WesleyGospel Ministries

38:16ff – Jack Deere’s experience with John MacArthur.

Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. –Acts 18:2-3 (NIV)

Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) –1 Timothy 3:2-5 (NIV)

The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. –Revelation 21:8 (KJV)

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Felix Just, “Virtue and Vice Lists in the Bible.”

Bill Wiese, Hell: Separate Truth from Fiction and Get Your Toughest Questions Answered. Charisma House, 2008.

Christopher Morgan and Robert Peterson, eds, Hell Under Fire. Zondervan, 2004.

—. Is Hell for Real or Does Everyone Go to Heaven? Zondervan, 2011.

Robert Peterson, Hell on Trial. P&R Publishing, 1995.

W. G. T. Shedd, The Doctrine of Endless Punishment. Banner of Truth, 1986. Chapter 2.1.

John Gerstner, Repent or Perish: With a Special Reference to the Conservative Attack on Hell. Soli Deo Gloria, 1997.

—. Heaven and Hell: Jonathan Edwards on the Afterlife. Baker Books, 1984. 

Christopher Love, A Treatise on Hell’s Terror.

Jonathan Edwards, The Wrath of Almighty God. Soli Deo Gloria, 1997.

—. The Torments of Hell: Jonathan Edwards on Eternal Damnation. International Outreach, 2006.

Harry Buis, The Doctrine of Eternal Punishment. P&R Publishing, 1957.

(There is only one truth)
The choice is free to all
Rejection receives hell
There is no other way
Acceptance eternal life in
Jesus, truth solution,
Truth solution, the only solution
(There is only one truth)

–Living Sacrifice, “Truth Solution”–

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Bill Wiese’s book Hell has ample references to it existing in the earth’s core.

They said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures? –Luke 24:32 (KJV)

I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. –2 Timothy 1:6-7 (NIV)

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If you’re deistically thinking that I’m mistaking a spiritual experience for indigestion or heartburn, then think again. Here’s how the scientific community defines those things:

What is Heartburn?

Imagine you’ve just eaten a delicious, spicy meal. Shortly afterward, you feel a burning sensation in your chest, right behind your breastbone. That’s heartburn. It might also make you burp or bring a sour taste into your mouth.

What is Indigestion?

Indigestion is a bit different. It’s more like an upset stomach or discomfort in your belly. You might feel full even if you haven’t eaten much, or you might burp a lot. Some people describe it as a feeling of bloating or gassiness. It can also make you feel like you need to vomit.

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The fire of love, the flame of love, incendium amoris, the Aldersgate Experience is neither heartburn, nor indigestion. It is not stomach acid acting up. Nice try naturalism, not this time. Heartburn is when you have a chronic, constant, painful burning feeling behind your sternum. Indigestion is simply a feeling of bloating or gas in your stomach; and it makes you nauseous (a bellyache).

There’s some really important differences that both heartburn and indigestion have with the spiritual experience of the fire of love:

1. The fire of love happens in the belly mainly; but it can flare up to the chest area.

2. The fire of love happens when you’re thinking about the Bible or praying.

3. The fire of love is a sensation that the Holy Spirit is dwelling within you.

4. The fire of love is God’s Spirit testifying that he loves you as his child (Romans 8:16).

5. The fire of love is the supernatural love of God shed abroad in the heart (Romans 5:5).

6. The fire of love only lasts for a second or two.

7. The fire of love is a truly “heartwarming” or bellywarming sensation. Its pleasant!

8. The fire of love is not a burning feeling in the sternum, but mainly in the belly.

9. The fire of love is not a feeling of nausea or bloating in the stomach (not a bellyache).

10. The fire of love is a Holy Spirit experience in the belly that flares up for one or two seconds at most. It only happens when you are thinking about the Lord, the Bible, or praying. It only happens in order to confirm some truth of Scripture and increase your faith in God.

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WesleyGospel, The Gospel of Jesus Christ, pp. 62-66.

Richard J. Foster, Prayer, p. 133.

Jim Goll, Wasted on Jesus, p. 164.

Kenneth J. Collins, Wesley on Salvation, ch. 3.

Richard Rolle, The Fire of Love.

Herbert Thurston, The Physical Phenomena of Mysticism, ch. 8.

G. B. Scaramelli, A Handbook of Mystical Theology.

Joan Carroll Cruz, Mysteries Marvels Miracles, ch. 12.

Steven Fanning, Mystics of the Christian Tradition.

I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. –1 Corinthians 5:11 (KJV)

He that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation. –Mark 3:29 (KJV)

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WesleyGospel, “Biblical Shunning vs. The Silent Treatment.”

Medium, “Does Shunning Exist in the Independent Fundamental Baptist Church?”

Regular Baptist Ministries, “Shunning.” There is absolutely no Biblical support for IFB people to shun Pentecostals, either 1. for the cause of upholding cessationism (deism and unbelief, 1 Corinthians 14:1), or 2. for the cause of eternal security (usually with a no-lordship cheap grace and antinomian idea, 1 Timothy 1:19-20). But it seems that these are nevertheless the reasons why IFB people choose to shun Pentecostals. They conclude that its all supported by Romans 16:17 (KJV): “I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.” But again this doesn’t stand up to contextual Bible interpretation: “For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:18). In other words, the Bible teaches here exactly what it teaches in 1 Corinthians 5:11: that antinomian preachers with morally lax attitudes are the ones who are supposed to be shunned. There’s absolutely no support in Romans 16:17 for a Baptist to shun a charismatic or a person who believes you can lose your salvation if you stop walking in the Spirit. That’s really bad hermeneutics and just plain rudeness and intolerance to other members of the true body of Christ: especially if you have reason to believe that those charismatics are godly people.

J. Gordon Melton, “Shunning,” Encyclopedia of American Religions, p. 88.

The Shunning. Hallmark Channel, 2011. (based on the Beverly Lewis book).

Ronald Enroth, Churches That Abuse.

Thomas C. Oden, Pastoral Theology: Essentials of Ministry. HarperOne, 1983.

Robert Graves, ed, Strangers to Fire: When Tradition Trumps Scripture.

Roger Olson, The Westminster Handbook of Evangelical Theology, p. 293.