For those reading this article that know little or nothing about my background, I believe a very short disclosure is necessary to put this article into perspective. I did not grow up in a Christian home. I did not get saved until I was 21 years old. Even though the lady who witnessed to me was using a King James Bible, for the next year or two after getting saved, I started using the New American Standard perversion. I was baptized in a Conservative Baptist Church where the pastor would use three to sometimes four different (per)versions during his sermon. Around that time, I started listening to Dr. Peter Ruckman on the radio and I started searching and studying about what is the Word of God. As a result, I came to the conclusion that the King James Bible is the Word of God. I never attended a Bible college. I started (in 1987) and currently pastor Grace Baptist Church in Troy, New York. My three heroes then were Dr. Jack Hyles, Lester Roloff, and Dr. Peter Ruckman. I attended Dr. Jack Hyles’ Pastors School, approximately, 12 or 13 times from 1986 until Bro. Hyles’ passing. I attended, approximately, 14 or so times Dr. Bob Gray’s Soulwinning Clinic in Longview, Texas, starting around 1990 until Dr. Gray retired from the pastorate and went into evangelism. As the folks in my church know, I have wanted to write an article on this subject for quite some time now.
Bible believer. King James Only. Student of the Bible. Knowing his Bible. Memorizing large portions of Scripture. Separated. Tough. Courage. Backbone. Tenacity. Blunt. Fighter. Convictions. Unflinching. Being hated. Being reviled. Being envied. Being loved. Being followed. Being defended. The list can go on and on.
What every generation of fundamental, separated Bible believers needs is a man who is willing to confront the established dead orthodoxy of fundamentalism that is run by the elite of their time while those same “leaders” willingly overlook and bypass some very important truths, doctrines, standards, and convictions that are clearly outlined in the King James Bible. Most of the elite “leaders” of present-day fundamentalism care more about the size of their offerings, the size of their followings, and the value of their properties instead of being more concerned with the truth(s) and doctrine(s) from the King James Bible. There were several well-known “leaders” and “camps” of fundamentalism from the 1940’s to the present time (2018). There seems to be a dearth of well known “leaders” in fundamentalism today who are commanding as much positive and negative feedback combined to the adoration and hatred from the pews and pulpits in America and elsewhere. One of the most striking truths of the last two hundred years that is lost on modern-day fundamentalists is that the same well-known preachers of yesteryear were hated the most by the world and loved the most by their followers. I find the same universal truth applies today. The vast majority of “full-time Christian workers” are parroting what spineless and lukewarm teachers and professors said five, 10, 20, 30 or more years ago while they sat in their classes or in their pews. They are too spineless to stand by themselves if they had to because of something the Word of God teaches. I still believe the problem we face in fundamentalism today is two-fold: the love of money is the root of all evil and the fear of man bringeth a snare. Those two ingredients have caused the “leaders” of fundamentalism to cave and cower on most “controversial” subjects that the mainstream cookie-cutter fundamentalist refuses to study, believe, and then obey. The modern day fundamentalist is too attached to this modern society of lukewarmies that are now the vast majority of those claiming to be fundamentalists. They love their comfort / safety zones of their camps, not the preaching of the King James Bible that would otherwise convict them of their backslidden and rebellious state before God Almighty, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Dr. Peter Ruckman was hated by his alma mater and by the vast majority of the “leaders” of fundamentalism during his life because he dared to name names of those “leaders” who did not believe the King James Bible was the Word of God. He would publish their letters and statements on their own letterhead and signed with their own signature. He would quote from their books and pamphlets. He was hated amongst fundamentalists like no one else of his day. Yes, there were different camps then as there are now. Yes, there were different philosophies then as there are now. Yes, there were different persuasions of Bible truths and doctrines then as there are now. But he was mostly hated because he was one of the few, if not the only one that was well known, to dare to name the names of the beloved “leaders” of fundamentalism who had followings and who were more enamored with crowds, buildings, and name recognition instead of street preaching and believing the words of the King James Bible. I am not against crowds or buildings or followings. But when a “leader” purposely stays away from “controversial” truths and doctrines because it will cause him to lose some or most of his crowd(s) that will not give all that money to pay for all those buildings, then I do have a problem with those “leaders” that too many lukewarm fundamentalists look up to. Anyone who had ever known Dr. Ruckman knew he could care very little, if at all, about his church’s property, his popularity, or how much he was hated by the lukewarm fundamentalists.
That seems to be a common characteristic about Pastor Steven Anderson. The heretical fundamentalists always try to divert attention away from the truths that an outspoken preacher preaches about and they usually always try to sully their character via character assassination by bringing up things that have nothing to do with the subjects that they are teaching and preaching about. Instead of sticking to the subject matter at hand, a doctrine, a truth, a principle, or a belief, the lukewarmies always use slime and dirt and character assassination to belittle the one they hate, hoping their own followers will be too afraid to question the foundational truths of the subject matter being discussed. Lawyers during closing arguments call them red herrings. Tactical diversions. Smokescreens. The jealous and envious “leaders” bring up things about someone’s past, maybe their sins, their personal problems, their mistakes, struggles, heartaches, et cetera, thinking somehow that a student of the Word of God is more interested in that kind of gossip instead of searching and studying to know what God says about truths in the Word of God.
Let me pause here briefly and say that I know Pastor Steven Anderson does not like or care for some or many of Dr. Peter Ruckman’s positions on some very important Bible doctrines and truths. The same may be true of Dr. Peter Ruckman while he was alive concerning Pastor Steven Anderson’s positions since I am well aware of some of the very differing viewpoints of those same doctrines and positions. So here are two men who did not agree with each other on some very important doctrines and beliefs, but yet they are hated with the same vitriol and gossip by these same elitist fundamental leaders of the recent past and those of today. There are things I agree and disagree with Pastor Steven Anderson and Dr. Peter Ruckman on. But the one thing that I like about both of these men is the courage, the tenacity, the fight, and the willingness to be mocked and ridiculed by the lukewarm Americanized Christendom that too often pervades our religious circles.
I, for one, thank God for both of these men. I believe they both love(d) Jesus. I believe they both hate(d) sin. I believe they both love(d) and proclaim(ed) the King James Bible as the Word of God. Both men have been used of God to help many people around the world in areas that they needed help in. Both men to me seem to be very sincere. Both men are still hated today by most Bible college chancellors, most Bible college professors, most Bible college teachers, most Bible college presidents, most Bible college students, most Bible college graduates, most Bible college donors, most Bible college alumni, and most Bible college so-called scholars and so-called theologians with their Masters and Doctors degrees in divinity and theology. It is a natural reaction of Pastor Steven Anderson teaching and preaching against Bible colleges so much. These same Bible colleges will be losing money through what would have been tuition paid by blind followers supported by their parents and lukewarm pastors. Follow the money. The love of money is the root of all evil.
Another reason so many pastors and “full-time Christian workers” hate(d) both of these men is because, sooner or later, they are going to cross paths with their very devoted followers who sometimes will only want to know whether they like or love their fearless leader or not. They sometimes will not care what else they like or love, they will not care what else they believe about some other things, and they will not care what else they can show them concerning Biblical truths in the Word of God. Some may call this immaturity or simply blindly following someone so strongly that they will agree with everything their fearless leader says or teaches, even though it may be contrary to the Word of God. The lukewarm “leaders” have no problem with other lukewarm believers following them, but they have a problem with King James Only believers enthusiastically following and supporting their fearless leader. Hypocrisy anyone? The 40 or so years that have separated the start of these two men’s ministries should teach us that the sinful human nature of mankind has not changed one iota. Immature IFB “leaders” are jealous, envious, angry with, filled with hatred about, gossip about, and purposefully lie and become false witnesses against these good men by trying to ruin their name, their reputation, and their ministry in the eyes of their own followers because they just may be losing too many of their own followers to these men, especially in the day and age of social media. And one should easily understand how devoted these followers can be if they or a loved one was saved, salvaged, encouraged, reconciled or restored through each of their ministries. So, unfortunately, what happens is that most of the lukewarm critics do not use Bible verses to support a doctrine or Biblical truth that they profess, but they go online and smear these two good men who have done more for Jesus Christ combined that has rattled the sleeping ranks of lukewarm fundamentalism for the better than most of the Bible colleges and Bible seminaries in the last 50 years, in my humble opinion.
Anyone who has come to my church for the past 31 years knows full well where I disagree on some very important Bible doctrines and subjects that differ from all of my heroes and present-day lukewarm fundamentalism. That does not mean I do not love my heroes and appreciate those who have gone on before me and those who dared to take a very unpopular stand against even the “elite” of fundamentalism. All my heroes were used of God and they were hated by the then lukewarm leaders of whatever you want to call the fundamentalism of their day. William Carey (Baptist) was hated. John Wesley (Methodist) was hated. Adoniram Judson (Baptist) was hated. David Livingstone (Congregationalist) was hated. George Mueller (Brethren) was hated. Hudson Taylor had 58 missionaries and 21 children killed during the Boxer Rebellion in China. D.L. Moody (Congregationalist) was hated. Charles Spurgeon (Baptist) was hated. Billy Sunday (Presbyterian) was hated. Bob Jones, Sr. (Methodist) was hated. J. Frank Norris (Baptist) was hated. Carl McIntyre (Presbyterian) was hated. Lester Roloff (Baptist) was hated. Jack Hyles (Baptist) was hated. I prefer using (what I believe are) great men who have passed away since we know most of the entirety of their public lives. I very rarely mention by name any of these great men while I am teaching or preaching about a subject that I disagreed with them on. But that is my position. I do not want to unnecessarily ridicule or criticize great men while I am teaching on a subject that is contrary to what they believed unless I personally believe it is important or necessary to do that at a particular teaching time, which I have done on very rare occasions. Other preachers (like Dr. Peter Ruckman and Pastor Steven Anderson) may choose to do that most or all of the time and warn their followers by using names much like the Apostle Paul and others did. And I cannot find any Bible verse that condemns a preacher for warning his people of heretical religious leaders by name and warning them about who they believe are heretics and false religious leaders and the Pharisees in Fundamentalism. Any preacher that has been hated by the media, by the lost religious leaders of his day — and especially those in his own local geographical area — by the heretics of those loosely affiliating with some of the more lukewarm fringes of what appear to be their same denominational tags knows how easily the spineless leaders will criticize and condemn someone for obeying Scriptures that their critics are refusing to obey and it makes the critics look bad in front of their own families and congregations; and, thus, they are “forced” to openly condemn the tactics, language, and positions taken by these great men of God who are on fire for God, doing something for God, and getting people saved. Long sentence. Go back and re-read it again. Chew on it for awhile.
Again, what is lost on this generation of fundamentalists is that Jeremiah was hated and put in the dungeon by his own people that he preached against. Moses’s biggest battles came from within his own camp and relatives, not Egypt (the world) and their armies. David’s Achilles’ heel were his own children and his personal sins. The wisest man Solomon left God and worshipped the pagan and heathen gods (that the modern repentance-works fundamentalist would say, “he wasn’t really saved.”). But it is the foolish and immature ones amongst the fundamentalists that use the magnifying glass, the microscope, and then the bullhorn to advertise some preacher’s weaknesses in other areas that have nothing to do with the doctrine or truth being discussed because it will help their little ego become bigger in the eyes of others.
Job 32:9 – Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.
Amos 5:10 – They hate him that rebuketh in the gate: and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.
Galatians 4:16 – Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?
I Kings 22:8 – … but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.
Proverbs 15:12 – A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.
I Kings 18:17,18 – And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? 18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim.
I Kings 21:20 – And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.
I am convinced that the ranks of fundamentalists are filled with too many lazy, spineless, money-loving, egotistical religious men who could not hold down a good and decent job outside the ministry and they then “surrendered” to be taken care of by too many gullible and giving people who feel guilty they’re not doing anything for God and hiring someone to be their surrogate and do their work that they are too spineless to do for themselves. Dr. Peter Ruckman and Pastor Steven Anderson do not fall under any of those categories. Like them or not, lazy and spineless is not part of their character. Whether you agree a little or much with either man’s ministry, the honest person will at least give them credit for being bold, confrontational, truthful, fearless, and unrelenting. I like that. I love that. Couple those descriptions with the truth that they have proclaimed through the King James Bible, that is a powerful combination that wins souls, changes lives, and puts fear and intimidation into the hearts of the lukewarmies. The cowards cannot confront them face to face. They have to use innuendoes, smears, lies, exaggerations, and gossip to try to belittle them in the eyes of others instead of using the truth of the King James Bible.
Let’s just say, for argument’s sake, that Dr. Peter Ruckman and Pastor Steven Anderson are wrong on one or more issues. The very few areas of disagreement I have with either of these two men pales in comparison to the many, many areas of spineless mush I hear and read from the mouths and pens of those who criticize these two men. Again, the big boys like to dish it, but they can’t take it between the eyeballs when a direct hit comes their way. They whine like a bunch of baby lukewarmies that have been coddled too long by their comfort zone camps.
In closing, although I cannot say that I have been close friends with either of these two men, I have met them both personally. I have been in their church services. I have watched them and listened to them face to face, watched them online giving their sermons, and have read some or much of their material. To me, both of these men were / are genuine and sincere. They did not / do not put on a façade. Their church services are what an old fashioned Bible believing Christian longs for: great music, friendly people, good preaching, a packed auditorium, and good dress standards. So while the vast majority of so-called fundamentalists are running away from standards and old fashioned convictions to get a crowd, these two men, as different as they are in many ways, have preached and are preaching the same old eternal Bible truths that were too often covered in the dustbin of historical Christianity, but discovered in the basement while the money-loving fundamentalists were looking to sum up the silver.
2 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 34 tell the story of Josiah the king. He was eight years old when he began to reign. He began to seek after God when he was 16 years of age. When he was 24 years old, he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places (fundamentalist expanding properties without the King James Bible), groves (Jeremiah 10 baal trees), and the carved images (today’s plethora of feel-good books without any confrontational and controversial truths), and the molten images (non-stop “new” CD songs by tour groups of churches and colleges instead of the old hymns that are too boring for today’s young immature hip-hop lukewarmies). Josiah did much more than that, too gruesome and too bloody for the modern day fundamentalist to list here in this short article. This kind of revival might ruin their soft raiment with sweat, chip their manicures, mess up their hairstyles, and destroy their “worship” services. Josiah did that which was right in the sight of the LORD. When he was 26 years old, he sent word to Hilkiah the high priest to sum up the silver which was brought into the house of the LORD. While they were counting the silver that was collected, they happened to come across The Book. The Book was read to the king. Instead of changing The Book or revising The Book or editing The Book or bypassing certain controversial passages, he humbled himself as he trembled at the Words of The Book. He chose the Author of The Book instead of the backslidden and lukewarm theology of his fathers who brought them to their present day apostasy.
Born November 19, 1921, Peter Ruckman was saved at 27 years of age. When he was 44, he founded PBI in 1965. He started Bible Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida, in 1973. He went to be with the Lord Jesus on April 21, 2016.
Steven Anderson was born July 24, 1981. He started Faithful Word Baptist Church on December 25, 2005, when he was about 24 years of age. He is presently married, has nine children, and pastors Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona.
It is much easier for me to comment on Dr. Peter Ruckman’s life and ministry only because he has gone on to be with the Lord and Dr. Ruckman has left a tremendous wealth of knowledge and information behind through his books and recorded sermons. It is always best to summarize a person’s life and ministry after they have passed away and only then can one look at the totality of their work. It is with great pleasure that I can emphatically state that the man I heard on the radio in 1980, the man I personally met on quite a few occasions, the man I heard preach in person and via television and online, the man whose funeral I attended was one of the greatest teachers of the Word of God of the past 2000 years. Because he had the courage to quote the leading lukewarmies of fundamentalism when they criticized and corrected the King James Bible, he crossed them when they crossed the King James Bible. For that, he was hated by all those who did not love the King James Bible. He was vehemently hated by the world and the lukewarm fundamentalists like none other. He was loved and followed by Bible believers around the world. I am in debt to Dr. Ruckman for the rest of my life and I intend to be a bulldog when it comes to all the fake, phony, and fraud charlatans who masquerade as pastors, ministers, teachers, theologians, scholars, evangelists, missionaries, and “full-time” Christian workers who do not believe, change, revise, and discredit the King James Bible.
I am a little more hesitant to comment on Pastor Steven Anderson since he is still a relatively young man as compared to most of his contemporaries. But, as of now, obviously not knowing what the future holds for him or anyone else, I can state emphatically that he has stood unashamedly for the old time religion without compromise. He is hated by the world and the lukewarm fundamentalists. He stands without apology for the inerrancy of the King James Bible. He has taught the true Bible meaning and Bible definition of the grace of God as it deals with salvation. While too many contemporaries are straddling the fence on what repentance is, playing both camps with catch phrases that slice words and meanings with lawyer-ese language, Pastor Steven Anderson has rightly divided the word of truth and has clearly taught from the Bible that repent means to change your mind. Too many fundamental leaders today are playing footsy with what is a repentance-works salvation and Pastor Steven Anderson has called them all out for it with direct quotes from their own mouths and their own writings show how they are teaching a heresy when it comes to salvation. He is a soul winner. He has great music standards. His church has dress standards. His church is going and growing. I love him. I am praying for him, for his family, and for his ministry. If there is one man that the enemy would want to destroy today it would be a young man who is on fire for God, pastoring an old fashioned, hellfire and damnation, independent, separated Baptist church. As long as he continues on the same path he is on now, I will stand with him and fight for him and with him against the lukewarmies who have been exposed by his relentless attacks against their heresy and against their compromise. What these lukewarmies do not like is being cross-examined on their own words, their own writings, and their own sermons. They can dish it, but they can’t take it. That is hypocritical. This is Pharisaical. That is your sad state of modern-day fundamentalism.
As my hero Dr. Jack Hyles once said (and I am paraphrasing the best I can remember as I sit here typing away behind my computer screen), “I would rather be with and fight for someone doing right wrongly than someone doing wrong rightly.”
The Peter Ruckman / Steven Anderson Phenomenon
For those reading this article that know little or nothing about my background, I believe a very short disclosure is necessary to put this article into perspective. I did not grow up in a Christian home. I did not get saved until I was 21 years old. Even though the lady who witnessed to me was using a King James Bible, for the next year or two after getting saved, I started using the New American Standard perversion. I was baptized in a Conservative Baptist Church where the pastor would use three to sometimes four different (per)versions during his sermon. Around that time, I started listening to Dr. Peter Ruckman on the radio and I started searching and studying about what is the Word of God. As a result, I came to the conclusion that the King James Bible is the Word of God. I never attended a Bible college. I started (in 1987) and currently pastor Grace Baptist Church in Troy, New York. My three heroes then were Dr. Jack Hyles, Lester Roloff, and Dr. Peter Ruckman. I attended Dr. Jack Hyles’ Pastors School, approximately, 12 or 13 times from 1986 until Bro. Hyles’ passing. I attended, approximately, 14 or so times Dr. Bob Gray’s Soulwinning Clinic in Longview, Texas, starting around 1990 until Dr. Gray retired from the pastorate and went into evangelism. As the folks in my church know, I have wanted to write an article on this subject for quite some time now.
Bible believer. King James Only. Student of the Bible. Knowing his Bible. Memorizing large portions of Scripture. Separated. Tough. Courage. Backbone. Tenacity. Blunt. Fighter. Convictions. Unflinching. Being hated. Being reviled. Being envied. Being loved. Being followed. Being defended. The list can go on and on.
What every generation of fundamental, separated Bible believers needs is a man who is willing to confront the established dead orthodoxy of fundamentalism that is run by the elite of their time while those same “leaders” willingly overlook and bypass some very important truths, doctrines, standards, and convictions that are clearly outlined in the King James Bible. Most of the elite “leaders” of present-day fundamentalism care more about the size of their offerings, the size of their followings, and the value of their properties instead of being more concerned with the truth(s) and doctrine(s) from the King James Bible. There were several well-known “leaders” and “camps” of fundamentalism from the 1940’s to the present time (2018). There seems to be a dearth of well known “leaders” in fundamentalism today who are commanding as much positive and negative feedback combined to the adoration and hatred from the pews and pulpits in America and elsewhere. One of the most striking truths of the last two hundred years that is lost on modern-day fundamentalists is that the same well-known preachers of yesteryear were hated the most by the world and loved the most by their followers. I find the same universal truth applies today. The vast majority of “full-time Christian workers” are parroting what spineless and lukewarm teachers and professors said five, 10, 20, 30 or more years ago while they sat in their classes or in their pews. They are too spineless to stand by themselves if they had to because of something the Word of God teaches. I still believe the problem we face in fundamentalism today is two-fold: the love of money is the root of all evil and the fear of man bringeth a snare. Those two ingredients have caused the “leaders” of fundamentalism to cave and cower on most “controversial” subjects that the mainstream cookie-cutter fundamentalist refuses to study, believe, and then obey. The modern day fundamentalist is too attached to this modern society of lukewarmies that are now the vast majority of those claiming to be fundamentalists. They love their comfort / safety zones of their camps, not the preaching of the King James Bible that would otherwise convict them of their backslidden and rebellious state before God Almighty, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Dr. Peter Ruckman was hated by his alma mater and by the vast majority of the “leaders” of fundamentalism during his life because he dared to name names of those “leaders” who did not believe the King James Bible was the Word of God. He would publish their letters and statements on their own letterhead and signed with their own signature. He would quote from their books and pamphlets. He was hated amongst fundamentalists like no one else of his day. Yes, there were different camps then as there are now. Yes, there were different philosophies then as there are now. Yes, there were different persuasions of Bible truths and doctrines then as there are now. But he was mostly hated because he was one of the few, if not the only one that was well known, to dare to name the names of the beloved “leaders” of fundamentalism who had followings and who were more enamored with crowds, buildings, and name recognition instead of street preaching and believing the words of the King James Bible. I am not against crowds or buildings or followings. But when a “leader” purposely stays away from “controversial” truths and doctrines because it will cause him to lose some or most of his crowd(s) that will not give all that money to pay for all those buildings, then I do have a problem with those “leaders” that too many lukewarm fundamentalists look up to. Anyone who had ever known Dr. Ruckman knew he could care very little, if at all, about his church’s property, his popularity, or how much he was hated by the lukewarm fundamentalists.
That seems to be a common characteristic about Pastor Steven Anderson. The heretical fundamentalists always try to divert attention away from the truths that an outspoken preacher preaches about and they usually always try to sully their character via character assassination by bringing up things that have nothing to do with the subjects that they are teaching and preaching about. Instead of sticking to the subject matter at hand, a doctrine, a truth, a principle, or a belief, the lukewarmies always use slime and dirt and character assassination to belittle the one they hate, hoping their own followers will be too afraid to question the foundational truths of the subject matter being discussed. Lawyers during closing arguments call them red herrings. Tactical diversions. Smokescreens. The jealous and envious “leaders” bring up things about someone’s past, maybe their sins, their personal problems, their mistakes, struggles, heartaches, et cetera, thinking somehow that a student of the Word of God is more interested in that kind of gossip instead of searching and studying to know what God says about truths in the Word of God.
Let me pause here briefly and say that I know Pastor Steven Anderson does not like or care for some or many of Dr. Peter Ruckman’s positions on some very important Bible doctrines and truths. The same may be true of Dr. Peter Ruckman while he was alive concerning Pastor Steven Anderson’s positions since I am well aware of some of the very differing viewpoints of those same doctrines and positions. So here are two men who did not agree with each other on some very important doctrines and beliefs, but yet they are hated with the same vitriol and gossip by these same elitist fundamental leaders of the recent past and those of today. There are things I agree and disagree with Pastor Steven Anderson and Dr. Peter Ruckman on. But the one thing that I like about both of these men is the courage, the tenacity, the fight, and the willingness to be mocked and ridiculed by the lukewarm Americanized Christendom that too often pervades our religious circles.
I, for one, thank God for both of these men. I believe they both love(d) Jesus. I believe they both hate(d) sin. I believe they both love(d) and proclaim(ed) the King James Bible as the Word of God. Both men have been used of God to help many people around the world in areas that they needed help in. Both men to me seem to be very sincere. Both men are still hated today by most Bible college chancellors, most Bible college professors, most Bible college teachers, most Bible college presidents, most Bible college students, most Bible college graduates, most Bible college donors, most Bible college alumni, and most Bible college so-called scholars and so-called theologians with their Masters and Doctors degrees in divinity and theology. It is a natural reaction of Pastor Steven Anderson teaching and preaching against Bible colleges so much. These same Bible colleges will be losing money through what would have been tuition paid by blind followers supported by their parents and lukewarm pastors. Follow the money. The love of money is the root of all evil.
Another reason so many pastors and “full-time Christian workers” hate(d) both of these men is because, sooner or later, they are going to cross paths with their very devoted followers who sometimes will only want to know whether they like or love their fearless leader or not. They sometimes will not care what else they like or love, they will not care what else they believe about some other things, and they will not care what else they can show them concerning Biblical truths in the Word of God. Some may call this immaturity or simply blindly following someone so strongly that they will agree with everything their fearless leader says or teaches, even though it may be contrary to the Word of God. The lukewarm “leaders” have no problem with other lukewarm believers following them, but they have a problem with King James Only believers enthusiastically following and supporting their fearless leader. Hypocrisy anyone? The 40 or so years that have separated the start of these two men’s ministries should teach us that the sinful human nature of mankind has not changed one iota. Immature IFB “leaders” are jealous, envious, angry with, filled with hatred about, gossip about, and purposefully lie and become false witnesses against these good men by trying to ruin their name, their reputation, and their ministry in the eyes of their own followers because they just may be losing too many of their own followers to these men, especially in the day and age of social media. And one should easily understand how devoted these followers can be if they or a loved one was saved, salvaged, encouraged, reconciled or restored through each of their ministries. So, unfortunately, what happens is that most of the lukewarm critics do not use Bible verses to support a doctrine or Biblical truth that they profess, but they go online and smear these two good men who have done more for Jesus Christ combined that has rattled the sleeping ranks of lukewarm fundamentalism for the better than most of the Bible colleges and Bible seminaries in the last 50 years, in my humble opinion.
Anyone who has come to my church for the past 31 years knows full well where I disagree on some very important Bible doctrines and subjects that differ from all of my heroes and present-day lukewarm fundamentalism. That does not mean I do not love my heroes and appreciate those who have gone on before me and those who dared to take a very unpopular stand against even the “elite” of fundamentalism. All my heroes were used of God and they were hated by the then lukewarm leaders of whatever you want to call the fundamentalism of their day. William Carey (Baptist) was hated. John Wesley (Methodist) was hated. Adoniram Judson (Baptist) was hated. David Livingstone (Congregationalist) was hated. George Mueller (Brethren) was hated. Hudson Taylor had 58 missionaries and 21 children killed during the Boxer Rebellion in China. D.L. Moody (Congregationalist) was hated. Charles Spurgeon (Baptist) was hated. Billy Sunday (Presbyterian) was hated. Bob Jones, Sr. (Methodist) was hated. J. Frank Norris (Baptist) was hated. Carl McIntyre (Presbyterian) was hated. Lester Roloff (Baptist) was hated. Jack Hyles (Baptist) was hated. I prefer using (what I believe are) great men who have passed away since we know most of the entirety of their public lives. I very rarely mention by name any of these great men while I am teaching or preaching about a subject that I disagreed with them on. But that is my position. I do not want to unnecessarily ridicule or criticize great men while I am teaching on a subject that is contrary to what they believed unless I personally believe it is important or necessary to do that at a particular teaching time, which I have done on very rare occasions. Other preachers (like Dr. Peter Ruckman and Pastor Steven Anderson) may choose to do that most or all of the time and warn their followers by using names much like the Apostle Paul and others did. And I cannot find any Bible verse that condemns a preacher for warning his people of heretical religious leaders by name and warning them about who they believe are heretics and false religious leaders and the Pharisees in Fundamentalism. Any preacher that has been hated by the media, by the lost religious leaders of his day — and especially those in his own local geographical area — by the heretics of those loosely affiliating with some of the more lukewarm fringes of what appear to be their same denominational tags knows how easily the spineless leaders will criticize and condemn someone for obeying Scriptures that their critics are refusing to obey and it makes the critics look bad in front of their own families and congregations; and, thus, they are “forced” to openly condemn the tactics, language, and positions taken by these great men of God who are on fire for God, doing something for God, and getting people saved. Long sentence. Go back and re-read it again. Chew on it for awhile.
Again, what is lost on this generation of fundamentalists is that Jeremiah was hated and put in the dungeon by his own people that he preached against. Moses’s biggest battles came from within his own camp and relatives, not Egypt (the world) and their armies. David’s Achilles’ heel were his own children and his personal sins. The wisest man Solomon left God and worshipped the pagan and heathen gods (that the modern repentance-works fundamentalist would say, “he wasn’t really saved.”). But it is the foolish and immature ones amongst the fundamentalists that use the magnifying glass, the microscope, and then the bullhorn to advertise some preacher’s weaknesses in other areas that have nothing to do with the doctrine or truth being discussed because it will help their little ego become bigger in the eyes of others.
Job 32:9 – Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.
Amos 5:10 – They hate him that rebuketh in the gate: and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.
Galatians 4:16 – Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?
I Kings 22:8 – … but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.
Proverbs 15:12 – A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.
I Kings 18:17,18 – And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? 18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim.
I Kings 21:20 – And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.
I am convinced that the ranks of fundamentalists are filled with too many lazy, spineless, money-loving, egotistical religious men who could not hold down a good and decent job outside the ministry and they then “surrendered” to be taken care of by too many gullible and giving people who feel guilty they’re not doing anything for God and hiring someone to be their surrogate and do their work that they are too spineless to do for themselves. Dr. Peter Ruckman and Pastor Steven Anderson do not fall under any of those categories. Like them or not, lazy and spineless is not part of their character. Whether you agree a little or much with either man’s ministry, the honest person will at least give them credit for being bold, confrontational, truthful, fearless, and unrelenting. I like that. I love that. Couple those descriptions with the truth that they have proclaimed through the King James Bible, that is a powerful combination that wins souls, changes lives, and puts fear and intimidation into the hearts of the lukewarmies. The cowards cannot confront them face to face. They have to use innuendoes, smears, lies, exaggerations, and gossip to try to belittle them in the eyes of others instead of using the truth of the King James Bible.
Let’s just say, for argument’s sake, that Dr. Peter Ruckman and Pastor Steven Anderson are wrong on one or more issues. The very few areas of disagreement I have with either of these two men pales in comparison to the many, many areas of spineless mush I hear and read from the mouths and pens of those who criticize these two men. Again, the big boys like to dish it, but they can’t take it between the eyeballs when a direct hit comes their way. They whine like a bunch of baby lukewarmies that have been coddled too long by their comfort zone camps.
In closing, although I cannot say that I have been close friends with either of these two men, I have met them both personally. I have been in their church services. I have watched them and listened to them face to face, watched them online giving their sermons, and have read some or much of their material. To me, both of these men were / are genuine and sincere. They did not / do not put on a façade. Their church services are what an old fashioned Bible believing Christian longs for: great music, friendly people, good preaching, a packed auditorium, and good dress standards. So while the vast majority of so-called fundamentalists are running away from standards and old fashioned convictions to get a crowd, these two men, as different as they are in many ways, have preached and are preaching the same old eternal Bible truths that were too often covered in the dustbin of historical Christianity, but discovered in the basement while the money-loving fundamentalists were looking to sum up the silver.
2 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 34 tell the story of Josiah the king. He was eight years old when he began to reign. He began to seek after God when he was 16 years of age. When he was 24 years old, he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places (fundamentalist expanding properties without the King James Bible), groves (Jeremiah 10 baal trees), and the carved images (today’s plethora of feel-good books without any confrontational and controversial truths), and the molten images (non-stop “new” CD songs by tour groups of churches and colleges instead of the old hymns that are too boring for today’s young immature hip-hop lukewarmies). Josiah did much more than that, too gruesome and too bloody for the modern day fundamentalist to list here in this short article. This kind of revival might ruin their soft raiment with sweat, chip their manicures, mess up their hairstyles, and destroy their “worship” services. Josiah did that which was right in the sight of the LORD. When he was 26 years old, he sent word to Hilkiah the high priest to sum up the silver which was brought into the house of the LORD. While they were counting the silver that was collected, they happened to come across The Book. The Book was read to the king. Instead of changing The Book or revising The Book or editing The Book or bypassing certain controversial passages, he humbled himself as he trembled at the Words of The Book. He chose the Author of The Book instead of the backslidden and lukewarm theology of his fathers who brought them to their present day apostasy.
Born November 19, 1921, Peter Ruckman was saved at 27 years of age. When he was 44, he founded PBI in 1965. He started Bible Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida, in 1973. He went to be with the Lord Jesus on April 21, 2016.
Steven Anderson was born July 24, 1981. He started Faithful Word Baptist Church on December 25, 2005, when he was about 24 years of age. He is presently married, has nine children, and pastors Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona.
It is much easier for me to comment on Dr. Peter Ruckman’s life and ministry only because he has gone on to be with the Lord and Dr. Ruckman has left a tremendous wealth of knowledge and information behind through his books and recorded sermons. It is always best to summarize a person’s life and ministry after they have passed away and only then can one look at the totality of their work. It is with great pleasure that I can emphatically state that the man I heard on the radio in 1980, the man I personally met on quite a few occasions, the man I heard preach in person and via television and online, the man whose funeral I attended was one of the greatest teachers of the Word of God of the past 2000 years. Because he had the courage to quote the leading lukewarmies of fundamentalism when they criticized and corrected the King James Bible, he crossed them when they crossed the King James Bible. For that, he was hated by all those who did not love the King James Bible. He was vehemently hated by the world and the lukewarm fundamentalists like none other. He was loved and followed by Bible believers around the world. I am in debt to Dr. Ruckman for the rest of my life and I intend to be a bulldog when it comes to all the fake, phony, and fraud charlatans who masquerade as pastors, ministers, teachers, theologians, scholars, evangelists, missionaries, and “full-time” Christian workers who do not believe, change, revise, and discredit the King James Bible.
I am a little more hesitant to comment on Pastor Steven Anderson since he is still a relatively young man as compared to most of his contemporaries. But, as of now, obviously not knowing what the future holds for him or anyone else, I can state emphatically that he has stood unashamedly for the old time religion without compromise. He is hated by the world and the lukewarm fundamentalists. He stands without apology for the inerrancy of the King James Bible. He has taught the true Bible meaning and Bible definition of the grace of God as it deals with salvation. While too many contemporaries are straddling the fence on what repentance is, playing both camps with catch phrases that slice words and meanings with lawyer-ese language, Pastor Steven Anderson has rightly divided the word of truth and has clearly taught from the Bible that repent means to change your mind. Too many fundamental leaders today are playing footsy with what is a repentance-works salvation and Pastor Steven Anderson has called them all out for it with direct quotes from their own mouths and their own writings show how they are teaching a heresy when it comes to salvation. He is a soul winner. He has great music standards. His church has dress standards. His church is going and growing. I love him. I am praying for him, for his family, and for his ministry. If there is one man that the enemy would want to destroy today it would be a young man who is on fire for God, pastoring an old fashioned, hellfire and damnation, independent, separated Baptist church. As long as he continues on the same path he is on now, I will stand with him and fight for him and with him against the lukewarmies who have been exposed by his relentless attacks against their heresy and against their compromise. What these lukewarmies do not like is being cross-examined on their own words, their own writings, and their own sermons. They can dish it, but they can’t take it. That is hypocritical. This is Pharisaical. That is your sad state of modern-day fundamentalism.
As my hero Dr. Jack Hyles once said (and I am paraphrasing the best I can remember as I sit here typing away behind my computer screen), “I would rather be with and fight for someone doing right wrongly than someone doing wrong rightly.”
Written with no apologies.
John W. Koletas
October 28, 2018 – Ὀχι!