Straw Men and Salvation, Part 1 (Understanding God's Great Salvation #6)

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Today's quote is from Frederick W. Robertson. He said: "Every natural longing has its natural satisfaction. If we thirst, God has created liquids to gratify thirst. If we are susceptible of attachment, there are beings to gratify that love. If we thirst for life and love eternal, it is likely that there are an eternal life and an eternal love to satisfy that craving."

Our topic today is titled "Straw Men and Salvation (Part 1)" from the book, "So Great Salvation: What it Means to Believe in Jesus Christ" by Dr. Charles Ryrie.

Differences of opinion often create straw men. The reason is simple: Straw men are easy to demolish. 

According to the dictionary, a straw man is "a weak or imaginary opposition (as an argument or adversary) set up only to be easily refuted." 

In the contemporary discussion over the meaning of the Gospel and areas related to it, a number of straw men have been created. In reality these are spurious arguments often raised by proponents of a lordship salvation. Such arguments against those straw men seem more devastating. Realize that a straw man usually is not a total fabrication; it usually contains some truth, but truth that is exaggerated or distorted or incomplete. The truth element in a straw man makes it more difficult to argue against, while the distortion or incompleteness makes it easier to huff and puff and blow the man down. 

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