Brian McCrorie

@Biblicalman Back up to Romans 10:9-10. The man said he wasn't a believer but might become so if he gets to see heaven. That's not judgmentalism. That's just not the way to life.

A man said "I accept Jesus Christ" on his deathbed. The church asked if he really meant it. I need to ask you something. When did we become the gatekeepers of grace? I've watched Christians dissect Scott Adams' final words like prosecutors. They parsed his phrases. They weighed his tone. They measured his faith against some invisible scale and found it wanting. "That doesn't sound like surrender," they said. "That sounds like a man hedging his bets." And I understand the instinct. I do. But there's a verse that haunts me. Not because it's obscure—because it's too simple. "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13) Whosoever. Not "whosoever truly believes in their heart of hearts." Not "whosoever demonstrates sufficient sincerity." Not "whosoever calls early enough in life that we trust their motives." Whosoever. The moment we add prerequisites to that promise, we've traded the Gospel for religion. We've smuggled works back in through the side door labeled "authentic faith." I know what some of you are thinking. But he admitted he wasn't a believer. He talked about "risk and reward." He said he hoped he'd "qualify." Yes. He did. And those words make us uncomfortable. They don't sound like the confident declarations we want from converts. They sound uncertain. Calculating. Human. But here's what I need you to hear: The thief on the cross didn't have time to develop mature theology either. He was a criminal. Hours from death. He looked at Jesus and said, "Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom." That's it. No profession of belief in the resurrection. No renunciation of his former life. No evidence of transformed character. Just a desperate man, reaching for a hand he wasn't sure would take his. And Jesus said, "Today you will be with me in paradise." We have a problem, and it's not Scott Adams. It's us. We've internalized a law that God never gave us. A natural sense of fairness that says late arrivals should get less. That deathbed conversions are suspicious. That the math should somehow work out—more faith, more years, more sacrifice equals more standing before God. Jesus told a parable about this. We skip over it because it offends us. A landowner hired workers throughout the day. Some came at dawn. Some at noon. Some showed up with one hour left. At the end, he paid them all the same. The early workers were furious. "These who were hired last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day." (Matthew 20:12) And the landowner replied: "I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?" There it is. The scandal of grace is that it feels unfair. A man who mocked God for sixty years gets the same inheritance as the saint who served since childhood. A skeptic who hedged his bets at the last breath stands in the same kingdom as the martyr who gave everything. And something in us recoils. That's not grace rejecting us. That's us rejecting grace. Let me tell you what I see when Christians interrogate a dead man's faith. I see the older brother standing outside the party, refusing to go in. The prodigal came home reeking of pig filth and poor decisions. The father ran to him. Threw a robe on his back. Killed the fattened calf. And the older brother? "Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!" (Luke 15:29-30) He couldn't celebrate the return because he was too busy auditing the journey. Sound familiar? Here's the truth we don't want to face: We can't see hearts. We can only see words. And the words Scott Adams spoke were: "I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior." Were they perfect? No. Were they confident? No. Were they the words we would have scripted? No. But they were the words. And the God who receives those words is not checking for tone. He's not running sentiment analysis. He's not grading on a curve. He's looking for open hands. Paul wrote something that lands differently now: "Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand." (Romans 14:4) Scott Adams was not our servant to judge. He answered to his own Master. And the Lord is able—able—to make him stand. That's not my promise. That's Scripture's promise. The question is whether we'll submit to it. I know why we do this. I know why we parse and weigh and question. Because if grace is really this free, then we didn't earn our place either. If the deathbed convert gets in, then our decades of service weren't the price of admission. They were the privilege of knowing Him longer. And that reframes everything. It means the faith we've built isn't a resume. It's a relationship. It means our years weren't buying something. They were receiving something. It means we were never the workers earning a wage. We were always the prodigals coming home. So did Scott Adams get saved? I don't know. But I know what the Scripture says. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. I know what Jesus promised the thief who had nothing to offer but a desperate plea. I know what the father did when his son came crawling home with a rehearsed speech that never even got finished. And I know what the landowner said to the workers who were angry that grace didn't do math the way they wanted. "Are you envious because I am generous?" The gate is narrow, but it's not locked. The standard is high, but it's not ours to enforce. The Judge is holy, but He is also the one who ran to meet the prodigal while he was still a long way off. Stop auditing the dead. Start marveling at the grace that let you in. "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Whosoever. Even him. Even you. What saith the Scriptures? That's the only question that matters.

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@sola_chad 1 Timothy

What did your pastor preach on today? What book of the Bible?

@TomBuck Nothing like speaking the truth in love, eh? Oh wait. This is neither truth nor loving. Hmm. Ministering grace to the hearers? Not so much. Maybe major on encouragement and minor on complaint?

9Marks ruined a lot of good pastors by leading them to become woke!

@sola_chad Of course we tell them God loves them. That's John 3:16. But to share the gospel faithfully requires us to give the bad news about sin along with the good news about Jesus.

“Telling a nonbeliever that God loves them and has a plan for their life isn’t accurate. Because currently, God has a terrible plan for your life.” -John MacArthur Should we tell nonbelievers that God loves them?

@manCrusade1 @lorna_lynley @Protestia Can you cite an example of this or are you just venting?

During John MacArthur's memorial service, Mark MacArthur’s gave a tribute to his dad which lasted about 15 minutes, reflecting on what it was like growing up with Jmac as a father. This segment was originally cut from the republishing of the memorial, but has since been restored.

@TaylorRMarshall Heresy? Hardly.

The “pre-tribulation rapture” is a heresy invented in the 1830s by John Nelson Darby in prophetic conferences around 1830-1833. His ideas were further popularized in the early 20th century through the Scofield Reference Bible, published in 1909.

@RobMKendall Maybe you should ask him?

We found Waldo! Diego’s in India. Based on his job description/requirement, what possible reason would there be for the Indiana Secretary of State to flee the country during budget session for a trip to India?

@Phil_Johnson_ Phil are his mental faculties affected by his illness at all?

and (again) I think he is showing good signs of improvement. Here's hoping "the final lap" for him will be at least a decade long.

I spent another hour with John MacArthur again this morning. Though he obviously is nowhere near full strength, I think he's improving, albeit slowly. He's making plans to come and record for GTY in the studio next week. He's motivated and galvanized--

@Donatos I need some help with an order. Our local store is not answering the phone. I've called 3x and it hands up on me each time after ringing and ringing.

@NewsCentralCNN Why was the man from Ukraine (Alex) looking down all the time, like he was reading what he was supposed to say next? Was he being coached in what to say? @brikeilarcnn Seemed odd.

@JustinPetersMin That's not the actual Liberty Bell but it is still disgraceful.

Absolutely shameful.

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@pastordmack @RodDMartin Why do you believe the senior Pastor is biblically assigned to a male? What passage would you point to for that distinction? And where do you see any biblical distinction between "senior" and "associate" pastors?

Not aware of FBCA’s public statements on this matter. If what you’re saying is accurate, then FBCA’s statement would conflict with or contradict the BFM2K. However, affirming the BFM2K is not required to be a member of the SBC, as you know. Inasmuch as the lead pastor there is a male, I see no problem. I’ll state once more, I believe the Senior or lead pastor is biblically assigned to a male, who works in partnership with gifted and called women and men, who may also be gifted to assist the lead pastor in various aspects of church ministry.

The Law Amendment would prohibit an SBC Church from hiring a woman to serve as an Associate Pastor of Women Ministries, of Associate Pastor of Children/Youth/Singles(you name it). No SBC church is trying to name a woman as “The Pastor” or “Senior Pastor” or “Lead Pastor”. The Law Amendment denies an autonomous SBC church the right to name a woman Associate Pastor of Discipleship(Minister of Education in some churches), on the basis of her gender; without regard to her gifting, experience, effectiveness, training, track record or character. The Bible is clear that a female can receive the gift of “pastor”(Ephesians 4: 11, 12). The Law Amendment says, she cannot carry the word “pastor” in her job title. In my judgment this is sexism pure, and simple, and stinks in the nostrils of God. An Associate Pastor(male or female) serves under the oversight/authority of the male senior or lead pastor. Grateful that this matter will get settled in a few days one way or the other. We need to be singularly focused on the Great Commission instead of wrestling over these interpretative, secondary, and tertiary issues. Vote against The Law Amendment.

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