful articles as the entire sum of my training. The plans I had have been altered by what I've come to realize, but cheerfully so due to the ministry of the Holy Spirit through your mission. Keep it up! "Bula Bula" Stories I read Present Truth Magazine along with a Pentecostal magazine, and the differences amazed me. Not just the subject matter, but also the vocabulary. Even as a Christian I get tired of hearing "Praise the Lord!" every third sentence, and I enjoyed reading your magazine because it was straightforward, informative, and didn't come on with the so-called Holy Ghost ultraspiritual language. I've also read a few of the other Christian magazines, and Present Truth is a delightful change from the typical "How I Did Such a Good Job for God out in Bula Bula One Summer" stories found even in non-Pentecostal magazines. Froth and Bubble A friend of mine sent me a copy of Present Truth Magazine , and I found it most stimulating. With all the "froth and bubble" publications being printed today, it is most refreshing to see something solid and biblical. Appreciates Emphasis I appreciate your emphasis on God's holiness and graciousness in the face of man's inability to understand or reach toward God. In this modern Marshall-McLuhan—"cool" age, we need a clear presentation of truth. And we need to recognize the importance of our putting our minds in gear to understand it. Excited I am so excited about your magazine! It is written in such a way that I can understand it — and it keeps my interest and gives me the desire to learn more. I don't want to miss one of your important publications. I teach confirmation classes in a Lutheran church. As a layman I feel so inadequate and know your materials will be a great help to me. Clarity I congratulate you on the clarity with which your magazine treats theological issues. In fact, I suspect that your main battle is not with heresy, but with unclarity. The churches, organizations and individuals who are proclaiming, for example, salvation on the basis of faith rather than on the ground of the all-sufficient merits of Christ, are doing so because they can't tell the difference, not because they chose one over the other. Thank God for people who can tell the difference! Needed I feel that Present Truth is a magazine that is needed in times like these when the great doctrines of the Bible are being questioned or denied. A Blessing I have really enjoyed your publications in the last year. They have helped me to see the world religious scene as it is today. It is really a blessing to our growth in Christ when we can more fully understand the doctrine of justification by faith. |
