Our moral compass has not been damaged since this ordeal began.”
–Jesse Storm (Last Stand at Redwood)
“Keep a close watch on yourself and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right, and God will save you and those who hear you.”
“Keep a close watch on yourself and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right, and God will save you and those who hear you.”
–1 Timothy 4:16 (NLT)
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“Faith deconstruction is a postmodern process of rethinking your faith without regarding Scripture as a standard.”
–unknown
“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.”
–Galatians 1:8 (NKJV)
Friends, there are evil forces at work out there and they have drifted into the church. There are those of the man of lawlessness at work in our midst, and as Paul was concerned, in his day, we should be even more concerned as the day of the Lord draws nearer. Paul wrote concerning this, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3, NKJV)
Years before I developed my course in Apologetics I saw the ideas slowly being accepted into the church. I thought of the three deadly “Cs”: curiosity, complacency, and compromise. Tolerance became a keyword, and anyone who was not tolerant was said to be a bigot. We had the Emergent Church Movement, a product of Postmodernism. It sought to bring about a safe environment rather than preach the truth of the gospel. Conversation was to be sought rather than dogma. Now, I understand that there are things we should not be dogmatic about, but there are a host of things in God’s Word that we must be dogmatic in regard to them!
The group states that the Bible is historical, metaphorical, and narrative in nature rather than the inspired, authoritative Word of God. Christian “jargon” is to be done away with, a product of deconstructionism, which is a major tenet of Postmodernism. The Bible is to be used to find meaning for society rather than to teach redemption. Compassion, justice, mercy, and tolerance are the foundation rather than that man is sinful, needs a Savior, must repent and then can be saved through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Now we see a new “church” emerging from this same worldview. They are calling themselves “Progressive Christians” and are part of the “Woke” crowd. The idea is to remove the resurrected Savior, Jesus, and reinterpret Him as a Jewish mystic removing Him from divine claims and miracles. “Progressive Christians say their ‘modernizing of Jesus’ makes Him a more friendly and accepting figure for self-identified Christians. They say they are simply ‘refreshing’ Jesus (sort of like Subway keeps refreshing its sandwiches).” (Jason Jimenez) They see themselves as more enlightened and having a better way and “as a recovery–a rescuing of Jesus from the dogmatic rigidity of traditional Christianity.” (Jimenez).
This is the church at Pergamos seen in Revelation 2:12-17. This was the compromising church–accepting the doctrine of Balaam. Remember it was Balaam who suggested that Israel could be defeated by compromising their standards with those of the people around them, accepting culture rather than obeying the truth of God’s Word. The Nicolaitans were a heretical group whose teaching was immoral and idolatrous. Compromise, be more tolerant, be more like the culture around you. If you are more tolerant the more people will accept you.
Friends, it’s here! What will you do with this heresy? Barna states that two out of every three Americans believe that all religions basically teach the same thing. Four out of every ten say that when Christians, Jews, Buddhists, or others pray to God they are actually praying to the same God. The new guru, the religious idol states, “One of the biggest mistakes we make is to believe there is only one way to live. There are many, many ways, many paths to what you call God.” (Oprah Winfrey)
Paul tells us to turn away from these people (2 Timothy 3:5). He continues in the same chapter to exhort us, “But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them.” (2 Timothy 3:14, NKJV) He tells Titus to hold “fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict” (Titus 1:9, NKJV) Oh, by the way in a little side note, the progressives teach that the original “hijackers of Jesus belong to the Pauline movement.” (Jimenez)
Hold on, my friend, to the truth of the Bible and pray “even so,come, Lord Jesus.”
———————————-
“Faith deconstruction is a postmodern process of rethinking your faith without regarding Scripture as a standard.”
–unknown
“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.”
–Galatians 1:8 (NKJV)
Friends, there are evil forces at work out there and they have drifted into the church. There are those of the man of lawlessness at work in our midst, and as Paul was concerned, in his day, we should be even more concerned as the day of the Lord draws nearer. Paul wrote concerning this, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3, NKJV)
Years before I developed my course in Apologetics I saw the ideas slowly being accepted into the church. I thought of the three deadly “Cs”: curiosity, complacency, and compromise. Tolerance became a keyword, and anyone who was not tolerant was said to be a bigot. We had the Emergent Church Movement, a product of Postmodernism. It sought to bring about a safe environment rather than preach the truth of the gospel. Conversation was to be sought rather than dogma. Now, I understand that there are things we should not be dogmatic about, but there are a host of things in God’s Word that we must be dogmatic in regard to them!
The group states that the Bible is historical, metaphorical, and narrative in nature rather than the inspired, authoritative Word of God. Christian “jargon” is to be done away with, a product of deconstructionism, which is a major tenet of Postmodernism. The Bible is to be used to find meaning for society rather than to teach redemption. Compassion, justice, mercy, and tolerance are the foundation rather than that man is sinful, needs a Savior, must repent and then can be saved through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Now we see a new “church” emerging from this same worldview. They are calling themselves “Progressive Christians” and are part of the “Woke” crowd. The idea is to remove the resurrected Savior, Jesus, and reinterpret Him as a Jewish mystic removing Him from divine claims and miracles. “Progressive Christians say their ‘modernizing of Jesus’ makes Him a more friendly and accepting figure for self-identified Christians. They say they are simply ‘refreshing’ Jesus (sort of like Subway keeps refreshing its sandwiches).” (Jason Jimenez) They see themselves as more enlightened and having a better way and “as a recovery–a rescuing of Jesus from the dogmatic rigidity of traditional Christianity.” (Jimenez).
This is the church at Pergamos seen in Revelation 2:12-17. This was the compromising church–accepting the doctrine of Balaam. Remember it was Balaam who suggested that Israel could be defeated by compromising their standards with those of the people around them, accepting culture rather than obeying the truth of God’s Word. The Nicolaitans were a heretical group whose teaching was immoral and idolatrous. Compromise, be more tolerant, be more like the culture around you. If you are more tolerant the more people will accept you.
Friends, it’s here! What will you do with this heresy? Barna states that two out of every three Americans believe that all religions basically teach the same thing. Four out of every ten say that when Christians, Jews, Buddhists, or others pray to God they are actually praying to the same God. The new guru, the religious idol states, “One of the biggest mistakes we make is to believe there is only one way to live. There are many, many ways, many paths to what you call God.” (Oprah Winfrey)
Paul tells us to turn away from these people (2 Timothy 3:5). He continues in the same chapter to exhort us, “But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them.” (2 Timothy 3:14, NKJV) He tells Titus to hold “fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict” (Titus 1:9, NKJV) Oh, by the way in a little side note, the progressives teach that the original “hijackers of Jesus belong to the Pauline movement.” (Jimenez)
Hold on, my friend, to the truth of the Bible and pray “even so,come, Lord Jesus.”