I have withheld any comments of this conference until its over. The John 3:16 Conference is partly the labor of Jerry Vines, a preacher that I have met and enjoyed listening to. He is obviously a man of integrity and had served the Lord well. Unfortunately, his growing resentment towards the Doctrines of Grace has marred his otherwise good legacy as a Bible expositor.
When they first announced about this conference I had thoughts running in my head that it will be a time where people gather together to trash other Christians and to trash the Holy Bible and ultimately God Himself.
One speaker caught my attention. He said, “Should the Southern Baptist Convention move toward 5-point Calvinism, such a move would be away from, and not toward, the gospel.” According to this blogger, this was met with a standing ovation.
The same speaker also said that, “According to Phil Johnson, James White is a hyper-Calvinist” which prompted Phil Johnson to respond.
James White responds from the UK, I have a feeling that when he returns, he will be challenging Dr. Allen to a debate.
Has Dr. Allen forgotten about George Whitefield (the evangelist that God used to bring many to Christ), Jonathan Edwards (where revival broke out) and Charles Spurgeon (the preacher who preach too much Gospel)?
By the way, we (me and everyone else who blogs here) and our church believe passionately in evangelizing the lost. We preach the Gospel and evangelize the lost weekly. We do so because of our beliefs in the Doctrines of Grace.
From the critiqued of these bloggers (Andrew Lindsey, John Mark, Timmy Brister, and Justin Taylor), one has to doubt the scholarship of the John 3:16 Conference speakers. I wonder what their students learn from them in class?
One seminary student in attendance wrote, “On a side note, I also think it speaks volumes that the conference costs $50 for audio and $70 for Video while Together 4 the Gospel, Desiring God, IX Marks and other Reformed outlets make their audio available for free. It almost appears that the reason behind the conference is not because Reformed Theology is destroying the convention, but that it is destroying the revenue generated during revivals.“
call it, “Together Against the Gospel”
“Together Against the Gospel”
I have heard the John 3:16 Conference called a lot of things, but nothing comes closer to the truth than… “Together Against the Gospel”