Author: Pilgrim

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Goodbye Westminster, hello Behemoth.

behemoth

Earlier this month my wife stumbled upon something shocking. While perusing Westminster Bookstore (one of our favorite online book sellers) she asked me, “Did you know that Westminster Bookstore is selling Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Church?” I thought to myself there must be some mistake. So I walked from the kitchen over to the computer where she was at because I had to see it with my own eyes. I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t see it: the reformed online book seller Westminster was indeed selling Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Church.

My wife and I both sent Westminster an e-mail (separately) in regards to this matter on November 3rd. It’s been three weeks and neither of us have received a reply. So it is with great sadness that I am removing them from DefCon’s Online Bookstores category as I can no longer endorse them.

However, I still can continue to endorse such trusted book sellers as Family Faith Books, Monergism Books, Vision Forum, and North Hampton Press. And now I am excited to introduce a new kid on the block: Behemoth.com.

Behemoth.com is run by Vision Forum (both very pro-family and pro-home school) and is definitely worth checking out. They offer a wide variety of materials and a daily free download.



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Quotes (429)

firm-foundations-creation-to-christ The majority of Christian teaching emphasizes individual doctrines of the Bible rather than presenting the Bible as one complete, interdependent revelation of God. Heresies, misrepresentation, and overemphasis of certain Scriptures, and denominationalism can, in most cases, be traced to this lack of chronological and panoramic Bible teaching.

– Trevor Mcllwain

From: Firm Foundations: Creation to Christ

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Militant homosexuals bring the persecution.

fire-church I’ve decided to create a new category on DefCon entitled Christian Persecution. I foresee this phenomenon only increasing in the years to come in the West (it’s nothing new elsewhere in the world) and feel there’s no better time than now to begin chronicling it.

So for our first entry in this new category I present to you the militant homosexuals who are turning up the heat.

In this article the Lasing State Journal reports that homosexual rights protesters disrupted a church service at Mount Hope Church in the Delta Township. Law enforcement responded but no arrests were made. The protest included the pulling of a fire alarm and the display of an inverted pink cross. The Catholic.org website reporting on this same incident describes in this article how the protesters used megaphones to chant “Jesus is a homo.”

OneNewsNow.com reports in this article that homosexual activists are becoming increasingly confrontational and aggressive.

WorldNetDaily.com is also reporting on this new wave of homosexual intolerance as a mob of activists swarm Christians (see the article and video here).

And apparently now E-Harmony (the online dating service) is being required by law to provide their service for same sex dating (check it out here).

And finally, Crosstalk America did a show on this very topic which you can download on their website here.

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Quotes (428)

Let’s play “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” For $500,000: Which of these churches was a growing church in the book of Revelation; the church at Laodicea (Rev 3:14-22), which saw itself as rich and wealthy and in need of nothing or the church at Smyrna (Rev. 2:8-11), which was described as poor, in tribulation, and facing great persecution? Need a lifeline you say? Here you go: God said of the Laodicean church that he would spit them out of his mouth, but of the Smyrna church that they would receive the crown of life.

– Gary Gilley

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An appalling, sickening, and utterly evil idea springs forth from the wicked and depraved mind of one pro-abortionist.

fetal-bites-cookie-cutter And the downward spiral of sin continues as the pro-abortionists and supporters of the murder of children revel in their abominable wicked acts.

In celebration of Roe v. Wade, a supporter of fetal-terrorism named “Big Pig” created this atrocity called the fetal bites cookie cutter.

You can read more about this here at WordNetDaily.com. I think Ingrid Schlueter summed this up best when she said, “Do you get the sense that God’s cup of wrath is just about full?“

fetal-bites-cookie-cutter1

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Romans 1:28-31


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Quotes (427)

How can a man be “in the right” before God? This is the dilemma that has tormented men down through history. It caused Martin Luther to crawl on his knees up the steps of the so-called Scala Sancta in Rome, and induced monks to wear hair shirts embedded with fishhooks in an attempt to pay for their sins. To this day, it causes natives of the South Sea Islands to sacrifice chickens and sprinkle their blood to the gods. In more “civilized” countries, many settle for “going to church” or some other form of “good deeds” to placate their guilty consciences. And everywhere men try to “justify” themselves by rationalizing or excusing their evil actions. How can a man be right with God? There is only one answer: A man can be right with God only through the life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ on his behalf.

– Charles Leiter

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How long before America becomes like Australia?

liberal-compassionAccording to Beyond Blue Stockings, Australia passed a bill last month that allows abortion at any stage of pregnancy and for any reason. With America’s recent election of pro-aborion candidate Barack Hussein Obama to the office of presidency, I wonder how long it will be before we follow suit.

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Quotes (426)

Because the preaching of the Gospel is so low, the church is basically—the majority of it—are carnal lost people. And because it is a democracy, they, by and large, govern the direction of the church. And because the pastor doesn’t want to lose the great number of people and because he has wrong ideas regarding evangelism and true conversion, he caters to the wicked in his church and his little group of true sheep that belong to Jesus Christ are sitting there in the midst of all the theater, in the midst of all the worldliness, in the midst of all the multi-media going, “We just want to worship Jesus and we just want someone to teach us the Bible,” and pastors are going to pay for that. . . . Trying to keep together a bunch of wicked people while a little flock in the midst of them are starving to death and are made to go in directions they don’t want to go with the carnal majority.

– Paul Washer

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Sermon of the week: “Contending for the Faith” by Voddie Baucham.

Your sermon of the week is Contending for the Faith by Voddie Baucham. This is a must-hear sermon and has become one of my all time favorites. Dr. Baucham spells out very succinctly why every Christian has a duty to contend for the faith. He does this in a very powerful and inspiring way. This message could be considered the official sermon of DefCon.

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What did C.S. Lewis really believe?

cslewis Every time I turn around I discover some respected Christian preacher, teacher, pastor, scholar, etc. is affirming some doctrinal error or flat out heresy (and/or rubbing elbows with known heretics). And now I’ve come across this shocking examination of C.S. Lewis’ creed on Christian Research Network.

It asks the question whether or not C.S. Lewis is in Heaven. After reading this article which reviews some of Lewis’ beliefs (and teachings), I not only realized that it is a legitimate question to ask, but one whose answer is not as simple as you might think.

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Thank you: An open letter to faithful pastors.

standing-alone DefCon deals with defending the Christian faith from a virtual cornucopia of heresy, damnable lies, false teaching, cults, and the lukewarm status quo which is running rampant throughout most American churches. But I wanted to take a moment to not only recognize those pastors out there who have refused to compromise, but I wanted to also encourage them to continue to remain faithful.

So in the same spirit as Ingrid Schuleter’s Wanted: An Old Fashioned Church, I’ve decided to post my own open letter. I’d like to address mine to all the faithful pastors out there; these pastors know who they are.

Dear faithful pastors:

While every other church in your town has gone “purpose-driven,” you refuse to allow this poison to infect your congregation; blocking it at the door. Thank you.

When the goats and wolves among the flock urge you to change what you’re doing or they’ll leave, you refuse; remaining steadfast to the truth and preaching the whole counsel of God. Thank you.

When the wolves secreted among the sheep try everything they can to get you to capitulate and compromise in this or that matter, you stand firm to protect your flock and drive out the wolves from among them. Thank you.

When the goats among the sheep defend the wolves you’re resisting and demand you compromise to accommodate the wolves, you continue to stand firm. Thank you.

When every other pastor in your town has refused to teach sound Biblical doctrine in favor of tickling ears with myths, fables, and upbeat, positive self-help messages, you remain true to preaching the whole counsel of God, including the not-so-seeker-friendly parts. Thank you.

When the other pastors are too busy courting friendship with the world (i.e. being enemies of God) in order to be seen as “hip” and “relevant,” you have resisted and stood firm on the matter of holiness. Thank you.

When many of the other churches in your area are offering “sermons” on the Beatles, Elvis, sex, Hollywood movies, and every other lust of the eye, lust of the flesh, and pride of life, you continue to faithfully, systematically, and fearfully teach the words of life from the holy Scriptures. Thank you.

When other pastors are spending their time immersed in the culture, setting wickedness before their eyes by spending countless hours rotting on the couch in front of their televisions and sitting in darkened theaters, you spend countless hours in prayer and studying the Word of God to not only show yourself an approved workman of God, but a faithful shepherd of your flock. Thank you.

When it seems that no one in your local assembly wants to sacrifice but they all want to reap rewards, you don’t let it discourage you; you keep on fighting the good fight. Thank you.

In spite of pressure to compromise Biblical truths for the sake of “unity” and “tolerance,” you stay the course, preaching the exclusivity of Christ and Him crucified. Thank you.

You endure those middle-of-the-night phone calls. You give so much of yourself in endless counseling sessions to those who refuse to simply open the Bible and follow its directions. You make great sacrifices in ways that no one will ever know and almost all of which go completely unnoticed. Thank you.

No matter how much the world pulls at you to compromise, you know that you will stand before God one day and give an account and that you have many people counting on you to persevere till the end. Thank you.

On behalf of those who sit under your preaching week after week, we stand up and applaud, thanking God for your faithfulness as shepherds of His Church, tirelessly counseling, teaching, preaching, and protecting the flock that He’s entrusted you with in the face of a world (and church) full of relentless opposition.

Thank you for your faithfulness to Jesus Christ, to His gospel, to His Church, and to His truth. You are few. You are a minority. Many times you feel as if you stand alone, but know that you are never alone and great will be your reward in Heaven.

Stay the course and never compromise!

Sincerely,

– The Pilgrim

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Please see: A Sobering Call to Pastors, Preachers, and Teachers



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Quotes (424)

The person who loves you most will tell you the most truth. One of the greatest distinguishing marks of a false prophet is that he will always tell you what you want to hear, he will never rain on your parade, he will get you clapping, he will get you jumping, he will make you dizzy, he will keep you entertained, and he will present a Christianity to you that will make your church look like a Six Flags over Jesus. And keep you so entertained you are never addressed with great issues such as these:

Is God working in my life?

Am I growing in holiness?

Have I truly been born again?


– Paul Washer

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Here we go again.

Last February I reported on the 30-day sex challenge that came from a “church” aptly named Relevant Church (imagine that).

Sadly this same gimmick is being regurgitated by Ed Young but now it’s only a 7-day sex challenge. You may remember Ed Young from his other ridiculous attempt at courting the mistress of relevance in this previous post.

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Sermon of the week: “Bears, Boys, and Baldheads” by Chuck Betters.

Your sermon of the week is Bears, Boys, and Baldheads by Chuck Betters. This sermon is broken into four segments each only 21 minutes in duration. All four parts are available today for you to listen to streaming or to download to your computer, MP3 player or CD.

But be forewarned, Pastor Betters pulls no punches in this series and will definitely step on some toes, especially in regards to parenting.

Bears, Boys, and Baldheads Part One (21:04)

Bears, Boys, and Baldheads Part Two (21:17)

Bears, Boys and Baldheads Part Three (21:08)

Bears, Boys, and Baldheads Part Four (21:18)