Bio

Dr. Mike Halsey is the chancellor of Grace Biblical Seminary, a Bible teacher at the Hangar Bible Fellowship, the author of Truthspeak and his new book, The Gospel of Grace and Truth: A Theology of Grace from the Gospel of John," both available on Amazon.com. A copy of his book, Microbes in the Bloodstream of the Church, is also available as an E-book on Amazon.com. If you would like to a receive a copy of his weekly Bible studies and other articles of biblical teaching and application, you can do so by writing to Dr. Halsey at michaeldhalsey@bellsouth.net and requesting, "The Hangar Bible Fellowship Journal."

Comments may be addressed to michaeldhalsey@bellsouth.net.

If you would like to contribute to his ministry according to the principle of II Corinthians 9:7, you may do so by making your check out to Hangar Bible Fellowship and mailing it to 65 Teal Ct., Locust Grove, GA 30248. All donations are tax deductible.

Come visit the Hangar some Sunday at 10 AM at the above address. You'll be glad you did.

Other recommended grace-oriented websites are:

notbyworks.org
literaltruth.org
gracebiblicalseminary.org
duluthbible.org
clarityministries.org

Also:

Biblical Ministries, Inc.
C/O Dr. Richard Grubbs
P. O. Box 64582
Lubbock, TX 79464-4582

Friday, October 25, 2024

WHEN YOU NEED ENCOURAGEMENT IN THE FAITH

There is a conversation Jesus had with a desperate father whose son has been terrorized and controlled by a particularly vicious demon that had attempted to kill him through convulsions during which he tried to burn him to death or drown him. The poor father had been having to deal with this malignant spirit since the youth's childhood. 

He first encountered Jesus; disciples who, one one occasion, Jesus had given them His authority to cast out demons but this time they had been humiliated--they failed. Jesus arrives, meets the father and demands that they bring the boy to Him. The following conversation ensues: 

"They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. 21 And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” 23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”

And there is that wonderful verse of encouragement: "I do believe; help my unbelief!" We live in a fallen world in which perfection is not within our grasp. From the father's statement we learn that our faith will never be perfect in this life. As the hymn writer, Arthur A. Luther, wrote, 

"Earthly friends may prove untrue,
Doubts and fears assail;
One still loves and cares for you,
One who will not fail."

The world, the flesh, and the devil may cause us to fear and doubts may assail, but our salvation based on Christ alone thorough faith alone, imperfect and wavering that faith may be, we are kept by the One who loves us still, the One who cannot fail. 

The rest of the story? 

"Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him [c]again.” 26 After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up."

When fears and doubts assail, wrap yourself in Mark 9:24-27.   

Friday, October 18, 2024

JUDAS AND LORDSHIP SALVATION

 Before Judas went out and hanged himself, he checked the boxes required for salvation according to those who hold to the position known as Lordship Salvation. We know this because we have the record of his activities before he tied the noose around his neck and attached it to that dry branch. 

Consider:

1. Judas felt sorry for his sin. The record says, "Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” Feeling sorry for one's sins isn't biblical repentance; "feeling sorry" and "repent" are two different Greek words. The former means "regret," "sorrow," the latter means, "a change of mind."

2.  Judas made restitution for his sin. The betrayer returned the money with a forceful gesture. This was a good deed on his part. 

3. He mended his ways. He loved money so much that he stole it from the other disciples since his duty was to care for the money given to their ministry. He who loved money came to hate 30 pieces of silver.

But he never did the only thing required for salvation: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." His sorrow for his sin, his moral act, his believing Jesus to be innocent and not deserving the death penalty were not faith alone in Christ alone. 

A lady once said, "God will not forgive you unless you say you're sorry." Judas was sorry. Thomas Jefferson believed that Jesus was innocent in the sense that He exhibited and taught the highest ethical system in the history of mankind. 

But the record states the final, accurate assessment of Judas: "The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” and, Jesus prayed to the Father "While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled."

Judas checked the boxes required for salvation among those who hold to Lordship salvation, boxes which put the spotlight on us and our works, not on Christ and His finished work. 

One of the leading advocates of Lordship salvation, John MacArthur, writes that the following text, James 4:7-10, is a clear presentation of the gospel, and therefore, there are ten things that a person must do to be saved:

"Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you."

Ten things? That's strange because in the most famous verse in the Bible, we don't find those ten requirements: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

I can't find those ten in Acts 16:30-31: "And after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

In the Gospel of John, written to tell a person how to be saved, those ten aren't there; "believe" is, 99 times. 

Therefore, there are none of his or any lordship salvationists' books that I would recommend because, although they may be correct on  other doctrine, if they are wrong on the gospel, they are wrong on the most important thing (I Cor. 15:3): "For I delivered to you as of first importance [the gospel]."

Do you find lordship salvation authors on your book shelves or in your church library? Why? Paul is very clear on this: Read and heed Galatians 1:8-9.