Sword of the Lord

[John81]

It's something I didn't want to do but I finally had to drop my subscription to Sword of the Lord. They have strayed and become double-minded in ways I can't keep hoping will be corrected or that can be ignored.

On one hand they will say there needs to be clear lines of separation, they will speak out against some they don't think are keeping separation, and yet on their other hand they will do what they say others should not as they quote non-Christians as if they were Christians, positively quote Calvinists and baby-baptizers they claim to stand against, support or turn a blind eye to those in their "camp" which use CCM while saying they are against it for others, editing sermons and hymns to suit their purposes without pointing out they have done so and when finally they can no longer hide what they did offering weak excuses rather than repentance and correction, etc.

It has been sad and painful to see the steady decline of Sword of the Lord but such seems to be the way of things.

[No Nicolaitans]

I haven't seen a Sword of the Lord in over 20 years I think. I was given a 1-year subscription back when Curtis Hutson was the Editor. I liked it, but didn't renew when the year was over. I later tried Revival Fires, but it seemed like every issue of that focused on 2 things...

1. soul-winning

2. one of the major pet sins that most IFB pastors like to preach on. (Music, pants on women, MVs, attending movies, etc.)

To me...and I stress...to me, it got monotonous. Kind of like if your pastor preached on the same thing every time he preached.

Editor's Note: The opinions expressed above do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, opinions, or views of the owner, moderators, nor other members of Online Baptist and should not be seen as an endorsement by them.

[John81]

The Sword was still pretty good 20 years ago. They have steadily declined to the point I don't find it edifying to read anymore.

Agreed with regards to Revival Fire, at least as it was last I read it which has been awhile, it was rather monotonous and not geared for Christian growth. It kind of reminded me of a Baptist church we visited for awhile many years ago. Each service was a soul winning service. There was no preaching to train up or build up the congregation in living for the Lord. Each sermon was "come to Jesus" and then they would play that song over and over and over at the end of each service until finally someone would go to the front to "rededicate" or ask for prayer just so the service could end.

[swathdiver]

Sword is not perfect, my subscription is about up and I'm considering renewal or letting it go.  What else is there?  I basically get the articles from O Timothy delivered to my inbox every morning and back to the Sword paper, for the most part I enjoy reading it but some issues are quite boring.  

[Critical Mass]

1 hour ago, swathdiver said:

Sword is not perfect, my subscription is about up and I'm considering renewal or letting it go.  What else is there?  I basically get the articles from O Timothy delivered to my inbox every morning and back to the Sword paper, for the most part I enjoy reading it but some issues are quite boring.  

Hey, why don't you get yourself a subscription to Peter Ruckman's Bible Baptist Bulletin. You might get off the baby bottle.

[Rosie]

Oh my I am a Sword of the Lord fan and have been for over 30 years.... I am surprised at what I read here.. I don't see this in the Seord or am I blind. My subscription is about to run out too and I am anxious to renew it...I don't know what to say

[Alan]

2 hours ago, Rosie said:

Oh my I am a Sword of the Lord fan and have been for over 30 years.... I am surprised at what I read here.. I don't see this in the Seord or am I blind. My subscription is about to run out too and I am anxious to renew it...I don't know what to say

Rosie,

Rosie, you are not blind. I intend to keep my subscription to the Sword of the Lord and I want to encourage you, and anybody else that cares to listen, to keep their subscription.

The Sword of the Lord has been a blessing to me, my wife, my daughter, and those who read it after I place in on the church library shelf.

Methinks there may be some nitpicking in this area of discussion and while straining at a gnat a camel is about to come into the tent. 

Here is my two cents.

A lot of generalities have been mentioned in problems with the Sword but no specific examples. Even with some problems, The Sword of the Lord, and O Timothy, are probably the two finest Christian publications left. It is my personal pleasure in having some of the godly, may I repeat, godly men who currently write articles for the Sword of the Lord as supporting churches and one, if I mentioned his name, most of the brethren here would know who he is. But, I willl forbear as being a supported missionary I would be considered partial.

Shall I discontinue my Sword subscription? what can take its place? Shall we consider the problems with O Timothy next? What publication will take its place?

I also love O Timothy. Are both newspapers perfect? No. Is OnLine Baptist perfect? No.

Could the Sword be better? Yes. Occasionaly they do have an writer that I would not have in my pulpit. Considering the size, and scope of the Sword of the Lord, it is better than can be expected. There are more heretics on OnLine Baptist than in the Sword of the Lord in any issue. There are more reprobates on OnLine Baptist than has graced the pages of the Sword of the Lord in any issue. Please, look at my words carefully. The aforementioned sentence is a generalization.

So, for those who plan to cancel their subscriptions to the Sword of the Lord, in order not to be hypoctirical, you need to stop posting on OnLine Baptist.  Think about what I just said.  Several of the major contributors on OnLine Baptist are not even Baptist, nor Fundamental, nor Independent.

If some of the brethen would like to give me specific examples on why the Sword is not worthy to grace a Christian home, or the shelf of the church library, then send me a private e-mail, or personal messenger, with specific, and I mean specific, serious, doctrinal issues.

For awhile now, a lot of independent, fundamental men of God have been belitted, maligned, and scorned.

Here is a partial list.

1. Pastor Oulette in Saginaw, Michigan. A personal friend of mine. My pastor was his father and our current pastor is a Bible Institute graduate of his church. Pastor Oulette is a godly, soul-winner, missionary minded, compassinate man.

2. The Scofield Bible has been maligned. He is continully being maligned by one individual who (contiually), despises the Dispensational and Second coming of Christ doctrinal truths. I myself have pointed out some errors in the Scofield Bible. but, it is still one of the best Reference bibles available.

3. Clarence Larkin has been maligned. He is continully being maligned by those who despise the Dispensational and Second Coming of Christ doctrinal truths.

Are the brethen here on OnLine Baptist better the Curtis Hutson and the Sword? Curtis Hutson and the Sword has more grace than the brethren that maligned the above men. 

Methinks a double standard is in the air and floating among the brethren.

Before we consider maligning the Sword of the Lord let us first consider cleaning our own house. Consider the agnostics, non-IFB brethren, internet theologians, and hyper-dispensationalists on OnLine Baptist. Are having them post their non-IFB views worse than the Sword?   Once our house is clean, and all of the beams are gone, we may consider the motes that are in the Sword of the Lord.

Alan

 

[John81]

http://www.wayoflife.org/database/swordsmokescreen.html

 

[John81]

Yet Shelton Smith is part of this man-centered crowd. Instead of reproving them, he joins them. This is part of a wide-ranging, good-old boys, mutual back-scratching network, and men who care about the truth and care about the next generation and care about their churches need to come apart from it.

Preachers who continue to associate with this crowd are building bridges whereby this influence will enter their churches and eventually leaven them, regardless of what else they do right in their personal ministries.

http://www.wayoflife.org/index_files/good_churches_ruined_by_bad_assoc.html

[John81]

The redefinition of repentance by Hyles/Hutson and the corruption of biblical evangelism that is so widespread among independent Baptists is a fundamental issue that lies at the very heart of salvation and church life and missionary work. A building established on such a corrupt foundation is destined to collapse, even if a lot of other things are right.

http://www.wayoflife.org/index_files/why_most_fundamental_baptists_emerging.html

[John81]

To MARK someone who is committed to error means to identify him. How do we do this? We do it by plain exposure, reproof and warning. If a man is prominent in teaching a certain error, he should be marked and reproved so that God’s people can know exactly who to avoid. This is why I use the names of men like Jack Hyles and Curtis Hutson when warning about Quick Prayerism.

But marking and reproving is not enough. We must also AVOID. That is a very simple and powerfully descriptive term.

To avoid those who are committed to error means to stay away from their churches, the Bible studies, their writings, their conferences, their schools, their radio and television ministries, and their Internet blogs.

It doesn’t mean to hate them; it means to disassociate from them so as not to be affected by the leaven of their error. It means to disassociate from them so as to be the right example to your people.

This practice is very dramatic and “radical” and “extreme” in our day, but it is exactly what the Bible requires and it is the way of spiritual protection.

This is the way to cut off the leaven of compromise and heresy so that it does not spread through a church.

http://www.wayoflife.org/index_files/path_from_ib_to_shack_rome.html

[Rosie]

1 hour ago, Alan said:

Rosie,

Rosie, you are not blind. I intend to keep my subscription to the Sword of the Lord and I want to encourage you, and anybody else that cares to listen, to keep their subscription.

The Sword of the Lord has been a blessing to me, my wife, my daughter, and those who read it after I place in on the church library shelf.

Methinks there may be some nitpicking in this area of discussion and while straining at a gnat a camel is about to come into the tent. 

Here is my two cents.

A lot of generalities have been mentioned in problems with the Sword but no specific examples. Even with some problems, The Sword of the Lord, and O Timothy, are probably the two finest Christian publications left. It is my personal pleasure in having some of the godly, may I repeat, godly men who currently write articles for the Sword of the Lord as supporting churches and one, if I mentioned his name, most of the brethren here would know who he is. But, I willl forbear as being a supported missionary I would be considered partial.

Shall I discontinue my Sword subscription? what can take its place? Shall we consider the problems with O Timothy next? What publication will take its place?

I also love O Timothy. Are both newspapers perfect? No. Is OnLine Baptist perfect? No.

Could the Sword be better? Yes. Occasionaly they do have an writer that I would not have in my pulpit. Considering the size, and scope of the Sword of the Lord, it is better than can be expected. There are more heretics on OnLine Baptist than in the Sword of the Lord in any issue. There are more reprobates on OnLine Baptist than has graced the pages of the Sword of the Lord in any issue. Please, look at my words carefully. The aforementioned sentence is a generalization.

So, for those who plan to cancel their subscriptions to the Sword of the Lord, in order not to be hypoctirical, you need to stop posting on OnLine Baptist.  Think about what I just said.  Several of the major contributors on OnLine Baptist are not even Baptist, nor Fundamental, nor Independent.

If some of the brethen would like to give me specific examples on why the Sword is not worthy to grace a Christian home, or the shelf of the church library, then send me a private e-mail, or personal messenger, with specific, and I mean specific, serious, doctrinal issues.

For awhile now, a lot of independent, fundamental men of God have been belitted, maligned, and scorned.

Here is a partial list.

1. Pastor Oulette in Saginaw, Michigan. A personal friend of mine. My pastor was his father and our current pastor is a Bible Institute graduate of his church. Pastor Oulette is a godly, soul-winner, missionary minded, compassinate man.

2. The Scofield Bible has been maligned. He is continully being maligned by one individual who (contiually), despises the Dispensational and Second coming of Christ doctrinal truths. I myself have pointed out some errors in the Scofield Bible. but, it is still one of the best Reference bibles available.

3. Clarence Larkin has been maligned. He is continully being maligned by those who despise the Dispensational and Second Coming of Christ doctrinal truths.

Are the brethen here on OnLine Baptist better the Curtis Hutson and the Sword? Curtis Hutson and the Sword has more grace than the brethren that maligned the above men. 

Methinks a double standard is in the air and floating among the brethren.

Before we consider maligning the Sword of the Lord let us first consider cleaning our own house. Consider the agnostics, non-IFB brethren, internet theologians, and hyper-dispensationalists on OnLine Baptist. Are having them post their non-IFB views worse than the Sword?   Once our house is clean, and all of the beams are gone, we may consider the motes that are in the Sword of the Lord.

Alan

 

Thank you Alan. 

[MountainChristian]

The sword is pretty much the same from one issue to the next. I received my renewal last week.

Its heart breaking to see repentance losing its place in Christianity.

 

[Invicta]

On 2/23/2016 at 6:40 PM, John81 said:

 It kind of reminded me of a Baptist church we visited for awhile many years ago. Each service was a soul winning service. There was no preaching to train up or build up the congregation in living for the Lord. Each sermon was "come to Jesus" and then they would play that song over and over and over at the end of each service until finally someone would go to the front to "rededicate" or ask for prayer just so the service could end.

The opposite is often true among Baptist Churches over here. It is teaching at every service.

At a pastor's fraternal about 30 miles from here a few years ago, a Baptist pastor who at the time was a fairly regular preacher at our church, related to me that he said "Brothers, we need to get back to gospel preaching.  We have teaching in the morning, teaching in the evening and teaching midweek as well."  He said that remark split the meeting.  

[Alan]

Brethren,

I do not intend to get into a heated debate over the Sword of the Lord and the O Timothy newspapers. I subscribe to both of them. These two newspapers are the only Christian newspapers that I subscribe too. If you will notice my previous 'likes' here on OnLine Baptist you will notice that I like the O Timothy newspaper very much.

As I do not want to get into a heated discussion over this issue I will briefly answer items that have been brought out. As an example, I went downstairs  to the church library and picked up the top copy of the Sword of the Lord (the December 4, 2015 issue).

1. Not one mention of Carl Hatch was in the paper. The high-pressure salesman, no repentance, approach of Carl Hatch is repugnant not only to me but to the soul-winning churches that I attend. For Bro. Clould to continually re-hash this issue is beating a dead horse.

2. Dr. Shelton Smith, as  usual, selected a variety of old time preachers and men well known in our age. To my knowledge, none of these men are 'emerging churches,' or 'no repentance' preachers of the gospel. Dr. Smith is still emphasizing John R. Rice's books and materials. Bro. Smith is not John R. Rice, but, he is doing the best job he can. Can anybody here on OnLine Baptist do better? If you can, start your own Christian publication.

3. There was a large variety of fundamental, Independent, KJV, Baptist, men and colleges represented in the Sword of the Lord both in advertisements and articles. Maybe if Bro. Cloud changed his harsh, bitter, and personal rancor towards Bro. Smith and his ministry, than maybe Bro. Smith would allow him to advertise.

4. Any 're-definition' of the word repentance by Hyles/Hutson has not affected me, the churches I attend, and the men I associate with. Nor, do any of the churches that I attend. Nor do I, nor the churches that I associate with, practice 'quick prayerism.' For Bro. Cloud to continually re-hash these isssues, and call the majority of IFB 'emerging churches' in my opinion, is hurting his ministry and is creating a false issue among the brethren.   

In spite of the faults of both newspapers, I am intending to continue my subscribtion to both the 'Sword of the Lord,' and "O Timothy' as both are still IFB and are a blessing to my heart.

Alan

 

Edited February 26, 2016 by Alan
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