A Journey in Heresy: A Short Review

“(6)  I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel;  (7)  which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.  (8)  But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!  (9)  As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” (Gal 1:6-9)

The book we are looking at in this blog post is as follows:

Title: A Journey in Heresy: A Theological Novel
Author: Richard P. Belcher
Publisher: Richbarry Press, Fort Mill, SC
Year of Publication: 2009
ISBN: 978-1-883265-31-2
Pages: 174

Belcher has written 24 book in his Journey series. Based on the 3 books I have read (A Journey in Grace, A Journey In Sovereignty, and the current book under review), I would recommend others to read these books too.

A Journey in Heresy is a book about a Baptist Theological Seminary where a conspiracy is afoot to replace the current head of the Evangelism department with a more erudite evangelist who brings in thousands of “decisions” a year for Christ. The problem with this scenario is that those who want the new man—Jacob Johnson Maxwell—to take over the evangelism department, want him there purely because he brings in all these “decisions.” Little do they know about this man’s heretical teachings, and it takes three men at the seminary, Ira, Dink and Dr. Sisk, to unmask the teaching of Maxwell. Dink, that is to take the brunt of the conspiracy, is tasked by the president of the seminary, Dr. Sisk, to research Maxwell’s teaching, and so starts a series of teachings on Maxwell’s theology by Dink.

Apostles: Are they around today?

On Google+, some guy who calls himself Apostle John Doe*, added me to his G+ circles. As a result of this I decided to re-publish this blog post that was originally published at my original blog back in November 2005.

* Not his real name ...

Greek – APOSTOLOS (αποστολος)

Rembrandt's "Apostle Paul"

An APOSTOLOS is one who is sent. The word was used in classical Greek as a naval expedition and probably also its commander. In the NT it can also mean 'delegate,' 'envoy,' 'messenger,' especially of God's messengers. The NT uses APOSTOLOS predominantly for the 'apostles,' who were a group of highly honoured believers with a special function in the church.¹

Introduction

Several people are named as 'apostles' in the New Testament. How do they all relate to the office of apostle as specified in Eph. 4:11? Would it be correct to say that there are different levels of 'apostle-ship' (get the pun?), or should we look for a different translation or interpretation for APOSTOLOS where it does not directly fit into being a foundation of Christianity as in Eph. 2:20? There is great division on this matter in the church with some saying that the 5-fold ministry (offices) is still for today, and others who deny that apostles and prophets are valid for today.

Will this writing clarify the issue? Probably not! I have noticed, that no matter how exhaustive or accurate one writes on any topic, there are few people that will even consider changing what they believe on a certain issue. What prevents them from doing so? It is hard to say! Peer pressure (the church exerts a lot of that together with condemnation), longevity of beliefs, etc. Yet, this is not the point! I do not say that I have it right, but I am trying to clarify it for myself.

Tithing and giving

I originally published this study on my first blog called Just Thinking... on 8 October 2006.

Tithing in the Old Testament

“(22)  You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year.  (23)  You shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God, at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.  (24)  If the distance is so great for you that you are not able to bring the tithe, since the place where the LORD your God chooses to set His name is too far away from you when the LORD your God blesses you,  (25)  then you shall exchange it for money, and bind the money in your hand and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses.  (26)  You may spend the money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your heart desires; and there you shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household.  (27)  Also you shall not neglect the Levite who is in your town, for he has no portion or inheritance among you.  (28)  At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall deposit it in your town.  (29)  The Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance among you, and the alien, the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.” (Deu 14:22-29)

Deuteronomy 14:22-29 tells us that every year (v. 22) the tithe was to be taken to the designated place of tithing, and it was to be eaten there by the one who brought it (v. 23). Why did the Israelites have to eat their tithe there? So that they could "learn to fear the LORD your God always." (v. 23). Did you see who this tithe was to be given to? Did they have to give it to the priest? The priest's assistant? The building fund? The televangelist? The temple? Or church? No they had to take the tithe and enjoy it themselves!
The passage explains that if it is too far to take the tithe to the designated place of tithing, you should take your tithe, exchange it for money, and then take it to another place the Lord chooses. Now, see what we are to do with the money we got from our tithes!

"You may spend the money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your heart desires; and there you shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household." (v. 26).

When last have you been taught that if your church was too far, you could take your tithe and spend it on anything you wanted to? Now how do we get the money to the "priest?" That is, if we were ever told to tithe money! I'm just contemporising it.

The Sabbath: Celebrating Christ in the New Covenant

I originally published this study on my first blog called Just Thinking... on 4 September 2006.

In the church today there are multiple views on the issue of the Sabbath. How should the Sabbath be kept, if at all?

Some argue that the Sabbath should be kept in the same way as it was kept in the Old Testament while others argue that it should be kept in the same way, yet that it moved to the first day of the week from the seventh. These call the first day of the week the Lord's Day. There are also others that believe that we should treat each day alike and that there is no day that is more holy than another.

In this article we will attempt to define the relationship of the New Covenant believer to the Sabbath.

We will not concern ourselves with commenting on seventh-day sabbatarians since any comments in this article on sabbatarianism, of whichever form, should be able to be levelled at seventh-day sabbatarians.

The Sabbath Instituted

The Sabbath was instituted at Mt Sinai in the Ten Commandments. God instituted the Sabbath for the Israelites to keep in Ex 20:8-11,

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.  (9)  Six days you shall labor and do all your work,  (10)  but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.  (11)  For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy."

Creating a reading culture in your church

I am not talking here of novels and “The Idiots Guide to Spirituality” type books. Neither am I talking about the typical devotional book either. No, I am talking of solid doctrinal books, good theology. Books that differentiate between what we believe and what the world believes. Books that teach us what Christians truly believe and why they believe it!

Anyway, here is Mark Dever, telling us how to start creating a reading culture in our churches.

Joel Osteen does it again! Mormonism is Christian?

It seems like Joel Osteen doesn’t just regularly put his foot in his mouth, he simply changes feet, all the time! The fact that this heretic has become Christianity’s spokesman at CNN is absolutely appalling!

In his latest blunder, Osteen reckons that “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints adherents do, indeed, fall into the Christian realm. Despite some differences, the pastor claims that he sees Mormons ‘as brothers in Christ.’”
“Some differences?!” Rather, these two religions are completely antithetical to one another!

As a Christian pastor this man has absolutely no discernment, and one wonders what he feeds his sheep every Sunday from the pulpit. Probably weed, cyanide and other lethal concoctions that bring destruction to people instead of life.

To find out a little more about Mormonism and how it differs from Christianity, you can read The FAQs: Are Mormons Christian?


A good book to read would be James R. White's book, Is the Mormon my Brother? Perhaps Osteen should read this!

[VIDEO] Why I love Jesus but reject Islam

Apologist James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries and Christian rapper Ivey Conerly collaborated to make available the following video on Youtube. It is definitely worth watching and listening!

The Elephant Room and Paul’s letter to the Galatians

In light of the latest brouhaha concerning the responses of evangelicals to the inclusion and kid-gloves-treatment of T.D. Jakes’ modalist beliefs concerning the Trinity in Elephant Room 2, here are imaginary responses to that darn letter that Paul the apostle wrote to the Galatians. How dare he?

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear Christianity Today:

In response to Paul D. Apostle’s article about the Galatian church in your January issue, I have to say how appalled I am by the unchristian tone of this hit piece. Why the negativity? Has he been to the Galatian church recently? I happen to know some of the people at that church, and they are the most loving, caring people I’ve ever met.

Phyllis Snodgrass; Ann Arbor, MI

A.W. Pink on the new birth

“The new birth is very, very much more than simply shedding a few tears due to a temporary remorse over sin. It is far more than changing our course of life, the leaving off of bad habits and the substituting of good ones. It is something different from the mere cherishing and practising of noble ideals. It goes infinitely deeper than coming forward to take some popular evangelist by the hand, signing a pledge-card, or "joining the church." The new birth is no mere turning over a new leaf but is the inception and reception of a new life. It is no mere reformation but a complete transformation. In short, the new birth is a miracle, the result of the supernatural operation of God. It is radical, revolutionary, lasting.

Here then is the first thing, in time, which God does in His own elect. He lays hold of those who are spiritually dead and quickens them into newness of life. He takes up one who was shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin, and conforms him to the image of His Son. He seizes a captive of the Devil and makes him a member of the household of faith. He picks up a beggar and makes him joint-heir with Christ. He comes to one who is full of enmity against Him and gives him a new heart that is full of love for Him. He stoops to one who by nature is a rebel and works in him both to will and to do of His own good pleasure. By His irresistible power He transforms a sinner into a saint, an enemy into a friend, a slave of the Devil into a child of God.” (A.W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI, 21st printing, 2004, p114)

John Piper interviews Rick Warren on doctrine

John Piper interviewed Rick Warren on his doctrinal stance on 1 May 2011. The video below is about one and a half hours long, so it is a long download. It is a very interesting interview, and some of Warren's answers are interesting, even surprising!

If your internet connection is like mine, and it just feels like it is going to take a week to download, then you also probably do not have the patience to wait that long to watch this video. There is a solution, and that is the transcript of this interview!

Update:

1. 1 June 2011 -Tim Challies has written a thought provoking short analysis of this interview.
2. 1 June 2011 - Frank Turk, of PyroManiacs fame, has written "[another] Open Letter to John Piper," and it covers the interview directly.