Religion

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A Catholic Leap

There is little doubt that many Roman Catholic doctrines simply aren’t in the Bible. They’ve been introduced by the Roman Catholic Church over the centuries. Much as Muslims make weak attempts to find prophecies about Muhammad in the Bible, Catholics grasp at straws to find support for their doctrines in the Bible.

I recently had a conversation with a couple of knowledgeable Catholics. I started by discussing the fact that the Bible blatantly contradicts some of their beliefs. Specifically, they claimed that atheists “of good will” could end up in heaven. There are dozens of verses that prove that line of thinking wrong, and I quoted a few to them. Their response was that they don’t care what I say about the Bible, because according to Catholic teaching, no one is able to interpret the Bible outside the authority of Rome.

This was the first time I’d heard that from a Catholic, and it turns out that it really is the standard teaching of Rome, and it’s based on a misinterpretation of 2 Peter 1:20. Later, they mentioned that there really is no infallible interpretation of this verse, so I’m not sure what authority they have to give any interpretation of that verse.

I showed them Acts 17:11, which describes how the Bereans were commended for scrutinizing Paul’s teaching with the Scripture. I asked them why the Bereans were able to verify Paul’s teaching with the Scripture, but today I am unable to verify Rome’s teaching with Scripture. They never directly answered my question. I gave up asking the question when the only “answer” provided was:

Why did Paul have to “check in” with the Apostles and have them lay hands on him to continue his ministry?

That has absolutely nothing to do with my question. Honest, knowledgeable answers generally don’t start with a “why” and end with a question mark.

They do think that I should verify the doctrines of Rome, but not by searching Scripture. I should determine the truth of Rome’s claims by verifying that their doctrines haven’t changed over the last 2,000 years, and I should do this by reading church fathers. (They were kind enough to give me a list of church fathers to check out.)

But this only leads to more questions. If I’m not trustworthy enough to interpret Scripture, why am I trustworthy enough to interpret the writings of church fathers? Why should I read the second generation (or later) of Christian beliefs when the Bible provides the first generation? If two church fathers disagree (there are many early “Christians” who were outright heretics), which one is trustworthy?

There is no good way to test the Catholic Church. Bottom line: I’m supposed to become a Catholic, because the pope says so.

Trust me.

At the root of this disagreement is the epistemology of Catholics and Evangelicals. Evangelicals believe the Bible is the only source for absolute truth, and Catholics have the Bible plus their tradition. The problem is that the Bible is insufficient to arrive at modern Catholic doctrines (if not contradictory to those doctrines), and there is no other infallible, inerrant source to attest to Catholic doctrines. In order to buy into the teaching of Rome, you must take a blind leap of faith.

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Quotes (696)

When was the last time you heard of a church rebuking members for gossip, admonishing men for the immodest dress of their wives and daughters, or excommunicating a member for adultery? Today’s evangelical church may take a strong stand on fundamental doctrines like the divine nature of Christ and the inspiration of Scripture, but it too often denies this Christ and this inspired Word by not practicing a true Christian lifestyle. The pattern of life of most Christians is so much like the world around them that they blend right in and cannot serve as salt and light.

– Philip Lancaster

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Here’s a shocker: The false gospel of John Crowder, Benjamin Dunn, and Sloshfest originated from an LSD drug-induced experience.

When you read a quote like this . . .

Heaven is going to be wild. God will show up and be the life of the party. We want to see fun coming back into the Church.

. . . you know the blasphemous duo of Crowder and Dunn isn’t far behind.

The 38-year-old [Sloshfest organizer David Vaughan] from nearby Pontypool is a former drug-user who makes no apologies for painting God as a party animal who wants to win over youngsters with supernatural highs. Bizarrely, David greets me at the door wearing a monk outfit – he is joined by dozens of dancing pirates, an Abraham Lincoln, a unicorn, winged fairy and a court jester draped in Christmas lights.

The Sun recently ran an article on the demonic revelry known as Sloshfest entitled The Ravers Who Get High on God in which the sons of Hell, Crowder and Dunn, were in attendance.

And as with any gathering of these folks, demonic activity (e.g. possession) is present:

A middle-aged woman calling herself Pinky Pirate dashes to the front and grabs a microphone. The crowd screams with delight as she shakes uncontrollably and bellows: “It is such a wild fire. It is a fierce wild fire. It is untamable and undomesticated.” . . . Amid the chaos a woman dressed as a pirate queen crawls past muttering. Strangely, despite no sign of alcohol or drugs being consumed, she and many other worshippers look spaced out, with red, puffy eyes and a vacant stare. Standing up, she shakes my hand and slurs: “I’m Mrs Jesus. I love my husband” (Emphasis mine)

This article also reveals how John Crowder came to be the ravenous wolf he is today:

Before addressing the lively Welsh crowd, the 6ft 5in David Blaine lookalike tells me he became a Christian after a Godly experience on LSD. John, 33, from California, says: “I was a party guy at college and became an alcoholic within the first year, sometimes downing up to 36 beers in a single day. I also did recreational drugs and during an LSD trip in a bar I had a profound encounter with God. I knew that if I went to sleep that night without changing my ways, I would surely die. When I sobered up I stopped doing drugs and became devoted to Jesus.  Now I want people to see that church isn’t dour and dreary. It is an awareness of the mystical, fun and joyful nature of God.”

We used to identify people who had mystical experiences with “god” during a drug induced high (predominant in the 1960s) as burned out hippies. Now they sell books and their followers call them “Christian.”

Finally, the article wraps up with this telling quote:
Outside, a curious passer-by peers through a steamed-up window. Chuckling, he shakes his head and says: “Looks like one hell of a party.”
And so the world passes by shaking their head at yet another false image of Christianity and all they see is a group of unregenerated sinners who’ve created a “party-god” who demands little and expects nothing while winking and nodding  at their partying on the broad road to Hell with “Jesus” on their lips.

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Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. – Ephesians 5:6-10

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10 reasons to return to an oppressive, dead religion that preaches a gospel that cannot save.

It appears that the Catholic church is continuing to resort to marketing schemes to draw people back to the oppressive, dead religion of Rome.

It was only a few weeks ago that I posted a video highlighting this new trend and–if you thought it was only an isolated incident–I submit for your consideration another example of this Roman Catholic pragmatic approach to church growth found over at A Little Leaven where Chris Rosebrough aptly introduces the video by saying

If you know your Bible this video will give you several more reasons to not return to Rome.

Personally, I think for their number one reason they should have cited Proverbs 26:11

Like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.

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Quptes (693)

A W Pink The Word declares, “The carnal mind is enmity against God” (Romans 8:7). Multitudes go through the form of paying homage to God, but of a “god” of their own imagination. They hate the living God, and, were it possible, would rid the universe of Him. This is clear from their treatment of Christ, for He was none other than “God . . . manifest in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16). They hated and hounded Him to death, and nothing short of death by crucifixion would appease them. At Calvary the real character of man was revealed, and the desperate wickedness of his heart laid bare.

– A.W. Pink

1886 – 1952

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Rome’s Purgatorial Arguments and Blasphemy

Please watch the video below where James White from Alpha and Omega critically analyzes Catholic Answer’s Tim Staples’ purgatorial arguments.  He also shares about the Catholic doctrine of purgatory which statues that nearly all Catholics must endure the purging flames of purgatory to make full expiation for their sins.  Sins that the Catholic Jesus was unable to remove from his work at Calvary.

 

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Quotes (692)

voddie-baucham If our homes are to reflect our position as the people of God in the midst of the opposition of a pagan culture, we, like the Israelites, must learn to love. Our homes must be rife with the aroma of love. Those who visit us should notice immediately that they have left the world of self-serving, egocentric narcissism and have entered a safe harbor where people value and esteem others above themselves. Outsiders should enter our homes and never want to leave. Our neighbors should find excuses to visit us just to get another whiff of the fragrant aroma of love. The brokenhearted should long to be near us. The downtrodden and the abused should seek us out. Families on the brink of disaster should point to us and say, “Why can’t out homes be like that?”

– Voddie Baucham

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Jonah: The Father’s sovereignty and the Son’s deity.

I was recently reading Jonah when I discovered something throughout the book: The thread of the Father’s sovereignty which leads to the Son’s deity.

You can see God’s sovereignty throughout Jonah in the following verses where He displays His majestic control over His creation.

God is sovereign over . . .

1:7 – The lots. (You didn’t really think it was coincidence it revealed Jonah, did you? See Proverbs 16:33.)

1:14, 1:15, 4:8 – The storms and the wind.

1:17, 2:10 – The fish of the sea. (Even the really, really big ones. Who did you think directed the animals onto Noah’s Ark, and who did you think directed the ravens to bring Elijah food in 1 Kings 17:6?)

2:6 – Jonah’s very life.

3:5 – The salvation of an entire city of over 120,000. (This is also known as election.)

3:9, 4:2 – His own anger.

3:10, 4:2 – Calamity. (Yes, even in places like Haiti.)

4:6 – The plants.

4:7 – The insects. (Remember that little plague of insects the Egyptians had to endure prior to the Exodus?)

In the midst of all this, two things stand out to me in these verses that should not be missed.

1). Only God can forgive sins (Psalm 79:9, Isaiah 55:7).

2). Man can’t even control the wind (Ecclesiastes 8:8) but God controls the storms (Psalm 65:7, 89:9, 107:29, 135:7).

When one compares these truths of God the Father with that of His Son we plainly see that the only person to walk this earth that not only controlled storms (Matthew 8:26-27 and Luke 8:24-25) but could forgive sins (Matthew 9:2, Mark 2:5-6, and Luke 5:20-21) was none other than the glorious Mediator between man and God, the perfect spotless Lamb of God, the eternal Son, Emmanuel, Yeshua Ha’Mashiach, God in the flesh, the Lord Jesus Christ.


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Sermon of the week: “Grace secured – Limited Atonement” by Brian Borgman.

Brian Borgman If you struggle with the doctrine of Limited Atonement, I have just the sermon for you. I am confident that after listening to Grace secured – Limited Atonement, you will now be able to confidently place an “L” smack dab in the middle of your T.U.L.I.P.

Brian Borgman does a fabulous job in demonstrating from Scripture that Christ died for His elect, and not for everyone (e.g. those who reject Him).

You may want to have a pen and paper handy to jot down the copious Scriptural references that Borgman provides (and feel free to share them with DefCon readers in the comments section).

This is part nine of Borgman’s thirteen-part series on the Doctrines of Grace entitled Introduction to the Reformed Faith. Look for the each additional installment every couple weeks.


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What do D.B. Cooper, Jimmy Hoffa, the Fountain of Youth, and Mormon archaeological evidence have in common?

None of them have ever been found!

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Lectio Divina

Lectio Divina, the new rage of the Emergent Church as they run pell mell back to Rome.  The subject itself is very serious but sometimes laughter is much needed medicine to the soul.  In this light, I’ve included a link here for your listening enjoyment.  It is a satirical radio sketch of Rob Bell’s Lectio Divina by Marty Python’s Flying Circus Church which, if you have a sense of humor like mine, will not only give you a great laugh but also will, in a more serious way, reveal the foolishness and absurdity of this so-called spiritual practice.  [Thanks to A Little Leaven!]

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The Reformation View of Roman Catholicism

From the works of Martin Luther (1483-1546)

What is the whole papacy but a beautiful false front and a deceptively glittering holiness under which the wretched devil lies in hiding? The devil always desires to imitate God in this way. He cannot bear to observe God speaking. If he cannot prevent it or hinder God’s Word by force, he opposes it with a semblance of piety, takes the very words God had spoken and so twist them as to peddle his lies and poison under their name. (What Luther Says, II: 10007)

Since the papal church not only neglects the command of Christ but even compels the people to ignore it and to act against it, it is certain that it is not Christ’s church but the synagogue of Satan which prescribes sin and prohibits righteousness. It clearly and indisputably follows that it must be the abomination of Antichrist and the furious harlot of the devil. (What Luther Says, II: 1019)

The negotiation about doctrinal agreement displeases me altogether, for this is utterly impossible unless the pope has his papacy abolished. Therefore avoid and flee those who seek the middle of the road. Think of me after I am dead and such middle-of-the-road men arise, for nothing good will come of it. There can be no compromise. (What Luther Says, II: 1019)

Read the rest of the article here.

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Scott Hodge and his hodge-podge of Roman Catholic meditative monastic heresy.

Chris Rosebrough is tackling an unbelievable issue that has crept into the church: The continued march backward into Romanism by supposed Evangelicals (some of which are the golden calves of Americanized Christianity) through the use of monastic meditation practices. He addresses this in his post Purpose-Driven Roman Catholic Monastic Mysticism (which is where I obtained the quotes below).

Roman Catholic Monastic Mysticism is becoming all the rage among innovative post-modern purpose-driven pastors. Practices developed by Roman Catholic Monks such as the Lectio Divina, The Practice of the Presence of God and the Prayer Examen which was created by on [sic] of the arch enemies of the Protestant Reformation, Ignatius Loyola are openly being promoted by an alarming number of seeker-driven / Purpose-Driven pastors. These so-called ’spiritual disciplines’ are being featured at Willow Creek, Saddleback, and Mars Hill to name just a few.

Rosebrough examines an absolutely astonishing sermon from seeker-sensitive pastor Scott Hodge who teaches his whole congregation that practicing the mystical Lecito Divina (like eating at a five-star restaurant) is somehow better than reading the Scriptures for yourself without the magical formula (like eating McDonalds). This is unbelievable when you consider Hodge is considered an evangelical protestant. What in the world did Luther break from Romanism for if this guy is directing his people to place the yoke back upon their necks and return to the bondage of Rome’s dead religion?

Let me be clear here, Pastor Scot Hodge is not promoting meditative practices similar to Lecito Divina, he’s promoting Lecito Divina itself. He spends the overwhelming majority of his sermon singing its praises and he even walks his whole congregation through a Lecito Divina session that will make your hair stand on end (for those familiar with Eastern mysticism and New Age practices).

To hear this unbelievable “sermon” and Rosebrough’s commentary with it, you can download it by right clicking here. It starts at 1:08:08 into the podcast.

While listening to this sermon, keep in mind that this Roman Catholic mystical practice was developed by men who did not believe in salvation by grace alone through faith alone by Christ’s work alone. These monks were trying to earn their salvation through their monkery. These practices are not taught in the scriptures. Neither Jesus, his disciples, the prophets nor the patriarchs practiced Lectio Divina. This Roman Catholic practice is pure monastic mythology and spiritual fantasy and rather than helping you experience God, it is more likely that you will experience self deception or demonic spirits.

For those unfamiliar with Scott Hodge, DefCon dealt with him back in 2007 when his video mocking the sacred ordinance of baptism was making its rounds on the internet. You can check out our previous post on Scott Hodge in the post Narcissism Gone Wild.

The fact that seeker-driven and Purpose-Driven pastors are adopting Roman Catholic Monastic practices in droves proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that chasing after relevance has caused them to abandon Biblical truth and they are now being blown about by every wind of false doctrine. (Eph. 4:7-19) Sadly, this is what happens when you try to marry the church to the ’spirit of the age’.

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Quotes (691)

This is the thought that should be uppermost on your mind in all you do for your children. In every step you take about them, in every plan and scheme and arrangement that concerns them, do not leave out that mighty question, “How will this affect their souls?”

– J.C. Ryle

1816 – 1900

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Haiti – A Nation in Darkness Needing Light

As we all know Haiti has suffered a catastrophic earthquake that has killed hundreds of thousands of people, where countless additional lives hang in the balance due to lack of water, food and medical care.  What many may not know though is that Haiti is a nation in darkness, spiritual darkness as it is largely given over to Voodoo and has been for years. 

Before continuing, what exactly is Voodoo?  According to Dictionary.com, it is said to be:

A religion practiced chiefly in Caribbean countries, especially Haiti, syncretized from Roman Catholic ritual elements and the animism and magic of slaves from West Africa, in which a supreme God rules a large pantheon of local and tutelary deities, deified ancestors, and saints, who communicate with believers in dreams, trances, and ritual possessions. Also called vodoun.1

From the same source, animism is said to be:

1. The belief in the existence of individual spirits that inhabit natural objects and phenomena.  2. The belief in the existence of spiritual beings that are separable or separate from bodies.2

So we can see that “Voodoo grew out of the animist religions [which were] brought to the country by [African] slaves.” This religion “…was then overlaid by the Catholicism of the plantation owners … [which] led in many places to syncretism, or fusing, of the two belief systems.” 3  A fusing that has given Haiti its dominant syncretistic  religion that mixes Catholicism and Voodoo; a religion it has practiced  for hundreds of years. 

But Voodoo was never a recognized religion in Haiti even though most practiced it in one form or another.  All of this changed in 2003 when Voodoo was “…recognised as a religion on a par with others worshipped in the country.” 4 This formal recognition was done by Haiti’s President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

A godly nation would have wept at such a decision, but not so in Haiti since it is said that “…over 90% of Haitians are voodooisant.”5  Voodoo being a religion that is practiced in the open and in the home “…where each family has their own collection of household gods, many of them Catholic saints. In many households, it sits comfortably alongside a family’s Catholic observance.”6  Catholic observance that is not merely winked at but supported as the “…Catholic church officially backs the right of families to practise voodoo.”7  How accommodating of the Vatican!

Yet there is hope for the people of Haiti even in the midst of such unimaginable suffering.  Hope that will not be found in Voodoo any more than it will be in Catholicism.  Rather, the hope is in Jesus Christ, the light of the world that came to destroy the works of the devil and darkness; the very works that Voodoo glorifies and embodies.  Jesus can set the people of Haiti free but it must be the Jesus as revealed in the Scriptures and not the idols of Catholicism or the “Eucharist Jesus” which lead not to freedom but more bondage. 

Thankfully, the gospel message is being preached in Haiti as there are believers and missionaries there.  Individuals who obviously need our prayers and support not only due to their physical sufferings, but also the spiritual darkness that covers their land.  We can only hope that the earthquake will engender godly fear in the people whereby they repent lest a worse thing happen unto them.

Below I have included a few videos for the readers of DefCon to get better educated on Haiti so you can properly pray for the people of this land.  Note that the first two videos show demonic posession.  If you only watch one video, please make sure it is the last one.

Footnotes
1 – “voodoo.” Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 29 Jan. 2010. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/voodoo>.
2 – “animism.” Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 29 Jan. 2010. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/animism>.
3 – Gledhill, Ruth. “Voodoo faith ‘could hinder Haiti’s recovery from quake’.” TIMESONLINE January 15, 2010. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6990002.ece
4 – BBC News.  “Haiti makes voodoo official.” BBC News April 30, 2003.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2985627.stm
5 – Ibid.
6 – Gledhill, Ruth.  “Voodoo faith ‘could hinder Haiti’s recovery from quake’.”
7 – Ibid.

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Sermon of the week: “Sheep Among Wolves” by John MacArthur.

John MacArthur Your sermon of the week is a two part message by John MacArthur entitled Sheep Among Wolves. MacArthur identifies how to spot the wolves, what methods they will use to kill the sheep, and how the sheep should respond to the presence of wolves. I highly recommend this to the readers of DefCon.

Sheep Among Wolves 1

Sheep Among Wolves 2

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See the DefCon post: Are We Supposed To Pray For The Wolves?

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Quotes (688)

Instead of the Bible’s masculine doctrine of salvation in which an initiating God acts with efficacious love to subdue His chosen people to Himself, much of the church now proclaims a passive God who offers His love but would not think of imposing His love on His bride. The pallid Jesus stands at the door and knocks, hoping we’ll let Him in. God is no longer presented as the very archetype of masculine power and love. This kind of feminized doctrine has contributed to the proliferation of feminized men who stand fearful even before their wives. If God is feminized, what chance do Christian men have?

– Philip Lancaster

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Islamic Paradise and Jesus

Video about the work of God in Islamic nations and a searcher for truth who places his faith in Jesus. Please pray for this very dangerous work and that Islam might fall not by the bloody sword of the Crusaders, or the bombs of the American military machine, but rather by the Living Word of God. And that men might be raised up to translate sound doctrinal materials into Arabic and send to our brothers and sisters and those on the front line.

فيديو حول عمل الله في الدول الاسلامية والباحث عن الحقيقة الذي يضع ثقته في يسوع. على المسلم الصادق ، ونحن نصلي عليك أ

تنظر في هذه الأمور والبحث كما فعل هذا الطالب من أجل الحقيقة ، الحقيقة سوف تجد في يسوع.

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The peddler of false assurance.

Recently my grandfather was in the hospital for a week (it was looking pretty serious). On one of my visits to the hospital with my grandmother present, a nice white-haired man in a dress shirt and a tie entered the room. He introduced himself as a Eucharist Minister (I saw where this was going).

He was “doing his rounds” throughout the hospital visiting those who listed themselves as Roman Catholics on their intake papers and wanted to know if my grandfather wished to take (the heretically distorted version of Rome’s) holy communion. Of course both my grandparents were anxious to do so and stopped their profanities, taking of God’s name in vain, and all their other pet sins long enough to be good Catholics for a moment in the presence of such a holy man.

This man asked if we were all Roman Catholics and after my grandparents said yes, I said, “No, I’m a Christian.” Immediately realizing that his response was inevitably going to be “we’re all Christians,” I cut him off before he had a chance to tell that lie and I added, “Protestant,” for clarification.

My grandfather jokingly replied, “We won’t hold that against you.” And of course this stranger representing Rome agreed, confirming they don’t hold anything against anyone. (How kind of him.)

Because challenging this man in front of my grandparents would do more harm than good, I bit my tongue. He then wasted no time as he leapt into ecumenical action requesting that since we were all Christians “let us pray to God together.”

I stood and watched as this man who knows nothing about my grandparents, their lives, their sins, their struggles, or even their current relationship with God, blasphemously stood in the place of the Lord Jesus Christ as their mediator and prayed for them to be forgiven of their sins.

And what sin of my grandparents did this stranger clairvoyantly hone in on as their biggest sin, requiring special emphasis and forgiveness from? Why, none other than their needing to be forgiven of their sin of not realizing how close God is to them and that God is near to them at all times.

After this feel-good prayer of pseudo-repentance while avoiding the real issues of their sin nature in all its abhorrent wretchedness and hostility toward God, we were now ready for communion! (If only the hospital was this quick with their formalities before moving on to administer care and medicine.)

The man then reached into the pocket of his slacks and pulled out a round object. It was very similar to an Altoid tin. This man then opened the lid to reveal a bunch of white squares resembling Chiclets gum. He removed one of the squares, and holding it between his two fingers, held it in front of him so that my grandparents could see it. He then presumptuously announced, “This is the Lamb of God.” I could endure no more and removed myself from the room with an exhale that I’m certain he heard.

This false teacher peddling his false assurance had the audacity to call a little piece of food the very Lamb of God; what utter blasphemy. Yet my grandparents clung to every word of this fork-tongued tool of Satan, and now had clean consciences to continue about their normal lifestyles of rampant and impenitent sin.

Sadly, late at night while I sat alone by my grandfather’s bedside trying desperately to convey the gospel of Jesus Christ to him (Law first), he remained completely averse to it. After all, the nice priestly mediator already prayed for him and he took communion, so what need does he have of a propitiation for his sins?

Not even his brush with death that put him in the hospital could rouse him from his spiritual slumber. My grandfather opined that God understands that he’s just a human, and with a nice condescending pat on my arm he assured me that all will be well . . . all will be well.


“They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace.” – Jeremiah 16:14