Introduction
From EJ Hill & Friends
Dear Reader
I am a former Arminian Charismatic Pentecostal Minister, who, not long ago, resigned my Pastorate (something which I've been studying for since the age of 16).
While I remain Christian, I have long ago come to the conclusion that not five in a hundred who attend "places of worship", ever go to meet God, to hear God, or to worship God. In the words of an old English poem,
"Some go to Church, to take a walk,
Some go there to laugh and talk,
Some go there to meet a lover,
Some go there a fault to cover,
Some go there to doze and nod,
But the wise go there to worship God."
It grieves me the more, with every passing day, to see so many following aimlessly, as our spiritual "misleadership" serve up a lukewarm theology. And with such a liberal doctrinal alignment have changed the nature and character of His People, into a divisive synagogue of satanic activity.
It is unfortunately so, that the world's educational credentials have in time replaced the gifting and equipping of the Holy Spirit, and the pure dogmatic teaching of Scripture. The entire New Testament message stands in stark contrast to the hollow "gospel" so many are proclaiming today.
The Great Escape
I simply could no longer, with a good conscience, continue a Minister or a Member of the Denominational Church Establishment. Her heresies and corruptions, as well as her utter contrariety to a New Testament Gospel Church as revealed in Scripture, have forcibly laid upon my conscience the sin of remaining in her (Rom. 16v17; Gal. 2v5; 1 Tim. 6v5; Js. 4v17; Rev. 18v4).
I could not shake the feeling, that by continuing within her, I not only sanctioned, but upheld, what in the sight of Almighty God were not only loathsome, but hateful – ultimately, and effectively, preventing truth from being known (Rom. 1v18).
I was, therefore, COMPELLED BY MY LOVE FOR GOD, CONVICTED BY A PASSION FOR INTELLECTUAL HONESTY, DRIVEN BY A DESIRE FOR TRUTH, and LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD - to separate myself from this corrupt and worldly system.
I was not the first to do so, and neither will I be the last.
It has been said that "deception is always perpetrated in the name of helping people", and rightly so. And as I've said, on numerous occasions, that even if a person's life seemingly passes Christian standards in morality, financial accountability, and every other aspect, except sound doctrine, then such a person's faith is in vain (Mt. 15v8-9; Gal. 1v6-9).
Why this website?
As a Christian I am often asked for the name of a recommended book on a whole plethora of subjects. And, of course, there are many such books. However, some of my favorite arguments are hard to find. Also, some of the most popular arguments today are problematic, either because they employ sloppy research or because the conclusion are not as clear as the authors would have us believe.
Therefore, I sat about compiling the best of these into what you have before you - born from my personal struggle between what I was taught in Church and Bible School, as opposed to the testimony of Scripture and History. It is the sum total of my research, since 1993 - or at least soon will be.
I strongly believe that CHRISTIANS TODAY ARE STARVED FOR DOCTRINAL CONTENT. Several publishers have warned that my work were "too hard for everyone to understand" due to its doctrinal emphasis. The whole point, however, is to answer doctrinal controversy. I simply could not write without plunging into doctrine. And I have to admit that sometimes my work seemed rather like textbooks. It employed theological terminology you would easily encounter within Bible School, or even Seminary, but then also unfamiliar to many laymen.
This website is a simplified treatment, yet scholarly approach, which is appropriate, because the Gospel itself is very simple. As most writers on religious subjects recognize – we should try and avoid confusing theological terminology when addressing ourselves to the non-theological public. Perhaps people do not realize how much easier it would be as a Bible Student to use technical terms instead of having to find a roundabout way of saying the exact same thing. In this I have done my best to steer clear of things hard-to-understand. I have rather aimed at defending truth than making people feel that there is anything particular significant in the traditional language, which is of course largely based upon the words which happened to be in use when The Authorized Version of the Bible was first published.
If however some technical terms have to be used from time to time it is because no other word would express the same concept so well. This is presumably why the biologist speaks of Evolution and the physicist of nuclear fission.
I hope that the following pages will provide at least a glimpse into the truths that define us, while remaining readable even to non-Christians and those who are not familiar with the Bible. In fact, it is the non-Christian with whom I am most eager to speak.
Nothing in this life is as exciting as the experience of meeting and knowing God. Even those who haven't had the privilege must admit, if they could, it would be the greatest thing imaginable. This is not only intended to help people meet God, but also, to help them in a better understanding Him.
Who this website is not for
- This website is NOT for the "super-spiritual".
- It is NOT for noisy, feel-good "happy-clappies", who manipulate Christianity into a naked appeal to Emotionalism.
- It is NOT for hooded mystics searching for "magic" in their religion.
- It is NOT for the complacent, hoisting over their shoulder a tote-bag of honors, diplomas, and good works thinking they've got it made.
- It is NOT for legalists, who would rather surrender control of their lives to Old Testament customs than run the risk of living in union with God.
- And it is surely NOT for those, who believe that "ignorance is bliss" (Rom. 1v13, 10v3, 11v25; 1 Cor. 10v1, 12v1; 2 Cor. 1v8, 2v11; 1 Th. 4v13).
Who this website is for
If anyone is still reading, this is for you - the disillusioned, the bedraggled, the beat-up and burnt-out. This website is something I compiled for myself and anyone who has grown weary and discouraged along the Way.
- It is for the wobbly, weak-kneed, who know they don't have it altogether, but Enlightened enough to change.
- It is for inconsistent, unsteady disciples whose cheese is falling of their cracker.
- It is for the sorely burdened, who are still shifting a heavy load from one hand to the other, but wish to let it go.
- It is for poor, weak, sinful men and women with hereditary faults and limited talents.
- It is for earthen vessels who shuffle along on feet of clay.
- It is for the bent and bruised who feel that their lives are a grave disappointment to God.
- It is for smart people who know they are stupid and honest people who admit they are scalawags.
- And most assuredly, it is for the Biblicist, who knows that understanding the Bible is not a matter of "private interpretation". (2 Pt. 1v20)
Christianity In Crisis
Something is RADICALLY WRONG within the Denominational Church Establishment. It has been so paganized, secularized, socialized, and psycho-analyzed, that WE FIND OURSELVES IN A VIRTUAL FAMINE OF BIBLICAL UNDERSTANDING, and in GREATER NEED than ever before, of new contact with the uncompromised Truth of Christ.
The dividing line has been blurred beyond recognition, by an ever-growing Ecumenical Consensus amongst Catholics and Protestants, which effectively neutralized, whatever significant doctrinal differences once existed. Expository Preaching is no longer.
We now have Evangelical Catholics and Catholic Evangelicals. We have Evangelical Charismatics and Charismatic Evangelicals. We have Evangelical Pentecostals and Pentecostal Evangelicals. And by far the worst, we have Calvinistic Arminians and Arminian Calvinists (i.e. Calminianism).
If the Denominational Church Establishment persists in neglecting its spiritual mission, while it continues to busy itself with socio-economic and socio-political issues, it will give birth to a monstrosity that cannot be stop.
A Heart Ablaze
Never in history have there been a more reluctant minister than myself. And I say this to my own detriment. And why is this? It is because when I speak the truth – the fires of Persecution surround me. Yet, if I say, "I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His Name" then I find that "His Word in my heart burns like a fire ... and I can not stay" (Jer. 20v9).
Considering the choice before me - either to burn from within, or to burn from without. I thought to myself, that while the latter might eventually kill my body, the former will surely kill my soul. They say, "If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen". But what do you do, if the kitchen does not want to get out of you? I have no real alternative, but to say and to do, what God expects of me. In the words of Martin Luther, "Here I stand, may God help me."
"O sweet and blessed country,
Shall I ever see thy face?
O sweet and blessed country?
Shall I ever win thy grace?
I have the hope within me
To comfort and to bless!
Shall I ever win the prize itself?
O tell me, tell me, yes!"
The Road Less Traveled
It is my belief that GOD WANTS NOTHING MORE THAN TO RENEW AND REVIVE HIS PEOPLE – to call us back from spiritual darkness, into His glorious light.
However, BEFORE THERE CAN BE ANY REFORMATION OF ANY KIND, THERE MUST BE A VISION OF DESPERATE NEED. Unless there is a willingness to face the facts concerning the state of the Church in general, and that of our hearts in particular, there will be no real or lasting reform.
Therefore, as a Christian, it is not only my responsibility to direct my pen at the abuses I observe within the Church (1 Cor. 5v1-13), but also to mark those "careful never to quote a single Scripture in its entirety, and within its context".
How are the people, especially those caught up in Counterfeit Christianity, to be wary of the hellish traps set for them, and baited with religious morsels, unless they can see in cold print, or hear in burning words from those who managed to escape?
Tired of living in a lukewarm Christian wonderland? What I am about to share with you, will liberate you.
Happy reading ...
SOVEREIGN GRACE HERMANUS
