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Did Pope Francis Give A False Gospel?

4/26/2018

1 Comment

 
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“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8-9)

Did Pope Francis Give A False Gospel?
By Robert Tuttle
On April 15, 2018, Pope Francis was taking a tour of a poverty stricken area on the outskirts of Rome. After his tour, as was his custom, Francis took part in a question and answer session with the children of the neighborhood. One young child, named Emanuele, was so overwrought with emotion he was unable to speak. After much coaxing, the boy climbed the platform and whispered his question in Francis' ear. After the boy returned to his seat, Francis' spoke, and what he said shocked many. Here is a video of the meeting between the Pope and little Emanuele, posted by the Catholic News Service:
And here is what Pope Francis said to the gathered crowd after Emanuele took his seat:

“I asked Emanuele's permission to say publicly the question he asked me and he said yes. So I will tell you. Emanuele asked: 'A little while ago my father passed away, but he had all four of his children baptized. He was a good man. Is dad in heaven?' His father wasn't a believer, but he had his children baptized. He had a good heart. And he (Emanuele) wonders if his father, because he wasn't a believer, is in heaven. The one who says who goes to heaven is God. But what is God's heart with a dad like that? What? What do you think? A father's heart. God has a dad's heart. And with a dad who was not a believer, but who baptized his children and gave them that bravura, do you think God would be able to leave him far from himself? Do you think? Speak up, come on.” [the crowd says “No”] “Does God abandon his children?” [the crowd says “No”] “Does God abandon his children when they are good?” [the crowd says “No”] “There, Emanuele, that is the answer. God surely was proud of your father because it is easier as a believer to baptize your children than to baptize them when you are not a believer. Surely this pleased God very much. Talk to your dad; pray to your dad.”

At first glance this appears to be nothing more than a very compassionate and understanding man comforting a grieving child. However, a careful examination of exactly what the Pope said reveals it was something much more. It was a lie.

I can understand the temptation to lie in a situation such as this. Who could possibly be so cruel as to tell a grieving child, “Sorry kid, your dad is suffering and burning in hell”? But is that the only alternative option to an outright lie? Francis, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, is the “Vicar of Christ” (para.882). The term "vicar" comes from the Latin word vicarius, which means “instead of,” therefore, the Pope is (again according to the Roman Catholic church), Christ's representative on earth. How is lying to a child representative of Christ? Francis could easily have told the child that God is just and holy, and very patient with sinners, always giving us the possibility to hear the truth. He could have simply told the child that God was in control of all things and not to worry. He could have told the child any number of things other than telling him his dad was in hell, and still keep from lying about it. And yet, he chose to lie.

To make matters worse, he was not content to simply give the child a private answer. He chose to share it with the entire crowd that was gathered there.
Now, it is important to understand that Francis did not actually say the man was a “non-believer” or that he wasn't a believer. Francis actually used the word ateo, and it means the same thing in Spanish as it does in Italian. It is the word for atheist. It was Francis' understanding that the man was an atheist; and with this understanding in mind, Francis addressed the crowd.

Francis told the crowd, “(Emanuele) wonders if his father, because he [was an atheist], is in heaven.” The obvious answer, the Scriptural answer, is no. Atheists reject God. They reject Christ. Those who die while rejecting Christ go to hell. This is basic Christianity. This is actually part of the gospel, since, if one does not understand they are bound for hell, they will not understand their need for a savior.

The Pope went on, “His father [was an atheist], but he had his children baptized. ...The one who says who goes to heaven is God.” The Pope was correct in saying it is God who says who goes to heaven, and He has given us this information in His word. For example:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 ESV)

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36 ESV)

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24 ESV)

Those who believe in (trust, follow and obey) Jesus Christ will have eternal life. They will enter heaven.

Francis continues to address the crowd, “But what is God's heart with a dad like that? What? What do you think? A father's heart. God has a dad's heart. And with a dad who was [an atheist], but who baptized his children and gave them that bravura, do you think God would be able to leave him far from himself? Do you think? Speak up, come on.” [the crowd says “No”] “Does God abandon his children?” [the crowd says “No”] “Does God abandon his children when they are good?” [the crowd says “No”] “There, Emanuele, that is the answer. God surely was proud of your father because it is easier as a believer to baptize your children than to baptize them when you are [an atheist]. Surely this pleased God very much. Talk to your dad; pray to your dad.” And this is where Francis not only lied to Emanuele, but he also lied to the entire crowd. And not only that, but the Pope presented a false gospel to everyone who heard his words.

Scripture tells us in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10,

“7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might, 10 when He comes on that day to be glorified in His saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.”
Did you notice verse 9? “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might.” Those who do not know God, those who reject God, will suffer eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord. And yet, Francis told not only Emanuele, but also the entire crowd and anyone else who heard his words, that an atheist who dies rejecting God would not be left far from God after his death. This is contrary to God's word, contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ (see verse 8).

I will admit that it is at least remotely possible that before he died, Emanuel's atheist dad heard the gospel and believed, and came to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior; but I cannot say with any degree of certainty that he did. More importantly, neither can Francis. And yet, with only the understanding of the fact that the man was an atheist who had died, Francis stated that for no other reason than he had his children baptized, that after he died God would not leave him far from Himself. In essence, the Pope stated the atheist went to heaven after he died.

Francis then involved the crowd in his heresy by asking them if God would leave a dead atheist “far from Him,” to which the crowd answered “No.” Emanuele asked the Pope if his dead atheist dad was in heaven; and when the crowd affirmed Francis' words that God would not leave his dad far from Himself, Francis told Emanuele, “There...that is the answer.” The Pope then reinforced the idea that Emanuele's dad was in heaven by telling the child to pray to his dad. (Roman Catholicism teaches its adherents to pray to people who have died and gone to heaven, believing they – as well as Mary – intercede for them).


There is no question that Francis lied to both Emanuele and the crowd, and lying is not representing Christ on earth. What does God have to say about lying and liars in His word? Quite a bit actually, and none of is complimentary to those who lie. Colossians 3:9 tells us, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off your old self with its practices.” Here we are not only being told not to lie, but also that lying is a practice of unrepentant sinners. Lying is serious business, and it is made even more serious when we read Proverbs 6:16-19 where we read that God hates, among other things, a liar. lying is an abomination to God, and He hates liars. Even more so, in 1 Timothy 1:9-11 we see that liars are included in a list of the lawless and disobedient; and, in Revelation 21:8 we read that those who lie as a pattern of their life will be cast into hell with other unrepentant sinners who die in their sin.

Pope Francis made it clear that an atheist who dies in his sin will go to heaven if he has a good heart (as evidenced in this case by having his children baptized). Again, this is contrary to God's word. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” This excludes atheists – who reject Christ, from entering heaven. Acts 4:10-12 tells us that salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to me by which we must be saved. Again, for an atheist who has rejected Christ, there is no salvation, and say there is, is nothing less than a false gospel.

Re-read the passage at the top of this post. “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8-9)

If someone, anyone, preaches a false gospel that is contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ as presented in Scripture – as Pope Francis did, “LET HIM BE ACCURSED”

Francis seems to place great stock in the man having his children baptized, and apparently thinks God would contradict Himself by making an exception for this man because of this. Actually, this is not too far fetched in Roman Catholicism, which teaches a person who is baptized in the Roman Catholic church, regardless of what they believe, is given salvation. This is, of course, just as contrary to God's teaching in His word as is Francis' false gospel. This is, however, what the Roman Catholic church teaches.

According to “Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma” by Dr. Ludwig Ott (a book highly regarded and endorsed by Roman Catholic clergy), “Baptism effects the forgiveness of all punishments of sin, both the eternal and the temporal.” And, “Baptism is necessary for all men without exception for salvation.” Furthermore, according to the Roman Catholic Council of Trent, “if [anyone] denies that the merit of Jesus Christ is applied both to adults and to infants by the sacrament of baptism rightly administered in the form of the Church, let him be anathema.”

God's word states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9); and Titus 3:5 states, “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” So here we have two gospels. The first, which is God's gospel, tells us we are saved by grace through faith, and not by any works of righteousness (such as baptism) that we might do. The other gospel, the Roman Catholic gospel, tells us we are saved by baptism. The Roman Catholic gospel is in contradiction to the gospel as presented by God in His word. Therefore, the Roman Catholic gospel is a false gospel. So it is easy to see why Francis had no problem presenting a false gospel to the crowd.

The standard response from many Roman Catholics to this is, the works referred to in Ephesians 2:8-9 and Titus 3:5 are the works of the law, and that baptism doesn't save, but rather imparts to the one being baptized the grace necessary for salvation. However, we need look no further than God's word and Roman Catholic dogma to refute these objections.

Romans 4 tells us that Abraham was saved by faith and not be any works of righteousness; and those works of righteousness could not possibly be referring to works of the law, as Abraham's salvation occurred prior to the law being given. Furthermore, as Genesis 15 tells us, Abraham was saved by faith even prior to his obedience to circumcision, which did not occur until Genesis 17, many years later.

And when we examine Roman Catholic dogma (as noted in Ott's book), the sacrament of baptism, as with all the sacraments, “confer[s] regeneration, forgiveness, the Holy Spirit and eternal life” as long as the minister performing the sacrament does so in the proper manner: “For the dispensing of this grace, it is necessary that the minister accomplish the sacramental sign in the proper manner.” When done in the proper manner (i.e. the official Roman Catholic method of baptism, or the other sacraments), “Baptism confers the grace of justification.” And, just to be clear, according to Roman Catholic dogma, “Neither orthodox belief, nor moral worthiness is necessary for the validity of the Sacrament on the part of the recipient.” Therefore, according to Roman Catholicism, even an atheist who has rejected God, and rejected Jesus Christ, can be saved if only they get baptized. They don't have to believe in God, they can still reject Christ, they just need to be baptized. Of course, there is no evidence that Emanuele's dad was ever baptized. Perhaps Francis was simply applying the baptism of Emanuele and his siblings to his atheist dad.

Clearly, the Roman Catholic church preaches and promotes a gospel that is contrary to the gospel presented by the Lord God Almighty in His word; and while the Roman Catholic church at its Council of Trent may have cursed God for having a gospel different than theirs, it is God's pronouncement of anathema upon those who preach a gospel different from His that will hold eternal consequences.
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Are You Born Again?

8/21/2016

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PictureJ.C. Ryle
Are You Born Again?
by J. C. Ryle
(1816-1900)
Are you born again? This is one of life's most important questions. Jesus Christ said, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).
It is not enough to reply, "I belong to the church; I suppose I'm a Christian." Thousands of nominal Christians show none of the signs of being born again which the Scriptures have given us—many listed in the First Epistle of John.
No Habitual Sinning
First of all, John wrote: "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin" (I John 3:9). "Whosoever is born of God sinneth not" (5:18).
A person who has been born again, or regenerated, does not habitually commit sin. He no longer sins with his heart and will and whole inclination. There was probably a time when he did not think about whether his actions were sinful or not, and he did not always feel grieved after doing evil. There was no quarrel between him and sin; they were friends. But the true Christian hates sin, flees from it, fights against it, considers it his greatest plague, resents the burden of its presence, mourns when he falls under its influence, and longs to be completely delivered from it. Sin no longer pleases him, nor is it even a matter of indifference to him; it has become a horrible thing which he hates. However, he cannot eliminate its presence within him.
If he said that he had no sin, he would be lying (I John 1:8). But he can say that he hates sin and that the great desire of his soul is not to commit sin at all. He cannot prevent bad thoughts from entering his mind, or shortcomings, omissions, and defects from appealing in both his words and his actions. He knows that "in many things we offend all" (James 3:2). But he can truly say, in the sight of God, that these things cause him grief and sorrow and that his whole nature does not consent to them. What would the apostle say about you? Are you born again?
Believing in Christ
Second, John wrote: "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God" (I John 5:1).
A man who is born again, or regenerated, believes that Jesus Christ is the only Saviour who can pardon his soul, that He is the divine person appointed by God the Father for this very purpose, and beside Him there is no Saviour at all. In himself he sees nothing but unworthiness. But he has full confidence in Christ, and trusting in Him, he believes that his sins are all forgiven. He believes that, because he has accepted Christ's finished work and death on the cross, he is considered righteous in God's sight, and he may look forward to death and judgment without alarm.
He may have fears and doubts. He may sometimes tell you that he feels as if he had no faith at all. But ask him if he is willing to trust in anything instead of Christ, and see what he will say. Ask him if he will rest his hope of eternal life on his own goodness, his own works, his prayers, his minister, or his church, and listen to his reply. What would the apostle say about you? Are you born again?
Practicing Righteousness
Third, John wrote: "Every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him" (I John 2:29).
The man who is born again, or regenerated, is a holy man. He endeavors to live according to God's will, to do the things that please God and to avoid the things that God hates. He wishes to continually look to Christ as his example as well as his Saviour and to prove himself to be Christ's friend by doing whatever He commands. He knows he is not perfect. He is painfully aware of his indwelling corruption. He finds an evil principle within himself that is constantly warring against grace and trying to draw him away from God. But he does not consent to it, though he cannot prevent its presence.
Though he may sometimes feel so low that he questions whether or not he is a Christian at all, he will be able to say with John Newton, "I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am." What would the apostle say about you? Are you born again?
Loving Other Christians
Fourth, John wrote: "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren" (I John 3:14).
A man who is born again has a special love for all true disciples of Christ. Like his Father in heaven, he loves all men with a great general love, but he has a special love for those who share his faith in Christ. Like his Lord and Saviour, he loves the worst of sinners and could weep over them; but he has a peculiar love for those who are believers. He is never so much at home as when he is in their company.
He feels they are all members of the same family. They are his fellow soldiers, fighting against the same enemy. They are his fellow travelers, journeying along the same road. He understands them, and they understand him. They may be very different from himself in many ways—in rank, in station and in wealth. But that does not matter. They are his Father's sons and daughters and he cannot help loving them. What would the apostle say about you? Are you born again?
Overcoming the World
Fifth, John wrote: "Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world" (I John 5:4).
A man who is born again does not use the world's opinion as his standard of right and wrong. He does not mind going against the world's ways, ideas and customs. What men think or say no longer concerns him. He overcomes the love of the world. He finds no pleasure in things which seem to bring happiness to most people. To him they seem foolish and unworthy of an immortal being.
He loves God's praise more than man's praise. He fears offending God more than offending man. It is unimportant to him whether he is blamed or praised; his first aim is to please God. What would the apostle say about you? Are you born again?
Keeping Oneself Pure
Sixth, John wrote: "He that is begotten of God keepeth himself' (I John 5:18).
A man who is born again is careful of his own soul. He tries not only to avoid sin but also to avoid everything which may lead to it. He is careful about the company he keeps. He knows that evil communications corrupt the heart and that evil is more catching than good, just as disease is more infectious than health. He is careful about the use of his time; his chief desire is to spend it profitable.
He desires to live like a soldier in an enemy country—to wear his armor continually and to be prepared for temptation. He is diligent to be watchful, humble, prayerful man. What would the apostle say about you? Are you born again?
The Test

These are the six great marks of a born again Christian.
There is a vast difference in the depth and distinctness of these marks in different people. In some they are faint and hardly noticeable. In others they are bold, plain and unmistakable, so anyone may read them. Some of these marks are more visible than others in each individual. Seldom are all equally evident in any one person.
But still, after every allowance, here we find boldly painted six marks of being born of God.
How should we react to these things? We can logically come to only one conclusion—only those who are born again have these six characteristics, and those who do not have these marks are not born again. This seems to be the conclusion to which the apostle intended us to come. Do you have these characteristics? Are you born again?


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Atheism, Agnosticism, and Liberalism vs Christianity

7/26/2016

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I have communicated with a great many Atheists, Agnostics, and Liberals over the years. I have read many articles written by them and watched videos produced by them. As a result I have learned a great deal from them all, and here I would like to share some of what I have learned. And yes, these are all things that have actually been expressed by self-professing Atheists, Agnostics and Liberals. Are they representative of all Atheists, Agnostics and Liberals? No. However, the majority of those whom I have been exposed to have expressed these and similar sentiments.

10 Things I have learned from Atheism, and Liberalism:

1. Yes, you can actually hate something that you don't believe exists.

2. Tolerance is only reserved for those who unquestioningly agree with you.

3. Because some white person, somewhere, at some period in time spit on a black person; any black person spitting on any white person, anywhere and at anytime, is fully justified.

4. Equality means I deserve to be treated better than you.

5. Forcing someone to change their religious beliefs is persecution, unless you're a Christian in America. Then it's not really persecution, just a figment of your overactive imagination.

6. Denying someone equal access because of their religion is discrimination, unless you're a Christian in America. Then it's not discrimination, just a figment of your overactive imagination.

7. Atheism is the most tolerant of ideologies, and there are too many Christians and not enough lions (and no that isn't persecution, that's just a figment of your overactive imagination.)

8. Liberalism is the most tolerant of ideologies, and if you believe the Bible then you are no different than the Nazi's and ISIS. (and no that isn't persecution, that's just a figment of your overactive imagination.)

9. Everyone is entitled to openly express their opinions and beliefs. That is their right. Unless they are a Christian, then they should be forced to keep their opinions to themselves. (and no that isn't persecution, that's just a figment of your overactive imagination.)

10. All Atheists and all liberals are intellectual, learned, logical, rational, and rely on proven scientific facts upon which to prove their ideologies. All Christians are backward, ignorant, superstitious, racist, bigots, homophobes, hateful, and often inbred rednecks with guns.

Since becoming a Christian, I have also learned a great many things that are apparently antithetical to both Atheism, Agnosticism and Liberalism, such as:

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10 Things I Have Learned from Christianity:
1. Every human being is equal in the eyes of God, therefore do not show partiality towards anyone (Romans 10:12; James 2:1-13).

2. Loving others with a sacrificial love is always the right thing to do (Matthew 25:34-40; John 15:12; 1 John 3:18).

3. Treat others as you would have them treat you (Matthew 7:12).

4. Treat your enemies with love, respect, and forgiveness (Matthew 6:14-15 Luke 6:27-36).

5. Do not speak out in anger, or disrespectfully, or divisively; but always in kindness and love with the purpose of encouraging and forgiving and helping others (Matthew 12:36-37; Ephesians 4:29-32; James 1:19)

6. Be patient, kind, compassionate, and respectful to others, even your enemies (Colossians 3:12-14; Proverbs 24:17).

7. Don't be vengeful. Don't look for “paybacks” (Romans 12:17-21).

8. Don't be self-centered or selfish. Look to the needs of others and help. (Romans 15:1-2; Philippians 2:4)

9. Don't lie, don't cheat, don't steal and don't even think about stealing. It's wrong. (Exodus 20:14-17; Deuteronomy 5:18-21)

10. Don't commit murder (Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17)

I am not going to make a judgment call as to which of these two groups is better, or more beneficial to society, as I am confident you already know. But I would like to put these out there for you, the reader, to make up their own mind, and be confident in their own mind and heart as to the benefits of each.
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Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?

7/22/2016

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PictureArchibald Brown
Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?

Written by Archibald Brown (1844-1922)

An evil is in the professed camp of the Lord, so gross in its impudence, that the most shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it during the past few years. It has developed at an abnormal rate, even for evil. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments. The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them.

From speaking out as the Puritans did, the church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses.

My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the church. If it is a Christian work, why did not Christ speak of it? "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). That is clear enough. So it would have been if He had added, "and provide amusement for those who do not relish the gospel." No such words, however, are to be found. It did not seem to occur to him.

Then again, "He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers .., for the work of the ministry" (Eph. 4:11-12). Where do entertainers come in? The Holy Spirit is silent concerning them. Were the prophets persecuted because they amused the people or because they refused? The concert has no martyr roll.

Again, providing amusement is in direct antagonism to the teaching and life of Christ and all his apostles. What was the attitude of the church to the world? Ye are the salt" (Matt. 5:13), not the sugar candy---something the world will spit out not swallow. Short and sharp was the utterance, "Let the dead bury their dead" (Matt. 8:22) He was in awful earnestness.

Had Christ introduced more of the bright and pleasant elements into his mission, he would have been more popular when they went back, because of the searching nature of His teaching. I do not hear him say, "Run after these people Peter and tell them we will have a different style of service tomorrow, something short and attractive with little preaching. We will have a pleasant evening for the people. Tell them they will be sure to enjoy it. Be quick Peter, we must get the people somehow." Jesus pitied sinners, sighed and wept over them, but never sought to amuse them.

In vain will the Epistles be searched to find any trace of this gospel of amusement! Their message is, "Come out, keep out, keep clean out!" Anything approaching fooling is conspicuous by its absence. They had boundless confidence in the gospel and employed no other weapon.

After Peter and John were locked up for preaching, the church had a prayer meeting but they did not pray, "Lord grant unto thy servants that by a wise and discriminating use of innocent recreation we may show these people how happy we are." If they ceased not from preaching Christ, they had not time for arranging entertainments. Scattered by persecution, they went everywhere preaching the gospel. They turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6). That is the only difference! Lord, clear the church of all the rot and rubbish the devil has imposed on her, and bring us back to apostolic methods.

Lastly, the mission of amusement fails to effect the end desired. It works havoc among young converts. Let the careless and scoffers, who thank God because the church met them halfway, speak and testify. Let the heavy laden who found peace through the concert not keep silent! Let the drunkard to whom the dramatic entertainment has been God's link in the chain of the conversion, stand up! There are none to answer. The mission of amusement produces no converts. The need of the hour for today's ministry is believing scholarship joined with earnest spirituality, the one springing from the other as fruit from the root. The need is biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it sets men on fire.





Archibald Geikie Brown (18 July 1844 – 2 April 1922) was a Calvinistic Baptist minister; a student, friend, and associate of Charles Spurgeon; and from 1908 to 1911, pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, the church earlier pastored by Spurgeon.




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Can A Christian Reject God And Still Be A Christian?

9/7/2015

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Can A Christian Reject God and Still Be A Christian?
There are those who really believe they can!
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Excellent sermon last Sunday, as pastor spoke on church growth. The basics of the sermon were that there are two types of church growth, numerical and spiritual, and one does not necessarily guarantee the other. In fact, if a church experiences numerical growth but not spiritual growth, then what results is a church full of “tares,” or false Christians. [see Matthew 13:24-30 for a fuller explanation of tares or weeds]. As pastor pointed out in today's sermon, one of the marks of a true Christian as opposed to a “tare” or false Christian, is that the true Christian stands steadfast in purity of doctrine and purity of behavior – something the false Christian cannot do, or at least can only mimic for a relatively short period of time.

Conversations I have had this past week, many with “professing Christians,” have caused this sermon to stand out more prominently than many of pastor's sermons do, and has caused me to ask myself some important questions – in fact, three important questions. They are:
1. Can a person reject God and still be a Christian?
2. Can a person disregard God and still be a Christian?
3. Can a person live a life of willful and habitual disobedience to God and still be a Christian?

Can A Person Reject God and Still Be A Christian?
The key word here is “reject.” What exactly is meant by “reject”?

The term reject is defined as, 1. a verb, “to dismiss as inadequate, inappropriate, or not to one's taste.” 2. a noun, “a person or thing dismissed as failing to meet standards or satisfy tastes.” So can a person dismiss God as inadequate or inappropriate or not to one's taste” and still be a Christian; or, perhaps identifying God as “failing to meet standards or satisfy tastes”? I believe that for some professing Christians, the answer is yes, and I would point to those conversations I have had this past week as examples of this.

In a conversation I had with a professing Christian, I was told by this person that they felt their ability to separate their faith life from their public life was an admirable attribute. They felt that not only did God not belong in the workplace and even more so through them, but that mankind and man's law were actually higher than and more authoritative than God and God's law. Is this person rejecting God? According to the above definition, yes. They have decided that God law did not meet the standard but that man's law did. They have decided that God does not satisfy the tastes of others in the workplace or public life, and apparently not even their own taste when in the workplace or in public. And yet, they still insist that they are a Christian.

Jesus, however, had something else to say about those who insisted they were truly God's children, while placing man above God when it came to which had more authority. He said in Mark 7:6-8, “And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

Jesus condemned those who did this, and it is highly doubtful that He would consider as His true followers, those who reject God. I think Charles Spurgeon explained it well when he said,
“To a man who lives unto God, nothing is secular, everything is sacred. He puts on his workday garment and it is a vestment to him. He sits down to his meal and it is a sacrament. He goes forth to his labor, and therein exercises the office of the priesthood. His breath is incense and his life a sacrifice.

He sleeps on the bosom of God, and lives and moves in the divine presence. To draw a hard and fast line and say, “This is sacred and this is secular,” is to my mind, diametrically opposed to the teaching of Christ and the spirit of the gospel.


The Lord hath cleansed your houses, he has cleansed your bed chambers, your tables…He has made the common pots and pans of your kitchens to be as the bowls before the altar— if you know what you are and live according to your high calling. You housemaids, you cooks, you nurses, you ploughmen, you housewives, you traders, you sailors, your labor is holy if you serve the Lord Christ in it, by living unto Him as you ought to love. The sacred has absorbed the secular.”

Can a person disregard God and still be a Christian?
In another conversation, with a different “professing Christian,” I was told that those who condemn homosexual relationships will have to answer to God for their hate and bigotry, while the loving couples who are involved in committed homosexual relationships are virtually guaranteed entrance into heaven.

I have to admit that I was somewhat shocked that these words would come out of the mouth of a person who professed to be a follower of Jesus Christ, especially in light of God's own words concerning His moral law. God repeatedly condemns homosexuality, whether male homosexuality or female homosexuality, as an abominable sin. Repeatedly.

“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” (Leviticus 18:22)

“If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination;” (Leviticus 20:13a)

“For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.” (Romans 1:26-28)

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
[with regard to who will not enter heaven] “the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,” (1 Timothy 1:10)

And God is equally clear regarding the definition of marriage – it involves one man and one woman.

But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Mark 10:6-9)
and
But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. (1 Corinthians 7:2)

Now, while I do understand that the United States Supreme Court has ruled that homosexuals have the right to get married, what the United States Supreme Court, and a great many people in the United States do not understand (and this includes some professing “Christians”), and have an even greater difficulty grasping, is that the United States Supreme Court does not have the power or the authority to over rule God. They are not higher than God, they are not greater than God, and it is the height of arrogance for anyone to believe that they are. They (the Supreme Court and others who look to them as the absolute ultimate law) should also not be surprised when God's people refuse to obey them, or any law or rule or rule maker or enforcer, when they are acting and ruling contrary to God. Acts 5:27-31 provides the true Christian with a pure and reasonable course of action when faced with a situation contrary to God,

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. (emphasis mine)

So, again, the question is asked, can a person disregard God and still be a Christian, especially when one disregards the very word of God? Again we turn to the definition of the word to discover its meaning. Disregard is defined as 1. a verb, pay no attention to, ignore, pay no attention/heed to, to disobey; and 2. a noun, disregard; the action or state of disregarding or ignoring something. Indifference, nonobservance, inattention, disobedience. Given the definition of the word disregard, and looking at 1 John 3:4, which says, “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.” [Note: The Greek word used here to translate “lawlessness' (anomia) is also used to translate the words disobedience and sin], it is clear that one cannot live a life of disobedience to God and still be a Christian.

Can a person live a life of willful and habitual disobedience to God and still be a Christian?
The Bible is God's word to man. It does not merely “contain” the word of God, as some think, but it actually IS the word of God; and a Christian accepts the Bible for what it is, and lives according to what God teaches in the Bible.

A brief side note to those who like to cherry pick passages from the Bible to use as (what they think are) arguments against the Bible. To those I say, before you attempt to do this, read the Bible so you can understand the context of those passages, and take a class in Bibliology so you can understand the difference between civil law, ceremonial law, and moral law. After you do that, we'll talk. Now back to the subject at hand.

We know the Bible is the word of God, quite frankly, because it says so. There is, of course, much more to it, but the basic understanding is here. The Bible states multiple times, “Thus says the Lord,” and “God said,” and “God spoke.” Jesus said to His followers in Luke 24:44-45, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” (emphasis mine); and He said in Mark 13:31, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” The words of Jesus are Scripture, they are God's words.

2 Timothy 3:15–17 says, “and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

All Scripture, each of the 39 books of the Old Testament and each of the 27 books of the New Testament, are God's word. Each word was “breathed out by God.” Each word is useful for equipping Christians for every good work. We need nothing more to live our lives for God. There are those who, for one reason or another, believe that Christians should, and should be required to leave their faith at home or in the church. They believe, for one reason or another, that when a conflict exists between the laws of man and law of God, that man must be obeyed and God must be ignored. They believe, for one reason or another, that God belongs only inside a church building, or inside a private residence, or inside the private thoughts of Christians; but must never be allowed into the public square. I say that

it is the height of arrogance for anyone to think they are higher than God, or that they have more authority than God, or that their laws or rules supersede those of God; and when those who believe these things profess with their mouths that they are Christians, then I say, “what does the word of God say about their viewpoints?”

Disobedience to God is sin. Continued, habitual disobedience to God is, well, I'll let God Himself say it. “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that He [Jesus] appeared in order to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him [Jesus] keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:4-10)

If you are going to life a life of continual habitual sin, then you are not a Christian. It doesn't matter what anyone here on earth tells you, because God is the highest authority. He is the Creator, and the creation does not dictate to the Creator. If you come to God, it must be on God's terms, otherwise you are deceived, and if you remain deceived and in your sin – enslaved to your sin, you will face God to give an account for your sin, and you will be judged. 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 gives a vivid description of the judgment that will befall those who continue to reject, ignore, disregard and disobey God. They will be “afflicted” when “the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.”

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:31)

There is hope, however, for those who with a remorseful heart turn away from their sin and turn to God, through Jesus, to seek forgiveness for their sin, as He will be true to His word and will embrace you and forgive you your sins. “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)


All Scripture quoted is from the English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers unless otherwise noted.
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Your Christianity - True or False?

8/25/2015

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Over the years I have been called a lot of things. Especially while working as a correctional officer. Since I became a Christian, however, the names and words I have been called has changed to include some new words and phrases. I am now “preachy” and “narrow-minded” and sharing the gospel with people I find that I am “shoving [my] religion down [their] throat” and I am somehow “forcing” my religion upon them against their will.

When non-believers say these things about me I take it as just part of being a Christian. In fact, I think if non-believers are saying these things about me it is really an encouragement because it tells me that I am obeying the command of Christ to let my light shine, to share the gospel, etc. What does trouble me, however, is when I am told these things by professing Christians. I hear things like, “You know, I'm a Christian too, but you really shouldn't force Jesus on people, and your views are too narrow minded, as long as people are loving and love God, then what does their sexuality matter? Don't be so judgmental!”

What they say doesn't really bother me as much as that they add that four word phrase at the beginning of their judgment of me (yes, enjoy the irony), that they evidently feel lends some authority to their judgment of me. I am referring to the phrase, “I'm a Christian too.” I bothers me because I am not sure they really know and understand what a Christian is. The term “Christian” is tossed around like a Frisbee at a beach party, with no real understanding of what a Christian is. Some people think they are a Christian because they have always been one. They have grown up in the church, they believe in Jesus, they believe in God, and they're sure that at some point they asked “Jesus into their heart” and they were baptized so they are obviously a Christian.

Another group is sure they are a Christian because they believe in God and they do their best to do their best and be honest and fair and so on and so on; and some are even convinced that they are a Christian because they were born in America, and since America is a Christian nation they are therefore, a Christian. And then, of course (and I shudder at the thought of this unfortunately popular ideology), there are those who are sure they are a Christian because they are politically conservative.

Matthew 7:21-23 reads (and this is Jesus Himself speaking), “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” What this is telling us is that on that day of judgment there will be people who approach Jesus Christ, fully convinced in their own minds, that they are genuinely saved, they are convinced in their own minds that they are without doubt a Christian, but Jesus Himself will tell them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” They are false Christians. Self-deceived, duped by Satan, trapped in and enslaved to their sin. They are not saved, and they are not Christians.

Wow. Just wow. Jesus knew and taught way back then, approximately 2000 years ago, that there would be self-deceived false Christians in the church, and in the world. This was an issue that Jesus wanted His followers to be aware of, and so much so that God ensured there would be indicators of true Christianity in His word. A spiritual or Biblical checklist if you will, and it really isn't long and involved nor is it difficult to understand. There are just a few basic teachings that are indicators of what a true Christian is and what a false Christian is not.

1. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15 ESV)
Obedience. Jesus requires Christians to be obedient to Him. Please note that being obedient to Jesus does not make one a Christian, however, obedience to Jesus is one of the marks of a true Christian. What are the commandments of Jesus? If you have to ask, then there is a serious issue because the commandments of Jesus are clearly written in Scripture. True Christians love the word of God! True Christians read the word of God, study the word of God, and are filled with the word of God. It is the manual for our lives – and I am not referring to just those parts that we are comfortable with, no, I am referring to the entire Bible, all 66 books. True Christians will read it, learn it, love it, and live it.

Jesus's commandments, such as, repentance, witnessing (by both words and actions), being reconciled to God, loving one another with a sacrificial love, striving to be more and more like our role model Jesus Christ, and, among other of His commandments, turning not just from physical sin but also mental sins such as lusting, hating, or any fantasy about sin. If you want to know what Jesus's commandments are, read the word of God. If you can't even discipline yourself to read and learn and love and live the hold word of God, then how can you possibly know what Jesus's commandments are, much less obey them, and if you don't obey them then you don't really love Jesus, and guess what? Those who do not love Jesus – according to His definition and nor our own – are not true Christians. And this brings us to our second point;

2. The Faith and Works connection. Regardless of how many good things one does, no matter how much one donates to charity, no matter how many people one helps, there is no amount of good works that one can do to ensure salvation. Doing good works does not make someone a Christian, although, there are many people who think that because they do good works they are automatically a Christian. However, a look at Scripture, specifically Ephesians 2:8-10, the progression of salvation as explained here shows that good works come after salvation. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV) In step one of this progression, God, by His infinite grace, gives as a gift to the individual the faith necessary for salvation. First comes salvation, and it is not, as verse 9 tells us, the result of any good work, or anything else done by the individual. It is strictly due to the grace of God and nothing else. After one is saved, then comes the good works.

In essence, the true Christian can say with regard to good works, “I do good works because I am a Christian; I am not a Christian because of the works I do.” James, the brother of Jesus says in his epistle, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James 2:14-17 ESV)

There are two things that are essential for every professing Christian to known, and understand and remember. First, faith without works is a dead faith. If there is no change in the person, no compassion, no sacrificial love for their fellow human being, then they are not a Christian. Period. And this isn't me saying this, this is Scripture. Secondly, if a person is full of good works but does not truly love the Lord, does no pray daily, does not read the word of God, does not have an intimate relationship with God, does not obey the Lord (see number 1), then that individual is not a Christian.

3. 2 Corinthians 7:10 states, “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” (ESV). When by His grace God grants the seeking sinner the faith necessary to come to Him for forgiveness of sin and salvation (see number 2), the individual will come to a realization of the depth of their sin, and this creates a deep, heart-felt, sincere grief, and that grief produces sincere repentance which leads to salvation. This is a huge difference between the true Christian and the false Christian. A changed life. As the Scripture above says, the Christian, the true Christian will experience a “godly grief” which leads to salvation, but the false Christian who really hasn't received salvation, can only experience a “worldly grief” which does not lead to salvation because it is the same attitude toward their sin that every other unrepentant sinner has toward their sin. That “worldly grief” does not produce repentance because there is no changed life.

Upon coming to salvation, the true Christian will experience a life changing miracle (and it truly is a miracle), a new attitude, a new world view. Nothing is really the same because as with the apostle Paul when he received salvation, it is as if a blindfold is suddenly removed and the world is seen clearer than it ever did before, and sin is exposed for the destructive, enslaving, soul eating habit that it really is, and true Christians can see that. Sin becomes so loathsome to the true Christian that he or she becomes acutely aware of sins presence. When it is observed in others the true Christian experiences a sadness for the one lost in sin, and when it is observed in the self, the true Christian experiences a deep, heart-felt, sincere regret and remorse that leads to repentance. This is the “godly grief” spoken of in the passage above.

Sin is such a loathsome thing for the true Christian that although they may (and likely will) sin again, the true Christian cannot live a life patterned by habitual sin. It is impossible for a true Christian to live like that. The true Christian is incapable of living a life patterned by habitual sin. 1 John 3:4-10 explains this, and illustrates the difference between the saved and the unsaved – which includes false Christians. “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:4-10 ESV)

Obedience to Jesus that is the result of loving Jesus. Good works that are the result of salvation, rather than a belief that good works will result in salvation (which they will not); and a changed life, a changed world view, including an inability to live a life patterned by habitual sin. These are the marks of the true Christian. There are others given in Scripture, but I think these are the “Big Three.” So, regardless of an individual claiming that they are a Christian, they may or may not actually be one.

The purpose of this article is not to prepare anyone to go out and point a finger and say “you are a Christian, but you are not” and so forth. In fact, I would encourage everyone to avoid doing that. It is simply not right to do. However, I would also encourage each individual who professes to be a Christian to read this article, and apply it to themselves. I want them to search themselves, to search their hearts and minds, honestly and without reservation, and check the validity of their own Christianity because if someone, anyone, even you my friend, think you are a Christian but your definition of “Christian” is in anyway different than the Bible's definition, then please realize that you are not a Christian, and you will fall into that group of people to whom Jesus will one day say, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

The Lübeck Cathedral, in Lübeck, Germany bears this inscription (please excuse the updated use of “you” rather than “ye”)”
You call Me Master and obey me not,
You call Me Light and see Me not,
You call Me the Way and walk Me not,
You call Me Life and desire Me not,
You call Me wise and follow Me not,
You call Me fair and love Me not,
You call Me rich and ask Me not,
You call Me eternal and seek Me not,
You call Me gracious and trust Me not,
You call Me Lord and serve Me not,
You call Me mighty and honor Me not,
You call Me just and fear Me not,
If I condemn you, blame me not.

Two excellent sermons on this subject by Dr. John MacArthur
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Cultural Christianity vs. Convictional Christianity

5/25/2015

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There was a very interesting article by Dr. Richard D. Land in the Christian Post recently, titled “Cultural Christianity vs. Convictional Christianity.” The article is a good article, and I would recommend taking a few minutes to read it. Essentially it addresses the issue of the decline of the Christian church in America today – which, in reality, it is not. I tend to think of it more as a “pruning” of our Christian Family Tree, a removal of those dead branches that are either bearing rotten fruit or no fruit at all. The article touches on this aspect as well when Dr. Land points out, “As cultural Christianity wanes the more faithful, traditional Christianity practiced by Evangelicals will stand out in ever more vivid contrast with mere civic or "country club" Christianity in America. The shameful gap between the "orthodoxy" (sound doctrine) and "orthopraxy" (sound practice) of too many Christians has been, and is, a disgrace to the Gospel.”

And he's right. There are those who applaud a good sermon, give hearty “amens” and sing hymns with a gusto many of cannot seem to muster. But when it comes to sharing the gospel, to reaching out and helping the poor, the orphans and the widows (Luke 14:12-14 among others) – and I do not mean dropping an offering in the collection plate, although that is certainly part of it, but actually going out personally, and doing what one can to help those in need while sharing the gospel with them. This is orthopraxy, this is “walking the walk” as some put it. There needs to be a a closing of the gap between orthodoxy and orthopraxy as God states in the Book of James, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:22-25)

As clear as this is in Scripture, I am amazed at how many people in the church steadfastly refuse to apply this passage in their lives. Are they simply apathetic? Do they not care one whit about those who are hell bent, just as every single Christian once was? Do they think that now, since they are bound for eternal glory in heaven that they can turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to the rest of the perishing? I would sincerely hope not. As Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great preacher of the 19th century once said, “Oh, my brothers and sisters in Christ, if sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies; and if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay, and not madly to destroy themselves. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.[1]”

I cannot say that I do not see the Word in action amongst my Christian brothers and sisters, but I can say that there are many in the church who are content to simply plop themselves in a pew on Sunday mornings, hear a sermon and then leave the church and do nothing for the Lord all week long, until the following Sunday when they repeat their obligatory “Christian” duty for the week once again. I see this time and time again, and I believe that not only is the church poorer for it, but our nation is all the poorer as well.

I will also point out that I am not the only one noticing this. Because of the large number of those who hear but do not do (as James 1:22-25 above points out), the evangelism, the sharing of the gospel both in word and in deed – which is our only “job” as Christians – there are that many more who never hear the gospel, never see the gospel in action, even as they sit day after day right next to a professing Christian, and the result is they believe the church is dead or dying. Because the number of Christians who are willing to tell others about Jesus, who are willing to help those in need, who are willing to be active doers of the word, is small (when compared to the hearers only crowd), the doers are now considered to be “fundamentalist extremists,” bigots, narrow minded and so on; and because of this sin grows and becomes more pronounced in America. It is more readily accepted as the norm as opposed to what it truly is – an abomination of God. And again, our country is poorer as a result.

In his article, Dr. Land notes that even when Christian's are engaged in both the hearing of the word as well as the doing of the word, our nation benefits from this, and that even an avowed atheistic country such as communist China has recognized this. He quotes a recent statement from communist China's Academy of Social Sciences which said,

We were asked to look into what accounted for the preeminence of the West all over the world. At first we thought it was because you had more powerful guns then we had. Then we thought it was because you had the best political system. Next we focused on your economic system. But in the past 20 years we have realized the heart of your culture is your religion, Christianity. That is why the West has been so powerful. The Christian moral foundation of social and cultural life was what made possible the emergence of capitalism and then the successful transition to Democratic politics. We don't have any doubt about this.

However, because of the great amount of “hearers only,” and the relatively small number of doers in the church today, what I will call the “Unbelieving Worldly Contingent” (UWC) in our country are attacking the Christian church in America as never before, and doing their best to not only delegitimatize true Biblical Christianity in America, but to also outlaw as much of it as they can. Although the UWC will readily accept, and even endorse to some degree, those churches and groups who profess to be Christians while eagerly embracing, approving and even promoting sin (i.e. ordaining openly homosexual clergy, embracing homosexuality as normal, allowing pagan practices such as goddess worship and wiccan rituals in the sanctuary, etc). In other words, the UWC will accept any Christian professing group or church that adheres to the beliefs of the UWC. Biblical Christianity, however, is outright condemned by them.

This should be a wake-up call to the church, and especially those within the church who, as I said, refuse to be doers of the word. We do not have the option of sitting idly by, content to be hearers only, especially if we are going to call ourselves Christian!

The word Christian, comes from the Greek word, Christianos, which means follower of Christ. Listening is not following. Listening, combined with patterning ones life after Christ, that is what following means. And, no, before you say it (and I know you want to), this is not just my opinion. This is what God tells us in His word. For example:

“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine” (Exodus 19:5)

“You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always.” (Deuteronomy 11:1)

“And Samuel said, 'Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.'” (1 Samuel 15:22)

“ through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations” (Romans 1:5)

“And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.” (2 John 1:6)

“Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.” (Revelation 14:12)

Clearly, the obedience of true believers to God and His Word is a central theme in Scripture from beginning to end, and lest you think that Jesus did not teach this very thing, think again. Jesus said,

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46)

“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:28)

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.” (John 15:9-10)

“You are my friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:14)

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)

It doesn't get much clearer than that. How can those who refuse to obey, whether consciously or unconsciously, continue to call themselves Christians? I am not talking about those who want to obey, but find it difficult due to physical or mental difficulties, but those who are completely able, but still will not. Why doesn't the church speak out against this practice of refusing to obey God? If we are physically and/or mentally able to share the gospel and live out the gospel as we minister to a lost and perishing world, then we are purposely and willfully disobeying God! Now whether you call this disobedience, or laziness, or rebellion, or lawlessness, the fact of the matter is that this is sin, plain and simple. Nothing more and nothing less. And Scripture is very clear about this:

“Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:4-10)

Personally, I believe that as the true Biblical Christian church is persecuted in this country, those who profess to be Christian while they are not, will slowly leave the church as they will eventually no longer be able to maintain their Christian looking facade. Of them, Scripture says, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” (1 John 2:19)

In other words, one can easily call themselves a Christian, but if they are continually endorsing sin, encouraging sin, engaging in sin (including refusing to obey the Lord) all as a pattern of their life, as a pattern of who they are, then they are not Christians, as the Scripture points out. Why doesn't the church speak out against this practice of non-Christians calling themselves Christians? Is the church afraid of being labeled judgmental? I should think the church would care less what the world thinks about it, and more about those to whom Jesus will say, “depart from me, I never knew you.”

For those who insist upon calling themselves Christian, while at the same time refusing to obey the Lord by refusing to share the gospel in both word and deed when they are perfectly capable physically and/or mentally, but still refuse to obey and often go so far as to justify and rationalize their disobedience in their own mind, I can only give you my prayer that you will take the Lord Jesus seriously when He says,

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23)

1. From Spurgeon's sermon titled, The Wailing of Risca, which may be read at: http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0349.htm

I would also encourage you to read “Why is obedience better than sacrifice?” on the Got Questions? website, at http://www.gotquestions.org/obedience-better-than-sacrifice.html

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The Governments Attempt to Limit Religious Expression in America

5/5/2015

 
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In another great article by John Zmirak, he exposes the subtle (and not so subtle) intentional governmental erosion of our right to religious expression. He writes in his article published on The Stream,
Words matter, both in God’s law and in man’s. The framers of our Constitution drafted the First Amendment to read:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Those are among the loveliest words ever penned in the English language. Now let’s edit out one of them: “no.” Go read it again, with “no” crossed out. Suddenly, you live in a completely different country, some place more like Iran, or Venezuela.

An infamous printer’s error in 1631 resulted in thousands of copies produced and sold (before someone noticed) of the “Wicked Bible,” in which Exodus 20:14 reads, “Thou shalt commit adultery.”

Well, the Obama administration has just issued the “Wicked Constitution.” As The Daily Signal reports:

A Republican senator from Oklahoma pressed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson at a hearing Wednesday about why the U.S. is “misrepresenting” Americans’ First Amendment right to freedom of religion to immigrants who are applying to become U.S. citizens.

“We in the United States actually have freedom of religion, not freedom of worship,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Johnson yesterday during a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing.
Here is a video of Sen. Lankford, presenting this subject to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson. Cue up to about 2:42 to hear the senator's comments on this.
This attempt to introduce a change to the religious freedom clause of the First Amendment is, to my thinking, designed to desensitize the American people to religious liberty. If the citizenry become used to the idea that freedom of religion is actually freedom of worship, then they will become more agreeable to the idea that religious beliefs and expressions are never to be part of the public conversation. “Leave your God at church and at home” is the ideological premise being foisted on the American people by the government, and by the left.

New York Times columnist Frank Bruni wrote an Op Ed piece he titled, “Your God and My Dignity – Religious Liberty, Bigotry and Gays,” in which he states, “I support the right of people to believe what they do and say what they wish — in their pews, homes and hearts.” Bruni goes on to say that when Christians use the freedom of religion as guaranteed by the United States Constitution, then they must contend with him. Lest you think this is simply an isolated incident blown out of proportion by a paranoid Christian (as we are constantly being portrayed by Hollywood and the left), one has only to look at the governmental enforcement of this new religion limiting ideology. For example:

Shawano Community High School in Shawano, Wisconsin, has punished a student who expressed his Christian beliefs.

The State of Colorado has officially approved discrimination against Christians.

The city of Atlanta, Georgia fired its Fire Chief because he dared to quote the Bible and express his Christian beliefs in a self-published book.

The Sacramento Country Public Law Library has displayed anti-Christian propaganda, calling it “art.”

The State of New Hampshire and a District Court Judge have taken custody of a child simply because the mother is a Christian and was teaching her daughter Biblical values and morals.

The United States Navy is punishing at least one Chaplain (and likely more) for expressing their Christian beliefs.

The State of Virginia denied religious freedom to several Christian Chaplains, and fired them because they prayed in Jesus' name.  The Virginia State Senate then killed a bill that would allow Christian Chaplains to pray in Jesus' name when in public.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that prayers during city council meetings that ended in Jesus' name will be banned.

and,

The State of Colorado has actually made the possession or display of the Bible illegal in certain areas.

There are dozens more examples of state sponsored limitation and even denial of the Constitutionally guaranteed right of religious expression, and these types of incidents will not stop, as long as governmental entities are allowed to engage in them without regard for the law. As Sen. Lankford explained in the video above, freedom of worship is only part of our Constitutionally guaranteed right to freed of religious expression. Accepting only that portion of religious expression serves to limit our religious beliefs to home, heart and church, and no where else. We are all under the threat of punishment at the hands of our own government if we attempt to engage in religious expression outside of the government approved areas. Accepting this illegal limitation is akin to cutting off an arm and throwing away the rest of body, and then claiming the arm is a human being, rather than only part of a human being.

This is not just a question of semantics, as Zmirak points out, it is an intentional whittling away of our Constitutional rights. I'll close this off with Zmirak's 2011 warning:
It is only by the thinnest of threads that the Church still has the right to teach the biblical doctrine on sexuality and practice it in its institutions. In Britain, Catholic adoption agencies had to close because the Church’s teaching doesn’t measure up to Leviathan’s standards. If it weren’t for the political muscle of Evangelical Protestants, we’d face the same situation in America. We may soon, anyway; higher courts have upheld the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ official denunciation of Catholic teaching on homosexual adoption. How many Democratic appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court will it take before the First Amendment ceases to shelter us? As former senator Rick Santorum warned in his talk last month at the Harvard Club, influential voices like Hillary Clinton’s are already switching the language in which they describe the First Amendment. Instead of “free exercise of religion,” Clinton has started speaking of “freedom of worship.”
Here is another video with Sen. Lankford addressing witnesses at a State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on protecting religious freedom abroad.
Read all of John Zmirak's excellent article, Obama’s “Freedom of Worship” Leaves Christians as Second-Class Citizens, by clicking here.

Friday Night Lectures - April 24, 2015

4/24/2015

 
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Tonight's Friday Night Lecture is
How to Deliver the Gospel to Mormons

with the late Dr. Walter Martin

In this lecture, Dr. Walter Martin discusses different Mormon beliefs and how to break through them to deliver the true gospel of Jesus Christ.


A Frontal Assault on Christianity

4/22/2015

 
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(Photo courtesy of MEMRI JTTM)
From Gary Randall's Faith and Freedom Blog:

New York Times On Bigotry And The Bible
by Gary Randall, Thursday, April 16, 2015

The "truths," the New York Times' article explains, is "homosexuality and Christianity don't have to be in conflict in any church anywhere."

Many leaders in the mainline Christian denominations are cheering.

Hopefully leaders in the evangelical community are not exhaling, believing their silence has gotten them off the hook.

The oracle of progressive "truths" continues: "That many Christians understand them as incompatible is understandable, an example of not so much of hatred's pull, as of tradition's sway. Beliefs ossified over centuries aren't easily shaken," The New York Times publishes.

The Time's article explains that continuing to hold these "ossified" beliefs and teachings is "a choice" some Christians and their churches make because they are choosing to "prioritize scattered passages of ancient texts over all that has been learned since---as if time had stood still, as if advances of science and knowledge meant nothing."

We've evolved.

The Bible and those who believe it "disregard the degree to which all writings reflect the biases and blind spots of their author, culture and eras" we are told.

The Bible, they say, is neither "inspired" or "infallible." It's merely notions from the past.

Welcome to the Brave New World, relative and evolving "truth," and the shifting definition of religious freedom.

Frank Brurni, witting in the New York Times says holding to old biblical teachings "ignores the extent to which interpretation is subjective, debatable."

"Therefore," he concludes "our debate about religious freedom should include a conversation about freeing religions and religious people from prejudices that they needn't cling to and can indeed jettison..." while "rightly bowing down to the enlightenments of modernity."

In the mind of the secularist, this is about freeing the Bible believing Christian from the bondage of biblical teaching.

He quotes David Gushee, a so-called evangelical Christian who teaches Christian ethics at Mercer University, who says, "Human understanding of what is sinful has changed over time."

Gushee teaches his Christian ethics students that "many Christians thought slavery wasn't sinful, until we finally concluded it was. People thought contraception was sinful when it began to be developed."

Dr. Gushee says, "Conservative Christian religion is the last bulwark against full acceptance of LGBT people."

Bruni also quotes Matthew Vines, another “evangelical” author, who wrote the best selling book "God and the Gay Christian" and who explains that Paul's rejection of same-sex relations in Romans I "is akin to his rejection of drunkenness or his rejection of gluttony."

"Vines," Bruni says, explains "that the New Testament, like the Old Testament, outlines bad and good behaviors that almost everyone deems archaic and irrelevant today. Why deem the descriptions of homosexual behavior any differently?"

Bruni shares a conversation he recently had with Mitchell Gold, a prominent and wealthy furniture maker and homosexual activist.

Bruni says, "Gold told me that church leaders must be made 'to take homosexuality off the sin list'."

The shifting definition of religious freedom, in the minds of the activists and their allies, now includes a list of acceptable and non acceptable beliefs we are free to believe.



To continue reading the entire article by Gary Randall, and I would encourage you to do so, please click here: http://blog.faithandfreedom.us/2015/04/new-york-times-on-bigotry-and-bible.html#.VTVY0PB709k

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