Something has been bothering me since around the end of the month of July and I just have to get it out of my system; the so-called "news" that former President Jimmy Carter was resigning his membership in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Am I mistaken, or did the former president already do this back around October of 2000 when he sent a letter to over 60,000 Baptists saying then that he was separating himself from the SBC then? Do you smell a public relations ploy here somewhere? I do!
It was reported after his "PR" move in October, 2000, that President and Mrs. Carter remained members of a congregation that was still affiliated with the SBC....Very interesting?! Well, I guess he didn't lie; he did say that he was "separating himself" from the SBC, not leaving it. Now, here we are almost a decade later and the former president is making the same public declaration again, but yet we hear nothing about the fact that he had already done it years earlier. OK; how many times can you separate from something and still remain part of it? When your a politician, I guess as many times as you want to or need to.
Please do not misunderstand me, I believe that everyone has the right to their own opinion and also have the right to choose if they want to remain associated with a particular group, organization, or denomination. But I also believe that it is wrong to mislead people, especially if you are a well known figure, political or otherwise, and use a certain group, organization, or denomination to get "PR" points and further your popularity and stronghold in a particular political party. It seems to me as though he really doesn't want to completely "separate" from the Southern Baptists because he may need to use the same "PR Trick" in the future to secure a better political status and legacy before he passes on.
Over the years former President Carter has denied the inerrancy of the Word of God, stated that he believes some texts of the Bible are false, and promoted the false teaching that individuals do not have to know Jesus as personal Savior to be saved and get to heaven! If you do not believe that there is only "One Way" to heaven and that "One Way" is through the blood of the Only Begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ, then you are denying the Incarnation and the entire Doctrine of Jesus Christ!!! You are saying that there was absolutely no reason for Jesus to even come to this earth to identify with man and become "the likeness of sin" so that He could be the substitution for our sin to save us from an eternal death in hell and give us the free gift of salvation and eternity in heaven with Him!!!! If there are other ways to get to heaven then why did Jesus leave His throne in Glory and come to this earth as a poor lowly Baby, born of the Virgin Mary, live on this earth as 100% man and 100% God, allow Himself to be crucified, die, be buried in a tomb, arise from the dead three days later, and then ascend to heaven to sit at the right hand of Almighty Father???
I will tell you why!!! BECAUSE THERE ARE NO OTHER WAYS TO BE SAVED OR TO GET TO HEAVEN!!!!!!!!! THE ONLY WAY TO RECEIVE THE FREE GIFT OF SALVATION AND SPEND ETERNITY IN HEAVEN WITH GOD IS TO REPENT OF YOUR SINS, ACKNOWLEDGE THAT JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR YOUR SINS, AND RECEIVE JESUS CHRIST INTO YOUR HEART AS YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOR AND LORD.......JESUS SITS AT GOD'S RIGHT HAND WAITING TO INTERVENE FOR ANYONE AND EVERYONE; ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS CALL OUT HIS NAME.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:16-17, NKJV).
President Carter, may I suggest that if you truly feel that the SBC does not best represent your Biblical viewpoint, doctrine, or ideas concerning the "equality of women", then by all means, separate yourself from and remove yourself from the SBC and the teachings of any church affiliated with the SBC. Please go find another church and/or denomination that better fits your ideas and interpretation of God's Holy Word......But may I also suggest; be careful about separating yourself from the Inspired Inerrant Holy Word of God and from the Doctrine of Jesus Christ. "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me'" (John 14:6, NKJV).
I believe that President Carter "separated" himself from the SBC again, not because he doesn't go along with the idea that women are to be "subservient" to their husbands; but because somewhere along the way he has lost sight of the fact that the Word of God is the total truth (inerrant) and is to be the ultimate authority in the lives of the Children of God...Also, he has forgotten that we only become Children of God after we have received the Free Gift of Salvation in Jesus Christ through faith and then we are adopted by our Heavenly Father.
By separating himself again from the SBC he has solidified his place of leadership within his political party....But by separating himself from the truth of the Word of God and the Blood of Christ he has become a False Teacher teaching a False Doctrine....That is definitely more dangerous than any "mad swimming rabbits".
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