John R Rice

[WESLEY]

In my opinion, John R. Rice was probably one of the most balanced preachers that I know.

Also, seems like he was responsible for much of the church growth of the 70's... I've often wondered if it was coincidental that he died in 1980, which is when the IFB movement seems to have begun to decline.

 

[Twisted]

... I've often wondered if it was coincidental that he died in 1980, which is when the IFB movement seems to have begun to decline.

He just knew when to get out.

 

[Baptist City Holdout]

I heard Paul Harvey talk about Rice's passing on his radio program.

 

[Justice1976]

I think he was the closest to "the real thing" that fundamentalism had to offer until he died in 1980. Frankly, I didn't care so much for his preaching, but I must say that by the time I heard him in the mid seventies, he was almost totally deaf and couldn't hear himself very well. The output was something of a mumble that was difficult for me to follow. But, from everything I can gather, he lived the life. He was faithful to the very end and that's huge.

I recall that he carried on a "dispute" with Jimmy Swaggart -- a war of words the two exchanged in letters which Dr. Rice would publish in the Sword -- over speaking in tongues. Today that makes me smile.

I have also wondered if it was coincidental that Bro. Hyles started "running off the rails" after Dr. Rice died and if some of those issues he had might have been different if Dr. Rice had still been alive. I do believe that Dr. Rice was a steadying influence on Hyles.

I believe that about 1981 was the apex of the Hyles ministry and that the issues with Dave that led to his moving on to Texas in 1981 were the beginning of the cracks that would later (in my view) cause the dam to break. Frankly, I view the last twenty years of Hyles' life were tragically sad.

"Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy." ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

[Jrock]

I think he was the closest to "the real thing" that fundamentalism had to offer until he died in 1980. Frankly, I didn't care so much for his preaching, but I must say that by the time I heard him in the mid seventies, he was almost totally deaf and couldn't hear himself very well. The output was something of a mumble that was difficult for me to follow. But, from everything I can gather, he lived the life. He was faithful to the very end and that's huge.

I recall that he carried on a "dispute" with Jimmy Swaggart -- a war of words the two exchanged in letters which Dr. Rice would publish in the Sword -- over speaking in tongues. Today that makes me smile.

I have also wondered if it was coincidental that Bro. Hyles started "running off the rails" after Dr. Rice died and if some of those issues he had might have been different if Dr. Rice had still been alive. I do believe that Dr. Rice was a steadying influence on Hyles.

I believe that about 1981 was the apex of the Hyles ministry and that the issues with Dave that led to his moving on to Texas in 1981 were the beginning of the cracks that would later (in my view) cause the dam to break. Frankly, I view the last twenty years of Hyles' life were tragically sad.

"Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy." ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

John R Rice was a good man and one of the most balanced in the IFB movement. Today, many IFB's would consider him a "heretic" for some the the beliefs that he held. He rejected storehouse tithing, kjv onlyism, secondary separation. Even though he held to a pre trib rapture, he was not a dispensationalist when discussing Israel and the church. He also joined ministries with Pentecostals, Presbyterians, Southern Baptists and others. As long as one believed in the "fundamentals" of the faith then there was no reason for him to separate.

I didn't always agree with him. For instance, women shouldn't cut their hair. He taught that churches should be soul winning churches. He believed that was it's main purpose, he looked down at expository preaching because that did not build soul winning churches. In some of his books he promoted Jack Hyles, Rice was big on numbers and believed churches should be large.

Rice was also what I called a "soft cessationist". He still believe that if there was a purpose for the gift of tongues or other sign miracles, then God can still give that gift to that man of God. This is not the common cessationist position on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He also believed in a future heavenly universal church that would be gathered for the first time at the rapture. Many IFB's would probably label him a "heretic" if he was alive today. But I believe he was closer to scripture than many hyper fundamentalists of today.





I didn't always

 

[illinoisguy]

he was not a dispensationalist when discussing Israel and the church.

Jrock is correct - I used to erroneously classify John R. Rice as a dispensationalist. However, in the March 15, 1974 issue of "Sword of the Lord," Rice wrote:

"I do not regard myself as a dispensationalist. . . . I do not see any special reason to make up a dispensation of all the time from the fall down to Abraham and make another dispensation of covenant after Abraham and then a dispensation of law later on. The truth is that God has dealt with people all through the years the same way. . . .

"I do not think it is sensible to say, as the Scofield Bible notes say before Exodus 19:3, 'grace given up for law.' God never did give up grace and the children of Israel never did accept the plan of salvation by law nor did God ever give any such plan of salvation by law. To call the New Testament age 'the dispensation of grace' implies that people were saved some other way besides grace before that. . . . Grace, based on Christ's sacrifice, was available for all Old Testament saints just like for New Testament saints."

Also, John R. Rice was not Zionist:

In Thee Shall All Families of the Earth Be Blessed

Do you deny that modern day Israel has anything to do with Bible prophecy concerning the regathering of the Jews as a nation in 1948? "There is no prophetic significance in the present partial worldly establishment of a Jewish state in Israel. . . . The present small and partial establishment...

www.fundamentalforums.org