June 2009 Resource of the Month (with a little surprise…)
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Here is the link to get the book.
Alistair Begg: The Holy Spirit
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Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
Part 4:
Posted in Videos Tagged: Alistair Begg, Christianity, doctrines of grace, holiness, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ 
Four Kinds Of Universalism
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Some good basic information of a subject likely to be under more discussion soon as concerning the doctrine of salvation preached by more leaders within the Emerging Church.
FOUR KINDS OF UNIVERSALISM
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Earlier in the earlier piece Apprising Ministries With A Peek At The Coming Soteriology Of Emergence Christianity I told you that it’s really pretty simple; the soteriology i.e. doctrine of salvation which will “soon” come emerging is known as Christian Universalism. As was pointed out in Doug Pagitt and Christian Universalism we are not talking here about a universalism teaching men will be saved regardless of their religious convictions.
Rather what we mean is a Christian Universalism (CU), which does see Jesus Christ as the only way that all men will eventually be saved. There are various views but this CU is based upon a universal atonement of Christ on the Cross that sounds a lot like the following from Rob Bell, who is a friend of Pagitt’s, and quite literally the Elvis of the Emerging Church rebellion against the authority of the Bible now morphing in to what they’re calling Emergence Christianity:
So this is reality, this forgiveness, this reconciliation, is true for everybody. Paul insisted that when Jesus died on the cross, he was reconciling “all things, in heaven and on earth, to God.” All things, everywhere.
This reality then isn’t something we make come true about ourselves by doing something. It is already true. Our choice is to live in this new reality or cling to a reality of our own making. (Velvet Elvis, 146, emphasis mine)
For the record I will clearly state again that I strongly disagree with Christian Universalism believing it to be another gospel; and therefore, it is really no gospel at all. That said, for those who wish to better understand the subject of univeralism, which in all likelihood forms at least some part of the teachings of leaders in the Emergent Church uprising against Sola Scriptura e.g. like Bell, Pagitt and Brian McLaren, I refer you to a short article by John M. Brentnall:
From time to time the question is asked as to how many shall be saved. Shall all, regardless of their creed, worship, character and life-style? Or is this glorious privilege reserved for only some? The current claim that God gathers up all creation into His loving purpose should make us reconsider the question. For it is argued that if God’s redeeming purpose is universal in scope, why should we any longer accept Christianity’s arrogant claim to be the one true religion?
Since there are many windows onto God’, why should we continue to support Christian evangelization of the nations? As we are all ‘going to heaven’, why may not each of us go there in his own way, and leave others to go there in theirs? Such universalistic claims voiced by religious pluralists call for a Reformed response. In general, we may identify four kinds of universalism. Three of them are false, while only the fourth is true… (Online source)
You can read the entire piece by Brentnall here.
HT: Monergism.com
See also:
ROB BELL AND CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALISM
PASTOR CHAD HOLTZ EXPLAINING CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALISM
CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALISM AFFIRMS SALVATION BY JESUS
EVERYONE’S GOING TO BE SAVED EVENTUALLY…AREN’T THEY?
EVERYONE’S GOING TO BE SAVED EVENTUALLY…AREN’T THEY? (PART 2)
EXHORTATION TO STAY THE COURSE
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Here in my part of New Hampshire it’s still rather chilly, and this spring anyway, frequently stormy. Frankly, this description wouldn’t really be too far off from illustrating the current state of the visible church world-wide. As I shared with Connecticut River Baptist Church in my sermon from last Sunday Satan has been quite successful in making things so confusing spiritually right now that many professing believers are simply throwing up their hands in surrender.
You may believe me when I tell you that as I survey the spiritual scene ahead of us, and when wallowing through spiritual sewers of bad theology, I sometimes wish I could also do likewise. However, I remain thankful that Jesus compels me to go forward even when things appear so uncertain right now. The Internet Front of this spiritual Vietnam continues to become a more fierce battleground because enemy forces know that the Lord is using the Net for His glory; even though too many Christians do not.
As I was saying to one of the pastors on my board yesterday, with more and more evangelical churches heading off the rails, enemy forces continue sending forth their spiritual version of continual annoyances leading many into discouragement within the visible church. Men and women, now is the time when online discernment and apologetics ministries like Apprising Ministries are needed more than ever to try and keep balance in the Body of Christ.
Sadly, there’s been a strong attack on “ODMs” and the way Satan works is to make sure that his offensives do carry enough truth to cause concern. There are websites which are over-the-top but that doesn’t then negate those which are not. AM is one of the few headed by an ordained teaching elder coming out of a local church with an independent board of directors including other male elders in an advisory capacity.
Of course this doesn’t in any way make us perfect, but it does make AM a Bible-based ministry where its primary teacher has 2 Timothy 4:2 as his pastoral mandate. Please keep this in mind when assessing the labors stretching out from Apprising Ministries. Couple the largely much ado about nothing ODM issue with the relentless indoctrination going on within the church concerning “unity” and its easy to see why so many are growing squeamish about anything that sounds “negative.”
But when it concerns matter of theology relating to the very nature of God, and the heart of His Gospel, we cannot afford to set aside doctrinal purity when people’s eternal souls are at stake. I personally couldn’t care less that it’s now considered “divisive” to aggressively promote the exclusivity of the teachings of Jesus Christ. The narrow way of salvation only through the grace of God alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
Sure, like anyone I’d like to be more popular; but I wasn’t called into ministry to enter into some kind of a popularity contest. No, I was given an unspeakable privilege that I could never even begin to be worthy of, to love dead people back to life; just as Jesus did for me. Along this line, Dr. Walter Martin (1928-1989) said that the late heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano taught him a very valuable lesson about the Gospel one night at dinner. Martin asked Marciano why he let people hit him so much.
Marciano explained that because many fighters had a longer reach than he did, the only way Marciano could get in close enough was to develop what became known as the “peek-a-boo” style. Marciano would cover his face and then mostly take the punches on his arms and shoulders as he moved in closer to his opponents. He knew that he had the power to knock people out with a single blow so Marciano risked taking their punches en route to his opportunity to win the boxing match.
My brothers and sisters, what we can learn from this in a spiritual sense is that sometimes we have to be ready to be hurt by the very people we’re trying to help and/or reach for Jesus. As I used to tell my football players when I coached high school football, you may not like me right now because I push you to be your best; but one day years from now, when you’re a college graduate or you own your own business, you just might see me in a different light.
Then I’d simply and say, I can live with that. Beloved of God, the time in which we live will be one where trials, as well as 1 Peter 4:17 judgments, will be testing our faith. But remember, God gives us our faith so these tests come as a way for Him to show you that He’s made you string enough to endure. So don’t you quit; look to Jesus as the Author and Finisher of our Faith, and He will do great things with you.
And please remember us in your prayers; may God grant me wisdom to walk through these spiritual minefields in which I labor. Please also pray, as this apostasy continues spreading, that the Lord will raise up the financial standard needed to supply for AM as we assist other pastors by providing valuable information they are often too busy to have time to acquire on their own. For this is a very important facet of this particular labor in the Lord.
THE SHACK: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION ON IRON SHARPENS IRON
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From the website of the Iron Sharpens Iron radio program hosted by Chris Arnzen:
AL STEIN, pastor of the Neighborhood Assembly of God in Bellmore, Long Island, NY, & KEN SILVA, pastor of Connecticut River Baptist Church & president of Apprising Ministries in Claremont, NH, will address the theme: “THE SHACK: A Critical Examination“.
The above-mentioned book, “THE SHACK“, by William Paul Young, has apparently been flying off the bookshelves of many retail outlets and the stockrooms of Internet booksellers. It reached #6 on Amazon’s religious fiction book sales list and the New York Times Bestseller list. Pastor, scholar, author, and poet Eugene H. Peterson, who wrote the Gold Medallion Book Award winner “The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language”, said of “The Shack”:
“This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan’s ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ did for his. It’s that good!”
But should Christians spend their valuable time and hard-earned money reading this book?
Our guests today, Al Stein & Ken Silva, answer that question with a resounding “NO!” Learn why this very popular work of religious fiction is poison for the mind and soul, and how it heretically and dangerously distorts the person and work of all three members of the Godhead, the very nature of the Gospel and the innate spiritual condition of mankind.
Stein & Silva also hope this disturbing quote (below) from “The Shack” will cause all who profess to know and love Christ and His Holy Scriptures to wholeheartedly reject Eugene Peterson’s previously quoted astonishing claim about Young’s vision of the Gospel and will trump his recommendations to read it:
“Those who love me come from every system that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons, Baptists or Muslims…. I have no desire to make them Christian, but I do want to join them in their transformation into sons and daughters of my Papa, into my brothers and sisters.”
-–The Shack’s “Jesus.” [1,p.182] (Online source)
See also:
GAITHER FAMILY FEST 2009 FEATURES PAUL YOUNG AUTHOR OF “THE SHACK”
DR. GARY GILLEY SHUTS UP “THE SHACK”
Gloria Gaither Endorses “The Shack”
The Shack Author Denies Biblical Substitutionary Atonement
Link to A Partial Transcript of Young Interview
How To Find A Good Church: Almost 25 Questions That Will Save You A Lot Of Sundays
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By Todd Friel
Looking for a good church? Join the club. Church-shopping can be a long and painful
process. To shorten your search, call the pastor of the church before you visit and ask
the following questions. This might save you a lot of Sundays.
1. What is man’s biggest problem?
Seeker sensitive and felt-needs churches focus on man’s hurts and problems. The Bible
says that man’s biggest problem is sin.
2. What must a man do to inherit eternal life?
Repent and trust is the Biblical answer. If the word “repent” is never used, say, “Thank
you.”
3. How do you deliver the salvation message?
Ask the pastor to describe specifically what he says. Does he encourage people to
simply say a prayer? Does he tell people to ask Jesus into their hearts? The salvation
message should include: God’s holiness, man’s sinfulness, God’s response (hell),
God’s kindness (Jesus on the cross), man’s response (repentance and faith).
4. How hard is it to become a Christian?
The “formula” is simple, doing it is not. It is not easy to believe.
5. How often do you talk about sin, righteousness and judgment?
Balance is key. This should not be the only emphasis, but it should be a regular
emphasis.
6. How seeker sensitive is your church?
It is o.k. for a church to be “seeker aware” but seeker sensitive means that they lean
toward seekers and not the saved.
7. Who do you do church for, seekers or members?
“Both” is not acceptable. Church should be done for members and the unsaved are
welcome to attend.
8. Do you dumb down your sermons?
If he says yes, he is probably not trying to wean his members from milk to meat.
Answers like, “We try to make our sermons accessible to everyone” are sermons that
are not meaty.
9. What is your mixture of topical vs. expository preaching?
Topical preaching is fine, but if a pastor never or rarely preaches expositionally (verse
by verse), then you are going to be learning from the pastor and not God’s Word.
10. Do your sermons emphasize theology or are they relevant?
Everyone should say their sermons are relevant, what you are looking for is if they
teach theology.
11. Describe your youth programs.
If fun and games is the major (and usually first) emphasis, you have a youth program
that is trying to compete with MTV.
12. Describe your evangelism programs.
Don’t just accept, “We have an evangelism committee.” Dig. Are they serious about
saving souls?
13. What church growth model do you follow?
Hopefully they don’t have one. Churches should be reaching out to the lost, but
churches that are plugged into new church growth models tend to follow man’s modern
ideas rather than the Bible.
14. How much do you give to missions and the hungry?
Again, this reveals the heart of the church. While most churches give to missions, many
never consider the poor.
15. Do you believe the Bible contains no errors or contradictions?
No equivocation allowed here.
16. Do you believe in a literal 6 day creation?
Jesus did (Matt.19:4).
17. Do you believe in a literal hell and eternal punishment?
Jesus did (Matt.25).
19. When you distribute the Lord’s Supper, do you emphasize the need to examine
yourself?
Paul did (I Cor.11:27-32).
20. Can a person who is living in a persistent lifestyle of sin inherit eternal life?
Sinners can certainly be forgiven, but practicing sinners cannot inherit eternal life (I
John 3:8,9).
21. Does your church exercise church discipline?
Paul said we should (I Cor.5).
22. Do Sunday school teachers, nursery, and youth volunteers fill out an application to
answer questions about their core beliefs, or are all volunteers accepted?
23.What are the essentials of the faith?
Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Salvation through faith alone, the inerrancy of Scripture.
24. Do you have a cross in your sanctuary?
Many remove it because they fear it will turn off seekers. They should glory in the
cross. The cross should be the central focus of every church.
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George Mueller On Prayer
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A Brief Biography of George Mueller (1805-1898)
God used George Mueller wonderfully in an abundance of ministries. Simultaneously he pastored a church of 1,200 members; operated Sunday schools that taught and evangelized thousands of children; housed, fed clothed, taught and evangelized 2,050 orphans annually for decades; supported 187 missionaries; organized the Scriptural Knowledge Institute [...]
Monica Dennington Calls Calvinists to Repent, James White Responds
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Living the Cross Centered Life: Book Giveaway Winner
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Congratulations to Warren McCandless, the winner of our inaugural book giveaway! He will be receiving a free copy of the Cross Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney. Thank you to everyone who participated. Stay tuned for more giveaways in the future.
HOW WOULD YOU KNOW BETH MOORE?
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It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1, NASB)
But Then How Would You Know Which Is True?
At the 2:18 mark of the commercial below Beth Moore reads the text above and then says dramatically, “Several years ago Christ began to place a tremendous burden on my heart for the people of God to know the freedom of God.” Really; how would we know? And if so, do we now have a prophetess among us with special revelation from God concerning His “freedom” because the Word of the Lord came to Beth? And what if I as a pastor-teacher also was to say, “A couple of years ago Jesus placed a tremendous burden on my heart for the people of God to know the freedom of God.”
Now suppose I then went on to say that one of the best ways to embrace the freedom of God is simply to read the Bible; to pray consciously, then do what it says in His Word and come away from false teaching advanced by contemplative dreamers. Avoid their spirituality of the self and do not be subject again to a yoke of [its] slavery because they teach you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds (Jeremiah 14:14). I mean, how would you know?
See also:
BETH MOORE AND LIFEWAY (SBC) HEAD DEEPER STILL INTO DECEPTION
EXPOSES ON SOUTHERN BAPTIST BIBLE TEACHER BETH MOORE
BOB DEWAAY ON DONALD WHITNEY AND SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES
THE TERMINOLOGY TRAP OF “SPIRITUAL FORMATION”
EVANGELICALISM REJECTING SOLA SCRIPTURA IN LUST FOR NEO-GNOSTIC EXPERIENCE
RICHARD FOSTER’S LEGACY ENDURES: CHRISTIAN LEADERS HELP TO MAKE IT SO
SPURIOUS SPIRITUAL FORMATION USHERS IN DECEPTION
EXPOSES ON SOUTHERN BAPTIST BIBLE TEACHER BETH MOORE
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Personal Freedom Outreach, a fine discernment and apologetics ministry, writes:
She is a best-selling author whose Bible study books and workbooks have sold more than 10 million copies, and who leads the pack of authors at LifeWay, the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. She is said to be an “evangelical superstar” and “one of the most respected and sought-after Bible teachers,” whose conferences draw women — and some men — by the thousands.
She’s Beth Moore, the blond, petite 52-year-old with a Texas accent, who has become a Christian darling among believers of all denominations. Unfortunately, what she does deliver in her many resources is a lack of discernment, an unhealthy ecumenism, careless use of words, and a poor exegesis of the Word of God.
In 2007, following repeated requests for a critique of Beth Moore, PFO offered its first article which examined both the teaching found in her best-selling book, When Godly People Do Ungodly Things, and her unorthodox associations.
Because of the popularity of that initial evaluation, PFO received calls for additional articles surveying her unabashed mysticism and faulty biblical interpretations. To date, PFO has published a total of four articles examining Beth Moore, and these are available together as a special offer. (Online source)
HT: Christian Research Service
See also:
BETH MOORE AND LIFEWAY (SBC) HEAD DEEPER STILL INTO DECEPTION
El Murio! (Paul Washer) [video subtitulado en español]
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Blog "Las 5 Solas" – www.5solas.com.mx Blog "El unico Dios Verdadero" – http (Thanks to the guys at I'llbehonest for allowing this video that they created to be translated and uploaded to this channel for our Spanish speaking brethren. www.youtube.com )
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More in Education |
El Murio! (Paul Washer) [video subtitulado en español]
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Blog "Las 5 Solas" – www.5solas.com.mx Blog "El unico Dios Verdadero" – http (Thanks to the guys at I'llbehonest for allowing this video that they created to be translated and uploaded to this channel for our Spanish speaking brethren. www.youtube.com )
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| Time: 11:17 |
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A Domesticated Jesus?
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“There are a lot of popular versions of Jesus in culture. There’s a Republican Jesus who’s for free-market economics. There’s a Democrat Jesus against Wall Street and Wal-Mart. There’s a therapist Jesus who helps us cope with life’s problems. There’s a Starbucks Jesus who loves fair trade coffee and Apple computers. There’s a touchdown Jesus who helps Christians run faster and jump higher. There’s the martyr Jesus who died so that we could feel sorry for him. There’s nice guy Jesus. There’s spirituality Jesus. There’s good example Jesus.
And then there’s Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter says, “You are the Christ of God.”
Most people have a shrunken, domesticated Christ who is safe, easy and manageable instead of the real Christ. The closer you get to him the more you love him and the more you fear him. God is calling you to stop playing games and to stop making excuses and to open your eyes to see Jesus as the Christ. He is more glorious and loving and gracious and powerful and more wonderfully terrifying that any of us can ever imagine.”
-Kevin DeYoung from the Next Conference
HT: On Earth as it is in Heaven
A Domesticated Jesus?
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“There are a lot of popular versions of Jesus in culture. There’s a Republican Jesus who’s for free-market economics. There’s a Democrat Jesus against Wall Street and Wal-Mart. There’s a therapist Jesus who helps us cope with life’s problems. There’s a Starbucks Jesus who loves fair trade coffee and Apple computers. There’s a touchdown Jesus who helps Christians run faster and jump higher. There’s the martyr Jesus who died so that we could feel sorry for him. There’s nice guy Jesus. There’s spirituality Jesus. There’s good example Jesus.
And then there’s Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter says, “You are the Christ of God.”
Most people have a shrunken, domesticated Christ who is safe, easy and manageable instead of the real Christ. The closer you get to him the more you love him and the more you fear him. God is calling you to stop playing games and to stop making excuses and to open your eyes to see Jesus as the Christ. He is more glorious and loving and gracious and powerful and more wonderfully terrifying that any of us can ever imagine.”
-Kevin DeYoung from the Next Conference
HT: On Earth as it is in Heaven
Pravda Describes America’s Descent
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Russia’s news service, Pravda, has an editorial that takes your breath away as it describes America’s descent, including what they call “Sunday circuses.” Read it here.
PICK YOUR SWORD OF THE SPIRIT BACK UP!
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DOWN WITH SOLA SCRIPTURA!
For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly. But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.
For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 7:4-6, KJV)
The Visible Church Ignoring Warnings At Her Own Spiritual Peril
Because she is ignoring the warnings of her watchman concerning the very grave spiritual danger of spurious Spiritual Formation, which had only been on the horizon of American Christianity. As Apprising Ministries pointed out in Move Over Pastors For Spiritual Directors/Gurus, the reason we are even having to talk about gurus and yogis…er, spiritual directors, within mainstream evangelicalism can be traced directly back to its now open embrace of the Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism perpetrated by Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster.
This mysticism-lite, which had only been on the horizon of the American Christianity, is then given a veneer of scholarship through Foster’s friend and spiritual twin Southern Baptist minister Dallas Willard accelerating it’s penetration into the evangelical camp of our Lord’s visible church. If you haven’t done so, I encourage you to please make the time to read a few of the AM pieces below. Then you will better be able to recognize the source of this attack on God’s Reformation of His Church that arrived in the Trojan Horse of the Emerging Church.
While speaking a while back at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Dr. John MacArthur, by no means a radical, made the startling and dead on statement that America has been abandoned by God. It’s been my contention all along that an arid intellectualism has all but put out the fire of the Holy Spirit in many Christian’s lives, but not their desire for “more” in their relationship to the Lord. So then, on the other side of this critical issue there are those so hungry for a touch of God that they go to those other extremes, which always ends up as experience over Scripture.
Being that I’m not a strict cessationist I have no problem with those who experience God; and because the Lord has also given me a love for study, I also have no difficulty with people who want to know God intellectually through His Word. However at the same time, if these two areas are not humbly balanced through obedience to the Lord’s prescribed means of grace, by prayer, and by complete submission to the text of the Bible then you end up with the doctrines of demons currently espoused by seducing spirits in Satan’s growing Ecumenical Church of Deceit.
The end result for those who persist in the forbidden practices of spurious CSM, which as you will see in Contemplative Spirituality Of Richard Foster Rooted In The Eastern Desert And Thomas Merton originated with heretical Desert hermits and then flowered through the anti-biblical monastic traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, is a false sense of the love of mankind and the deception that we are somehow divine. In classic mysticism, whatever stripe of skubalon, this dead wrong teaching is referred to as “the divine spark” or a “spark of the divine” in man.
I talk further about this in The Emergent “One” and how through the misplaced mystic belief that there is some kind of pure True Self deep inside we then end up with mankind in love with himself (see–2 Timothy 3:2). You think this is far-fetched? Then you may wish to consider the aforementioned SBTS now is instituting a program under the direction of Donald Whitney where one can now receive a doctorate in “spirituality,” which is the subject of Bob DeWaay’s CIC article Donald Whitney and Spiritual Disciplines: Spirituality Without Boundries.
As a Southern Baptist pastor myself, well at least for now, you just may wish to note that in Baptist State Convention Of North Carolina (SBC) Points Us To Renovare International Conference you can see for yourself entire Slowly Becoming Catholic state conventions no longer even feel the need to hide their embrace of spirituality rooted in figures of the Roman Catholic Counter Reformation like Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the spiritual Gestapo unit the Jesuits. History will show that they were, at the very least, just a bit hostile toward God’s Reformers.
But Now Battle Has Become Your Calling
The very clear and present danger in all of this Protestant evangelical embrace CSM is that it lulls the Church into a coma of complacency and into believing the spiritual war between Christ and Satan is now over. And in this way she willingly lays down her arms and then wanders straight into the deadly fallacy of interfaith/interspirtual worship. Men like Rob Bell and Doug Pagitt of the postliberal cult of are already hinting at resurrecting the heresy of Christian Universalism, essentially that at the Cross Christ already redeemed all of mankind.
These things taught by demons are exactly what A.W. Tozer is sounding the trumpet about below as he warns us in the important teaching that follows. So beloved, pick your Sword of the Spirit back up and get ready to fight these seducing spirits and their doctrines of devils. Cower before these deceivers no more and let us ride to the sound of the guns! Let them know my brothers and sisters that this glorious battle for the absolute Truth of our King of kings and Lord of lords is to the end!
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. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:16-17)
Someday the church can relax her guard, call her watchmen down from the wall and live in safety and peace; but not yet, not yet….
The healthiest man has enough lethal bacteria in him to kill him within twenty-four hours except for one thing-the amazing power of the human organism to resist bacterial attack. Every mortal body must fight its internal enemies day and night. Once it surrenders its hours are numbered. Quite literally it must fight or die….
The church lives in a hostile world. Within and around her are enemies that not only could destroy her, but are meant to and will unless she resists force with yet greater force. The Christian would collapse from sheer external pressure were there not within him a counterpressure sufficiently great to prevent it. The power of the Holy Spirit is, therefore, not optional but necessary. Without it the children of God simply cannot live the life of heaven on earth. The hindrances are too many and too effective. (TIC, 086-087)
“Thank You for the power of the Holy Spirit within me to wage this constant warfare for me. In my flesh I am so weak for such unrelenting battle. Give Your strength today. Amen.” (Tozer on Christian Leadership, November 11)
See also:
RICHARD FOSTER WITH RANCID FRUIT OF MEDITATION AKA CONTEMPLATIVE/CENTERING PRAYER
ROB BELL AND CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALISM
EVANGELICALISM REJECTING SOLA SCRIPUTRA IN LUST FOR NEO-GNOSTIC EXPERIENCE
APPRISING MINISTRIES WITH A PEEK AT THE COMING SOTERIOLOGY OF EMERGENCE CHRISTIANITY
CHRISTIANITY 21 AND ALLEGED INNOVATIVE VOICES IN THE FAITH: PHYLLIS TICKLE
WHY NO CONDEMNATION FOR CHRISTIANS WHO ARE HOMOPRESSIVE?
PICK YOUR SWORD OF THE SPIRIT BACK UP!
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DOWN WITH SOLA SCRIPTURA!
For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly. But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.
For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 7:4-6, KJV)
The Visible Church Ignoring Warnings At Her Own Spiritual Peril
Because she is ignoring the warnings of her watchman concerning the very grave spiritual danger of spurious Spiritual Formation, which had only been on the horizon of American Christianity. As Apprising Ministries pointed out in Move Over Pastors For Spiritual Directors/Gurus, the reason we are even having to talk about gurus and yogis…er, spiritual directors, within mainstream evangelicalism can be traced directly back to its now open embrace of the Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism perpetrated by Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster.
This mysticism-lite, which had only been on the horizon of the American Christianity, is then given a veneer of scholarship through Foster’s friend and spiritual twin Southern Baptist minister Dallas Willard accelerating it’s penetration into the evangelical camp of our Lord’s visible church. If you haven’t done so, I encourage you to please make the time to read a few of the AM pieces below. Then you will better be able to recognize the source of this attack on God’s Reformation of His Church that arrived in the Trojan Horse of the Emerging Church.
While speaking a while back at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Dr. John MacArthur, by no means a radical, made the startling and dead on statement that America has been abandoned by God. It’s been my contention all along that an arid intellectualism has all but put out the fire of the Holy Spirit in many Christian’s lives, but not their desire for “more” in their relationship to the Lord. So then, on the other side of this critical issue there are those so hungry for a touch of God that they go to those other extremes, which always ends up as experience over Scripture.
Being that I’m not a strict cessationist I have no problem with those who experience God; and because the Lord has also given me a love for study, I also have no difficulty with people who want to know God intellectually through His Word. However at the same time, if these two areas are not humbly balanced through obedience to the Lord’s prescribed means of grace, by prayer, and by complete submission to the text of the Bible then you end up with the doctrines of demons currently espoused by seducing spirits in Satan’s growing Ecumenical Church of Deceit.
The end result for those who persist in the forbidden practices of spurious CSM, which as you will see in Contemplative Spirituality Of Richard Foster Rooted In The Eastern Desert And Thomas Merton originated with heretical Desert hermits and then flowered through the anti-biblical monastic traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, is a false sense of the love of mankind and the deception that we are somehow divine. In classic mysticism, whatever stripe of skubalon, this dead wrong teaching is referred to as “the divine spark” or a “spark of the divine” in man.
I talk further about this in The Emergent “One” and how through the misplaced mystic belief that there is some kind of pure True Self deep inside we then end up with mankind in love with himself (see–2 Timothy 3:2). You think this is far-fetched? Then you may wish to consider the aforementioned SBTS now is instituting a program under the direction of Donald Whitney where one can now receive a doctorate in “spirituality,” which is the subject of Bob DeWaay’s CIC article Donald Whitney and Spiritual Disciplines: Spirituality Without Boundries.
As a Southern Baptist pastor myself, well at least for now, you just may wish to note that in Baptist State Convention Of North Carolina (SBC) Points Us To Renovare International Conference you can see for yourself entire Slowly Becoming Catholic state conventions no longer even feel the need to hide their embrace of spirituality rooted in figures of the Roman Catholic Counter Reformation like Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the spiritual Gestapo unit the Jesuits. History will show that they were, at the very least, just a bit hostile toward God’s Reformers.
But Now Battle Has Become Your Calling
The very clear and present danger in all of this Protestant evangelical embrace CSM is that it lulls the Church into a coma of complacency and into believing the spiritual war between Christ and Satan is now over. And in this way she willingly lays down her arms and then wanders straight into the deadly fallacy of interfaith/interspirtual worship. Men like Rob Bell and Doug Pagitt of the postliberal cult of are already hinting at resurrecting the heresy of Christian Universalism, essentially that at the Cross Christ already redeemed all of mankind.
These things taught by demons are exactly what A.W. Tozer is sounding the trumpet about below as he warns us in the important teaching that follows. So beloved, pick your Sword of the Spirit back up and get ready to fight these seducing spirits and their doctrines of devils. Cower before these deceivers no more and let us ride to the sound of the guns! Let them know my brothers and sisters that this glorious battle for the absolute Truth of our King of kings and Lord of lords is to the end!
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. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:16-17)
Someday the church can relax her guard, call her watchmen down from the wall and live in safety and peace; but not yet, not yet….
The healthiest man has enough lethal bacteria in him to kill him within twenty-four hours except for one thing-the amazing power of the human organism to resist bacterial attack. Every mortal body must fight its internal enemies day and night. Once it surrenders its hours are numbered. Quite literally it must fight or die….
The church lives in a hostile world. Within and around her are enemies that not only could destroy her, but are meant to and will unless she resists force with yet greater force. The Christian would collapse from sheer external pressure were there not within him a counterpressure sufficiently great to prevent it. The power of the Holy Spirit is, therefore, not optional but necessary. Without it the children of God simply cannot live the life of heaven on earth. The hindrances are too many and too effective. (TIC, 086-087)
“Thank You for the power of the Holy Spirit within me to wage this constant warfare for me. In my flesh I am so weak for such unrelenting battle. Give Your strength today. Amen.” (Tozer on Christian Leadership, November 11)
See also:
RICHARD FOSTER WITH RANCID FRUIT OF MEDITATION AKA CONTEMPLATIVE/CENTERING PRAYER
ROB BELL AND CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALISM
EVANGELICALISM REJECTING SOLA SCRIPUTRA IN LUST FOR NEO-GNOSTIC EXPERIENCE
APPRISING MINISTRIES WITH A PEEK AT THE COMING SOTERIOLOGY OF EMERGENCE CHRISTIANITY
CHRISTIANITY 21 AND ALLEGED INNOVATIVE VOICES IN THE FAITH: PHYLLIS TICKLE
WHY NO CONDEMNATION FOR CHRISTIANS WHO ARE HOMOPRESSIVE?
Sinners and God
Click the post title to be taken to the source.
A video which presents an important truth missing in much mushy evangelical preaching today.
