Apostasy/Lukewarm

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Come on, everybody say: God’s Big!

Description of the video by its editor:

“Narcigesis” is a term I recently heard to describe the sermons being pumped out of many Christian churches these days. It’s short for narcissistic eisegesis which is when a pastor reads his own ideas into the text with a primary focus on the self, rather than God. This is a perfect example from a Joel Osteen style pastor by the name of Kevin Gerald.

As far as I know, Ken Silva coined the term, “narcigesis” – I think it’s highly descriptive of what passes for preaching in far too many churches.

May God have mercy on the people sitting and listening to this man.

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Seeing the handwriting on the wall.

Two years ago I published a post about a CCM entertainer’s comments that he gave to a Roman Catholic organization in which the entertainer, David Crowder, admitted:

“Much of the Catholic traditions and writings have been influential in my formation of faith and to be quite contradictory of what was stated earlier, I’ve found much inspiration there.”

Of course, my pointing this out went over like a lead balloon with many professing Christians. Daring to bring to light (or even make mention of) the biblically antithetical theology, leanings, and/or admitted influences of any of their beloved entertainers will always incur the wrath of the American evangelical. (That same post also spoke of David Crowder’s ties to contemplatives too, but for some reason that has never been much of a point of contention with Crowder’s defenders.)

I received numerous responses of defense for Crowder from tons of professing Christians telling me how stupid I was for pointing out Crowder’s obvious Roman Catholic leanings. In the estimation of his defenders, I was just jumping to conclusions, making mountains out of mole hills, and seeing things that were simply not there.

But was I?

(I still wonder how Crowder defenders would have reacted if he had said “Much of the Mormon traditions and writings have been influential in my formation of faith . . .“.) 

Apparently I have to venture outside the whitewashed, happy, clappy realm of Americanized Christianity to find someone else who can add 2 plus 2 and come up with 4. 

Marc, a Roman Catholic who blogs at Bad Catholic, is one of those out there who also read Crowder’s interview and saw the same handwriting on the wall. On his latest post praising David Crowder, Marc writes what’s so obvious as the noon-day sun to him (and me) but seems to escape the comprehension of so many professing Christians:

“So, remember that time I invited David Crowder to become Catholic? Yeah, that might have been redundant. . . .  I’m happy as can be, and praying for Mr. Crowder, hoping he comes into full communion soon, though it seems his heart is already there.”

Although Marc and I will disagree on many (many) things regarding theology, we can at least both agree on what we’re seeing coming from the “evangelical” entertainer, David Crowder.

Marc also wrote an open letter (an open invitation) to David Crowder to invite hm to finally “enter into full communion with the Holy Catholic Church.”

Because of Crowder’s most recent album, Marc has said that he finds himself “in one of the most incredible moments of my music-loving, Christ-worshipping, Roman Catholic existence” and that “To the Christian, this is awesome. To the Catholic, well, this is freaking fantastic.”

Here is an excerpt from Marc’s article regarding Crowder’s latest album, an album that has at least one Roman Catholic all abuzz:

“So when your album started with a man walking into a Church, and the voice of a priest saying ‘Grant them eternal rest, Lord, and let perpetual light shine on them…’ (in Latin!) I fairly well freaked out. That prayer is not merely a memory of the dead, it is a prayer for the dead, that they might be granted to enter into Heaven.”

Here is Marc’s invitation to “evangelical” entertainer, David Crowder: 

“Though I’m sure you’ve been invited before — and if not, I take this opportunity to apologize for it — I’d like to invite you to enter into full communion with the Holy Catholic Church. You’ve been in my prayers and the prayers of my friends for some time now. We heard when you said that many ‘of the Catholic traditions and writings have been influential in [your] formation of faith,’ and about your love for St. Francis when you granted LifeTeen an interview, and we got pretty pumped.”

So, I guess I wasn’t alone with what I concluded in that interview David Crowder gave to LifeTeen; even Marc and some of his Roman Catholic friends understood it and have not only been praying for Crowder, but were “pretty pumped” by what Crowder said. It’s the cultural Christians who have their fingers in their ears and their eyes slammed shut refusing to examine whether or not the CCM emperor is wearing clothes.

I also find it ironic that the very first comment Marc received on his open invitation to David Crowder came from a Roman Catholic who claims to have actually worked with David Crowder and his band, and knows them on a personal level. This commenter scolded Marc, informing him that he’s not giving David Crowder enough credit for his Romainst leanings:

“I’m a Catholic who’s worked with the Crowder band up until their recent retirement. I was standing there when they walked off stage for the last time in Atlanta two weeks ago, and I know all the guys on a personal level. . . . [Y]ou have absolutely no idea what Dave does or does not know about the Catholic faith. Without that knowledge, I’m finding it hard to understand why you chose to write a manifesto about our faith as if you were telling him things he doesn’t already know. It sounds to me you’ve made an awful lot of assumptions here. Dave has a very healthy knowledge of the Catholic faith. He knows much more than you and others are giving him credit for. When the idea of this album came up, Dave sought out Catholic musician Matt Maher and asked for his input and in depth perspective regarding the Catholic funeral liturgy.”

I’ll conclude with a short video posted on Marc’s blog of David Crowder talking about his latest album, “Give Us Rest or (A Requiem Mass in C [The Happiest of All Keys]),” a video in which the first commenter on Marc’s post wrote:

“Did David Crowder, the renowned Protestant musician, just use the words ‘Liturgy’ ‘Latin’ ‘Mass’ and ‘Eucharist’ in that video??! I’m failing to see how this could lead anywhere other than into the welcoming arms of Holy Mother Church.”


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Pagan Christianity?

I was given the task of reading and reviewing this book as part of a project at my church. Frank Viola is aggressive in defending his perspective; if you want his view you can easily find one or more of his blogs. With that short introduction, here’s my lengthy review.

Pagan Christianty?

By Frank Viola and George Barna

Reviewed by Stuart L. Brogden

The thesis statement of this book is found in the Preface, written by Viola, on page xix: “we intend to show how that organism (the first century church) was devoid of so many things we embrace today” and on page xx: “We are seeking to remove a great deal of debris in order to make room for the Lord Jesus Christ to be the fully functioning head of His church.”

In the Preface, he repeatedly refers to “the contemporary church” as their foil – no doubt most reformed Christians would also take issue with many things done in that name. Reinforcing what I infer as a mystical view of God and Truth revealed in the thesis, Viola tells us, “the New Testament vision of church best represents the dream of God.” and “The normative practices of the first-century church were the natural and spontaneous expression of the divine life that indwelt the early Christians.” (page xix) Their mystical view of the body of Christ is fully spelled out later in the book. Also on page xix, the author’s beloved “organic church” is described thusly: “An organic church is simply a church that is born out of spiritual life instead of constructed by human institutions and held together by religious programs. Organic churches are characterized by Spirit-led, open-participatory meetings and nonhierarchical leadership.” We will see that “Spirit-led” means “everyone doing what seems right in their own eyes”. In the delving Deeper section on page xxxi we are told that their “goal is not to develop a full description of the organic church but only touch on it when necessary.” See – we get explicit wrong-doings by the contemporary and institutional church but only vague and partial descriptions of the proposed answer to those evils.

Viola shows his misunderstanding of the work of the Holy Spirit of God, ascribing (page xix) His actions as “the natural and spontaneous expression of the divine life that indwelt the early Christians”. The Bible is clear that God is a God of order, not chaos; He is not a natural expression of what is in man (Psalms 50:21). He is not “spontaneous” – acting on whimsy; He has planned and has ordered all things to the fulfillment of His plans (Psalms 135:6 and Ephesians 1:11).

In Barna’s Introduction, we discover the authors see themselves – and the Lord Jesus – as Revolutionaries, working to correct the centuries-long trial of errors foisted upon us by religious men. He rightly identifies legitimate problems in many churches (mega-churches, satellite campuses, affinity and age segregated groups, etc.) on page xxvii – and then reveals that this book is our trustworthy guide to find out God’s will for the church. He concludes by telling us that he wants the reader “to think carefully and biblically about how you practice your faith with other Christians.” Barna concludes with, “We pray that this book will help you to do your part in straightening out the crooked path of the contemporary church.” We shall see.

The “Jesus” of the OC is manifested by “open sharing” in all church meetings – this is the normative method that “is completely scriptural”, especially if the only scripture one reads is 1 Corinthians 14:26 – 29. They have an unbiblical view of Jesus Christ and an unbiblical view of the church – which they consider (page xxviii) to be “Himself in a different form. This is the meaning of the phrase “the body of Christ”.” Deep in the appendix, on page 268, we read, “When each member of His body shares his or her portion of Christ, then Christ is assembled.”

Wayne Grudem sheds a better light on this concept on page 858 of his Systematic Theology: “In 1 Corinthians 12 the whole body is taken as a metaphor for the church, because Paul speaks of the “ear” and the “eye” and the “sense of smell” (1 Cor 12:16 – 17). In this metaphor, Christ is not viewed as the head joined to the body, because the individual members are themselves the individual parts of the head. Christ is in the metaphor the Lord who is “outside” of that body that represents the church and is the one whom the church serves and worships.” There are, as Grudem goes to point out, different uses of the word “body” as a metaphor for the church – the context in which each metaphor is used reveals its meaning. Barna and Viola appear to hold to the Roman Catholic view of the church as the “continuing incarnation” of Christ rather than properly viewing Christ as reigning in heaven in addition to dwelling among us. As for the biblical view of the church, one cannot comprehend that unless one studies the Pastoral Epistles – and there’s no indication the authors have even read them.

Consistently in this book, the method of “proving” their case builds on setting up a straw man they call the “institutional church” (IC) – a seemingly equivalent term for the “contemporary church” – and presenting an ill-defined “organic church” (OC) as the only Christ-honoring alternative. This IC straw man is constructed from mostly undocumented sources of history, which reflect the main line record of the Roman Catholic Church. There is no evidence that the remnant of God which did not follow Rome (as in Andrew Miller’s Church History) was ever considered by the authors – for therein one would find local churches without many of the errors that have crept into most churches since ~ 400AD. Too many reformed churches have forgotten “Semper Reformda!”, stagnating in partial reform that still has a lot in common with Rome. These present day vestiges of Rome ought to be critiqued and Protestants should repent and reform to the Biblical model. Some of this book’s critique rightly applies to some churches, but does not warrant the radical, semi-biblical approach advocated.

Continue reading →

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The more things change, the more they stay the same at the Crystal Cathedral.

From the Christian Post:

The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, founder of the historic Crystal Cathedral Ministries in Garden Grove, Calif., has spoken out about the sale of the church to a Roman Catholic diocese, reassuring concerned observers that the church’s beliefs are not going to suddenly change.

“The Roman Catholic Church isn’t going to change its theologies,” Schuller said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times published Sunday. “I trust them.”

The ministry’s decision to sell the famous building to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County raised some controversy at first. In the Sunday interview, the 85-year-old minister said he has always respected the Roman Catholic faith and considers it the “mother church.”

Read the rest of the article, Robert Schuller Trusts Catholic Church With Crystal Cathedral, here.

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Top 10 reasons to reject the cult of Word of Faith.

I found the following article at Beyond Grace:

Word-Faith (WOF) teaching, identified with Ken Copeland and Ken Hagin, is the foundation for today’s prophetic/apostolic movement. Several years ago Tricia Tillin wrote an article on the Top Ten Reasons for rejecting Word-of-Faith doctrine.

REASON ONE:
It requires ‘revelation knowledge’.

REASON TWO:
It makes the Almighty God and Creator a weak ‘faith-being’ who is at the mercy of His own universal laws.

REASON THREE:
It makes the Divine Son of God into a born-again man who had to die in Hell to pay the price for our treason.

REASON FOUR:
It elevates man to equality with Jesus.

REASON FIVE:
It makes man a god.

REASON SIX:
It makes the redemption into a restoration of dominion for mankind.

REASON SEVEN:
Its goal is the transformation of the earth by spiritual dominion.

REASON EIGHT:
It replaces prayer with confession, and God’s will with the manipulation of ‘forces’.

REASON NINE:
It denies the reality of sin and sickness.

REASON TEN:
It focuses on self and the world instead of God and Heaven.

 

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BETH MOORE AND JOHN PIPER LEAD LECTIO DIVINA-LITE AT PASSION 2012

BETH MOORE AND JOHN PIPER LEAD LECTIO DIVINA-LITE AT PASSION 2012

By on Jan 6, 2012 in AM Missives, Current Issues, Features, Southern Baptist Convention Note: videos that should make you weep are on Ken’s web site at the link above.

Apprising Ministries has been warning for years concerning the evil effects of the neo-liberal in the Emerging Church aka the Emergent Church.

It’s an incontrovertible fact that right from its hatching in hell corrupt Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM), such as that taught by Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster along with his spiritual twin and Southern Baptist minister Dallas Willard, was a core doctrine.

Spreading as a spiritual cancer throughout apostatizing evangelicalism, we even see that it’s slithered all the way into the New Calvinst neo-reformed camp e.g. as in Acts 29 Network And Reformed Counter Reformation Spirituality? One of the fruits of CSM is a blurring of doctrinal lines, which is particularly dangerous in this time of postmodernism and growing spiritual blindness.

It’s also giving rise to a rebirth of Pietism; this isn’t surprising when you consider that CSM flowered in the antibiblical monastic traditions of apostate Roman Catholicism. As the evangelical fad of CSM expands there’s a decided charismania also developing, which is producing a syncretism where Word Faith heretics like Joel Osteen and T.D. Jakes are essentially considered mainstream now. With all of this has come more and more people claiming to have direct experience with God.

The end result is making the climate more condusive for things like Beth Moore Recommending “Jesus Calling” Book Claiming Direct Divine Revelation. This is the backdrop upon which to better see what’s happening as you watch the video clips to follow below from the Passion 2012 Conference. This conference has been going on in Atlanta, and was largely aimed at young adults and students.

Hosted by Louis Giglio, pastor of Passion City Church in Atlanta, Passion featured an interesting lineup of speakers such Francis Chan, Beth Moore and New Calvinist mentor John Piper. Not surpisingly the conference had a distinctive charismatic and even contemplative flair; e.g. prayer walking. After one session the crowd was urged to break into “love groups” and go out to pray and “take back the city of Atlanta.”

Years of emerging bombardment of pro-CSM propaganda aimed at younger sectors of the Christian community fired right out of evangelical publishing houses has also had much effect upon the broader culture of the more charismatic/emotion-driven side of the church visible as well. To serve as an illustration, below we have SBC Lifeway-sponsored Beth Moore praising an apostate (at best) Roman Catholic mystic and the crown jewel of CSM.

If you didn’t know, this is a form of meditation in an altered state of consciousness commonly known as Contemplative/Centering Prayer (CCP):

Moore’s admitted practice of some form of CCP, which is actually divination, has opened her up to even receive direct revelation and visions from God. Below from a 2002 series called Believing God, available right now at Lifeway’s website, Moore describes a vision God gave her concerning His Church.

Sounding not too unlike Word Faith wingnuts she tells us God took her into some kind of dimension where she was able to see the Body of Christ as Jesus sees it:

Apparently the Protestant Reformation was really some sort of horrible mistake because Moore’s Jesus sees the Roman Catholic Church as another Christian denomination. This becomes clear below as Moore demonstrates what she saw in her vision from God:

Yet despite this obviously false vision ten years ago, there was Beth Moore preaching to thousands alongside New Calvinists John Piper and Francis Chan. I guess we really should expect this because Piper has told us before: “I’m Happy To Learn From Beth Moore.”

Who knows, perhaps he even shares Moore’s view that men like John MacArthur are guilty of teaching extreme error in the Body of Christ:

By the way, the other extreme teaching in the Body of Christ that Beth Moore sees is what she calls “sensationalism.” Something I personally think she’s now become involved in. The CSM being dabbled with now in mainstream evangelicalism is producing a rebirth of Pietism; an emotional, sentimental, emotion-driven form of worship. What you saw at Passion 2012.

Christian apologist Bob DeWaay is dead-on-target as he explains:

Pietism is difficult to define because it can be taught and practiced in an unlimited number of ways. Some versions appear to be innocuous while others are so radical that most people would see that something is wrong. I now know that no version of pietism is actually innocuous. If a teaching is called pietism but teaches no more than what God has always used to sanctify Christians, then it is not really pietism. Real pietism always harms those who embrace it.

The essence of pietism is this: It is a practice designed to lead to an experience that purports to give one an elite or special status compared to ordinary Christians. The Bible addresses this error in the book of Colossians. The false teachers in Colossae claimed to have the secret to a superior Christian experience that would cause people to rise above the bad “fate” they feared. Paul went on to explain that they already had everything they needed through Christ and His work on the cross. Another way of stating this is: If after having fully trusted Christ’s finished work on the cross, you are told that you are still lacking something, you are being taught pietism.

Church history is littered with misguided pietistic movements. Many of them are linked with mysticism… Pietism can be practiced many ways including enforced solitude, asceticism of various forms, man made religious practices, legalism, submission to human authorities who claim special status, and many other practices and teachings.
(Online source)

In closing this, for now, I’ll show you something that gives us real cause for concern in the seeming dangerous drift of Beth Moore and John Piper. Following are clips from Session 5 of Passion 2012 where we were to enter into the silence to let God speak to us, not only through Scripture, but directly inside of us as well. However, this is language actually straight out of CSM and can also refer to the TM-lite of CCP.

Beth Moore, John Piper et al each took turns reading from the Book of Ephesians; then they each would ask for silence and say something along the lines of: “Be still and let Jesus speak to you.” This is Beth Moore:

Now John Piper:

Finally, here’s Louis Giglio closing out Session 5. Any doubt about what’s been going on in the silence is dispelled at :20 below. To all but the most naive it will become clear to you that, contra the proper Christian spirituality of sola Scriptura, Giglio is talking about direct encounters with God in addition to Holy Scriptura:

“How many of you heard the voice of God speak specifically, clearly, directly, and personally, to you? Can you just put a hand up? I’d like you to share it. Can you put a hand up for a minute?

Just want you to look around; that’s people saying, “God Almighty (pause) the Maker of heaven (pause) the one Who’s sitting on the only throne (pause) that’s not under threat (long pause, audience cheers)—He spoke to me. He spoke to me.”

“God spoke to me.” (long pause) Don’t let the voice of the darkness, tell you that you are not (pause) worth (pause) that God would not speak to you. (pause) Don’t let him tell you, you don’t matter. (pause) God spoke to you.

Perhaps this is why more and more in the charismatic camp have been embracing the Roman Catholic Church as another Christian denomination; like Rome, they now also have the Bible…plus…

 

See also:

THE PUSH FOR A ROMAN CATHOLIC DENOMINATION AND THE SBC’S RUSSELL MOORE

CHARLES SPURGEON: THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IS THE MASTERPIECE OF SATAN AND THE QUEEN OF INIQUITY

LET’S LOOK AT THE GOSPEL

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Great Heresies – and the Worldviews that Spawn Them

“1 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. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” – 2 Peter 2:1-3

Lack of clear thinking – which is impossible for the unregenerate mind – will lead one to hold to an unbiblical worldview.

And the five major heresies that have been around since man grew too big for his britches keep popping up with different clothes on the same old bag of lies from Satan.“3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 12 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have.” 2 Peter 1:3-12

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Just what the world needs.

(CBS/AP) Houston televangelist Joel Osteen is a preacher, lecturer and author. Soon, he’ll add reality TV star to his accomplishments.

The leader of a Texas megachurch, whose Sunday services are broadcast to audiences around the world, has signed an agreement to work with producer Mark Burnett to develop a reality show about his mission trips with members of his Lakewood Church.

Osteen, 48, announced the agreement Tuesday. He said the program would also feature Victoria, his wife of more than two decades.

Osteen also travels a cross the country presenting programs in large arenas. He is the author of several best-selling books, the latest of which is “Every Day a Friday.”

The British-born Burnett is executive producer of the CBS hit show “Survivor” and creator of such reality series as “Celebrity Apprentice,” “The Voice” and “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?”

Lakewood Church’s website says its broadcasts reach more than 200 million households. Its headquarters is the former Compaq Center, which the NBA’s Houston Rockets once called home. It took more than 15 months and $75 million to convert the arena into a church.

Source: CBS

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Who is the Anti-Christ?

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” II Thessalonians 2:3 & 4

“The Pope is of so great dignity, and so exalted that he is not a mere man, but as it were God, and the vicar of God.” Ferraris Ecclesiastical dictionary 

“All names which in the Scriptures are applied to Christ, by virtue of which it is established that He is over the church, all the same names are applied to the Pope.”
On the Authority of the Councils, book 2, chapter 17

“The Pope and God are the same, so he has all power in Heaven and earth.” Pope Pius V, quoted in Barclay, Chapter XXVII, p. 218, “Cities Petrus Bertanous”.

“…the Pope is as it were God on earth, sole sovereign of the faithful of Christ, chief of kings, having plenitude of power.” Lucius Ferraris

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” II Corinthians 11:13-15

“The Pope takes the place of Jesus Christ on earth…by divine right the Pope has supreme and full power in faith, in morals over each and every pastor and his flock. He is the true vicar, the head of the entire church, the father and teacher of all Christians. He is the infallible ruler, the founder of dogmas, the author of and the judge of councils; the universal ruler of truth, the arbiter of the world, the supreme judge of heaven and earth, the judge of all, being judged by no one, God himself on earth.” Quoted in the New York Catechism.

“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:8

These words are written in the Roman Canon Law 1685: “To believe that our Lord God the Pope has not the power to decree as he is decreed, is to be deemed heretical.”

‘Father’ A. Pereira says: “It is quite certain that Popes have never approved or rejected this title ‘Lord God the Pope,’ for the passage in the gloss referred to appears in the edition of the Canon Law published in Rome in 1580 by Gregory XIII.”

“And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.” Revelation 13:6

Writers on the Canon Law say, “The Pope and God are the same, so he has all power in heaven and earth.”

“The Pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, he is Jesus Christ himself, hidden under the veil of flesh.” Catholic National, July 1895

This is but a ‘drop in the bucket’ as to what information is out there that confirms the prophetic scriptures, that the ‘little horn’, the ‘beast’, the ‘man of sin’, the ‘son of perdition’ and the ‘Antichrist’ are none other than the Pope of Rome (a successive reign) throughout history.

Behold the ‘mystery of iniquity’ which has clouded the minds of the entire world, that Almighty God’s worst enemy upon the earth is lauded, praised and venerated [worshipped] by secular and ‘Christian’ leaders alike!

(posted by Bill Hoffmann, Belize, Central America on an Arminian blog)

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No need for commentary.

From the NY Post:

It’s Our Lady of Spin the Bottle.

Pastor Maurice Johnson of the Winners Church in Queens delivers the sexiest Sunday sermon in town, preaching on how to keep romance alive in marriage — and then asking congregants to make out in a passionate, public kissing contest during the service.

The parishioners with the most passion — and tongue-wagging — win $50 to spend on date night.

“Your bedroom and your love life are fires that must be nurtured and fought for,” Johnson preaches in a booming voice that reverberates through the makeshift church in the PS 38 gym in Rosedale, Queens.

“Use the power of touch to ignite passion in your marriage,” Johnson tells his giggling, nondenominational congregation of 75.

He adds, “You should be visually stimulated for your husband or your wife. It is your biblical responsibility to look good for your spouse.”

Johnson then calls upon four married couples to rise and approach the pulpit.

As a keyboardist and a drummer ooze R&B tunes such as “I Like It” by DeBarge, the couples demonstrate their passion — by locking lips, hips and tongues for a seemingly endless five minutes.

When they come up for air, the rest of the churchgoers choose a winner by clapping for the most amorous couple.

Johnson, 39, told The Post he chose to deliver a series of sermons, titled “The Power and Pleasure of Romance,” to underscore the importance of marriage in the African-American community.

“Some people were like, ‘It seems strange to do at church,’ ” he said, “but they thought it was very creative.”

Keeping a romantic partnership ticking, he said, depends on showering your spouse with physical affection.

“God created a desire for love and romance,” Johnson said.

The face-sucking had some churchgoers blushing.

“You see kissing in all kinds of contexts, but you don’t necessarily see it in a marriage context,” said Frantz Cochy, 39, who won the contest when he seemed to forget that he was in front of a crowded room and hungrily embraced his wife of 13 years, Makeetah, 36.

“I wasn’t embarrassed, but I guess I felt a little awkward,” he said.

Olaiya Ayani, 33, had to cajole his wife, Ayanna, to stand up and play tonsil hockey in front of the packed room. But once on stage, the couple wrapped their arms around each other and didn’t hold back.

“My father and my mother never showed affection in public,” said Ayani, who met his wife two years ago on Craigslist. “I told myself, ‘I’m going to be more affectionate to my wife.’ ”

The pastor said he encourages married couples to drop their guard and experiment with each other in public.

“Any society that celebrates marriage, romance and love is going to be a free society,” Johnson said. “Public displays of affection aren’t wrong. Adam and Eve were naked, and they were not ashamed.”

The bachelor pastor says he’ll practice what he preaches next year, when he expects to marry.

HT: ExMinistries via Witnessing Encouragement

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Has Mark Driscoll gone Charismatic?

The Sola Sisters have posted a doozey about Mark Driscoll talking to demons and giving extra-biblical advice on how to perform exorcisms.

Had I only read the transcript from the following video–not knowing who it came from–I would have never guessed it came from Mark Driscoll. I would have been sure it came from someone who frequents TBN.

Be sure to visit the Sola Sisters article (linked above) for more on this latest movement away from biblical Christianity by Mark Driscoll.

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Spiritual Bulimia

Several years ago, the news was full of stories of otherwise normal teenage girls who either didn’t eat enough to nourish their bodies (anorexia) or would consume massive quantities only to barf it up soon thereafter (bulimia). (Fine topics for a breakfast meeting, eh?) Although  there’s not much news coverage of these two debilitating conditions, they are, in fact, running rampant throughout the body of Christ in the spiritual realm. How many Christian men, you and I included, are characterized by these?

Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. – Prov. 23:4

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles. – Prov. 24:17

Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked. – Prov. 24:19

In his book, Point Man, Steve Farrar describes these conditions and the prescription for the cure: Anorexia nervosa is extreme body emaciation caused by aversion to food. Spiritual anorexia is an aversion to reading the Scriptures. Farrar interviewed more than one thousand church going, Bible believing Christian men and found that 45% failed to read the Bible at least weekly. He then observes, the enemy does not mind if you revere the Bible, just so long as you don’t feed from it. Why is it important that we read the Word of God?

Farrar gives us three reasons he starts his day in the Word:

  1. First, it reminds me that there is a God who is ruling over the affairs of my life. Society lives as though there is no God, and I need to be reminded before I face the day that there is a God who is in control of my life and circumstances.
  2. Second, I need to be reminded of what is true. A Christian man in this society is swimming upstream against the current. Without the constant nutrition of the Word, he will soon tire and be dragged off by the sheer forces of the current.
  3. Third, the morning briefing reinforces my convictions. Each day I have to make choices based on my convictions. I need God’s input to make consistently right choices.

God gives us another dose:

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” (Luke 4:1-4).

And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, he said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” (Deuteronomy 32:45-47).

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. (1 John 2:12-14).

As dangerous as anorexia is, something else afflicting Christian men is even worse. It is spiritual bulimia. A young woman with bulimia will binge and take in a tremendous amount of food, only to quickly vomit, thus denying her body of the nutrients it needs. Spiritual bulimia is an aversion to applying the Scripture to my life. Without digestion, I cannot benefit from the nutrients in the food. Without meditation leading to application, there is no spiritual digestion, and I continue to lose strength. Lest we think knowledge of Scripture is the antidote to spiritual bulimia, he reminds us, in the Christian life the opposite of ignorance is not knowledge, but obedience. God does not want to take a new Christian and move him from ignorance to knowledge. He wants to move him from ignorance to obedience.

Are you feeling overwhelmed and discouraged in your walk with Christ? Are you defeated and spiritually ineffective? Have you lost your excitement and enthusiasm in following hard after Christ? Have you so given in to habitual sin that it now threatens to sink you? Have you been duped by the enemy into ignoring the Scripture? Has your schedule become so crowded that you haven’t picked up your Bible in weeks? My friend, you cannot live without the Bible. It is your life.

Back to the Word:

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. (Psalms 1:1-2).

And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.” (1 Samuel 15:22-23).

As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:27-28).

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1:22)

If you are spiritually anorexic, read your Bible. If you are spiritually bulimic, meditate on and obey your Bible. Develop the habit of reading the Word, reach out to another man who will help you walk in obedience. You and I are too weak and too wicked to trust ourselves to walk alone. That’s what the enemy wants you to do.

Rowland Croucher said, “Above all, desire to please Christ; dread his disapproval above everything else.” This one phrase, I believe, captures the essence of Christian life. How it concentrates the focus. Does it describe you? Far too often, I must confess, I find myself the object of my desires. Let each man who claims Christ dig into the Word and spend time in prayer – by these two activities, we will be drawn to know Him better and our desires and dreads will be rightly forged.

Let Christ be your motivation and your guide, everything else will fail you and lead you astray.

HT: http://5ptsalt.com/2011/10/13/spiritual-bulimia/

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What Is a True Christian?

What Is a True Christian?

Based on Article http://www.reformation21.org/articles/what-is-a-true-christian.php by Jeremy Walker

2 Corinthians 5:17 is foundational in that it makes a clear declaration that one who is a Christian is one who has been changed! Read and consider it carefully: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Does this describe one who is in love with the sins of his flesh, one who cares not for the Word of God or the ways of God? Or does this describe one who should love the things of God and grow in his understanding of God’s Word and repentance of his sin?

But how can you tell if you really are a Christian? How can you know if you have been born again? What are the definite marks of a new creation in Christ?

An excellent book by Gardiner Spring called The Distinguishing Traits of Christian Character suggests seven things that are not, in themselves, conclusive marks that a professed work of grace is true or false (commentary on each of these points in Walker’s article).

  1. Visible morality
  2. Head knowledge
  3. A form of religion
  4. Eminent gifts
  5. Conviction for sin
  6. Strong assurance
  7. Notable time or manner of one’s professed conversion

    While a Christian will display these in some degree, the mere presence of any or all of these does not prove one’s salvation.

There is almost nothing more dangerous than to imagine oneself saved and yet to remain unsaved. There is nothing more blessed than to know oneself a Christian grounded on a solid foundation.

From the Word of God, we gain a divine understanding of how we can be sure of our own standing in Christ – secure in His righteousness. 1 John gives us at least four indispensable indications of true Christianity (again, commentary on each of these points in Walker’s article).

  1. A humble and wholehearted embrace of the divine diagnosis of and remedy for sin
  2. A humble reverence for and joyful devotion to God and his glory
  3. A principled pursuit of godliness with an increasing attainment in holiness

  4. Affection for and attachment to God’s redeemed people

These four marks will invariably be present in a true child of God. They will not be perfect until glory, but they will be present now.

We cannot afford to be fooled, imagining ourselves saved when we are not.

If these indispensable indications, these marks of a true believer, are not in your heart and life, then you are not a Christian, whatever you claim or imagine, and you should not fool yourself nor dishonour Christ by claiming his name without walking in his ways. You blaspheme Jesus and expose him to scorn by taking the label of a true believer but living apart from his gracious power and saving wisdom.

But if these things are present in you and true of you then you are a Christian, and you should not dishonour Christ by denying the source of grace in you. Some doubting and fearful saints are terrified that they will lay claim to God’s grace in Christ without having it, and so walk in shadow if not in darkness, robbed of joy and neither being blessed nor blessing others as they might.

Jeremy Walker is a pastor of Maidenbower Baptist Church. He blogs at The Wanderer and is co-author of A Portrait of Paul: Identifying A True Minister of Christ (Reformation Heritage Books, 2010). My comment: This book on Paul is a most wonderful book that will benefit any Christian and every pastor.

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Too little too late.

Why is it that today’s “prophets” always tell you about their visions after the events occur and never before? In the following case, Jim Bakker tells viewers on August 12, 2011, that he predicted 9/11.

He was only a decade late in mentioning it.

HT: Slaughter of the Sheep

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What Vine are you Abiding In? (Part 2)

What Vine are you Abiding In? (Part 2)

Please take some time and read What Vine are you Abiding In? (Part 1). In Part 1, we looked at the context and background for our passage John 15:1-11 and Jesus’ teaching regarding the vine and the branches. We also had to face the tough question: “What vine are you abiding in? Jesus, the true vine? Or one that is untrue?

Now, in Part 2, we’ll ask another tough question: “What fruit are you bearing?”

BEARING FRUIT

Let’s jump back into our passage from John 15:

John 15:4 “…As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

So, what kind of fruit are you bearing? Are you bearing any fruit at all? Surely you are bearing fruit…its either good fruit or its bad fruit.

The purpose of the branch is to bear fruit. It is completely useless if it does not bear fruit. Notice how, from Part 1, the branches are pruned, cut off, and taken away, but the vine is never pruned or cutoff. There is no other purpose for the branch than to bear fruit. In order to bear fruit the branch must be fully connected to the vine. The branch gets all its sustenance from the vine. All the water and nutrients come from the roots to the vine to the branches in order to bear fruit. If the branch is disconnected or partially connected, it will NOT bear fruit…and we know what happens to that branch.

Jesus mentions “FRUIT” 6 times in this passage, do you think he is serious about it?

BAD FRUIT

Are you abiding in one of these unTRUE vines? One of these FALSE vines described earlier which makes you bear BAD FRUIT? False fruit? What does bad fruit look like? Let’s consider several passages from the Apostle Paul:

Romans 1:28-32

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. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Any of these sound familiar? Recognize any of those fruits in your life? How about these: Continue reading →

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Starbucks at the Expense of Gospel Outreach?

As our family continues down the road, I never cease to be amazed at those who tell us, “Oh, I could never do what you are doing!” Or, they may comment, “Lord bless you, but that type of work is definitely not for me!”

Similar phrases normally revolve around the lack of amenities that are available in Liberia such as no electricity, little to no running water except in Monrovia, very poor roads, and an infrastructure that is probably 100 years behind America.

Yet, each time I hear these type of comments, I remember a quote I once heard that says,

“How much is too much for something or someone you love?”

The reference, as I recall, was John 3:16, “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.”

The Lord Jesus Christ, who had need of nothing, laid aside the splendors of glory to come down to a sin-cursed world, took upon Himself human flesh, and became a servant, obedient even to the death of the cross. This was NOT too much for our Savior to do in order that He might redeem to Himself His elect from every tongue, people, and nation.

2000 years have passed since the Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth and there are billions who have never heard the gospel even once. Here in the west, we hear it on the radio, see it preached on the television, sit through brief sermonettes supposedly proclaiming the gospel and the glory of Christ, but rarely does anything change either in our hearts or in our lives.

Little more than 100 years ago, here in America, most did not have electricity, and very little running water unless it was hand-pumped. Trains were slow and travel to many parts of the USA was difficult. There was no Starbucks, no Wal-Mart, and no grocery stores lined with enough merchandise valued at what some small countries spend in an entire year on their own economy.

Let me put a little perspective into this last statement. The US Central Intelligence Agency puts Liberia’s GDP at $3.6 billion per year. Wal-Mart has annual sales of more than $370 billion. In other words, the total income of Liberia is just 1/10th of what Americans spend at Wal-Mart alone! This does not include the next top 5: Home Depot, Kroger, Target, Sears, and Costco. These last five stores account for another $340 billion in annual sales.

Does this not startle us? Does it not shock us? What about Starbucks? Annual sales for Starbucks in 2010 was $8.96 billion, which is 2 1/2 times the size of Liberia’s entire GDP!

Now it is no secret to family and friends that I do not like Wal-Mart for a variety of reasons, but I will admit to having had my share of Starbucks $4-5 cup of coffee. The more I consider the poverty around the world, the more it hurts when I take money the Lord has entrusted to my stewardship to buy a drink that is the equivalent of 2-3 days of work for a Liberian brother or sister. Yet I wonder how often our conscience is often soothed while we drink our lattes and iced cappuccinos and maybe even offer a quick prayer that the Lord will bless our Christian brothers overseas.

With this post, I am not advocating the boycott of Wal-Mart or Starbucks. What I am seeking to do is put a little perspective into what is often a mundane existence for us in the West. When our brothers and sisters are in need, I grow more and more convinced that we will give account for what we do with our finances.

So, we go back to the question of “How much is too much for someone or something you love?” Do we easily and glibly rattle off “For God so loved the world” and proclaim that while the gospel is for the world, we cannot be bothered to reach out because we are more interested in spending our funds on that which will gather moth and rust and will eventually decay?

Sundays in many evangelical circles even take this to an additional level. We gather around bagels, donuts, and lattes because without them we won’t draw the same size crowd. While everyone sips their drinks and proclaims how good and awesome God is, souls are slipping into eternity while we ease into Sunday barcoloungers and absent-mindedly throw a few crumpled dollars into the offering plate. As it slips from our fingers, we may even ask the Lord to “bless” our humble offerings and cause the gospel to be spread around the world.

Who are we fooling? What is wrong with us in the West that we can be blessed with so much and yet think that we have a responsibility to give so little? Jesus Christ came and gave of Himself in death – the ultimate sacrifice – so that we might be free from the penalty of death. How much is too much for us to give? Are we willing to do more than give of our finances? Will we give of ourselves?

The phrases often quoted to us are not just fair pictures of the malaise in evangelical churches when it comes to true sacrifice and the cause of missions. It is actually a reflection that maybe even at the base level – sometimes even a Starbucks White Chocolate Raspberry Mocha is too much for the Someone we claim to love.

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The stranger.

The Stranger

(Author Unknown)

A few months before I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer, and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later.

As I grew up I never questioned his place in our family. Mom taught me to love the word of God, and dad taught me to obey it. But the stranger was our storyteller. He could weave the most fascinating tales. Adventures, mysteries and comedies were daily conversations. He could hold our whole family spell-bound for hours each evening.

If I wanted to know about politics, history, or science, he knew it all. He knew about the past, understood the present, and seemingly could predict the future. The pictures he could draw were so life like that I would often laugh or cry as I watched.

He was like a friend to the whole family. He took Dad, Bill and me to our first football game. He was always encouraging us to see the movies and he even made arrangements to introduce us to several movie stars.

The stranger was an incessant talker. Dad didn’ t seem to mind but sometimes mom would quietly get up while the rest of us were enthralled with one of his stories of faraway places and go to her room, read her Bible and pray. I wonder now if she ever prayed that the stranger would leave.

You see, my dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions. But this stranger never felt obligation to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our house–not  from us, from our friends, or adults. Our longtime visitor, however, used occasional four letter words that burned my ears and made dad squirm. To my knowledge the stranger was never confronted. My dad was a teetotaler who didn’t permit alcohol in his home–not even for cooking. But the stranger felt like we needed exposure and enlightened us to other ways of life. He offered us beer and other alcoholic beverages often.

He made cigarettes look tasty, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (too much too freely) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing. I know now that my early concepts of the man-woman relationship were influenced by the stranger.

As I look back, I believe it was the grace of God that the stranger did not influence us more. Time after time he opposed the values of my parents. Yet he was seldom rebuked and never asked to leave.

More than thirty years have passed since the stranger moved in with the young family on Morningside Drive. He is not nearly so intriguing to my Dad as he was in those early years. But if I were to walk into my parents home today, you would still see him sitting over in a corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.

His name?…..We always just called him…TV

See also The Stranger sermon by Pastor Tim Conway.