Thursday, December 20, 2007

Happy Anniversary to A Peculiar Pilgrim!

A Peculiar Pilgrim has survived heretics, critics, and even free-willies to make it to the big 0-ONE by God's grace. A Peculiar Pilgrim was birthed into the blogosphere exactly one year ago today- and blogs everywhere trembled. My initial post Road to Reformation -Part 1 kicked off what has become for me a most wonderful and blessed experience (The jury is still out on just how blessed my readers have been). I love blogging, but I love comments from my readers even more (hint - hint!). Always feel welcome to leave your thoughts, even if they don't agree with mine. It works to sharpen us all as we continue to come to a full knowledge of the truth.

There are several reasons I chose to start a blog. First, I desired to chronicle my story of turning away from my semi-Pelagian beliefs to Calvinistic ones. Secondly, I wanted to help others who were struggling with the whole Church-Growth/Purpose-Driven movement dominating modern Christianity.

In the beginning I actually had two blogs. My other one was titled Post Tenebras Lux (After Darkness, Light). I used it primarily as a discernment watchblog. After a couple of months I realized I barely had enough time to maintain one blog, much less two. I eventually merged the content of Post Tenebras Lux with this one. In April I posted Coming Out from Among Them - Part 1 (the story of leaving my old church) and my blog emerged from oblivion. To this day, that post has more views than any other - by a comfortable margin.

Another reason I blog is to crystallize my thoughts on various biblical topics. My mind is cloudier than a thick London fog. Writing helps to organize my thoughts as well as develop them more fully. Sometimes my posts are fairly lucid. At other times a post may be little more than a stream of thought put to digital text. in the end, blogging has helped to sharpen my convictions and cement my beliefs in the glorious truths of scripture.This may sound strange, but I look forward to reading my posts several years from now and observing how far I've come in my knowledge and wisdom of God's word. Like the saying goes, I am reformed, yet always reforming.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

The Righteousness of Noah

I must admit, my Sunday school class continues to stimulate and challenge my beliefs in the doctrines of Grace. This past Sunday our lesson 'Aspire to Walk with God' centered on the story of Noah and the Flood. I studied the passages in Genesis chapter 6 and had decided to focus in on the righteousness of Noah, anticipating that this would be a hot topic during discussion. Turns out I was correct. The teacher asked a question I think everyone has when first reading this passage. Here's the text. Read through it and I bet the question that first pops into your mind is the same as mine.

Gen 6:5-22 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (6) And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. (7) So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them." (8) But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (9) These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. (10) And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (11) Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. (12) And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. (13) And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. .... (17) For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. (18) But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. (19) And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. (20) Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. (21) Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them." (22) Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

I came away asking this: How could Noah possibly be righteous and blameless in a world corrupted by sin?

While you chew on that, here's another question to ponder: Who is responsible for mankind's redemption in this story? Did God redeem man or did Noah? Well, it looks like God desired to wipe out the whole human race because they were evil. Noah, because of his righteousness, was spared. If Noah had not been blameless in God's sight we would not be here discussing this story. The world would be barren and lifeless. So, we are in fact indebted to Noah and some kind of inherent righteousness he somehow possessed that no other human had. Noah is our hero! All hail to the savior of us all! In spite of God's will to destroy all flesh, man prevailed.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Did God Create Evil?

Our Sunday school director asked a good question to open up class last week. We were preparing to study Genesis chapter three where the temptation and the fall of man is recorded. He simply asked, "Did God create evil? "
Hmmm, good question. My knee-jerk reaction is to shout, "of course not! God is good, God is love! He absolutely could not create evil and even if he could, he would not. God is not the author of evil!"

Then again, as I pondered the question I began to consider a few things. Where did the serpent come from? If God is the Sovereign creator of all that exists then logically he must be the creator of evil, right? And what do I do with Isaiah 45:7;

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. (Isa 45:7)

After some initial mental scrutiny, I felt scripture supported God as the creator of evil. The class discussed it briefly without coming to a consensus. The question stuck with me throughout this past week. While I didn't study it to any great depth, I have a handful of scriptures I would like to showcase that I believe clarify the matter somewhat.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Divine Election or Mortal Selection?

Sam Storms has an excellent article on the controversial subject of divine election over at Monergism. Here is an excerpt:

In the final analysis, Calvin believes we should study divine election primarily for its ability to tell uslottery.jpg why one person who hears the gospel comes to saving faith in Jesus Christ and why another does not. To whom or what, ultimately, do we attribute the distinction? When all is said and done, how do you explain why one person believes unto eternal life and another does not? Who makes one person to differ from another: the person or God? That question can only be answered by looking more closely at the “how” and “why” of God’s sovereign choice. I’ll take that up in the next lesson.


Look with me at John 17:1b-2. Here Jesus prays to the Father and says, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him” (ESV).


There is so much in this passage that I run the risk of getting de-railed from my primary purpose. But I can’t leave it without making a couple of comments. We must take note that not everyone is given eternal life. Only those whom the Father has “given” to Jesus are granted eternal life. The idea of people being “given” by the Father to the Son is standard Johannine language for divine election (see especially John 6:37-65).


Note also that God has not utterly cast off the world of mankind, although it would have been entirely fitting and just had he done so. He has given ultimate authority over all flesh, over every man, woman, and child to Jesus Christ. Jesus has unassailed, unchallenged, comprehensive authority over all human beings: over red and yellow, black and white; over male and female, young and old; over the powerful and the weak; over the rich and poor; over the educated and the ignorant; over those down under in Australia and those up over at the North Pole; over those who live in caves and those who walk in marble corridors.


As Edwards himself pointed out in a sermon on 1 Peter 2:9, whether they are elected or not, they belong to God. He didn’t lose his rights to humanity because of the fall nor did he forfeit his power and authority to dispose of them as he sees fit. They are still in his hands. Neither did he lose his ultimate end or goal in having created them in the first place (see Prov. 16:4).


Out from among those over whom he has sovereign rights as Creator and Lord, the Father has given some to the Son in order that the Son might give to them eternal life.


Click HERE to view the entire article. It is a great read!


 

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

The Fall of Man, the Rise of Evil and the Seed of the Woman

This past weekend our Sunday school class discussed what I believe to be one of the most fundamentally important passages in all the bible. We looked at Genesis chapter 3 where Adam and Eve committed sin and forever altered the course of human history. It is the single most devastating event the world has ever known. It is more cataclysmic than the fall of the Roman Empire, more disastrous than the black plague, more destructive than both World Wars combined, more sorrowful than the Nazi concentration camps. The decision Adam made in allowing the serpent to tempt his wife, the lack of fortitude he exuded when the devil contradicted God's own word, the complacency he exhibited when Eve took hold of the forbidden fruit and finally the yielding of his will to the desire to taste of it himself trumps every global catastrophe that succeeded it. Why? All the suffering, sorrow and madness the world has experienced over the past 6,000 years finds its root cause in the Garden of Eden.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

An Essay on the Gospel of Jesus Christ

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My friend and brother in the Lord over at the Spice Mines of Kessel has recently written a compilation of essays entitled Retrospect, Faith and Grace. They beautifully detail the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and how it has impacted him. The essays are both a teaching and a testimony. He has really poured out his heart into this body of work and I am pleased and honored to recommend it for your edification. The multiple essays have been combined to form one document, which is available in PDF format. Click on the image above to read his introduction. At the bottom of the post you will find the link to download the PDF. Read and be blessed!

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

The Diminishing Doctrine of Sola Scriptura


The Protestant Reformation in the 16th century recovered many pivotal Christian doctrines that had become buried beneath an avalanche of time-honored traditions and blatantly anti-biblical teachings. The doctrine of Sola Scriptura helped to restore orthodoxy back to the visible church. Sola Scriptura (or Scripture Alone) is the conviction that the bible alone is God's authoritative and infallible message to his people, sufficient for all faith, life and godliness. This doctrine has come under intense fire over the past century. it has suffered immeasurably at the hands of liberal theologians who question the authenticity of the bible as God's word and also false prophets, who utter extra-biblical revelations, claiming that God is doing a 'new thing'. Well, despite the attempts of many a heretic, Sola Scriptura has stood firm her ground, even if multitudes fall away from belief in it. Check out this post at Herescope concerning the latest volley of fiery arrows falling upon this fortified bunker of divine truth. The shocking part is that we may be a victim of friendly fire! Here is an excerpt:

Monday, December 3, 2007

Sunday School Escapades

I've decided to break new ground and journal my adventures in Sunday School class. There are several reasons for this. I don't really have a prime motivation but many small ones. Mainly, I simply wish to chronicle the more interesting and challenging discussions we have over the bible texts we study. I must admit it is a challenge to perhaps be the lone Calvinist in a class full of 'free-will' adherents. I anticipate much lively dialog in the coming months if God so emboldens me to speak out.

I have only been at this church for a short time and the Baptist culture is new to me. Over one year ago I left my old Pentecostal church because it had been consumed with the Church Growth/Purpose-Driven way of doing ministry. In other words, they made the gospel appealing to the flesh and doctrine shallow and essentially unnecessary. The Lord directed my steps and I ended up at my community's largest Baptist congregation. I started attending Sunday school about 5 months ago. The classes are divided into age groups. I first attended a 30's group, (a natural selection given that I am in my 30's). I enjoyed the fellowship with the members, many of whom I had actually gone to high school with. I thought the teacher did a fine job of teaching. However, I didn't much care for the curriculum. My church is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, so we use Lifeway materials for Sunday school lessons. Lifeway publishes a wide variety of material, custom designed for people in different stages of life; children, youth, young adults, old adults and really old adults. The curriculum used in my class (Life Truths) did not impress me much. I felt it was written basically for a fifth-grade audience. I also sensed that the authors wrote the lessons by looking at the bible through the lens of life rather than life through the lens of the bible - a subtle yet important difference.

Friday, November 30, 2007

The Bible is NOT a Collection of Fortune Cookie Quotes!!!

A recent post on a Little Leaven displays a company that sells fortune cookies filled with bible verses. They claim, 'These are a great way for children and adults to learn the Bible!' and 'Perfect for Bible study groups, camps and retreats.'

While I realize this is just another secular business looking to make a buck, I am convinced there are people out there who will actually think this is a good idea. Now I have no problem with memorizing bible verses, but I think this kind of product marketing stems from the actual way many Christians study the bible. Many pastors and teachers also approach the bible like it was all written in the style of the Book of Proverbs - you know, that book primarily written by king Solomon filled with bite-sized pearls of wisdom. The problem is, the bible consists of 66 books written by over forty different authors. Proverbs is the only book of its kind. We cannot hope to interpret the overwhelming majority of the biblical texts in a 'Proverbial' manner - so to speak.

I know of people who wake up in the morning, crack open their bibles, thumb through the pages randomly and then point their finger (while looking the other way) at a verse, and then make that verse their focus for the entire day - without so much as a passing glance at the surrounding text.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Free Tools For Serious Bible Study

I have a software recommendation for all Christian believers who take seriously the Apostle Paul's admonition to 'Study earnestly to present yourself approved to God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.' (2Ti 2:15) I imagine for most Berean types, their adventures in Cyberspace have probably already landed them on the piece of virtual real estate known as E-sword.net. For those who may not be in the know, I cannot recommend this website enough. It is an incredible resource for serious Christian study. E-Sword is a bible software program that is remarkably diverse. You can download a multitude of various components; everything from commentaries and devotions to bible translations and dictionaries. The best part of it all... it's ABSOLUTELY FREE!!! Well, most of it is free. Some components will cost you a handful of change, but there are so many free resources available, you just won't have time to enjoy it all anyway. The program was created by a gentleman named Rick Meyers. He has done a magnificent work in helping to further the kingdom of God. It is apparent his driving motivation is not monetary profit but spiritual profit for the Body of Christ.

Permit me to insert a discernment warning, however. Many resources are available for your study but perhaps not all of them are beneficial. Before downloading components from teachers you aren't familiar with, do a Google search and investigate the orthodoxy of their teachings. Although I realize on the internet every single teacher and preacher of God's word is labeled a heretic or an apostate by some, please make the effort to plow through the rhetoric to verify the reliability of your sources. Keep your discernment radar active at all times!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

My Thanksgiving Prayer

In a couple of hours we will be serving Thanksgiving dinner at our home. I have quickly written this little prayer that I will pray over our food.

Dear Heavenly Father, we come before you today so very thankful for all the blessings you have poured out on us. We give thanks to you for this holiday season, for bringing family and friends together to enjoy this wonderful dinner. We are thankful for every good thing we have and for all the good times we have experienced. But we are also thankful for our trials and tribulations that we learn not to lean on our own strength or our own understanding but to trust in you and your holy word for everything. Most of all, we are thankful to you, Heavenly Father for giving us your Son, Jesus Christ, who died our death so that we may live.

In Jesus name we pray.

Amen.

A Happy a blessed Thanksgiving to all!

Monday, November 19, 2007

Spurious Conversions

altar-call2.jpg"In the church where I ministered in South Wales I used to stand at the main door of the church at the close of the service on Sunday night, and shake hands with people as they went out. The incident to which I am referring concerns a man who used to come to our service every Sunday night. He was a tradesman but also a heavy drinker. He got drunk regularly every Saturday night, but he was also regularly seated in the gallery of our church every Sunday night. On the particular night to which I am referring I happened to notice while preaching that this man was obviously being affected. I could see that he was weeping copiously, and I was anxious to know what was happening to him. At the end of the service I went and stood at the door. After a while I saw this man coming, and immediately I was in a real mental conflict. Should I, in view of what I had seen, say a word to him and ask him to make his decision that night, or should I not? Would I be interfering with the work of the Spirit if I did so? Hurriedly I decided that I would not ask him to stay behind, so I just greeted him as usual and he went out. His face revealed that he had been crying copiously, and he could scarcely look at me. The following evening I was walking to the prayer-meeting in the church, and, going over a railway bridge, I saw this same man coming to meet me. He came across the road to me and said, 'You know, doctor, if you had asked me to stay behind last night I would have done so.' 'Well,' I said, 'I am asking you now, come with me now.' 'Oh no,' he replied, 'but if you had asked me last night I would have done so.' 'My dear friend,' I said, 'if what happened to you last night does not last for twenty-four hours I am not interested in it. If you are not as ready to come with me now as you were last night you have not got the right, the true thing. Whatever affected you last night was only temporary and passing, you still do not see your real need of Christ.' That is the kind of thing that may happen even when an appeal is not made. But when an appeal is made it is greatly exaggerated and so you get spurious conversions". – Martyn Lloyd Jones

Monday, November 12, 2007

A Brief Discourse on the Heart of the Gospel

lighthouse.jpgBut God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Rom 5:8-10)

I have two student workers who help me out a couple of days during the week, doing various technology related tasks. They are generally enthusiastic and energetic workers. They are also neither one Christians. One is a sort of agnostic who is considering Judaism. (I don't get it either.) The other is a practicing Hindu. I have spent the last year witnessing to these young gentlemen. I have sat down with them and taken them systematically through the full scope of the gospel message, from law to grace, from hell to heaven, from death to life, from the depravity of man to the glory of God. As of yet, neither has put their faith in Christ. One has hardened himself against the message and generally mocks God and his word. The other is more respectful and appears to have a general interest in what I have to say.

So I keep teaching. One tool I frequently utilize is the white board I have in my office. Every week I put up a few scripture verses. When they come in to work, I often take a moment to quickly expound the text for their edification. The student who actually pays attention to me has come to eagerly await a new nugget of wisdom from God's word every week. He is quick to rebuke me whenever I fail to post a new scripture. I can sense that he is digesting the milk I am feeding him. Encouraged by his hunger for knowledge, I keep at it, praying that God will cause the seed I have planted to take root. My hope is that someday it shall sprout into a tree of life.

Last week as I searched for a scripture to display I came across the text from Romans posted above. As I read through it I realized the Apostle Paul here succinctly summarizes the core of the gospel message in these three short verses. I will attempt to expound these verses just as plainly as I explained them to my student workers a few days ago.

Friday, November 9, 2007

Works-Righteousness by Joel Osteen

better-you.jpgJoel Osteen's much anticipated new book has just recently hit store shelves, promising seven keys to improving yourself. Those who may still be unfamiliar with Osteen may glance at his book on display in the mall and think, "Oh, another self-help book by one of those slick motivational speakers." It might surprise them to find out he actually is the Pastor/Shepherd of the nation's largest flock of professing Christian believers at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. Don't worry, many discerning Christians who have listened to or read any of his works are equally surprised that he calls himself a Pastor. Joel Osteen has never attended seminary nor has he studied theology. He doesn't truly teach or preach. By his own admission, these traits are not his gifting! He spends his time behind the podium exhorting and encouraging. So, what's wrong with that? I'll let Dr. Michael Horton of Westminster Seminary California and host of the White Horse Inn radio broadcast explain in this excellent article reviewing Become a Better You. Here is an excerpt:

It is indeed true that there are appeals to the Bible scattered throughout this book. However, in nearly every case a verse is either torn from its context and turned into a "fortune-cookie" kind of promise that one can name-and-claim for oneself or it is actually misquoted to serve Osteen's point. For example, we read that when God confronted Adam and Eve after their sin, "He said, 'Adam, who told you that you were naked?' In other words, 'Who told you that something was wrong with you?' God immediately knew the enemy had been talking to them. God is saying to you today, 'Who told you that you don't have what it takes to succeed?'"3 Where, in the passage he refers to (Genesis 3:11), God asks Adam this question in order to convict him of his sin, Osteen makes it sound as if it were Satan who told Adam that he had failed the test. As in his earlier book, Osteen here never speaks of sin as falling short of God's glory, but of falling short of God's best for your life. In fact, Osteen's attachment to the prosperity gospel is even more explicit in Become a Better You. Just as Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, and other "faith teachers" speak of believers as "little gods" who share God's nature, Osteen has an entire chapter devoted to "The Power of Your Bloodline." "You have the DNA of Almighty God."4 It's "what's in you" that is divine seed, he says.5 It is not that God has imputed Christ's righteousness to us and adopted us as his children. We are not saved by an external and alien righteousness, but by an internal and essential righteousness that belongs to us simply by virtue of our being created in his image. Therefore, throughout the book Osteen can address all of his readers as semi-divine without any reference to faith in Christ.

Read the rest of the article here.

HT: Monergism

Monday, November 5, 2007

Preachers In the Pulpit: Paul Washer

I feel compelled to spotlight a preacher of God's word that the world probably knows little about. He doesn't have a large church congregation, nor has he written any Christian bestsellers. He doesn't ooze with charm and charisma nor does he have a pleasantly melodious voice. What he does do extremely well is passionately preach Christ and him crucified. He has become quite well known throughout the Reformed and discernment spheres of Christian blogdem, and I want to dedicate this post to the outstanding work of God he is laboring hard for each and everyday. His name is Paul Washer and he is the founder and director of HeartCry Missionary Society. He also serves as an itinerant preacher and speaks at churches all over the country. You can read a brief biography of his life and ministry here.

I first became aware of Paul Washer through a message he preached to a youth gathering a couple of years ago. The sermon blazed like wildfire through the blogosphere and I listened to it from a link at Slice of Laodicea. I couldn't believe my ears. He broke every rule of seeker sensitivity without blinking an eye. He shattered the myths of easy-believism 'I said a prayer' evangelicalism without mercy. He preached the hard message of the gospel; that of dying to self, taking up the cross and following Christ. He didn't promise the kids health, wealth and prosperity. He spoke from experience the true reality of facing death on a daily basis for the cause of the gospel while working as a missionary in the jungles of Peru. He then rebuked the youth for thinking a radical Christian as someone who wears a Christian t-shirt!

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Piper on Justification

nimitz9.jpgJustification by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone does not lead to more sinning. On the contrary, it is the only sure and hopeful base of operations from which the fight against sin can be launched. All the bombers that go out to drop bombs on the strongholds of sin remaining in our lives take off from the runway of justification by faith alone. The missiles that we shoot against the incoming attack of temptation are launched from the base of justification by faith alone. The whole lifelong triumphant offensive called "operation sanctification" – by which we wage war against all the remaining corruption in our lives – is sustained by the supply line of the Spirit that comes from the secure, unassailable home-base of justification by faith alone. And it will be a successful operation – but only because of the unassailable home base. - Dr. John Piper

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Happy Reformation Day!

luther1.jpgJust wanted to wish everyone well on this 490th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation began by Martin Luther in 1517. I am so pleased that the Reformation is still ongoing. I agree with John Calvin that we are reformed and always reforming. We, the people of God, haven't yet attained perfect knowledge and complete wisdom. But that's Ok, God's grace sustains us. It is a work of God that constantly pushes us forward through the muck of false teachings toward the glory of divine truth. The reformers began a noble work - the recovery of truth. May we faithfully pass on to the generations to come the theology formed in the blood and flames of medieval Europe. Today, piles of doctrinal dung are often flung upon the monuments of God's truth. Let us never tire of polishing those monuments as we continue to grow in the knowledge of the truth.

And remember...

The just shall live by faith! (Rom 1:17b)

Soli Deo Gloria!

Brandon L.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Changing the Heart of Worship

I've observed a trend over my 12 years as a member of Christ's body that has increasingly raised my ire. Worship leaders have been exercising their freedom to change hymn and praise & worship song lyrics that they don't care for. For example, I recently heard of one such worship leader who didn't like a particular verse in the popular song 'The Heart of Worship.' Here is the offending verse:

King of endless worth, no one could express


How much You deserve


Though I'm weak and poor, all I have is Yours


Every single breath


The worship leader bristled at the thought that people are weak and poor, so he desired to alter the lyrics a bit to reflect a more positive, self-affirming view of fallen man. He wanted to change the line to:

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Why Celebrate Halloween...

When there is a much better alternative holiday to observe on October 31st!

'What other holiday?' you may wonder.

Well, let me enlighten you! The day we most commonly refer to as Halloween is also known as...

REFORMATION DAY!


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On October 31st, 1517, Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk, nailed his 95 theses on the castle church door in Wittenburg, protesting the sale of indulgences by the Roman Catholic church. Luther eventually went to trial for heresy at the Diet of Worms where he was asked to repent of his teachings upon penalty of excommunication. His teachings opposed many accepted doctrines and practices of the church. He also challenged the authority and infallibility of the Pope. Luther refused to recant, famously stating:

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Blogger's Block

I apologize for the lack of posting recently. The strange thing is, I have no shortage of topics to write about. In fact I have over 20 drafts awaiting my attention! However, I can't seem to string two coherent sentences together.  I hear this is a common malady for writers and bloggers, but that doesn't make me feel any better about it. I may know the root cause of it all - and will share that with you if it does in fact prove to be the case -but until then be patient and don't abandon me. I will be back - for better or worse for all of blogdem. Please pray that this too shall pass.

God Bless

Brandon L.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

The Responsibility-Index

Dan Phillips of Pyromaniacs has posted an excellent article on how every good scripture-driven sermon produces what he has coined as the 'responsibility-index'. Here is an excerpt:

Perhaps I'll develop this further another time, but the faithful sermon we hear changes our status before God. Of course, I'm not talking about justification, but about accountability. The pan-Biblical principle is: greater privilege = greater responsibility. In this particular connection, we certainly see it in Jesus' words: "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin" (John 15:22).

So let's say you are in a church that teaches the Word of God — which you should be. As you listen to the Word faithfully preached, something is happening to you. This is true whether you feel it or not, whether your behavior changes or not. Something is happening. What is happening?

What is happening is this: your responsibility-index is rising.

Click HERE to read the rest of the article.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Another New Look

Ok, I promise this is the last theme I will play around with - for now.

I'll let my readers be the final judge on this. Which theme should I keep?

A.) Original theme with Bunyan pic and contrasting black, white and red.

B.) The clean and elegant (but Bunyan-less) blue-gray theme I have used for the past three days

C.) The current theme

Vote now in the comment section.

Do We Really 'Decide' For Christ?

Here is a clip from a CrossTV series investigating the modern evangelical tactic of moving people to 'make a decision for Christ.'





Tuesday, October 2, 2007

A New Look

Well, give it to me straight, is my new theme a thumbs up or thumbs down in your opinion? Tell me the truth, I can take it! And I'm not too full of pride to humble myself and revert to my old tried and true theme if public opinion should so necessitate.

Monday, October 1, 2007

What Can Separate Us From the Love of God?

Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:33-39)

The Apostle Paul asks several important questions in this text. He also gives his readers profound answers.

Who can accuse God's people of any crime?

No one. God alone justifies the guilty. He answers to no man. He has mercy on whom he will have mercy.

Who has the right to sentence his saints to death and hell?

No one. Christ took our condemnation up on himself. We are free from the sting of death and the punishment of hell.

Who can separate God's people from the love of Christ, which has been freely bestowed upon them?

Nobody can and nothing will. No circumstance or trial can wedge apart this bond. Through God's love we have been made more than conquerors. Again, he reiterates that no being (angels nor rulers), thing (the sword, death nor life, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth) or circumstance (tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger) can separate us from the love of God. He even goes so far as to say 'nor anything else in all creation'. I think that pretty much covers everything, don't you think?

Friday, September 28, 2007

How to Cripple Your Church in 10 Easy Steps

Here's a video explaining the top 10 best ways for a worship leader to hinder a church.





Agree?

Disagree?

Discuss.

(HT: Christian Research Net)

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Is Free Will God's Greatest Gift?

I had lunch the other day with a good Christian friend. He brought up the issue of free will, a subject that had weighed heavily on his mind recently. He confided with me that he thought he heard the voice of God speak to him one day.

This is what the Lord supposedly told him.

"Free will is the greatest gift I have given to man." - Or something close to that.

My friend did a remarkable thing after hearing the word of the Lord, something I see very few Christians do when they supposedly hear God speak to them.

He discerned the message.

He rightly divided the word of truth. He questioned the scriptural integrity of those words. He did as Spurgeon advised; judged the right from the almost right.

See, the words 'free will is God's greatest gift' may sound good, right and true on the surface, especially in the midst of a doctrinally confused generation of semi-Pelagians dominating the face of evangelicalism.

But is the notion scriptural?

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Pastor Bob DeWaay on Pietism

revival.jpgWhen I hear the word piety I immediately conjure an image of a self-righteous religious pharisee type, praying long-winded prayers, fasting with hunger pangs etched on his face, looking down his nose at the unclean mass of humanity who are not worthy to look up and behold his blinding glory.

A pious person in the world today denotes a religious hypocrite, a sanctimonious spirit, concerned more for dotting his I's and crossing his T's rather than walking in love, mercy and compassion toward others. So, if someone ever calls you a pious churchgoer, don't say 'thank you'. You've just been backhanded!

This caricature has been manufactured by a contemporary evangelicalism that disdains 'dead orthodoxy' and 'dry doctrine'. It is not an accurate depiction of true piety. It actually once had a very positive, biblical definition. Piety meant a deep reverence for God and a sacred obligation to religious duties. Piousness parallels holiness. But there have been some in church history who have taken true piety to unhealthy extremes, creating a man-made system of sanctification outside of God's ordinary means of grace.

Pastor Bob DeWaay of Twin Cities Fellowship in Minneapolis has written a superb and eye opening article on a heretical movement that has infected the church for centuries. It has taken on various forms and has been called by many different names, but at its core is called 'pietism'. It is not the same as practicing true piety, but bases its belief off of it.

I'll let Pastor DeWaay define the term:

Sunday, September 16, 2007

My Conversion to the Doctrines of Grace - Part 3

A great mystery once surrounded the circumstances of my salvation experience that for a decade confounded all my attempts to unveil its secrets.


Let me start at the beginning. In the summer of 1993 I found a job at the recycling center of a local non-profit agency. They provided a training environment for people with developmental disabilities. The job humbled me, but I did enjoy working with the people. My supervisor lived his Christian faith openly, and stood boldly for his convictions. To make a long story short, he preached the gospel to me for a solid year-and-a-half, slowly chipping away at my granite hard heart. One day he quoted a scripture that flew like a steel-tipped arrow, breaching my great wall of enmity.

Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world's rulers, of the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Eph 6:11-12)

Friday, September 14, 2007

Seek The Lord

God hath said to all men who draw breath:

"Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
(Isa 55:6-11)

It's interesting that God says His word does not return to him empty. What do you think this means? Does it mean that all who hear the word will be saved, or does God have a double-edged intent in the proclamation of biblical truth?

Any thoughts?

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Post of The Week: Are Arminianism and Open Theism Related?

World From Our Window has an interesting article examining the relationship between Arminian 'free-will' theology and the latest and greatest heresy sweeping the landscape - Open Theism. The author poses the question whether Arminian theology, if consistently applied, naturally leads to a belief in Open Theism.

Here's an excerpt:

Over the past several months I have heard a couple of Calvinists make statements along the lines that "consistent Arminianism leads to Open Theism." This is not to say that all Arminians are Open Theists (a heresy that the vast majority of Arminians repudiate), but that if Arminians were consistent they would be Open Theists. Therefore the only thing that keeps an Arminian from being an Open Theist is inconsistency.

Read the entire article here.

Monday, September 10, 2007

A Friend of Sinners

I found this cool sidebar banner on one of my favorite blogs, Pyromaniacs that strikes me as somewhat familiar - but I can't quite put my finger on it...

pyropilgrim.gif

Can you?

I wish I had the Photoshop skills these guys do, then I could fashion my header in a more creative way. It looks very good! I can't use it on my blogroll yet because of the limitations that accompany the free blog package I use here at Wordpress. Oh well, TeamPyro can still count me in as a Friend of Sinners.

A Little Levity

I about spewed my Mt. Dew when I saw this biting piece of satire from the Sacred Sandwich.


examination.jpg


 


After a thorough examination by Arminian church officials,


Bob was found to be only "slightly dead" in trespasses and sins.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Post of the Week: The Church is Full of Hypocrites

Extreme Theology has posted an exceptional article on hypocrisy in the church by Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller.

Here is an insightful excerpt:

There are two things at work behind the accusation of hypocrisy, one true, the other false. The first is the sad reality that the church is often marred with shameful sin. More on this later. But, the second thing behind the accusation of hypocrisy is a wrong assumption about what Christianity is. Those that accuse the church of hypocrisy often assume that the whole point of the Church is to make people good, moral. “You're a Christian: you're supposed to be good and holy and all that stuff.” The world sees the church as a place where people go to learn about God's rules, and to talk about how they are keeping them and the world is not.

Here we must be clear that the main point of Christianity is not our morality and goodness. This is, to be sure, the thing driving every other world religion from Judaism to Hinduism, Islam to Mormonism and even Atheism! All of these “ism's” are pointing mankind to achieve more and be better, to climb the ladder of moral success and be a good person. But Christianity is different, it begins not with man's goodness or potential goodness but rather with man's wickedness. From the first chapters of Genesis until the Revelation given to St John the Bible is a record of mankind's failure; it is a testimony of his sin.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Friday, September 7, 2007

John Piper on The Origin of Faith

piper.jpgYou did not make the cross effective in your life by faith. The cross became effective in your life by purchasing your faith.


Christ tasted death for everyone who has faith. Because the faith of everyone who believes was purchased by the death of Christ.

– John Piper

Thursday, September 6, 2007

My Conversion to the Doctrines of Grace - Part 2

Surprisingly, my conversion from free-will, Arminian theology to Calvinism came rather swiftly. It's shocking really, if you only understood the depths of hatred I once held toward those doctrines. (See Part 1 of this series for proof).


I resisted initially, desperately hopeful that some sensible compromise existed between these diametrically opposed belief systems. I figured Arminianism fell into one ditch while Calvinism veered clear over to the other side of the road. I searched in vain for the imaginary highway that ran through the middle of both views, but of course I never found any signs to point the way. After wrangling with Calvinism for about 4 months, I finally beheld its beauty with a clarity only the Holy Spirit could grant.


The ditch I had plowed into, turns out, is really an off-ramp exiting the pothole plagued 'Free Will' service road. It flows into a smoothly paved four-lane interstate winding a clear path to the Celestial City. The road first runs through the firmly established townships of Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus, Sola Scriptura and finally Soli Deo Gloria, which lies at the very gates of the streets of gold.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

My Conversion to the Doctrines of Grace - Part 1

Remember my series on TULIP I started many moons ago? I have pretty much finished up articulating the doctrine of Radical Corruption of human nature, but I do have an allegory I plan on penning to help illustrate the point forcefully. Hopefully, I will publish it before twilight sets on 2007. I will then resume the series with a closer look into the doctrine of Unconditional Election. But before all that takes place I thought it might be beneficial to relate the convictions that have brought me to my current level of understanding concerning God's sovereignty in our salvation.

Monday, September 3, 2007

True Discernment

chs.jpg"Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong; rather, it is telling the difference between right and almost right." - Charles Spurgeon

I don't know if there is a greater need in the Body today than the gift of discernment. The number of teachers and preachers in the modern church who sound good and seem right but truly are not, has multiplied exponentially just in this generation. I have rejected a great number of fine-sounding televangelists, teachers, authors and bible commentators over the past couple of years that I had once respected. So much so in fact, people often wonder if there is anybody I do like.

Fair question.

My answer is 'oh yes, a great many fine teachers exist, you just have to seek them out, because most refuse to parade themselves or exploit fellow brethren."

Friday, August 31, 2007

Five Tools to Develop Spiritual Maturity - Saddleback Style

I stand in amazement at the audacity of Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren. He has deceived himself (along with countless multitudes of star-struck pastors) into believing that his self-manufactured, man-centered methodologies will bring about tremendous growth in our churches and in our spiritual lives. This article from Christianpost.com that I found through a link on Christian Research Network has Warren explaining the five tools he uses to develop spiritual growth. For those who don't like clicking on links, I will list them here:

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Three Links in the Chain of Bondage

I have come to understand over the course of this past year what the true definition of bondage means when spoken of in a biblical sense. Bondage is a state of utter slavery to forces stronger than man's will. Whatever a man is in bondage to, he is a slave to serve for all of his days. The state of bondage is so overwhelmingly powerful that escape from it is beyond hope. The scriptures teach man is in bondage under three separate and distinct systems.

Monday, August 27, 2007

God Hath Said: Death from a Divine Perspective

I'm beginning a new section here at A Peculiar Pilgrim called God Hath Said. I draw this title from Genesis chapter 3 where Satan, in the form of the serpent, calls into question God's commandments to Adam and Eve with the words 'Hath God said?' Eve retorts to the Father of lies with a confident 'God hath said'.

Way to go girl! Except for that eating the fruit off the forbidden tree thing... but I digress.

The point is, I will periodically post little snippets of scriptural truth that may not be common knowledge to those not real familiar with the bible.

So, without further ado, here is my first offering.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Sanctuary or Auditorium - Does it Really Matter?

I had lunch with a friend the other day. The topic of church growth came up, as it often does. He informed me of a trend in his church that has provoked him as of late. He has noted that the place believers gather together to offer praises in worship to their God, the place where the bold proclamation of God's word is presented to the people, the place once known as a sanctuary is now simply being called an auditorium.

This isn't an isolated occurrence. When my old church moved from their sanctuary into the gym (preparing for growth) the term sanctuary was dropped and it became an auditorium. Even the conservative baptist church I attend now calls it an auditorium.

My friend was so troubled by the terminology he confronted the pastor about it. He argued that the church has been referred to as a sanctuary throughout history and carries with it a sense of awe and reverence in the presence of the Holy that should not be changed.

In light of our discussion, a question has been hammering in my brain the past few days:

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Has God Performed a Work in You?

"Since Scripture declares that all who are truly saved are the workmanship of God [Eph 2:10], then the question I must ask is, ‘Have I been the subject of that workmanship?’ The question is not the sincerity of my decision, or my resolve, or my whatever-I-want-to-call-it. The question is not, ‘What have I done with reference to Christ and his salvation?’ The essential question is this: ‘Has God done something in me?’ Not, ‘Have I accepted Christ?’ but, ‘Has Christ accepted me?’ The issue is not, ‘Have I found the Lord?’ but, ‘Has he found me?’" - Albert N. Martin

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Crowded - But spaced Out

Following closely on the heels of my post on Solitude, I offer this observation of our high tech society.

We live in a narcissistic world. Our tech gadgets, which have become increasingly portable, allow us to enter into our fantasy worlds no matter where in the world we might be. 'Me time' is experienced now anytime, anywhere and anyhow.

Sitting in an airport terminal, waiting on a delayed flight to resume? No problem, simply check the latest news and sports scores on your cell phone.

Waiting in a long line at the grocery store? Just whip out your MP3 player and tap your toes to your favorite tunes.

Bored with the Sunday sermon? Just crank up a favorite movie on your iPod and drift away.

Family get together at Grandmas? Forget about it! You have an appointment to take down the dragon's lair with all your online buddies in a riveting massively multiplayer online RPG.

Itching to evangelize? No need to get your rear out of that chair. Just play on a virtual life simulation online, build a church and preach the gospel.

Notice what's missing from all these scenarios?

Monday, July 30, 2007

What To Do With My Solitude

Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment. (Pro 18:1)

I am often called a hermit by my family and peers. I shy away from social situations as much as possible. I am most comfortable in quiet settings, often desiring to be alone with my hobbies or my own thoughts.

Three years ago I moved out of the office suite I shared with my co-workers and into a workroom/office isolated from the department - and I just love it. A frequent comment I get from visitors is, "Man this place is quiet! How can you stand it?" My pat answer is simply "Four kids." They nod in sympathetic understanding and leave me be.

I like solitude!

Monday, July 23, 2007

Church on the Downgrade

This is one of the most amazing quotes I have ever read from the pen of Charles Spurgeon. Did he really write this over 100 years ago? The Downgrade Controversy Spurgeon fought against was at heart the same battle the church is fighting against today in the Church Growth/Seeker Sensitive movement.

Spurgeon never compromised his commitment to Sola Scriptura. Will we stand with him?

"An evil resides in the professed camp of the Lord so gross in its impudence that the most shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it. During the past few years it has developed at an abnormal rate even for evil. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments. The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the Church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them. From speaking out as the Puritans did, the Church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Post of the Week: Ministry of Error?

Herescope.

The article is Part 6 of a series called Contentiously Contending. I recommend reading them all. This one really spoke to me. These are wise words that I think we all must take to heart.

God Bless!

Thursday, July 12, 2007

My 'Simple' Sunday

Sorry I'm so late reporting this, but summer is a difficult time of year for me to post on a consistent basis. We have two computers, but my wife uses one for summer school and my kids stay up to all hours on the other one playing games and texting their friends. I can't wait for fall, frankly.

Anyway, let me give a brief overview of how church services went Sunday. Pastor gave his first message on 'Creating a Simple Church.' I held my breath, hoping he didn't propose a bunch of radical changes couched in corporate lingo to communicate the need to re-focus the church. I was pleasantly surprised, however. The message did not resemble much, if anything I had read of or listened to about 'Simple Church'. He did center the message around the book's thesis: We need to focus all the ministries in the church around the bible commission to make disciples of all nations. But it appeared to me he took the central idea of the book and built upon it without relying on the book's methods to do so. He made the message his own. Here were his three main points:

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Simple Church

My church is starting a new series this coming Sunday on 'The Simple Church' that has me more than a little nervous. I believe (but has not been verified yet) that it is based on the book, 'Simple Church' by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger. Pastor will preach 4 messages each Sunday morning over the month of July. Evening services will not be held. In its place, we will divide into small groups and discuss the morning message.

So what has me on edge?

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

The One Thing Pastors Must Never Forsake

"In the great day, when the muster-roll shall be read, of all those who are converted through fine music, and church decoration, and religious exhibitions and entertainments, they will amount to the tenth part of nothing; but it will always please God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Keep to your preaching; and if you do anything beside, do not let it throw your preaching into the background. In the first place preach, and in the second place preach, and in the third place preach.

Believe in preaching the love of Christ, believe in preaching the atoning sacrifice, believe in preaching the new birth, believe in preaching the whole counsel of God. The old hammer of the gospel will still break the rock in pieces; the ancient fire of Pentecost will still burn among the multitude. Try nothing new, but go on with preaching, and if we all preach with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, the results of preaching will astound us."

- Charles Spurgeon

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Coming Out From Among Them - Epilogue

Are you familiar with the tale of the pied piper?

The story goes that a small German village called Hamelin suffered from a terrible rat infestation. A man calling himself a rat catcher boasted he could rid the town of every single rodent. The villagers promised the man, (known around those parts as the pied piper) a great sum of money for accomplishing this task. He played his flute, mesmerizing the entire colony, leading them to the nearest river, and drowning them all in the rushing waters. However the villagers weren't as thankful as they ought to have been. Like many of us would do in the midst of a desperate situation, they made a wild promise they could not possibly hope to keep in order to rid the town of its plague. But once they were relieved of their burden they had no intentions of paying the man his due.

After all, the problem wasn't all that bad in the first place, right? It's similar to how quickly a sailor's fear of drowning fades after the storm subsides. The pied piper did not take the villagers' snub very well, so he plotted revenge. One day, while the adults were all gathered together for church service, he came into town and spellbound all the children with his soulful tunes. He led them away to a dark cave. All of the children entered without hesitation, but none of them ever walked back out.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Coming Out From Among Them - Part 4

I had arrived at a crisis point in my spiritual life and I just didn't know what to do. Our church had bowed its knee at the altar of Purpose, worshiping the Church Growth Goddess, who had seductively lured it away to her sinful bed. She had successfully inflamed passion for numerical growth, fame and influence to a fever pitch among our leadership. They had yielded to her will in matters of faith and practice. I strongly felt God's call to come out of her, that her sins would not be imputed unto me or my family. However, I didn't know where to go. I felt I needed a well thought out plan before exiting stage left.

I still had not found a church home for us to root ourselves in. After 11 years in a pentecostal\charismatic type church and seeing a lot of goofiness done in the name of God, I was looking to make our home in a more conservative, scripture-saturated atmosphere. I didn't completely rule out a 'full-gospel' church since there are a couple in our town with good reputations, but I honestly couldn't bring myself to attend them. I have too many questions and concerns about tongues, prophecies, prophets and spirit baptisms to be comfortable in one right now. Most of the other churches I considered have been influenced, to some degree, by Rick Warren. So many choices, so few options. So while I pondered and prayed over our future, we continued to attend services on Sunday morning and on Wednesday nights.

Friday, June 8, 2007

To Fight or To Frolic

"In the early days, when Christianity exercised a dominant influence over American thinking, men and women conceived the world to be a battleground. Our fathers believed in sin and the devil and hell as constituting one force, and they believed in God and righteousness and heaven as the other. By their very nature, these forces were opposed to each other forever in deep, grave, irreconcilable hostility. Humans, our fathers held, had to choose sides-they could not be neutral.


For them it must be life or death, heaven or hell, and if they chose to come out on God’s side they could expect open war with God’s enemies. The fight would be real and deadly and would last as long as life continued here below. People looked forward to heaven as a return from the wars, a laying down of the sword to enjoy in peace the home prepared for them…


How different today. The fact remains the same, but the interpretation has changed completely. People think of the world, not as a battleground, but as a playground. We are not here to fight; we are here to frolic. We are not in a foreign land; we are at home. We are not getting ready to live, but we are already living, and the best we can do is rid ourselves of our inhibitions and our frustrations and live this life to the full."


- AW Tozer

Friday, June 1, 2007

The True Shepherd

"Ah, brethren, this is the mark of every true shepherd whom Christ sends - he comes in by the door, that is, the blood of Christ. He speaks of sin, because he has seen its greatness; he speaks of pardon, because he has been forgiven; of blood, because he has felt its power. 'He that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.' No other qualification will do. All the learning at colleges will never make a minister. All the eloquence in the world will never make a minister."


- Robert Murray M'cheyne


 


Friday, May 25, 2007

The Only Acceptable Gospel

We must never confuse our desire for people to accept the Gospel, with creating a Gospel that is acceptable to people." – Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Coming Out From Among Them - Part 3

The writing was on the Banner. I just didn't immediately notice it.

I pulled into the church parking lot one bright Sunday morning, going through my normal routine. I delivered my kids to their various classes and sat down in our gym-turned-auditorium. Service began as usual, with our pop-star praise and worship leader grooving and crooning to the beat. I gritted my teeth, closed my eyes and attempted to worship God despite the distractions. When our pastor stepped up to the pulpit he declared, "Welcome to XXXX XXXXXXXXXX Church."

Excuse me? What did he just say? I looked around, first to assure myself I had not taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque. Yep, it was the right place. Next, I gauged the reaction of the congregation. However, nobody blinked an eye at his calling the church by a different name.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

On a More Encouraging Note...

With all my recent posts focused squarely upon the outlandish and destructive tendencies in our churches, I found an uplifting piece of news in the mail today that I would like to share. I received a bulletin from my current church's student ministry. The youth pastor wrote a blurb informing parents about the summer agenda for his jr. high and high school ministries. I did a double take when I read that the high schoolers would be reading through AW Tozer's book, The Pursuit of God.

Tozer, now deceased, was a mid-twentieth century pastor/teacher/author who has been called by many a modern day prophet. His bold, uncompromising preaching of the full counsel of God, cutting edge commentary on the culture of his day and stern warnings against the changing methods and message of evangelicalism earned him that title. His warnings hold true more so today than in his time because, as I'm sure you are well aware, evangelicalism has plunged further and further into the depths of silliness and biblical irrelevance. He is one of the most widely quoted men of God in the Christian blogosphere. In fact, I have a post featuring my favorite quote from him.

In a nutshell, Tozer's teachings are strong meat, not skim milk, like many youth ministry teachings today. Kudos to our youth minister for daring to feed his young flock substantial spiritual food. The Pursuit of God is considered a Christian classic. I admit, I haven't yet got my mitts on it, but it is high on my reading list. I've read many devotions and selected passages from his writings so I feel I am at least somewhat qualified to recommend him.

Hmmmm, I wonder if our youth minister will let me sit in on these summer courses. Honestly, I would be thrilled, I'm sure I would learn a lot. It's not everyday an adult believer could actually grow in grace through a youth group, but it looks like this is no ordinary ministry.

Praise God!

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Random Ramblings - TD Jakes, Mimes and Helping Yourself

Ok, this is a quick post - a little bit of live-blogging if you will. I'm sitting here at home watching in disbelief as TD Jakes promotes his new book, Reposition Yourself - Living Life Without Limits on TBN. First of all, he has four mimes complete with white face make-up, acting out his sermon in the background as he talks about breaking free of the bonds of mediocrity.

Yikes! And I thought Powerpoint presentations had great potential to divert our attention away from the word, Oh my! Four clowns making wild hand gestures and overly dramatic physical contortions to the tune of a Christian message cancels out the effectiveness of Bishop Jake's usually compelling delivery. Welcome to the brave new world of self-defeating ministry, folks.

He's promoting this book pretty heavily. The sermon he's preaching is lifted from the book and he interrupts himself every few minutes to run a mini-infomercial giving us an inside flap style synopsis of the book's contents. He says it's about personal fulfilment that can be achieved by making small adjustments to your life that, oh by the way, you can only discover if you buy his book. He made a remark that God had given him fresh new perspectives that he is unveiling to the world so we can live the abundant life. The hair on the back of my neck rises every time I hear preachers using words such as 'fresh' and 'new' in the same sentence with 'God' and the 'bible'.

And in an 'Oh my goodness, no he didn't' moment, he actually spouted the old worn cliche' 'God helps those who helps themselves' in the midst of his message! He even quotes the 'faith without works is dead' scripture in support of it. Does he have any inkling of what the grace of God really is? Can man help himself in any way in regards to salvation? Does God expect us to work our way to glory in our own strength? It is utter foolishness at best and rank heresy at worst to make this unsubstantiated claim as if it had any basis in scripture.

I've had enough, time to change the channel. If you are a fan of TD Jakes, may I humbly suggest you do the same.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Coming Out From Among Them - Part 2

In Part 1 of this series I wrote that three major events led directly to my departure from my old church several months ago. I want to chronicle those events here in hope that some of my readers may be able to detect the infiltration of the heretical principles of the church growth/seeker sensitive/purpose-driven movement creeping into their own congregations.

In October of 2005 I underwent my own personal reformation of belief, turning away from Arminianism to Calvinism, away from a man-centered theology to a Christocentric theology. This startling change began, due in part, to my intense dissatisfaction with the church and the preaching from the pulpit. As I examined the messages I couldn't help but feel the biblical content was minimal, with the wisdom of men used as filler. That sent me on a journey to discover the truth about the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. This, in turn, led me to embrace Reformation Theology. However, I did not leave my church immediately. Instead, I turned on my discernment radar and listened closely to every word spoken from the pulpit. Sadly, I must report, the results were appalling.

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Coming Out From Among Them - Part 1

In the past year I went from blessed believer in my church to blessed subtraction. The events leading to my exodus can be traced back to about three years ago. Circumstances culminated quickly within the past year-and-a-half as the veil of deception lifted from my heart. After serving this Assembly of God fellowship for over eleven years I finally came to the crossroad between conviction and compromise. I chose conviction.

So, my family and I have left behind friends, ministries and memories to embark on a new mission that God is leading us into. I am excited for the glories that lie on the horizon, but my heart aches also for those things I have left behind. Leaving a church is akin to getting a divorce from a beloved spouse. You might love her deeply but unfaithfulness must by necessity drive you apart. It is painful; resentment and bitterness can fester on both sides if the Lord is not sought to help heal wounds and forgive trespasses. Feelings of loneliness and isolation can at times be overwhelming. Opposition from those you called brothers and sisters in Christ can suck the life out of you; stirring feelings of guilt and doubt.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Does God Send People to Hell?

It's been several months ago, but I distinctly remember having dinner one Friday evening over at a friend's house with his family. Another recently married couple ate with us too. They all attend a different church than we do, but our beliefs had always been very similar - at least until I embraced the doctrines of grace. The differences in our theologies had become apparent, and somewhat troublesome to them. Despite their apprehension, I proclaimed the gospel truth as I understood it in an after dinner conversation. The wife of the recently married couple sat at rapt attention as I gave a brief overview of the doctrines of Grace. At one point I made a remark about God casting the reprobate into hell, whose sins have not been washed away by the blood of Jesus. She perked up, eyes wide, mouth agape and chimed in with this gem, "God doesn't send people to hell!"

Friday, May 4, 2007

Purpose Driven Drivel


Several months ago, I sent out an email to several of my friends and former members of my old church. In it I let my pent up impressions of Rick Warren pour out like a tsunami into digital text. The reaction I received surprised me a bit. The response was overwhelmingly and enthusiastically positive. It seems most everyone could affirm the points I had made. I received several phone calls from concerned believers, confirming with them the dark turn the modern evangelical church as a whole has taken. A turn that leads down a path of heresy and ultimately apostasy from the gospel of Christ if left unconfronted. In the last year I've read many accounts from Purpose-Driven refugees; people forced out of their churches by false teaching, watered down preaching and flesh-titillating outreach methodologies. In the past year I and many others have joined the ranks of the disenchanted. We have made our stand against the ungodliness that has seeped into the church, firmly rooting our feet on the solid rock of Jesus Christ and His word. God has been faithful to me through it all. He has led me to attend a baptist church that centers their ministry upon God's grace through the cross of Christ.


I am reprinting the email here in hope that it will stir awareness and discernment within my readers, opening their eyes to the insidious errors walking through the front doors of our churches unchallenged.


Note: The last link no longer works. The site publishing the article no longer exists. That is unfortunate because it was the inspiration for my email. Oh well...

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

The Psychology of Rick Warren

In my Previous posts on Rick Warren's appearance on Nightline I quoted the following:

Warren said that there is a danger in merging Christianity with psychology.

“Absolutely, there’s a danger,” he said. “Because what it does is feed this self-centeredness … I say, it’s not about you. It’s all about God.

OK, it sounds like he is opposed to the merging of psychological philosophy with the church.

Great!

Oh, but wait... then there's this. An article from Christianpost.com written by Warren entitled Six Physical Factors that Affect Your Worship Service is all about psychology. He advocates manipulating environmental factors to help grow the church!

Here are some selected quotes from the article with commentary.

Rick Warren on Nightline - Part 2

If you thought the quotes from Rick Warren highlighted in my last post were jaw-dropping, well hold on to your chin! Here is round two from the article Rick Warren & Purpose-Driven Strife.

So the debate goes on: Is the purpose-driven method simplifying Christianity in exchange for church growth? The founder of the movement says the conflicts and divisions are inevitable costs.
"You know, I wouldn't intentionally want to cause pain to any person or to anyone,"


My comment: No. He would be pleased as punch if all the churches would conform to his image without debate.

Warren said. "Am I willing to put up with pain so the people [that] Jesus Christ died for can come to know him? Absolutely."
Warren said that if some churches may suffer as a result of applying some of those principles, then "that's the price."

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Rick Warren on Nightline - Part 1

I am compelled to post my thoughts on several things Rick Warren said to Martin Bashir in an interview on Nightline several weeks ago. Here is an excerpt from the article Rick Warren & Purpose-Driven Strife from ABCnews.com. It is essentially a word for word transcript from the Nightline segment.

Warren said that there is a danger in merging Christianity with psychology. "Absolutely, there's a danger," he said. "Because what it does is feed this self-centeredness … I say, it's not about you. It's all about God. And one of the biggest myths is that all mega churches are alike. Well, they're not."

Monday, April 30, 2007

Blessed Subtraction

"Be willing to let people leave the church. And I told you earlier the fact that people are gonna leave the church no matter what you do. But when you define the vision, you're choosing who leaves. You say, "But Rick, yes, they're the pillars of the church." Now, you know what pillars are. Pillars are people who hold things up ... And in your church, you may have to have some blessed subtractions before you have any real additions" - The Purpose Driven Church

This quote by Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and author of the bestselling books 'The Purpose Driven Church' and 'The Purpose Driven Life' exemplifies why I left the only church I have attended in the eleven years since embracing Christ as my Savior. I count myself as one of these 'blessed subtractions' for the simple reason that I don't share Warren's vision for the postmodern church. Unfortunately, I appear to be in the minority, as thousands of churches nationwide have adopted the principles he espouses in his books, which many have exalted to near canonical status in laying ecclesiological foundations.

Friday, April 27, 2007

Breaking News: God stripped of His Power and Authority

I don't make this stuff up, people. The modern church is impossible to satire. The truth is much more absurd than fiction. Dr. Albert Mohler in his daily blog discusses a recent article from the Arizona Daily Star about a growing trend among churches to refer to God as anything and everything but 'Lord'. You really must read this to believe it...

I have an opinion on the origin of all these PC gender-neutral terms and hierarchical and patriarchal phobic beliefs - and someday I may be brave enough to post about it. For now, enjoy as Dr. Mohler sinks his teeth into this postmodern rebellion.

Enlarging My Borders

This blog has primarily focused on issues of theology and personal experiences in evangelism, but I will now begin integrating the themes and articles from my discernment blog into this one. Shortly, my other blog shall cease to exist and I will journal onward only as a quite peculiar pilgrim.

Be ye warned! You shall be exposed to heresies, watered down doctrines, false teachers, big teeth and slicked back hair. Please keep barf bags and smelling salts nearby. Things could (and probably will) get a little ugly at times.

For those readers who willingly bring injury to your intellects by digesting both my blogs, I ask for patient endurance as I republish articles from over there. I will continue to post new things interspersed with the discernment articles, so please don't take an extended leave of absence. I have several interesting topics in the skillet - so stay tuned!

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Blessed Assurance Through Holiness

I gleaned the following snippets from the article 'The Practical Implications of Calvinism' by Albert N. Martin. I highly recommend reading it in its entirety.

Have you been brought to see your own corruption in sin in such a measure that the first two beatitudes are true of you?’ The only people in the world who are truly blessed are those who have been so wrought upon by the Spirit that they are not strangers to these two things: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted’. How does God make men truly blessed, truly happy? First of all, he makes them sad at the sight and sense of their own impoverishment in a state of sin. What is poverty of spirit? Is it some kind of pseudo-pietistic attempt to convince myself that I am a miserable worm and a wretch? Not at all! Poverty of spirit results from just getting a sight of what you really are, and seeing that you are nothing and have nothing and can do nothing that can commend yourself to the grace and saving favour of God; it results from the conviction that he could make you an eternal monument of his righteous wrath, and let you perish in the eternal burning.  Have you known an inner stripping that has brought you to poverty of spirit? to holy mourning? to the recognition that your sin has been against the Sovereign God? Have you been brought to the place where you hate your sin enough to forsake it and cleave only to Christ?

Monday, April 23, 2007

Dying to Self - The Absurdity of Pride

Then Jesus told his disciples, "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 will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Mat 16:24-26)

In my toddler years as a believer I pondered the importance of the doctrine of dying to self. Why would Jesus demand such a radical position of people in order to follow him? Self isn't all that bad. We make mistakes, but surely God doesn't demand for us to throw away our inherent goodness in word, thought and deed in order to be called a true disciple of Christ. After all, God loves us just as we are, right? I puzzled over it for years without coming to any fruitful conclusions. I classified these verses as hyperbole. After I embraced the doctrines of Grace or Calvinism I came to fully understand man's desperate natural condition. Man is radically corrupt in all his character and nature. Not one part of his being seeks to glorify God in any manner whatsoever.

I now realize why Jesus demanded self abandonment.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Spurgeon on Revivalism

Sometimes we are inclined to think that a very great portion of modern revivalism has been more a curse than a blessing, because it has led thousands to a kind of peace before they have known their misery; restoring the prodigal to the Father’s house, and never making him say, “Father, I have sinned.”

It very often happens that the converts that are born in excitement die when the excitement is over.

–Charles Spurgeon

Friday, April 13, 2007

CS Lewis on Old Books Vs. Modern Books

None of us can fully escape this blindness [of our age], but we shall certainly increase it, and weaken our guard against it, if we read only modern books. Where they are true they will give us truths which we half knew already. Where they are false they will aggravate the error with which we are already dangerously ill. The only palliative is to keep the clean sea breeze of the centuries blowing through our minds, and this can be done only by reading old books. Not, of course, that there is any magic about the past. People were no cleverer then than they are now; they made as many mistakes as we. But not the same mistakes. They will not flatter us in the errors we are already committing; and their own errors, being now open and palpable, will not endanger us…. To be sure, the books of the future would be just as good a corrective as the books of the past, but unfortunately we cannot get at them. – CS Lewis

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Random Ramblings: Busyness, Pastors.com and Righteous Anger

I can't believe it. I missed Wednesday church last night. In and of itself that is not hard to swallow, but the fact that I just plain forgot about it - that's just unbelievable. I am becoming more and more convinced that the world system has one goal, and one goal only; distract people with activities and responsibilities to keep them occupied in order to prevent them from going about their Father's business. That's it in a nutshell. Unfortunately, in our fast-paced American culture, it is working to perfection.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

My (half-hearted) Apology to Jacob Arminius

Dear Mr. Arminius,

I am truly sorry for your loss. Your reputation over the past century has been diminished at the hands of believers everywhere who hold to free-will and Calvinist theology. I, along with multitudes of others, have used your name in vain. We have ascribed the fruits of your theological studies to the works of another man, much more notorious than yourself. Many adherents to modern evangelicalism's methods of bringing souls to Christ by a simple act of the will apart from a work of grace are lumped together in a category of aberrant theology we call Arminianism. I have realized, to my chagrin, this is giving them far more credit than they deserve. To call preachers who ask lost souls to recite a canned sinner's prayer devoid of repentance an Arminian is an insult to your good name. Preachers who teach, either directly or indirectly, man's innate ability to choose Christ contrary to his sinful nature, should not be labeled with your name but with the name of a heretic from ages ago; Pelagius.

Monday, April 9, 2007

Dirt + Spit = Glory to God

Wow...

Phil Johnson of Pyromaniacs has some great insights into John 9:6-7 that I think everyone should read.

Check it out HERE.

Saturday, April 7, 2007

My Heart Breaks

On the eve of celebrating our Lord's victory over sin, death and the grave, my heart is heavy. At work yesterday, the two student workers I've been witnessing to decided to make light of God, Christ's resurrection and anything else remotely related to the gospel. I honestly can't recall precisely what all they said. I think I've blocked it from my memory. Every time I would seriously broach the topic they would generally scoff and mock it, making references to TV shows such as South Park, which regularly stomp on the bible's pearls of wisdom. They had some good laughs at my expense.

Friday, April 6, 2007

Random Ramblings - Apologetics, Books and Freemasonry

At the suggestion of a dear friend, I will endeavor on occasion to write about random goings on in my life so I don't remain a mysterious, shadowy figure behind a keyboard spewing rhetoric into the blogosphere every day. So, here goes.

Church Stuff

After Wednesday service ended last night I talked a few moments with my pastor. I asked for wisdom in my witness to my Hindu friend. I briefly told him what I had spoke with him on, and he agreed that my approach was good. He asked if I had invited him to Easter service. I said yes, and that I was very hopeful that he would come.

Pastor then told me I should study apologetics because he thought I had the mind for it. I was surprised. I thought he knew me better than that... I thanked him for the encouragement, but said I was still trying to get my theology straightened out. Apologetics wasn't a big priority at the moment. I gave him my view that while apologetics was important, the preaching of the gospel is what saves souls and that's my main focus. I did defend apologetics, giving him my illustration that apologetics is akin to keeping the fish in the pond so they don't float off down a shallow stream of deceit and die. Apologetics keeps fish in the pond so they can get caught up in the gospel net. Apologetics makes for better fishing! Someday when I have grasped my theology better I will engage this noble ministry more fully.

Thursday, April 5, 2007

The Fruit of Free-Will Theology

Just a few short years ago I had come to the end of my rope. I was ready to hang myself in despair. From the time God saved me in 1995 until 2000 when I finished up college, I had experienced marginal spiritual growth as a Christian. From mid-2000 to late 2005 my spiritual life collapsed.

So what happened to wreck my spiritual growth?

The simple answer lies in my efforts to establish my own righteousness after having received grace. I based my assurance on my spiritual performance. The cause of this faulty understanding had much to do with my limited exposure to teachers and preachers of God's word. I swore allegiance to only 2 teachers and my pastor. Coming from a Pentecostal/Charismatic background I was taught early on to only listen to so-called 'spirit-filled' preachers, teachers and prophets.

Translation: I should only perk my ears toward pentecostal types who believed in tongues and spirit baptisms.

I could hardly tolerate any of the TBN preachers and teachers who fit this profile, although I would tune in to John Hagee and Hal Lindsey from time to time. I didn't bother with the so-called 'dried-up non-spirit-filled' teachers, so my options were very limited. My pastor preached messages that were focused more on the happy life than on the scriptures so I wasn't growing in the word much through him.

Note: Little did I know at the time my pastor was following the Church growth/Seeker-sensitive blueprint for manufacturing mega-churches. But that is another story...

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Why the World Doesn't Need Superman

The other night I sat down to watch the latest Superhero movie, Superman Returns. I grew up dazzled by the man of steel's heroic exploits. The second movie with General Zod and his cronies was my favorite. I generally don't acknowledge the last two films in the series - for obvious reasons. The people who developed the latest incarnation of the man of steel apparently do not regard them either. Superman Returns takes place after the events of Superman 2, or so I'm informed.

The main thrust of this post is not a review of the film itself but about some concerns I have with its content. Mainly, I'm talking about the ramifications of purposely portraying Superman as a Christ figure. Wikipedia explains the term like this:

A Christ figure is a literary technique that authors use to draw allusions between their characters and the biblical Jesus Christ. More loosely, the Christ Figure is a spiritual or prophetic character who parallels Jesus, or other spiritual or prophetic figures.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Singing the Praises of ... Free Will?

I think I'm going to rename my blog Old Truth: 2nd Edition. Jim keeps posting some gems and today's article is no different. The highlight is the YouTube video of a church service extolling the virtue of man's free will to choose his own way. Honestly, I would not have believed it if I had not witnessed it with my own eyes and ears. I thought it was satire; hilarious, gut-busting satire. But no- it's man singing his own praises to God.

Beware: If you are of the Reformed persuasion you may go into shock viewing this video. It is pure unadulterated Pelagianism. You've been warned.

Link: There's more to Christian Music Than the Style

Saturday, March 24, 2007

From Adam to Christ

I finally got my chance to share the full gospel message with the two student workers I have been chronicling about in my past several Adventures in Evangelism posts. Ned is the scientifically minded skeptic who nonetheless is considering adopting Judaism as his faith. Michael is a citizen of Zambia who is a Hindu by upbringing.

Last week as they were leaving my office I made an appointment to meet with them at the student union after work, have a drink and discuss religion. They agreed without hesitation to meet on Tuesday. The day came and I had them working with me that afternoon. We never discussed anything about the meeting or religion during work. At 5:00 they headed home. I almost forgot the appointment myself. I raced out the door and caught them just outside the building.

I said, "Remember our appointment today? Are you guys still game?"

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Why We Should Read the Puritans

World from Our Window has an excellent article quoting a passage from Joel Burke's book Meet the Puritans on the benefits of reading books from the Puritan movement in the 16th and 17th centuries.

I must admit, I haven't read a lot of Puritan works aside from John Bunyan (highly recommended), John Owen (highly recommended with a caveat; he is difficult to read) and selected texts from others of that period. I've been reading Jonathon Edwards, yet he wasn't really considered a Puritan. He came along after their time, yet his works do reflect the Puritan mindset, theological leanings and pure devotion to God and His glory. Edwards is widely considered to be the greatest theologian ever born on American soil. I cannot dispute that claim.

Great teachers still teach long after their deaths. The Puritans were outstanding teachers and preachers of God's word and we can still benefit from their collective wisdom today in this Postmodern world.

I thank God for books. They allow us to build upon the wisdom of generations gone by. I thank God that every new generation that rises up in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ doesn't need to re-invent the wheel, theologically and doctrinally. The bible is a huge volume of knowledge and wisdom. Its contents are not easily digested. It would take many lifetimes of intense study to master it. Yet, we don't need to start with a blank page. The dead speak to us from the grave. Many men in church history have devoted their lives to mine the great truths of this holy volume. Take heed and learn!

Note: If you are interested in purchasing Puritan books check out this section from Monergism Books. Personally, I plan on getting the Puritan Paperback Bundle (bottom of page) at some point in the future.