Did They Really Say That?!?!

“I don’t think anything has been done in the name of Christ and under the banner of Christianity that has proven more destructive to human personality and, hence, counterproductive to the evangelism enterprise, than the often crude, uncouth, and unchristian strategy of attempting to make people aware of their lost and sinful condition.”

Robert Schuller, Self-Esteem, the New Reformation, pp.14-15

Random Aberrations, Apostasies, and Heresies

Wow, didn’t I just do this?!?!  So many things to be aware of, so many wolves among the sheep.

Erin Benziger has an interesting, short discussion about “life verses.”  It’s a fad that should never have started.  Elizabeth Prata then really digs into the subject!

A problem I have addressed quite often is the entertainment mentality behind worship services.  Mike Livingston writes about “The heresy of worshiptainment.”

I occasionally give examples of Scripture abuse, abuse which is done for a multitude of reasons and yet always for control by the person abusing it.  I have seen abuse of Scripture in some marriages where the husband is an overbearing, dictatorial martinet who rules with and iron hand and physical and/or emotional abuse.  So, I found this article rather interesting as it examines a particular passage often used against abuse victims.

Neil has a good lesson about proper understanding of the Word, and he gives some examples of commonly abused passages.

Should Christians be enjoying violent entertainment?  Personally, I don’t think ANY civilized human being should be enjoying violent entertainment.

I was pointed to this article about “lectio divina” and the spiritual formation movement.  Very interesting and informative.

“If you want to destroy your church, follow liberals advice”.  Who is the liberal?  Rachel Held Evans.

A Hat Tip to Elizabeth Prata for this article from August, about exercising “Moore” discernment.

As for more discernment being needed, look out for the new female prophetesses!  A direct result of the teachings of people like Henry Blackaby, Beth Moore, et al.

Just when you think you’ve heard everything, you get surprised with something like “Christian Swingers.”  That’s as oxymoronic as “Christian homosexuals.”  I have a real problem with Christian Today publishing this story as if it is an acceptable practice (no condemnation of it in the article), and especially with the fact that they published the link to their web site.  I went to the link, curious to see if they had a statement of faith or some mission statement or some biblical principle they were appealing to, only to be shocked at what came up!!!! 

Answers In Genesis continues their reviews of “A.D.”

If you have a bit over an hour to spare, listen to this interview with Robert Bowman about the teachings of the Word of Faith heresy.

Looking back to the Creflo Dollar $65 million corporate jet “need,” this article examines Dollar’s vast wealth and love of money.

Here’s  wolf in sheep’s clothing claiming the title of “pastor.”  He’s almost as bad as Fred Phelps!  He is an embarrassment to the Christian faith.

Perry Noble is again demonstrating why he is known as a false teacher.

Finally, some really good reasons [link gone by 3/6/16] why Christians should sing hymns.

Flee From the Sin of Idolatry

God created us so that we would find our greatest joy in Him when He is our greatest treasure. In light of that glorious truth, there is nothing we should fear more than the wrath of an omnipotent, sovereign God who is angered when people show more reverence to idols. Many ignore the clear and present warnings in His Word to flee idolatry and to keep away from idols (1 Cor. 10:14; 1 John 5:21). God is rightfully jealous of anything we value above Him. This is why His wrath is coming against all idolatry (Col. 3:5-6). His divine commandment is clear: "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God" (Ex. 20:4-5). 

It was only a matter of time before God had to demonstrate His righteous anger and holy jealousy against idolatry. The Israelites created and worshipped a golden calf as the god who delivered them out of Egypt (Exo. 32:8). His hatred for idolatry was displayed when He ordered the idolaters to be slain with the sword, and about 3,000 were put to death (Exo. 32:28). We can only wonder why so many religious people, who lift up the name of Christ, would ignore or dismiss such terrifying warnings concerning idolatry. 

When Roman Catholics worship a wafer as the Christ who delivers people out of darkness, they are sinning like the Israelites who worshipped a golden calf as the god who delivered them out of Egypt. It is the same blasphemous sin of idolatry that is punishable by death. However, it is a worse form of idolatry because Catholics have reduced the glory of the ascended, immortal and majestic King of kings to a wafer created from flour and water. We must warn Catholics that they are worshipping a false Christ. The true Christ does not return every day to be re-presented as a sin offering on an altar at the beckoning call of a sacerdotal priest. God's Word says He will return a second time, and not in relation to sin (Heb. 9:28). He will not return in the form of a Eucharist, but in the same way He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:11). His glorious return will not take place until after the tribulation (Mat. 24:27-30).

As a former Catholic of over 34 years, I believe many Roman Catholics are committing this mortal sin of idolatry simply because they do not know God's Word. They do not read the Bible because their priests have told them it is too difficult to understand. They are not allowed to interpret the Scriptures on their own because the Bishops are said to be the only ones who can interpret them correctly. Yet Paul presented the truth clearly to every man’s conscience. He renounced the disgraceful, underhanded ways of those who tamper with God's word (2 Cor. 4:2). Catholic Bishops have twisted and distorted Scripture to their own destruction (2 Pet. 3:16). They have also tampered with God's Holy Word by adding their ungodly traditions to it. The only hope for Catholics is to abide in God's written Word. Only then will they know the truth and be set free from religious deception and idolatry (John 8:31-32).

Mike Gendron, “Proclaiming the Gospel” e-mail news, 5/1/15

Confronting Atheist Error

A fellow blogger referred me to this video and asked me if I could refute it on my blog, bearing in mind that it should be understood by children.  It is an atheist’s understanding of how the whole concept of Adam’s sin affected the human race.  However, he starts off immediately with a straw man argument because he teaches a concept which is not the Christian view.  So before we review the video, I want to give a brief explanation of what the Bible says.  (There are some different teachings on the subject, albeit mostly similar, but I will do the best I can to keep it simple.)

Mankind was made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27) and was perfect in the Garden of Eden.  God gave Adam every tree in the garden from which to eat, except that he was not to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:16-17).  God told him that if he ate of that tree, he would die.  Eve was not yet created when Adam received this command, so she was deceived by Satan as to why the command was given; she ate some of the fruit and gave some to Adam to eat.  Since Adam knew the rule and most likely told it to Eve (who was led to a misunderstanding by Satan), he was held more responsible for the sin, although both were guilty.

Now, I don’t know the Hebrew but, from my understanding from those who do, the understanding was that Adam would immediately die spiritually (a separation of close fellowship with God) and begin to die physically (he was originally created immortal).  When Adam and Eve had children, the sin nature Adam received by dying spiritually would be passed to his children, and on through the human race (Romans 5:12).  Not only that, but with sin entering into the world, the entire creation began to change and become corrupted (Rom. 8:22).

Physical death became a consequence of Adam’s sin, and all humanity would also die because of sin.  But, as with Adam, people would not only physically die, but they would be born with a sinful nature; i.e., spiritually dead (Rom 6:23).

God is just and cannot allow sin to go unpunished.  Throughout the Old Testament we see how God established a sacrificial system by which an animal was killed and its blood used as atonement for the sin—to pay for it (Lev. 17:11, Heb. 9:22).  If the punishment isn’t paid before death, the final punishment is eternal separation from God in Hell; i.e., eternal death.  However, if the person’s sin is forgiven (i.e., paid for), then he will spend eternity with God; i.e., eternal life in Heaven

Now, understand that no one except Adam had to pay the punishment for his sin; people are responsible only for their own sin (Deut. 24:16, Ezek. 18:20).  I believe that Adam’s and Eve’s sacrifice was the animal/animals which died so God could use their skin for clothing for them (Gen. 3:21), and this is what many scholars teach.

Under the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, the priest would be the intermediary between man and God, and accept the animals from the people for performing the sacrifice.  The problem with this system is that it had to be done over and over to pay for the continuing sin.  However, Jesus became the one high priest intermediary between God and man, and at the same time he also became the sacrifice for sin, once for all time, when he was killed on the cross (Heb.8-10).  The way the individual has his sins paid for is to place his faith in Jesus as the savior; to believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, and that He died for sin and was raised again from the dead (Rom.10:9).  Those who do not accept the sacrifice of Christ—who do not believe He died for their sins—will pay for their own sins by eternal punishment in Hell (John 3:36).

Okay, that’s sort of simplistic but with this information we are prepared to review the video.

From the beginning of the video, the analogy to God’s demand for payment for sin has people being punished for someone else’s sin.  This is NOT what the Bible teaches.  All people have their own sin nature, which leads them inevitably to sin (Rom.3:23), and it is their own sin for which they are punished.

Beginning at time mark 2:46, the narrator says that “Sam” is being punished for the sin of Adam and Eve, which, of course, is not what the Bible teaches.  Contrary to the narrator’s claim, God did not decide to punish every person who ever lived— He would punish only those who refuse to seek forgiveness for their sins.  Justice demands punishment for wrong-doing, which is why when people speed, they pay a fine; if they rob a bank, they spend time in jail.  In the same way, sin has repercussions which must be dealt with, and God decided what the punishment would be; after all, He is the creator and has that right.

The narrator then says God remained angry at Eve (representing Adam and Eve) and that the reason God created mankind was so that they would choose to obey Him all the time.  Yet the real reason God created mankind was for fellowship and for His personal glory.  He expected mankind to obey Him because He is the creator, in the same way parents expect their children to obey them but they don’t have children for the purpose of having the children obey them all the time; they have children to love and have a relationship with.

According to the narrator, Jesus was “sent to Hell for three days where he suffered unimaginable torture.”  This is totally totally silly and nowhere in the Bible.  Jesus was in the grave for three days.  The idea that He went to Hell comes from the Apostles’ Creed, which said that “He descended into hell.”  However, there are two different ideas translated as “hell” in the Bible.  One is the place of eternal punishment while the other is the grave.  This latter is “sheol” in the Hebrew and “hades” in the Greek.  All the Apostle’s Creed is saying is that Jesus descended into the grave; i.e., He was really dead.  The idea that Jesus was tortured in Hell does not come from the Bible, rather it comes from false teachers such as those in the Word of Faith cult, like Joyce Meyers, Benny Hinn, et al.  There is absolutely no scriptural basis for such a belief.

The narrator then claims that through the Bible “God threatens Sam with punishment for what Eve did with the forbidden fruit.  God says that because of what Eve did, Sam and every other person deserves to be punished and tortured for eternity after they die.”  Well, we’ve already seen that this is absolutely not true.  People are punished for their own sin and not what Eve did.

According to the narrator, all Sam has to do is to apologize for his sin and Jesus’ death pays for his sin, yet apologizing for sin is not what the Bible says; it says he has to repent.  An apology just says you’re sorry you did what you did, while repenting means to agree with God that what you did was sin, and then to turn from that sin.  But this isn’t all that is required; Sam must also place his faith in Christ as the Savior; believe that Jesus actually died for his sin.

The fact that God loves mankind is why He provided a way of just punishment for the sin of man; if God did not love His creation, he would not have provided a way to pay for sin.

As the video ends, the narrator begins passing judgment on God by calling Him “jealous, unjust, vindictive, bullying, malicious, and petty thing obsessed with the death penalty…”.   But if there is no God, by what standard is this man making such charges?  How can he claim that God is such a horrible God when he has no moral standard to judge God against?

The video begins on lies and misrepresentations of the Christian beliefs, and it ends with narrator making himself out to be God.

Be Worthy of the Vocation

However packed your head may be with knowledge, if you are failing in your life you will be a hindrance to the spreading of the Kingdom, you will bring the cause of God and His Christ into disrepute.  But it is equally true to say that if your conception of the Christian life is that it means no more than that you live a good life, that you should be moral, and that doctrine is of no importance, again you will be a hindrance to the cause.  There must be true balance, we must be “worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called.”

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Christian Unity: An Exposition of Ephesians 4:1-16, p.24-25

Random Aberrations, Apostasies, and Heresies

The PCUSA has some of the worst false teachers and heretics.  Now they have a “pastor” who loves abortion, and calls the abortion industry a “ministry”!!!

Elizabeth Prata has a good article demonstrating why Hebrews 9:27 does not contradict scriptures where people are raised from the dead.

The heretical teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of the Worldwide Church of God, are infiltrating the church through news articles by Joseph Kovacs of WorldNetDaily (WND).  Watch out!

If you wonder why Christians — real Christians vs the “Christian Left” — are hated, so much, Dr. Don Boys explains why we’ve always been hated.  One of the big troubles in modern times is that real Christians are hated not only by the world, but also by so-called Christians who have embraced the world’s cultural teachings.

Just what we need—another book by Rachel Held Evans.

Some more information on Andy Stanley’s recent teaching about homosexuality.

The latest episode of the TV series “A.D.” is reviewed by Answers in Genesis.  The series has proven once again that when false teachers are in charge of such projects, you will end up with a lot of unbiblical nonsense deceiving the non-discerning.

I learned more about another false teacher this past week—John Bevere.  Apparently he’s just another Word of Faith heretic.  My introduction to him was by the way of a review of a book he has written.  I’m telling you, you just can’t keep up with all the false teaching invading the Church and the world. (A couple years ago I linked to this article which included information about his wife, but also some information about their ministry.)

Tony Campolo—need I say more?

For those who are involved in Bible Study Fellowship, be very cautious about where that organization is headed. Now they are promoting the horrid book, "Jesus Calling," a book whose author claims direct revelation from God -- among other things.

One of the current arguments for homosexuality supposedly being a biblically okay lifestyle is the claim that Jesus never said anything about it. Of course arguing from silence is rarely a good argument, but as I pointed out in an earlier article Jesus DID say something about it.  Christianity Today Astray actually has a good article addressing this claim, and I think this is a good summary statement:  “From Hollywood celebrities to famous pastors, Jesus’ silence is being cited as the final authority on issues ranging from homosexuality to masturbation to street evangelism. This negative hermeneutic is the logical extreme of Red Letter Christianity.”  Yes, this is exactly the end result of the teaching of Tony Campolo and his ilk.

Lastly, some good information for responding to the cult of homosexuality in the Church.  One of their claims is that the word arsenokoites, translated as “homosexuals” in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and 1 Timothy 1:9-11, is actually about abusive homosexual relationships rather than loving ones.  The Cripplegate has a fairly lengthy excerpt of Robert A.J. Gagnon’s excellent book, “The Bible and Homosexual Practice,” in which the idea of “abusive homosexuality” is thoroughly rebutted.  (I purchased this book 3 years ago and need to alert the reader to the fact that the author subscribes to the nonsensical JEPD and Q theories, uses Kinsey’s studies, has some hermeneutical problems in regards to other passages which deal with gender roles.)

Start With the Principle!

It seems to me that many people get into trouble in their Christian lives because they rush to particulars.  “What about this or that?” they ask.  The answer to such questions is to go back and to find a general principle.  The details can never be properly understood except in the light of the whole.  The whole is greater than the parts, and controls our understanding of them.  The particular problems that arise in the Christian life must never be considered in isolation; to do so is to court error and heresy and much trouble in practice.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Christian Unity: An Exposition of Ephesians 4:1-16, p.23-24

How Humanism Entered the Church

At its core, therefore, the Reformation was the removing of the humanistic distortions which had entered the church.

It is worth reiterating the ways in which the infiltration by humanistic thought--growing over the years but fully developed by 1500--showed itself.  First, the authority of the church was made equal to the authority of the Bible.  Second, a strong element of human work was added to the work of Christ for salvation.  Third, after Thomas Aquinas there had come an increasing synthesis between biblical teaching and pagan thought.  This synthesis was not just a borrowing of words but actually of content.

Francis A. Schaeffer, How Should We Then Live?, p.82

Love Requires Truth

To stifle truth in the name of love is actually quite selfish.  Bruce Frohnen, law professor at Ohio Northern University, observed that, “‘Niceness’ is a rather shallow set of habits and attitudes more concerned with comfort than engagement, ease than excellence, contentment than striving to do one’s best…. Unfortunately, when truth comes to be seen as subjective, toleration becomes the chief virtue, and it comes to mean simply ignoring one’s fellows, in essence not caring what others do.”  To hide from truth to be perceived as “nice” does no one any favors.

Chelsen Vicari, “Distortion: How the New Christian Left is Twisting the Gospel & Damaging the Faith, p.172

The Christian Woman

The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian makes me a different kind of woman.


Elisabeth Elliot, Let Me Be Woman, p.43.  Cited by Chelsen Vicari, “Distortion: How the New Christian Left is Twisting the Gospel & Damaging the Faith, p.90