Spiritual Seductions In America

Most North American believers are wonderfully and prayerfully sympathetic to the plight of fellow Christians who are undergoing terrible persecutions for their faith in foreign lands, yet too few have a real concern for fellow believers here in the West who are being spiritually seduced and whose biblical faith is being critically undermined.  The tendency is to write off most false preachers as religious kooks and to think no more about their captive audience.  All true believers, whether or not they have been led into false teaching, make up the body of Christ.  When one part of the body is seduced and suffers, it affect the entire body (1 Corinthians 12:25-27).

Not only is such a cavalier attitude wrong biblically, but it is extremely shortsighted and therefore blinds a person to the seductions and ultimate deceptions that are involved.


T.A. McMahon, "They Claim to Speak for God, Part One," The Berean Call, March 2013.

The Purpose of the Assembly

Nowhere in the New Testament is there any indication that the church met to preach the gospel.  Rather the church met to worship, to teach the word, to pray, to have fellowship.  The meeting of the church was to edify believers and to glorify God.  But it was not to preach the gospel to unbelievers.  Rather the saints went out into the world to preach the gospel. . . . 

The practice of preaching the gospel in the church meeting developed when many unbelievers started attending church.  It was a convenient time to present the claims of Christ.  But there is no biblical mandate for an “evangelistic service” when the church comes together.  There is a mandate to equip the saints to preach the gospel.  The work of Christians is not to invite unbelievers to church so that they might hear the gospel.  It is to preach the gospel themselves.

John H. Fish III, “The Life of the Local Church.”  From the book, Understanding the Church, compiled and edited by Joseph M. Vogl and John H. Fish III, p.132

Are You In A Sect?

If your church associates with a group of churches that requires exclusive allegiance to itself, you are part of a sect.  Despite their boastful claims, sects do not understand the New Testament doctrine of the Church.  They are in error.  All sects are based on half-truths, faulty reasoning, doctrinal oddities, deceptions, guilt-manipulation, and fear, which are not of the Spirit of truth and liberty.  If your church denies you your Spirit-given right and privilege to fellowship with all Christ-loving, bible-loving Christians and churches, you need to obey God rather than man and free yourself and family from these unbiblical chains.

Alexander Strauch, “The Interdependence of Local Churches.”  From the book, Understanding the Church, compiled and edited by Joseph M. Vogl and John H. Fish III, p.206-207

All Things to All People?

Our culture has abandoned such concepts as duty and responsibility as antiquated Victorianism.  But these are the virtues our text [1 Cor. 9:22-23] extols against an emphasis on “demands” and “rights.”  Those who would use this passage to support libertarianism miss his point entirely.  It is precisely because he was “all things to all men” that he would not participate with the pagans in their temples.

Some might argue that Paul contradicts himself.  If he was truly “all things” to the Gentile, he would attend the pagan festivals, not avoid them!  It is here that the interface of the message and the method is seen.  He does not attend because it would entail the compromise of his message (a point he will expand in the next chapter).  The festival was a place of “fellowship” with demons.  And it is entirely incompatible with the believer’s association with the Table of the Lord and the body of Christ (10:14-23).  By the same token, he will approach the Jew with a keen sensitivity to those matters of religious observance that might cause offense and stand as stumbling blocks to their response to the gospel.  But here too he will draw the line where he might compromise the law of Christ.  In such cases, he will take his stand and let the chips fall where they may.

The contemporary Church struggles with this today.  Many fail to recognize the line Paul draws between communication and compromise.  In our efforts to be “all things to all,” it is possible that we have forgotten the message for which we have sacrificially abandoned all rights to personal liberty?  New Testament believers “came out from among them” when they “turned to God from idols.”  Today it is not uncommon to invite the idols (be they musical or media figures) into our feasts in order to “identify” with the lost.  One wonders what we think we are supposed to do with our unsuspecting guests after we have put the idols on the platform and hidden the gospel, like a door prize, under the tables.

Dan Mitchell, The Book of First Corinthians: Christianity In A Hostile Culture,  p.136-137

Lessons from D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Cathy Mickels & Audrey McKeever, in their book, Spiritual Junk Food, have these excellent citations by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ book, Knowing the Times.  I recommend reviewing these thoughtfully.

There has been a marked tendency in the last years or so to divide up Christian work according to age groups.  I have never been very enthusiastic about these divisions in  to age groups - old age, middle age, youth, children, and so on.  By that I mean that we must be careful that we do not modify the gospel to suit various age groups.  There is no such thing as a special gospel for the young, a special gospel for the middle-aged, and a special gospel for the aged.  There is only one gospel, and we must always be careful not to tamper and tinker with the gospel as a result of recognizing these age distinctions.  p.2

...you must be constant students of the Word of God, you must read it without ceasing.  You must read all good books that will assist you to understand it, and the best commentaries you can find on the Bible.  You must read...biblical theology, the explanation of the great doctrines of the New Testament, so that you may come to understand them more and more clearly, and may therefore be able to present them with ever increasing clarity....  p.12

There have been periods in history when the preservation of the very life of the church depended upon the capacity and readiness of certain great leaders to differentiate truth from error and boldly to hold fast to the good and to reject the false; but our generation does not like anything of the kind.  It is against any clear and precise demarcation of truth and error.  p.39

What we must do is to educate the masses of the people up to the Bible, not bring the Bible down to their level.  One of the greatest troubles in life today is that everything is being brought down to the same level; everything is being cheapened.  The common man is made the standard and the authority; he decides everything, and everything has got to be brought down to him.... Everywhere standards are coming down and down.  Are we to do this with the Word of God?  I say, No!  p.112

We must not mind being thought “narrow”...This charge of intolerance is a compliment.  For, surely, if our position is that in which God has ordained His elect should stand, we must necessarily be intolerant of all that would divert us from it.  p.321

I have discovered over the years that subtraction from the truth is something that members of churches are very, very slow to observe.  I have almost come to the conclusion that the acid test to apply, to know whether a preacher is evangelical or not, is this: Observe what he does not say!  p.321

Don't Be A Spectator

I’ve been studying Ephesians 4 and reading William MacDonald’s Believer’s Bible Commentary along with the Bible. In MacDonald’s notes for vs. 12 he cites the following from Vance Havner:

Every Christian is commissioned, for every Christian is a missionary. It has been said that the Gospel is not merely something to come to church to hear but something to go from church to tell - and we are all appointed to tell it. It has also been said, ‘Christianity began as a company of lay witnesses; it has become a professional pulpitism, financed by lay spectators!’ Nowadays we hire a church staff to do ‘full-time Christian work,’ and we sit in church on Sunday to watch them do it. Every Christian is meant to be in full-time Christian service… There is indeed a special ministry of pastors, teachers and evangelists - but for what? … For the perfecting of the saints for their ministry.

I thought this was a really good statement about how so many today go to church to get their weekly dose of Christianity and then go about the rest of their week as if they learned little or nothing about their faith (of course, in churches like Joel Osteen‘s they don‘t learn about the faith). I have learned from experience, sad to say, that most Christians are not interested in evangelism, rather they tell friends and acquaintances to go to church; after all, isn’t it the job of the church to evangelize? NO! that is the job of the individual Christian.

What about you; are you a “lay witness”? If you really believe that Jesus is the only way, and that all unbelievers are destined for Hell, should you not be doing what you can to bring as many as possible into the Kingdom?

What is “Church” For?

What is the reason we assemble together as believers? What was the biblical purpose for assembling, and should it still be the purpose?

Whenever the Bible speaks of the Christians assembling together, what do we see taking place? There really isn’t a whole lot in the Bible about their assemblies for worship, but let’s start with a look at Acts.

Chapter 2, verse 42 we find “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayers.”

Continuing to chapter 20, verses 7-11 we find: “On the first day of the week, we assembled to break bread. Paul spoke to them, and since he was about to depart the next day, he extended his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the room upstairs where we were assembled, and a young man named Eutychus was sitting on a window sill and sank into a deep sleep as Paul kept on speaking. When he was overcome by sleep he fell down from the third story, and was picked up dead. But Paul went down, threw himself on him, embraced him, and said, ‘Don’t be alarmed, for his life is in him!’ After going upstairs, breaking the bread, and eating, he conversed a considerable time until dawn. Then he left.”

1 Corinthians 11:17-26 is a discussion by Paul about their misuse of the Lord’s table, and he gives them appropriate instructions. This tells me that the Lord’s table (or as many call it, Communion) was a common part of their gathering.

In Romans 12:6-8, Paul mentions the various gifts among the members of the church: “According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the standard of faith; if service, in service; if teaching, in teaching; if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.”

In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul again discusses various gifts among the body of believers. Starting at verse 4 he says, “Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord.  And there are different activities, but the same God is active in everyone and everything.  A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person  to produce what is beneficial:” He then lists various gifts, ministries and activities, but he says they are to “produce what is beneficial,” meaning beneficial to the body of Christ. A few passages later Paul tells of the various types of people and gifts that have been put in the Church by God:  “Now you are the body of Christ,  and individual members of it. And God has placed these in the church:  first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, next, miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, managing, various kinds of languages.” (vs. 27-28). But the whole discussion is in the context of everyone in the assembly needing everyone else because not everyone is blessed with the same gifts.

Now look at what Paul says at 1 Corinthians 14: “Therefore if the whole church assembles together, and all are speaking in other languages, and people who are uninformed or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your minds? But if all are prophesying, and some unbeliever or uninformed person comes in, he is convicted by all and is judged by all. The secrets of his heart will be revealed, and as a result he will fall down on his face and worship God, proclaiming, ‘God is really among you.’ How is it then, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm, a teaching, a revelation, another language, or an interpretation.  All things must be done for edification.” (vs. 23-26) He says “ALL” things must be done for edification. And he speaks about unbelievers who might come in, not that unbelievers are invited in or are part of the normal assembly, which is why all things must be done in an orderly fashion.

The last Scripture at which I want to look is Ephesians 4: 11-16:  “And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head—Christ. From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together  by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.” [my bold emphasis]

So what have we learned about the New Testament assemblies? The assembled saints met to hear the apostles’ teachings, for breaking of bread (including the Lord‘s table), for singing psalms, for fellowship and prayer. They had been given gifts for the building up of the body: encouragement, edification and discipling. Is there anywhere mentioned that the assembled saints were to use their meeting times to evangelize?

I think the Church has become very much misdirected as to the purpose of their assembling together on Sunday mornings. Too often the services are “seeker sensitive,” entertainment-oriented so as to appeal to unbelievers. Too often we are told to bring our unsaved friends and acquaintances to church.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the assembly is where we come to meet for corporate worship and fellowship and discipleship. When this is compromised by making it a time to bring in unbelievers, we do not properly build up the body. Evangelization is not for the church assembled or for the sermon, rather evangelization is what the individual believers should be equipped to be doing outside the assembly.

[All Scripture is from the Holman Christian Standard Bible]

Let Us Emulate Paul's Teaching

So many of our modern “pastors” in the seeker-sensitive, purpose-driven, Word-of-Faith, and even Emergent churches do a lot of preaching from various psychological theories instead of Scripture. They want to entertain or soft-soap the message so as not to offend. Then there are those like Mark Driscoll who seem to be trying to shock people with crude, offensive and even blasphemous language. Of course many of these are very arrogant in their whole approach, especially if you dare question their teaching; “touch not the Lord’s anointed!”

This week I began reading 1 Corinthians for my morning studies, and I came across this passage, which I think EVERY pastor should review:

“When I came to you, brothers, announcing the testimony of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and power, so that your faith might not be based on men’s wisdom but on God’s power." 1 Cor. 2:1-5, HCSB.

In the course of my Bible reading, I have been using William MacDonald’s “Believer’s Bible Commentary.” MacDonald has some good stuff to say about this passage:

2:1 The apostle now reminds the saints of his ministry among them and how he sought to glorify God and not himself. He came to them proclaiming the testimony of God, not with excellence of speech or of wisdom. He was not at all interested in showing himself off as an orator or philosopher. This shows that the Apostle Paul recognized the difference between ministry that is soulish and that which is spiritual. By soulish ministry, we mean that which amuses, entertains, or generally appeals to man’s emotions. Spiritual ministry, on the other hand, presents the truth of God’s word in such a way as to glorify Christ and to reach the heart and conscience of the hearers.

2:2 The content of Paul’s message was Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Jesus Christ refers to His Person, while Him crucified refers to His work. The Person and work of the Lord Jesus form the substance of the Christian evangel.

2:3 Paul further emphasizes that his personal demeanor was neither impressive nor attractive. He was with the Corinthians in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. The treasure of the gospel was contained in an earthen vessel that the excellence of the power might be of God and not of Paul. He himself was an example of how God uses weak things to confound the mighty.

2:4 Neither Paul’s speech nor his preaching were in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Some suggest that his speech refers to the material he presented and his preaching to the manner of its presentation. Others define his speech as his witness to individuals and his preaching as his messages to groups. According to the standards of this world, the apostle might never have won an oratorical contest. In spite of this, the Spirit of God used the message to produce conviction of sin and conversion to God.

2:5 Paul knew that there was the utmost danger that his hearers might be interested in himself or in his own personality rather than in the living Lord. Conscious of his own inability to bless or to save, he determined that he would lead men to trust in God alone rather than in the wisdom of men. All who proclaim the gospel message or teach the word of God should make this their constant aim.

Can you imagine the church today if all of our pastors emulated Paul in their preaching? What a difference it would make!