I wasn’t going to post another Rob Bell article, but this one is exceptional. Short and to the point – give it a watch and listen closely. No endorsement of the group that made the video or their associations. 
I found it here: http://apprising.org/2011/04/04/rob-bell-robbed-hell/
That’s a fantastic question from a fantastic article recently posted by Worldview Weekend entitled:
Rick Warren’s Infiltration of the Reformed Faith
This is a must-read for everyone who’s concerned with what’s been happening lately in Reformed circles.
Here’s a quote from the article to whet your whistle:
“Rick Warren desires credibility and influence more than anything else, and he has been able to accomplish both over much of the religious landscape in America over the last decade. Some important holdouts have been the celebrity pastors of the Reformed book/conference circuit who were in stated opposition to him for his handling of Scripture and his man-centered, false gospel. All of that is changing quickly. What Rick Warren needed was to win over a leader whose status was great enough among Reformed evangelicals who could deliver the holdouts into his arms. He found such a man in John Piper. . . . Warren’s photo ops with Reformed leaders do nothing for the truth, and they do everything for Rick Warren’s relentless campaign for credibility and influence among those who should know better.”
Read the entire article from Worldview Weekend here.
A few years ago those who observed that John Piper was heading down a bad road when he began validating Mark Driscoll were all but crucified by those who thought the ones raising the concern were jumping to conclusions.
But then the next shoe dropped: Piper invited Rick Warren to speak at last year’s Desiring God conference (and I noticed there were a lot less voices being raised from the defend-Piper-at-all-costs crowd). Rick Warren was unable to make it to that conference but this year Piper is traveling to Warren’s church.
This link contains the video (and other information) for John Piper’s upcoming Desiring God regional conference on “Meditations of a Christian Hedonist” being held at Rick Warren’s Saddleback church.
It appears that the slippery slope some of us were talking about over the past few years is rapidly turning into a cliff.
Will Piper surprise us and preach a non-compromising sermon on Christ and Him crucified to those who’ve been nursing on Warren’s messages for years (we can only hope and pray), or will things only get worse as the years go by and perhaps next year we’ll see an endorsement of Thomas S. Monson? I guess time will only tell.
Nasty, snarky, condescending, and vitriolic comments will not be approved.
Apostate false preachers unite behind Rob Bell! Carlton Pearson to the “rescue”, quoting Wayne Dyer and denying the Bible as the Word of God – he claims it’s the “inspired word of man about God.” He sounds just like Rob Bell and enthusiastically agrees with him in the video below.
Thin ice, a tender strand of a spider’s web – is all that withholds these people from the wrath of God. Their feet shall slip in due time.
From http://apprising.org/2011/03/16/universalist-carlton-pearson-defends-rob-bell/
By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Mar 16, 2011 in Current Issues, Emergence Christianity, Emergent Church, Features, Rob Bell, Youth Ministry
I told you in Apprising Ministries: Rob Bell Resources that online apologetics and discernment ministries have been warning you about the warped and toxic teachings of the Emerging Church rock star pastor Rob Bell for years now.
I know I’ve been trying to tell you that Bell himself is under the spell of a ne0-Gnostic corruption called Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM), which is now pandemic within mainstream evangelicalism through its foolish embrace of the sinfully ecumenical neo-liberal cult of the Emergent Church aka the Emerging Church with its quasi-universalism in a new version of postmodern Progressive Christian theology under their spiritual circus “big tent” of empty Emergence Christianity.
And this is the point being missed: Rob Bell’s gospel is essentially the same as the newer postmodern form of progressive/liberal Christianity—Liberalism 2.0—that McLaren began laying out systematically in his last book A New Kind of Christianity (ANKoC). You need to remember that liberal theology, aka modern theology, was the doomed attempt to come up with a verison of Christianity compatable with the modern culture of its day; and with the EC, what we’re dealing with is the same ill-fated idea; only this time to a postmodern culture.
As you can see e.g. in Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Panel Discussion On Brian McLaren Dr. Al Mohler and some of his professors recently held a round table discussion on ANKoC; and Dr. Mohler himself said, “If you actually read the Bible, you are going to end up having to say that this is a dishonest attempt to make the Bible say what is does not say.”
The same thing can now be said about Bell’s mythology concerning heaven and hell in his new book. Currently in the midst of his book tour Rob Bell takes us deep into the postmodern Wonderland of Humpty Dumpty Language where words take on whatever meaning an individual wishes them to have; for example, Bell says he’s not a universalist all the while teaching a form of Christian Universalism in that book.
Even people normally supportive of Rob Bell are starting to notice; today we see a case in point from Ben Witherington in Rob Bell on the Hot Seat, where he says of Bell’s appearance on MSNBC:
What I find troubling about this video, and with the interview Tuesday night in New York that is also making the rounds on YouTube is that Rob is evasive in both cases. This is not the same approach he has taken in the past on a variety of complex issues, and it is troubling indeed. Whatever else one can say about generous orthodoxy, it should not include suggesting that polar opposite views about God are equally orthodox, nor that contradictory views on key Scriptures are equally plausible or possible. (Online source)
It’s now really beginning to appear that Rob Bell has made a real tactical blunder because in Brian McLaren Speaks As A Universalist I showed you that at the corrupt heart of this Liberalism 2.0 is the doctrine of universalism; and the popularity of men like McLaren and Bell within mainline progressive churches is perfectly understandable because — they speak from the world, and the world listens to them (1 John 4:5).
Here’s the crux of the matter, both Brian McLaren and Rob Bell claim to be evangelical all the while espousing a newer postmodern hybrid form of progressive Christian theology that’s completely at odds with evangelicalism, and which is still being cobbled together by such characters as uber-liberal theologian Harvey Cox and his friend panentheist/process theologian Philip Clayton.
However, Dr. Michael Horton is very helpful here as he correctly teaches us that:
The term [evangelical] itself derives from the Greek word euangelion, translated “Gospel,” and it became a noun when the Protestant reformers began their work of bringing the “one holy, catholic and apostolic church” back to that message by which and for which it was created. People still used other labels, too, like “Lutheran,” “Reformed,” and later, “Puritans,” “Pietists,” and “Wesleyans.”
Nevertheless, the belief was that the same Gospel that had united the “evangelicals” against Rome’s errors could also unite them against the creeping naturalism and secularism of the Enlightenment in the eighteenth century. The so-called “Evangelical Awakening” in Britain coincided with America’s own “Great Awakening,” as Wesley, Whitefield, Edwards, Tennant, and so many others centered their preaching on the atonement. (Online source)
Sadly, neither Rob Bell nor Brian McLaren can even see the evangelical neighborhood from where they’ve currently drifted; and in my opinion frankly, I don’t think they even want to see it. With this all in mind, it does speak loudly against the mystical musings of Rob Bell when Word Faith universalist Carlton Pearson decides to come to his defense below with an all-out attack on Holy Scripture, which is the only way one could ever defend Rob Bell’s mythology.
But I have some sobering news for you. Absolutely nothing; I repeat, absolutely nothing on this earth could ever even begin to compare with hell and the wrath of the LORD God Almighty:
For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.
How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?
For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
(Hebrews 10:26-31)
I strongly suggest that you make some time to seriously meditate upon that; before it’s too late…
The NAE has long been a friend of the World Council of Churches and false prophets. Ted Haggard did them no favors as president. And now – proving that the doctrine of Total Depravity does NOT mean that people are as bad as they can be, the NAE collectively displays this doctrine of man’s innate sinfulness as they run away from the narrow Truth of the Word of God they purport to serve. May God have mercy on those deceived by this bunch.
From: http://apprising.org
By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Mar 10, 2011 in AM Missives, Current Issues, Features, Islam, Mormonism
The online apologetics and discernment work Apprising Ministries has been documenting the growing falling away of the mainstream evangelical community.
I’ve also warned you that there is a tsunami of apostasy—pushed along by 1 Peter 4:17 judgments—headed toward the church visible. Not a few of these judgments have come through evanjellyfish’s foolish embrace of the sinfully ecumenical Emergent Church aka the Emerging Church headed by the unholy trinity of apostates, Living Spiritual Teacher and EC guru Brian McLaren, universalist EC pastor Doug Pagitt, and his friend Tony Jones, the progressive “theologian in residence” at Solomon’s Porch.
Here’s a quick synopsis of how we came to live in this age, which has critically obscured our reverent fear of the LORD God Almighty. Satan finally succeeded in raising up his next generation of what Dr. Walter Martin, who was widely recognized as the “father of modern cult apologetics,” had called the Cult of Liberal Theology. And in an onslaught against the Body of Christ beginning just after the first World War the Devil started playing the heartstrings of mankind’s selfish sinful nature like a master violinist. A veritable symphony of insipid indifference and tepid tolerance, which continues to serve the purpose of amusing the enemy of men’s souls to this very day.
A perfect example is the EC’s new version of postmodern Progressive Christian theology—a Liberalism 2.0—under their spiritual circus “big tent” of empty Emergence Christianity; now one of its biggest proponents, Emerging Church rock star pastor Rob Bell, is all but Out Of The Closet For Universalism and set to unload what appears to be a form of heretical Christian Universalism right within the heart of the visible church. Spiritually spineless evanjellyfish is actually defenseless against this because for years now it’s been using the warped and toxic teachings of such as these in their own Young Adult and Youth ministries, which has collapsed the pillar of sola Scriptura in its own younger sectors.
Syncretism is the order of the day as evidenced by what seems to be a Chrislamic movement. Take for example the latest book by theologian Miroslav Volf who puts forth the highly subjective postmodern mythology “that Christians and Muslims, notwithstanding their important and ineradible differences, have a common and similarly understood God.”[1] With this in mind let me remind you that Phyllis Tickle, easily the Empress of this Emergence apostasy, has mused that Mormonism Is Arguably The Fourth Great Abrahamic Faith; and she’s not alone. As you can see in SBC’s Richard Land Says Mormonism Fourth Abrahamic Faith Land, who’s President of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission for the Slowly Becoming Catholic, dreams that:
perhaps the most charitable way for an evangelical Christian to look at Mormonism is to look at Mormonism as the fourth Abrahamic faith. (Online source)
Only in the postmodern Wonderland of Humpty Dumpty language could this be so; from having studied Comparative Religion and non-Christian cults for 23+ years now, I can assure you that Islam and Mormonism are not Abrahamic faiths. As you’ll read in <a title="Permanent Link to KEEPING YOU APPRISED OF: ISLAM” href=”http://apprising.org/2005/09/05/keeping-you-apprised-of-islam/” rel=”bookmark” target=”_blank”>Keeping You Apprised Of: Islam, the god of the Quran is not the God of the Bible; and Mormonism teaches polytheism (many gods), which is in complete conflict with the monotheism (one God) of the Bible. Which now brings me to Press Release: Evangelical Leaders Meet in Utah from the National Association of Evangelicals where we’re told:
The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) Board of Directors, which includes the CEOs of 40 denominations and representatives of a broad array of evangelical organizations and churches, will gather in Park City and Salt Lake City on March 10, 2011 for its semiannual board meeting.
This meeting is the first to be held in Utah, where the majority of its residents are Mormons. In addition to board business, the NAE leaders will meet with Utah Gov. Gary Herbert at the Governor’s Mansion to discuss various issues of concern to evangelicals. The board will also meet with a leader from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS).
“We hope this time of dialogue with LDS leaders will deepen our understanding of the Mormon faith and contribute to the ongoing work of evangelicals in Utah,” said Leith Anderson, NAE President. “For the sake of Christ and his kingdom, we seek to represent biblical evangelicalism to those who wouldn’t hear or know. We also look for common ground on issues where we can work together.” (Online source)
Yes, that sounds very pious; but I find myself wondering, whatever happened to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ—God the Son; co-eternal with God the Father? After-all, Anderson et al have the example of the Apostle Paul in Holy Scripture; permit me to show you:
And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” (Acts 18:4-6)
Notice carefully that God the Holy Spirit doesn’t say anything about the Apostle Paul looking for common ground on issues where they could work together. Instead, God tells the Christian that we shouldn’t be aligned with unbelieving pagan idolators, which is precisely what the Bible teaches they are:
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corintians 6:14-18)
Years ago Dr. John MacArthur was among those who rightly opposed the Evangelicals & Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium document, another example of evangelicals compromising of the Gospel; this begs the question: How can we share the Christian mission with people committed to the false gospel of apostate Roman Catholicism? What MacArthur says below also applies to these foolish Chrislam proponents and to those seeking common ground with the non-Christian cult of Mormonism:
[I]f they are already anti-abortion, and pornography, and homosexuality; they are going to use all of their energies within the framework of their system to go after that. We are committed to that, and we are going after that. There is already a collective movement.
Once you then sort of try to define that as “common spiritual mission” built on “common spiritual unity” you just take doctrine and throw it out the window, and perception is violated, particularly because the Catholic Church claims to be true Christianity, and when we reverse 450 years of history, and just throw our arms around the Roman system, which I think we have to say,…in all honesty, is not a group of wayward brothers but is an apostate form of Christianity.
It is a false religion, it is another religion. When you throw your arms around that you literally have to undo any doctrinal distinction. (Online source)
________________________________________________________________________________
End notes:
[1] Miroslav Volf, Allah: A Christian Response [New York: HarperOne, 2011] , 262.
[2] Phyllis Tickle, The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why [Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2008], 127.
Will you call Him “Lord” now–or when it’s too late?
2nd Corinthians 1:1-3—Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.
2nd Corinthians 1:13-14—For we are not writing any other things to you than what you read or understand. Now I trust you will understand, even to the end (as also you have understood us in part), that we are your boast as you also are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus.
2nd Corinthians 2:12-13—Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia.
2nd Corinthians 3:16-18—Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
“Will you let Jesus take the heroic right out of you? Will you let Him make you see yourself as He sees you until for one moment you stand before the Cross and say, ‘Nothing in my hands I bring”? How many of us are there to-day? Talk about getting people to hear that, they won’t have it! Jesus says they won’t. No crowd on earth will ever listen to that, and if under some pretence you get them and preach the Cross of Christ they will turn with a snubbing offence from the whole thing as they did in our Lord’s day (John vi. 60, 66).
The abominable ‘show business’ is creeping into the very ranks of the saved and sanctified–‘We must get the crowds.’ We must not! We must keep true to the Cross! Let folks come and go as they will, let movements come and go, let ourselves be swept along or not, the one main thing is–true to the yoke of Christ, His Cross.”
Oswald Chambers
1874-1917
Rob Bell is “pastor” of Mars Hill “Bible church” in Grand Rapids, MI. He is coy, congenial, and evil in his deceptive lies about the word of God and the Lord Jesus. His “Nooma” videos were the rage in many churches for a while. He has written several 
books, leading shallow thinking or non-thinking people astray from Truth. Now he is out of the closet as one who believes – as does the cult of Rome – that most folk go to Heaven, because Rob and the pope cannot imagine a God Who is Holy and just; nor do they believe that man is depraved and of no profit to his soul. May God have mercy on any who listen to this snake.
From Apprising.org:
By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Feb 25, 2011 in AM Missives, Current Issues, Emergence Christianity, Emergent Church, Features, Rob Bell, Youth Ministry
Since squishy evanjellyfish has now followed the mortally wounded mainline denominations out of the closet with its man-love of heart murmur spirituality at the expense the God-centered spirituality of sola Scriptura, Apprising Ministries has been giving you peeks at its bleak future of division and compromise of God’s Word.
Thanks to its embracing the sinfully ecumenical neo-liberal cult of the Emergent Church aka the Emerging Church—with its its “big tent” Progressive Christianity aka Emergence Christianity—and by using warped and toxic teachings of EC leaders like Emerging Church rock star pastor Rob Bell, evangelical churches poisoned its own young.
As a result we are seeing within mainstream evangelicalism a reimagined version of just about every piece of antibiblical theology i.e. doctrines of demons that seducing spirits have ever attempted to bring with them as they slither into the Christian Church. One that is being openly promoted now is so-called Christian Universalism.
Lord willing I’ll have more on this later; but for now, I’ve told you for years now that Rob Bell embraces a form of universalism. For the person willing to be objective, the video promo below for his new book dispells any doubt that Bell is teaching this heresy:
<iframe src=”http://player.vimeo.com/video/20272585?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=66cc85″ width=”400″ height=”225″ frameborder=”0″></iframe><p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/20272585″>LOVE WINS.</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/realrobbell”>Rob Bell</a> on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.
Rob Bell addresses one of the most controversial issues of faith—the afterlife—arguing, would a loving God send people to eternal torment forever…? With searing insight, Bell puts hell on trial, and his message is decidedly hopeful—eternal life doesn’t start when we die; it starts right now. And ultimately, Love Wins. (Online source)
LOVE WINS. from Rob Bell on Vimeo.
See also:
BRIAN MCLAREN SPEAKS AS A UNIVERSALIST
STUDIES ON SAVING FAITH – A. W. Pink
Part IV
DIALOGUE 1
Mr. Carnal Confidence
Mr. Carnal Confidence: “Good morning, Mr. Editor, I wish to have a talk with you about those 
articles on ‘Assurance’ which you published in last year’s Studies.” The Writer: “Be seated, please. First of all, may we courteously but frankly inform you that our time is already fully occupied in seeking to minister unto God’s dear children, yet we are never too busy to do all in our power to help a needy soul.” Carnal Confidence: “O, I am not seeking help; my purpose in calling is to point out some things in your articles where I am quite sure you erred.” The Writer: “It is written, dear friend, ‘If any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know’ (1 Cor. 8:2), therefore I trust that God will ever give me grace to willingly consider and weigh the views of others, and receive through them anything He may have for me. Yet, on the other hand, I am not prepared to debate with any man upon Divine things.”
Mr. Carnal Confidence: “Well, I am quite sure that I am right, and you are wrong, and I feel it my duty to tell you so.” The Writer: “Very good, I am ready to listen unto what you have to say, only reminding you again that I cannot enter into a debate with you, for the things of God are too holy to argue about; though a friendly discussion, in the right spirit, may prove mutually helpful. Before beginning, shall we seek the help of the Holy Spirit, that He may graciously subdue the flesh in each of us, guide our conversation so that the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts may be ‘acceptable’ in God’s sight (Ps. 19:14); remembering that for every idle word each of us will yet have to give an account.”
Mr. Carnal Confidence: “I consider that in your articles you have made a very difficult and complicated matter out of what is really very simple. According to your ideas a person has to go to a lot of trouble in order to discover whether or not he is saved, whereas if a man believes God’s Word he may be sure in a moment.” The Writer: “But are all those who believe God’s Word really saved? Did not the Jews of Christ’s day believe implicitly in the Divine authorship of the O. T.? Do not Russelites (“Jehovah’s Witnesses” – Ed.) and others today insist loudly upon their faith in the Divine inspiration of the Bible? Does not the Devil himself believe the same?” Mr. Carnal Confidence: “That is not what I meant; my meaning is that, if I rest upon some verse of Holy writ as God’s promise to me, then I know He cannot disappoint me.” The Writer: “That is just the same in principle: does not the Romanist rest with full confidence upon that declaration of Christ’s ‘this is my body’? Saving faith is not faith in the authenticity of any verse of Scripture, but rather faith in the Person of Him who gave us the Scriptures, faith in the Christ who is made known in the Scriptures.”
Mr. Carnal Confidence: “Yes, I know that, and I do believe in God and in His Son, and I know that I am saved because He says so.” The Writer: “Where in Scripture does God say that you are saved?” Mr. Carnal Confidence: “In John 5:24, in Acts 16:31, and many other places.” The Writer: “Let us turn to these passages, please. In John 5:24 the Lord Jesus describes one who has ‘passed from death unto life.’ He tells us two things about that individual, which serve to identify him. First, ‘he that heareth my word.’ That is definite enough. But of course it means far more than simply listening to His Word with the outward ear.” Mr. Carnal Confidence: “Ah, right there you want to mystify what is simple, and perplex souls with what is quite clear.” The Writer: “Pardon me, you are mistaken. I only wish to rightly understand the words God has used, and to do this it is necessary to carefully compare Scripture with Scripture and discover how each word is used by the Spirit.” Mr. Carnal Confidence: “I object; that may be all right for you, but common people do not have the leisure for deep study: God knew this, and has written His word in plain language that ordinary folk can understand: ‘Hear’ means ‘hear,’ and that is all there is to it.”
The Writer: “I believe you are quite sincere in what you have said, and you have expressed the view which a great many hold today; but, if you will allow me to say so, it is a very defective one. God places no premium upon laziness. God has so ordered things that nothing is obtained without diligence and industry. Much work and care has to be devoted to a garden if anything is obtained from it. The same holds good every where else: what time and trouble is required to keep our bodies in working order! Can, then, the eternal concerns of our souls be more lightly dismissed, or more easily secured? Has not God bidden us ‘Buy the truth’ (Prov. 23:23)? Has He not plainly told us ‘If thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then thou shalt understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God’ (Prov. 2:3-5)?”
The Writer: “Mark how the Israelites were fed of old in the wilderness: Exodus 16. God did not provide them with baken loaves of bread ready to eat. No, instead, He gave the manna from heaven, which was ‘a small round thing’ (v. 14). Work and patience were called for in order to ‘gather’ (v. 17) it. Note too ‘when the sun waxed hot, it melted’(v. 21), so that they had to get up early to secure it! Moreover, the manna would not keep: ‘let no man leave of it till the morning’: it ‘bred worms and stank’ (vv. 19, 20) if they tried to preserve it for another day. Then, after it had been gathered, the manna had to be ‘ground in mills or beaten in a mortar’ and baked in pans and made into cakes (Num. 11:8). All of this typified the fact that if a soul is to eat the Bread of life, he must devote himself in earnest, and, as Christ says, ‘Labour . . . for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life’” (John 6:27).
The Writer: “Thus it is in connection with the obtaining of a right understanding of any verse of Scripture: pains have to be taken with it, patience has to be exercised, and prayerful study engaged in. Returning to John 5:24: the one who has passed from death unto life, says Christ, is ‘he that heareth My word.’ Let us turn then to other passages where this term is found: ‘they are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words’ (Jer. 11:10); ‘because ye have not heard my words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ etc. (Jer. 25:8, 9); and see 35:17; Zechariah 1:4; Matthew 7:24; John 10:27. In all of these verses, and in many others which might be given, to ‘hear’ means to heed what God says, to act upon it, to obey Him. So he who ‘hears’ the voice of Christ heeds His command to turn away from all that is opposed to God and become in subjection to Him.”
Mr. Carnal Confidence: “Well, let us turn to Acts 16:31, that is simple enough. There is no room allowed there for any quibbling. God says ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved’: God says that to me; I have believed on Christ, and so I must be saved.” Writer: “Not so fast, dear friend. How can you prove God says that to you?
Those words were spoken under unusual circumstances, and to a particular individual. That individual had been brought to the end of himself; he was deeply convicted of his sins; he was in terrible anguish of soul; he had taken his place in the dust, for we are told that he ‘came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas’ (Acts 16:29). Now is it fair to take the words of the apostles to such a man and apply them indiscriminately to anybody? Are we justified in ignoring the whole setting of that verse, wrenching it from its context, and giving it to those who have not any of the characteristics which marked the Philippian jailor?”
Mr. Carnal Confidence: “I refuse to allow you to browbeat me, and move me from the simplicity of the Gospel. John 3:16 says, ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ Now I have believed on the Son, and therefore am fully assured that I possess eternal life.” Writer: “Are you aware of the fact that in this same Gospel of John we are told ‘Many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them’ (John 2:23, 24)? There were many who ‘believed’ in Christ who were not saved by Him: see John 8:30 and note verse 59! John 12:42, 43! There is a believing in Christ which saves, and there is a believing in Him which does not save; and therefore it behooves every sincere and earnest soul to diligently examine his ‘faith’ by Scripture and ascertain which kind it is. There is too much at stake to take anything for granted. Where eternal destiny is involved surely no trouble can be too great for us to make sure.”
Mr. Carnal Confidence: “I am sure, and no man can make me doubt.” Writer: “Is your faith purifying your heart (Acts 15:9)? Is it evidenced by those works which God requires (James 2:17)? Is it causing you to overcome the world (1 John 5:4)?” Mr. Carnal Confidence: “O I don’t claim to be perfect, but I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” Writer: “We did not ask if you were perfect; but have you been made a new creature in Christ, have old things passed away, and all things become new (2 Cor. 5:17)? Are you treading the path of obedience? For God’s Word says, ‘He that saith I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him’ (1 John 2:4).”
Mr. Carnal Confidence: “I am not occupied with myself, but with Christ; I am not concerned about my walk, but with what He did for poor sinners.” Writer: “To be ‘occupied with Christ’ is rather a vague expression. Are you occupied with His authority, have you surrendered to His Lordship, have you taken His yoke upon you, are you following the example which He has left His people? Christ cannot be divided: He is not only Priest to be trusted, but is also Prophet to be heeded, and King to be subject unto. Before He can be truly ‘received,’ the heart must be emptied of all those idols which stand in competition with Him. It is not the adulation of our lips, but the affection of our souls, which He requires; it is not an intellectual assent, but the heart’s surrender to Him which saves.”
Mr. Carnal Confidence: “You are departing from the simplicity of the Gospel; you are making additions unto its one and only stipulation. There is nothing that God requires from the sinner except that he believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” Writer: “You are mistaken. The Lord Jesus said, ‘Repent ye, and believe the Gospel’ (Mark 1:15).” Mr. Carnal Confidence: “That was before the Cross, but in this dispensation repentance is not demanded.” Writer: “Then according to your ideas God has changed the plan of salvation. But you err. After the Cross, Christ charged His disciples, ‘That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations’ (Luke 24:47). If we turn to the book of Acts we find that the apostles preached repentance in this dispensation. On the day of Pentecost, Peter bade the convicted Jews to ‘repent’ (2:38). Reviewing his ministry at Ephesus Paul declared that he had testified both to the Jews and also to the Greeks ‘repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Acts 20:21); while in 17:30 we are told that God ‘now commandeth all men every where to repent.’”
Mr. Carnal Confidence: “Then do you insist that if a person has not repented, he is still unsaved?” Writer: “Christ Himself says so: ‘Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish’ (Luke 13:5). So too if a man has not been converted, he is yet unsaved: ‘Repent ye therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out’ (Acts 3:19). There must be a right-about-face: there must be a turning from Satan unto God, from the world unto Christ, from sin unto holiness. Where that has not taken place, all the believing in the world will not save one. Christ saves none who is still in love with sin; but He is ready to save those who are sick of sin, who long to be cleansed from its loathsome foulness, who yearn to be delivered from its tyrannizing power. Christ came here to save His people from their sins.”
Mr. Carnal Confidence: “You talk to me as though I were the helpless slave of strong drink or some other appetite, but I want you to know I was never the victim of any such thing.” Writer: “There are other lusts in fallen man besides those which break forth in gross outward sins: such as pride, covetousness, selfishness, self-righteousness; and unless they be mortified, they will take a man to Hell as surely as will profanity, immorality, or murder. Nor is it enough to mortify these inordinate affections: the fruit of the Spirit, the graces of godliness, must also be brought forth in the heart and life; for it is written, ‘follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord’ (Heb. 12:14). And therefore it is a pressing duty for each of us to heed the Divine exhortation ‘Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?’ (2 Cor. 13:5).
“Notice very carefully, dear friend, that the one point pressed upon the Corinthians was ‘that Jesus Christ is in you,’ and not their trusting that He died for them. Just as the Christian can only discover that his name was written in the Book of Life before the foundation of the world, by discerning that God has written His laws in his heart (Heb. 10:16), so I can ascertain that Christ died for me only by making sure that He now lives in me. And it is obvious that if the Holy One indwells me that His presence must have wrought a radical change both in character and in conduct. This, above everything else, is what we sought to make clear and emphasized in our articles on ‘Assurance,’ namely the imperative necessity of our making sure that the Lord Jesus occupies the throne of our hearts, has the supreme place in our affections, and regulates the details of our lives. Unless this be the case with us, then our profession is vain, and all our talk of trusting in Christ’s finished work is but idle words.”
Mr. Carnal Confidence: “I consider all you have said to be but the language of a Pharisee. You are occupied with your own fancied goodness and delighting in your own worthless righteousness.” Writer: “Pardon me, but I rather rejoice in what Christ’s Spirit has wrought in me, and pray that He will carry forward that work of grace to the glory of His name. But we must bring our discussion to a close. I would respectfully urge you to attend unto that exhortation addressed to all professing Christians, ‘Give diligence to make your calling and election sure’ (2 Pet. 1:10). Mr. Carnal Confidence: “I shall do nothing of the sort: I hate the very word ‘election.’ I know that I am saved, though I do not measure up to the impossible standard you want to erect.” Writer: “Fare thee well; may it please the Lord to open your blind eyes, reveal to you His holiness, and bring you to His feet in godly fear and trembling.”
Pink’s complete book on Saving Faith available on-line here: http://www.pbministries.org/books/pink/Saving_Faith/saving_faith.htm
A proper response to How to make a false convert.
Imagine if you will, that you’ve been witnessing to your next door neighbor for years. Let’s call him Bob. Bob is a big burly biker who swears that he’ll never step foot in a church as long as he’s alive.
Then one Saturday night he knocks on your door and tells you that he’s been thinking a lot about life lately and that he’d like to come with you to church the following morning. You try to hide your over-exuberance and tell him it would be your honor and you’d even offer to pick him up.
After Bob leaves, you receive another knock at the door. It’s Adam, one of your other neighbors you’ve been witnessing to. Adam is an Atheist and not only rejects the idea of the existence of God, but in your conversations with him he’s even mocked your faith calling Christianity a “crutch” and a mindless religion best suited for wimps and sissies. So imagine your surprise when he’s on your doorstep and tells you he’d like go to church with you in the morning. After you recover from your shock you tell him you’ll pick him up in the morning.
You go to your bedroom to pray about what has just happened and thank God. And as soon as you get done, you hear another knock on your door. This time it’s your neighbor Mike the Mormon.
In the years you’ve spent sharing the gospel with Mike he’s always objected to Christianity because of the foolishness he used to see in the churches before converting to Mormonism. He tells you that he’s been thinking a lot about your conversations over the years and would like to attend church with you in the morning. After you regain your composure you tell him you’ll pick him up in the morning.
As you’re getting ready for bed the phone rings. It’s Mohammed from work. The Muslim you’ve been witnessing to for years is on the phone asking if he can come to church with you in the morning. Once again, you try to contain your excitement as you tell Mohammed that you’ll pick him up in the morning.
The next morning you arrive at the church with Bob, Adam, Mike, and Mohammed. All of you make your way inside and find seats in the sanctuary.
The pastor gets up and announces that they have a very special guest today. A well-dressed man steps onto the platform and the next thing that you, Bob, Adam, Mike, and Mohammed see is this:
Ingrid Schlueter appropriately asks:
What happened? How did it come to this? What kind of teachings or lack thereof would allow evangelicals to view this as Christian worship? In short, why?
HT: Crosstalk Blog
The Bible tells pastors – those who are called to shepherd the souls within a local church – to preach the whole counsel of His Word. Those who fail to do so will answer to God. Those who fail to do so because they value the opinion of man over the approval of God will be put to shame on Judgment Day.
What follows is good counsel for pastor and flock.
From: http://www.oldtruth.com/blog.cfm/id.2.pid.412
Quoting James White . . .
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When Paul spoke to the Ephesian elders in his final meeting with them, he said these words: “Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.” (Acts 20:26-27) The true preacher of the Word seeks to have this as his ambition as well. God is not honored when men think so little of Him and so highly of themselves that they edit the content of the proclamation for the fear of the face of men and so that they may be considered “successful” in some worldly sense. It is a fearful thing to be unfaithful to the task of preaching “the whole counsel of God.” Keeping this in mind, I would like to point out the fact that there are religious hypocrites in the church. There were even in the days of Paul, as he names some by name. But today one looks for the true believer as the oddity in evangelical churches filled with unregenerate men and women who have been fooled into thinking you can shake a man’s hand, say some magical words that are not joined with any kind of repentance or understanding of the gospel itself, and you have your “ticket punched” and you are on your way to heaven. The result is that any time you would dare to preach the soul-searching passages of Scripture that expose sin and hypocrisy and false faith you will hear the howl of the religious hypocrite from front row to back. Which is why you can observe major “ministries” today that are completely focused upon avoiding any form of offense of the natural man, just so long as they are there on Sunday morning and drop a little something in the plate to help you pay for your massive sports arena. But even the best church will have false professors in its midst, men and women who, for various reasons, may well play the religion game quite well for an amazingly long time. Some do it for family reasons, some just because they were raised that way, some for acceptance–but in any case, they attend services, may even be involved in ministry, but their hearts are unchanged, their faith in word only. …
So the question I have to ask of many who stand behind pulpits today is this: is your preaching so wimpy it would never trouble a religious hypocrite, and never result in such a person fleeing its proclamation so as to run to man’s religions for refuge? Do you pull back on those elements of God’s truth that are the most offensive to the natural man because you do not wish to see that disdainful look, that annoyed shaking of the head? Do you really distrust the ministry of the Spirit to make the Word of Christ to come alive in the hearts and minds of Christ’s sheep, so that you do not need to worry about those who find offense at His truth? Or have you embraced the spirit of the age which places man’s fragile emotions upon the seat of prominence, and have bought into the idea that to be “loving” means to never give offense to anyone (well, except for God–it is fine to offend Him by thinking yourself so wise you can edit out what shouldn’t be in the gospel in our day)? Would your teaching and proclamation allow a religious hypocrite to remain safely and comfortably ensconced in the congregation for years on end, never offended, never convicted? Finally, if such a hypocrite does leave and make a show of embracing heresy just to spite you, do you sting with embarrassment, or rejoice that God’s Word continues to work in the hearts of men and women, some to His glory in their salvation, and some to His glory in their damnation? Think about it. |
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| From: | Alpha and Omega Ministries Blog | |
Ingrid Schlueter hits the nail on the head with her article (reprinted in its entirety below) about pop sensation Justin Bieber and the Christian conservatives who now have a “legitimate” reason to fawn over him because of his announcement that he’s opposed to abortion.
I suppose that since Bieber has been Christianized merely because he’s pro-life and claims to be a Christian (even though he’s not opposed to sex outside of marriage) there’s no longer a need to come up with a Christian version of Biebler for Christian preteens to idolize as has been done in this video.
At the end of her piece Ingrid links to a Christianity Today article that asks:
Has your pastor caught Bieber fever? Your preteen daughter surely knows that Justin Bieber’s first feature film is opening this Friday, Feb. 11, in theaters everywhere. But does your pastor know? Or your church’s youth leaders?
Why? Why is the “church” so fascinated with all things worldly? Why is the “church” always found singing the same songs of the world, watching the same movies of the world, dressing in the same fashions of the world, placing the same level of interest in the celebrities of the world, and having the same worldview of the world? Aren’t we supposed to be separate? Aren’t we commanded to not love the world and the things in the world (James 4:4 and 1 John 2:15-16)?
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Bieber Fever Strikes Conservatives
by Ingrid Schlueter
It doesn’t take much to impress conservatives these days. It doesn’t matter if you stand on a stage with only postage stamps for a covering as long as you state your support for family values. Just ask Carrie Prejean, Miss USA from a couple of years ago, who overnight became the instant pin-up girl for conservatives who were sent into spasms of delight as she defended traditional marriage while flaunting her surgically enhanced bosom. (This was before the sex tape scandal came out.)
Another nearly naked values warrior, Teresa Scalan, strutted her stuff in a black bikini and then warmed the hearts of (mostly male) conservatives nationwide after she announced she was headed to a Christian college. She gave God the credit for her winning the Miss America pageant. News comment sections were immediately filled with conservative wolf-whistles. “Another red-hot Republican babe ready to launch,” crowed one devoted fan.
Now conservatives have really hit the jackpot as Justin Bieber, adolescent pop star, announced in a Rolling Stone interview that he was opposed to abortion. That’s all it took for pro-life groups to vault him to the top of their lists within hours. Press releases were immediately forthcoming as pro-lifers eagerly claimed him as their own.
But wait! In the same interview in Rolling Stone, Bieber was asked about his views on sex before marriage. In that Bieber identifies as an evangelical Christian, it was a valid question, and given the millions of hormonally-charged females biting their fists worldwide at his photo, an interesting one. But Bieber disappoints.
“I don’t think you should have sex with anyone unless you love them. … I think you should just wait for the person you’re … in love with,” he said.
In that babies conceived out of wedlock are at the highest risk of being murdered in the womb, Bieber’s views on premarital sex are hardly conservative and hardly helping the pro-life cause.
That hasn’t stopped pro-life groups from seizing at this crumb hurled from the celebrity table, regardless of how contradictory his interview was.
When naked beauty queens and boy pop stars not old enough to shave are seen as bright lights in the conservative values crusade, our problems in this country are clearly deeper than abortion.
As a side note, Christianity Today Entertainment (you read that correctly) last week asked readers if their pastors and churches were getting “Bieber fever?” Undoubtedly they are. God has given American evangelicals the kind of leadership they crave: girly men whose god is their own reflection.
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See DefCon’s previous related post The idolatry of celebrity worship: Giving to man what rightly belongs to God.
Rick Warren’s Daniel Plan has begun and Jennifer Pekich was there for its inception. Her report from inside the lion’s den (pun intended) can be found here.
Here’s a quote from her article:
Following Dr. Hyman’s talk my best friend arrived to observe the day with me, only to hear Dr. Amen mention in his presentation that he did a brain scan on one of his clients who had a habit of cheating on his wife. The brain scan showed that there were “holes in the pre-frontal cortex of his brain” which controls the impulses. In other words, this man wasn’t sinful, he was “mentally ill.” All he needed was to get on the “Change Your Brain, Change Your Body” program and his personal struggles with sin were remedied. Once again Jesus was removed from the equation. My friend and I were dumbfounded when we listened to the Saddleback crowd cheer. My best friend couldn’t contain it any longer and let out a, “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
The best quote from Jennifer’s article, however, was when she made this observation of the event:
I have to admit that visions of the masses being manipulated by Adolf Hitler’s oratory skills came to my mind, only this particular crowd had just been manipulated by a really bad infomercial.
You can listen to Jennifer’s interview about her visit to Saddleback here on the Crosstalk radio show. You can also read an article on this event by Lighthouse Trails here and another article by Marsha West here.
Chuck Smith’s advice: God will be with you while you kill your child and He won’t condemn you for it.
Voddie Baucham’s reaction to this ungodly counsel (from Facebook):
I must admit that this one made me ANGRY! I’m on the road preaching at a pro-life banquet and someone sent me this YouTube video of Chuck Smith (founder of Calvary Chapel) giving abortion advice that made me want to throw something (or someone). This woman is agonizing right now over this decision, and a pastor just told her Jesus would be alright with her killing her children. Please pray for her.
Here is a video for Nikki to help encourage her to do the right thing in her decision; and this same video is for Chuck Smith to encourage him to repent and retract his worldly, unbiblical position:
1st Corinthians 1:1-3—Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God…with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1st Corinthians 1:4-10—I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him…so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
1st Corinthians 2:7-8—But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Do we who claim the name of Christ live with eternity in view, or does what the world have to offer with all of its cheap baubles keep us attracted like a moth to the fire? If it is the latter, when will we realize that something is going to burn? It is ONLY what is done for Christ that will last.
Last year, Mormon radio host Glenn Beck swept the conservative political movement off its feet (and many Evangelical Christians as well) with his Divine Destiny rally.
At that time (and since) many non-discerning Christians have embraced Glenn Beck as a brother in Christ and have even made excuses and justifications for his Mormon theology (a theology that’s antithetical to biblical Christianity).
But now, while Beck’s Trojan Horse sits benevolently within the walls of Evangelicalism, the trapdoor on the underbelly of the wooden horse is opening to reveal its contents . . . and it isn’t pretty.
Brannon Howse has written an article on Beck’s new book (co-authored by Keith Ablow). The book, entitled The 7 Wonders That Will Change Your Life, has revealed Beck’s New Age leanings. And judging by the quotes cited from Beck’s book, it makes Joel Osteen’s Your Best Life Now look like a doctrinally sound tome of deep Christian theology.
Below are some of the quotes from Beck’s book that I obtained from Brannon Howse’s article (you can read the entire exposé here.)
I can’t help but wonder if the Mormon organization is going to publicly renounce the New Age teachings in Beck’s book (and discipline Beck), and I wonder if the Christians who supported Beck–claiming that he was indeed a Christian–are going to retract their support (or at least distance themselves).
Page 154:
“As Keith likes to say, ‘There’s no original sin left in the world. Everyone’s just recycling pain now.'”
Page 165:
“People are inherently good.”
Page 157:
“Finding what worked for me made all the difference. Finding what works for you will do the same.”
Page 162:
“There is no infant delivered evil, out of the womb. There never has been. Not even one…Charles Manson was not born evil. Ted Bundy wasn’t. The BTK killer wasn’t. Hitler wasn’t.”
Page 149:
“Latter-day Saints do not believe that your chances ever cease, even with death. They end only with the full understanding and denial of truth by your own exercise of real free will. And even then there is no ‘lake of fire.'”
Page 149-150:
“I questioned everything I could think to question about the faith. I went over my doubts again and again with the church bishop. I read everything there was to read on their website and every word of Mormon Doctrine…I went to anti-Mormon literature for hints, but I found most of it to be unfair or just plain wrong. I tried every trick I could think of to find a contradiction. The problem was that I couldn’t. Mormonism seemed to explain the world and my place in it better than any other faith I had looked at.”
Page 132:
“Pray to whatever higher power you believe in…Praying that God or Nature or the Cosmos or your own internal, immeasurable reservoir of spirit allows you the courage and faith to find and then face the truth…”
Page 74:
“Just be sure you visit with a minister or therapist from a religion or healing discipline you actually have affinity for, or suspect you might.”
Page 57:
“The third chapter of Exodus helped me start to understand how crucial it was that my focus be on finding God not just in the seas or the cosmos, but in myself.”
Page 58:
“If God is everything and everywhere and inside everyone, then I figured He had to be inside me, too…”
Page 71:
“Divine power is still inside you.”
Page 283:
“Reach out to people to steady them and enrich them and reflect back to them the light that comes from God inside them.”
Page 254:
“You won’t doubt your ability to achieve what you want to achieve in this life because you won’t doubt that God is not only by your side, but inside you.”
Page 79:
“You have a polestar inside you. It is connected with all the energy in the universe. When you begin to follow that star you align yourself with immeasurable, inexplicable forces that will actually help you manifest your best intentions.”
Page 85:
“As you commit to unlocking and bringing forth the truth inside you, don’t be afraid to pray for help. Don’t be reticent to sit with yourself in silence and meditate. Connect with the miracle of spirit, of God, that has lived inside you from long before you were born.”
Brannon Howse also aptly observes Beck and Ablow’s common application of terms of subjective truth:
Beck’s book uses the phrase “Your truth” or “your true path” or “my truth” at least 23 times. Here are a few examples:
“It is never too late to embrace your truth.” (Page 124)
“What is your truth whispering?” (Page 130)
“Use compassion to stay on the path to your own truth… (Page 161)
“…determination to unearth and embrace my truth.” (Page 215)
“The fact that I am always attempting to honor my truth… (Page 216)
“There is only your truth.” (Page 220)
“You must use courage and faith to empty the hard drive of your soul and then fill it with your truth.” (Page 288)
I blush today to think about the religious fodder that is now being handed out to children. There was a day when they sat around as the fire crackled in the hearth and listened to a serious but kindly old grandfather read Pilgrim’s Progress, and the young Canadian and the young American grew up knowing all about Mr. Facing-Both-Ways and all the rest of that gang. And now we read cheap junk that ought to be shoveled out and gotten rid of.
I have an old Methodist hymnal that rolled off the press 111 years ago and I found forty-nine hymns on the attributes of God in it. I have heard it said that we shouldn’t sing hymns with so much theology because people’s minds are different now. We think differently now. Did you know that those Methodist hymns were sung mostly by uneducated people? They were farmers and sheep herders and cattle ranchers, coal miners and blacksmiths, carpenters and cotton pickers—plain people all over this continent. They sang those songs. There are over 1,100 hymns in that hymnbook of mine and there isn’t a cheap one in the whole bunch.
Our fathers sang “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” and we sing junk.
AW Tozer
1897-1963
Christ Alone Wyoming 