In the hedge with David J

My new blog address

2009-09-20T18:27:00.003-04:00

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In the Hedge with David J

Message to my NewSpring Church friends who have stopped talking to me

2009-09-17T16:31:00.009-04:00

One of the most baffling things I have experienced since I left NewSpring Church is how the people I used to talk to have all but disappeared. Anyone who has ever attended NewSpring Church knows how the volunteers go out of their way to make everyone feel welcomed.

When I first started attending NewSpring Church in Greenville, I made friends with some of the staff etc... I always enjoyed talking to them when I volunteered on Sundays and during membership class.

When I started digging deep into what Perry Noble was teaching and started speaking up against some of the things going on at NewSpring Church, problems began to arise.

I went out of my way to try to contact Perry Noble several times with questions about his teachings only to be intercepted by the campus pastor. I tried to e-mail Perry. I sent him messages on Twitter, etc... only to be completely ignored. When I decided to leave NewSpring Church I wrote two letters. One letter was sent to Perry Noble with my concerns based upon the Scriptures, and the other was sent as an e-mail to the Greenville campus pastor. In the e-mail to the Greenville Campus, I did not mention any of my concerns with Perry Noble.

I know some of you read my blog. I would like to say that my concerns and complaints with NewSpring Church have nothing to do with you. It is my prayer that you will read what I have been blogging about and go to the Scriptures as your final authority. All the good works, all the good intentions, and all the outward expressions of godliness do not pardon the errors being taught by Perry Noble. No matter how much you volunteer and see "x" number of confessions, it does not cover the fact the Perry Noble is giving you "sour milk."

In the Scriptures, we see that Jesus Christ did not come to bring harmony by ignoring errors. Many times Jesus and the apostles caused some problems by simply speaking the truth.

John 8:57-59 (New American Standard Bible)

⁵⁷So the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"
⁵⁸Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am."
⁵⁹Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.

The Jews did not get angry because Jesus was a radical as Perry Noble likes to claim. Jesus Christ obeyed the Law, therefore He corrected the errors taught by some of the rabbis. These people did not get mad because they were religious as Perry likes to proclaim, but they got angry because the Word spoke against what they wanted to hear and follow.

The same thing is done by Noble when people try to point out his errors and his love of the world. He rants and raves calling us "pissed off" because we are "religious." His condemnation of people like me is based upon what? It is based upon the fact that I pointed to Col 3:8 and I Cor 13 when I tried to talk to him about his rant against being a pastor. Take a look at this blog where Perry defends a heretic named Joel Osteen and a false teacher named T.D. Jakes. Why does Perry defend false teachers like Rob Bell and rant against people like me who are sola scriptura, upholding the Bible as our final authority in all matters of faith and practice?

It really saddens me when so many of my NewSpring friends no longer respond to my e-mails, etc... All I can do is pray that God opens your hearts to the truth. What was my crime? My crime was exposing the problems with Perry Noble.

Matthew 10:33-36 (New American Standard Bible)

³³"But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
³⁴"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
³⁵"For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW;
³⁶and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD."

Speaking the truth is never an easy thing to do. Pointing out the many errors in Perry Noble's ministry must be done because Noble is teaching a form of Christianity that is against the Scriptures. See "Did Jesus argue doctrine?"

It is my prayer that you will read my blogs about Noble and understand my concerns. My problem is not with you or anyone else who volunteers/attends NewSpring Church. My problem is with Perry Noble and his rebellious carnal leadership which make the Word of God out to be some sort of "hip" and "cool" relevant game of keeping a numbers scoreboard. See "Confessing Christ, false professions, and the numbers game."

The Bible is my final authority in my life. The Bible commands me to point out errors and warn people about false teachers and dangerous doctrines.

2 Timothy 4:1-4 (New International Version)

2 Timothy 4

¹In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: ²Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. ³For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

I truly hope that you understand my agenda and my reasons for exposing the errors taught by Perry Noble.

Romans 16:17-20 (New American Standard Bible)

¹⁷Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.
¹⁸For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.
¹⁹For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.
²⁰The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Romans 3:3-5 (New American Standard Bible)

³What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it?
⁴May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written,
"THAT YOU MAY BE JUSTIFIED IN YOUR WORDS,
AND PREVAIL WHEN YOU ARE JUDGED."
⁵But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.)

I stand by the Word of God as my foundation and my defense for my stand against Perry Noble and his false teachings.

Perry Noble twist the Scriptures to support his greed and "rock star" status

2009-09-16T16:25:00.004-04:00

CEO Perry Noble all out twist the Scriptures in order to promote his multi-site church. Please go to Pajama Pages and watch this video "Perry Noble on the multi-site church"

I challenge any NewSpring supporters to defend Noble's blatant distortion of the Word of God to suit his own personal gain.

The Bible warns us about false teachers like Perry Noble.

2 Peter 2:1-3 (New American Standard Bible)

2 Peter 2
The Rise of False Prophets
¹But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.
²Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;
³and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

1 John 4:1-3 (New American Standard Bible)

1 John 4
Testing the Spirits
¹Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
²By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;
³and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

Perry Noble does not qualify to be a pastor according to the Word of God.

1 Timothy 3:1-7 (New American Standard Bible)

1 Timothy 3
Overseers and Deacons
¹It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.
²An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
³not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money.
⁴He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity
⁵(but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?),
⁶and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.
⁷And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Perry Noble is a hireling only seeking his own fame or fortune. I find it odd that Noble refuses to meet with his people, but he can drive to Atlanta to eat. See this video "A Purpose Driven Scolding" as Noble rants against being a pastor. When you watch this video keep 1 Cor 13 in mind.

John 10:11-13 (New American Standard Bible)

¹¹"I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
¹²"He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
¹³"He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.

When I ponder all this information about Perry Noble it really angers and disgust me beyond what I can express on this blog. As a former NewSpring Church member, I fully understand how easy it is to be distracted by all the good works, the friendly volunteers, and the outward expression of godliness promoted by NewSpring Church. I fully understand that many who go to NewSpring are sincere honest people who have noble intentions as they work for the church. It is this sad truth that really angers me about Noble and how he abuses these people.

If you are a NewSpring Church member, I ask you to submit to the authority of the Scriptures. Ponder the Scriptures and ask yourself," Does Perry Noble actually obey the Word of God?" Please put aside the "no perfect people" defense that Perry Noble promotes and take a good hard look at his actions, his mouth, and his teachings.(See Perry Noble's bad advice and love of the world.)

It's one thing to have statements of faith like NewSpring, but it's another all together to follow these statements of faith. Perry Noble's antics are contrary to what God said that a pastor should be and contrary to how God commanded us to live as children of the King.

Perry Noble's defense of Joel Osteen and TD Jakes

2009-09-15T07:18:00.011-04:00

CEO Perry Noble from NewSpring Church knows no boundaries when it comes to learning from other preachers. With Noble the evidence of God's blessing comes in the form of numbers rather than from actually teaching and following the commandments of God.

I have a philosophy of ministry that I used to not have–here it is, I can learn something valuable from any ministry that God is blessing–period!

I want to learn from people who do ministry differently than me…and it is amazing to me how stupid and insecure pastors and church leaders are when it comes to this.

For example–anytime I mention TD Jakes or Joel Osteen on this website we have idiots e-mail in with their “concerns” about issues in regards to their theology or teaching style. (As if the person e-mailing is perfect and has it all figured out!) (source)

Perry Noble resorts to his typical name calling and character attacks.What Noble fails to accept is that the Bible is the perfect Word of God and it is our final authority in matters of our faith. When heretics like Joel Osteen calls the Mormon Church Christian this goes far beyond Noble's blind-eye carnal defense. The Word of God condemns Osteen's defense of the false gospel of Joseph Smith.

2 Corinthians 11:3-5 (New American Standard Bible)

³But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
⁴For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.
⁵For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles.

Galatians 1:6-8 (New American Standard Bible)

Perversion of the Gospel
⁶I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel;
⁷which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
⁸But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!

Why does Perry Noble scoff at the Scriptures? All one has to do is read the Scriptures and then listen to Joel Osteen to see that Osteen is a false teacher. Why does Perry Noble say that God is blessing Osteen? The answer is Noble only see's a big church and the dollar sign!

BUT, I’ve said it before and I will say it again…I have an incredible amount of respect for both of those men. God is blessing their ministries in an incredible way…and I know there are tons of things that I could learn from them. Just because you are trying to learn something from someone doesn’t mean that you believe exactly like them!

(And for those who feel like you can only learn from just like you…please repent to God for being shallow and ridiculous!) (source)

It's Noble who should repent and stop scoffing at the Scriptures. It is Noble that said that God is blessing heretics like Joel Osteen and false teachers like TD Jakes. TD Jakes said that all religions lead to Heaven (John 14:5-7).

Pay special attention how Perry Noble attacks people who speak out against these two false teachers and how Noble pardons the Satanic lies both Osteen and Jakes teach. Noble pardons the false teachers and attacks the Christians contending for the faith. Do you see a problem here?

#6 – What if pastors spent more time focusing on God’s Word and their own church rather than attempting to be watchdogs of everyone else’s ministry?

Dang…that was good…even if I say so myself!!!

I’ve got to be honest…I really don’t have time to tear down the ministry efforts of others. Seriously, I’ve got enough to be concerned about in trying to be a good husband, father and pastor. The day I have the time to rip apart other people’s ministry is the day that my ministry will be fruitless and dead.

(That’s the only way I would have the time…you see, if a vineyard is producing fruit then you really don’t have the time to peak at the perceived fruitfulness–or unfruitfulness–of others.)

I once heard TD Jakes say, “The problem with most pastors is that they never leave the locker room–they always feel the need to compare!” WHEW!

Pastors…you and I can experience TRUE freedom when we compare ourselves to our calling and God’s vision for our ministry and NOT the church down the road or across the country! We will not be held accountable for their ministry–we will be held accountable for ours! (Hebrews 13:17) (source)

Seems that Noble does not take his own advice. I'll list some Scriptures to help Perry Noble in his quest to focus more on God's Word. God considered it important enough to warn us about false teachers and false prophets.

Romans 16:17-20 (New American Standard Bible)

¹⁷Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.
¹⁸For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.
¹⁹For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.
²⁰The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Mark 13:21-23 (New American Standard Bible)

²¹"And then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ'; or, 'Behold, He is there'; do not believe him;
²²for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect.
²³"But take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance.

2 Peter 2:1-3 (New American Standard Bible)

2 Peter 2
The Rise of False Prophets
¹But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.
²Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;
³and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Birds of a feather flock together. When you look at the people Perry Noble wants to meet, you will see a common problem within all these people.

Refer here for more about Perry Noble's love of the world and poor discernment.

1 John 4:1-3 (New American Standard Bible)

1 John 4
Testing the Spirits
¹Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
²By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;
³and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

The fruit of Perry Noble is poisonous and sour. His spiritual discernment is defiled by his love of the world. Beware of this false teacher!

Joel Osteen Biffs It On Mormonism

2009-09-15T00:29:00.005-04:00

Here is Joel Osteen claiming that Mormons are Christians. Many from the Seeker-sensitive Purpose Drive Church for the Carnal Nature of Mankind like CEO Steven Furtick actually defend this heretic all because Osteen is popular and has a very large church. It seems that large numbers must pardon heresy and false teachings as long as the "church" is growing: see Furtick's blog about numbers.

You can watch the video here: Joel Osteen Biffs It On Mormonism

People following Furtick need to beware the poison water this false teacher is selling.

2 Peter 2:1-3 (New International Version)

2 Peter 2
False Teachers and Their Destruction
¹But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. ²Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. ³In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

Please Stop Pickin’ on Joel by CEO Steven Furtick

2009-09-14T23:56:00.009-04:00

It seems CEO Steven Furtick has completely thrown spiritual discernment out along with Bible study groups(see this for Furtick's rant against those who crave God's Word). Now this CEO is defending Joel Osteen with his ever so loving methods of ranting against those of us who actually take the Word of God serious when it says to reprove and rebuke in 2 Timothy 4:1-3.

As in, Osteen.
As in, the pastor of the largest church in America.
As in, the guy that all seminary students seem to love to hate.
Yep, I hear it all the time. Guys take one systematic theology class, a semester of Greek, and all of a sudden they’re self appointed theological traffic cops.(source)

It seems that large numbers must mean something with the church in Furtick's world. Notice the attack upon those who truly study the Word of God in order to seek the truth.

But to all of you mean spirited name callers who have made a career of condemning celebrity preachers:
Who the heck do you think you are to criticize a man who is impacting a city like Pastor Joel is impacting Houston?
Or like Rick Warren is impacting the Saddleback Valley?
(Insert name of controversial preacher and city here… )

Osteen preaches to 40,000 people weekly…
You couldn’t get 40,000 people to come hear you preach if you gave away free Escalades at the door. (source)

Celebrity preachers? Name callers? Let's see what else Furtick has in store for us!

“Yeah, but Joel Osteen’s preaching isn’t Christ centered enough. And he didn’t make a bold stand for the exclusivity of the Gospel on Good Morning America that time. And, for crying out loud, he reads a stupid email forward at the beginning of every message before he does that �This is my Bible… ‘ thing… “(source)

It's seems that Furtick must have missed it when Osteen blessed the Mormon Church. I guess since the Mormon's have huge numbers then God must be blessing the Mormon Church!

If you’re concerned about a lack of cross centered preaching, then preach the cross yourself instead of wasting valuable time opining about how someone else should do it better.
If you think Osteen’s messages are too fluffy and lacking in Biblical content, then devote yourself to teaching God’s Word with passion and depth, and get after it. But don’t hate on a man you’ve never met and analyze the entire content of his ministry based on a 27 minute weekly broadcast. That’s illogical, narrow, and unfair, and you know it.
Don’t hurl insults at someone with a big church simply because you can’t make your church grow, and although you’d never admit it, you’re jealous.
That’s right… most of the time the motive isn’t defense of the Gospel… it’s jealousy and presumption.(source)

In other words, CEO Furtick is telling us not to let those pesky doctrines get into the way when it comes to the church. We should accept all who claim to be Christian no matter what twisted doctrines they teach as long as they are:

1. a celebrity preacher
2. have a large church

There you have it! CEO Steven Furtick's carnal knowledge at it's best.

You know, I think it’s absolutely essential that Christians think critically about what is being taught in Christian pulpits. We must preserve sound doctrine. We must guard against erroneous theologies.
But we must also guard against the kind of spiritual smugness that makes the world look at us and go:
“I thought they were wearing the same jersey… ” (source)

And the pot called the kettle black...

Steven Furtick: The man of change!

2009-09-14T17:50:00.014-04:00

Steven Furtick CEO of Elevation Church rides more than the ever shifting sands of the seeker-sensitive purpose driven doctrine! In the above pictures(click for a better view) taken from the years 2006 to 2009, you will see how this seeker sensitive "hip" CEO changes with the times.

2 Timothy 3:1-8 (New American Standard Bible)

2 Timothy 3

"Difficult Times Will Come"

¹But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

²For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,

³unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,

⁴treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

⁵holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.

⁶For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses,

⁷always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

⁸Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith.

STEVEN FURTICK CALLS JOEL OSTEEN GREAT MAN OF GOD

2009-09-14T17:31:00.004-04:00

CEO Steven Furtick decrees Joel Osteen as a great man of God.

In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. (2 Peter 2:3)
Lust For Numbers Makes Strange Spiritual Bedfellows

A while back Apprising Ministries brought out that sadly today there are so many in the apostatizing evangelical community who are burying their heads within the spiritual sand of whatever offshoot—rooted in the semi-pelagian Church Growth Movement—it is that highjacked their particular brand of Christian sandbox.

So while apostasy sweeps through the landscape of the visible church they remain content to think everything is wonderfully progressing toward some utopian unity as they each follow their own personal Pied Pipers, whether it be PDL Pope Rick Warren or Rob Bell, the Elvis of Emergence Christianity, or Joel Osteen for his brand of Word Faith-lite.

The sad fact is that mainstream evangelicalism in America today is nauseatingly lukewarm. And far too many evangelical leaders have been unwilling to take serious theological stands that would require the Lord to back up His Word or else they would personally be destroyed. Yet to do so is not presumption, rather it is actually true Biblical faith that pleases God.(source)

Another language catastrophe

2009-09-13T23:54:00.004-04:00

James Duncan from Pajama Pages asks the question,"Why can’t these Turnstile leaders use words from God’s Word when they describe the church?" referring to their poor choice of words to describe the body of Christ. He brings up some good points in his blog Another language catastrophe.

The typical defenders of these seeker-sensitive purpose driven CEO's always point to the numbers rather than the substance when questioned.

"Furtick tweets that 649 people chose to publicly declare Christ as their Savior"(source)

and

"Just wait what he posts or critiques when he hears about Newsprings 906 baptisms and their 276 salvations that happened today"(source)

My question is do these people even understand what salvation means? Are they even taught repentance? It's easy to repeat a prayer or buy into a mob mentality just to fit into these "hip" and "cool" seeker sensitive churches.

From sitting under Perry Noble, I can testify that repentance from sin is not explained at NewSpring Church. Steven Furtick is just as confused as Noble when it comes to repentance and salvation.

Just saying the name "Jesus" is meaningless without the drawing of the Holy Spirit. Every defender of Furtick, Noble, and Cooper always refers back to these huge numbers are proof God is working in this Churches for the Carnal Nature of Mankind. I deal with this issue in Confessing Christ, false professions, and the numbers game.

Furtick and Noble defenders really need to ponder this passage and ask these questions," How did Jesus not know these people when they did such wonderful works in His name? Clearly it seemed that Jesus was blessing them and working within them? How did Jesus not know them?"

Matthew 7:21-23 (New American Standard Bible)

²¹"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
²²"Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'
²³"And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO

PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

MORE ON: GOD OF THE EMERGING CHURCH

2009-09-13T15:48:00.004-04:00

Over at Reformata there is another article dealing with the seeker-sensitive purpose driven church for the carnal nature of mankind. The "emerging" church is based upon the ever shifting sands of seeker-sensitive ploys to lure people into these self-help centers called churches.

Here is a good description of what wrong with the emergent church:

And in typical clever (not) Emerging Church fashion what made Rollins stop and think is a parable written in much the same style as his own writings; it simply reverses the original. In this case the author of the parable takes the poem Footprints In The Sand and twists it backward; so instead of being a pretty accurate depiction of the one true and living God of the Bible, this “Footprints” introduces us further to the insipid god of Emergence Christianity:

There was once a man who had lived a long and difficult life… The curtain was pulled back, and he stumbled through the light to meet God.

‘My Master and my Friend,’ the old man hailed God as he prostrated himself before God’s feet. Hearing no reply, the man looked up and saw God shuffling awkwardly in his chair, not quite managing to fight back a blush across his cheeks…

‘Tell me, Lord,’ he said, knowing already the lines that would come, ‘tell me what the footprints mean.’… And slowly God replied, his voice shaking with emotion. ‘The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when you carried me.’… (source)

You can read the full blog at MORE ON: GOD OF THE EMERGING CHURCH.

DID JESUS ARGUE DOCTRINE?

2009-09-11T17:05:00.004-04:00

To Earnestly Contend For The Faith Does Encompass Arguing In Defense Of It

The obvious answer to the question “Did Jesus Ever Argue Doctrine” is: Absolutely, yes. In fact, we see an example of this right from the text I just cited above from the Gospel of Mark, which is the end of a series of arguments Mark tells us Jesus had been having with Jewish religious leaders. It’s only because the visible church, fearful of conflict, has decided to follow the whimsical ways of our effete culture that Christ’s confrontational style has been hidden.

So instead people turn to fickle fools advancing the doctrines of demons spewed from the seducing spirits operating within the egregiously ecumenical Emerging Church aka Emergent Church—morphing into Emergence Christianity (EC)—like Adam Walker Cleaveland to tell them incredibly stupid things like Jesus Was Wrong. And they turn to EC dreamers like Samir Selmanovic, who’s a member of the Coordinating Group for Emergent Village. (Source: Did Jesus Argue Doctrine? by Ken Silva) See the full article for the rest of this excellent blog.

The sour fruit of Perry Noble: NewSpring Children's minister defends his love of filthy rap music!

2009-09-09T12:05:00.016-04:00

The love of the world runs deep within the inner workings of NewSpring Church in SC. It's really disturbing to know that NewSpring Church's Greenville Campus Children's Minister Pudge Huckaby openly defends listening to filthy language (See the picture) and justifies it by making it an outreach to hurting people. Where is the discernment from right and wrong? How can such worldly filth be used to reach people when God clearly said in His Word to be separate? 2 Corinthians 6:16-18

Here are some examples taken from Mr. Huckaby. I want you to truly ponder the example Pudge Huckaby is setting for the children who go to NewSpring Church. Ask yourself what kind of fruit will grow as Pudge waters their minds with the things of the world?

"One of the things that DRIVES me in CM is that I want to expose as many kids as I can to the unconditional, unfailing, unmeasurable love of Jesus Christ!

I want them to KNOW and FEEL God’s love in such a way that it over powers the pain that the world cuts them with! So many of us are sheltered and ignorant when it comes to the “real life” stories that children go through today." source

Pay attention to how Pudge is setting up his defense. He starts off by talking about the unconditional love of Christ. Christ's love for us is unconditional, but living for Christ does have conditions because God told us not to love the world.

Notice the emphasis on "knowing and feeling" God's love. Pudge then proceeds to label anyone who speaks out against his carnality as being sheltered and ignorant. This is a good setup to ignore critics because Pudge immediately painted a picture of us as:

1.) Not understanding the unconditional love of Christ.

2.) We are sheltered and ignorant to the real world.

To help me prove this point, I want to look at a popular rap song, but before I dig in…(source)

Instead of going to the Word of God, Pudge proceeds to dig into popular culture for his defense.

YES, I LOVE RAP MUSIC! And (not to chase a white rabbit here but…) I LOVE EMINEM’S music too, and many others that say “bad words” in their music! And before many of you FREAK OUT because a Children’s Pastor just said he liked “bad music,” let me explain!

I love their music because it is packed with EMOTION and tells a story! They pour their hearts out and (if you listen hard enough) you will be exposed to a reality that most Christians miss because they are too busy being a “Pharisee” rather than a Christ follower. They tell the story of a broken heart, a broken world, and help me to remember the reality of what it feels like to be lost & without hope! (source)

Now we get to the heart of Pudge's defense for rap. The bottom line is Pudge loves rap music no matter how filthy the words, how foul the message, no matter how explicit the sexual the content, etc... Pudge loves the world far more than he loves the Word of God! Romans 12:1-3

It's amazing how he just lumps us as Pharisee and not Christ followers if we speak out against the poison he is teaching. I would like to know which Christ Pudge is following because that Jesus Christ is not found in the Word of God. My Jesus taught us not to love the world(1 John 2:15-16). My Jesus would never defend the worldly filth coming from people like Pudge Huckaby(Col 3:8). My Jesus loves the lost who are without salvation because He died for them, therefore He redeems them to a new life in Him by separating them from their past sins(2 Corinthians 5:16-18). My Jesus told us not to love the world(James 4:4) and not to be taken captive by it (Col 2:8). So which Jesus is Pudge following?

Now, after reading those lyrics you are thinking one of two things…

How could I listen to such music
How can I help

If you are thinking the first, I’m sorry I let you down. I’ll work harder to continue to care more about where God is leading me than what makes you feel “safe”

If you are thinking the second, I’m with you!

The thing that catches me about this song is that its someones STORY! It’s many peoples STORY! And tragically many times, the 1st thoughts we have as believers has more to do with condemning them and their story than finding ways to pour out the love of Christ on them…no matter their situation.

With all this, verses like James 1:27 have been sticking with me HARD lately! (source)

In this statement Pudge gives us a glimpse into his heart. We see the arrogance, rebellion, and prideful attitude coming from him as he defends his rebellion(Jude 1:17-19). It's amazing how he ends this using James 1:27 as a defense. Clearly Pudge Huckaby has been corrupted and taken captive by the world. His own words are a testimony to this sad fact.

There’s something brewing in me with this. There are single mom’s, homeless children & tragic stories EVERYWHERE in our communities! Day after day they are longing for hope, dying for love and begging that someone would show them the love that Christ has POURED out on us IN HIS MERCY!!

They are waiting for a happy ending…

I have a dream…(source)

What's brewing in Pudge is rebellion and sin. This is a classic example of the blind leading the blind. The end result of Pudge's seeker-sensitive-purpose-driven vision is rebellion and having a form of godliness but denying God's power to change us.

2 Timothy 3:1-7 (New International Version)

2 Timothy 3
Godlessness in the Last Days
¹But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. ²People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— ⁵having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
⁶They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, ⁷always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.

I'll again refer to the Pilgrim's blog "When the world's your mistress" as a source to expand on this blog. The Pilgrim lays a solid defense for the Word of God exposing people like Pudge Huckaby who only want to mix the world with the Word. In the end, the world overpowers the Word and it is evident in the testimonies of these worldly pastors.

In all fairness, Pudge is just the fruit of Perry Noble's preaching and teaching.

If anyone from NewSpring Church reads this blog, I really hope that you ponder what I have been saying about NewSpring's leadership. The end result of NewSpring's teachings are sin and rebellion. The final result is a church where there is no difference between it and the world except they attach the name "Jesus" to everything in sight.

When the world’s your mistress. by The Pilgrim September 8, 2009

2009-09-09T11:54:00.006-04:00

"Worldly preachers seem to go out of their way to put their carnal expertise on display—even in their sermons. In the name of connecting with “the culture” they want their people to know they have seen all the latest programs on MTV; familiarized themselves with all the key themes of “South Park”; learned the lyrics to countless tracks of gangsta rap and heavy metal music; and watched who-knows-how-many R-rated movies. They seem to know every fad top to bottom, back to front, and inside out. They’ve adopted both the style and the language of the world—including lavish use of language that used to be deemed inappropriate in polite society, much less in the pulpit. They want to fit right in with the world, and they seem to be making themselves quite comfortable there." John MacArthur(source)

Do words really matter? by James Duncan

2009-09-09T00:32:00.007-04:00

James Duncan from Pajama Pages has another article called Do Words Really Matter? that deals with the seeker-sensitive purpose driven church's flirtation with worldly acronyms and how they are scoffing at the Bible's condemnation of using filthy language.

Colossians 3:8 (New International Version)

⁸But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

I'm not surprised how men like Perry Noble and Brad Cooper try to redefine(or in the case of Brad Cooper openly defend cussing See HERE ) because they are constantly redefining the Word of God in order to support their love of the world. They are held captive by their carnality and love of the world, therefore it is of no surprise that they would seek to use language that is worldly and contrary to what God would have us to use in our walk with Him.

Colossians 2:6-8 (New American Standard Bible)

⁶Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
⁷having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
⁸See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

Does God require me to give a tithe of all I earn?

2009-09-08T11:33:00.005-04:00

John MacArthur addresses tithing and how we are not under the OT Law. The way many churches teach tithing is wrong and it short changes the purpose of giving.

Does God require me to give a tithe of all I earn?

Pastor Steven Anderson of Faithful Word Baptist Church burning the NIV in Ignorance

2009-09-04T07:21:00.004-04:00

"Pastor Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church has made quite a name for himself of late. Getting himself arrested, preaching on how he hopes the President dies, etc., is all just part of a day's work for this King James Onlyist! He posted a video showing the burning of NIV Bibles. In it claims are made, and not a one of them can stand up to examination. Here is my response." James White(source)

Brad Cooper's foul mouth and poor judgment

2009-09-03T16:14:00.008-04:00

Since I have been blogging about Brad Cooper's filthy mouth, poor judgment, and love of the world, I thought it would be very fitting to link this video Do you frickin believe the Bible? . For those of you who do not know what the slang word "frickin" means you can Google it. I refuse to put this filthy word on my blog. I will warn you that it is pure filth. It is repulsive that a student pastor would use such a ungodly evil word and then point to the Holy Bible.

It's very evident that Brad Cooper does not believe the Bible when it speaks against filthy language, living godly, and striving to put aside worldly love (See my other blogs about Brad Cooper). He believes the Bible only when it suits his purpose-driven agenda.

The old NewSpring Church defense of "No perfect people" does not work here because there is no excuse for this type of language.

Brad Cooper's slang and poor judgment

2009-09-03T00:08:00.023-04:00

Brad Cooper Student Pastor from NewSpring Church in SC has dug deep into the pits of worldly slang once again to describe FUSE. Brad Cooper has taught me two new slang terms I knew nothing about until he introduced them to me this year. I had no idea what "BAMF" meant until I looked it up and blogged about it here (my concern with Brad Cooper) and here (Brad Cooper's twisted defense for cussing). After pressure from myself and others in the Upstate of SC, Brad Cooper tweeted his new definition of the filthy acronym "BAMF" see "Big Audacious Mighty Fortress" instead of admitting he was wrong for using the foul acronym. Now Brad has decided to introduce another "hip" and "cool" relevant term to describe FUSE! Yes, it's now "BangORang"! For all you old folks like me, who do not own a seeker-sensitive manual for luring people into the church, we must look here (Urban Dictionary for BangORang) for an understanding as to what Cooper is saying about FUSE. Now granted, this is no where near the filth you will find if you look up "BAMF", but it still leads you to a place of sinful words (Refer to Col 3:8).

I'll give Cooper the benefit of the doubt on his usage of this slang term. I will even say that he meant "awesome" when he used this slang. The problem is why does Brad Cooper deem it necessary to lead his followers to a place where they will encounter worldly filth? As a youth pastor, he should be leading his sheep away from the things of the world and pointing them to godliness.

One issue that really stood out to me tonight when I read this on Pajama Pages was how does Brad Cooper know about these words? I'm 38 years old and I had never heard the term "BAMF" and "BangORang." How does Brad Cooper know about slang terms like BAMF and BangORang? What's Brad Cooper reading and watching behind closed doors? What is Cooper filling his mind with that compels him to use these types of terms to describe FUSE? These are questions every parent should ask Brad Cooper and NewSpring Church.

Let's look at what God said in His Word about our actions and walk in life:

Titus 2:5-8 (New International Version)

⁵to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
⁶Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. ⁷In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness ⁸and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

Titus 2:11-15 (New International Version)

¹¹For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. ¹²It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
¹⁵These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 (New American Standard Bible)

²¹But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;
²²abstain from every form of evil.

3 John 1:11 (New American Standard Bible)

¹¹Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.

I'm sure these verses are not in NewSpring Church's seeker-sensitive-purpose-driven manual for Casting Vision to draw people into the church.

Thankfully we still have these verses in the Word of God!

2 Timothy 4:1-5 (New International Version)

2 Timothy 4

¹In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: ²Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. ³For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

The twin whores of "Excellence and Relevance" are needy harlots!

2009-09-02T02:05:00.009-04:00

When I came across this blog How to know if your church isn't spending enough on missions from Defending Contending it proved yet again how the seeker-sensitive slogan of "excellence and relevance" is a like a whore. This ideology will literally take Christ's commandment to help the poor and turn it upside down. Instead of using money to help people, fund missionaries (in the case of these so-called churches this is a good thing), and showing the love of Christ, this ideology creates an idol of worship called the church building .

In July, I wrote a blog called The work of the Church and helping the poor that deals with this issue. What I fear is that many traditional churches will look upon these apostate self-help centers for the carnal nature of mankind, and want to mimic their programs instead of simply preaching the Gospel. I fear our churches might start flirting with these twin whores! If we look upon the fruits of "relevance and excellence" we will see great wealth, great numbers of members, and a very successful business plan. If we are not careful we might become charmed by the lure of these two harlots.

The best thing we can do is have nothing to do with these types of self-help centers called churches. It is my prayer that we stay true to the Word of God by helping the poor, funding missionaries, helping each other, and not wasting money on "fluff" while our communities suffer. It's really shameful when the church will spend millions upon millions of dollars per year to keep the programs running( light shows, high tech services, etc...) while people in the community are going hungry!

See http://defendingcontending.com/2009/09/01/how-to-know-if-your-church-isn%E2%80%99t-spending-enough-on-missions/ for some pictures of these shameful churches that bring reproach upon the name of Christ. I'm sure the CEO's of these non-profit organizations are not in need of anything unlike so many people in America.

PROTESTANT CHURCHES SHIFTING TOWARD AFFIRMING HOMOSEXUALITY

2009-09-02T01:19:00.004-04:00

In posts such as Contemplative Spirituality Growing Within Mainstream Evangelicalism and The Nightmare Beginning For Mainstream Evangelicalism here at Apprising Ministries I’ve been attempting to alert you to a very dark and threatening same-sex storm that is right now approaching hurricane force, and which is currently only slightly off the coast of the mainstream evangelical community.
And further, that the egregiously ecumenical Emerging Church aka Emergent Church—morphing into Emergence Christianity—(EC) is right now working to make affirming homosexuality an issue within your own mainstream evangelical church. This is why I’ve been doing what we can to send you clear warning concerning the grave danger of kicking out Sola Scriptura in favor of highly subjective [i.e. feelings-oriented] Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM).

With stories like you’ll see below mainstream evangelicalism is getting still another peek at its own impending future. And the reason for this is really rather simple; by circa the 1960s most mainline Protestant denominations had already opened themselves to CSM, and now just look at what’s happening within them. As evidenced by the recent vote to affirming clergy openly committing same-sex sexual immorality and the lunacy in the Lord’s Name of a woman ”Queer Affirming” Lutheran ”pastor” defend it in Nadia Bolz-Weber Weighs In On ELCA Church-Wide Assembly. (source)

I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone when I read what is going on in the American Church. It's like watching an episode of the Twilight Zone that takes place on a world without Sola Scriptura.

This issue is too important for those of us in Christ to sit around and do nothing. We must contend for the faith and never stop beating the drum of Sola Scriptura.

Please read the full blog over at Reformata http://www.reformata.org/2009/09/protestant-churches-shifting-toward-affirming-homosexuality/

Why Tithing is wrong

2009-08-29T08:32:00.005-04:00

Puritan Belief pretty well sums up the problem with tithing as taught by the church today.

When I converted to Christianity at age 23, I started tithing because I was taught to tithe 10% by my church. The typical passages from Malachi was preached in regards to the tithe and how if we tithe then God will bless our giving.

Years later, I started researching the Bible seeking Scripture to back up all my beliefs. When I studied the tithe, I discovered that it is not taught correctly today. The book of Colossians chapter 2 deals with how we are free from the OT Law which also includes the tithe.

When dealing with the OT tithe, we must remember that when Jesus was walking the earth, He had not yet completed His atonement for sin. Because of this Jesus did instruct people to listen to the Rabbi and to continue following the requirements of the OT. After His sin atonement, Jesus gave us the new covenant of Grace thus abolishing the Law that was against us. If we are to tithe today are we also to bring sin sacrifices to the temple for our sins?

Here is the article from Puritan Belief http://puritanbelief.blogspot.com/2006/02/why-tithing-is-wrong.html

Would the Devil Do This?

2009-08-28T12:12:00.004-04:00

Discernment Ministries has an interesting blog about the Devil's attack upon the church. You can read this at http://herescope.blogspot.com/2009/08/would-devil-do-this.html

Religous but lost, to saved by God's Grace at 71

2009-08-27T23:26:00.000-04:00

A powerful video on YouTube about the Grace of God. See Religous but lost, to saved by God's Grace at 71

EMERGENCE CHRISTIANITY PASTRIX NADIA BOLZ-WEBER EXPOUNDS ON PSALM 45

2009-08-27T22:49:00.004-04:00

Ken Silva from Apprising Ministries has been doing the grunt work for many of us by following the apostasy brewing in the emergent seeker-friendly movement.

Mr. Silva has another good blog about this problem.

The seeker-sensitive movement just keeps getting farther and farther away from Sola Scriptura. In their efforts to be relevant and inclusive, the seeker-sensitive emergent movement "moves" God out of the way.

The bible warns us about these types of false teachers and false prophets:

2 Peter 2:1-3 (New American Standard Bible)

2 Peter 2

The Rise of False Prophets

¹But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

²Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;

³and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Please visit EMERGENCE CHRISTIANITY PASTRIX NADIA BOLZ-WEBER EXPOUNDS ON PSALM 45 and read Mr. Silva's article. If possible please donate to his ministry to help him continue his fine work.

Lane Chaplin Interviews Dr. James White

2009-08-27T22:43:00.004-04:00

Lane Chaplin has interviewed Dr. James White on the topic, "Does Reformed Theology Matter?"(source) http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=3466

JOHN MACARTHUR: WHEN BEING “NICE” IS WRONG By Ken Silva

2009-08-27T22:36:00.002-04:00

The problem is that the needed reformation within evangelicalism won’t occur at all if false ideas that undermine our core theological convictions cannot be openly attacked and excluded. When peaceful coexistence “with our deepest differences” becomes priority one and conflict per se is demonized as inherently sub-Christian, any and every false religious belief can and will demand an equal voice in the “conversation.”

That has actually been happening for some time already. Listen, for example, to what some of the leading voices in and around the Emergent movement have said. Tony Campolo is a popular speaker and author who has a major influence in evangelical circles. He believes evangelicals should be in dialogue with Islam, seeking common ground. In an interview conducted by Shane Claiborne,Campolo said:

I think that the last election aggravated a significant minority of the evangelical community, believing that they did not want to come across as anti-gay, anti-women, anti-environment, pro war, pro capital punishment, and anti-Islam. There is going to be one segment of evangelicalism, just like there is one segment in Islam that is not going to be interested in dialogue. But there are other evangelicals who will want to talk and establish a common commitment to a goodness with Islamic people and Jewish people particularly.

Brian McLaren is perhaps the best-known figure in the Emergent conversation. He thinks the future of the planet—not to mention the salvation of religion itself (including Christianity)—depends on a cooperative search for the real meaning of Jesus’ message. In McLaren’s assessment, this means an ongoing dialogue between Christians and followers of all other religions. This, he is convinced, is of the utmost urgency:

In an age of global terrorism and rising religious conflict, it’s significant to note that all Muslims regard Jesus as a great prophet, that many Hindus are willing to consider Jesus as a legitimate manifestation of the divine, that many Buddhists see Jesus as one of humanity’s most enlightened people, and that Jesus himself was a Jew, and without understanding his Jewishness, one doesn’t understand Jesus. A shared reappraisal of Jesus’ message could provide a unique space or common ground for urgently needed religious dialogue—and it doesn’t seem an exaggeration to say that the future of our planet may depend on such dialogue. This reappraisal of Jesus’ message may be the only project capable of saving a number of religions, including Christianity.

Indiscriminate congeniality, the quest for spiritual common ground, and peace at any price all naturally have great appeal, especially in an intellectual climate where practically the worst gaffe any thoughtful person could make is claiming to know what’s true when so many other people think something else is true. Besides, dialogue does sound nicer than debate. Who but a fool wouldn’t prefer a calm conversation instead of conflict and confrontation?

In fact, let’s state this plainly once more: Generally speaking, avoiding conflicts is a good idea. Warmth and congeniality are normally preferable to cold harshness. Civility, compassion, and good manners are in short supply these days, and we ought to have more of them. Gentleness, a soft answer, and a kind word usually go farther than an argument or a rebuke. That which edifies is more helpful and more fruitful in the long run than criticism. Cultivating friends is more pleasant and more profitable than crusading against enemies. And it’s ordinarily better to be tender and mild rather than curt or combative—especially to the victims of false teaching.

But those qualifying words are vital: usually, ordinarily, generally. Avoiding conflict is not always the right thing. Sometimes it is downright sinful. Particularly in times like these, when almost no error is deemed too serious to be excluded from the evangelical conversation, and while the Lord’s flock is being infiltrated by wolves dressed like prophets, declaring visions of peace when there is no peace (cf. Ezekiel 13:16). Even the kindest, gentlest shepherd sometimes needs to throw rocks at the wolves who come in sheep’s clothing. (The Jesus You Can’t Ignore: What You Must Learn from the Bold Confrontations of Christ, 17-19)

John MacArthur

The above article was taken from http://apprising.org/2009/08/john-macarthur-when-being-nice-is-wrong/ by Ken Silva

Life Past the 10th Grade..from Lane's Blog

2009-08-26T22:59:00.005-04:00

Here is an interesting blog by Lane Chaplin from Lane's Blog. He is dealing with some of Pastor (CEO) Perry Noble's poor judgement and filthy mouth.

Here is an example taken from Lane'e Blog:

One of the things I deal with a on a daily basis is comments from unbelievers and immature professors of Christ. I'll usually block the abrasive unbelievers and try to at least converse with those who profess to believe but aren't clear about things and even the unbelievers who are cordial. One thing that I notice in each is a fundamental misunderstanding of their beliefs about what exactly I believe. Unfortunately, this tendency is fully functioning not only in the groups previously mentioned, but also in the professing pastors that come and comment occasionally... which brings us to the case in point. (source)

Please check out "Life past the 10th grade" for more info and some good insights from my friend Lane Chaplin.

2 Corinthians 6:14-17 is talking about marriage. NOT preaching, NOT methodology. Really?

2009-08-26T22:29:00.005-04:00

While discussing Perry Noble and his love of the world a blogger made this statement about 2 Corinthians 6:14-17:(source)

"your 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 reference is talking about marriage. NOT preaching, NOT methodology."

2 Corinthians 6:14-17 (New American Standard Bible)

¹⁴Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?

¹⁵Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

¹⁶Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,
"I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM;
AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
¹⁷"Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE," says the Lord.
"AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN;
And I will welcome you.

This blogger is trying very hard to defend the carnality and worldliness of Senior Pastor Perry Noble from NewSpring Church. I'm amazed at the hoops many NewSpring defenders will jump through to defend Noble and his rebellion.

Here is a reference that might help explain this passage:

6:14-15. What hampered the Corinthians’ open, loving response, which Paul called for? (v. 13) Answer: rival suitors vied for their affections and allegiance. Though verses 14-15 are often applied to various sorts of alliances (e.g., mixed marriages, improper business associations), Paul’s primary association was probably ecclesiastical. The rival suitors were possibly pagan idolaters (cf. 1 Cor. 10:14) or more likely false apostles (cf. 2 Cor. 11:2-4). In censure or affection Paul was equally candid (cf. 6:11).

The solution to the dilemma was for the Corinthians to separate from the false apostles. Whatever may have been their own and others’ estimation of their spiritual status, Paul considered the false apostles to be unbelievers (cf. 11:13-15) from whom the Corinthians needed to separate. But Paul did not say that Christians should have no contacts whatever with unbelievers. Earlier he argued the absurdity of such a position (1 Cor. 5:9-10). But religious unbelievers might lead believers astray from “sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3), and the fact concerned Paul greatly. A believer can be rightly yoked only with Christ (Matt. 11:29-30).

To illustrate, Paul asked five rhetorical questions (2 Cor. 6:14-16), posing antitheses that reflect the wide chasm between the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of Satan (cf. Col. 1:13). Belial (the Gr. Beliar is a spelling variation) transliterates an Old Testament word that means “worthless person.” In Greek it came to mean “a lawless person.” It was then used of Satan, the most worthless and lawless of all.

6:16. Paul’s fifth rhetorical question provided a transition to his citing several Old Testament verses. Their cumulative effect bolstered Paul’s exhortation (v. 14a). The church is the temple of God (cf. 1 Cor. 3:16) where the Spirit of God and Christ dwells (cf. Matt. 28:19-20; Eph. 2:22). The promise of God to live among His people was ultimately fulfilled in Christ (Matt. 1:23).

6:17. Enjoying God’s presence requires personal holiness. Paul cited a portion of Isaiah 52:11 and Ezekiel 20:41, passages that speak of Israel’s redemption. God’s people are redeemed from pagan bondage (come out from them and be separate) in order to be clean before God (touch no unclean thing) and thus enjoy fellowship with Him (I will receive you). In Galatians Paul spoke of the bondage of those who are under the obligation of the Law (Gal. 3:13-14; 4:5; cf. 2 Cor. 3:7-9). Paul wrote to Titus that redemption implied two things: (a) deliverance “from all wickedness” and (b) a purified people who are “His very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:14). Personal purity makes it possible to serve God and be received by Him.^[1]

^[1]Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (2:570-571). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

ELCA, GOSPEL REDUCTIONISM, AND HOMOSEXUALITY

2009-08-26T14:50:00.006-04:00

Reformata has another insight post about the growing attacks upon Sola Scriptura and the authority of God's Word: ELCA, GOSPEL REDUCTIONISM, AND HOMOSEXUALITY

An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection

2009-08-25T16:30:00.005-04:00

Psalm 141 (New American Standard Bible)

Psalm 141

An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection.

A Psalm of David.

¹O LORD, I call upon You; hasten to me!
Give ear to my voice when I call to You!
²May my prayer be counted as incense before You;
The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.
³Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
⁴Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice deeds of wickedness
With men who do iniquity;
And do not let me eat of their delicacies.
⁵Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me;
It is oil upon the head;
Do not let my head refuse it,
For still my prayer is against their wicked deeds.
⁶Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock,
And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
⁷As when one plows and breaks open the earth,
Our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
⁸For my eyes are toward You, O GOD, the Lord;
In You I take refuge; do not leave me defenseless.
⁹Keep me from the jaws of the trap which they have set for me,
And from the snares of those who do iniquity.
¹⁰Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
While I pass by safely.

MARK DRISCOLL AT CRYSTAL CATHEDRAL—FAILURE

2009-08-24T01:27:00.005-04:00

It's really sad to watch a man slide into the luke warm seeker-sensitive swamp of good intentions. Over at Reformata there is a post about Mark Discoll's visit to Robert Schuller's church. Instead of preaching the pure Gospel, Driscoll just spoke a little ear tickling encouragement. You can read about it here: Mark Driscoll at Crystal Cathedral.

ELCA AND HOMOSEXUALITY

2009-08-22T14:14:00.008-04:00

The ELCA has fallen captive to the world. It's truly a disturbing move by the ELCA.

Ken Silva from Apprising Ministries has a blog up called "ELCA and Homosexuality" about this dive into sin.

Sola scriptura has officially been retired by the ELCA.

The Berean example in Acts 17:11

2009-08-20T20:32:00.047-04:00

One of the most common criticism I get from fellow Christians is I spend a good deal of time talking about what is wrong with other churches and preachers. I'm often told by these people that I should spend this time trying to further the kingdom of God instead of tearing down other ministries. While this advice sounds good on the surface, making many in the seeker-sensitive movement applaud, it's not very biblical advice. The misconception is that by discussing these types of issues within the church, that I am trying to tear down another person's ministry. This is not the case nor is it my agenda. By pointing out problems within movements like the seeker-sensitive camp, shining the light of the Scriptures upon errors taught in the church, and calling people out by name is by no means tearing down these ministries. It's simply exposing problems in hopes these errors will be corrected in the future and also warning fellow Christians about the dangers of poor doctrine.

In the Scriptures, the Apostle Paul went to a group of believers in Berea. When Paul delivered the message these people were not quick to accept it as the truth. They dug deep into the Scriptures and examined what Paul said in order to verify his word as the truth.

Acts 17:10-11 (New American Standard Bible)

Paul at Berea
¹⁰The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.
¹¹Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

This example encourages me to blog about dangerous teachings within the Christian faith. I cannot sit around and say nothing just because I might be perceived as tearing down the kingdom.

2 Timothy 4:1-4 (New American Standard Bible)

2 Timothy 4
"Preach the Word"
¹I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:
²preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
³For 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 to their own desires,
⁴and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

The Bible tells us to reprove and rebuke errors with great patience. It does not tell us to remain silent and do nothing. In Galatians 2 we see a good example of this when Paul correcting Peter's error in public.

Galatians 2:11-14 (New American Standard Bible)

Peter (Cephas) Opposed by Paul
¹¹But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
¹²For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision.
¹³The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.
¹⁴But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, "If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?

Paul did not remain silent just because Peter was in the same camp. Paul corrected Peter and contended for the faith.

Romans 16:17-20 (New American Standard Bible)

¹⁷Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.
¹⁸For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.
¹⁹For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.
²⁰The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

The Berean example encourages deep study and backing our beliefs with the Scriptures. There is nothing wrong with exposing false teachers, false doctrines, and errors in the church as long as we expose these errors in truth and love.

Rob Bell and another gospel

2009-08-19T13:05:00.005-04:00

Ken Silva from Apprising Ministries has another good article exposing heresies coming from Rob Bell.

Rob Bell and Another Gospel

I'm thankful Mr. Silva and others are working to expose heretics like Rob Bell. We cannot stick our head in the sand and pray these heretics will simply go away. We must expose these false teachers and warn people about the dangers coming from people like Rob Bell.

Minimal Morality? Just go back to the world! - Tim Conway

2009-08-18T17:52:00.004-04:00

Tim Conway pretty much sums up the problem with many of the seeker-sensitive think tanks of today. Too many times emergent pastors want to flirt with the limits of sin. They are ever striving to get as close to the sin line as possible in order to reach out to the world with relevance. Many times these seeker sensitive Christians just keep moving the line farther and farther down the road until they are consumed by the love of the world.

This is a short video that sums up the attitude we should have as Christians about sin and not loving the world. Minimal Morality? Just go back to the world! - Tim Conway

You Won’t Believe Your Eyes….

2009-08-18T13:42:00.004-04:00

One would think that relevance would be enough to fill a purpose driven church. Well, relevance is no longer enough! The need of wanting more has been acknowledged and met by our sensitive pastors in the seeker sensitive movement. Come one, come all...fill out the application for your chance to win big this Sunday at church! Yes, we have food, drink, and prizes! I wish this was a joke, but sadly it is no joke.

Refomata sent out a tweet today with a link to this blog:

http://www.reformata.org/2009/08/you-wont-believe-your-eyes/

It's amazing how the purpose driven mindset works to lure people into the house of God. It seems they do not believe the Gospel is enough anymore. It seems they feel the Holy Spirit needs entertainment and giveaways in order to draw people unto Himself.

Shortly after I became a Christian, my pastor gave me some advice one afternoon about how to build a church. He told me, "If you lead them in on entertainment, then you must keep them entertained. If you preach the Gospel, then Christ will keep them in the church." I really wish these seeker-sensitive purpose driven CEO's would take my former pastor's advice.

Seeker-sensitive church doctrine

2009-08-17T08:48:00.009-04:00

Rob Bell heresy and NewSpring leadership's lack of discernment

2009-08-15T22:43:00.009-04:00

Rob Bell is a heretic. There is no other way to describe this man's beliefs without using the term heresy.

In my last blog, I mentioned that Perry Noble, Senior Pastor of NewSpring Church, listens to Rob Bell (refer to iPod). It seems this poison has been spread to Brad "BAMF" Cooper as an example to follow because of Perry Noble (See this link). One of the dangers of Perry Noble's worldliness and poor interpretation of the Bible is seen by a lack of discernment (See this Cooper tweet) from his under ministers. The fruit of Noble's liberal, humanistic, self-help topical teachings is seen clearly when his leadership reads after Rob Bell.

Please check out Fighting for the Faith's radio broadcast about the heresies of Rob Bell. If you are a supporter or member of NewSpring Church, then ask yourself why does Perry Noble listen to this heretic? Where is the warning from NewSpring Church's leadership about the dangers of following a man like Rob Bell?

I'm truly concerned for the people going to NewSpring Church. This is why I discuss these issues on my blog to serve as a warning by uplifting the Scriptures to expose the worldliness, bad advice, and rebellion coming from NewSpring Church.

I simply do not understand why Perry Noble does not warn his people about the dangers emerging from Rob Bell.

Perry Noble's bad advice and love of the world

2009-08-09T22:46:00.142-04:00

NewSpring Church Senior Pastor Perry Noble is running full steam ahead with the "score" and "scoreboard" slogan lately. James Duncan from Pajama Pages has been discussing this "scoreboard" defense used by Perry Noble to counter or should I say ignore his critics.

I want to examine this Twitter post from Perry Noble and take a hard look at some of his more colorful antics at NewSpring Church. I will focus on his statement that "God did not call the church to withdraw from the world" and compare it with what God told us about the world in the Bible. I have already dealt with the "scoreboard" logic in my blog Confessing Christ, false professions, and the numbers game, so I'm not going to get into that part again.

The first bad advice from Perry Noble is assuming that pastors and leaders can run up a spiritual scoreboard. This is very flawed advice that puts the emphasis on the pastor and church leadership rather than on Jesus Christ. This type of advice leads to a cult of personality with heavy emphasis on the leaders and church culture. I would suggest that Perry Noble ponder the Doctrines of Grace a little more or think about what he is posting to Twitter before he posts it.

Let's move on to the subject of the church not withdrawing from world. I fully agree with Perry Noble that the church must not withdraw from the world (Refer to my blog "In the hedge and on the highway" for my thoughts on how we reach out to people). Perry Noble is big on outreach and numbers. He is always referring back to his slogan, "to make the name of Jesus famous one life at a time!" as his rallying battle cry. To me, this slogan is just another marketing tool used to promote NewSpring Church. It's not like Jesus needs us to make His name famous. I'll put aside my prejudice of this slogan for a moment to say I fully agree with it and Perry Noble's vision. In making the name of Jesus famous should we not focus on more than just saying the name and counting heads? In making Jesus' name famous we should show the world Jesus as Jesus is described in the Bible. Perry Noble's visions for making Jesus' name famous does not accurately reflect the outline found in the Bible for spreading Jesus' name. Let's dig a little deeper into Noble's rabbit hole and see what we find. As a former NewSpring Church member, I have some first hand knowledge of how NewSpring's rabbit holes work.

When Perry Noble gives advice that the church is not to withdraw from the world it sounds really good until you get to know what Noble is referring to with this statement. Perry Noble uses the hooks and snares of the world to bait and switch unregenerated people into visiting NewSpring Church. This tactic works, and it works well. The proof is easily seen in the numbers of people who attend NewSpring Church.

Let's examine some of Perry Noble's advice and actions from the past:

Last Easter Perry Noble used AC\DC's Highway to Hell as an opening song at NewSpring Church (see also Perry Noble's message from AC/DC Sunday). Perry has claimed people were saved because of using AC\DC's "Hell's Bells" . If you read the links, you will see how Perry Noble believed that God used worldly music to spread His Gospel. Perry Noble's severe lack of discernment is seen in his blog called I-Pod as he refers to Rob Bell (see link for Bell's heresy) as a preacher he listens to on a regular basis. Perry Noble also uses some very colorful language(cussing), crude language, prophetic visions , and bad advice. He promotes worldly songs like those by Usher (refer to Can I enjoy movies and culture and still be a Christian? around the 35-40 minute mark) that encourage people toward sinful thoughts, and uses lust- filled songs like "Crazy in Love" (refer to NewSpring's "Crazy in Love” by Beyonce) all in the name of making Jesus name famous. These antics are used by Perry Noble to help spread the the Gospel of Jesus Christ by reaching out and appealing to culture to draw those without Jesus into the church.

We can see in these examples how Perry Noble details what he means by "not withdrawing from the world" which is translated: "Use the world's music, tactics, and language to be relevant to reach the lost. As long as we worship Jesus this is all good because the ends justify the means." Perry Noble adds to his statement by saying, "Run up the score" which is translated: "When you are criticized for your actions, simply point to the number of members attending your church as evidence God is working in your ministry through your vision".

Now let's examine Perry Nobles's actions and claims using the Berean example found in Acts 17:11.

Acts 17:11 (New International Version)

¹¹Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

In the Bible it clearly tells us not to love the world (1 John 2:14-18 ,1 John 2:15, Romans 8:5-8) or to be held captive by it (Colossians 2:1-9).

The Bible tells us to abstain from evil (1 Peter 2:10-12 ,1 Thessalonians 5:21-23) and to be of good reputation (1 Timothy 3:1-7 , Titus 1:1-9 ,Titus 2:6-8, Philippians 2:14-16)

The Bible tells us to not have a filthy mouth (Col 3:8).

When we compare the Scriptures to Perry Noble, we see a problem with his ministry. Do we see Perry Noble when we read this passage?

Titus 2:11-13 (New American Standard Bible)

¹¹For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,

¹²instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,

¹³looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,

Lastly, I want to discuss Perry Noble's distortion of Acts 17:22-24 he presented in Can I enjoy movies and culture and still be a Christian? 08/10/08 from week 5 of the "You asked for it" series. This is a very good illustration by Perry Noble that shows us exactly what he means by not withdrawing from the world. The way Perry Noble twists and distorts the Apostle Paul is borderline heresy. Noble paints a picture as if Paul dug deep into Greek culture. I'm sorry, Mr. Noble, but in Greece Zeus was considered the god of the gods and many people knew about Zeus. It's not like the quote that Paul used was unknown except for an enlightened few who followed Greek culture. This did not mean that Paul spent his time partaking in the Greek culture. I challenge anyone reading this blog to listen to this message and simply study the Scriptures. One thing we must keep in mind is that Paul was dealing with a false religion and not popular culture as implied in this sermon by Perry Noble.

In this account of the unknown god in Acts 17, Perry Noble's carnal interpretation of this event fails the test of the Scriptures. One would think Paul studied and regularly used Greek pagan culture in his preaching to the Greeks according to Noble's presentation of this event. Paul did not bring this idol, Greek culture, or any relevant secular works into the church to draw the Greek people in. Paul did not use the relevant excuse to put worldly culture into the church like Noble uses to justify his antics at NewSpring Church. Paul warned us against these things in Romans 12:1-3, 2 Corinthians 10:1-3, Romans 6:1-3, Romans 6:14-16 so why would Paul tell these Greeks they are the exception to the rule? If this was the case then why did Paul even bother writing 1 and 2 Corinthians?

I can explain the point of Acts 17:22-24 using myself as an example. If I walked by a group of Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses debating who God is and how we know who Jesus was, then this would be very similar to what happened in Acts 17. Because I have studied the Mormon and the Jehovah Witness faiths, I can answer their questions using their terminology about who Jesus Christ really is by simply leading them to the true Scriptures. If I took Perry Noble's explanation of this event as a guide to my walk with Jesus, then I would add Mormon/Jehovah Witness culture and literature: The Book of Mormon and the New World Translation, to my study and include them in my sermons. Taking Noble's advice a little further, I could go back to my church to add Mormon and Jehovah Witness books, study guides, magazines, lesson plans, etc... in the church to lure Mormons and Jehovah Witness into the house of God. I could turn right around and claim that because I used Mormon/Jehovah Witness culture that God used this "relevant" material to lead "x" number of people to Christ! Clearly this poor explanation from Perry Noble about the Apostle Paul is laying a foundation of foolish advice, worldliness, confusion, and carnality in the Christian faith. The bottom line is Perry Noble willingly twisted the Scriptures out of context in order to defend his love of the world and the world's culture that holds him captive. Noble jumps through hoops in order to make the Word of God sound as if it justifies Noble's rebellion and love of the world.

2 Corinthians 6:14-17 (New American Standard Bible)

¹⁴Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?

¹⁵Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

The Scriptures command those of us in Christ to separate ourselves from loving the world, abstain from any appearance of evil, to live a life striving to live godly for Jesus. The old Perry Noble "No Perfect People Allowed" defense does not justify loving the world and walking in carnality. When God inspired the prophets to write the Bible, God clearly understood that we are not perfect people which is why He gave us 1 John 2:1-3 as a reminder when we fall short and sin. God wants us to love Him above all. Mr. Noble, you cannot mix light with darkness no matter how many members you have, your church's good works, how many million dollar buildings you have, etc... and then say God is telling you to do so. God will never tell us to use sin as a tool to spread the Gospel. The father of lies will tell us that sin is not that bad as long as something good comes from it. In other words, Satan will lead us to believe that if worldliness leads to a profession of Christ then worldliness is justified because it helps make Jesus' name famous.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (New International Version)

¹³For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. ¹⁵It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

Fighting for the Faith: The Perry Noble NewSpring Church Special

2009-08-08T21:31:00.003-04:00

Fighting for the Faith has an excellent interview with Ron Click who is a former NewSpring Church member. This interview is very insightful about some of the errors being taught at NewSpring Church. I highly recommend listening to the episode from Pirate Christian Radio.

Chris Rosebrough did a good interview with Ron Click. Mr. Rosebrough has a very insightful critique of one of Perry Noble's sermons after the interview that reflects some of the major issues brought up by Mr. Click.

I am a former NewSpring member. I am very concerned by NewSpring's antics and liberal interpretations of the Scriptures.

I testify that I have seen and heard the things that Ron Click discussed in this interview. We cannot be taken back by NewSpring's good works, friendly outreach, and Sunday shows without searching the Scriptures to see if what NewSpring is teaching is correct. Perry Noble's view of sin, total depravity of mankind, God's grace drawing us to repentance, and our carnal nature being hostile towards God is presented very weak in many of his sermons.

Outlaw preachers seek to destroy the authority of the Scriptures

2009-08-07T20:37:00.004-04:00

Pastor Ken Silva has been following these rebels for a while now. He has written some very good articles exposing this heresy creeping into the Christian faith.

"Outlaw Preachers" is a good name for these liberals. These humanistic teachers are trying to hijack the authority of the Holy Scriptures by replacing them with emotional justifications . These outlaws seek to redefine the teachings of the Scriptures concerning the sin of homosexuality. The Scriptures are very clear about homosexuality as sin.

"Outlaw Preachers" seek more than just taking homosexuality out of the sin category. You can be sure that this is just the tip of the iceberg. They are part of a larger liberal movement that seeks to destroy the orthodox doctrines of the Christian faith replacing them with a substitute consumed with the spirit of anti-Christ!

"These self-proclaimed outlaw preachers are now beginning to band together—chiefly around Jay Bakker—in order to sow their perversion of the grace of God, which ala the original cult of liberal theology so over-emphasizes the love and grace of God they end up obliterating His justice." Ken Silva source

I recommend following Pastor Ken Silva's exposing this heresy at APPRISING MINISTRIES.

We cannot stand back and let heretic rebels like Jay Bakker abuse the Grace of God.

Romans 6:1-3 (New American Standard Bible)

Romans 6

Believers Are Dead to Sin, Alive to God

¹What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?

²May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

³Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?

Our Bill of Rights and religion

2009-08-05T11:00:00.022-04:00

Amendment I

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

I find it alarming how so many churches cow down to the government during election years. The government tries to hinder our rights when we speak out against a party or politician. Government officials and some leftist groups claim we are being "political" when we speak out. These groups seek to transform us into a political entity. By transforming us into a political machine, they try to force laws upon us to censor our speech all in the name of "fairness."

The church has every right to call people out by name and speak out against those who support things we deem sinful. The church has a moral right to inform its members about political agendas. We have a right to point out a politician's views and discuss what will happen if elected to office. We are doing nothing wrong because it is our duty as Christians to warn our people about supporting policies that the Bible calls sin.

The government has no right to tell us we cannot speak out about current issues from our pulpits. The Bill of Rights forbids these types of threats, so why do we fear the government? Why do we cow down and allow this type of abuse? It's time to stand up for our liberties and rights by upholding our Constitution.

I'm not saying that we are to pass laws based on our religion. In the Bill of Rights it says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion," which clearly forbids basing laws on religion. The Bill of Rights also says,"Congress shall make no law... prohibiting the free exercise thereof" which is directly referring to religion. We are given the right to freely practice our religion. We use our freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and the freedom to assemble peacefully to practice our religion. We do not have the right to create laws based on our religious preference, trying to force people into our system of beliefs. The government has no right to make laws and issue threats from the IRS, trying to herd us into politically correctness by overlording what we can preach, circulate, and teach concerning our faith.

I fully support the freedom of religion and the freedom from religion. I am offended by some people's condemnation of Christianity, but it is their right to do so. These citizens are protected by the Bill of Rights just like I am, therefore I defend their rights as well as mine.

Confessing Christ, false profession, and the numbers game

2009-07-31T22:48:00.145-04:00

On one of the blogs I read the subject came up about a local emergent church that places great emphasis on the number of confessions in Christ. This church uses the numbers game as proof that God approves of their church and evidence they are following Jesus. While we praise God for these confessions, some concerns were raised about possible false professions due to the liberal nature of this church. This church uses some very questionable antics by the pastor and staff which prompted me to be concerned about people buying into the church's relevant "culture" vs. responding to God's call to repentance. It's not wise for any church to be overly concerned with numbers. It's even more dangerous to use confession numbers as a poll to see if God is working in a church or not. This type of action can lead to problems like pride and arrogance. This error can grow into believing that if church "A" has more confessions than church "B" then God must be blessing "A" more than "B". In other words, church "A" is excellent and pleasing to God. Church "B" is smaller; therefore church "B" must be doing something wrong in the eyes of God.

I do not advocate confronting people who profess Jesus Christ just because we have some disagreements with their church. As ambassadors for Jesus, it's our job to fortify their faith by simply sharing Jesus in truth and love. What do I mean? Did I not just type that we should not confront or heckle them? Yes, I did. What I mean is we are to share with them our faith, God's grace, and how we love Jesus because He first loved us. We share our repentance from sin, we define repentance in our walk as Christians, and how Jesus saved us by Grace. We should clearly define salvation in a manner that is both sound in the Scriptures and uplifting to Jesus by allowing the Holy Spirit to do His job in His time.

In the Bible we see this disturbing and frightening account by Jesus:

Matthew 7:21-23 (NASB)
^7:21"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
²²"Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'
²³"And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness .'

This is where the numbers game breaks down and has problems. If a church bases salvation on simply saying "Jesus," repeating a prayer, and doing the works of the church then this frightening event described by Jesus Christ becomes very real. These people did wonderful works in Jesus' name only to have Jesus say that He never knew them! In our human mind we are thinking, "This just does not seem right! How could they know about Jesus but not be saved? They did great things in the name of Jesus! They worshiped Jesus and did miracles in His name! These people knew Jesus, but Jesus did not know them? Why?" The answer is they never repented and accepted Jesus. It's very clear in this passage that not everyone who says, "Jesus" is saved.

When we base serving/worshiping Jesus upon the numbers game, we are only hurting the church in the long run. The result of some confessions may be simply buying into a church culture, a youth program, a children's program, peer pressure, entertainment, relevance, excellent music & worship, following a parent's example, volunteering in the church, etc... anything other than the drawing of the Holy Spirit to repentance and salvation. It's in this type of environment where the church culture might be drawing people to repeat the name Jesus vs. the Holy Spirit drawing people to Him. Can people truly be saved in this type of environment I described? Absolutely yes.

So what should we do? How can we know if everyone who professes Jesus is saved? The short answer is we will never know. We should continue to preach the Gospel and clearly define salvation as the Lord's. We should make a great effort to define sin as sin, and explain the word "repent." We should explain repentance from sin and how we once walked in sin. We explain that God laid a foundation for our new life. This foundation is in Him and not in the love of the world. We should always preach the whole council of God regardless the number of lost people coming to our church.

If I had a church of 15 people and if 10 of those people confessed Jesus Christ as Lord, I praise God and take their word for it! If my church never grew another soul beyond all 15 of my people professing Jesus, I would continue to preach the Gospel, salvation, repentance, and knowing that you are saved by grace. I would not consider this doubting their confessions, but rather fortifying their faith and walk with Jesus. I consider it helping them when they are in need, haunted by their past, tempted by their flesh, tempted by the world, and encouraging repentance when they sin. It's a building block of assurance and teaching them about the Holy Spirit who lives within us. It's not an attack or down play on their confession.

I have an 11 year old son who confessed Jesus. I praise God for his confessing Jesus Christ as his Lord . I take my own advice and try to encourage him in his faith by explaining repentance and salvation to him. I do not want to make him doubt his confession. I want to strengthen him in Grace. I want him to read his Bible, pray, and strive to follow Jesus. I want him to be confident in his faith and know how and why he is saved. I do not want to only focus on telling him about salvation because I want him to mature as a Christian, having confidence in Christ. I know he will experience hardships and may even doubt his salvation, but I want to plant the Word in his heart so that when doubts come the Grace of God takes control, giving him peace. This is not hindering him but leading him in walking with Jesus by example.

I'm not asking for an inquisition or any other type of legalistic manner of watching people's actions to determine salvation. For those of you who want to do that, may I suggest you read about Lot in Genesis 19:6-8 in the OT, and then look in 2 Peter 2:6-8. God said Lot was "righteous," meaning he was a saved man! When we see our brother/sisters in sin we should not question their confession. We should do the following:

1. Pray for them in private.
2. Encourage them in public.
3. Rebuke them in love and compassion.
4. Refrain from gossipping about them to others.
5. Lead them by example.
6. Always point them back to God's grace by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Churches that do not preach repentance from sin after salvation are doing new Christians a disservice because the lack of teaching leads to carnality. Carnal Christians are weak Christians who are held captive by the lust of the world. This is where I believe many (not all) false professions are born and why we see in Matthew 7 Jesus saying,"I never knew you." A child of God has convictions about sin because the Holy Spirit lives within him. I fear the old saying, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" may hold true because we try to do God's job instead of simply doing what God told us to do. We try to add "culture" to God's Word when God's Word is enough.

I'm not just picking on this emergent church. I know this problem is in every type of church. Regardless of the type of church there maybe some false professions. I fully understand that legalism is just as deadly a venom as what I have discussed in this blog about the numbers game. Following strict man-made rules such as dress codes, men not wearing earrings, only using the KJV, repeating creeds, not drinking wine, not working on Sunday, etc... can and do lead to false professions as well. In the future I will discuss legalism and how it's harmful to the church. I'm just writing about how I personally deal with these issues and expressing my concerns with the numbers game as a means to measure God's approval.

Sour milk?

2009-07-28T19:24:00.092-04:00

1 Peter 2:1-3 (New American Standard Bible)

1 Peter 2

As Newborn Babes

¹Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,

²like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,

³if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

Have you ever stumbled to your fridge early in the morning desiring a nice, cool, refreshing glass of milk? I'm sure that you have. How many of you have taken that big early morning "gulp" only to have your stomach turn? Your whole day is stained because sour milk just ruined your breakfast! I've drunk sour milk quite a few times since my sense of smell is very weak. In order for me to smell sour milk it is just rank beyond rank with chunks floating! Since I have been married, if I'm in doubt about the freshness of my milk, I ask my wife to check it for me. If it passes her test then I simply drink it.

Many times growing in the Grace of God is referred to as milk. New Christians are new creatures in Christ, therefore, as infants, we are taught the basics of Grace. In order to grow up as healthy Christians, we move from milk to meat much like we did when we were infants. Our mother nursed us in love and gave us meat as she watched us grow. The same holds true with the Holy Spirit as we grow in Grace.

One of the basic teachings from the Scriptures is seen in:

Titus 2:12-13 (New International Version)

¹²It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

The Bible teaches us to say "No" to the things contrary to what God said is good. Notice the wording "present age" and how this did not only refer to the 1st century. We are to live and strive to do what God requires us to do. Living for God means to turn from our sins (repent) and not to be a partaker in the world's sinful systems. This is not legalism as defined by some Christians, but simply obeying the Scriptures as commanded by God. Living for Jesus goes beyond just saying His name, going to church, and worshiping Him once a week. Everyday prayer, study, and striving to follow Jesus are the pure milk of the Word.

The Word of God is pure milk. The word of the world is sour milk. For example: if we mix good milk with 1/2 sour milk, we still have sour milk. God told us to long for pure milk so that we can learn to grow in respect to salvation. When we grow in the Word, we see that salvation belongs to the Lord, and we learn to respect that which He gave us by Grace because we know we are not worthy. What this means is that we are not to use the Grace of God to justify sin because salvation is the Lord's. We should no longer work to try to save our sour milk by adding good milk to the mix. If we continue mixing the sour milk with the good milk, we will not notice the tainted taste. Eventually the sour mixture becomes more of the mixture and we will soon forget the taste of good milk. In other words the sour milk seems like good milk!

What we put in our mind and our heart will manifest itself in our lives. We can only process so much information before we overload our mind. If we fill our minds with the things of God then it helps us grow as Christians. Pondering and taking in the things of the world only stunts our growth. We all struggle in this area, but that is no excuse to wrap ourselves in the world's system.

Colossians 3:8 (New International Version)

⁸But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

The verses I listed are some basic things we should do as Christians. Putting aside malice, deceit, hypocrisy, slander, anger, rage, and filthy language moves us toward self-controlled godly lives in our walk through this world. If we cannot get past these basic teachings as children of God then how can we ever hope to understand the meat of the Word? Sour milk will make you feel sick, but rotten meat can kill you. We must desire the pure milk of the Word and resist the worldly temptations, our carnal desires, and principles of the world. In other words, when the things of the world become more relevant to us than the Bible we have a problem. We cannot grow in Christ if we are anchored in the world.

The world has no problem with cussing, lust, etc... and the world will tell you that since it is no longer offensive to them then it's o.k. for Christians to cuss because we are all human. Many times Christians who live in this type of rebellion will fire back, "But there are no perfect people...you are a Pharisee!" in order to justify their open sin and rebellion. I agree there are no perfect people, but we do have a perfect God. When Jesus died for our sins and the Holy Spirit moved over the prophets, God knew that we are not perfect but He still gave us commandments to follow about godly living. The book of 1 John deals with us non-perfect people when we sin:

1 John 2:1-3 (New American Standard Bible)

1 John 2

Christ Is Our Advocate

¹My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin And if anyone sins, we have an ^a]">Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;

²and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

³By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.

Sometimes the sour milk comes from false prophets/false teachers that will teach us that we do not need to obey these commandments. As a newborn Christian, we might be taken captive by these types of teachers. If we study the Bible and pray, we see how God exposes these types of teachers through His Word.

1 John 4:1-3 (New International Version)

1 John 4

Test the Spirits

¹Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

Let's test the milk and see if it's pure or sour. I could use my nose defect as an excuse to blindly drink sour milk, just like I could use my past to justify living in sin, but I choose to seek help when I'm in question about the freshness of my milk. We should seek the council of God in His Word when we question if what we are saying and doing is godly. I've said many times, "The question is not WWJD but what did Jesus say in His Word?" By referring back to the Word of God we will be able to discern sin and avoid pitfalls that hinder our walk with Christ.

In order for us to grow in Christ, we must drink the pure milk of the Word so we can see the deeper meanings of the meat of the Word. We cannot see God's plan for our lives if we are still unable to digest the milk of the Word.

The work of the Church and helping the poor

2009-07-25T19:05:00.039-04:00

I just found out a friend lost her job, which is not uncommon considering the current direction of our government and economy.

From pondering this, I began to think about the purpose of the work of the church outside of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My thoughts drifting to how we, as a church, worry too much about things that do not matter in the light of eternity. It's a shameful testimony for any church to spend money on things the 1st century church would have never dreamed of having while ignoring the homeless, poor, and people hurting in our community. These 1st century followers of Christ were called Christian by people observing their sacrifice, good works, and helping the poor. I want to go over some of my thoughts and I sincerely hope that it shames some people into dropping all the "fluff" from the church and truly look at what Jesus wanted us to do.

Luke 3:10-14 (NASB)
^3:10And the crowds were questioning him, saying, "Then what shall we do?"
¹¹And he would answer and say to them, "The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise."
¹²And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"
¹³And he said to them, "Collect no more than what you have been ordered to."
¹⁴Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, "And what about us, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages."

I am by no means a Pharisee or legalist, I just want to start off by making this statement. I was not raised in church and what I see is disturbing. I see churches spending millions on childrens' buildings, spending millions on new buildings, spending tens of thousands of dollars every Sunday on excellent music and fancy light shows, worrying about the new stain glass windows, debating the new carpet, spending money to print nice service guides, preaching on wearing Sunday's best, taking up funds for a new gym, pastors making hundreds of thousands of dollars, etc...,but what about the outreach to help the poor? I'm not talking about token outreach programs like filling food banks a few times a year, etc... I'm talking about taking a serious step to show the community the love of Jesus in deed. I know what some may be thinking about me, but that's alright because you may be the person who needs to hear what I am saying. It's shameful that we sat in nice air conditioned buildings every week, spending the donations to the church to make us comfortable, and getting all bent out of shape if the AC breaks Sunday morning when it's going to be 102 in SC, BUT we never stop to think about the family about to be evicted and hungry. We never think about the mother on the street pondering sinful acts to feed her child. So many times, we set up our religion, as a token of care by saying ,"but we have list to show these people where they can get help, we work with charity groups, etc..." I SAY SHAME ON YOU! SHAME! Instead of depending on private groups outside of the church to provide this help, why do we not pick up the pace? Are we really following Jesus when He said that if we have two coats to give our brother one? Did Jesus say anything about this person in need being a member of our church? Did Jesus say to petition the government for help? Did Jesus say to depend on other charities for help? No, Jesus told US to GIVE!

I know not all churches are guilty of what I have written. I personally have received and witnessed many blessings from Christians and their churches to those in need even when they never knew the people in need personally. This is the work of the church, and being on the other side of need has taught me the truth behind Jesus's words and actions. So please, if you are one of these people who strive to help the poor this blog was not for you. This blog is for the churches that worry about excellence, expensive services and turning a blind-eye to the greater things they could be doing with their wealth instead of blowing it on junk that does not breath a single breath of life. What about spending that money on people instead of the light show?

Back to my friend, it really pained me to see her suffer and knowing there is very little I can do for her. It pains me even more to know the church she attends could easily help her and many others "IF" they would stop worrying about the needy twin whores of excellence and relevance instead of following Jesus' example to truly do the work of the church and help the poor. These twins bring shame upon the name of the Lord because they lead the church to a place where Jesus never wanted it to go.

May God have mercy on America where we neglect his people all because we are too worried about the service, the AC, the music, the light show, the carpet, our dress standards, our nice big expensive buildings, our gyms, our printed hymn books, our in church coffee shops, etc... while the poor suffer! May God convict us all. In America, we do not know what it means to suffer as a church and I pray that God wakes us all up before He says,"enough is enough" and we all feel how displeased God is with us for our selfish actions.

James 2:14-21 (NASB)
^2:14What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
¹⁵If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,
¹⁶and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
¹⁷Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
¹⁸But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works."
¹⁹You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
²⁰But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
²¹Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?

He Is by Aaron and Jeoffery

2009-07-24T22:48:00.003-04:00

This is another song that I love to listen to when I'm pondering the Grace of God. I have been pondering and thanking Jesus all day for saving me.

He Is on YouTube

It's days like this when I simply can not thank Him enough for His salvation and His blessings!

Just in case you are wondering I do love traditional gospel songs like "How Great Thou Art" and "The Old Rugged Cross".

Romans 15:9 (New International Version)

⁹so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written:
"Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing hymns to your name."

He Is is a wonderful song about who Jesus is in the Bible:

Lyrics:

In Genesis, He's the breath of life
In Exodus, the Passover Lamb
In Leviticus, He's our High Priest
Numbers, The fire by night
Deuteronomy, He's Moses' voice
In Joshua, He is salvation's choice
Judges, law giver
In Ruth, the kinsmen-redeemer
First and second Samuel, our trusted prophet
In Kings and Chronicles, He's sovereign

Ezra, true and faithful scribe
Nehemiah, He's the rebuilder of broken walls and lives
In Esther, He's Mordecai's courage
In Job, the timeless redeemer
In Psalms, He is our morning song

In Proverbs, wisdom's cry
Ecclesiastes, the time and season
In the Song of Solomon, He is the lover's dream

He is, He is, HE IS!

In Isaiah, He's Prince of Peace
Jeremiah, the weeping prophet
In Lamentations, the cry for Israel
Ezekiel, He's the call from sin
In Daniel, the stranger in the fire

In Hosea, He is forever faithful
In Joel, He's the Spirits power
In Amos, the arms that carry us
In Obadiah, He's the Lord our Savior
In Jonah, He's the great missionary

In Micah, the promise of peace
In Nahum, He is our strength and our shield
In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He's pleading for revival
In Haggai, He restores a lost heritage
In Zechariah, our fountain

In Malachi, He is the son of righteousness rising with healing in His wings

He is, He is, HE IS!

In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, He is God, Man, Messiah
In the book of Acts, He is fire from heaven
In Romans, He's the grace of God
In Corinthians, the power of love
In Galatians, He is freedom from the curse of sin

Ephesians, our glorious treasure
Philippians, the servants heart
In Colossians, He's the Godhead Trinity
Thessalonians, our coming King
In Timothy, Titus, Philemon He's our mediator and our faithful Pastor

In Hebrews, the everlasting covenant
In James, the one who heals the sick.
In First and Second Peter, he is our Shepherd
In John and in Jude, He is the lover coming for His bride
In the Revelation, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords

He is, He is, HE IS!

The prince of peace
The Son of man
The Lamb of God
The great I AM

He's the alpha and omega
Our God and our Savior
He is Jesus Christ the Lord
and when time is no more
He is, HE IS!

My Jesus by Todd Agnew

2009-07-24T21:25:00.004-04:00

Up until a few days ago I had no idea who Todd Agnew was until I heard one of his songs on the radio.

I really like the message of this song about Jesus. This YouTube video did a very good job with putting some pictures with this song. I feel this song addresses some issues our church today should face. Instead of worrying about excellence, nice seats, carpet, coffee, high tech shows, etc... we should ponder what our Lord Jesus did while He was walking the Earth. I think many times we all forget about helping the poor.

My Jesus by Todd Agnew YouTube video
Album: Reflection Of Something
Year: 2005

Lyrics to My Jesus :
Which Jesus do you follow,
Which Jesus do you serve
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ,
Why do you look so much like the world

Cause My Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars,
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
or do we pray to blessed with with the wealth of this land
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sands

My Jesus bled and died for my sins
He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars,
He loved the poor and accosted the rich,
So which one do you want to be

Who is this that You follow,
This picture of the American dream,
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side,
Or fall down and worship at His holy feet
holy
Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion,
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins,
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part,
Sometimes I doubt we'd recognize Him

My Jesus bled and died He spent His time with thieves and the least of
these,
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable,
So which one do you want to be,
Cause
My Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet might stain the carpet,
But He reaches for the hurting and despises the proud
And,
I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

I want to be like my Jesus
I want to be like my Jesus
I want to be like my Jesus
I want to be like my Jesus

Not a posterchild for American prosperity,
but like my Jesus
You see I'm tired of living for success and popularity
I want to be like my Jesus
but I'm not sure what that means to be like
You Jesus
Cause You said to live like You,
love like You but then
You died for me
Can I be like You Jesus?
I wanna be like you Jesus
I wanna be Like my Jesus

(Thanks to Matthew for these lyrics)
[ My Jesus Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]