We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum. A.W. Tozer
Therefore let God-inspired Scripture decide between us; and on whichever side be found doctrines in harmony with the word of God, in favor of that side will be cast the vote of truth. --Basil of Caesarea
Once you learn to discern, there's no going back. You will begin to spot the lie everywhere it appears.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service. 1 Timothy 1:12

Friday, October 2, 2015

Random Aberrations, Apostasies, and Heresies

While cleaning out some files this week I came across an article I printed out six years ago.  The article is about the origin of the Catholic Mass, and it is well worth reviewing by every Christian so as to understand how such an heretical practice came into being.  Thanks to Marie Notcheva for posting it.

Examining another abused passage, Jeremiah 29:11.  I’ve previously addressed this one and how people apply it to persons instead of Israel, but this author has good questions as to why following passages aren’t applied to individuals.

Grace To You examined a few other abused passages this week:
Romans 8:28. If anyone can abuse a Bible passage, it’s Joel Osteen.
Matthew 18:18-20  A Word of Faith favorite.


Pope Francis calls Muslims hisbrothers and sisters” and says he unites himself with them “in prayer to Almighty God, all merciful.”  Since Muslims worship a false god, and they are not “brothers and sisters” in Christ, if nothing else proves the pope to be a false teacher, this statement of his sure does!

Speaking of the Pope; his visit to the USA was all about his support for left-wing politics and not once did he even mention the name of Jesus.  And yet he claims to represent Christ on earth?!?

Lindsay has an excellent summary of the teachings of Dominionism, including similar teachings under other nomenclatures such as “Kingdom Now,” and “Reconstructionism.”

ARGH!!! Another “Jesus” movie!  I disagree with the reviewer when he says “it is not heretical or blasphemous for a film to portray Jesus growing and increasing in wisdom.”  They are making a Jesus of their own image, which is idolatry at the very least.

Continuing the review of Which Bible Would Jesus Use?

HT to Mary Dalke for alerting us to an upcoming event at IHOP, with all their false prophets and heretics seeking to suck in more young people into their cult.  BEWARE!

More disappointment from David Jeremiah — teaming up with Word of Faith heretics to bless Donald Trump.

Lastly, I just had to post these cartoons about the Pope.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bentley's STILL around? Who at this point is taking him seriously?

Protestants don't have a pope, because all believers are a priesthood. :) There is no hierarchy in the true church. Yes, some men are designated as elders and deacons, but they are servants, not overlords, of the flock, and like the rest of us, they are slaves of Christ. In the true church, no man can lord it over another, nor is "authority" wielded from a position of primacy or power. The best part - each born again believer in Christ is a SAINT and a BELOVED CHILD, sealed permanently with the Holy Spirit, and given full privilege and access to the Father through our redeemer and Lord Jesus Christ. Tied neatly in with this truth is that there are no more sacrifices for sin. Christ's once-for-all-time finished work at Calvary accomplished God's will for the redemption of mankind. That frees believers to offer themselves as living sacrifices, in service to God.

Very sad to see Jeremiah with the WoF heretics. :(

Yes, Joel Osteen can sure misuse the word, but I think Rick Warren is the more dangerous scripture twister because he skates closer to orthodoxy, and imo, has fooled more saints.

Speaking of false teachers, did you see that article where it said that over 60% of evangelical "pastors" think the pope is Christian? My husband's response: that means 60%+ of evangelical "pastors" aren't actually evangelical.

-Carolyn

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Carolyn,

I agree with your husband. But I also question just who they surveyed.

Marshal Art said...

I read that movie review and I don't see anything in it that is all that troubling. I don't even see that the author really either recommends the movie or warns viewers away from it. I do agree and believe that Jesus didn't need to be told who He was or why He was born. If that's the only flaw in the movie, I could likely live with it begrudgingly if the rest of it better reflected Scriptural portrayal of Christ.

I do have to say, however, that recent years have brought us quite a few cringe-worthy adaptions. Those from Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, for example, while very likely well-meaning, took way to many liberties, in my opinion, and only seem to excite those with but a cursory knowledge of Scripture. While being no scholar myself, such movies provoke in me strong negative feelings toward the makers.

I just wish that those who wish to make such movies would gather more good Biblical people to review the script before going into production. As the reviewer said, speculation is not a bad thing, but it shouldn't get too far away from what Scripture seems, at least to me, to clearly imply. If we need ninja angels in Sodom to get people to watch, we've got problems with our story telling abilities.

Anonymous said...

Carolyn,

Thank-you so much for your words of wisdom concerning how the true church of our LORD Jesus Christ operates. In abusive church systems, the 'leadership' from the pastor and his 'yes' men and women church boards, elders, deacons and deaconesses extract information, much of it personal, from new attendees/their families, by EVERYTHING that you say and do back to their hierarchal group during their designated meetings and your business is discusses for all to know. I have experienced this myself and have seen other innocent congregants thrown under the bus and falsely accused of things they did not do.

Meanwhile, the personal business of the pastor and his minions are highly regarded as personal and their sins/issues/and beliefs are held in confidence by the group. And this abusive church system knows no denominational boundaries for when dangerous people, the ones who crave all of the attention, the ones who love power and control over people, the ones who gossip, lie, and slander to cause the destruction and dependence of innocent people/their families to solely rely on their "leadership" for their spiritual/personal/financial headship.....then you have what is called a cult, masquerading as the LORD'S ekklesia.

To be called out as "a baby Christian" because I chose not to follow the likes of Todd Bentley, Andy Wommack, Joyce Meyer, Beth Moore, Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, Paula White, Larry Huck, Joseph Prince, the teachings of Smith Wigglesworth, Yongi Cho, Kenneth Copeland and his wife, Cindy Jacobs, Mike Bickle, Teen Mania/Ron Luce, John Hagee, Jonathan Cahn; oh, the list is endless....and the people from this former church LOVED to give out books and 'references' of their favorite heretic to the newcomers for they considered them to be "unsaved" by their standards.

This was a Baptist church with an Assembly of God pastor.....and finally God intervened for the pastor was caught in his sin/disgrace, asked to leave, and is now leading another church of which his sin disqualified him to do so according to the standards of God's Word. And we wonder why many of our churches are a mess.....
it is because most people in leadership are proud, not humble, are overlords, not true servants of Christ, and desire power, control, and the worship of the sheep, instead of pointing souls to Jesus, the Christ.

So very, very tired of getting beaten up by pastors and church leadership. Most seem to be sharpening their teeth for dinner.

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Marshall,

The point is that we have another movie about Jesus. I am sick of them, because they promote agendas rather than Jesus. And any portrayal of Jesus in pictures or movies is out of the individual's mind, and therefore not truly Jesus, and therefore promoting an idol of one's own imagination.

A movie about Jesus as a child has to be more nonsensical imagination rather than facts, since we have only one minor story in the Bible about Him as a child. Everything in any movie about him as a child, other than that, is only imagination on a par with the Gnostic gospels about Jesus' childhood.

Anonymous said...

Anon October 3, 2015 at 5:55 AM,

You don't sound like a 'baby Christian'. You sound like a DISCERNING Christian. :)

You're certainly welcome. Additionally, you are right, there is much wrongdoing out there done in Christ's name that one would certainly identify as spiritual abuse. Yet as Paul the apostle said, we shouldn't even give into them for one hour! (Gal 2:5)

We're in this together, let's build one another up.

-Carolyn

Anonymous said...

Carolyn,

May our LORD continue to bless you and lead you in encouraging others.

Amen to your 2:17 posted comment, "We're in this together, let's build one another up."

One aspect of our language that I find truly fascinating is how the word 'sheep' can be singular or plural, and the word 'shepherd' is singular unless an 's' is added.

Glory to Christ Jesus! Psalm 23.