The New Christianity Pt.1 – Aselgeia

This article series, called “The New Christianity” is written for the purpose of informing it’s readers of the basic core doctrines and practices of the religion that is currently existing in our churches. The focus of the articles will not be on particular ministries or personalities, but it will, instead, focus on the universal doctrines of the religion that has infiltrated many of our church’ denominations throughout the western world. This approach is intended for the purpose of aiding the reader in identifying the infiltrating religion wherever it is being taught and practiced.Therefore, this article series is an overview of the universal doctrine of the new Christianity, which is manifested in many different forms, yet is the same religion. In fact, one could rightly say that this new Christianity has many denominations.

  Lets start with the first component to the religion, which is “Aselgeia” (also called lasciviousness, lewdness and lawlessness) . The Greek word “aselgeia” means unbridled lust, excess, licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness, and insolence. This is the word used to describe the religion brought into the church, by certain men marked for destruction, as stated in Jude’s epistle. The characteristics of aselgeia is always present in some form within this religion, which masquerades as Christianity. To give licenses to the practice of these acts  is to practice a different religion altogether because the “unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1Corinthians 6:9-10). And the new Christianity approves of these sins.

In what ways have we seen these characteristics of lawlessness practiced within Christianity so far?

  • A refusal to practice church discipline of Christians who openly live in sin, within particular churches, as directed in Scripture (Matthew 18:15-17 & 1Corinthians 5:9-13).
  • A refusal to hold other Christians, who are overtaken by a sin, accountable to the New Covenant standards of holiness, as commanded in Scripture (Galatians 6:1 & Hebrews 3:7-15). 
  • Teaching that the atonement of Jesus Christ sets us free from any moral standard in Scripture, but that we are only to love God, despite the clear teaching of Scripture on this subject (1Corinthians 6:9-11 & Galatians 5:19-21).
  • Teaching people to deny the fact that they still struggle with the presence of sin after becoming Christians, and therefore,  do not have to admit to committing any sin at present, regardless of Scripture’s instruction on this matter (1John 1:5-10 & James 4:1-10). 
  • Refusing to do everything decently and in order, to glorify God, as the Scripture commands (1Corinthians 14:40 & Romans 14:6-9).
  • It teaches that Christ suffered on earth so that we would not have to suffer hardships in this life, and some will even go as far as to teach that those who do suffer in this life aren’t as spiritually mature as a particular elite within the body of Christ, despite what Jesus himself taught on this topic (Mark 10:29-31 & John 15:18-21).
  • It gives license to covetousness, which is an eagerness to have more, especially of what belongs to others, and to be greedy of gain, despite the clear teaching of Scripture on this matter (1Timothy 6:3-10 & Luke 12:13-34)
  • It practices blasphemy against God in many way, because of it’s low regard for the God of the Bible, and reduces the holiness of God down to something common and unholy (Ezekiel 22:23-26, Matthew 24:45-51, 1Corinthians 11:23-34). 
  • Hypocrisy is practiced by pretending to be followers of Jesus Christ, while living in open disobedience to Scripture (2Timothy 3:5, Mathew 5:17-20, Matthew 23:1-3).

Blasphemy is so pervasive in the church and society that it is something that Christians are not sensitive to. This insensitivity to the holiness of God is overcome through our growth in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and his gospel. Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). And what is this fruit? Paul spoke of it when he said, “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness” (1Timothy 6:11). This is what happens when we study and obey Christ’ teachings. That is what “abiding in Christ” means. When we abide in Christ, the Holy Spirit empowers us to live godly lives. Peter described it as “…His divine power that has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us…” (2Peter 1:3). Therefore, spiritual growth is a result of faithful, in-depth, study of and obedience to Scripture. 

Hebrews 5

13    For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
14    But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Those who are mature, or skilled, in the word of God are able to discern truth from error. Those who are not mature, or skilled, in the word of God are not able to discern truth from error as well as those who are. Instead, they are more likely going to fall pray to this new Christianity, which is really just a false Christianity, that has crept into the church. The only way to arm one’s self against false doctrine is through the word of God. And the only way to contend for the faith once delivered is through the word of God. For the Scripture says, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith” (1John 5:4). And we must “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:3-4). But we cannot defend what we do not know. Therefore, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2Timothy 2:15).

 

“A Better America” & “Our Role in bringing it about”

What does our hope for a better America look like? And how do we work together to bring it about?

These are the questions that we’re faced with as a nation. And there have been plenty of answers given on the subject. But it is an extremely complex undertaking. For example, “How do we increase the size and functionality of our government, while at the same time, avoiding the trap of tyranny”, “How do we bring down the level of violent crime without taking away the civil liberties of everyone”, “How do we provide for our poor without becoming communists”…etc.

Many have their views on what a better America is, as well as what is required to improve the state of our country. But what is the true solution. Who can speak as an authority on this issue? That would be, none other than, God; “The Sovereign Lord” & “Creator of Heaven & Earth”.

So lets find out what he has to say in the Bible about making a great country.

Deuteronomy 28

1    “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.
2    And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:
3    “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
4    “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
5    “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
6    “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7    “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
8    “The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
9    “The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.
10    Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you.
11    And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.
12    The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
13    And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.
14    So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Scripture tells us that our national survival, wellbeing,  and prosperity is directly dependent upon our obedience to God’s law. But we obviously are not obedient to God’s law. For example, we, like the Jews, could not even keep the first commandment;  ” You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3). Our country is filled with false religions.

Question,

Can any nation prosper in its rebellion against God? Lets learn from God’s discipline of the Jewish nation; Judah.

Jeremiah 30

11  For I am with you,’ says the LORD, ‘to save you; Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, Yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice, And will not let you go altogether unpunished.’

But this is because of God’s unique covenant with the Jews, not us Gentiles. God hasn’t made a covenant with America or any of the other Gentiles for that matter. So how can God hold Gentiles, like America, accountable to a covenant that he has not made with them???

This is how.

John 1

29 “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Isaiah 42

1    “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
6     ” I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles,

Luke 22

19    And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
20    Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.

John 6

35    And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
50    This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.
51    I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
53    Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
54    Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

Isaiah 49

1    “Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And take heed, you peoples from afar! The LORD has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.
6     Indeed He says, ‘ It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ “
7     Thus says the LORD, The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One, To Him whom man despises, To Him whom the nation abhors, To the Servant of rulers: ” Kings shall see and arise, Princes also shall worship, Because of the LORD who is faithful, The Holy One of Israel; And He has chosen You.”

John 8

12    Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
23    And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
24    Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

Acts 17

30    Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,
31    because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

Revelation 1

7    Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.

The Scriptural evidence of the covenant that Jesus Christ has made with the world is overwhelming and without dispute. Therefore, it is true, that God is holding the Gentiles, including America, to his Law. Not the Old Covenant Law for the Jews, but the New Covenant which Jesus Christ has made with the world. That is the law we must all obey. The first commandment of this law is, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15). But this we refuse to do as a nation. And how could we? After all, the Scriptures says, “…whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34).

Our country, as well as the rest of the world, is enslaved to sin. Therefore, we are under God’s curse, and not his blessing. Deuteronomy chapter 28 describes God’s blessing upon a nation that obeys him. And the chapter also describes the many curses that comes upon a nation that disobeys him. “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation” (Hebrews 2:1-3). We shall not.

The curse of the law is described in this way, “…visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me” (Exodus 20:5 & Romans 1:18-32), as well as, “tyranny, war, famine and mass deaths of all kinds” (Revelation 6:1-8 & Deuteronomy 28:15-68). These curses are upon the whole world because the whole world rejects Jesus Christ, persists in false religions and even persecutes Christ’ church. And America is not exempt. As long as we continue in these sins, there is no hope for a better America. And there is no role for anyone to play in removing God’s curses. “These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”” (Revelation 3:7). Our vote cannot stay the hand of God, who is neither democrat or republican.

Ezekiel 14

12    The word of the LORD came again to me, saying:
13    “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it.
14    Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord GOD.

So what do we do???

There is only one course of action to take. And it starts in one’s own life and in one’s own home. It is this, “”Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31). It is not a national plan of action, but a person to person plan of action. There is no hope for our country and world. There is only hope for those who follow Jesus Christ.

And this is the way,

Luke 9

23    Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
24    For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
25    For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?
26    For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.

Romans 10

9    that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Our present life of sinful living most die, and a new life of righteousness must arise. That is the significance of our baptism.

Romans 6

3    Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
4    Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
10    For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
11    Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1John 2

2    And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
3    Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.

1John 1

7    But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8    If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9    If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

As for our country and world,

1John 2

15    Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16    For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world.
17    And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Our allegiance is not to America or any political party. Instead, we merely obey it laws. But we who are in Christ are not its citizens. Our citizenship is in Heaven.

Philippians 3

17    Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.
18    For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19    whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame — who set their mind on earthly things.
20    For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21    who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

That is our hope. It is not the hope of a better country, but Christ’ return. And he will provide us with a better world. A world ruled by the Son of God in righteousness, instead of this present world, ruled by Satan in unrighteousness. And understand that a world ruled by the god of this world (Satan) has no hope, “…because the god of this world is judged” (John 16:11). Therefore, America’s future is cannot be better than it’s present, but worse.

This evaluation of America is not based upon the latest news report by our media, but the word of God. It alone is the authority on sin righteousness and judgment because it is “truth”. And it is not mere text, but a person. Therefore this report on the future of our nation, and world, has been brought to you by Jesus Christ; The Word of God.

John 1

  1    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2    He was in the beginning with God.
3    All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

Revelation 19

11    Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
12    His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.
13    He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

1John 1

1    That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life —
2    the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us —
3    that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

Can Astrology be Trusted?

Can Astrology be trusted? To find the answer to this question, lets first understand both its definition and origins.

  Astrology is a group of systems, traditions, and beliefs which hold that the relative positions of celestial bodies and related details can provide information about personality, human affairs and other “earthly” matters.

Astrology originated in ancient Mesopotamia after the biblical flood account described in Genesis. Civilization had its second beginning in this region. That includes the religious beliefs, practices and mythology. One of which is astrology. Astrology can be found all over the world because these same people took their religion with them as they spread throughout the world. 

But how was the craft invented? Or more specifically, “Who invented it”?

When God created the Heavens, he had a purpose for the various planets and stars.

Genesis 1

14    Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years;
15    and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.

But this isn’t the same as astrology. Also, God specifically speaks against astrology and other forms of religious practices by calling it divination and prohibits his people from practicing it.

Deuteronomy 18

9    “When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations.
10    There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,
11    or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
12    For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you.
13    You shall be blameless before the LORD your God.
14    For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not appointed such for you.

Deuteronomy 4

19    And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.

Jeremiah 10

2    Thus says the LORD: ” Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.

So far we see that God is not the one who invented or handed astrology down to mankind. But we do see, from these passages, that God is actually against it. Therefore, whoever invented or handed astrology down to mankind is not a friend of God, nor a servant of God. On the contrary, such a one must be God’s enemy.

Question;

Who in the Bible, does God acknowledge as his enemy?

Genesis 3

1    Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2    And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;
3    but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ “
4    Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
5    For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
14    So the LORD God said to the serpent: ” Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life.
15    And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

Revelation 12

7    And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,
8    but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.
9    So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

From these passages we can clearly see that the enemy of God is Satan.

Now that God’s enemy is identified, lets see if we can also learn…

Who exactly is Satan?

And why did he invent astrology for mankind to live by?

Ezekiel 28

12 You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13     You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created.
14     ” You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
15     You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.
16     ” By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones.
17     ” Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor

Isaiah 14

12     ” How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!
13     For you have said in your heart: ‘ I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
14     I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’
15     Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.

Isaiah 42

8     I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.

John 10

10    The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.

John 8

44    You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

Based upon these passage, Satan is…

  • A fallen angel
  • Wise
  • Majestic to look upon
  • A thief; He tries to steal worship from the true God by deceiving angels and mankind to worship him instead.
  • A liar
  • A murderer
  • One who desires to be like God
  • One who desires to be worshiped
  • The one who exalted himself above the stars of Heaven.

So where is the connection between what we know of Satan and astrology?

Remember that Satan said this in is heart…

I will ascend into heaven,

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God

I will also sit on the mount of the congregation

On the farthest sides of the north

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds

I will be like the Most High.’

Therefore, Astrology was invented by a lying, murdering, thief. His goal is to deceive the nations and lead them to destruction.That is why Satan invented astrology as well as the other occult religions of the world. In astrology, the stars and planets are gods. This is one of the major ways in which Satan receives worship, because he, as leader of the fallen angels, is honored as the most high god among all of the gods of the cosmos. 

But is astrology even needed???

Remember,

Jeremiah 10

2    Thus says the LORD: ” Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.
3     For the customs of the peoples are futile

Matthew 4
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ “

Therefore, astrology is futile. But the word of God abides forever.

And what word/teaching does God want us to know and live by.

John 3

14    And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
15    that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
16    For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17    For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18    “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Romans 3

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 5

12    Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned

18    Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
19    For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

Romans 5

6    For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7    For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
8    But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

John 14

6    Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Mark 1

14 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

1John 2

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

1John 1

8    If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9    If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10    If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

John 8

12 “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

31    Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
32    And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
34    Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.
35    And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.
36    Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

1John 5

18    We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.
19    We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
20    And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
21    Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

 

The Homosexual Gene

If scientists can identify a homosexual gene, what would this mean in regards to morality and sin? Would it mean that homosexuality is a natural part of the, God given, human design, and that it should no longer be considered abnormal or sinful? And should Christians then be obligated to rethink their moral convictions on this matter? Should they begin to wonder if the Bible was wrong on this issue since modern day scientists have been able to show that God, himself, made people this way?

To understand all of this better, lets start with our idea of what is “natural”. We think of it as being in accordance with or determined by nature. But that definition then leads to another, more important, question, which is, “who determined nature?” We can be sure that mankind did not create himself, nor the cosmos. Therefore, mankind has absolutely no say in validating his scientific discoveries of the natural world as either moral or immoral. That judgment goes to the one who determined how the natural should be. That would be the creator. He, alone, has the right to take the role of judge over this matter. That is because he is the judge, and all natural and supernatural law proceeds from him. That is why he is God.

So what does God have to say about the matter of morality and sin in the Bible?

Mark 12

29 “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.
30    And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.
31    And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

What does God have to say about the morality of mankind?

Romans 5

12    Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned

So mankind does not keep the law of God, but, instead, have sinned . But does this mean that we do not try to love God?

Romans 3

10    As it is written: ” There is none righteous, no, not one;
11    There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.
12    They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”

But how can it be said that we reject God when the world is full of religions, and the people worship God in those religions??? These claims from the Bible are simply outrageous and do not have the ring of truth to it!  What does the Bible have to say about these various religions? Does it even acknowledge them?

Romans 1

18    For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
19    because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
20    For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
21    because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22    Professing to be wise, they became fools,
23    and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man — and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
25    who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Therefore, the various religions of the world are not mankind searching after God but their attempt to replace him with what they know are lies. These religions are not validated in anyway by God, because they were not formed to worship God, but to further reject him.

God’s original creation of man was without sin. Through Adam, mankind rebelled against God and has been enslaved to sin to this day. And we did not relent and turn back to God. Instead, we persisted in rejecting the true God and worshiping idols. And what was the result of rejecting God and worshiping idols?

Romans 1

24    Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,
25    who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26    For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.
27    Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
28    And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
29    being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,
30    backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31    undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;
32    who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

Therefore, the moral decline of man is due to the sin of rejecting God and worshiping anything else. As it is written,

Exodus 20

3    ” You shall have no other gods before Me.
4    ” You shall not make for yourself a carved image — any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
5    you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
6    but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Many Christians have made the mistake of telling homosexuals and other people who are  entrapped by extremely shameful sins, that if they practice these sins, God will punish them. This is true. But we fail to understand that these sins are practiced because mankind has already been punished for rejecting God and worshiping false gods. Homosexuality doesn’t just lead to punishment, but it, in itself, is punishment from God, passed down to the third and fourth generations of those who hate the true God. 

The conclusion to the matter is this; Homosexuality is not to be isolated from other acts of depravity, but it is to be understood as God’s judgment upon mankind for persisting in its rejection and idolatry, which goes directly against the most important of God’s commandments; “You shall have no other gods before Me“. When we do this, we do not have the privilege of being respectable sinners. On th contrary, it has cursed our genes down to the third and fourth generations of those who hate God. That’s why we are enslaved to the absolute worst of sins, and therefore cannot turn away from it. The best we have been able to do is find a way to legitimize our sins, thus eliminating the shame. But there is a more effective way to eliminate the shame.

John 8

  31    Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
32    And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
34    Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.
35    And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.
36    Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Luke 19
10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

2Corinthians 5

17    Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
18    Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
19    that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20    Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.
21    For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Romans 10

9 if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
13    For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

1John 2

2    And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
3    Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
4    He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

1John 1

7    But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8    If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9    If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Jesus Christ and his good news of salvation is the only hope for being free from our shame since he provides forgiveness, right standing before God and eternal life. But if we harden our hearts and continue to refuse to believe in the Son of God for forgiveness and cleansing from sin, then we’re left with our feeble attempts of self-righteousness, such as claiming to have a homosexual gene. We must not be lovers of sin, but lovers of God and his Son, Jesus Christ, who says,

John 14

15    “If you love Me, keep My commandments.

John 15

9    “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
10    If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
13    Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
14    You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

So will we humble ourselves before the true God, and cease to reshape him into something false?

Be reconciled to God. And drop this attempt of self-righteousness through pseudo science. It can only disappoint.

Put your trust in Jesus Christ.

Romans 10

11    For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

Can Christians Live the “American Dream”?

First, what exactly is the “American Dream”?

The idea of the American Dream is rooted in the United States Declaration of Independence which proclaims that “all men are created equal” and that they are “endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights” including “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

According to Scripture, life and liberty came from God as a gift to mankind. Man did nothing to earn this “life & liberty”, but it was simply given out of the goodness of God’s heart.

Genesis 2
7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Genesis 1
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Therefore, Scripture supports the idea that man was created to have life and liberty.

But what about the fact that Christians are now in Jesus Christ and are no longer living for themselves. Does life & liberty still apply in this case? And what about the “pursuit of happiness”? Did Jesus come down to earth as a man, die, rose from the dead and ascend into Heaven so that we can live the “American Dream”? Is the “American Dream” Christian living???

Lets see what the Bible has to say about all of this.

Concerning the right to “Life”

Genesis 2

15    Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
16    And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
17    but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Genesis 3

6    So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

17    Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: ” Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.
18    Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.
19    In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”

Romans 5

12    Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned

So God gave mankind life. But Adam, our forefather sinned, causing everyone who was born through him to have the sentence of death upon them. Therefore, we all have the right to die. As it is written,

Hebrews 9

27    And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

And this is why Jesus came into the world.

Romans 5

6    For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7    For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
8    But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
18    Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.

Luke 19

10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

So what must we do to receive this gift of justification and life from Jesus Christ?

Acts 16

31 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved

Acts 2

Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins

So every follower of Jesus Christ is given eternal life. But what about “Liberty”. Is a Christian still free to do whatever he or she pleases with there life?

That’s a good question. But lets first address something that was skipped. We’ll let Jesus address it.

John 8

34 Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.

Therefore, sin a the master of every person. And there is another master which the world has to contend with.

Genesis 3

4    Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
5    For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6    So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

Romans 6

16    Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

Matthew 4

8    Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
9    And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

Ephesians 6

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

1John 5

18    We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.
19    We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

<<click on photo for more info>>

Therefore, America and its “dream” belongs to Satan. The “American Dream” is Satan’s temptation.

In others words, no one is free to do whatever they want. Therefore, Jesus Christ came to give us a different type of liberty. The liberty from our slave masters called sin and Satan.

John 8

31 f you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
32    And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

36    Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Everyone in Christ has a new master.

John 13

13    You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.

John 14

23 If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
24    He who does not love Me does not keep My words

Since Jesus is our master, what does he have to say about the “Pursuit of Happiness”?

Luke 9

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
24    For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
25    For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?

Luke 14

33    So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

Mark 10

23    Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!”
24    And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!
25    It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

So if we can’t live according to our own desires and pursue the things that make us happy, how in the world, are we supposed to live???

Mark 10

28    Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.”
29    So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s,
30    who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time — houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions — and in the age to come, eternal life.

2Corinthians 5

17    Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Philippians 1

21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

‎2 Timothy 3
12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

John 15

12    This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
13    Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
14    You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

1John 3

16    By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
17    But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
18    My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
19    And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.

Is this kind of life synonymous with the “American Dream”?

No. Not at all. It is much better!

It is belief in the one true God.

It leads to eternal life.

And it is the pursuit of pleasing the one who freed us from our sins.

As for the “American Dream”…

<<click on photo for more info>>

1John 2

15    Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16    For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world.
17    And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Why does the World Hate the Church of Jesus Christ?

There is no doubt that the world hates Christ’ church. But as to “why” this hatred exists, there are many reasons given, such as hypocrisy, the church’s exclusive doctrine, their tendency to be judgmental by pointing out the sins of others, their intolerance toward people of different world views, sexual preference and religion.

The most inflammatory source of the world’s hatred for the church is, by far, hypocrisy. That is to pretend to be something before others, when the true identity is either hidden from public view or not acknowledge for what it is. Many sins can be, and have been, built upon this foundation of hypocrisy.

But what does the Lord Jesus Christ, the king of the church as well as all creation, have to say about this fault…this evil…this “sin” of hypocrisy? Believe it or not, hypocrisy is the sin that Jesus spoke against the most when he warned the people not to be like their religious leaders.

Matthew 5

19    Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20    For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 23

1    Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples,
2    saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.
3    Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.
4    For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
5    But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.
6    They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,
7    greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’
8    But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.
9    Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.
10    And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.
11    But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
12    And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
13    “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
14    Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
15    “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
16    “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’
17    Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?
18    And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’
19    Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?
20    Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.
21    He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it.
22    And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.
23    “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
24    Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25    “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.
26    Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
27    “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.
28    Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29    “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
30    and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’
31    “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32    Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt.
33    Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?
34    Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city,
35    that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
36    Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

After reading this scathing diatribe from our Lord, one would have to wonder, “Would Jesus claim hypocrites as his own???”

Lets see what Jesus has to say about that question.

Matthew 7

21    “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22    Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
23    And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Luke 13

23    Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them,
24    “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
25    When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’
26    then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’
27    But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’
28    There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.

Based upon Jesus’ own words here, we can be sure that Jesus does not, and will, not claim hypocrites as his own.

So now that we have that figured out we can conclude that the world does not hate the church of Jesus Christ for its hypocrisy, but it is the false church which practices hypocrisy that the world hates.

Now lets move on to the this next issue of controversy, which is the church’s exclusive doctrine. They teach that Jesus Christ is the only way to God and that if the world does not receive him, then they will die in their sins, go to hell, and then be resurrected to stand guilty before Jesus in judgment for the sinful lives which they lived and then cast into the lake of fire. And when they teach that Jesus is the only way to God, they mean that he offers the only way of escape from the penalty for their sins, because he and God the Father are one, and is the only true God. In other words, all other religions are false, and cannot save anyone.

But is this true? Did Jesus really say this???

Lets see what he said about this issue of exclusivity.

John 14

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

John 5

22    For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,
23    that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

25    Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.
26    For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself,
27    and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.
28    Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice
29    and come forth — those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

Matthew 10
28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Mark 9
43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched —

45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched —

47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire —

Matthew 25

31    “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
32    All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
33    And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
41    “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
42    for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;
43    I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44    “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’
45    Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
46    And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

John 8

12    Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
23    And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
24    Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
31    Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
32    And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
33    They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”
34    Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.
35    And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.
36    Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
58    Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

John 10

30 I and My Father are one.

According to Jesus, the church has good reason for teaching the exclusivity of Christ. Therefore, this hatred for the church is unjust as well since Jesus is the teacher and judge, and the church is only teaching what he taught them.

But what about the church’s tendency to be judgmental by pointing out the sins of others? Would Jesus support such a thing? Remember, Jesus is the one who said, “judge not lest you yourself be judged”. So how could Jesus possibly be in support of such an action carried out by the church???

Lets see what Jesus said in the “entire” passage.

Matthew 7

1    “Judge not, that you be not judged.
2    For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
3    And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?
4    Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?
5    Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

According to what Jesus said in this passage, he isn’t against the pointing out of sin, but “hypocritical judgment”, that is identified by a willingness to scrutinize others and is not at all willing to examine and correct ones’ self. Therefore, judgment isn’t the sin, but hypocrisy, because we must be willing to examine our own lives and acknowledge our own sins before we are capable of correcting others.

But how can God be at work in the pointing out of people’s sins? It makes people feel so bad. How can that be of God???

Lets see what Jesus had to say about God being at work in the pointing out of people sins.

John 16

7    Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
8    And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9    of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
10    of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
11    of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

John 6

44    No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
45    It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

Luke 3

7    Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8    Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
9    And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10    So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?”
11    He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”
12    Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”
13    And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.”
14    Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?” So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”

Acts 2

36    “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
37    Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
38    Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 3

13    The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.
14    But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
15    and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
25    You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’
26    To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”

Luke 24

46    Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
47    and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

According to Jesus Christ and his Apostles, the work of God is the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ so that people will repent and receive salvation. Having our sins pointed out by the church may feel bad, but is it damaging as eternal punishment? No. Of course not. 

So why do we have such an aversion to acknowledging, and turning away from, our sins? According to Jesus, this is the reason.

John 3

17    For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18    “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19    And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20    For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21    But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

Finally, we’ll look into the church’s intolerance toward people of different world views, sexual preference and religion. Lets look at what Jesus has to say about the way of righteousness so that we can understand his world view, which shapes how we should live.

Matthew 21

31 “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.
32    For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.

So according to Jesus, the problem isn’t intolerance on the church’s part, and neither is there a problem with people of different world views, sexual preference or religion. The problem is our reaction to those whom God has sent to turn us away from our sins. For example, when the tax collectors and prostitutes heard John’s warning, they believed and repented. But when the scribes and pharisees heard John’s warning they simply questioned him and said he had a demon and was not from God. That’s very similar to the world’s reaction to the church. Because we come telling the world about the way of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and the confessing and turning away from our sins, the world says that we are intolerant and even hateful.

But now the question to ask is why does the world hate Christ’ church for unjust reasons? After all, they’re just doing what Jesus told them to do. Why can’t the world learn to accept Christ’ message simply because of whom the message came from; Jesus Christ? To hate the church because they’re obeying Jesus is like hating Jesus himself. Does Jesus have anything to say about this irrational hatred?

Lets see.

John 15

John 7
7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.

18    “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
19    If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
20    Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
21    But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.

And even the false, hypocritical, church, which Jesus doesn’t claim, hate him as well. You know by their actions.

John 16

1    “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.
2    They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.
3    And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.

So according to Jesus, anyone who hates Christ’ church, actually hates Jesus and are no better than the hypocrites which they themselves condemn. No. They are just as hateful and sinful as the false followers of Jesus Christ whom he has already condemned. 

<<click on photo for more info>>

John 14

23 “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

24         He who does not love Me does not keep My words

John 15

13         Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

14         You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

1Corinthians 16

22         If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come!

Have you come across a different Gospel and a different Christ?

Here are the signs of…

…A different gospel and a different Christ

First, it is the doctrine of the occult, which teaches

You don’t need to seek God.

Just look within; to the christ in you.

We are all little christs

You can create your own reality with the words you speak, your heart felt desires and the power of your will.

You are responsible for everything that has happened in your life, whether good or bad.

You determine your own destiny.

Man is god.

Christ came to earth to make men gods.

God’s desire is for you to be a winner in this life, and for your earthly dreams to come true.

Jesus Christ never claimed to be God.

God, the creator, is the biggest failure in the universe.

God cannot do anything in this world without our permission.

We give him permission through our prayers and positive confession.

However, this isn’t the God of Scripture.

That “god” sounds more like a fallen angel; namely Satan.

But according to the occult’ doctrine, the god of the occult is “Satan”.

And the occult’ “christ” is the antichrist.

Therefore, this shows that these TV preachers knowingly worship Satan, since they teach all of these doctrines, as shown in this video.

1John 2

15    Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16    For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world.
17    And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
26    These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you.
27    But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.

1John 5

19    We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
20    And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
21    Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

2John 1

7    For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
8    Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.
9    Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.
10    If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him;
11    for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.

Christopher Hitchens Dies at 62 – 1949 – 2011

Excerpts from William Grimes –

Christopher Hitchens, a slashing polemicist in the tradition of Thomas Paine and George Orwell who trained his sights on targets as various as Henry Kissinger, the British monarchy and Mother Teresa, wrote a best-seller attacking religious belief, and dismayed his former comrades on the left by enthusiastically supporting the American-led war in Iraq, died on Thursday in Houston.

The cause was pneumonia, a complication of esophageal cancer, Vanity Fair magazine said in announcing the death, at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Mr. Hitchens, who lived in Washington, learned he had cancer while on a publicity tour in 2010 for his memoir, “Hitch-22,” and began writing and, on television, speaking about his illness frequently.

He took pains to emphasize that he had not revised his position on atheism, articulated in his best-selling 2007 book, “God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything,” although he did express amused appreciation at the hope, among some concerned Christians, that he might undergo a late-life conversion.

He also professed to have no regrets for a lifetime of heavy smoking and drinking. “Writing is what’s important to me, and anything that helps me do that — or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument and conversation — is worth it to me,” he told Charlie Rose in a television interview in 2010, adding that it was “impossible for me to imagine having my life without going to those parties, without having those late nights, without that second bottle.”

In 2007, when the interviewer Sean Hannity tried to make the case for an all-seeing God, Mr. Hitchens dismissed the idea with contempt. “It would be like living in North Korea,” he said.

William Grimes

Here is a quote from Anne Rice (Author of “Interview with the Vampire” and “Christ the Lord”)

“I thought, even then, that he made excellent points which believers ought to face, that his book was worth a read for every believer.”

But what does the Bible say about this statement, as well as teachers like Mr. Hitchens?

Psalm 14
1 The fool has said in his heart, ” There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works

Proverbs 1
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 14
7 Go from the presence of a foolish man, When you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.

Proverbs 26
1 As snow in summer and rain in harvest, So honor is not fitting for a fool.

Christians are required to study obey Scripture.

John 17
17 Sanctify them in truth. Your word is truth.

2Timothy 3
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

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

2John 1
7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

The Slippery Slope

There is an organized effort to take society down a slippery slope.

It starts with the portrayal of monsters as innocent.

And safe for children.

It makes the longtime villain appear warmhearted.

And even desirable.

It teaches children that witchcraft can be very helpful if they use it correctly.

It tries to make everyone sympathetic toward child molesters.

Serial killers

And even turn murderers into heroes.

Yes. Even psychopathic, mother rapping, serial killers, such as Nero. Who also invented creative ways of torturing and killing Christians for his personal entertainment.

It even promotes the evil that God has forbidden until it is accepted by the masses and called good.

But WHY all of this promotion of wickedness as good???

So that we will no longer consider God’s ultimate villain as evil.

And, instead, come to see him as noble.

All knowing

Powerful

A loving protector

And a god that is worthy of worship.

But who is behind this evil plot???

You don’t have to look far to find out.

It is the same organization that changed western civilization from a monarchy to a democracy, and has even founded our own country; the USA. Yes the vast majority of our founding fathers were Freemasons. But who do the Freemasons worship?

“Lucifer, the Light-bearer! Strange and mysterious name to give to the Spirit of Darkness! Lucifer, the Son of the Morning! Is it he who bears the Light, and with its splendors intolerable, blinds feeble, sensual, or selfish souls? Doubt it not!” [Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, p. 321, 19th Degree of Grand Pontiff]

Ephesians 5

7Therefore do not be partakers with them. 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says: ” Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”

1John 5

18We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

Why Do We Love C.S. Lewis and Hate Rob Bell? – C. Michael Patton

I’d like to share an article written by Michael Patton, the founder of “The Theology Program” and “Credo House Ministries”.

Why Do We Love C.S. Lewis and Hate Rob Bell?

Here at the Credo House in Edmond Oklahoma, Tim Kimberley (@pastortimk) and I are teaching a series on the top theologians of church history on Tuesday nights. I have insisted that C.S. Lewis be part of the mix due to his abiding theological influence on so many people today. Though he is called a “lay” theologian by many, in my mind, he is nothing less than a theological giant due to his contributions to apologetics at the academic and popular levels. (After all, apologetics is a subset of theology and C.S. Lewis, though a professor of literature, did teach philosophy for two years at Oxford!) We taught to a packed house with people sitting on the floor. Why? Because they all love C.S. Lewis. When asked how many had read C.S. Lewis, just about every hand in Credo went up. He is an evangelical hero who, theologically speaking, may not make the cut of evangelicalism today. Truthfully, I don’t think he ever liked the label himself. But he is loved by evangelicals nonetheless. In fact, he is loved across denominational and traditional lines. Christianity Today named Lewis’ Mere Christianity as the most influential book of the 20th century. Another evangelical magazine, Christian History, named him among the top ten most influential Christians of the 20th century. Whether you are an emerger or an evangelical, Baptist or Presbyterian, a cessationist or continuationist, a Calvinist or an Arminian (not that all of these are mutually exclusive), C.S. Lewis is not only kosher, but staple. In fact, even Pope John Paul II said that Lewis’ The Four Loves was one of his favorite books!

However, C.S. Lewis was not without “issues” that cause many to scratch their heads. Practically, he liked to smoke a pipe and cigarettes, and frequently enjoyed a beer at his bi-weekly “Inklings” meetings (and you know how bent out of shape people can get over those things!). Theologically, there is some stuff people try to sweep under the rug as well. In fact, though I say C.S. Lewis is loved by all, I do remember walking into church one day years ago. They were giving away a bunch of the “overstock” books from the library. I saw a church elder throwing away a lot of books as well. They were all C.S. Lewis! When I inquired about his odd blasphemous actions, he said that C.S. Lewis was a heretic because he did not believe in inerrancy. While this is something of an extreme example, I think it is important to realize that not everyone likes C.S. Lewis. Almost everyone, but not all. Why? Because he had some “non-evangelical” leanings. Besides not believing in inerrancy, he also believed in the theory of evolution, denied substitutionary atonement in favor of a “ransom to Satan,” bordered on a Pelagian idea of human freedom, seemed to advocate baptismal regeneration, and regularly prayed for the dead. To top it all off, he held out hope for the destiny of the unevangelized, believing that Christ might save them outside of direct knowledge of him (inclusivism). With all of these foibles, I seriously doubt any evangelical church would take a second look at his resume were he to apply for a pastorate at their church today. In fact, this list alone would be enough for many to call him a heretic. However, we still love him. We still read him. We still defend him. We still hand out his books by the dozens to friends and family who are struggling with their faith. This man who had his Christianity affirmed by Dr. Bob Jones but questioned by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones is beloved by just about everyone, making him off-limits for serious criticism. Why?

Consider another man: Rob Bell. From what I have read and seen, he seems to have far fewer theological problems than C.S. Lewis. In fact, on paper, he is probably more evangelical than C.S. Lewis. He might even make it through the interview process at most evangelical churches. He, like Lewis, has written many works about the Christian faith. His latest book, Love Wins, is a runaway bestseller. However, evangelicals don’t like Rob Bell. He is not beloved. His writings are not handed out like tracts, except for in niche groups. He does not have broad Christian appeal. In fact, he may be the most hated Christian author alive (at least in some circles). Why? Well, on the tip of your tongue is this: because he believes in universalism (the idea that all will be saved). Well, maybe not “believes,” but he does hold out hope for such. Rob Bell supporters often appeal to C.S. Lewis, stating that he believed similar stuff as Rob Bell (in as far as holding out hope for unbelievers relates to inclusivism). In fact, Rob Bell seems to love and be inspired by C.S. Lewis in his thoughts and ideas.

Here comes the question I got Tuesday night a the Credo House “Coffee and Theology” study: “So why do we love C.S. Lewis but hate Rob Bell?”

This is the great question I hope to answer briefly.

First of all, no one hates Rob Bell (or at least, no one should). But, speaking for myself, I am very comfortable handing out C.S. Lewis books by the dozens, while I don’t keep a stock of Bell’s books on hand. There is not a book that Lewis wrote that I don’t encourage people to read and grow from. Even A Grief Observed, where Lewis attempts to retain his faith in God while questioning everything in the middle of a crucible of doubt and pain, is one of my favorite books to give to people who are hurting. But I doubt I would ever recommend one of Bell’s works to establish someone in the faith. In fact, I might only recommend them for people to see “the other side.” Let me put it this way (and I must be very careful here): While I fully embrace and endorse the ministry of C.S. Lewis, I do not endorse or embrace the ministry of Rob Bell.

You see, while C.S. Lewis has a great deal of theological foibles, his ministry is defined by a defense of the essence of the Gospel. The essence of who Christ is and what he did are ardently upheld by Lewis, saturating every page of his books. His purpose was clear: to make a compelling case the reality of God and the Lordship of Jesus Christ. All other things set aside, this is what you leave with every time you read Lewis. The problematic areas are peripheral, not central. One has to look hard to find the departures from traditional Protestant Christianity. They are not the subjects of his works and do not form the titles of his books.

However, with Rob Bell, the essence of who Christ is and what he did seems to be secondary. One has to look for those things as they weed through his defenses of non-traditional Christianity. Whereas Lewis’ ultimate purpose is to define and defend “mere” Christianity, Bell’s “mere” Christianity is but a footnote to a redefined Christianity. Bell’s focus is to challenge, question, change, reform, and emerge from traditions that bind us. Traditional apologetics, orthodoxy, and foundations are brought into question from beginning to end. Christ’s reality, deity, exclusivity, and the hope of the Gospel proclaimed receive an occasional footnote (if at all) from Bell.

Another way to put this is to say that in the ministry of C.S. Lewis, the central truths of the Christian faith are the chorus of his songs, with the occasional problem in the stanzas. However, with Bell, the chorus of his song is filled with challenges to traditional Christianity and if you listen really closely to the stanza, you might get an occasional line of orthodoxy.

Now, let me be straight. I have no problem with challenging traditions. I have no problem with questions, doubts, and reforms. I think we all need this. It is the essence of what we call semper reformanda (at least in a modified form). However, when your ministry is characterized and defined by this type of emerging reform and unsettled skepticism of traditional Christianity, you have stepped over the line and lost yourself and your right to have godly influence. As the old saying goes, “think out loud, but don’t think out loud from a platform.” Just because you are unsettled and questioning your faith does not mean you need to unsettle others.

And it is not just Rob Bell that is at issue. There are dozens of popular writers, pastors, bloggers, and authors who are singing the same chorus. They give lip service to the essence of Christianity, but from their platform it is only peppered in here and there. I think this is the core problem with what is/was known as the “emerging church.” It is not that we are against rethinking, reimagining, reforming, or any other “re,” it is that this became the central focus of the movement. Christ, the cross, sin, righteousness, and all other elements that create the essence of who we are became the subjects of challenges – mere lines in the song. This is why I distinguish between, say, Brian Mclaren and Dan Kimball.  Both men, early on, were considered part of the “emerging church.” However, though he challenges some ideas here and there, Dan Kimball (like C.S. Lewis) is committed to the essence of the historic Christian faith. Truth, doctrine, love, and righteousness are found in everything he writes and says. They are the chorus. With Mclaren, on the other hand, traditional Christian beliefs and practices form more of (what seems to be) an embarrassing afterthought that he proclaims only under duress.

This is why I don’t like comparing C.S. Lewis to Rob Bell. There is no comparison. Neither is it fair to team Rob Bell up with many of the great saints of the past, such as the Cappidocians or Origen (as is often done). Yes, they all have problems, but the question is, Do these problems define the essence of their ministry and passion? With Rob Bell (and many like him), they do. With most of the other historic figures that some try to put on Bell’s team, they don’t.

What can Bell do about this? I seriously doubt he is looking for advice from me, but here is what I would do if I were his campaign manager. I would tell him to take his cue from Lewis. Focus most of your works on defending the foundational issues of historic Christian truth. Those things that have been believed “always, everywhere, and by all.” Whether it is the existence of God, the exclusivity of Christ, the inspiration of Scripture, or the sinfulness of man, these are all good points that give street cred. If you are going to claim the legacy of Origen, the Cappidocians, or Lewis, embrace the essence of their ministry, not the periphery of their thought. And, just to be fair, if Lewis would have moved his foibles from his back pocket to his front pocket, he would not be accepted much either.

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Interesting article!

However, it raises these questions:

  1. Does God allow a teacher to teach the heresy of Universalism after the majority of Christians accept the teacher as genuine, or does the command in Galatians 1:6-9 & Jude 1:3-4 stand for every teacher, no matter who they are and how much we have benefited from their teaching?
  2. Does God allow us to choose our own teachers or are we permitted to learn from whomever we choose? And if we do choose our own teachers, are we in danger of being placed in this category? — 2Timothy 4:3-4.
  3. According to the following passages, are teachings that eat into the heart of the gospel, such as Universalism, to be considered as part of the bad fruit that Jesus warned us of concerning false teachers and prophets? — Matthew 7:15-20 – Galatians 5:9, Galatians 5:19-21
  4. Is Scripture the final authority on spiritual truth or is the authority found in the general consensus of Christians, according to what seems right to them? — John 17:17 – Psalm 119:1-11
  5. Is it ever wise to accept some one whom God has rejected as false? — Proverbs 1:7 – Psalms 111:10
  6. When a teacher who is known for teaching sound doctrine begins to teach Universalism, in any form, are we permitted to continue learning from them, or is God testing our faithfulness to him to see if we will either cling to or cast out the false teacher as a loyal servant should.  — Deuteronomy 13:1-5 – 2John 1:7-11
  7. Does God own us as a slave master owns his slaves and therefore has complete authority over every decision we make? — John 15:14 – 1Corinthians 6:19-20 – Romans 6:17-19

It’s clear to all of us that we are living in an age of great deception. Since this is the case, and the deception is also directed toward us, we cannot afford to take this issue lightly in any way.

According to scripture…
We must practice discernment – 1John 4:1
We must contend for the faith – Jude 1:3-4
We must cast out what is unclean – 1Corinthians 5:11-13

Not just in the lives of others, but our own, first and foremost. – Matthew 7:1-5

2Corinthians 10
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

Grace & Peace, everyone.