Showing posts with label Discernment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Discernment. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 02, 2014
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Sin Is Not Always Ugly And Is Often Mesmerizing and Seductive: I am called to hate it down to every last part of it
(Photo: hemlock. Photo source)
"But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate!" Revelation 2:6
So I must live, with equal aloofness from every wicked and dubious way--with equal abhorrence of all which my divinely enlightened conscience may not approve. Christ expects me to hate the works of the Nicolaitans!
If I am to escape the seductions of sin--I require such intolerance and hatred.
There is great enticement in sin's gaieties, fascinations, and charms!
It beguiles!
It entraps!
It enthralls!
It is not always ugly--often it has a mesmerizing enchantment. My one safety is have an unflinching opposition to that which is both so fair and so foul at the same time. If I dull the keen edge of my hostility to sin--the plausible and insinuating foe will quickly have me at his mercy!
There is a type of weakness which is all for concession and clemency in the presence of evil. It parleys with sin, and it dallies in its society. It can say a great deal in sin's defense--perhaps it discerns admirable qualities in it.
But the holiness to which I am called, is more manly and soldierly. It will have no friendship with the foul adversary!
If I am to imitate Christ--I require such severities and aversions to sin. He also hates the works of the Nicolaitans. I misread Him if I think of Him as altogether meek and gentle. He sends a sword, He kindles a fire, upon the earth. Before His pure gaze, sin blushes, and droops its proud head, and withers away! He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and He will not rest until He has trodden every iniquity under His feet!
"I hate every false way!" Psalm 119:128
(Alexander Smellie, "The Secret Place" 1907)
Monday, August 18, 2014
Too Many Voices Wipes Out Discernment
It seems that among the educated, especially among leaders, too many are listening to too many voices by way of books and conferences, which crowds out the pure Word and then complicates the simplicity of biblical truth and wipes out discernment.
2Co 11:3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
2Co 11:4 For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.
As I have posted so many times before simply because it is so increasingly more and more appropriate:
2Co 11:4 For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.
As I have posted so many times before simply because it is so increasingly more and more appropriate:
But the penitent prodigal can find no nutriment therein! Men "of the world"—and they may be graduates from some "Bible Institute" or possessors of a diploma from some Bible Seminary, now styling themselves "preachers of the Gospel"—will speak of the things of the world and "the world hears them" (1 John 4:5). But those who are seeking to "work out their own salvation with fear and trembling" obtain no help therefrom, yes, they perceive clearly that such sermons and periodicals are "broken cisterns, which can hold no water" (Jer. 2:13).
To turn away from the lifeless preachers and publishers of the day—may involve a real cross. Your motives will be misconstrued, your words perverted, and your actions misinterpreted. The sharp arrows of false report will be directed against you. You will be called proud and self-righteous, because you refuse to fellowship empty professors. You will be termed censorious and bitter—if you condemn in plain speech—the subtle delusions of Satan. You will be dubbed narrow-minded and uncharitable, because you refuse to join in singing the praises of the "great" and "popular" men of the day. More and more, you will be made to painfully realize—that the path which leads unto eternal life is "narrow" and that FEW there are who find it. May the Lord be pleased to grant unto each of us—the hearing ear and obedient heart! "Take heed what you hear" and read!
To turn away from the lifeless preachers and publishers of the day—may involve a real cross. Your motives will be misconstrued, your words perverted, and your actions misinterpreted. The sharp arrows of false report will be directed against you. You will be called proud and self-righteous, because you refuse to fellowship empty professors. You will be termed censorious and bitter—if you condemn in plain speech—the subtle delusions of Satan. You will be dubbed narrow-minded and uncharitable, because you refuse to join in singing the praises of the "great" and "popular" men of the day. More and more, you will be made to painfully realize—that the path which leads unto eternal life is "narrow" and that FEW there are who find it. May the Lord be pleased to grant unto each of us—the hearing ear and obedient heart! "Take heed what you hear" and read!
~A.W. Pink, "Take Heed of What You Read"
Friday, July 25, 2014
How Is Our Judgment Formed?
(photo source)
"If our judgment be formed or our actions regulated by dreams, visions, or supposed immediate revelations from Heaven, rather than by the plain meaning of the Holy Scriptures, then we slight them and God may justly give us up to our own delusions. If we follow the fashion, imitate our fellows, or take public opinion for our standard, we are but heathen. But if the Word of God is the only source of our wisdom and guidance, we shall be found treading ”the paths of righteousness” (Ps. 23:6)."
~Arthur Pink, "Spiritual Growth"
Saturday, July 19, 2014
"Christian" Rock Band Member Admits To Being A Fake Christian In Order To Sell Records, Turns "Atheist": convicted of murder for hire
A so-called Christian heavy metal band whose frontman was convicted of attempting to hire a hitman to murder his estranged wife has admitted that it duped fans into believing that they were Christian in order to sell their music...
“I actually wasn’t the first guy in As I Lay Dying to stop being a Christian. In fact, I think I was the third. The two who remained kind of stopped talking about it, and then I’m pretty sure they dropped it, too.”
The publication noted that his wife, Meggan, had likewise divulged in divorce papers that Lambesis had become an atheist. Lambesis, in admitting his atheism, outlined that he turned away from Christianity as he majored in religious studies while attending college through a long distance program.
“In the process of trying to defend my faith, I started thinking the other point of view was the stronger one,” he said.
End quote.
~Christian News
Yet AGAIN, a person is convinced of the lies by what he reads. Dwell on the lies, you end up accepting them, and of course prove you never had a love of the truth and so be saved.
But folks, listen, it MATTERS WHAT YOU READ. Do not think that you are strong enough to handle the Satan's lies in education, and so flood your mind with Christ-hating viewpoints and not be affected. This is the goal of academia.
Of course God's plan is to sift out the tares and so He does. Lambesis didn't do anything than what his dark heart wanted to do and what was in the sovereign plan of God.But that doesn't negate the accountability for reading demonic trash and wallowing in it, and as well, taking the name of Christ Jesus in vain for years as a fake--a hypocrite. Such are the hypocrites who hand around Christian circles, claiming to be Christians yet not one at all. Ironically (and hypocritically), these are the same people who complain about hypocrites in the churches!
If it smells like the world, sounds like the world, looks like the world, it's the world.
1Jn 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
1Jn 2:17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
1Jn 2:18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.
1Jn 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.
As AW Pink rightly noted in his day:
"Take heed what you hear" (Mark 4:24): the word "hear" obviously includes what is read, for that which is written or printed is addressed to the ears of our intellect. Few people today realize the urgent need for "taking heed" unto what they read. Just as the natural food which is eaten either helps or hinders the body—so the mental food we receive either benefits or injures the mind, and that, in turn, affects the heart.
The only thing which is really worth calling "religion" is the life of God in the soul-commenced, carried on, and consummated solely by the Holy Spirit. Hence, whatever does not bear the impress of the Spirit's unction, should be rejected by the Christian: for not only can unctionless messages do us no good—but what proceeds not from the Spirit—is of the flesh.
Some of God's dear people may suppose that it would be presumptuous to set themselves up as judges of what they hear or read—but that is a serious mistake, being both a false humility, and a shirking of duty. The Apostle rebuked the Hebrews because their senses (spiritual faculties) were not developed so as to discern between good and evil (Hebrews 5:13).
If the God of creation has given us natural palates for the purpose of distinguishing between wholesome and unwholesome food, the God of grace has furnished His people with a capacity, a spiritual sense, to distinguish between nutritious and unwholesome soul food.
"Just as the mouth tastes food—the ear tests the words it hears" (Job 34:3). Does yours, my reader? Are you as careful about what you take into your mind—as what you take into your stomach? You certainly ought to be, for the former is even more important than the latter.
How many of God's dear children listen to the automaton "letter" preachers of today, and yet find nothing suited to the needs of their poor souls!
What they hear and what they read does not penetrate and grip—it has no power—it neither breaks down nor lifts up—it produces neither godly sorrow nor godly joy. The messages they hear or read, fall upon their ear like an idle or twice-told tale—it completely fails to reach their case or minister to their needs. They are no better off after hearing a hundred such "sermons" or reading through a hundred such periodicals, than they were at the beginning! They are no farther from the world—and no nearer unto God!
It is often a long time before God's children are able to account for this. They blame themselves; they are exceedingly loath to say, "This message is not of God." They are afraid to act in the spiritual, as they do in the natural, and condemn and discard that which is worthless.
Ah, it is a great thing when once the Holy Spirit teaches a soul—that it is power which is lacking from the lifeless preaching and lifeless articles of dead professors.... Yes, what the renewed soul longs for(though at first he knows it not) is that Divine message which comes to him "not simply with words—but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction!" (1 Thessalonians 1:5).
"Those who live according to the flesh—have their minds set on what the flesh desires," (Romans 8:5). They are charmed with oratorical eloquence, catchy sayings, witty allusions, and amusing illustrations. On just such "husks", do the religious "swine" feed!
But the penitent prodigal can find no nutriment therein! Men "of the world"—and they may be graduates from some "Bible Institute" or possessors of a diploma from some Bible Seminary, now styling themselves "preachers of the Gospel"—will speak of the things of the world and "the world hears them" (1 John 4:5). But those who are seeking to "work out their own salvation with fear and trembling" obtain no help therefrom, yes, they perceive clearly that such sermons and periodicals are "broken cisterns, which can hold no water" (Jer. 2:13).
"Take heed what you hear" and read! More than forty years ago the saintly Adolph Saphir wrote, "I think the fewer books we read—the better. It is like times of cholera, when we should only drink filtered water." What would he say if he were on earth today and glanced over the deadly poison sent forth by the heterodox, and the lifeless rubbish put out by the orthodox? Christian reader, if you value the health of your soul, cease hearing and quit reading all that is lifeless, unctionless, powerless, no matter what prominent or popular name be attached thereto. Life is too short to waste valuable time on that which does not profit. Ninety-nine out of every hundred of the religious books, booklets, and magazines now being published, are not worth the paper on which they are printed!
To turn away from the lifeless preachers and publishers of the day—may involve a real cross. Your motives will be misconstrued, your words perverted, and your actions misinterpreted. The sharp arrows of false report will be directed against you. You will be called proud and self-righteous, because you refuse to fellowship empty professors. You will be termed censorious and bitter—if you condemn in plain speech—the subtle delusions of Satan. You will be dubbed narrow-minded and uncharitable, because you refuse to join in singing the praises of the "great" and "popular" men of the day. More and more, you will be made to painfully realize—that the path which leads unto eternal life is "narrow" and that FEW there are who find it. May the Lord be pleased to grant unto each of us—the hearing ear and obedient heart! "Take heed what you hear" and read!
End quote.
“I actually wasn’t the first guy in As I Lay Dying to stop being a Christian. In fact, I think I was the third. The two who remained kind of stopped talking about it, and then I’m pretty sure they dropped it, too.”
The publication noted that his wife, Meggan, had likewise divulged in divorce papers that Lambesis had become an atheist. Lambesis, in admitting his atheism, outlined that he turned away from Christianity as he majored in religious studies while attending college through a long distance program.
“In the process of trying to defend my faith, I started thinking the other point of view was the stronger one,” he said.
But Lambesis just recently came forward with the truth about his atheism and the front that the band put on to sell records.
“A lot of Christian parents said, ‘Yes, you can buy this As I Lay Dying CD, because they’re a Christian band.’ They don’t even think to actually check the lyrics,” Lambesis stated. “So when you change your views, you kind of owe it to the fans to be honest.”
End quote.
~Christian News
Yet AGAIN, a person is convinced of the lies by what he reads. Dwell on the lies, you end up accepting them, and of course prove you never had a love of the truth and so be saved.
But folks, listen, it MATTERS WHAT YOU READ. Do not think that you are strong enough to handle the Satan's lies in education, and so flood your mind with Christ-hating viewpoints and not be affected. This is the goal of academia.
Of course God's plan is to sift out the tares and so He does. Lambesis didn't do anything than what his dark heart wanted to do and what was in the sovereign plan of God.But that doesn't negate the accountability for reading demonic trash and wallowing in it, and as well, taking the name of Christ Jesus in vain for years as a fake--a hypocrite. Such are the hypocrites who hand around Christian circles, claiming to be Christians yet not one at all. Ironically (and hypocritically), these are the same people who complain about hypocrites in the churches!
If it smells like the world, sounds like the world, looks like the world, it's the world.
1Jn 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
1Jn 2:17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
1Jn 2:18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.
1Jn 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.
As AW Pink rightly noted in his day:
"Take heed what you hear" (Mark 4:24): the word "hear" obviously includes what is read, for that which is written or printed is addressed to the ears of our intellect. Few people today realize the urgent need for "taking heed" unto what they read. Just as the natural food which is eaten either helps or hinders the body—so the mental food we receive either benefits or injures the mind, and that, in turn, affects the heart.
The only thing which is really worth calling "religion" is the life of God in the soul-commenced, carried on, and consummated solely by the Holy Spirit. Hence, whatever does not bear the impress of the Spirit's unction, should be rejected by the Christian: for not only can unctionless messages do us no good—but what proceeds not from the Spirit—is of the flesh.
Some of God's dear people may suppose that it would be presumptuous to set themselves up as judges of what they hear or read—but that is a serious mistake, being both a false humility, and a shirking of duty. The Apostle rebuked the Hebrews because their senses (spiritual faculties) were not developed so as to discern between good and evil (Hebrews 5:13).
If the God of creation has given us natural palates for the purpose of distinguishing between wholesome and unwholesome food, the God of grace has furnished His people with a capacity, a spiritual sense, to distinguish between nutritious and unwholesome soul food.
"Just as the mouth tastes food—the ear tests the words it hears" (Job 34:3). Does yours, my reader? Are you as careful about what you take into your mind—as what you take into your stomach? You certainly ought to be, for the former is even more important than the latter.
How many of God's dear children listen to the automaton "letter" preachers of today, and yet find nothing suited to the needs of their poor souls!
What they hear and what they read does not penetrate and grip—it has no power—it neither breaks down nor lifts up—it produces neither godly sorrow nor godly joy. The messages they hear or read, fall upon their ear like an idle or twice-told tale—it completely fails to reach their case or minister to their needs. They are no better off after hearing a hundred such "sermons" or reading through a hundred such periodicals, than they were at the beginning! They are no farther from the world—and no nearer unto God!
It is often a long time before God's children are able to account for this. They blame themselves; they are exceedingly loath to say, "This message is not of God." They are afraid to act in the spiritual, as they do in the natural, and condemn and discard that which is worthless.
Ah, it is a great thing when once the Holy Spirit teaches a soul—that it is power which is lacking from the lifeless preaching and lifeless articles of dead professors.... Yes, what the renewed soul longs for(though at first he knows it not) is that Divine message which comes to him "not simply with words—but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction!" (1 Thessalonians 1:5).
"Those who live according to the flesh—have their minds set on what the flesh desires," (Romans 8:5). They are charmed with oratorical eloquence, catchy sayings, witty allusions, and amusing illustrations. On just such "husks", do the religious "swine" feed!
But the penitent prodigal can find no nutriment therein! Men "of the world"—and they may be graduates from some "Bible Institute" or possessors of a diploma from some Bible Seminary, now styling themselves "preachers of the Gospel"—will speak of the things of the world and "the world hears them" (1 John 4:5). But those who are seeking to "work out their own salvation with fear and trembling" obtain no help therefrom, yes, they perceive clearly that such sermons and periodicals are "broken cisterns, which can hold no water" (Jer. 2:13).
"Take heed what you hear" and read! More than forty years ago the saintly Adolph Saphir wrote, "I think the fewer books we read—the better. It is like times of cholera, when we should only drink filtered water." What would he say if he were on earth today and glanced over the deadly poison sent forth by the heterodox, and the lifeless rubbish put out by the orthodox? Christian reader, if you value the health of your soul, cease hearing and quit reading all that is lifeless, unctionless, powerless, no matter what prominent or popular name be attached thereto. Life is too short to waste valuable time on that which does not profit. Ninety-nine out of every hundred of the religious books, booklets, and magazines now being published, are not worth the paper on which they are printed!
To turn away from the lifeless preachers and publishers of the day—may involve a real cross. Your motives will be misconstrued, your words perverted, and your actions misinterpreted. The sharp arrows of false report will be directed against you. You will be called proud and self-righteous, because you refuse to fellowship empty professors. You will be termed censorious and bitter—if you condemn in plain speech—the subtle delusions of Satan. You will be dubbed narrow-minded and uncharitable, because you refuse to join in singing the praises of the "great" and "popular" men of the day. More and more, you will be made to painfully realize—that the path which leads unto eternal life is "narrow" and that FEW there are who find it. May the Lord be pleased to grant unto each of us—the hearing ear and obedient heart! "Take heed what you hear" and read!
End quote.
Friday, June 27, 2014
Contending For The Faith Should Trump Conventionally Acceptable Tones
I never get tired of saying this....in matters of contending for the faith and the right division which the Word of God brings: when the conventionally acceptable tone of what is said, is revered over the truth content of what is actually said, it is an ignoble response to blunt the sharp edge of the reproving and rebuking truth by sentimentally appealing to an unbiblical view of Christian charity. Meekness and fear and respect and gentleness in giving a reasoned defense for the hope which the corpus of God's self-disclosing word produces in the soil of the heart that receives His good seed, is not a compromising humanistic friendliness with any person who propagates doctrine which is fundamentally inimical to the doctrine of God and the doctrine of Christ.
Contending for the faith is an act of mercy, and granted, the truth must be spoken in love, but love does not equivocate in declaring God's word. Love rejoices in the truth, NOT in error. Contending for the faith is not a cavalier attitude of thirsting after contention or controversy, but rather it is active (not passive) obedience to Christ to faithfully take an unyielding stand in His grace for the clarity and purity and integrity of the faithful word as the Lord gave it to us.
And this must begin with the Spirit's indispensable aid in building our faith in sound biblical discernment.
~Chris Okogwu
Contending for the faith is an act of mercy, and granted, the truth must be spoken in love, but love does not equivocate in declaring God's word. Love rejoices in the truth, NOT in error. Contending for the faith is not a cavalier attitude of thirsting after contention or controversy, but rather it is active (not passive) obedience to Christ to faithfully take an unyielding stand in His grace for the clarity and purity and integrity of the faithful word as the Lord gave it to us.
And this must begin with the Spirit's indispensable aid in building our faith in sound biblical discernment.
~Chris Okogwu
May I add that
sometimes the truth must be said with full bluntess and sternness, depending on
the one whom we are speaking to or about. I see that Jesus approached the
Samaritan woman at the well totally different than his approach to the
Pharisees and Sadducees. Same with Paul--he approached Lydia and the women at
the riverside, differently than the false apostles (like in 2Corinthians). So
it should be with us. Humility is before God, not hesitance before man. And our
battle should come from loving God and His Word above all things, and then out
of love for the souls of men. I hope that makes sense.
Preaching A False Gospel
Any preacher who rejects God's law, who denies repentance to be a condition of salvation, who assures the giddy and godless that they are loved by God, who declares that saving faith is nothing more than an act of the will which every person has the power to perform is a false prophet and should be shunned as a deadly plague.
~AW Pink
~AW Pink
The American Church
The notion to detach error from those who espouse it, and to grant 'grace' (re-defined) to those who publicly shame the testimony of Christ and the unified body in truth, is a disservice to the body of Christ. As publicly as such men are commended, is as publicly as they should be refuted. It is not the way of the prophets to disconnect men from their errors, nor was it the way of John the Baptist, Paul, the apostles, nor the way of the Blessed Lord Jesus. Hymaneus and Alexander the coppersmith are in the eternal writ, the Pharisees were not spared, neither were Jannes and Jambres.
The so-named church of Americanism has erred greatly in one respect. She has rebuked the discerning and coddled the hirelings, all because she would rather preserve her 'ministry' than to protect the blessed name of Jesus Christ. This disposition is a mark of arrogance, apostasy and anarchy; not vitality, unity and humility. Graciousness shall never trump discernment. If it does, it is not graciousness, but selfishness. True shepherds warn the sheep, often against the mood of the mob and the mob's complacency. Did not God detach us from our sin or give us a new nature? Or did he merely coddle us in our sin and proclaim that we are fundamentally 'good', just flawed in certain areas? Jerusalem stoned her faithful men, gathered to herself false shepherds and loved it so. America shuns them, promotes the false prophets, and grants them celebrity sainthood. We shall render an account...
~The Biblical Christ Institute
The so-named church of Americanism has erred greatly in one respect. She has rebuked the discerning and coddled the hirelings, all because she would rather preserve her 'ministry' than to protect the blessed name of Jesus Christ. This disposition is a mark of arrogance, apostasy and anarchy; not vitality, unity and humility. Graciousness shall never trump discernment. If it does, it is not graciousness, but selfishness. True shepherds warn the sheep, often against the mood of the mob and the mob's complacency. Did not God detach us from our sin or give us a new nature? Or did he merely coddle us in our sin and proclaim that we are fundamentally 'good', just flawed in certain areas? Jerusalem stoned her faithful men, gathered to herself false shepherds and loved it so. America shuns them, promotes the false prophets, and grants them celebrity sainthood. We shall render an account...
~The Biblical Christ Institute
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Mimics Aren't The Real Thing
Just because a teacher mimics truth doesn't mean he or she is of the truth. Many can pretend for a while---sneaking in as they "agree" with sound doctrine. But eventually God will reveal them. He must.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Consorting With the Enemy
To have fellowship with men who deny the truth is to deny the truth by implying that the truth does not matter.
~MLJ
~MLJ
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Watchman On The Wall
This speaks my heart so well.
The Watchman
by Scottish pastor, Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)
Thy way, not mine, O Lord, however dark it be;
Lead me by Thine own hand, choose out the path for me.
“…if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’ … I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me.” Ezekiel 33:6-7
“Some one, then, must undertake the ungracious task of probing and laying bare the evils of the age; for men must not be allowed to congratulate themselves that all is well. If others will not, he will.
If others shrink from the obloquy of such a work, he will not…. He loves his fellow-men too well. They may upbraid him; they may call him a misanthropist, or a prophet of evil; they may ascribe his warnings to the worst of motives, such as pride, or arrogance, or self-esteem, or malice, or envy; but he will give no heed to these unjust insinuations.
He will prefer being thus misunderstood and maligned, to allowing men to precipitate themselves upon a ruin which they see not. Rather than that they should perish, he will allow his own good name to be spoken against. He will risk every thing, even the hatred of brethren, rather than withhold the warning. If they give no heed to it, he has, at least, saved his own soul. If they do, he has saved both his own soul and theirs.
He would rather take up the glad tidings of peace, and tell men of Him who came the first time for shame and death, and who is coming the second time for glory and dominion; but he feels as one who has a special and personal message to deliver, which cannot be postponed.
He must remember that he is a watchman; and, having seen danger pressing on, he must not hesitate to make it known. He must speak his message of forewarning and rebuke, sparing no arrows, and neither smoothing down nor hiding any form of sin, but laying his finger upon every sore, and beseeching men to turn from their ungodliness. The evils around him press upon him sadly; the coming evils are foreshadowed upon his spirit, and, therefore, he lifts up his voice like a trumpet.
Satan has many snares which need to be detected; the world has many spells and lures which must be disenchanted; religion has many guises which must be unmasked, many devious paths of inconsistency which must be pointed out, many cherished errors which must be condemned, many carnal taints which must be abhorred and shunned. All these he must protest against without fear or favour.”
Posted by Lighthouse Trails Research.
The Watchman
by Scottish pastor, Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)
Thy way, not mine, O Lord, however dark it be;
Lead me by Thine own hand, choose out the path for me.
“…if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’ … I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me.” Ezekiel 33:6-7
“Some one, then, must undertake the ungracious task of probing and laying bare the evils of the age; for men must not be allowed to congratulate themselves that all is well. If others will not, he will.
If others shrink from the obloquy of such a work, he will not…. He loves his fellow-men too well. They may upbraid him; they may call him a misanthropist, or a prophet of evil; they may ascribe his warnings to the worst of motives, such as pride, or arrogance, or self-esteem, or malice, or envy; but he will give no heed to these unjust insinuations.
He will prefer being thus misunderstood and maligned, to allowing men to precipitate themselves upon a ruin which they see not. Rather than that they should perish, he will allow his own good name to be spoken against. He will risk every thing, even the hatred of brethren, rather than withhold the warning. If they give no heed to it, he has, at least, saved his own soul. If they do, he has saved both his own soul and theirs.
He would rather take up the glad tidings of peace, and tell men of Him who came the first time for shame and death, and who is coming the second time for glory and dominion; but he feels as one who has a special and personal message to deliver, which cannot be postponed.
He must remember that he is a watchman; and, having seen danger pressing on, he must not hesitate to make it known. He must speak his message of forewarning and rebuke, sparing no arrows, and neither smoothing down nor hiding any form of sin, but laying his finger upon every sore, and beseeching men to turn from their ungodliness. The evils around him press upon him sadly; the coming evils are foreshadowed upon his spirit, and, therefore, he lifts up his voice like a trumpet.
Satan has many snares which need to be detected; the world has many spells and lures which must be disenchanted; religion has many guises which must be unmasked, many devious paths of inconsistency which must be pointed out, many cherished errors which must be condemned, many carnal taints which must be abhorred and shunned. All these he must protest against without fear or favour.”
Posted by Lighthouse Trails Research.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Being Told You're Too Negative
"When others say or suggest that perhaps my outlook on life or my comments and links are "too negative", I remind myself that "being positive" in their minds...is being blissfully silent and/or at peace while this nation, its' seminaries, churches and schools and the people in them are being systematically spiritually dismembered limb from limb. I won't put a happy face on carnage, I am to resist evil, not embrace it." ~ Don Mitroff
Well said!
Well said!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Real Discernment (and Spiritual Maturity)
"Real discernment is not an attack to cause disunity. It is a ministry to remove pretenders from the flock who are causing harm to it, which is, of course, the real crime of causing disunity. We simply warn and tell the truth. It is God who opens hearts and speaks the truth to them." - Mike Ratliff
Friday, November 19, 2010
The Ties That Bind: Kimball Likes "Discerning" Men Who Endorse His Emergent Book
In his slam against discernment websites and ministries and Christians, Dan Kimball said:
"There are trusted ministries like a Walter Martin. Or like Greg Koukl and Stand To Reason whom I frequently go on their web site and trust Greg. Or like a Josh McDowell or Lee Strobel. These are leaders and apologists you can trust as they have shown over time they do their homework and aren't judging by mere appearance."
There's a vested interest in why he drops their names. As Lighthouse Trails Research reports:Quote:
Josh McDowell tells readers “it would be foolish” to not carefully study Kimball’s book. Gregory Koukl of Stand to Reason (an apologetics ministry) also endorses the book:
With insight, gentleness, and an unswerving commitment to the wisdom of the past, Dan Kimball shows us what we don’t want to see but must see if we care about the Great Commission in the twenty-first century.
McDowell’s and Koukl’s endorsements are nestled between staunch emerging church/New Thought promoters: Leonard Sweet, Tony Jones, Mark Oestreicher (Youth Specialties) and several others. One example of Kimball’s poor biblical theology is in his chapter titled: “The Church Arrogantly Claims All Other Religions are Wrong.”
End quote.
Greg Koukl denies the sufficiency of Scripture, even accusing it of having uninspired text. Go here and here to see this.
McDowell ripped David Wood and the Acts 17 group for doing evangelism wrong at the Arabic Festival this year in Dearborn Michigan, and were then arrested. Rather, McDowell commented on how he had no problem with any of the Muslims. And he had video to prove it----he was giving away his books and didn't proclaim the Gospel of Jesus boldly showing them they were offending the Triune God of Scripture.
Lee Strobel, author of "The Case For Christ" and considered an apologist. He joined Saddleback Community Church (Ricky Warren's pad) in 2000-2002 after being a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community church in the late 1980's- 2000. He quite WCC in 2002 to "focus on writing" (but he was writing the whole time he was at two different churches) and there's no indication if he's at a church. His son Kyle is now Emergent.
Its interesting that Kimball rejects those Christians with discernment and embraces others that have none, save for Walter Martin (who, ironically spoke out against the liberalism Kimball promotes; Martin did a whole study on seminaries and how they all eventually went liberal--Kimball is attached to the Quaker George Fox University and Wesley Seminary).
"The preachers of false doctrine dislike nothing more than the premature detection of their doings. Only give them time enough to prepare men's minds for the reception of their 'new views,' and they are confident of success. They have had too much time already, and any who refuse to speak out now must be held to be 'partakers of their evil deeds.' - Spureon on The Downgrade Contraversy
Thursday, November 04, 2010
False Teachers Hate Premature Detction As Do Their Followers
"The preachers of false doctrine dislike nothing more than the premature detection of their doings. Only give them time enough to prepare men's minds for the reception of their 'new views,' and they are confident of success. They have had too much time already, and any who refuse to speak out now must be held to be 'pa...rtakers of their evil deeds.' - Spureon on The Downgrade Contraversy
Friday, July 30, 2010
Apostate Terrorists: do they terrorize your or your church into silence?
Thanks to Apprising Ministries for John MacArthur's excerpt from Jude. Its been a while since I heard this and thought it was even more appropriate now than ever before. Here's a portion:
"Now Jude t hen writes this epistle to serve as a warning and to give for us a portrait of these apostate terrorists. These are people who have been exposed to the faith, exposed to the truth, who have defected from the truth, who have denied the truth, who have rejected the truth. But who have kept the name Christian, kept some identification with the person of Jesus and with God and therefore remaining within the framework of Christendom have become subtle, hidden deceivers. And unless the church has acute powers of discernment, unless the church is willing to pay the price of exposure, unless the church can get over its sappy sentimentalism about not wanting to say anything that offends anybody, it’s going to allow itself to be devastated by these imbedded satanic Al Qaeda." ~MacArthur
"Now Jude t hen writes this epistle to serve as a warning and to give for us a portrait of these apostate terrorists. These are people who have been exposed to the faith, exposed to the truth, who have defected from the truth, who have denied the truth, who have rejected the truth. But who have kept the name Christian, kept some identification with the person of Jesus and with God and therefore remaining within the framework of Christendom have become subtle, hidden deceivers. And unless the church has acute powers of discernment, unless the church is willing to pay the price of exposure, unless the church can get over its sappy sentimentalism about not wanting to say anything that offends anybody, it’s going to allow itself to be devastated by these imbedded satanic Al Qaeda." ~MacArthur
Friday, May 28, 2010
"Evangelicalism", MacArthur, Spurgeon and Piper
2Pe 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
I was finishing John MacArthur's updated "Ashamed of the Gospel" book and he said something that is very applicable to Piper's defiant endorsement of Rick Warren, Doug Wilson, Paul Tripp, and Driscoll. MacArthur says what many of us have observed ourselves.
Here's what MacArthur says in his book (remember this was before Piper came out defiantly promoting Rick Warren):
"..that liberals arose from within evangelical ranks, used evangelical vocabulary, and gained acceptance through relentless appeals for peace and tolerance. The new modernism is following precisely the same course, and that tactice seems likely to take evangelicals by surprise once again.
Most of the market-driven megachurches insist they would never compromise doctrine. They are attractive to evangelicals precisely became they claim to be as orthodox in their doctrine as they are unorthodox in their methodology. Multitudes are sufficiently reassured by such promises and simply abandon their critical faculties, thus increasing their vulnerability. Unfortunately, real discernment is in short supply among modern evangelicals.
– John MacArthur, Ashamed of the Gospel, p. 200
This is absolutely true and what I've been saying about Piper and the Warren/Piper/Driscoll defenders. Maybe hearing MacArthur say it, they'll actually consider it this time.
"You may believe anything, everything, or nothing, and yet be enrolled in the "Evangelical" army—so they say. Will there arise no honest, out-spoken evangelicals among Dissenters to expose and repudiate this latitudinarianism? Are all the watchmen asleep? Are all the churches indifferent?" - Spurgeon
Spurgeon said:
"We would like to agree with one who says that the bulk of our church-members love the old gospel; but we are not quite sure of it. If there were so general a soundness in the rank and file, would they quietly endure the abounding errors of the pulpits, and the babyish amusements with which congregations are being drenched? We fear the plague is among the people as well as among the priests. Yet, surely, there must be some who will fling aside the dastard love of peace, and speak out for our Lord, and for his truth. A craven spirit is upon many, and their tongues are paralyzed. Oh, for an outburst of true faith and holy zeal!"
Act 20:29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.
I was finishing John MacArthur's updated "Ashamed of the Gospel" book and he said something that is very applicable to Piper's defiant endorsement of Rick Warren, Doug Wilson, Paul Tripp, and Driscoll. MacArthur says what many of us have observed ourselves.
Here's what MacArthur says in his book (remember this was before Piper came out defiantly promoting Rick Warren):
"..that liberals arose from within evangelical ranks, used evangelical vocabulary, and gained acceptance through relentless appeals for peace and tolerance. The new modernism is following precisely the same course, and that tactice seems likely to take evangelicals by surprise once again.
Most of the market-driven megachurches insist they would never compromise doctrine. They are attractive to evangelicals precisely became they claim to be as orthodox in their doctrine as they are unorthodox in their methodology. Multitudes are sufficiently reassured by such promises and simply abandon their critical faculties, thus increasing their vulnerability. Unfortunately, real discernment is in short supply among modern evangelicals.
– John MacArthur, Ashamed of the Gospel, p. 200
This is absolutely true and what I've been saying about Piper and the Warren/Piper/Driscoll defenders. Maybe hearing MacArthur say it, they'll actually consider it this time.
"You may believe anything, everything, or nothing, and yet be enrolled in the "Evangelical" army—so they say. Will there arise no honest, out-spoken evangelicals among Dissenters to expose and repudiate this latitudinarianism? Are all the watchmen asleep? Are all the churches indifferent?" - Spurgeon
Spurgeon said:
"We would like to agree with one who says that the bulk of our church-members love the old gospel; but we are not quite sure of it. If there were so general a soundness in the rank and file, would they quietly endure the abounding errors of the pulpits, and the babyish amusements with which congregations are being drenched? We fear the plague is among the people as well as among the priests. Yet, surely, there must be some who will fling aside the dastard love of peace, and speak out for our Lord, and for his truth. A craven spirit is upon many, and their tongues are paralyzed. Oh, for an outburst of true faith and holy zeal!"
Act 20:29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.
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