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SPEAK UNTO US SMOOTH THINGS
Friday Church News Notes, June 5, 2015
Source: Way of Life Literature, David Cloud
“Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us” (Isaiah 30:10-11).
In Isaiah’s day, Israel rejected God’s Word and tried to corrupt the prophets. The people professed to love God and they participated in the temple rituals, but they despised God’s holy laws. They wanted to live as they pleased. They wanted preaching, but not right preaching. They didn’t want to hear reproof of sin and sound doctrine. They wanted to hear “smooth things” that encouraged them regardless of how they lived and that did not interfere with their plans. They wanted God, but not “the Holy One.” They would rather hear “deceits” than the truth. Israel has continued in this terrible condition until today.
She rejected the greatest Prophet and Preacher, Jesus, her own Messiah. The Isaiah 30 passage is also an apt description of apostate Christianity as Paul prophesied in 2 Timothy 4:3-4. They profess to love Christ and the Bible, but in reality they love their own lusts.
They flock to hear teachers who downplay repentance and conversion and holy living, who preach smooth things and invent fables such as gibberish tongues, spirit slaying, laughing revivals, non-judgmentalism, self-esteemism, positive confession, the veneration of Mary, contemplative prayer, rock & roll worship, theistic evolution, ecumenism, non-essential doctrine, and universalism.
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
I have revised many of these and also all of them are of a size that will fit on twitter and facebook easily to re-post. Pray about sharing these with others and sharing each theses individually. I believe many need to hear these truths and they are shared in the humility of my weakness and lack in my own Christian Life. May God in His mercy come and revive North American Christianity for His glory alone. “May the Lamb of God receive the reward of His sufferings in our lives today!” – Greg Gordon (founder of SermonIndex.net)
95 THESES TO THE MODERN EVANGELICAL CHURCH “revised”! by Greg Gordon
1. The “church” at large has forgotten that the chief end of man is to glorify God. (Rom 16:27; 1Cor 6:20; Mt 6:9; 1Cor 10:31)
2. Christians ignore most of the methods, practices and principles found in the book of Acts. (Acts 2:42,44; Acts 2:46; Acts 2:38)
3. Many treat “church” like any other social club or sports event that they might attend. (Acts 2:46; Heb 10:25; Acts 1:14)
4. We’ve made Christianity about the individual rather than the community of believers. (Rom 12:5; 1Cor 12:12; 2Tim 4:16)
5. In most “churches” the priesthood of all believers isn’t acknowledged and the role of pastor is abused. (1Pt 2:9; 1Cor 12:12; Eph 4:11-13)
6. The “church” as a whole has lost the concept of their being grafted into the promises given to Israel. (Rom 11:15, 17-18, 20, 25)
7. There needs to be a recovery of teaching the whole counsel of God, especially in expository form. (Acts 20:27; 1Tim 4:6, 2Tim 2:15)
8. We take it too lightly that we have the blessing and honor of having God’s Scriptures in our possession. (Ps 119:16; Acts 13:44; Neh 8:9)
9. There has never been more access to the Word of God, yet so little reading of it. (1Tim 4:13; Neh 8:1-3; Ps 119:59)
10. Some read the Scriptures to attain knowledge, but do not practice what they read. (Jam 1:22; Mt 7:21; 3Jn 4)
11. Worship has become an idol in many “churches.” The music often resembles that of the world. (Amos 5:23; Phil 4:8; 1Jn 5:21)
12. The world is shaping the views of the “church” more than the “church” shaping the world. (Rom 12:2; Mt 5:13; 1Cor 1:22-23)
13. The “church” spends more money on dog food than on missions. (2Cor 9:6; Lk 21:2; Acts 4:34-35)
14. We take lightly the cost of discipleship laid out by Jesus Christ and do not deny our lives. (Lk 14:33; Lk 14:26-27; Mt 8:19-20)
15. There is a lack of true discipleship and making others to be obedient disciples. (Mt 28:20; 2Tim 2:2; 2Tim 2:14)
16. Many subscribe to the error that parts of life are to be spiritual while others are to be secular. (1Pt 4:2; Col 3:3; 1Jn 2:6)
17. Modern Christians often find Jesus’ command to sacrifice and serve abhorrent. (Phil 2:21; Jam 3:16; Rom 12:1-2)
18. Self disciplines in the Christian life such as fasting and praying are considered legalistic. (2Tim 2:21; 2Tim 1:8; Mt 6:17)
19. Little thought and contemplation is put towards the lostness of men, the seriousness of the Gospel. (Phil 3:8; Gal 2:20; Heb 10:34)
20. We are living with an epidemic of cheap grace with flippant confession and shallow consecration. (Lk 14:28-30; Lk 14:26; Jam 4:8)
21. Since the inception of the Church, the Gospel had the requirements of repentance and discipleship. (Acts 2:38; Lk 14:26; Jn 8:31)
22. Now forgiveness is offered without repentance, discipleship without obedience, salvation without sanctity. (Heb 10:29; 4:11; Lk 13:24)
23. Introspection, counting the cost, godly sorrow over sin, are all foreign to many in the “church.”(Acts 2:37; Ps 119:9; Heb 6:1-2)
24. The modern church loves itself more than its neighbor. (1Cor 3:3; Gal 5:13; Phil 2:3)
25. The church must repent of its idolization of personality, and of business principles. (2Cor 2:17; 1Cor 3:5; 1Cor 12:23)
26. Many elders and pastors of the “church” sadly are fleecing the flock to supply their own wants. (Jn 10:12-13; 1Pt 5:2-3; Rev 2:15)
27. The qualities most in demand in today’s pastorate are frequently foreign to the Scriptures. (1Tim 3:2-3; 1Tim 3:5; 1Tim 1:5-7)
28. The professionalization of the pastorate is a sin and needs to be repented of. (2Cor 11:13; Gal 3:1; Gal 2:6)
29. There must be repentance for the ambitious desire and idolization of the celebrity pastorate. (3Jn 9; Jer 17:5; 1Cor 12:22)
30. Pastors must trust the Spirit, not statistics. (2Sam 24:1; 1Cor 1:25; Rom 8:14)
31. Modern day prophets are being stoned by criticism and neglect. (2Tim 4:3-4; Gal 1:10; Jer 1:7-8)
32. God’s prophets are ill-treated and shunned by most “christians” who consider them too extreme. (Jer 6:10; Isa 6:9-10; Gal 4:16)
33. The prophets prophesy falsely, priests rule by their own power; and my people love to have it so. (Mt 24:4, 11-12; 1Cor 1:19, Jude 8 )
34. There are many false gospels being preached from pulpits in our day. (2Cor 11:4; Gal 1:8-9; Jude 16)
35. There is an epidemic of a “mock” salvation message. It is correct in doctrine, but false in reality. (2Cor 3:6; 1Jn 5:11-12; Rom 8:9)
36. A salvation that does not make men holy is trusted in by a deceived multitude. (Jude 4; Rom 8:1; Rom 6:17-18)
37. There is a needed perseverance in the truths of the Gospel without unbelief. (Eph 1:1; Heb 6:11-12; Heb 10:26-27)
38. A great need is to see “christians” become saints in actual experience. (1Jn 2:29; Col 3:5-8; Tit 3:8)
39. Many professors of religion are forbidding people to be a part of the holy body of Christ. (Mt 23:13; Ps 119:1-2; 2Pt 1:3-4)
40. Preaching has become all about the happiness of man and not the glory of God. (Jn 6:26; Rom 4:20; 1Pt 4:11)
41. Preachers give smooth words to entice men, yet very few give any words of correction or rebuke. (Jer 6:14; Pro 1:23; 1Tim 5:20)
42. Run from gospels that focus on our success and prosperity in the name of Jesus Christ. (Jn 2:16; Acts 20:33; Jer 6:13)
43. Run from gospels that focus on self-improvement. (1Tim 6:5; Heb 12:14; Jam 4:14)
44. Run from churches where men, and not Christ, are glorified. (Col 1:18; Jude 25; Jn 16:14)
45. Run from churches where there is no Bible, no cross, no mention of the blood of Christ. (1Pt 1:18-19; Eph 3:13; Rev 1:5)
46. Run from churches where the worship leaves you cold, where there’s no sense of God’s presence. (1Cor 5:4; Ps 80:14-15; Jer 12:11)
47. Run from churches where you’re comfortable in your sin. (1Cor 14:25; Heb 10:30-31; Heb 4:13)
48. Run from churches that use the pulpit of God for a personal agenda. (Jude 10-11,19; 3Jn 9)
49. Run from those who preach division between races and cultures. (Jam 2:4, Gal 3:28, Rev 5:9)
50. Run from ungodly, spasmodic movements and endless empty prophesying. (Jer 5:13; 1Cor 14:33, 1Jn 2:16)
51. Run from preachers who tell mostly stories and jokes. (Eph 5:4; Tit 1:8; 2:12)
52. Run from those that are only after money, who use one gimmick after another to get your money. (2Pt 2:3; 2Cor 12:14; 1Cor 9:18)
53. The phrase “accept Jesus as your personal Saviour” is not found in the Scriptures. (Rom 10:9-10; Col 1:13; Acts 26:20)
54. Evidence of true conversion does not seem important to modern day Christians. (1Jn 2:6; 1Jn 4:17; Mt 7:20)
55. Thousands of sinners think of God as having only one attribute: Love! But they continue in sin. (Rom 1:18; Acts 5:11; Ps 2:12)
56. “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life!” has hindered true evangelism. (Rom 3:19; Acts 26:18; Phil 3:18-21)
57. A Gospel of love and grace only, without the law of God being preached. This is a doctrine of Satan. (2Tim 4:3-4; Rom 2:4-5; 3:19)
58. There has clearly arisen a careless mixture of 20th century reasoning with God’s revelation. (Col 2:8; Rom 1:25; Gal 1:6)
59. Decisionism and the “sinner’s prayer” has been a major cause of false conversions in the “church.” (2Pt 2:1-2; Eph 2:4-5; 2Cor 5:17-18)
60. Many will be surprised to hear Jesus say, “I never knew you, depart from me.” (Mt 7:22-23; 1Cor 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21)
61. Men have taken the place of the Holy Spirit in confirming men in their supposed salvation. (1Jn 2:3-5; 2Ths 1:8; Gal 6:12-15)
62. The doctrine of hell and eternal suffering is something little grasped by most professing “christians.” (Mt 13:42; Jam 5:1; Ps 9:17)
63. The judgment seat of Christ is perhaps one of the most neglected topics in the modern pulpit. (2Cor 5:10; Rom 14:10; 1Cor 3:13)
64. The second coming of Christ needs to be re-instated as the church’s general thrust and burden. (1Jn 3:2-3; Col 3:4-6; 1Ths 4:14-17)
65. The church has lost the fear of God and has over emphasized the love of God. (Heb 12:28-29; Lk 12:5; Heb 10:31)
66. The church has left evangelism to a few trained professionals. (Acts 8:1,4; Acts 4:29; Rom 10:14)
67. Repentance is considered a one-time act in modern evangelism rather than a way of life. (Rev 3:19; Heb 12:17; 2Pt 3:9)
68. The Lordship of Jesus Christ is something that is not taught in many pulpits. (Acts 2:36; 1Cor 12:3; Rom 6:18)
69. Many in “churches” are not open to correction, church discipline or rebuke. (1Cor 5:5; 1Cor 11:31-32; Heb 12:7-9)
70. Some preach salvation as a theory instead of persuading men to come to Christ. (Jn 5:40; Col 1:28; 2Cor 4:5)
71. There has been a loss of the fullness and majesty of the gospel. (1Tim 1:11; Jude 25; Rom 15:29)
72. There is little mention of sin or the depravity of man from “church” pulpits. (Jn 3:20; Gal 5:19-21; Eph 5:5)
73. Covetousness, consumerism, and coddling of the world’s goods does not appear wrong. (Jer 22:17; 1Jn 2:15-16; 1Tim 3:3)
74. Little is made of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in churches or in evangelism. (1Cor 15:14-15; Acts 4:10, 33)
75. The “church” has relied more on technology than God. (Zech 4:6; 1Cor 1:21; 2:4)
76. The prayer meeting is considered one of the least important meetings in the “church.” (1Tim 2:1; Acts 4:31; Phil 4:6)
77. Pastors have never prayed less than they do in the “church” today. (Jer 10:21; Phil 2:21; Eph 6:18-19)
78. Very few are waiting on God for His direction and purpose for His Church. (Eph 1:11; Ps 37:7; Isa 40:31)
79. The “church” has many organizers, but few agonizers. (Phil 3:18-19; Rom 9:1-3; Jer 9:1)
80. We need to have the gifts of the Spirit restored again to the “church.” (2Tim 4:2; 1Cor 14:39; 1Cor 12:31)
81. A serious, sober, self-controlled Christianity is very seldom found or preached. (2Pt 3:11; 1Pt 4:7; Jude 3)
82. The “church” at large has forgotten how to pray. (1Jn 3:22; Acts 6:4; 1Ths 5:17)
83. Many “churches” are more dependent on tradition than the leading of the Holy Spirit. (Mk 7:13; Acts 16:6; Acts 13:2)
84. Multitudes of professors preach and teach: that you cannot be freed from sin. (Rom 16:18; Rom 6:1-2; 2Pt 2:1)
85. The Apostles and Christ always preached the possibility to walk free from the bondage of sin. (Tit 2:11-12; 1Pt 1:14-16; Rom 6:19)
86. Sinners are not saved to sin, but rather, saved to holiness and good works. (Rom 6:13; Eph 2:10; 2Pt 3:14)
87. Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner. (2Tim 2:19; 1Pt 4:17-18; 2Tim 3:12)
88. A baptism of holiness, a demonstration of godly living, is the crying need of our day. (1Tim 6:3; 2Ths 3:6; 2Ths 2:13)
89. Many are confused about obedience and the good works that are readily mentioned in the Scriptures. (Tit 3:8; Jn 10:32; Rev 3:15)
90. Little emphasis is put on the plan of God to make us like Jesus Christ in “churches.” (1Pt 1:14-16; 1Jn 2:6; 1Pt 4:1)
91. Christ did not die on the cross to obtain a worldly “church” but for a “glorious Church.” (Eph 5:27; Tit 2:14; Col 4:12)
92. Christ does not come into an unregenerate and impure heart as many contemporary theologians say. (2Cor 5:17; Mt 5:8; Eze 18:31)
93. A holy Church is God’s blessing to the world; an unholy “church” is God’s judgment upon the world. (Mt 5:14,16; Eph 4:1; 1Ths 2:12)
94. If Christianity is to make any headway in the present time, it must be proved to be more than a theory. (2Ths 3:6-7; 1Ths 4:1,11-12)
95. Unbelief has gagged and bound us as risen Lazarus! We need release in this final hour! (Heb 3:12-14; 1Cor 3:21-23; Heb 11:6)
Find a link HERE
People always remember the story about the talking donkey. Balaam’s part in this story is often forgotten and overlooked. It is Balaam who is made a fool of, by the spiritual awareness of the ass, who could see what the “seer” could not see. The donkey was more spiritually discerning than the prophet.
Israel was finally beginning to conquer her enemies before they were to enter and take possession of Canaan. After wandering for so long in the desert, the time was quickly approaching. Balak, the king Moab, was afraid, because the Israelites had just taken the land of the Amorites. They left no survivors. So the king resorted to magic or witchcraft to solve his problem of the Israelites who were beginning to the conquer the adjoining lands around him. He wanted the Israelites cursed.
Balak hired Balaam, knowing full well that he was a diviner. Some commentaries make Balaam out to be a good guy gone bad, but I can’t see how this could have been true. We know Balak knew of Balaam’s powers of divination because messengers were sent with a “divination” fee to hire him to make the trip. Divination was his profession and he was hired to curse the Israelites.
So what is a diviner? It is someone who uses hidden powers to gain secret knowledge about the future. This information does not come from God. It usually comes from Satan. If a method is used to attain the information from the spirit world, then it is occult.
Here is a definition from Dictionary.com
DIVINATION, n. L., to foretell1. The act of divining; a foretelling future events, or discovering things secret or obscure, by the aid of superior beings, or by other than human means.
And from Strong’s Concordance
Strong’s H7081
1) divination, withcraft
a) of the nations, Balaam
b) of false prophets
c) in a good sense (king’s lips as oracles)
Balaam’s words are interesting to the messengers when they arrived. Listen to the phrases he used.
Numbers 22:8 “and I will bring you back the answer the Lord gives me.”
Numbers 22:13 “Go back to your own country, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”
Numbers 22:19 “I will find out what else the Lord will tell me.”
If you heard someone speak these phrases, would you think him a follower of the true God?
It seems that when Balaam set out on his journey, something was wrong. God had said to go and only tell the men “the word which I shall say unto thee.” But when he left, God opposed him because the angel obstructed his path three times, but this did not stop him. He even acknowledged he had sinned, but he did not turn back.
So now we get to ask, was Balaam doing God’s will or his own? His words sounded so mighty earlier. What do his actions say about him? Do you follow leaders who are obstructed in their ministries? Do you follow them because of their righteous sounding words and because they say they hear from the Lord?
Have you ever gone ahead with your own plans even though God opposes them? Have you taken your own pathway only to find continuous obstacles? It was as though God said, “Okay… you go Balaam and I will let you make a fool of yourself.” Have you ever asked God over and over again for the same thing? He may allow you to have this thing you so desire but there will be consequences to pay later.
An interesting verse is Numbers 22:28-29 Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these times?” Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”
Balaam could not see the sword in the angels hand, when the donkey could, and God spared the donkey. Balaam himself died by the sword but could not “see” this part of his future.
We do learn that God would not let Balaam curse the Israelites and would let the diviner speak the words that He, the Lord, gave him, much to Balak’s distress.
Because the diviner would not curse Israel as he was hired to do, Balak took him to three different locations. Different oracles were offered by Balaam but none of them were curses against the people of Israel. God would not allow His people to be cursed. Israel is His chosen and He had a covenant with them. God keeps His promises. Do you keep all of your promises?
Interestingly, Balak was hoping that the three different perspectives or locations would influence Balaam into changing his mind, so he would curse the people. Do you go to different people to find the answer you are looking for? If you do not like one answer, do you go to another, and another, and another person till you find an answer that suits you?
Now Balaam blessed Israel in his oracles, so God amazingly used this diviner, but the story does not end here. This is why we are to read the entire Bible. If one stops here, one may think that indeed Balaam turned out to be a pretty good guy. But this was not the case.
In Numbers 25 we find out that “the men began to indulge in sexually immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the Lord’s anger burned against them.”
So what does this have to do with Balaam? We find out in Numbers 31:15-16. Moses asked why the women were not killed in the war on the Midianites as the Lord commanded.
“Have you allowed all the women to live?” he asked them. “They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the Lord in what happened at Peor, so that a plague struck the Lord’s people.”
It was Balaam that enticed and led the people away from God. If he could not curse them, he would find a way to go against God’s will. In verse 8 Balaam is killed by the sword.
What lessons can we pull for us today from this story of the diviner. For one thing it is evident that the people were eventually deceived by him. He introduced heresies which led the people astray.
I hear many leaders in the church say today, “The Lord told me.” But we have to examine all teachings today. And the teachers. God has sent us many good preachers and teachers who prophesy God’s Word, and I praise Him mightily for this, but also there are those who are not really followers of Christ. Like Balaam. He was actually used by the Lord but truly, he was not a true believer.
In the end, those who listened to Balaam bowed down to other gods and worshiped Baal.
Soon…
A study of divination and how it has infiltrated the church.
I was rather surprised by a comment stating that apologetics do more harm than good to the Christian faith. My first thought was, yes, those who do not want their views and positions analyzed against scripture dislike apologetics. False teachers say things like …..”Touch not God’s anointed,” or “Judge not”. While we cannot judge anyones salvation, we can judge what they are teaching against the Word of God. To not do so, is very dangerous indeed.
Here is a thought from CARM in the introduction of their site.
As the Christian faith is attacked more and more in schools, the media, movies, print, etc., it is vital that Christians learn why their faith is defensible, logical, and evidential. CARM stands on the truth of God’s word and God’s truth can easily be defended just as false secular system can easily be refuted.
Here is the beginning of an article:
There are several reasons why we need apologetics.
The first and most obvious is because we are commanded to defend the faith: 1 Peter 3:15 says, “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”
Second, we need apologetics because it helps Christians know their faith. This is something that is sadly lacking among believers. Most don’t know much about their faith, let alone be able to describe the Trinity, the two natures of Christ, His physical resurrection, or even to tell the difference between justification and sanctification. Apologetics helps to define and defend what the truth of the gospel is.
Read Entire Article HERE for all eight reasons.
I have a great deal of respect for godly leaders, teachers, and preachers who say things like , “Compare what I am saying against the Word of God. Check to see if what I claim is true. I am not infallible, but God’s Word is always truth. Interpret a verse in context to it’s passage or chapter.”
Acts 17:11. The Bereans listened to what Paul and Silas were preaching and they “received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
Knowing God’s Word takes prayer, commitment and study on your part. These are the times when Satan knows his time is short and is he is burning the candle at both ends to deceive all of mankind, even believers. He is convincing the unbelieving world that God and sin do not even exist. Confessing Christians weak in their faith will fall away because they do not even know what their Bible says. They do not read it! Worse… they think that they are above being deceived.
Put on the armor of Ephesians 6. The armor is God’s truth in His Word. Do you know His Word? Do you know how to deflect the flaming arrows of the evil one? Are you prepared for battle?
There is power in God’s Word but first you must read it. Let God speak to you through it and then actually apply the principles to your life and walk in obedient faith that God will help you conform through the Holy Spirit. This is not something that we can accomplish on our own. If you do not rely on the Holy Spirit you will not be clothed in Christ and you will fall.
There was a flyer on my door yesterday left by a Jehovah’s Witness. It contained a statement, “Each year, Jehovah’s Witnessses mark the simple anniversary of Jesus’ death with a simple ceremony.”
JW’s deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus, the trinity, the deity of Jesus, and his bodily return. Are not all of these the basic biblical teachings of the Christian faith? If you actually talked with a JW how would you fare handling scripture? Could you explain your faith and then find corresponding scripture to verify your Christian position?
Can you defend your faith to others? If not..why not?
The first time i heard of Rick Warren was when that kidnapped women supposedly saved her captor. Remember this:
New York Times
September 28, 2005
Celebrated Hostage Gave Crystal Meth to Captor
By EDWARD WYATT Ashley Smith, who was held hostage in her apartment in March by the man now charged with murder in the Atlanta courthouse shootings, was hailed as a hero after she disclosed how she had persuaded her captor to surrender, partly by reading to him from the spiritual best seller “The Purpose-Driven Life.”But in a memoir released yesterday, Ms. Smith also recounts that she gave the kidnapper some of her supply of crystal methamphetamine during her captivity and that she did not tell the police for some time afterward.
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Almost 2 years have passed since that incident. I do not know what has happened since to that women or her kidnapper but i sure know a lot more about Rick Warren.
When i first heard of “The Purpose-Driven Life” i assumed that it was probably a good book and full of inspiration for the Christian life. But here is what i discovered instead….
http://www.inplainsite.org/html/saddleback_church.html
by David Cloud
Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, pastored by Rick Warren, is one of the most influential churches in the world. Warren says, “This is a world class church making a world class impact.” He is right about the impact, but sadly that impact is not encouraging strict faithfulness to God’s Word. Everything about Saddleback is shallow. Truth has been boiled down to such a low common denominator that not much is left. For example, the Saddleback Statement of Faith has six simple points.
Note the following statement on salvation, which we are quoting in full: “Salvation is a gift from God to mankind. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can we be saved from sin’s penalty. Eternal life begins the moment we receive Jesus Christ into our life by faith.”
Note that the gospel is not actually given in this statement. There is nothing about Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, nothing about His shed blood and atonement. Sinners are exhorted to trust Christ but that is not explained in any sense whatsoever.God has commanded us not only to believe sound doctrine but also to earnestly contend for it (Jude 3).
That means we are to fight aggressively against that which is false. This is exactly what we see in the uncompromising ministry of the Lord’s apostles. Their epistles contain strong and clear warnings about false teaching. Paul often named the names of the false teachers. Such a ministry naturally causes divisions between those who are committed to the truth and those who are following error. Paul made no effort whatsoever to avoid doctrinal controversy.
Our day is described plainly in Bible prophecy: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
Rick Warren claims that he has not compromised the Word of God with his principles and methods, that he has only modernized them; but when I look into the book of Acts and the Epistles I see a different kind of Christianity, a different kind of church there, than the one that Rick Warren has devised. Thus I must reject Warren’s Purpose Driven methods and I must warn those who have an ear to hear, regardless of how small that crowd may be, that they not heed the siren call of the contemporary church growth gurus. It is fearful that this church is influencing thousands around the world.
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Have you heard of Warrens Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan? What possibly could be wrong with wanting peace on this earth. Well, plenty….the way Warren is planning to achieve this peace. Wait a minute..doesn’t the Bible predicts wars and rumors of war? Does Christ ever predict peace before his return? Nope. Here is what P.E.A.C.E. actually stands for:
P – promoting reconciliation
E – equip leaders
A – assist the poor
C – care for the sick
E – educate the next generation
Sounds great doesn’t it? But let’s take a look at Matthew 24:6-11 Here is what Jesus says about the signs of His return.
Mat 24:6 “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these things are the beginning of sorrows. 9 Then they shall deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all the nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.”
I attended a kick-off celebration at a neighboring church who is signing on to the “40 days of Community”. The workbook i purchased from their table is subtitled, “Better Together…What on earth are we here for? A CHURCHWIDE SPIRITUAL GROWTH CAMPAIGN.” First we watched a video of Rick Warren. The ad in the New Age section* of my local paper said he was speaking at the church, but this didn’t happen. The pastor called the video a “Rick-Fix”. Here are some of the pastors quotes:
You cannot fulfill God’s purposes by yourself.
The 40 Days of Community takes us from, me and God, to we and God.
Do this as a cell group.
We are to impress others with our love of others.
We are to focus on our relationships together.
We have the longing for belonging.
The key in interdependence.
Okay, so here we have a program that is stressing the relationships that we have with one another instead of the relationship that we have with God. On our little worksheet that was handed out to us, we learned that the “Community” is God’s answer to lonliness, getting more work done, defeat, waiting, and witnessing.
Here is where i lost it….What is witnessing the pastor asked? “SPREADING THE LIFE MESSAGE” was the answer.
Life message? Hello….Excuse me? What about the Gospel? Is this what Rick Warrens main thrust is. THE LIFE MESSAGE. I am still not over this. Let’s thumb through the book.
pg. 30 ” This is your chance to choose your spiritual legacy, which will also transform your physical legacy.”
(I thought we were to do God’s will for us, that He had plan for our lives…does this mean i get to choose God’s will for me? My spiritual legacy? I have no desire for legacy. All the Glory is for God, not man…..)
pg. 44 “We is more powerful than me.”
pg. 57 “The bottom line is this: People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Non-believers, like most of us, are looking for deep, true, supportive friendships.”
(Not me…i search only for Christ, He takes care of the rest)
pg 59 You’ve got to spend time with nonbelievers in order to becomes friends with them.”
( I thought we were not be friends with the world but to be separate)
There is some really good stuff in the book too. Inspirational but that’s about it…This is a book about good works. Good works…is…er…good!… but even a non-believer can do good works, so what is the difference here? This body of good-workers support and love and pray for each other….This is absolutely wonderful…but? Okay, time to move on.. let us take a look at the Missions Projects Booklet and see what this particular church has selected. Food drive, county park clean-up, Crisis Clinic, HIV/Aids Foundation, Hospice of *****County, God’s Kitchen and Closet…OK.. again all good stuff. BUT NO EVANGELIZING……There is NO training for evangelizing, no mention of evangelizing.
What is the Great Commission?
Great Commission
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In Christian tradition, the Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread his teachings to all the nations of the world.
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Scanning this book “Better Together”, it is very easy to pick up on questionable statements. But the rule is this. I Corinthians 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? (KJV)
This is from the King James Version. “Better Together” uses the NIV, GW, CEV, NCV, NLT, LB, Msg, TEV,GNB, NASB, NKJV, NJB, and the ESV. It must be nice to have so many versions to select from. In fact, there are thirteen versions. Then you can select the version that best matches the point you want to make.
I applaud those who want to serve Christ and do His will, and encourage those who in His will are seeking the lost and spreading the Gospel. But many professing Christians do not even know what the gospel message is. The Gospel is this…Jesus died and rose again, and He took our sins upon Himself. We need to repent of our sin and turn AWAY from it. It is our faith that leads and sustains us as our santification grows in Christ.
What is Christ asking you to do for Him today? By having a relationship with the Lord, He will reveal what His specific plan is for you. He will lead you. He will guide you. Yes, we need our brothers and sisters in Christ, but His will be done…not our will that is created by another man’s agenda.
kim
Gnosticism, spiritual warfare
and pride.
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I would like to pass on this article by Mary D. Valentine who wrote to Discernment-Ministries.
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A Rotten Apple
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Mary Diane Valentine, PhD
Thank you for your archived newsletters. These have been very helpful in discerning my own deceptions. Of course, I am concerned about others but I am cleaning up my own house.
In January 2003 I attended a meeting where James Goll was preaching and selling his teaching tapes. I did not know very much about him or the group he associated with. Charismatic Christian seemed okay to me. It was at this meeting I was asking God to show me discerning of spirits. This request has since led me through a maze of overlapping tunnels into the darkness of my own deceptions about some Christian teachings I had embraced. I didn’t know it at the time but that prayer would bring me into a light I hadn’t seen for many years.
As I questioned different spiritual happenings and teachings I had previously accepted, I aggravated a number of my Christian buddies, prayer partners for many years. These relationships had sustained me in times of struggle but also held me captive to false assumptions about the charismatic life. I lost a friend over the “gold dust.” She had this phenomenon and wanted me to accept this as something from the Lord. I hadn’t really known anyone who had this and at first thought it was all right. I studied the Scriptures and could not rationalize this to be God’s work even though it sounded so good. To my knowledge, she still has this manifestation although I sent her the biblical rationale for why this could not be God’s way. It’s been a cool relationship since. I aggravated a whole audience of Charisma devotees when I wrote a letter about the Narnia films and how I argued these to be from the dark side. Charisma disagreed. Well, I didn’t know those people so that wasn’t so bad. But I lost others along the way as well.
I don’t want to go over each situation of a deception revealed in this although I will mention the spirit of Jezebel. I’d heard these teachings for many years and it’s another popular latter rain thing. I don’t know exactly how it fits into their theological paradigm, but when I did a word study, I found no spirit of Jezebel, only behaviors. These are behaviors no Christian should desire and we should be observant if others are behaving like Jezebel. It came to me that as charismatics or Pentecostals, we should be careful what we call a spirit otherwise we will find ourselves in wrong teaching, what I later learned as the Gnostic Christian area. The search for the spirit of Jezebel and finding none helped me continue questioning. I had cast aside the generational curse thing and the binding and loosing formulas in prior years along with other skewed interpretations of Scripture. The process has been several years in the making.
It’s been since this last August that the veil on Gnosticism has really lifted. Yes, I had seen quite a bit and knew the spiritual harlotry I had been involved in but something else was not clear. That is how I found your site – I did a search on Google about spiritual warfare.
Before searching out the validity of warfare teachings, I was in a situation of trying to discover why things were not happening in my life. I reasoned it was because I was in warfare, that I was not getting my prayers answered. My spiritual friends prayed and agreed. We went into warfare for months with many manifestations and confirmations I might add.
Thinking can drive us into deception, but also lead us out. I had several nagging questions that kept coming to me. Why didn’t Paul or Peter have to pray this way to get things to happen? Why is it now we learn of this? Why aren’t people having victory if this really works?
When I started pursuing answers, it’s so obvious to me now. I had been living in the wrong paradigms here. These were Gnostic ones but I hadn’t understood what the Gnostic teachings were really about. I had been duped by the Gnostic paradigmatic world I was choosing to be in. Of course, I couldn’t see the difference then. I had on the Gnostic glasses and viewed the Gnostic Christian teachings as “the norm.” In communication theory this is called cognitive dissonance, meaning any information that contradicts what you already know or believe becomes discarded because you don’t want to be in dissonance or inner conflict with yourself. Because I was experiencing cognitive dissonance, I was not able to see how deep into the Gnosticism belief system I had gone. Although I was wearing a milder prescription of Gnostic glasses since I had seen some of the deceptive teachings, I hadn’t come totally away from the Gnostic Christians. When I got the revelation about the spiritual warfare teaching errors, the Gnostic glasses fell off entirely. I no longer experienced any cognitive dissonance in studying the deceptions surrounding this popular teaching on spiritual warfare. I no longer sense oppression like I did before and it’s such a relief to know I am not going to have to be under a condemnation over the warfare routine. And it is a routine, much like the formulas of the word-faith movement.
Your archived newsletters have helped me understand the subtleties in these false teachings. Although I had thought I had gotten rid of extra biblical teachings with regard to the Third Wave, Latter Rain group, I realized this was part of that whole rotten apple I had been eating. I still had the apple in hand when I believed I was to participate in the spiritual warfare regimen. I am reading through your archived newsletters. I have checked out other sources as well to confirm what I now see so clearly.
In closing, I offer these thoughts. My sense of the problems I had stemmed from two sources. One was a lack of a good foundation to rightly discern the gifts of the Spirit along with the Word of God and the other was my indomitable pride. I liked being puffed up with the idea that I was called for something very special. I had received many prophecies about my position in the Body of Christ. I like position; I was in the elite group. I like being elite; that was my pride showing off. I wanted to be spiritual and with the spiritual ones. More pride. I wanted insider knowledge on what God was doing. I wanted to be anointed and that was pride. I sure believed I could conquer any foe out there because God was on my side. And I wanted my own way with God. All this comes to my desire for power and I see that now. My weakness of pride was a pull, like the force of gravity, toward the Gnostic Christians. These teachings fed my weakness and desire to be elite, have power and be “in the know.” None of that sounds like a humble servant, nor was I.
To me, knowing the weakness of how I got there is equally important to understanding the false teachings. If I had not experienced the weakness problem, I doubt I would have taken one bite of the rotten apple – the latter rain teachings. For me, it’s been more than finding out truth but repenting of my pride and all the things involved in it. And I’m not afraid of saying that publicly.
In my diet of rotten apple teachings, I did not feed myself enough truth from the word of God. I ate lies, which fed my pride and not my soul. 1 Peter 4:14 gives me biblical authority over the false Gnostic teachings. “If you are reproached for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” I now know I don’t have to go seeking the glory because it rests on me. That itself speaks volumes to my soul. Very simply, the appeal of the truths of God in the Scripture is much more comforting and freeing than any peel on that rotten apple.
Behold, I am writing anew, through scribes on Earth who are willing to listen to me again with new ears, in the light of the present crises on Planet Earth.
The second purpose of these writings is to call for the completion of the good news concerning the transformation of the world.
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May the Divine Love and Light and Power of the One God be now manifest within your hearts and minds. May this Light and Love and Power lead you to seek That which dwells always in your heart’s centre. Find That, and make It manifest.
Man is on the threshold of a new understanding of his role on planet Earth.
He is near men now. He cannot be denied. His love now saturates the planet and brings change to the fore.
Many and varied have been these signals to men that something momentous and wonderful is afoot on Earth.
All religious groups await and expect their chosen divine revelation and read the signs as confirmation of their faith.
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Revelation unites you directly with God.
When revelation of your oneness comes, it will be known and fully understood.
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Therefore in the new world order, spirituality will supercede theology; living experience will take place of theological acceptances.
It is a work of loving synthesis and will emphasis the unity and fellowship of the spirit. This group is, in a pronounced sense, a channel for the activities of the Christ, the world teacher.
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Do the above quotes sound like something from the churches who consider themselves on the “cutting edge”?
There are many who believe that they are hearing from God, and that there will be a “new thing” that is going to happen. We are to anticipate the “fresh moves” of God. A revival is going to occur that is going to be unprecedented in the history of the church. Churches are emerging, churches are doing spiritual warfare, they are relying on visions and inner voices to guide them through this new paradigm shift that is going to happen. The way the church is promoting change is through this “paradigm shift”, to change from one thought process to another.
If you hear an inner voice that begins to change how you feel about the Bible, or that leads you away from scripture, flee from it. Repent if you have opened yourself to deception. Test the spirits. Those who do not do this, do not love the truth. They prefer to believe that they have been given some special knowledge, available only to an “elite” and this only serves to feed one’s pride. This pride in special knowledge can be traced back to Genesis 3:5 “For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil”.
One has to determine whether the voice one hears is from God or if it is a deceiving spirit. In Johanna Michaelson’s book “The Beautiful Side of Evil” she relates how she was deceived by a spirit calling itself “Jesus Christ”. When she tested this evil spirit it failed and the spirit disappeared from her life. How was this spirit initially contacted? By meditation and contemplation. Brian Flynn, a former new age medium, verifies the contact of evil spirits posing as positives entities in his book “Running Against the Wind”.
The Truth: The Bible contains many warnings about deception. The Church Growth Movement has been employing the methodologies of Second-order Change for at least three decades now, getting more sophisticated as time goes on. Much of this paradigm shifting towards Church “transformation” is done by methods of deception and coercion. Pastors and leaders are being trained in these methods. But people in the pew have little knowledge or expertise. All they know is that the music is changing, worship styles are different, or that new programs, curriculums, ideas and projects are being introduced in a manner which is compulsory. “If you don’t like it, you can leave,” parishioners are told. (1)
FROM Reinventing Jesus Christ – The New Gospel by Warren Smith
Sadly the Bible records that many in the church will fall away (2 Thessalonians 2:3). They will follow the “broad” way of the world rather than the “narrow way” of Jesus Christ. ( Matthew 24:3-5). But few will believe that most of the world could be so deceived about the “positive” alternative future they think they are creating with their spiritually compromised dreams, prayers, visualizations, contemplations and meditations. The Bible records, that when it comes to the end times, most of the world and much of what calls itself the church will be unprepared for what unfolds.
Below are the authors of the quotes. They are New Age “Ascended Masters” (fallen angels) using mankind as a channel for deception.
The first set of quotes are from Barbara Marx Hubbard’s “Christ”. She is a well-known New Ager who “crossed-over” when she started to hear an “inner voice”. Her inner voice says, “The church is the body of believers who are conscious of being me” (2)The second set of quotes are from Maitreya “the Christ” channeled by Benjamin Creme. This is what Maitreya says about Jesus: “Jesus of Nazareth and the Christ are not one and the same person. This is one of the most difficult claims for many Christians to accept in connection with Maitreya, the World Teacher, and it therefore needs some further explanation.”(3)
The third set of quotes are from Helen Schucman a non-christian Jewish woman who took dictation from an inner voice and wrote “A Course in Miracles” . This inner voice told Helen, “Is he (Jesus) the Christ? O yes, along with you. His little life on earth was not enough to teach the mighty lesson that he learned for all of you.” (2)
The fourth set of quotes is from Alice A. Bailey who channeled teachings from her “spirit guide”. Lucis Trust was established in 1922 as Lucifer Trust by Alice Bailey as the publishing company to disseminate the books of Bailey and Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society. Bailey changed the name to Lucis Trust, because Lucifer Trust revealed the true nature of the New Age Movement too clearly. (4)
(1) http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/02/first-second-order-paradigm-change.html
(2) http://reinventingjesuschrist.com/
(3) http://www.shareintl.org/maitreya/messages/message_1.htm
After being called divisive and judgmental I decided it would be a wise thing to read scripture and pray about these issues.
My study group is in Matthew right now and what passage did we talk about? Judging Others. Matthew 7: 1-6. How timely!
First though, let’s take a look at society today. It seems that “tolerance” is the word of the day, and that all are seeking love, peace and unity. Yes, these are fine things up to a point. My breaking point is when those yearning for love and tolerance begin to change the gospel. My breaking point is when a pastor stands on the pulpit and tells me Revelation is no longer relevant.
Judge Not. Does this mean that a Christian cannot express views or opinions? No, it does not. Does “judge not”, mean that Christians should allow all false doctine to go unchallenged. Absolutely not. But…we are not to judge another’s character, and we are not to condemn another. Jesus tell us that when we see a speck in our brother’s eye, to first remove the plank from our own eye. But notice He does not stop at the plank in our own eye. We have to admit our own sin and bias first, then through God’s vision, not our own, we can then proceed. Only God can judge a man’s heart. To say that one can, is indeed self-righteous. However, we are still to use discernment between what is true and false and Jesus warns of false doctine and prophets in Matthew 7, as we continue on in this chapter.
Matthew 7:13-14
What is it that we are hearing today? There are many roads to God. Jesus warned that we are not to follow the crowd. The crowd is headed for the wide gate and the roads to this gate are many. Jesus tell us “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Only a few? Yes, it says only a few…This is so opposite of what we are hearing from the Latter Rain folks. They say that there is going to be harvest of a billion souls for Christ in the end times. What? A billion? The Bible doesn’t say this. Is a billion a few? Can you see that we have to discern the truth by what the Word of God says? Do you think what I just proposed is divisive? It is. It divides the truth from the lies.
Matthew 7:15
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you as in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”
Jeremiah 6:14
“They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. Peace, peace, they say, when there is no peace”
Jesus is warning us against deceptions and delusions here. Not all who profess to be Christians are truly so. Jesus states that many so-called prophets are false in God’s sight.
Does Satan appear to us with a pitchfork and with flames leaping from his mouth? No. He appears mild as a sheep, within the church, speaking calm words. False prophets minimize the sin of the people by applying a soothing balm and avoiding issues like the Wrath of God on Judgment Day.
Matthew 7:22-23
“Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”
Many in the church today profess knowledge of the scripture, say biblical phrases and do works, but the Lord says some are evildoers. This really is a frightening scenerio. How do we tell the difference from a false prophet and a true prophet? We cannot see men’s heart like God can. This is one reason why we cannot judge someone. So what do we do? We abstain from following the words of men. We must study God’s word on our own and pray that truth and discernment will be given us. Also we are told to discern their fruit. So be a fruit inspector. It is biblical.
False prophets, false teachers and their followers, do not want others to use discernment…they do not want their words scrutinized. Even my words should be scrutinized and compared to the Word of God. I don’t mind. I welcome it. I am also learning and praying for the Lord to teach and instruct me in His ways.
Matthew 7:24
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
Matthew 7:26
“But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.”
This is not the entire passage but it is known as the scripture that tells us to build on the rock of Jesus Christ. While this is very true what is overlooked is “what” Jesus is telling us to put into practice. Jesus is definitely our foundation but He is telling us that after hearing His words we must put them into practice. What good is the Word of God if we do not learn it, and hold it dear to our hearts? So what is our instruction?
Judge not.
Remove your sin or bias first before helping others.
Do not follow men for they may walk the broad path to the wide gate which leads to destruction.
Beware of false prophets wearing sheeps clothing.
Watch those who appear righteous, they may be evildoers.
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Those who put these words into practice will protect themselves from destruction and deception.
Discernment is necessary in these times to recognize false teachings, apostasy, and spiritual conterfeits. We need the gifts of discernment and wisdom in these times of deception, so pray and ask the Lord for them. Committment is also needed to continuously study the Word of God and remain in prayer.
Those of us who create blogs and websites about apostasy, apologetics, heresies, discernment, or deception do so out of alarm of what we are seeing in our churches. We also do it because we love the Lord Jesus Christ. When I came back to the Lord and started going to church again, I was shocked to find out how much times had changed. Christian yoga, labryinths inside the churches, eastern meditation, no more need to bring your Bible, 10 minute sermons, quick services as to not interfere with the football game, Harry Potter books, and messages of inspiration but never conviction or sin. It was conviction of my sin that brought me back to the Lord. When the realization hit that time was short before the return of the Lord, I knew that I would fall short and was headed for destruction.
I have heard and read so much about counterfeit spirituality lately that my head spins. There is a false spirit being introduced into the church. It a spirit spouting love..peace..unity…light. Satan comes as a light. This same light comes from meditation. If you are experiencing joy and never any conviction of your sin, you should wonder why.
Do you possess the “attitudes of the Beatitudes”? Do you recognize how poor in spirit we truly are? Do you mourn over your sin? Do you literally hunger and thirst for righteouness, asking Jesus to expose your sin to yourself for correction? Are you merciful to others? Are you pure in heart, seeking only the Lord and not material things? Do you promote peace as it depends on you? Are you being persecuted for Christ’s sake? These are the attributes of Gods children.
If you truly are filled with the Holy Spirit then you will no longer tolerate sin in your life. When you read the Word of God then you will be convicted of your sin, which causes repentence. Then you will have the freedom that is in Christ.
So am I being divisive? I want to continue to divide deception and the truth. Am I judging others? I hope to be testing the fruit or the result of what one believes. If you feel that I am judging you personally, please forgive me. I only want to discern the truth and I wish this for others. God will be your judge not me. The Day of Wrath is coming. Are you ready?
Todd Friel Interviews Doug Pagitt of the Emergent Church
11/17/07 UPDATE:::: I found someone who transcribed the entire interview…Read it here http://www.robwillmann.com/blog/2008/07/10/wotm-radio-transcript-todd-friel-interviews-doug-pagitt/ A reader sent me two audio interviews of Doug Pagitt of Solomon’s Porch in Minnesota. Todd Friel is the interviewer from Way of the Master Radio. I have already posted an article about this church here: https://kimolsen.wordpress.com/2007/09/20/solomons-porch-an-emerging-church/ I do not want to clump all emergents in one defining category or imply all their theology is like Pagitt’s but all emerging churches seem to be involved in either mysticism, contemplative spirituality, a road back to Rome, universalism, ecumenism, or adding Jesus’ name to another religion. Please listen to these audios:
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These comments are from YouTube
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Doug Pagitt is fulfilling
2 Timothy 4:3-4
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
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Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and ALL LIARS, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Wow, heresy.
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Systematic theology=taking your own views and imposing them on the Bible.
Biblical theology=reading the scriptures, with historical context in mind, and trying to figure out what is being said through it.
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Bless his heart, Todd Friel is a radio host. He did well given the extremely combative, elusive Padgitt. It’s difficult to nail down the Emergent doctrines because they are continuing to evolve.
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These comments are from the below site that also featured these two interviews:
http://reformedvoices.blogspot.com BTW i really like this site…..
Anonymous said…
- If I have to wander about in goat skins and starve half to death to preach out against this heresy I will this is a shame and is perverted enough to make me weep. Please hold fast to the bible. Thank you for exposing this garbage. Greg.
- Anonymous said…
- Paggit is just another in a long list of heretic kooks who have no understanding of the word of God, for they have not the Holy Spirit to open their blind eyes to see, yet they proclaim to be teachers of men. Unfortunately,there are too many in the church today that are not truly born again, and are willing to swallow ANY teaching that comes down the pike. They love to have their itching ears scratched. It is also unfortunate that some seem to be so complacent and gullable, that they may as well wear a sign around their neck saying, “feed me and burp me when it’s over”. In season and out of season.
- Jason L. said…
- DP didn’t surprise me one bit. One of the Po-motivators posters describes it best:”If you don’t agree with my new point of view, then it’s pretty obvious who the divisive one is”http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/posters.htmPray for the “sheeple” of these false prophets, that God would deliver them out of those places.
- Vaughan Smith said…
- I think it was funny when he almost claimed Luther, Calvin, Whitfield, Spurgeon and Moody.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
The Fundamental Message of Christianity
by David W. Lowe
Because Jesus Christ is equal with God (Phi 2:6) and created all persons (Joh 1:1-9), he has inherent sovereign authority over all humanity and the universe. This means you and I must surrender to the authority of Jesus Christ. It is one thing to call him Master and Lord with your mouth, and quite another to make him the Master and Lord of your words, thoughts, and actions by obeying his commands in complete humility. He cannot be your Savior unless he is first your Master and Lord. If you have a problem with the idea of a Sovereign God ruling over your thoughts and actions, then you must question whether you are truly a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is King of Kings, seated at the right hand of the throne of God, and has all authority and power. As the righteous judge of mankind, his kingdom stands eternally opposed to sin and rebellion. Just as an inventor has the inherent rights to an invention or an author holds the copyright for a book he has written, so the Lord has the inherent rights to the earth he created and everyone in it. Because he holds the patent to the creation, he has the right to demand how it is used and how we interact and conduct ourselves within it. If that omnipotence and omniscience were the only reason to worship and obey him, it would be enough. But he not only created the world and everyone in it, he became one of us, and willingly offered himself to be butchered and crucified by his own creation in order to provide for its salvation.
How could I not bow in reverence and amazement to a King such as this? Earthly kings desire power, wealth, and fame, but this King desires mercy, servanthood, and sacrifice. This King humbled himself below all of his subjects in order to save them from their sins. Instead of giving me justice and crushing me back into dust, he vowed to save me in his boundless mercy. In the ultimate of paradoxes, God used my murder of his Son to be the medium by which I am saved! On the cross, the sinless Lamb became a curse so that a sinful human being like yourself could have his righteousness credited to your account by trusting in his blood atonement for forgiveness. Without the shedding of blood, there can be no remission of your sins, and you remain a magnet of the wrath of God. But the perfect, sinless blood of Jesus Christ can remit the sin of every person who repents and trusts in his sacrifice.
Every knee will bow and acknowledge his authority, because he has earned the right to rule and receive all glory and honor through his perfect sacrifice and resurrection from the dead. Come to him in humility, understanding the quantum lengths to which he descended in order to become a human being and experience a gruesome, excruciating death at your bloody hands. Put your trust in his sacrificial atonement for your acts of rebellion against him, realizing his perfect existence was crediting to your sinful account. Believe the eyewitnesses of his resurrection from the dead and ascension to heaven. Then, pick up a cross daily in gratitude, obey his commandments in the Word of God with joy, and follow him without wavering, no matter the price.
http://earthquakeresurrection.com
Read David’s Blog Here
DiscernIt 
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