HOME / PROCLAMATION! MAGAZINE / 2009 / MAY/JUNE / ASK THE PASTOR

MAY/JUNE 2009
VOLUME 10, ISSUE 3

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D E P A R T M E N T S

Ask the PASTOR

Open letter to Ken Campbell
Dale Ratzlaff

 

In a recent letter which is too long for printing in our Letters to the Editor section, Mr. Campbell stated, "If anyone who truly cares about truth reads the March/April 2009 Proclamation! they will have solid proof that the Ratzlaff cult teaches falsehood that goes even beyond that espoused by other better known and more popular cults.

"For example, Dale Ratzlaff quotes 1 Corinthians 15:1–4 then writes, ‘Note what is NOT mentioned in this clear gospel statement. There is no mention of law or obedience. The only thing for us to do is to believe—express belief and trust—in the gospel of Christ.'

"Well, in keeping with his [Ratzlaff's] ‘pick and choose' false ‘theology', Jesus Christ Himself did not preach the true gospel!"

Then Mr. Campbell lists a number of verses to show that obedience is taught and quotes John 14:15, "If you love me, keep my commandments".

Here is my response:

 

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Dear Ken Campbell,

I want to thank you for your letter. It is often the case that I may not clearly communicate what I believe. I try, but for one reason or another sometimes I don't do it as well as I wish. So I thank you for the opportunity to get a second chance to write about the gospel.

We believe in obedience. In fact, we believe that the obedience which follows the new birth is a higher obedience than obedience to the law and includes all the moral principles taught in Scripture. Please note that the referenced article was intended to be an exegetical study of 1 Corinthians 15:1–4 in which Paul clearly describes the gospel. And yes, you will see that in this section of Scripture Paul does not mention either obedience or law. He also says that this gospel is a saving gospel.

Lest some misunderstand, it is our settled conviction that the gospel refers to Christ's work of grace for us. We are saved by God's grace alone without any law-keeping or obedience on our part. Salvation is 100% the work of Christ. Once we are saved and born again, the Holy Spirit will work out that free salvation in our lives. This fruit in our lives develops after we are saved because it is at that point we receive the Holy Spirit and are thereby sealed.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law" (Gal. 5:22, 23).

I discovered that in the Gospel of John, the word "commandment" in Greek never refers to the Ten Commandments but to the new covenant law of love and specific commands from the Father to Christ. When referring to the old covenant, John always uses the the Greek word for "law". You may want to check these findings for yourself.

You mention the "Ratzlaff cult". It is not our desire or intent that people would follow what we teach unless it measures up to the word of God. We are not seeking followers, but truth seekers. It is my understanding that the marks of a cult include the following: claim to extra-biblical revelation, denial of the Trinity, defective Christology, denial of the personality of the Holy Spirit, defective soteriology, exclusive salvation, persecution complex, doctrinal ambiguity, presumptuous leadership, segmented interpretation of the Bible, denunciation of other Christians, limited eschatology, messianic complex, gospel confusion, and a corrupt Bible.

Thanks again for this opportunity to communicate. I surely do not want to start or lead anything akin to a cult. Rather, my life goal is to communicate the simple gospel of God's grace in Christ. The gospel has changed my life, and I have seen it change the lives of many others.

May God bless us each as we seek to follow our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

 

In His joy,

Dale Ratzlaff

 

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More answers can be found in Dale Ratzlaff's four books available on the web at LifeAssuranceMinistries.com or by phoning (800) 355-7073.