Those are about the most hurtful things one believer can say to another.

Are you a believer, cl.

In Christ,
- Jeff

Has anyone else noticed how most of the people who disagree with what we say on DefCon are walking lockstep with the seductive mistress known as “the world?” Has anyone else noticed that those who are most ardently opposed to what we do on this blog are those most friendly with the world and all of its lust.

I don’t know how we can know this about dissenters. I mean, how much can we really discern from blog comments? My gut feeling from what I’ve seen since I’ve been intermittently visiting this blog for the past two months is that some people here have real issues accepting criticism, and can often be “quick to judge” people who disagree. I can recognize these issues because I myself have issues accepting criticism. It’s certainly convenient to just label anyone who dissents as worldly and unsaved, but the downside is that such can dissuade the accuser from having to rethink their position and further address God’s throne. The point is, I would warn against entertaining the thought that anyone who dissents is worldy or unsaved. Those are about the most hurtful things one believer can say to another.

May God open the eyes and hearts of the people setting under these carnal pastors in name only.

In Christ,

David J Horn

“The church here in America has become too much about ourselves, and less about loving God and loving people. It’s become a middle-class fad for a lot of people, with a shiny veneer. Try to do a sermon series without having your PR people cook up a cool background and maybe a couple of videos. You have to have everything looking really nice, spending millions on new sanctuaries instead of on helping people in need.”

So many churches have become places of entertainment., rather than following the biblical pattern. We do need to focus on loving God and loving others. Many desire to love, without understanding what God’s love is. Jesus narrowed the field when He said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments”. Loving God begins with obedience to His word. Loving others must be an agape love. One which expects nothing in return, and is a volitional act for their benefit. Thus we love God not in words only, but more importantly by submitting to His word and living it. We love man by taking action most importantly for their eternal benefit. By telling them what awaits them if they do not repent. By explaining to them what must be repented of. By giving them the Good News of Who God is, what His true character is, and that Jesus Christ took their place of eternal punishment. That He calls them to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him. Of the relationship they can have with their Creator. And the glories that await those who are His children. We show them the love of God by the changed, repentant lives we live now in submission to God’s word. We take action for their temporal benefit in expressing that love.

Thus, The Pilgrim’s post is an act of love to warn those who do not know how the enemy of God is deceiving the world as well as those in the churches.

You said: “Don’t automatically throw something away because it’s new; you may find that it has roots in someone quite old.” I’m not sure where you may have gotten that message from this post, because I don’t see that anywhere in what The Pilgrim posted. The Scriptures call us to test all things. New things aren’t inherently “dangerous” or ”evil”. Pews, pulpits, microphones, etc. were all new at one time. But when “new” things bring into the church, or into our lives, that which conflicts with the clear instruction of Scripture, then such things we are to have nothing to do with. When you look at the above list as a whole that The Pilgrim posted of those things of the average 21st C church, certainly you can see how far away from the Biblical pattern it has become. Also, wouldn’t you say that just because something may have roots in the old, that’s really not the determining criteria of what is acceptable to God?

Let us press on to honor, glorify and obey the Lord Jesus. Let us seek to love others enough to tell them God’s truth, and reach them with the Good News.

I particularly like the MacArthur quote.

Soli Deo Gloria :)

We have to be disciplined in our walk, and not let our freedom to be all things truly enslave us, but be slaves for God’s sake and for the chance that people may be saved.

I’ll just leave you with a song that is set with modern music(actually rap), but actually quotes Hebrews 1 and is all about God’s glory. http://www.sweetslyrics.com/572498.Flame%20-%20Joyful%20Noise.html
Don’t automatically throw something away because it’s new; you may find that it has roots in someone quite old.

to get the churches back to preaching the gospel and being what a church is supposed to be

and stop acting seeker-obsessed and “relevant”

“Has anyone else noticed how most of the people who disagree with what we say on DefCon are walking lockstep with the seductive mistress known as “the world?” Has anyone else noticed that those who are most ardently opposed to what we do on this blog are those most friendly with the world and all of its lusts?”

I have to answer, YES I’ve noticed it. I also would agree that we can expect such resistance from the unsaved, from those who do not know or profess Christ. What really boggles my mind is when the very same spirit, attitude, and reaction comes from professing “Christians”. This is a great evil, the likes of which I have never seen in my lifetime, on such a large scale. From what they say, it’s as if in their minds, the Jesus of the Scriptures has been replaced with another “Jesus”, the Gospel of the Scriptures has been replaced with another “gospel”, and their concept of Christianity is not at all what is described in God’s word. And many are as vigorous to militantly defend their re-imaged Christ, re-invented Christianity, re-defined Scriptures as if they were making a bold stand for Christ Himself. And it brings to mind the misguided zeal of the Crusaders, coming in the name of Christ, yet displaying nothing of true Christianity. What better job can the spirit of antichrist do, than to have people preach “Jesus” with their mouths, yet deny him with their behavior, and thereby lead away from the only way, the only truth, the only life.

You are absolutely right to say they have made the world their mistress. And in doing so they have ignored the Scriptures which warn not to love the world, as you have rightly pointed out. For in so doing, they do not have God’s love in them. And since “…the whole world lies in wickedness” (1Jn.5:19b), they have chosen to be part of that wickedness. They have forfeited having the Spirit of truth, thus the truth makes no sense to them: “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him…”(Jn.14:17) And thus they so strongly resist those who proclaim the truth of God’s word in exposing evil. “We are of God: he that knows God hears us; he that is not of God does not hear us. This is how we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.” (1Jn.4:6). And not seeing they are mere pawns of the enemy, but are merely being used by him to attack Christ: “In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which do not believe, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine into them” (2 Cor.4:4) But we know who we are really fighting: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph.6:12). And lest we think “but they know Christ, they’re Christians too”: Do they, are they? Jesus said: “if you love Me, keep My commandments”. And let us not forget what happened to those in Galatia, to whom Paul said “I marvel that you are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.” (Gal.1:6-7). And “oh foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, that you should not obey the truth…” (Gal. 3:1). My heart goes out to the gullible trusting folks who are being led astray. But the wolves need to be exposed for who they are. And so I thank God for the Bereans on this site. May the Lord bless you and grant you wisdom and strength.

Thank you Def-Con for all that you have done. But it is not enough for us to read your posts and agree with them and go about our merry way and allow these usurpers of the Gospel to continue unchecked. Our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, and powers and rulers of the darkness in high places. Make no mistake about this, all of their worldiness and the sin that they advocate for Christians to participate in does one thing: it opens the door wide to the wicked one and invites him in. And as Paul said “I do not want you to have fellowship with demons” I Cor. 10:20. See also II Cor. 6:11-18.

My wife has remarked more than once that one of the things that sets our current church apart from ALL the others to which we’ve belonged is that these people at Grace family Baptist Church expect us to live like Christians! Yikes!

No sin coddling allowed. Repent and believe – DAILY! Lest your heart be hardened.

These clowns who claim to servants of the living God are despicable (cue Daffy Duck).