I have not shunned to declare
unto you all the counsel of God.
–Acts 20:27 (KJV)–

Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: the one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence
of the Gospel.
–Philippians 1:15-17 (KJV)–

The Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord
looketh on the heart.
–1 Samuel 16:7 (KJV)–

—

How could you know
Running in circles
With your eyes wide open
It’s not enough for you to hear me say
Things don’t have to be this way

Mental assent will give you nothing
Bitterness can become your epidemic

Don’t let it go away
Only you can make this change
Delusion’s an epidemic
Your grip
Your grip is firm
Casting words into empty lakes

Would you rather be blind?
Would you rather be blind?

How could you know
Running in circles
With your eyes wide open

Your grip is firm
Casting words into empty lakes
An epidemic

Would you rather be blind?
Would you rather be blind?

Don’t let it go away
Only you can make this change

–Living Sacrifice, “Distrust”–

—

F. F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free (Eerdmans, 1977), chs. 10, 15.

Roland Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther (Penguin, 1995), chs. 9, 10.

Dr. Henry Rack, Reasonable Enthusiast (Epworth Press, 1989), p. 191ff.

A. M. Hills, The Life of Charles G. Finney (Schmul, 1991), ch. 7: “Ministerial Opposition.”

Mack Tomlinson, In Light of Eternity (Free Grace Press, 2010).

Gary Wilkerson, David Wilkerson (Zondervan, 2014).

Viola Walden, John R. Rice: The Captain of Our Team (SLP, 1990).

Dr. Cathy Burns, Billy Graham and His Friends (Sharing, 2001).

Charles T. Cook, The Billy Graham Story (Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1954). “The only thing I could say for sure is that hell means separation from God. We are separated from his light, from his fellowship. That is going to be hell. When it comes to a literal fire, I don’t preach it because I’m not sure about it. When the Scripture uses fire concerning hell, that is possibly an illustration of how terrible it’s going to be not fire but something worse, a thirst for God that cannot be quenched” (Richard Ostling, Time magazine, Nov. 15, 1993). –Billy Graham // THAT’S REALLY LAME. And Billy Graham was SBC when he said that, and received no excommunication for saying so. They backed him up, religious hypocrites that they are. Its still this way today–see the podcast on Dr. Tom Schreiner. I believe the SBC is a false evangelical movement, filled with false prophets; and that the IFB probably has more Elijah type preachers among their ranks like David Cloud, but I wouldn’t say that in a sweeping way. The general feeling I get about Hell in the Pentecostal camp is the same. The AG and COG pastors are just about the same–the Remnant Radio types–who accept a C. S. Lewis kind of watered down separation from God, and just lack any evangelistic street preaching urgency, and have this lukewarm, frivolous, and detached attitude about teaching the Bible, for lack of a better expression. Bill Wiese, author of 23 Minutes in Hell and Hell: Separate Fact from Fiction, has clearly shown that even though he is a charismatic evangelist, his ministry has had to sustain itself independently, bivocationally, and without any supporting AG or COG licensure. Although he was able to get Jentezen Franklin, the COG megachurch pastor, to endorse his second book, Franklin is a seeker-sensitive prosperity preacher, and is a far cry from anyone like Ray Comfort or Jonathan Edwards.

Preachers that hold to IFB theology like David Cloud, and preachers that hold to a kind of Church of God theology but remain independent holiness-Pentecostal preachers and evangelists like David Wilkerson, Bill Wiese, or…me…are the real believers and hellfire preachers of today, so far as I can tell. To save your spiritual sanity, for God’s sake and the Gospel’s, please avoid the Southern Baptist Convention. While its true that Paul Washer’s The Gospel’s Power and Message teaches and preaches a literal Hell and lake of fire, and he is a Southern Baptist, this is by no means the majority position in the SBC denomination. The whole SBC is just overrun with unbelievers, in my view of things. All of them–SBC, AG, COG, IPHC, and COGIC–the top Baptist and Pentecostal churches–are like this. This is my impression at least. I could be wrong to a point–especially when it comes to small rural churches out in the country, but which are still technically part of the SBC, AG, COG, IPHC, and COGIC. Only independent Baptist churches and independent Pentecostal churches lean towards the true faith at this time, provided we’re not talking about hypocritical ones marked by way too much once saved always saved, easy believism, prosperity gospel, or positive confession. Independent Bapticostal pastors and evangelists–independent Baptists and Pentecostals–holiness preachers who still favor the ministries of Ray Comfort, Bill Wiese, and Paul Washer–who lay a strong emphasis on Hell, holy living, and experiencing the presence of God, this is what you should be looking for in a church. So, why do I include Charles Cook’s The Billy Graham Story in my list above? Because Graham didn’t go so far off the doctrinal rails by 1954, so far as I know; and his evangelistic accomplishments, in terms of his methods, magnitude, and size, should probably be imitated by more Bible preaching evangelists with more integrity.

My theological perspective represents a fierce, revivalist commitment to uncompromising truth, placing explicit warnings of Hell and a call to holy living at the very center of true Gospel ministry. By drawing upon both the militant doctrinal clarity of fundamentalist Baptists (e.g., Dr. John R. Rice, David Cloud, Ray Comfort) and the spiritual intensity of independent holiness-Pentecostals (e.g., David Wilkerson, Bill Wiese), I’m pushing back against the modern tendencies toward easy-believism, prosperity preachers, and lukewarm pastoral teaching focused on expositional sermons which intentionally avoid urgent Gospel proclamation. At the same time, maintaining this stance requires a careful balance to avoid the pitfall of complete spiritual isolation. While broad denominational structures like the SBC or AG certainly suffer from theological compromise, viewing them as entirely devoid of true believers risks overlooking thousands of faithful, hidden servants who continue to preach Hell, judgment, repentance, and salvation within those very churches. The greatest strength lies in the urgency of evangelists like David Wilkerson and Ray Comfort, which hold to a clear, uncompromised message of salvation from Hell. Also, theological soundness can still be found in the books of SBC and AG writers from the past: so, not everything those denominations have produced is in vain.