Reformed. Christianity. Evangelism. Modern Culture.
Heads pawed, eyes claws-ed
Then I said: “Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’” Jer 14:13 ESV
With heads bowed and eyes closed, the music was just right. The preacher shuffles and gently casts his gaze over the reverently silent congregation before he beckons, “Put your hand up if you have tried everything and now you want to accept Jesus into your heart. See, you have a God shaped hole in your heart and only Jesus can fill it.” A hundred to two hundred hands go up in the air. They ask Jesus into their hearts that day-a decision they may well repeat a few more times through that year.
A major denomination which has 11,500 churches throughout the US – in 1991, their first year of what they called “the decade of harvest,” they got 294,000 decisions for Christ. They found that only 14,000 remained in fellowship. That is, they couldn’t account for 279,000 of their decisions for Jesus. And this is normal modern evangelical statistics when it comes to crusades and local churches. Many converts don’t fall away. They get followed up and squeezed into a local church where they’re surrounded by a good social life, and they stay within the church given assurance they’re saved when there is no grounds for their salvation, because they do not have the things that accompany salvation. –True and False Conversions by Ray Comfort
God shaped hole in heart
When we hear Christian clichés like ‘Accept Jesus Christ as your personal saviour;’ ‘Ask Jesus into your heart;’ ‘Invite Christ into your life;’ or ‘Make a decision for Christ’ and find that such theology is not scripturally based then we realise something must have been omitted. In order to be saved, a man must repent (Acts 2:38).Asking Jesus into your heart leaves out the requirement of repentance and trust in Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31, Heb 6:1). How could it sound so right, yet be so un-right? Yeah. Welcome to the shaken and stirred Gospel Lite!
A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view than mine…the offense of the cross has been removed. Gal 5:9-11
A short but memorable adage that holds some important fact of experience is that Gospel Lite has “Great taste, but less filling”. Gospel Lite is the diluted gospel. It preys on the scripturally illiterate and could it then be another gospel?
God shaped hole
For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. 2 Cor 11:4
A new nationwide survey done by The Barna Group revealed:
Most self-described Christians contend that their religious faith has significantly impacted their life. Almost six out of ten adults (59%) said their faith had “greatly transformed” their life, while 29% said their faith “has been helpful but has not greatly transformed” their life and 9% stated that their religious faith “has not made much of a difference” in who they are and how they live.- The Barna Group, Ltd, 2009.
Gospel Lite comes in many flavours to suit your taste. Another tangy flavour is “Come to Jesus and he will give you love, joy, peace and happiness”. Or “God loves you and He has a wonderful plan for your life”. This tangy smoothie assumes the sinner has no sin and there for doesn’t need to change. A sinner without a transformation therefore begins to bear good bouncy fruit. Well, these promises in themselves of course are half truths. They stem from the fruit of the Spirit that a believer will have as mentioned in Galatians 5:22. But should that be the launch pad for an evangelistic approach seeing that the sinner is dead to God and blind to spiritual things. Is that the whole of the gospel message? What is Christianity without the cross? What is salvation without knowledge of sin and a saviour?
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 1Cor 2:2
Half truths are harbingers and easily pave the way for deception. Some have sadly been in the vineyard of half truths and gleaned small bits of “godliness” mixed with the leaven of material gain. And Voila! Prosperity De-Lite was born; decaffeinated and smooth. The most fatal of all Lites. And I will show you a still more excellent way to deception.
Described in Proverbs 5:3-6
For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.1 Tim 6:10-11
Prosperity Gospel De-Lite
Prosperity Gospel De-Lite is the potent umbrella portion touted and purveyed by over eighty percent of Christian Broadcasters, media outlets and publishers, televangelists and at present is fast gaining notoriety in many mega churches of the West and the shanty poverty stricken suburbs of Latin America, Africa and of late South eastern Asia. Selling out faster than Starbucks coffee, with more outlets than MacDonalds and glossier than your Sunday flea market. The Bible clearly has several words to describe such “exciting and colourful” messengers, who “think that godliness is a means to financial gain” calling them “men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth” (1 Tim 6:3-5).
“Jesus will give you health, wealth and prosperity” is the promise. How it works is really simple. Be obedient (read donate) and faithful (read pay regularly), and give to the Lord bountifully (read give to the prosperity preachers and their ministries). The more money you give, the more you will prosper financially, the more your health will improve, the more success you will have and the more your family and relationships will be blessed. Financial prosperity is a sign of spiritual success, “name your seed”, “hundred fold blessing returns”, “debt breaking anointing”, “debt cancellation offerings” are concepts that form the bar codes for the Lite. You can have your cake and eat it too; live your blessing filled best life now. These are concepts that are not scriptural. The flipside to this is error is that if you are poor, sick with illness or lost your means of earning then you have little faith.
On January 4, 1987, Oral Roberts launched his most notable campaign to date. Roberts told his followers that if he did not raise a total of 8 million dollars by March, God was going to take his life. Roberts begged not to let Satan defeat him.
“God clearly told me he needs me here on earth. And here’s why — because of all the ministries, this ministry is the only one God has on this earth that owns a medical school.”… Some time later, his son, Richard, took pen in hand to warn of his father’s impending doom. Without “the additional $4,500.000.” explains Richard, “God will not extend Dad’s life” He then pleads, “Partner, we cannot let this man of God die. There is no reason for him to die” … After sternly warning, “IF YOU NEGLECT TO PAY ATTENTION … then Satan will take advantage and hit you with bad things and you will wish that 1985 had never come, ” Roberts closed his letter with a hard sell. Sending a seed-faith gift will not only enable you to “STOP SATAN IN HIS HATE TO BRING YOU DOWN,” it will also “help you get your hundredfold return.” (Roberts raised the money and did not die.) – Christianity In Crisis, Hank Hanegraaff
For although they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Rom 1:21
What i confess...i possess.
The earliest proponents of positive thinking were spiritual innovators like Phineas P. Quimby and Mary Baker Eddy, founders of the New Thought movement and Christian Science, respectively. By the turn of the 20th century, Essek William Kenyon, a pastor and founder of Bethel Bible Institute, had incorporated similar ideas into his preaching on the finished work of Christ. Kenyon wrote that Christians could make a “positive confession” to bring emotional and physical desires into being. “What I confess,” he is purported to have said, “I possess.” –Christianity Today Magazine
“Rhema Doctrine”, “God told me”, and “Word of Faith” spin-offs of Gospel Lite are convenient, positive sounding and winsome aberrations. Just like any Lite brand always appear hypoallergenic, more tolerant, and market-savvy. It makes “Christianity” more appealing. Lite requires a partial spiritual contribution to the things of God and never a total commitment. Mainstream Christianity is becoming increasingly affected by it. The notion that God rewards faith with money is spreading in both conservative and moderate churches. This is part of that age old battle between Good and Evil; God and Satan; Jesus and mammon.
For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone…
2 Tim 4:10
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 1 John 2:19
Gospel Lite excuses or better still excludes sin, the depravity of man and God’s wrath. Its indeed easier to talk in broad strokes and shades of a “God shaped hole in your heart” than to say “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord”. Lite does not call the wretched sinner to repentance. It does not address pertinent issues of righteousness and coming judgement. It does not talk about the Law of God. How would we know that we had sinned had it not been for the Law of God? With a hopeless sinner on collision course with a Just God; Gospel Lite numbs the conscience of the sinner by encouraging good works of service and charity.
The good news of God to man is that for our sake on the cross, Jesus became a substitute in that he was made to be sin (who knew no sin), so that in him by faith we might become imputed with his righteousness.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Eph 2: 8-9
A pastor of an African down town church was asked about selling out and changing his message. He would triple his membership by promising wealth. “But if that is all I am teaching, then I have lost the message,” he says. “The kingdom of God is built on the Cross, not on bread and butter.”
Lite adds a smooth spin and a laid back buzz to Christianity. There is no cross to carry and therefore no self denial. Life is easy as can be. Be positive, live positive and confess positive. Speak faith to your situation the buzz rings. It leaves the “believer” with more pseudo mystic lingo and spiritual terms like “He saved you for greatness, to fulfil a destiny or a purpose that is beyond anything you could ever ask or think!” This pursuit of self esteem, self respect, self dignity, self worth and potential are the pearls of spiritual fruitfulness making the Lite franchise a multi million motivational golden calf both among the secular ponds and Luke warm niches. Humility is not a virtue but becomes a vice.
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Matt 16:24
For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. Matt 13:15
With unrepentant hardened hearts and dulled ears, tightly shut eyes its only the grace of God that can rouse any way ward Lite-ists remnants from such deep slumber. When the Holy Spirit exposes sin in light of God’s Law the first words that the awakened heart has always whispered have been “Woe is me. I am undone. God be merciful to me, a sinner.” It is at this point that the soil is moist and the seed of the Word begins the process that will take it through the seasons of life with gratitude till it yields forth fruit worthy of repentance.
Gospel Lite never yields any fruit worthy of repentance- it’s just fizzy and has Great Taste, Less Filling. It is a some what modern day reiteration of that same old saying in Exodus chapter sixteen,“Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
In the 1930s Kenneth Hagin Sr added E.W Kenyon’s teachings to his Pentecostal beliefs to create the “Word of Faith” and “Rhema” movements which taught that christians could get rich by mustering enough faith. “Say it, do it, receive it, tell it,” he said. He touted the “Rhema doctrine,” which held that words spoken in faith must be fulfilled, spawning slogans like “name it and claim it.” In 2000, three years before he died he wrote in The Midas Touch: A book that denounced prosperity gospel, the concepts of “name your seed”, “hundred fold return” and “debt breaking” anointing.
“There is not one bit of Scripture I know about that validates such a practice. I’m afraid it is simply a scheme to raise money for the preacher, and ultimately it can turn out to be dangerous and destructive for all involved.” TheMidas Touch, Kenneth Hagin sr.
God requires truth
Beloved, God desires truth in the inner parts. All this deception will not endear us to God. There is a great need to get back to basics of searching the scriptures and being Bible Based in doctrine like never before.
And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds. Jer 14:14
Editor’s Note: “If we do not preach about sin and God’s judgment on it, we cannot present Christ as Saviour from sin and the wrath of God. And if we are silent about these things, and preach a Christ who saves only from self and the sorrows of this world, we are not preaching the Christ of the Bible . . . Such preaching may soothe some, but it will help nobody; for a Christ who is not seen and sought as a Saviour from sin will not be found to save from self or from anything else”
A Twisted Crown of Thorns ® 
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An intresting book that I believe you will fully agree with is Spurgeon’s Down Grade Controversy. The parallels between what you describe and Spurgeons day are frightening.
Totally agree. I was once a proponent of the Word of Faith, Gospel lite garbage…but God was merciful too me and opened my eyes.
Today, we have countless TV evangelist preying upon the souls of many, promising them wealth, health and a life filled with prosperity. All one do is sow a seed of faith into their ministry and they promise you that you will receive 7 fold, maybe more. Just don’t sow the seed lacking faith or you may not receive your harvest, they say. I strongly suspect many of these men to be atheists who merely see an opportunity to gain from the ignorance of many. One man I think to be an obvious fraud, is Benny Hinn. Watching his show reveals much about the hearts and minds of people today – how willing they are to accept anything. This main gist of a typical Benny Hinn show is people being slain in the Spirit. Not sure where they find such practice in the New Testament, but this doesn’t seem to matter to the thousands who fill arenas throughout each year. It seems the crazy it becomes the more people flock to him. The gospel has been replaced with craziness. People do not care what the bible says, they just want a freak show.
Amen!!! Total Agree!
Benny Hinn puts on a good show–or he used to anyway. I haven’t seen him for years. He used to speak regularly at a church I attended in central FL and I loved to listen to him. He was funny and inspiring and really good at ladling on the guilt if you didn’t have the faith to give and give. I don’t know if I had the faith, but I didn’t have the money. I gave more than I should have, to the wrong people, and guess what? God never did open up those windows of heaven and make it possible for me to easily come up with rent money, food money, etc. Imagine that! He loved me enough not to do that. 😉
We had a lot of speakers like that, including the pastor of the church. I was always in a state of shame for not giving more and yet I was probably one of those “widows” (my husband had left me with two small children) to whom the church is commanded to minister.
And when I did give, I felt that I was inadequate in my faith when I didn’t get a “return” on my “investment.” Or when I prayed and wasn’t healed or my kids weren’t healed, I felt I wasn’t working hard enough on my faith and that it was my fault because I was such a slouch. What a racket!
Anyway, God eventually led me through all that (it took a LONG time, too–I was pretty deep in the muck) and out the other side into His grace, which results in the transformation He was always after in the first place. He is so patient and so good. I’m so glad He doesn’t give up on those He’s chosen for His own. If it were me, I’d have thrown up my hands and headed out to “work on” someone more promising. 😉
Amen!
Wonderful post! It goes right along with what I said at http://philosophicaltheology.wordpress.com/2009/12/11/prosperity-gospel/
this s very enlghtening,God bless u,i suppose we sud give our best sacrficially like Abraham gave hs Issac,but dont except to get ur Issac back..Abraham was not expectng to get Issac back,God jst suprsed him.But this way we chritians bargin with God,” giv u some,u gv me some”,is disrecpectful2 God n its idoltry..God open our eyes of understanding.
Acidri – well done. You obviously spend a great deal of time in the Word. Enjoyed reading this. We obviously both feel very passionately about the subject … can only pray that more and more will join us, eh?
Keep visiting my blog, as well jasonpauljones.wordpress.com
I’ll most definitely be back here, reading yours.
best and have a very, very merry Christmas.
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GOD BLESS U, I LOVE THE TEXT
Little children, we cannot slander anything God has established, nor judge nay of His servants, due to the fact that we are all brothers in the faith. However, I do see what you are saying about all your points, but I see also that the spirit it is spoken in is not by godly wisdom. You all are missing a link. If had you found it, you would not be ridiculing the members of the body of Christ as if they are to be without criticism. Have you not read where He says “touch not mien anointed…”? Benn Hinn is called of the Lord, anointing of the Lord, and a Jew (isn’t he?). I wonder how many of you the Lord has chosen? I wonder how many of you the father has called? And how many of you have been anointing outside of that which we receive from the new birth? I also knew Kenneth Haggin. He turned out to be racist, and prejudicial towards the African members. Again, I know exactly what you are saying about the prosperity message, and how it has fast become a commercial tool for alot of t.v. Christians, but the true message of God’s provisions are still of the covenant that God promised to Abraham’s seed, that seed being Christ. I came up in the midst of the “faith message” and can tell you of a surety that God is bigger than that message. Just like the men who preach it are smaller than the message they preach, and it is all on the Believer. In a lot of instances, the Hearers of the message did not weigh it with the mind of Christ. Why? Because they (and when say “they” – present company not excluded. But I have tried the reigns of God’s Word and found it to be true where prosperity is concerned, and it really has nothing to do with giving as much as it does with “walking with the Father”. I am sure what has been said by everyone can stand more reasoning on your parts. And a thorough examination of your walk would definitely show signs of your failure to grasp the true meaning of scriptures and the power of it. Or else your focus would be on the remedy of your complaint and not the putting down of anyone doing the work of the ministry. In defense strictly of what I said, and not what you see of these other men of God (I’d like to think) what the failure has been is on the part of the Believer wanting to have what the world has, material wise, not understanding that God’s idea of wealth, prosperity and riches, is not by the world’s standards. In short, what God the Father, the Lord Jesus, and the precious Holy Spirit of God require is that everyone that names the Christ as their Savor be “accepted” by the Trinity. I know this may sound strange but a short explanation of this statement is simply this…Jesus said “learn of me by taking my yoke upon you…” We know that Jesus did not walk around with a copy of the Torah in his hands. Therefore, he had to have had it written in his heart. This is what the Father wants to do with us. Therefore, if we learn of Jesus it will be a renewing of our minds, and that mind will be transformed into the “mind of Christ”. This cannot happen if you do not know what your foundation grace gift is. It is through that gift that you walk in the anointing of Christ, which is in His body, and we are the members of. And don’t get me wrong, I do see what you are saying but God has placed these men where they are, and they are no better than us. Nor does how much money they generate make them so. I do not think they think so either. In fact, I know they don’t. Nevertheless, I defend your observation. Most came from extreme poverty, and should be rewarded for being faithful. I know that had a man named Fredrick K.C> Price had not been obedient in marriage, ministry and money,(like Swaggart – who’s absolutely gone, and Jim Bakker – but look who he married) I would not be where I am in God today. In the same token, yes-these men are expounding “percepts of men” within their doctrine, which is their right, I believe as a design of the Lord to get us to investigate what they are saying, and is overshadowed by the fact that their hearts are pure before the Father. Let me give you an example, and finish off with the, what I feel, is the solution, and hope that you will support it. I have heard for years this scripture concerning the blessing of Abraham, which is suppose to be in whom we have a (financial) blessing from, if we are indeed children of Abraham’s by the faith of God that He counted to Abraham as righteousness. That first of all, God blessed Abraham by making him very rich – that granted. But that scripture used to say we have that financial blessing is partly based upon the scripture (Duet.8:17) of the children of Israel being told to remember the Lord their God (who brought them out of Egypt with a mighty hand) when they go into the promise land because it is He that gives them power to get wealth to establish His covenant…” At this point it had not happened. They had not entered in. The principle of the scripture is for the partakers of the covenant, yet has an individual standard with re to the covenant. In other words, the covenant was already confirmed by Melchizidek through Abraham. The true essence of the covenant was the promise to the seed (Christ) not anything material,which is why Paul said if you cling to what is being said about Melchizidek you are carnal and missing it. For those who don’t get it, we cannot go by what was being said about Melchizedek, because if we did we would have to beleive that he is still alive today after the flesh, but he is not…and neither is Christ. For to be carnal minded is death. Death is the end of the life expectancy of all living things, not spiritual things. Nonetheless, Duet.8:18 is all about progressing inthe things of God and He using the talent He gave you to prosper you if you allow Him to delight Himself in you, as a result of you delighting yourself in Him. The “desire” that He gives you from delighting in Him is the reward, and that is not “your” desire if it is of Him. Are you following me? Let me break it down even further. And if you take the time to understand this spiritual principle, you will be so busy doing it that your criticism just might turn into prayer for these men of God that are doing what the Lord wants them to. Irrespective of whatever fragilities that might come into their teachings, otherwise they would be perfect. Let’s allow their present state of being be their judge and not us. Are we not the blessed of the Lord? Don’t think for one moment that God does not know that there is a problem with people believing for their need being met. God meets individual needs by that person’s diligence in “YOU” delighting yourself in Him. How do we do that? If you are learning of Christ, and have put on his yoke, then you are walking with Him (God, the Father and the Holy Spirit) during this process, and it is a process. What we must do daily is; 1) read the Word 2) Pray for at least an hour a day in the Spirit, 3) minister to people about the Lord by divine guidance(in other words, who to speak to) 4) study the Word and 5) meditate upon it. As you do this, the Father sees you and speaks to your spirit man about the Word you are meditating on. What He reveals to you is the Word and that by revelation. Why revelation? Because you cannot see Him, or the revelation. You are transformed into that revelation by the Spirit of God, so that you are becoming like Christ. I think a big part of the problem is that many people who say they believe don’t know what they are supposed to believe. As a result, many are believing on “Faith” and not God. The desire comes from the Father delighting in you, when you are not delighting in Him. What do I mean by that? Let me explain. You’re delighting in the Lord manifest your talent. The only thing that can prevent you from developing it is sin. What a lot of people do (especially those who are not chosen, but are among the “called”) they sin when they are not fully delighting in the Lord anyway. When the Father sees you delighting in something that He has given you, like your talent, He works with you to develop it into an art, which wail bring you before Kings (may not be a real king but a king nonetheless… those of you who are in the secret place know what I mean). Let’s take David for instance, because we should all be able to look at the Saints of the old and New Testament and see ourselves in relation to what someone did that was disobedient, and obedient to the Lord, and be able to identify with them to rid our lives of sin. David’s talent was with a slingshot. To make a long story short, he developed it by defending his own honor with a bear and a lion, who sought to steal the sheep he had been given charge over. His talent brought him before the King to challenge the giant Goliath. When David was not delighting himself in the Lord, he was developing his talent. I use to have a sling that was made out of a hanger. David’s sling was an armourment, unlike mine. I use to practice knocking down cans with it. David had to have put a lot of practice into his sling skills. My point being, God gave Him the desire to fight the giant, and that fight led to his reward of being King of Israel when Saul finally got his butt of the picture. This is true prosperity, which is based upon progress, not tithes and offerings, or how much you give. And this is where I must totally agree with you, but I am not against tithing or offerings, but I am against people doing to see what they will get back. I show a mystery regarding T&O. The reason God loves a cheerful giver is because the giver expects nothing in return the way he gave it. It is actually, in order of rite to work the way it should, an offering from the altar of your heart, as the first fruits of you! Whether your labor, gifts or wherever it might originate. You should not expect anything back form a gift, but God says He will give back to you based upon the condition of your heart, not how much you give. I say give it all away, and see what other desire the Lord will give you to reward you by. Yes, He is a rewarder… (Heb.11:6) of them that seek Him. No man ever received a covenant with God in exchange for “money”. And God does not control Mammon. He controls the Gov’ts that produces the currency, and directs where He pleases, like He does with world power. So we take Jesus’ yoke upon ourselves and learn of him by delighting ourselves in God’s Word, then God will delight Himself in us by giving us a desire(s) that is actually your just reward for forsaking sin. The other thing that I think is important to all this is, not to have faith in what men say. If you do, you will be ever learning and never coming to the knowledge of the truth for yourself. You cannot walk in another man’s revelation without it being revealed you as well. So God wants us to walk with Him. You cannot do that unless you are walking by faith. The reason being is because in order to walk with God you must be lead of the Spirit of God. When you are delighting yourself in Him, you are being lead. You cannot be lead by the Spirit of God without walking by faith. Let me give a illustrating in the natural. I was in college taking public speaking, and we had to pair up with another member of the class, who blind folded us and directed us down the hallways, and we did it to them on the way back. We had to completely trust what that person was telling us to do; i.e. step to the left/right, stop, etc. That is how our attitude towards walking with God has to be, except instead of being blindfolded in the natural, we cannot see Him anyway. He is the great A’men, in high priest terms, the invisible One, whom Christ represents in creation. So lead by the Spirit, is walking w God by faith. This is the straight gate, the narrow path, the way to life. So let’s come together with a revelation about what we observe and pray to the Father to reveal those who we need to minister to daily, that we do or do not know. This is all pleasing to the Father. A’men?
Yeah, a couple of questions. How do you feel about Christ’s warning that many false prophets will come in His name? And how do you feel about those who will stand before Him on judgement day, and say “Lord, Lord!” and He will say “I never knew you.” Do you love these people? I know I do. I sure don’t want anyone to have to hear those words. If someone is preaching a false Gospel, as per the warning in Galatians 1, I’m going to tell them what they’re doing, and I’m going to warn others. I understand that people make mistakes, and I know that God is sovereign. But as Christians we also need to be extremely careful and exercise discernment, something that far too many Christians lack nowadays. If you love your neighbor, please warn him before it’s too late. If someone preaches a false Gospel and consistently twists and mangles God’s Word, I’m sorry, I cannot be yoked with him; he’s a false Christian; a goat among the sheep; wheat among the tares. While I won’t be hasty to say someone preaches heresy, I will tell you outright that it is EVERYWHERE in the church right now. Christians consistently are unwilling to stand up for the Word of God and the Gospel. Rather than lovingly rebuking those who teach things they ought not and calling them to repentance, Christians embrace false prophets and their teachings. It’s as if they’d never seen a Bible in their life.
The aforementioned ‘cliches’, while if used by themselves as if we have an ‘autonomous free-will’ are theological falsehoods, when preceded by having confronted and dealt with sin at the Cross of Christ, as well as the knowledge that God brought it all about in His sovereignty grace, are not as flawed. However, one could say they would be unecessary.
One could also use those cliches in conversation with someone who was presented the ‘false’ theology and ‘acccepted’ (whatever), in the explanation of the WHY anyone ‘accepts’ Christ.
The rampant nature of ‘apostate evangelicalism’, almost requires a person in these times to ask a professing believer “Under what cirsumstances’, or ‘how’ were you saved/converted?”
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We are two young Christian girls, just trying to bring practical applications from the bible. We want to encourage others to study the word and grow in faith.
God bless
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I’m sure that i will come back to your blog. Well written articles !