Friday, November 30, 2007

Purpose Driven Purgatory

It's amazing!

It's dumbfounding!

It's breathtaking!

And it's TRUE!

Purpose Driven Puppet Master Rick Warren is in fact setting himself up as the Protestant Pontiff of The New Catholicism. My short piece entitled Purpose Driven Deceit pointed toward Warren's take no prisoners attitude toward so-called "resisters" within the professing church. In Rick Warren's perverse theology disunity is Satan's greatest weapon against the church. Where does Warren get his information? It certainly doesn't come from the Holy Bible. As the discernment resource Watcher's Lamp correctly states: "Satan's greatest weapon is deception, which causes disunity and division in the Scriptures, and ultimately the destruction of souls."


Warrenism = Ecumenism = Rome
Unity.

Unity at all costs.

Unity at the expense of truth.

It would be understandable for the non-discerning to come to Warren's defense and say, "Hey, Pastor Rick just wants unity for the Body of Christ, that's a good thing, that's something God desires and something we ought to be working toward!" Yet the truth is that all regenerate, truly born-again Christians are already in spiritual unity together in Christ; this is the mystery of the true church, the true Bride of Christ!

No my friend, Warren is so obsessed with a false temporal unity obtained at the expense of Biblical truth that he's willing in his capacity as Protestant Pope to excommunicate serious, discerning, Christ-centered brothers and sisters in Lord in order to ensure the absolute, unquestioned authority of his Purpose Driven Pulpit Puppets - those who will undoubtedly soon be known as his "Bishops". Amazingly Warren is so eager to spiritually prostitute himself to his idol god unity that he's signed an open letter to Muslims extolling the common virtues of the Christian and Islamic faiths emphasizing "the absolutely central commonality between both religions: love of God and love of neighbor".

Another Gospel
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:16)

Warren's non-gospel of nothingness is in fact the bondage of religious works righteousness. In Warren's upside down spiritual world men are to earn "rewards" from God Almighty based upon their works of righteousness in the flesh. This is so far removed from the truth of Christianity as to make the Gospel According to Pastor Rick another gospel.

Purpose Driven Purgatory
As defined by Wikipedia:

Purgatory is the process of purification by which, according to Roman Catholic belief, those who die in God’s grace and friendship achieve the holiness necessary for heaven. It is also called the "final purification of the elect". Catholics believe that Purgatory is experienced only by those souls judged by God at the moment of death to be destined for heaven, and only by those that are not yet perfectly holy.

There’s no doubt that Rick Warren plainly teaches a variant of the false and heretical Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory to his itching ears adherents. As part of The New Catholicism Warren teaches - just like Rome does! - that friends of God (i.e. "seekers") have achieved the holiness necessary for heaven (i.e. they have recited the so-called "sinner's prayer" and/or have walked down the aisle and/or gotten dunked in a tank of tap water), BUT (notice the big BUT in practically all of Warren's 100% works righteousness teachings) "seekers" within Warren’s Purpose Driven Purgatory must add to their holiness by perfecting their heart toward God through a complex system of works righteousness.

Warren teaches his seeker audiences that "life is a test and a trust". Where does the Bible say that about the Christian life, Rick? The true Christian's life is hidden in Christ alone! In truth Warren has made numerous documented statements and given entire sermons on the subject of the requirement of works righteousness to perfect the holiness of his "seeker" audiences. You can see and hear the would-be Protestant Pope vomit forth his heretical works righteousness doctrines here.

Warren teaches that God endows and entrusts men with money, time, intelligence, and other temporal gifts and that God demands a return on that investment. Warren says that God Almighty will temporally and eternally mete out rewards to those who properly exercise their faith. Warren actually teaches his deceived followers that their works in the flesh will result in the accrual of heavenly rewards and position! Rick Warren's carnal Christianity makes rewards the focus of his man-centered worldview and relegates the Infinite Creator and Judge of the universe to the position of a Monkey-god. Read Matthew 20 verses 1-16 and see how Warren's false teachings vaporize like the mist they are in the light of infallible scripture. Or read the account of Mary and Martha and note which chose the better part. If Rick Warren's teachings are true then the thief on the cross must live in the heavenly equivalent of skid row!

Rick Warren is not teaching the truth!

Rick Warren is twisting the scriptures!

Therefore Rick Warren is a false teacher!

In point of fact Rick Warren relentlessly twists and wrests scripture entirely out of context in order to bolster his false doctrines with Biblical references so that his teachings will sound spiritually authoritative. The Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons do the exact same thing. Rick Warren is also notorious for using variant and questionable Bible translations so that he can pick and choose the phrase that best suits his demonic agenda.

The New Catholicism
In the barren, desolate spiritual landscape of Warren's New Catholicism the grace of God is turned into an occasion for lasciviousness and worldliness. Warren takes salvation through faith by grace and tramples it underfoot by espousing a Romish faith plus works soteriology. Warren is guilty of adding fleshly works as a requirement to finished work of the cross. This practice is an abomination and an affront the absolute holiness One True Living God.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Like his mother Rome, Warren teaches friendship with the world by signing letters of spiritual unity to Muslims and he is more than happy to share his Purpose Driven Techniques to cultists:

Warren’s pastor-training programs welcome Catholics, Methodists, Mormons, Jews and ordained women. “I’m not going to get into a debate over the non-essentials. I won’t try to change other denominations. Why be divisive?” he asks.

"Why be divisive?"
What does Rick Warren do with the myriad verses which call true born-again Christians to be separated from the world, to earnestly contend for the faith that was once and for all delivered unto the saints, and to rebuke and correct false teaching when it contradicts sound doctrine? He does what he always does, he ignores or twists their meanings to suit his own Purpose Driven Agenda.

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. (Matthew 10:34)

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 1:3)

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. (2 Peter 2:1)

"The church door opens to trouble by saying, "Let's not nit-pick about doctrine. Let's not dot our I's and cross our T's so particularly." Believers compromise with the counterfeit to a certain degree because it basically looks good, then the door opens to more counterfeits. When the people of God know little about the word of God, they are not able to be discerning when they examine counterfeits."

"Destructive heresies are secretly introduced. Different opinions are brought along side with the truth. These heresies and opinions are destructive. They lead to destruction. It is a serious matter. As soon as you depart from the word of God, you are on the road to destruction.
It is no minor issue; eternity is at stake. Departure occurs in one area, then another, and soon the teachers themselves are leaders in this road to destruction. Where does the heresy lead? Even to the point of denying the Master who bought them!" (By Gil Rugh from his sermon "Destructive Heresies in Today's Church".)

Doctrine Divides
“Doctrine divides!” That’s the popular belief of our culture today, as its sails on the shifting sea of modern day relativism. Our generation shouts out, “It doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you are sincere,” yet the Bible portrays a very different message.

We have to admit that doctrine does in fact divide. It divides truth from error, the true prophet from the false prophet, and the real Christ from the counterfeit.

Some say “all I want is a relationship with God” not some dead creed or theology. I am all for knowing God intimately, but we need to know the difference between the real God and the many false ones. If someone wants to know Jesus, they first need to make clear which “Jesus” they are referring to: the “Jesus” of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) who is the spirit brother of Lucifer, the result of God the Father’s sexual union with Mary?; or perhaps the “Jesus” of the Watchtower organization (Jehovah’s Witnesses) who is a created though highly elevated god?; or perhaps the “Jesus” of Islam who was never the Son of God but merely a highly esteemed prophet, who was whisked away from the cross and never suffered death? Exactly which Jesus - for there are many out there? (By Pastor John Samson from his work entitled The Importance of the Creeds.

The modern professing church is a mile wide and an inch deep. Guided by their father the devil false teachers like Rick Warren and his spiritual pimp Robert Schuller have woven a massive web of spiritual deceit within which they've taken many captive. These men and their ilk flee from the light of scripture and rail against the truth demanding unquestioned obeisance from their spiritually impoverished and imprisoned followers. Like a common drug dealer who keeps giving his strung out addicts just enough narcotics to keep them slavishly returning for more, Warrenism yokes its adherents under the bondage of the keeping the law and maintaining a right standing before God and men.

Idolatry
Let it be known that the worldview espoused by Rick Warren and his kind is wholly unbiblical and is in truth a man-centered false gospel that feeds sinful man's notion that he is god.

They practice idolatry.

They practice cheap grace.

What is cheap grace? It is the opposite of costly grace. Cheap grace is prevalently taught in the churches that lure people to adhere to the false gospel of “Health, Wealth and Prosperity.” This heresy says it’s okay to seek self-gratification rather than obey Jesus. It teaches salvation by grace, but without adherence to the Lordship of Christ. It also teaches the believer decides to be saved then he or she accepts salvation rather than it coming completely by God’s grace through faith.

God designed us so we have to be fulfilled with His presence. Nothing else will do it. However, at the fall, man became corrupt and an enemy of God because of sin. Man is born Soul-led with a deadened Spirit. No contact with God is possible. So what does man do for fulfillment? Man seeks fulfillment in religion, work, money, sex, love, relationships, possessions, and entertainment; you name it. Nothing works.

Adherents to cheap grace are deceived and are participating in idolatry and a false gospel which can not save. The believer who has believed on Jesus as Lord and Savior has taken on costly grace. Yes, it costs them all, but it gains them all.

You noticed I put religion on the list didn’t you? Religion is not necessarily based on a relationship with God. Religion not based on a relationship to God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and savior is a false religion. It does not matter how sincere a religion is, if it is not based on this then it is false and will not fulfill. In fact, they are idolatrous because they teach a false concept of God based on what man wants instead of who God is. Any act of attempted fulfillment not based on a correct relationship with God through Jesus Christ is idolatrous. Any religious activity based upon self-gratification is idolatrous.

The history of the Christianity is full of heretical beliefs. All are idolatrous because they teach a false view of God, Jesus and salvation. Man naturally falls for “works” salvation. “Works” salvation teaches that working hard and keeping rules earns salvation. This places our salvation in our hands rather than in God’s. The reason we fall so easily for this heresy is our huge inner drive to be gods ourselves.

The only religious activity which is not idolatrous is based upon a relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and savior.
by Mike Ratliff taken from his book Possessing the Treasure.

In Conclusion
It ought to be patently clear to those with eyes to see and ears to hear that Rick Warren and his kind within the seeker sensitive, doctrinally averse broader professing church teach another gospel. It's long past time for sincere, true born-again Christians to stand boldly on the Word of God and expose these false teachers to the light of inspired scripture and soundly and roundly rebuke them in the Lord.

"I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:6-9)

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Renew Your Mind

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:2)

Berit Kjos has done the true Body of Christ a great service by compiling an exhaustively researched and no-holds-barred expose on the new evangelicalism which is currently metastsizing like a malignant cancer within the broader professing church. Kjos exposes the poisonous tap root that currently feeds the modern, man-centered, apostate, New Age, re-imagined, post-modern, lukewarm, last days, Laodiciean, ecumenical harlot church.

With only minor variations and adjustments depending upon their particular "customer base" this is the same other gospel, the non-gospel of nothingness which is being preached across the mile-wide, inch-deep professing church by the likes of Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Ken Blanchard, Richard Foster, Tony Jones, Dan Kimball, Doug Pagitt, Erwin McManus, Leonard Sweet, Robert Schuller, Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, Creflo Dollar, Juanita Bynum, Kenneth Copeland, Paula White, Benny Hinn, Jesse Duplantis, Joel Osteen, and Rod Parsley.

From Mysticism & Global Mind Change by Berit Kjos:

Do you wonder why yoga, labyrinths and other meditational practices have suddenly emerged in churches across America? Or why "Christians" now use the old occult formulas (a combination of concentration, meditation, visualization and mental projection) practiced by sorcerers, alchemists and "enlightened" yogis to invoke the presence of "God"?

This East-West synthesis didn't happen by chance. For several decades, influential church leaders have been promoting a "new way of thinking," a more experiential religion, an end to "separatism," and an inclusive oneness that would fulfill their vision of an earthly "Kingdom of God."

The hidden seeds of this unholy transformation began sprouting about five decades ago. In an article titled "The Higher Self Gets Down To Business," Christianity Today credits Willis Harman, a former Stanford Professor and management guru, with the occult revival:

"The esoteric use of ordinary words like self-actualization, intuition, and visualization in the New Business spirituality cannot be appreciated without considering their role in the cosmic scheme of the movement's unofficial father: metaphysical futurist Willis Harman.

"Harman, who died in 1997, founded the Institute of Noetic Sciences and helped start the World Business Academy. Noetic comes from the Greek word for intuitive knowing. Intuition was no mere 'gut feeling' for Harman, but the very means of connecting to the one Universal Mind. Nor was visualization merely a means of clarifying goals, but of altering material reality."


Instead of opposing this spiritual revolution, pastors and leadership gurus have been driving it -- and training others to do the same. Those who resist it are unjustly labeled fearful, divisive and -- worst of all -- fundamentalist! As Rick Warren said, "...Christian fundamentalism, Jewish fundamentalism, secular fundamentalism - they're all motivated by fear. Fear of each other."

Begging Forgiveness of Islam?

Joseph Farah, founder and editor of WorldNetDaily.com has laid the smack down on the men-in-skirts spiritual sissies who eagerly rushed to prostrate themselves before the demonic, hell spawned religion of Islam. Farah said:

It was predictable in this age of wishful thinking.

After 138 Muslim leaders last month wrote an open letter to Christendom calling ostensibly for peaceful coexistence and mutual understanding, self-proclaimed Christian leaders and other celebrity Christians took the bait.

The appropriate response would have been to search their own Scriptures, to get down on their knees to beseech God to give them wisdom, to seek the counsel of others, particularly those expert on Islam, history and the persecution of the church in Muslim lands. Instead, some get-along-with-the-world Christians apologized for the past and current actions of their fellow churchmen in defending their lives and their beliefs against Islamic aggression and terror.

Among more than 100 theologians, ministry leaders and prominent pastors, signing the letter were Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners, Rick Warren, senior pastor of Saddleback Church and Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals.

As a Christian myself, I want to make it very clear these men do not speak for me. More importantly, I do not believe they speak for Jesus.

Continue reading Begging Forgiveness of Islam here,

Understanding Free Will

from the archives - by John Samson...

Why are you reading this? Yes, this particular sentence? There are billions of sentences out there just waiting to be read, in many different languages, but right now, you are reading this one. Why?

Well, it could be that some reformed and crazed individual has put a gun to your head and told you that if you did not read this article he would shoot you. He would definitely be what I refer to as a "caged stage Calvinist," when after coming to understand the doctrines of grace, for a period of a couple of years or so, he needs to be locked up in a cage. That's the best thing for everybody concerned!! His zeal for reformational truth needs to be augmented with sanity in human relations! He sends books, tapes, CD's, DVD's, and e-mails to all unsuspecting victims, regardless of whether or not they have ever shown an interest in these things. Christmas is his favorite time of the year, for he's been eagerly waiting for this opportunity to send R. C. Sproul's book "Chosen by God" to everyone he knows. He's on a mission alright, but the best thing would be for him to cool down for a couple of years in a cage!

However, even with the crazed reformed nut with a gun scenario, you are still making the choice to read this blog article rather than face the contents of the gun. You prefer to read this rather than to feel the impact of the bullet. Even now, you are reading this because you want to - right now you do, anyway. In fact, because this is your strongest inclination, there is no possible way for you to be reading anything else at this moment.

You are still reading this? Well actually.. it is impossible that you would be reading something other than this right now, and this will continue to be the case until you have a stronger desire to do or to read something else.

So what exactly is free will? Do people have it? Does God have it? How free is God's will? Can He do what He wants? Can we do what we want?

These kind of questions are not new of course, but have been the source of countless conversations and debates amongst ordinary folk and the chief theologians of the Church throughout history. Martin Luther, in looking back over his ministry considered his book on the subject of the will to be his most important work. In Luther's mind, to misunderstand the will is to misunderstand the Reformation doctrine of sola gratia. He said, "If anyone ascribes salvation to the will, even in the least, he knows nothing of grace and has not understood Jesus Christ aright."

I don't believe the issue is particularly complicated, which is why I am attempting to write a brief article on it here. This is not an entire treatise on the will. Blog articles are a lot shorter and simply open the way for further discussion. However, I think enough can be said in a short time to get all of us thinking.

Coming to an understanding of the human will, though not complicated, is often times hampered by our firmly held traditions and man centered tendencies. We are all born Pelagians at heart, thinking we can be anything we want to be, do anything we want to do, whether or not God has a will in the matter. Human beings have wills. God has a will. But what exactly does it mean?

Can man do everything he chooses? Can man fly to the moon unaided by machine? Can man go to the North Pole and survive with just a T-shirt, shorts and shoes on? Can man take a deep breath and live under water for a day without oxygen? No, man's free will is limited by his nature. It is not within man's nature and ability to fly to the moon unaided, to survive extreme cold without being sufficiently wrapped up, or to survive in water without oxygen. The problem is not the will - it is the nature of man. Because it is not man's nature to do a thing, he is not free to do the thing.

Have you noticed, though the term "free will" is banded about every day, you don't actually find the phrase in scripture? That's because man's will has suffered a radical corruption in the Fall. Because our nature as unregenerate human beings has no interest in seeking after God (Romans 3:11), our will chooses, 100% of the time, to turn from God rather than towards him.

This is not due to some physical handicap, you understand, but rather a moral one - and one we are all responsible for. Adam's sin brought the Fall, which had radical consequences from his progeny. As our federal head and perfect representative, Adam sinned on our behalf. But before we say it is not just for God to declare the entire human race guilty in Adam, we need to understand the other side of the coin. That is the wonderful truth that all who are in Christ are declared not guilty, and reckoned righteous with Christ's perfect righteousness. We can't believe in one of these imputations and not the other and still be biblical in our thinking.

We were all perfectly represented by Adam. He was a literal human personality, not a legend or myth. All of humanity are represented by Adam and are reckoned guilty because of Adam's sin (Romans 5:12, 19); all those in Christ (the Last Adam) are reckoned just because of Christ's righteousness (Rom 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21). As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive (1 Cor. 15:22)

Pastor Steve Weaver writes, "A good definition of free will is the ability of the mind to make choices in accordance with our natures. This definition of "free will" also applies to God's free will. He too is bound by His nature. Therefore, He cannot sin! Why? Because it is not His nature! But God does have a free will and, unlike human beings, He has an accompanying good and holy nature."

Jonathan Edwards said that the will is the mind choosing: though there is a distinction between mind and will, the two are inseparable in action. We do not make a choice without our mind's approving that choice. We always act according to the strongest inclination at the moment of choice. We choose according to our strongest inclination at a given moment.

Why did you put on the particular clothes you are wearing today (I am assuming you are not naked as you read this)? It was because the things you put on had more of an appeal to you than anything else in your closet. Now, it may have been that there was nothing else available to you. Even so, your desire to wear something was greater than your desire to wear nothing, hence your choice. Again, we choose according to our strongest inclination at the moment of the choice.

When we commit a sin, at that moment our desire to sin is greater than our desire to obey Christ. I think that is the most haunting thing about the sins I commit. That at that particular moment when I sinned, the sin was more appealing to me than obeying my Lord. This is the godly sorrow I believe, that works repentance.

The Bible teaches that I'm not free to choose God because it is contrary to my nature. That's why we need new natures that are given to us by the Holy Spirit at regeneration. Unless a man is born again he cannot enter or even see the kingdom of God (John 3).

Though man is commanded to seek the Lord while He may be found, and to come to Christ, we watch in vain for man to do so. Romans 3:11 literally reads, "There is no God seeker." John 6:44 says, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him and I will raise him up on the last day." Literally, the verse says, "no one is able."

Just like man is not able to fly to the moon unaided, the clear words of Christ here show that man is not able to come to Christ without Divine intervention. Here are some insights from Dr. R. C. Sproul concerning this verse:

"First, we notice that Jesus said "no one." This is a universal negative statement. It does not mean that some cannot come unless the Father draws them. It means absolutely no one can come unless God does something first. Mankind is so depraved in fallen-ness that, apart from the irresistible grace of God, no one would ever turn to Christ.

Second, we notice that Jesus said "can." Remember the difference between the words can and may. Can means "is able," while may means "has permission." Jesus is not saying that no one has permission to come to him. Rather, he says that no one is able to come to him. This is the biblical doctrine of man's total inability.

Third, we notice the word "unless." This introduces an exception. Apart from this exception, no one would ever turn to Christ.

Finally we come to the word "draw." Some have said that draw only means "woo" or "entice." That is not the case, however. In James 2:6 we read, "Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?" In Acts 16:19 we find, "They dragged them into the marketplace." The same Greek word is used in all three verses. Obviously, enticement is not in view here in John 6:44. Gerhard Kittel's Theological Dictionary of the New Testament says that the word translated draw in John 6:44 means "to compel by irresistible authority." It was used in classical Greek for drawing water from a well. We do not entice or persuade water to leave the well; we force it against gravity to come up by drawing it. So it is with us. We are so depraved that God must drag us to himself." (Chosen by God)

The beauty of the gospel, however, is that, at the same time, the Spirit's work is to make His elect willing to come. He changes the disposition of rebel human hearts, taking out a heart of stone, and putting in a heart of flesh so that we willingly come. Jesus states, in John 6:44, that all who are drawn in this way are raised up at the last day, signifying that they are raised to eternal life with Christ in heaven.


John 3:3 Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

John 6:36-37 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

John 8:33-34 They answered him, "We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, 'You will become free'?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.

John 8:47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.

John 10:26-27 but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

HAT TIP: Reformation Theology

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Grace Gems: Charles Haddon Spurgeon

"Howbeit when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come." (John 16:13)

This generation hath gradually, and almost imperceptibly, become to a great extent a godless generation. One of the diseases of the present generation of mankind, is their secret but deep-seated godlessness, by which they have so far departed from the knowledge of God. Science has discovered to us second causes; and hence, many have too much forgotten the first Great Cause, the Author of all: they have been able so far to pry into secrets, that the great axiom of the existence of a God, has been too much neglected. Even among professing Christians, while there is a great amount of religion, there is too little godliness: there is much external formalism, but too little inward acknowledgment of God, too little living on God, living with God, and relying upon God. Hence arises the sad fact that when you enter many of our places of worship you will certainly hear the name of God mentioned; but except in the benediction, you would scarcely know there was a Trinity. In many places dedicated to Jehovah the name of Jesus is too often kept in the background; the Holy Spirit is almost entirely neglected; and very little is said concerning his sacred influence. Even religious men have become to a large degree godless in this age. We sadly require more preaching regarding God; more preaching of those things which look not so much at the creature to be saved, as at God the Great One to be extolled. My firm conviction is, that in proportion as we have more regard for the sacred godhead, the wondrous Trinity in Unity, shall we see a greater display of God's power, and a more glorious manifestation of his might in our churches. May God send us a Christ-exalting, Spirit-loving ministry—men who shall proclaim God the Holy Ghost in all his offices and shall extol God the Savior as the author and finisher of our faith, not neglecting that Great God, the Father of his people, who, before all worlds, elected us in Christ his Son, justified us through his righteousness, and will inevitably preserve us and gather us together in one, in the consummation of all things at the last great day.

Continue reading The Holy Ghost—The Great Teacher here.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Told You So!

I really hate to say it, but it's true and just in case you didn't have enough evidence of the rank apostasy of the myriad Purpose Driven/Seeker Sensitive movements here comes the coup de grace courtesy of Slice of Laodicea. All I can say is pray up, speak up, and look up for His coming is nigh, even at the door!

**Full Text of Evangelical Letter to Muslims**
Here is the full text of the letter published in the New York Times to Muslim leaders. Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Leith Anderson and company are leading the evangelical churches right the arms of the cosmic christ of the New Age.

**Rick Warren, Evangelicals, Invite Muslims to Love God Together**
A Slice alert today as the Christian Post reports this morning that Rick Warren, Leith Anderson, the head of the National Association of Evangelicals, Bill Hybels and other evangelicals have signed a document urging Muslims to “love God” together with them and to find peace between the two religions. This is where it has all been heading, folks. You’ve been warned for a long time now that this new spirituality is coming. Here’s a quote from the article:

Christian leaders urged for an interfaith dialogue that moves beyond “polite” ecumenical talks between selected leaders. Instead, leaders of both faiths should hold dialogues to build relations that will “reshape” the two communities to “genuinely reflect our common love for God and for one another,” the Christian letter stated.“Given the deep fissures in the relations between Christians and Muslims today, the task before us is daunting. And the stakes are great. The future of the world depends on our ability as Christians and Muslims to live together in peace,” the letter added. “If we fail to make every effort to make peace and come together in harmony you correctly remind us that ‘our eternal souls’ are at stake as well.

The letter’s main emphasis is the “absolutely central” commonality between both religions: love of God and love of neighbor.

Other signers of the letter include Miroslav Volf, founder and director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture; Dr. Martin Accad, academic dean of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (Lebanon); Robert E. Cooley, president emeritus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary; Harvey Cox, Hollis professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School; and Bill Hybels, founder and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church.


The letter includes an “apology” to the Muslims for various wrongs that Christians have done them.

In the Christian response, Muslims have been asked to forgive Christians for their past sins – such as the Crusades and excesses of the “war on terrors” – as taught by Jesus Christ who said to “First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out your neighbor’s eye” (Matthew 7:5).

God's Holiness

Quoting David Wells:

The loss of the traditional vision of God as holy is now manifested everywhere in the evangelical world. It is the key to understanding why sin and grace have become such empty terms. What depth or meaning, P.T. Forsyth asked, can these terms have except in relation to the holiness of God? Divorced from the holiness of God, sin is merely self-defeating behavior or a breach in etiquette. Divorced from the holiness of God, grace is merely empty rhetoric, pious window dressing for the modern technique by which sinners work out their own salvation. Divorced from the holiness of God, our gospel becomes indistinguishable from any of a host of alternative self-help doctrines. Divorced from the holiness of God, our public morality is reduced to little more than an accumulation of trade-offs between competing private interests. Divorced from the holiness of God, our worship becomes mere entertainment.

The holiness of God is the [foundation of reality]. Sin is defiance of God's holiness, the Cross is the outworking and victory of God's holiness, and faith is the recognition of God's holiness. Knowing that God is holy is therefore the key to knowing life as it truly is, knowing Christ as he truly is, knowing why he came, and knowing how life will end.


From: No Place for Truth, Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology?

HAT TIP: Old Truth

To God's Glory Alone!

I posted the following response over at Jesus Christology in the comments section of a post discussing sovereign grace vs. free will as they relate to Biblical soteriology.

A commenter going by the name of LorMarie asked:
Coram,

My last question was a simple case of wit and sarcasm as I already know the answer to it. I’ve read Romans 9 and there is nothing there to indicate that God predestined some people for hell and others for heaven. Just look verses 30-33. That appears to be the conclusion of the theme of the chapter (again, saying nothing about some being destined for hell and others for heaven). People in this thread are claiming that there is evidence for free will and predestination. If so, that is a problem because the concepts or at odds with each other. Or is it our perception that creates the problem?
LorMarie Says: November 23, 2007 at 8:48 am


To which I responded:

LorMarie,

The way I understand the scriptures every unregenerate (non-Christian) human being in the world is on a one way trajectory to hell because they are judged guilty in sin and trespass against God's perfect law. This is basic, orthodox, Christian teaching. Furthermore the scriptures teach that this judgment is both fair and just since God is our Infinite Creator and Judge and because He is perfect in every sense of the word He cannot be "unfair" in any way. We are separated from our Heavenly Father by our earthly father Adam's sin. This condition, our fallen sinful nature, is as natural and inescapable for human beings as breathing air.

From where I stand I don't see the problem you're referring to between free will and predestination. The Bible clearly teaches that God sovereignly chooses some people to be regenerated from death unto life by being miraculously "born-again" of the Spirit. This translation from spiritual death unto spiritual life isn't something that sinful man is capable of doing or even participating in. Nor is it something that God needs sinful man's cooperation in doing since the scriptures teach that He will not share His glory with another and that salvation is the gift of God - by God's grace alone - lest any man should boast.

Lazareth had no choice about coming forth when Jesus called him, just as the unredeemed, dead in their trespass and sins have no choice but to come forth from spiritual death unto spiritual life when the Holy Spirit calls. Dead men can't do anything for themselves. People aren't spiritually sickened, or very weak, they're spiritually D-E-A-D. This is what the Bible teaches again and again.

Sinful men aren't drifting in the middle of the ocean of sin drowning, gasping with their last breath for salvation when Christ miraculously appears on a boat, throwing them a life preserver so that all they need to do is grasp the preserver with their fingers as the rest of their body sinks beneath the waves as Christ pulls them to the safety of salvation (the boat). Nor are sinful men dying of some deadly disease (sin) for which there is no known cure, when suddenly Christ the Great Physician appears and pours the cure (salvation) into their mouth so that all they need to do is swallow His medicine (the good news) to be cured and made whole.

No, sinful men are stone cold dead at the bottom of the ocean of sin and Christ dives in, swims to the bottom and collects their lifeless corpse breathing life into them, miraculously and gloriously translating them from death unto life.

Again sinful men are DOA on the hospital bed struck down by their incurable disease when Christ the Great Physician walks into the room and commands them live, and they rise from the dead rejoicing and praising Him!

This is the miracle working power of our God! All the glory goes to Him, there's none for us. Those who are born again didn't simply choose better than other people, nor are they somehow just smarter or holier. No, God doesn't foresee some merit that was in, or would be in their lives, instead He sovereignly chooses those who will be saved for His own purposes and for His own glory alone and not for anything He sees in men since He is no respecter of persons.

Yet in the mystery of God we find that He is both able to miraculously regenerate those who are called by His Name (predestination) and sovereignly cause them to come to Him of their own free will. The Bible teaches that no one can come unto God except he is bidden by God:

All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. (Matthew 11:27)

And we know that it is impossible for Christ to have died in vain for the millions - billions? - of unredeemed who are going to be lost and burn in hell forever since the Bible teaches that His atonement was fully effectual for those who would be saved. You see, I believe that Christ died for those who will go to heaven and that He was and is a fully victorious conqueror for His people, His specific people, i.e. His bride. His bride are those within the true Christian church, the church invisible which is comprised of all those who have been truly born-again. Because I believe the Bible 100% I believe that Christ's atonement was 100% effectual meaning that if Jesus died for a person, that person's sins must certainly be forgiven because He paid that sin debt personally with His blood. So clearly Christ's atonement was limited to those for whom He had in mind when He shed His blood on Calvary. If He died for everyone, then everyone must be saved and we're left with the heresy of Universalism which negates all teaching of hell and denies the revelation of scripture. Therefore we can know with certainty that Universalism isn't the case, so what's left?

The only other option left is to believe that Christ died for everyone in general and no one in particular meaning that his death was less than 100% successful and effective. This also irreducibly leads to the belief that Christ's suffering and death fails to accomplish the forgiveness of most of those "people in general" for whom He supposedly died. In other words it means that Christ paid the sin debt for people who are going to end up in hell. To me that's deeply insulting to God's character because it would mean that He is being totally and completely unfair to all those people for whom Christ died, and who's sins must therefore be remitted, but for some perverse reason aren't. The only explanation now remaining along this line of reasoning is that Christ's sacrifice wasn't complete but needs the agency of man to somehow "finish" the finished work of the cross by "making a decision" for Him which results in salvation. Sadly this reasoning adds human works into the equation of salvation by grace alone and is wholly unbiblical.

As I said, the Reformed view has no problem with free will since we are God's creatures and He can do as He pleases with us, but the other viewpoint has a problem with election/predestination because they are convinced of man's agency in the process of salvation and thus will often quickly, and incorrectly, assume that God is somehow being unfair by choosing certain people to join Him in heaven while not choosing others. God is not unfair, people are unfair. God is true and we are liars. God is just and we are unjust. He is worthy and we are unworthy. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

In closing God doesn't need to "choose who will to go to hell". As previously mentioned everyone is already judged guilty and will go to hell apart from the merciful intervention of a loving and perfect God. In fact according to the Bible everyone deserves hell and no one deserves heaven! So then the question ought to be: "If everyone deserves hell, then why would anyone get to go to heaven?" And the unspeakably wonderful answer is that it's because of God's mercy and unmerited grace alone toward those who will become His heavenly bride! Is it okay for Christ to choose His own bride? Of course it is!

I hope this helps.
Coram Deo Says: November 23, 2007 at 10:39 am

Thursday, November 22, 2007

On the Doctrines of Grace

I've compiled a few recent articles by Mike Ratliff which teach on the subject of the Biblical basis for the doctrines of grace, enjoy!

Making Your Calling and Election Sure

God's Strength is Made Perfect in Our Weakness

The Sovereignty of God and Prayer

2 Peter 2:1 and Universal Redemption

The Superiority of Christ and the Cost of Discipleship

Does God's Sovereign Election of His People Make Us Mere Puppets on a String?

Thanksgiving Grace to You

Rekindling the Gratitude
by John MacArthur

© Copyright 2002 by Grace to You. All rights reserved.

The Thanksgiving season is a wonderful time to heighten your sensitivity to the blessings bestowed by God. Thanksgiving grabs your attention, shakes the cobwebs loose, and reminds you of all God's most precious gifts. That's one reason Thanksgiving has always held such a special place in my heart. It rekindles in me the kind of God-centered gratitude that our Lord demands and deserves—the kind that should readily be on our lips year round.

To help stimulate that kind of deeper gratitude, my family has adopted a Thanksgiving tradition we've found extremely helpful. Each year after our Thanksgiving meal we gather in our living room and simply recite the blessings of God that have touched our lives. One by one we circle the room, each one of us expressing our gratitude to God for His many physical and spiritual blessings.

Allow me to share with you just five blessings that deeply touch me every year and prompt me to thank God. Perhaps it'll catch and you'll be able to rekindle your gratitude!

You're Saved and You Know It
No work of God's is more beyond my comprehension yet closer to my heart and more worthy of gratitude than salvation. Before coming to know Christ, each of us lived in a self-imposed prison. Guilty, condemned, spiritually blind, and with no means to pay our debt, our destiny was one of eternal separation from God.

But Christ not only rescued us from the power and penalty of our sins, He also lifted us to a place of blessing. He delivered us from punishment and brought glory. He took away the threat of hell and gave us the hope of heaven. He dismissed us from divine wrath and brought us a divine benediction. One hymn writer put that unfathomable transaction like this:

In wonder lost, with trembling joy, We take the pardon of our God; Pardon for crimes of deepest dye, A pardon bought with Jesus' blood, Who is a pard'ning God like Thee? Or who has grace so rich and free?

We sing of salvation. We talk of salvation. Salvation is the essence of Christianity. Thanking God for saving us should be the unceasing occupation of our lips—only a stone-cold heart could offer anything less.

The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth
Watch a half hour of news and tell me if the word chaos doesn't come to mind. The world is gripped by it. Conflict abounds as religious, philosophical, and political systems collide. Moral, social, and economic problems proliferate but solutions are scarce. The political process is drifting rudderless on a sea of confusion. Life is all questions and no answers. There is no concrete guideline or standard by which to judge good and bad, right and wrong. The suppression of truth exacts a tremendous price.

But thanks to God, you and I have an eternal, objective, incontestable, irrevocable standard we can depend on for all matters of life. From the truth of Scripture we can understand the ebb and flow of life better than all the educators, philosophers, politicians, and social pundits combined. God's Word offers us a window on the real issues people battle. We know how to be good employees, to love our spouses, to raise our families, to truly love our neighbors. Meaning in life is not a question, it's a fact. I thank God for revealing His truth to us and for allowing me the privilege of studying and teaching it.

Life's Storms
Perhaps the most difficult time to be thankful is when we're in the midst of a setback, a challenge, or a trial. When the storm comes, giving thanks is rarely our first reaction. Being thankful for adversity is never easy, but it is always right. From experience I know the difficult times are the ones in which God seems to be most at work in our lives, strengthening our weak spots, comforting our hurts, and drawing us to greater dependence. Businessman John Marriott offered this perspective: "Good timber does not grow with ease; the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees." Let's not neglect to thank God for the strong winds He allows to blow our direction.

Faithful Churches
I'm sad to say there are some congregations today that seem to be wrestling with who they are and what their mission is—a spiritual identity crisis of sorts. Relentlessly assaulted by doctrinal fads, scandals, divisions, internal and external criticism, and worldly thinking, they've buckled under the pressure. The chain reaction that creates is heartbreaking. Doctrine is compromised, effectiveness is forfeited, biblical ministry is abandoned, and God's blessing is withdrawn. That grieves me, and I know it grieves you as well.

However, we can thank the Lord for the many churches that have stayed the course in spite of pressure, and the many others that struggle but have not given up the fight. Large or small, the congregations that remain faithful to God's Word are the ones that are alive, vital, flourishing, reaching their communities with great effectiveness, and advancing the kingdom of God. They've resisted the fads, remained true to God's calling, and are now seeing His blessing. I'm grateful to Him for those churches, and for the encouragement they are to me and to the Body of Christ.

The People Who Make a Difference
Someone once made this wise observation: "Friends in your life are like pillars on your porch. Sometimes they hold you up, and sometimes they lean on you. Sometimes it's just enough to know they’re standing by."

That's certainly been true in my life. I thank God daily for the many people who add so much color and warmth to my life. My best friend and wife, Patricia. Loving children and grandchildren. All who labor with me for the sake of the gospel. Each one enriches me greatly and is a very personal gift directly from the hand of God. I'm grateful for the friends—seen and unseen—whom I’ve been able to lean on, and who, to some small degree, have been able to lean on me.

Let me encourage you not to allow this Thanksgiving to come and go without taking inventory. Biblical gratitude isn't something that should pass from our minds with the passing of a season. It's an attitude, a God-focused response to circumstances that should pervade each moment of each day of each year.

May you, your family, and friends enjoy a blessed Thanksgiving season...all year!

© Copyright 2002 by Grace to You. All rights reserved.

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur's Collection" by:

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
Box 119
Columbus, New Jersey, USA, 08022
Our websites: www.biblebb.com and www.gospelgems.com
Email: tony@biblebb.com
Online since 1986

HAT TIP: Bible Bulletin Board

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

The Greatest Story Ever Told

I came across an inspirational piece over at Pyromaniacs entitled Drama and Dogma that I want to share with you. It's a timely - wait, make that a timeless - piece that speaks as clearly and reads as fresh today as it did when it was penned over forty years ago. Enjoy!

From The Poetry of Search and the Poetry of Statement (London: Gollancz, 1963) by Dorothy Leigh Sayers (1893-1957).

Official Christianity, of late years, has been having what is known as a bad press. We are constantly assured that the churches are empty because preachers insist too much upon doctrine—dull dogma as people call it. The fact is the precise opposite. It is the neglect of dogma that makes for dullness. The Christian faith is the most exciting drama that ever staggered the imagination of man—and the dogma is the drama.

That drama is summarized quite clearly in the creeds of the Church, and if we think it dull it is because we either have never really read those amazing documents or have recited them so often and so mechanically as to have lost all sense of their meaning. The plot pivots upon a single character, and the whole action is the answer to a single central problem: "What think ye of Christ?" (Matthew 22:42). Before we adopt any of the unofficial solutions (some of which are indeed excessively dull)—before we dismiss Christ as a myth, an idealist demagogue, a liar, or a lunatic—it will do no harm to find out what the creeds really say about him.

What does the Church think of Christ?

The Church's answer is categorical and uncompromising and it is this: That Jesus Bar-Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth, was in fact and in truth, and in the most exact and literal sense of the words, the God "by whom all things were made." His body and brain were those of a common man; his personality was the personality of God, so far as that personality could be expressed in human terms. He was not a kind of demon pretending to be human; he was in every respect a genuine living man. He was not merely a man so good as to be "like God"; he was God.

Now, this is not just a pious commonplace; it is not commonplace at all. For what it means is this, among other things: that, for whatever reason, God chose to make man as he is—limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death—he [God] had the honesty and the courage to take his own medicine. Whatever game he is playing with his creation, he has kept his own rules and played fair. He can exact nothing from man that he has not exacted from himself. He has himself gone through the whole of human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair, and death. When he was a man, he played the man. He was born in poverty and died in disgrace, and thought it was worthwhile.

Christianity is, of course, not the only religion that has found the best explanation of human life in the idea of an incarnate and suffering god. The Egyptian Osiris died and rose again; Aeschylus in his play, The Eumenides, reconciled man to God by the theory of a suffering Zeus. But in most theologies, the god is supposed to have suffered and died in some remote and mythical period of prehistory. The Christian story, on the other hand, starts off briskly in St. Matthew's account with a place and a date: "When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King." St. Luke, still more practically and prosaically, pins the thing down by a reference to a piece of government finance. God, he says, was made man in the year when Caesar Augustus was taking a census in connection with a scheme of taxation. Similarly, we might date an event by saying that it took place in the year that Great Britain went off the gold standard. About thirty-three years later (we are informed), God was executed, for being a political nuisance, "under Pontius Pilate"—much as we might say, "when Mr. Johnson-Hicks was Home Secretary." It is as definite and concrete as all that.

Possibly we might prefer not to take this tale too seriously—there are disquieting points about it. Here we had a man of divine character walking and talking among us—and what did we find to do with him? The common people, indeed, "heard him gladly"; but our leading authorities in church and state considered that he talked too much and uttered too many disconcerting truths. So we bribed one of his friends to hand him over quietly to the police, and we tried him on a rather vague charge of creating a disturbance, and had him publicly flogged and hanged on the common gallows, "thanking God we were rid of a knave." All this was not very creditable to us, even if he was (as many people thought and think) only a harmless, crazy preacher. But if the Church is right about him, it was more discreditable still, for the man we hanged was God Almighty. So that is the outline of the official story—the tale of the time when God was the underdog and got beaten, when he submitted to the conditions he had laid down and became a man like the men he had made, and the men he had made broke him and killed him. This is the dogma we find so dull—this terrifying drama of which God is the victim and hero.

If this is dull, then what, in Heaven's name, is worthy to be called exciting? The people who hanged Christ never, to do them justice, accused him of being a bore—on the contrary, they thought him too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified him "meek and mild," and recommended him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies. To those who knew him, however, he in no way suggests a milk-and-water person; they objected to him as a dangerous firebrand.

True, he was tender to the unfortunate, patient with honest inquirers, and humble before heaven; but he insulted respectable clergymen by calling them hypocrites. He referred to King Herod as "that fox"; he went to parties in disreputable company and was looked upon as a "gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners"; he assaulted indignant tradesmen and threw them and their belongings out of the temple; he drove a coach-and-horses through a number of sacrosanct and hoary regulations; he cured diseases by any means that came handy with a shocking casualness in the matter of other people's pigs and property; he showed no proper deference for wealth or social position; when confronted with neat dialectical traps, he displayed a paradoxical humor that affronted serious-minded people, and he retorted by asking disagreeably searching questions that could not be answered by rule of thumb.

He was emphatically not a dull man in his human lifetime, and if he was God, there can be nothing dull about God either. But he had "a daily beauty in his life that made us ugly," and officialdom felt that the established order of things would be more secure without him. So they did away with God in the name of peace and quietness.

"And the third day he rose again." What are we to make of this? One thing is certain: if he were God and nothing else, his immortality means nothing to us; if he was man and no more, his death is no more important than yours or mine. But if he really was both God and man, then when the man Jesus died, God died too; and when the God Jesus rose from the dead, man rose too, because they were one and the same person. The Church binds us to no theory about the exact composition of Christ's resurrection body. A body of some kind there had to be, since man cannot perceive the Infinite otherwise than in terms of space and time. It may have been made from the same elements as the body that disappeared so strangely from the guarded tomb, but it was not that old, limited mortal body, though it was recognizably like it. In any case, those who saw the risen Christ remained persuaded that life was worth living and death a triviality—an attitude curiously unlike that of the modern defeatist, who is firmly persuaded that life is a disaster and death (rather inconsistently) a major catastrophe.

Now, nobody is compelled to believe a single word of this remarkable story. God (says the Church) has created us perfectly free to disbelieve in him as much as we choose. If we do disbelieve, then he and we must take the consequences in a world ruled by cause and effect. The Church says further, that man did, in fact, disbelieve, and that God did, in fact, take the consequences. At the same, if we are going to disbelieve a thing, it seems on the whole to be desirable that we should first find out what, exactly, we are disbelieving. Very well, then: "The right faith is, that we believe that Jesus Christ is God and man, perfect God and perfect man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting. Who, although he be God and man, yet is he not two, but one Christ." There is the essential doctrine, of which the whole elaborate structure of Christian faith and morals is only the logical consequence.

Now, we may call that doctrine exhilarating, or we may call it devastating; we may call it revelation, or we may call it rubbish; but if we call it dull, then words have no meaning at all. That God should play the tyrant over man is a dismal story of unrelieved oppression; that man should play the tyrant over man is the usual dreary record of human futility; but that man should play the tyrant over God, find him a better man than himself, is an astonishing drama indeed. Any journalist, hearing of it for the first time, would recognize it as news; those who did hear it for the first time actually called it news, and good news at that; though we are likely to forget that the word Gospel ever meant anything so sensational.

Perhaps the drama is played out now, and Jesus is safely dead and buried. Perhaps. It is ironical and entertaining to consider that at least once in the world's history those words might have been spoken with complete conviction, and that was upon the eve of the Resurrection.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Purpose Driven Deceit

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; (1 Timothy 4:1)

Purpose Driven Puppet Master Rick Warren is world renowned for his "revolutionary" methods of doing church. It's true that his "successful" formula has indisputably put more nickels and noses into the professing church, but what's not so well known is the fact that Warren-esque success comes at a high price. Just ask the "resisters" who have been literally thrown out of their former churches by Rick Warren's zealous zombies - a.k.a. his Purpose Driven Pulpit-Puppets - as they mindlessly, methodically, and mercilessly implement "Pastor Rick's" New Age inspired systems.

Unfortunately for the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Warren himself originally took root within the lukewarm Laodician hothouse conditions of their denomination and by virtue of his SBC pedigree he and his ilk have managed to thoroughly corrupt vast swaths of the church with their deranged doctrines. Warren's worldly methods of easy-to-use programs and measurable, manageable results appeal to the sinful, natural man precisely because he espouses a man-centered, works-righteousness non-gospel of nothingness which is modeled on the self-esteem teachings of the apostate Robert Schuller, Rick Warren's spiritual pimp...er...um...I mean godfather.

As I've previously detailed there is a common thread which connects seemingly disparate personalities within the broader professing church such as Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Ken Blanchard, Richard Foster, Tony Jones, Dan Kimball, Doug Pagitt, Erwin McManus, Leonard Sweet, Robert Schuller and Brian McLaren who represent the entire spectrum of seeker sensitive, purpose driven, and emergent/emerging churches. The common thread is a lofty view of man coupled with a low view of scripture. And I suppose it doesn't hurt anything to throw in an unhealthy dose of Gnosticism, Deism, and New Age mysticism in order to heighten the appeal to man's innate and sinful desire to be a god.

These blind leaders of the blind are veritable spiritual apothecaries who are adept at mixing just enough truth with error to brew up a sweet tasting yet spiritually poisonous concoction. These are ravenous wolves in sheep's clothing who mercilessly rend Christ's little flock while purporting to be about God's work.

The discernment site Watcher's Lamp has posted an excellent piece that dissects Rick Warren's unbiblical conception of "unity" with the skill of surgeon. Rick Warren's "unity" - so called - is proven to be a vapor, a hoax, and a sham that is gained at the expense of preaching the whole counsel of God. Warren and his hirelings would rather attain a false temporal unity that's built on the shifting sands of bully-pulpit intimidation and mob tactics than believe and teach the Biblical truth of the spiritual unity of all true believers in Christ.

It would seem that the true Gospel of Jesus Christ doesn't fill the pews or the offering plates in quite the same manner as Rick Warren's man-centered non-gospel of 100% law and works righteousness.

Pastor Bob DeWaay deftly leaves a smoldering crater where Rick Warren's Devil Driven Idol used to stand in his well researched and damning indictment entitled Redefining Christianity: Understanding the Purpose Driven Movement. An excerpt from his article states:

Rick Warren wrote the forward to Dan Southerland’s book entitled Transitioning; Leading Your Church Through Change. The book is designed to show pastors how to transition their traditional church into a Purpose Driven one. Rick Warren sells the book on the Purpose Driven website. Some of the chapter headings reveal how heavily it depends on the concept of vision: “Preparing for Vision; Defining Vision; Planting the Vision; Sharing the Vision; Implementing the Vision, etc.” The future Purpose Driven church is what the vision is all about. The vision includes the process of removing people who oppose becoming Purpose Driven. This book is very revealing.

“What Happened to My Church?”
Reading Southerland’s book will help people whose churches have changed from gospel preaching and Bible teaching churches to “seeker” churches understand what has happened to them. Southerland characterizes those who resist this transition as “leaders from hell” who are of the ilk of Sanballat who resisted Nehemiah. It is clear that Pastor Southerland is convinced that he is like Nehemiah on a mission from God (i.e. to convert the church to being a Purpose Driven seeker church) and that all who resist are misguided, have evil motives, or are just unwilling to change because of their being caught in traditions.

There is, however, another side of the story. I have heard from many of these “evil Sanballat types” and they are heart-broken over what has happened to their churches. They love the gospel and hunger for solid Bible teaching. Besides being starved spiritually, they are now chastised as being evil doers. This email is an example:


We were labeled critical and divisive and negative in our Southern Baptist church for pointing out the watered-down gospel and twisting of scripture in the book Purpose-Driven Life. Despite the concerns we raised, our church pressed ahead with their 40 day journey earlier this year and we found it too difficult to attend church over that period, where all the ministries of the church were geared to that study over that time. We have found the lack of discernment very alarming. We are shocked at the weak teaching of scripture we are seeing, the lack of discernment, the ignorance of truth versus error, and the willingness to jump unquestioningly on every popular "Christian" bandwagon that comes along. We are very discouraged as we know of no solid, Bible-honouring, discerning church in our area and wonder what those of us who see these problems are to do. (from Canada)

Here is another lament from people whose church made the transition:

We attend a large Baptist, though in reality nondenominational church in the Detroit area. It seems our church, and many, many, others have embraced what I've come to call "Warrenism". . . What's disturbed us is the secularization of our church. It's become more and more worldly, while growing large in numbers. (about 6,000 members). We have felt alone in our uneasiness with the “Warrenistic” culture of our church as it's grown stronger there, but we felt confused about it after some Sunday sermons in support of it. What we see now at our church is not enough evangelism without, and God's House is very worldly within. This is what breaks our hearts. We hear sermons with only vague references to scripture and have a secularized worship service many times. My wife asks me, “shouldn't we be getting nourishment to prepare us for our battles as Christians?”

My question is this: “Are the resisters really leaders from hell or are they solid Christians who know the difference between the gospel as preached by Christ and His apostles and the Purpose Driven message that is tailored to appeal to the unregenerate and carnal minded?”

What most of these resistant people do not know is that their pastors have been trained in how to deal with them. Their pastors have been taught that “traditionalists” who do not get on board with the new vision will have to go if they cannot be placated or converted to the new paradigm. The reason for this is that the Purpose Driven franchise cannot succeed without conformity to its protocol. That is why Rick Warren makes all members of his church sign a unity covenant. In his case, his church never was anything but Purpose Driven. The people who have come there mostly do not know the difference between a gospel church and a Purpose Driven church. They are happy to sign unity pledges because they are already convinced the Rick Warren and his processes are from God. But Warren’s campaign to convert existing churches to become Purpose Driven creates a far different situation. It displaces thousands of people who know what real gospel preaching and Bible teaching are. They know that the synthetic alternative that pleases the unregenerate masses is not the same message. They, who were previously the stalwarts of the congregation, are now the “problem people” who have to be dealt with.


So there you have it. Unity at all costs, Warren-esque unity that is. For the Purpose Driven churches it's Rick's way or the highway for you, brothers and sisters!

As I've stated before, I believe God Almighty is sending a strong delusion into the world that men might believe a lie because they've been lovers of themselves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy (2 Timothy 3:2).

Friends, may those who are called by His Holy Name continue to pray up, speak up, and look up, for His coming is surely nigh, even at the door!

He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. (Revelation 22:20)

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Hillary Clinton to speak at Rick Warren's church

It looks like Purpose Driven Puppet Master Rick Warren can't get enough of the world. There's apparently no limit to "Pastor" Rick's shameless self-promotion. In my opinion the man is so corrupt that he would gladly pay for the opportunity to spiritually prostitute himself.

As if it weren't enough to have late-term abortion champion B. Hussein Obama speaking from his pulpit earlier this year, he's following that blasphemous act with yet another giddy abortionette as a special guest speaker at his mega-church Saddleback; militant feminist and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton. Maybe he should consider renaming his church and calling it Whore on the Beast's Back

Don't get the wrong impression here, this is not a political blog, nor is this a political matter, far from it. This is a matter of stupefying spiritual harlotry of the lowest order. Frankly I'm aghast at the depths to which the Devil Driven apostate Rick Warren is willing to sink in order to realize his fevered high noon fantasies of P.E.A.C.E. plans and to spread his man-centered non-gospel of nothingness.

Rick Warren espouses a perverse theological mixture which includes heretical dominionism blended with semi-Pelagianism that has been seasoned a dose of Deism and has been topped off with liberal theology's favorite false gospel, the social gospel.

You can see and hear the apostate Rick Warren deny the Biblical truth of salvation by grace through faith alone (Sola Fide) and teach a man-centered religion of works righteousness (the law) with your own eyes and ears in the short video below. Is this what the Reformers died for; so that liars and thieves like Rick Warren could enslave men and lead them back to the damnable doctrines of Rome? Does the evildoer Rick Warren realize that the Pope could happily preach this precise sermon to a Catholic audience and be in full agreement with its content?



HAT TIP: A Little Leaven.

In my view Rick Warren is but a type - a "John the Baptist" if you will - of the last days false teachers who will continually arise as they lead mankind down the broad path that leads to destruction. God is sending a strong delusion into the world that men might believe a lie because they've been lovers of themselves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobdeient to parents, unthankful, unholy (2 Timothy 3:2).

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. (James 4:4)

Whose Report Will You Believe?

But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. (1 Timothy 6:9)

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. (John 6:26)

According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me. (Hosea 13:6)

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (Matthew 19:23-24)

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” (Matthew 16:24-26)




HAT TIP: A Little Leaven

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Monkey-god

For decades here in the United States our secular society has been busily - and not so quietly - turning self-esteem into the neo-pagan god of the modern Western worldview.

What is at the root of this madness? It should be patently obvious to anyone with even a rudimentary grasp of our human nature as revealed in the Bible that the last thing rebellious, foolish, children need is for their natural predilection for self-centeredness and pure unadulterated selfishness to be fed and reinforced by authority figures. The concept is absurd on its face!

Yet with this in mind it ought to be unsurprising that we should find that the wholesale rejection of Biblical principles and anti-Christian hostility which pervade today's secular institutions of "learning" - so called - have resulted in a populace that utterly loathes authority. This of course poses a bit of a problem for them since God Almighty is the Absolute Ultimate Authority. Plainly this is the reason why the foolish and deceived secular humanists reserve their most passionate and venomous hatred for Him.

Seemingly one of the unintended consequences - at least for professing Christian families, though I imagine this was part of the secularist's master plan all along - of the failed experiment of the secular public education system in America is the fact that it has resulted in literally generations of children hailing from professing Christian families departing from the faith.

Given the aforementioned conditions should we really be surprised when we find that the church is full of self-centered, selfish, man-centered, fleshy, earthy, What's In It For Me style carnal "Christians"? After all, if the broader culture is populated by these folks could there have been any doubt that they would infiltrate the church at every level? Furthermore should we be surprised that those same false believers would heap unto themselves false teachers to tickle their itching ears and tell them what they want to hear? I think not.

Read the following sugary sweet, man-centered, "Gawd has a wunnerful plah-yun fer yer life" drivel from the heretical Smilin' Joel Osteen and pay particular notice to how it's tailor made and focus group tested and proven to tickle the ears of his massively deceived followers:

“God’s plan for each of our lives is that we continually rise to new levels. But how high we go in life, and how much of God’s favor and blessings we experience, will be directly related to how well we follow His directions.” God “is waiting for your obedience so He can release more of His favor and blessings in your life…My question to you is: How high do you want to rise? Do you want to continue to increase? Do you want to see more of God’s blessings and favor? If so, the higher we go, the more disciplined we must be; the quicker we must obey.” “You don’t get the grace unless you step out. You have to make the first move. God will see that step of faith and He’ll give you supernatural strength to help you overcome any obstacles standing in the way of doing the right thing…Remember: How high you go in life will be directly related to how obedient you are.”

Can you see the works-righteousness of Osteen's non-gospel of nothingness? Can you see how it's carefully crafted to appeal to his listener's innate, refined, and highly cultivated sense of self worth?

Where's the denial to self?

Where's the lofty view of God?

Where's the Bible?

In truth Joel Osteen's message - his entire worldview - boils down to a profane, blasphemous, perverse game of cosmic "Monkey see, monkey do".

"Monkey-god see monkey follow his directions, monkey-god give good thing."

"Monkey-god see monkey obey, monkey-god release blessing."

"Monkey-god see monkey step out, monkey-god show favor"

"Monkey-god see monkey made first move, monkey-god help"

"Monkey see he control monkey-god by actions, monkey think he is god"

"Good monkey, reward monkey! Bad monkey, no reward monkey!"

Broadly speaking this is the pathetic level to which Christian thought and theology have degenerated as a whole within huge swaths of evangelicalism. Doctrinally speaking the modern church has become a mile wide and an inch deep. In fact today's breed of emergent/purpose driven/seeker sensitive/word faith professing Christians would have been counted as the vilest heretics breathing had they lived in earlier times. Our modern crop of shameless charlatans and pulpit pimps would have been roundly and soundly rebuked and cast from among the fellowship of Christian believers had they expounded their shameful false doctrines and damnable heresies then as they do now.

Can you imagine the response of the Puritans to profane practice of positive confession which is espoused by the likes of Trinity denying, word faith mogul T.D. Jakes?

How might the Apostle Paul have reacted to the sinless, cheerful, self-esteem messages of man-centeredness spewed forth by the likes of Schuller, Warren, and Osteen?

What do you think the apostles - all of whom were Jewish - would have said in response to John Hagee had he began teaching his dual covenant theology from synagogue to synagogue and proclaiming that Jesus was not the Messiah?

How quickly do you imagine Brian McLaren and Doug Pagitt would have been anathematized by the early church had they claimed the universal salvation of every human being regardless of their position relative to Christ?

Friends, the God of the Holy Bible isn't a cosmic divine monkey who exists primarily to play with you and cheer you up when you're feeling lonely or downcast. The God of the Holy Bible isn't impotently dreaming dreams that He wants to come true on earth, but is unable to bring to pass because of the unbelief of sinful men. Nor is the God of the Holy Bible a distant mechanistic legalist who waits for men to say the right words in the right sequence, or to properly "exercise their faith", or "sow a seed" so he can "pour out blessings" upon them. Those who hold to these types of false teachings will certainly reap a harvest, but the bitter harvest they reap will be the winds of hell.

Let it be known that the God of the Holy Bible is still in the business of seeking and saving sinful men by His good pleasure, and for His glory alone; and not for any good thing He sees that is, or will be, within them.

He is the potter and we are the clay.

He is worthy and we unworthy.

He is true and we are false.

He is fully sovereign and we are utterly hopeless apart from Him.

Let every thing that has breath praise the Lord!

Monday, November 12, 2007

Reinventing Jesus Christ

I highly recommend reading this important and informative piece by Warren Smith entitled Reinventing Jesus Christ: The New Gospel.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Oprah Winfrey: Spiritual Harlot

Despite its title this article isn't about Oprah Winfrey. Oprah Winfrey has thoroughly and repeatedly proven herself to be one of Satan's little helpers. She is a demonic stooge, pawn, and tool who has been weighed in the balances and found wanting. Instead of focusing on Oprah herself the intent of this article is to expose Oprah Winfrey's perverse fascination with and promotion of the occult through the medium of New Age spirituality.

With this in mind I would now like to direct your attention away from the shameless spiritual harlot Oprah Winfrey and towards one Warren Smith who has posted an important and timely piece on the New Age spirituality that is currently infecting the professing Christian church and drawing silly women (and men) laden with sins to a false faith in a false Christ.

From his Herescope article entitled "Oprah and Friends" To Teach Course on New Age Christ Smith says:

Oprah Winfrey will be letting out all the stops on her XM Satellite Radio program this coming year. Beginning January 1, 2008, “Oprah & Friends” will offer a year-long course on the New Age teachings of A Course in Miracles.1 A lesson a day throughout the year will completely cover the 365 lessons from the Course in Miracles “Workbook.” For example, Lesson #29 asks you to go through your day affirming that “God is in everything I see.”2 Lesson #61 tells each person to repeat the affirmation “I am the light of the world.”3 Lesson #70 teaches the student to say and believe “My salvation comes from me.”4

By the end of the year, “Oprah & Friends” listeners will have completed all of the lessons laid out in the Course in Miracles Workbook. Those who finish the Course will have a wholly redefined spiritual mindset—a New Age worldview that includes the belief that there is no sin, no evil, no devil, and that God is “in” everyone and everything. A Course in Miracles teaches its students to rethink everything they believe about God and life. The Course Workbook bluntly states: “This is a course in mind training”5 and is dedicated to “thought reversal.”6

Here are some quotes from the “Jesus” of A Course in Miracles:

“There is no sin...“9
A “slain Christ has no meaning.”10
“The journey to the cross should be the last ‘useless journey.’”11
“Do not make the pathetic error of ‘clinging to the old rugged cross.’”12
“The Name of Jesus Christ as such is but a symbol...It is a symbol that is safely used as a replacement for the many names of all the gods to which you pray.”13
“God is in everything I see.”14
“The recognition of God is the recognition of yourself.”15
“The oneness of the Creator and the creation is your wholeness, your sanity and your limitless power.”16
“The Atonement is the final lesson he [man] need learn, for it teaches him that, never having sinned, he has no need of salvation.”17

Friends, the citations above from Smith's devastating expose on New Age practice and thought should cause every Bible believing Christian to sound the alarm to their friends, family, and acquaintances so that they might be duly warned against the massive deception to come. This deception is a quiet killer; a spiritual cancer which is even now metastisizing within the body of Christ.

As the New Age, mystical, man-centered, Purpose Driven, Seeker Sensitive, Word Faith, emergent, hollow non-gospel of nothingness spreads practically unchecked through modern church-ianity those who are truly called by Christ are able to perceive that the hour is very late indeed.

The modern professing lukewarm Laodician last days church of idolatry and blasphemy is blossoming before our very eyes and it is bearing much bitter fruit.

The new spirituality destroys wonderfully and conquers with a message of love, peace, and unity; eschewing the sword for the olive branch.

The new spirituality promises men joy, fellowship, and brotherhood asking for only a bit of compromise in return, yet those who are truly Christ's must understand that "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (Galatians 5:9).

The new spirituality says, "Be joined unto me and you'll fit in", whereas the Holy Spirit draws men with the hard promise, "Be joined unto Jesus Christ and you'll stand out".

Friends, this is the day and this is the hour when men must decide in who's report they will believe; the report of the Lord as contained uniquely within His inspired, inerrant, infallible, and plenary Word, the Holy Bible; or the report of sinful man.

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24:15)

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Joel Osteen's McGospel - Millions and Millions Deceived

I just came across an excellent and devastating expose on Smilin' Joel Osteen's latest word-faith, positive confession, heretical, non-gospel of nothingness offering entitled "Become a Better You".

Never mind the nagging logical questions which swirl around how Smilin' Joel managed to follow up his first satanically inspired tome called "Your Best Life Now" with a book about how to become even better! Maybe his next book will be called "Your Betterest, Bestest Life Ever, REALLY!", who knows?

Yet whatever it's called the result will no doubt remain the same; it will be a shameless system that blends Gnosticism, Deism, works righteousness, self-esteem, man-centeredness, and positive thinking which has been sprinkled with mercilessly contorted and tortured proof texts which have been wrenched from the context of the Holy Writ and obscenely rearranged in order to make Joel Osteen's false gospel seem Biblically substantiated, supported, and authoritative when precisely the opposite is true.

Joel Osteen is a ravening wolf in sheep's clothing and the false religion he promotes is an abomination before the throne of the One True Living God. Joel Osteen is a deceiver, a spiritual harlot, and an idolater in that he worships the god of self in contradistinction to the Infinite Creator and Judge of the universe, The One True Living God of the Holy Bible.

I pray that you'll read Become a Better You: Reflections on Joel Osteen's Latest Book by Michael S. Horton and see the truth laid bare about the heretic Joel Osteen.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

In Defense of Israel

Personally I think John Hagee's new book should have been titled "In Defense of Heresy" since in it he engages in copious, gratuitous, and nefarious scriptural obfuscation and prooftexting which results in an outright denial of the Person of Christ.

From Biblewheel:
Any man preaching the Bible into 99 million homes bears a massive responsibility before God and his fellow human beings to accurately and clearly proclaim the truth. Scripture warns that "not many" should set themselves up as "masters" or teachers, for in so doing they risk a "greater condemnation" (James 3:1).

Before discussing Hagee's apostasy from the Christian faith, it is important for the reader to know that I stand firm in my support of Israel for humanitarian and political reasons. I love the Jewish people, delight in their music, literature and culture, and deeply appreciate that God used them to bring forth Jesus the Messiah and the Holy Bible that proclaims the Gospel of His Messiahship "to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile." I condemn any form of anti-semitism as anti-christian and a sure sign of spiritual alienation from God. But I also know that you do not "show love and support" to Israel by denying that Jesus Christ is their Messiah, which is exactly what John Hagee has done.

In his book In Defense of Israel (2007), beginning in the section called "The Jews did not Reject Jesus as Messiah" (p. 132) John Hagee relentlessly twisted Scripture in his attempt to prove that Jesus Christ did not come "to be Messiah to the Jews." His denial of Jesus as the Christ (Messiah) cannot be overlooked as a mere "slip of his pen" because he repeated his assertion "seven ways from Sunday" as seen in this sample of seven quotes from his book:

If God intended for Jesus to be the Messiah of Israel, why didn't he authorize Jesus to use supernatural signs to prove he was God's Messiah, just as Moses had done? (p. 137)

Jesus refused to produce a sign ... because it was not the Father's will, nor his, to be Messiah. (p 138)

If Jesus wanted to be Messiah, why did he repeatedly tell his disciples and followers to "tell no one" about his supernatural accomplishments? (p. 139)

The Jews were not rejecting Jesus as Messiah; it was Jesus who was refusing to be the Messiah to the Jews. (p. 140)

They wanted him to be their Messiah, but he flatly refused. (p. 141)

He refused to be their Messiah, choosing instead to be the Savior of the world (p. 143)

Jesus rejected to the last detail the role of Messiah in word or deed. (p. 145)


John Hagee's words directly contradict the central message of the entire New Testament. Indeed, John Hagee's words directly contradict the fundamental declaration that defines the Christian Faith, which is that Jesus is the Messiah (i.e. the Christ). This is what Peter declared in his first sermon to thousands of his fellow Jews gathered at Pentecost (Acts 2:36):

Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ (Messiah).

Likewise, this was the first thing Saul, the Jew from Tarsus, proclaimed to his fellow Jews in the synagogues immediately after the scales fell from his eyes (Acts 9:20-23):

And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests? But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ. And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him:

Scripture declares that Saul, who soon would be known as the Apostle Paul, preached and proved to his Jewish audience that Jesus is Messiah. The Gospel itself is called the "Gospel of Christ" or in Jewish terms, the Gospel of the Messiah! This fact is so very elementary it seems almost foolish to belabour it. That any genuinely Christian teacher could err on this point is inconceivable because the error concerns the primal definition of Christianity itself. Scripture therefore places this error under the greatest possible condemnation:

Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. (1 John 2:22)

Liar! Antichrist! There is no mistaking the apostasy here. The word "Christ" literally means "Messiah." The New Testament could be faithfully translated with all references to Jesus Christ rendered as "Jesus the Messiah." Indeed, the Complete Jewish Bible translates the verse above as "Who is a liar at all, if not the person who denies that Yeshua is the Messiah?" How then is it possible that John Hagee, who has been preaching and teaching the "Bible" for over forty years, could suddenly turn and deny that Jesus is the Messiah? Is it possible that we are misunderstanding what he really meant? The unfortunate answer is that Hagee left no room for misunderstanding. He repeated his heresies over and over again.

I encourage you to read Biblewheel's entire in depth expose on John Hagee's grossly heretical error here.