The Bible Fashion Magazine

I am sure that you have seen this Bible Magazine at your local Christian bookstore, or local Wal-Mart. Revolve is a Biblezine that seeks to reach out to young teen women. While this magazine Bible has good intentions, their methods are entirely wrong. Think about it: God's Holy Word, plus beauty secrets. As far as I know, the Bible doesn't talk about what make up to use on which type of skin color. Also, as Dr. Russell Moore pointed out in class today, you won't find overwight girls, or girls with acne problems, or girls that just look weird. You find young attractive females that resemble girls in a cosmopolitan magazine. This Bible presents the same message to young teen girls as a cosmopolitan magazine does: There is a particular way a teenage girl must look in order to be somebody. Granted, I think their is a serious problem when a girl doesn't take care of herself and weighs 400 pounds, but I can bet the God is not going to redeem just the girls that look like the girls in this Biblezine.

Secondly, in promotion of Revolve this is the advertisement:

In focus groups, online polling, and one-on-one discussion, Transit Books
has found that the number one reason teens don't read the Bible is that it is
"too big and freaky looking." This fashion-magazine format for the New Testament
is the perfect solution to that problem. Teen girls feel comfortable exploring
the Scriptures in the New Century Version and over 500 further-study notes
because of the relevant language and format!

They claim that the Bible is "too big and freaky looking." What these people do not understand is the authority of Scripture. The Bible, whether it is too big or freaking looking, is God's word to His people and is powerful to bring salvation. It isn't the cool look that makes the Bible effective, it is the words on the pages of Scripture that are inspired, inerrant, infallible, and authoritative and brings salvation to everyone who believes.

We don't need to make the Bible "attractive" for people. What we need to do is to boldly proclaim God's Word to teenagers as God's ambassadors to them, and if we do that, teenagers will come willingly to Christ and believe the gospel.

Catholics and Perseverance

On James White's Dividing Line program from October 11, he reviews some Catholic objections to "Eternal Security". He touches on some points that we have recently wrangled over on this blog with our Arminian friends. I really think you Mafia guys will enjoy this one! Here's the program.

Enjoy!

A Message to Our Readers

It has come to my attention that different people have encountered our blog here at The Reformed Mafia and have drawn various conclusions from the name of our blog. In this post I seek to inform our readers what we are about and what we are not.

1. We are not an organization. We aren't really a Mafia. We don't have meetings. In fact, I only personally know two people who write as authors on this blog, and am close friends to a former author of this blog.

2. We do not desire to infiltrate churches and schools "brainwashing" people with calvinism. We are Calvinists. With that being said, we also belive God gave each individual minds to think, and we want to simply get people thinking about various issues dealing with the church and theology.

3. We are not a violent people. The authors that I know personally on this blog are the most tenderhearted and godly people that I know. Don't be alarmed by a picture of a gun on our blog. It is there for decoration, simply going with the Mafia theme. In fact, we are so unlike a Mafia that one of our frequent commentors called us a "Subversive Chess Club" because we don't debate that much, and we don't want to cause problems.

4.We are no more a Mafia as the Dallas Cowboys aren't actually Cowboys. It is simply a theme. The Cowboys is a mascot. It is the same thing with our blog.

5. The blog was named by Rhett Kelley after reading where RC Sproul and JI Packer were called the reformed mafia. We liked the name, thought it was humorous, and created a blog with that name.

6. If there is anyone who would like to contact any of us at The Reformed Mafia, we will gladly provide our phone numbers for you to call and speak to us personally.

7. We desire unity within the body of Christ, and don't desire to cause any problems.


*I hope that this has been helpful to those who read our blog. Each member of the Mafia exhibits godly character and have modeled before me what it means to be a godly father and husband, and godly ministers. Trevor Almy, a former author, was asked to join the blog by me because he is a long time friend and I have seen the Spirit of God work in him through the years of our friendship. Trevor has a passion for the word of God and reaching people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I can assure our readers that neither Trevor, nor any member of the blog, has been sent to brainwash students or church members to ascribe to calvinism. We are not Calvinist Commandos, we are just people who love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. If you are offended by our Mafia theme, I appologize, but just as the Atlanta Braves aren't really a group of Native American Indians, we aren't a violent group of Mafia members. We are mere servants of Christ seeking to proclaim the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ through the preaching of God's word, both verbal and written!

The Problem with Universal Redemption

After a conversation at work, I decided to write this post. A coworker of mine asked me about limited atonement today at work (seeing he works with a bunch of seminary students who discuss theology at work). Upon further discussion I realized his problem was election not limited atonement. But his question was, "Can't the atonement be like a blanket atonement for everyone who believes?" That is the question I will deal with.

Did Jesus die for every single individual, yet only those who trust in him actually be saved? I answer no.

1. This would mean double punishment for those who do not trust in Christ. If Jesus atoned for the sins of every individual then they sould go to heaven, necessitating universalism. If universalism is not accepted, then Jesus is paying for unbelievers sins on the cross, and unbelievers are paying for their own sins in hell. This is a double punishment for sin and is illogical.

2. This makes the atonement theoretical and not actual. This view means Jesus is just making salvation possible and not actually saving anybody. In this view, salvation depends not on the cross, but ultimately on the believers choice.

3. This would provide a weak trinity. If God wills that everyone be saved, and Jesus dieds for everyone, and the Holy Spirit is drawing everyone to Christ, yet not all are coming, then the will of man is stronger than the power of God. Man's will is stronger than the will of God.

The truth is, God has had a plan before the foundation of the world. God has chosen to enter into a covenant relationship with a people and Jesus is the means by which those people enter into that covenant relationship. Jesus Christ died for those whom God has set his love upon, whom God foreknew. The Holy Spirit is drawing those whom God has chosen and for whom Christ died. Jesus actually saves. OUr salvation rests upon Christ, and not upon us. May we never boast that our salvation was the result of our own will, but upon the efficacious work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Baptists & the Doctrines of Grace (DVD)

I found a DVD that might interest Reformed folk in the SBC:

"Many people, even life-long Southern Baptists, have not been made aware of the strong, doctrinal roots from which the Baptist denomination emerged; especially the SBCs Calvinistic roots. In two 45-minute presentations, Dr. Tom Nettles, a teacher of Baptist history since 1976, traces the influence of these doctrines in Baptist life from the 17th century to the present. He shows how many of these foundational beliefs have been weakened with time and urges a return to the principles espoused by the denomination’s founding fathers and the Word of God."

Description from NiceneCouncil.com

Click here to order a copy of the DVD.

We'll be Back!

Just a short message to say most of the Mafia has been very busy with things like parenting, ministerial duties, and Seminary education. As a result, blogging has had to take a backseat for some of us -at least for a little while.

In order to help keep up the fight against evangelical androgyny, I would like to encourage everyone to visit The Council on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood.

A Swine is a Swine

What the true proverb says has happened to them: "The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire." (2Peter 2:22 ESV)

Why does a "backslider" go back into sin? Why do some who profess to know Jesus later deny that God even exists? Why after washing a hog does it run right back to the mud?

I once raised a pig to show in the County Fair and I can tell you this:

You can clean off a pig and keep it clean for a time, but leave it to it's own desires it will be right back in the mud in no time. As long as a pig remains a pig, it will do what pigs do!

The same is true with sinners...

Thankfully, when God truly saves us, He makes us new creatures!

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Cor 5:17 KJV)

Soli Deo Gloria!


(Found the video Here)