Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20050612.htm

CHRIST'S PROPHETIC MESSAGE TO CONTEMPORARY EVANGELICALS
Part IV: Christ's All-Sufficiency Offered To Wean Us From Evangelicalism's Two Factions To Himself
B. Christ's Great-Cross-Before-The-Crown Solution Detailed And Applied
2. Christ's Offer To Use ARMINIAN Persecutors To Wean Us From The Arminian Faction
(Revelation 3:19)
  1. Introduction
    1. In offering His cross-before-the-crown solution for Evangelicalism, Christ counsels pastors to ask Him to arrange for them to be badly persecuted by fellow Evangelicals to wean them from Evangelical corruption.
    2. Rev. 3:19 advances Christ's Rev. 3:18 offer in advising that He arrange that we be weaned via persecution from the Arminian Evangelical wing so we might gain God's full blessings in life and service:
  2. Christ's Offer To Use ARMINIAN Persecutors To Wean Us From The Arminian Faction, Rev. 3:19.
    1. Christ states in Rev. 3:19 [of the Greek N. T. as we render it]: "All I Myself emotionally love I reprove and instructively punish! Be zealous, therefore, and repent!" ( U. B.S. Greek N. T., 1966 ed., p. 845)
    2. Accordingly, in Rev. 3:19, Christ shifts His focus from advising us on how to react to the errant Calvinist wing in Evangelicalism to advise us on how we are to respond to its errant Arminian wing (as follows):
      1. [Charismatics are Pentecostal in belief, and Richard Quebedeaux (The New Charismatics, p. 30) writes: "Pentecostal theology has always been Arminian." Charismatics are Arminian in belief!]
      2. Well, in alluding to Heb. 12:5-6 [that cites Pr. 3:11-12 LXX] (Ryr. St. Bib., KJV, 1978 ed., cross refs.), Christ exchanges the verb agapao ("love") found in both Heb. 12:5-6 and Pr. 3:11-12 LXX for phileo, stressing "natural affections . . . passion" (Ibid., U. B. S. Grk. N. T., p. 774, 845; R. C. Trench, Syn. of N. T., p. 41-42); this accents the KEY Charismatic trait of subjectivism, Ibid., Quebedeaux, p. 31!
      3. Then, in referring to Hebrews 12:5-6, Jesus declares He is the "Lord" (kurios), the sole word used of God in Hebrews 12:5-6 of the Greek N. T. (Ibid., U. B. S. Grk. N. T., p. 774); this points to the phrase, "Jesus is Lord" by which Charismatics often typically identify themselves as being Charismatic!
      4. Christ's call to "be zealous" uses a verb found elsewhere in the N. T. only in 1 Cor. 12:31, 14:1 and 14:39 (Abb.-Sm., Man. Grk. Lex. of N. T., p. 195); Charismatics famously use them to claim we must be "zealous" to gain & not hinder the Early Church gifts of tongues, et al., Ibid., Quebedaux, p. 13-18.
      5. The Rev. 3:19 form of "zealous" is a rare, late one [dzayleuo versus dzayloo in 1 Cor. (Ibid., Abb.-Sm.)], so its use here points to the view of some Charismatics that they experience a "latter rain" outpouring of the Holy Spirit ["holy laughter," etc.] as did the Early Church in its "early rain" era!
      6. Thus, in sharp tension AGAINST the Charismatic [Arminian] belief that God supplies only wealth and health to the faithful (Ibid., Quebedeaux, p. 84-92 with Rev. 3:17), in Rev. 3:19a, Jesus declared that ALL true believers HE LOVES He reproves and instructively punishes to purge them of SIN !
      7. This declaration mirrors Heb. 12:5-6 and its context (12:1-4; 13:10-14) where God chastens believers against yielding to pressure ESPECIALLY from errant desert Jewish sects that "idealized" Israel's early wilderness, miracle-laden wanderings in reaction to corrupt Jewish society [like Charismatic (Arminians) react to dead Christendom by stressing Early Church miracles], such pressure being that believers would be shamed [by the sect] for not entering ITS ranks! (Bib. Know. Com., N. T., p. 779)
      8. Also, the subject of "love", the pronoun, "I" is written separate from phileo (Ibid., U. B. S. Grk. N. T., p. 845) to denote a contrast (Blass-Deb., Grk. Gr. of N.T., p. 145); thus, Christ's use of emotional love contrasts with the Charismatic use [In this context, Christ counters the Charismatic threat on other believers in the form of the charge that they would be unloving NOT to condone and enter ITS wing!].
    3. In summary, Jesus takes His initial advice given in Rev. 3:18 on how we are to relate to the Calvinist wing of Evangelicalism and, in Rev. 3:19, extends it to imply how we are similarly to relate to the Arminian wing: He calls us under threat of His discipline to the contrary that we NOT yield to the ARMINIAN wing's THREAT of slander that we would be "unloving" [or "sin against the Holy Spirit"] were we NOT to rely on ITS wing, associate with ITS wing in ministry or adopt the views of ITS wing!
Lesson: Jesus calls us to let Him arrange for us to be persecuted so we might be "zealous" to "repent" of the ARMINIAN Evangelical wing's beliefs and ministries as we have the Calvinist's wing!

Application: May we look to God to arrange for us to overcome both Calvinist and Arminian errors!