Why 'Racial Justice' is NOT a Gospel Demand

The proponents of racial reconciliation within the Church, especially the Southern Baptist Church, continue to propagate this idea that we need to set aside our differences and reconcile our racial divide. Racial tensions in the US are mostly a fabrication of mainstream media anyways, and aren't nearly as bad as they would have you believe.  However, it is unfortunate that many of our conservative, Bible-believing leaders in the Evangelical church have bought into this notion of white-privelege, and are using it as a means to further this "racial reconcilation" idea.

It all began with the Nov. 24 grand jury decision that police officer, Darren Wilson, would not be indicted on criminal charges for shooting a black teenager, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri. And, in the footsteps of Rahm Emmanuel, and just like any neo-Marxist Democrat, "not letting a crisis go to waste," Russell Moore jumped right in to begin his new order of business. It wasn't long before the rest of the cohorts jumped on the bandwagon, and made this the topic of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission's 2015 Leadership Summit. Some of the more well known proponents of this cause, and speakers at the event are, Danny Akin, President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Pastor Tony Evans of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, pastor, author and hip-hop artist out of Washington, D.C., Trip Lee, and former SBC president, Pastor Fred Luter.

Who you won't find speaking at this event are critics of this unbiblical cause, such as Dr. Randy White, Pastor, J.D. Hall, Pastor Ken Fryer, or even Pastor Voddie Baucham, who sees this issue completely differently than the mainstream leaders of Evangelicalism. While I don't want to speak for any of these critics, I do want to point out that if you disagree with Russell Moore on this issue, chances are you will be repudiated for it. But is "racial reconcilation," as presented by Moore and his companions actually Biblical?

First off, I want to make it absolutely clear that from a Biblical worldview, racism is absolutely unacceptable. The Bible is absolutely clear that holding hate in our hearts towards our brother is no different than murder (Matthew 5:21-26). That being said, hate is a sin, and confronting sin IS a Gospel demand. But this isn't how Russell Moore and Co. are touting it. Moore's solution to racial tensions in the US begin in the church—by integrating them racially. Then we also have Rev. Dwight McKissic, a black Southern Baptist pastor in Arlington, Texas saying, "The church lacks the moral authority to address the world about race before we set our own house in order."  Pastor Tony Evans says we need to grieve and repent over racism in America. And Danny Akin is making it his personal conviction to see to it that a more diverse group of pastors are recruited and educated within his seminary. Translation, we need to hire more black pastors so we can look better to the black community. But do we really have a problem in the Church? All this does is sugar coat the issue, and doesn't get at the heart of it. It's absolutely no different than the social programs our governments have put in place for blacks, such as affirmative action. It gives blacks a priority advantage simply because of the color of their skin, and not because of ability or commitment. It also makes blacks dependent on a system that doesn't address the root cause of the problems—sin.

Recently I posted a tweet, in response to another article pushing reconciliation, posing the question, "Who are these 'racist' SBC churches that these people keep referring to? I've yet to see one." Almost immediately I got a response from another tweeter saying that in Mississippi, he was aware of quite a few of them. My question back to him was, are they actually Christians in these churches. Agreeably with me, he said "probably not." So I ask then, if they aren't Christians, how are they a church. The point I was making is that we don't have a racism problem within the church. If there are racists, sitting in the pews of a church building on Sunday mornings, and acting hateful or intolerant of other races, their problem is not with disunity, non-integration or any other Russell Moore concept. An unrepentant, self-serving, sin-rationalizing racist CANNOT be any more of a Christian than an unrepentant, self-serving, sin-rationalizing homosexual, drunkard, adulterer or anything else. Being a Christian requires repentance of sin (Luke 13:3-5).

Integrating blacks and whites together in our churches is not going to solve any problem (be it perceived or actual) of racial tension in our country. Making this a "Gospel Demand," as presented by Moore and Co. is a fallacious implication that the Bible requires us to do this—it does not. What the Bible requires us to do is to take the Gospel to those who are unbelievers. Man cannot solve the problem of sin, it's why Jesus came to die on the cross for us.  The Gospel, by it's very nature, is going to produce integration among those who believe. I am a member of a very well integrated Southern Baptist church in Charlotte, NC, and I really don't know anyone, personally, who is racist. Are we sinners, yes, and do we need a savior, yes. But there is nobody, who is a professed, true, baptized believer that's walking around in my church spouting any kind of racism.

So who are these "racist" churches that Russell Moore, Darryl Aaron, and Tony Lankford keep referring to?  Are they referring to their own churches? Show us these churches that you're referring to and I would wager that they aren't true Christian churches. In other words, I would bet that the Gospel isn't being presented regularly, and the Bible isn't being exposited, and Jesus Christ isn't the central focus of these "member's" daily lives. Church integration isn't a Gospel demand, the Gospel is a Gospel demand.

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Saddle Up! Rick Warren and the SBC's spiritually hazardous line-up.

By now, it's no doubt that Rick Warren has not let the criticism from fellow believers, advice from his colleagues, or even the Word of God stand in his way of promoting questionable practices, ideas and beliefs in his ministry at Saddleback Church. In the past, he has promoted (and currently still does promote) unbelievers like Dr. Mehmet Oz, a Swedenborg cult follower, Dr. Daniel Amen, a teacher of tantric sex (a mystical approach to a perverted form of sex), and Dr. Mark Hyman, a propagator of Buddhist meditation techniques. Despite the outpouring from the discerning evangelical community decrying Warren's associations as unbiblical, he pressed on with his docket as though he was deaf to all reasoning.It doesn't look like it will be any different in 2015. His calendar includes a laundry list of questionable teachers in which events and Bible studies will be based. Among the inventory of evil-doers is false teacher, Kenneth Boa, an advocate for the unbiblical practice of contemplative prayer, and new age practice of lectio divina, or divine reading. Boa says in his Introduction to Sacred Reading:

Most contemporary approaches to Bible study have more in common with the scholastics than with the monastics. ...they are more concerned with informational reading than with formational reading. ... But when evangelicals study Scripture, they typically look more for precepts and principles than for an encounter with God in the depths of their being. The practice of lectio divina can correct this lack of balance...

This "lectio divina" that he promotes is nothing more than Eastern Mysticism, that engages one in an altered state of mind, and the participants have a mystical experience of "finding God within themselves." This notion of God "within us" is a form of New Age thought known as panentheism. Panentheism, similar to pantheism, is an extremely heretical view of God that makes him out to be on the same spiritual level as man. But the Bible presents God as being present everywhere (omnipresent), but not in everything (Psalm 139:7-10), all knowing, and never learning (omniscient) (Job 28:24; Psalm 147:4-5), being all powerful (omnipotent) (Job 42:1-2), self-existent, as opposed to a created being like man (Exodus 3:14; Psalm 36:9), eternal, without beginning and without end (Psalm 90:2; Habakkuk 1:12), changless and unmoving (Psalm 33:11; James 1:17), perfect and pure (Deuteronomy 32:3-4), and infinite, immeasurable and everlasting (Job 5:9; 9:10).

I can't imagine why someone calling themselves a pastor, and a shepherd to God's people would allow such nonsense within the doors of their sanctuary. But it doesn't stop there. Sadly, Saddleback church, in the name of ecumenism, has now picked up the Catholic practice of the "Stations of the Cross." The "Stations of the Cross," or Via Dolorosa, is a catholic tradition of visually walking through the final hours of Jesus' life on the way to the cross. The ritual is a way of eliciting emotions from the faithful based on a visual representation and imagery that is either unverifiable in Scripture, or contradictory to it. This Catholic form of mysticism is thoroughly subjective and experiential. It claims, in contradiction to Scripture (Isaiah 1:18, Proverbs 4:7, 2 Peter 1:3, etc.) that God can't be known or understood through intellectual reasoning, and one needs to "experience" him through subjective ritualistic techniques. Though some of the more far-fetched of the traditional stations have been removed or cut-back, the idea is still the same.

As if this weren't enough to make you cringe, the women will be holding a 12 week Bible study onThe Message, which purports to be a paraphrased translation of the Bible in contemporary language. During an interview with Michael Cusick of Mars Hill Review, some of the startling statements made by Peterson were: "One of the Devil's finest pieces of work is getting people to spend three nights a week in Bible studies," "But most Christians know far more of the Bible than they’re living. They should be studying it less, not more. You just need enough to pay attention to God," and " I’m just not at all pleased with all the emphasis on Bible study as if it’s some kind of special thing that Christians do, and the more they do the better." I wish I could make this stuff up, but please see the source for yourself. Yet, Saddleback Church has invited this man's demonic influence right into the innocent hearts of his women's congregations.
the book of Psalms by none other than Eugene Peterson. Peterson is the author of the highly controversial book,

But of course there's more. There's the usual heretics, Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, etc. Where is the discernment at Saddleback? We already know who Rick Warren is, and what he stands for, but out of the multiple thousands upon thousands of members in this organization are there really no real men to stand up and say, "Hey, wait a minute, something isn't right here?" Why are more leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention not standing up and speaking out against these heresies? Is it because they are too busy peddling their own heresy for profit? Too busy cozying up with the pope of the largest demonic organization in the world? Too busy preaching false doctrines for monetary gain and promoting mysticism from the pulpit? Too busy pushing communist racial reconciliation agendas instead of focusing on sound doctrine and leading people to Christ? These mega-churches and mega-pastors are a mess... a huge mess, and our Southern Baptist leaders are no better. In fact, they're horrible. They are totally unaccountable, they hide from any criticism, and they team together to defend each other. I don't really care if this upsets anyone, because I am sick of it. It's time to clean house in the SBC. We need leaders who will stand up for sound biblical doctrine, preach the Word of God, and hold accountable the false teachers within the organization that won't. Let's take out the trash.

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Russell Moore ''Doesn't Want to See Any Fewer Rosary Beads'' at the March For Life.

In 1973, in the wake of Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that invalidated abortion laws in 50 states, there was a small pro-life uprising. It began as a small demonstration and quickly became the largest pro-life event in the US, known as the March for Life. It's an annual event, that was just held two days ago, on Thursday, Jan 22. Now, the ecumenical sham organization Focus on the Family, and Evangelical Archbishop Russell Moore have teamed up to "initiate a massive movement of evangelicals present at the March for Life," in 2016.

Apparently, among the multitudes of religious organizations represented at the now ecumenical, unChristian, and unBiblical event yoking believers and unbelievers together for a political cause, there just aren't enough evangelicals setting aside the Gospel for his cause. Moore states:

Evangelicals are deeply involved in a variety of pro-life efforts in the United States, but they have been significantly underrepresented at the March for Life. That needs to change.

Now, don't get me wrong, being pro-life is a great cause, and working for a pro-life cause is definitely Biblical in and of itself, but as usual, Russell Moore takes it beyond doing the work of God, and uses it to press on for his ecumenical, "Social Gospel"-oriented agenda. Russell Moore never says that he wants to see more evangelicals at the event to call unbelievers to repentance--and unbelief is the real reason behind abortion. Russell Moore says he wants to continue to see plenty of Rosary beads and "Ave Maria" at the event, and please, don't let the Gospel stand in your way. In fact, his exact words were:

I don't want to see any fewer rosary beads at the March for Life, but I want to see more evangelicals here also at the March for Life, Our absence is a shame. And so we don't need any less 'Ave Maria,' but we need some more 'Amazing Grace' in the mix as well.

In other words, what he's essentially saying is, Catholics,  your belief system is no different than ours, and it's just as valid. Moore has already stated, when he went to the Vatican last year and compromised the Gospel in the name of Ecumenism, that he doesn't know the difference between the Pope's Gospel, and his own, yet this is the man that's in charge of one of the most well known offices of the largest Protestant denomination in the world, the Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission. I don't argue that Evangelicals should be involved in the fight against abortion, but there is no rhyme or reason that we should be following Russell Moore in his fight against the Protestant Reformation and the true Gospel of Jesus Christ in order to do so. We do not have compromise God's Word to fulfill his Great Commission, and that is what we are called to do first.

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New Age False Teacher, David Wilcock, Twists Matthew 6:22

David Wilcock, a well known New Age lecturer who claims to be the reincarnation of Edgar Cayce, who has a huge following, regularly twists Scripture to make it sound like it means something that it has absolutely nothing to do with. In this video, Wilcock takes the passage out of Matthew Chapter 6, (apparently referencing the American King James Version, since it would be the easiest translation to twist into the meaning he is trying to portray of it), the parable of Laying Up Treasures in Heaven, and claims that Jesus' hidden message in this passage is in reference to the Pineal gland, and using it to enlighten us. Take the following transcript of David's video: (Entire Lecture Video can be found here)

There are some absolutely obvious quotes from Jesus that clearly indicate that he was aware of the Pineal gland and how important it is to any spiritual path, including the positive, loving, awakening of consciousness that he was trying to teach us. In the book of Matthew, Jesus says, 'the light of the body is the eye, if therefore your eye be single, your whole body shall be full of light.' ... it doesn't mean you have to poke one of your eyes out to become psychic, it's saying that when your pineal gland opens, your body becomes enlightened and aware. Jesus was always speaking in parables, and this is a hidden metaphor for the Pineal gland

The Pineal gland, known in occult and New Age/mystic religions as the "third eye," is a pine cone shaped gland in the center of the brain that is responsible for the production of melatonin and plays a role in the metabolism of certain hormones and drugs, including psychedelic drugs. In esoteric circles, this "third eye" is believed to be the gate to higher consciousness, which can be awakened through certain mystical practices as well as the use of some psychedelic drugs, such as Ayahuasca. The symbol of this mystical third eye can be found in many of the world's major religions, including Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Catholicism, Satanism, Freemasonry, as well as the New Age. Many cults of "Christianity" also embrace this symbol, and incorporate this line of thinking into their belief system. As you can see, all of these religions are unified around the same principle, that man's "inner self," or "inner consciousness," is the key to spiritual enlightenment, and that man must awaken his consciousness in order to ascend into the next spiritual phase. David Wilcock would have us believe that Jesus Christ was teaching this same concept while hear on earth, but is this really what Jesus was saying? Let's examine the passage in context, on a critical and logical level, and uncover the real meaning of this passage, as intended by the author of this text.

The passage Wilcock uses, in the American King James Version that he uses to quote his passage, is as follows:

¹⁹ Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: ²⁰ But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: ²¹ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. ²² The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. ²³ But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! ²⁴ No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

First of all, the Greek world translated is "light" in verse 22 is λύχνος, or luchnos. It literally means "lamp," or "illuminator," something that sheds or shines light on something else. It doesn't actually mean the essence of light itself, rather a source of light. A lamp illuminates the things around us, likewise the eye shows us the things around us, and where we are going and what we are doing. Here Jesus is likening our eye to a lamp that lights our bodies. Our eyes, or what we see and perceive, are the entrance to our hearts, and affect our whole being.

Understanding what Jesus meant by "single" in verse 23 is key to understanding the passage. Notice that Wilcock conveniently left out verse 24, because it totally changes the context of the point he is trying to deceive his audience with. The word translated as "single" in this verse is ἁπλοῦς, or haplous, which literally means simple, whole, healthy, properly folded. In other words, Jesus is saying that if your eye is good, your body, surroundings, path, will be illuminated, but if your eye is bad, and you can't see properly, you're going to stumble.

What Jesus is saying has absolutely nothing to do with the esoteric, "single eye," or "third eye" of the Pineal gland. He's saying that we as Christians should have one focus, or singleness of vision. Psalm 119:105 says "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Jesus Christ is the Word of God, and Jesus Christ should be our single vision for Christians.

John 1:1-14 says:

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. ⁸ He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. ⁹ The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. ¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. ¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus wants us to set our eyes and our hearts on his Kingdom. He does not want us to be seeking the evils of this world, through politics and government. Such things are pictured as the beasts throughout the Bible in prophecy. We are rather to seek the light of his Word, and the rule of his reign over our lives and the lives of others by furthering the Gospel. The very next passage after the verse Wilcock tries to twist tells us not to be anxious about these worldly things, but to seek the kingdom of God first through faith, and our spiritual needs will all be met (Matthew 6:33).

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Lifeway Promoting False Teacher Priscilla Shirer Experiential Event

We all know how critical many have been of Lifeway "Christian" Stores lately, and for good reason. Lifeway, as an extension of the Southern Baptist Convention, and representing the larger section of conservative Evangelical Christianity, seems to have a knack for peddling heresy for profit. First, there was the uprising against well known heresy such as heaven tourism, modalism and Word of Faith, then there was a public retraction by Alex Malarkey that his story in his book, The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven, was false, which finally prompted Lifeway to acknowledge years worth of criticism by pulling it from the shelf. And now, for 39 bucks, you can purchase tickets from Lifeway to another False Prophet event, Priscilla Shirer Live.

Priscilla Shirer is a good friend, and a disciple of well known prophet-preacher Beth Moore. Besides the fact that women preaching and teaching men in the church is unbiblical, these two women regularly claim to receive extra-biblical revelation from God, and promote other unbiblical practices such as mysticism, and contemplative prayer. However, the first red flag I see that goes up in the promotion of this event is on the flyer it states. "You know her studies. It's Time To Experience Her Event." The word, "experience," is a buzz word in Charismatic Christendom that usually entails some type of extra-biblical engagement with God through emotions, visions, signs and wonders, and unorthodox practices of mystical prayer. This is no different with Priscilla Shirer. Priscilla Shirer was a participant in the heretical DVD on contemplative prayer, Be Still, and she even addresses this criticism on her web page. Though at first glance it may sound like she supports a biblical view of prayer, looking deeper into what she is saying, it becomes clear that she doesn't understand what biblical prayer and meditation means. In her FAQ she says, "By participating in the Be Still project, we by no means meant to convey our agreement with the theological viewpoints and positions of other participants yet we did believe (and still do) in the over-arching theme of the resource and that is why I agreed to do it." This is a contradictory statement. The theological viewpoints and positions of the participants IS the over-arching theme of the DVD, and she says she supports it. She then goes on to say
 "The Psalmist himself said that not only would he bring his requests to God in prayer but then 'wait expectantly' (Psalm 5:3) for God’s response. The prophet Habakkuk mirrors this philosophy of prayer when he says that after speaking to God he would then “climb up on the watchtower and wait to see what the Lord will say to me.”

The Psalmist himself said that not only would he bring his requests to God in prayer but then “wait expectantly” (Psalm 5:3) for God’s response. The prophet Habakkuk mirrors this philosophy of prayer when he says that after speaking to God he would then “climb up on the watchtower and wait to see what the Lord will say to me.” (Habakkuk 2:1). We are a proponent of the Christian encountering God in a fresh way that is relevant to his or her life, and we believe this can occur when we wait for God quietly with our Bibles outspread before us. As we ponder His Word, the Holy Spirit applies it to the circumstances of our lives.

Here, she seems to be equating the way Old Testament prophets received revelation from God to how Christians are meant to study God's Word--by being still and waiting. The fact that she goes on to say that we do this with our Bibles open before us doesn't change anything. Yes, it is true that we receive our revelation from God ONLY through Scripture, if you look closely, this is not what she's saying. We don't study God's word by opening it and pondering a piece of Scripture, and sitting silently waiting for God to speak to us, we study Scripture through vigorous intellectual reading, one-way prayer as taught in Scripture, and application of his Word in our daily lives. Meditating on God's Word, by Biblical definition, means to fill our minds with it, memorize it, and study and practice it regularly so that it becomes ingrained in who you are. A golf player does not become a better golf player by sitting down in front of a ball, meditating over it and contemplating it. He becomes better by actively practicing it, and applying his knowledge daily.
Despite her attempt to brush off the accusations of promoting and practicing mysticism, this isn't the only time she's been involved in this activity. She has written at least two booklets in which she claims that mature Christians should be able to hear audible voices from God. In her booklet, Is That You God, she writes:

Before you read any further, let me assure you of an important point. To not speak contradicts God's nature. The second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, is called the Word (see John 1:1). That designation stands at odds with silence. God loved you enough to die for you; He loves you enough to communicate with you. The Lord can and will speak to you if you've placed your faith in Jesus. First, however, you must expect and anticipate that the divine voice of God can ring in your ears and heart. 

Nowhere in Scripture am I aware of does it teach that we must expect and anticipate the divine voice of God ringing in our ears and heart. Scripture is clear that the Word of God, as once and for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3), in sufficient for our salvation and instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). But apparently that's not enough for Priscilla. In Day 4 of Week 2 in her Bible study on her Book, He Speaks To Me, she writes:

How can we consistently hear God’s voice? We must take the focus off ourselves, looking instead to His glory and priorities, meditating on His attributes. To worship God appropriately, we also need to grasp His acceptance. As long as we feel condemned, we will have difficulty hearing God speak. 

Again, she seems to believe that God speaks to our hearts in other ways besides Scripture. The Bible doesn't teach us that we can hear God speak to us as long as we don't feel condemned, and focus on his priorities and attributes. Paul says in Hebrews 1:1-2 "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world." The key here is the past tense, "has spoken." God has already spoken to us through the revelation of Jesus Christ, and his revelation has been recorded by the writers of the New Testament canon. Though God uses the Holy Spirit to illumine the Word of God for us today, and interpret it for us, he does not speak directly to us through any other means than the closed canon of Scripture.
 
Shirer also regularly travels and speaks at events with other well known false teaches, like Christine Caine, Beth Moore, Sheila Walsh and Lisa Harper. It's no doubt that she is a disciple of these women, as she speaks so highly of them. She says of Christine Caine in an interview with the Christian Post, (where she also seems to believe that women speakers are persecuted in the Church), "Christine Caine would be at the top of my list [most influential and unique voices in Christianity]. She is a brilliant communicator of God's word, but not only that, this is a woman who's on a mission to see His kingdom come on earth," and of Beth Moore, "Then also Beth Moore. Beth Moore is a fantastic communicator of God's word. I have the utmost respect for her. She's a friend and mentor, a woman of integrity. I have rarely heard someone teach the Scriptures the way Beth Moore can." She also tweets about Caine,

So grateful for the powerhouse, phenomenon that is....Christine Caine. http://t.co/1Aml7f1O
— Priscilla Shirer (@PriscillaShirer) April 28, 2012

Yet, despite the fact that these "teachers" are unsound, Lifeway continues to promote their events, and sell their literature. If Lifeway is going to continue in this practice, is it really necessary for them to be a part of the Church? Should the SBC continue in ownership of a company that does not represent the Biblical standards mandated in Scripture, and ascribed to by the Church? What is it going to take to get this garbage out of our bookstores and out of our churches?

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Rejecting God?

Imagine you and your family on vacation in Aruba. The warm ocean breeze blowing gently in your hair, while the glittering pristine waters sparkle as far as the eye can see. You're all relaxing under a shady tree when you son decides he wants to cool off. He grabs his inflatable raft, kicks off his sandals, and darts towards the waters. "Ahhhhhh," that's refreshing. Stretched out on the raft, dead to the world, lost in only his blissful state of personal paradise, he begins drifting outward. Worriedly, you jump up to yell for him to come back to shore, but he's lost in his own world, and isn't listening. Though he can faintly hear your pleading for him to listen, he's overwhelmed with the sounds of the waves and the wind in his ears, and just doesn't want to bother with your hysteria. Then the inevitable, you see sharks. You begin frantically shouting at the top of your lungs for him to come back, but he's too far for you to swim. You grab a life raft with a rope, and toss it too him, but he's hopelessly lost, cast away in his own being.

Why won't he respond? Because he's so caught up loving what he's doing, loving himself, that he's blinded himself to the reality around him. Sadly, this is the state of many who reject the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. But the reality is, people that reject Jesus, reject him because they love sin. They love their lusts and immorality so much so, that they've rejected all notion of consequences for their choices, and continue in their ways to their destruction, and the last thing they want is a holy and righteous God impeding on what they believe is a "good time." But what they fail to realize is that they are already under God's judgement, and just because they have rejected him, doesn't mean they won't have to face him on judgement day. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 says "⁹The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, ¹⁰and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved."Natural man does not seek God, or seek salvation from God. Psalm 53:2-3 says:

¹The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;
there is none who does good.
²God looks down from heaven
on the children of man
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.

and Paul affirms this in his letter to the Romans;  "no one understands; no one seeks for God" (Romans 3:11). Man seeks to indulge himself in his own desires, and refuses to acknowledge that the desires of their heart are not only deceitful, but disastrous (Jeremiah 17:9). And any call to them to turn from their lustful and worldly desires are met with deaf ears, as this is total foolishness to them who are perishing (1 Cor. 1:18).
People are turned off to the saving grace of the cross for a number of reasons. Another reason may be simply that they don't understand the true Gospel. In man's natural, unregenerate state, one cannot understand the things of the Lord (1 Cor. 2:14). It takes an act of the Holy Spirit to open one's heart and mind to the spiritual knowledge of God. Perhaps someone has heard a false gospel at some point, for example, the "prosperity gospel." This false gospel teaches that by accepting Jesus, you now have Jesus at your disposal to meet the material needs, and shower material blessings upon you at your discretion. Your faith in him is reciprocated with "prosperity." Yet, when these things fail to happen, the unconverted person becomes discouraged, and loses interest. However, he continues to believe that this is what Christianity is, and has no interest in entertaining any concept of God, since his experience was typified. But when drilling this back down, it all boils down to the same root cause—the love of sin. These people were only looking to get something for themselves out of Jesus.
Another common reason people reject the word of God is pride. Their pride can be intellectual pride, or moral pride, but both are the transpired transgressions of a wicked and deceitful heart, and God hates it (Proverbs 8:13). The morally proud man stands in contrast to God's word, and refuses to believe that he is wicked (Romans 5:12, 2 Cor. 4:4). This is a typical standpoint from the New Age movement. The new age worldview teaches that there is no such thing as sin, evil or Satan, and stands on the pantheistic belief that God can be found in everyone and everything—all is one, all is God. This morally relative worldview is really not new at all, and stems from old Pagan and Eastern mystic religions, and is really no different from any other false Gospel. It's a belief that teaches than man is inherently good, and does not need a savior, but unfortunately for the lost, not believing in the law, or the transgression thereof, does not exempt you from accountability to that law. If a convicted murderer tells the judge that he doesn't believe that killing is wrong, nor does he believe that jail exists, he's going to have a huge surprise for waiting for him. Believing that we are not sinful is a lie of Satan (John 1:8). The truth is, because of Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden, man is now inherently evil, and nobody can stand blameless in front of God in his own right (Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, Romans 5:12, Ephesians 2:1, etc.)
Perhaps a more common form of pride is intellect. There is a major war being waged against Christianity, and has been since it's inception. The Word of God is attacked on every front, yet never defeated. But this doesn't stop the prideful intellect from believing that is has. The cohorts of the Vatican, Jesuitical influences and collegiate level criticism of the Bible have led many to believe that the text is corrupt, and is not the Word of God, but a false amalgamation of man-made stories. Many attempts have also been made to discredit the truth of the Bible, such as the false theory of evolution and the Big Bang theory. The proud intellect is too arrogant to believe that he may be wrong, and pretentiously buys into the attacks on God. These individuals are what Paul describes as "always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth." (2 Timothy 3:7) They read and study constantly, making an idol out of knowledge, yet without the Holy Spirit, you can never know the truth.

Pride is a subtle, but serious sin—perhaps the most serious. Pride is inherently the cause of all wickedness, and causes us to rebel against God, and disobey him. Pride defiles man (Mark 7:20-23), but the world rewards it (1 John 2:16). Pride prevents people from receiving the truth (Psalm 10:4), and from receiving God's grace (James 4:6). But pride ultimately brings shame and destruction to people (Proverbs 11:2, 16:18-19, 29:23). Yet people cannot accept God, because they are deluded, and caught up in their desires of their heart. Jesus Christ is light, and he shines his light and exposes the wicked heart of man, which proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. Man will flee from this light for fear of having their deeds exposed (John 3:19-21). People want to continue in their sinful ways, and will attempt to rationalize their sin through their pride and arrogance.

¹⁹And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. ²⁰For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. ²¹But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” - John 3:19-21

The Greek word for translated as judgement here is "krisis," prounounced "kree'-sis," according to Thayer primarily means a trial, or tribunal, the act or process of judging rather than the sentence or punishment itself. As we can see, with Jesus being the light that shines on man's wickedness and exposes it, Jesus didn't come to bring judgement, but it is his very nature that is judging of our sin. His very nature is pure and holy, and when man's deeds are measured against his infinite righteousness, his deeds are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). In order to be declared righteous by God, we must put on the righteousness of Jesus Christ himself, because only he is without sin (2 Cor. 5:21, Philippians 3:9). It is only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross, by the only sinless man who ever walked the earth (1 Peter 2:22), who is fully God himself (John 1:14, Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 2:9), who took the punishment for our transgressions (1 Peter 2:24, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Isaiah 53:5), so that whoever believes in him, shall be rescued from his deluded world, saved from his sin (Romans 6:6, 2 Cor. 5:17) and saved from eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46). We must turn from our idols of pride, intellect and delusion, and turn to Jesus Christ alone for our salvation.

¹⁷ Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. ¹⁸ They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. ¹⁹ They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. ²⁰ But that is not the way you learned Christ!— ²¹ assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, ²² to put off your old self,[f] which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, ²³ and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. - Ephesians 4:17-24

Click here for a presentation of the Gospel.

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Pastor Tony Evans Says Americans Need to Grieve and Repent Over Slavery and Jim Crow

Many are aware of the ongoing debate over "racial reconciliation" going on in the Southern Baptist Convention, but few are aware of what it really entails. In fact, the SBC's Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission will be hosting The Gospel and Racial Reconciliation Summit in March of 2015. Most of the Southern Baptist's proponents of "Racial Reconciliation," such as Russell Moore and Ronnie Floyd are in favor of labeling race problems as a Gospel Mandate, and require us to accept the Marxist idea of "White Privelege." Take for example what Moore had to say in his August 14 post:

Moreover, we know that the the myth of a “post-racial” America is contradicted by a criminal justice system in which young African-American men are, by almost any measure, disproportionately more likely to be arrested, sentenced, or even killed when compared to white peers.

Moore wants us to believe that blacks are arrested, sentenced or even killed more often by our police and criminal justice system because white Americans are racist. Moreover, he wants us to believe that white Americans are privileged in American society over blacks, simply because of our skin color, despite African-American-only programs such as the United Negro College Fund, Affirmative Action, etc, black housing incentives, Equal Opportunity employment programs, etc. Perhaps the problem isn't that whites are more privileged than blacks, but the problem is sin, especially within the black community. I would argue that the number one reason for higher arrests and convictions among blacks is that they are far more likely to be born out of wedlock, and be raised with without a father figure. This, I would argue according to MY Bible, is the "Gospel Mandate." That we take the Gospel to those who need it, and live in a culture and lifestyle of unrepentant sin, and no understanding of the Grace of God, is the Gospel's mandate (Mark 16:15). It is NOT a Gospel mandate that whites bend over backward, and accept responsibility for the sin in the African American culture.

Furthermore, Dr. Ronnie Floyd, president of the SBC writes:

The time is now for us to rise up together and cry out against the racism that still exists in our nation and our churches, and the subsequent injustices....Pastors, churches, leaders, and laypeople of the Southern Baptist Convention, the time is now for us to repent personally and collectively of all racism and injustice...We need to repent of our racism and injustice and return to the first commandment of loving our Lord Jesus Christ.

Is racism a problem in his church? I, for one, am a member of a Southern Baptist church of about 18,000 members, and I don't know a single racist. Though we are a predominately white church, there are a number of black members, as well as pastors, leaders, and teachers. Yet, Floyd wants us to believe that the problems in the black community are due to racism running rampant in our churches. I'm not arguing that racism doesn't exist in America, but racists are not Christians, and if a "church" is corporately racist in any way, it's NOT a Christian church. Yet, the latest in this craze of racial reconciliation in the Southern Baptist Church comes from none other than Pastor Tony Evans, of Oak Cliff Bible Church in Dallas. During an interview with the Christian Post on January 14, Evans was asked:

CP: The suggestion has been made that society as a whole, American Christians as a whole, need to acknowledge and grieve over past corporate sins like slavery and Jim Crow before trying to move forward on reconciliation. What are you thoughts?

And his response was:

Evans: Absolutely, that's what the solemn assembly is all about. Solemn assembly is recognizing where we failed and repenting of it. Repentance means to turn the other way. So that means, where those failures are clearly seen, have we turned, are we doing the opposite to what we did when those failures or when our current failures [are] the continuation of those historical failures? You repent of those, that is you turn the other way. When you've done that, now you've begun to operate on God's standards. And when you repent and operate on God's standards, now you have restoration and reconciliation.

Here in lies the problem, though; While racism does exist to some small degree in America, it does not exist on the scales that the news media would have you believe, and that the leaders. What is it that Evans, and the others like Moore and Floyd want us to do? The SBC has already publicly repented of it's racist past. Americans have already repented of slavery and Jim Crow. But our SBC leaders want us as a whole in the church, and as a whole as white Americans, to accept that whites have it easy, repent of that, and stop holding black criminals responsible for their misdeeds and failures. This is diametrically opposed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which teaches us to take the message of personal responsibility of our sin to sinners, along with the word of grace and forgiveness in Jesus Christ. Only then can we see healing among our fellow Americans.

While there are exceptions, the vast majority of white Americans would whole-heartedly disavow slavery or any of these racist events in our history, ESPECIALLY Christians. But unfortunately, our Southern Baptist leaders have bought into the white privilege hype promoted by left leaning propagandists, and this is where our denomination is heading full speed. I would urge SBC members to speak out against this agenda in our churches. Bring it up to your pastors, and make them aware of what's going on. If there is any hope for the SBC in the future, we MUST stay Gospel focused...that is, the True Gospel, not the Social Gospel. The Gospel is about man's sin, and God's power to save us from it, not man's inequality and man's ability to save eachother from it.

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Related Video: Pastor Voddie Bauchum sees right through Black Liberation Theology:

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Osteen: Speak Victory Over Your Life! Huh?

When you have an attitude of faith and speak victory over your life, God will show up and do amazing things.
— Joel Osteen (@JoelOsteen) January 14, 2015

World famous Word of Faith preacher, Joel Osteen, says all you have to do is have faith, speak victory over your life, and God will show up to do amazing things. What say Joel to the Christians around the world who are being persecuted on a daily basis for their faith? Is there faith not strong enough? Does this only apply to American Christians? Do these people not "speak enough victory over their lives?"

Perhaps Joel Osteen has no idea what it means to be a Christian. In fact, if you aren't suffering in some way for Christ, you very well may not be a Christian. Paul says in 2 Timothy, "¹²Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." I'm not saying that you can't be a Christian, and also be financially successful, or in some ways be blessed, but the Bible does not, in any way, teach that you can speak victory over your life. If you are blessed by God, it is by God's providence alone that he has given you success, and it's not based on anything you have done (Job 1:21).

If you live in a country where, for the time being at least, you are freely allowed to practice your Christian faith, you should be on your knees thanking God for that daily. There will come a time when any mention of the name of Jesus can get you killed. The world hates Christians (1 John 3:13), but we are to count it all for joy (James 1:2-4), because Jesus Christ is the one that has spoken victory over our lives at the cross (John 16:33), and he alone shall take away all of our suffering and wipe away every tear (Revelation 21:4). Paul says in his letter to the Romans in Chapter 5:

³Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

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Satan's ongoing attack on the Word of God -- Can we trust the Bible?

The attacks against Christianity are heating up in the last days, and at the forefront of the battle stands the Word of God. In Luke 8, Jesus tells the parable of the sower, verses 11,12 read, "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God... Then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word..." Satan knows that if he can plant the smallest seed of doubt in someone about the accuracy and reliability of God's word, then that person won't take his word seriously. Unfortunately, many people are confused.

I am repeatedly seeing the same Facebook meme online claiming that Christians are trusting and obscure, altered, or perverted text as their source of authority for faith in God. The meme reads like this:

The King James version of the New Testament was completed in 1611 by 8 members of the Church of England.
There were (and still are) no original texts to translate. The oldest manuscripts we have were written down hundreds of years after the last apostle died. There are over 8000 of these old manuscripts, with no two alike. 
The King James translators used none of these, anyway. Instead, they edited previous translations to create a version their king and Parliament would approve.
So, 21st Century Christians believe the “Word of God” is a book edited in the 17th Century from 16th Century translations of 8000 contradictory copies of 4th Century scrolls that claim to be copies of lost letters written in the 1st Century.That’s not faith. That’s insanity.

Frankly, I'm tired of the same ole lies, so let's examine this piece line by line, and see if we can get to the truth.  The very first sentence, "The King James version of the New Testament was completed in 1611 by 8 members of the Church of England," should already throw red flags.  I'm not sure where this number '8' came from, or if they just made it up.  We actually know quite a bit about the King James translators, and we do know that King James commissioned forty-seven men, all qualified history and various language scholars and true divines, and members of the Church of England, to prepare this great work for their church. With the New Testament only making up roughly twenty-five percent of the entire Bible, over half of these men, at least twenty-five, were assigned to translate it. The members of the translation team were divided up into six committees, First and Second Westminster Companies, First and Second Oxford Companies, and First and Second Cambridge Companies. Some of the chief translators of the New Testament were:

• Lancelot Andrewes, an English Scholar, and Bishop of high status in the Church of England. He oversaw the translation of the entire text.
• Henry Savile, English Scholar, Provost of Eton and Warden of Merton College, Oxford.
• George Abbot, Dean of Winchester Cathedral and Vice Chancellor of the University, Master of University College.
• Then there was John Duport, William Branthwaite, Jeremiah Radcliffe, Samuel Ward, Andrew Downes, John Bois, Robert Ward, Thomas Bilson, Richard Bancroft, William Barlow, John Spenser, Roger Fenton, Ralph Hutchinson, William Dakins, Michael Rabbet, Thomas Sanderson, Richard Eedes, Giles Tomson, John Peryn, Ralph Ravens, John Harmar, John Aglionby, Leonard Hutten, all noted scholars of their day.

The point is that these men were not just your run of the mill lay people doing what they are told to do by a corrupt government.  They were true, brilliant scholars, who's reputations were on the line, and possessed the skills and motivations to bring about the greatest literary work of all time. There simply is no evidence to believe beyond wild speculation that these men had any reason to risk their reputation on ignominious, discreditable translation work.

The next charge is that "There were (and still are) no original texts to translate. The oldest manuscripts we have were written down hundreds of years after the last apostle died. There are over 8000 of these old manuscripts, with no two alike." While it is true that there are no known extant original texts (autographs), the insinuation that this proves the Bible, specifically the KJV inaccurate is simply absurd.  This charge would never be made about other famous works, such as Plato, in which we have 10 manuscript copies over a 1200 year period, Tacitus, of which we have 20 manuscript copies over a 1000 year period, or Caesar, of which we have 10 manuscript copies over a 1000 year period.  In fact, there are no other ancient works that even come close to the Bible as far as number of manuscripts available, and age and likeness of the manuscripts. The minuscule differences in the texts are of such little concern that for the most part, it's not even argued over.  The majority of the differences in the manuscripts are either minor spelling differences, often based on dialect and geographical location of the scribes, or simply a word being transcribed improperly.  The system of textual criticism devised for figuring out the original text is rather simple, and none of the differences lead to any doctrinal differences between the manuscripts.

But of course, none of that matters right? Because they "used none of these, anyway. Instead, they edited previous translations to create a version their king and Parliament would approve." Give me a break. While the other popular translations such as the Tyndale, Wycliffe and Latin Vulgate were certainly at the translator's disposal, The source of translation were the set of 8 Koine Greek manuscripts available at the time, compiled by Erasmus, as well as the Editions of Theodore Beza. Though we have over five thousand Greek manuscripts available today, compared to the handful that were available back then, it's astonishing how accurately the King James Bible was translated. No, no translation is 100 percent perfect. Only the original autographs are, and those who claim that any translation is 100 percent perfect are only setting themselves up for ridicule. But the accurate and reliable, and most importantly, literal phrase by phrase translation is proven stellar beyond any ridiculous claim levied against it, and the King James Bible, as with any accurate and literal translation of God's Word, can be trusted with your soul. This is a promise made to us by God. 

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. (Isaiah 40:8)

God does not require a perfect man or a perfect scribe to keep his promise to us. God can use sinful, imperfect men to work his will to His glory. There will always be an ongoing attack against God's word, and we must stand strong. Satan, and his cohorts have been trying to discredit the Bible since the beginning of time. The biggest enemy we have against the Bible right now is Rome, and with all of the confusion by the likes of Wescott and Hort and higher criticism, the attacks and claims of scandalous, and charges of corruption by evil kings, jesuits, and even freemasons like Francis Bacon, all of which have been attempted, God has still preserved his word, and it's all verifiable. We have the Greek manuscripts, we have the history, and most importantly, we have the promise of God to keep his Word, and we can rely on him for that.

John 1:1 says "n the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." and 1 Peter 1:22-25 says:

22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23 being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 25 but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

Brothers and sisters, I plead with you, if you deny the Word of God, you are denying Jesus Christ himself. If you deny that God's word is truth, you cannot be saved. Since the word of God IS God, you cannot deny one and accept the other. I beg of you to repent, and turn to Jesus Christ as the only way of salvation. Trust in him, and obey him. The only other option is to deny him, and spend eternity separated from him.

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A short exchange with a Mormon

A while back, I had a short conversation on Facebook with a high school friend.  I just happened to notice him posting some pics of him and his family wearing the flagship white shirts and black pants, and I proceeded to ask him:

Are you guys Mormons?

He replied:

Yes we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints...known as the Mormons! Why do you ask?

Attempting to engage in conversation about their beliefs, I replied:

I was just curious as to what you believe about salvation.

And he responded:

Thanks Jeff, I always welcome the chance to talk about Jesus Christ and His role in each and everyone of our eternal paths. I am assuming that you are Christian by the way that you phrased your question about "salvation," as the term salvation is used in conjuction with being redeemed from sin by way of Christ.
The Mormons view on salvation is that it comes through and only through our Savior Jesus Christ. Christ paid the price for sin for all. Those who follow Him and keep His commandments can return to live with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. A good way to learn about some of the Mormons beliefs is on a site called mormon.org
I would like to hear your beliefs as well concerning salvation, as I am sure we have a lot in common!

Knowing that he incorrectly perceived our beliefs being similar, and that our faiths having something in common, I correctly predicted that after my explanation of the differences between our belief systems on soteriology the conversation would probably not last very long, I tried to be as concise as possible with one response, in which the conversation, unfortunately, ended:

(Name Removed), my friend,

I can honestly say, based on your explanation of salvation, it sounds exactly the opposite of what we, as Biblical Christians believe. You said that those who follow him and obey his commandments can to "return" to live with our Heavenly father and Jesus. I'm a little confused by what you mean by "return." But that is besides the point. The point is that we believe that in no way, shape, or form, does following the law (i.e. obeying the commandments, doing good works, or participating in any sacrament, rite, or ordinance, such as baptism) play any role in our salvation.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV) - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

We believe that the only thing the law can do is condemn. We have all sinned, and we all fall short of the Glory of God. We have all broken the commandments. We all have at some point lied, stolen, committed adultery (looking with lust is adultery of the heart according to Jesus), committed murder (according to Jesus, hating someone is murder of the heart), etc. We are all liars, thieves, murderers, alduterers, blasphemers, the fact of the matter is, we look infinitely disgusting before a pure, holy, and infinitely righteous God. And a perfect and righteous God cannot allow this into his eternal kingdom, there must be a punishment.

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." - Romans 6:23 (KJV)

(See also: Psalm 7:11, 9:17; Romans 6:23, Revelation 20:11-15, 21:8; James 2:10; Jude 1:7; 2nd Thessalonians 1:8,9)
As I am sure you know, Jesus Christ took that punishment for us, but it doesn't stop there. I have heard many people say that Christ's punishment wasn't quite enough, and that it only picks up what we are unable to do, but Romans 4:5 says "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." (Name Removed), there is no amount of obedience to the law that could ever save us from eternal separation from God is the sacrifical blood of Jesus Christ at Calvary. (See Also: Ephesians 1:7, 2:13; Colossians 1:14,20; Hebrews 9:22, 10:19; 1 Peter 1:18&19; 1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5)

Why is Jesus's sacrifice sufficient? Because Jesus Christ was infinitely perfect, infinitely holy and completely and totally sinless, deserving absolutely no wrath of the Father, but became sin (bore all of our sin) and took it upon himself, and took all of the wrath of God, for our sin, so that in Him, we can stand righteous before our Heavenly Father.

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." - 2 Cor 5:21 (KJV)

Jesus Christ was only able to accomplish this perfectly sinless life, and total fulfillment of the law because he is God. He is God Almighty, YHWH, incarnate. He took on our human nature, and became man for us, because he loved us so much, and knew that it was the only way to redeem us without compromising his just nature. (Please see: John 1:1-3,14; John 10:33; Revelation 1:8, 19:13―The GODHEAD incarnate (Colossians 2:9; 1st Timothy 3:16)

So how do we partake in his righteousness, in order to receive this grace? You must put aside your works, for our works are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), repent and totally put your faith in Jesus Christ for your salvation. You must forsake any other way, for Jesus Christ is the only way (John 14:6), not just part of the way, but the whole way. He didn't just open the door for us, he is the door. (John 10:9)

(Name Removed), my friend, I am genuinely concerned for your eternal soul because of what you have told me. You cannot trust in yourself to live a righteous life, in order to earn merit with God. We cannot earn any merit at all, not one iota. One day, we will stand before a righteous and holy God, and he will ask why he should allow us in. The only correct answer to that question will be to have been made completely holy and righteous in Christ, washed thoroughly in his blood. Please forsake all other ways, and trust only in Jesus Christ for your soul.

My friend, I will be praying ceaselessly for you.

In Christ,
Jeff

I would like to ask you, any of you that may know someone who is a Mormon, DO NOT let them lead you to believe that their beliefs are the same.  They use a lot of the same terminology, but it has been redefined.  If you would like to learn more about Mormonism, I would invite you to visit ex-Mormon Ed Decker's web site, Saints Alive.  He has a vast wealth of information about Mormonism, their beliefs, and tools for witnessing to them.

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Beth Moore's followers don't understand the Gospel. #WhyWeContend

Last week, Beth Moore of Living Proof Ministries declared that it was "hunting season for heretics" in her blog, where she likened a discerning 22 year old wife of a pastor to a witch hunter, and questioned this young lady's ability to differentiate truth from error.  This young lady sent out a tweet basically calling Beth Moore the false teacher that she is.  After she found out she was the target of Moore's rebuke, she reached out, and Moore responded via email. After a few rounds of back and forth of Moore attempting to rationalize her "revelations" and "visions" to a young woman she thought she could convince, Moore realized the young lady was more grounded in Scripture than she thought, and as she was challenged to answer questions and defend her position, Moore abruptly ended the exchange without answer.  This just goes to prove that Moore, and people like her, are only comfortable engaging people who are undiscerning, and unwilling to stand on the truth of Scripture as their final authority, just like most of her followers.

Let's take for example some of the comments posted by Beth's followers on her "hunting season" article. Now, I can't examine the hearts or minds of any of these people based on any internet posting, nor can I judge their salvation, however, I can say for sure that if they actually believe some of the things they are posting, they could be in serious trouble with their beliefs.  The following comment by "Rhonda" on January 11 states:

No one knows which way the Spirit’s wind blows. It’s all going to be washed out in the end and once we walk over the finish line into the doorway of heaven all of our eyes will be opened to see how off all of us were in various degrees. Only God knows our hearts. That’s the thing that’s the most important. Whatever people think or judge or condemn is between them and God. If they feel they need to call us false teachers and false followers out, then I’m not going to spend my time arguing with those whose ears the Lord himself allows closed or whose mouths and fingers he allows to criticize. David had the same problems with his critics and he just let God be the judge. (Come to think of it, I think Jesus did too.)

I'm not even sure I know what the first sentence means.  But let's assume it's a reference to John 3:8, that wind blows where it pleases, as does everyone born of the spirit.  This is not saying that we can just go around saying and teaching whatever we please, and not be accountable for it.  This is a reference to the Holy Spirit bringing life to those who are born again.  Yes, our eyes will be opened to "how off" we are one day, but unfortunately, there will be many who don't cross that "finish line" into heaven.  Those who have not heard the truth can easily be led astray, and God does not save people through a false gospel (Romans 10:14). Beth Moore is not teaching her followers essential doctrines such as Grace Alone through Faith Alone, and the exclusivity of Jesus Christ.  She is giving Roman Catholics a false sense of security by referring to them as "sisters in Christ," rather than calling them to repentance from their idolatry, and false gospel of works.  Rhonda, do you really think that Jesus just left his critics alone, and let God be the judge?  First of all, Jesus IS God, and Jesus does judge his critics.  But to say that Jesus didn't spend any time "arguing" with his critics is blatantly false.  Jesus' entire ministry consisted of correcting false beliefs, false teachings and rebuking false teachers.  Jesus regularly confronted his critics openly, publicly, and directly, and even resorted to anger and name calling at times, comparing his critics to the offspring of serpents, (Matthew 23:33), a fox (Luke 13:32), wolves (Matthew 7:15, 10:16, etc.), and dogs (Matthew 15:26). This is how Jesus chose to confront error, because it was effective to those who had an ear to hear his words, however, those who do not, will not hear him, because they are not his sheep.

Another commenter, Laverna, says:

It grieves me as I’m sure it grieves the Lord’s heart to see how those that call themselves Christians speak of each other. That would never be his heart. It saddens me to see it happen again here.

Laverna is insinuating that it is our Lord's heart for us to just be quiet, and accept false teachings in the Church, but Jesus makes it very clear that we are to expose the false teachings of others, not accept them.  Jesus himself says to beware of these people (Matthew 7:15) and Paul says in Romans 16:17-18, "I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive."  Many of Beth's followers are very naive.  Beth Dunn, another commenter, believes that Moore's differences are only "denominational differences." Either she is completely oblivious to what Beth Moore teaches regularly, or she isn't grounded enough in Scripture to see the damage that Moore's teachings can cause. Moore regularly teaches that God reveals extrabiblical things to her, and they often contradict Scripture, creating a doubt in the sufficiency of Scripture among those who aren't discerning.  Though Beth Moore may not be directly teaching a false soteriology, she does create doubt in the Biblical doctrine by claiming God has given her a vision he wants true believers and Roman Catholics to be united under her vision.  Point blank, either she is deceived by a demon, or she is out right lying, because, and let me be clear, God DID NOT give her that vision.

Another comment, by Beverly says:

...This isn’t about a 22 year old, a 60 year old, or a 90 year old man or woman….it is about a far more powerful prince of this world who will do whatever he can to sidetrack, stumble, humiliate or destroy you and the ministry He has entrusted you with...

Sadly, Beverly doesn't see the importance of doctrinal and Biblical accuracy, the way Jesus and the apostles taught. She, as well, likens discerning Christians who are concerned that people may be led astray with false teachings to those who are followers of the devil. But the Apostle Paul repeatedly says that those who are teaching anything contrary to Scripture are accursed, and should be exposed (Galatians 1:6-9, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, 2 Cor 11:13-15).

There are many more, but I can't possibly cover them all, but I'll lastly respond to this one, from Janet:

I would imagine that Jesus is crying over the way Christians are fighting, blaming, and name-calling, instead of loving each other. His prayer was that we are known by the way we love each other, and that we have the same unity the He and the Father have. Wow! We seem to be going backwards.

Because, I'm sure Jesus is just sitting up there weeping, saying to himself, "Oh, how I regret telling my sheep to expose false teachers.  Oh, how I wish they would just not worry about the truth, and just love one another."  I have not heard anyone thus far unlovingly rebuke Beth Moore.  While I'm sure there are plenty out there whose motives are less than Godly, the majority of her critics are sincere Christians who have repeatedly asked Moore to clarify her teachings, and back them up with Scripture, which she repeatedly refuses to do.  Jesus taught us to publicly rebuke those who are openly in sin, and unrepentantly teaching error.  Moore is not open to correction, as she has shown on several occasions. Janet, you are mistaken in your understanding of the unity Christ wants us to have. Jesus and his father's unity is not, under any circumstances, based on any difference in their theologies. Not only are Jesus and the Father's unity based on love, but it's also based on truth. Absolute truth.  God is the standard of truth, and if we, as Christians want to come closer to having that same unity, first thing we must do is get rid of the error.

For years we have attempted to build Beth Moore up, and confront her error, and have refrained from calling her a false teacher, but year after year she has refused to address the issues confronted her, and support them with biblically sound theology. She can't, and she refuses to repent, and sadly this makes her a false teacher, regardless of how subtle or extensive it is. The fact that her followers have flocked to her blog in droves to comment and support her means nothing except that her followers are not well versed in Scripture, and are likely to believe whatever she says God revealed to her, be it audibly or through a dream, or whatever "unathoritative" manner God has chosen to "speak" to her that day. Regrettably, Beth Moore did not correct any of her supporters who obviously did not understand Scripture, nor did she address any of the few critics that raised issue with her in her comments.  She just repeatedly indulged herself in the sorrowful praise and exaltation of her by her followers, in contrast to Scripture (1 John 5:21) and regardless of their misunderstandings of the teachings of Christ and his apostles. The misunderstanding seems to be that the arguing and the exposing of error is what causes divisions, but that's not true.  It's the lies and the false teachings and the unrepentant sin that causes the disunity (Romans 16:17), and until that sin is confronted, and corrected, there will always be division. I would have that this is the reason we contend for the faith.

To Beth Moore's followers, if you read this, I leave you with this passage:

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. - (1 John 4:1-6)

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The "Carnal Christian" and Reality

I often hear "Christians" say "God just wants us to enjoy life," or "Christians don't have to be so up tight all the time."  Not incidentally, this often comes from those who regularly indulge themselves in worldly things.  But sometimes, even the most well meaning, well behaving Christians will express this.  But is this really what God wants? Some Christians, or people who claim to be Christians, may regularly attend church, study God's word, and even participate in outreach programs or mission activities.  They may be able to quote Bible verses, and often pray with other Christians, or ask for prayer.  However, they only display these traits around other Christians.


Enter, the two faces of "Carnal Christianity."

These "Christians," though very knowledgeable, and very good actors, really haven't submitted their lives to Christ. When they aren't around other Christians who may be holding them accountable, they become a completely different person. (Or, should I say, return to being themselves?) Take for example, the Christian that loves NFL football.  Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with enjoying sports, or other interests for that matter, but when it causes a believer to not act like a believer, are you really a believer?  Are you sidelining your beliefs, putting them on hold, so you can fit in with the crowd you are watching the game with? Are you regularly skipping church service on Sunday mornings, because the football game is just too important?  I know a Christian who does this; He has no problem getting drunk, cussing, partying with a bunch of unbelievers, while never once extending the love or witness of Jesus Christ while, for example, watching the Superbowl. You would never know this person was a Christian if he didn't tell you, as there are no fruits.  I've heard from this person on many occasions that I'm just too up tight, boring, and that I "need to get a life," because I "spend too much time" studying God's word, and things that pertain to Christ.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6:14, "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?"  In other words, Christians aren't supposed to integrate with the world, we're supposed to stand apart from the world. Am I saying that we should not associate with non-Christians, or not have friends who aren't believers?  No, but I am saying that we aren't supposed to act like them.  We are supposed to be salt and light in a dark world of unrighteousness.  There are only two types of people in the world, consistently described throughout Scripture: people who belong to God, who have eternal life, and people who belong to the world and their god, Satan, who will have eternal death (Acts 26:18). The Greek word translated as fellowship throughout the Bible is Koinonia, and it primarily means "association, communion, joint participation." The Bible tells us repeatedly that we are supposed to have this fellowship only with like-minded believers, and that having it with unbelievers corrupts the mind and the soul of the believer. (Proverbs 12:26, Proverbs 13:20, Proverbs 14:7, Proverbs 24:21, 1 Cor. 15:33)

So, are you really a Christian, if you are only a Christian around other Christians? Charles Spurgeon once said, "Sincerity makes the very least person to be of more value than the most talented hypocrite." If we aren't witnessing for Christ in our relationships with unbelievers, then we are being disobedient to God. Take a moment to think about your actions, and what they portray when you are around unbelievers. You cannot be devoted to both God, and things of the world (Mt 4:10, Mt. 6:24). As Christians, our delight is not in the world, but in God. (1st John 2:15-17)

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷ And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Our modern daily lives require us to be in constant contact with unbelievers.  We have coworkers, family members, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, who are totally lost, and on their way to Hell.  Jesus never tells us not to associate with these people, on the contrary, we are to love them, so much so, that we want them to know Christ as their savior too (Mark 16:15).  God does not want us to sit idly by, relax and have a good time, act like unbelievers and never take the Gospel to those who need it.  Sharing the Gospel is more than just talking it--it's living it!  When your boss sends you on that business trip to Las Vegas, and you're the only Christian in the group going, how does it serve the Kingdom to drink and gamble, and indulge in the sinful activities with others who don't believe? What motivation does an unbeliever have to know Christ if he sees no difference, no fruits from the supposed believer?  Doesn't this give the unbeliever a sense that joy in Christ isn't enough, that we still need to "let go and let loose" sometimes in order to be fulfilled?  It seems to me that this would tell the unbeliever that being a Christian is too much work, and requires breaks to be satisfied, but in reality, the true believer desires the things of God, and is repentant of their sins.  The true believer is fulfilled in Christ (John 4:14), and desires to do the will of God (Luke 6:45).  It is the natural desire of man to work evil, to do things that are displeasing to God (Matthew 15:19). But God has sent the Holy Spirit to live in those who are saved, and we no longer have the heart of man, but have a regenerated heart of Christ (John 7:38-39).

Now, we are still human, and all human beings will stumble, but if you find yourself regularly indulging in worldly activities, and you feel no guilt, no remorse, no need for repentance, or you don't believe there is anything wrong with it, my plea for you is to examine your heart.  Examine your faith to see if you are really in it. Desire to know the truth, and truth can be found in His word. If you can't look back over the time since you were "saved," and see a noticeable difference in your worldview, life and desires, and a definite growth in your relationship with Christ, you might not be saved.

The world is full of false teachers, preachers, and wolves in sheep's clothing who claim that God isn't concerned with our obedience to his laws, or otherwise try to rationalize a sinful lifestyle.  But these people are liars and deceivers.  They have even crept into the Church unnoticed, and are slowly taking over (Colossians 2:23; Jude 4). Be not deceived by this, as Jesus says in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." Jesus says to these people, who act like Christians, but still serve the world, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." (Mt. 7:23)  If you're not sure if you're desires are in God, please see my post on how to be saved, The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I'll end this post with the following clip of a sermon by Pastor Clint Pressley, of Hickory Grove Baptist Church.

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