1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Lack of clear thinking – which is impossible for the unregenerate mind – will lead one to hold to an unbiblical worldview.

And the five major heresies that have been around since man grew too big for his britches keep popping up with different clothes on the same old bag of lies from Satan.“3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 12 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have.” 2 Peter 1:3-12

Taken from Worldviews in Conflict by Ronald H., Nash, pages 139 & 140; slightly modified.

And the crowd goes wild!

HT: Twisted Crown of Thorns

Read and listen to John MacArthur speak the truth in love in his excellent work, Charismatic Chaos.

Ephesians 1:1-3—Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

Ephesians 1:15-17—Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.

Ephesians 3:11-15—According to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.

Ephesians 4:1-5—I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism.

Ephesians 4:17—This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind.

Ephesians 5:8-10—For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:17-22—Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:28-29—So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.

Ephesians 6:1-4—Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:5-10—Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh…with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Ephesians 6:21-24—But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts. Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

Philippians 1:2—Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:12-14—But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel…and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Philippians 2:9-11—Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:19—But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state.

Philippians 2:24—But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly.

Philippians 2:29—Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem.

Philippians 3:1—Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.

Philippians 3:8—Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.

Philippians 3:20—For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 4:1-5—Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved. I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

Philippians 4:10—But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity.

Philippians 4:23—The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Thin ice, a tender strand of a spider’s web – is all that withholds these people from the wrath of God. Their feet shall slip in due time.

From http://apprising.org/2011/03/16/universalist-carlton-pearson-defends-rob-bell/

UNIVERSALIST CARLTON PEARSON DEFENDS ROB BELL

By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Mar 16, 2011 in Current Issues, Emergence Christianity, Emergent Church, Features, Rob Bell, Youth Ministry

I told you in Apprising Ministries: Rob Bell Resources that online apologetics and discernment ministries have been warning you about the warped and toxic teachings of the Emerging Church rock star pastor Rob Bell for years now.

I know I’ve been trying to tell you that Bell himself is under the spell of a ne0-Gnostic corruption called Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM), which is now pandemic within mainstream evangelicalism through its foolish embrace of the sinfully ecumenical neo-liberal cult of the Emergent Church aka the Emerging Church with its quasi-universalism in a new version of postmodern Progressive Christian theology under their spiritual circus “big tent” of empty Emergence Christianity.

And this is the point being missed: Rob Bell’s gospel is essentially the same as the newer postmodern form of progressive/liberal Christianity—Liberalism 2.0—that McLaren began laying out systematically in his last book A New Kind of Christianity (ANKoC). You need to remember that liberal theology, aka modern theology, was the doomed attempt to come up with a verison of Christianity compatable with the modern culture of its day; and with the EC, what we’re dealing with is the same ill-fated idea; only this time to a postmodern culture.

As you can see e.g. in Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Panel Discussion On Brian McLaren Dr. Al Mohler and some of his professors recently held a round table discussion on ANKoC; and Dr. Mohler himself said, “If you actually read the Bible, you are going to end up having to say that this is a dishonest attempt to make the Bible say what is does not say.”

The same thing can now be said about Bell’s mythology concerning heaven and hell in his new book. Currently in the midst of his book tour Rob Bell takes us deep into the postmodern Wonderland of Humpty Dumpty Language where words take on whatever meaning an individual wishes them to have; for example, Bell says he’s not a universalist all the while teaching a form of Christian Universalism in that book.

Even people normally supportive of Rob Bell are starting to notice; today we see a case in point from Ben Witherington in Rob Bell on the Hot Seat, where he says of Bell’s appearance on MSNBC:

What I find troubling about this video, and with the interview Tuesday night in New York that is also making the rounds on YouTube is that Rob  is evasive in both cases.    This is not the same approach he has taken in the past on a variety of complex issues,  and it is troubling indeed.    Whatever else one can say about generous orthodoxy, it should not include suggesting that polar opposite views about God are equally orthodox,  nor that contradictory views on key Scriptures  are equally plausible or possible. (Online source)

It’s now really beginning to appear that Rob Bell has made a real tactical blunder because in Brian McLaren Speaks As A Universalist I showed you that at the corrupt heart of this Liberalism 2.0 is the doctrine of universalism; and the popularity of men like McLaren and Bell within mainline progressive churches is perfectly understandable because — they speak from the world, and the world listens to them (1 John 4:5).

Here’s the crux of the matter, both Brian McLaren and Rob Bell claim to be evangelical all the while espousing a newer postmodern hybrid form of progressive Christian theology that’s completely at odds with evangelicalism, and which is still being cobbled together by such characters as uber-liberal theologian Harvey Cox and his friend panentheist/process theologian Philip Clayton.

However, Dr. Michael Horton is very helpful here as he correctly teaches us that:

The term [evangelical] itself derives from the Greek word euangelion, translated “Gospel,” and it became a noun when the Protestant reformers began their work of bringing the “one holy, catholic and apostolic church” back to that message by which and for which it was created. People still used other labels, too, like “Lutheran,” “Reformed,” and later, “Puritans,” “Pietists,” and “Wesleyans.”

Nevertheless, the belief was that the same Gospel that had united the “evangelicals” against Rome’s errors could also unite them against the creeping naturalism and secularism of the Enlightenment in the eighteenth century. The so-called “Evangelical Awakening” in Britain coincided with America’s own “Great Awakening,” as Wesley, Whitefield, Edwards, Tennant, and so many others centered their preaching on the atonement. (Online source)

Sadly, neither Rob Bell nor Brian McLaren can even see the evangelical neighborhood from where they’ve currently drifted; and in my opinion frankly, I don’t think they even want to see it. With this all in mind, it does speak loudly against the mystical musings of Rob Bell when Word Faith universalist Carlton Pearson decides to come to his defense below with an all-out attack on Holy Scripture, which is the only way one could ever defend Rob Bell’s mythology.

But I have some sobering news for you. Absolutely nothing; I repeat, absolutely nothing on this earth could ever even begin to compare with hell and the wrath of the LORD God Almighty:

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
(Hebrews 10:26-31)

I strongly suggest that you make some time to seriously meditate upon that; before it’s too late…

“Anything that partakes of the nature of swamping our personality out of our control is never of God. Do we ever find a time in the life of our Lord when He was carried beyond His control? Never once. Do we ever find Him in a spiritual panic, crediting God with it? Never once; and the one great marvel of the work of the Holy Ghost is that the sanity of Jesus Christ is stamped on every bit of it.”

[...]

“Nowadays, people seem to have an idea that these ecstatic, visionary, excitable, lunatic moments glorify God; they do not, they give an opportunity to the devil. The one thing Jesus Christ did when He came in contact with lunacy was to heal it, and the greatest work of the devil is that he is producing lunacy in the name of God all over the world in the spiritual realm, making people who knew God go off on tangents…Beware of being carried off into any kind of spiritual ecstasy either in private or in public. There is nothing about ecstasy in these verses: ‘Thou shalt love the Lord they God with all thy heart.’”

Oswald Chambers
1874-1917

2nd Corinthians 1:1-3—Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.

2nd Corinthians 1:13-14—For we are not writing any other things to you than what you read or understand. Now I trust you will understand, even to the end (as also you have understood us in part), that we are your boast as you also are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus.

2nd Corinthians 2:12-13—Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia.

2nd Corinthians 3:16-18—Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

2nd Corinthians 4:5—For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.

2nd Corinthians 4:10—Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

2nd Corinthians 4:13-14—And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.

2nd Corinthians 5:6-8—So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

2nd Corinthians 8:9—For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

2nd Corinthians 8:18-21—And we have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches, and not only that, but who was also chosen by the churches to travel with us with this gift, which is administered by us to the glory of the Lord Himself and to show your ready mind, avoiding this: that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us—providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

2nd Corinthians 10:8—For even if I should boast somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave us for edification and not for your destruction, I shall not be ashamed.

2nd Corinthians 10:17-18—But “he who glories, let him glory in the LORD.” For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.

2nd Corinthians 11:17—What I speak, I speak not according to the Lord, but as it were, foolishly, in this confidence of boasting.

2nd Corinthians 11:31—The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.

2nd Corinthians 12:1—It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.

2nd Corinthians 12:8—Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

2nd Corinthians 13:10—Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction.

2nd Corinthians 13:14—The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

————————————————————————

Galatians 1:1-3—Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:18-19—Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.

Galatians 5:10—I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is.

Galatians 6:14—But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Galatians 6:17-18—From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Here, then, are two articles that look at the Bible – one that displays the truth of God’s Word being self-authenticating and self-attesting; the other proving man will try and twist God’s Word to suit his sinful desires and warped theology.

First, the good:

The Book

“It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.” – George Washington

“England has become great and happy by the knowledge of the true God by Jesus Christ. This is the secret of England’s greatness.” – Queen Victoria

“The Bible is more than a book. It is a living being within an action, a power which invades everything that opposes its extension.” – Napoleon

“I have known 95 of the world’s great men in my time, and of these, 87 were followers of the Bible.” – W. E. Gladstone

As Christians, we believe the Bible is inspired by God, the very word of God, without error, the sole infallible rule of faith for all Christian life, practice, and doctrine. The word “Bible” means “the book.” Its very title makes the claim that irrespective of whatever else you read, only the Bible is ‘THE BOOK’ because of its Divine authorship.

2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is God breathed…”

Jesus Himself had this high view of Scripture. In quoting from the book of Genesis, Jesus said, “…have you not read what was spoken to you by God…” (Matt. 22:31)

But… the Bible would say this kind of thing, wouldn’t it?

All religions and cults claim that their sacred book is inspired. Is there any objective evidence we can point to that would show the Bible to be of a supernatural origin, or certainly more than a book filled with the thoughts and opinions of mere mortal men?

Here’s just a couple of evidences that support the Bible’s claim to being the Word of God, so that we can believe it, beyond doubt.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Most of the Old Testament was written 3,000 – 4,000 years ago. The New Testament was written nearly 2,000 years ago. Interestingly, the other major religious books were written about the same time. For example:

The Koran – written approx. 1400-1500 years ago

Buddhist writings – written approx. 2,000 years ago

The Hindu Vedas – written approx. 3,200-3,500 years ago

HISTORICAL SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE

It is important at the outset to remind ourselves that people have not always believed what we now believe about our world. There is no doubt that scientific knowledge has taken giant leaps forward in the last 2,000 to 4,000 years.

Now this is where it gets interesting. If we read the books of other religions, they all show the scientific thinking of their day – thinking that has huge fundamental errors. For example, the Hindu Vedas teach that the earth is held up on the back of four elephants. When this was written, this indeed was the thinking of the day. The earth was a very heavy object and something strong had to be holding it up. The biggest creatures around who could carry the biggest weights were the elephants.. so the scientific conclusion was obvious wasn’t it? .. elephants were holding the world up… and earthquakes occurred whenever the elephants shivered. When they shook, the earth shook. Obviously! Whenever someone asked, “who or what is holding the elephants up?” the answer was “a huge turtle which carries the elephants on its back while it swims in a gigantic lake.”

I think you will agree with me that science has found this claim to be an inaccurate one! The Hindu Vedas got it wrong.

The Hindu Vedas also teaches that the moon is 1500 miles above the sun, and that it (the moon) shines with its own light, and that the earth is flat and triangular in shape. All of these statements have proven to be false scientifically.

As another example, among many that could be quoted here, was the belief of the Greeks, that a man called Atlas held the earth on his shoulders.

Every other religious book contains statements which, when they were written, were accepted as correct, but have since been proved to be incorrect… every religious book, except the Bible. And here’s where it gets exciting; the Bible contains no such nonsense Scriptures. Even though when the Bible was written most people believed these wild theories, there is no mention of them in the Bible whatsoever… no elephant theory.. no turtle theory.. no moon shining with its own light theory.. no earth is flat and triangular theory..

What does the Bible say…?

“He hangs the earth on nothing…” – Job 26:7

It was Sir Isaac Newton who discovered the law of gravity and that in fact, the world could hold itself up. Science would therefore confirm this statement from the Bible book of Job around 4,000 years after it was written!

Written around 700 years B.C., Isaiah 40:22, declares:

“He (God) sits above the circle of the earth.”

The Hebrew word for “circle” here is the word “chug” and actually means a sphere. Remember, it was only a few hundred years ago that people were burnt at the stake for believing the world was round. Sadly, these people were even called ‘heretics” by the church. The earth being round is a fact that has only recently gained scientific support, but 2,700 years ago, Isaiah, under the inspiration of God, the Holy Spirit, got it right.

How did Isaiah know this? He had no evidence available to him to suggest the world was round.. but God knew, and it was He who communicated that fact to Isaiah.

Selah! (Stop, ponder, think about it)

Now, the bad:

A ROB BELL TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE?

By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Mar 3, 2011 in Current Issues, Emergence Christianity, Emergent Church, Features, Rob Bell, Semi-Satire, Youth Ministry

This just in from Internet News headquarters, where our motto is: If it’s news; it’s news to us.

Dateline Anywhere USA; maybe even Your Town: This just in…the world’s gone mad.

Ok, that’s not so new; however, there’s been some talk around the blogosphere recently about the release of a translation of the Bible that may have been done by the Emerging Church rock star pastor Rob Bell.

Well yeah, I know that we started the talk; but work with me here, k. And our well-trained theological bloodhound defenders of the faith were allegedly able to track down a copy.

Below is 2 Timothy 4:1-2 from this controversial made-up work:

4:1 I suggest to you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who has already forgiven all of the living and the dead, and by his embracing of humanity himself in the incarnation to bring his kingdom on earth now: 2 discuss the word; be in conversation about social justice always; obfuscate, be vague, and raise many questions, with complete patience and love for mankind.

From Apprising.org:

ROB BELL OUT OF THE CLOSET FOR UNIVERSALISM

By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Feb 25, 2011 in AM Missives, Current Issues, Emergence Christianity, Emergent Church, Features, Rob Bell, Youth Ministry

Since squishy evanjellyfish has now followed the mortally wounded mainline denominations out of the closet with its man-love of heart murmur spirituality at the expense the God-centered spirituality of sola Scriptura, Apprising Ministries has been giving you peeks at its bleak future of division and compromise of God’s Word.

Thanks to its embracing the sinfully ecumenical neo-liberal cult of the Emergent Church aka the Emerging Church—with its  its “big tent” Progressive Christianity aka Emergence Christianity—and by using warped and toxic teachings of EC leaders like Emerging Church rock star pastor Rob Bell, evangelical churches poisoned its own young.

As a result we are seeing within mainstream evangelicalism a reimagined version of just about every piece of antibiblical theology i.e. doctrines of demons that seducing spirits have ever attempted to bring with them as they slither into the Christian Church. One that is being openly promoted now is so-called Christian Universalism.

Lord willing I’ll have more on this later; but for now, I’ve told you for years now that Rob Bell embraces a form of universalism. For the person willing to be objective, the video promo below for his new book dispells any doubt that Bell is teaching this heresy:

A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.

Rob Bell addresses one of the most controversial issues of faith—the afterlife—arguing, would a loving God send people to eternal torment forever…? With searing insight, Bell puts hell on trial, and his message is decidedly hopeful—eternal life doesn’t start when we die; it starts right now. And ultimately, Love Wins. (Online source)

LOVE WINS. from Rob Bell on Vimeo.

See also:

BRIAN MCLAREN SPEAKS AS A UNIVERSALIST

DOUG PAGITT AND CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALISM

TONY JONES AND CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALISM

Rick Warren’s Daniel Plan has begun and Jennifer Pekich was there for its inception. Her report from inside the lion’s den (pun intended) can be found here.

Here’s a quote from her article:

Following Dr. Hyman’s talk my best friend arrived to observe the day with me, only to hear Dr. Amen mention in his presentation that he did a brain scan on one of his clients who had a habit of cheating on his wife. The brain scan showed that there were “holes in the pre-frontal cortex of his brain” which controls the impulses. In other words, this man wasn’t sinful, he was “mentally ill.” All he needed was to get on the “Change Your Brain, Change Your Body” program and his personal struggles with sin were remedied. Once again Jesus was removed from the equation. My friend and I were dumbfounded when we listened to the Saddleback crowd cheer. My best friend couldn’t contain it any longer and let out a, “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

The best quote from Jennifer’s article, however, was when she made this observation of the event:

I have to admit that visions of the masses being manipulated by Adolf Hitler’s oratory skills came to my mind, only this particular crowd had just been manipulated by a really bad infomercial.

You can listen to Jennifer’s interview about her visit to Saddleback here on the Crosstalk radio show. You can also read an article on this event by Lighthouse Trails here and another article by Marsha West here.

1st Corinthians 1:1-3—Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God…with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1st Corinthians 1:4-10—I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him…so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

1st Corinthians 2:7-8—But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

1st Corinthians 3:5—Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?

1st Corinthians 4:4-5—For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts.

1st Corinthians 4:17-19—For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church…I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power.

1st Corinthians 5:4-5—In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
1st Corinthians 6:11-17—But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God…the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power…do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

1st Corinthians 7:10-12—Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband…But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her…

1st Corinthians 7:17-22—But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches…he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ’s slave.

1st Corinthians 7:25-39—Now concerning virgins: I have no commandment from the Lord; yet I give judgment as one whom the Lord in His mercy has made trustworthy…He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife…The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction…A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.

1st Corinthians 8:5-6—For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.

1st Corinthians 9:1-5—Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. My defense to those who examine me is this: Do we have no right to eat and drink? Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?

1st Corinthians 10:21-22—You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?

1st Corinthians 11:11—Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord.

1st Corinthians 11:20-32—Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk…Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you. For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.

1st Corinthians 12:3-5—Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.

1st Corinthians 15:31—I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

1st Corinthians 15:47—The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.

1st Corinthians 15:56-58—The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

1st Corinthians 16:19-23—The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house…If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema. Maranatha, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

At that time (and since) many non-discerning Christians have embraced Glenn Beck as a brother in Christ and have even made excuses and justifications for his Mormon theology (a theology that’s antithetical to biblical Christianity).

But now, while Beck’s Trojan Horse sits benevolently within the walls of Evangelicalism, the trapdoor on the underbelly of the wooden horse is opening to reveal its contents . . . and it isn’t pretty.

Brannon Howse has written an article on Beck’s new book (co-authored by Keith Ablow).  The book, entitled The 7 Wonders That Will Change Your Life, has revealed Beck’s New Age leanings. And judging by the quotes cited from Beck’s book, it makes Joel Osteen’s Your Best Life Now look like a doctrinally sound tome of deep Christian theology.

Below are some of the quotes from Beck’s book that I obtained from Brannon Howse’s article (you can read the entire exposé here.)

I can’t help but wonder if the Mormon organization is going to publicly renounce the New Age teachings in Beck’s book (and discipline Beck), and I wonder if the Christians who supported Beck–claiming that he was indeed a Christian–are going to retract their support (or at least distance themselves).

Page 154:

“As Keith likes to say, ‘There’s no original sin left in the world. Everyone’s just recycling pain now.’”

Page 165:

“People are inherently good.”

Page 157:

“Finding what worked for me made all the difference. Finding what works for you will do the same.”

Page 162:

“There is no infant delivered evil, out of the womb. There never has been. Not even one…Charles Manson was not born evil. Ted Bundy wasn’t. The BTK killer wasn’t. Hitler wasn’t.”

Page 149:

“Latter-day Saints do not believe that your chances ever cease, even with death. They end only with the full understanding and denial of truth by your own exercise of real free will. And even then there is no ‘lake of fire.’”

Page 149-150:

“I questioned everything I could think to question about the faith. I went over my doubts again and again with the church bishop. I read everything there was to read on their website and every word of Mormon Doctrine…I went to anti-Mormon literature for hints, but I found most of it to be unfair or just plain wrong. I tried every trick I could think of to find a contradiction. The problem was that I couldn’t. Mormonism seemed to explain the world and my place in it better than any other faith I had looked at.”

Page 132:

“Pray to whatever higher power you believe in…Praying that God or Nature or the Cosmos or your own internal, immeasurable reservoir of spirit allows you the courage and faith to find and then face the truth…”

Page 74:

“Just be sure you visit with a minister or therapist from a religion or healing discipline you actually have affinity for, or suspect you might.”

Page 57:

“The third chapter of Exodus helped me start to understand how crucial it was that my focus be on finding God not just in the seas or the cosmos, but in myself.”

Page 58:

“If God is everything and everywhere and inside everyone, then I figured He had to be inside me, too…”

Page 71:

“Divine power is still inside you.”

Page 283:

“Reach out to people to steady them and enrich them and reflect back to them the light that comes from God inside them.”

Page 254:

“You won’t doubt your ability to achieve what you want to achieve in this life because you won’t doubt that God is not only by your side, but inside you.”

Page 79:

“You have a polestar inside you. It is connected with all the energy in the universe. When you begin to follow that star you align yourself with immeasurable, inexplicable forces that will actually help you manifest your best intentions.”

Page 85:

“As you commit to unlocking and bringing forth the truth inside you, don’t be afraid to pray for help. Don’t be reticent to sit with yourself in silence and meditate. Connect with the miracle of spirit, of God, that has lived inside you from long before you were born.”

Brannon Howse also aptly observes Beck and Ablow’s common application of terms of subjective truth:

Beck’s book uses the phrase “Your truth” or “your true path” or “my truth” at least 23 times. Here are a few examples:

“It is never too late to embrace your truth.” (Page 124)

“What is your truth whispering?” (Page 130)

“Use compassion to stay on the path to your own truth… (Page 161)

“…determination to unearth and embrace my truth.” (Page 215)

“The fact that I am always attempting to honor my truth… (Page 216)

“There is only your truth.” (Page 220)

“You must use courage and faith to empty the hard drive of your soul and then fill it with your truth.” (Page 288)

I blush today to think about the religious fodder that is now being handed out to children. There was a day when they sat around as the fire crackled in the hearth and listened to a serious but kindly old grandfather read Pilgrim’s Progress, and the young Canadian and the young American grew up knowing all about Mr. Facing-Both-Ways and all the rest of that gang. And now we read cheap junk that ought to be shoveled out and gotten rid of.

I have an old Methodist hymnal that rolled off the press 111 years ago and I found forty-nine hymns on the attributes of God in it. I have heard it said that we shouldn’t sing hymns with so much theology because people’s minds are different now. We think differently now. Did you know that those Methodist hymns were sung mostly by uneducated people? They were farmers and sheep herders and cattle ranchers, coal miners and blacksmiths, carpenters and cotton pickers—plain people all over this continent. They sang those songs. There are over 1,100 hymns in that hymnbook of mine and there isn’t a cheap one in the whole bunch.

Our fathers sang “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” and we sing junk.

AW Tozer
1897-1963

I wanted to pass on some information that I feel is very important. Romans 1:32 states, “Who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”

Just this morning, I received some information in regards to Philip Yancey who is the author of several books including, “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” Not only is he heavily involved in Contemplative Mysticism which is sweeping through the ranks of evangelicalism, but he is also now endorsing the perversion known as homosexuality. He is the keynote speaker at the January 2011 “Gay” Christian Network Conference. I expect that the musical line up might even include people like Ray Boltz, who is an openly practicing homosexual.

Sadly, there are those who surround him who also refuse to take a stand and this includes Radio Bible Class and Our Daily Bread (whose demise we have already written about previously). These ministries are a far cry from what Dr. M.R. DeHaan began many decades ago. I do not believe for one minute that he would have allowed the drivel that now makes up much of what is offered by these two religious organizations. Philip Yancey is not just quoted in Our Daily Bread but is an active contributor and has been since 2008.

I would encourage us to stand fast for the faith. In these last days, many will fall away if they were even a believer to begin with. For what it is worth, a true believer could NEVER condone the sexual perversions that are becoming more and more acceptable in these so-called modern times. God never changes, and homosexuals and those who approve those who practice such wickedness are not true believers nor will they ever be until they come to full repentance.

In His Sovereign Grace,

The Desert Pastor

***SARCASM ALERT!!!***

Next in this series, we look through the Book of Acts to see that Jesus is declared to be “Lord” there. The clearest examples are placed first, here:

• Acts 2:34-36—“For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”‘ Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus…both Lord and Christ.”
• Acts 10:36-37—“The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all—that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached.”

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The apostles of Christ refer to Him as “Lord”

• Acts 1:4-6—And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
• Acts 15:25-26—“It seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
• Peter
  • Acts 1:21-22—“Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
  • Acts 2:16, 20-21—“But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:…’The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.’”
  • Acts 11:16-17—“Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”
  • Acts 15:11—“But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”
• Paul (and Luke as writer of Acts)
  • Acts 9:5-6 (see also Acts 22:8, 10, 26:15)—And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
  • Acts 13:47—“For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’“
  • Acts 15:36—Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.”
  • Acts 16:31-32—So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
  • Acts 20:19-21—“Testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”
  • Acts 20:24—“But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
  • Acts 20:35—“I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’“
  • Acts 21:13—Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
  • Acts 22:19—“So I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You.’”

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Luke, as writer of Acts, refers to Jesus as “Lord”

• Acts 4:33—And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.
• Acts 8:16—For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
• Acts 9:1—Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest.
• Acts 9:27-29, 35, 42—But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him…So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord…And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord.
• Acts 10:48—And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.
• Acts 11:20-21, 23-25—But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord…When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.
• Acts 13:48-19–Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region.
• Acts 14:3—Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
• Acts 14:23—So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
• Acts 15:35—Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.
• Acts 16:10—Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.
• Acts 18:8-9—Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized. Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent.”
• Acts 19:5, 10, 13, 17—When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus…And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks…Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.”…This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
• Acts 23:11—But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.”
• Acts 28:30-31—Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.

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Stephen called Him “Lord”

• Acts 7:59—And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

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Ananias, who baptized Paul (and Luke as writer of Acts) calls Jesus “Lord”

• Acts 9:10-17—Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.” Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

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Jesus refers to Himself as “Lord”

• Acts 22:16—“‘And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’”

Part 1 of a new series, going through the Scriptures and showing that Jesus is not waiting for us to call Him Lord–”HE ALREADY IS!!”

Over the last few years, a growing heresy has crept into the church. It is the belief that you can get saved today, call upon Jesus as your Savior, and then, when you feel up to it, sometime down the road, you can give Him the privilege of confessing Him as Lord. Or not—it doesn’t matter! Whatever you want—it’s all about you! You may hear, in many churches, an appeal for the people to “Make Jesus Lord today!” That is about as heretical a statement as you will ever hear.

The people who teach this atrocious doctrine accuse us of linking salvation with works—as if confessing Jesus as Lord is a “work.” Whenever I hear these accusations I often wonder—“Why would they want to deny Jesus His rightful glory as Lord? Do they not want people to think that He is Lord?” What I hope you will take away from this series is the fact that if you want to be saved, you MUST confess that Jesus is Lord.

The overarching Scripture for this series is Romans 10:9 (ESV)—IF you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. What is the opposite of this statement? That if you don’t confess that Jesus is Lord, you will not be saved. It’s really that simple. Remember, these are not my words—this is what is clear from the Scriptures (unless you don’t want to believe the Scriptures).

The best place to start is in the Gospels themselves. We’re going to see that in the gospels that Jesus is declared to be Lord. In fact, Jesus is called “Lord” 124 times in the gospels alone. Granted, many of these are simply repeated in more than one gospel. But since it is the Holy Spirit who spoke to the writers, don’t you think that maybe God thinks this is a wee bit important?

So let’s begin, and see who it is that calls Jesus “Lord.”

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Jesus referred to Himself as “Lord”

• Matthew 12:8, Mark 2:28, Luke 6:5—“For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
• Matthew 21:2-3, Mark 11:3, Luke 19:30-31—“Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her…And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them…”
• John 13:13—“You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for I am.”

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His apostles called Him “Lord”

• Matthew 8:24-25—And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
• Peter
  • Matthew 14:28, 30—And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water”…he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
  • Matthew 16:22—Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”
  • Matthew 17:3-4—And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here.”
  • Matthew 18:21—Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
  • Luke 5:6-8—They caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking…When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
  • Luke 12:41—Then Peter said to Him, “Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?”
  • Luke 22:33—But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.”
  • John 6:68—But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
  • John 13:6, 9—And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?”…“Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”
  • John 13:36-37—Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?”…“Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.”
  • John 21:15-17, 21—Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You”…He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You”…He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You”…Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”
• James and John
  • Luke 9:54—And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”
• Thomas
  • John 14:5—Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
  • John 20:28—“My Lord and my God!”
• Philip
  • John 14:8—Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”
• Judas (not Iscariot)
  • John 14:22—Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”

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His other disciples called Him “Lord”

• Matthew 8:21, 2; Luke 9:57-61—Someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go”…Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father”…And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”
• Matthew 26:21-22—Now as they were eating, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I?”
• Luke 10:17—Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”
• Luke 11:1—One of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
• Luke 13:22-23—And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?”
• Luke 19:33-34—But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, “Why are you loosing the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of him.”
• Luke 22:38—So they said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.”
• Luke 22:49—When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?”
• John 6:33-34—“For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”
• John 12:12-13—Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” However, Jesus spoke of his death.
• John 20:24-25—Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

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The Gospel writers called Him “Lord”

• Matthew
  • Matthew 3:1-3—John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness…and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight.’”
• Luke
  • Luke 7:13—When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
  • Luke 7:31—And the Lord said, “To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like?”
  • Luke 10:1—After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also.
  • Luke 11:39—Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean…”
  • Luke 12:42—And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward…”
  • Luke 13:15—The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?”
  • Luke 17:5-6—And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed…”
  • Luke 18:6—Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said.”
  • Luke 19:8—Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord…
  • Luke 22:61—And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord.
  • Luke 24:3—Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
• John
  • John 4:1—The Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John.
  • John 6:23—However, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks.
  • John 11:2—It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet.
  • John 13:25—Then, leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him, “Lord, who is it?”
  • John 20:18, 20—Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord…He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
  • John 21:7—Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.
  • John 21:12—Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?”—knowing that it was the Lord.
  • John 21:20—Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”

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Those who received healing and forgiveness from Him called Him “Lord”

• The centurion
  • Matthew 8:5-6—Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.”
  • Luke 7:6—Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof.”
• Lepers
  • Matthew 8:2—And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
  • Luke 5:12—And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
• A Canaanite woman
  • Matthew 15:22, 25, 27; Mark 7:28—And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed”…Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”…And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
• The father of an epileptic boy
  • Matthew 17:14-15—And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.”
  • Mark 9:23-24—Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
• Zacchaeus
  • Luke 19:8—Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor…”
• The thief on the cross
  • Luke 23:42—Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
• The strangers from Emmaus
  • Luke 24:33-34—So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”
• The woman caught in adultery
  • John 8:10-11—He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.”
• The man with a withered hand
  • John 9:36-38—He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.

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The people closest to Jesus called Him “Lord”

• Mary, His mother
  • John 20:11-13—But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping…she saw two angels in white…they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
• Mary Magdalene
  • John 20:1-2—Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early…Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple…and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
• Elizabeth
  • Luke 1:43—“But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
• Angels
  • Matthew 28:5-6—But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”
  • Luke 2:11—“For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
• King David
  • Matthew 22:43-45; Mark 12:36-37; Luke 20:42-44—He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: ‘YHVH said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool”’? If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?”

• John the Baptist
  • John 1:22-23—Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the LORD,”’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

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Everyone will, eventually, call Jesus “Lord”

• Matthew 7:21-22—“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven…Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name…”
• Matthew 25:36-37, 43-44—“‘I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?’…‘I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty…?’”

And this is just the beginning. We will see next week that Jesus is Lord in the Book of Acts.

“Paul Never Quoted Jesus”–Romans (part 1)
“Paul Never Quoted Jesus”–Romans (part 2)
“Paul Never Quoted Jesus”–1st Corinthians
“Paul Never Quoted Jesus”–2nd Corinthians
“Paul Never Quoted Jesus”–Galatians
“Paul Never Quoted Jesus”–Ephesians
“Paul Never Quoted Jesus”–Philippians
“Paul Never Quoted Jesus”–Colossians
“Paul Never Quoted Jesus”–1st & 2nd Thessalonians
“Paul Never Quoted Jesus”–1st & 2nd Timothy, Titus

In the whole debate over “Lordship Salvation”, John MacArthur has had a big red target painted on him, and those who teach “easy-believism” have strung him up and flung him into the depths of Hell because of one paragraph of one book he wrote 7 years ago (“Hard To Believe”). See, the “easy-believer®” doesn’t want to hear the fact that if a person is saved, they will show evidence of their salvation through good works (even though the Holy Writ is clear in many places, such as James 2:14-24 and Ephesians 2:10) that believers are saved in order to perform good works–not that those good works save them. They are so focused on painting Johnny Mac as a heretic, that–well, why bother letting the facts get in the way?

Now, let me ask you this: who would give you a better and more accurate picture of what I believe–someone who heard me say something seven years ago–or someone who hears me teach every week, who knows me personally, and has heard me explain my beliefs over the last several years?

The same question can be asked of those who continue to bash Dr. MacArthur. Who would give you a better and more accurate picture of what he believes–someone who read one paragraph of one book written seven years ago–or someone who knows him personally, works with him every day, and in fact is the editor of most of Dr. MacArthur’s books?

Phil Johnson is the editor of Dr. MacArthur’s books, and is closer–much closer–to Dr. MacArthur than those who continue to smear Dr. MacArthur’s name with accusations based on a statement that Dr. MacArthur never made to begin with. The statement in question is:

Salvation isn’t the result of an intellectual exercise. It comes from a life lived in obedience and service to Christ as revealed in the Scripture; it’s the fruit of actions, not intentions.

Now, it certainly sounds like Dr. MacArthur is teaching salvation by works. But, here’s the kicker–Dr. MacArthur never wrote those words! Here is the explanation from Phil Johnson, posted over at Paleoevangelical (Phil Johnson’s words are in green, Lou Martuneac’s words are in blue, text pertaining to the revision is in purple)–

Phil Johnson said…

Lou: “These comments reflect an effort I have made on more than one occasion. To date MacArthur has never personally disavowed the original.”

That’s simply untrue, and Lou knows it. Lou raised this issue over at the Pulpit blog in October 2006, and Nathan Busenitz answered him:

Shepherd’s Fellowship Pulpit

Nathan’s first reply to Lou in that thread quoted a statement from me that was posted on the GTY website about a week after the book’s release. That statement was displayed prominently and continuously at the GTY website until a year after the corrected edition was in circulation. Here is that statement in full:

A Word of Clarification about Hard to Believe

One paragraph in Hard to Believe contains a glaring error that has the potential to mislead readers about the book’s whole intent. The problematic passage is the opening paragraph of chapter 6 (page 93), which seems to suggest that salvation is the fruit of godly living. The truth is exactly the opposite.

The error was inadvertently introduced into the manuscript in the late stages of the editorial process, when (in order to simplify the book) four chapters were deleted from the original manuscript and one of the remaining chapters was severely abridged. John MacArthur approved the abridgments.

Apparently, however, in an effort to make a new transition that would smooth over the deletions, an editor involved in the process made significant revisions to the opening of chapter 6. Unfortunately, that change was not submitted to John for approval. We believe the error was an oversight, and not anyone’s deliberate attempt to tamper with the book’s theology. The result, however, severely muddled the message of the book.

A revision has been sent to the publisher for future editions of the book. In all subsequent printings, here is how the opening paragraph of chapter six will read (revisions are in bold):

“Don’t believe anyone who says it’s easy to become a Christian. Salvation for sinners cost God His own Son; it cost God’s Son His life, and it’ll cost you the same thing. Salvation isn’t gained by reciting mere words. Saving faith transforms the heart, and that in turn transforms behavior. Faith’s fruit is seen in actions, not intentions. There’s no room for passive spectators: words without actions are empty and futile. Remember that what John saw in his vision of judgment was a Book of Life, not a book of Words or Book of Intellectual Musings. The life we live, not the words we speak, reveals whether our faith is authentic.”

6/22/2009 6:15 PM

[Did you catch the change? The fruit of our faith is actions, not intentions. I dare anyone to listen to more than 30 seconds of any sermon Dr. MacArthur has delivered and see if one can still accuse him of teaching "salvation by works"--4*P]

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Phil Johnson said…

Here’s an expanded version of the facts behind page 93 of the original edition:

It’s well known that I have been John MacArthur’s primary editor for some 27+ years. I help him assemble most of his major books from sermon transcripts.

Hard to Believe is one of only three or four books since 1981 that I had no part in during the editorial process. At the publisher’s behest, the editor of that book was a free-lance editor with no connection to our ministry. He was a highly competent man whose editorial skills are impressive and whose work is generally excellent. He assembled and edited the first draft of Hard to Believe.

John MacArthur read the manuscript, made revisions and corrections, and was generally pleased with the editor’s efforts. I read a few samples only and agreed that the portions I read were excellent. (If you want to compare the book with the sermons it was drawn from, the process is fairly simple, and the sermons are on-line and downloadable for free.)

However, some reviewers on the publisher’s side felt there was too much repetition in the book and the book was too long, so during a meeting to discuss final details about the book just before it went to press, they decided to delete four chapters from the heart of the manuscript.

John MacArthur agreed to the deletions, assuming it would be a simple process. The problem was that the original opening of (what is now) chapter 6 referred to some of the material that was deleted. So the chapter-opening was rewritten to make a different transition. To this day I don’t know if it was an editor on the publisher’s side or the free-lance editor who rewrote that opening paragraph. No one ever wanted to ‘fess up.

But somehow, owing to the late deletion and the need to keep printing on schedule, the revision (deemed “simple” by the editors involved because it was less than 8 sentences) was never sent to John MacArthur for approval. Obviously, the paragraph was written by someone whose grasp of doctrine is minimal.

That botched paragraph contradicts what John MacArthur teaches everywhere else about justification by faith. He immediately issued a corrective statement. In light of all that, the fact that the same critics keep raising this issue anew every three years or so raises question in my mind about the real agenda of the critics.

6/22/2009 6:15 PM

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Indeed, it does. It shows that the real intention of the easy-believers who still want to trash Dr. MacArthur’s name don’t really care about the truth–they simply want to shoot down anyone who dares to interfere with their pet theology.

Is it necessary, for a person who is saved, to confess Jesus Christ as Lord? Well, the answer to that question is, of course–YES!! I have put together a couple videos, based on Romans 10:9-10, to show that if one desires to be saved, then confessing Christ as Lord is a necessary requirement.

There is a movement that has been around for quite some time now. It is based on the absurd belief that a person can be saved, even if they do not confess Jesus Christ as Lord. It is not new by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, John MacArthur preached a message on this very subject back in 1988. Allow me to share a couple of quotes from that message:

This view is so popular that recently when I was doing a Bible conference at one of the major Christian institutions in America, a man spoke to the student body every day for the week, as I did as well, he said to them, “The point at which you really become a disciple, the point at which you really make Christ Lord of your life usually comes some time in your thirties.” And I was shocked, to put it mildly, that he had just basically told a group of young people to put their spiritual commitment on hold until they reached their thirties. He was holding to a view that it’s enough to accept Jesus as Savior, take your forgiveness, take your guarantee of heaven and then live any way you want until you come to some crisis point, hopefully sooner than later, when you make Christ Lord.

I’ve had parents say to me, “I know my…my son is a homosexual. He has chosen that life style. I know my daughter has absolutely no regard for the things of Christ. But I know they were saved. I remember the time they made their decision.” Parents cling to this. Spouses may cling to this for their partner. Friends may cling to this for someone they love deeply. It conveys the idea that salvation is some momentary transaction that secures forever but doesn’t necessarily transform your life and does not involve acknowledging Jesus as Lord of your life and submitting your life to Him. That kind of thing is behind most contemporary evangelism. You listen, when do you hear someone say, “Are you willing to commit your life to following Jesus?” When do you hear someone say, “Are you willing to repent of your sin and bow your knee in submission to the Lordship of Christ?” “Are you willing to allow Jesus Christ to take over as King and ruler of your life?” What you hear is, “Accept Christ…receive Christ…make a decision for Christ.”

I watched a film this afternoon for the second time, I watched it a day ago because the first time I watched it I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was sent out to our church. It was sent to me because it was to be distributed all across this entire country to every church that had an AWANA program. It was a film designed to instruct people how to lead someone to Christ. The film used some graphics, posed some questions and then asked if they were true or false. Let me tell you what some of the questions were and what the answer was.

In presenting the gospel, the narrator of the film said, should you ever ask these questions? Here are the questions.

* Question number one: Should you say to someone, will you give your heart to Christ? Answer: False, you never want to say that to anyone. You never want to ask anyone to give anything to Christ. You don’t want to ask them to give their life to Christ, you just ask them to believe.
* Second question: Will you surrender your life to Christ? Answer: False, don’t ever ask anyone to surrender anything.
* Question number three: will you commit your life to Christ? Answer: False, don’t ever ask anyone to do that.
* Question number four: will you make Christ Lord of your life? Answer: Don’t ever ask anyone to acknowledge that He has to be Lord of their life.
* Question number five: will you repent of your sins? Answer: False, don’t ever ask anyone to repent of their sins.
* Question number six: are you willing to forsake your sins? Answer: False, don’t ask anyone to do that.

It is enough then, said the narrator, to ask them: do you believe that Jesus died for your sins? That is enough. That is enough? The devils believe and…what?…and tremble.

Another writer says, and I’m quoting, “It is possible, even probable, that when a believer out of fellowship falls for certain types of philosophy, if he is a logical thinker he will become an unbelieving believer. Believers who are agnostics are still saved. They are still born again.” Listen to this one. “You can even become an atheist. But if you once accept Christ as Savior, you cannot lose your salvation even though you deny God,” end quote.

He finishes up the message thus:

Jesus wanted the two things to come clear to that young man [The rich young ruler in Mark chapter 8--4*P]. When you want into the Kingdom, when you want eternal life, it is not as simple as just a decision, believing some facts. There must be an acknowledgment and turning from sin and there must be a willingness to submit to My authority even if I ask you to do the most difficult thing in your life…to give up that which you love the most. Let’s establish, number one, the depth of your sinfulness and, number two, the height of My sovereignty, that’s the issue. The man left.

So today we are starting a new series showing that whether or not you say Jesus is Lord, He still is! It is not US who make Jesus Lord–God has already made Him both Lord and Christ.

Romans 10:8-10 (NASB)–8 But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”–that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Wrapping up the series with Paul reinforcing Christ’s teachings to his young proteges in the “Pastoral Epistles.” Hopefully this has been a helpful series, and next time you hear someone claim that they deny Paul’s writings because he “never quoted Jesus” you can show them that they are clearly wrong.

1st Timothy 1:12-13–And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man.

• Acts 26:14-18–“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads…I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.”

1st Timothy 1:15–This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

• Luke 19:10–“The Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost.”

1st Timothy 2:5-6–For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all.

• Matthew 20:28–“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

1st Timothy 6:6-10–Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

• Matthew 6:24-25–“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?”

1st Timothy 6:17-19–Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

• Luke 12:15-21–“Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

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2nd Timothy 2:3-7–You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

• Luke 9:59-62–Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
• Luke 17:31-32–“In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife.”

2nd Timothy 2:12-13–This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.

• Luke 17:33–“Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”
• Mark 13:12-13–“Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”
• Matthew 10:32-33–“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”

2nd Timothy 2:19–Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

• John 10:14–“I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.”
• Matthew 24:45-47–“Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.”

2nd Timothy 3:12–Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

• John 16:33–“In this world you will have tribulation.”

2nd Timothy 4:3-4–For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

• Matthew 24:37-39–“But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

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Titus 2:11–For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.

• John 12:32–“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”

Titus 3:8–This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works.

• Matthew 5:16–“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.”

Titus 3:10-1–Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.

• Matthew 18:15-17–“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone…But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”

1st Thessalonians 1:9-10–For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

• John 17:3–“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

1st Thessalonians 2:14-16–For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.

• Matthew 23:13-15–“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”
• Matthew 23:29-36–“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.”

1st Thessalonians 4:15-5:2–For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.

• Matthew 24:39-44–“…so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

1st Thessalonians 5:15–See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.

• Matthew 5:38-42–“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.”

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2nd Thessalonians 1:6-10–Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day...

• Matthew 25:31-46–“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory…He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left…Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels…inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

2nd Thessalonians 2:3-4–Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

• Matthew 24:15-16–“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place…then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains…”

2nd Thessalonians 2:9-12–The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

• Matthew 24:23-26–“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.”

2nd Thessalonians 3:3–But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.

• Matthew 6:13–“And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

2nd Thessalonians 3:14-15–And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

• Matthew 18:15-17–“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”

2nd Thessalonians 3:16–Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way.

• John 14:27–“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

DefCon has made reference to Christian Smith’s work on Moralistic Therapeutic Deism in the past, and I recently came across an article written in 2005 by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he explored the implications of this theme in a well written and thoughtful article at The Christian Post.

In the article Mohler observed:

As described by Smith and his team, Moralistic Therapeutic Deism consists of beliefs like these: 1. “A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.” 2. “God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.” 3. “The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.” 4. “God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.” 5. “Good people go to heaven when they die.”

That, in sum, is the creed to which much adolescent faith can be reduced. After conducting more than 3,000 interviews with American adolescents, the researchers reported that, when it came to the most crucial questions of faith and beliefs, many adolescents responded with a shrug and “whatever.”

Most mature believers can easily conjure up images, and perhaps not-so-fond memories of numerous professing Christians, including clergy, who espouse precisely this type of worldview, who for all practical purposes live their lives by, and teach others to uphold, the one true ”Golden Rule”: Be Nice.

My intent in linking to Mohler’s article, as well as Christian Smith’s original work, is to help familiarize those who may have sensed this phenomenon, but have never quite put their finger on what’s wrong with it.

While Smith’s original work points out, and I think importantly, that Moralistic Therapeutic Deism infects multiple “faith traditions” including Judaism, Mormonism, Islam, and atheism [yes, atheism is a faith tradition] in addition to Christianity, the focus of my emphasis shall be upon the latter.

When one examines the broader professing church the incorporation of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism into its overall framework is breathtaking.  And while anecdotal evidence is helpful, Smith’s original work goes beyond casual observation into statistical verification.  His conclusion?  A totally separate, alien, and parasitic “faith tradition” has infiltrated the common consciousness of various ostensibly Christian faith traditions almost invisibly co-opting and neutralizing their distinctives while quietly but inexorably moving their collective worldviews toward the 5 Pillars of MTD.

1. “A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.”  This bare perspective left to itself apart from the One true and living God’s self-expression as it is contained uniquely within the 66 books of the Holy Bible is quintessential deism.  From Wiki: Deism (pronounced /ˈdiːɪzəm/, us dict: dē′·ĭzm) is a religious and philosophical belief that a supreme being created the universe, and that this (and religious truth in general) can be determined using reason and observation of the natural world alone, without the need for either faith or organized religion. Many Deists reject the notion that God intervenes in human affairs, for example through miracles and revelations. These views contrast with the dependence on revelations, miracles, and faith found in many Jewish, Christian, Islamic and other theistic teachings. Deists typically reject most supernatural events (prophecy, miracles) and tend to assert that God (or “The Supreme Architect”) has a plan for the universe that is not altered either by God intervening in the affairs of human life or by suspending the natural laws of the universe. What organized religions see as divine revelation and holy books, most deists see as interpretations made by other humans, rather than as authoritative sources.  Clearly not all MTD adherents would deny the miraculous, in fact in some cases they would even anticipate that the god of MTD might intervene in their own personal affairs and lives from time to time, particularly when they ask for help.
2.  “God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.”  Moving from the abstract concept of the supreme being, the next logical step for the functional Moralistic Therapeutic Deist is to put his faith into action by good works.  The god of MTD is a great and good and loving god, and therefore the “Golden Rule”: Be Nice, is the one inviolable moral truth.  Obviously the definition and level of niceness varies from person to person, but after all, it’s the thought that really counts, right?
3. “The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.”  Because the great and good and loving god of MTD wants us to “Be Nice” to others, it only stands to reason that we should also “Be Nice” to ourselves.  If we’re not nice to ourselves, we can’t rightly be nice to others, now can we?  It’s important to practice what we preach, so we deserve to be happy and to feel good about ourselves so that we can be our very best, which can only lead to a positive outlook and a “nice” disposition towards others.  In fact if we’re very good at being “nice” to ourselves by being happy and feeling good, then we can point other less mature people in the right direction by helping them learn how to put into practice the happy feel-good techniques that work so well for us, so that they might also self-actualize and improve their self-esteem.  Be your best you!  You’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and doggone it, god loves you!  Shouldn’t that kind of wonderful news put a spring in your step and a smile on your face?  Of course it should!  So smile, god loves you and he has a wonderful plan for your life!
4. “God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.”  god is always there, when you need him, all you have to do is ask.  god gave you a brain, common sense and reason to find your way through the world, but when things get really bad, or seem hopeless, or you’re feeling really bummed out, or frightened you can call on god for comfort.  god doesn’t want you to feel bad, and it’s never his will for bad things to happen.  Bad things are always from the devil.  Sometimes just talking to god will make you feel better.  He’s a lot like your bff, only way, way better, smarter and nicer!  Try prayer, it works!
5.  ”Good people go to heaven when they die.”  The sad fact is that everyone dies.  After all, the Bible says that even Jesus died, right?  And He was a really, really good man, probably the best person who ever lived.  But along with its other teachings MTD necessarily assures us that all good, nice, moral people go to heaven to be with Jesus when they die, even people who we might not think are very nice, good, or moral because god is love, and hell sounds really bad, awful actually.  What kind of loving god would ever send his helpless, beloved creatures to a place where they burn forever?   That doesn’t sound like the god of MTD at all.  Plus when’s the last time you ever attended the funeral of someone who died and went to hell?  The preacher/priest or whoever conducts the service, as well as those who eulogize the deceased, uniformly assure all in attendance that the dearly departed is rejoicing in heaven in the presence of god and his angels; and well…let’s face it…uncle Walt really wasn’t that nice…so if he’s in, I’m in because…well…let’s face it…I’m a much nicer and more moral person than uncle Walt was.

Does any of this sound familiar to you? 

It should because in all likelihood MTD is quite likely the de facto faith of many – if not most – of your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, fellow churchgoers, and even pastors whether you – or they – know it or not.  My suggestion is that you familiarize yourself with the contents and concepts of MTD and prayerfully, carefully, and lovingly disabuse the MTD adherents within your sphere of influence of their defective, demonic faith.  The aberrant beliefs of MTD are little different in character from the aberrant beliefs of the cults, yet in both form and function its effects are much more subtle and sinister because, not unlike an invading virus, MTD infects from within as opposed to manifesting itself as a recognizable stand-alone organism or organization.

And while we know that hearts and minds are only changed by the power of the Holy Spirit, we also know that the One true and living God’s Word promises that His Word will not return void, and that it will in fact accomplish all His holy will.  Furthermore we know that His will is for His Word to be faithfully proclaimed by the foolishness of the preaching of the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation for all those who believe.  Let’s trust in His own unfailing faithfulness to His Word, and boldly go forth armed with the Truth of Jesus Christ crucified, dead, buried and resurrected on the third day offering the free gift of salvation and eternal life to those who believe in accordance with the scriptures.

“As long as we use the image of our experience, of our feelings, of our answers to prayer, we shall never begin to understand what the apostle Paul means when he says, “It is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me.”

The whole exercise of humanity’s essential reason is drawing on God as the source of life. The hindrance comes when we begin to keep sensuous images spiritually in our minds. Those of us who have never had visions or ecstasies ought to be very thankful. Visions, and any emotions at all, are the greatest snare to a spiritual life, because when we get them we are apt to build them round our reasoning, and our reasoning round them, and go no further.”

Oswald Chambers
1874-1917

Part 7, continuing the daunting task of correcting those who would rather live by their own righteousness than to admit that God is God.

Colossians 1:5–…because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit.

• John 15:16–“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”

Colossians 1:13–He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.

• Matthew 11:26-28–“Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Colossians 2:6-7–As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

• John 15:1-8–“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit…As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing….By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”

Colossians 2:16-17–So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.

• Mark 2:25-28–“Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?” And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
• Matthew 23:25-28–“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

Colossians 2:20-23–Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why…do you subject yourselves to regulations—“Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

• Matthew 15:16-20–“Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

Colossians 3:4–When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

• Matthew 25:31-33–“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.”

Colossians 3:14–But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

• Mark 12:39-40–“The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Colossians 4:2–Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.

• Luke 18:1-8–Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’” Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.”

“If we are in Christ the whole basis of our goings is God, not conceptions of God, not ideas of God, but God Himself. We do not need any more ideas about God, the world is full of ideas about God, they are all worthless, because the ideas of God in anyone’s head are of no more use than our own ideas. What we need is a real God, not more ideas about Him.”

Oswald Chambers
1874-1917

Making the light manifest to those who sit in darkness, denying the truth of God’s word by saying that because Paul did not use long quotes from our Lord in his epistles, that he was somehow starting some “new religion.” Uh…yeah…you bet.

Well, starting with the verse that started me on this path, here are some more cases of Paul elaborating on the principles laid down by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:19-20–For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.

• Matthew 5:10-12–“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
• Matthew 10:17-23–“You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.”

Philippians 2:1-2–Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

• John 17:20-21–“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

Philippians 2:3-4–Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

• John 13:14-15–“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”

Philippians 2:5-6–Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God…

• John 17:5–“And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”

Philippians 2:7–…but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.

• Matthew 20:28–“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Philippians 2:8–And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

• Luke 18:31-33–Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”

Philippians 2:9-11–Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

• Mark 14:62–Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

Philippians 3:4-7–If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.

• Mark 10:17-22–Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’” And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Philippians 3:13-14–Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

• Luke 9:62–But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Philippians 4:6–Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…

• Matthew 6:31-33–“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Philippians 4:7–…and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

• John 16:33–“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Once again, showing the truth from God’s word to the unenlightened, the ungodly, the one who professes to be wise while they are still foolish.

Ephesians 1:7–In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.

Matthew 9:2; Mark 2:5; Luke 5:20–When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

Ephesians 1:18–…that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe…

John 14:1-3–“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

Ephesians 1:19-21–...according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

Matthew 26:63-63–And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Ephesians 1:22–And He put all things under His feet…

Mark 12:35-36– Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”‘”

Ephesians 1:23–…and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Matthew 16:18–“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”

Ephesians 2:11-13–Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 3:6–…that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel…

John 10:15-16–“As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.”

Ephesians 2:19-20–Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone…

Luke 20:17–Then He looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written: ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone‘?”

Ephesians 3:3-4–…by revelation He made known to me the mystery…which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets…

Matthew 11:25–At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.”

Ephesians 4:1-3–I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

John 13:14-17–“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”

Ephesians 4:26-27, 31–“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil…Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.

Matthew 5:21-22–“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”

Ephesians 4:32–And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Matthew 6:14-15–“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Ephesians 5:1–Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.

Matthew 5:48–“You shall be perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect.”

Ephesians 5:8–For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.

Matthew 5:14-16–“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Ephesians 5:11-13–And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.

John 3:19-21–“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

Ephesians 5:28-31–So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

Matthew 19:3-5–The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?”

Ephesians 6:5-8–Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

Matthew 10:24-25–“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master.”
Luke 12:47–“And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.”

Ephesians 6:14–Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth…

Luke 12:35-36–“Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.”