When the call comes, what else can you do?

Drafted: Why Chris Norman Said No to the NFL from Desiring God on Vimeo.

Nancy Pearcey on the church and the gospel

“The Christian community [the church] is the concrete reality where the transcendent reality of the gospel is made manifest... This is a sobering thought, because the other side of the coin is that the gospel is also most easily discredited through the church. What happens when nonbelievers hear preachers proclaim the importance of the family, but see churches full of workaholic parents with little time for their own children? When they see power relationships that are as exploitive as anywhere else? When they see Christians trapped in the same sexual addictions as the rest of society? When they see evangelical celebrities using the same dishonest spin tactics as the secular advertising world? Christian may preach passionately about the need for a biblical worldview, but unless they are submitting themselves to  continual process of sanctification, they will not have the power to live out that worldview—and they will discredit the very message they are seeking to communicate.” (Nancy Pearcey, Saving Leonardo: A Call to Resist the Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, & Meaning, B&H Publishing Group, Nashville, TN, 2010, p276-277)

Heresies in the church - Part 8

Previous posts in the series

Heresies in the church – Part 1

Heresies in the church – Part 2

Heresies in the church – Part 3

Heresies in the church – Part 4

Heresies in the church – Part 5

Heresies in the church – Part 6

Heresies in the church – Part 7

I wrote the initial posts in this series back in 2005. This post will be about Joyce Meyer specifically, since she has infiltrated the evangelical church to an alarming extent. She has even made inroads among members of Reformed churches. Although, I have to say, the only Reformed church I personally know of where this heretic has made inroads into is among some of the members (not officially) of a Reformed-Charismatic church. From this I assume others among Reformed churches could also have been hoodwinked by her.

To make this post simple, I would recommend to you the reader to read the first seven posts in this series to see what the Word-of-Faith crowd believe, and why they should be labelled as heretics. Once you have read those parts, I want you to understand that Joyce Meyer is part of that crowd, and should along with them, be labelled as a heretic.

Spiritual gifts do not guarantee the perfect church

"If only we could get the gifts of the Spirit to flow freely in our church, then our church will be just like it was in the New Testament times and everything will be perfect for us!"

This is what many a charismatic has thought before, and I was there myself many years ago. Charismatics seem to think that everything will become perfect when they can just "flow" in the gifts of the Spirit. I am a charismatic myself (I prefer to call myself a continuationist or non-cessationist), so I know what I am talking about. At some point a charismatic will think that the gifts are the answer to everything. Most of them never move on from this point because they have been duped into believing this by their church leadership.

The fact is that no-one knows how the New Testament church really "flowed" in the gifts of the Spirit. Look at tongues, for example. Almost every charismatic/pentecostal church I have been to sees tongues as God speaking to us in some mystical way. However, 1 Cor 14:2 says clearly that "one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God." The thing is that charismatics have an idea of what that "flowing" in the gifts should be like even when no-one knows what it looked like in New Testament times. This is one of the reasons why I have held onto a healthy scepticism concerning the gifts.

The Reformation must continue

The church is in need of reformation today as much as it did back in the middle ages! Back then, the Roman Catholic institution (RCi) taught gross heresies that damned millions to hell. Not much has changed in this regard. The sad thing of it all is that in the protestant church today, and within evangelicalism, the same reformation is needed.

In the evangelical church today we find preachers of large churches not knowing what Christianity is, declaring that Mormons are Christians! (Read this open letter to Joel Osteen). Other heretics are accepted into the fold without any qualms. Churches are doing the ridiculous to overtly be like the world.

I have written concerning The Reformation before, and for a short introduction on The Reformation, read The Reformation – Unleashing salvation. (Also read this). The Reformation is part of a very important period of the history of the church (read my article Church History: Saving Us from Ourselves to learn why it is a generally good idea to read church history). Although the start of The Reformation is attributed to Martin Luther, and rightly so, when, on 31 October 1517, he nailed his 95 theses against indulgences and corruption within the Roman Catholic institution onto the Castle Church’s door in Wittenburg, there were rumblings of reformation before that. What Luther did was to give the snowball of reformation a decisive push over the edge of a snowy mountain! Of course, this snowball grew fairly rapidly, and had a great impact not just in Germany where it all started, but also in France (to a slightly lesser degree), Switzerland, Netherlands, Scotland, England, the Scandinavian countries and further afield.

Martin Luther on a Manic Monday (Reformation Day)

It is very appropriate to have the Bangles song, Manic Monday, conscripted towards highlighting Reformation Day today in song. 494 years ago today, on 31 October 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 these on the Wittenburg church door, which set the Reformation into full motion. It is worth thinking about The Reformation today, even if only to remember how God brought back the truth of His gospel, to a dying church! You can visit The Gospel Coalition for some Resources for Reformation Day

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved.

Joel Osteen once again shows why he can’t be trusted with the gospel

If medals were handed out to those who spoke the gospel truth clearly, Joel Osteen would not be in the line to receive anything. In fact, he will most probably receive a medal for being a top ranked gospel fudger, since it seems, he simply can’t resist fudging the gospel! The thing with Osteen is that he doesn’t get it wrong in private, in discussions one-on-one! No, he chooses to show the world his complete ignorance concerning the gospel on major television shows like Larry King Live, and now again in an interview with The Washington Times.

In this interview, Osteen said that Mormonism is just another form of Christianity, such as Baptists and Methodists. Like Dr. Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary says, “By now, it is clear that Joel Osteen’s carelessness is deliberate and calculated.” Osteen has made statements similar to this so many times, that it simply cannot be out of ignorance, but from a calculated philosophy of life that refuses to deal with the truth and exclusivity of the gospel! For someone who has been a pastor for some time now, and with the responsibility of shepherding the number of people that attend his church, Osteen is remarkably cavalier about the truth of the gospel, and about the cultic and heretical teachings all around us today.

We can expect statements such as Osteen has made from the ordinary standard Christian in the pew, since most do not take the time to study the absolute truths of the gospel. However, Osteen has drawn the line in the sand, and by his statements it is clear that he is standing on the side of heresy.

Dr. Al Mohler has written an insightful commentary on Joel Osteen’s latest heretical outbursts, in his article named, “Does Joel Osteen Not Know, or Does He Not Care?” Read it as you think about what Osteen is claiming here!

Responses to Alzheimer’s and marriage, and two Robertsons

 

... from one (deluded) Robertson ...

We have become accustomed to weird, and sometimes other-worldly, responses from Pat Robertson. This time he counselled a man to divorce his wife with Alzheimer’s in order to marry another woman, “because,” Pat Robertson said, the dementia-riddled wife was “not there” anymore and could no longer provide him with companionship! How opposite to the gospel of Christ and the symbolism of marriage in Christ as the husband and the church as His wife!

... to another (loving) Robertson ...

On the other hand we find Robertson McQuilkin, a college and seminary president, torn between two commitments when his wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and his response to this “trial” of love and care.

Part of his story goes like this:

“She is such a delight to me. I don't have to care for her, I get to. One blessing is the way she is teaching me so much—about love, for example, God's love. She picks flowers outside—anyone's—and fills the house with them.

“Lately she has begun to pick them inside, too. Someone had given us a beautiful Easter lily, two stems with four or five lilies on each, and more to come. One day I came into the kitchen and there on the window sill over the sink was a vase with a stem of lilies in it. I've learned to ‘go with the flow’ and not correct irrational behavior. She means no harm and does not understand what should be done, nor would she remember a rebuke. Nevertheless, I did the irrational—I told her how disappointed I was, how the lilies would soon die, the buds would never bloom, and please do not break off the other stem.

“The next day our youngest son, soon to leave for India came from Houston for his next-to-last visit. I told Kent of my rebuke of his mother and how bad I felt about it. As we sat on the porch swing, savoring each moment together, his mother came to the door with a gift of love for me: she carefully laid the other stem of lilies on the table with a gentle smile and turned back into the house. I said simply, ‘Thank you.’ Kent said, ‘You're doing better, Dad!’”

Saudi Arabian Muslim becomes Christian

Apparently, Calvinists do not evangelize!

Some have the completely wrong idea about Calvinism and its efforts to evangelize the lost. They obviously have forgotten that the father of modern missions, William Carey, was a Calvinist, together with many other Calvinist missionaries from the start of the modern missionary movement.

In this video below you will see but a small example of Calvinist street preachers.

Whom God saves and whom he doesn’t

This is a subject that is very contentious, especially among those who add philosophy and extra-Biblical ideas to what Scripture actually says about this subject! About 10+ men from our church get together every second Monday evening, discussing Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ book, Great Doctrines of the Bible. This past Monday was only the second time we got together, and the subject matter was chapter 2, Revelation, of the first volume of the book.

We were discussing general revelation and special revelation.

MLJ wrote that there are 3 aspects to general revelation:

1. God revealed Himself through creation and nature.
2. God reveals Himself through His gracious acts of providence. This includes “the ordering of things in this world, their maintenance, their sustenance, and the fact that everything keeps on going and continues in life.” p14.
3. The history of the world is a revelation of God.

Of course, general revelation is not sufficient to bring us to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, but it is a very clear indicator that there is some kind of god-like being.

In order to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, special revelation is needed, and that revelation is now ultimately contained and revealed in the 66 books of the Bible.

Preaching at my sister’s funeral

My sister’s funeral pamphlet.

My sister, Dorothy, who was 12 years older than I am, died in a motor car accident 2 Mondays ago on 15 August 2011, at approximately 18:15. The family asked me to preach at the funeral service which was held yesterday, 26 August 2011.

My plan from the beginning was to preach the gospel, just like I did 11 years ago at my father’s funeral. So, that is what I prepared. Most of my family are still unbelievers, and I believe that my sister was also an unbeliever. She never expressed any belief in Christ, and neither has any of her children. My hope is that in those last moments before she passed away she had an opportunity to cry out to God.

So, the preparation for the sermon went well, and my niece informed me where the funeral would be held at (NG Kerk, Geduld – Dutch Reformed Church in Geduld, Springs, South Africa). The church is on the corner of 3rd Str and First Ave in Geduld.

What was supposed to be a time of remembering my sister, turned out to be a harrowing experience for my family and me. As we drove into Geduld (which means patience-which I do not have a lot of), I swopped the Str and Ave around and ended getting us in the complete wrong area in Springs. And, for anyone who knows Springs, it is a horrible place when it comes to street names. Almost all streets are named 1st, 2nd, 3rd Street, Avenue, Road, and as a result you can be anywhere in that town, and think that you are in the right place, while you are actually totally lost without knowing it.

Why evangelicals should stop evangelizing?

Carl Medearis with Sheikh Nabil Qawouk Hezbollah’s number two leader. Image courtesy CNNBelief

Perhaps we should stop evangelizing because people don’t like us? Maybe it brings division among communities! Maybe because Jesus is the uniter of humanity, and not the divider?

Carl Medearis, former missionary, writing for CNN Belief in an article entitled “My Take: Why evangelicals should stop evangelizing,” feels that we should not evangelize, especially among Muslims, it seems, and rather just getting people to become more like Christ, regardless of their religion.

I have written a few short comments on what I think of Medearis’ “Take” on evangelism. I quote what he says, and then make my short comments.

"It may come as a surprise to many Christians that Muslims are generally open to studying the life of Jesus as a model for leadership because they revere him as a prophet."

The question is, what resources do they use to study the life of Jesus? It certainly is not the New testament, since they have already made up their minds that the New Testament manuscripts have been corrupted countless times. So, it has to be from what the Koran says about Jesus, and... the Koran is dead wrong about Him!

I wish I was more like Paul

Paul, the apostle by Rembrandt (1635)

As we continue living, we come to realize how frail we are, and many times those frailties can get us down and influence those around us. I have back problems, severe degenerative spinal disease (you can read about it here). Of course, it can greatly impact my mood on the day. When I wake up in pain, like I did today, it slows me down considerably, and can sometimes make me real grumpy. Instead of responding in love to my family, my replies will be short and unkind at times.

At least, my mood at these times is never that bad that everybody just wants to stay out of my way. I simply start withdrawing from people and become quiet. At least, I suppose, it never gets as bad as it truly can, but when it carries with it constant pain for almost 2 months like it did last year, then I want to crawl in a hole and die. It does happen sometimes that I can go for about 10 days without pain. Then it is like heaven on earth. A wonderful streak like that can be brought to an end very abruptly by something as simple as picking up a towel after a shower. A friend of mine said the other day that he was in agony when he hurt his back moving heavy stuff, and that didn’t even last that long! he couldn’t imagine how it must be for me when it carries on for days or weeks!

That brings me to the apostle Paul. Here was a man that suffered for his Lord! Several times he was left for dead after being beaten to within an inch of his life. Paul recounted some of his hardships, and I wonder how I would have taken these hardships. Would I have carried the torch of Christ like Paul did? Or, would I have thrown in the towel?

“²³ Are they servants of Christ?—I speak as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. ²⁴ Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. ²⁶ I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; ²⁷ I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.” (2 Cor 11:23-27)

Does your church celebrate the gospel, or its own uniqueness in this world?

Trevin Wax, author of Holy Subversion: Allegiance to Christ in An Age of Rivals, and blogger at Kingdom People, has written a very thought provoking blog post at thegospelcoalition called What You Celebrate as a Church Is Just as Important as What You Believe. Wax opens his blog post with the following paragraph:

"What your congregation celebrates corporately is just as important as what your church affirms doctrinally. Celebrate the gospel, and cross-cultural ministry will bubble up in surprising ways. Celebrate your church’s preferential distinctions, and your congregation will become an insular group of like-minded individuals."

In this article Wax gives us two fictitious examples of people having to leave their current churches when they move away to other cities, and how their churches' distinctives made it close to impossible for them to find new churches where they could feel "comfortable."

Biblical shepherding is not for the weak

Very often these days, too often, we read about or watch so-called shepherds of God's flock being unfaithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I wrote a post just recently on Joel Osteen fudging the gospel!

The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians concerning the stewards of the gospel:

"[1] This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. [2] Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. (1Co 4:1-2)"

A preacher of the gospel must be a trustworthy steward of that given to him. A steward does not own what he has been put in charge of. He is to manage his charge well. And that charge is not anything found within the vast imaginative recesses of the shepherd's mind! He is to be a steward of "the mysteries of God!" If the church were a secular club of sorts, then it would be conceivable to think that the pastor (shepherd) could come up with all kinds of clever ideas as to how he would run the church and what he would say to his flock on Sundays or on other occasions.

John MacArthur does not fudge the gospel!

After writing about Joel Osteen fudging the gospel, I thought I’d show you how it is supposed to be done! Here John MacArthur makes use of every opportunity to tell the truth of the gospel.

Joel Osteen just can't resist fudging the gospel!

Well, I don't know if Joel Osteen is going to heaven, but I sure know that he is quite incapable of giving the gospel of Jesus Christ to Larry King! Osteen is one of those preachers who likes to fudge the gospel to make it acceptable to the world. And once this is done, it is no longer the gospel of Jesus Christ.

You see, this is Osteen's problem. He seems to love the esteem of the world more than he loves Christ and His truth.

"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."

(Joh 15:18-19)

Does Osteen not know Jn 14:6, or that when Jesus spoke it He meant it?

The statistics driven church

I was supposed to be a panellist on the recording of a Christian television show last week Saturday on the subject of Worldviews at War.

What sparked this show was a letter/article that Dr. Peter Hammond of Africa Christian Action presumably sent to the One Gospel channel (331 on DSTV), which airs The Late Debate.

Unfortunately, I do not know which study's statistics Dr. Hammond refers to in the articles that set the creation of this episode of the show in motion, so I cannot comment on what he specifically refers to. The statistics he mentions state that 75% of university students, that come from Christian homes, are eventually lost to the church in university, and that the liberal, humanistic academia are to blame. You can read these articles here and here.

I have a lot of respect for Dr. Hammond. He has stood up for the truth when it was totally uncool to do so. He has been in dangerous situations for the gospel in countries such as Sudan, while most of us had a good night's sleep. So, this blog post is not aimed at him or his organization, but rather at a broader problem in the church.

Women at risk worldwide: Great Commission failure

Dr. Peter Hammond of Frontline Fellowship, in his latest mail, writes:

“Anyone who wonders why missions are necessary, just need to consider the devastating impact on women when the church fails to fulfill the Great Commission.

”These are some of the shocking facts which were revealed at a focus group on the plight of women in heathen societies:”

Read more about what Dr. Hammond has to say: