6:1 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
6:3 Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed:
6:4 But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,
6:5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;
6:6 By pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,
6:7 By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
6:8 By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;
6:9 As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;
6:10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
6:11 O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged.
6:12 Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels.
6:13 Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged.
6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what hath he that believeth with an infidel?
6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Getting to Know Jesus: 2 Corinthians 5
5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
5:2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
5:3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
5:4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up for life.
5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
5:9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
5:11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
5:12 For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart.
5:13 For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause.
5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
5:15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
5:2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
5:3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
5:4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up for life.
5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
5:9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
5:11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
5:12 For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart.
5:13 For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause.
5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
5:15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Getting to Know Jesus: 2 Corinthians 4
4:1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
4:2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believeth not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
4:5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
4:9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
4:10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
4:11 For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
4:12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
4:13 We have the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
4:14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
4:2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believeth not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
4:5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
4:9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
4:10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
4:11 For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
4:12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
4:13 We have the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
4:14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
When Love Divorces Doctrine and Unity Rejects Truth
by Dr. John C. Whitcomb, Jr.
It is evident that leading neo-evangelicals believe our main goal is to eliminate doctrinal distinctive and to emphasize unity among those claiming to be believers.
One of the basic ideas of today's philosophy of ecumenical evangelism is that love is more important than doctrine. Ecumenical evangelists say that doctrine divides, whereas love unifies. What does the Bible say? Is it true that in the New Testament love is more important than doctrine, or Truth? In the so-called Love chapter of 1 Corinthians 13, we are told:
"Now abideth faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love" (agape).
Some say -- That settles it: love is supreme! But when we examine that chapter more carefully, we discover that Truth is also mentioned in the chapter. In verse 6 we are told that, love rejoices in the truth. In other words, faith, hope, and love are virtues but Truth has an altogether different status. It is the frame of reference, the foundation, the atmosphere without which virtues such as love cannot exist at all.
Love rejoices in the truth. Why? Because without Truth to define it, to interpret it, to protect it, to guide it, to channel it -- love can become a total disaster. We dare not place Truth on the same level as virtues. Virtues would shrivel up and die if it were not for Truth.
We cannot imagine life on this planet without water. Water is absolutely essential for life, as long as it stays within proper channels, within its canals, aqueduct, and pipes. But when water gets out of control, it is the second greatest catastrophe that can happen to this planet, second only to fire. On the one hand, it is an absolute blessing, but on the other hand, it can be a total disaster. So it is with love.
God's Definition of Love
Love without divine definition (God's revealed channels within which it must flow) becomes the most horrible thing on earth. It can destroy human beings by the millions, and can be reduced to satanic sentimentalism.
Love, as defined by God, is doing for a person that which is best for him in the light of eternity, no matter what the cost may be. That is how it is defined by God. Somehow, when it comes to world evangelism, many people have forgotten God's definitions and have fallen into sentimentalism. Consider some key Scriptures which illustrate the distinction between love and Truth.
"Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31, 32).
Ultimate freedom may only be achieved by total submission -- unconditional surrender to Truth. There is nothing here about love.
Love Obeys The Truth
There are many who speak glowingly of their love for Jesus Christ and for lost men. In John 14:15, 21, 23, 24, He stresses that obedience to Truth is the best form of love:
This is what we call the acid test of love -- does a man obey the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ? It makes no difference how much we talk about our love if we do not obey Christ. It is obedience that counts, not words. Obedience without love is theoretically possible, but love without obedience is, in practice, impossible. It is a satanic substitute for God's plan.
Love Teaches the Truth
John 21 gives an example of one who said much about his love for Jesus. But when it came to obedience, it was not there. When the pressure came, his resolution collapsed and he denied the Lord. After the resurrection of Jesus, our Lord confronted Peter lovingly, but in truth:
How do we express love to the Lord Jesus according to the lesson of this confrontation? By feeding His sheep, as He also commanded in the great commission, by teaching His people and training them in the whole counsel of God, teaching them "whatsoever I have commanded you".
In Acts 20, we find a good example of an apostle who obeyed the great commission. He says nothing about love to the Ephesians in this passage. But he exhibited the supreme love of any disciple toward the Ephesians. What did he do for them? Did he say, I love you, I love you, I love you? Acts 20:26, 27 gives the answer:
Love Leaves Nothing Out
The result was that all which dwelt in Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord Jesus. Paul based his evangelism on sound doctrinal instruction. That is God's key for world evangelism. The words of Paul in Galatians 1:6 were blunt and necessary as Paul says in Galatians 4, in order to tell them the Truth.
Ephesians 4 tells us how we can achieve the perfect balance. Not the gifts God gave the true Church, the body of Christ, for service and ministry in this age: "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers" Ephesians 4:11.
Every one of these gifts in the form of a person is a doctrinal person. They are all totally involved in Truth. All were totally involved in preaching, teaching, and disciplining in the light of revealed Truth. There is no teaching whatsoever in the New Testament suggesting that love is more important than doctrine or Truth.
Love is referred to in Galatians 4:15 where we read of, speaking the truth in love. Love is the manner and method of speaking Truth. Love is the servant of Truth. It makes it easier to receive, absorb, and digest. But it must never be allowed to eclipse or set aside Truth. God's Truth can never change, but God's Truth in the hands of human messengers is a very delicate and fragile thing.
Love Resists Poisons
There is no living system known to science that can survive without an intricate, elaborate, and constantly-used system to purify itself from poisons. This is true of God's Church. It is impossible for any organization to survive unless it has a system to purify itself from poisonous influences.
We need to remember we are in a highly poisoned environment. We are immersed in Satan's world. He has constant access to every servant of God through his fallen nature. How can the relative success of a Christian's ministry be evaluated apart from God's infallible inerrant Word? Who is to determine what success means?
Love Protects the Flock
Did the Lord Jesus encourage His disciples to listen sympathetically to other religious leaders of that time? His answer is given in Matthew 7:15, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves". Yet we are told today by neo-evangelicals that we should both teach and study in liberal universities and colleges of theology. There is one thing worse than division and that is peace with compromise. Truth is infinitely more important than the false unity of the world.
Love Corrects Error
Why? Because for the sake of Truth, even families will be split with hostility so that at least someone within that unit can perpetuate God's Truth. In Romans 16:17 Paul says,
If we honor and love the Lord Jesus we will watch for anything which may destroy His Truth. We will avoid such people.
A good way of life or good doctrine is always contaminated by a bad environment or bad associations. A mere association of the good with the bad will never make the bad thing better. The good gets worse; the bad does not improve.
It is the same with a rotten apple in a barrel. The bad one never gets better, but the good ones go rotten (1 Corinthians 15:33). Is it right for doctrinal purity to be blatantly submerged for the sake of worldly ecclesiastical unity? Surely this is a total denial of the Holy Spirit's Word through the Scriptures.
It is evident that leading neo-evangelicals believe our main goal is to eliminate doctrinal distinctive and to emphasize unity among those claiming to be believers.
One of the basic ideas of today's philosophy of ecumenical evangelism is that love is more important than doctrine. Ecumenical evangelists say that doctrine divides, whereas love unifies. What does the Bible say? Is it true that in the New Testament love is more important than doctrine, or Truth? In the so-called Love chapter of 1 Corinthians 13, we are told:
"Now abideth faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love" (agape).
Some say -- That settles it: love is supreme! But when we examine that chapter more carefully, we discover that Truth is also mentioned in the chapter. In verse 6 we are told that, love rejoices in the truth. In other words, faith, hope, and love are virtues but Truth has an altogether different status. It is the frame of reference, the foundation, the atmosphere without which virtues such as love cannot exist at all.
Love rejoices in the truth. Why? Because without Truth to define it, to interpret it, to protect it, to guide it, to channel it -- love can become a total disaster. We dare not place Truth on the same level as virtues. Virtues would shrivel up and die if it were not for Truth.
We cannot imagine life on this planet without water. Water is absolutely essential for life, as long as it stays within proper channels, within its canals, aqueduct, and pipes. But when water gets out of control, it is the second greatest catastrophe that can happen to this planet, second only to fire. On the one hand, it is an absolute blessing, but on the other hand, it can be a total disaster. So it is with love.
God's Definition of Love
Love without divine definition (God's revealed channels within which it must flow) becomes the most horrible thing on earth. It can destroy human beings by the millions, and can be reduced to satanic sentimentalism.
Love, as defined by God, is doing for a person that which is best for him in the light of eternity, no matter what the cost may be. That is how it is defined by God. Somehow, when it comes to world evangelism, many people have forgotten God's definitions and have fallen into sentimentalism. Consider some key Scriptures which illustrate the distinction between love and Truth.
"Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31, 32).
Ultimate freedom may only be achieved by total submission -- unconditional surrender to Truth. There is nothing here about love.
Love Obeys The Truth
There are many who speak glowingly of their love for Jesus Christ and for lost men. In John 14:15, 21, 23, 24, He stresses that obedience to Truth is the best form of love:
"If ye love me, keep my commandments. He that hath my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me. If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keeps not my sayings:..."
This is what we call the acid test of love -- does a man obey the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ? It makes no difference how much we talk about our love if we do not obey Christ. It is obedience that counts, not words. Obedience without love is theoretically possible, but love without obedience is, in practice, impossible. It is a satanic substitute for God's plan.
Love Teaches the Truth
John 21 gives an example of one who said much about his love for Jesus. But when it came to obedience, it was not there. When the pressure came, his resolution collapsed and he denied the Lord. After the resurrection of Jesus, our Lord confronted Peter lovingly, but in truth:
"...Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs Feed my sheep Feed my sheep" John 21:15-17.
How do we express love to the Lord Jesus according to the lesson of this confrontation? By feeding His sheep, as He also commanded in the great commission, by teaching His people and training them in the whole counsel of God, teaching them "whatsoever I have commanded you".
In Acts 20, we find a good example of an apostle who obeyed the great commission. He says nothing about love to the Ephesians in this passage. But he exhibited the supreme love of any disciple toward the Ephesians. What did he do for them? Did he say, I love you, I love you, I love you? Acts 20:26, 27 gives the answer:
"Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God."
Love Leaves Nothing Out
The result was that all which dwelt in Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord Jesus. Paul based his evangelism on sound doctrinal instruction. That is God's key for world evangelism. The words of Paul in Galatians 1:6 were blunt and necessary as Paul says in Galatians 4, in order to tell them the Truth.
Ephesians 4 tells us how we can achieve the perfect balance. Not the gifts God gave the true Church, the body of Christ, for service and ministry in this age: "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers" Ephesians 4:11.
Every one of these gifts in the form of a person is a doctrinal person. They are all totally involved in Truth. All were totally involved in preaching, teaching, and disciplining in the light of revealed Truth. There is no teaching whatsoever in the New Testament suggesting that love is more important than doctrine or Truth.
Love is referred to in Galatians 4:15 where we read of, speaking the truth in love. Love is the manner and method of speaking Truth. Love is the servant of Truth. It makes it easier to receive, absorb, and digest. But it must never be allowed to eclipse or set aside Truth. God's Truth can never change, but God's Truth in the hands of human messengers is a very delicate and fragile thing.
Love Resists Poisons
There is no living system known to science that can survive without an intricate, elaborate, and constantly-used system to purify itself from poisons. This is true of God's Church. It is impossible for any organization to survive unless it has a system to purify itself from poisonous influences.
We need to remember we are in a highly poisoned environment. We are immersed in Satan's world. He has constant access to every servant of God through his fallen nature. How can the relative success of a Christian's ministry be evaluated apart from God's infallible inerrant Word? Who is to determine what success means?
Love Protects the Flock
Did the Lord Jesus encourage His disciples to listen sympathetically to other religious leaders of that time? His answer is given in Matthew 7:15, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves". Yet we are told today by neo-evangelicals that we should both teach and study in liberal universities and colleges of theology. There is one thing worse than division and that is peace with compromise. Truth is infinitely more important than the false unity of the world.
Love Corrects Error
Why? Because for the sake of Truth, even families will be split with hostility so that at least someone within that unit can perpetuate God's Truth. In Romans 16:17 Paul says,
"Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which causes divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them."
If we honor and love the Lord Jesus we will watch for anything which may destroy His Truth. We will avoid such people.
A good way of life or good doctrine is always contaminated by a bad environment or bad associations. A mere association of the good with the bad will never make the bad thing better. The good gets worse; the bad does not improve.
It is the same with a rotten apple in a barrel. The bad one never gets better, but the good ones go rotten (1 Corinthians 15:33). Is it right for doctrinal purity to be blatantly submerged for the sake of worldly ecclesiastical unity? Surely this is a total denial of the Holy Spirit's Word through the Scriptures.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Getting to Know Jesus: 2 Corinthians 3
3:1 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?
3:2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
3:3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
3:4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
3:7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:
3:8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?
3:9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
3:10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
3:11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
3:12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:
3:13 And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
3:14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which veil is done away in Christ.
3:15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart.
3:16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.
3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
3:2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
3:3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
3:4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
3:7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:
3:8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?
3:9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
3:10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
3:11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
3:12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:
3:13 And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
3:14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which veil is done away in Christ.
3:15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart.
3:16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.
3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Truth, Reality, and the Anointing, 2
by Art Katz
(Transcribed excerpts from a video interview of Art Katz in Raleigh, North Carolina, 1997)
Now in Zechariah 4 there's a remarkable discussion about the two men who stand by the Lord and by the candlestick of God to feed it and it says the anointing is within themselves. Its not some artificial linkage, but that there's an accumulation of something that has come through obedience, it comes through prayer, it comes through anything in which there is a replication of the cross.
A suffering that is born in an obedience to the Lord. A willingness to suffer humiliation, to bring disappointments, to be disappointed even in ourselves. In other words, a suffering that need not be our experience if we want to play it safe, to go along, to be promoted within a system. When we risk those things, have no interest in those things, then we serve the purposes of God.
We see examples of the unreality that parades as anointing and is called even revival. We saw a young minister get up and bring a series of cliched statements even referring to the cross, but there was no explication of the cross; there was no word of the cross or requirement to face the cross in one's own experience but just to rev up the atmosphere and create a certain thing through verbiage. That's not going to build a residue of anointing or oil.
A beautiful portion of Scripture is about the five wise virgins and the five foolish. The five wise virgins had an abundance of oil so they didn't have to go searching for it when the midnight hour came, the Lord called, and door was open for the wedding banquet. But the five foolish virgins, their light flickering out, had only oil to carry them to midnight but not through it and they missed out.
It's interesting that when they finally sought to get in to the wedding supper and cried out, the Lord would not open the door to them. Instead He said, "I never KNEW you". It raises the question, what kind of oil did they have even until midnight? Was it some kind of synthetic equivalent of the true, seeing that He didn't know them?
The oil is His conferring of Himself, His Spirit, because the believer and servant is in union with Him according to His purpose and will. Or it might have been that they had a minimal amount of oil obtained with prayer in petitions that had only to do with their own need. The residue that would have been sufficient beyond that, would have been prayers beyond their own needs.
Often testimonies have to do with "me" and "my". The benefit and blessing God gave ME, does for ME, what He will do for ME; me, me, me! It's true and I've been a recipient as all believers, of the things God gives and does for us. But when our whole Christian viewpoint is fixed at the level of what we will receive in our petitions and prayers, when they become "Lord do for me" and "give me", there's no abundance beyond that.
I think that the abundance, the extra oil, comes when we go beyond our own needs and take up the things that have to do with the Lord's need; His Name, His honour, His glory, His purpose, His will. The virgin's lack of abundance indicates that their petitions were fixed at the level of self. I think that's characteristic, unhappily, of most of the church today. Even all the more painfully, the Charismatic and Pentecostal segment of it.
Even when believers pray for revival, what they're wanting is a shot in the arm, a benefit and a blessing that will accrue to them. Where is the 'spirit of revival' when these believers are in contact with the lost and when eternity is hanging in the balance? Where is that vitality, anointing, and Spirit so ostensibly displayed in a Christian cultural setting which is a performance?
The fact that it is lacking in the world where it should penetrate the unbelieving, is embarrassing. If they had it, they would not have to be encouraged or provoked to speak to the lost, the very Life within them would be pressing them for expression to the lost!
Something is profoundly amiss. The contrast raises some very serious questions about truth, integrity, righteousness, and our relationship with the Lord. What we have been exaggerating and building up in a kind of phraseological Christianity in key words that evoke certain responses, is in fact not truth. God is the God of Truth. The Spirit is the Spirit of Truth before He's the Spirit of power. We need to return to reality, to a God who is truth and in truth or we're going to find ourselves painfully deceived.
Here's what I want to say, here's my burden. The Lord has impressed this upon me: Don't spare, name names so to speak. Identify and share with people the experience through which you have passed with them. If they do not howl at the deviousness of their life and the deceit of it, in the Name of the Lord, what will happen in the day of the Lord's appearing and before the throne of His judgment when we stand before Him?
In that moment when we stand before Him, we see as we are seen and we recognize the fraudulence of our life too late to remedy any part of it. We are fixed and stuck with that unreality for all eternity. It is an unspeakable shame. It's an eternal embarrassment without remedy.
Every one of us have had experiences where we've been flushed with embarrassment. There's a red burning and the most uncomfortable feeling when you're caught in moments like that. But praise God, it passes! What if it was fixed for eternity and it never passed? God is giving men an opportunity to see their condition and the untruth of it, however well meaning their intentions and thinking they were in even doing God's service in promoting that, to cry out in acknowledgment of truth and ask for God's forgiveness.
The Lord put upon my heart the word "caul" or veil, a portion of the amnion, especially when it covers the head of a fetus at birth. It's a viscous, transparent kind of tissue. For every untruth, every lie, every deceit, every cutting of corners, every unfaithfulness, every taking of liberties where we don't insist upon the truth, something develops over our heart.
This caul or veil of the heart is a membrane that becomes thicker and thicker by every untruth until our hearts are rendered dull. The Spirit of God cannot come through that veil that is over our own heart, that is, the product of our own insincerity and our own deceit.
Psalms 24 says, "Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted himself up to falsehood, not given to vanity or deceit." My impression is that an overwhelming number of "Charismatic, Spirit-filled, Pentecostal believers" cannot ascend that hill. They have given themselves to deceit.
The system itself ENCOURAGES it. On the few occasions when I get into churches like that and speak in the integrity of God the things that He gives, people stop breathing. They know a moment of truth has come that requires the most radical of adjustments and many of the believers will respond. But the officialdom whose positions and religious office is caught up with the system are defensive of it.
What's the issue of ascending the mount of God? Why is it so critical? God raises the question WHO shall ascend as if to say, how many candidates are there? Who is even desirous of going UP? Most of us like to remain at the plateau of familiarity in things that give us some vibes, kicks, warm feelings, and sentimental things.
We don't want to go up because doing so is defying gravity! You get burrs and sticky things in your legs, you pant for air, its hard. But WHO will go up? Who will ascend the hill of the Lord? Those of clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted himself up to falsehood or vanity. Psalm 24 ends speaking about the King of Glory is at the gate, as if to say he's waiting to come in, but he will not knock the gate down.
He has restricted Himself and imposed a condition upon Himself that the gate must be opened by those who ascend the hill of God and have hands clean enough to throw the bolt that allows the King of glory to come in. Our unreality, religiously, is costing us dearly. It will eventuate in rivers of blood unless there's a true church that will ascend the hill and throw open the bolt the gate that allows the King of glory to come in.
The issue of anointing is the issue of truth. The issue is of authentic relationship with God. If we are not authentically related to Him in truth, moment by moment, how can we relate to men? If we're not authentic with ourselves, with those of the same race, the same religious persuasion, what shall we be expressing to those who are outside of our orbit and to whom we need to bring a greater reality? The challenge is to bring to them a greater reality than what they themselves know and esteem. You cannot fabricate that.
Ironically, I've been a believer for 32 years and struggled with these issues. I was a Jew who was turned off by these issues for the first 35 years of my life. I could not stand cliches, empty, vacuous phrases, cheap things that seemed even to be an obstruction to the progress of mankind and still are.
There's something about the nature of that which is holy, that if it's not jealously guarded and watched over, becomes the cruelest of deceptions and cliches. It becomes the introversion, the negation of what is holy - it becomes, in a word - "religion".
Jesus came to bring us life and that more abundantly. Because we, the church, have not jealously guarded the Life, have not lived in the Life, have not been jealous for the Spirit of the Life which can only go forth in truth, the life and the faith has degenerated into mere religion, empty cliches.
We're looking for revival to bring some kind of jump start to a very grave condition that needs a much deeper remedy than some kind of back thumping, back slapping preacher who can string together a number of cliched phrases with a hype-up ability and call that revival!
(Transcribed excerpts from a video interview of Art Katz in Raleigh, North Carolina, 1997)
Now in Zechariah 4 there's a remarkable discussion about the two men who stand by the Lord and by the candlestick of God to feed it and it says the anointing is within themselves. Its not some artificial linkage, but that there's an accumulation of something that has come through obedience, it comes through prayer, it comes through anything in which there is a replication of the cross.
A suffering that is born in an obedience to the Lord. A willingness to suffer humiliation, to bring disappointments, to be disappointed even in ourselves. In other words, a suffering that need not be our experience if we want to play it safe, to go along, to be promoted within a system. When we risk those things, have no interest in those things, then we serve the purposes of God.
We see examples of the unreality that parades as anointing and is called even revival. We saw a young minister get up and bring a series of cliched statements even referring to the cross, but there was no explication of the cross; there was no word of the cross or requirement to face the cross in one's own experience but just to rev up the atmosphere and create a certain thing through verbiage. That's not going to build a residue of anointing or oil.
A beautiful portion of Scripture is about the five wise virgins and the five foolish. The five wise virgins had an abundance of oil so they didn't have to go searching for it when the midnight hour came, the Lord called, and door was open for the wedding banquet. But the five foolish virgins, their light flickering out, had only oil to carry them to midnight but not through it and they missed out.
It's interesting that when they finally sought to get in to the wedding supper and cried out, the Lord would not open the door to them. Instead He said, "I never KNEW you". It raises the question, what kind of oil did they have even until midnight? Was it some kind of synthetic equivalent of the true, seeing that He didn't know them?
The oil is His conferring of Himself, His Spirit, because the believer and servant is in union with Him according to His purpose and will. Or it might have been that they had a minimal amount of oil obtained with prayer in petitions that had only to do with their own need. The residue that would have been sufficient beyond that, would have been prayers beyond their own needs.
Often testimonies have to do with "me" and "my". The benefit and blessing God gave ME, does for ME, what He will do for ME; me, me, me! It's true and I've been a recipient as all believers, of the things God gives and does for us. But when our whole Christian viewpoint is fixed at the level of what we will receive in our petitions and prayers, when they become "Lord do for me" and "give me", there's no abundance beyond that.
I think that the abundance, the extra oil, comes when we go beyond our own needs and take up the things that have to do with the Lord's need; His Name, His honour, His glory, His purpose, His will. The virgin's lack of abundance indicates that their petitions were fixed at the level of self. I think that's characteristic, unhappily, of most of the church today. Even all the more painfully, the Charismatic and Pentecostal segment of it.
Even when believers pray for revival, what they're wanting is a shot in the arm, a benefit and a blessing that will accrue to them. Where is the 'spirit of revival' when these believers are in contact with the lost and when eternity is hanging in the balance? Where is that vitality, anointing, and Spirit so ostensibly displayed in a Christian cultural setting which is a performance?
The fact that it is lacking in the world where it should penetrate the unbelieving, is embarrassing. If they had it, they would not have to be encouraged or provoked to speak to the lost, the very Life within them would be pressing them for expression to the lost!
Something is profoundly amiss. The contrast raises some very serious questions about truth, integrity, righteousness, and our relationship with the Lord. What we have been exaggerating and building up in a kind of phraseological Christianity in key words that evoke certain responses, is in fact not truth. God is the God of Truth. The Spirit is the Spirit of Truth before He's the Spirit of power. We need to return to reality, to a God who is truth and in truth or we're going to find ourselves painfully deceived.
Here's what I want to say, here's my burden. The Lord has impressed this upon me: Don't spare, name names so to speak. Identify and share with people the experience through which you have passed with them. If they do not howl at the deviousness of their life and the deceit of it, in the Name of the Lord, what will happen in the day of the Lord's appearing and before the throne of His judgment when we stand before Him?
In that moment when we stand before Him, we see as we are seen and we recognize the fraudulence of our life too late to remedy any part of it. We are fixed and stuck with that unreality for all eternity. It is an unspeakable shame. It's an eternal embarrassment without remedy.
Every one of us have had experiences where we've been flushed with embarrassment. There's a red burning and the most uncomfortable feeling when you're caught in moments like that. But praise God, it passes! What if it was fixed for eternity and it never passed? God is giving men an opportunity to see their condition and the untruth of it, however well meaning their intentions and thinking they were in even doing God's service in promoting that, to cry out in acknowledgment of truth and ask for God's forgiveness.
The Lord put upon my heart the word "caul" or veil, a portion of the amnion, especially when it covers the head of a fetus at birth. It's a viscous, transparent kind of tissue. For every untruth, every lie, every deceit, every cutting of corners, every unfaithfulness, every taking of liberties where we don't insist upon the truth, something develops over our heart.
This caul or veil of the heart is a membrane that becomes thicker and thicker by every untruth until our hearts are rendered dull. The Spirit of God cannot come through that veil that is over our own heart, that is, the product of our own insincerity and our own deceit.
Psalms 24 says, "Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted himself up to falsehood, not given to vanity or deceit." My impression is that an overwhelming number of "Charismatic, Spirit-filled, Pentecostal believers" cannot ascend that hill. They have given themselves to deceit.
The system itself ENCOURAGES it. On the few occasions when I get into churches like that and speak in the integrity of God the things that He gives, people stop breathing. They know a moment of truth has come that requires the most radical of adjustments and many of the believers will respond. But the officialdom whose positions and religious office is caught up with the system are defensive of it.
What's the issue of ascending the mount of God? Why is it so critical? God raises the question WHO shall ascend as if to say, how many candidates are there? Who is even desirous of going UP? Most of us like to remain at the plateau of familiarity in things that give us some vibes, kicks, warm feelings, and sentimental things.
We don't want to go up because doing so is defying gravity! You get burrs and sticky things in your legs, you pant for air, its hard. But WHO will go up? Who will ascend the hill of the Lord? Those of clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted himself up to falsehood or vanity. Psalm 24 ends speaking about the King of Glory is at the gate, as if to say he's waiting to come in, but he will not knock the gate down.
He has restricted Himself and imposed a condition upon Himself that the gate must be opened by those who ascend the hill of God and have hands clean enough to throw the bolt that allows the King of glory to come in. Our unreality, religiously, is costing us dearly. It will eventuate in rivers of blood unless there's a true church that will ascend the hill and throw open the bolt the gate that allows the King of glory to come in.
The issue of anointing is the issue of truth. The issue is of authentic relationship with God. If we are not authentically related to Him in truth, moment by moment, how can we relate to men? If we're not authentic with ourselves, with those of the same race, the same religious persuasion, what shall we be expressing to those who are outside of our orbit and to whom we need to bring a greater reality? The challenge is to bring to them a greater reality than what they themselves know and esteem. You cannot fabricate that.
Ironically, I've been a believer for 32 years and struggled with these issues. I was a Jew who was turned off by these issues for the first 35 years of my life. I could not stand cliches, empty, vacuous phrases, cheap things that seemed even to be an obstruction to the progress of mankind and still are.
There's something about the nature of that which is holy, that if it's not jealously guarded and watched over, becomes the cruelest of deceptions and cliches. It becomes the introversion, the negation of what is holy - it becomes, in a word - "religion".
Jesus came to bring us life and that more abundantly. Because we, the church, have not jealously guarded the Life, have not lived in the Life, have not been jealous for the Spirit of the Life which can only go forth in truth, the life and the faith has degenerated into mere religion, empty cliches.
We're looking for revival to bring some kind of jump start to a very grave condition that needs a much deeper remedy than some kind of back thumping, back slapping preacher who can string together a number of cliched phrases with a hype-up ability and call that revival!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Getting to Know Jesus: 2 Corinthians 2
2:1 But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness.
2:2 For if I make you sorry, who is he than that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me?
2:3 And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all.
2:4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.
2:5 But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all.
2:6 Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many.
2:7 So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.
2:8 Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.
2:9 For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.
2:10 To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;
2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
2:12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,
2:13 I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.
2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
2:15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
2:16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?
2:17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
2:2 For if I make you sorry, who is he than that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me?
2:3 And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all.
2:4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.
2:5 But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all.
2:6 Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many.
2:7 So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.
2:8 Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.
2:9 For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.
2:10 To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;
2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
2:12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,
2:13 I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.
2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
2:15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
2:16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?
2:17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Truth, Reality, and the Anointing, 1
by Art Katz
(Transcribed excerpts from a video interview of Art Katz in Raleigh, North Carolina, 1997)
I think I'm sensing something of the Lord's grief for the condition of the church, the unreality of the church. I think no where is it more flagrant than in, ironically, the Holy Spirit, Charismatic, Pentecostal dimension.
I don't have all that much contact with fundamental churches, but I think in a certain sense they may well be cleaner than we. They make no profession of the gifts of the Spirit which we purport to have and therefore, they don't run into the kind of excesses and abuses that we exhibit. That was what the Lord put on my heart.
I have a paper here that was composed and was stimulated by a brother on the subject of anointing in which his principle theme is that anointing is not some fixed phenomenon that God confers on individuals as if it were an office, an ecclesiastical office in the church, but something proportionate to one's actual authentic relationship with God in moment by moment obedience to the thing which He requires.
And in it and with it comes the spirit of revelation and he gives the example of Peter recognizing that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and upon which He says "upon this rock I will build My church". The rock was not Peter himself but rather the revelation that had come through the Spirit in a moment given, which is to be the foundation itself, the operation of God's Spirit in them who are in true union with Him.
We've moved away from this moment by moment dependency in authentic relationship with God to somehow thinking that anointing is a fixed thing conferred upon certain men of faith and power and that naivete requires us to turn up the amplifiers to give a sense of anointing, a certain loudness in the church, in our speaking, in our activity which the naive presume to think IS anointing.
The message is a call to authenticity, to reality, because God is the God of truth. When we move off and away from that place and come to unreality, the Spirit is not there, and we therefore compensate for it by turning up the dials, which further deepens the unreality and puts the church in a lamentable place and condition.
Cues are used like "revival!", "praise the Lord!, and "I feel the presence of God". These have almost become like cliched expressions. We're almost expected to jump when we hear them, and we do! But it's not the prompting, in my opinion, of God's spirit. The whole thing is becoming increasingly unreal. I call it surrealism - a form of art that's very exacting in it's depicting of real things - but the whole thing that is depicted is unreal.
I don't know if you've ever heard the name Salvador Dali. He was the great surrealistic artist, who had painstaking attention to detail, but the actual thing that he was depicting was mirage, an unreality. We are lapsing into that. Either I'm in poor condition myself, or my condition is of such a kind that I'm picking up and discerning God's own sense of things and His grief.
I have an extra motivation for being concerned for the reality of the church, namely, that the church is God's appointed agency in moving Jews to jealousy. And we Jews, even in our darkness have a kind of unfailing radar whereby we can, in a moment, identify and sense whether something is real or feigned.
I think that we would be more relentless in identifying the phoniness of televangelist ministries than the church itself, which has supported them right into their deceptions and into their moral failures and past their moral failures. Whereas a Jew would have clicked on the TV set and instantly had a reaction against the hype that has become so familiar to us that we don't even wince anymore.
We've become dull. You cannot be exposed to untruth and come away unscathed. Something is lost. Your spirit becomes dull and then the next opportunity for being brought into unreality is the greater, until by a series of meetings and exposures and the whole content of that kind of thing, we become deceived. I am concerned that we're moving toward that.
If we were vigilant for the truth instead of allowing ourselves to be boxed in and cued to perform, we would blow the whistle and say, "Something's amiss here. I don't sense God's presence and I'm not going to allow you to manipulate me to produce something that will give you a high. Let's look and pray and see what it is that somehow has alienated God and find our way back to Him who IS reality".
Of course that would jar people, adversely affect the service, and spoil it perhaps. But God calls the church to be the ground and pillar of truth. If we are unwilling to the risk a spoiled service and the show must go on, it will invariably become a show. In that show, in that congregation, are people who are hurting. Marriages are threatened. Family life is collapsing. Their own sense of integrity is failing and their sense of God is faltering.
Yet they're being brought into a certain environment; an atmosphere where they have to wear a kind of chintzy smile and "ain't we got fun" and "we're all spiritual" masks. They come out of that and go back again into the greyness. Their unhappy situation that is at home in their real life which is not met in the unreality to which they are exposed to in the church.
They think something is wrong with them, because of what they are exposed to in the church. When they think something is wrong with them because they are not sufficiently spiritual or out of the Spirit, they don't realize it's the system itself. The religious thing itself is at fault of which they are the victim and the product.
In my opinion, I've been a believer 32 years and traveled broadly, the anointing is my life. If I'm not in the anointing of God, woe unto me and woe unto those who are hearing me. I have a kind of prophetic jealousy that, at any given moment of service, is once and for all and shall not be given again. There is a sense in which eternity hangs in the balance. Life and death issues are being propounded and can only be propounded in the anointing of God.
We're not talking about merchandise or making a sale. Grave issues are at stake and can only go forth in the power of God. My sense is that the anointing oil is the measure of God's approval on the thing that is being spoken and performed. He anoints what He appoints and when we move from that, in the promotion of our own ministry, our own self, our own vanity; the Lord recoils.
The Spirit of God is not attesting to that and that's when we raise the decibels of our sound system to compensate. So I would say that a man has the measure of anointing in proportion to the consistency of his obedience to God. This will often bring him into conflict with his own interests, or the promotion of his own ministry, or with those to whom he is ministering.
There's got to be a certain kind of integrity and ruthlessness, certainly a fearlessness with regard to accommodating men. There are not many who are walking that way with any consistency that the oil of God would be upon them and that there would be a residue. Its not that God just doles it out by the spoonful for the moment. Often when we finish our ministry, the anointing yet lingers even sometimes so strongly we can't fall asleep; the energy remains.
(Transcribed excerpts from a video interview of Art Katz in Raleigh, North Carolina, 1997)
I think I'm sensing something of the Lord's grief for the condition of the church, the unreality of the church. I think no where is it more flagrant than in, ironically, the Holy Spirit, Charismatic, Pentecostal dimension.
I don't have all that much contact with fundamental churches, but I think in a certain sense they may well be cleaner than we. They make no profession of the gifts of the Spirit which we purport to have and therefore, they don't run into the kind of excesses and abuses that we exhibit. That was what the Lord put on my heart.
I have a paper here that was composed and was stimulated by a brother on the subject of anointing in which his principle theme is that anointing is not some fixed phenomenon that God confers on individuals as if it were an office, an ecclesiastical office in the church, but something proportionate to one's actual authentic relationship with God in moment by moment obedience to the thing which He requires.
And in it and with it comes the spirit of revelation and he gives the example of Peter recognizing that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and upon which He says "upon this rock I will build My church". The rock was not Peter himself but rather the revelation that had come through the Spirit in a moment given, which is to be the foundation itself, the operation of God's Spirit in them who are in true union with Him.
We've moved away from this moment by moment dependency in authentic relationship with God to somehow thinking that anointing is a fixed thing conferred upon certain men of faith and power and that naivete requires us to turn up the amplifiers to give a sense of anointing, a certain loudness in the church, in our speaking, in our activity which the naive presume to think IS anointing.
The message is a call to authenticity, to reality, because God is the God of truth. When we move off and away from that place and come to unreality, the Spirit is not there, and we therefore compensate for it by turning up the dials, which further deepens the unreality and puts the church in a lamentable place and condition.
Cues are used like "revival!", "praise the Lord!, and "I feel the presence of God". These have almost become like cliched expressions. We're almost expected to jump when we hear them, and we do! But it's not the prompting, in my opinion, of God's spirit. The whole thing is becoming increasingly unreal. I call it surrealism - a form of art that's very exacting in it's depicting of real things - but the whole thing that is depicted is unreal.
I don't know if you've ever heard the name Salvador Dali. He was the great surrealistic artist, who had painstaking attention to detail, but the actual thing that he was depicting was mirage, an unreality. We are lapsing into that. Either I'm in poor condition myself, or my condition is of such a kind that I'm picking up and discerning God's own sense of things and His grief.
I have an extra motivation for being concerned for the reality of the church, namely, that the church is God's appointed agency in moving Jews to jealousy. And we Jews, even in our darkness have a kind of unfailing radar whereby we can, in a moment, identify and sense whether something is real or feigned.
I think that we would be more relentless in identifying the phoniness of televangelist ministries than the church itself, which has supported them right into their deceptions and into their moral failures and past their moral failures. Whereas a Jew would have clicked on the TV set and instantly had a reaction against the hype that has become so familiar to us that we don't even wince anymore.
We've become dull. You cannot be exposed to untruth and come away unscathed. Something is lost. Your spirit becomes dull and then the next opportunity for being brought into unreality is the greater, until by a series of meetings and exposures and the whole content of that kind of thing, we become deceived. I am concerned that we're moving toward that.
If we were vigilant for the truth instead of allowing ourselves to be boxed in and cued to perform, we would blow the whistle and say, "Something's amiss here. I don't sense God's presence and I'm not going to allow you to manipulate me to produce something that will give you a high. Let's look and pray and see what it is that somehow has alienated God and find our way back to Him who IS reality".
Of course that would jar people, adversely affect the service, and spoil it perhaps. But God calls the church to be the ground and pillar of truth. If we are unwilling to the risk a spoiled service and the show must go on, it will invariably become a show. In that show, in that congregation, are people who are hurting. Marriages are threatened. Family life is collapsing. Their own sense of integrity is failing and their sense of God is faltering.
Yet they're being brought into a certain environment; an atmosphere where they have to wear a kind of chintzy smile and "ain't we got fun" and "we're all spiritual" masks. They come out of that and go back again into the greyness. Their unhappy situation that is at home in their real life which is not met in the unreality to which they are exposed to in the church.
They think something is wrong with them, because of what they are exposed to in the church. When they think something is wrong with them because they are not sufficiently spiritual or out of the Spirit, they don't realize it's the system itself. The religious thing itself is at fault of which they are the victim and the product.
In my opinion, I've been a believer 32 years and traveled broadly, the anointing is my life. If I'm not in the anointing of God, woe unto me and woe unto those who are hearing me. I have a kind of prophetic jealousy that, at any given moment of service, is once and for all and shall not be given again. There is a sense in which eternity hangs in the balance. Life and death issues are being propounded and can only be propounded in the anointing of God.
We're not talking about merchandise or making a sale. Grave issues are at stake and can only go forth in the power of God. My sense is that the anointing oil is the measure of God's approval on the thing that is being spoken and performed. He anoints what He appoints and when we move from that, in the promotion of our own ministry, our own self, our own vanity; the Lord recoils.
The Spirit of God is not attesting to that and that's when we raise the decibels of our sound system to compensate. So I would say that a man has the measure of anointing in proportion to the consistency of his obedience to God. This will often bring him into conflict with his own interests, or the promotion of his own ministry, or with those to whom he is ministering.
There's got to be a certain kind of integrity and ruthlessness, certainly a fearlessness with regard to accommodating men. There are not many who are walking that way with any consistency that the oil of God would be upon them and that there would be a residue. Its not that God just doles it out by the spoonful for the moment. Often when we finish our ministry, the anointing yet lingers even sometimes so strongly we can't fall asleep; the energy remains.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Getting to Know Jesus: 2 Corinthians 1
1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:
1:2 Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
1:3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
1:4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
1:5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
1:6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
1:7 And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.
1:8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:
1:9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
1:10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
1:11 Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.
1:12 For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.
1:13 For we write none other things unto you, that what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end;
1:14 As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are our's in the day of the Lord Jesus.
1:15 And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit;
1:16 And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea.
1:17 When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay?
1:18 But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.
1:19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.
1:20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
1:21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
1:22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
1:23 Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.
1:24 Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.
1:2 Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
1:3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
1:4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
1:5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
1:6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
1:7 And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.
1:8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:
1:9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
1:10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
1:11 Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.
1:12 For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.
1:13 For we write none other things unto you, that what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end;
1:14 As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are our's in the day of the Lord Jesus.
1:15 And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit;
1:16 And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea.
1:17 When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay?
1:18 But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.
1:19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.
1:20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
1:21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
1:22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
1:23 Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.
1:24 Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
That Is Dying To Self
"When you are forgotten or neglected or purposely set at naught, and you sting and hurt with the insult of the oversight, but your heart is happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ - that is dying to self.
When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient loving silence - that is dying to self.
When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, or any annoyance, when you can stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, and endure it as Jesus endured it - that is dying to self.
When you are content with any food, any offering, any raiment, any climate, any society, any attitude, any interruption by the will of God - that is dying to self. When you never care to refuse yourself in conversation, or record your own good works, or itch after any commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown - that is dying to self.
When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances - that is dying to self.
When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself, can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart - that is dying to self." - Author Unknown (taken from Different By Design by John MacArthur).
Oh, that each of us could be one who dies to themselves - oh, that I could be one that is dying to self!
When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient loving silence - that is dying to self.
When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, or any annoyance, when you can stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, and endure it as Jesus endured it - that is dying to self.
When you are content with any food, any offering, any raiment, any climate, any society, any attitude, any interruption by the will of God - that is dying to self. When you never care to refuse yourself in conversation, or record your own good works, or itch after any commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown - that is dying to self.
When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances - that is dying to self.
When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself, can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart - that is dying to self." - Author Unknown (taken from Different By Design by John MacArthur).
Oh, that each of us could be one who dies to themselves - oh, that I could be one that is dying to self!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Getting to Know Jesus: 1 Corinthians 16
16:1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
16:3 And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.
16:4 And if it be meet that I go also, they shall go with me.
16:5 Now I will come unto you, when I shall pass through Macedonia: for I do pass through Macedonia.
16:6 And it may be that I will abide, yea, and winter with you, that ye may bring me on my journey whithersoever I go.
16:7 For I will not see you now by the way; but I trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit.
16:8 But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost.
16:9 For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.
16:10 Now if Timotheus come, see that he may be with you without fear: for he worketh the work of the Lord, as I also do.
16:11 Let no man therefore despise him: but conduct him forth in peace, that he may come unto me: for I look for him with the brethren.
16:12 As touching our brother Apollos, I greatly desired him to come unto you with the brethren: but his will was not at all to come at this time; but he will come when he shall have convenient time.
16:13 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
16:14 Let all your things be done with charity.
16:15 I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)
16:16 That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth.
16:17 I am glad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus: for that which was lacking on your part they have supplied.
16:18 For they have refreshed my spirit and yours: therefore acknowledge ye them that are such.
16:19 The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.
16:20 All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss.
16:21 The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand.
16:22 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.
16:23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
16:24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
16:3 And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.
16:4 And if it be meet that I go also, they shall go with me.
16:5 Now I will come unto you, when I shall pass through Macedonia: for I do pass through Macedonia.
16:6 And it may be that I will abide, yea, and winter with you, that ye may bring me on my journey whithersoever I go.
16:7 For I will not see you now by the way; but I trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit.
16:8 But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost.
16:9 For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.
16:10 Now if Timotheus come, see that he may be with you without fear: for he worketh the work of the Lord, as I also do.
16:11 Let no man therefore despise him: but conduct him forth in peace, that he may come unto me: for I look for him with the brethren.
16:12 As touching our brother Apollos, I greatly desired him to come unto you with the brethren: but his will was not at all to come at this time; but he will come when he shall have convenient time.
16:13 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
16:14 Let all your things be done with charity.
16:15 I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)
16:16 That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth.
16:17 I am glad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus: for that which was lacking on your part they have supplied.
16:18 For they have refreshed my spirit and yours: therefore acknowledge ye them that are such.
16:19 The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.
16:20 All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss.
16:21 The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand.
16:22 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.
16:23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
16:24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
VIDEO: Me Worship for the "Me" Church
courtesy of mlex3
This is a hilarious pun on a serious matter. Worship: who's it all about anyway?
This is a hilarious pun on a serious matter. Worship: who's it all about anyway?
Monday, November 16, 2009
Getting to Know Jesus: 1 Corinthians 15
15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, which also ye believed in vain.
15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
15:5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
15:6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
15:7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
15:8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
15:11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
15:12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
15:13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith s also vain.
15:15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
15:16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
15:18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
15:27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
15:29 Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?
15:30 And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?
15:31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
15:32 If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.
15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
15:35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
15:36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
15:37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or some other grain:
15:38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
15:39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
15:40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
15:41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
15:43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.
15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immorality.
15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, which also ye believed in vain.
15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
15:5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
15:6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
15:7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
15:8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
15:11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
15:12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
15:13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith s also vain.
15:15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
15:16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
15:18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
15:27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
15:29 Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?
15:30 And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?
15:31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
15:32 If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.
15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
15:35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
15:36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
15:37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or some other grain:
15:38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
15:39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
15:40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
15:41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
15:43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.
15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immorality.
15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Be Careful What You Buy in Christian Book Stores
by Marsha West
It's understandable that free-market conservatives are deeply troubled that Barack Obama has taken the reins of power. Already we see America moving even closer to socialism than before. But to me, what's even more troubling than what's going on in Washington D.C. is the clear and present danger in Christendom. Let me spell out the problem as I see it: A-p-o-s-t-a-s-y.
Dictionary.com defines apostasy as "A total desertion of or departure from one's religion, principles, party, cause, etc."
For hundreds of years orthodox Christianity has held that the Bible is the Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, by supernatural power, and that every word in it is true (2 Timothy 3:16). Thus, Scripture has the power, or right, to command how people of faith live their lives.
Then theological liberalism rears its ugly head and attempts to undermine established truths. The theological liberal pretends to be a Christian ("progressive Christian" is preferable) as he or she blatantly and unapologetically undermines the Divine authority of the scriptures in matters of faith and life. As a result of the onslaught of liberal influences, the Church is in dire straits!
False teachers and charlatans persist solely because Christian's have become biblically illiterate. Many believers think studying the Bible is so dull and boring that they can't be bothered anymore. So they're ripe for the picking. And this is not the exception but the rule!
A number of professed Christians ignore what was written by the apostles and others who sat under Christs teaching and put their trust in human opinions and unreliable sources. More on this in a moment.
If God did not reveal Himself through the prophets and those who penned the Old and New Testaments, and the Bible is simply a collection of fascinating morality tales, myths, and fables, what source are people to draw from in their quest to know the one true God?
Let's say the Gospels were made up, as the unbeliever claims, how, then, will the person who has given his or her life to Christ know anything at all about Him? Moreover, if the Bible is merely a book of fables, when Jesus was tested by the devil, why did He quote from Deuteronomy 6:6, 6:13, 8:3, and 10:20? Because the Word of God is the source of power against the enemies of God!
Even the Son of God wielded the "sword of the spirit, which is the word of God" against the evil one! "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God'" (Matthew 4:4). The words that proceed out of the mouth of God are in the Bible! God's word is the bread of life! It is nourishment for the soul! You can't fight evil forces without arming yourself for battle! The way you do that is explained here.
Make no mistake. Rulers of darkness are the driving force behind theological liberalism. Paul warned, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12).
These counterfeit Christians are relentless in their plan to deconstruct historical, orthodox Christianity. They want to mold Christianity into a one size fits all religion that appeals to everyone. To be successful they must refashion the Jesus of the Bible into a tolerant, all-inclusive Savior who condemns no one. Sound familiar?
Progressive Christians abhor the Bible's "oppressive morality." Not even God has the right to tell them how to live their lives, especially when it comes to free expression, or what the Bible deems deviant behavior. Their mantra is "God wants me to be happy, halleluiah!"
Books that put a positive spin on the cults, the occult, New Age spirituality, Eastern mysticism, homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, and what not are available through online Christian outlets as well as in walk-in stores. Here's a point to ponder: So-called Christian publishing houses are the largest suppliers of outright heresy. Oddly, Christian publishers and outlets are responsible (or should I say irresponsible) for much of the apostasy because they give false teachers a platform for what simply equates to heresy!
Listen to what Peter Jones says in his article, "Evangelism Highjacked by Closet Theological Liberals":
"I write, so to speak, from the belly of this beast, attending the National Pastors' Conference, sponsored by Zondervan and Intervarsity Press, which is taking place in San Diego, February 9-14, 2009. It is amazing to see how these once faithful publishers of evangelical orthodoxy are now consistently and deliberately launching a massive but subtle attack against the "Fundamentals" for which Evangelicalism stood courageously against liberalism in the past."
A word of warning about Christian bookstores. Bibles are sold in every color, shape, and size in translations that are supposedly "accurate" "up-to-date" and "easy to read." If you don't know what you're buying, careful! Many Bible translations are highly unorthodox, hence they're unfit for Christian consumption!
Albert Mohler, President of Baptist Theological Seminary, cautions that the translation a person chooses is "what they will have in their minds and what they will hide in their hearts." Unorthodox material can lead ignorant souls into cults and apostate Christianity -- and this is tragic!
Visit just about any Christian bookstore (CB) and you'll see display cases and shelves stocked with spiritual merchandise, including jewelry, figurines, framed pictures, greeting cards, calendars, posters, music - you name it they stock it. But what's disconcerting about these stores is that they also stock books that not only attack the fundamentals of the faith, some of the books contain out and out heresy! Christian publishers and storeowners have a responsibility to examine the material they sell!
Let me provide a few examples of many that could be cited. So-called Christian publishing houses publish books that purport Word of Faith theology (the prosperity gospel) that are distributed to Christian retailers. You ask, "What's wrong with the prosperity gospel?" Well, for one thing, prosperity preachers hold to the decidedly unorthodox view of Scripture that faith is a force.
Faith teachers say that faith is controlled through words by uttering the right words, or the right formula, and you can have what you want. Adherents call it making a "positive confession." Confess you're healthy and you can overcome disease. Confess you're a millionaire and it will happen. Just name it and claim it! That, my friends, is heresy.
One of the most popular prosperity preachers is Joel Osteen. If you're a fan of Joel's, please don't stop reading -- just hear me out. I realize that it's hard to believe that Osteen would steer you wrong. But don't be fooled by his humble demeanor, his neatly coiffed hair and dazzling smile. Listen to what he says about faith in his best-selling book, "Your Best Life Now":
"You have to begin speaking words of faith over your life. Your words have enormous creative power. The moment you speak something out, you give birth to it. This is a spiritual principle, and it works whether what you're saying is good or bad, positive or negative." [1]
This so-called spiritual principle is "the law of attraction." New Age guru, Rhonda Byrnes, author of "The Secret" believes "you create your life through your thoughts." Joel believes the same thing! Those who choose to read his books, attend or watch his church service on TV are sitting under a false teacher!
Joel Osteen in not alone. T.D. Jakes is a spiritual advisor to President Obama. He has been labeled a "black Billy Graham." Yet Jakes teaches something Billy never taught:
"Jesus was a rich man. He had to have been, in order to have supported his disciples and their families during his ministry." [2]
Funny, but the Bible tells us that Jesus "had nowhere to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20; Luke 9:58).
John Avanzini also believes Jesus was rich:
"...Jesus lived in great prosperity..." [3]
Trend-setting Jesus wore designer clothes:
"Why do you need to know that?" asks Avanzini. "Because until you know that Jesus was prosperous, you won't be either. You may have His kindness, you may have His gentleness, you may have all His other attributes, but you'll never have His prosperity."
Televangelist Benny Hinn is "sick and tired of hearing about streets of gold." He says he doesn't need gold in heaven (My comments are in brackets):
"I gotta have it now [Rev. Greedy is worth millions]. I mean, when I get to glory, all my bills will be paid, brother, I won't have bills in glory. I gotta have it here. [So send him your hard-earned money]! You say, 'Well, Benny Hinn, isn't it wonderful to have streets of gold in heaven?' Well, of course, but if I hear the thing one more time of how it will be and how it was, I'm gonna kick somebody." [Hopefully, Benny did not follow through on his threat]. [4]
In her book "The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make" Joyce Meyer writes this heresy:
"During that time He [Jesus] entered hell, where you and I deserved to go (legally) because of our sin. He paid the price there...no plan was too extreme. ...Jesus said on the cross and in hell." She continues, "...God rose up from His throne and said to demon powers tormenting the sinless Son of God, 'Let Him go.' Then the resurrection power of Almighty God went through hell and filled Jesus...He was resurrected from the dead - the first born-again man." [5]
Admittedly some of Joyce's teaching is biblical, however her teaching on the Atonement, which is a central doctrine of the faith, is heretical. {C.O.G. Editor's note: All I have to say about Miss West's statement is "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (Galatians 5:9). Meaning, if one part of Joyce Meyer's teaching is heretical it's a safe conclusion that it all is heretical. My advice is to not listen to anything Joyce Meyer or any of these other false teachers have to say}.
Why would Jesus Christ, who is God, need to be born again in hell? The Bible clearly teaches that it is mere mortals who must be born again! The cross is where Jesus' atoning work for mankind was completed! In John 19:30 Jesus said: "It is finished...and gave up the ghost."
That His work was finished is also evidenced in Paul's words in Colossians 1:20: "And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven."
What Joyce Meyer teaches is clearly Word of Faith theology.
This is just a taste of prosperity teaching. You can listen to these men and women 'til the cows come home' and you will not hear one of them utter that followers of Jesus Christ are to deny themselves and take up their cross. Jesus said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). But that's just Jesus.
Here is a partial list of other word-faith apostates:
Kenneth Hagin, Charles Capps, Oral Roberts, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, Paul and Jan Crouch, John Hagee, Rod Parsley, Todd Bentley, Paula White, Fred Price, Jerry Savelle, Robert Tilton, Marilyn Hickey, Morris Cerullo, Miles Munroe, Jesse Duplantis, Steve Munsey, Kim Clement, and Ed Young.
Frankly, I'm surprised Oprah Winfrey's book club recommendations aren't displayed in CB windows. Whatever Oprah recommends becomes an overnight best-seller and rakes in mega bucks. In fact, hordes of "Christians" run right out and by Oprah's book club picks.
A few years ago she pushed Neal Donald Walsh's blasphemous "Conversations With God" on her show. The book sold millions and made Walsh a household name! Last year, Oprah promoted the New Age Bible, "A Course in Miracles," a "self-study spiritual thought system that teaches the way to Universal Love through Forgiveness."
My point is that if Christian booksellers think nothing of prominently displaying alleged miracle worker Benny Hinn's books, then it would be perfectly appropriate to offer "A Course in Miracles."
I would be remiss if I failed to mention William P. Young's mega-selling book "The Shack." Like ACIM, some church groups use it as a "Bible" study. But is "The Shack" based on sound biblical principles? I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings but the answer is a resounding NO!
In "The Shack", Young presents a new understanding of the Christian faith under the guise of fiction. Here's how Pastor Gary Gilley of Southern View Chapel sums up Young's book in his online book review:
"The Shack, while occasionally getting things right is, in the end, a dangerous piece of fiction. It undermines Scripture and the church, presents at best a mutilated gospel, misrepresents the biblical teachings concerning the Godhead and offers a New Age understanding of God and the universe. This is not a great novel to explain tragedy and pain. It is a misleading work which will confuse many and lead others astray." [6]
Gilley's not alone in his analysis of "The Shack." There are a whole host of pastors and scholars who have written articles to express their concerns about it. Some Christian radio hosts have devoted entire broadcasts to the book. And the consensus is that it must not be looked at as "a novel to be enjoyed." In his May 26, 2008 radio broadcast, Albert Mohler warned his listeners that the book is "deeply subversive," "scripturally incorrect," and contains "undiluted heresy" (listen here).
Now, if the anti-Shack folks are right in their assessment of the book's contents, wouldn't it be prudent for CBs that choose to sell the controversial book to at least post a disclaimer?
A disclaimer should also be posted next to books by Emerging/Emergent Church (ECM) proponents as these men and women have been roundly criticized for their unorthodox views. The Christian Post reported:
"The Emerging Church movement is seeking to revitalise the faith but may end up severing Christ's church from the Word of God, says one Reformed Presbyterian pastor and theologian.
'If churches embracing the principle of Sola Scriptura (by Scripture alone) fail to understand and address the concerns voiced in the Emerging Church conversation, we may lose an entire generation of professing believers,' says the Rev. Rutledge Etheridge, an adjunct professor of systematic theology at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS) in Pittsburgh and pastor of Providence Reformed Presbyterian Church.
"According to Etheridge, the Emerging Church movement - known for flexible methodology and efforts to be culturally relevant - seeks to glean the good from Christianity's past while painting a fresh picture of the faith today. Those familiar with the movement say its members seek to live their faith in what they believe to be a "postmodern" society, while its leaders are often critical of traditional evangelical churches and often place high value on good works or social activism." [7]
To put it plainly, ECM is not the Christianity of the New Testament. The leaders in the "conversation" denigrate the Word of God. Moreover, they do not preach the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is but one gospel and Paul clearly lays it out in 1 Corinthians 15:
"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:1, 2).
Many ECM leaders are wolves with razor sharp canines masquerading as harmless lambs. Beware! "For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 14).
Lighthouse Trails Research has a plethora of information on ECM. I found the following quotes on LTR's website:
"I stopped reading from the approved evangelical reading list and began to distance myself from the evangelical agenda. I discovered new authors and new voices at the bookstore - Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, and St. Teresa of Avila. The more I read, the more intrigued I became. Contemplative spirituality seemed to open up a whole new way for me to understand and experience God. I was deeply moved by works like The Cloud of Unknowing, The Dark Night of the Soul, and the Early Writings of the Desert Fathers" - Spencer Burke, The Ooze.
"Some of the values of the emerging church are an emphasis on emotions, global outlook, a rise in the use of arts, and a rise in mysticism and spirituality" - Josh Reich.
ECM does not hold to the authority of Scripture, hence they are careless in their handling of it. They're all about political liberalism with a social gospel, pluralism, and universalism. As I pointed out in my article, "Emergent Church Spreading Spiritual Cancer":
"The movement...is emerging away from orthodox Christianity, spreading its spiritual cancer throughout the globe. ECM change agents have made inroads into evangelicalism, big time. What they preach is a counterfeit social gospel. They say they bring a "message of peace." Their hope is to make Christianity more palatable to the world. Sounds altruistic, doesn't it? But don't believe it! In order to accomplish their lofty goal, the shifters must first repackage the Church" [8].
Here's a partial list of prominent voices in ECM:
N.T. Wright, John Howard Yoder, Stanley Hauerwas, Ryan Bolger, Wilbert Shenk, Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt, Erwin McManus, Dan Kimball, Scot McKnight, Elizabeth O'Connor, Nancey Murphy, Leonard Sweet, Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Donald Miller, and Phyllis Tickle.
Certainly some Christian bookstore employees are sincere Christians. To them I say: Defending the faith is a duty! Jude urges Christians to "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 1:3). Apostasy is rampant in the contemporary church. Selling heretical books that lead people away from Christ only contributes to the problem.
Jude also warns against false teachers and leaders who undermine the faith:
What I've covered here is only the tip of the iceberg. There's so much more to be said about all the garbage sold by so-called Christian publishing companies and bookstores. My desire is not to condemn them; only to bring to light some disturbing trends and to expose a few apostates.
Footnotes:
It's understandable that free-market conservatives are deeply troubled that Barack Obama has taken the reins of power. Already we see America moving even closer to socialism than before. But to me, what's even more troubling than what's going on in Washington D.C. is the clear and present danger in Christendom. Let me spell out the problem as I see it: A-p-o-s-t-a-s-y.
Dictionary.com defines apostasy as "A total desertion of or departure from one's religion, principles, party, cause, etc."
For hundreds of years orthodox Christianity has held that the Bible is the Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, by supernatural power, and that every word in it is true (2 Timothy 3:16). Thus, Scripture has the power, or right, to command how people of faith live their lives.
Then theological liberalism rears its ugly head and attempts to undermine established truths. The theological liberal pretends to be a Christian ("progressive Christian" is preferable) as he or she blatantly and unapologetically undermines the Divine authority of the scriptures in matters of faith and life. As a result of the onslaught of liberal influences, the Church is in dire straits!
False teachers and charlatans persist solely because Christian's have become biblically illiterate. Many believers think studying the Bible is so dull and boring that they can't be bothered anymore. So they're ripe for the picking. And this is not the exception but the rule!
A number of professed Christians ignore what was written by the apostles and others who sat under Christs teaching and put their trust in human opinions and unreliable sources. More on this in a moment.
If God did not reveal Himself through the prophets and those who penned the Old and New Testaments, and the Bible is simply a collection of fascinating morality tales, myths, and fables, what source are people to draw from in their quest to know the one true God?
Let's say the Gospels were made up, as the unbeliever claims, how, then, will the person who has given his or her life to Christ know anything at all about Him? Moreover, if the Bible is merely a book of fables, when Jesus was tested by the devil, why did He quote from Deuteronomy 6:6, 6:13, 8:3, and 10:20? Because the Word of God is the source of power against the enemies of God!
Even the Son of God wielded the "sword of the spirit, which is the word of God" against the evil one! "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God'" (Matthew 4:4). The words that proceed out of the mouth of God are in the Bible! God's word is the bread of life! It is nourishment for the soul! You can't fight evil forces without arming yourself for battle! The way you do that is explained here.
Make no mistake. Rulers of darkness are the driving force behind theological liberalism. Paul warned, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12).
These counterfeit Christians are relentless in their plan to deconstruct historical, orthodox Christianity. They want to mold Christianity into a one size fits all religion that appeals to everyone. To be successful they must refashion the Jesus of the Bible into a tolerant, all-inclusive Savior who condemns no one. Sound familiar?
Progressive Christians abhor the Bible's "oppressive morality." Not even God has the right to tell them how to live their lives, especially when it comes to free expression, or what the Bible deems deviant behavior. Their mantra is "God wants me to be happy, halleluiah!"
Books that put a positive spin on the cults, the occult, New Age spirituality, Eastern mysticism, homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, and what not are available through online Christian outlets as well as in walk-in stores. Here's a point to ponder: So-called Christian publishing houses are the largest suppliers of outright heresy. Oddly, Christian publishers and outlets are responsible (or should I say irresponsible) for much of the apostasy because they give false teachers a platform for what simply equates to heresy!
Listen to what Peter Jones says in his article, "Evangelism Highjacked by Closet Theological Liberals":
"I write, so to speak, from the belly of this beast, attending the National Pastors' Conference, sponsored by Zondervan and Intervarsity Press, which is taking place in San Diego, February 9-14, 2009. It is amazing to see how these once faithful publishers of evangelical orthodoxy are now consistently and deliberately launching a massive but subtle attack against the "Fundamentals" for which Evangelicalism stood courageously against liberalism in the past."
A word of warning about Christian bookstores. Bibles are sold in every color, shape, and size in translations that are supposedly "accurate" "up-to-date" and "easy to read." If you don't know what you're buying, careful! Many Bible translations are highly unorthodox, hence they're unfit for Christian consumption!
Albert Mohler, President of Baptist Theological Seminary, cautions that the translation a person chooses is "what they will have in their minds and what they will hide in their hearts." Unorthodox material can lead ignorant souls into cults and apostate Christianity -- and this is tragic!
Visit just about any Christian bookstore (CB) and you'll see display cases and shelves stocked with spiritual merchandise, including jewelry, figurines, framed pictures, greeting cards, calendars, posters, music - you name it they stock it. But what's disconcerting about these stores is that they also stock books that not only attack the fundamentals of the faith, some of the books contain out and out heresy! Christian publishers and storeowners have a responsibility to examine the material they sell!
Let me provide a few examples of many that could be cited. So-called Christian publishing houses publish books that purport Word of Faith theology (the prosperity gospel) that are distributed to Christian retailers. You ask, "What's wrong with the prosperity gospel?" Well, for one thing, prosperity preachers hold to the decidedly unorthodox view of Scripture that faith is a force.
Faith teachers say that faith is controlled through words by uttering the right words, or the right formula, and you can have what you want. Adherents call it making a "positive confession." Confess you're healthy and you can overcome disease. Confess you're a millionaire and it will happen. Just name it and claim it! That, my friends, is heresy.
One of the most popular prosperity preachers is Joel Osteen. If you're a fan of Joel's, please don't stop reading -- just hear me out. I realize that it's hard to believe that Osteen would steer you wrong. But don't be fooled by his humble demeanor, his neatly coiffed hair and dazzling smile. Listen to what he says about faith in his best-selling book, "Your Best Life Now":
"You have to begin speaking words of faith over your life. Your words have enormous creative power. The moment you speak something out, you give birth to it. This is a spiritual principle, and it works whether what you're saying is good or bad, positive or negative." [1]
This so-called spiritual principle is "the law of attraction." New Age guru, Rhonda Byrnes, author of "The Secret" believes "you create your life through your thoughts." Joel believes the same thing! Those who choose to read his books, attend or watch his church service on TV are sitting under a false teacher!
Joel Osteen in not alone. T.D. Jakes is a spiritual advisor to President Obama. He has been labeled a "black Billy Graham." Yet Jakes teaches something Billy never taught:
"Jesus was a rich man. He had to have been, in order to have supported his disciples and their families during his ministry." [2]
Funny, but the Bible tells us that Jesus "had nowhere to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20; Luke 9:58).
John Avanzini also believes Jesus was rich:
"...Jesus lived in great prosperity..." [3]
Trend-setting Jesus wore designer clothes:
"Why do you need to know that?" asks Avanzini. "Because until you know that Jesus was prosperous, you won't be either. You may have His kindness, you may have His gentleness, you may have all His other attributes, but you'll never have His prosperity."
Televangelist Benny Hinn is "sick and tired of hearing about streets of gold." He says he doesn't need gold in heaven (My comments are in brackets):
"I gotta have it now [Rev. Greedy is worth millions]. I mean, when I get to glory, all my bills will be paid, brother, I won't have bills in glory. I gotta have it here. [So send him your hard-earned money]! You say, 'Well, Benny Hinn, isn't it wonderful to have streets of gold in heaven?' Well, of course, but if I hear the thing one more time of how it will be and how it was, I'm gonna kick somebody." [Hopefully, Benny did not follow through on his threat]. [4]
In her book "The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make" Joyce Meyer writes this heresy:
"During that time He [Jesus] entered hell, where you and I deserved to go (legally) because of our sin. He paid the price there...no plan was too extreme. ...Jesus said on the cross and in hell." She continues, "...God rose up from His throne and said to demon powers tormenting the sinless Son of God, 'Let Him go.' Then the resurrection power of Almighty God went through hell and filled Jesus...He was resurrected from the dead - the first born-again man." [5]
Admittedly some of Joyce's teaching is biblical, however her teaching on the Atonement, which is a central doctrine of the faith, is heretical. {C.O.G. Editor's note: All I have to say about Miss West's statement is "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (Galatians 5:9). Meaning, if one part of Joyce Meyer's teaching is heretical it's a safe conclusion that it all is heretical. My advice is to not listen to anything Joyce Meyer or any of these other false teachers have to say}.
Why would Jesus Christ, who is God, need to be born again in hell? The Bible clearly teaches that it is mere mortals who must be born again! The cross is where Jesus' atoning work for mankind was completed! In John 19:30 Jesus said: "It is finished...and gave up the ghost."
That His work was finished is also evidenced in Paul's words in Colossians 1:20: "And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven."
What Joyce Meyer teaches is clearly Word of Faith theology.
This is just a taste of prosperity teaching. You can listen to these men and women 'til the cows come home' and you will not hear one of them utter that followers of Jesus Christ are to deny themselves and take up their cross. Jesus said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). But that's just Jesus.
Here is a partial list of other word-faith apostates:
Kenneth Hagin, Charles Capps, Oral Roberts, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, Paul and Jan Crouch, John Hagee, Rod Parsley, Todd Bentley, Paula White, Fred Price, Jerry Savelle, Robert Tilton, Marilyn Hickey, Morris Cerullo, Miles Munroe, Jesse Duplantis, Steve Munsey, Kim Clement, and Ed Young.
Frankly, I'm surprised Oprah Winfrey's book club recommendations aren't displayed in CB windows. Whatever Oprah recommends becomes an overnight best-seller and rakes in mega bucks. In fact, hordes of "Christians" run right out and by Oprah's book club picks.
A few years ago she pushed Neal Donald Walsh's blasphemous "Conversations With God" on her show. The book sold millions and made Walsh a household name! Last year, Oprah promoted the New Age Bible, "A Course in Miracles," a "self-study spiritual thought system that teaches the way to Universal Love through Forgiveness."
My point is that if Christian booksellers think nothing of prominently displaying alleged miracle worker Benny Hinn's books, then it would be perfectly appropriate to offer "A Course in Miracles."
I would be remiss if I failed to mention William P. Young's mega-selling book "The Shack." Like ACIM, some church groups use it as a "Bible" study. But is "The Shack" based on sound biblical principles? I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings but the answer is a resounding NO!
In "The Shack", Young presents a new understanding of the Christian faith under the guise of fiction. Here's how Pastor Gary Gilley of Southern View Chapel sums up Young's book in his online book review:
"The Shack, while occasionally getting things right is, in the end, a dangerous piece of fiction. It undermines Scripture and the church, presents at best a mutilated gospel, misrepresents the biblical teachings concerning the Godhead and offers a New Age understanding of God and the universe. This is not a great novel to explain tragedy and pain. It is a misleading work which will confuse many and lead others astray." [6]
Gilley's not alone in his analysis of "The Shack." There are a whole host of pastors and scholars who have written articles to express their concerns about it. Some Christian radio hosts have devoted entire broadcasts to the book. And the consensus is that it must not be looked at as "a novel to be enjoyed." In his May 26, 2008 radio broadcast, Albert Mohler warned his listeners that the book is "deeply subversive," "scripturally incorrect," and contains "undiluted heresy" (listen here).
Now, if the anti-Shack folks are right in their assessment of the book's contents, wouldn't it be prudent for CBs that choose to sell the controversial book to at least post a disclaimer?
A disclaimer should also be posted next to books by Emerging/Emergent Church (ECM) proponents as these men and women have been roundly criticized for their unorthodox views. The Christian Post reported:
"The Emerging Church movement is seeking to revitalise the faith but may end up severing Christ's church from the Word of God, says one Reformed Presbyterian pastor and theologian.
'If churches embracing the principle of Sola Scriptura (by Scripture alone) fail to understand and address the concerns voiced in the Emerging Church conversation, we may lose an entire generation of professing believers,' says the Rev. Rutledge Etheridge, an adjunct professor of systematic theology at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS) in Pittsburgh and pastor of Providence Reformed Presbyterian Church.
"According to Etheridge, the Emerging Church movement - known for flexible methodology and efforts to be culturally relevant - seeks to glean the good from Christianity's past while painting a fresh picture of the faith today. Those familiar with the movement say its members seek to live their faith in what they believe to be a "postmodern" society, while its leaders are often critical of traditional evangelical churches and often place high value on good works or social activism." [7]
To put it plainly, ECM is not the Christianity of the New Testament. The leaders in the "conversation" denigrate the Word of God. Moreover, they do not preach the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is but one gospel and Paul clearly lays it out in 1 Corinthians 15:
"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:1, 2).
Many ECM leaders are wolves with razor sharp canines masquerading as harmless lambs. Beware! "For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 14).
Lighthouse Trails Research has a plethora of information on ECM. I found the following quotes on LTR's website:
"I stopped reading from the approved evangelical reading list and began to distance myself from the evangelical agenda. I discovered new authors and new voices at the bookstore - Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, and St. Teresa of Avila. The more I read, the more intrigued I became. Contemplative spirituality seemed to open up a whole new way for me to understand and experience God. I was deeply moved by works like The Cloud of Unknowing, The Dark Night of the Soul, and the Early Writings of the Desert Fathers" - Spencer Burke, The Ooze.
"Some of the values of the emerging church are an emphasis on emotions, global outlook, a rise in the use of arts, and a rise in mysticism and spirituality" - Josh Reich.
ECM does not hold to the authority of Scripture, hence they are careless in their handling of it. They're all about political liberalism with a social gospel, pluralism, and universalism. As I pointed out in my article, "Emergent Church Spreading Spiritual Cancer":
"The movement...is emerging away from orthodox Christianity, spreading its spiritual cancer throughout the globe. ECM change agents have made inroads into evangelicalism, big time. What they preach is a counterfeit social gospel. They say they bring a "message of peace." Their hope is to make Christianity more palatable to the world. Sounds altruistic, doesn't it? But don't believe it! In order to accomplish their lofty goal, the shifters must first repackage the Church" [8].
Here's a partial list of prominent voices in ECM:
N.T. Wright, John Howard Yoder, Stanley Hauerwas, Ryan Bolger, Wilbert Shenk, Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt, Erwin McManus, Dan Kimball, Scot McKnight, Elizabeth O'Connor, Nancey Murphy, Leonard Sweet, Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Donald Miller, and Phyllis Tickle.
Certainly some Christian bookstore employees are sincere Christians. To them I say: Defending the faith is a duty! Jude urges Christians to "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 1:3). Apostasy is rampant in the contemporary church. Selling heretical books that lead people away from Christ only contributes to the problem.
Jude also warns against false teachers and leaders who undermine the faith:
"For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ" (Jude 1:4).
What I've covered here is only the tip of the iceberg. There's so much more to be said about all the garbage sold by so-called Christian publishing companies and bookstores. My desire is not to condemn them; only to bring to light some disturbing trends and to expose a few apostates.
Footnotes:
- Hank Speaks Out - Archives: The Secret/Word of Faith Movement/Christianity in Crisis: 21st Century
- John Avanzini, "Was Jesus Poor? -- Believer's Voice of Victory, Jan. 1996, p. 8
- Kaylois Henry, "Bishop Jakes Is Ready. Are You?" -- The Dallas Observer magazine, June 20-26, 1996, p. 22
- Benny Hinn, Praise the Lord broadcast, Nov. 8th 1990 - Audiotape
- The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make - by Joyce Meyer, 1991 edition, p. 35-36
- The Shack Book Review -- by Gary Gilley
- Emerging Church movement threatens church foundation, says pastor -- by Eric Young, Christian Post
- Emergent Church Spreading Spiritual Cancer" - by Marsha West
- Word of Faith movement
- A Course in Miracles
- The Shack: Interview with William P. Young. In the interview Paul Young denies the substitutionary atonement.
- Emerging/Emergent Church Movement
- Contemplative Prayer
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Getting to Know Jesus: 1 Corinthians 14
14:1 Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.
14:2 For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
14:3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
14:4 He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.
14:5 I would that ye all spake with tongues but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.
14:6 Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?
14:7 And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped?
14:8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
14:9 So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.
14:10 There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.
14:11 Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.
14:12 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.
14:13 Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.
14:14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
14:15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
14:16 Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?
14:17 For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified.
14:18 I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:
14:19 Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.
14:20 Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.
14:21 In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that they will they not hear me, saith the Lord.
14:22 Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.
14:23 If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?
14:24 But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:
14:25 And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.
14:26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.
14:27 If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.
14:28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
14:29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
14:30 If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
14:31 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
14:32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
14:34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law.
14:35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
14:36 What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?
14:37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
14:38 But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.
14:39 Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.
14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.
14:2 For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
14:3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
14:4 He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.
14:5 I would that ye all spake with tongues but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.
14:6 Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?
14:7 And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped?
14:8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
14:9 So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.
14:10 There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.
14:11 Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.
14:12 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.
14:13 Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.
14:14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
14:15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
14:16 Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?
14:17 For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified.
14:18 I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:
14:19 Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.
14:20 Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.
14:21 In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that they will they not hear me, saith the Lord.
14:22 Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.
14:23 If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?
14:24 But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:
14:25 And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.
14:26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.
14:27 If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.
14:28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
14:29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
14:30 If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
14:31 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
14:32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
14:34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law.
14:35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
14:36 What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?
14:37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
14:38 But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.
14:39 Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.
14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.
Friday, November 13, 2009
The "Divine Right" Of Pastors
by Van Robison
Pastors of churches are like monarchs in European history who believed in the "Divine Right of Kings." Religious rulers and governments have a great deal in common, because they all believe in "Divine Right" to rule your life. One great, overwhelming lesson in life on earth is that human beings are not now, and never have been qualified to rule over their fellow man.
Many kings and queens in history are notorious as tyrants, liars, thieves, and murderers. The same is true of many rulers of governments throughout time, regardless of titles. The world we live in is a world of mind boggling injustices, in the name of "security", "national interests", "freedom", "self defense", "self preservation", "law", "religion", "God", "the Bible", "false accusations", "health", "prevention", "education", "science", and "the way that seems right."
Pastors of churches believe in "Divine Right" of authority over common believers, based upon certain very specific scriptures, and have seduced millions of church goers that they are appointed by Jesus Christ as "authority" figures. Even when there are contradictions in the Bible, pastors, theologians, "scholars" and Christian leaders vocalize that "the Bible is infallible and inerrant."
Church rulers love to quote, "Obey those who have the authority over you", and similar erroneously (perhaps intentionally) "translated verses, because those verses give them power, which they love. Never mind that those verses contradict everything taught by Jesus Christ in the four Gospels, which a careful study of the teachings of Jesus will reveal to any discerning truth seeker.
There are two things in life that leaders dearly love, and that is power over others and other people's money. Human governments are not God, they only rule others as if they are. The extremely worn out phrase "it's the law", is not the law of God, but simply man made rules, that are enforced upon all citizens. Many pastors and Christians alike believe governments are ordained of God, and the "Divine Right" of rulers is always enforced, often against the will of the people.
Pastors of churches believe they have a "Divine Right" to tax church members through tithing, and to reap the material benefits of that tithing taxation. Pastors believe they have a "Divine Right" to be elevated to a special class of people, as authority figures. They believe they have a "Divine Right" to be "all knowing", and so they teach, while you are the student all your life.
Pastors believe they have a "Divine Right" to purchase fine homes, automobiles, airplanes, vacations, luxuries, medical insurance, retirement benefits, and anything money can buy, at your expense because this is how they interpret scriptures. If this is how pastors read scriptures, are they then really qualified to teach? Many deluded church goers think so.
What "pastors' really have a "Divine Right" to do is this:
Jesus Christ nowhere taught that we are to follow anyone other than Jesus Himself. The great key to discerning truth is what Jesus taught "by their fruit you will know them." Comparing what Jesus taught in the four Gospels to the behavior, conduct, and teachings of churchianity reveals some serious misgivings about Jesus Christ.
The real Jesus Christ taught principles to live by and not church structures, megachurches, pastoral control of the lives of believers, or peddling the Gospel for money. Remember that the word "church" is a foreign word transported into the New Testament by the "scholars", and is not an original word spoken by Jesus Christ.
The word "church" is a misrepresentation of truth. Jesus taught that there is ONE SHEPHERD and ONE FOLD, and the churches of pastors are not it. No wonder pastors love the "Divine Right" of pastors, because that false belief empowers their private kingdoms and supplies a never ending flow of free money.
Pastors of churches are like monarchs in European history who believed in the "Divine Right of Kings." Religious rulers and governments have a great deal in common, because they all believe in "Divine Right" to rule your life. One great, overwhelming lesson in life on earth is that human beings are not now, and never have been qualified to rule over their fellow man.
Many kings and queens in history are notorious as tyrants, liars, thieves, and murderers. The same is true of many rulers of governments throughout time, regardless of titles. The world we live in is a world of mind boggling injustices, in the name of "security", "national interests", "freedom", "self defense", "self preservation", "law", "religion", "God", "the Bible", "false accusations", "health", "prevention", "education", "science", and "the way that seems right."
Pastors of churches believe in "Divine Right" of authority over common believers, based upon certain very specific scriptures, and have seduced millions of church goers that they are appointed by Jesus Christ as "authority" figures. Even when there are contradictions in the Bible, pastors, theologians, "scholars" and Christian leaders vocalize that "the Bible is infallible and inerrant."
Church rulers love to quote, "Obey those who have the authority over you", and similar erroneously (perhaps intentionally) "translated verses, because those verses give them power, which they love. Never mind that those verses contradict everything taught by Jesus Christ in the four Gospels, which a careful study of the teachings of Jesus will reveal to any discerning truth seeker.
[Editor's note: We here at Battered Sheep Ministry stand by our statement of faith, which states that the Bible is written revelation of God, fully authoritative, complete and sufficient in all respects. We also remind our readers that the inclusion of an article on our website does not necessarily imply agreement or endorsement.]
There are two things in life that leaders dearly love, and that is power over others and other people's money. Human governments are not God, they only rule others as if they are. The extremely worn out phrase "it's the law", is not the law of God, but simply man made rules, that are enforced upon all citizens. Many pastors and Christians alike believe governments are ordained of God, and the "Divine Right" of rulers is always enforced, often against the will of the people.
Pastors of churches believe they have a "Divine Right" to tax church members through tithing, and to reap the material benefits of that tithing taxation. Pastors believe they have a "Divine Right" to be elevated to a special class of people, as authority figures. They believe they have a "Divine Right" to be "all knowing", and so they teach, while you are the student all your life.
Pastors believe they have a "Divine Right" to purchase fine homes, automobiles, airplanes, vacations, luxuries, medical insurance, retirement benefits, and anything money can buy, at your expense because this is how they interpret scriptures. If this is how pastors read scriptures, are they then really qualified to teach? Many deluded church goers think so.
What "pastors' really have a "Divine Right" to do is this:
- Stop doing works to be seen of men (Matthew 23:5).
- Stop loving cushioned seats on stages as if pastors are more important than common people (Matthew 23:6).
- Stop wearing special attire as if neck collars and long robes make them "holy" (Matthew 23:5).
- Stop loving to be called "pastor", as if pastors are masters (Matthew 23:7-10).
- Stop thinking that pastors are "greater" than common folks, and be servants instead of lords and masters (Matthew 23:11).
- Stop exalting pastors to elevated status, and be contrite, humble, and meek (Matthew 23:12).
- Stop building physical temples that God does not dwell in (Acts 17:24).
- Stop preaching for money and give freely (Matthew 10:8).
- Stop acting as if church members are your personal and private property. The sheep belong to Jesus (John 10).
- Stop pretending that pastors have "authority" to rule the flock, when they do not (Matthew 23:7-10). (Note: All verses that contradict what Jesus taught in the four Gospels, cannot be correctly translated. The Holy Spirit does not contradict Jesus).
Jesus Christ nowhere taught that we are to follow anyone other than Jesus Himself. The great key to discerning truth is what Jesus taught "by their fruit you will know them." Comparing what Jesus taught in the four Gospels to the behavior, conduct, and teachings of churchianity reveals some serious misgivings about Jesus Christ.
The real Jesus Christ taught principles to live by and not church structures, megachurches, pastoral control of the lives of believers, or peddling the Gospel for money. Remember that the word "church" is a foreign word transported into the New Testament by the "scholars", and is not an original word spoken by Jesus Christ.
The word "church" is a misrepresentation of truth. Jesus taught that there is ONE SHEPHERD and ONE FOLD, and the churches of pastors are not it. No wonder pastors love the "Divine Right" of pastors, because that false belief empowers their private kingdoms and supplies a never ending flow of free money.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Getting to Know Jesus: 1 Corinthians 13
13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth;
13:7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth;
13:7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Hard Times Ahead
by Paul Procter
It's time to prepare for hard times, my friends. And, if you're a bible believing, Christ-following Christian, I believe the coming years will be particularly troublesome. I say "bible-believing, Christ-following Christian" because our degenerating culture has all but stripped the biblical definition of the word "Christian" from today's collective conscience so that it has lost much of it's scriptural meaning, even among many of today's attending church members.
The enemies of Christ have clearly risen to great power in this country and are, as I write, busy endeavoring to finish off what remains of the church for the purpose of replacing it with a god and religion more suitable for global government.
They may well, in time, take possession of the many debt-heavy mega churches and other grand houses of worship around the country in order to turn them into federally-subsidized community centers for faith-based social services.
They won't be successful at completely silencing or eliminating the true body of Christ who will likely be forced to abandon them in order to keep hearing and proclaiming God's Word uncensored. Unless the Lord Himself intervenes to alter the current course of events, those now in power will most certainly rule over us for a season - and an arduous one at that.
Considering the unbiblical and unconstitutional legislation at hand, it's looking more and more like faithful Christians could soon be viewed as enemies of the state for no other reason than having believed, proclaimed and obeyed the Word of God.
Not only is the church being attacked from without, it is also being undermined from within by charlatans who would transform it into something more spiritually pliable, socially useful and dialectically accommodating.
I believe all Christians will again and again be called upon to choose whom we will serve in the coming days in ways that will bring more persecution and suffering than we are accustomed to, requiring a spiritual farsightedness and desire for the eternal things of God over the temporal rewards of this world.
We need to be ready. We need to be willing. And we need to be empowered, not by the mere passion of patriotic zeal, but by the Holy Spirit of God and His Word. It is not we against them - it is an angry and rebellious world against God. We would do well to remember that when the devil comes knocking at our door demanding more tolerance, diversity, and unity.
Vengeance is not ours - that belongs to the Lord, as He clearly states in His Word. Those who live by the sword will surely die by it - again, not my words - His.
When our Constitution and Bill of Rights are completely discarded for the New World Order, there will be no going back to the way things were. There will only be the Word of God to edify, encourage, inspire, and sustain us through the hard times ahead. Those who understand and appreciate the power of that Word know very well what I'm talking about. Those who don't will ignore it at their own peril because, to them, it is foolishness.
Best we get into His Word now more earnestly and take it to heart in preparation for a time when Bibles are no longer allowed or even legal, than get caught spiritually ignorant and scripturally unarmed when temptation and tribulation come.
It's time to prepare for hard times, my friends. And, if you're a bible believing, Christ-following Christian, I believe the coming years will be particularly troublesome. I say "bible-believing, Christ-following Christian" because our degenerating culture has all but stripped the biblical definition of the word "Christian" from today's collective conscience so that it has lost much of it's scriptural meaning, even among many of today's attending church members.
The enemies of Christ have clearly risen to great power in this country and are, as I write, busy endeavoring to finish off what remains of the church for the purpose of replacing it with a god and religion more suitable for global government.
They may well, in time, take possession of the many debt-heavy mega churches and other grand houses of worship around the country in order to turn them into federally-subsidized community centers for faith-based social services.
They won't be successful at completely silencing or eliminating the true body of Christ who will likely be forced to abandon them in order to keep hearing and proclaiming God's Word uncensored. Unless the Lord Himself intervenes to alter the current course of events, those now in power will most certainly rule over us for a season - and an arduous one at that.
Considering the unbiblical and unconstitutional legislation at hand, it's looking more and more like faithful Christians could soon be viewed as enemies of the state for no other reason than having believed, proclaimed and obeyed the Word of God.
Not only is the church being attacked from without, it is also being undermined from within by charlatans who would transform it into something more spiritually pliable, socially useful and dialectically accommodating.
I believe all Christians will again and again be called upon to choose whom we will serve in the coming days in ways that will bring more persecution and suffering than we are accustomed to, requiring a spiritual farsightedness and desire for the eternal things of God over the temporal rewards of this world.
We need to be ready. We need to be willing. And we need to be empowered, not by the mere passion of patriotic zeal, but by the Holy Spirit of God and His Word. It is not we against them - it is an angry and rebellious world against God. We would do well to remember that when the devil comes knocking at our door demanding more tolerance, diversity, and unity.
Vengeance is not ours - that belongs to the Lord, as He clearly states in His Word. Those who live by the sword will surely die by it - again, not my words - His.
When our Constitution and Bill of Rights are completely discarded for the New World Order, there will be no going back to the way things were. There will only be the Word of God to edify, encourage, inspire, and sustain us through the hard times ahead. Those who understand and appreciate the power of that Word know very well what I'm talking about. Those who don't will ignore it at their own peril because, to them, it is foolishness.
Best we get into His Word now more earnestly and take it to heart in preparation for a time when Bibles are no longer allowed or even legal, than get caught spiritually ignorant and scripturally unarmed when temptation and tribulation come.
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
VIDEO: The Greatest Words in All of Scripture
courtesy of Lane's Blog
If you are not moved by the message in this video, with tears of joy and thankfulness streaming down your face, you need to be very afraid for your soul. You may be in jeopardy of eternal damnation. Cry out to God for repentance and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Ask Him to remove the blinders from your eyes; ask Him to change your hard heart into a heart of flesh; ask Him to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteous. THEN, prayerfully, watch this video again, and again, and again.
Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone be the glory)!
If you are not moved by the message in this video, with tears of joy and thankfulness streaming down your face, you need to be very afraid for your soul. You may be in jeopardy of eternal damnation. Cry out to God for repentance and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Ask Him to remove the blinders from your eyes; ask Him to change your hard heart into a heart of flesh; ask Him to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteous. THEN, prayerfully, watch this video again, and again, and again.
Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone be the glory)!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Getting to Know Jesus: 1 Corinthians 12
12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
12:2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.
12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
12:4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
12:5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
12:6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
12:8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
12:9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
12:10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
12:14 For the body is not one member, but many.
12:15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
12:16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
12:17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
12:18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
12:19 And if they were all one member, where were the body?
12:20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.
12:21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
12:22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
12:23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
12:24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked.
12:25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
12:26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
12:29 Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?
12:30 Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?
12:31 But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
12:2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.
12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
12:4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
12:5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
12:6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
12:8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
12:9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
12:10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
12:14 For the body is not one member, but many.
12:15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
12:16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
12:17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
12:18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
12:19 And if they were all one member, where were the body?
12:20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.
12:21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
12:22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
12:23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
12:24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked.
12:25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
12:26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
12:29 Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?
12:30 Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?
12:31 But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Wolves in Sheep's Clothing
by Fred London
There is more to discerning of "savage wolves" that goes even beyond doctrine. Yet, as it is, many in the church appear to have great difficulty in judging for themselves as to whether what a man teaches is representative of a pure gospel or "another gospel."
Paul could not have spelled it out any clearer than when he wrote to the Philippians, "For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things" (Philippians 3:18, 19).
Paul, addressing this issue from a shepherd's standpoint, also made it quite clear when he wrote to Timothy, "But, the spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1).
He elaborates further in his second letter to Timothy, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires" (2 Timothy 4:3).
However, there is another tell-tale sign, though often overlooked, which Scripture provides to help us in identifying these "savage wolves." In this context, the key phrase is found, at the very end of the thought: "after them."
Their ministry constantly revolves around "them." Get past the spiritual jargon and cosmetics, and it is all about them. Their name and their ministry is virtually synonymous, and typically, one and the same. They are the very foundation and driving force of their ministry. No "them," no ministry!
Their names are more prevalent and their personalities more preeminent than that of Christ, Himself. Their names and pictures are everywhere. Their significance to the Kingdom is emphasized and their stature elevated beyond measure. Their self-promotion is conducted with unashamed zeal.
Paul wrote, "For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Corinthians 4:5). It may be quite revealing to quote the initial definition of the word, "charisma," taken from Webster's Dictionary: "The power or quality of winning the devotion of large numbers of people."
Now, let us compare this definition to the last phrase of our opening text, "to draw away disciples after them." A picture begins to emerge, and it is not pretty, being a skewed reflection of Christ, or His Kingdom.
"For when one says, 'I am of Paul,' and another, 'I am of Apollos,' are you not mere men?" What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth" (1 Corinthians 3::4-7). Now, there is a divine perspective for you!
Furthermore, quite often the most heinous crime committed is that the so-called "servant" in reality is the one who is being served by those he is purported to be serving. Apart from the representation of "another gospel," this ministerial perversion may be the most insidious deception of all. Paul was compelled to remark, "For they all seek after their own interests, and not those of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:21).
God spoke through Ezekiel this sobering rebuke, "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, 'Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? 'You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock."
Peter forewarned in writing, "and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep" (2 Peter 2:3).
Jesus said, "But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' palaces" (Matthew 11:8). Take a close look as to how these "savage wolves" live, their lifestyle, how they present themselves. Truly, "you shall know them by their fruits."
Do they use excessive emotional manipulation to generate financial support? Do they constantly promote their wares along with a heavy, nonstop emphasis on donations for their ministry, without which, their ministry is doomed and God's purposes cannot be fulfilled, or rather, is it the fear that they will no longer be able to maintain their extravagant lifestyle?
Paul did not mince words when he wrote the following, "For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God" (2 Corinthians 2:17).
So, why are these "savage wolves" compelled "to draw away disciples after them?" They are rendered useless without a following to feed both their ego and material greed. It is their lifeline. And, the greatest deception lies in the fact that many will even teach a relatively sound doctrine. In many cases, doctrine will not be the obvious indication of a problem.
Rather, it will be exposed by what takes preeminence in a person's ministry. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also," and "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." In "knowing them by their fruits," the criteria must be more spiritually sophisticated than in mere outward appearances that go beyond external successes and statistics. "The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after."
But, if we are to be in keeping with the exhortations of "redeeming the time" and in "having nothing to do with the unfruitful deeds of darkness," then it is incumbent upon us to discern these things by "examining everything carefully." We should desire to invest in that, and in whom, that which is conducive to producing an eternal weight of glory as we are conformed to the image of Christ.
It is with respect to whose glory that this issue revolves. God said, "I will not give my glory to another." Jesus, Himself, "took the form of a bond-servant." So, what do "savage wolves" and "bond-servants" have in common? Nothing! And, it is this very contrast which may hold the key to discerning these "savage wolves." After all, "you shall know them by their fruits"
"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them" (Acts 20:28-30).
There is more to discerning of "savage wolves" that goes even beyond doctrine. Yet, as it is, many in the church appear to have great difficulty in judging for themselves as to whether what a man teaches is representative of a pure gospel or "another gospel."
Paul could not have spelled it out any clearer than when he wrote to the Philippians, "For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things" (Philippians 3:18, 19).
Paul, addressing this issue from a shepherd's standpoint, also made it quite clear when he wrote to Timothy, "But, the spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1).
He elaborates further in his second letter to Timothy, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires" (2 Timothy 4:3).
However, there is another tell-tale sign, though often overlooked, which Scripture provides to help us in identifying these "savage wolves." In this context, the key phrase is found, at the very end of the thought: "after them."
Their ministry constantly revolves around "them." Get past the spiritual jargon and cosmetics, and it is all about them. Their name and their ministry is virtually synonymous, and typically, one and the same. They are the very foundation and driving force of their ministry. No "them," no ministry!
Their names are more prevalent and their personalities more preeminent than that of Christ, Himself. Their names and pictures are everywhere. Their significance to the Kingdom is emphasized and their stature elevated beyond measure. Their self-promotion is conducted with unashamed zeal.
Paul wrote, "For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Corinthians 4:5). It may be quite revealing to quote the initial definition of the word, "charisma," taken from Webster's Dictionary: "The power or quality of winning the devotion of large numbers of people."
Now, let us compare this definition to the last phrase of our opening text, "to draw away disciples after them." A picture begins to emerge, and it is not pretty, being a skewed reflection of Christ, or His Kingdom.
"For when one says, 'I am of Paul,' and another, 'I am of Apollos,' are you not mere men?" What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth" (1 Corinthians 3::4-7). Now, there is a divine perspective for you!
Furthermore, quite often the most heinous crime committed is that the so-called "servant" in reality is the one who is being served by those he is purported to be serving. Apart from the representation of "another gospel," this ministerial perversion may be the most insidious deception of all. Paul was compelled to remark, "For they all seek after their own interests, and not those of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:21).
God spoke through Ezekiel this sobering rebuke, "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, 'Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? 'You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock."
Peter forewarned in writing, "and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep" (2 Peter 2:3).
Jesus said, "But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' palaces" (Matthew 11:8). Take a close look as to how these "savage wolves" live, their lifestyle, how they present themselves. Truly, "you shall know them by their fruits."
Do they use excessive emotional manipulation to generate financial support? Do they constantly promote their wares along with a heavy, nonstop emphasis on donations for their ministry, without which, their ministry is doomed and God's purposes cannot be fulfilled, or rather, is it the fear that they will no longer be able to maintain their extravagant lifestyle?
Paul did not mince words when he wrote the following, "For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God" (2 Corinthians 2:17).
So, why are these "savage wolves" compelled "to draw away disciples after them?" They are rendered useless without a following to feed both their ego and material greed. It is their lifeline. And, the greatest deception lies in the fact that many will even teach a relatively sound doctrine. In many cases, doctrine will not be the obvious indication of a problem.
Rather, it will be exposed by what takes preeminence in a person's ministry. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also," and "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." In "knowing them by their fruits," the criteria must be more spiritually sophisticated than in mere outward appearances that go beyond external successes and statistics. "The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after."
But, if we are to be in keeping with the exhortations of "redeeming the time" and in "having nothing to do with the unfruitful deeds of darkness," then it is incumbent upon us to discern these things by "examining everything carefully." We should desire to invest in that, and in whom, that which is conducive to producing an eternal weight of glory as we are conformed to the image of Christ.
It is with respect to whose glory that this issue revolves. God said, "I will not give my glory to another." Jesus, Himself, "took the form of a bond-servant." So, what do "savage wolves" and "bond-servants" have in common? Nothing! And, it is this very contrast which may hold the key to discerning these "savage wolves." After all, "you shall know them by their fruits"
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