How things began Starting around 1996 and continuing for some ten years, I wrote several books and a number of articles on the question of the timing of justification in its relation to faith, conversion, adoption, reconciliation, the forgiveness of sins and indeed all the blessings that God gives to His own in Christ which is our Heavenly inheritance and our lot for all eternity. There was no great reaction to my writings as the topic did not appear to have been of great interest and, anyway, I was hardly known at the time. Indeed one of the few leading evangelical writers who thought it worthwhile to disagree with me, a man of little learning but with quite a large following, quite misrepresented my views and told his… Full Article
Posts Tagged New Focus
Recently, I have been soundly scolded in a lengthy article on Peter Ditzel’s website both for my beliefs and for allegedly misrepresenting those of the web-master with ‘sarcasm’ and ‘verbal violence’. This article was chiefly, it appears, a reaction to my refutation of Ditzel’s criticism of my doctrine of justification. Several years after writing this rebuttal, Ditzel sent me two personal letters demanding an apology from my refusing to accept his version of what I believe on the grounds that he held his severe criticisms to be just. Indeed, he described my defense of my views in the most depreciating language. Now brother Ditzel has published, without prior notification, some of our correspondence, including a letter… Full Article
Ditzel’s Last Stand
Apr 26
Several weeks ago, I received a surprising letter from the NCT website The Word of His Grace, signed by Peter Ditzel. We had last corresponded personally, Peter informed me, in 2007 when I was very ill. So now, in April 2012, five years later Peter was writing to hear if I were now, once again, on my feet. That was the nicest bit about the letter. Then Peter mentioned that he had written some six essays a number of years ago on his site attacking my doctrine of Justification and he had since been informed by a third party that I had responded, though I only discovered the essays some time later when surfing the web for information on Justification. It appears that Peter now wanted a larger public than a mere… Full Article
Recently, I came across a long essay in six parts entitled, ‘A Rebuttal to George M. Ella’s ‘John Gill and Justification from Eternity’ on a website named Word of His Grace. The writer, Peter Ditzel, had obtained a part-copy of an armchair talk I gave to my host and friends on justification in Minnesota some years ago. The author claims that in rebutting me, he is also rebutting Peter Meney’s New Focus article ‘Ten Arguments for Justification from Eternity’. I commenced my talk by referring to Romans 4:5 on God’s justification of the ungodly, thus opening a discussion on the timing of justification. Ditzel claims that before rebutting my Scriptural application, he must… Full Article
The Lawful Use of the Law
Aug 21
Dear Editor, As Christians, we realise that we know only in part until we see Christ face to face. This realisation ought not to deter us from practising another Scriptural truth which is to declare the whole counsel of God as it is revealed to us in Scripture. I fear that two articles in the October/November issue of New Focus tended to lean on the former state alone rather than towards the latter injunction. Both the very severe strictures of Don Fortner on the law and the equally severe legalism of Carl Haak on marriage are both partial applications of the truth which might put the reader under legal bondage rather than reveal to them what is the full grace of God as applied to sinners. May I suggest that both writers might… Full Article
Missionary McCoy
Aug 21
Dear Sir, Re. Wolter Smit’s letter of October/November: Before writing my New Focus essay on McCoy, I had researched Isaac McCoy’s correspondence with Wilson Thompson and the Miami County Association, recording my findings in another work. Thompson respected McCoy highly and assisted him to baptise Corbly Martin, the first teacher in McCoy’s Indian School. Martin asked the Miami Association to accept the Fort Wayne Church into membership and help support the Indian mission. The Association asked Thompson to serve as clerk and forward their decision. They reported that: “The united voice of every member that spoke on the subject, was in approbation of your conduct, object, candure and mission establishments and… Full Article
Putting an End to Sin
Aug 21
Dear Brethren, The doctrine that Christ puts an end to all sin for all time and eternity is a red thread throughout Scripture. Thus I feel that the recent discussion on the Symposium has chased a red herring rather than that red thread. I attach some thoughts on the subject as a reaction to a New Focus article by Jonathan Bayes under the title ‘Propitiation for the World: Some Thoughts on 1 John 2:2b.’ In this article, the author does his best to explain away the meaning of ‘whole world’, and also the propitiation the world from sin. Indeed, he relates propitiation of sin merely to ‘ours only’ in the text and not to ‘world’s.’ The original is so long that I cannot possibly reproduce it but a number… Full Article
