Posts by John Vaughn
Convergence: FrontLine Sept/Oct 2016
FrontLine — September/October 2016 | VOLUME 26 | NUMBER 5 Editorial John Vaughn In early 2010 an article by Ben Wright appeared on the 9marks.org website titled, “An Evangelical Fundamentalist Convergence?” Pastor Wright saw hope in such a convergence, but we use it here with little optimism. After all, “convergence” is the antonym of separation.…
Read MoreThere Are No Unique or Hopeless Problems
John Vaughn Greatly discouraged believers are usually those facing problems that have them bewildered. The attitude that says, “No one has ever been through anything like this,” or “It’s hopeless; there is absolutely nothing I can do!” compounds the pain of overwhelming circumstances. The value of the Old Testament to the Christian is not only…
Read MoreLooking for a Substitute for God
John C. Vaughn One of our FBFI Chaplains recently told me the story of a young soldier who came to him and shared that he was so discouraged that he spent every evening getting drunk to drown his emotional pain. The Chaplain had asked him, “How is that working out for you?” The soldier had…
Read MoreWhat Do We Mean by “The Evangelical Disaster”?
John Vaughn The audacity of this title begs for an explanation. An Evangelical is simply one who believes and preaches the gospel according to the New Testament. The Evangelical Disaster is, therefore, a tragic development within Evangelicalism that has brought ruin to its noble undertaking of “proclaiming the good news” to lost mankind. The need…
Read MoreThe Fundamentals of Worship
John C. Vaughn Not too long ago, a lady who had agreed to visit our church at the invitation of a friend explained to me why she was returning to her Charismatic megachurch to enjoy its more aerobic service. “I need worship. You people don’t worship here.” That charge certainly got my attention, but the…
Read MorePartakers of Christ’s Sufferings
John Vaughn Around 80 years ago1 the term “Fundamentalism” was coined to distinguish true, Bible-believing Christianity from the perversion that was replacing it in the major denominations. Darwinian evolutionary theory and German rationalist theology were eroding belief in absolute truth and replacing it with relativism. By the 1920s the damage was so extensive that those…
Read MoreThe Birth of Christ Brings a Decision
John C. Vaughn Each Gospel writer presents a slightly different perspective. Matthew addresses the Jews to prove that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah. The first three verses of chapter two illustrate the implications of that fact. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, there…
Read MoreThe Qur’an: Another Gospel
John C. Vaughn The Christian doctrines of inspiration and preservation explain the reverence that Bible believers have for the Word of God, but there are also Islamic doctrines of inspiration and preservation that explain the Muslims’ loyalty to the Qur’an. Some unbelievers are quick to argue that the “holy books” of various religions have only…
Read MoreWe Can Make Excuses, or We Can Make Disciples
John C. Vaughn Many years ago I had the opportunity to go soul winning on board a merchant ship docked at Hampton Roads near Norfolk, Virginia. The man who invited me on board does this full time. Over thirty years ago he had already seen the wisdom of reaching foreign nationals who come to our…
Read More“Perform or Provide”—The Chaplain’s Guide
John Vaughn Although the number of FBFI chaplains continues to grow, we continue to meet pastors and church members who wonder how a separatist chaplain can serve in the pluralistic environment of chaplaincy. Common questions include the following: “How can a Fundamental Baptist serve in a chapel with a liberal Methodist?” Or, “No Fundamental Baptist…
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