Dear Reader:

I am just a lay person at a large, healthy (rare) SBC church in North Carolina under the leadership of a great pastor. I am not a theologian, or seminarian, but I do study the Bible a lot, and study current events as they relate to the Bible and Christianity. I like to write about the things that I study, and I like to help make people aware of things that I see going on in the Church today. Although my writings aren’t perfect, I seek to honor and glorify God always.

I affirm the Trinity, and I affirm Jesus Christ exclusively as the only means of salvation from our sin. Although I lean “Reformed” in my understanding of the Gospel, I am not a staunch Calvinist by any means. I generally subscribe to the doctrine of Concurrence. Neither am I a staunch Dispensationalist, though I lean slightly toward the belief in a pre-wrath, if not a pre-trib rapture. I could certainly be wrong. But what I am is a Bible believer, and stand on the Word of God alone as my final authority, and do not believe that God speaks specifically to us in any way outside of the canon of Scripture, and his created universe as a means of General Revelation only. God does not come to us in dreams or visions today.

I chose Psalm 12 Outreach as the title of my blog, because I believe it is similar to what is happening in the Church today. I believe many faithful pastors, preachers and teachers have disappeared from the Church, and have been replaced by wolves in sheep’s clothing. But I also believe that when Jesus Christ returns, he will prevail over the attacks of Satan on our churches, and he will be glorified. Psalm 12 says:

1 Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone;
for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
2 Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue that makes great boasts,
4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
our lips are with us; who is master over us?”
5 “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord;
“I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.
7 You, O Lord, will keep them;
you will guard us from this generation forever.
8 On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

But I seek to take the good news of Jesus Christ to those who will still hear his word, and teach Christians to be discerning in these days of Apostasy. I pray you will gain something from reading my blog, and I humbly ask that you share it with other if you find it edifying.

God Bless,
Jeff Maples

The GOSPEL is the greatest news for anyone, any man, any woman, every child on earth. Jesus Christ died on the Cross to save YOU! The Bible tells us that ALL fall short of God’s glory, and that we are ALL in need of his mercy. It can be confusing if you don’t understand the Gospel. Some people think that they should try to get their life together before they come to God. Some people think that they need to be regenerated by God before they can exercise faith. But the truth is, God wants you to come just as you are. Matthew 9:13 tells us “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

……..So how do we come to Christ?

First and foremost you must recognize that you are a sinner in need of God’s mercy and Grace. The Bible tells us on Romans 5 that because of Adam’s sin, we are all separated from God, and are in need of His salvation. Ecclesiastes 7:20 says “For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin.” In other words, you DO NOT deserve salvation, because you are not sinless. The only sinless man that ever walked the earth was Jesus Christ.(1 Peter 2:22, Heb 4:15, etc.) You cannot save yourself, only Christ can save you. There is no amount of good you can do to deserve salvation, but by the grace of God. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

The penalty must be paid. For you to come to the Lord, the penalty for your sins must be paid. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” is declared in Romans 6:23. In the old testament, we learn that before the time of Christ, God required blood for the atonement of sins. This involved the sacrifice of animals offered to God. So how does Jesus atone for our sins? Since Christ is infinitely perfect and holy, (1 Peter 2:22, etc.) and since “God made Christ Who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him,” (2 Corinthians 5:21) His sacrifice on the Cross is infinitely sufficient to atone for the sins of all who will receive Him. Why did He do this? Because He loves us so much. He is our creator. He created us to have a relationship with us for His own glory. “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.” (John 3:16)

Believe Jesus rose from the dead. Paul says in 1 Cor 15:3-5, “ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.” This passage is the entire gospel summed up. Paul is clearly teaching that Christ’s resurrection is essential to our salvation, and that without it, there is no resurrection of those who have believed. Paul goes on to say in 1 Cor 15:12-19:

Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

You must also realize that Christ is the only one that can save you. Acts 4:12 says “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” But thankfully we have Christ to turn to when we are dead in our trespasses and sins.

Repent and Believe! You must repent of your sins. Luke 13:5 says “…unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” Repent means to completely turn from your sins, a change of heart, a decision to obey God. This must not be confused with works, because the repentance is also a gift from God. Romans 3:11 tells us that “There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.” We cannot repent on our own. John 6:44 also says “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” God must grant it to us, and he does. He does this by the preaching and proclaiming of the Gospel. Luke states in Acts 11:18 that “When they heard these things [Peter’s Sermon on God’s Grace] they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, ‘Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.'” Take a look at this passage from Romans 10:12-17

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “LORD, who has believed our report?” So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (emphasis mine)

God has granted you the ability, but it is your responsibility to repent. God can no more repent for you than he can believe for you. John 1:12 says “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” He gives you the power, (the right) to repent and believe when you receive the Gospel.

So what do you have to do to be saved? Recognize, repent, believe. Let me be clear, it’s Christ alone that saves you. He does not save you in response to any action of yours. He saves you through through faith that he has granted you, through the hearing of his word. If you’ve heard the Gospel, and you truly believe it, a typical response would be to get on your knees and thank him for saving you. Confess to Him that you are a sinner, and tell him that you truly want to follow Him. Thank Him for sending His Son to die on the cross for your sins, and raising Him from the dead that you may have life through Him. I’m not going to give you a “magic prayer” to pray, you must get on your knees and talk to Him from your heart. You must truly mean what you say to Him.

Matthew 7:21 says “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” There is nothing magical about the prayer itself, but it is simply an act of faith. Romans 10: 9-10 says “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Ezekiel 36:26 says, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” It is because of this new heart he has given you that you are now able to do his will. Your new heart, and your new spirit will be evidence that Christ is in you. Your desires will begin, through sanctification, to align more and more with the will of God.

Born Again The Bible says you must be “born again.” Jesus says in John 3:3 “…I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” What does that mean? The following passage in John 3:1-8 explains clearly:

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”

Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

To be born again means to be born from above. You are first born of the flesh, of your mother’s womb. You are literally “your mother’s child.” This is your physical birth. When you accept Christ as your Savior, (Repent, Believe) you are “born again” of spirit… of God. You now become a child of God as proclaimed in Romans 8:14 and as His child, you now take part in the inheritance, which is the kingdom of God. (Matthew 25:34) This is the essence of the Gospel.

Eternally Secure, Once you’ve made the decision to accept and follow Christ, you can rest assured that you have eternal life, and it cannot be taken away from you. It is maintained not by anything you can do, but by the hand of God. “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” (John 10:28) Something that is eternal cannot be taken away, otherwise it isn’t eternal, it would only be temporary. “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

Remember if you have made the decision to follow Christ, and become a Christian, it is your responsibility to share the good news with others. Also, you should find a Bible believing church to participate in. It is essential for Christians to fellowship with other Christians in order to grow in your relationship with God.

Every year, right before the SBC Annual Meeting, a two day Pastors’ Conference is held with various Southern Baptist preachers speaking at the event.  This year, the 2015 conference will be held June 14th and 15th in Toledo Ohio, and will be immediately followed by the SBC Annual meeting on the 16th and 17th.   The purpose of the event is to teach and encourage other preachers and pastors. Dr. Willy Rice of Calvary Baptist Church in Clearwater, FL, and president of the 2015 Conference, writes on the website:

We have assembled a stellar lineup of leaders and speakers whom God is using and blessing. There will be passionate worship, great music, and inspiring stories. This will be the very time you need to refresh your soul and renew your walk with God and friendship with fellow leaders. I believe this is going to be a special convention and our Pastor’s Conference is going to set the stage for a true work of God.

We shall see.

The Great Awakening

As with every event in the SBC, the Pastors’ Conference, historically speaking, isn’t without it’s problems.  It appears it will be no different this year.  The first problem of the 2015 conference is it’s theme. It is officially being promoted as the Great Awakening. This appears to be a theme based on the convention’s president, Dr. Ronnie Floyd’s ebook, “PLEADING WITH SOUTHERN BAPTISTS To Humbly Come Together Before God in Clear Agreement,Visible Union, and in Extraordinary Prayer for the Next Great Awakening and for the World to Be Reached for Christ.” Take a look at the logo from the Conference’s website. The logo states that the theme will be “Clear Agreement,” “Visible Union,” and “Extraordinary Prayer.”  Let’s dissect what exactly this New Age, ecumenical and contemplative sounding language means. On page 1 of Floyd’s book, he writes:

For the sake of our nation and the spiritually lost around the world, it is time to humble ourselves before God. For this, I plead with all Southern Baptist pastors, missionaries, laypersons, denominational leaders, churches, denominational entities, conventions, colleges and universities; from student to adult, regardless of age, vocation, or status.

As we come to God in humility and repentance, entering into this special season of extraordinary prayer, we plead with God for spiritual revival personally, revival in the church, and the next Great Awakening in the United States.

First of all, “The Great Awakening” is an idea that has been pushed by New Agers and the mystic religions for ages. Ashok Gangadean, professor of philosophy at Haverford College, founder of the Logos Institute, and co-convener of the World Commission on Global Consciousness and Spirituality, and well known New Age proponent states:

Perhaps the single most powerful event facing humanity today is a great awakening on a planetary scale that has been millennia in the making. We humans are in the midst of a profound advance as a species to a higher form of global consciousness that has been emerging across cultures, religions and worldviews through the centuries. This awakening of global consciousness is nothing less than a shift, a maturation, from more egocentric patterns of life to a higher form of integral and dialogic patterns of life. [Emphasis mine]

So how does this relate the visible Church?  Well, the ideas are the same.  In effect, what Floyd is saying in his ebook, is that we need to tear down our denominational walls, doctrinal boundaries, and biblical divisions. Well known ecumenical Southern Baptist “pastor,” and keynote speaker at the 2014 conference, Rick Warren prophesies “A great spirit awakening is on the horizon.” Warren vaguely defines the “Great Awakening” as it relates to the Church.

In the last three years, I’ve told you this several times: I believe God is preparing the church for another reformation. The first reformation focused on what the church believed; this one will focus on what it does.

For too long we’ve separated the Word of God from the work of God. As the church, we’re called to be the body of Christ – the whole body.

It isn’t exactly clear where how he received this revelation, but we can be sure that it didn’t come from God.  His prophecy basically outlines five man centered steps to “renew” the Church, water down doctrinal and denominational lines (including those of Roman Catholicism) and join together and unite under this new form of Emergent Christianity. The Emerging Church can be summed up by a few characteristics, including: tearing down down doctrinal divisions, a greater emphasis on sensory worship using candles, icons, images, incenses, etc. to bring about a feeling of “experiencing God,” and a reexamination of Scripture and the purpose of the Church in society.  A lot of what we see in these Emerging churches are the acceptance of mystic practices such as Yoga and contemplative prayer, and a deterioration of a clear presentation of the true Gospel as portrayed in Scripture.  There becomes less of an emphasis on God’s truth, and a greater emphasis on man’s feelings.  In a sense, it’s idolatry disguised as Christianity.

Clear Agreement

The next idea in the 2015 conference’s motto is “Clear Agreement.”  But Floyd never really defines in his book exactly how he wants us to come to this “clear agreement.”  He only states “Surely we can embrace with clear agreement that spiritual revival personally, spiritual revival in the church, and spiritual awakening in the nation are all needed so we can accelerate our pace in reaching the world for Christ.” Does he mean for us to set aside Biblical doctrine, hold hands, and unite in the name of Jesus for a man centered means of a better world?  I don’t know, but based on his history, he has already set aside Biblical doctrine for man-made theology.

President of the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission, and prominent speaker at this event, Dr. Russell Moore has demonstrated this time and time again.  In December of 2013, Moore sent out a tweet praising the pope of Rome for being named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year.  He has also openly praised Democratic, pro-life congressman Gene Taylor, calling him “the greatest public servant I’ve ever known.”  Really?  Moore, along with Rick Warren, recently visited the Vatican, setting aside the Gospel, to hold hands with unbelieving Catholics in the name of uniting on the issue of marriage.  Being salt and light, by taking them the Gospel is one thing, but rejecting the Gospel in order to have fellowship, is completely different thing.  The Bible tells us that we are not to have fellowship with unbelievers (2nd Cor. 6:14), nor are we to have anything to do with the unfruitful works of darkness, rather expose them (Eph. 5:11).

So is this what Floyd, and the SBC want us to “clearly agree” on?  This leads us to the next point in the motto, “Visible Union.”

Visible Union

So Floyd is pleading for the visible Church to “unite” in these ideas, visibly.  In other words, he wants the world to see what he thinks is the Church standing together regardless of important differences.  It seems that Floyd, and many others in the SBC are already doing this.  Take for example Lifeway Christian Stores. Recently, Lifeway’s Research Committe President, Ed Stetzer was confronted about heretical books being peddled in the store.  Instead of addressing the issue, Stetzer, and his companions first chose to ignore their critics.  But when pressure started to build, they began to marginalize the critics by saying that there were only a few of the same “angry Calvinists,” are always complaining.  After this comment sparked an uproar against Stetzer and Lifeway’s Gospel compromising practices, they began attacking the critics, however, still not addressing the issue.  The point is that these types of pastors dominate the SBC, and they all think alike.  Ronnie Floyd, Russell Moore, Ed Stetzer, Rick Warren…they all are willing to compromise the Gospel in some way in order to avoid offending other religions, and stand united in the name of man centered ideologies.

The Bible warns us of these unholy alliances, and predicts that these unions will happen more and more in the end times.

1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. (1st Timothy 4:1-5)

Notice verse 3 above, and what Ronnie Floyd is asking the Church to publicly do on page 10 of his ebook.  He is asking the pastors to lead their churches in a “corporate fast.”  I’m not aware of anywhere in Scripture that the church is called to fast corporately.  This is a practice of the Roman Catholic church, and is actually condemned in Scripture.  Fasting is something that should not be taken lightly by any means, and should never be done to draw attention under any circumstances. (Matthew 6:16)

Extraordinary Prayer

The last point in the motto is “Extraordinary Prayer.”  He doesn’t give a real description of what exactly he means by “Extraordinary Prayer,” however, he does have this to say about it:

Challenge your church to pause at either sunset on Saturday evening or sunrise on Sunday morning, to pray for three minutes for the anointing of God to come on their pastor as he preaches God’s Word and the anointing of God’s power to come upon the worship services of their church. Prayerfully, these 180 seconds of focused prayer will soon begin a true 180-degree change in our churches. While God creates the change within our churches spiritually, He will also lead us to strategic change in our churches in order to rise up like never before to do whatever it takes to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Who’s church gathers at sunset on Saturday evening?  I don’t know many Protestant churches that do, but I know one well known apostate church that does.  Does Floyd want believers to unite with unbelieving Roman Catholics in prayer?  It appears that Floyd believes that by all of these churches, with their congregations, all at the same time, for exactly 3 minutes, petitioning God to do something, is going to make a difference.  Now, I am certainly a proponent of prayer, both private and corporate, but it appears Dr. Floyd has a misunderstanding of the purpose of prayer.  Prayer is not a petition for a man centered desire, but a means to have a relationship with God on His terms.  First and foremost, we must be praying for God’s will to be done, and I’ve yet to see Floyd, or the SBC defend their agenda with Scripture.

Sure, there may be some positive aspects to this, but as a whole, it doesn’t appear that they are appealing to the will of God for their purposes.  I agree with them that we should be praying for a revival in the Church, but it appears the revival that they want is un-scriptural. They want us to set aside good doctrine, and take a watered down message to the world.  Rather than addressing the issues of man’s sinfulness and need for repentance and a Savior, they want to take the message of pro-life and traditional marriage, and stand in unity with unbelievers proclaiming these good works as a means to a better world.  There will, however, be a few excellent preachers at this conference. Namely, Clint Pressley and David Platt.  Both of them are great men of integrity, and excellent expositors of the Word of God.  Lets pray that the good, humble, believing pastors like these can have a positive impact on the SBC.   However, the Bible predicts that the visible Church in the end times will turn away from the truth, and start following doctrines of demons.  It looks like the SBC is falling away at a faster pace, and (God willing, unknowingly) helping to build the harlot church described in Revelation 17.

It also looks like God’s plan is completely different than the plan put forth by the SBC 2015 conference.  God’s plan never calls for a “Spiritual Awakening” in the end times, on the contrary, it says this will happen:

1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. [2nd Thes. 2:1-12]

** Update — See how Russell Moore is yoking up with the New Apostolic Reformation to advance Social Justice within the Church.

I often hear “Christians” say “God just wants us to enjoy life,” or “Christians don’t have to be so up tight all the time.”  Not incidentally, this often comes from those who regularly indulge themselves in worldly things.  But sometimes, even the most well meaning, well behaving Christians will express this.  But is this really what God wants? Some Christians, or people who claim to be Christians, may regularly attend church, study God’s word, and even participate in outreach programs or mission activities.  They may be able to quote Bible verses, and often pray with other Christians, or ask for prayer.  However, they only display these traits around other Christians.

Enter, the two faces of “Carnal Christianity.”

These “Christians,” though very knowledgeable, and very good actors, really haven’t submitted their lives to Christ. When they aren’t around other Christians who may be holding them accountable, they become a completely different person. (Or, should I say, return to being themselves?) Take for example, the Christian that loves NFL football.  Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with enjoying sports, or other interests for that matter, but when it causes a believer to not act like a believer, are you really a believer?  Are you sidelining your beliefs, putting them on hold, so you can fit in with the crowd you are watching the game with? Are you regularly skipping church service on Sunday mornings, because the football game is just too important?  I know a Christian who does this; He has no problem getting drunk, cussing, partying with a bunch of unbelievers, while never once extending the love or witness of Jesus Christ while, for example, watching the Superbowl. You would never know this person was a Christian if he didn’t tell you, as there are no fruits.  I’ve heard from this person on many occasions that I’m just too up tight, boring, and that I “need to get a life,” because I “spend too much time” studying God’s word, and things that pertain to Christ.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6:14, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?”  In other words, Christians aren’t supposed to integrate with the world, we’re supposed to stand apart from the world. Am I saying that we should not associate with non-Christians, or not have friends who aren’t believers?  No, but I am saying that we aren’t supposed to act like them.  We are supposed to be salt and light in a dark world of unrighteousness.  There are only two types of people in the world, consistently described throughout Scripture: people who belong to God, who have eternal life, and people who belong to the world and their god, Satan, who will have eternal death (Acts 26:18). The Greek word translated as fellowship throughout the Bible is Koinonia, and it primarily means “association, communion, joint participation.” The Bible tells us repeatedly that we are supposed to have this fellowship only with like-minded believers, and that having it with unbelievers corrupts the mind and the soul of the believer. (Proverbs 12:26, Proverbs 13:20, Proverbs 14:7, Proverbs 24:21, 1 Cor. 15:33)

So, are you really a Christian, if you are only a Christian around other Christians? Charles Spurgeon once said, “Sincerity makes the very least person to be of more value than the most talented hypocrite.” If we aren’t witnessing for Christ in our relationships with unbelievers, then we are being disobedient to God. Take a moment to think about your actions, and what they portray when you are around unbelievers. You cannot be devoted to both God, and things of the world (Mt 4:10, Mt. 6:24). As Christians, our delight is not in the world, but in God. (1st John 2:15-17)

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷ And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Our modern daily lives require us to be in constant contact with unbelievers.  We have coworkers, family members, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, who are totally lost, and on their way to Hell.  Jesus never tells us not to associate with these people, on the contrary, we are to love them, so much so, that we want them to know Christ as their savior too (Mark 16:15).  God does not want us to sit idly by, relax and have a good time, act like unbelievers and never take the Gospel to those who need it.  Sharing the Gospel is more than just talking it–it’s living it!  When your boss sends you on that business trip to Las Vegas, and you’re the only Christian in the group going, how does it serve the Kingdom to drink and gamble, and indulge in the sinful activities with others who don’t believe? What motivation does an unbeliever have to know Christ if he sees no difference, no fruits from the supposed believer?  Doesn’t this give the unbeliever a sense that joy in Christ isn’t enough, that we still need to “let go and let loose” sometimes in order to be fulfilled?  It seems to me that this would tell the unbeliever that being a Christian is too much work, and requires breaks to be satisfied, but in reality, the true believer desires the things of God, and is repentant of their sins.  The true believer is fulfilled in Christ (John 4:14), and desires to do the will of God (Luke 6:45).  It is the natural desire of man to work evil, to do things that are displeasing to God (Matthew 15:19). But God has sent the Holy Spirit to live in those who are saved, and we no longer have the heart of man, but have a regenerated heart of Christ (John 7:38-39).

Now, we are still human, and all human beings will stumble, but if you find yourself regularly indulging in worldly activities, and you feel no guilt, no remorse, no need for repentance, or you don’t believe there is anything wrong with it, my plea for you is to examine your heart.  Examine your faith to see if you are really in it. Desire to know the truth, and truth can be found in His word. If you can’t look back over the time since you were “saved,” and see a noticeable difference in your worldview, life and desires, and a definite growth in your relationship with Christ, you might not be saved.

The world is full of false teachers, preachers, and wolves in sheep’s clothing who claim that God isn’t concerned with our obedience to his laws, or otherwise try to rationalize a sinful lifestyle.  But these people are liars and deceivers.  They have even crept into the Church unnoticed, and are slowly taking over (Colossians 2:23; Jude 4). Be not deceived by this, as Jesus says in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Jesus says to these people, who act like Christians, but still serve the world, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” (Mt. 7:23)  If you’re not sure if you’re desires are in God, please see my post on how to be saved, The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I’ll end this post with the following clip of a sermon by Pastor Clint Pressley, of Hickory Grove Baptist Church.

Last week, Beth Moore of Living Proof Ministries declared that it was “hunting season for heretics” in her blog, where she likened a discerning 22 year old wife of a pastor to a witch hunter, and questioned this young lady’s ability to differentiate truth from error.  This young lady sent out a tweet basically calling Beth Moore the false teacher that she is.  After she found out she was the target of Moore’s rebuke, she reached out, and Moore responded via email. After a few rounds of back and forth of Moore attempting to rationalize her “revelations” and “visions” to a young woman she thought she could convince, Moore realized the young lady was more grounded in Scripture than she thought, and as she was challenged to answer questions and defend her position, Moore abruptly ended the exchange without answer.  This just goes to prove that Moore, and people like her, are only comfortable engaging people who are undiscerning, and unwilling to stand on the truth of Scripture as their final authority, just like most of her followers.

Let’s take for example some of the comments posted by Beth’s followers on her “hunting season” article. Now, I can’t examine the hearts or minds of any of these people based on any internet posting, nor can I judge their salvation, however, I can say for sure that if they actually believe some of the things they are posting, they could be in serious trouble with their beliefs.  The following comment by “Rhonda” on January 11 states:

No one knows which way the Spirit’s wind blows. It’s all going to be washed out in the end and once we walk over the finish line into the doorway of heaven all of our eyes will be opened to see how off all of us were in various degrees. Only God knows our hearts. That’s the thing that’s the most important. Whatever people think or judge or condemn is between them and God. If they feel they need to call us false teachers and false followers out, then I’m not going to spend my time arguing with those whose ears the Lord himself allows closed or whose mouths and fingers he allows to criticize. David had the same problems with his critics and he just let God be the judge. (Come to think of it, I think Jesus did too.)

I’m not even sure I know what the first sentence means.  But let’s assume it’s a reference to John 3:8, that wind blows where it pleases, as does everyone born of the spirit.  This is not saying that we can just go around saying and teaching whatever we please, and not be accountable for it.  This is a reference to the Holy Spirit bringing life to those who are born again.  Yes, our eyes will be opened to “how off” we are one day, but unfortunately, there will be many who don’t cross that “finish line” into heaven.  Those who have not heard the truth can easily be led astray, and God does not save people through a false gospel (Romans 10:14). Beth Moore is not teaching her followers essential doctrines such as Grace Alone through Faith Alone, and the exclusivity of Jesus Christ.  She is giving Roman Catholics a false sense of security by referring to them as “sisters in Christ,” rather than calling them to repentance from their idolatry, and false gospel of works.  Rhonda, do you really think that Jesus just left his critics alone, and let God be the judge?  First of all, Jesus IS God, and Jesus does judge his critics.  But to say that Jesus didn’t spend any time “arguing” with his critics is blatantly false.  Jesus’ entire ministry consisted of correcting false beliefs, false teachings and rebuking false teachers.  Jesus regularly confronted his critics openly, publicly, and directly, and even resorted to anger and name calling at times, comparing his critics to the offspring of serpents, (Matthew 23:33), a fox (Luke 13:32), wolves (Matthew 7:15, 10:16, etc.), and dogs (Matthew 15:26). This is how Jesus chose to confront error, because it was effective to those who had an ear to hear his words, however, those who do not, will not hear him, because they are not his sheep.

Another commenter, Laverna, says:

It grieves me as I’m sure it grieves the Lord’s heart to see how those that call themselves Christians speak of each other. That would never be his heart. It saddens me to see it happen again here.

Laverna is insinuating that it is our Lord’s heart for us to just be quiet, and accept false teachings in the Church, but Jesus makes it very clear that we are to expose the false teachings of others, not accept them.  Jesus himself says to beware of these people (Matthew 7:15) and Paul says in Romans 16:17-18, “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.”  Many of Beth’s followers are very naive.  Beth Dunn, another commenter, believes that Moore’s differences are only “denominational differences.” Either she is completely oblivious to what Beth Moore teaches regularly, or she isn’t grounded enough in Scripture to see the damage that Moore’s teachings can cause. Moore regularly teaches that God reveals extrabiblical things to her, and they often contradict Scripture, creating a doubt in the sufficiency of Scripture among those who aren’t discerning.  Though Beth Moore may not be directly teaching a false soteriology, she does create doubt in the Biblical doctrine by claiming God has given her a vision he wants true believers and Roman Catholics to be united under her vision.  Point blank, either she is deceived by a demon, or she is out right lying, because, and let me be clear, God DID NOT give her that vision.

Another comment, by Beverly says:

…This isn’t about a 22 year old, a 60 year old, or a 90 year old man or woman….it is about a far more powerful prince of this world who will do whatever he can to sidetrack, stumble, humiliate or destroy you and the ministry He has entrusted you with…

Sadly, Beverly doesn’t see the importance of doctrinal and Biblical accuracy, the way Jesus and the apostles taught. She, as well, likens discerning Christians who are concerned that people may be led astray with false teachings to those who are followers of the devil. But the Apostle Paul repeatedly says that those who are teaching anything contrary to Scripture are accursed, and should be exposed (Galatians 1:6-9, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, 2 Cor 11:13-15).

There are many more, but I can’t possibly cover them all, but I’ll lastly respond to this one, from Janet:

I would imagine that Jesus is crying over the way Christians are fighting, blaming, and name-calling, instead of loving each other. His prayer was that we are known by the way we love each other, and that we have the same unity the He and the Father have. Wow! We seem to be going backwards.

Because, I’m sure Jesus is just sitting up there weeping, saying to himself, “Oh, how I regret telling my sheep to expose false teachers.  Oh, how I wish they would just not worry about the truth, and just love one another.”  I have not heard anyone thus far unlovingly rebuke Beth Moore.  While I’m sure there are plenty out there whose motives are less than Godly, the majority of her critics are sincere Christians who have repeatedly asked Moore to clarify her teachings, and back them up with Scripture, which she repeatedly refuses to do.  Jesus taught us to publicly rebuke those who are openly in sin, and unrepentantly teaching error.  Moore is not open to correction, as she has shown on several occasions. Janet, you are mistaken in your understanding of the unity Christ wants us to have. Jesus and his father’s unity is not, under any circumstances, based on any difference in their theologies. Not only are Jesus and the Father’s unity based on love, but it’s also based on truth. Absolute truth.  God is the standard of truth, and if we, as Christians want to come closer to having that same unity, first thing we must do is get rid of the error.

For years we have attempted to build Beth Moore up, and confront her error, and have refrained from calling her a false teacher, but year after year she has refused to address the issues confronted her, and support them with biblically sound theology. She can’t, and she refuses to repent, and sadly this makes her a false teacher, regardless of how subtle or extensive it is. The fact that her followers have flocked to her blog in droves to comment and support her means nothing except that her followers are not well versed in Scripture, and are likely to believe whatever she says God revealed to her, be it audibly or through a dream, or whatever “unathoritative” manner God has chosen to “speak” to her that day. Regrettably, Beth Moore did not correct any of her supporters who obviously did not understand Scripture, nor did she address any of the few critics that raised issue with her in her comments.  She just repeatedly indulged herself in the sorrowful praise and exaltation of her by her followers, in contrast to Scripture (1 John 5:21) and regardless of their misunderstandings of the teachings of Christ and his apostles. The misunderstanding seems to be that the arguing and the exposing of error is what causes divisions, but that’s not true.  It’s the lies and the false teachings and the unrepentant sin that causes the disunity (Romans 16:17), and until that sin is confronted, and corrected, there will always be division. I would have that this is the reason we contend for the faith.

To Beth Moore’s followers, if you read this, I leave you with this passage:

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. – (1 John 4:1-6)

A while back, I had a short conversation on Facebook with a high school friend.  I just happened to notice him posting some pics of him and his family wearing the flagship white shirts and black pants, and I proceeded to ask him:

Are you guys Mormons?

He replied:

Yes we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints…known as the Mormons! Why do you ask?

Attempting to engage in conversation about their beliefs, I replied:

I was just curious as to what you believe about salvation.

And he responded:

Thanks Jeff, I always welcome the chance to talk about Jesus Christ and His role in each and everyone of our eternal paths. I am assuming that you are Christian by the way that you phrased your question about “salvation,” as the term salvation is used in conjuction with being redeemed from sin by way of Christ.
The Mormons view on salvation is that it comes through and only through our Savior Jesus Christ. Christ paid the price for sin for all. Those who follow Him and keep His commandments can return to live with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. A good way to learn about some of the Mormons beliefs is on a site called mormon.org
I would like to hear your beliefs as well concerning salvation, as I am sure we have a lot in common!

Knowing that he incorrectly perceived our beliefs being similar, and that our faiths having something in common, I correctly predicted that after my explanation of the differences between our belief systems on soteriology the conversation would probably not last very long, I tried to be as concise as possible with one response, in which the conversation, unfortunately, ended:

(Name Removed), my friend,

I can honestly say, based on your explanation of salvation, it sounds exactly the opposite of what we, as Biblical Christians believe. You said that those who follow him and obey his commandments can to “return” to live with our Heavenly father and Jesus. I’m a little confused by what you mean by “return.” But that is besides the point. The point is that we believe that in no way, shape, or form, does following the law (i.e. obeying the commandments, doing good works, or participating in any sacrament, rite, or ordinance, such as baptism) play any role in our salvation.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV) – For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

We believe that the only thing the law can do is condemn. We have all sinned, and we all fall short of the Glory of God. We have all broken the commandments. We all have at some point lied, stolen, committed adultery (looking with lust is adultery of the heart according to Jesus), committed murder (according to Jesus, hating someone is murder of the heart), etc. We are all liars, thieves, murderers, alduterers, blasphemers, the fact of the matter is, we look infinitely disgusting before a pure, holy, and infinitely righteous God. And a perfect and righteous God cannot allow this into his eternal kingdom, there must be a punishment.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Romans 6:23 (KJV)

(See also: Psalm 7:11, 9:17; Romans 6:23, Revelation 20:11-15, 21:8; James 2:10; Jude 1:7; 2nd Thessalonians 1:8,9)
As I am sure you know, Jesus Christ took that punishment for us, but it doesn’t stop there. I have heard many people say that Christ’s punishment wasn’t quite enough, and that it only picks up what we are unable to do, but Romans 4:5 says “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” (Name Removed), there is no amount of obedience to the law that could ever save us from eternal separation from God is the sacrifical blood of Jesus Christ at Calvary. (See Also: Ephesians 1:7, 2:13; Colossians 1:14,20; Hebrews 9:22, 10:19; 1 Peter 1:18&19; 1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5)

Why is Jesus’s sacrifice sufficient? Because Jesus Christ was infinitely perfect, infinitely holy and completely and totally sinless, deserving absolutely no wrath of the Father, but became sin (bore all of our sin) and took it upon himself, and took all of the wrath of God, for our sin, so that in Him, we can stand righteous before our Heavenly Father.

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” – 2 Cor 5:21 (KJV)

Jesus Christ was only able to accomplish this perfectly sinless life, and total fulfillment of the law because he is God. He is God Almighty, YHWH, incarnate. He took on our human nature, and became man for us, because he loved us so much, and knew that it was the only way to redeem us without compromising his just nature. (Please see: John 1:1-3,14; John 10:33; Revelation 1:8, 19:13―The GODHEAD incarnate (Colossians 2:9; 1st Timothy 3:16)

So how do we partake in his righteousness, in order to receive this grace? You must put aside your works, for our works are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), repent and totally put your faith in Jesus Christ for your salvation. You must forsake any other way, for Jesus Christ is the only way (John 14:6), not just part of the way, but the whole way. He didn’t just open the door for us, he is the door. (John 10:9)

(Name Removed), my friend, I am genuinely concerned for your eternal soul because of what you have told me. You cannot trust in yourself to live a righteous life, in order to earn merit with God. We cannot earn any merit at all, not one iota. One day, we will stand before a righteous and holy God, and he will ask why he should allow us in. The only correct answer to that question will be to have been made completely holy and righteous in Christ, washed thoroughly in his blood. Please forsake all other ways, and trust only in Jesus Christ for your soul.

My friend, I will be praying ceaselessly for you.

In Christ,
Jeff

I would like to ask you, any of you that may know someone who is a Mormon, DO NOT let them lead you to believe that their beliefs are the same.  They use a lot of the same terminology, but it has been redefined.  If you would like to learn more about Mormonism, I would invite you to visit ex-Mormon Ed Decker’s web site, Saints Alive.  He has a vast wealth of information about Mormonism, their beliefs, and tools for witnessing to them.

The attacks against Christianity are heating up in the last days, and at the forefront of the battle stands the Word of God. In Luke 8, Jesus tells the parable of the sower, verses 11,12 read, “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God… Then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word…” Satan knows that if he can plant the smallest seed of doubt in someone about the accuracy and reliability of God’s word, then that person won’t take his word seriously. Unfortunately, many people are confused.

I am repeatedly seeing the same Facebook meme online claiming that Christians are trusting and obscure, altered, or perverted text as their source of authority for faith in God. The meme reads like this:

The King James version of the New Testament was completed in 1611 by 8 members of the Church of England.
There were (and still are) no original texts to translate. The oldest manuscripts we have were written down hundreds of years after the last apostle died. There are over 8000 of these old manuscripts, with no two alike.
The King James translators used none of these, anyway. Instead, they edited previous translations to create a version their king and Parliament would approve.
So, 21st Century Christians believe the “Word of God” is a book edited in the 17th Century from 16th Century translations of 8000 contradictory copies of 4th Century scrolls that claim to be copies of lost letters written in the 1st Century.That’s not faith. That’s insanity.

Frankly, I’m tired of the same ole lies, so let’s examine this piece line by line, and see if we can get to the truth.  The very first sentence, “The King James version of the New Testament was completed in 1611 by 8 members of the Church of England,” should already throw red flags.  I’m not sure where this number ‘8’ came from, or if they just made it up.  We actually know quite a bit about the King James translators, and we do know that King James commissioned forty-seven men, all qualified history and various language scholars and true divines, and members of the Church of England, to prepare this great work for their church. With the New Testament only making up roughly twenty-five percent of the entire Bible, over half of these men, at least twenty-five, were assigned to translate it. The members of the translation team were divided up into six committees, First and Second Westminster Companies, First and Second Oxford Companies, and First and Second Cambridge Companies. Some of the chief translators of the New Testament were:

• Lancelot Andrewes, an English Scholar, and Bishop of high status in the Church of England. He oversaw the translation of the entire text.
• Henry Savile, English Scholar, Provost of Eton and Warden of Merton College, Oxford.
• George Abbot, Dean of Winchester Cathedral and Vice Chancellor of the University, Master of University College.
• Then there was John Duport, William Branthwaite, Jeremiah Radcliffe, Samuel Ward, Andrew Downes, John Bois, Robert Ward, Thomas Bilson, Richard Bancroft, William Barlow, John Spenser, Roger Fenton, Ralph Hutchinson, William Dakins, Michael Rabbet, Thomas Sanderson, Richard Eedes, Giles Tomson, John Peryn, Ralph Ravens, John Harmar, John Aglionby, Leonard Hutten, all noted scholars of their day.

The point is that these men were not just your run of the mill lay people doing what they are told to do by a corrupt government.  They were true, brilliant scholars, who’s reputations were on the line, and possessed the skills and motivations to bring about the greatest literary work of all time. There simply is no evidence to believe beyond wild speculation that these men had any reason to risk their reputation on ignominious, discreditable translation work.

The next charge is that “There were (and still are) no original texts to translate. The oldest manuscripts we have were written down hundreds of years after the last apostle died. There are over 8000 of these old manuscripts, with no two alike.” While it is true that there are no known extant original texts (autographs), the insinuation that this proves the Bible, specifically the KJV inaccurate is simply absurd.  This charge would never be made about other famous works, such as Plato, in which we have 10 manuscript copies over a 1200 year period, Tacitus, of which we have 20 manuscript copies over a 1000 year period, or Caesar, of which we have 10 manuscript copies over a 1000 year period.  In fact, there are no other ancient works that even come close to the Bible as far as number of manuscripts available, and age and likeness of the manuscripts. The minuscule differences in the texts are of such little concern that for the most part, it’s not even argued over.  The majority of the differences in the manuscripts are either minor spelling differences, often based on dialect and geographical location of the scribes, or simply a word being transcribed improperly.  The system of textual criticism devised for figuring out the original text is rather simple, and none of the differences lead to any doctrinal differences between the manuscripts.

But of course, none of that matters right? Because they “used none of these, anyway. Instead, they edited previous translations to create a version their king and Parliament would approve.” Give me a break. While the other popular translations such as the Tyndale, Wycliffe and Latin Vulgate were certainly at the translator’s disposal, The source of translation were the set of 8 Koine Greek manuscripts available at the time, compiled by Erasmus, as well as the Editions of Theodore Beza. Though we have over five thousand Greek manuscripts available today, compared to the handful that were available back then, it’s astonishing how accurately the King James Bible was translated. No, no translation is 100 percent perfect. Only the original autographs are, and those who claim that any translation is 100 percent perfect are only setting themselves up for ridicule. But the accurate and reliable, and most importantly, literal phrase by phrase translation is proven stellar beyond any ridiculous claim levied against it, and the King James Bible, as with any accurate and literal translation of God’s Word, can be trusted with your soul. This is a promise made to us by God.

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. (Isaiah 40:8)

God does not require a perfect man or a perfect scribe to keep his promise to us. God can use sinful, imperfect men to work his will to His glory. There will always be an ongoing attack against God’s word, and we must stand strong. Satan, and his cohorts have been trying to discredit the Bible since the beginning of time. The biggest enemy we have against the Bible right now is Rome, and with all of the confusion by the likes of Wescott and Hort and higher criticism, the attacks and claims of scandalous, and charges of corruption by evil kings, jesuits, and even freemasons like Francis Bacon, all of which have been attempted, God has still preserved his word, and it’s all verifiable. We have the Greek manuscripts, we have the history, and most importantly, we have the promise of God to keep his Word, and we can rely on him for that.

John 1:1 says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” and 1 Peter 1:22-25 says:

Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 25 but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

Brothers and sisters, I plead with you, if you deny the Word of God, you are denying Jesus Christ himself. If you deny that God’s word is truth, you cannot be saved. Since the word of God IS God, you cannot deny one and accept the other. I beg of you to repent, and turn to Jesus Christ as the only way of salvation. Trust in him, and obey him. The only other option is to deny him, and spend eternity separated from him.

When you have an attitude of faith and speak victory over your life, God will show up and do amazing things.
— Joel Osteen (@JoelOsteen) January 14, 2015

World famous Word of Faith preacher, Joel Osteen, says all you have to do is have faith, speak victory over your life, and God will show up to do amazing things. What say Joel to the Christians around the world who are being persecuted on a daily basis for their faith? Is there faith not strong enough? Does this only apply to American Christians? Do these people not “speak enough victory over their lives?”

Perhaps Joel Osteen has no idea what it means to be a Christian. In fact, if you aren’t suffering in some way for Christ, you very well may not be a Christian. Paul says in 2 Timothy, “¹²Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” I’m not saying that you can’t be a Christian, and also be financially successful, or in some ways be blessed, but the Bible does not, in any way, teach that you can speak victory over your life. If you are blessed by God, it is by God’s providence alone that he has given you success, and it’s not based on anything you have done (Job 1:21).

If you live in a country where, for the time being at least, you are freely allowed to practice your Christian faith, you should be on your knees thanking God for that daily. There will come a time when any mention of the name of Jesus can get you killed. The world hates Christians (1 John 3:13), but we are to count it all for joy (James 1:2-4), because Jesus Christ is the one that has spoken victory over our lives at the cross (John 16:33), and he alone shall take away all of our suffering and wipe away every tear (Revelation 21:4). Paul says in his letter to the Romans in Chapter 5:

³Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Many are aware of the ongoing debate over “racial reconciliation” going on in the Southern Baptist Convention, but few are aware of what it really entails. In fact, the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission will be hosting The Gospel and Racial Reconciliation Summit in March of 2015. Most of the Southern Baptist’s proponents of “Racial Reconciliation,” such as Russell Moore and Ronnie Floyd are in favor of labeling race problems as a Gospel Mandate, and require us to accept the Marxist idea of “White Privelege.” Take for example what Moore had to say in his August 14 post:

Moreover, we know that the the myth of a “post-racial” America is contradicted by a criminal justice system in which young African-American men are, by almost any measure, disproportionately more likely to be arrested, sentenced, or even killed when compared to white peers.

Moore wants us to believe that blacks are arrested, sentenced or even killed more often by our police and criminal justice system because white Americans are racist. Moreover, he wants us to believe that white Americans are privileged in American society over blacks, simply because of our skin color, despite African-American-only programs such as the United Negro College Fund, Affirmative Action, etc, black housing incentives, Equal Opportunity employment programs, etc. Perhaps the problem isn’t that whites are more privileged than blacks, but the problem is sin, especially within the black community. I would argue that the number one reason for higher arrests and convictions among blacks is that they are far more likely to be born out of wedlock, and be raised with without a father figure. This, I would argue according to MY Bible, is the “Gospel Mandate.” That we take the Gospel to those who need it, and live in a culture and lifestyle of unrepentant sin, and no understanding of the Grace of God, is the Gospel’s mandate (Mark 16:15). It is NOT a Gospel mandate that whites bend over backward, and accept responsibility for the sin in the African American culture.

Furthermore, Dr. Ronnie Floyd, president of the SBC writes:

The time is now for us to rise up together and cry out against the racism that still exists in our nation and our churches, and the subsequent injustices….Pastors, churches, leaders, and laypeople of the Southern Baptist Convention, the time is now for us to repent personally and collectively of all racism and injustice…We need to repent of our racism and injustice and return to the first commandment of loving our Lord Jesus Christ.

Is racism a problem in his church? I, for one, am a member of a Southern Baptist church of about 18,000 members, and I don’t know a single racist. Though we are a predominately white church, there are a number of black members, as well as pastors, leaders, and teachers. Yet, Floyd wants us to believe that the problems in the black community are due to racism running rampant in our churches. I’m not arguing that racism doesn’t exist in America, but racists are not Christians, and if a “church” is corporately racist in any way, it’s NOT a Christian church. Yet, the latest in this craze of racial reconciliation in the Southern Baptist Church comes from none other than Pastor Tony Evans, of Oak Cliff Bible Church in Dallas. During an interview with the Christian Post on January 14, Evans was asked:

CP: The suggestion has been made that society as a whole, American Christians as a whole, need to acknowledge and grieve over past corporate sins like slavery and Jim Crow before trying to move forward on reconciliation. What are you thoughts?

And his response was:

Evans: Absolutely, that’s what the solemn assembly is all about. Solemn assembly is recognizing where we failed and repenting of it. Repentance means to turn the other way. So that means, where those failures are clearly seen, have we turned, are we doing the opposite to what we did when those failures or when our current failures [are] the continuation of those historical failures? You repent of those, that is you turn the other way. When you’ve done that, now you’ve begun to operate on God’s standards. And when you repent and operate on God’s standards, now you have restoration and reconciliation.

Here in lies the problem, though; While racism does exist to some small degree in America, it does not exist on the scales that the news media would have you believe, and that the leaders. What is it that Evans, and the others like Moore and Floyd want us to do? The SBC has already publicly repented of it’s racist past. Americans have already repented of slavery and Jim Crow. But our SBC leaders want us as a whole in the church, and as a whole as white Americans, to accept that whites have it easy, repent of that, and stop holding black criminals responsible for their misdeeds and failures. This is diametrically opposed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which teaches us to take the message of personal responsibility of our sin to sinners, along with the word of grace and forgiveness in Jesus Christ. Only then can we see healing among our fellow Americans.

While there are exceptions, the vast majority of white Americans would whole-heartedly disavow slavery or any of these racist events in our history, ESPECIALLY Christians. But unfortunately, our Southern Baptist leaders have bought into the white privilege hype promoted by left leaning propagandists, and this is where our denomination is heading full speed. I would urge SBC members to speak out against this agenda in our churches. Bring it up to your pastors, and make them aware of what’s going on. If there is any hope for the SBC in the future, we MUST stay Gospel focused…that is, the True Gospel, not the Social Gospel. The Gospel is about man’s sin, and God’s power to save us from it, not man’s inequality and man’s ability to save eachother from it.

Related Video: Pastor Voddie Bauchum sees right through Black Liberation Theology:

Imagine you and your family on vacation in Aruba. The warm ocean breeze blowing gently in your hair, while the glittering pristine waters sparkle as far as the eye can see. You’re all relaxing under a shady tree when you son decides he wants to cool off. He grabs his inflatable raft, kicks off his sandals, and darts towards the waters. “Ahhhhhh,” that’s refreshing.

Stretched out on the raft, dead to the world, lost in only his blissful state of personal paradise, he begins drifting outward. Worriedly, you jump up to yell for him to come back to shore, but he’s lost in his own world and isn’t listening.

Though he can faintly hear your pleading for him to listen, he’s overwhelmed with the sounds of the waves and the wind in his ears, and just doesn’t want to be bothered by your hysteria. Then the inevitable, you see sharks. You begin frantically shouting at the top of your lungs for him to come back, but he’s too far for you to swim. You grab a life raft with a rope and toss it to him, but he’s hopelessly lost, cast away in his own being.

Why won’t he respond?

Because he’s so caught up loving what he’s doing, loving himself, that he’s blind to the reality around him.
Sadly, this is the state of many who reject the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. But the reality is people that reject Jesus reject him because they love sin. They love their lusts and immorality so much so, that they’ve rejected all notion of consequences for their choices, and continue in their ways to their destruction, and the last thing they want is a holy and righteous God impeding on what they believe is a “good time.” But what they fail to realize is that they are already under God’s judgement, and just because they have rejected him, doesn’t mean they won’t have to face him on judgement day.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 says

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

Natural man does not seek God or seek salvation from God. Psalm 53:1-2 says:

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;
there is none who does good.
God looks down from heaven
on the children of man
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.

Paul affirms this in his letter to the Romans;  “no one understands; no one seeks for God” (Romans 3:11). Man seeks to indulge himself in his own desires, and refuses to acknowledge that the desires of their heart are not only deceitful, but disastrous (Jeremiah 17:9). And any call to them to turn from their lustful and worldly desires are met with deaf ears, as this is total foolishness to them who are perishing (1 Cor. 1:18).

People are turned off to the saving grace of the cross for a number of reasons. Another reason may be simply that they don’t understand the true Gospel. In man’s natural, unregenerate state, one cannot understand the things of the Lord (1 Cor. 2:14). It takes an act of the Holy Spirit to open one’s heart and mind to the spiritual knowledge of God.

Perhaps someone has heard a false gospel at some point, for example, the “prosperity gospel.” This false gospel teaches that by accepting Jesus, you now have Jesus at your disposal to meet the material needs, and shower material blessings upon you at your discretion. Your faith in him is reciprocated with “prosperity.” Yet, when these things fail to happen, the unconverted person becomes discouraged and loses interest. However, he continues to believe that this is what Christianity is and has no interest in entertaining any concept of God since his experience was typified. But when drilling this back down it all boils down to the same root cause-the love of sin. These people were only looking to get something for themselves out of Jesus.

Another common reason people reject the word of God is pride. Their pride can be intellectual pride or moral pride, but both are the transpired transgressions of a wicked and deceitful heart, and God hates it (Proverbs 8:13). The morally proud man stands in contrast to God’s word and refuses to believe that he is wicked (Romans 5:12, 2 Cor. 4:4).

This is a typical standpoint from the New Age movement. The new age worldview teaches that there is no such thing as sin, evil or Satan, and stands on the pantheistic belief that God can be found in everyone and everything-all is one, all is God. This morally relative worldview is really not new at all, and stems from old Pagan and Eastern mystic religions, and is really no different from any other false Gospel. It’s a belief that teaches that man is inherently good and does not need a savior.

Unfortunately, however, for the lost, not believing in the law, or the transgression thereof, does not exempt you from accountability to that law. If a convicted murderer tells the judge that he doesn’t believe that killing is wrong, nor does he believe that jail exists, he’s going to have a huge surprise for waiting for him. Believing that we are not sinful is a lie of Satan (John 1:8). The truth is, because of Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden, man is now inherently evil, and nobody can stand blameless in front of God in his own right (Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, Romans 5:12, Ephesians 2:1, etc.)

Perhaps a more common form of pride is intellect. There is a major war being waged against Christianity and has been since its inception. The Word of God is attacked on every front, yet never defeated. But this doesn’t stop the prideful intellect from believing that is has. The cohorts of the Vatican, Jesuitical influences and collegiate level criticism of the Bible have led many to believe that the biblical texts are corrupt and that the Bible is not the Word of God, but a false amalgamation of man-made stories.

Many other attempts have also been made to discredit the truth of the Bible, such as the false theory of evolution and the Big Bang theory. The proud intellect is too arrogant to believe that he may be wrong and pretentiously buys into the attacks on God. These individuals are what Paul describes as “always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:7) They read and study constantly, making an idol out of knowledge, yet without the Holy Spirit, you can never know the truth.

Pride is a subtle, but serious sin-perhaps the most serious. Pride is inherently the cause of all wickedness, and causes us to rebel against God, and disobey him. Pride defiles man (Mark 7:20-23), but the world rewards it (1 John 2:16). Pride prevents people from receiving the truth (Psalm 10:4), and from receiving God’s grace (James 4:6). But pride ultimately brings shame and destruction to people (Proverbs 11:2, 16:18-19, 29:23).

Yet people cannot accept God because they are deluded and caught up in their desires of their heart. Jesus Christ is light, and he shines his light and exposes the wicked heart of man, which proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. Man will flee from this light for fear of having their wickedness exposed (John 3:19-21). People want to continue in their sinful ways, and will attempt to rationalize their sin through their pride and arrogance.

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” – John 3:19-21

The Greek word for translated as judgement here is “krisis,” prounounced “kree’-sis,” and according to Thayer it primarily means a trial, or tribunal, the act or process of judging rather than the sentence or punishment itself.

As we can see, with Jesus being the light that shines on man’s wickedness and exposes it, Jesus didn’t come to bring judgement, but it is his very nature that is judging of our sin. His very nature is pure and holy, and when man’s deeds are measured against his infinite righteousness, his deeds appear like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

In order to be declared righteous by God, we must put on the righteousness of Jesus Christ himself because he alone is without sin (2 Cor. 5:21, Philippians 3:9). It is only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross, by the only sinless man who ever walked the earth (1 Peter 2:22), who is fully God himself (John 1:14, Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 2:9), who took the punishment for our transgressions (1 Peter 2:24, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Isaiah 53:5), who rose again (Romans 10:9), so that whoever believes in him, shall be rescued from his deluded world, saved from his sin (Romans 6:6, 2 Cor. 5:17) and saved from eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46). We must turn from our idols of pride, intellect, and delusion, and turn to Jesus Christ alone for our salvation.

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!-assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. – Ephesians 4:17-24

Click here for a presentation of the Gospel.

We all know how critical many have been of Lifeway “Christian” Stores lately, and for good reason. Lifeway, as an extension of the Southern Baptist Convention, and representing the larger section of conservative Evangelical Christianity, seems to have a knack for peddling heresy for profit. First, there was the uprising against well known heresy such as heaven tourism, modalism and Word of Faith, then there was a public retraction by Alex Malarkey that his story in his book, The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven, was false, which finally prompted Lifeway to acknowledge years worth of criticism by pulling it from the shelf. And now, for 39 bucks, you can purchase tickets from Lifeway to another False Prophet event, Priscilla Shirer Live.

Priscilla Shirer is a good friend, and a disciple of well known prophet-preacher Beth Moore. Besides the fact that women preaching and teaching men in the church is unbiblical, these two women regularly claim to receive extra-biblical revelation from God, and promote other unbiblical practices such as mysticism, and contemplative prayer. However, the first red flag I see that goes up in the promotion of this event is on the flyer it states. “You know her studies. It’s Time To Experience Her Event.” The word, “experience,” is a buzz word in Charismatic Christendom that usually entails some type of extra-biblical engagement with God through emotions, visions, signs and wonders, and unorthodox practices of mystical prayer. This is no different with Priscilla Shirer. Priscilla Shirer was a participant in the heretical DVD on contemplative prayer, Be Still, and she even addresses this criticism on her web page. Though at first glance it may sound like she supports a biblical view of prayer, looking deeper into what she is saying, it becomes clear that she doesn’t understand what biblical prayer and meditation means. In her FAQ she says, “By participating in the Be Still project, we by no means meant to convey our agreement with the theological viewpoints and positions of other participants yet we did believe (and still do) in the over-arching theme of the resource and that is why I agreed to do it.” This is a contradictory statement. The theological viewpoints and positions of the participants IS the over-arching theme of the DVD, and she says she supports it. She then goes on to say
“The Psalmist himself said that not only would he bring his requests to God in prayer but then ‘wait expectantly’ (Psalm 5:3) for God’s response. The prophet Habakkuk mirrors this philosophy of prayer when he says that after speaking to God he would then “climb up on the watchtower and wait to see what the Lord will say to me.”

The Psalmist himself said that not only would he bring his requests to God in prayer but then “wait expectantly” (Psalm 5:3) for God’s response. The prophet Habakkuk mirrors this philosophy of prayer when he says that after speaking to God he would then “climb up on the watchtower and wait to see what the Lord will say to me.” (Habakkuk 2:1). We are a proponent of the Christian encountering God in a fresh way that is relevant to his or her life, and we believe this can occur when we wait for God quietly with our Bibles outspread before us. As we ponder His Word, the Holy Spirit applies it to the circumstances of our lives.

Here, she seems to be equating the way Old Testament prophets received revelation from God to how Christians are meant to study God’s Word–by being still and waiting. The fact that she goes on to say that we do this with our Bibles open before us doesn’t change anything. Yes, it is true that we receive our revelation from God ONLY through Scripture, if you look closely, this is not what she’s saying. We don’t study God’s word by opening it and pondering a piece of Scripture, and sitting silently waiting for God to speak to us, we study Scripture through vigorous intellectual reading, one-way prayer as taught in Scripture, and application of his Word in our daily lives. Meditating on God’s Word, by Biblical definition, means to fill our minds with it, memorize it, and study and practice it regularly so that it becomes ingrained in who you are. A golf player does not become a better golf player by sitting down in front of a ball, meditating over it and contemplating it. He becomes better by actively practicing it, and applying his knowledge daily.
Despite her attempt to brush off the accusations of promoting and practicing mysticism, this isn’t the only time she’s been involved in this activity. She has written at least two booklets in which she claims that mature Christians should be able to hear audible voices from God. In her booklet, Is That You God, she writes:

Before you read any further, let me assure you of an important point. To not speak contradicts God’s nature. The second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, is called the Word (see John 1:1). That designation stands at odds with silence. God loved you enough to die for you; He loves you enough to communicate with you. The Lord can and will speak to you if you’ve placed your faith in Jesus. First, however, you must expect and anticipate that the divine voice of God can ring in your ears and heart.

Nowhere in Scripture am I aware of does it teach that we must expect and anticipate the divine voice of God ringing in our ears and heart. Scripture is clear that the Word of God, as once and for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3), in sufficient for our salvation and instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). But apparently that’s not enough for Priscilla. In Day 4 of Week 2 in her Bible study on her Book, He Speaks To Me, she writes:

How can we consistently hear God’s voice? We must take the focus off ourselves, looking instead to His glory and priorities, meditating on His attributes. To worship God appropriately, we also need to grasp His acceptance. As long as we feel condemned, we will have difficulty hearing God speak.

Again, she seems to believe that God speaks to our hearts in other ways besides Scripture. The Bible doesn’t teach us that we can hear God speak to us as long as we don’t feel condemned, and focus on his priorities and attributes. Paul says in Hebrews 1:1-2 “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” The key here is the past tense, “has spoken.” God has already spoken to us through the revelation of Jesus Christ, and his revelation has been recorded by the writers of the New Testament canon. Though God uses the Holy Spirit to illumine the Word of God for us today, and interpret it for us, he does not speak directly to us through any other means than the closed canon of Scripture.

Shirer also regularly travels and speaks at events with other well known false teaches, like Christine Caine, Beth Moore, Sheila Walsh and Lisa Harper. It’s no doubt that she is a disciple of these women, as she speaks so highly of them. She says of Christine Caine in an interview with the Christian Post, (where she also seems to believe that women speakers are persecuted in the Church), “Christine Caine would be at the top of my list [most influential and unique voices in Christianity]. She is a brilliant communicator of God’s word, but not only that, this is a woman who’s on a mission to see His kingdom come on earth,” and of Beth Moore, “Then also Beth Moore. Beth Moore is a fantastic communicator of God’s word. I have the utmost respect for her. She’s a friend and mentor, a woman of integrity. I have rarely heard someone teach the Scriptures the way Beth Moore can.” She also tweets about Caine,

So grateful for the powerhouse, phenomenon that is….Christine Caine. http://t.co/1Aml7f1O
— Priscilla Shirer (@PriscillaShirer) April 28, 2012

Yet, despite the fact that these “teachers” are unsound, Lifeway continues to promote their events, and sell their literature. If Lifeway is going to continue in this practice, is it really necessary for them to be a part of the Church? Should the SBC continue in ownership of a company that does not represent the Biblical standards mandated in Scripture, and ascribed to by the Church? What is it going to take to get this garbage out of our bookstores and out of our churches?

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David Wilcock, a well known New Age lecturer who claims to be the reincarnation of Edgar Cayce, who has a huge following, regularly twists Scripture to make it sound like it means something that it has absolutely nothing to do with. In this video, Wilcock takes the passage out of Matthew Chapter 6, (apparently referencing the American King James Version, since it would be the easiest translation to twist into the meaning he is trying to portray of it), the parable of Laying Up Treasures in Heaven, and claims that Jesus’ hidden message in this passage is in reference to the Pineal gland, and using it to enlighten us. Take the following transcript of David’s video: (Entire Lecture Video can be found here)

There are some absolutely obvious quotes from Jesus that clearly indicate that he was aware of the Pineal gland and how important it is to any spiritual path, including the positive, loving, awakening of consciousness that he was trying to teach us. In the book of Matthew, Jesus says, ‘the light of the body is the eye, if therefore your eye be single, your whole body shall be full of light.’ … it doesn’t mean you have to poke one of your eyes out to become psychic, it’s saying that when your pineal gland opens, your body becomes enlightened and aware. Jesus was always speaking in parables, and this is a hidden metaphor for the Pineal gland

The Pineal gland, known in occult and New Age/mystic religions as the “third eye,” is a pine cone shaped gland in the center of the brain that is responsible for the production of melatonin and plays a role in the metabolism of certain hormones and drugs, including psychedelic drugs. In esoteric circles, this “third eye” is believed to be the gate to higher consciousness, which can be awakened through certain mystical practices as well as the use of some psychedelic drugs, such as Ayahuasca. The symbol of this mystical third eye can be found in many of the world’s major religions, including Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Catholicism, Satanism, Freemasonry, as well as the New Age. Many cults of “Christianity” also embrace this symbol, and incorporate this line of thinking into their belief system. As you can see, all of these religions are unified around the same principle, that man’s “inner self,” or “inner consciousness,” is the key to spiritual enlightenment, and that man must awaken his consciousness in order to ascend into the next spiritual phase. David Wilcock would have us believe that Jesus Christ was teaching this same concept while hear on earth, but is this really what Jesus was saying? Let’s examine the passage in context, on a critical and logical level, and uncover the real meaning of this passage, as intended by the author of this text.

The passage Wilcock uses, in the American King James Version that he uses to quote his passage, is as follows:

¹⁹ Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: ²⁰ But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: ²¹ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. ²² The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. ²³ But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! ²⁴ No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

First of all, the Greek world translated is “light” in verse 22 is λύχνος, or luchnos. It literally means “lamp,” or “illuminator,” something that sheds or shines light on something else. It doesn’t actually mean the essence of light itself, rather a source of light. A lamp illuminates the things around us, likewise the eye shows us the things around us, and where we are going and what we are doing. Here Jesus is likening our eye to a lamp that lights our bodies. Our eyes, or what we see and perceive, are the entrance to our hearts, and affect our whole being.

Understanding what Jesus meant by “single” in verse 23 is key to understanding the passage. Notice that Wilcock conveniently left out verse 24, because it totally changes the context of the point he is trying to deceive his audience with. The word translated as “single” in this verse is ἁπλοῦς, or haplous, which literally means simple, whole, healthy, properly folded. In other words, Jesus is saying that if your eye is good, your body, surroundings, path, will be illuminated, but if your eye is bad, and you can’t see properly, you’re going to stumble.

What Jesus is saying has absolutely nothing to do with the esoteric, “single eye,” or “third eye” of the Pineal gland. He’s saying that we as Christians should have one focus, or singleness of vision. Psalm 119:105 says “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Jesus Christ is the Word of God, and Jesus Christ should be our single vision for Christians.

John 1:1-14 says:

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. ⁸ He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. ⁹ The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. ¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. ¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus wants us to set our eyes and our hearts on his Kingdom. He does not want us to be seeking the evils of this world, through politics and government. Such things are pictured as the beasts throughout the Bible in prophecy. We are rather to seek the light of his Word, and the rule of his reign over our lives and the lives of others by furthering the Gospel. The very next passage after the verse Wilcock tries to twist tells us not to be anxious about these worldly things, but to seek the kingdom of God first through faith, and our spiritual needs will all be met (Matthew 6:33).

In 1973, in the wake of Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that invalidated abortion laws in 50 states, there was a small pro-life uprising. It began as a small demonstration and quickly became the largest pro-life event in the US, known as the March for Life. It’s an annual event, that was just held two days ago, on Thursday, Jan 22. Now, the ecumenical sham organization Focus on the Family, and Evangelical Archbishop Russell Moore have teamed up to “initiate a massive movement of evangelicals present at the March for Life,” in 2016.

Apparently, among the multitudes of religious organizations represented at the now ecumenical, unChristian, and unBiblical event yoking believers and unbelievers together for a political cause, there just aren’t enough evangelicals setting aside the Gospel for his cause. Moore states:

Evangelicals are deeply involved in a variety of pro-life efforts in the United States, but they have been significantly underrepresented at the March for Life. That needs to change.

Now, don’t get me wrong, being pro-life is a great cause, and working for a pro-life cause is definitely Biblical in and of itself, but as usual, Russell Moore takes it beyond doing the work of God, and uses it to press on for his ecumenical, “Social Gospel”-oriented agenda. Russell Moore never says that he wants to see more evangelicals at the event to call unbelievers to repentance–and unbelief is the real reason behind abortion. Russell Moore says he wants to continue to see plenty of Rosary beads and “Ave Maria” at the event, and please, don’t let the Gospel stand in your way. In fact, his exact words were:

I don’t want to see any fewer rosary beads at the March for Life, but I want to see more evangelicals here also at the March for Life, Our absence is a shame. And so we don’t need any less ‘Ave Maria,’ but we need some more ‘Amazing Grace’ in the mix as well.

In other words, what he’s essentially saying is, Catholics,  your belief system is no different than ours, and it’s just as valid. Moore has already stated, when he went to the Vatican last year and compromised the Gospel in the name of Ecumenism, that he doesn’t know the difference between the Pope’s Gospel, and his own, yet this is the man that’s in charge of one of the most well known offices of the largest Protestant denomination in the world, the Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission. I don’t argue that Evangelicals should be involved in the fight against abortion, but there is no rhyme or reason that we should be following Russell Moore in his fight against the Protestant Reformation and the true Gospel of Jesus Christ in order to do so. We do not have compromise God’s Word to fulfill his Great Commission, and that is what we are called to do first.

By now, it’s no doubt that Rick Warren has not let the criticism from fellow believers, advice from his colleagues, or even the Word of God stand in his way of promoting questionable practices, ideas and beliefs in his ministry at Saddleback Church. In the past, he has promoted (and currently still does promote) unbelievers like Dr. Mehmet Oz, a Swedenborg cult follower, Dr. Daniel Amen, a teacher of tantric sex (a mystical approach to a perverted form of sex), and Dr. Mark Hyman, a propagator of Buddhist meditation techniques. Despite the outpouring from the discerning evangelical community decrying Warren’s associations as unbiblical, he pressed on with his docket as though he was deaf to all reasoning.It doesn’t look like it will be any different in 2015. His calendar includes a laundry list of questionable teachers in which events and Bible studies will be based. Among the inventory of evil-doers is false teacher, Kenneth Boa, an advocate for the unbiblical practice of contemplative prayer, and new age practice of lectio divina, or divine reading. Boa says in his Introduction to Sacred Reading:

Most contemporary approaches to Bible study have more in common with the scholastics than with the monastics. …they are more concerned with informational reading than with formational reading. … But when evangelicals study Scripture, they typically look more for precepts and principles than for an encounter with God in the depths of their being. The practice of lectio divina can correct this lack of balance…

This “lectio divina” that he promotes is nothing more than Eastern Mysticism, that engages one in an altered state of mind, and the participants have a mystical experience of “finding God within themselves.” This notion of God “within us” is a form of New Age thought known as panentheism. Panentheism, similar to pantheism, is an extremely heretical view of God that makes him out to be on the same spiritual level as man. But the Bible presents God as being present everywhere (omnipresent), but not in everything (Psalm 139:7-10), all knowing, and never learning (omniscient) (Job 28:24; Psalm 147:4-5), being all powerful (omnipotent) (Job 42:1-2), self-existent, as opposed to a created being like man (Exodus 3:14; Psalm 36:9), eternal, without beginning and without end (Psalm 90:2; Habakkuk 1:12), changless and unmoving (Psalm 33:11; James 1:17), perfect and pure (Deuteronomy 32:3-4), and infinite, immeasurable and everlasting (Job 5:9; 9:10).

I can’t imagine why someone calling themselves a pastor, and a shepherd to God’s people would allow such nonsense within the doors of their sanctuary. But it doesn’t stop there. Sadly, Saddleback church, in the name of ecumenism, has now picked up the Catholic practice of the “Stations of the Cross.” The “Stations of the Cross,” or Via Dolorosa, is a catholic tradition of visually walking through the final hours of Jesus’ life on the way to the cross. The ritual is a way of eliciting emotions from the faithful based on a visual representation and imagery that is either unverifiable in Scripture, or contradictory to it. This Catholic form of mysticism is thoroughly subjective and experiential. It claims, in contradiction to Scripture (Isaiah 1:18, Proverbs 4:7, 2 Peter 1:3, etc.) that God can’t be known or understood through intellectual reasoning, and one needs to “experience” him through subjective ritualistic techniques. Though some of the more far-fetched of the traditional stations have been removed or cut-back, the idea is still the same.

As if this weren’t enough to make you cringe, the women will be holding a 12 week Bible study onThe Message, which purports to be a paraphrased translation of the Bible in contemporary language. During an interview with Michael Cusick of Mars Hill Review, some of the startling statements made by Peterson were: “One of the Devil’s finest pieces of work is getting people to spend three nights a week in Bible studies,” “But most Christians know far more of the Bible than they’re living. They should be studying it less, not more. You just need enough to pay attention to God,” and ” I’m just not at all pleased with all the emphasis on Bible study as if it’s some kind of special thing that Christians do, and the more they do the better.” I wish I could make this stuff up, but please see the source for yourself. Yet, Saddleback Church has invited this man’s demonic influence right into the innocent hearts of his women’s congregations.
the book of Psalms by none other than Eugene Peterson. Peterson is the author of the highly controversial book,

But of course there’s more. There’s the usual heretics, Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, etc. Where is the discernment at Saddleback? We already know who Rick Warren is, and what he stands for, but out of the multiple thousands upon thousands of members in this organization are there really no real men to stand up and say, “Hey, wait a minute, something isn’t right here?” Why are more leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention not standing up and speaking out against these heresies? Is it because they are too busy peddling their own heresy for profit? Too busy cozying up with the pope of the largest demonic organization in the world? Too busy preaching false doctrines for monetary gain and promoting mysticism from the pulpit? Too busy pushing communist racial reconciliation agendas instead of focusing on sound doctrine and leading people to Christ? These mega-churches and mega-pastors are a mess… a huge mess, and our Southern Baptist leaders are no better. In fact, they’re horrible. They are totally unaccountable, they hide from any criticism, and they team together to defend each other. I don’t really care if this upsets anyone, because I am sick of it. It’s time to clean house in the SBC. We need leaders who will stand up for sound biblical doctrine, preach the Word of God, and hold accountable the false teachers within the organization that won’t. Let’s take out the trash.

The proponents of racial reconciliation within the Church, especially the Southern Baptist Church, continue to propagate this idea that we need to set aside our differences and reconcile our racial divide. Racial tensions in the US are mostly a fabrication of mainstream media anyways, and aren’t nearly as bad as they would have you believe.  However, it is unfortunate that many of our conservative, Bible-believing leaders in the Evangelical church have bought into this notion of white-privelege, and are using it as a means to further this “racial reconcilation” idea.

It all began with the Nov. 24 grand jury decision that police officer, Darren Wilson, would not be indicted on criminal charges for shooting a black teenager, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri. And, in the footsteps of Rahm Emmanuel, and just like any neo-Marxist Democrat, “not letting a crisis go to waste,” Russell Moore jumped right in to begin his new order of business. It wasn’t long before the rest of the cohorts jumped on the bandwagon, and made this the topic of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission’s 2015 Leadership Summit. Some of the more well known proponents of this cause, and speakers at the event are, Danny Akin, President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Pastor Tony Evans of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, pastor, author and hip-hop artist out of Washington, D.C., Trip Lee, and former SBC president, Pastor Fred Luter.

Who you won’t find speaking at this event are critics of this unbiblical cause, such as Dr. Randy White, Pastor, J.D. Hall, Pastor Ken Fryer, or even Pastor Voddie Baucham, who sees this issue completely differently than the mainstream leaders of Evangelicalism. While I don’t want to speak for any of these critics, I do want to point out that if you disagree with Russell Moore on this issue, chances are you will be repudiated for it. But is “racial reconcilation,” as presented by Moore and his companions actually Biblical?

First off, I want to make it absolutely clear that from a Biblical worldview, racism is absolutely unacceptable. The Bible is absolutely clear that holding hate in our hearts towards our brother is no different than murder (Matthew 5:21-26). That being said, hate is a sin, and confronting sin IS a Gospel demand. But this isn’t how Russell Moore and Co. are touting it. Moore’s solution to racial tensions in the US begin in the church—by integrating them racially. Then we also have Rev. Dwight McKissic, a black Southern Baptist pastor in Arlington, Texas saying, “The church lacks the moral authority to address the world about race before we set our own house in order.”  Pastor Tony Evans says we need to grieve and repent over racism in America. And Danny Akin is making it his personal conviction to see to it that a more diverse group of pastors are recruited and educated within his seminary. Translation, we need to hire more black pastors so we can look better to the black community. But do we really have a problem in the Church? All this does is sugar coat the issue, and doesn’t get at the heart of it. It’s absolutely no different than the social programs our governments have put in place for blacks, such as affirmative action. It gives blacks a priority advantage simply because of the color of their skin, and not because of ability or commitment. It also makes blacks dependent on a system that doesn’t address the root cause of the problems—sin.

Recently I posted a tweet, in response to another article pushing reconciliation, posing the question, “Who are these ‘racist’ SBC churches that these people keep referring to? I’ve yet to see one.” Almost immediately I got a response from another tweeter saying that in Mississippi, he was aware of quite a few of them. My question back to him was, are they actually Christians in these churches. Agreeably with me, he said “probably not.” So I ask then, if they aren’t Christians, how are they a church. The point I was making is that we don’t have a racism problem within the church. If there are racists, sitting in the pews of a church building on Sunday mornings, and acting hateful or intolerant of other races, their problem is not with disunity, non-integration or any other Russell Moore concept. An unrepentant, self-serving, sin-rationalizing racist CANNOT be any more of a Christian than an unrepentant, self-serving, sin-rationalizing homosexual, drunkard, adulterer or anything else. Being a Christian requires repentance of sin (Luke 13:3-5).

 
Integrating blacks and whites together in our churches is not going to solve any problem (be it perceived or actual) of racial tension in our country. Making this a “Gospel Demand,” as presented by Moore and Co. is a fallacious implication that the Bible requires us to do this—it does not. What the Bible requires us to do is to take the Gospel to those who are unbelievers. Man cannot solve the problem of sin, it’s why Jesus came to die on the cross for us.  The Gospel, by it’s very nature, is going to produce integration among those who believe. I am a member of a very well integrated Southern Baptist church in Charlotte, NC, and I really don’t know anyone, personally, who is racist. Are we sinners, yes, and do we need a savior, yes. But there is nobody, who is a professed, true, baptized believer that’s walking around in my church spouting any kind of racism.

So who are these “racist” churches that Russell Moore, Darryl Aaron, and Tony Lankford keep referring to?  Are they referring to their own churches? Show us these churches that you’re referring to and I would wager that they aren’t true Christian churches. In other words, I would bet that the Gospel isn’t being presented regularly, and the Bible isn’t being exposited, and Jesus Christ isn’t the central focus of these “member’s” daily lives. Church integration isn’t a Gospel demand, the Gospel is a Gospel demand.

I often hear church people say that we need to have more unity in the church. Unity, what does that mean? Well, it depends on who you ask. There is no question that the Bible teaches us that Christians are to be united, without divisions among us (1 Cor. 1:10), and that we are to be as one, as Chris is with the Father (John 17:21), and to be willing to maintain that unity peacefully (Eph. 4:30. But how are we suppose to apply this as Christians. There is certainly a great deal of bickering in the visible church. We have historically the Protestants arguing with Catholics, the charismatics arguing with the cessationists, the conservatives with the liberals, etc. Is this edifying to the church, or is it a distraction that draws attention away from the Gospel. Well, the short answer is both. Here’s why.

First I’ll start with what “unity” is not, as defined by the Word of God. Biblical unity among believers is not compromising the Word of God for the sake of apparent peace. In the High Priestly Prayer in John 17, Jesus prays to the Father, asking him to grant unity among believers so that the world will see that unity, and know that believers are one with each other as he is with his father. But the key phrase here is “among believers” (John 17:20). He is not asking that we set our significant difference in beliefs aside, and join hands together in ecumenical prayer. No, he’s asking that we all be united in the truth, being in full accord and of one mind (Phillipians 2:1-3), believing the same doctrinal truths, and taking these truths to the world.

There tends to be a great amount of backlash towards believers who are quick to rebuke other Christians who are in sin, or even false believers who are masquerading as Christians. The argument is that it distracts from the love of Jesus, but love is not the only quality of Jesus. Jesus came to bring truth, a sword (Matthew 10:34). Jesus did not come to tell everyone that they could believe what they wanted to believe, worship whatever idols they want to worship, and seek whatever God they wanted to seek, and as long as we stand in unity, everything would be fine. Jesus commanded us to expose false teachers within the church (Eph. 5:11), that they aren’t really Christians, but ravenous wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15). But sadly, there are many of these wolves running rampant in Evangelicalism, with very few willing to stand up and call them out. Yet, when they are called out, the talking heads of mainstream evangelicalism tend to bark back at the discerning Christians trying to obey God.

The Bible tells us not to have fellowship with unbelievers (2 Cor. 6:14). This means, we don’t join hands with the false church of Rome, giving the appearance that we are brothers and sisters in Christ, in order to advance and protect the sanctity of marriage, or to protest against abortion. While these may be good things to stand up for, we must not compromise the Gospel in doing so. We must stand up against the atrocities of abortion, or protect the sanctity of marriage by taking the Word of God to the lost, condemning all sin, and proclaiming the good news of the cross to everyone. Being united in error is not what Christ wants for his church, and being united on false premises is not being united at all.

So what creates disunity in the church then if it’s not the bickering and quarreling and the argument? Error. Error is what creates disunity in the church, and error must be corrected to regain that unity. Paul says in Romans 16:17, “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.” Notice, he doesn’t say to avoid the ones correcting the false doctrine, he’s saying avoid those bringing false doctrine because they cause disunity. He doesn’t say turn a blind eye and join up with them at prayer rallies to promote a political agenda. No, he says stay away from them, expose them for what they are—tools of Satan that cause disunity.

Lack of knowledge also creates divisions. According to the prophet Hosea, people are destroyed because of their lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). If we stand around, and allow people to believe whatever they want to believe, never correcting them, and never confronting their sin, the end is ultimate destruction. Although this may temporarily give the appearance of unity, it’s a deception. In order to be united the way Christ wants us to be united, we must be constantly reproving error, and constantly drawing people closer to the truth according to the Scriptures (2 Tim 3:16). We must correct those who mishandle Scripture, just like Jesus corrected Satan when he mishandled Scritpure (Matt 4:5-7).

Jesus says that those who teach and hold to false doctrines are worshiping him falsely (Matt 15:9). If we’re standing in prayer with those caught up in false churches, false gospels, or a false Jesus, we may as well be holding to these false beliefs ourselves. The signers of the ecumenical document, Evangelicals and Catholics Together, obviously don’t understand this concept. The signing of this false unification document has resulted in a watered down Gospel, and has led many unbelievers to believe that they are in right standing with God, regardless of their belief in another gospel (2 Cor 11:4).

We must unite around the truth alone. The truth of Scripture, the Word of God is the means of our unity, and Jesus Christ alone is the object of our unity. We can’t know Jesus outside of his revealed word to us. The Church should be a pillar and a buttress of the truth (1 Tim 3:15). In this we must remain united. We must remain united in protecting that truth, and standing up for that truth. We must remain united in exposing the false teachers, and false doctrines. And we must remain united in our condemnation of sin, for without condemnation of sin, there is no salvation (Romans 6:23; Revelation 21:8). Finally, we must remain united in taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all the nations, and baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and passing the torch.

How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down on the collar of his robe.
It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore. – Psalm 133

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Twist not Scripture, lest ye be like Satan. – Paul Washer

One of the longest lived accusations against us Christians is that we are judgmental. It’s true, however, we are, and often we are hypocritical in our censure, and we are condescending and degrading towards others that disagree with us. We are intolerant, bigoted and unwavering, and often come off as hateful towards them. So many times we are met with the parroted reverberations of Scripture taken out of context to try to disincline us from continuing in our beliefs and behaviors. Verses like Matthew 7:1,

Judge not, that you be not judged.

or,  Matthew 7:5,

You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

These verses are favorites among the anti-Bible crowd, they like to try to use our own Scriptures, you know, the ones they don’t believe, against us. But is this really what these verses are trying to tell us? How can we reconcile verses that appear to be telling us to be tolerant against the entire theme of the Biblical Gospel, which is to call people to repentance and faith? Calling people to repentance is absolutely foundational to the Christian faith (Hebrews 6:1). The unbeliever thinks that Christians should just concern themselves with helping others, loving others, feeding the hungry, clothing and sheltering the poor, and these are certainly things we should be doing, but a man can go to Hell on a full stomach. If we aren’t calling people to repentance, we are being disobedient to Jesus’ command.

But these passages are obviously in Scripture for a reason; so what are they telling us? Well, if you view this passage in it’s proper context, which is Jesus preaching the Sermon on the Mount, we can make more sense of it. Up to this point, he’s talked about the beatitudes, being salt and light, the relationship of the law of Moses to the New Covenant in himself. He gave examples of unrighteousness, and talked about inward righteousness, alms giving, prayer and fasting. He talked about social ethics, materialism and anxiety and trust. Which then brings us to this final part, social relationships, of which not judging others is a major theme.

Now, the Scribes and the Pharisees were the religious influence at the time. They stood, in opposition to Jesus as fulfillment of the law, as purveyors of the law. Their social and religious influence was widespread among the Jews, and Jesus was preaching to them a different idea, a different way of thinking about the law, in contrast to the norm, which was full and total submission to the law. See, the Pharisees and the Scribes in many ways had been twisting Scripture in their own times, to promote a false religious system back then too. They taught, much like the Roman Catholic church of today teaches, that we achieve salvation through good works, and obedience to the law.

What Jesus was in effect saying to them was to stop criticizing every aspect of everyone in accordance to the law. That is not why the law was given. The law was never given as a means of salvation, but as a light to shine on our unrighteousness, so that we could see ourselves as sinners in need of a savior. Jesus didn’t come to save the righteous, but the condemned (Luke 5:32). Without condemnation, there can be no salvation. So he wasn’t telling us not to call people to repentance, or not to tell other people that their sins are killing them, and sending them to Hell (Romans 6:23). This is the essence of the Gospel for us to do this.

People must know that they are sinners in order to see themselves in need of a savior. Those who believe themselves to be righteous, or believe that obedience to the law, as did the Scribes and Pharisees, are lying to themselves, and sending themselves to Hell (Romans 3:10). Those who believe that Jesus was here to show us the way, or that going to church just means “hanging out with your buddy, Jesus” are believing a lie. Jesus wasn’t telling Bible-believing Christians not to make people aware of their sins, he was telling the unbelievers that their judgement against others was misplaced, misappropriated, and blatantly hypocritical. They were hypocritical not because the law they were preaching was necessarily wrong, but because they were not believers themselves, or didn’t understand the proper purpose of the law, and calling people to repentance. Moreover, as condemned sinners themselves, in God’s eyes, they were just as guilty as anyone else, even though they lived their lives trying their hardest to be obedient to the law. They just weren’t good enough. Their good deeds were like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), because they did not surrender to Christ.

Only once you have surrendered your life to Jesus Christ alone, do you have any kind of standing to “judge” others. But it’s not your own judgement that you are to judge others by, it’s the judgement of God. God is the ultimate judge, and we are only proclaiming his judgment. It’s only by the word of God that we can proclaim this judgment, and doing so on our own terms, and by standing on our own righteousness to proclaim it is absurdly hypocritical. However, we must continue to proclaim the truth that all are sinners and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23), and that the only way to be saved is to repent of our sin (Luke 13:3-5), meaning, to change our mind, our attitudes, and our perspective on sin, and to see it for what it is, an evil abomination in God’s eyes, and to turn our faith in Christ alone for the fulfillment of God’s law, and our salvation (Gal 2:21). But the essential to this truth is that one must see himself as unrighteous, and condemned, before the throne of God before he can be saved. If one doesn’t see himself this way, they cannot be saved.

So next time an unbeliever throws one of these verses at you in response to you trying to share the Gospel with them, kindly respond back to them that you are not the one judging them, but God has already judged them:

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. – John 3:18