Reader Beware!

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Be A Berean

As students of God's Word we are exhorted to progress from the "milk" of the Word to the "meat" of the Word (Heb 5:12-14), and to be a "worker rightly handling the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15). The Bereans were considered noble because they examined the teaching of Paul against the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11). These Scriptures (and many others like them) imply that as students we must be diligent in progressing in our knowledge of God's Word. We must read, study, and pray over the Word, asking the Holy Spirit to guide our understanding. In short, we are each responsible for our own theology.

Though we are responsible for our own theology, God has not left us without resources to aid us in developing that theology:

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ . . . (Eph 4:11-12 ESV)

. . . and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Tim 2:2 ESV)

With the myriads of theological voices available today via the internet, TV, books, radio, etc., we must be Bereans and examine the Scriptures to see how these voices stack up against God’s Word. This is especially true in light of the fact that none of our theological resources today (outside of inspired Scripture) have the insight or anointing that the apostle Paul had; yet the Bereans examined even his teaching! Surely we must be just as diligent. (See the Winter 2018 article “Critical Christian Thinking.”)

There is no lack of differing voices and views within the preterist community. Obviously, not all of them can be correct; therefore, we must be Bereans and examine each view in light of Scripture. As Proverbs 18:17 states:

The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him. (ESV)

This is what the Bereans did with Paul’s teaching, and this is what we rely on you to do with the material presented on this web site. FCG cannot vet every theological detail of the individuals and ministries represented on this site. And, if these individuals and ministries are being diligent in their own pursuit of theological knowledge, their positions will be evergreen, changing as they gain a clearer understanding of Scripture.

Likewise, we cannot read every book, article, blog, etc. that an individual or ministry has written. Nevertheless, one of the equipping aspects of FCG’s Mission Statement is to provide these various resources to aid you in your study of Truth. Inclusion of material from any individual or ministry does not imply endorsement of that material (it may have been provided as a counterpoint) or that individual/ministry. Furthermore, some individuals or ministries with whom we may disagree on certain points may also have resources that we feel are beneficial to the preterist community.

Obviously, we do not want to promote outright heresy. But even this poses problems; who gets to define heresy? I’m sure that by now you get the gist of the title of this page: Reader Beware. It is up to you to exercise spiritual discipline and examine the content of this site and, by the Holy Spirit’s help, see if these things are so - Acts 17:11. (The bulk of the Winter 2019 issue was devoted to these issues.)

Several of the factious views that are often found under the "umbrella" of preterism are addressed in the videos below. While FCG may not agree with every detail presented in these videos, we are in agreement with the general premises presented [for example, while Pastor David Curtis labels "Charismatics" as a false teaching within preterism, we do not believe that those who believe in the continuation of the gifts of the Spirit have distorted the doctrine of Salvation, as do some of the other preterist factions.] As Pastor David Curtis states, "Just because someone is a preterist does not necessarily make them a brother or sister in Christ."