Matt Chandler Endorsing Lent, Acknowledges Mysticism

Evangelical hipster, and the go-to boy when it comes to building the bridge between pop-culture and mainstream evangelicalism, Matt Chandler, is at it once again. While he is well known for dabbling in questionable theology, and promoting mysticism within the church without pushing the envelope far enough to make the good-ole-boys too uncomfortable, he's not stopping short of once again encouraging his followers to slip into a state of mindless buff. In a recent Village Church podcast he discussed with the host, Josh Patterson, the applicability of the season of Lent in his congregation. While he says his church is not officially observing Lent, he does speak very positively of it, while putting out an official church publication guiding his congregation in the observance of the Catholic tradition. This is the typical double speak we've come to expect from Chandler, practicing and promoting questionable things while standing on his "safe place" of "not officially endorsing."

While promoting on the podcast that Lent is a good way to think about laying some things aside, and focusing on the sacrifice and salvation of our Lord, Jesus, he fails to understand the true history of Lent, and larger ramifications of observing an unbiblical tradition in unison with a religion that is the enemy of the Gospel. He acknowledges the arguments against the practice, and states that the arguments just aren't convincing enough for him to condemn the practice. According to Catholicism, Lent is observed in respect to the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting, however, there is no observance of Lent for several centuries after the crucifixion. Usually the observance of Lent is connected with giving up some kind of food, a television show, or some other bad habit for the 40 days before the Easter holiday. It is alleged that Lent is a form of self-denial, and a way to connect with the experience of self-denial that Jesus went through.

But there is absolutely no mention of a season of Lent in Scripture, and never were Christians or Jews commissioned to observe such a tradition. The true history of Lent can actually be traced back to the worship of the Babylonian goddess Ashtoreth, or Ishtar. Alexander Hislop, in his classic work, The Two Babylons, in the section entitled, Easter, explains the origin of the Lenten fast:

The forty days' abstinence of Lent was directly borrowed from the worshippers of the Babylonian goddess. Such a Lent of forty days, "in the spring of the year," is still observed by the Yezidis or Pagan Devil-worshippers of Koordistan, who have inherited it from their early masters, the Babylonians. Such a Lent of forty days was held in spring by the Pagan Mexicans, for thus we read in Humboldt, where he gives account of Mexican observances: "Three days after the vernal equinox...began a solemn fast of forty days in honour of the sun." Such a Lent of forty days was observed in Egypt, as may be seen on consulting Wilkinson's Egyptians. This Egyptian Lent of forty days, we are informed by Landseer, in his Sabean Researches, was held expressly in commemoration of Adonis or Osiris, the great mediatorial god.

Hislop also states:

Among the Pagans this Lent seems to have been an indispensible preliminary to the great annual festival in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Tammuz, which was celebrated by alternate weeping and rejoicing, and which, in many countries, was considerably later than the Christian festival, being observed in Palestine and Assyria in June, therefore called the 'month of Tammuz;' in Egypt, about the middle of May, and in Britain, some time in April. To conciliate the Pagans to nominal Christianity, Rome, pursuing its usual policy, took measures to get the Christian and Pagan festivals amalgamated, and, by a complicated but skillful adjustment of the calendar, it was found no difficult matter, in general, to get Paganism and Christianity -- now far sunk in idolatry -- in this as in so many other things, to shake hands. 

It is no doubt that Rome is a melting pot for world religions, and still is today. It is well known for mixing Pagan idolatry, observed through the veneration of the saints and Mary, with a Christian theme. However, there is no saving Gospel within the doctrines of Romanism. Rome, since ancient times has been nothing more than a religio-political system with the aim of world domination through whatever means necessary, be it politics, violence, or total control of your soul through religion. It is no different now, and Rome's agents are working hard to blur the lines of mainstream Evangelicalism with Catholicism.

While listening to Chandler's podcast, and his reasoning on the subject, on the surface it seems that his motives for doing so are benign. He takes the stance that the observance of Lent can be good if done so with Scriptural motives, and prayer and fasting are almost always considered worthy undertakings in Scripture. However, Scripture never calls for a public or corporate form of fasting, and those who fast are supposed to look and act as though they are not (Matthew 16:16-18). However, this observance of fasting during the season of Lent has become a commercialized mockery of biblical fasting, with people plastering advertisements all over social media of what they are "giving up for Lent," and "how hard it is" to do so.

Click for Larger Image

Traditionally, the celebration of Lent is more than just fasting and prayer. In Catholicism, there are a number of mystical aspects that also are at play. During this Catholic season, a mystical custom known as The Stations of the Cross are practiced. It's a method of going through a series of artistic representations of the steps Jesus took while carrying his cross to his crucifixion. The idea behind the practice is that through these artistic representations, often un-biblical, one's emotions are supposed to be evoked to the point of sorrow, and identification with Christ. However, this practice is condemned in Scripture. Sadly, many Evangelical churches, including Rick Warren's Saddleback, are adopting a form of this practice today, further muddying the waters between Catholicism and Christianity.

I also find it rather interesting that Chandler's Lent guide put out by his church is filled with Puritan prayers from the Valley of Vision. Considering it was the Puritans stance to abstain from man-made traditions such as Lent, I find it highly suspect that Chandler would use these as a means to observe. It's not that the substance of the guide itself is merely unscriptural, in many ways it is perfectly fine, and would otherwise be a great devotional, but the bigger issue here is the attempt to connect Catholicism with Biblical Christianity through this tradition. The Protestant reformation was based on the view that the Roman Catholic church was apostate, and that Biblical Christianity should stand apart from, and distinct from the Pagan traditions of Rome. However, Chandler, (and he's not the only one) seem to have lost their grasp on this highly important historical concept, and without second thought, are helping to reverse the Reformation.

For more information on why Protestants shouldn't observe Lent, see Entreating Favor's article: Five Reasons Not To Observe Lent


**UPDATE**
For those of you who are having a hard time grasping the point of this posting, many of you are emailing, tweeting, commenting, etc asking my what my problem is with how the nature of how Chandler or Protestants in general are observing Lent. Please do not email me with this question, as I have already addressed, it isn't necessarily the substance of Chandler's guide, or the nature of how someone who is Biblically focused "might" observe the Lenten season as much as it is the ecumenical nature of promoting the event. The problem herein lies that by publicly condoning a traditionally Catholic event, especially one that has no Biblical basis for observing, puts out the perception that Evangelicals and Catholics are growing closer, coming together, and joining together in the same types of worship. But this is far from the truth. As subtle as it may be, it's just another example of Evangelicals capitulating to Rome. Soon, it will be okay for Protestants to have statues of Mary around their campuses, "so long as they don't bow down or worship it." Protestants and Evangelicals are slowly moving away from, and beginning to defy "Sola Scriptura," and this is a serious problem. People will come up with any excuse that they can to defend something that pleases them, rather than stand on the Word of God as their absolute authority. I don't have a problem with the substance of Chandler's guide, I have a problem with what it represents.

Read more

The Art of Social Media Escape: Jefferson Bethke Endorses God-Hating Macklemore

The following was originally posted by Landon Chapman at Entreating Favor, and has been reposted here with permission. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Landon

Facebook Twitter Google+

Founder of EntreatingFavor.com, writer, and host of the Fire Away! podcast. He is a Reformed Baptist that professes the Bible to be the infallible, inerrant, and thoroughly sufficient Word of God.

Titus 2:11–14 [ESV] For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Leaders and celebrity Christians in American Evangelicalism have found themselves in quite a quandary. While they realize the need to actively participate in the social media world to reach their followers, in doing so they open themselves up to widespread commentary from those that may not agree with them. So what is an overseer to do?

Enter the “block” button (aka the “banhammer“).

Yesterday, a faithful sister in Christ responded to the following tweet posted by celebrity Christian Jefferson Bethke:

Ran into @macklemore & his fiancé last night at Maui airport. Got to tell him he's inspired me artistically for awhile. Super nice folks.
— Jefferson Bethke (@JeffersonBethke) February 23, 2015

by asking a simple question:

@JeffersonBethke He mocks Christians. Did you share the Gospel?
— Jessica Lam (@jessicamarie419) March 1, 2015

She went on later that afternoon to respond to another Tweet from Mr. Bethke that mentioned he and his wife’s upcoming podcast:

@JeffersonBethke @alyssajoybethke Yes, did you share the Gospel with Macklemore who mocks Christ?
— Jessica Lam (@jessicamarie419) March 1, 2015

If you were thinking Mrs. Lam would receive an answer to this very simple question for a Christian leader, you would be wrong. Instead, she experienced first-hand how many celebrity pastors and Christians respond to sincere, Bible-based questions regarding things they have posted on social media:

Blocked by Jefferson Bethke ✔ No longer can you ask someone a question without being blocked. pic.twitter.com/tdWhoKqMUH
— Jessica Lam (@jessicamarie419) March 2, 2015

That’s right, Mrs. Lam was immediately blocked by Jefferson Bethke upon her asking him if he shared the Gospel with someone who openly mocks Christians and is hostile to the Word of God. So much for being above reproach.

Some of you might be saying, “But Landon, it’s not like Mr. Bethke is a pastor or something. The qualifications for an overseer (1 Timothy 3) don’t apply to him!” My dear friends, if this is what you’re thinking, you are dead wrong. Ever since rising to Christian fame through his spoken word YouTube video, Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus, and subsequent book, Jesus > Religion, Mr. Bethke has been an influential teacher in modern-day Christianity; specifically influential amongst Millennials. The simple truth is that Mr. Bethke has positioned himself as a teacher of Christianity, someone who has authority and ability to teach the Word of God. As someone in that position, one would do well to be conscious of the Biblical requirements thereby added to their account.

Further, as Paul made clear to Titus (Titus 2:11-12), the Grace of God has appeared, in part, to train “us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions”. As someone who on his “About” page claims he is “…quite the avid grace lover,” should he not then make it a point to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions? And with that truth firmly established, should not Mr. Bethke then make it a point to renounce and warn about Macklemore and his promotion of ungodliness, worldly passions, and hostility toward the Word of God?

The obvious answer to those questions are yes, Jefferson Bethke should not only end his endorsement of Macklemore, he should make it a point to publicly renounce those previous endorsements and warn Christians to stay away from his music.

If you are unfamiliar with Macklemore, I will briefly explain why this man is not someone with whom Christians should associate. Macklemore is an American rapper whose real name is Ben Haggerty. Without diving into his complete discography, suffice to say that Mr. Haggerty has been a popular and influential musician in America since roughly the year 2012.

On his October 2012 album, The Heist, Macklemore voiced his support of LGBT rights and same-sex marriage in the song “Same Love”, which also condemns homophobia in mainstream hip-hop, society, and mass media.¹ On January 26, 2014, Macklemore performed Same Love at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, where Queen Latifah read marriage vows for 33 couples (both gay and straight) who lined the aisles. “This is a love song, not for some of us but for all of us,” she said, followed by an appearance from Madonna singing “Open Your Heart”.² Further, Macklemore was criticized for a performance he gave at Seattle’s Experience Music Project in May 2014 where he was dressed as a stereotypical Jew.³

Despite claims to the contrary, even from the man himself, Macklemore is a religious person and, as illustrated in the previous paragraph, does seek to convey his version of religion through his music. Have a look at some of his lyrics:

Playing God, aw nah here we go:
America the brave still fears what we don’t know.
And “God loves all his children” is somehow forgotten,
But we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-hundred years ago.

Further, in this track released in 2009, Macklemore trades verses with fellow rapper Geological about the church and its lack of spiritual connection:

The word of our God is manipulated and twisted by the same system
That has infiltrated and falsely interpreted Jesus.
One life, one love, one God, it’s us, treated your neighbor how you would want to be treated.
The universal laws of God, don’t look too far, it’s right here, us human beings.
The spirit’s right here and I don’t have to see it.
Now every time I want to connect with God I put my headphones on. . . .
All right see, I be going to Sunday school every week
In the back trying to read, but see that something was off.
Maybe it was cause I was trying to huddle in the yard.
Preacher didn’t connect when he would mumble the Psalms.

Tyler Day of ChristianCentury.org summed this up well when he asked how we could categorize Macklemore’s theology. Ethical humanism with a tinge of anthropomorphic universalism?

Maybe it’s best we don’t. At one point he calls rap “an accurate representation of who people are as individuals and the environment that they grew up in.” The same may be true of Macklemore’s theology: it’s an accurate representation of a culture of seekers, the spiritual but not religious, the label repellent. They use traditional language to speak of new forms and subjective reality. They prefer a bar to a church. Because as Macklemore says in “Neon Cathedral,” “Round here they sing broken hymns. /Their prayers flow better when they’re soaked in gin.”⁴ In other words, this man is a postmodern to the core.

Should any Christian be endorsing this guy? Absolutely not! Why, then, is Jefferson Bethke not only endorsing Macklemore and his assault on the Christ Mr. Bethke claims to profess, but subsequently blocking anyone who dare ask that very question? The problem lies within the theology of what made Mr. Bethke a Christian celebrity in the first place and what Andy Stanley has recently decided to adopt; this idea that church is bad and Jesus is good. It’s the theology that the church is preventing people from “making decisions for Jesus” and thus inherently denies the sovereignty of God.

In a Twitter post back in February of 2013, Mr. Bethke was asked what he thought of Macklemore:

@dartise @macklemore love him. Look up to him a ton as an artist & someone who's honed his craft. Also helps we both from/live in Seattle!
— Jefferson Bethke (@JeffersonBethke) February 5, 2013

He looks up to a man who hates God and mocks Christians all in the name of “tolerance”? Really? When then confronted about how Macklemore’s music in any way glorifies God he responded:

@jason_huntrods how did the pagan quotes that the apostle paul quoted in Acts 17 answer all those questions u just asked?
— Jefferson Bethke (@JeffersonBethke) February 5, 2013

As Mr. Huntrods correctly went on to point out, Paul is addressing non-believers, not Christians. He’s also presenting the Gospel, not making general statements – context is important. Why should Christians buy the next Macklemore album to hear about their hypocrisy and failure when God gave us His inerrant, infallible, and thoroughly sufficient Word?

Please understand I am in no way making a judgment regarding Mr. Bethke’s eternal salvation and whether or not he is a brother in Christ, that is not my place. But as a high-profile professing believer, it distresses me greatly that he would not answer a simple Biblical question and instead opt to run away from the concern.

Unfortunately, this is the new norm when it comes to high-profile Christian leaders; they publicly post and/or present something anti-Biblical, ecumenical, or theologically incorrect and when their public teaching is challenged publicly, they either run away (block the person) or turn and launch an aggressive reputation-smearing campaign and incorrectly label the challenger a hypocrite and a Pharisee. Sure doesn’t seem very “loving”, does it?

Thus, it is reasonable to ask why, as a Christian leader, Mr. Bethke continues to endorse an unregenerate man and his anti-biblical, God-hating music to Christians.

With the evidence presented, Christians would do well to personally ask Jefferson Bethke why he gets his inspiration from someone who hates God and beg of him to repent and turn from such filth.

Just don’t be surprised when you you are ignored and bear the brunt of the banhammer.

Read more

Addressing Critics of the Discerning - Part 1

Once in a while, I'll have a conversation with a pastor, usually a Southern Baptist pastor, who has read some of my articles, and find it puzzling that I would be calling out such leaders as Russell Moore or Ronnie Floyd. What I often notice however, is that while most of the time this pastor will be a very Gospel-focused pastor, and has no interest in leading their flock astray, is that many times they either have no idea what our leaders are involved in, or they have a weak or soft view on troubling issues such as ecumenism or heresies in the church, or an improper understanding of the purpose of the Protestant Reformation. I would like to address some of these misconceptions here that I am often faced with by critics of my point of view. In this article, I will be addressing some of the misconceptions as it applies to our leaders cozy-ing up with the papacy. I may address some other misconceptions in other articles, concerning other errors, such as mysticism, charismania, and word-faith heresies entering the SBC unchecked. This is in no way meant to be an offense against such pastors who are truly dedicated to God's work, it is only meant to address criticisms that I regularly receive from those who may not have a full understanding of what's at stake.

Misconception # 1: Russell Moore, Rick Warren, etc, going to the Vatican could be a good thing because they "may" be taking the Gospel to those who need it, and agreement on moral issues is a plus for the work of Christ. Agreement on moral issues doesn't necessarily constitute endorsement.

Response # 1: The problem isn't with our agreement on a moral truth, it's with the fellowship aspect of our actions. Ephesians 5:11 says "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." The word translated as "fellowship" here in this context is the Greek word "sugkoinoneo." According to Thayer, it primarly means "to become a partaker together with others," and according to Strongs, "to share in company," or "to co-participate."

This is exactly what our leaders are doing. They are "co-participating" with a false church on spiritual endeavors. They are becoming "partakers" with the RC on moral issues, and the reason we are commanded NOT to do so is because it's damaging to the Gospel. While we can stand on one side of the aisle, and say "I agree with the pope on the sanctity of marriage, I cannot stand with you on spiritual endeavors because we do not agree on the essentials." We cannot be willing to compromise the Gospel by publicly taking a stance in which it seems we are in full communion with an apostate church. Being "salt and light" entails standing apart from the darkness, and exposing the darkness, not joining in, co-mingling with, having fellowship with, and praying darkness.

We should be evangelizing all Roman Catholics, and calling them to repentance, and to leave the RC church, yet instead, we have leaders of the SBC doing the following:

• Al Mohler declaring "there are millions of Christians in the Catholic church." - source
• Russell Moore blogging: "I disagree with the primacy of the papacy, however, I agree with the pope on the Gospel, and other issues..." (paraphrased) - source
• Russell Moore - "I'm unsure of the differences between my and the pope's gospel focus." - more info
• Russell Moore tweets: "@pontifex is a very good choice for @Time person of the year." - view tweet here
• Then we have Rick Warren tweeting:

This is not being salt and light, and standing apart from darkness, preserving the truth and exposing the error. This is ecumenism at it's best. Ecumenism is today what the inquisition used to be. It's an effort to unify the world's religions under the authority of the pope, and unfortunately the SBC's leadership is slowly taking us in that direction.

Misconception # 2: While I disagree with many of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, I also disagree that the whole church is Apostate, and that there are many who are saved in the Catholic church.

Response # 2: The official doctrines of Rome are designed, by nature, to FORBID you from believing the true Gospel. Take for example the following quotes from the official doctrines of the Catholic Church:

"If anyone says the sinner is justified by faith alone, meaning that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to obtain the grace of justification, let him be anathema." -Canon 9, Sixth Session, Council of Trent

The Catholic Church, "condemns with anathema those who say that indulgences are useless or that the Church does not have the power to grant them." - Sacred Liturgy, Chapter IV, paragraph 8, Vatican Council II

By believing these doctrines, one cannot be saved, as they are diametrically opposed to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.

• Other damnable heresies of the Catholic church include, but are not limited to:
• The Catholic church is the one true church - CCC 2105
• Infallibility of the Catholic Church - CCC 2035
• Only the Roman Catholic Church has authority to interpret Scripture - CCC 100
• The Pope is the head of the church and has the authority of Christ - CCC 2034
• The Roman Catholic Church is necessary for salvation - CCC 846
• Sacred Tradition equal to scripture - CCC 82
• Forgiveness of sins, salvation, is by faith and works - CCC 2036
• "Moved by the Holy Spirit, we can merit for ourselves and for others all the graces needed to attain eternal life, as well as necessary temporal goods." - CCC 2027
• Penance is necessary for salvation - CCC 980
• Purgatory a necessity for cleansing our sins - CCC 1031, CCC 1475
• The Communion elements become the actual body and blood of Christ - CCC 1374, CCC 1376

If someone is Roman Catholic, and they do end up coming to a saving faith in Jesus Christ, they will ultimately have no choice but to leave the Roman Catholic church, once they realize that what their church is teaching is contrary to the truth.

Misconception # 3: Luther and the reformers really didn't believe that the Roman Catholic Church was a "false church." They only sought to correct some of the errors that they saw in the church. They did not believe the RCC was apostate, and neither should we.

Response # 3: It is true, that Luther, who is widely held (yet debatable for another time) to be the originator of the "Protestant" Reformation originally only sought to bring to light what he viewed as error in his church. However, Luther is not the be-all-end-all of the reformation. He may not have used the exact term "false church," but the sentiments were certainly there. Consider the following quotes from Luther and the reformers:

"We here are of the conviction that the papacy is the seat of the true and real Antichrist...personally I declare that I owe the Pope no other obedience than that to Antichrist." - Martin Luther

"The oracles of God foretold the rising of an Antichrist in the Christian Church: and in the Pope of Rome, all the characteristics of that Antichrist are so marvelously answered that if any who read the Scriptures do not see it, there is a marvelous blindness upon them." - Cotton Mather

"that tyranny which the pope himself has for so many ages exercised over the church" and that the pope should be recognized as "the very antichrist, and son of perdition, of whom Paul speaks." (Taken from The Zurich Letters, pg. 199 by John Knox.)

John Wesley said of the papacy,

"He[the pope] is in an emphatical sense, the Man of Sin, as he increases all manner of sin above measure. And he is, too, properly styled the Son of Perdition, as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, both of his opposers and followers... He it is...that exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped...claiming the highest power, and highest honour...claiming the prerogatives which belong to God alone." -Antichrist and His Ten Kingdoms by John Wesley, pg. 110.

and consider the Westminster confession of faith:

CHAPTER XXV PARAGRAPH VI. There is no other head of the Church but the Lord Jesus Christ: nor can the Pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof; but is that Antichrist, that man of sin and son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the Church against Christ, and all that is called God.

One thing we have to remember is that the reformers were undoing thousands of years of false doctrine. Most had been raised and trained in the Catholic church, and it was a major deal for them to stand up against the pope, and the doctrines of Rome. Although most of the reformers were still flawed in much of their doctrine, the fact that they took a bold stance to seek the truth, and expose the error says much of them, and their character. They did not have several hundred years of expositional preaching, and biblical commentary, and established doctrine to help shape their understanding of biblical truths. They, for the most part, started from scratch, and even started with the process of translation. We owe it to these brave men, and to Jesus Christ who is in control of all things, not to work against the reformation, and concede to Rome, but to continue to stand against it, and expose their error. We should not tolerate our leaders today holding hands with the mother of apostates, we should be holding them accountable for doing so.

Read more

God's Purpose Still Served With False Teachers?

Have you ever sat and watched a sermon by a pastor like Steven Furtick, or Andy Stanley? Have you ever really just sat and listened to them preach. It's easy to be drawn in to the charismatic mood changing, emotionally driven style of speech or worship. They quote from Scripture, and speak with such compassion that you wonder, how could someone so passionate about what they're saying be so off? Someone that seems so dedicated to their teachings, so caring and so loving towards their congregations, how can they be so far removed from the truth? Does God actually allow teachers who are truly dedicated to him and his word to be raised up, undisciplined, and allowed to shepherd a flock of such magnitude, but without any accountability to his truth? Can a false teacher be saved, and just be wrong, or are these truly wolves in sheep's clothing who are on their way to Hell?

Ever since the fall of God's creation through Adam, man has been a slave to sin (Romans 5:12). Sin affects every aspect of our lives. It affects the way we think, the way we feel, and the way we perceive things, understand things, and communicate. It affects our desires and our motives and our purposes. Apart from Christ, we are inseparable from sin. Yet God has chosen to allow sin to flourish, without an immediate end to it. Instead of instantaneously stopping sin, he has chosen to redeem us through Christ, yet allowing sin to continue, while we suffer the temporal consequences of it. As a result of our sin, 1 Corinthians 2:14 says "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." Apart from God, man in his own state of sin will not, can not, accept the truth. 

So why do so many false teachers seem to be so caring, passionate, and sincere?

Steven Furtick: Taking a defensive stance against Bible-belivers

One thing you will notice with false teachers, is that they always want to downplay the importance Scripture places on warning against false teachers. You may hear defenses like "The Bible doesn't say a whole lot about false teachers, so we really shouldn't be too concerned with it," or "Christians need to stop bickering and judging each other, and just be more loving and Christ-like." Some false teachers, like Beth Moore, will refer to their critics as "scoffers," who are "stopping unity." Christine Caine twists Scripture to make a point about an unbiblical form of unity. Steven Furtick (left) refers to them as "haters," and says that they are afraid of change, or afraid of anything that is "new" and "different." But they always make it sound like anyone that is against them, or their unbiblical teachings, are somehow working against God and his people. However, this common unifying trait among false teachers is necessary to be able to survive, and to even thrive within the visible church. They have to devalue the importance of biblical discernment while making it look like they are being more discerning by doing so. It's trickery.

They must also maintain control and dominion over their congregations. If you remember the story of Jezebel, one of her characteristics was to maintain spiritual control over people. When she became queen, she eradicated all of God's prophets, and replaced God's altars with those of Baal (1 Kings 18:4, 13). But she didn't just take control of people by force. She was cunningly deceptive. Her doctrine (1 Kings 21:1-29), cleverly penned The Jezebel Doctrine, is strikingly similar to what we know today as the Prosperity Gospel. This false  prophetess seduced her husband Ahab by only "prophesying" good things, and endorsing covetousness. Teachers and pastors who are seduced by these spirits maintain that they are 100% right, and can not be corrected.

These people can stand in front of crowds, and draw real emotional responses—tears. They appeal to the worldly senses of people, and carnal desires of their nature. Their impassioned speeches are often intertwined with a seemingly supernatural sense of urgency, co-opted with breathlessness, sweating, and even cracking voices that to the average person, seems surreal in nature. This person "must" be passionate about God, one thinks. But the Bible says that even Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). False teachers are very good at deception (Matthew 24:23–27), and have many tactics that they use to carry out their sinful desires (2 Peter 3:3), and more often than not, they don't even realize they are false teachers, as they have been deceived themselves (2 Tim 3:13). The fact of the matter is, they are passionate about what they are saying, and they do, for the most part, believe it. They are in fact so passionate about it, that they will use whatever method they deem necessary to get you to believe it as well, and this most often involves evoking your emotions through deceitful tactics.

Can false teachers be saved?

First, I want to be clear, I'm not referring to the average preacher, or bible teacher, who sincerely has a desire to see people be saved, but has some minor doctrinal errors that don't affect one's salvation. I'm referring to those who deliberately and unrepentantly teach a message contrary to the Gospel of salvation by grace. Those teachers who, for example, would lead people into believing that they are saved, apart from Christ's teachings. Like Beth Moore who leads Catholic's into believing they are part of Christ's church, or Steven Furtick, who leads people to believe they are saved when they pray a prayer or are spontaneously baptized. The Bible teaches that those teaching these doctrines are the enemy of the Gospel. 2 Peter 2:1 says:

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

Scripture also teaches that those who are truly saved do not depart from the faith (1 Cor. 15:1-2). It seems to me that teaching a false teachings would be a departure from the faith. The Bible refers to saved people as "believers" (Acts 5:14; 1 Tim. 4:12). But if you are teaching and/or believing something contrary to the truth, how can you be a believer? This isn't to say that a false teacher can't ultimately repent and be saved, but you can't be teaching a false Gospel while believing the true one. One of the attributes of a saved person is the act of God's discipline on his children.

Hebrews 12:7-8 says:

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

God disciplines his children, his believers, just like we discipline our own children. We don't generally go around disciplining other people's children. As with God, he doesn't go around disciplining those who are not adopted into his family through Christ. I'm not saying he doesn't punish, but punishment and discipline are two different things. Discipline is to correct inappropriate behavior. False teachers generally do not correct our behavior, they generally breed more deception.

Punishment, on the other hand, is God's wrath. God hates those who are contrary to his nature (Psalm 5:4-6; 11:5, Proverbs 6:16-19), and desires to take his wrath out on them. The Book of 1 Kings, Chapter 11, Solomon's heart was turned against God, and God raised up an adversary against him. This was for the purpose of tearing Solomon's kingdom away from him. So we know that God does raise up enemies, but this enemy was raised up for the purpose of God's wrath. Do false teachers serve the purpose of God's wrath? Does God raise up false teachers to serve his purpose of turning over the unrighteous to their sinful lusts and desires? I'll leave it with this Scripture, Romans 1:18-31:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Be sure to Like my Facebook Page.

Read more

A Response to Chris Lyons' Response

A very spiritually discerning friend, and fellow blogger, Landon Chapman, posted an article on the Pulpit and Pen website entitled Christians Attack Their Own In the Name of Love: The Plight of Practicing Biblical Discernment. The purpose of the article was to basically outline the path he has taken from first having his eyes of discernment opened, and being overzealous, to where he is now, a more mature, humble follower of Christ. After posting a link to this article on on his Facebook page, one commenter, by the name of Chris Lyons (of CRN.info) had the following to say, and I will address it point by point.

Landon, this is one of those things where I really have to wonder if you have all that much self-awareness or an understanding of irony. Probably the best way to sum it up would be "Physician, heal thyself." However, I know you are speaking from a place of pain (some real, some imagined), so self-reflection is hard, if not impossible. 

First of all, Lyons is making an assumption here that Landon is speaking from a position of pain. Why is he assuming this? Is there something he knows about Landon's past that could prove to be painful? Just what could this "place of pain" be? Could it be the deception, or the watered down Gospel he heard at his former Church in which Lyons is still a member of? Could this place of pain be Landon's earnest, tireless desperation to get the true Gospel out to those who need to hear it, and expose the enemy of the Word of God. To expose those teachings that lead people to an even more painful place, a place of rejection and eternal separation from God?

Secondly, Landon clearly laid out in his article that he is examining himself, and his motives. Lyon's appears to be taking the same liberal stance of "judge not," while leaving the entire context of the totality of Scripture out of the argument. He cunningly does this by appealing to this assumed "place of pain," while pleading to take on the role of caretaker here, and imagining himself to be the one thinking clearly and providing logic and reason to an otherwise out of control situation.

The biggest issue is that you assume your "discernment" is biblical, and your analysis reasonable. In your case, specifically, you've not really left the "cage stage" and you've eisegeted your own justification.

I don't think Landon "assumes" anything. I think Landon is a cautious student of God's Word, who only seeks to Glorify God. Yet Lyons is hypocritical in his assumption, since he provides no biblical reason of why Landon's discernment is unbiblical. However, Lyons must be unfamiliar with passages such as Romans 16:17-18, Ephesians 5:11, Galatians 1:6-9, Colossians 2:8, Matthew 7:15, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, 1 John 4:1, Jude 1:4, etc. etc. etc... or perhaps Lyons takes an allegorical hermeneutic approach to Scripture, and these passages don't really apply to us today, or don't really mean what they say. I'm just assuming.

In general, 99% or more of online "discernment" "ministries" (including, especially, P&P) are neither "discerning", nor "ministries" (in the sense that they are doing anything of substance to further the kingdom of God). They have become tools to divide and attack the Body of Christ over non-primary issues.

I'm glad he is able to come up with these statistics on the fly like that. Wow, 99%, huh. Well Lyons, what exactly do you consider to be a primary issue? Lyons has a misunderstanding of what causes divisions in the Kingdom. It isn't discerning individuals who stand up for the truth, it's false teachers (Romans 16:17) According to Lyons website, his mission appears to be unity among professing Christians, and attacking people who he refers to as "discerners." While the very premise of his argument is that "discerners," like Landon, create divisions among believers by "attacking those whom are already saved," he takes the hypocritical stance of reciprocating the attacks. Except, while Landon's concern is people being led astray, fed a false Gospel that leads someone to Hell, Lyons is more concerned with people standing around holding hands and singing Kumbaya in their descent to Hell.

They mistake "state boundaries" (denominational differences) for "National boundaries" (differences between Christianity and non-Christianity). They mistake "lost sheep" for "goats" and pastors of other flocks as "wolves". They, themselves, are cancers in the Body of Christ, much like the Judiazers in the Acts church (except now, secondary dogmas have replaced circumcision as the argument of choice). 

But the concept that Lyons just can't quite seem to grasp here is that simply because someone claims the name of Christ, doesn't make them Christians. The Biblically exegeted definition of a Christian is someone who is saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Lyons doesn't seem to be concerned that other sects, like Catholicism, or the Unification Church,  teach a gospel that is contrary to the Word of God, and lo and behold, if someone biblically-minded, like Landon warns people against these errors, then they are just "cancers in the church." Lyons wants the "discerners" to ignore Ephesians 5:11, and instead, have fellowship with unbelievers, and ignore their grave errors.

They mistake simple homiletic devices for heresy (like with the recent unsubstantiated attacks on Andy Stanley's current sermon series) and have absolutely no understanding of "charitable reading" (a la 1 Cor 13) when hearing something other than a rigid, Reformed exposition. They also mistake the differences, as do you, between people, personalities, and ideas, and seek to "warn" against and "condemn" people, rather than simply ideas. 

"Homiletic devices" like teaching people to come to church and follow Christ's teachings, even without knowing him as your Savior or as the Son of God, so you can have a better life? Why? Just so you can die and go to Hell afterwards? Perhaps Lyons doesn't know that Christ's teachings included him being the Son of God, and the Savior, and apart from him there is no life, but only weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30).

As I said to you, submission isn't submission if you only do it when you agree. And becoming a freelance "discerner" when you don't have the agreement of your own leaders to be a "discerner" for others in your own church, smacks of arrogance, not any sort of "biblical discernment" - even if you are right!

First off, how does Lyons know what the leaders of Landon's local church approve of or not? Has he forgotten that Landon left the heretical, man-pleasing, ear-tickling mega-church, Connection Pointe, to become a part of a bible-based, Gospel-centered church? A church that seeks to please God, rather than man? And, if any church, or local congregation is a true church, then Jesus Christ will be the supreme leader of that church, and the church's authority will be the Word of God, in which Landon's submission to is first and foremost.

Part of the problem, though, is within much of Western Christianity, where we have made the Gospel little more than a viral campaign for fire insurance to no earthly purpose. We decry pragmatism within the church, but we've taken the most pragmatic approach to the Kingdom of God by making it about "saving souls for heaven/from hell someday", when the primary import is stated plainly at the beginning of the Lord's Prayer: Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.

This twisting of theology here just proves Lyon's concern isn't about the eternal salvation of souls, but with making the world a better place to live. Jesus says in Matthew 10:34, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." The Great Commission of the Church is to go out and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20), by preaching the good news of Jesus Christ and his sacrificial atoning death on the Cross. These are the essentials, not unity among false converts and false teachers. Lyons is right that Lord's prayer states the primary import of the Church, but Lyons clearly does not understand the passage he quoted. Does Lyons think that somehow there will be unbelievers in Heaven? God's purpose does not include any unrighteousness in his kingdom, and the only way to be declared righteous is by the shed blood of Jesus Christ, by faith in his sacrificial death, and believing that he rose again to conquer death. You must believe the Gospel... the true Gospel, not a false Gospel, otherwise, you are building a false kingdom, on false premises, that lead to a false savior.

I realize you're probably past the point of accepting any advice at this point I your life, but I believe, as do a lot of folks, that you have an incredible amount of potential and an enviable zeal that could be used for the good of the Kingdom, if you would only train your eyes on your own self for now, and leave the "wolf-detection" to the selected shepherds in your own local community, wherever that may be. 

If only you could see that Landon's eyes, by the grace of God, have been opened to the truth, he has now chosen a path of total submission to Christ and his Word. While God disciplines his believers reguarly, those who are not truly saved will ultimately be turned over to their own sinful desires. I would pray for you Chris Lyons, for you to examine your heart, in light of clear teaching of Scripture, through the entirety of Scripture, that you would see Jesus Christ for who he is. He is our holy and righteous judge, yet merciful enough to give his life for us on the cross, and if you don't have the urgency to take this message of truth to all the ends of the world, then what are you in it for? This life is temporary. Eternal life is forever.

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. - 1 Corinthians 1:18

Read more

The Devil's Old Manifesto: Enter the New Age

"I don't think I'm evil," she says, irritated that she is being pressed on her beliefs. "The heart of man is not wicked, and being taught that will definitely keep you from seeking it." She goes on to say that God has given us an "inner compass," and that we are not encouraged to follow it, because of religious beliefs. This was a conversation I had with my beloved mother not too long ago. She has come to the conclusion that human beings are not inherently evil, and therefore, do not need a savior. What Christians would view as evil is generally rationalized as illusory, or ignorance, and not the fault of humankind.According to her belief system, all we have to do is get in touch with our inner "God," and we can move on to the next level of consciousness—Christ-consciousness. God is in us, God is us. We can become one with God, a God who is an unconscious, impersonal, creative force, in which manifests itself in nature and material, and various gods throughout history. 

This is the typical thought process of those who have been seduced and indoctrinated by the New Age. But is this really a "new" concept? Satan has been using this line of deception since the beginning of creation. When God created Adam and Eve, and placed them in the Garden of Eden, he told them that they could eat from any tree, except for one. God told them that their disobedience to him, the fulfillment of their selfish desires, would cause them to die. But the serpent beguiled them into trying to find satisfaction apart from God, and they disobeyed and ate. Satan told them that God wasn't being truthful with them, and that by eating the fruit, they would become like God himself, that eating of the fruit wasn't evil, but good, and that God was trying to hide this "truth" from them. This lie in the Garden forms the basis of all false religious systems today, including the New Age.

This seduction into this esoteric (hidden) knowledge is central to most cults, Eastern mystic religions, and the New Age.  This idea that man is becoming God, is God, or God is in man is taught in Hinduism, Taoism, and even Roman Catholicism, a false religious system masquerading as Christianity. Even Buddhism and Atheist religions to a certain extent teach a type of humanistic self-worship. This concept is known as pantheism. As part of this teaching, evil is usually said not to exist or is rationalized as ignorance, caused by evil spirits rather than man, and should be warded off using mystical means. It's also taught to be part of a dualistic oneness composed of good and evil, a Yin and Yang, so that in reality there is no good or evil, just opposing equal forces. But the Bible teaches that evil is sin, a rebellion against God the creator, a pursuit of satisfaction apart from him (Matthew 5:19, Proverbs 8:13, John 3:19-20, John 8:44, 1 John 3:8).

Sadly, even prominent Evangelicals are dabbling in this divination. Rick Warren is probably one of the most well known Evangelical pastors of today, yet his ministry tends to lead people into the practice of forbidden things. He encourages the use of Breath Prayers in his book, The Purpose Driven Life (pp. 89, 299) and on his web site, Pastors.com, contemplatives Richard Foster, Philip Yancey, Charles Stanley and many more are recommended. He has had well known New Age sympathizer Leonard Sweet train pastors at his church, and another in Atlanta in 2008. Other prominent Evangelicals that practice divination, and claim to channel direct revelations from God are Matt Chandler, Beth Moore, Mark Driscoll and Steven Furtick (2 Peter 2:1). Yoga is now regularly practiced in many Evangelical churches and accepted as normal (2 Timothy 3:5).

The creative force, or principle, the God of the New Age who has deceived so many is generally believed to be unrelational, that is, it doesn't deal directly with it's creation, or "manifestation," and that the various gods, or ascended masters are responsible for the relations with creation. God is not a conscious being, and cannot be known. As part of this philosophy, man can achieve his own "god-hood" by following the paths of these god-manifestations and by simply becoming aware of your inner-god. When one becomes aware of his own inner-self, he becomes one with God. This is also a teaching of the Roman Catholic Church:

460 The Word became flesh to make us "partakers of the divine nature":78 "For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God."79 "For the Son of God became man so that we might become God."80 "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods."81

Image of the False 'New Age Jesus'

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that Jesus Christ became man so that man can become God. This brings us back to the original lie of the serpent, that we can be God. This is the same concept that the New Age religion teaches. It teaches that Jesus Christ, among others like Buddah, Krishna, Muhammed, etc., were all teachers who had achieved their god-hood by becoming aware of their inner-self, and becoming one with the divine, impersonal creative force.

However, the practical methods of achieving this self-awareness is subjective, and is accomplished in a multitude of ways. Among the easiest of these ways is through the use of hallucinogenic drugs. This is typically an introductory way of achieving an altered state of consciousness that leaves the user curious, and longing for more. Some of the more advanced techniques, however, require much practice and self control, and involve the use of meditative techniques, such as Yoga. When entering into these altered states of consciousness, the person will usually have an euphoric spiritual experience, which leads them to believe that they have uncovered some kind of spiritual truth. But this "truth" is a deception. What New Agers fail to realize is that even the human desire for hidden knowledge is a result of our fallen state.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." This isn't because God is trying to hide good things from us, he is simply protecting us. He knows that the spiritual realm is filled with demons who want our souls. This is why he tells us to stay away from practicing divination or other spiritual paths that he has allowed (Deuteronomy 18:9-12, Leviticus 19:31, 2 Kings 21:6). It is our natural desire as sinful human beings to try to find fulfillment outside of God, and guess who's there to exploit our sin? Satan.

Satan knows that our fallen hearts are deceitful, and wicked, and he will never miss an opportunity to pounce on that. Satan desires the worship of humans and will do anything to get that. The Bible says that Satan masquerades around as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14). Satan has created an entire world full of religious systems that are devoted to worshiping him. One of the common beliefs between all of the world's religious systems, including Buddhism and the New Age is that there will come another "Christ," known as the Maitreya, who will lead the world into the Age of Aquarius. The general consensus among the followers of this religion is that we are on the verge of this right now, and this Maitreya is actually already living in the world right now, waiting to be called out by his people. He is allegedly making private appearances to people, and performing miracles. But the Bible teaches that this Maitreya is the Antichrist. The bible says about the antichrist:

He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. - Revelation 13:13-14

After the rapture, those left on the earth will be conditioned to believe in the lying signs and wonders he performs. He will perform a fake resurrection, which will bring awe to the world, and since the world has rejected the true Savior, Jesus Christ, they will readily accept Satan's substitute, the Antichrist, and the world will worship him.

5And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling,a that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them.b And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. - Revelation 13:5-8

So many people have been deceived into believing the lie, and unfortunately many will take this lie to their grave. This is exactly where the Devil wants you; he wants you to believe that you are a good person, and that you don't need a savior. He wants you to believe that Christianity is a dark force that tries to keep you from following your "good" heart. He wants you to trust in your self, rather than in Christ Jesus, because he knows that Christ Jesus is the only true path to eternal life.

7Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 or the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Be sure to download the Psalm 12 Outreach App for Android. It has many new features, including live Twitter feeds, Articles, Facebook feeds, and now includes Voice in the Wilderness Radio, and updates from Entreating Favor, Pulpit and Pen and #the15.



Also please be sure to like my Facebook Page.

Read more

T.D. Jakes: God's Grace is Like ''Supply and Demand''

Word of Faith preacher, Bishop T.D. Jakes, of the Potter's House in Dallas, TX, proclaims that God is at the mercy of our appetite, and our hearts, to do his will. In opposition to Romans 9:15-16 where it says

for he says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.' So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

He goes on to say "you can't teach someone who ain't looking, you can't draw an illustration for somebody who won't watch, and "that we are at the mercy of the appetite of the people....and so is God."  He goes on to proclaim that "as strong and as powerful as God is, he is at the mercy of our hunger.

Read more

Don't Ask That in Church!

Do you ever feel sidelined at your church? Everyone going about their business, actively participating in programs, teaching Sunday School classes, men's groups, women's groups, kid's activities, you name it. You want to be involved, but you have that feeling in you, that you can't share what you want to talk about, or bring up your thoughts or ideas, because nobody else gets it. Do you feel like you can't bring up certain subjects to your pastor, or your Sunday School teacher, because they just brush it aside? It's because they either don't understand it, don't think it's important, or are just flat out uncomfortable getting into it.

You faithfully go to church every Sunday, go to your class, and it seems like every day, it's the same mundane, cursory lessons. Constantly going over the basics—the milk. You've tried changing classes, more than once, but you just can't seem to get into a group that's interested in the meat. Lessons seem to be selectively simple, picking out passages that repeat the same basic, entry-level Christian concepts. Subjects like sharing the Gospel with others, loving one another, sin and repentance, living our daily lives as a witness, etc. Not that these aren't important topics, don't get me wrong, the Gospel is by far the most important topic. But as a general rule, if you're a born again Christian, you should already know the Gospel.

So why is it when you bring up for example, eschatology, the topic usually gets dismissed with a nice smile and a "that's a lesson for another day" type response, but then it never happens? Why can't we bring up and discuss topics such as the Antichrist, end times prophecy, false teachers, the New World Order and the harlot Church, that's being built right before our eyes? Everyone just wants to act like there's nothing going on, and just get on with their daily lives. But it's eating away inside some of us, who really need to be able to talk about these things with other Christians—other Christians who share the same interests on an intellectual level, and really want to dive deep into it. We want to know who the Nephilim are, and do they still exist today. We want to talk about how the Papacy relates to the New World Order, and how false teachers in our churches and denominations are helping to build this world system. We want to discuss topics like "who was Melchizedik," was he actually pre-incarnate Jesus, or just a type of Christ? What about freemasonry in the church? Don't you know that freemasonry is a Luciferian cult, and it's running rampant within both the Evangelical as well as Catholic church? What about the Jesuits, and their influence on the Evangelical church. Why is this never talked about? What about the Serpent Seed theory? This is a heresy that seems to be gaining vast popularity, but try asking your Sunday School teacher about that one. Chances are, he's probably never heard of it. Why don't we talk about how the New Age cults have managed to creep their old pagan ideas into the Church, and transform the church into a speeding vehicle for apostasy? Most of our church members have no idea what type of eastern mystic Satanic pillars are behind practices like Yoga or Contemplative Prayer, yet these are things that just aren't talked about. In many cases, these things are subtly promoted through false teachers like Beth Moore, Ann Voskamp and Tim Keller, within even the best of Bible-believing churches, simply because people aren't discerning, or just don't take the time to do any of the research. Why? Because most people are comfortable where they are.

When my (at the time, Catholic) wife and I first (re)started coming to our church a few years ago, my wife asked our Sunday School teacher (and deacon), in a Southern Baptist Church mind you, why Baptists don't baptize babies, and why they only baptize adults. His response, paraphrased: "I think it's because the the Bible requires it for church membership, and it's because Jesus commanded us to." Well, you can imagine how my wife took that response "seriously." It was at that time I knew we needed to find another class right away, in which we did, and eventually her questions were answered, and she was saved after hearing the Gospel preached by a faithful teacher. Nonetheless, even the most faithful of these teachers have their limits, and still won't seem to touch these outer edges. It's a sad state when Christians have to turn to internet forums and groups to get their spiritual meat.

We recently did a course in my church on Wayne Grudem's book, "Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know." Well, basic was definitely the right word. It was so basic, so boring that I couldn't hardly hold my eyes open during the class. And this was the advanced "Pastor's class." I don't want to make it sound like the pastors at my church are intellectually inferior in any way, trust me, they aren't. But it seems like the general consensus is that the members in the church need this basic milk, which is probably true, but there just isn't enough interest to set aside classes or groups for members who need more. But I know I can't be the only one longing for that, there must be others. But I just can't seem to find them. Everywhere I go, people are just so satisfied with where they are spiritually, and aren't longing for that meat.

The fact is, in most churches, intellectual Christians get shunned, they don't fit in, and many ultimately end up leaving the church altogether. If a Christian doesn't feel like they are being spiritually fed, and can't find a place to be spiritually fed, this is a problem. I'm not talking about unbelievers who deny the Gospel, and deny Christ. I'm talking about true, born again Christians, who have serious questions, and want to be spiritually fed on a deep level. They long for understanding, acceptance, and validation, but just can't seem to get that in church. But God gave us an entire Bible full of commands to seek out and study a vast array of topics, including what most would consider fringe topics. God created us in his image, with an intellect and a need to share in relationship with others. He gave us his Word, the Bible, with the basic essential doctrinal topics clearly laid out for us, but he also gave us the other, not-so-clear topics so that we could exercise our intellects, and get to know Him better. It keeps us focused on him, interested in him, and close to him. I believe that's why he reveals himself that way. It keeps us longing for more of him, and for some of us, much much more.

According to “The Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy” by J. Barton Payne, there 1,817 prophecies in the Bible contained in 8,352 of the Bible’s verses. There are 31,124 verses in the Bible, making prophecy approximately 27 percent of the Bible. Now, how often do we study prophecy in the Church? Hardly any, especially prophecies that haven't been fulfilled yet. Without study, and clear teaching and understanding of these prophecies from solid Bible teachers, pastors and elders in our churches, this opens the door for false teachings to take over. That's the problem, there are more false teachers teaching prophecy than solid Bible teachers, and this is where people are getting their spiritual meat. The solid teachers are just telling people to stay away from the subject, and not to worry about it. But the Bible says otherwise. The very fist passage, verse 3 of the Book of Revelation says "Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near." So why aren't our pastors reading and teaching it out loud? Why aren't we studying this in Sunday School classes? Why aren't students being taught these subjects in seminaries? Why don't more Christians care? Unfortunately, I think part of the problem people don't take it seriously is because they don't truly believe it, but also for many more, they just don't get it. Sadly, our teachers are robbing God's people of the blessed hope by ignoring it.

And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, - 2 Peter 1:19

Read more

Evangelicals: Fornicating with the Harlot

There is no doubt that the word "evangelical" doesn't mean the same thing it used to mean. The word is used to describe almost anyone who says the name "Jesus" these days. Mormons are referred to as Evangelicals, as are Jehova's Witnesses, and other unBiblical sects like the New Apostolic Reformation. There is even a growing movement within the Roman Catholic church today calling themselves evangelicals. But I believe this to be a deceitful tactic of Rome to continue in their centuries long war against the Word of God, and the Protestant Reformation.

Evangelicals used to be a small minority. They were the ones who preached the Word of God from the Bible, and took that truth to all the nations, standing against the enemies of the Gospel. Now that the word "evangelical" encompasses a multitude of religious sects and cults, evangelicals can be considered the majority among the visible church. When I say "visible church," I'm not referring to born again believers, who proclaim their salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. I'm referring to anyone who claims to be Christian, including Roman Catholics. Sadly, the true Evangelical church are embracing many of these others as brothers in Christ. I'm beginning to believe that they are no longer doing this inadvertently, and that they know exactly what they are doing. I believe they are holding hands with the Beast of Revelation, and that they are helping to build the Harlot Church as described in Revelation 17.

Described in Revelation 17 is a great harlot, who makes war with the lamb (Rev 17:15). Lets break down this chapter and see if we can identify who this whore is.

• She sits on many waters—that is, many multitudes of peoples, nations and tongues. She has power and influence over these people (Rev 17:1,150.
• She fornicates with the kings and leaders of the nations of the world (Rev 17:2). This figuratively means that this woman "cheats" on the true God, and worships false Gods, not necessarily literal sexual fornication.
• She sits upon a scarlet-colored beast (Rev 17:3). This is representative of the blood of the saints (Rev 17:6). She sits on top of this, and prides herself over it.
• Full of names of blasphemy (Rev 17:3). She has given herself a multitude of blasphemous titles. Titles that should belong to God, or that she is not worthy of holding. (e.g. His Holiness, and Vicar of Christ)
• Has seven heads and ten horns (Rev 17:3). This represents the ten individual kingdoms (European nations) of the empire in which she controls from atop the seven hills she sits upon. Rome, since ancient times, has been known as the "City of Seven Hills."
• She is adorned in purple and scarlet, gilded with gold and precious stones and pearls (Rev 17:4). What religious entity can you think of that decks itself out with these priceless things?
• She holds in her hand a golden cup, full of abominations of uncleanness and of her whoredom (Rev 17:4). She carries with her, and proclaims daily, in the name of Christ, these abominations and blasphemous rituals.
• Written upon her forehead was a name written: "Secret, Babylon the Great, the Mother of the Whores, and the Abominations of the earth" (Rev 17:5). In other words, all of the other whores, false churches and religious cults, and blasphemous entities are spawned by this mother-whore, and ultimately, they all answer to her.

What can we conclude from this? All roads lead to Rome, right? Well, unfortunately, many of our so-called evangelicals are assimilating with this image. Rome has been the ancient enemy of the Gospel, since it's inception. It started with Pagan Rome, to what we have now, "Christian" Rome. But I argue that it's still Pagan Rome, only disguised as Christian. For Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light, right? (2 Cor 11:14). Rome has been working to discredit and counter the Protestant reformation for centuries. But many evangelicals either don't understand this and are deceived themselves, or they are actively working with the mother whore to deceive people. There are quite a few on both sides of this aisle, but they are both flirting with this whore. 

The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the world, and once the strongest and soundest to Biblical doctrine, has now become apostate. The sad state of the SBC is appalling to many, yet those who are in charge are lending a deaf ear. We have the president of the SBC, Dr. Ronnie Floyd, leading us into a New Age way of thinking about the future of the church, and promoting New Age materials on his blog while preaching false doctrine from his pulpit.  We have the president of the SBC's Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission as well as well known "pastor" of Saddleback Social Club, Rick Warren, watering down the Gospel and fellowshipping with Catholics at the Vatican. Russell Moore parading down the street with unbelievers, pretending they are brothers and sisters in Christ, giving them a false sense of hope, all for political and social gain. Russell Moore even thinks it's okay for Christians to celebrate homosexuality at the reception of a gay wedding, as long as we don't attend the gay wedding itself. Lifeway Bookstores, the publishing branch of the Southern Baptist Convention, is peddling more heresy now than almost any other bookstore, secular or Christian in nature, all for monetary gain.

Other so-called mega-church pastors, like Joel Osteen, are now the face of the Evangelical church. Joel Osteen has been preaching damnable heresies for years, never once calling his millions of fans to repentance, which is required for salvation. The 700-club with Pat Robertson and Cindy Jacobs promotes the false teachings and lies of the New Apostolic Reformation. Steven Furtick of Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC has spent multi-millions upon millions of dollars to build state of the art social clubs all around the area, leading hundreds of thousands, if not millions, into apostasy. Heretic James Robison, (who hosts SBC's vision-from-God-receiving and ecumenical Beth Moore's weekly program), claims he was "so moved by the Gospel message of the pope, that he asked the translator for a high five."

What does this say to these people? It says, "don't worry, the sin you're caught up in is okay, God loves you anyways, you don't need to turn away from it.... we're brothers and sisters in Christ anyways." There is no clear biblical truth being taught in our churches anymore, as once was the stronghold of the Evangelical Church. We used to stand on this Biblical truth, and proclaim it without shame. When our leadership is too weak to call false religions to repentance, and decide to stand with them instead, they are by default working to build the harlot church. They are working to fill the golden cup of abominations. They are serving their idols and worshiping their gods. God tells us in Revelations 18:4-5 "Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities." If we are participating in these activities with false churches, we are partaking in their sins. 

We are called to stand apart from this sin, calling sinners to repentance, not indulge in it. Why don't these mainstream "evangelical" figures understand this? I think they do. I think they are knowingly, and purposely working against the Gospel. If you believe and fear the Word of God, you must be obedient to it. But they are not. They openly reject the commands of God, giving him the finger, and saying "I'll do this my way." Sadly, man's way leads to Hell (Prov. 14:12). Russell Moore must know this. Joel Osteen must know this. Beth Moore, James Robison, Cindy Jacobs, and all of these other false teachers out in Evangeland... they MUST know this, yet they continue to flip God off, never facing their criticism. They one one hand speak truth, perhaps occasionally preaching sound doctrine, and then on the other hand mix in error, teaching lies, and living in ungodly ways, which is the tactic of Satan to lead people astray. I hate to say it, but these are the people that are working in the spirit of Antichrist, fornicating with the mother of harlots, and building the one world religion of the Beast. They need to be tested

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." - 1 John 4:1-6

Read more