Petition for divorce, brought by Ergun Caner, petitioner, against Jill Caner,

The marriage has become insupportable because of discord, or conflict of personalities between Petitioner and Respondent that destroys the legitimate ends of the marriage relationship and prevents any reasonable expectation of reconciliation. Further, the respondent committed adultery.

Click Here for Filing

Counter-Petition for divorce, brought by Jill Caner, petitioner, against Ergun Caner,

The marriage has become insupportable because of discord, or conflict of personalities between Petitioner and Respondent that destroys the legitimate ends of the marriage relationship and prevents any reasonable expectation of reconciliation.

Click Here for Filing

Mutual Injunction

The parties have agreed to the entry of the following joint and mutual temporary injunction while this case is pending and same shall be binding on the parties; on their agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and on those persons in active concert or participation with them who receive actual notice of this order by personal service or otherwise. The requirement of a bond is waved.

Some of the agreed to facets of the injunction include:

Communicating with the other party….in vulgar, profane, obscene or indecent language, threatening, placing harassing phone calls, destroying each other’s property, and falsifying information.

Click Here for Filing

“Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet? – Amos 3:3

Do you know how you can tell if Rick Warren is saying something unbiblical? … if his lips are moving. Or in this case, his fingers are typing. In a recent blog post, he is saying that our job as Christians is to affirm and accept people. He uses Romans 15:7, where it says, “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you,” to justify his position. But the key to this passage here is, “as Christ accepted you.” Does Christ accept us in a state of unrepentant sin? Does he affirm our sinful lifestyles, such as homosexuality? No, but apparently Rick Warren thinks he does, and that we should too. Recently, he affirmed the sodomite Elton John’s homosexuality by holding hands with him and joking that them kissing would be the kiss heard around the world.

Contrary to what Rick Warren would have you believe, Jesus does not just “accept people the way they are,” or just “affirm people.” While he forgives people of their sins, he doesn’t overlook or approve their lifestyle. Were he to do this, it would nullify his entire reason for coming – to exterminate sin. The entire Gospel would be ineffectual and absurd. Jesus warned people that their sinful lifestyles would lead them straight to hell. In Luke 13:3-5 he says:

. . . but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

In fact, the concept was so important, he needed to say it twice. Repentance, turning away from your sin, is a requirement for Christ’s acceptance of you. He never accepts unrepentant sinners, and he never affirms sinful lifestyles. He then writes:

The easy choice sometimes is to snub and belittle and demean people . . . you may be someone who is always punctual, and when other people are late, you tend to look down your nose at them. . . Or maybe you’re a very tidy person who can’t help but notice when you go to other people’s houses how messy everything is, and it makes you feel better about yourself. We tend to project our strengths on other people, forgetting that we have weaknesses in other areas.

While it’s true, and I agree with him that belittling people, and demeaning people aren’t the correct way to approaching these things, neither is acceptance, and especially affirmation. As seemingly benign as these things may seem, laziness (sloth), and uncleanness are actually sinful as well. A better way to approach it, if it is a sincere problem, would be to lovingly confront them of their sin. But to show even the slightest affirmation of one’s sin is anti-gospel.

The simple idea would be to just write this off as though Rick is only talking about the differences between us that don’t affect the Gospel–different strengths and weaknesses such as intellect, physical strength, and other things that may give us different areas of importance in the body of Christ. But history tells us that this isn’t the way Rick thinks, and his article affirms it (no pun intended). Rick Warren is historically very accepting and affirming of sinful lifestyles that are gravely dangerous to the Gospel. He has said, in regard to Catholicism, Mormonism, ordained women, etc.:

I’m not going to get into a debate over the non-essentials. I won’t try to change other denominations. Why be divisive?

So, clearly we can see that he considers false Gospels to be “non-essentials,” and what he does consider to be essential is unity. He has also endorsed the Catholics Come Home campaign, addresses Muslims as “brothers,” and also approves and promotes new age practices which are antithetical to Christianity.  Rick Warren is a Southern Baptist, who has signed on to the SBC’s statement of faith, which affirms Scripture as infallible, and the source of authority for all truth, and, he knows that these others proclaim a gospel contrary to the truth, yet he affirms and accepts them in exchange for unity. Romans 1:32 says:

Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Warren then goes on to say:

The goal of a family, a small group, a church family, or any community group is not to mold people into your image but to accept and affirm each other and help each other discover who God made you to be.

While I agree with him that these groups aren’t for molding people into your own image, they certainly aren’t for accepting and affirming one another. They are actually for quite the opposite. They are for teaching, and instructing each other in righteousness, and holding each other accountable. Contrary to what Rick is trying to portray in his article, encouraging and building each other up is not the same thing as acceptance and affirmation. We should be encouraging each other not to sin (James 5:16, Luke 17:3, Proverbs 27:17, etc.). Yet Warren takes Romans 15:7 out of context, as usual and wants to apply this to everyone so that he can be united with them. Rick Warren wants to claim that he walks with the Lord, but at the same time, he wants to stand united with the world by affirming and accepting people just the way they are, but 1 John 1:5-6 says:

. . . God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

For More information on Rick Warren, I recommend the book, Deceived on Purpose: The New Age Implications of the Purpose-Driven Church

Did the Duggars’ Fundamentalism Cause Sexual Abuse? Not So Fast

Now that the sexual abuse allegations against Josh Duggar have resurfaced and made the news, many people are inquiring whether the Duggars’ belief system perpetuates sexual abuse. In light of other high-profile sexual abuse scandals among the Duggars’ associates—most notably Doug Phillips and Bill Gothard—it would be surprising if critics of Christian fundamentalism didn’t look for a theological smoking gun. But I actually want to urge some caution here.

Hillsong pastor: If you don’t like our song, don’t sing it

Hillsong Church’s Pastor Robert Fergusson has committed to praising God continuously even when it hurts, and he candidly explains why.

In Hillsong’s new album called Empires, there’s a new track with lyrics that go: “Even when it hurts like hell, I’ll praise you.

Why I Couldn’t Join Most Churches…and what you should look for in a church

Dr. Randy White If I were not a pastor, I would have a very difficult time finding a church. I find apostasy to be almost at an epidemic level in the modern church. Here’s why it would be difficult for me to find a church: The doctrinal statements are weak (if they exist at all) I don’t understand why a…

A BRIDE FOR THE GROOM: The Missing Person in the Culture Wars About Marriage

Jesus made the jarring statement that in the age to come marriage among humans would come to an end: “When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.” What circumstances could possibly bring about the cessation of a long history of marriage among men and women?

The answer is that after the resurrection a marriage will take place between Jesus Christ and His Bride – the marriage supper of the Lamb. All of history has been moving toward the consummation of Christ’s marriage to His Bride – believers from every people group on the earth.

ThatChurch.com, out of Sherwood, AR, is running a campaign to sign people up for baptism. They put out a series of YouTube videos, many featuring children who give a brief testimony to why they wanted to be baptized. A recent video features a kid named Jack, who gives a telling story of the purpose of baptism, according to ThatChurch.com.

Take a Look:

Cute, huh? No, really. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be baptized after watching that? That’s the problem. This church has possibly done more damage to this kid than they could ever realize. First of all, he says:

I wanted to be baptized because I wanted to show other people that I had Jesus into my heart.

What does that mean? Does he even understand the Gospel at all? Having “Jesus into your heart,” is not the Gospel. There is no indication that Jack understands his fallen nature, his sin, and his absolute need for forgiveness. Neither does he attest to any form of repentance or turning from his sin to Jesus.

If you didn’t have Jesus into your heart, you wouldn’t get to go to Heaven. . . The best part of having Jesus into my heart is going to heaven with my family and my friends. . . where there’s happiness.

So, getting to go to Heaven is his “reward” for asking Jesus into his heart. It’s not his desire to forsake sin, and to trust and follow his savior. It’s also disturbing that he has no idea what the glory of Heaven really is. But sadly, this kid now thinks he is saved because he has “asked Jesus into his heart” and has been baptized. He will probably be turned off to any presentation of the true Gospel at a later age due to this indoctrination of false Gospel by ThatChurch.com.

I would invite you to take a look at ThatChurch.com’s YouTube channel, where they appear to be a factory of false converts.

There tends to be a great amount of resentment 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 along with a sword (Matthew 10:34). Jesus did not come to tell everyone that they could believe what they want to believe, worship whatever idols they want to worship, and seek whatever God they want to seek, The Bible actually teaches against being united around error (Romans 16:17). This is a false unity. Biblical Christians must be united in truth.  Christians should not forsake orthodoxy for ecumenism.

Ecumenical movements within the Church and those who propagate them should be considered with caution.  One prominent propagator of such movements is the Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention (ERLC).  The ERLC has been known to make questionable dives into the waters of faith-based alliances with organizations that hold to completely different sets of doctrinal beliefs than do Bible-believing Southern Baptists.  It has rightly been criticized by concerned Christians for doing so.  Unfortunately, critics of the ERLC and similar organizations are often accused of slandering people of faith, causing division, rejecting diversity, or even spreading hate. Questions, not unlike the trap questions asked of Jesus by Jewish leaders during the first century, are thrown at the critics of ecumenism in attempts to discredit their concerned stances.  Many times, these questions are nothing more than straw-men tactics that shown no real concern the specific issue at hand.  When responding to such questions, critics of unhealthy ecumenism should strive to respond with sound logic and thoughtful biblical exegesis.  Consider the following admonishments from the Apostle Paul in light of notable activities of the ERLC.

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? … – 2 Cor: 14-16

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. – Eph. 5:11

Recently, the ERLC formed a “faith-based” coalition against what they refer to as “predatory payday lending.” Last week the Pulpit & Pen published an article taking a strong stance against this alliance, making it clear that such an alliance compromised the Gospel. While many are waking up to the troubling alliances often formed by the ERLC, there are still many more who are blind to the ERLC’s potential damage to the witness of the local churches which financially support it and the convention that oversees it.  Some may see the motives of the ERLC as genuine and the outcome of its actions benign. On the surface, it may appear to be that way, but if one really steps back and takes a look at the deeper issues involved, he will have little option but to see that the ERLC does compromise on the gospel. Upon coming to this realization and speaking out about it, one will be face with questions such as:

Is it wrong for Baptists and Catholics to work together cleaning up after 9/11?

Would it be wrong to agree with an atheist on a solution to a problem?

As noted above, such arguments, in general, are straw-men, different from the arguments made against ecumenical alliances.

Spiritual Endeavors

The difference between spiritual endeavors and a common, secular “working together” must be understood.” The phrase, “unequally yoked,” in 2 Cor. 14 is “ἑτεροζυγέω,” transliterated “heterozygeō.” It is actually a compound of the two words “ἕτερος” (“heteros”), and “ζυγός” (“zygos”). It was metaphorically used to represent the unequal combining together of working animals, such as a donkey and an ox, to a plow. Because of their differences, these animals would have difficulty accomplishing the task. Paul is primarily speaking to the Church in this letter and he is literally commanding it members not to enter into enter into a formal working partnership, or alliance with unbelievers–specifically those that would cause them to compromise their witness.

Now, here is where the question lies. What is it that causes a compromise of the Gospel and how is it different from the generic “working together” to solve a problem? Ezekiel 3:19 provides insight:

But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.

So what does that have to do with the question at hand? Consider a recent example. In 2014, President of the ERLC, Russell Moore, and Saddleback mega-church pastor Rick Warren went to the Vatican to meet the pope and participate in a conference which affirmed the biblical view of marriage (that it is between a man and a woman). On the surface, this sounds like a noble cause for Christ, but on a deeper level, what was the outcome of this alliance?

Jesus commissioned the Church to go and make disciples–calling people to repentance and faith in Christ (Matthew 28:19). Moore and Warren silently made an agreement with the pope to not talk about their differences. What would have happened if Russell Moore or Warren were to make the trip to Rome and started publicly calling Roman Catholics and the pope to repent of their idolatry? They would have been asked to leave and not participate. However, they chose to put their differences aside and work together to accomplish something less important.

The lasting damage this has done to the witness of the true church is considerable. Some would argue that perhaps they witnessed to some individuals while they were there and while this would be laudable if it were true, it’s a moot point. The public impression that they gave the world was that the sanctity of marriage was a more important cause than any doctrinal differences between them and the Roman Catholic Church. This is not an acceptable impression. Ephesians 5:11 says:

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

There may be those uneducated Christians who think that Roman Catholicism is just another denomination. Leaders such as Moore and Warren certainly know better.  The exploits of the Roman Catholicism Church are, at their core, works of darkness. If Christ’s true church is allied with the false church that is the Roman Catholic Church, how can it expose its wicked deeds?

The same concept is true of the most recent ecumenical alliance between Russell Moore and and certain groups that deny the inerrancy of scripture.  This alliance came together to stand against “predatory lending” and advocated governmental solutions to curb the practice.  Even if such action by the government is a wise course of action (I do not think that big-government solution is), the partnership hurts the witness of the bible-believing Christian Church. Again, Russell Moore doesn’t call any of the leaders of these scripture-rejecting groups to repentance because he has silently made an agreement with them to only talk about the thing they agree on–the danger of predatory lending.  Moore has also subtly but publicly agreed with them that they are a “Christian” coalition. Once again, if he were to publicly proclaim that, for example, many of the people involved in PICO National Network held to a false gospel that led to Hell, he would be chastised by the group, and asked to separate from it.

Non-Spiritual Endeavors

Okay, so what about Baptists and Catholics working together to help victims of Hurricane Katrina or a Baptist doctor working with a Muslim nurse? Well, in this case, the answer is “it depends.”  In most cases, by default, these are not “gopsel” endeavors. As a general rule, one doesn’t see Baptists and Catholics working on disaster relief forming a formal alliance, building a website, and co-signing partnership documents in these cases which would compromise the Gospel. Further, one doesn’t see faith-based alliances that that presuppose only those who profess Christianity can be involved.

Non-Gospel Solutions to Sin Problems

The Bible clearly teaches that evil acts are sin and the only true solution to sin is the Gospel. The role of the Church is to equip the saints to go out into the world and make disciples (Eph 4:12).  When an alliance with unbelievers is formed to find a solution to a certain problem, the gospel is automatically ignored as the solution. How can Russell Moore’s “Lend Justly” coalition provide the Gospel as a solution when the different groups hold to different gospels? The only option is to come together for a man-centered solution.

The Church has five main functions according to Scripture; these functions are worship, discipleship, ministry, fellowship, and evangelism. The ERLC, as an extension and representative of the Church, is consistently engaging in political activism–seeking man-centered solutions to sin problems. This idea is nowhere to be found in Scripture, and political activism is definitely not a function of the Church. While having moral laws in place that restrict evil is most certainly a good thing, it’s the Gospel and the conversion of people to Christianity that ultimately changes hearts towards the morality of God.

Bad Company Ruins Morals

Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” – 1 Cor. 15:33

The old axioms “Birds of a feather flock together” and “If you lay down with dogs you get fleas” are true.  It’s a natural psychological phenomenon to mimic one’s friends.  The church’s primary dealing with unbelievers should be to witness to them. It’s members should never allow themselves to become comfortable around people in their sin. Proverbs 13:20 says:

Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.

If Christians are consistently around people who deny Jesus, or deny the true Gospel (i.e. the pope), and they aren’t making any headway with them by witnessing to them, it’s time to move on and find new company (Matthew 7:6). Further, if Christians have chosen not to proclaim the Gospel to the lost, by forming an alliance, or otherwise, then they have have also chosen to disobey Scripture.  To be certain, if one were to ask Dr. Moore about the nature of the Gospel, he would likely know how to expound upon it in a biblical way. He knows the gospel. However, there is a difference between knowing and showing.  The fact is that Moore knows the Gospel but essentially refuses to boldly proclaim it within the ERLC’s ecumenical alliances.

But Jesus Mixed With Unbelievers?

Jesus mixed with unbelievers and he did so regularly. Yet, the Bible never shows Christ or the Apostles  forming alliances or coalitions with unbelievers. Some have argued that Jesus chose to ally with Judas to serve his purposes. But, while Judas was certainly chosen as a disciple of Christ, one could hardly make the argument that he was an ally. Further, Christ, being fully God, knew fully well that Judas would betray him, therefore, his purposes were served without allying with him. One could hardly argue that this is what the ERLC is doing.

While Jesus regularly sat with unbelievers and spoke to them, his purpose was to witness to them. Jesus called people to repentance.

Conclusion

The reader should ask himself this question. “Do I really believe that the Bible is the infallible, inspired and true Word of God and not just a book containing some spiritual metaphors that I can pick and choose from when it suits me?” If one is a Christian, then he must take the Word of God as truth.  The Word of God has clearly forbidden partnership between believers and unbelievers.  Jesus commissioned the Church to go and make disciples. Undoubtedly it cannot do that by devaluing the primacy and sufficiency of the Gospel. God calls the church to be separate from the world and not to walk with it. Romans 12:2 says:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Christians are to live “in the world”, but not to be “of the world.” As this is the plea of God, for those who don’t will reap destruction.

Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; – Revelation 18:4

Touchstone, A Journal of Mere Christianity, is an ecumenical publication put out by the Fellowship of St. James. According to Wikipedia, the subtitle, A Journal of Mere Christianity replaced the older subtitle, A Journal of Ecumenical Orthodoxy. According to the FSJ website,

The Fellowship of St. James was founded in 1976 to promote fidelity to Jesus Christ, encourage greater Christian unity, and defend traditional Christian doctrines and moral teachings. The Fellowship and its publications serve Protestant, Evangelical, Catholic, and Orthodox Christians who come together on the basis of shared belief in the fundamental doctrines of the faith as revealed in Holy Scripture and summarized in the ancient creeds of the Church.

and similarly, Touchstone Magazine’s page says:

Touchstone is a Christian journal, conservative in doctrine and eclectic in content, with editors and readers from each of the three great divisions of Christendom —Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox.

The mission of the journal and its publisher, The Fellowship of St. James, is to provide a place where Christians of various backgrounds can speak with one another on the basis of shared belief in the fundamental doctrines of the faith as revealed in Holy Scripture and summarized in the ancient creeds of the Church.

Any true Bible-believing Christian who knows anything at all about the doctrines of Catholicism, and Eastern Orthodox “christianity” knows that Biblical Christianity shares absolutely nothing with these two counterfeit religions in the most fundamental doctrine of the faith–salvation. In fact, these two religions consistently deny many of the “fundamental doctrines of the faith as revealed in Holy Scripture” in preference of their traditions. Many of their doctrines, such as sacramental, or works-based salvation, idolatrous forms of Mary and Saint veneration, Purgatory, Papal infallibility, and transubstantiation of the Eucharist, just to name a few, are extremely dangerous doctrines that turn people away from the truth of the Scriptures. The Scriptures clearly and consistently tell us to have nothing at all to do with these false doctrines, rather expose them (Eph 5:11). These false religions are the works of darkness. They are designed by the ultimate deceiver to counterfeit the true Christian faith, and they lead people to Hell. True Christians are to have no fellowship with darkness, as it is written:

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? – 2 Cor 6:14-15

Yet once again, who do we find meddling around in these dark corners, not as salt and light, calling unbelievers to repentance, but as a messenger of unity, watering down the divisions between the truth and error? You may have guessed, none other than the Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission President, Russell Moore. Russell Moore is a Senior Editor of the ecumenical magazine, Touchstone, and his writing fit right in with his agenda.

Dr. Moore has written many articles over the years for Touchstone, and most of them are cultural in nature, and focus upon what he believes to be a “shared interest” between Evangelicals, and apostate forms of Christianity. But why is he so caught up in Ecumenism? Clearly he can articulate the Biblical Gospel as well as any believer can, but how seriously does he take it?  One can only speculate as to why he doesn’t see the importance of drawing clear, distinct doctrinal boundaries between Biblical Christianity and apostate forms. Yet he continues to cross these lines in the name of culture building. I do, however, wish he would just answer these questions, and face his criticism, yet, he just decides to block me instead, and only engage with those who are on board with him.

Other articles concerning Russell Moore and his ecumenical agenda that may be of interest.

• Russell Moore’s ERLC: Change Agents of the United Nations February 20, 2015

• Russell Moore: Advancing Socialism ”starts with the Church.” February 16, 2015

• Why ‘Racial Justice’ is NOT a Gospel Demand January 30, 2015

• Russell Moore ”Doesn’t Want to See Any Fewer Rosary Beads” at the March For Life. January 24, 2015

• The Problem With the ERLC and Interfaith Coalitions June 1, 2015

• Russell Moore signs Ecumenical Defense of Marriage Statement April 27, 2015

 
pingomatic

http://veritas-vincit-international.org/2015/05/29/catholic-group-exposes-communist-influence-in-the-vatican/

Assemblies of God exposed to New Apostolic Reformation through Empowered21

http://mywordlikefire.com/2015/05/21/assemblies-of-god-exposed-to-new-apostolic-reformation-through-empowered21/

Duggar pastor talks scandal, says ‘19 Kids’ family will be forgiven

The Duggar family’s pastor says the scandal surrounding Josh Duggar is surprising, but that God can forgive everything. On Sunday, People revealed that the Duggar’s pastor, Dr. Ronnie Floyd of the five-branch Pinnacle Cross Church in Rogers, Arkansas, explained that “everyone does wrong” and that Josh Duggar’s alleged molestation of five young girls as a teen was “completely unacceptable,” but he added: “I’m thankful, whether it’s him or any other one, that I serve a God who can forgive everything.”

Floyd has served as the Senior Pastor of Cross Church, the “19 Kids and Counting” family’s place of worship, since 1986. The pastor admitted he was surprised by the news of the Duggar scandal saying: “All of us were surprised by the news because … their reputation in Arkansas is that they are a very Christian family.” He also said that his church has seen scandals before and will probably see them again.

http://www.examiner.com/article/duggar-pastor-talks-scandal-says-19-kids-family-will-be-forgiven

Why Gay Marriage is Good (and Bad) for the Church

“The arrival of same-sex marriage is just the next train stop on a journey that began with the proliferation of birth control in the 1950′s and 1960′s. When pleasure and reproduction were divorced from a holistic understanding of sex, the idea that sexual expression and childrearing should be reserved for the committed relationship of a husband and wife began to disappear.”

The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act serves as a boost to ongoing efforts to legalize same-sex marriage across the nation.

http://theaquilareport.com/why-gay-marriage-is-good-and-bad-for-the-church/

Family Life in a Post-Christian World | @DrStevenJLawson

(From the 2014 US #bannerconf) https://vimeo.com/128504877 

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I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen.  –Martin Luther

Christianity, salvaged by God after centuries of suppression by the hands of Rome, through the great men of the Protestant Reformation, has always been under attack by those who deny Christ. Those great men of faith have been persecuted, and even martyred countless times for defending what they so strongly believed in. In an extravagant display of hatred, John Wycliffe’s bones were dug up forty years after he died, and burned for translating the Bible into English and speaking out against the Papacy. Martin Luther, a monk who pinned the 95 Theses to a church door in Wittenberg, was excommunicated from the church. William Tyndale, who also famously translated Bibles into English though it were illegal, remained faithful until his strangling death, and body burned by the King of England. Thousands upon thousands of Protestants gave their lives during the Reformation era, and against all odds, through all of the persecution, and against the evils of the Roman Catholic Church, Christianity prevailed.

For several centuries, Biblical Christianity’s influenced grew enormously, while the influence of the Papacy dwindled. Though still a forceful presence throughout the world, Roman Catholicism stood in stark contrast to Protestantism, and the differences between them were clear. The reformation produced some of the greatest theologians and preachers of all time. John Calvin, best known for his theological works regarding the doctrines of grace, was very outspoken against the works-based doctrines of Rome. There was the Puritan, Thomas Watson and later there was Charles Spurgeon, and so on. There was no confusing Catholicism with Protestant Christianity–the doctrinal divide was clear.

But this time of biblical enlightenment didn’t come without it’s price. The Catholic Church launched a counter-reformation, in which Protestants were declared “anathema” for their beliefs. From the counter-reformation came the Council of Trent, in which many changes were implemented in the RC Church, and sprung many new religious orders, many who reported directly to the Pope. The most notorious, and well-misunderstood of these religious orders is the Jesuits. The Jesuits would silently infiltrate society, and even Protestant Churches, set with the ultimate task of bringing all Protestants back under the authority of the Papacy. For many centuries, this was a tough sell. With the iniquities of the Roman Catholic Church, the slaughter of innocent peoples, and the outrageous doctrinal claims made by the organization, there were too just too many faithful preachers preaching against Rome’s heresies–until recently.

Enter the modern Evangelical Church.

If you ask the average Evangelical church-goer today what the difference is between Protestantism and Catholicism, you’re likely to get a variety of answers. Some will tell you that Catholics believe in a works salvation, but many won’t really understand what that means. Others may tell you that Catholics worship Mary and Protestants don’t. But the overwhelming majority are likely to have no idea what the difference is, and this is rather disturbing. While many of these people will be able to articulate the Gospel, Catholicism is quickly becoming seen as “just another denomination,” with some strange twists. They are no longer being seen as the counterfeit Church, the ancient enemy of the Gospel that the reformers fought so hard and gave their lives to expose and separate from. The muddying of these waters is not unaccounted for, however, and it comes as no surprise, since today we have so many Evangelicals afraid to speak out against Rome, and fornicating with her in many ways.

Take heed that no man deceive you. … And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. …For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. – Matthew 24:4,11,24

As I wrote before, ecumenism is the new drug of choice in the Church today. It can be rolled up neatly, with a little Scripture twisted around it, and passed on to the next person to intoxicate themselves with. There are many change agents working against the Gospel in the Church. They creep in unawares–they’re very sly and deceitful with their tactics. One-hundred years ago, it would have been unthinkable to have a Protestant leader travel to the Vatican to work with the Church of Rome on cultural issues. Protestants knew that the Church of Rome was their enemy, and any of whom sought common ground with this apostate system would have been seen as a traitor. But through the endless efforts and sly disposition of these change agents, so many have changed their minds. People have been conditioned to believe that the Protestant Reformation was a mistake, and that joining hands with Rome is a great stride towards unification of the Church.

Scripture is very clear that we are not to seek common ground with unbelievers in a spiritual way. Working together to further the cause of Christ is spiritual. Though the Church of Rome may share some lip-service on the identity of Christ with Protestants, it is most certainly a different Christ than the Biblical Christ Protestants serve. While the Catholic Christ and the Biblical Christ may both teach marriage is between one man and one woman, and that abortion is murder, on the most important level, only the Biblical Christ teaches the true Gospel of salvation. Because of this, working together with Rome compromises the Gospel. Besides this, Scripture clearly forbids it:

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? … – 2 Cor: 14-16

The phrase, “unequally yoked,” in the above passage is “ἑτεροζυγέω,” transliterated “heterozygeō.” It is actually a compound of the two words “ἕτερος” (“heteros”), and “ζυγός” (“zygos”). It was metaphorically used to represent the unequal combining together of working animals, such as a donkey and an ox, to a plow. Because of their differences, these animals would have difficulty accomplishing the task. Paul is primarily speaking to the Church in this letter and he is literally commanding it members not to enter into enter into a formal working partnership, or alliance with unbelievers–specifically those that would cause them to compromise their witness.

But this “yoking together” has become so common within the Church, that most are blind to it. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptists’ Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission, has built a veil of support for his ecumenism so strong, that if one even thinks about questioning him, you may as well hand over your reputation to the dogs. Though he has done much to advance the unity between Romanism and Evangelicalism, such as speaking at the Vatican without a Gospel message, advocating for more Roman Catholics to be present at the March for Life, and claiming not to know the difference between his “gospel focus” and the pope’s, the Evangelical world still looks to him as an authority on matters of faith and religion.

As I have written about before, Russell Moore has used his high-ranking position within the Church to bring about subtle changes without question. Since he is held in such high regards, he is considered to be the standard in which the Evangelical church aligns with. He successfully introduced socialism into the Church, and has made it seem normal. He has gained immeasurable support for his racial reconciliation program, his payday lending coalition, and his Creation Care environmentalism program–all programs of social justice, which advocate societal, rather than individual responsibility. Socialism has long been held as antithetical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ within the conservative Evangelical Church, but the average Southern Baptist pastor today holds these issues a “gospel demands.” This line of thinking is slowly taking the emphasis off of Biblical truth, and aligning Evangelicals with Catholics on common ground.

The brain-washing is far and wide. Rick Warren is another slick agent of change that has normalized relations with Rome. Rick Warren fully supports the Catholics Come Home program, in which he says:

The mission of Tom Peterson and Catholics Come Home to bring souls home to Jesus and the church is critically important during this challenging time in our history. I fully support this New Evangelization project.

Warren has also partnered with the Catholic Church on numerous occasions, yet Evangelicals are largely silent. Besides traveling to the Vatican with Russell Moore, he has appeared on Roman Catholic television praising the Catholic faith, and has referred to the pope as the pope of all Christians, not just Catholics. He also has laid out reasons why he believes that all Christians should be united under the pope. He says:

We have far more in common than we have differences … Sure there are important differences, but if you love Jesus, we’re on the same team.

Now, Rick Warren knows full well that the doctrinal differences between the Catholic and Protestant faiths are diametrically opposed to each other. He also knows full well that their is no common ground between the two. Let me be clear, Rick Warren is not stupid, nor is he ignorant of what he is doing. No man can love the Word of God, and truly understand and believe the Gospel, and think that Roman Catholics love the same Jesus that true Christians do. Rick Warren is serving one purpose, and one master, and he intends to do everything he can to unite all of the visible Church under the authority of the Roman Pontiff.

Though these two may be among the most influential of the visible change agents working in the Evangelical Church, there are many others. There are, of course, Purpose Driven disciples of Rick Warren, such as Francis Chan, Andy Stanley, Perry Noble, who are all highly influential Gospel compromisers who minimize the importance of doctrinal clarity in exchange for unity. And of course there are the women pastrices who have usurped their roles as teachers in the church, such as Beth Moore, claiming God gave her vision of uniting with the Roman Catholic Church, Joyce Meyer teaching Word of Faith Heresy, and Ann Voskamp, who sees the love of God as erotic. Yet, the once solid Southern Baptist denomination continually uses materials from these false teachers in their programs at Church.

Silence…

RNS FILE PHOTO: Evangelist Billy Graham and Pope John Paul II met privately for 30 minutes earlier this month, during which time Mr. Graham presented Pope John Paul II with a handsome quilt from the North Carolina mountains near his home. This capped three days of meetings with Vatican officials.
During their second meeting together, the two men discussed a variety of topics, including the state of the church around the world — particularly in Eastern Europe and Latin America.
1/30/90
Courtesy Billy Graham Foundation

Yet, perhaps the most influential change agent in the Church today is the most praised contemporary of modern Evangelicalism–Billy Graham. Billy Graham, a Southern Baptist evangelist out of North Carolina has held more conferences, with more people than any other confessing Christian of all time. His crusades attracted crowds in the hundreds of thousands, and even over a million. Almost every Southern Baptist pastor today speaks highly of Graham, referring to him as one of the heroes of the faith. They study and recommend Graham’s books, and even sell them at their bookstores in their churches. What you don’t hear from these preachers, however, is the great amount of work that Billy Graham did for the cause of ecumenism.

Billy Graham holds an honorary degree from a Roman Catholic, Jesuit University. He regularly had Roman Catholic priests with him at his crusades, and as people “made decisions” for Christ, counselors would then send these “new Christians” to Roman Catholic churches in their home towns. Graham has also come out in recent years, never retracting his statement, saying that one can be saved without Jesus. After Karol Wojtyla’s (Pope John Paul II) death, during an interview with Larry King, Billy Graham tells King that the late pope is in Heaven.

KING: There is no question in your mind that he is with God now?

GRAHAM: Oh, no. There may be a question about my own, but I don’t think Cardinal Wojtyla, or the Pope — I think he’s with the Lord, because he believed. He believed in the cross. That was his focus throughout his ministry, the cross, no matter if you were talking to him from personal issue or an ethical problem, he felt that there was the answer to all of our problems, the cross and the resurrection. And he was a strong believer.

One of only two things can be true here; either Billy Graham doesn’t know or understand the Gospel, or Billy Graham is knowingly compromising the Gospel. For a man who seemingly preached the Gospel for so long, it doesn’t seem as though he was an unlearned man. In a sense, Billy Graham can be viewed as the father of the modern Evangelical counter-reformation.

False teachers are mainstream in Christendom today. Rob Bell, Joel Osteen, Paul Crouch, Benny Hinn, the list goes on and on. While most of these are easy to spot, it’s the subtle ones that aren’t so easy to spot that are the most dangerous. These are the ones being promoted in what would otherwise be solid churches. Ones like Rick Warren, Billy Graham, Russell Moore, Ronnie Floyd, Beth Moore, Ann Voskamp, Francis Chan–the list goes on and on. Lifeway and the SBC is notorious for promoting these teachers for profit. The SBC is widely thought of as being the most conservative denomination, yet these subtle attacks weaken it’s members. This is what makes the SBC one of the more dangerous denominations to be a part of.

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. 2 Tim 3:1-5

With an unprecedented amount of compromise happening in the Church today, it’s astonishing that so few eyes are open to see what is happening. But this state of mind is exactly what these change agents are working to accomplish.These men seek to undo what the Protestant Reformation has accomplished by joining hands with the apostates and the ungodly. They don’t want people to hold fast to what is true. If people do stand on the truth of the Word of God, they cannot bring about the fundamental transformation they desire.

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, – 1 Tim 4:1

There is so much emphasis being put on “experiential Christianity.” Feel-good music with watered-down doctrine–it takes the focus off of the truth of the Word of God, and places it on the individuals feelings. Everybody just wants to “get along” and “love eachother.” It’s now commonplace to practice Roman Catholic mysticism and Eastern Mysticism in a Protestant Church. Sola Scriptura means nothing to Evangelicals anymore. No wonder why Danny Akin and his supporters don’t see anything wrong with doing a promo video for Richard Dawkins. There is a common misunderstanding of what it means to be “salt and light.” People think this means to share the love of Jesus to unbelievers, but it’s much more than that. Being salt means to preserve the truth of Jesus Christ, by holding fast to it, and being light means exposing darkness and error by “shining the light” of the truth of God’s word against it.

The common gospel between all of the apostates is a man-centered ideology that seeks to bring about a Utopian society, instead of looking to Christ in hope and trust for salvation. Their goal is being accomplished. Christians as a whole no longer contend for the faith (Jude 1:3), stand up for the truth (1 Thes 5:21), or speak out against error (2 Tim 3:16-17), nor do they see any true purpose in standing apart from the wicked (2 Cor 6:17) and exposing the unfruitful works of darkness (Eph 5:11).

For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.” – 2 Peter 2:20-22

Well known false prophet, Steven Furtick, of Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC, is teaching that Joshua, Chapter 6 is about “changing your perspective,” and “seeing over your [personal] walls.

It wasn’t that Jericho was so big that made it a challenging city for them to conquer, it was that Jericho’s walls were so high…

Furtick says.

because some of the stuff that goes on in your life, some of the stuff that God has promised that you have not received yet, some of the stuff that you’re intimidated of…it’s not that it’s really bigger than you, because God is in you is bigger than anything you face, it’s just that your perspective gets blocked by how high the walls are.

Then he goes on to preach that coming to church lifts our perspective to be able to see beyond those walls, and that there’s something about “making and effort to get into God’s presence” that will “elevate your perspective” to be able to see past your problems and you will see that

the enemy that you were intimated by, was actually intimidated of you all along.

See video below.

In typical Word of Faith fashion, Furtick eisegetes this text, misinterprets it, and misapplies it to the lives of his congregants. While the original passage is about God being faithful to fulfill God’s promises and God’s will, Furtick takes this passage to mean that God promises us to have our victory over our problems–we can “use God” to accomplish our goals. This narcissistic eisegesis is classic among the Word of Faith such as Osteen, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, etc.–coming together and speaking the Word of God will somehow “mobilize” or “stimulate” your faith and allow God to work through you.

I think that a church should be setting the pace for social justice.

— Max Lucado

The concept of “social justice” is not new, it’s been around for ages. It’s the antithesis to personal responsibility. The New Oxford American Dictionary defines “social justice” as “The objective of creating a fair and equal society in which each individual matters, their rights are recognized and protected, and decisions are made in ways that are fair and honest.” On the surface this sounds like a noble cause, but in reality, it doesn’t work that way. In practice, social justice removes the notion of personal responsibility, and places the burden of individuals on the backs of society. A society devoid of personal responsibility will naturally result in laziness, crime, and a complete lack of motivation for advancement, and eventually total collapse of the society. The social justice system comes in the form of a wolf in sheep’s clothing, disguised as something good, yet it is opposed to the will of God, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

But this doesn’t stop the social progressives from infiltrating the Church to promote their agenda. Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) for the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), has been at this for quite some time. He is known for using his high ranking positions in the Church to promote his social justice causes. He has used the ERLC for the advancement of his “racial reconciliation” cause, in which he supports the idea of “white privilege,” and clearly wants to place criminal responsibility of blacks on the shoulders of society. He also promotes what he terms as “Creation Care” environmentalism. And recently, he formed a coalition with other liberal groups in order to fight against “predatory pay-day lending.” All of these causes diminish the importance of personal responsibility for one’s actions–personal responsibility, of which is a prerequisite to salvation in the Gospel.

Now, in the latest show of his positional authority, and intent to advance and propagate his cause through the Church, he has teamed up with social justice advocate and political activist, president of The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC), Samuel Rodriguez. Moore has partnered with the NHCLC on a number of occasions in the past, and is now officially yoking together with them by becoming a member of their board. According the the NHCLC website, Rodriguez is a very prominent person, not only in the Latino Evangelical community, but in the world.

CNN  and Fox News named Rodriguez, “The leader of the Hispanic Evangelical movement”. NBC/Telemundo called him “America’s most influential Latino Evangelical leader”. Rev. Samuel Rodriguez was nominated by TIME magazine for their “100 Most Influential People in The World” list in 2013 and his description of the Latino faith community emerged as their April 15, 2013 cover story, The Latino Reformation.

This is quite a significant partnership, as the Southern Baptist Convention, and the ERLC are among the most influential evangelical organizations in the world. Rodriguez, and the NHCLC also have strong ties with the New Apostolic Reformation and Cindy Jacobs, a highly controversial and well known false teacher within American evangelicalism. Any true God-fearing, Bible-believing Christian should be running from this camp at full speed. So what does Rodriguez actually stand for? According to NHCLC website, their mission statement reads:

Joining the Christianity of Martin Luther King Jr. and Billy Graham.  The Lamb’s Agenda reveals the crucial connection between biblical social justice and spiritual righteousness.

Rodriguez says he grew up in a “very Christian” home, and apparently received a prophetic utterance from the Lord to become a preacher while watching a well known false teacher, Jimmy Swaggart, on television as a child. In an interview with PBS he says:

… when I was 14 years old, I had my epiphany, my Damascus moment, which was simple: I was viewing a very well-known televangelist [Swaggart] around 10:00 in the evening, back in the early ’80s, and it resonated with me. Something in my spirit, something in my heart said, “Samuel, you’re going to do that one day; you’re going to preach.”

Samuel Rodriguez was keynote speaker at the Martin Luther King National Service in 2013. During his speech he threw many red flags. The first red flag was early in his speech, when he introduced King’s daughter, Bernice King, as “prophet,” “elder,” and his “sister [in Christ].” The “prophet/pastor” has been well associated with C. Peter Wagner’s New Apostolic Reformation, in which Dominionism is one of it’s main tenets. Throughout this speech, he proclaims that his mixing of politics with Christianity is a “prophetic movement of God.” He then quotes John 1:29 and Revelation 5:13, and makes the following comment in it’s application:

Now how do we live out Dr. King’s dream in our 21st century reality? How do we advance the cause of justice in a very unjust world? How do we build a firewall against intolerance, abuse, inequality and hatred? Permit me to title this brief word that God has deposited in my heart today; Dr. King’s dream fulfilled the Lamb’s agenda. Behold the Lamb.

This is a completely blasphemous claim that God told him that Dr. King’s social justice dream fulfilled the will of God. This is a total misuse of the Word of God, and this man is not speaking truth, but lies. Our Lord Jesus Christ did not come to make the world a better place, and provide justice and equality to all people. He came to save people from their own sin, through repentance and trust in Him alone. Rodriguez then goes on to say that it’s the “spirit of the Lamb that fulfills dreams,” and later, “The agenda of the Lamb performs freedom of the dream by the message of the cross,” and then says “Life is a cross.” He completely distorts the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and diminishes Jesus’ shed blood on the cross. Folks, Samuel Rodriguez is preaching a false Gospel, and a false Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:4 says:

For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

Rodriguez is also a supporter of President Obama’s executive action to provide amnesty to 5 million illegal aliens living in the borders of the United States. Of these law-breaking illegal residents, Rodriguez claims:

Their children are born here, they share our values when it comes to life … the primary model for marriage and family [and] on religious liberty, These are not individuals who are married to a political ideology. They love faith, they love family and they love freedom.

Rodriguez also seems to have a hard time understanding who our “brothers and sisters” in Christ are. Most Latino immigrants, legal or illegal, are Roman Catholic. These are not brothers and sisters in Christ. In May of 2015, Rodriguez issued the following statement in response to the U.S. State Department’s denial of a visa to Catholic nun, Sister Diana Momeka of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena in Iraq:

Our Christian faith must be preached, proclaimed, and protected … Having invested her life in Iraq, Sister Momeka has preached, proclaimed and served, and now she needs to be protected. We cannot be complacent when our brothers and sisters in Christ are being persecuted around the world.

We must not forget, that regardless of how bad a situation is for people, telling the world that someone is a Christian, when they are not, is not being faithful to Jesus Christ. Simply because Muslims do not differentiate between true and false Christians does not mean that Christians should not. Roman Catholicism is a counterfeit Christianity, and Catholics need to be evangelized as much as any other false religion. Russell Moore, in his partnering with Rodriguez refers to this nun as “Iraq’s Mother Theresa.”

As a staunch promoter of social justice in the Church, and a New Apostolic “prophet,” Rodriguez recently wrote an article for Charisma Mag, in summary, claiming that the “real reason” the Holy Spirit came down was to empower us to change the world–to “be the answer to someone else’s prayer.” “In conclusion,” he writes:

stand up and cast out demons! Stand up and heal the sick! Stand up and speak in other tongues. Stand up and fulfill the great commission. Stand up and make disciples. Stand up and preach the Word in and out of season. Stand up and be fruitful. Stand up and be faithful. Stand up and be holy. Stand up and be light!

Be filled! Stand up! Raise your voice! And change the world!

This intertwining of social justice and Christianity is a total abuse of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word. As if it isn’t enough to take the Gospel to the lost, calling them to repentance and salvation, and teaching them personal responsibility; Rodriguez believes it is the commission of the church to solve the social problems of the world. The root of the social problems in the world is sin (Galatians 5:19-21, Romans 3:23, Jeremiah 17:9, etc.). And that problem has already been solved, on the sacrificial death, burial and resurrection of Jesus (1 Peter 3:21). And the solution is the Gospel–the Great Commission.

Russell Moore continues to repeatedly align himself with false teachers, false prophets, and political activists in order to promote his agenda. Russell Moore is not being held accountable for his actions, yet he is revered as one of the greatest influences in Christianity. Why is this so? Why can’t people see what is going on, and the destruction that the social justice agenda is doing to the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Why do our Southern Baptist leaders continue to support those who align themselves with this false gospel? Social justice, and the social gospel is a FALSE GOSPEL–it’s an enemy of the Gospel and true Christians should not tolerate it. Jesus’ own words regarding the social gospel in John 4:13-14 are:

… Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

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Will the SBC officially announce their apostasy at the 2015 Convention.

If you haven’t heard of the Lifeway scandal, regarding #the15 by now, I recommend reading this article. The debacle revolves around the Southern Baptist entity, Lifeway Bookstores, who serves as the publishing branch of the convention. Lifeway, as a representative of the SBC has been called out for peddling heretical materials by unsound teachers, as well as Heaven tourism books, for profit, and not responding to criticism for their actions. One particular heretical book Lifeway peddled for years for monetary gain is “The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven.” The book, though officially co-authored by Alex Malarkey and his Father, was actually a work completely by Alex’s father, that Alex himself never supported. Alex recanted his story publicly, his mother publicly wrote about it, and world class apologist, and former Lifeway trustee, Justin Peters, even informed Lifeway about Alex’s recantation years before the book was finally pulled from the shelves after a massive outcry by #the15, and Alex’s recantation made viral through the Pulpit and Pen website.

Recently, it has been announced that Alex Malarkey will be making the trip to the Southern Baptist Convention this year. J.D. Hall will be meeting up with Alex, and if given the opportunity, Alex will be addressing the Convention and Lifeway (i.e. Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer), regarding them ignoring his pleas to pull the book from the shelves, and stop peddling it for profit.

The Texan, the Texas Baptist Convention’s newspaper, says that Ronnie Floyd told them he would allow time for discussion.

As long as concerns are expressed with gracious civility, SBC President Ronnie Floyd is likely to allow time for discussion, based on comments he made to the TEXAN.

But the subject being discussed in the Texan article was the issue of the recent changes by the IMB. Is Floyd going to apply this same policy to allow for discussion of a subject in which there is no defense for? Is he going to allow the question to be asked in which the only valid response would be an admission of total failure, and a genuine repentance, or resignation? This remains to be seen.

The response to this discussion by leadership in the SBC has been that of complete avoidance, and passing the buck. Neither Ed Stetzer, or Thom Rainer has given the slightest indication that they intend to accept responsibility for their failure. Though the story of Alex’s recantation made national news, Lifeway has yet to acknowledge Alex, let alone apologize. In fact, the only response received by them was an article in the Baptist Press, in which they stated they pulled the book for other reasons:

LifeWay Christian Resources has stopped selling all “experiential testimonies about heaven” following consideration of a 2014 Southern Baptist Convention resolution on “the sufficiency of Scripture regarding the afterlife.”

So if Lifeway, and the Southern Baptist leadership come face to face with Alex, and put on the spot to be forced to answer this question, will Floyd allow it to happen? Ronnie Floyd is known to ignore his critics as well. Though he says he will allow time for discussion as long as concerns are expressed graciously and civilly, he has blocked several of his critics, including myself, on Twitter for asking him tough questions. Ronnie Floyd, as President of the SBC, has the authority to allow or disallow, or to cut off questioning at his discretion. I think it will be very interesting to see whether or not he allows this questioning to happen in the first place, and if he does, will he cut it off as “inappropriate,” “ungracious,” or “uncivil?”

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? … – Romans 10:14-15

Apparently, all you need is to feel a presence, feel safe, and know that it’s Jesus.

David Uth, megachurch pastor of First Baptist Church, Orlando, interviewed Rifqa Bary, author of Hiding in the LIght, during his speech at the Southern Baptist Convention earlier today. Bary is an ex-muslim who claims she came to Christ through an experiential event of a “presence” she had as a child in a garden, who she later found out to be Jesus when she felt the same “presence” in a church later in life. David Uth asks her this question:

Tell them about, when you were young, you had this sense of a presence, and you weren’t sure what it was, and the next time you felt it was when you were in a church.

and Bary responds:

The earliest memory I have of Jesus, and I didn’t realize it was Jesus meeting me, was when I was about 12 years old–2 years old, and I was playing in the garden, and I felt this strong presence, and I would keep turning back, as a little girl, and that memory was imprinted into my spirit. I remember feeling so safe and loved and cherished, and I kept looking back, but I just knew that someone was there, and it was so big, and that day that I went into the church building, I knew without a doubt that it was the same presence I had felt in the garden as a child and things were okay.

All during this interview, David Uth is praising her, and affirming her experiential events that led her to Christ, devoid of Scripture and the Gospel. At the end of the interview, David Uth announces that Lifeway will now be selling her book, and that she will be available for signing. This isn’t surprising, however, since David Uth was such a strong proponent of having Ben Carson, a Seventh Day Adventist cult member speak at the event this year, and was highly disappointed when Carson was disinvited.

Apparently doctrine doesn’t matter at all in the SBC anymore.

Watch the interview below:

I knew without a doubt that it was the same presence I had felt in the garden as a child and things were okay. – Rifqa Bary

Roman Catholic mysticism, long abhorred by Evangelicals and Protestants, is a form of “white magic” that basically mixes pagan witchcraft with Christianity, giving the outward appearance of being of God. Often times it is reported that contact has been made with benevolent entities, who claim to be Jesus, Mary, or some other angel of light, when in reality, these beings are of darkness. The Bible strictly forbids any form of contact with the spirit world, outside of direct prayer to God alone, and God’s specific revelation through Scripture alone. (Lev 19:31, etc.) However, mystical experiences are becoming more and more popular as we approach the Lord Jesus’ inevitable return.

Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short! – Revelation 12:12

There are a number of Muslims who, in recent years, are reporting to have dreams, visions, or other mystical experiences with Jesus, and claim to be led to and converted to Christianity on count of these experiences. Christianity Today interviewed former Muslim Naeem Fazal, now pastor of Mosaic Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, on his mystical experience he claims “changed the course of his life.” He was asked, “What were the key factors God used in drawing you to faith in Christ?”

He replied:

First was community … Second was spiritual environments … The third factor was certain people in my life … Last, it was the Holy Spirit—the power and the presence of God. I had a supernatural interaction one night in which I experienced Jesus in my room. That encounter forever shifted the course of my life.

Notice he places the highest emphasis in his supposed conversion on this mystical experience he had with “Jesus.”

This is very similar to a more recent episode, now being promoted by Lifeway, an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention. On June 15, David Uth, pastor of First Baptist Church, Orlando, dedicated his time allotted for preaching the Word of God to interviewing the subject of a highly questionable and unbiblical mystical experience with “Jesus.” (Click here for video) He interviewed former Muslim Rafiq Bary, who moved to the United States from Sri Lanka as a child, after several unfortunate and traumatic experiences left her emotionally, and physically wounded. While as a child, she says her family was devoutly Muslim, however, she questioned her religion. Regarding her conversion, she states:

The earliest memory I have of Jesus, and I didn’t realize it was Jesus meeting me, was when I was about 12 years old–2 years old, and I was playing in the garden, and I felt this strong presence, and I would keep turning back, as a little girl, and that memory was imprinted into my spirit. I remember feeling so safe and loved and cherished, and I kept looking back, but I just knew that someone was there, and it was so big, and that day that I went into the church building, I knew without a doubt that it was the same presence I had felt in the garden as a child and things were okay.

Again, she claims that it was this mystical experience that she had that led to her conversion. The Bible teaches us that it is the Word of God that has the power to save us (Romans 1:16). Scripture nowhere teaches us that mystical experiences play any role in our faith. John 20:29 clearly teaches that physically seeing Jesus is not part of coming to true faith. Faith does not come to us through dreams and visions, it comes to us through the preaching of the Gospel.

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. – Romans 10:14-17

But this type of experience appears to be identical to the experiences Catholics claim to have with apparitions of Mary. Multitudes of Catholics have claimed to come to faith in Christ through visions of Mary. Most of these experiences entail a form of private revelation by the contacted spirit. These experiences are held in high regards, and many officially recognized by the Vatican as real, and trustworthy. But most of these “private revelations” entail a message that is contrary to the written Word of God.

So then why is the Southern Baptist Convention now embracing this mysticism? Because leadership has failed, the Word of God is not revered as authoritative and sufficient, and there is no accountability within the convention. David Uth, as a representative of thousands of church members from his megachurch, and many other followers who hold him in high regard, sat there and nodded his head, and affirmed Ms. Bary’s mystical experience she claims to have had. Sadly, by doing so, he affirmed to millions of Southern Baptists and other evangelicals that it’s okay not to hold to the sufficiency of Scripture, or the authority of God’s Word. And not a single person held him accountable for it. This is beyond sad, it’s completely tragic.

If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die forhis iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul. – Ezekiel 3:18-21

I love gracious people. There are some people in my life who I consider very good friends and mentors–people who would stick their neck out in defense of me. These people, I love and appreciate as they have graciously given themselves over to the body of Christ, for the edification of the saints, and the defense of the Gospel. As a believer, I have a God given duty to extend the same grace to my fellow believers. As a matter of fact, this grace, by definition, does not require a prerequisite, nor a follow-up. It’s simply grace. It’s what Christ did for us on the cross. Christ graciously took the punishment on the cross for our sins, though we deserved it not, and he now stands before the father, interceding on our behalf. This is the greatest example of grace; it is the standard of grace. He is the ultimate model for the grace we are to show others, especially our fellow believers. But grace is not God’s only attribute, he is also truth, and just, among other things. So how do we balance our grace, while not compromising the other attributes of God?

What grace is not.

Grace is not simply ignoring sin or enabling addictions. In all of God’s grace, God never ignores sin (Romans 3:23, 6:23). True grace knows that it’s better to be told the truth and deal with the aftermath, rather than allow it to continue unchecked. The grace that God extends to us is only because Christ satisfied the wrath of God on the cross. Grace is not universal. Grace is only extended to those who repent, and put their faith in Christ (Luke 13:3-5). But even the repentance and faith are gracefully granted to us by God (Eph 2:8-9). Finally, grace is not weakness, it’s a supernatural gift. John MacArthur once said “Meekness has no relation to weakness but denotes power that is under willing control.” Extending grace to someone who does not deserve it shows a Spirit-filled willingness to control your anger, and allow the work of Christ to be seen through your actions.

Sowing Seeds of Discord

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. – Proverbs 6:16-19

What exactly does it mean to “sow seeds of discord?” Often times people, like myself, have this accusation made against them. People who have a zeal for the truth of the Word of God, and devote their life to defending it. Often I have written about things I see being promoted in the church–anything from ecumenism to social justice to charismania, and beyond. Admittedly, there have been times that I have been less than gracious to the object of my writing, and in light of this conviction, the tone of my writings will probably change from this point forward. Let me be clear, this does not mean I will be softening my stance on the issue of compromise when it comes to defending the faith. It simply means I will be doing my best to approach issues in a more godly, and gracious manner. That being said, I believe the accusation of sowing seeds of discord is a strong accusation to make against a brother who stands firmly on the authority of the Word of God, and is staunchly devoted to defending it.

Merriam-Webster defines “discord” as follows:

a : lack of agreement or harmony (as between persons, things, or ideas)
b : active quarreling or conflict resulting from discord among persons or factions : strife

Galatians 5:19-21 says:

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

So basically, accusing someone of “sowing the seeds of discord” is basically accusing someone of not being a Christian, and serving self interests. The accusation often goes that if you are speaking out against those you disagree with, you are creating divisions, strife among believers. Unless we just sit idly by, nod our heads in agreement, and put our stamp of approval on everything our leadership does publicly within the body of Christ, then we must be sowing seeds of discord. But I would like to show you, using Scripture, otherwise.

First of all, Scripture is very clear on what causes divisions within the church. 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 want to seek, and as long as we stand in unity, everything would be fine. Jesus commanded us to expose error within the church (Eph. 5:11). Being united in error is not what Christ taught his followers, nor is it what he commands for the church. 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 errormust 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 to sin and join up with them. No, he says stay away from them, expose them for what they are—tools of Satan that cause disunity.

Further, to accuse someone who is standing on the Word of God, doing their best to obey it, of “sowing seeds of discord,” is to accuse Jesus of the same thing. In Matthew 23, Jesus gives seven woes to the Scribes and Pharisees (the false teachers of the time).

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

This is a powerful rebuke by Jesus himself. He did not mince any words here, nor did he turn a blind eye to the false teachings that were going on. He exposed it for what it is. He had no objections to name-calling–he used pretty harsh names for these people. The false teachers were teaching doctrines of demons, doctrines that sent people to hell. The false teachers compromised the Gospel, and served self interests to the detriment of the unsuspecting lost. The Bible makes it very clear that this is unacceptable within the church, then and now. Specifically, paul says in Eph 5:11:

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

The unfruitful works of darkness would be the joining with the world, when we are supposed to be standing apart from the world (James 4:4, 2 Corinthians 6:17, 1 John 2:15, etc.) Our commission as believers is to make disciples (Matthew 28:19). We cannot make disciples when we compromise the Gospel. Using the church to try to create a Utopian kingdom on earth, in the name of Christ is a worldly desire, and not of God. Jesus says in John 18:36 “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” We, as a body of believers should be solely focused on making disciples of Christ, for it is only through this discipleship that hearts will be changed.

Moreover, yoking together with false churches, like the church of Rome, in spiritual endeavors and using the name of Christ, is strictly forbidden in Scripture.

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? … – 2 Cor: 14-16

The difference between spiritual endeavors and a common, secular “working together” must be understood.” The phrase, “unequally yoked,” in 2 Cor. 14 is “ἑτεροζυγέω,” transliterated “heterozygeō.” It is actually a compound of the two words “ἕτερος” (“heteros”), and “ζυγός” (“zygos”). It was metaphorically used to represent the unequal combining together of working animals, such as a donkey and an ox, to a plow. Because of their differences, these animals would have difficulty accomplishing the task, while taking the focus off the work itself, and putting it on the workers. Paul is primarily speaking to the Church in this letter and he is literally commanding it members not to enter into enter into a formal working partnership, or alliance with unbelievers–specifically those that would cause them to compromise their witness.

The witness for Christ is compromised because the focus is taken off of doctrinal purity in the alliance, and put on less important things, like social issues. This isn’t to say that some social issues aren’t worth fighting for in the church, they are, but we must do so from a biblical premise. We cannot join together with unbelievers, and say that in the name of Christ, or in the name of the Gospel, we stand united on social issues. This gives the world the appearance that doctrinal purity is merely a side issue.

There is a common misunderstanding of what it means to be “salt and light.” Many people think this means to share the love of Jesus to unbelievers, but it’s much more than that. Being salt means to preserve the truth of Jesus Christ, by holding fast to it, and being light means exposing darkness and error by “shining the light” of the truth of God’s word against it.

People believe false doctrine. People die. People go to Hell. Why is that not the number one issue with some in the church? Acts 20:27-31 speaks of false teachers rising prominently from within the church. False teachers are not simply outside of the visible church, but have crept in unawares, unnoticed by most people (Jude 1:4). It is very important that we guard our flock against false teachings, and not just blindly support all leadership in the organization simply because you are a member of it. That in and of itself is a doctrine of demons, and a model of the Roman church. It is imperative that you speak up against all opposition when you see error creeping into the church. 1 Thes 5:21 says “but test everything; hold fast what is good.” We must, and when it’s not good, we must speak up. Paul says in Ephesians 4:14 we must grow spiritually, grounded in Scriptural truth, “so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”

John MacArthur says in his New Testament Commentary on 2 Timothy:

A vessel of honor to God (the man described in 2 Timothy 2:22) must develop a discerning mind.  An unguarded mind, even of a believer, is subject to deceit, misunderstanding, and confusion, which inevitably produce false doctrine and sinful living.  The undiscerning mind is ‘tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming’ (Eph 4:14).

Many of these leaders we dearly hold to such high regards, sadly, are subject to their own depraved state as much as anyone. They have a form of godliness, but deny its power (2 Tim 3:5). Even Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14). Sadly, many well meaning, gracious people don’t want to acknowledge that their could be serious error within our churches, and want to go along with whatever wind of doctrine is being pushed at the time. Our leaders hearts are wicked too (Jeremiah 17:9), and it’s only the heart of Christ that is pure. Sadly, anyone who dissents are often accused of slander, serving self interests, and sowing seeds of discord. But these winds of doctrine come in, seemingly harmless, and the masses get behind them, and promote them, and stand by them, and enforce them, and fight for them and defend them–yet they never come to the knowledge of the truth.

The common gospel that is creeping into the church is a man-centered ideology that seeks to bring about a Utopian society, instead of looking to Christ alone in hope and trust for salvation. Their goal is being accomplished, and many are falling victim to its teachings. Christians as a whole no longer contend for the faith (Jude 1:3), stand up for the truth (1 Thes 5:21), or speak out against error (2 Tim 3:16-17), nor do they see any true purpose in standing apart from the wicked (2 Cor 6:17) and exposing the unfruitful works of darkness (Eph 5:11). What the Protestant reformers fought so hard for is slowly being undone. If we aren’t going to stand separate from false churches, then why call ourselves protestants? Why not just let ecumenism take over, and doctrine disintegrate? Why even have a Bible if we begin to let it slowly slip away as our final authority? Are we just giving lip-service to the five solas now? Are we out to please man first? I’m not.

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. – Galatians 1:10

I can tell you this; while I will seek to be gracious, patient, and merciful, I will not, and cannot be silent. I cannot stand idly by and watch as people fall victim to every wind of doctrine. I cannot concern myself with trying not to offend people.

A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God’s truth is attacked and yet would remain silent. – John Calvin

Karen Swallow Prior has been under a lot of heat lately due to her perceived affirmation of gays, and her reasoning for her abortion beliefs being grounded in social justice rather than Scripture. While she is probably best known for her position at Liberty University as an English teacher, she is also a Research Fellow at the left-leaning Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission (ERLC) for the Southern Baptist Convention. She is also been shown to be very influential among her students, her peers, as well as homosexuals. But it should be known that these aren’t the only ones she has the potential to sway towards the left.

As a teacher at a Christian university, with as much renown as Prior, her opinions are highly sought after. She writes for many publications on a regular basis, and has a clan-like following that would defend her to no end. While being tied up around the issue of homosexual affirmation, some of her other liberal ideologies have been overlooked, but should be given attention. There are at least two important issues that can affect your children; she supports the liberal Common Core education program, and she practices and defends authentic Yoga, a form of Pagan Hindu mysticism.

Why should we be worried about this? Because these things have already crept into our public schools, and even our private Christian schools.

In an article for Christianity Today, Dr. Prior says this regarding Common Core:

Thus, despite my own skepticism toward the countless education reforms I’ve seen in almost 25 years of teaching, the Common Core reading standards hearten me not only as an educator, but more so as a Christian who recognizes the centrality of words to our faith….In short, the Common Core standards of reading promise to revitalize the fading art of reading well. For Christians, this is indeed good news.

She unabashedly attempts to defend a program, which is well known to be anti-conservative and anti-Christian in nature. The Common Core English Language Arts program focuses on decreasing traditional literary works in favor of technical and government documents, including Federal Reserve documents. The documents chosen by state and federal governments will be cherry-picked to promote whatever the agenda of whatever government is in control at the time. This type of reading and language education also lessens the skills needed for Biblical literary interpretation. The creators of this program that Prior supports argue that the handling of these more complex texts will make them better readers and writers, but this has been shown to be false. A recent study by the Brookings Institute has concluded that the Common Core State Standards will have “little to no impact on student achievement.” Dr. and Dr. in a white paper titled How Common Core’s ELA Standards Place College Readiness at Risk, stated the following:

One likely reason that strong literary reading supports general college-readiness in reading is that classic literary texts pose strong challenges in vocabulary, structure, style, ambiguity, point of view, figurative language, and irony.

Since these literary styles are common throughout the use of Scripture, in parables and other creative literature within the text, it should be of great concern that Common Core seeks to diminish the use of this type of reading.

Another troubling practice that has been silently creeping into our public schools is the practice of Yoga. Yoga, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is defined as follows:

A Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline, a part of which, including breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practiced for health and relaxation.
The yoga widely known in the West is based on hatha yoga, which forms one aspect of the ancient Hindu system of religious and ascetic observance and meditation, the highest form of which is raja yoga and the ultimate aim of which is spiritual purification and self-understanding leading to samadhi or union with the divine. [Emphasis Mine]

Simply put, Yoga is a Pagan religious practice. Dr. Prior has stated that not only does she practice Yoga, but she practices the authentic form of Yoga, though she claims not to participate in prayers to other “gods” during meditation. In an article, she wrote:

For nearly 15 years, I’ve attended a weekly yoga class offered by my county’s parks and recreation department. That makes it a government-sponsored event. The class is not a white-bread, YMCA-style faux-yoga class. It’s taught by a yogini for whom yoga is a lifestyle and a religious belief system, both of which, as a Christian, I do not share. I am well aware that many Christians think yoga is spiritually dangerous, or even “demonic,” and that many think it is purely physical exercise. I agree with neither of these positions. Rather, I approach yoga intentionally, having weighed carefully the risks and benefits as well as my own spiritual state and motivations for taking the class (which are for the physical benefits).

She then goes on to defend her practice by stating:

Our hatha yoga sessions – centered on slow, strength-building stretches and poses – include chanting and meditation. From these, I quietly abstain. Instead, while the other students mindlessly follow the instructor’s lead in chanting Sanskrit words or emptying their minds, I pray, or I think about the class I’ll be teaching the next day or about what I’m going to eat when I get home. But mostly, I pray.

Great, she prays during the chanting and meditation. Should Christians also go to Planned Parenthood to have mammograms done as long as they silently pray while an abortion is being done in the next room? What’s the difference? What she fails to acknowledge is that it isn’t just the chanting and meditation that is Pagan and unbiblical, it’s the entire practice of Yoga. Dr. Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary said this:

A significant number of American Christians either experiment with yoga or become adherents of some yoga discipline. Most seem unaware that yoga cannot be neatly separated into physical and spiritual dimensions. The physical is the spiritual in yoga, and the exercises and disciplines of yoga are meant to connect with the divine.

Scripture teaches us to be separate from the world, not to immerse ourselves in it. 2 Corinthians 6:17 says, “Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you…” Yoga, no matter how you spin it, is an unclean thing. It cannot be separated from its Hindu roots. It’s no different than her immersing herself into the world of sodomy by taking pictures with them at a film fest.

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. – James 4:4

Why do Christians, particularly Southern Baptists, think this type of behavior is acceptable? Is there something unclear about Scripture? Part of the problem the Church has today is that man thinks he has a better way to evangelize than what is taught in Scripture. This delusional type of thinking leads us to a Church that sees nothing wrong with influential leaders yoking up with unbelievers at the Vatican, calling Jesus and illegal alien, doing promotional videos for atheist organizations that hate Christians, and condoning Christians attending gay wedding receptions–all things you would never see Jesus or the apostles do, yet are staunchly defended by our leadership.

So should we allow someone who is undeniably liberal when it comes to her expression of Christianity to hold such influential positions within the Southern Baptist Convention? How can Dr. Mohler be so against Yoga, but unwilling to confront the ERLC when they hire bring on someone who practices this without shame? Why does the ERLC continue to hire and promote people like this? The ERLC is highly influential not only among conservatives, but Christians. These conservatives and Christians often work as board members for public and private schools, as well as churches. Russell Moore has stated that he wishes there were 1000 more Karen Swallow Priors. This is the typical line of thinking that is taking over the SBC leadership, and it’s not being dealt with. The Downgrade continues.

In the wake of recent happenings in the US that greatly affect Christians, some believers may be wondering what this world is coming to. Much of this has come as a shock to many, especially the “cultural Christian” segment, or the new religious right. After the supreme court ruling declaring it illegal for states to ban same-sex marriage, many emotions including disappointment, shock, and anger and even hatred spread throughout the dissenting population. While grieving over sin is both healthy, and righteous (Luke 6:25), we need to remember one thing–God is sovereign over all.

So while we can be disappointed, we can have opinions, we can talk, pray and express our thoughts and feelings, let’s not forget who we represent, and who we are to rejoice in–Jesus Christ.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:28

God is Sovereign

God is in control of all things. God is never caught off guard, nor is he surprised by this ruling. In fact, God knew before the foundation of this world that this supreme court ruling would happen (Isaiah 46:10). God was not surprised by the fall of Adam and Eve either, yet he chose to create them and loved them enough redeem them. We are a sinful world, and man left in his natural state is in total rebellion against God (Romans 3:11). Scripture predicts that the world, including much of the visible church, will fall into chaos, and persecution of his saints will increase in the last days. The fact that this is happening just serves to prove that God’s word can be trusted. Let’s remember this while we evangelize, and let it bring us great joy.

Rejoice in Christ

Those of us, who are in Christ should be rejoicing in his mercy and grace. He could have simply turned all of us over to our sin, yet, while we were still sinners, he sent his son to die for us because he loved us. He chose to save us out of our own sinful state, based on nothing good in us. It was truly out of his good purpose and his will that we can stand today and proclaim his name (Eph 2:8-9). Let’s not forget that. While we still sin, we don’t identify as sinners, our identity is in Christ (2 Cor 5:17), and we are now called, according to his purpose, to do good works (Eph 2:10).

Do Not Compromise

The world is going to pressure believers more and more into compromise. Even churches–once solid churches and denominations–are compromising the Word of God. We must not be afraid to call people to repentance, including homosexuals. The supreme court ruling has now made it easier for people to rationalize their sin. Pastor Clint Pressley said, while preaching at the 2015 SBC Pastor’s Conference, “we [churches] are afraid if we tell people to repent, they won’t come back.” This is absolutely correct. Churches have become so focused on seeking to attract people, and increase their numbers that they are willing to compromise on anything. We need to stop worrying about numbers, and let the Holy Spirit build his church. All we need to do is be obedient. We are to go out to the ends of the world, and proclaim the Gospel.

If we concern ourselves with offending people while evangelizing them, these people may never be able to hear the truth. If we don’t proclaim the truth when we have the opportunity, their blood will be on our hands (Ezekiel 3:18). God’s word, by design, is offensive (Romans 9:33). That person you meet at the gas station, or that waitress at the restaurant–these people need to hear the gospel. They may not have another chance; do you really want to pass up that opportunity so not to offend them? In the words of John Calvin, “The torture of a bad conscience is the hell of a living soul.” The word of God is meant to divide–to separate the righteous from the unrighteous. Jesus Christ himself said:

Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. – Matthew 10:34

and the writer of Hebrews tells us:

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

While we can’t view this particular sin as worse than other sin, nor somehow proclaim self-righteousness in the face of it, we should not be afraid to call it what it is. It is an abomination to God. We also need to differentiate between God’s word, and our words. If we are proclaiming anything other than the truth of God’s word, we are sinning. But we must unabashedly proclaim the whole counsel of God to all the nations and all people. We must not be ashamed.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. – Romans 1:16

Don’t Limit the Holy Spirit

Where would we be today if Martin Luther didn’t have the courage to stand against all opposition to the Church and nail his 95 Theses to the door of his Wittenburg church? What if Paul was afraid of pushing people away from Jesus by proclaiming the truth? What if Peter didn’t travel the known world to evangelize the masses? What about the other great evangelists of history, who faithfully travelled proclaiming the Word of God, calling people to repentance, writing theological works, and rebuking sin and false doctrine–what if they stood idly by and just watched as people fall further away into sin simply because they didn’t think their words would make a difference, or they were afraid of pushing people further away?

We cannot allow our man-centered reasoning to interfere with our obedience to God. It is not up to us to draw people to God, it is up to us to proclaim the Word of God (Matthew 28:19). For us to have the audacity to think that we can somehow interfere with the work of the Holy Spirit by preaching the Word of God is a rather presumptuous claim. John 6:37 says “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” As Christians, we understand Jesus Christ to be the Word of God made flesh (John 1:1, 1:14). When we proclaim the Word of God, we are proclaiming Jesus. There is no part of God’s Word that is not Jesus. We must proclaim boldly the whole counsel of God, but we must proclaim only the Word of God.

We live in a different world today than we did in centuries past. Technology makes it easier and faster to communicate with people. It also makes it easier to share the Gospel, but also easier to sin. It’s also easy to forget that on social media, other’s who aren’t engaged in a public conversation may still be watching, and listening to what we’re saying. This can be a great opportunity to be a witness, and we may not even know it. We must always remember that we are to stand on the truth of God’s Word, never compromising for any reason–but we must never forget who we represent. We should never speak of our own accord, regardless of the medium we are using. Anything can be used for God’s glory, but anything can also be used for sin. We should always be ready and willing to give a defense for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15), but we must separate God’s truth from our personal emotions that don’t align with it. Part of Paul’s final instructions to the Corinthians in his first letter were:

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. 1 Cor 16:13-14

These certainly are words to heed in these last days, as Jesus will be returning soon (Rev 22:12).

***Note – I originally wrote this over at the Pulpit and Pen blog. Please be sure to check that site out too, if you haven’t already.

At the Hillsong 2015 Conference in Sydney, Australia, where Rick Warren shared a stage with other heretics such as Joseph Prince, Warren teaches that he receives extra-biblical revelations through subconscious dreams. The theme of the Word of Faith conference that Rick is speaking at is “Speak Lord, I’m listening.” This is fitting since all of the speakers at this conference are heretical preachers that claim extra-biblical revelation from God.

He starts out by twisting Exodus 4:3 regarding Moses’ encounter with God, and God commanding Moses to throw down his staff while God miraculously turns it into a serpent, and then pick it back. He says that this passage represents that Christians today need to throw down their income and identity and let God do something miraculously with it. He says:

Hearing the voice of God starts with a willingness to give up his identity, his income, and his influence, for the global Glory of God. When you do that, you are now in a position to hear God speak.

He says that the prerequisites to hearing from God are “believing that he cares about the details of your life,” and that you must “believe that God wants to answer your questions, confusions, quandaries and problems.” He then reads Habakkuk Chapter 1 and 2 and says that this passage lays out a strategy for hearing from God. While reading, and holding up his counting fingers while reading, he says the following:

In Habakkuk, we find the model for hearing the voice of God…These are the five things you do to hear the voice of God… [1] I will climb up in my watchtower, [2] and I will wait, [3] and I will look to see what the Lord will say, then the Lord gave me this answer [4] write down what I reveal to you, [5] so that you may read it.

Watch, as he tells the audience that he often asks God questions before he goes to bed,  the Holy Spirit works on him, then he wakes up with an answer.

While emotionally and repeatedly restating the conference theme, “Speak Lord, I’m listening,” in an effort to draw the crowd into an emotionally submissive state of mind, he goes on to say that these will become second nature to you if you practice all your life. “You must station yourself,” he says, “you don’t move… God speaks to those who wait on him.” “You calm your body, you calm your mind, and you calm your emotions… you relax your body.” He then recites Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God,” as a proof for this. He then teaches taking deep breaths while stretching and relaxing your muscles, and getting comfortable. His next statement says it all:

Until you get comfortable with silence, you will never, ever, ever, hear the voice of God…the inner-calm gives me the intercom to God…the inner channel to hearing the voice of God.

He goes on expounding on this for quite some time. Then, surprisingly he says that God speaks to us through his Word, however, he then contradicts himself by saying that in addition to this, God speaks to us through mental images and visions. This isn’t Christianity, this is mysticism. Rick Warren has been on a downhill path for a number of years, but this is outright heretical teaching.

And to the angel of the church in Sardis [Hillsong, Saddleback, Lakewood, etc.] write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.’ – Revelation 3:1

You can see the entire “sermon” here.

In light of recent unfortunate happenings in predominately black churches, the North American Mission Board, an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention, has set up a Church Fire Fund to help rebuild African American churches that have been burned down. Their website states:

The North American Mission Board (NAMB) has established a fund to help African-American churches that have been damaged or destroyed by fire in recent weeks. You can give now to the Church Fire Fund and play a significant role in assisting these churches in their time of need. 100% of your gift will go directly to support these churches and their rebuilding efforts.

An article in the Baptist Standard says this:

Fires at seven black churches have fueled discussions of racial hatred, as the first occurred within a week of the June 17 massacre of nine black Christians by a 21-year-old white supremacist at a Charleston church.

As investigations into the fires continue, two of the blazes have been confirmed as arson and a third has been ruled suspicious. While none have been deemed hate crimes at this point, NAMB is offering assistance.

And also quoted Fred Luter, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and senior pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans as saying:

I would encourage pastors to put themselves in the place of these pastors whose buildings are destroyed, Pray for them, yes, but do all you can to contribute to this fund so we can help our brothers and sisters in Christ.

I want to be abundantly clear, racism of any form is sinful, and regardless of the beliefs of those who have been victimized, the perpetrators should be held accountable, both legally, and morally, and I believe that is biblical. However, we, as Christians, are presented with a dilemma here. While, according the the Baptist Standard, there is at least one other Southern Baptist Church that has been affected by these fires, all of these churches may not be doctrinally sound churches. We know that there is at least one Seventh Day Adventist church that these funds will be going to rebuild. The moral question here is this; should Christians be giving money to help rebuild a false church, that rejects the true Christ, and teaches a false gospel?

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. – Romans 16:17

The NAMB website does not offer a way to differentiate between the different churches that your money can go to. While I certainly believe that we should be helping anyone who is victimize by crime, I’m not quite sure that rebuilding their false church is the best way to do so. Perhaps there are other ways we could help them instead. We could start by taking them the true Gospel, inviting them into our sanctuaries, and giving them the spiritual food they need for salvation.

While I understand Fred Luter’s convictions, and desires to help victims of horrendous crimes, Mr. Luter does not seem to understand who brothers and sisters in Christ are, as he says “Pray for them, yes, but do all you can to contribute to this fund so we can help our brothers and sisters in Christ.” Yes, some of them may be brothers and sisters in Christ, but the truth is, some of them are not. Anyone who holds to Seventh Day Adventist doctrine rejects the biblical Christ, and cannot be considered a brother or sister in Christ. NAMB president, Kevin Ezzell, also refers to them as “brothers and sisters in Christ.” Paul says in Galatians 1:9,

As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

The mission of the NAMB, and the SBC, are to take the Gospel and to plant churches. Would the NAMB be so quick to rebuild mosques, Buddhist temples, or even atheist centers? What about an abortion clinic that was burnt down, would we rebuild that? No, seriously, would we? Why then would we rebuild an SDA Church? While all sin, including the victimization of unbelievers should be condemned, using the Church, the body of true believers in Christ, to rebuild enemies of Christ may not be the best solution.

My personal thoughts would be this; if you’re a true believer who sincerely desires to donate money, I would suggest donating directly to the church of your choice, rather than through the NAMB. Through the NAMB, you cannot be sure your funds are rebuilding a biblical, New Testament church rather than funding Christ’s enemies. I don’t mean to knock all that the NAMB does, as they have done great things, and planted some great churches. But we need to be discerning where we send our money–we need to be good stewards. As Christians, we should also be helping meet the basic needs of all people–food, water, clothing, shelter, the true Gospel, etc. But we should not be helping them rebuild a temple to worship their idols. I believe that this enables their sin, which is forbidden in Scripture (1 Tim 5:22), as well as makes us partakers of their sin (Revelation 18:4).

*********** UPDATE ***********

According to the original article on NAMB’s website, the claim is that this fund is available to all churches affected by this fire, regardless of denomination.

One hundred percent of donations will go to help churches—regardless of denomination—impacted by the fires.

Here is a screenshot of the original article in case the NAMB site is changed.

However, on the Annie Armstrong Facebook page, whoever is running the page is claiming that the funds are only going to help “mainstream evangelical churches,” that “might not be Southern Baptist, but are proclaiming the Gospel in their communities.” So, either, Annie Armstrong is changing its position on what constitutes a biblical church that preaches the Gospel, or the NAMB’s website is putting out misleading information. The two are sources of information are contradictory. See below:

*** Note, this is a guest post by a pastor named Samuel Parsons. This was forwarded to me by a friend, and is being re-posted here with permission.

Now the Spirit speaks expressly (specifically), that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils”, speaking lies of hypocrisy, having their own consciences seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with ‘thanksgiving’; for it is ‘sanctified’ by the word of God and prayer. (1 Timothy 4:1-5).

Wow, what a scripture passage! This certainly describes America….and the rest of the present world. Jesus warned us about this in his address “The Olivet Discourse” recorded in Matthew 24…when he warned his disciples about “TAKE HEED THAT NO ONE DECEIVE YOU many will come in my name saying, “I am the Christ (or the person who can PROVIDE answers and I am the special one who has the answers to our questions, needs and defense) and will DECEIVE many.”

We are living in the most significant, yet volatile, days of history; wherein, civilizations have become intertwined with all kinds of politics, economies, relationships, governments, people groups, racial backgrounds, religions, Christianity (God’s way of living for time and eternity), the internet wave, astronomy and space travel, education, commerce, worldwide travel, conflict with violence between nations, worldwide natural disasters, famine and pestilences. It is hard to travel ANY where in the world to find peace and harmony with the absence of fear. God-given family life is being attacked and falling apart due to divorce, the sodomite (homosexual- GAY agenda, pornography, adultery, bestiality, polygamy, and all forms of wicked immorality), art, media, unprincipled movies, ungodly forms of music, greed, avarice, hatred, disobedience of children, and the list is expanded in the Bible of I Timothy 4 and II Timothy 3 plus Romans 1:16-32. A more complete list of sinful conditions can be read in those sections which are illustrative and eye-popping.

In these chapters of 1 Timothy (3 and 4), and in Matthew 24, Jesus and Paul the Apostle warned about false teachers and heresies would come in the church–in his day and in the latter times. These were, particularly implicating, the agnostics (doubters of Jesus Word being truth) and their false skepticism with low moral standards. This warning is emphasized “in the latter times” which would connote in our day and in our churches. Revelation 3 describes a church by the name of “Laodicea.” As you read the assessment of Laodicea, the church has become so watered down from a faithfully sound moral and spiritual church their condition was sickening to The Lord JESUS. HE WANTED TO SPEW THEM OUT OF HIS MOUTH. Jesus warned about the day in which the deception, warring among nations, false christ’s, all would be the beginning of sorrows…and many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another…and because lawlessness will abound, the love (agape—which is God kind of love in the Greek N.T.) Of many will grow cold!” He , further, describes the latter times just before His Return to the earth, that ‘love for God’ would become so cold that living the Christian faith would become trying and difficult to the point Christians would be enduring this life of faith in Him, which could be the proving of true faith. There will be a separation of the tares from the wheat, which God will thin out the false and keep the good seed. So much of today’s (especially USA) Christian churches try to produce a worship and life that is enmeshed with emotional, attitudinal, experiences with miraculous phenomena and feelings of joy, that I believe are deceiving of the real thing. (Matthew 24:4-14) Some believe, even preachers and musicians, that, in order, to reach the unbelieving world this should be done; or, some of the above, or other, methods of worship to get people into the church.

Evangelistically, this kind of baiting the hook can backfire when temptation and trial of faith begins, and you have a ‘falling away’ from God and His love. When you read the Bible those who followed The Lord Jehovah God were killed, beheaded, burned at the stake, fed to hungry lions, et cetera. (read Hebrews 11) This Hall of Faithful believers are given. Revelation 12:10-11 states, that Satan accuses the brethren constantly; and, runs to and fro seeking whom he may devour (I Peter 5:8) but they (the redeemed of the Lord) ‘overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb…by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives unto the death.” The day is here already for Christians to stand-up and be counted for Christ and His Church. We cannot play Christian and church anymore. Remember the entreaty in Ephesians 6: 10-18,

Stand in the strength of the Lord and in the power of His might….and take unto yourself the WHOLE Armour….

We must guard ourselves and stand in the midst of trials and troubles “…Onward Christian soldiers marching as to war….with the Cross of Jesus going on BEFORE!” Because the liberal progressive anti-God radical movement with its “doctrines of devils” immorality, pro-sin agenda will fail! The world, the flesh, and the devil (Satan) will cause some to depart from the faith. Some who consider themselves Christians, having no discernment will fall into the trap of “seducing spirits,” espousing the “doctrine of devils.” “Depart” in the original Greek New Testament means “to fall away from their original position, which is “the faith”. They will follow false teachers, which are typically hypocrites, ”speaking lies”, having their consciences seared (as a hot iron would deface and change the original structure) (1 Timothy 4:2) wherein Galatians exhorts believers to name these preachers and teachers as “accursed” for teaching another gospel.

Personally, with the latest “changes“ made by the supreme court of the USA and the present day administration in the White House, we are facing the challenge to make up our minds what we believe as a Christian, and as an American citizen of the USA under the original Constitution, to stand with the Lord our God and His Word, the Holy Bible, and against the enemy and his forces of damnation, with the “whole armor” of God in step with other Christians who believe the same, for their influence has nearly captured American education and culture.

God bless you as you learn endurance of FAITH.
A Christian, Samuel Parsons, Th.D.