Cripplegate's Clint Archer's Cliff Note Doctrinal Triage of Christology

Doing what God Himself didn't do: Christology in under 500 words.

Clint Archer wrote a woeful Cliff Note doctrinal triage of Christ Jesus--in 500 words. By using a self-inflicted constrain which God Himself never uses (for good reason), Archer not only omits a huge part of who Christ is--Creator--- but other doctrine ** like the impeccability of Christ (it wasn't that He just didn't sin, but that in His very unchanging nature--He couldn't sin (see Phil. 2 for an example--the Greek clarifies this very well)). Jesse Johnson (formally a "pastor" at MacArthur's church, now in Virginia) retweeted Archer's short list in a positive light. 

Under "The Person of Christ" Archer wrote: "He is fully God (i.e. uncreated and eternally one with the Father and the Spirit; see Col. 2:9 and Heb. 1:3, " but both references are  missing the issue which is Christ introduced as Creator:

Col 1:15  And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. 
Col 1:16  For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created by Him and for Him. 
Col 1:17  And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 
Col 1:18  He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. 
Col 1:19  For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him, 

Heb 1:2  in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 
Heb 1:3  And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Heb 11:1  Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 
Heb 11:2  For by it the men of old gained approval. 

Heb 11:3  By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. 

But if the sound doctrine of Creation in six literal days by God's Word is just a matter of personal preference, then one will necessarily neglect this aspect of who the Christ Jesus the Lord truly is. Moreover, it will divorce also the "Christian" from sanctification and ecclesiology (among other doctrines--see Col. 1 above), since God Himself binds them together. Unless of course men at the Cripplegate think sanctification isn't necessarily necessary (also known as "easy believism").

This is why chopping up Scripture, that is to say, taking it out of context in an attempt to proof-text one's notion that there is a bare minimum (say, under 500 words), is not only daring to sit in judgment of God's Word and forcing it into a false grid of varying degrees of  importance and lesser importance, but it's nothing more than taking not only verses, but doctrine, out of context. Isolating down to "bare bones" isn't what Scripture teaches. Surely that isn't what Jesus ever taught in His three years of earthly ministry, culminating in His command in Matt. 28:19-20. If ever there was a place and time for "bare minimum" teaching, wouldn't it have been just before He ascended to Heaven? Yet He reiterated that the apostles and disciples are to teach ALL that He commanded. 

One example of Paul teaching the context of who Christ is and His gospel is in Acts 16:

Act 16:30  and after he brought them out, he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 
Act 16:31  And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household." 
Act 16:32  And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. 

Paul teaches Christology, the Gospel, and regeneration from Genesis 1:

2Co 4:2  but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 
2Co 4:3  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 
2Co 4:4  in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 
2Co 4:5  For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake. 
2Co 4:6  For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 

Gen 1:1  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth....3  Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 

Stay away from men who think themselves as shepherds but tamper with sound doctrine.

Act 20:26  "Therefore I testify to you this day, that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 
Act 20:27  "For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. 
Act 20:28  "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 
Act 20:29  "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 

Act 20:30  and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 

**Other doctrines that the sound doctrine of Creation is inseparably bound to:

Go here, here, and here.

Conversion and Convincing: by God and Scripture or a theologian?

If one man can convert you, another man can unconvert you. God's power is needed; no minister can give us faith. - Spurgeon

Exactly why you also can't hold to a doctrine b/c some theologian taught it--another will come along and unconvince you, proving your new-found view was NOT based on unmovable, absolute Truth & thus NOT a conviction of Truth from the Holy Spirit & Scripture.

Teachers In Boston Suburb Emails Prove Bias In History Class And A Call To Defy Unbiased Teaching of History

Ilya Feoktistov over at The Federalist breaks a HUGE story about the utter bias of history teachers at a Newton, MA high school.  You can see their self-contradiction (they want to propagandize their students, while demanding that offering other views would allow for the propaganda they hate). The mentality of these teachers not only shows a very liberal bias, but shows insubordination to the principal (the guidelines required by all teachers) and the school district. You really need to read this article. Here are some excerpts:

Quote:

The guidelines asked teachers to remain objective while teaching about historical and current events; and to treat all students, regardless of political opinion, with respect. Teachers were told: “For current controversial issues (health care, immigration, environmental policies, gun laws), teach students that there are different perspectives and present the reasoning of those who hold those different perspectives.”

Ibokette was having none of it. He typed this reply: “I am concerned that the call for ‘objectivity’ may just inadvertently become the most effective destructive weapon against social justice,” and sent it to the members of Newton North’s history department....

Earlier that February day, Bedar sent an email to fellow Newton North history faculty, accusing President Trump and his supporters of “nativism, xenophobia, homophobia, etc.,” and objecting to the following “don’ts” that the Newton North principal had asked teachers to avoid:

• “Assume that all students agree with us. . . .”
• “Assume that all students feel comfortable disagreeing with us. . . .”
• “Present facts or logic that support only one side of a current controversial issue. . . .”
• “Present our own personal opinion on a current controversial issue as more right than another viewpoint. . . .”

These guidelines seem like Pedagogy 101, and are foundational to correctly applying logic and reason. Yet Bedar, who holds a master’s in teaching from the prestigious Duke University, admitted to his colleagues:

Personally, I’m finding it really difficult in the current climate to teach kids to appreciate other perspectives. . . 

....Newton North guidelines explicitly tell teachers to teach about the reasoning behind different perspectives on immigration.

Yet, in remarkable language, Bedar demanded that the school allow him to propagandize against it, and to do so without any professional consequences: “I have an obligation to teach civic duty and teach kids right and wrong, and about social justice. . . . This will probably be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t actually think we should have the option of not discussing [social justice] issues. I feel responsible for doing so. . . . We can help kids interpret the lessons of the past better than anybody. I feel like a phony when I’m not doing that. . . . But..this is hard. I don’t want to get fired for being a liberal propagandist” (emphasis added).

End quote. (bold, red, my emphasis; italics, original)

Feoktisov shares the link to the emails here.

Feoktistov goes on to talk about how their efforts reminded him of 5th grade history class in Siberia a year after the USSR fell, and the teacher one day said there was nothing more to teach because all the textbooks were useless since they were full of  Communist Party lies. He then noted:

"Undaunted by the failures of their comrades in the Soviet Union and other socialist hell-holes, left-wing activists are dug in at all stages of the American educational process from preschool to graduate school, where they seek to replicate the Soviet Union’s abuse of its children’s minds with lurid lies." (orange, links, original)

Please go here to read the whole article.

The Real Collusion Is By the Liberals: here is their four pronged attack

The liberals are calling for a four pronged coordinated attacks against President Trump, by attacking his supporters and administration. Here's the real and lasted three-pronged collusion and it's fascist by those who used to claim to be tolerant and open-minded.

Attack #1: by Maxine Waters, congresswoman

"Waters said, “I have no sympathy for these people that are in this administration who know it’s wrong for what they’re doing on so many fronts. They tend to not want to confront this president or even leave, but they know what they’re doing is wrong. I want to tell you, these members of his cabinet who remain and try to defend him, they won’t be able to go to a restaurant, they won’t be able to stop at a gas station, they’re not going to be able to shop at a department store. The people are going to turn on them. They’re going to protest. They’re absolutely going to harass them until they decide that they’re going to tell the president, ‘No, I can’t hang with you.’ This is wrong. This is unconscionable. We can’t keep doing this to children.” - Breitbart

Attack #2: by the media:

"The Boston Globe‘s effort calls on participating editorial boards to coordinate criticisms of Trump’s critiques of news media outlets. Approximately 70 publications have committed to the effort so far." - Breitbart

Attack #3:  by academia

"A professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government is calling for universities not to honor or hire Trump administration officials, essentially blacklisting them from opportunities to engage with the academic community.

Dani Rodrik, a professor of international political economy at the Kennedy School, wrotein an op-ed for the Boston Globe Monday that Trump administration officials should not even receive “a semblance of honor or recognition” from universities."~Breitbart

Attack #4 - by high school teachers

"Shortly after President Trump’s inauguration, a group of public school history teachers in the posh Boston suburb of Newton pledged to reject the “call for objectivity” in the classroom, bully conservative students for their beliefs, and serve as “liberal propagandist[s]” for the cause of social justice...." - The Federalist

Black Conservatives: smart, self-thinkers, bold

Walter Williams and Thomas Sowell also have PhD's. Williams was head of the economics department at George Mason University for several years. Both of these men have discussed how they grew up quite poor.  

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dr. Walter E. Williams holds a B.A. in economics from California State University, Los Angeles, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in economics from UCLA. He also holds a Doctor of Humane Letters from Virginia Union University and Grove City College, Doctor of Laws from Washington and Jefferson College and Doctor Honoris Causa en Ciencias Sociales from Universidad Francisco Marroquin, in Guatemala, where he is also Professor Honorario.

Dr. Williams has served on the faculty of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, as John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics, since 1980; from 1995 to 2001, he served as department chairman. He has also served on the faculties of Los Angeles City College, California State University Los Angeles, and Temple University in Philadelphia, and Grove City College, Grove City, Pa.

Dr. Williams is the author of over 150 publications which have appeared in scholarly journals such as Economic Inquiry, American Economic Review, Georgia Law Review, Journal of Labor Economics, Social Science Quarterly, and Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy and popular publications such as Newsweek, Ideas on Liberty, National Review, Reader's Digest, Cato Journal, and Policy Review....

~Walter Williams' website (go there for the entire bio)

Thomas Sowell was born in North Carolina and grew up in Harlem. As with many others in his neighborhood, Thomas Sowell left home early and did not finish high school. The next few years were difficult ones, but eventually he joined the Marine Corps and became a photographer in the Korean War. After leaving the service, Thomas Sowell entered Harvard University, worked a part-time job as a photographer and studied the science that would become his passion and profession: economics.

After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard University (1958), Thomas Sowell went on to receive his master's in economics from Columbia University (1959) and a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago (1968).

In the early '60s, Sowell held jobs as an economist with the Department of Labor and AT&T. But his real interest was in teaching and scholarship. In 1965, at Cornell University, Sowell began the first of many professorships. Thomas Sowell's other teaching assignments include Rutgers University, Amherst College, Brandeis University and the University of California at Los Angeles, where he taught in the early '70s and also from 1984 to 1989.

~Townhall

Political or Religions, Academics Are Ignoramuses In Real Life

This is the same spirit of the Pharisees that live in Evangelicalism today. That's why a liberal is a liberal no matter where you find them, whether it be in the political arena or the religious one.

"It would never occur to people with academic degrees and professorships that they are both ignorant and incompetent in vast areas of human life, much less that they should keep that in mind before they vent their emotions and wax self-righteous." 

- Thomas Sowell

Fake Cross, Fake Gospel of Ron Burns (aka Thabiti Anyabwile)

Thabiti Anyabwile‏ @ThabitiAnyabwil

Some mothers who have grieved the loss of children and become advocates: Samaria Rice (Tamir) Heather Bro (Heather Heyer) Lezley McSpadden (Mike Brown) Sybrina Fulton (Trayvon Martin) There are more who’ve turned grief and tragedy into redemptive action. Isn’t that the cross?

5:23 AM - 12 Aug 2018

Um, NO. Not even close.

After getting deserved criticism (after all there is no context to Tweets, BY NATURE), he tried to cover his error:

11h11 hours ago

More

Sigh. Tweeted the above and went to church. Having a wonderful Lord’s Day only to return to find folks doing more with the tweet than I ever thought or imagined. My only point, poorly stated in tweet-length, is that the logic of tragedy turned triumph is the logic of the cross.

Today's Evangelical Leaders Vs. God's Word

The teaching of Christ Jesus, through the apostle Peter on holy conduct and godliness---and the opposition to both by false teachers who pervert, manipulate, and twist Scripture in order to bring in their destructive heresies, seducing people to keep sinning:

1Pe 1:13  Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1Pe 1:14  As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,
1Pe 1:15  but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;
1Pe 1:16  because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."
1Pe 1:17  If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth;

2Pe 1:3  seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
2Pe 1:4  For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
2Pe 1:5  Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,
2Pe 1:6  and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,

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

2Pe 3:2  that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.
2Pe 3:3  Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 
2Pe 3:4  and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation."
2Pe 3:5  For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water,
2Pe 3:6  through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.

2Pe 3:11  Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 

2Pe 3:16  as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. 
2Pe 3:17  You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness,
2Pe 3:18  but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.


I was thinking this morning of how today's unprincipled leaders do this (2 Peter 2-3) by claiming God's Word isn't precise, absolute, or clear. These are true Pharisees who have set up a low standard to replace God's holy and precise one and think that if they refrain from a behavior, then they are righteous. This is works justification, --the very heart of Phariseeism. They appeal to the sensuality and sin of their audience, telling them "peace, peace" when there is none for either their listeners or themselves---indeed they are still at war with God. They are now telling Evangelicals you can be a homosexual Christian. But Jesus said, as did His apostles, that the desires and thoughts of one's heart is what makes a man unclean and holy. That is to say, it's the heart that is desperately wicked (Jeremiah said this), and thus the actions that flow out of that heart, including the thoughts, are sinful.

Mat 5:17  "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
Mat 5:18  "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Mat 5:27  "You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY';
Mat 5:28  but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Mar 7:20  And He was saying, "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.
Mar 7:21  "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
Mar 7:22  deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.
Mar 7:23  "All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man."

As the Pharisees of old, today's Evangelical leaders remove the absolute authority and precision of God's Word and offer a lower standard by which they can deem themselves and others who are attached to their conscience, as righteous, holy, and saved.  Why? Because the precision of God's Word cuts sharper than any two edged sword and judges them guilty before the One they dare call "Father", but Who Judges righteously:

Heb 4:12  For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 
Heb 4:13  And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. 

1Pe 1:15  but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 
1Pe 1:16  because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."
1Pe 1:17  If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth;

Liberal Privilege

Hillsong Songwriter: "songs are like poo"

THIS is why it MATTERS who writes "worship" songs. At least the heretics admit it---Evangelicals don't.

From the "Christian" Post:

"Songs are like poo," Ligertwood told Vous Church Pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr. after he praised her famous worship song "Hosanna" and asked where the ideas for her worship song come from.

"Whatever you feed yourself, is what's going to come out. You could say life is like that," she described. "Scripture is the answer to that. I love to read, I love the Bible, I have a bad back because of it."

Ligertwood explained that meditating and chewing on Scripture is what keeps her focused on the right lyrics to put together.

Adding, "Songs are not only like poo, but songs are almost like the ground that's fertilized by the manure of life."

End quote.

Her pastor went on to say:

"We do put more effort into the theology of our songs than we ever have before for that very reason (of being able to reach into the hearts of people around the world)," he said. "So we have people specifically who, every single song has to fit through a system of being tested by theologians." - Heretic Brian Houston of Hillsong church.

For info on WOF Houston and his church empire-movement go here , here, and here (I can't endorse all the links there, however it gives info for further research). False teacher and former "pastor" Christine Caine (now gone solo) has been joined with Beth Moore (selfies anyone?) and John Piper at conferences.

Socialism & Responsibility

“You cannot subsidize irresponsibility and expect people to become more responsible.”
- Thomas Sowell

This is why Scripture teaches against socialism. God demands man be responsible for himself and said if you aren't willing to work, you don't get to eat. Man is to work with his own hands so he can provide for his family and the needy (true needy) especially in the local church.

The Evangelical Machine Is Increasingly Run By Marxists And Marxism Is No Friend To Biblical Christianity

The Evangelical Machine is increasingly socialist (social justice warriors, pro-LBGTQ, anti-Trump/Pence, pro-Black Liberation Theology) (SBC, TGC, T4G, PCA) & socialism hates biblical Xianity. Where do you think these Evangelicals are headed? They want to shut down biblical Xians & their churches b/c they want to shut down the Bible & It's Author, like the Pharisees.

Al Mohler & Marxism  via Mandela who was a Marxist.

Al Mohler was influenced by Alasdair  McIntyre a Marxist, in college, as was RodDrehre, the author of “The Benedict Option” whom Mohler promotes.
“I was assigned Alasdair MacIntyre’sAfter Virtue when I was a graduate student, and I think it’s probably one of the two

or three books to which I return most often.”

Tim Keller
“In college he was‘heavily influenced by the neo-Marxist critical theory of the Frankfurt

School’. He writes: ‘In 1968, this was heady stuff. The social activism was particularly attractive, and the critique of American bourgeoisie society was compelling…’[3] He admits that he ‘was emotionally’ drawn to the social activism of the neo-Marxists. ‘How could I turn back to the kind of orthodox Christianity that supported segregation in the South and apartheid in South Africa?’ [4]”

“In response to the question: Is God on the Side of the Poor? He writes: ‘This

emphasis in theBible has led some, like Latin American theologian Gustavo

Gutierrez, to speak of God’s ‘preferential option for the poor.’[13] But Keller

does not tell his readers that Gutierrez is a Dominican priest, who is regarded

as the father of Liberation Theology.”

~"Keller's Political Motivation" by ES Williams

Rick Warren uses Marxism in his Hegelian Dialectic argumentation and promotion of socialism.

In Acts we see the persecution of real Xians. It was first by the religious establishment--the one that used the current Roman government to try & silence Christ Jesus the Lord. That's what we're about to see w/ today's Marxist Evangelical establishment (Evangelical Mafia) unleashed.

First it started with mocking when they heard the Gospel and the deeds of God through men who spoke in their languages without having learned their languages: Act 2:12 And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" Act 2:13 But others were mocking and saying, "They are full of sweet wine."

Then it increased to being disturbed and jailing them:

Act 4:1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees, came upon them, Act 4:2 being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. Act 4:3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening.

The religious leaders followed up their trial of Peter and John by restricting their speech and then threats (notice that at this point they feared the people so they restricted themselves--for a time):

Act 4:17  "But in order that it may not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to any man in this name." 

Act 4:18  And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 

Act 4:19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; Act 4:20 for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard." Act 4:21 And when they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which they might punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened;

Then came the beatings: 

Act 5:40 And they took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them to speak no more in the name of Jesus, and then released them. Act 5:41 So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.

Following that, when Stephen evangelized we see an increase of persecution including the religious experts trying to argue with him, the stirring up the crowds and finding men willing to be false witnesses and then the murder of Stephen in Acts 6-7.

Marxism is opposed to biblical Truth. It is godless, idolizes the government and is corrupt. It's leaders have oppressed, starved and murdered millions of people over the years. While promising equality and justice, it is anything but.

A Biblical Christian Sees The Hand Of Our Sovereign God In All Things

“Take the case of Job. When loss after loss came his way what did he do? Bemoan his "bad luck"? Curse the robbers? Murmur against God? No; he bowed before Him in worship. Ah! dear reader, there is no real rest for your poor heart until you learn to see the hand of God in everything. But for that, faith must be in constant exercise. And what is faith? A blind credulity? A fatalistic acquiescence? No, far from it. Faith is a resting on the sure Word of the living God, and therefore says "We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28); and therefore faith will give thanks "always for all things." Operative faith will "Rejoice in the Lord alway" (Phil. 4:4).

~ Arthur Pink 1918

Today's Celebrity Evangelical Leaders Are False Teachers: here's why

2Pe 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

What did they teach falsely about and thus proved to deny the lordship of the Lord they claimed?

Genesis: Noah, the Flood, the establishment of the rainbow's righteous sign, the sexual deviancy of Sodom, Gormorrah and the surrounding cities.

Their Evangelical progeny today don't respond the way righteous Lot did, to such unnatural desires (corrupt DESIRES of the flesh" as v. 10 states) of sodomy:

2Pe 2:7 and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men

2Pe 2:8 (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day with their lawless deeds),

Today they not only tolerate sodomy, they redefine it's sinfulness as a sin "common to man", which it isn't. They aren't tortured in their souls because of the heinous wicked desires and it's behavior.

2Pe 2:9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,

2Pe 2:10 and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt DESIRES and DESPISE authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties,

Such heresies as tolerance and redefining of the desires of sodomy which God says is unnatural and corrupt; denial of the sound doctrine of Creation, Total Depravity, the Flood, the Fall, the historicity of Genesis, are evident in their fruit: immorality, impurity, sensuality, enmity, strife, jealous, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, and factions (Gal. 5:19-20). Notice, too that Peter and Paul shows the distinction between the godly and the righteous versus the ungodly and the unprincipled. There's no gray area here, no multiple qualifications, no appeal to motives of love and social justice. To see what they are doing, go here, here, here, and here.

Humility

photo source

Spiritual Love: it's not what you think

"Harvard University exemplifies everything that is wrong with the American educational system"

Shiva Ayyadurai nails Harvard. Here are some excellent excerpts:

Quote:

However, today, the same people who control education at Harvard also dominate Wall Street, write the nation’s laws, and operate global behemoths like Monsanto. They are a singular cohesive community who funnel vast sums of money to themselves, draft self-serving policies, control judicial appointments, own the media, grant taxpayer monies to non-profits, while creating monopolies from tax cuts, bailouts and venture funding.

They do all this and work with intelligence agencies that illegally surveillance innocent Americans. To add insult to injury, Harvard faculty generate propaganda -- academic, “peer-reviewed” papers --- that claim their method of running the world is the best, while trampling our political and free speech rights.

In short, Harvard is the alpha and omega of the Military-Industrial-Academic Complex -- the “Deep State,” a term we often hear these days. Almost every problem in the world -- be it corruption, an economic crash, mass poverty, or a civil strife -- can be traced back to “experts” at Harvard.

Meanwhile, Harvard faculty preach, with a neo-messianic attitude, that they are the saviors of the poor and oppressed. They purport to know the plight of African-Americans by supporting affirmative action, but their faculty roster, especially Warren’s Harvard Law School, reflects apartheid within. Harvard professors, who write our laws, want to tax us, but Harvard is tax-exempt.

Harvard professors rant against Wall Street and the power of big banks, but Harvard is a $40 billion Wall Street hedge fund with a “university” facade, which uses a relatively meager $2 billion to fund its educational activities. Harvard professors lament against gentrification, but Harvard has invaded and destroyed the diverse local Cambridge neighborhood taking over prime real estate from the poor. Its greed has no bounds, even spanning continents to displace black farmers in Africa and grabbing their lands.

End quote.

Go here for the full article. While he is running for Senate, I don't endorse him since I don't know him. But what he says about academia is right on the money(although he misses the spiritual aspect which is driving all we see coming from academia).

Actor James Woods Is Right, Rachel Held Evans Isn't

When the world is more right than an Evangelical feminist liberal.....

Many Will Say "Lord, Lord"

Sunday at church, we went through Matt. 7:21-28. Some things I noticed about this passage:

Mat 7:15  "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Mat 7:18  "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.

Mat 7:21  "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.
Mat 7:22  "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'
Mat 7:23  "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

Notice that these are religious people doing religious works and using the name of Jesus as if He sanctioned them.

These people try to justify themselves before Jesus Christ Himself--to His face, recalling their many deeds done in His name. Notice they have no fear of the Holy One of Israel, even in His presence; no humility before Him either, but an arrogance.

Things I noticed:

They  believe they are entitled, that they've earned their way into HIS kingdom by their own works, and they remind the Self Existent One of them.

They believe using His name sanctified their works. To them His name is like a rabbit's foot, a lucky charm; the thing that will get them approved by the masses and by God Himself. This is taking HIS name in vain.

They recommend themselves to Christ Jesus.

They use the name of Christ because it's lucrative for them, but He did not save nor send them.

Their religious works are sin to Christ because it's not in obedience to Christ, starting with loving God with all their hearts, believing and trusting in Christ and HIS cross work, repenting of their sin.

Rom 5:1  Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.....Rom 5:5  and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

They redefine what is "good". God says what is good is obeying HIM from the heart--doing what He says and doing it IN Him. Religious works aren't good by nature. It's about the foundation, the source by which one does things.

These people are self-justified, not justified by God.

They are lawless because they work on their own terms and standards, not God's.

Rom 10: 3  For not knowing about God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. 4  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. 

Their works aren't good. God gets to define what is good.

Their's is a superficial artifice built on sand which will be utterly destroyed along with them.

They seem to think they did Jesus a favor by doing all their works--miracles even--in His name--with an attitude of "how dare you question us? We did all these things in YOUR name and you stand there judging US?" Think: Pharisees. It's the same spirit, same religious elitism & hypocrisy.

They are arguing with Christ to enter Heaven even though it's HIS kingdom and HIS authority and HIS choice.

They believe that the Perfect, thrice Holy God should accept their lawlessness because it was't really lawlessness--they were "good" works, done in His name, after all. They redefine what is "good" and "bad".

They deny the lordship and kingship of Christ Himself--TO HIS FACE.

The numbers of people/leaders, followers, works, and trials doesn't legitimize these false leaders' ministry. Jesus Himself said they were lawless and their deeds were lawless.

They wanted to reverse the roads--make the narrow road broad, and the broad road narrow. This would allow these "many" into the kingdom. This is against His standard and authority. Jesus is the God of precision. HE alone is the ONLY way, truth, and life--no one can go to the Father except by HIM.

We can know who is of Christ and who isn't. We can by vigorously testing them by the Scriptures through the HOLY Spirit, NOT by appearance (numbers who follow them, years of "service", numbers of books and speaking engagements, numbers of famous men who approve of them, verbiage, seminary degrees, etc.):

Mat 7:15  "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
Mat 7:16  "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they?
Mat 7:17  "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
Mat 7:18  "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.
Mat 7:19  "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Mat 7:20  "So then, you will know them by their fruits.

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Mat 7:5  "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

Discernment is wisdom in judging what is right from what is almost right. It demands going beyond the immediate appearance.