It is that time of the year when the controversy over the celebration of Christmas arises from the ashes of history and tradition, often leaving a not-so-christmasy spirit in its wake. Sometimes the controversy is so pressed by a few individuals that it is made to be a fundamental doctrine of the Christian Faith, causing a breakage of fellowship among the brethren and engendering bitterness within the Body of Christ. It reminds us of the 1700s, when a variety of strong theological voices, which at times produced adamant and boisterous debates over theological matters, brought great animosity, hatred, and strife. …

Amidst the reality that Postmodernism is based upon the Existential philosophy, it is interesting to note that there are certain basics that seem to control churches that have joined this movement. To use the term “basics” or “principles” is an enigma for an existential church era that does not know where it is headed. The gurus for the Emerging Church movement have often viewed themselves as a Christopher Columbus with an unchartered course and an unknown future. They truly believe the global church must conform to the beliefs of the secular Postmodern Era. …

In the last issue of Straightway, we presented the sobering reality that the Institutional Church of Western Civilization has now entered a “post” modernity having departed from the era of the “modern” church. The modern era began during seventeenth-century Rationalism and its by-product, the Enlightenment. It was an age where man looked within himself, drawing from reason and believing this was all that was necessary in order to live. Thus man, through his reason, was projected as being the measure of all things, needing no God and no revelation from God. …

All human history is the result of what appears as tides, driftings, trends, turning points, catastrophes, and climaxes in time. Even the Bible records such tendencies. The tides and the driftings are most subtle, covering long segments of history which men do not readily discern. The trends are initiated by man with the hope to change current and contemporary history. But there are turning points, like awakenings and revivals, as well as the catastrophes and climaxes in history, which are often authored by God Himself. …

During the early 1800’s as America passed from the blessings of the Second Great Awakening, a movement called Liberalism emerged out of the European Enlightenment birthing the “modern” era of Western Civilization. Born within the theological world of Protestantism in Germany, Liberalism began to pervade all of Western society’s Christianity. This openly antichrist, anti-God movement from within Christianity denounced the literality of the Scriptures and basically rejected all the cardinal doctrines of the historic Christian Faith. Not only were all the miracles of the Bible defamed as myths, but also the historicity of Jesus was strongly condemned. …

Callings in Scripture appear in a number of unique and specific contexts covering the lifetime of a Christian. There is the calling to God-consciousness that comes to a child early in life, gently echoing through a variety of circumstances appointed of the Lord. A definite call to “Come unto Me” is that calling which brings the soul to the threshold of the New Birth. As the Christian continues in his or her walk with God, there will be the commanding call, “For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness” (I Thessalonians 4:7). The Scriptures also declare callings to specific ministries for one’s life; these may include callings to be a pastor, preacher, teacher, missionary, or evangelist. …

When Christ came to earth He came through the Jewish line. The Bible emphatically declares Him to be the seed of Abraham and from David’s loins. His divine appointment by the Heavenly Father was that He would come to earth as a Jew and spend His life among the Jews of Palestine. He declared that salvation was of the Jew.

On rare occasions there were Gentiles with whom Jesus briefly associated: the Syrophenician woman, a Samaritan woman, and the Greeks who came to see Him. In John 10:16, He told the Jewish leaders, “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also I must bring and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.” This was a most unusual statement: “other sheep I have,” (in the present tense) though they had not come to know Him yet. …

There have been certain generations in history where godliness and hunger for spirituality permeated the atmosphere of a society. This was evident when great awakenings were in their prime and revivals swept across communities. Such an atmosphere made it easier to live right, preach right, and stand for the right. Some years ago a friend showed me original newspapers from Wales printed during the Welsh revivals at the turn of the twentieth century. On the second page each day a large map of the country of Wales was published with shadings to show the spread of the revival throughout that country. By the time the move of God had made its impact in that country, all of its pubs were closed down. Yes, it would have been easy then to know a spiritual walk with God and to speak publicly and freely of His Word. …