Month: December 2013
Why Christmas Is So Meaningful To the Believer: Jesus Christ In The Old Testament
Since Jesus is eternal God, we understand that He ALWAYS existed. Before the creation (John 17:5), throughout the Old Testament, and of course from Bethlehem onward. The following are four tremendous watersheds of study whereby He may be found throughout the Old Testament:
1)Theophany- Jesus actually appears numerous times during the Old Testament. For example: a)On the plains of Mamre with two angels before Abraham. b)As the Captain of the Lord of Hosts to Joshua near Jericho. c)In the fiery furnace with Meshach, Shradrack and Abednego. d)He met Moses at the burning bush. ……..these are a few and there are many, many others.
2)Typology- We are told in Corinthians that many things happened in the Old Testament that were types of events that were later fulfilled in the New Testament. For instance, the tabernacle was fulfilled in Christ, and lengthly books have been written, describing this in detail. Old Testament Joseph and David were types of Christ, they represented Jesus and were shadows of His life. Every oxen, goat, lamb, and all other animal sacrifices in the Old Testament were fulfilled in Christ!
3)Prophecy- Literally hundreds of Old Testament prophecies have or will be fulfilled in Christ. For instance, Zechariah 9:9 tells us that He would ride a donkey into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Isaiah 7:14 tells us that He would be born of a virgin. Jesus fulfilled over thirty prophecies during the time of His crucifixion! He did this so we would be able to easily believe! ……and He is coming again!
4)Genealogy- The family tree of Jesus Christ goes back to Adam. You cannot go back any farther! His ancestry was made plain and is a thrilling study in itself. Christ’s line is portrayed in Matthew as the royal line and in Luke as the legal line. By the way, if you believe in the inerrancy of the scriptures as I do, the generations going back to Adam only give the earth about 6,000 years back to creation! God made man at creation (Mark 10:6), and He did not leave the universe as some kind of primeval jello floating around haphazardly for millions and billions of years (The mantra of evolutionists). It is really foolish to believe in such nonsense because God is the God of order and purpose, not one of chaos and confusion! My question is why cannot these educated “scientists” simply believe in the Bible on face value? The answer is ultimately that they really DO NOT BELIEVE, despite their phony lip service and rhetoric.
The above four themes summarize the Christology of the Old Testament, and they furthermore enhance a better understanding of the New Testament and the Person of Jesus Christ.
Have A Very Merry Christmas
Pastor Steve
Is It All Right For A Christian To Point Out And Specify False Teachings In The Church?
This is a reposting of a previous blog entry, placed here at this time in order to reveal to the Christian from the Bible that we are remiss if we do not expose error. Remember that keeping silent in the realm of false doctrine is NOT being a peacemaker; it is only compromising, going with the flow, and allowing falsehoods to prevail in the spirit of cowardice. These New Testament false prophets and agitators mentioned below, mostly revealed by the apostles Paul and John, are not a comprehensive list. There are many other false teachers in both Testaments. It is obvious to anyone who sincerely seeks truth; that untruths, lies and distortions should be pointed out. I am truly amazed, however, at those who think exposing deception and untruths is mean spirited and unkind.
“All it takes for evil to prevail is for a few good men to do nothing.” –Edmund Burke
August 21, 2013
Is It All Right For A Christian To Point Out And Specify Trouble Makers And False Prophets In The Church?
In our overly tolerant world whereby even Christians are often persuaded to eschew criticism or discipline at all costs, we tend to avoid confrontation when it is indeed called for. In the recent past I dialogued with a local Christian leader who insisted that there is no Biblical precedent for exposing false teachers and those who would attempt to cause division within the brethren. The Bible cites many specific examples of false prophets and those who sow seeds of discord, and their exposure by those who reveal them by name.
“Their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.”(II Timothy 2:17-18) Many Christians decry the citing of actual names of those Christian leaders who teach heretical doctrines, saying that such an act is “unloving.” Paul, however, considered it an important evidence of true love to warn against those who would “overthrow the faith of some,” realizing that generalities would be useless.
Not only did Hymenaeus and Philetus make Paul’s list, but so did Demas (II Timothy 4:10), Alexander the coppersmith (II Timothy 4:14), the Cretians (Titus 1:12), another Alexander (I Timothy 1:20), and even Peter (Galatians 2:11-14) when he began to teach legalism. Likewise, the apostle John warned against the egocentric Diotrephes (III John 9) and the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2:6). Jesus referred to Herod as “that fox,” and our Lord and John the Baptist also had lengthly diatribes against the Pharisees, calling them “a generation of vipers,
and white washed sepulchers full of dead men’s bones.”
We need to be ready and willing to name those individuals, churches, schools, and other organizations that are denying biblical inerrant authority, compromising the doctrine of special creation, requiring humanistic works for salvation, or bringing in other heretical doctrines. We obviously need to be sure of our facts when we do this and also to bring such charges only if motivated by genuine concern for those apt to be led astray if we don’t speak out. But then we must, indeed, “mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.” (Romans 16:17)
*** Part of the above material was taken from a devotional article by the late Henry M Morris, former president and founder of the Institute For Creation Research. It is in the Days Of Praise devotional, December 8, 2011 entry. ***
The Theology Of Rick Warren And The Purpose Driven Movement
Nearly two years ago, a member of our church noted that pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback church made a statement in an attempt to consolidate Islamic and Christian relations. Warren said: “….we both believe in the same God.” These unbelievable statements are a trademark in his ministry. He wins many over by saying: “I am just a regular guy.” Others sympathize with him as well we should, over the recent tragic loss of his son. But these issues have absolutely nothing to do with the faulty theology that comes from his ministry. Why does Mr. Warren not tell Muslims that Mohammad needs to be saved through the blood of Christ? What an opportunity to do so. If the cross alone saves (Acts 4:12; John 14:6), then why does Mr. Warren not play the role of a Christian evangelist and share the Gospel with Muslims rather than compromise with them? Following is my response to our parishioner who asked me my thoughts about Rick Warren. If you are interested in further information, simply Google pastor Rick Warren and you will see endless information associating him with the New Age Movement, universalism, compromise, Chrislam (the path to one world religion) and much more. Many in Christendom are offended by this type of information. Truth vs. deception means more to me than anything, and my understanding and accepting truth means more than friendship with anyone. Henry Clay said: “I would rather be right than president.” You can judge one better by their enemies than by their friends. By the way, Jesus said we would have enemies (of the cross) and He said to love them. “To be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of God.”
Warren has vacillated with the themes of universalism, homosexuality, relationship with Robert Schuller, salvation, and many other important Christian themes ever since he has been in the public eye. I would expect him to deny all these things because if he did not, he would immediately lose all credibility. I dialoged with a Purpose Driven Church (PDC) Public Relations (PR) man, Gilbert Thurston, several years ago and I never cared for his answers defending the PDC movement. David Hunt of the Berean Call (TBC), John MacArthur and Phil Johnson (Grace To You), Gary Gilley, Paige Patterson (a great leader and theologian), James Sundquist (author of Who’s Driving the Purpose Driven Church), Noah Hutchings of Southwest Radio, and most recently Jack Van Impe have all exposed Rick Warren and his teachings. I spoke to Paige Patterson personally and he told me tactfully at a meeting in Sarasota “that there were major concerns about Warren’s theology.” If you Google him and study him for a couple two or three hours, you will observe that the theologians who are erudite in the Word question his theology and expose him. Study him. Have you EVER heard Charles Stanley, John MacArthur, Chuck Swindall, Adrian Rogers, Johnny Hunt, Jerry Falwell, Jerry Vines, Hayes Wicker, David Jeremiah, Max Lucado, Jack Van Impe, Dr. D. James Kennedy, Franklin Graham, etc., etc. questioned and suspected in such a way? No. There is no conspiracy against Rick Warren. His theology and public statements often go against the grain of our faith. He says on page 220 of the PDC book: “…anyone can be won to Christ if you discover the key to his/her heart.” A fellow pastor said to me about that statement: “Well, what is wrong with that?” I told him it was an apostate statement. I do not look for keys. I share the Gospel and the Lord “has mercy upon whom He will have mercy.” Couldn’t Jesus, God’s only begotten Son, find the key to the Rich Young Ruler’s heart? What an apostate statement, diametrically opposed to the Bible, making salvation man centered rather than God centered. [Mr. Warren: Please note that Jesus said to repent (Matthew 4:17; Luke 13:3,5) and be born again (John 3:3). THIS IS AN ACT OF GOD. Salvation has absolutely nothing to do with finding keys to people’s hearts. If his understanding of salvation is skewed, then the whole of his theology is convoluted as well.] His ministry is replete with these things. The key is this: Where there is smoke there is fire! I have noticed that everyone who is a bonafide and sound Bible theologian questions and suspects Warren. The masses follow him. I have never trusted him nor did I ever finish the above cited PDC book he wrote. Look at him on Google. He has a section called New Age and many other questionable headings. You will not find that with Charles Stanley. Again, please feel free to forward this if you feel led. God bless, Pastor Steve
Rick Warren / Emerging Church
Below are comments by Rick Warren regarding his view points on various issues:
Biblical criticism on Rick Warren: heresy exposed
Rick Warren
Richard Duane (Rick) Warren was 28 January 1954 born in San Jose (California). He is a preacher and writer of Christian books. He belongs to the denomination of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Rick Warren is the founder and senior pastor of Saddleback Church, one of the largest church congregations in the United States. He is also known for his book The Purpose Driven. In total there are about 25 million copies sold.
Rick Warren is over thirty years married to Kay Warren, and has three children. He has studied and received his Masters of Divinity at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1979. Warren has taught at Oxford and Cambridge .
In 1980, Warren founded Saddleback Church in California with just one family. Now, an average of 22,000 visitors per week. He also leads the Purpose Driven Network of churches, a global coalition of congregations in 162 countries. More than 400,000 ministers and priests throughout the world are trained, and almost 157,000 church leaders have subscribed to his weekly newsletter.
Time Magazine named Rick Warren in 2005 one of the “100 most influential people in the world.” In 2005 U.S. News & World Report called Warren as one of “America’s 25 best leaders.” In 2009, he has pronounced the prayer at the inauguration of Barack Obama as President.
Rick Warren is a very influential speaker at various conferences around the world. What many do not see is that Warren is a good friend of Robert Schuller a 33 e degree Mason. He has many friends in the New Age world. He was probably sincere started only it is true that what you’re dealing with you get infected. That’s what happened with Rick Warren.
He is also a member of the Counsel on Foreign Relations. This is a UN organization that unity among the faiths try to edit. Then we’re not talking about the biblical Jesus as Head unit. Rick Warren has spoken at many symposiums. He did it then with clergy from all faith. From Muslims to Hindus and humanists. All this to work together.
Through his influence, many Christians hear a different gospel. He brings a DIY gospel. In the studies that Rick Warren writes, the emphasis is on yourself. It is a bit of a self-help gospel.
For the book purpose driven churchhe followed some sort of a marketing study. With Bill Hybels of Willow Creek and Robert Schuller he has formed a way how to grow the church.
This is what you see happening, the churches that follow this doctrine are growing fast. The question why these churches grow so quickly is very easy to answer. These churches are run like a business. Bring a gospel that people are not rejecting. So try to please the people. Do not use harsh words like hell. No people should feel at home, they must enter.
The gospel that Rick Warren teaches is one of growth for the church instead of sin and repentance. You better have a church with fewer people who receive the gospel and obey God than that you have a large church that is filled with half lukewarm Christians. A large church is good for statistics. But it’s not about statistics, it’s about Jesus.
Rick Warren believes that homosexuality is something innate. He makes surprising statements like: “Why should I not have multiple sexual partners.” I desire for sex with any beautiful woman I see. ” He doesn’t say that you may have sex with any beautifuul women. He says that it is a normal feeling wich you can have. Rick Warren says in a interview with Oprah that you don´t have to resist the feeling. Just think of something else. See the video below for an clear explanation.
Does he know this is not biblical? The Bible tells us to repent. The Lord Jesus said:
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. Mat.15:18-20
You cannot believe that such a “great leader” does such statements ? Look under here the You Tube video, where you can hear Rick himself make above statements.
Even Steven 