The Final Epilogue - The Mad Theologian's Last Post

This week, Wednesday, July 19th, 2017, just a little after noon, the Mad Theologian's faith became sight. 

Mike Erich passed away at home after a long battle with cancer with his wife at his side. Mike was a brilliant man that will truly be missed at home, at church, and by all those who knew him. Mike was man of deep conviction about the things of the Lord and particularly God's Word which he diligently studied and wrote about. For Mike it has always been about the love of God shown to us in Christ's death on the cross and resurrection where we can find salvation. This is salvation offered freely. The Grace of God in Christ says come give me your sins and I will give you my righteousness. It has never been about what we can do to please God, but rather what God has done to save us. Mike's deepest desire for all people would be that they find salvation in Christ.

Now Mike is with the Lord and I think he would want us to be of good courage. In fact, if he could, he would probably tell us about his move from earth to heaven with A Touch of Humor. I know he would definitely want us to "see" the Bible to understand his absence. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 "6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil."

Since becoming a believer in Christ Mike has had it as his highest value to follow and please Christ. And he has done well. Mike is now with the Lord, -and that is a good thing. If you are a follower of Christ then be of good courage, the absence is painful and yet short. Soon we all will get a chance to join Mike and please the Lord. Yesterday Mike's faith became sight.

Finally, if you are not a believer in Christ, Mike would tell you "Come." Come and follow Christ today.

Mike, we love and miss you and look forward to our reunion with you in heaven standing in the Grace of Christ.

Jared Jenkins

The Epilogue

After prayer and consideration I have decided, at least for the present, to discontinue posting at this blog due to lack of traffic. It is my intent to re-post and continue to post the ideas presented here on my other blog Mike Erich the Mad Theologian in an attempt to present them to a larger audience. I intend to leave this blog intact and would ask anyone interested in learning more about what is presented here to visit my other blog.

Now the point of this blog was to explore the possibility of connecting Calvinism and Charisma. Based on that I would like to summarize what I have tried to say here.

We need to realize that God is in control and we can trust Him with the problems in our lives. see, see, see

Growth in Christ is a process and not the result of following a particular formula. see, see, see


God does do miracles today, but He does them according to His will. see, see, see

There is demonic influence in the world today, but it must be put in perspective. see, see, see

The miraculous spiritual gifts still exist today, but they are given according to God's will. see, see, see

I would conclude that, while the supernatural still happens today, it is dependent on God's will and is not, in the final analysis, something we can control.

Blame It on Satan

There is a tendency in some circles to blame every sin and every disease on demonic activity. There is also the opposite extreme that denies or minimizes demonic involvement in anything. Now there is a Scriptural basis for believing demonic powers are involved in leading us into sin (1 Corinthians 7:5; 2 Corinthians 2:11; 1 Timothy 3:7). But we are also informed that the primary source of our sin is our own sin nature (James 1:14,15; Romans 7:18; 8:8). Also, there are diseases in Scripture attributed to demons (Matthew 12:22; Luke 13:16; 2 Corinthians 12:7). But the fact that casting out demons is one item on the lists of things Jesus did that also include healing of various diseases suggests that all diseases are not explained this way (Matthew 4:24; Mark 1:32-34; 6:13). Now I do believe there is a place today for dealing with demonic forces (nor do I find any basis in Scripture for teaching otherwise). But I am convinced it is not the sole approach to dealing with every problem, and when used that way it can become a gimmick that leads us away from dealing with the issues on a more appropriate basis, giving full consideration to other factors.

Biblical Musings - Colossians 2:8

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:8 (NIV)

What is the philosophy described here? How can we avoid it?

Biblical Musings - Isaiah 41:10

"'Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I  will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'" Isaiah 41:10 (NASV)

What does this statement mean for our lives? Why should we live differently because of it?

When We Are Not in Vogue

We live in a culture in which Christianity is no longer respected. How should we respond to this? We could respond in anger, demanding the respect we think we deserve. Or we could react in desperation, trying frantically to return to a place of respectability. Or we could trust God. God never promised that society would always be on our side; in fact He predicted the opposite (John 15:18-21; 16:1-4; Matthew 10:16-39). But God also tells us that He will accomplish His purpose in the world in spite of this opposition (Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 2:10; 1 Corinthians 3:6,7). God also promises us that we can trust Him to face what we need to face in our lives (Proverbs 3:5,6; Psalms 127:1,2; Romans 8:28). But God never promised that we would always be admired by the world around us. That was never His intent.

Biblical Musings - John 3:18

"He who believes is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John 3:18 (NASV)

What does this imply? How should it affect the way a believer lives?