Why does it always sound so hypocritical when Evangelicals bash Gays and so worldly when the other side embraces them? Could it be that they are both wrong!

In LGBT congregations the wrongness of the position is so apparent; they openly allow and advertise their sin. On the other hand, in the “Gay bashing” congregations, exposure by members mean repentance or censure.

The sin of homosexuality is sinful, simply and for no other reason, than the Bible says so. But, the reality is that there are homosexuals on both sides, but dealt with in different ways. The difference being that one side keeps their Gays in the closet, making this group appear more pure. And the other side, by openly flaunting their sin, wears this—forthrightness–as a cloak of honesty and righteousness.

The Evangelical’s unwritten rule of “don’t ask, don’t tell” has been a governing factor for many, many, years, and is nowhere questioned. Their assumed theory in this reasoning is, “what we don’t know can’t hurt us.” The business side of doing church has much to do with this approach. Organizational Christianity has no way of filtering out sin, because of its structure. When the “OPEN FOR BUSINESS” sign in hung out, any and all comers are welcome, and nobody really knows who they are sitting next to. If someone dares to speak out they are either directed to the church down the street or asked to straighten-up; but the preferred unspoken rule is to keep your activities to yourself. And, if homosexual sin is discovered, it is usually by accident, and not because of any real intimate family type relationship with the congregation, or a conviction of sin on the part of the sinner. The business managers, i.e. clergy, are isolated from their members and think that it is necessary only to preach to the crowd, and hopefully put a few under conviction, and not to get personally involved in the lives of the laity, except on a have-to basis.

On the other hand, the LGBT congregations come across as holier-than-thou because they are proud and parade their honesty and impartiality as a sign of Biblical righteousness. And, if they should be part of a peaceful protest, or confront their opposition with 1 Corinthians 13:1-4, spewing words of love and tolerance, then they win the acclaim of the world, being perceived as the more holy of the two. Is openness to depravity really the answer to modern Evangelicalism’s stalwart stance to old line legalism?

Modern brick-and-mortar Christianity, whether Left or Right, operating on modern business and marketing principles, is not what Jesus foresaw, and is at best, a dysfunctional family affair. This is not the Biblical model and cannot be found in Scriptures, anywhere. But, as in times past, from the very beginning of the Church, there are those who have discerned the problems on both sides of the aisle, and have chosen to separate themselves from both moderates and liberals.

Today many are finding true Ecclesia in small intimate gatherings of faithful believers; no advertising, no CEO’s, no 501c3 Government shackles, no programs; only trust in the promises of Jesus to do what He said He would do.

Can you believe in a hundred mothers, brothers, and sisters? Can you envision a living body, all contributing their gifts for the benefit of all the others, to the glory of God? all sharing their resources; all building on the strength of the others and the Holy Spirit, sharing in the development of the whole, dealing with sin at a family level, moving the whole body toward perfection. If you can then you are envisioning the Church as Jesus envisioned it; nothing fancy, no expensive buildings; just simple, humble, service to each other, to those looking for a way out of the deep dark woods; this is service to the Lord.

The Church as Jesus envisioned it is so far removed from what we see up and down Main Street that it seems impossible to achieve, but it is the only Church that exists. The Church of Jesus is not run by accountants, it is run by miracles, and only God can achieve it.

Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. Psalm 127:1

What the common Protestant Christian and citizen of the United States is ignorant of, was a well known fact with many, during the nineteenth century.

What was it that they, the common Christian, were ignorant of? Namely, the invasion of despotic Papal influence into the hard won civil liberties, which make up the foundation of this Nation.

I do not say “Christian liberties” because those liberties are the result of being born again and having the Spirit of God dwelling inside of us. But, it is this Christian liberty, the liberation of the soul from the bondage of the law, the liberty of conscience, that is rooted in Biblical Christianity, freeing us from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are, in any way, contrary to His Word, which is the cornerstone of true civil liberty. Today there is nary a word heard of this so dire an enemy. The awful result of not responding to this foe has been the nearly complete victory of, and even joining with, the Catholics in all their Pagan and heretical  beliefs.

Truth, and Protestant Christianity, the bloody and hard-fought prize of the Reformation, is diametrically opposed to that from which it has been freed:  mental and spiritual darkness, and the Roman Catholic Church. But, why the bloody protest? and why the present frightful silence? Is that, which was so hardily fought against, now our bosom buddy?

Are the words below, of Charles Spurgeon, still as true today as they were in January 1873?

—the superstition of Rome is the worst of all the evils which have befallen our race; may the Lord arise, and sweep it down to the hell from whence it arose.

Essence of lies, and quintessence of blasphemy, as the religion of Rome is, it nevertheless fascinates a certain order of Protestants, of whom we fear it may be truly said that "they have received a strong delusion to believe a lie, that they may be damned." Seeing that it is so, it becomes all who would preserve their fellow-immortals from destruction to be plain and earnest in their warnings. Not in a party-spirit, but for truth's sake, our Protestantism must protest perpetually. Dignitaries of the papal confederacy are just now very prominent in benevolent movements, and we may be sure that they have ends to serve other than those which strike the public eye. A priest lives only for his church; he may profess to have other objects, but this is a mere blind. Our ancient enemies have small belief in our common sense if they imagine that we shall ever be able to trust them, after having so often beheld the depths of Jesuitical cunning and duplicity. The sooner we let certain Archbishops and Cardinals know that we are aware of their designs, and will in nothing co-operate with them, the better for us and our country. Of course, we shall be howled at as bigots, but we can afford to smile at that cry, when it comes from the church which invented the Inquisition. "No peace with Rome" is the motto of reason as well as of religion.

We must have no truce, no treaty with Rome. War! War to the knife with her! Peace there cannot be.
C. H. S.

The unqualified answer is YES! his words still ring true today!  As the sun reaches its apogee and moves again to perigee, and the waves with regularity push up toward the sky, then back into the darkness, so the history of man upon the earth vacillates between hot and cold, light and darkness. The words of Spurgeon stands to warn us that even now we are moving back again into the darkness of embracing the anti-Biblical and paganistic ideas of Rome. 

Where can we expect the compromised, corrupted, Protestant leaders of 21 century Churches to lead us? Naturally, it would be backwards into falsehood, darkness, and delusion. The Bible warns us about how sensual the inclinations of the flesh are, and that at every opportunity it would attempt to lead us into fleshly worship experiences, through minute mixtures of paganism, with truth.

It is common and profitable for Pastors and authors to capitalize on this human weakness to pamper the flesh. True Christianity can be quite boring for the nominal believer compared to the flamboyance of pagan rituals that excite the flesh. The Christianity of Christ and the Apostles was of a simple nature, and a simple life, exemplified by the simplicity and pureness of worship and lifestyle, and not a flesh tingling experience. We should not be surprised, although we always are when we finally come into the light of truth, to find that there is, today, a near universal appeal to the flesh, through the senses, to grow Churches. The whole Catholic religion is based on the sensual, the experiential, the flesh, and consequently, the paganistic, to lure those, conditioned from birth, to un-conscientiously accept her teaching as the “gospel truth.”  These outward appeals , fashioning themselves to be “holy,” are the devises used to forge a strictly material organization called “church.” 

Is it any wonder that the now post-protestant church, being experientially based, finds little conflict with Catholicism, and seeks to capitalize on her proven methods of capturing souls for Jesus, and enslaving them to experiential forms of worship, rather than the freedom of simplicity? This is not conjecture, it is a fact!

A very well known, post-protestant author and professor (now deceased), Robert E. Webber writing to, “The Younger Evangelicals,” concerning, “facing the challenges of the new world” directs the young and naïve, who know nothing of their Protestant heritage, but know everything about the flesh, backwards into what he terms “ancient-future faith,” which is nothing but rehashed Catholicism and paganism, and does this without any kind of warning as to its origin. He does not advise these youngsters to investigate this mystical form of worship which generated the Inquisition and consequential death of 60,000,000 Christians for no other reason than they wanted to read the Bible, and understand it, as it is written. He does not highlight the fact that the so-called leaders were some of the most personally corrupt individuals to walk the planet. He does not remind us that the belief system of these ancient desert fathers rarely agreed with the Bible. These “fathers” interposed their own mystical gleanings over and above the Bible itself, and claimed their inspiration as valid; although it, in almost every case, conflicted with the words of Scripture. He, like the Catholic priest, minimizes Scripture and promotes experience to validate truth. Has the Catholic Church chosen to adopt the American way of freedom and partake of Reformation truth? No she has not reformed.

To give an example of where the post-protestant churches today are headed I will but reference the last commercial church I attended; Eagle Church (Christian and Missionary Alliance) in Whitestown, Indiana. While attending there it was not unusual to hear Eric Simpson, the assistant pastor, praise the Catholic Church. He would even take sabbaticals to monasteries. Eric has no respect for the multiplied millions who died to secure for him a pulpit to preach his duplicity. Eric is a closet Catholic duping the ignorant and leading souls back into darkness, where no salvation exist. Here is the web page where Eric promotes his love of Romanism.

Eagle Church is nowhere close to being the only example. If you would look closely at most “evangelical” Churches you will likely find the earmarks of the infiltration of paganistic Rome, either through spiritual formation, contemplative prayer,  the use of images, incense, lighting and sound effects, burning of candles, sacred spaces, sacred traditions, and many other things built upon multi-sensory, ancient-future, and vintage forms of worship, gleaned from the Roman Catholic Church.

The Church of Rome and the post-protestant evangelical church are kindred spirits, both promising the same thing, but by slightly different paths of experiences. What was once wrong and highly protested, not only by the faithful Church but also our founding fathers, is still wrong today. All of our preachers have become mute, who only speak sweetness, and are failing in their true calling to not only proclaim the Good News, but to warn the flock of the damning infiltration of Rome.

Not many today will even claim the name of “Protestant” to promote their Church; although most will still use denominational titles, identifying them with a particular sect.  Recently there is a move to hide behind the more docile, ecumenical, and generic titles of “community church” or “cultural center,” so as to blend with the world. There is a stigma attached to the word “protestant” that has been associated with bigotry and intolerance, and instills fear in the un-grounded and nominal believer. The word protestant Christian should be a badge of honor, that shows that a person stands against all falsehood, regardless of its origin, but especially against the spreading scourge of Romanism.

In 1835, in his Foreign Conspiracy Against the Liberties of the United States, Samuel Morse, inventor of the telegraph wrote: “Surely American Protestants, freemen, have discernment enough to discover beneath them the cloven foot of this subtle foreign heresy. They will see that Popery is now, what it has ever been, a system of the darkest political intrigue and despotism, cloaking itself to avoid attack under the sacred name of religion. They will be deeply impressed with the truth, that Popery is a political as well as a religious system; that in this respect it differs totally from all other sects, from all other forms of religion in the country.”

Following is the link to the book, “Foreign Conspiracy Against the Liberties of the United State”. Please take the time to read it, I guarantee it will be an eye opening education; download the complete book here .

For more reading:

• 50 Years in the Church of Rome by Charles Chiniquy
• People’s Padre by Emmett McLoughlin
• A Woman Rides the Beast by Dave Hunt
• Ecclesiastical Megalomania
• The Torch of the Testimony by John W. Kennedy
• The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop
• Roman Catholicism by Loraine Boettner
• History of the Christian Church by Phillip Schaff

The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Part Three

The Christian Fools Paradox, Black Is Black?

and White Is Actually White?

Part One

Part Two

An offering of bliss, or an intolerant assault on insanity?

The Christian lives his/her life in conflict, or at least they should, say true wisdom. There is not only the conflict of their life with the world, a continual struggle of lifestyles; but there is the conflict of paradox; living a life of contradiction, as seen from the natural man when compared to the Bible. Folly makes capital of the wisdom that postulates that we must die to live, we must mourn to be joyous, we must surrender to be victorious, we must hate to love, we must follow to lead, we must become poor to be rich, we must become the least to become the greatest, we must be blind to see, we must work to rest, and we must be homeless to have a home. The hardest thing a Christian can do is to be faithful to this life of self-contradiction, and this is the greatest contradiction of all, that it cannot be done by any of them. This paradox brings much scorn and laughter from Folly and her cohort of motley fools, whether they are humanist, trans-humanist, or the new variety of "Christian" humanist; or just the generic tomfools lacking any sense of judgment or understanding.

As contrary as Christian truth appears to those outside, the “truth” of the world is even more-so. For with the world, even though they use the word truth, they can never see black as black, or white as white; the ground is always giving way under their feet and balance is found in a vacuum of uncertainty. To understand anything absolutely, is to wage war with the Queen of conundrums and lord of the ludicrous; better to go with gray; a moving target is hard to nail down. They see the world as silly putty; fashioning peace on the passing approximations of plastic truth, and take their stand in the flux of creative thinking, having their feet firmly planted on nihilistic delusions. Is not this the paradox of paradox; the confidence to trust the wreathing truth of the witless?

In Folly’s jovial irreverence she sees only those things that lend to pleasure and happiness. Everything she represents is geared to produce the “happy human,” but she never deliberately divulges at what cost her happiness is procured. Whole societies are instituted for nothing else than to worship and adore her in drunken humanistic happiness; but the folly of Folly is that she cannot keep us laughing, and the truth of despair, frustration, loneliness, and guilt keep returning, calling us back to a tormented sort of sanity, which by design encapsulates a hope of deliverance. There is not enough foolishness in Hell to keep back the truth of our depravity; and our own consciousness of damnation is a signal that help is very near, that rescue is a reality, and that our sight can be restored. But, Folly in her cunning, foolishly makes us think we have no sin, when we are all sin, through-and-through; then periods of powerful soberness invade our inebriated slumber and the penetrating light of conviction brings our eyes wide open, and is the signal that it is time to fly to Jesus; a way of escape has once more opened into a foolish heart.

But many also are the Christian foolish, who have seemingly fled to the threshold of faith toting a truckload of earthly gained talents, on a quest to the Celestial City, and to build something for Jesus, and found the gate a difficult endeavor, (I think strait is the term), not adapted to heavy loads or self-imposition; and turning to a less treacherous and more stimulating way lead off into the fog of delusions, half truths, and the perceived values of good marketing. Folly wants us to believe that we are some new kind of Jew, that we must be working, doing, working, doing, and doing some more, whether in sweat, song, or sermonizing; when in truth the dead do nothing. If we want to do something for Jesus we must first do nothing at all. “Unless a grain of corn falls to the ground, and die. . . .”  “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” (Jim Elliot)

The Cost of foolishness; it is much more than any of us can afford. Since foolishness is nearly universal, then we need only inquire of those whose job it is to gather facts and statistics and see for ourselves the very high price of frequenting the house of Folly. With the increase of foolishness comes increased cost, and foolishness is habitual, so consequently, the ultimate bankruptcy of her children. The cost of foolishness is not apparent all at once, but is generally hidden in our slumbering attitudes of acceptance over time; it becomes a “norm.” Early America was characterized by Pilgrims and Puritans in sacrificial service to God who gave them great abundance through enormous loss. These many years later, their progeny is characterized by religious entrepreneurs, lost in their own self-consciousness, making merchandise of men’s souls. And, this attitude is equally wretched in the not-so-pious group known in the new religious jargon as “the un-churched,” who used to be called “lost.” Their lostness or un-churchedness, or what-ever, is best portrayed in the form of statistics, but is probably seen by them as being progressive and diverse, or even culturally hip.

Folly has our eyes fixed on the surface of things and is always involving us in some gag to prevent our eyes seeing below the crust. Truth is not generally apparent in superficial things, or trivial things that only have the appearance of importance. It takes a discerning eye to perceive, or judge, on matters of true truth. Truth is more than a definition or mental favoritism of “what is.” Truth is a revelation of the right “idea” coming to mind when you hear the word of the Lord. The word of truth should be neither an empty sound nor a vague notion of what is meant. What did Jesus mean when He said, “I am the truth”? Folly would state something merely intellectual that she could hand out or teach a class on, and leave lying on a shelf to gather dust. Jesus, on the other hand, meant something vital, something alive, self-sustaining, and so vital that all relationships are subject to it; He was not just speaking truth, He is Himself the embodiment of truth; all truth is comprehended in Him. Folly merely puts the highest word she knows to the highest fact she knows, and calls it the–truth; but is there a higher order? In our world of jest and joviality we say no, but in our moments of extreme mental anxiety we pray there is a higher order, and the real hope of such a thing keeps us off the bridge. But, we cannot know “truth” until we know the soul of truth and that soul’s true determination; we need "truth in the inward parts."

Christian truth appears to be an assault on what the world calls sanity, but what is the truth? The Great Physician has told us not to listen to all the voices in our head, but to follow His prescription precisely.

John 7:17 “Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.”

 John 8:31,32 “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”

John 15:7 “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”

2 John 1:9 “Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”

The world is a hellish insane asylum with all the doors left open and the most insane of all become the ward keepers and directors. The best that the resident doctors can do is to keeps us all medicated and away from any desire to escape into the light of true truth pretending to see beyond the realm of our detention. In the world of the benumbed  truth is like the pretty shells along the sea shore, everyone holding fast their prettiest one, never lifting eyes to gaze upon the mighty ocean from which it came.  Reality for them is found in the debris that is washed ashore; the remains of the catastrophe that once was life. They see shadows and glimmerings of things that speak of another time, but never question the reality of the once living thing that is now dead, and carefully placed on the mantelpiece to enchant us.

We never question the remote presence of flowers, even though we cannot see them, when their scent reaches our nostrils; or the nearness of a restaurant when the smell flows down the corridor of some mall; nor the fact that water exist when thirst awakens our desire. Every man and woman has been given the innate desire and sense of the supernatural that Folly masks in humor or ridicule; but have you every desired something that has no root in reality or fulfillment; your desire is prophetic of its own fulfillment. Reason and logic are confounded when presented with the true facts. 

The truth is ever before us and is nowhere hid from those who want to see it; and the truth is much more exciting than the lie. 

Think for a moment now, and ask yourself, What color is my world? Do I live in the light of truth or the fog of folly? In every thing you do, and every answer you give, test yourself; you may be quite surprised at what you find.

Against her better judgement, this could be the very best gift you receive this year; plucked from the fist of Folly.

I am not a doctor, philosopher, or psychologist, but I have discovered a few things about honesty that I would like to share with you.

Honesty, as a Christian spiritual virtue is nearly non-existent today. Hear me out and I think you will agree.

Honesty has several different facets. When we generally think of honesty we mostly consider it to be an outward act toward other people, whose opposite is displayed in acts of lying, cheating, or stealing. This aspect of honesty, although severely played down through the re-defining of modern morals and ethics, is not what I’m addressing.

Another facet of honesty is the inward element, which I will not address either. It is the mental judgment of the one we see reflected in our mirror. This type of illusionistic honesty is better known as self-deception, or psychological dis-honesty, played out in things like disavowal or aggrandizement.

There is another area where honesty is of utmost importance, and more vital and foundational than the outward or inward types mentioned above. As a matter of spiritual fact, the two named above cannot be understood correctly unless foundational honesty, i.e. spiritual honesty, is practiced.

Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part you shall make me to know wisdom. Psalm 51:6

For most of my Christian life I was a dishonest follower of Jesus, which just means that I was not following Jesus at all, only in my mind. After praying, maybe one of the few honest prayers of my life, the Lord answered me. I honestly wanted to follow Jesus, but I didn’t know how, and the answer to my prayer was an unfolding of events in my life, which demanded “honesty” in the inward parts. I was honest in my business dealings, and with my employees, and with the IRS, and with the man-in-the-mirror, but something was wrong. It was around this time that I discovered my dishonesty, how, spiritually, I had allowed deception and dishonesty to govern my life. I had failed to honor God by believing His words; I was a un-believer. The only way for me to discover this dishonesty was through the stern intervention of Father with an adult dose of truth.

The initial lesson in “spiritual honesty” came to me in two, what now seems as obvious, revelations: a giving of sight, and a hearing of the Word.

The first to get my attention was something I already had a surface awareness of and that I had witnessed in the Church, but I did not really “see” it as a manifest display from Almighty God. What I became acutely aware of was that the Church looked and acted like the world. The statistics were all there: divorce, abortion, pornography, drug and alcohol abuse, and perversions of all kinds. The Church was in denial, and I was in denial. I enjoyed my vices, and rested secure in the illusion that I was going to Heaven. I was headed for a crisis of Divine magnitude. The impact of seeing my Christian life against the backdrop of those statistics made me physically ill. Would I continue to live in denial, which demanded that I do nothing, or be honest, which demanded that I die? I choose death. I would learn what that decision meant; the Lord would pick the time and the place, and the sacrifice would be required. That decision was now in God’s hands.

The stench of those statistics began to rise up and gag me. I could not look in the mirror, or at the Church, without seeing an embarrassing hypocrisy: its ministers as agents of compromise, and myself as a very lost soul, in an impossible situation.                                

The second revelation came as I was listening to an associate pastor give his take on 2 Timothy 3:12 “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” I had never heard this passage before. I don’t mean that I had never read it before, I had read it many times, but I had never “heard” it before that night. It wasn’t anything the pastor said, he was just reading the words, it was something the Spirit said, and it was loud, and it was clear. What the Spirit said was that I was not living a godly life. How did I know, because I was not being persecuted, that simple. These two things I have come to learn are inseparable. This is the message of Jesus, and the Apostles, and is illustrated in the lives of all those who dared to live godly, Genesis to Revelation. The bottom line is that, if you preach the truth, that truth is going to land you in a position that is opposite to that of the world, and if that truth gets you opposition from the pulpit, then it is indicative of just how far the world has advanced, it really is that simple.

“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.”

Luke 6:26

If the world hate you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. John 15:18

These two seemingly simple tests of the Lord, regarding “honesty,” presented to the Church, have come back with failing grades. There is a lack of truth and honesty in the New Age Commercial Church of the twenty-first century. They do not see that the Church, as an institution, has failed, and this is plain dishonesty, because the failure is too obvious. They fail to recognize the simple truths of Scripture as to the primary personality trait of those who truly desire to live godly lives, and again the failure is obvious.

So, I ask you again, “are today’s Christians honest,” are you honest?

 “So justice is driven back,

and righteousness stands at a distance;

truth has stumbled in the streets,

honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found,

and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.”

Isa 59:14-15

1. Christians on both side of the aisle debate the goodness of a God who would permit the kind of death and suffering we see in the aftermath of Japan’s 9.0 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown.  

2.  

3. All over the world the main topic of discussion is the Japan tragedy, and now we learn that the worst is yet to come. Both Christian and non-Christian people are confused. People can’t understand how a “good” God could allow thousands upon thousands of innocent people to be killed. It is not necessary to present another theological or philosophical debate to explain what, and why, these things happen, or to try and justify God; John Piper has done that; and Brian McLaren’s philanthropic love has cornered the market on empathy. With those bases covered the question of “why?” still remains, and will not go away. After the prayers are over, and the aid exhausted, the mothers, fathers, and children, who have lost so much, return to their homes, and keep asking, “Why?”

   Christians don’t have to have all the answers, but answers help, especially now; and you can do no better than opening up the Bible.

   How do we balance the mercy and love of God, with His justice? I say “we” because God doesn’t do a balancing act, nor does He juggle His emotions, trying to keep some kind of equilibrium between good and evil. God is God, even when we don’t understand Him. God is perfect, and man confused; it is man that walks the tight rope wanting to know “why?” It is “we” who are out of balance and stumble, proposing our question in hopelessness, when the answer is right there, in the Book. God has spoken!

   God has anticipated the question and has included the answer, in His book of answers, the Bible. We will look in vain going anywhere else.

   Luke. 13:1-9 says everything that needs to be said for those who want the truth.

   “Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, ‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them — do you think they were guiltier than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.’” 

   Then he told this parable:

   “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” 

   It was generally accepted by the Jews of that time, and many today, that if something bad happens to a person it is because of sin in their life. In other words if a building falls on you, you must have been very bad. Jesus’ simple answer was, no, that isn’t true. “But, unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” So, Jesus’ answer to the Japan disaster is, no, God did not cause this disaster, but He did allow it, and “unless you repent you will likewise perish.” The parable that follows, which most people overlook when considering the above passage, sheds some light on the matter. What some will see here is a mean natured God; others will see a God of mercy.

   By looking closely we discover that the wrong question is being asked. They, and we, ask “why did God do this or allow this to happen?” By understanding the parable and what Jesus is trying to teach us we understand that the question should be, Why does a perfectly “just” God tolerate anyone to live, why doesn’t He destroy all mankind, not just allow a few to die in accidents? The answer is “MERCY.”

   In the parable God is the owner of the tree and Jesus is the gardener, who asks for mercy on the tree, for a period of time, to try and make the tree fruitful. God is a merciful God who has waited and waited and waited, but His justice cannot wait forever; justice must prevail.

   It is precisely because of accidents that the preaching of the Gospel is so important. How long will God’s mercy be put off, the Bible says, “Today when you hear his voice, don't harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled,” Heb. 3:15? And, this is precisely why the message of Brian McLaren and Rob Bell, and the whole camp of the neo-liberal “Emergents” is a death sentence for anyone caught in their web of deceit. They destroy the justice of God and leave the question of “why” unanswered, and hide poor sinners from the mercy of a Father who will wait, till He can wait no longer.

   Come home, poor sinner;
   Why longer roam,
   Thy Savior’s calling,
   “Come home, come home!”

   He died to save you
   On Calvary;
   Behold what suff’ring!
   ’Twas all for thee.

   Oh, come to Jesus,
   Do not delay;
   Come, and He’ll save you;
   Come while you may.

   Oh, come to Jesus;
   He’s waiting still
   With His salvation,
   Thy soul to fill.

   Oh, come to Jesus;
   How can you stay,
   He’s pleading, pleading;
   Come, come today.

    

In a time, not so long ago, a man of character would be referred to as a man of his word. It might be said of him, “His word is his bond”.

This was the era, now gone, when it was a compliment to call some one God-fearing. 

Now is the era of the likeable lie, the pragmatic deception, the convincing con.

In previous days to call someone a liar was the ultimate insult.

But today men have no fear to call even God a liar.

Even some preachers with straight face and pious demeanour will declare to our face, God is either wrong or deceptive.

The surprising  reaction of many who claim to be followers of the God of all truth is to applaude the words of God’s accusers.

But Yahweh says what He means and means what He says and despite the bleatings of some it is not mean of Him to do so.

God’s word is His bond.

Some of the lodgers in God’s house are so ignorant of the covenant promises of the covenant keeping God they don’t recognise the lies of those who call God a liar. They are easy prey for praying predators. When the members of God’s household utter a word of warning they are slandered libelled and called that worse of epithets; “divisive” Well as a watchman from another time said. “Tis better to be divided by truth than united with error” (Martin Luther).

What a tragedy when Churchians in their thousands buy (and buy into) the lies of a temporal ”Shack” rather than be comforted in the promises of an eternal mansion.

How heartbreaking it is when goats desire to be Purpose Driven rather than be Spirit led with the flock of His pasture.

How frustrating that so many are interested in promoting a New Kind of Christianity, when they haven’t yet tried the ancient paths paved by the Ancient of Days.

God’s word is His bond.

The Father of lies has always  questioned, queried and thrown doubt on God’s holy words and the devils children will follow in their father’s footsteps, even to their own destruction. And some of the deceived will have their eyes opened only on the day of reckoning but will then be too late and they will receive no apology from  satan. Their willfull ignorance of God’s word and their gleeful acceptance of the devil’s lies spell their doom. It is a fearfull thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.

For men to think they can improve on Holy Writ or edit it to make it more user friendly has made them an enemy of God. Those who seek to dim the holy flame of the gospel will discover God is a consuming fire.

Some in Christendom will say “I have no knowledge of this God of whom you speak. My God is nice and after all Love Wins” Well you are right. You have no knowledge of the God of whom I speak. The God of the Bible, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the God of prophets apostles and martyrs is not nice;

He is breathtakingly holy.

mind numbingly majestic.

A glimpse of His glory sends strong men to bury their face in the dust.

A whisper from His mouth shakes the foundations of the heavens.

A click of His fingers dispatches innumerable angels who speed forth crying, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.

This Holy One of Israel must hide His face from even His friends, for to look on His unrestrained glory means instant death and yet His worshippers can look to Immanuel and see the fullness of His glory sheathed in holy flesh.

“Yes”, some argue, “This is my God. Gentle Jesus meek and mild.

Meek like a lion maybe.

The gentleness of controlled omnipotence.

And this Saviour offering salvation to those who say they have no need of it.

This triune God who speaks worlds into existence, brought forth life from nothing and has the power to redeem repentent rebels is a God of His word.

Men may well give voice to the vain imaginations of their hearts but those idols will fall on the threshold of His temple. Humanity may vote on whether to submit but one day every knee will bow; some in joyfull worship and others in a belated and doomed submission.

Too late they have discovered that the Living God does not waver, will not change His mind and can not be manipulated.

Until the day the King returns on the clouds of glory, there will be those who write their books of blasphemy, sing their songs of sedition and preach their myths of mockery, yet the Lord will always have a remnant. In every age and time it has been so. The ones who take God at His word knowing His word is His bond.

Thus says Yahweh

“Heaven is My throne and earth is My footstool. Where is the house you will build for Me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things My hand has made and all those things exist”, says Yahweh. “But on this one will I look. On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word“.

Isaiah 66:1-2

THE HARNESS OF THE LORD

by Bill Britton

I SAW THE KING'S CARRIAGE

On a dirt road in the middle of a wide field stood a beautiful carriage, something on the order of a stagecoach but all edged in gold and with beautiful carvings. It was pulled by six large chestnut horses: two in the lead, two in the middle and two in the rear. But they were not moving, they were not pulling the carriage, and I wondered why. Then I saw the driver underneath the carriage on the ground on his back just behind the last two horses' heels working on something between the front wheels on the carriage. I thought, "My, he is in a dangerous place; for if one of those horses kicked or stepped back, they could kill him, or if they decided to go forward, or got frightened somehow, they would pull the carriage right over him." But he didn't seem afraid for he knew that those horses were disciplined and would not move till he told them to move. The horses were not stamping their feet nor acting restless, and though there were bells on their feet, the bells were not tinkling. There were pom-poms on their harness over their heads but the pom-poms were not moving. They were simply standing still and quiet waiting for the voice of the Master.

THERE WERE TWO YOUNG COLTS IN THE FIELD

As I watched the harnessed horses I noticed two young colts coming out of the open field and they approached the carriage and seemed to say to the horses: "Come and play with us, we have many fine games, we will race with you, come catch us." And with that the colts kicked up their heels flicked their tails and raced across the open field. But when they looked back and saw the horses were not following they were puzzled. They knew nothing of the harnesses and could not understand why the horses did not want to play. So they called to them: "Why do you not race with us? Are you tired? Are you too weak? Do you not have strength to run? You are much too solemn, you need more joy in life." But the horses answered not a word nor did they stamp their feet or toss their heads. But they stood, quiet and still, waiting for the voice of the Master.

Again the colts called to them: "Why do you stand so in the hot sun? Come over here in the shade of this nice tree. See how green the grass is? You must be hungry, come and feed with us, it is so green and so good. You look thirsty, come drink of one of our many streams of cool clear water." But the horses answered them not so much as a glance but stood still waiting for the command to go forward with the King.

COLTS IN THE MASTER'S CORRAL

And then the scene changed and I saw lariat nooses fall around the necks of the two colts and they were led off to the Master's corral for training and discipline. How sad they were as the lovely green fields disappeared and they were put into the confinement of the corral with its brown dirt and high fence. The colts ran from fence to fence seeking freedom but found that they were confined to this place of training. And then the Trainer began to work on them with His whip and His bridle. What a death for those who had been all their lives accustomed to such a freedom! They could not understand the reason for this torture, this terrible discipline. What crime had they done to deserve this? Little did they know of the responsibility that was to be theirs when they had submitted to the discipline, learned to perfectly obey the Master and finished their training. All they knew was that this processing was the most horrible thing they had ever known.

SUBMISSION AND REBELLION

One of the colts rebelled under the training and said, "This is not for me. I like my freedom, my green hills, my flowing streams of fresh water. I will not take any more of this confinement, this terrible training." So he found a way out jumped the fence and ran happily back to the meadows of grass. I was astonished that the Master let him go and went not after him. But He devoted His attention to the remaining colt. This colt though he had the same opportunity to escape decided to submit his own will and learn the ways of the Master. The training got harder than ever but he was rapidly learning more and more how to obey the slightest wish of the Master and to respond to even the quietness of His voice. And I saw that had there been no training, no testing, there would have been neither submission nor rebellion from either of the colts. For in the field they did not have the choice to rebel or submit, they were sinless in their innocence. But when brought to the place of testing and training and discipline, then was made manifest the obedience of one and the rebellion of the other. And though it seemed safer not to come to the place of discipline because of the risk of being found rebellious, yet I saw that without this there could be no sharing of His glory, no Sonship.

INTO THE HARNESS

Finally this period of training was over. Was he now rewarded with his freedom and sent back to the fields? Oh no. But a greater confinement than ever now took place as a harness dropped about his shoulders. Now he found there was not even the freedom to run about the small corral for in the harness he could only move where and when his Master spoke. And unless the Master spoke he stood still.

The scene changed and I saw the other colt standing on the side of a hill nibbling at some grass. Then across the fields, down the road came the King's carriage drawn by six horses. With amazement he saw that in the lead, on the right side, was his brother colt now made strong and mature on the good corn in the Master's stable. He saw the lovely pom-poms shaking in the wind, noticed the glittering gold bordered harness about his brother, heard the beautiful tinkling of the bells on his feet — and envy came into his heart. Thus he complained to himself: "Why has my brother been so honored, and I am neglected? They have not put bells on MY feet nor pom-poms on MY head. The Master has not given ME the wonderful responsibility of pulling His carriage, has not put about ME the gold harness. Why have they chosen my brother instead of me?" And by the Spirit the answer came back to me as I watched: "Because one submitted to the will and discipline of the Master and one rebelled, thus has one been chosen and the other set aside."

A FAMINE IN THE LAND

Then I saw a great drought sweep across the countryside and the green grass became dead, dry, brown and brittle. The little streams of water dried up, stopped flowing, and there was only a small muddy puddle here and there. I saw the little colt (I was amazed that it never seemed to grow or mature) as he ran here and there across the fields looking for fresh streams and green pastures finding none. Still he ran, seemingly in circles, always looking for something to feed his famished spirit. But there was a famine in the land and the rich green pastures and flowing streams of yesterday were not to be had. And one day the colt stood on the hillside on weak and wobbly legs wondering where to go next to find food and how to get strength to go. It seemed like there was no use, for good food and flowing streams were a thing of the past and all the efforts to find more only taxed his waning strength. Suddenly he saw the King's carriage coming down the road pulled by six great horses. And he saw his brother, fat and strong, muscles rippling, sleek and beautiful with much grooming. His heart was amazed and perplexed, and he cried out: "My brother where do you find the food to keep you strong and fat in these days of famine? I have run everywhere in my freedom, searching for food, and I find none. Where do you in your awful confinement find food in this time of drought? Tell me, please, for I must know!" And then the answer came back from a voice filled with victory and praise: "In my Master's House there is a secret place in the confining limitations of His stables where He feeds me by His own hand and His granaries never run empty and His well never runs dry." And with this the Lord made me to know that in the day when people are weak and famished in their spirits in the time of spiritual famine that those who have lost their own wills and have come into the secret place of the most High into the utter confinement of His perfect will shall have plenty of the corn of Heaven and a never ending flow of fresh streams of revelation by His Spirit. Thus the vision ended.

INTERPRETATION OF THE VISION

"Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it," (Habakkuk 2:2). "Harness the horses; and get up, ye horseman," (Jeremiah 46:4). I am sure that many of you who can hear what the Spirit saith to the Church have already seen what God was showing in the vision. But let me make it plain. Being born into the Family of God feeding in the green pastures and drinking of the many streams of the unfolding revelation of His purposes is fine and wonderful. But it is not enough. While we were children, young and undisciplined, limited only by the outer fence of the Law that ran around the limits of the pastures (that kept us from getting into the dark pastures of poison weeds) He was content to watch us develop and grow into young manhood, spiritually speaking. But the time came to those who fed in His pastures and drank at His streams, when they were to be brought into discipline or "child-training" for the purpose of making them mature Sons. Many of the children today cannot understand why some of those who have put on the harness of God cannot get excited by the many religious games and the playful antics of the immature. They wonder why the disciplined ones run not after every new revelation or feed on every opportunity to engage in seemingly "good and profitable" religious activities. They wonder why some will not race with them in their frantic efforts to build great works and great and notable ministries. They cannot understand the simple fact that this Company of saints is waiting for the voice of the Master and they do not hear God in all this outward activity. They will move in their time when the Master speaks. But not before, though many temptations come from the playful colts. And the colts cannot understand why those who seemingly appear to have great abilities and strength are not putting it to good use. "Get the carriage on the road," they say, but the disciplined ones, those in God's harness, know better than to move before they hear the voice of the Master. They will move in their time with purpose and great responsibility.

And the Lord made me to know that there were many whom He had brought into training who had rebelled against the discipline, the chastising of the Father. They could not be trusted with the great responsibility of mature Sonship so He let them go back to their freedom, back to their religious activities and revelations and gifts. They are still His people, still feeding in His pastures, but He has set them aside from the great purposes for this end of the age. So they revel in their freedom feeling that they were the Chosen Ones with the many streams of living water not knowing that they have been set aside as unfit for His great work in this end of the age.

He showed me that though the chastising seemeth grievous for the time and the discipline hard to endure yet the result with all the glory of Sonship is worth it all and the glory to follow far exceeds the suffering we endure. And though some lose even their lives in this training yet they will share alike in the glory of His eternal purposes. So faint not saints of God for it is the Lord that doth bring thee into confinement and not thine enemy. It is for thy good and for His glory so endure all things with praises and thanksgiving that He hath counted thee worthy to share His glory! Fear thou not the whip in His hand for it is not to punish thee but to correct and train thee that thou mightest come into submission to His will and be found in His likeness in that hour. Rejoice thou in thy trials in all thy tribulations and glory thou in His cross and in the confining limitations of His harness for He hath chosen thee and He hath taken upon Himself the responsibility of keeping thee strong and well fed. So lean thou upon Him and trust not in thine own ability and thine own understanding. So shalt thou be fed and His hand shall be upon thee and His glory shall overshadow thee and shall flow through thee as it goes forth to cover the earth. Glory to God! Bless the Lord! He's wonderful! Let Him be Lord of your life, friends, and complain not at that which He bringeth to pass in your life.

PLENTY IN THE TIME OF FAMINE

For in the hour when famine sweeps the land He shall feed by His own hand those who are submitted to His perfect will and who dwell in the secret place of the Most High. When terror stalks the land those in His harness shall not be afraid for they shall feel His bit and bridle and know the guidance of His Spirit. When others are weak and frail and fearful there shall be those who shall be strong in the power of His might and shall lack for no good thing. In the hour when the traditions of the religious systems have proven false and their streams have dried up, then His Chosen Ones shall speak forth with the true Word of the Lord. So rejoice, Sons of God, that you have been chosen by His grace for this great work in this last hour.

The fence which kept the colts in their own meadows and their own pastures mean nothing to the team in the harness for the gates open to them and they go forth pulling the King's carriage into many strange and wonderful places. They do not stop to eat the poison weeds of sin for they feed only in the Master's stable. These fields they trample under their feet as they go forth on the King's business. And so to those who are brought into absolute subjection to His will there is no Law. For they move in the Grace of God led only by His Spirit where all things are lawful but not all things are expedient. This is a dangerous realm for the undisciplined and many have perished in sin as they leaped over the fence without His harness and His bridle. Some have thought of themselves as being completely harnessed and submissive to Him only to find that in some avenue of their life there dwelled rebellion and self-will. Let us wait before Him until He puts His noose around us and draws us to His place of training. And let us learn of the dealings of God and the movings of His Spirit until at last we feel His harness drop about us and hear His voice guiding us. Then there is safety from the traps and pitfalls of sin and then shall we abide in His House forever!

It just recently occurred to me through a comment by a sister on another blog. The sheep are shepherding themselves. To peruse the Christian blogosphere, by and large (there are some notable exceptions) the ones blowing the trumpet and warning the flock of danger are the uncredentialed, unordained but Holy Spirit- sensitized sheep. The big name shepherds who are tasked with leading, feeding and protecting the flock have gone silent in the face of a tsunami of false prophets, preaching false doctrine, declaring a false gospel, and filling “churches” with false converts. Meanwhile the “churches” are hemorrhaging the true church and filling with goats as the sheep wander from pasture to pasture seeking unpolluted fodder.

The credentialed, ordained official “pastors”invite the false prophets to their conferences.

They sell their books.

They promote their CDs.

They peddle the word of God for profit.

And even mix His holy word with the spiritual poison of the vain dreams of men.

And the sheep shepherd themselves.

 God has much to say about this situation. A true pastor, shepherd, leader is not appointed by men. He is appointed by God. Men may recognize God’s call on another but they can’t grant it. Men may recognize the call; but usually they don’t. The true shepherd stands up for the sheep and stands up to the hireling. This tends to make hirelings very nervous. And it usually results in authentic shepherds being attacked while the wolves dine at ease. God has a word for the false shepherd:

( Jeremiah 23: 1ff) “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!”, says Yahweh. Therefore thus says Yahweh, God of Israel, against the shepherds who feed my people: “You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,” says Yahweh.

 So as the flock are driven away (on purpose?) the shepherds feed themselves and the sheepshepherd themselves.

God continues, vs 14 ”I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: They commit adultery and walk in lies; they also strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns back from his wickedness.”

While the wicked and the corrupt and the polluted “prophets” are strengthened, the sheep shepherd themselves.

From the false prophets profaneness has gone into all the land vs 15

They speak vision from their own hearts vs 16 (What’s your vision brother?)

They declare a false peace and safety to the rebels vs 17

 They declare their carnal dreams and not the word of God vs 25-29

They steal words from one another vs 30

and they will be judged vs 39-40

To the sheep who have had to shepherd themselves the Holy One of Israel says,

” I will gather the remnant and they will be fruitful and increase. vs 4 and

 ”I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed nor shall they be lacking,” says Yahweh.

Let me stop being so diplomatic for a moment. Pastor; Your job is to speak. Speak to God on behalf of people and speak to people on behalf of God.  Therefore speak! Warn, teach, strengthen, protect, declare the counsels of the Living God. Rebuke the wolves. Challenge the hirelings. Alert the flock. If you will not open the word and declare the clear unequivocal authoritative oracles of God, get out of the ministry and get yourself a real job. You are hindering not helping and you are storing up judgement for your self. May God grant you repentance or removal.

To the sheep. God knows your plight. He knows your heart. He knows what is required and He will bring it to pass. The official shepherds may have treated you shamefully as they attempt to protect their patch but God will raise up shepherds who will lead you to green pastures and drive away the wolves. Who knows maybe you are one of the new shepherds.

To those who have swallowed the heretical lies and have decided to ”support the vision of the Pastor” or “not touch the LORD’s anointed” or have simply decided to “go along to get along”. Beware you are not found in the wrong paddock when Jesus divides His sheep from the goats.

 Sheep are not designed to shepherd themselves but better no shepherd than to be entrusted to the wolves. Some of the shepherds in name only get harsh with sheep who will not submit to a slow spiritual death in their churches, but God will have His way. His sheep know His voice and will not follow a stranger but will flee from him (John 10:3-5)

Jesus is redrawing the boundaries of His church. The true sheep will follow Him into green pastures and will flock together. The state-owned, introspective, institutionally oriented religious clubs called churches by men are losing any right to be called churches by God but the Spirit- led, Christ honouring , bible believing disciples are finding each other as they are led by the Lord and He is raising up His shepherds to fulfil the tasks of a true shepherd to protect, lead and feed.

No longer will the sheep need to shepherd themselves.

A promise.

Zephaniah 3:18 ff

“I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly, who are among you, to whom its reproach is a burden. Behold at that time I will deal with all who afflict you. I will save the lame and gather those who were driven out”

Amen Lord, let it be so, for Christ’s sake.

First, never think that the work is ever done. To crucify, mortify, or to subdue sin, will never be at an end. Regardless of how well we pretend we have done, there is always some reserve remaining that we overlooked. Beware when you stand (as a victor) lest you fall. 

Secondly, sin hides in that which is versatile and changeable, and deceitful above all things. This means that there has to be someone on the wall at all times. It is a perpetual watch. An outward enemy will give some rest, but you can never rest against this inner enemy. You cannot be too suspicious, doubtful, or watchful. We find many warnings about being, careful, circumspect, diligent, and watchful.  All the cautions that are given concerning the heart, I think none is as important as, remember not to believe the heart. 

Thirdly, commit it all to the Lord, who alone can search the heart, and knows it. Everything else mentioned is our duty, but here lies our safety. Ps 139:23, 24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. In the previous verses David is praising God for knowing all things, and these words were his conclusion. 

Knowing ourselves is the thing that is most needed by Christians today, as it has always been. This is why Paul gives so many warnings to not trust our ability to reason things out; we simply cannot do it, we will rest on faulty facts, our house will crumble. Where is the wisdom of this world? Where is the wise? Has not God brought to nothing the wisdom of the wise and the philosophers. We can barely decide what we are going to eat for breakfast, much less things that really matter: about our family, our friends, our life as a mother and wife, or father and husband, about God. We are just not capable, regardless that we make the declaration that it is for good, that doesn=t make it so.

We have not even gotten into the effect and strength of this indwelling sin. How this law causes fearfulness and eruptions of actual sin; how it destroys a once healthy zeal and holiness; how it leaves it victims beaten, bleeding, and dying, with no strength to lift their head to Heaven; or the slow and unrecognized dying by degrees, of a slow fall from grace; or the great apostasy that is swallowing huge numbers of once stable believers into the morass of easy believism and cheap grace. 

We are living in a time when we should be buttoning down the hatches for the great storm that is on the horizon. It is a time of introspection and casting off of all weights that anchor us to this world. Our eyes need to be glued on the eastern sky, not on the treasures of this world. 

Be careful when contemplating building something for God. God nowhere requires us to build anything for Him, only to become a living stone in something He is building.

Here is an article with a video at the end which I came across while perusing the internet looking for information to add to a database I am trying to develop of the Emerging Church and its leaders. The article is very well written and is a first hand account of the 2009 National Pastors Conference, presented by Zondervan Publishing. The article is a bit dated but still relevant for anyone concerned about the apostasy that has infiltrated the Church. A careful reading and examination of those mentioned should be enough to set any lover of God and Truth to an ALERT status. It is time for these alerted Christians to examine carefully the fruits these, so called Christians, bring to the table. Jude 12-13 these men are "waterless clouds, carried along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars for whom the nether gloom of darkness has been reserved for ever." They have no desire for truth, but bend and twist the plain truth of Scripture to capture drifting souls who have no anchor. Many Watchmen are sounding the alarm, there will be no excuse for ignorance when the Lord returns. Give heed the words that follow.

Steve Blackwell

P.S. Please bare in mind that the names mentioned in this article are only the tip of a very large iceberg. The influence of these men has infiltrated the vast majority of once conventional conservative Churches, and the chances are that you are being influenced yourself.

__________________________________________

THE EMERGING CHURCH IS COMING

by David Cloud

This is an eyewitness report on the February 2009 National Pastor’s Conference in San Diego, California, by David Cloud of the Fundamental Baptist Information Service, and a warning about the emerging church and its growing influence. 

The conference was sponsored by Zondervan and InterVarsity Press, two of the largest and most influential Christian publishers. Their authors represent the mainstream of evangelicalism today as well as its cutting edge, from Bill Hybels and Rick Warren to Rob Bell and Brian McLaren. 

Christianity Today magazine was prominently represented at the conference. Andy Crouch, a senior editor, was one of the main speakers and interviewers. He also led a praise and worship session. Other speakers included Bill Hybels, Rob Bell, Leighton Ford, Gordon Fee, Shane Claiborne, (left) J.P. Moreland, John Ortberg, David Kinnaman, Scot McKnight, Alex McManus, and Christopher Wright.



There were roughly 1,500 pastors and Christian workers in attendance. 



The emerging church is the name that has been coined for a new approach to missions and church life among some “evangelicals” for these present times. 



In reality, the emerging church is simply the latest heresy within the broad tent of evangelicalism. When the “new evangelicalism” swept onto the scene in the late 1940s with its bold repudiation of “separatism” and its emphasis on dialogue with heretics, the door was left open for every sort of heresy to infiltrate the “evangelical” fold, and that is precisely what has happened. The Bible does not warn in vain, “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians 15:33).



Emerging church teaching tends to be complicated, convoluted, contradictory, and confusing. 



Coming to grips with it is like trying to pin a glass marble to a table with an ice pick. It is movable and if forced to stand still and be consistent, it shatters! 



In addition, it is evolving, and there is a “conservative” side to the emerging church issue that further complicates things.



Regardless, we must deal with the emerging church because its influence is growing. 



EMERGING CHURCH IS SPREADING



Brian McLaren told how that Willow Creek Community Church had never had a sermon on environment, poverty, war and peace until last year, but now they are on the change-the-world, build-the-kingdom bandwagon. And Willow Creek is not just one mega-church near Chicago; it is also an association of 12,000 churches. 



Emergents Brian McLaren (right), Scot McKnight, and Shane Claiborne spoke at Willow Creek’s Shift conference in April 2008.

McLaren also described Rick Warren’s plunge into emerging church waters with his P.E.A.C.E. plan. When launched in April 2005, Warren said it would “change the world.” He wants to enlist “one billion foot soldiers” to overcome the five “global giants” of “Spiritual Emptiness, Self-serving Leadership, Poverty, Disease, and ignorance (or illiteracy).” Toward this objective he is calling for a broad ecumenical and interfaith alliance of evangelicals, modernists, Roman Catholics, Orthodox, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, homosexuals, pro-abortionists, etc. 



Warren has promoted McLaren on his Ministry Toolbox web site. Warren also recommends the very radical and liberal Leonard Sweet. Warren’s recommendation appears on the cover of Sweet’s book Soul Tsunami, which says, “It is time for a Postmodern Reformation … Reinvent yourself for the 21st century or die” (p. 75). Warren and Sweet collaborated on an audio set entitled Tides of Change, and Sweet spoke at Saddleback Church in January 2008 at a small groups training conference.



Rick Warren is a prominent pastor in the Southern Baptist Convention, a denomination that is permeated with emerging church philosophy.



EMERGING CHURCH TARGETING THE CHILDREN OF FUNDAMENTALISTS



I attended the conference in San Diego because I am concerned about the next generation. The emerging evangelicals are targeting our children and grandchildren. Brian McLaren counseled emergents to be patient as opposed to trying to change churches overnight. In his 2008 book “Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices,” McLaren described his plan to infiltrate churches and Christian institutions that are currently rejecting the emerging church. He says: 



“But over time, what they reject will find or create safe space outside their borders and become a resource so that many if not most of the grandchildren of today’s fundamentalists will learn and grow and move on from the misguided battles of their forebears [Biblicist Christians]” (p. 133). 



McLaren is saying that emerging doctrine will infiltrate Biblicist churches from without through “resources” such as books, videos, and web sites. 



This is exactly how New Evangelicalism has so deeply infiltrated fundamentalist Bible churches and independent Baptist churches over the past two decades and it is doubtless how the more radical emerging church doctrines will infiltrate them in the coming decades. 



The conference represents the fruit of the New Evangelical movement founded by Billy Graham and Harold Ockenga and the post-World War II generation of evangelical leaders who rejected biblical fundamentalism. They founded Fuller Theological Seminary and Christianity Today, both of which were represented at this conference. Fifty years ago these men said, “We renounce separatism,” and this is where their children are today. It is a loud warning to Biblicist Christians who are tempted to go in the contemporary direction. 



CHANGE AGENTS



The emerging church aims to transform traditional biblical churches into a new emerging model and they are employing many tactics toward that end. 



One tactic is to create doubts and to bring about a re-thinking process, but they don’t lead the individual back to the Bible for the answers. It is not wrong to re-think things, particularly methodology, but our thinking must be carefully bounded by Scripture or we will find ourselves in deep spiritual trouble.



Another tactic is to get churches to see themselves through the eyes of the world and to encourage them to adapt to this viewpoint. For example, since the world doesn’t like “judgmentalism” and criticism, the churches must stop judging and be tolerant and tone down the “negative preaching,” and since the world is put off by an “anti-gay” stance, then the churches must adopt a new approach to sexual issues. 



God’s people should try to understand the people we are trying to reach and we should care what they think of us at some level, but the fact remains that the world has always looked upon Christians negatively. That was true in the first century and it is true today. Jesus said that the world will hate us because it hated him (John 15:18-20; 17:14). The only way to change the negative way that the world looks upon Bible-believing Christians is to compromise the faith. The emerging church solution, to make Christianity “cool,” is simply not an option for Bible believers.



Another tactic that the emerging church uses to bring change is to promote contradictory doctrinal positions. This is the dialectic approach. Zondervan and InterVarsity Press epitomize this. They publish men who claim to believe the Bible is infallible and who have a personal testimony of salvation and supposedly believe in hell (e.g., Bill Hybels and Rick Warren) alongside of men who do not believe in the substitutionary atonement and are convinced that “an exclusive, hell-oriented gospel is not the way forward” (Brian McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy, p. 120, f. 48). 



These contradictory positions ultimately cause readers to conclude that doctrine cannot be dogmatically known and is not very important. It destroys doctrinal stability. 



CHRISTANIZED WORLDLINESS

The worldliness that permeates the emerging church is breath-taking. The general sessions of the National Pastor’s Conference began with half-hour stand-up comedy routines, some of it pretty crude. The comedy routines were followed by hard rock concerts complete with massive pounding speakers, colored lights, smoke, and huge rear-projection screens. All of this took place in a darkened hall. Some of the speakers, such as Will Willimon, (left) head of the United Methodist Church, used profanities that we would not repeat in print. The females were typically dressed immodestly. 



Even the most conservative branches of the emerging church have made shocking compromises with the world. They claim that they relate to the world without being conformed to it, but in reality they are deeply conformed to it. 



Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, claims to be “THEOLOGICALLY CONSERVATIVE AND CULTURALLY LIBERAL” (“Pastor Provocateur,” Christianity Today, Sept. 21, 2007). He criticizes “hardcore fundamentalism that throws rocks at culture” (ibid.) and defines himself as “relevant,” “contextual,” and “cool” (“Conference examines the emerging church,” Baptist Press, Sept. 25, 2007). 



Driscoll says, “Restrictive Christians go too far and name everything a universal sin, forbidding some culture activities that the Bible does not, such as listening to certain musical styles, getting tattoos, watching movies, smoking cigarettes, consuming alcohol, and body piercing” (The Radical Reformission, p. 103). 



Driscoll says that he learned to preach by “studying stand-up comedians.” He said that seeing the filthy comedian Chris Rock live was “a better study in homiletics than most classes on the subject” (Confessions of a Reformission Rev., p. 70) 



Mark Driscoll’s church sets up a “champagne bar” at its New Year’s Eve dance parties. The December 2007 party was called “Red Hot Bash2” and featured “one of the top dance bands in the Northwest.” Participants were invited to “come bust a move on the enormous dance floor” and were reminded to bring their IDs. 



Mars Hill has “beer-brewing lessons” and operates the Paradox Theater which has hosted hundreds of secular rock concerts. At one concert, a Japanese punk band performed naked. 



Mars Hill shows R-rated movies. In fact, Driscoll says that some of his sermons on sex are R-rated and that visiting youth groups have been embarrassed and walked out half-way through the message (Confessions of a Reformission Rev., p. 134).



And this is the very conservative side of the emerging church!



God’s Word says, “And be not conformed to this world,” and, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world” (Romans 12:2; 1 John 1:15). 



AN ECUMENICAL BLENDING

The doctrinal variety represented at the conference was amazing. There were Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Pentecostals, Mennonites, United Church of Christ, Roman Catholics, and others. 



The speakers included a Catholic priest (Emmanuel Katongole) (above, center) who teaches at the Methodist-affiliated Duke Divinity School, a Jewish agnostic (A.J. Jacobs, author of “A Year of Living Biblically”), a man who has written a book depicting God as a woman (Paul Young, author of “The Shack”), and a man who denies the infallibility of Scripture, the substitutionary blood atonement, an eternal fiery hell, creationism, and a literal fall (Brian McLaren). 



All of these were warmly accepted by the other speakers and the 1,500 pastors and Christian workers in attendance. No one that we talked to at the conference was willing to say a word against anything or anyone. 



HATRED OF BIBLICAL FUNDAMENTALISM



The only enemy that was clearly identified and attacked was biblical fundamentalism. The conference celebrated a wide variety of heretics, but the believer who takes the Bible seriously and is earnestly contending for the faith was held up to ridicule. 



Even the comedians targeted them. Michael Jr. called them “the over saved.” He told a crude joke about a dog licking itself and said, “If you didn’t laugh at that, you are over saved.” 



Brian McLaren ridiculed those who believe in a literal six-day creation.



Rod Bell described those who want to maintain “doctrinal purity and theological correctness” and make life difficult for emerging pastors. Bell quoted Titus 3:10 from the Today’s New International Version, which says that divisive persons should be rejected, and he advised that this is how pastors should deal with doctrinal puritans. This perversion of Scripture turns truth on its head. Paul was not warning about divisive persons in general. The truth itself can be divisive, and Jesus and the apostles caused great divisions. Paul was warning, rather, about those who are divisive through false teaching and refuse to submit to the truth.



A MAGNET FOR REBELS



The emerging church is a magnet for those who have rejected the “old-fashioned” New Testament faith and who despise traditional Bible-believing churches, dogmatic biblical preaching, and biblical “judgmentalism” in regard to lifestyle choices.



In a video-recorded interview, Zach Lind, drummer for the secular rock band Jimmy Eat World, told us that he grew up in a conservative type Baptist church and made a profession of faith when he was young, but he only did so because he didn’t want to be left out of the communion service. He secretly loved rock & roll and didn’t like to hear preaching against that sort of thing, so he left church and did not return to Christianity until he discovered the emerging church. Now he has the freedom to be a Christian and also a drummer in a filthy rock band that produces pornographic videos. Following is an excerpt from the interview: 



“The belief system that they emphasized did not necessarily resonate with me. For instance, when I was in junior high they played a video to the junior high group called ‘Hells Bells: The Dangers of Rock & Roll.’ And I was sort of secretly in the closet a big rock & roll music fan, listening to all different kinds of bands that typically the church wouldn’t approve. … Ultimately in high school I started a band with some friends; that was 15 or 16 years ago, and we still are a band today; we’re a secular rock band. I’ve lived in the world, and I’ve realized that a lot of the religious goods and services that I was provided as a kid just sort of fell flat when I entered into the real world. As I was trying to reconcile those kinds of things, I was free falling. The framework of Christianity wasn’t viable to me. It was nice to come into contact with some writers like Brian McLaren and Rob Bell and Dallas Willard that gave me a different framework, a different perspective, in order to construct a life of faith that really resonated with me. Because of my experience with the band and whatever notoriety I’ve gained with that, I’ve been able to make some friendships with people that I really respect and that have really shaped me. It’s been life-giving. … The gospel that I believe now is totally different than the gospel I grew up with. The gospel I grew up with was a transactional gospel, this idea that if I have the right belief now I will be somehow saved from some kind of punishment later. … Dallas Willard reminded me that the kingdom of God is not some future destination, that the kingdom of God is now.”



This theme runs throughout the emerging church.



In Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller tells how that he refused to be restricted by the teaching of traditional-type churches. He wanted to drink beer and watch raunchy movies and talk trashy and run around with atheists and other rebels.



In A Renegade’s Guide to God, David Foster mocks “Bible thumpers” and calls for a “renegade” type of Christianity that “resists being named, revolts at being shamed, and rebels against being tamed” (p. 8). He says, “We won’t be ‘told’ what to do or ‘commanded’ how to behave’” (p. 10).



In If Grace Is So Amazing, Why Don’t We Like It, Donald McCullough says that he doesn’t like the type of preaching that says, “… don’t do that, curb your appetites, reign in desire, discipline and sacrifice yourself” (p. 104). 



These people are rebels against the plain teaching of the Bible, and as a magnet for rebellion the emerging church holds a wide attraction in these last days as prophesied in Scripture:



“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). 



This prophecy describes a great turning away from Biblical truth among professing Christians. It says they will reject the sound teaching of Scripture and desire a new type of Christianity that allows them to live after their own lusts. That is a strange type of Christianity, but we are seeing its fulfillment before our very eyes. The prophecy says there will be heaps of teachers who will give the people this new type of Christianity, and this is exactly what we see. Christian bookstores are filled with books and the Internet is filled with Christian articles and blogs, but the majority of this material does not contain the straightforward preaching of God’s Word that reproves, rebukes, and exhorts (2 Timothy 4:2). Rather, it is filled with doctrine that scratches the itching ears of those who have rejected the Bible. It is filled with pop novelties, psychology, self-esteemism, pampering of the ego, conformity to the world, heresies, questionings, boastings, doubtings, illicit fellowship with error (e.g., the contemplative spirituality movement), railings against “legalism” falsely so called, fairy tales, fictional romance, reconstructed history, fascination with ancient heretics wrongly called “church fathers,” and many other things.



The New Evangelicalism of the 1950s was a rebellion against strict biblical Christianity, and the emerging church is simply a step further in that fearful direction. 



Rebellion is a natural product of our fallen nature. The “old man,” as it is called in Scripture, which we inherited from Adam’s fall, is at enmity against God and His Word. True Christianity requires a new birth. There are no “second generation” Christians in the true biblical sense. It has been truthfully said that God has no grandchildren. Thus each person that grows up in a Christian home must come to grips with the gospel for himself and herself, and because the devil and the indwelling fallen nature are real, there is a fierce spiritual battle that must be waged. 



I faced this battle in my youth. I grew up in a Baptist church and went through the motions of receiving Christ and joining the church, but I wanted my own way more than Christ’s. I therefore rejected the Bible, left the church, and went very far into the world before being converted at age 23. 



Because of this ongoing battle that rages with each new generation, the rebellion that is part and parcel of the emerging church philosophy is very enticing to a wide range of people.

THE SHACK: THE EMERGING CHURCH’S NEW GOD



One of the speakers at the National Pastor’s Convention was William Young, (right) author of “The Shack.” It has held first place on the New York Times bestseller list for Paperback Trade Fiction for nine months and as of January 2009 had sold five million copies. It is being translated into 30 languages, and a motion picture is in the works.



Young had his own break-out session and was interviewed in one of the general sessions by Andy Crouch. It was said that 57% of the attendees had read “The Shack,” and Young was enthusiastically received. Crouch treated him as a fellow believer and did not even hint that there might be a damnable theological problem with the way that God is depicted in this book. 



When Young said, “I don’t feel responsible for the fact that it [“The Shack”] is tampering with people’s paradigms,” or how people think about God, the crowd responded with clapping, cheers, and laughter. This group loves to tamper with traditional Bible doctrine and there is no fear of God for doing so! 



In “The Shack,” Young presents traditional Bible-believing Christianity as hypocritical and hurtful. The book’s main character grew up under “rigorous rules,” and his father, who was an elder in the church, was “a closet drinker” and treated his family with cruelty when drunk (p. 7). 



Hypocrisy is very injurious to the cause of Christ, but hypocrisy on the part of Christians does not disprove the Bible. Let God be true and every man a liar (Romans 3:4)! All too often this type of thing is used as an excuse by rebels. I know this by personal experience. In my youth I used the inconsistencies that I saw in Baptist churches to excuse my rejection of the church. The chief problem, though, was not the hypocrisy of others but my own rebellion and love for the world. When I repented of my wickedness at age 23 and turned to Christ and received the Bible as God’s holy Word, I stopped blaming others and took responsibility for myself before Almighty God. 



Rules and obligations under God’s grace are not wrong. They are an integral part of Bible Christianity. We are saved by grace without works, but we are saved “unto good works” (Ephesians 2:8-10). The New Testament epistles are filled with rules and obligations that believers are expected to keep and filled with warnings about disobedience. The true grace of God does not let us live as we please. It teaches us, rather, “that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:11-12). That is a very strict standard of Christian living.



There is hypocrisy in churches and there are false gospels that are law-based rather than grace-based and most churches today are corrupt, but the solution is not to reject the literal interpretation of Scripture and create a new God! God is amazingly compassionate and loving and He has proven that on the cross, but God is also holy and just and requires obedience and hates and punishes sin, and that side of God cannot be ignored without creating a false God. 



The flesh wearies greatly of the holiness of God! I can testify to that. From time to time in my Christian life I have gotten discouraged at God. It is not a simple thing to reconcile God’s love and grace with His awful holiness and justice. On one hand, the New Testament tells us that the believer is forgiven, redeemed, justified, accepted in the beloved, blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ, holy and without blame before God, and seated in the heavenlies (Ephesians 1-3). On the other hand, the same New Testament tells us that the believer must be exceedingly careful about how he lives before God. We are to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1), which is the highest conceivable standard. The believer who does not pursue this is in danger of being judged (e.g., 1 Cor. 3:13-17; 9:26-27; 11:27-32; Hebrews 13:4; 2 John 8-11; Revelation 2:4-5, 16, 22-23; 3:15-16). There is even a sin unto death (1 John 5:16-17; Acts 5:1-11; 1 Corinthians 11:30). Thus there must be many warnings in the Christian life (Acts 20:31; Colossians 1:28; 2 Timothy 4:2; Titus 1:13; 2:15).



These things seem to be contradictory to the fallen flesh and to the natural man, but they are two sides of the same compassionate, thrice holy God, and to reject either one is reject the true God for an idol. 



REDEFINING GOD



In fact, “The Shack” is about redefining God. Young has said that the book is for those with “a longing that God is as kind and loving as we wish he was” (interview with Sherman Hu, Dec. 4, 2007). What he is referring to is the desire on the part of the natural man for a God who loves “unconditionally” and does not require obedience, does not require repentance, does not judge sin, and does not make men feel guilty for what they do. 



In that same interview, Young said that a woman wrote to him and said that her 22-year-old daughter came to her after reading the book and asked, “IS IT ALRIGHT IF I DIVORCE THE OLD GOD AND MARRY THE NEW ONE?” 



Young therefore admits that the God of “The Shack” is different from the traditional God of Bible-believing Christianity. He says that the God who “watches from a distance and judges sin” is “a Christianized version of Zeus.” This reminds me of the modernist G. Bromley Oxnam, who called the God of the Old Testament “a dirty bully” in his 1944 book “Preaching in a Revolutionary Age.” 



“The Shack” explores the issue of why God allows pain and evil. It is a fictional account of a man who is bitter against God for allowing his youngest daughter to be murdered and who returns to the scene of the murder, an old shack in the woods, to have a life-changing encounter with God. The “God” that he encounters, though, is not the God of the Bible. 



Young depicts the triune God as a young Asian woman named “Sarayu” * (supposedly the Holy Spirit), an oriental carpenter who loves to have a good time (supposedly Jesus), and an older black woman named “Elousia” (supposedly God the Father). God the Father is also depicted as a guy with a ponytail and a goatee. (* The name “Sarayu” is from the Hindu scriptures and represents a mythical river in India on the shores of which the Hindu god Rama was born.)



Young’s god is the god of the emerging church. He is cool, loves rock & roll, is non-judgmental, does not exercise wrath toward sin, does not send unbelievers to an eternal fiery hell, does not require repentance and the new birth, puts no obligations on people, doesn’t like traditional Bible churches, does not accept the Bible as the infallible Word of God, and does not mind if the early chapters of the Bible are interpreted as “myth.” 



Note the following quotes from the god of “The Shack”:



“Don’t go because you feel obligated. That won’t get you any points around here. Go because it’s what you want to do” (p. 89). 



Contrast 1 Corinthians 4:2. 



“I don’t need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment, devouring you from the inside. It’s not my purpose to punish it…” (p. 120). 



Contrast Isaiah 13:11; Ephesians 5:5-6.



“There are lots of people who think it [Eden] was only a myth. Well, their mistake isn’t fatal. Rumors of glory are often hidden inside of what many consider myths and tales” (p. 134). 



Contrast 2 Peter 1:16. 



“[Your heart] is wild and beautiful and perfectly in process” (p. 138). 



Contrast Jeremiah 17:9; Mark 7:21-23.



“To force my will on you is exactly what love does not do. … True love never forces” (pp. 145, 190). 



Contrast John 8:31-32; 14:15; Titus 2:11-12; Hebrews 12:5-11; Revelation 2:14-16, 20-23; 3:3, 16-19.



“Our final destiny is not the picture of Heaven that you have stuck in your head–you know, the image of pearly gates and streets of gold” (p. 177). 



Contrast Revelation 21-22. 



“My church is all about people and life is all about relationships. … You can’t build it. … I don’t create institutions–never have, never will” (pp. 178, 179). 



Contrast Acts 2:41-42, 13-14.



“Those who love me come from every system that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons, Baptists or Muslims, Democrats, Republicans and many who don’t vote or are not part of any Sunday morning or religious institutions. … I have no desire to make them Christian” (p. 182). 



Contrast Acts 4:12; 26:28. 



“Through his death and resurrection, I am now fully reconciled to the world … The whole world. … In Jesus, I have forgiven all humans for their sins against me … When Jesus forgave those who nailed him to the cross they were no longer in his debt, nor mine” (pp. 192, 225). 



Contrast John 3:36; Acts 17:30-31; 1 John 5:12, 19; Revelation 20:11-15.



“The Bible doesn’t teach you to follow rules. … Enforcing rules, especially in its more subtle expressions like responsibility and expectation, is a vain attempt to create certainty out of uncertainty. … That is why you won’t find the word responsibility in the Scriptures. … because I have no expectations, you never disappoint me” (pp. 197, 203, 206).



Contrast 1 Corinthians 4:2; 2 Corinthians 5:18. In Ephesians 4-6 alone there are at more than 80 specific obligations that believers are exhorted to keep.



“I don’t do humiliation, or guilt, or condemnation” (p. 223). 



Contrast Isaiah 2:11; 5:15; John 3:19; Romans 3:19; 1 Corinthians 11:27; James 3:1; 5:9; Jude 4; Revelation 11:18; 20:11-15.



THE SHACK’S GOD IS EMERGENT AND NEW AGE



Not only is “The Shack’s” god suspiciously similar to the one described in the books of the more liberal branch of the emerging church (e.g., Rob Bell, Donald Miller, Brian McLaren), it also has a strong kinship to the New Age god promoted by Oprah Winfrey. Her gospel is that man is not a sinner, God is not a judge, all is well with the universe, and I just need to surrender to the flow. Her message is the celebration of self. She grew up in a traditional Baptist church, but she has reinterpreted the Bible and moved beyond its restrictions. She says, “As I study the New Age movement, it all seems to say exactly what the Bible has said for years, but many of us were brought up with a restricted, limited understanding of what the Bible said” (“The Gospel according to Oprah,” Vantage Point, July 1998).



“The Shack” is another building stone of the end-times Tower of Babel. 



DENYING THE IMMINENCY OF CHRIST’S RETURN



Another foundational error of the emerging church is its rejection of the imminency of Christ’s return. This is why they can have long-range goals to save the earth, solve the AIDS problem in Africa, do away with poverty, and perform other “kingdom works” to renew society. 



At the National Pastor’s conference Brian McLaren said that dispensational theology is dangerous because it causes Christians not to be concerned for the earth. He said, “In theology, eschatology always wins. This is one of our theological crises. Why is there little concern about the environment? Because people are being taught that the world is going to be destroyed soon.” 



McLaren mocks the “fundamentalist expectations” of a literal second coming of Christ with its attendant judgments on the world and assumes that the world will go on like it is for hundreds of thousands of years (A Generous Orthodoxy, p. 305). He calls the literal, imminent return of Christ “pop-Evangelical eschatology” (Generous Orthodoxy, p. 267) and the “eschatology of abandonment” (interview with Planet Preterist, Jan. 30, 2005, http://planetpreterist.com/news-2774.html).



The rejection of a pre-tribulational Rapture is a characteristic of the emerging church in all of its aspects, including the more conservative side. Mark Driscoll refers to it as “pessimistic dispensationalism” (Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches, p. 146). He has said that eschatology-minded Christians are not welcome in his church (“Mark Driscoll Rejects McLaren but Embraces Contemplative,” Jan. 11, 2008, http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/index.php?p=931&more=1&c=1). In the book Confessions of a Reformissional, Driscoll mocks the idea of the Rapture and a one-world government with an Anti-christ who makes people wear a mark to buy, sell or trade (pp. 49-50). He claims that this was not a message from Jesus but rather one ‘concocted from a cunning Serpent’” 



In The Radical Reformission, Driscoll claims that the Rapture doctrine is evidence of the sickness of American Christians and mocks those who have the goal of leaving “this trailer park of a planet before God’s tornado touches down on all the sinners” (p. 78). He calls dispensationalists “nutty, Christian, end-times-prophecy Kaczynskis” (p. 165). [Ted Kaczynski was the “Unabomber” terrorist who murdered three people and maimed 23 others in his 18-year campaign against modern technology.]



The doctrine of judgment to come and the imminent return of Christ is not the figment of some novelist’s imagination!



The Lord Jesus Christ taught that great judgments will come upon the world (Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21) and that believers must be ready for His return at any time. He likened His return to the days preceding the Flood when the people mocked Noah and ignored his warnings up to the very day that he went into the ark, and then the judgment came and the world was destroyed (Mat. 24:36-39). 



Christ warned, “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Mat. 24:44). 



The apostle Paul taught the same thing: “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand” (Phil. 4:5).



James also taught it: “Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door” (James 5:8-9).



And Peter taught it: “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer” (1 Pet 4:7).



The early Christians lived in constant expectation of the Lord’s return.



“For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).



The doctrine of a pre-tribulational Rapture is very important. It does matter how you interpret Bible prophecy. 



First, it is a great motivator for purifying one’s personal Christian life. 



Second, it encourages the believer in trials and persecutions. 



“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).



Third, it keeps the church’s focus on the Great Commission. The imminency of Christ’s return teaches us that winning people to Christ is the most urgent matter. We have been provided with a pardon for sinners in the gospel; we are ambassadors for Christ and have been given the responsibility of exhorting unbelievers to be reconciled with God (2 Cor. 5:20). Evangelist D.L. Moody had it right when he said: “I look upon this world as a wrecked vessel. God has given me a lifeboat and said to me, ‘Moody, save all you can.’” It is impossible to accomplish the great work of world evangelism while also trying to build the kingdom of God by involving ourselves in massive socio-political endeavors. There is neither the time nor resources to do both, and history shows us that when Christians try to save society (not to speak of the earth) the gospel of personal salvation gets pushed far to the back of the wagon and is soon kicked right off. 



Fourth, the doctrine of the imminent Rapture keeps believers on the outlook for heresy and apostasy. 



That the emerging church has rejected this doctrine is a very serious error.



CONTEMPLATIVE MYSTICISM



Contemplative mysticism lies at the heart of the emerging church. It is a powerful bond that is drawing evangelicals together with the Roman Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church together with pagan religions like Hinduism and Buddhism and all contemplative Christian practitioners together with New Agers. 



Roger Oakland observes that “wind is to a sail boat what contemplative prayer is to the emerging church” (Faith Undone, p. 81).



Mysticism is permeating Christianity at every level. Ursula King observes that “recent years have seen a greater interest and fascination with the mystics of all ages and faiths than any previous period in history” (Christian Mystics, p. 22).



Contemplative Mysticism is an attempt to commune with God experientially and to find spiritual understanding beyond the pages of the Bible, particularly by means of Roman Catholic monastic practices such as centering prayer, visualizing prayer, Lectio Divina, and repetitious prayers such as the Jesus prayer.



Contemplative mysticism was represented at the National Pastor’s Conference by the following books published by InterVarsity Press’s Formatio imprint:



“Sacred Rhythms” by Ruth Haley Barton (IVP, 2006). Chapter 3 deals with Lectio Divina. 



“The Path of Celtic Prayer: An Ancient Way to Everyday Life” by Calvin Miller (IVP, 2007)



“Celtic Devotions” by Calvin Miller (IVP, 2008)



“Sacramental Life: Spiritual Formation” through the Book of Common Prayer by David A. DeSilva (IVP, 2008). This book features a recommendation by the Quaker mystic Richard Foster. 



“Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us” by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun (IVP, 2005). It deals with contemplation, solitude, retreat, silence, and spiritual direction.



“A Community Called Taize: A Story of Prayer, Worship and Reconciliation” by Jason Brian Santos (IVP, 2003). Taize is an influential, radically ecumenical, half-Protestant, half-Catholic community in France that is led by a Catholic priest. 



We have documented the spiritual danger of this practice in the new book “Contemplative Mysticism: A Powerful Ecumenical Bond.”



WHAT HAS BROUGHT EVANGELICALISM TO THIS PLACE AND WHAT MUST BIBLE-BELIEVING BAPTISTS AND FUNDAMENTALISTS WATCH OUT FOR? 



The evangelical movement took a dramatic new turn fifty years ago, and we see the shocking fruit of it today. It is large, influential, and wealthy, but it is also spiritually destitute and filled with heresies. 



How did evangelicalism come to the place where some of its most prominent leaders accept a novel depicting God as a non-judgmental woman? 



Following are some of the things that have brought evangelicalism to this place, and these are the very things that are sweeping into many fundamentalist Bible-believing churches. As for independent Baptists in particular, they are at the same place today that the New Evangelicals were just four decades ago. 



(1) Shallow evangelism and confusion about the gospel



Evangelical churches are filled with nominal Christians who do not have a clear new birth testimony. At the National Pastor’s Conference I asked several people when they were saved and heard the testimonies of several of the speakers, and biblical testimonies of salvation were pathetically rare. One Lutheran pastor told me that he had always been a Christian. 



In fact, the conference took its own survey along this line. Attendees were asked, “What percentage of your congregation is trying to actively live what the Bible teaches?” An overwhelming majority of the pastors, nearly 80%, replied that fewer than one-fourth of their church members are trying to obey the Bible! What is that if not a lack of biblical salvation? As the apostle Paul said, “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate” (Titus 1:16). And the apostle John added, “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4).



The book “Emerging Churches” by Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger contains the testimonies of dozens of emerging church leaders. Only a few have any semblance to biblical salvation. Consider the following examples, which are typical:



Jonny Baker of Grace, London, England: “I loved God, or rather, knew I was loved by him, from an early age. I actually received the gift of tongues when I was just four years old” (p. 240). 



Kester Brewin of Vaux, London, England: “I can point to a Billy Graham rally in 1984 as a conversion, but that was really more of a moment of STRENGTHENING A FAITH THAT HAD ALWAYS been there” (p. 248). 



Roger Ellis of Revelation Church in Chichester, England: “In my late teens, I had a dynamic experience of God, an encounter of the Spirit at a crazy charismatic church down the road” (p. 268). 



Barry Taylor of Sanctuary in Santa Monica, California: “In the end, I didn’t pick Christianity. I picked Jesus instead, because Jesus seemed cool and treated people kindly. From that time I sought to follow Jesus” (p. 311). 



Andy Thornton of Late Late Service in Glasgow: “When I was seventeen. I prayed a prayer, which was not a problem, because I DIDN’T REALLY SEE MYSELF AS AN UNBELIEVER. I felt something warm and affirming and quite energizing” (p. 314). 



In fact, many within the emerging church have decided that salvation is not an event but a process. Shane Hipps, one of the speakers at the National Pastor’s Convention, says, “… there has been an increasing acceptance of a process conception of conversion,” and, “… the categories of believer and unbeliever … are no longer used to define a target for evangelism” (Hipps, The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture, Zondervan, 2005, pp. 78, 81). 



Consider Robert Webber, one of the most influential voices in the emerging church. He grew up in the home of a fundamental Baptist pastor, but the thing that is missing in his autobiographical accounts is a biblical testimony of salvation. Webber argued that salvation does not have to be a dramatic conversion experience and he admitted that he didn’t have such an experience. He said that repentance “can have a dramatic beginning or can come as a result of a process over time” (The Divine Embrace, p. 149). He came to see salvation is a sacramental process that begins at baptism, and that is one reason why he joined the Episcopalian church and was perfectly comfortable with Roman Catholicism. Webber described many experiences he had with his students at Wheaton College, but he doesn’t give any examples of counseling them about personal salvation.



The purity of the gospel and personal salvation is foundational to maintaining the truth and keeping churches pure, and salvation is a supernatural birth and not a sacramental process. Those who are not saved do not have the indwelling Holy Spirit of truth and cannot properly interpret the Bible and do not have any zeal to defend it. 



Fundamental Baptists are in danger here because of the Quick Prayerism technique that is so rampant. I refer to the soul winning methodology that is quick to manipulate someone into praying a prayer through salesmanship techniques even when there is no evidence of conviction and repentance and saving faith. It is then quick to give that individual assurance even though there is no evidence that he is saved. My wife and I tried to follow-up on two Quick Prayerism soul winning campaigns in past years. One church that we attended 30 years ago had a Foster Club program, and women would go out every week and return to report that some people had been “saved.” The pastor asked us to follow up on these and gave us a stack of information cards, but when we attempted to do so we discovered that these “saved” people had no interest in the things of Christ and didn’t even want to talk to us! About eight years ago we followed up on decision cards that were filled out by those who prayed the sinner’s prayer through a County Fair ministry. Again, of the many people who had been “saved,” we could not find any that were interested in attending church or meeting with us to study the Bible. The unmistakable mark of Quick Prayerism is when only a very small percentage of a church’s reported “salvations” have any biblical reality. Some argue that at least the gospel is being preached and some people are getting saved, but the fact is that people are actually being inoculated to the truth. When you meet a victim of a Quick Prayerism program and try to deal with them about the salvation of his soul, he will reply, “I have done that,” even though he is still living like the devil. What he means is that he has “prayed the prayer” and been given assurance by a Quick Prayerism evangelist. 



This could be a major reason why the independent Baptist movement has been shot through and through with immorality, biblical shallowness, and carnality. 



Churches that are not exceedingly careful about salvation and about receiving members can become filled up with nominal Christians. In our missionary work of nearly two decades we have preached to Hindus in South Asia, and their first inclination after hearing the gospel is to try to add Jesus to their other gods and become half-Hindu, half-Christian. Since we don’t want half-Hindu, half-Christians as church members, we are very careful about receiving people into membership. We deal with them patiently and carefully to try to make sure that they understand the gospel. When they profess to have repented and put their faith in Christ and we have some confidence that their testimony is real, we put them through a baptismal class to further instruct them about the gospel and the purpose of baptism. At the end of that class, they come before the church leaders and their wives and give their testimonies. If any of the leaders have a doubt about an individual’s conversion, we put off the baptism of that individual. And the process doesn’t end there. On the day when we have the baptism service, the candidates stand before the whole church and give their testimonies and the church members are allowed to ask questions if there is some doubt. 



The reason why we do this is to protect the churches and maintain purity in the work of God in these confused and evil days. 



Keeping the gospel pure and being careful about salvation and church membership are foundational to everything else that we do.



(2) The judge not philosophy; doctrinal tolerance; a positive, non-critical emphasis



Another thing that has brought the evangelical movement to its present apostasy is the judge not philosophy. When New Evangelicalism was founded after World War II, its leaders rejected the “negative” approach of the old fundamentalism. They wanted a more positive, less critical Christianity. 



This, though, is a plain rejection of the Bible’s command to reprove and rebuke sin and error. It is a rejection of the example of the apostles and prophets who plainly exercised this ministry. John the Baptist got his head cut off for reproving the illicit marriage of a political leader of his day. The Lord Jesus Christ condemned the Pharisees in the severest terms (Matthew 23). The apostle Paul continually identified and condemned sin and heretics, as did Peter, James, and John. 



When this type of judgment is left off, the devil is free to operate and sin and error spreads apace. 

At the National Pastor’s Conference in San Diego we interviewed Leighton Ford, (above, left) Billy Graham’s brother-in-law. I stated him that this conference represents the state of evangelicalism today and asked him if he is satisfied with where the movement has come in the past fifty years. I reminded him that there are loud voices within evangelicalism that are questioning such cardinal doctrines as the very gospel itself, substitutionary atonement, and eternal fiery hell. This was a good opportunity for him to reply, “I am very sad that we have come to this place. Those who teach error should be condemned and not praised. Brian McLaren, for example, is destroying people’s faith with his heresies, and William Young is preaching a false god.” Leighton Ford did not say any of that, of course. Instead, he replied, “I will not criticize others” and then brusquely cut us off when we tried to follow-up on that.



It might sound very pious not to criticize one’s fellow Christians, but it is plain disobedience to God’s Word, which commands us to mark them which teach contrary to apostolic doctrine and to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints (Romans 16:17; Jude 3). 



The “I will not criticize others” philosophy is the foundational principle that has destroyed evangelicalism. Those who believe the Bible and refuse to lift up the voice against error are traitors to Jesus Christ. They enable error to grow and prosper. They are the “useful idiots” of heretics and compromisers.



When error is not clearly identified and reproved, even the preaching of the truth can become an accommodation to error. When Billy Graham has preached in Roman Catholic Churches, for example, he has preached the gospel in a vague way but has refused to identify Romanism as false and to plainly contrast Rome’s gospel with the Bible’s. As a result, his Catholic hearers typically believe that he is saying basically the same thing as their priests and go away lost. That is indefensible.



We witnessed this same thing at the National Pastor’s Conference. Bill Hybels preached a message to that mixed multitude on “listening to God’s whispers.” He urged the crowd to take heed to what God tells them to do. What he said was not false and he made some good points, even giving a biblical-sounding testimony of salvation, but by pretending that his listeners were saved people who were sound in the faith and by not clearly identifying and reproving the heresies that were present, Hybels aided and abetted the devil and his lies. He encouraged Brian McLaren, for instance, to listen to the whispers that are telling him to deny cardinal doctrines of the faith and William Young to listen to the whispers that are telling him to redefine God.



(3) Rejection of biblical separation



Hand in hand with the judge-not philosophy is a rejection of biblical separation. Harold Ockenga, who claimed to have coined the term “new evangelicalism” in 1948, said, “We reject separatism.” (For documentation of this see our book “New Evangelism: Its History, Characteristics, and Fruit.”) 



To reject separatism is to reject the command of God and to remove the wall of protection that God has given to protect us from the winds of error and the wiles of the devil. No wonder the evangelical movement is literally filled with doctrinal confusion. The Word of God warns, “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians 15:33).



In this light it is frightful that there is a growing rejection of separatism among fundamental Baptists. There is a changing mood, a growing dislike for “judgmentalism.” There is growing sympathy toward New Evangelicals, whether it is Billy Graham, Anne Graham Lotz, Chuck Swindoll, Charles Stanley, James Dobson, David Jeremiah, Kay Arthur, John Maxwell, Philip Yancey, Max Lucado, Ravi Zacharias, or a slew of others. There is a growing non-critical relationship between the members of independent Baptist churches and syndicated Christian radio programs and bookstores such as Family Christian Bookstore and Lifeway Christian Stores, which are filled to overflowing with the New Evangelical philosophy. 



(For more about this see the articles “Dangers in Christian Bookstores” and “Dangers on Christian Radio” at the Way of Life web site.)



(4) Biblical ignorance and lack of education in the issues facing us today



The average member of an evangelical church is biblically ignorant and uneducated in spiritual issues. Very few could explain the nature of Rome’s sacramental gospel or the Mass. Very few are equipped to refute the errors of such grave spiritual dangers as Pentecostalism, Seventh-day Adventism, contemplative mysticism, and the New Age. 



I doubt that the average member of a fundamental Bible-believing church is any better educated. 



It is more imperative than ever for pastors to ground their people in God’s Word and train them to discern today’s errors. It is imperative that fundamentalist Bible Colleges and institutes prepare their students properly to resist this tide of error. 



Too often it can be said of Bible-believing churches today what was said of Israel of old, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). The average member of a fundamentalist Bible-believing church is not equipped to deal effectively with the spiritual dangers that lurk on the shelves of the typical Christian bookstore and on the airwaves of the typical Christian radio station. The average church member receives little practical warning from his pastors and teachers and has no interest in building a library of material that can help protect him from spiritual dangers. If this situation is not rectified, the Brian McLarens of this world will doubtless devour many of our children and grandchildren, just as they intend to do.



(5) Worldliness



New Evangelicalism rejected separatism and has had the objective of communicating with modern culture, and it is not surprising that it has been corrupted by that communication (1 Corinthians 15:33). 



By 1978, Richard Quebedeaux observed, “In the course of establishing their respectability in the eyes of the wider society, the evangelicals have become harder and harder to distinguish from other people” (“The Worldly Evangelicals,” p. 14), and, “… the wider culture has had a profound impact on the evangelical movement as a whole” (p. 115). He described how that evangelicals were “grooving on rock music,” dancing, drinking and smoking, reviewing the world’s movies, divorcing and remarrying, using profanity, viewing pornography, even using marijuana. 



There has been a capitulation to the pop culture, to the world’s music, the world’s gods like professional sports, the world’s fashions, and the world’s causes such as environmentalism, feminism, and “equality” and “civil rights” for homosexuals. 



Worldliness is of the flesh and blinds spiritually. The apostle Paul exhorted us to abstain from fleshly lusts because they “war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11).



That which happened within evangelicalism in the 1970s is happening today among fundamental Baptists, and the result with be the same.



(6) Modern versions



The acceptance of the modern versions has weakened the authority of the Bible among evangelicals. When I attended a service at Saddleback Church a few years ago, I observed that few people carried Bibles. As I entered the building I was given a bulletin that contained an outline of the morning service with the Bible verses typed out. Several modern versions were used in that one message, so it would have been impossible to have followed along in one’s own Bible, regardless of which version you brought. 



In this environment a clear “thus saith the Lord” is replaced with “my version says such and such; what does your say?” It lends itself to “sharing” and “storytelling” rather than biblical preaching. 



Fundamental Baptist churches that are adopting the modern versions should look at this and not rush to disaster.



(7) Contemporary Christian Music



Contemporary Christian Music is one of the great ecumenical bonds today. The same music is used by Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, you name it. Recently while on a preaching trip to the Philippines I went into a Roman Catholic bookstore in Manila, and they were playing “evangelical” contemporary praise music. 



This music is sensual (e.g., the hard rock back beat), doctrinally shallow, experience-oriented, and repetitious. It detracts from critical thinking and encourages a more emotional, broadminded approach to the faith.



And when this music comes into a fundamentalist Bible-believing church, it eventually changes everything.



The late evangelist Gordon Sears warned: “When the standard of music is lowered, then the standard of dress is also lowered. When the standard of dress is lowered, then the standard of conduct is also lowered. When the standard of conduct is lowered, then the sense of value in God’s truth is lowered.”



Ernest Pickering gave the same warning: “Perhaps nothing precipitates a slide toward New Evangelicalism more than the introduction of Contemporary Christian Music. This inevitably leads toward a gradual slide in other areas as well until the entire church is infiltrated by ideas and programs alien to the original position of the church.”



Frank Garlock says: “If a church starts using CCM it will eventually lose all other standards.”



(For documentation of these quotes see “Contemporary Christian Music: Some Questions Answered and Some Warnings Given,” which is available from Way of Life Literature.) 



(8) Pride of scholarship



There is one more thing that I want to mention that has brought evangelicalism to its present apostasy, and that is the pride of scholarship. Speaking at the annual convention of the National Association of Evangelicals in 1971, Billy Graham said: “I believe that Christianity Today has played a major role in giving evangelicals that INTELLECTUAL RESPECTABILITY and initiative that was so drastically needed 29 years ago.”



John R.W. Stott, whose books are published by InterVarsity Press, said: “For 50 years and more, I have urged that authentic evangelical Christians are not fundamentalists. Fundamentalists tend to be ANTI-INTELLECTUAL…” (Stott, Essentials: A Liberal-Evangelical Dialogue, 1988, p. 90). The younger evangelicals in the Anglican Church, who have been influenced deeply by Stott, are on a “quest for RESPECTABLE THEOLOGY” (Iain Murray, Evangelicalism Divided, p. 175).



The quest for scholastic respectability in the eyes of apostate Christianity and the world carries men far beyond biblical simplicity and dogmatism. 



Study is good and important (2 Timothy 2:15; Titus 1:9), but pride is deadly. God warns against intellectual pride. “When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom” (Prov. 11:2). 



The apostle Paul said:



“For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence” (1 Cor. 1:26-29). 



Apostasy usually begins among would-be intellectuals. This is what brought the downfall of Harvard University in the early 19th century. In their zeal for intellectual respectability they brought in an unbelieving Unitarian renowned for his scholarship to head up the school, and it destroyed the spiritual life of the institution.



The wise Bible believer is not anti-intellectual in the sense of being anti-learning and anti-education; but he understands the dangers inherent in human scholarship because of man’s fallen nature, and he is opposed to humanistic scholarship that is divorced from and antagonistic to God’s Word. Faithful Bible students are not critics of God’s Word.



God’s people are, for the most part, common; they don’t need intellectualism; they need simple and practical Bible truth. The truth has a basic simplicity that the common man can understand. “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes” (Mat. 11:25). 



It is the devil who complicates things. “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3).



The New Evangelical approach to theological scholarship has corrupted those who have pursued it. The pride of intellect is a dangerous trap. The apostle Paul warned, “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Cor. 15:33). To gain impressive scholarly credentials requires sitting at the feet of and affiliating closely with unbelievers and apostates, which is exceedingly dangerous and which we are forbidden to do (Psalm 1:1-3; Romans 16:17; 2 Corinthians 6:14; 2 Timothy 3:5; 2 John 9-11).



Pride of scholarship is a very real danger to many independent Baptists. This is one reason why Calvinism and Reformed Theology are spreading. And it is the would-be intellectuals who are adopting the critical Greek text and the modern versions. 



Indeed, the emerging church is coming to independent Baptists. It is not something “way over there.” Its destructive seeds are being sown in our very midst, and ignorance and apathy will not win the battle. 

_______________________



Video report from the National Pastors Conference



 

We deal with this subject much more extensively in the book “What Is the Emerging Church,” which is available from Way of Life Literature.