Thankfully, Dr. Duane Litfin has recognized the valid criticisms of this letter. It was built on a false religious pluralism and blatant confusion of the God of the Bible with the Allah of the Koran.
Dr. Litfin has now withdrawn his signature from the letter.
(HT Christianity Today)
Friday, February 8, 2008
The Greater the Truth, The More the Counterfeits
"When Satan has reason to fear a truth very gravely, he produces counterfeits."
A.W. Tozer
A.W. Tozer
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
One of the Scariest Videos You Will Ever See
If you are like me, you grew up having massive respect for Rev. Billy Graham. At one time, I also had a great deal of respect for Dr. Robert Schuller.
No more. And you won't either, after you watch this sobering video:
Dear ones, we must pray without ceasing for the true Church of Jesus Christ in the United States of America today! Man-centered religious pluralism is creeping in among us from virtually all sides.
(HT: CRN)
No more. And you won't either, after you watch this sobering video:
Dear ones, we must pray without ceasing for the true Church of Jesus Christ in the United States of America today! Man-centered religious pluralism is creeping in among us from virtually all sides.
(HT: CRN)
Friday, February 1, 2008
Elders Who Fail to Guard the Sheep
Tim Brown at The Reformed Gadfly has a terrific quote from Bob DeWaay that is sad, but oh so often true in the evanjello-fish church today:
"Most evangelical churches have elders; these elders are responsible for the Lord’s flock. My interviews with people who have witnessed their churches being infiltrated by unbiblical teachings and practices have opened my eyes to a serious problem in our evangelical movement: elders who do not think that what is being taught and practiced in their church is important enough to judge biblically. This is serious. In many cases, these elders consider their primary job to be—support the senior pastor and his reputation at all costs. Their secondary job—watch over the financial well being of the church as a corporation. Their tertiary job—make sure no one rocks the boat. Thus, in these elders’ interpretation of their job description, the problem in the church becomes those concerned members who care about the integrity of the gospel message."
You can read the entire article by Pastor Dewaay here. Read the comments, too!
We are going through this now in our large church which if I gave the name, many would recognize it. A year ago our senior pastor, who preached the Word faithfully for 26 years, retired.
Within a matter of months the sermons from the younger pastoral staff became noticably thinner and weaker. The Easter Sunday sermon was noticeably lacking in any mention of why it was necessary for Christ to die on the cross--the implication left was that it was simply a bad thing that happened to a nice man, and now the good news was the "God is for us." It was what Dr. Michael Horton aptly calls, "Christless Christianity."
To make a long story short, our church has a tremendous tradition of biblical preaching and teaching, and elders who ought to know better. But, when these concerns were brought to their attention with gentleness and respect, and with clear biblical support, they were essentially ignored. At length it became clear to us that, to these men, WE were the problem.
As Pastor Dewaay points out, being a successful businessman, or a faithful husband, or both, is NOT sufficient qualification for eldership. Elders who are unwilling to address doctrinal and pulpit issues are failing the church today, as we have found out to our great dismay.
"Most evangelical churches have elders; these elders are responsible for the Lord’s flock. My interviews with people who have witnessed their churches being infiltrated by unbiblical teachings and practices have opened my eyes to a serious problem in our evangelical movement: elders who do not think that what is being taught and practiced in their church is important enough to judge biblically. This is serious. In many cases, these elders consider their primary job to be—support the senior pastor and his reputation at all costs. Their secondary job—watch over the financial well being of the church as a corporation. Their tertiary job—make sure no one rocks the boat. Thus, in these elders’ interpretation of their job description, the problem in the church becomes those concerned members who care about the integrity of the gospel message."
You can read the entire article by Pastor Dewaay here. Read the comments, too!
We are going through this now in our large church which if I gave the name, many would recognize it. A year ago our senior pastor, who preached the Word faithfully for 26 years, retired.
Within a matter of months the sermons from the younger pastoral staff became noticably thinner and weaker. The Easter Sunday sermon was noticeably lacking in any mention of why it was necessary for Christ to die on the cross--the implication left was that it was simply a bad thing that happened to a nice man, and now the good news was the "God is for us." It was what Dr. Michael Horton aptly calls, "Christless Christianity."
To make a long story short, our church has a tremendous tradition of biblical preaching and teaching, and elders who ought to know better. But, when these concerns were brought to their attention with gentleness and respect, and with clear biblical support, they were essentially ignored. At length it became clear to us that, to these men, WE were the problem.
As Pastor Dewaay points out, being a successful businessman, or a faithful husband, or both, is NOT sufficient qualification for eldership. Elders who are unwilling to address doctrinal and pulpit issues are failing the church today, as we have found out to our great dismay.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Piper Weighs In on "A Common Word"
Piper responds to the so-called Christian response to, "A Common Word Between Us and You:"
Thank you, Pastor John. Not much more needs to be said.
Thank you, Pastor John. Not much more needs to be said.
Monday, January 21, 2008
If You Don't Care About Truth, You Don't Care About God
John Piper with another gem of a quote from God's Passion for His Glory:
"Not to care about truth is not to care about God. To love God passionately is to love truth passionately. Being God-centered in life means being truth-driven in ministry. What is not true is not of God. What is false is anti-God. Indifference to the truth is indifference to the mind of God. Pretense is rebellion against reality, and what makes reality reality is God. Our concern with truth is simply an echo of our concern with God. And all this is rooted in God’s concern with God, or God’s passion for the glory of God."
Do you care about truth? Do I?
HT: CRN
"Not to care about truth is not to care about God. To love God passionately is to love truth passionately. Being God-centered in life means being truth-driven in ministry. What is not true is not of God. What is false is anti-God. Indifference to the truth is indifference to the mind of God. Pretense is rebellion against reality, and what makes reality reality is God. Our concern with truth is simply an echo of our concern with God. And all this is rooted in God’s concern with God, or God’s passion for the glory of God."
Do you care about truth? Do I?
HT: CRN
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Martin Luther Nails it Again!
"It is better to be divided by truth than to be united by error."
Amen!
Amen!
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