BIG NEWS!

The church held a musical event last night. This is something that they do on the last sunday of the month. Different people from within the church are asked to sing and a couple of people are the moderators to lead the event. My girlfriend, Diana, was one of the moderators for the night. I had told her last month that I wanted to sing so about 45 minutes after the night started, it was my turn to sing.

I sang a song from my United Methodist Church days. It is not known by too many people, but my old church family truly loved this song. It is titled,
Lord, You Have Come To The Lakeshore

My girlfriend and her friend were sitting on stage waiting for me to finish my song. When the song was over I went over to her and gave her a hug. She was happy for me (not sure if she was happy I was finally done singing or that I had done a good job!!) After I gave her a hug she walked up to the podium and I started to walk away. When she had passed me and had her back to me, I then reached into my pocket, stood right behind her and got down on one knee!

The audience, as if on que, all gasped and stood up. Diana turned around and saw me on my knee and just started crying. I proposed to her in front of her church family and she said...

YES!

It was a great evening. Everyone was so happy for us and before I knew it, they had the whole wedding all planned out for us! Which is good for me, since, I am terrible when it comes to color-coordinating things! We have set a date for our wedding.

Sept 27, 2008!

I love Diana very much and am looking forward to a long life spent together with her in service to the Lord! I would appreciate your prayers for our relationship. I thank everyone of you for your devotion to the Lord, even to those who do not agree with me, I appreciate the fact that you do love God and are serving Him in a way that you feel is best. May God bless each one of you today. I know I have been blessed with a beautiful woman of God.

Expelled

Has anyone seen this movie yet?

Ten Reasons to Not Ask Jesus Into Your Heart

Ten Reasons To Not Ask Jesus Into Your Heart

The music weeps, the preacher pleads, "Give your heart to Jesus. You have a God shaped hole in your heart and only Jesus can fill it." Dozens, hundreds or thousands of people who want to get their spiritual life on track make their
way to the altar. They ask Jesus into their heart.

Cut to three months later. Nobody has seen our new convert in church. The follow up committee calls him and encourages him to attend a Bible study, but to no avail. We label him a backslider and get ready for the next outreach
event.

Our beloved child lies in her snuggly warm bed and says, "Yes, Daddy. I want to ask Jesus into my heart." You lead her in "the prayer" and hope that it sticks. You spend the next ten years questioning if she really, really meant it.
Puberty hits and the answer reveals itself. She backslides. We spend the next ten years praying that she will come to her senses.

Telling someone to ask Jesus into their hearts has a very typical result, backsliding. the Bible says that a person who is soundly saved puts his hand to the plow and does not look back because he is fit for service. In other words, a true convert cannot backslide. If a person backslides, he never slid forward in the first place. "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation." (II Cor.5) No backsliding there.

Brace yourself for this one: with very few if any exceptions, anyone who asked Jesus into their hearts to be saved...is not. If you asked Jesus into your heart because you were told that is what you have to do to become a Christian, you
were mis-informed.

If you have ever told someone to ask Jesus into their heart (like I have), you produced a false convert. Here is why.
1. It is not in the Bible. There is not a single verse that even hints we should say a prayer inviting Jesus into our hearts. Some use Rev. 3:20. To tell us that Jesus is standing at the door of our hearts begging to come in.
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock." There are two reasons that interpretation is wrong.
The context tells us that the door Jesus is knocking on is the door of the church, not the human heart. Jesus is not knocking to enter someone's heart but to have fellowship with His church. Even if the context didn't tell us this, we would be forcing a meaning into the text (eisegesis). How do we know it is
our heart he is knocking at?
Why not our car door? How do we know he isn't knocking on our foot? To suggest that he is knocking on the door of our heart is superimposing a meaning on the text that simply does not exist.

The Bible does not instruct us to ask Jesus into our heart. This alone should resolve the issue, nevertheless, here are nine more reasons.
2. Asking Jesus into your heart is a saying that makes no sense. What does it mean to ask Jesus into your heart? If I say the right incantation will He somehow enter my heart? Is it literal? Does He reside in the upper or lower
ventricle? Is this a metaphysical experience? Is it figurative? If it is, what exactly does it mean? While I am certain that most adults cannot articulate its meaning, I am certain that no child can explain it.

3. In order to be saved, a man must repent (Acts 2:38). Asking Jesus into your heart leaves out the requirement of repentance.

4. In order to be saved, a man must trust in Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31).
Asking Jesus into your heart leaves out the requirement of faith.

5. The person who wrongly believes they are saved will have a false sense of security. Millions of people who sincerely, but wrongly, asked Jesus into their hearts think they are saved but struggle to feel secure. They live indoubt and  fear because they do not have the Holy Spirit giving them assurance of salvation.

6. The person who asks Jesus into his heart will likely end up inoculated, bitter and backslidden. Because he did not get saved by reciting a formulaic prayer, he will grow disillusioned with Jesus, the Bible, church and fellow
believers. His latter end will be worse than the first.

7. It presents God as a beggar just hoping you will let Him into your busy life. This presentation of God robs Him of His sovereignty.

8. The cause of Christ is ridiculed. Visit an atheist web-site and read the pagans who scoff, "How dare those Christians tell us how to live when they get divorced more than we do? Who are they to say homosexuals shouldn't adopt kids when hundreds of thousands of orphans don't get adopted by Christians?" Born again believers adopt kids and don't get divorced. People who ask Jesus into their hearts do. Jesus gets mocked when false converts give Him a bad name.

9. The cause of evangelism is hindered. While it is certainly easier to get church members by telling them to ask Jesus into their hearts, try pleading with someone to make today the day of their salvation. Get ready for a painful
response. "Why should I become a Christian when I have seen so called Christians act worse than a pagan?" People who ask Jesus into their hearts give pagans an excuse for not repenting.

10. Here is the scary one. People who ask Jesus into their hearts are not saved and they will perish on the Day of Judgment. How tragic that millions of people think they are right with God when they are not. How many people who
will cry out, "Lord, Lord" on judgment day will be "Christians" who asked Jesus into their hearts?

So, what must one do to be saved? Repent and trust. (Heb.6:1) The Bible makes it clear that all men must repent and place their trust in Jesus Christ. Every man does have a "God shaped hole in their hearts," but that hole is not
contentment, fulfillment and peace. Every man's heart problem is righteousness. Instead of preaching that Jesus fulfills, we must preach that God judges and Jesus satisfies God's judgment...if a man will repent and place his trust in
Him.
 
If you are reading this and you asked Jesus into your heart, chances are good you had a spiritual buzz for a while, but now you struggle to read your Bible, tithe, attend church and pray. Perhaps you were told you would have
contentment, purpose and a better life if you just ask Jesus into your heart. I am sorry, that was a lie.
Please read: "25 ways to know you’re a backslider" and "Never Backslide Again"
Both articles are on these sites "Your Walk" section on ttwministries.com.
If you have been preaching that people should ask Jesus into their hearts, I beg you to stop immediately. You will give an account for all the souls you have led astray. Read two articles on this site that will help you present the
Gospel correctly: Hell’s Best Kept Secret and How to Witness Manual ("Witness Tools" section). If you would like to
do further reading on this subject, Pastor Dennis Rockser offers several other reasons why we should not ask Jesus
into our hearts.
For his take, visit his article at http://www.duluthbible.org/seven_reasons.htm

What does it say?

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life!

Transformed in St. Louis

This past Saturday, my girlfriend and I, along with two of the youth from church went to the Transformed event in St. Louis. It was put on by the Way of the Master team of Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron and Todd Friel. It was an awesome day as we got to meet each one. They were all very cordial and friendly and they did what they were there to do...

PROCLAIM THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST!

Each one of them has a different skill and ability when it comes to speaking to the public. Each one sort of fed off of the others to the point where the audience was completely filled with God's Word.

Todd Friel (yes, he is freakishly tall!!) led off the day! He was followed by Ray Comfort, who displayed the kind of humor that is funny, without taking away from the message of God! Kirk Cameron came on next. They took turns for the 4 hours that we were there.

The example was given about churches that have fallen away from biblical preaching and teaching. A church that has 80's music blaring over the loud speakers, spandex pants wearing pastor who wants to make the Word relevent for today's culture. It is those kind of churches that are doing the greatest harm to Christianity! While people are dying each and every day, these churches are playing loud music solely for the purpose of bringing people into the church to hear a happy-clappy sermon! But what they truly need is to hear the Truth. They need to hear that unless they repent of their sins and put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation, they will end up in HELL. Why are we spending so much time entertaining people with either VanHalen, the Beatles or please don't say it, the Gospel according to Elvis Presley?

What we should be doing is preaching the Word in season and out of season. We should be standing BOLDLY for the faith. We should be expositing the Word of God so that the body of believers can be edified. Then we need to be taking our faith out into the streets reaching the lost. I saw a dead rabbit lying in the road on my way home today. Flat as a pancake! And it is just another sign, that we don't know when "our" last days will be. Drunk drivers kill innocent people each and every day. People who are in the prime of their life are sent to an eternal home every day -- which home will it be? Heaven or Hell?

Let's love our neighbors with the kind of love displayed by Jesus. Let's show people that Jesus is alive and well. Let's shine the Light of His Word into the darkened world so that sin may be exposed. Once exposed, then let's show them the great love as demonstrated by our Lord and Savior as He hung up on that cross! Let's tell all people the Good News!

Kirk Cameron gave a great illustration Saturday night. I might not get this exactly right, but the idea will be the same.

You can see in one of the pictures above that Kirk is hold a cup in his hand. Imagine you were going to give a cup to your pastor to drink out of. You cleaned the outside of it so that it was nice and clean, but on the inside, you knew that someone had poured dirt into it. Would you hand it to your pastor? No! of course not. you would want to make sure the inside was clean too. In fact, it is more important that the inside be clean than the outside.

Now, let's take a look at you and me...

We spend so much time trying to make ourselves look good to the outside world. We do good things for people, we walk people across the street, we mow our neighbor's yard, we are just downright nice people. We look good to the world. And we should be nice people, we should look nice to the world. Our behavior should be above reproach. As Christians, we have a duty to be different than the world. So, on the outside, we look very good.

But here lies the problem...

From the side point of view, our neighbors can see how clean and good we look, but they cannot see inside our heart. Looking at the cup only shows the outward appearance. Now, God is above looking down into the cup. He can see all of the lust, the hate, the envy, the pride, the malicious attitude, the hypocrisy, the idol worshipping, the disrespecting of parents, the blasphemous heart, the covetous behavior and he knows every lie we have ever told. He see's it all. We can make the outside look very good, but when it comes to God, we are filthy. We are filled up with dirt. We are unclean. If all we do is try to put on a good appearance we are only fooling ourselves and people around us. We are not fooling God. Do you have a habit of making excuses about why you can not worship God? Do you have a habit of making excuses of why you can not evangelize the lost? It all comes out of the heart. It is time to no longer make excuses. It is time to start acting out your life in Christ!

When we are filled with the Saving Knowledge of Jesus Christ, He will overflow out of the cup of our lives. He will instill within you the desire to reach the lost and you will not make excuses. If you deny this, then search to see why you do. Is it possible to love God and the fact that He saved you from HELL, and still not care about the lost who are headed there? It selfish behavior that says "hey, I know I am going to heaven. The other people are on their own!" Jesus did not tell us to "Go and make yourself a disciple of mine and then sit home and watch TV and wait for my return!"

No, He said, "Go into all the world preaching the gospel to every creature"

The Apostles went out preaching repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. And that is what we should be doing!

If you have a chance to go to a Transformed Conference in your neck of the woods, I would humbly suggest you go. It is a life changing event and it will help to ignite the fire within you for reaching the lost.

Ray Comfort talked about Luke 18:18-23

"And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? None is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT KILL, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

Ray went on to talk about how every person will proclaim his own goodness. The Bible tells us so. What we need to realize is that, "sure, our neighbors might think we are good people." But the reality is that in God's eyes, we are not good. In fact, we are filthy. Just as Kirk mentioned earlier, God looks into our hearts. He knows every thought we have ever had. He knows every deed we have ever done. When we use the Ten Commandments as a mirror, it shows us just how much we are "not" good people. We are liars, thieves, adulterers. We are a covetous people, we are murderers because of our hate, we have not always honored our parents and we most definitely have not put God first in our life each and EVERY day! We are all on a road to destruction. Hell is waiting for us because we deserve it! There is no one person on earth who deserves to go to heaven. But because of God's wonderful love for us, He sent His Son to die on the cross to take our punishment so that we can go to heaven. All we have to do is put our trust and faith in Jesus Christ and repent of our sins. It's as simple as that and it is as hard as that! It is EASY to say you believe in Jesus and it is EASY to "say" you have repented of your sins.

The truth of the matter is this...

Have you "really" repented of your sins? Do you have secret sins that you think no one knows about? God knows! Do you accept other people and their sins? God doesn't. So why should you. His patience is running out and His return is coming quickly. Rather than accept the sins of others, why not tell them about the wonderful Savior that we have. But first, and I want to emphasize this again, FIRST tell them about the Whole Gospel message of sin and the need to repent and THEN tell them about a God that loves them so much He sent His Son to die for them!

Transformed is awesome! If they are in your area, please go! You will be glad you did!

May God bless each one of you today and may you be convicted to begin reaching out to the lost.

Go into all the world preaching the gospel to every creature!

Bible Study for John is up!

http://openthebible.blogspot.com/

No, it's not "Where's Waldo?"

Who do you see in this picture? You might need to enlarge the picture to truly be able to see all of the characters found in this picture. Tell me who you see, where they are located and what, if any, significance do you see with the way the characters are portrayed.

Have fun! I will be gone all day saturday at the Transformed conference in STL. Please keep us in your prayers for our traveling down there (about 240 miles each way).

Pyromaniacs: Paul and Charitableness

Pyromaniacs: Paul and Charitableness

Paul and Charitableness

http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2008/04/paul-and-charitableness.html

The above link has a great article on the post-moderns idea of being charitable. I encourage you to stop by Team Pyro and read this article. You will notice some similarities to some other comments you have seen on here in the past!

United Methodist Seminary's -- ouch! What direction are they going?

The United Methodist Church has 13 seminary's that feed pastor's into their churches. The UMC has become very liberal over the years and have strayed quite far from John Wesley's teachings and especially from the Bible itself! some of the seminary's do a better job of presenting their mission statement and others are so far removed from being truly Christian as to be scary!

The purpose of the Boston University School of Theology is to pursue knowledge of God, to cultivate leaders for communities of faith, to enrich the academy, and to seek peace with justice in a diverse and interconnected world. As the founding school of Boston University and the oldest United Methodist seminary in North America, we are a professional school within a cosmopolitan research university that is itself committed to “learning, virtue, and piety.” Rooted in the Wesleyan traditions and drawing from the Christian traditions of the world, we strive to equip ministries and vocations whose aim is both personal and social transformation, whose orientation is diverse and global, and whose vision expands the prophetic legacy of this historic School of Theology.

Candler School of Theology is grounded in the Christian faith and shaped by the Wesleyan tradition of evangelical piety, ecumenical openness, and social concern. Its mission is to educate—through scholarship, teaching, and service—faithful and creative leaders for the church’s ministries in the world.

An ecumenical and interfaith institution, Claremont School of Theology seeks to instill students with the ethical integrity, religious intelligence, and intercultural understanding necessary to become effective in thought and action as spiritual leaders in the increasingly diverse, multi-faith world of the 21st century.

The Mission of Drew Theological School Center for Continuing Education is to:
Equip clergy and lay leaders to effectively address emerging and ongoing issues in ministry by providing relevant leadership education programs, including courses developed in partnership with Annual Conferences and agencies of The United Methodist Church. Provide advanced theological education beyond the structure of degree programs by opening some graduate courses to non-degree participants, and partnering with Annual Conferences and local churches to provide alternative educational opportunities that embrace multiple learning styles. Strengthen the spiritual lives of all people through deep Christian study and reflection that is characterized by a commitment to justice, ecumenism, and respect for the integrity of creation, and is supported by theology that is responsible to the complex social realities of our interconnected world.

Duke Divinity School’s mission is to engage in spiritually disciplined and academically rigorous education in service and witness to the Triune God in the midst of the church, the academy, and the world. We strive to cultivate a vibrant community through theological education on Scripture, engagement with the living Christian tradition, and attention to and reflection on contemporary contexts in order to form leaders for faithful Christian ministries.

The mission of Gammon Theological Seminary, a historically African American institution, in partnership with The Interdenominational Theological Center, is to recruit, support, and educate pastors and leaders for The United Methodist Church.

The core purpose of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary is to know God in Christ and, through preparing spiritual leaders, to help others know God in Christ.
The seminary enacts its mission through:
Preparing women and men for ordained and lay ministries;
Preparing qualified students for seminary, church-related college, and university teaching in the theological disciplines;
Providing theological research and reflection for the church.

The Iliff School of Theology is a graduate theological school of the United Methodist Church. Its central mission is the education of persons for effective ministry in Christian churches and other religious communities, for academic leadership, and for the cultivation of justice and peace in local and global contexts.
Iliff affirms its United Methodist identity and its liberal Christian heritage, grounded in scriptures and traditions, critical thinking, and openness to emerging truths, including those derived from science, experience, and other faith traditions. In a world fragmented by religious and ideological conflicts, Iliff promotes theological scholarship and dialogue to foster transformative possibilities for humanity and nature.

Methodist Theological School in Ohio provides a vibrant learning environment for the preparation of skilled, passionate transformational leaders for churches, religious institutions, emerging faith communities and the wider world. We attend to the theological, spiritual, and vocational formation of a diverse group of students involved in a wide range of pursuits. Expecting active participation in our community of learning, we maintain an atmosphere of mutual respect and openness, teaching how to engage in conversation with the past and with others so that new and faithful perspectives may emerge. Our graduates demonstrate a deep understanding of the heritage disciplines of religious study, are highly competent in areas of practical theology, and show evidence of thoughtful reflection. We take seriously our responsibility for stewardship of the intellectual life of the church and our commitment to a just and sustainable world.

The primary mission of Perkins School of Theology, as a community devoted to theological study and teaching in the service of the church of Jesus Christ, is to prepare women and men for faithful leadership in Christian ministry.
Perkins School of Theology affirms its relationships to the community of learning that is Southern Methodist University, to the universal church (inclusive, ecumenical, and global), the The United Methodist Church specifically, and to its particular geographical and cultural setting in the southwestern United States.
These relationships are sources of strength and avenues of service for the school as it pursues its twin tasks of theological reflection and theological education to the glory of God.

Rooted in the Wesleyan tradition
and committed to inspiring passion for ministry
in diverse Christian bodies,
Saint Paul School of Theology
educates leaders
to make disciples for Jesus Christ,
renew the church,and transform the world.

United Theological Seminary is a Christ-centered graduate school of The United Methodist Church that equips leaders for the church in a pluralistic world through the nurture of piety, the love of learning, and the pursuit of justice.

The mission of Wesley Theological Seminary is to prepare persons for Christian ministry, to foster theological scholarship, and to provide leadership on issues facing the church and the world. Our aim is to nourish a critical understanding of Christian faith, cultivate disciplined spiritual lives, and promote a just and compassionate engagement in the mission of the church to the world.

As a former pastor with the UMC, I left when we had our annual conference and they had to call for a vote on whether to allow homosexual marriages and homosexual pastors. Besides the fact that the Bible says homosexuality is a sin that without repentance will lead to hell, it all came down to how much money one church in particular would lose if his members all left his church. The Bishops have failed to stand up for God's Word and have become more and more like the world. They want to be inclusive. This explains their need to not just say, "God the Father" but also to say, "God the Mother." It is not just, "He said..." it is now, "He or She said..." They do not want to offend women so they have changed much of their language that is found in the Bible. So when Jesus Himself says, God the Father, who are we to change the meaning. When the UMC came out with their new hymnals over 10 years ago, they made sure to have songs that were inclusive in language.

These are examples only from the Methodist Seminary's. I am thinking about doing a thorough research on seminary's from each of the major denominations. I know there are good seminary's out there such as the Master's Seminary in California. Unfortunately, many more poor ones are out there than are good ones. If you are interested in attending a seminary, it is important to look at their mission statement. Do they promote Jesus and the Word of God? Do they say that they want to train up pastor's who will diligently exposit the Word of God? Or, are they more concerned with training up more emergent leaders who are scared to preach the whole gospel?

If you are a pastor...

what kind of training did you receive from your seminary? Emergent or Christian?

DNA vs Mormonism and a Mormon attacks God's Word in open air

This is a long (49 minutes) video but it is very informational.
This next video is one showing two mormon elders confronting someone who is open air preaching (sounds very much like the response from some "christians" who argue against open air preaching!



Isn't it sad that so-called christians can argue so staunchly against God's Word being preached. God's Word is offensive to unbelievers who want to live their carnality in freedom! But unless His Word is preached, there will not be any repentance. His Word will not return void!

Continue to be faithful in preaching His Word in season and out of season.
Preach repentance like we are commanded to do.
Repent and put your trust and faith in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation!

Repost of Will you fight for Jesus? Part Two

Thursday, January 24, 2008
Will you fight for Jesus? Part TWO


In my original post dated Jan 17, 2007, I asked the following questions.



"How big are the battles you are facing? Are you willing to go to war for Jesus? Will you fight for Him? I would suspect that many people will say yes, when in fact, they should say no. Let me try to explain this in a way you can understand..."
I then went on to say there are many people who claim to be Christians, when in fact, they aren't. They say they believe in Jesus but they are missing something. Something very crucial. Obedience to God's Word. The need to repent of their sins.

Now we know that those who are truly saved understand that we are in a battle. It is a spiritual battle marked by false teachings (Mormonism, Jehovah's Witness, Scientology, etc), post-modernism thinking, ermergent theology, and of course, the ever present Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Tony Jones, Brian McLaren and Doug Pagitt's of the world of churchianity.

Well, shortly after the posting went up, I got a response.
Here is a typical response from one who does not want to fight for his faith.
I think that if we showed love (greatest commandment) that we would not have to "fight"

The conversation then went on to "why" we fight. It is a spiritual battle and we know that you cannot expect people to love you back when you love them like Jesus did. If you love Jesus, the world WILL HATE YOU! You will have a battle on your hands! But that is okay.

I would rather fight for Jesus than cuddle up to the world.
The commenter went on to say...
I also would say that if you (christian community - not you in particular) would truly love God and love one another and lived in community as the early church did; you would not have to "fight" as you think and presume. I do not see instructions (please show me them, if they are there) where Jesus instructed us "to fight"

Believers in Christ...


Do you agree that we are in a spiritual battle
and should be ready for battle with Satan and the world?


in my post, I also wrote...
Fight for the Lord? I say to you, they don't know the Lord! Why would they fight for someone they do not know? They are professing Christians but they are not obedient Christians. Jesus said: “If you love me, you will obey me.” This was not stated as an option or a likelihood, e.g. most will obey me or you’ll want to obey me. No, if you love me you will obey me. He continued, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.” Jesus continued, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.” John defined love for God: “This is love for God: to obey his commands.” God’s commands are the teachings and commands of Jesus. If we love God we will obey his commands.

The commenter also said...
You may be right, the world that surrounds me does not hate me. The reason is simple: when you love them and are showing the fruits of the spirit ... why would they hate you when you are loving them and bring joy to their life ? (this comment is from a youth and family pastor that is seminary trained!)

NOW, look at what the BIBLE says...
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before [it hated] you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. *John 15:18-21

Now, you can start to see the battle that we need to fight. There are pastor's who are not saved who are leading the flock astray. They are creating false converts.

Here is another example (again from a seminary trained person)
I love the fact that you bring up homosexuals again. Do you really HATE them ? I will tell them what I tell everyone .. message does not change. God loved you so much that He sent His Son to take your place. (so far, good) Because He died for you / resurrected and seated at the right hand of God; His grace covers your sin. (Whoops, something is missing. Where is the call to repentance?)

To tell someone that His grace covers their sin, does not require them to repent of their sins. Where is the putting away of the old self and becoming new??

here is another point commenter made...
In the situation where it was teenage girls (5) that were part of the group, we told them that we believed that their lifestyle choices were not healthy and that they did not line up with the lifestyle that God has called us to.We, however, did emphasize that you are more than willing to contnue to vcome and be part of the ministry ( this is the welcoming not affirming). We will love you, welcome you but we will (not) affirm or applaud your decisions.

Not once were those lesbian girls told of the need to repent. They just were told the church "believes" that the lifestyle is not healthy. WHY IS IT SO HARD TO TELL PEOPLE THE TRUTH THAT THEY NEED TO HEAR. IT MAKES ME SICK TO SEE HOW PEOPLE WILL WIMP OUT (YOU KNOW, THE WIMPY KIND OF LOVE THAT WAS NOT FOUND IN JESUS CHRIST!!!!)

Again, commenter said... (don't forget, this is a seminary trained pastor)
However, as I look at scripture and see Jesus interact with individuals; can you show me where he said, "repent" ?

From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matt 4:17
Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. Mark 1:14-15
And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Luke 13:2-5
Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. Luke 17:3-4
and out of Revelation we find...
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. Rev 2:5
Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. Rev 2:16
And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Rev 2:21
Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. Rev 2:22
Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Rev 3:3
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Rev 3:19

uh oh, there's a problem, if we LOVE someone we will rebuke and chasten them and tell them of a need to repent!

and let's not forget the woman at the well...
"Go, and sin no more!

Or, how about the rich man?
He brought up several of the Ten Commandments and the man said he had kept them all since his youth (which was obviously a lie), so Jesus then took him to the Second
Commandment and told him to sell all his possession and to come follow Him. The man went away sad. He exposed the man for who he was. A prideful person who loved his money more than God.

Commenter said...
Once again, if you are truly being the hands and feet of Christ - loving and serving them - they are not going to hate you for loving them and serving them. You love reading into scripture to pull out your points that do not really exist.

No response needed on this one! His comments speak for themselves.
Another commenter said (also a seminary trained pastor)
Loving like Jesus is not being wimpy or ignoring Scripture, it is fulfilling it. You know that. When your heart is full of Christlike love for that homosexual or young man whose life has gotten off tract and when you realize that you are no better in God's sight than they are... then you might be ready to engage them. Please don't drag the reputation of Jesus down with misguided attempts at playing the Holy Spirit and feeling that somehow it is your responsibility to point out everyone's sinful ways. It is your responsibility to love people as Jesus did and to deal with your own sin. That is the real fight!

My response...
basically this man does not have a clue as to what the real fight is.

Why did this commenter feel it necessary to post here? The commenter that has been quoted here, went to another blog site and said this...
Everyone:


I am in a conflict over in a blog post and commenting session. Can someone come over and help me I am getting slammed:

http://time2changechurches.blogspot.com/2008/01/will-you-fight-for-jesus.html

Sorry for the call out for help. Of course, maybe you will think that I am an idiot there as well

Now, at the time it was basically just Michelle, Stella and myself who were conversing with him. You can read the comments yourself and find that they are not "slamming" him. They are sharing with love, the Word of God. As a seminary trained pastor, it surprises me that he would feel we were slamming him. I put all of these comments on here in the hopes that he can see how unbiblical his thinking is. I am sure he is a good person in his mind and feels he will go to heaven based on that alone. Or based on the fact that one day he said "the prayer."
Yes, Christians we are in a battle. It is a fight. Why? Because there are people out there who have taken the Bible and ignored most of it in favor of being a friend to the world.

We are not to be of the world. We are to separate ourselves from the world. If you are obedient to God's Word, the world will hate you. Be ready to go to battle. Satan wants to distort God's Word. He wants just enough of it preached to make people "think" they are saved. But he does not want people to know they need to repent of their sins.

I WILL SAY IT AGAIN AND AGAIN
REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND!
PUT YOUR FAITH AND TRUST IN JESUS CHRIST ALONE!

When dealing with the proud and arrogant person, we are to preach Law along with the wonderful grace of God! When dealing with a humbled person then give them grace. God's Word is powerful, we need not fear preaching it as others would have you believe.
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. (Romans 1:16 NIV)

May you challenge the very core of those who would lead you to believe in the foolishness of the Cross. Because those comments are from unbelievers.

Tell them the Truth of God's Word. All of it.
May you go in peace and share God's Word with all you see today and everyday.

McDonald's and the homosexual agenda

MONEYNETDAILY
'McDonald's disingenuous about homosexuality'
American Family Association criticizes restaurants' defense of activism
Posted: April 09, 2008
11:30 pm Eastern

© 2008 WorldNetDaily

Following a link from the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce's website leads to a promotional for children's Happy Meals at the McDonalds website

McDonald's restaurants, famed for the Golden Arches, Ronald McDonald and kids meals, launched an e-mail response defending its advocacy for homosexual influences in business after the American Family Association alerted its constituency about the company's activities.

But the AFA now is calling on the giant fast-food corporation to be honest in its discussion.

"Here is the indisputable fact about McDonald's: McDonald's joined the [National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce] and have a position on the NGLCC Board of Directors," AFA said in a statement on its website.

The AFA recently had sent its alert to supporters regarding McDonald's joining the special-interest organization, which lists McDonald's on its website as a "corporate partner and organization ally" for an undisclosed financial contribution, and the company's installing one of its officers on the NGLCC board. In response, McDonald's has been dispatching e-mails justifying its actions.

"Unfortunately, McDonald's is attempting to confuse the fact that they are supporting the homosexual agenda in an e-mail they are sending to those who contact them about the matter," the AFA said.

In a point-by-point response to McDonald's, the AFA asked the corporation for honesty, and called its verbal maneuvers "disingenuous."

"As a Christian organization, the American Family Association always seeks to be honest, accurate and completely forthright in the information we pass along to our supporters," the AFA said. "We expect corporations in this country, especially those that position themselves as 'family friendly' businesses, to do the same."

"It is in that spirit the AFA wishes to respond to the e-mail McDonald's USA has been sending out," it said.

The restaurant corporation had told interested consumers it treats "all our employees and customers with dignity and respect regardless of their ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or any other differentiating factor."

"We are not telling McDonald’s who they can hire to work for the company, nor are we demanding that they stop serving Big Macs to homosexual customers," the AFA said. "This issue is about the world’s largest fast food chain allying itself and partnering with an organization that lobbies Congress to enact laws that we feel can be used to repress religious freedom or undermine the sanctity of marriage."

McDonald's noted, "While one McDonald's employee is affiliated with the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), McDonald's is in no way 'aggressively promoting the homosexual agenda' as suggested in the newsletter."

But the AFA said, "To refer to Richard Ellis, who is the vice president of communications for McDonald's, as 'one McDonald’s employee,' as if he is a teenager flipping hamburgers, is disingenuous at best. While 'aggressively' is admittedly a subjective term, AFA believes that giving money to and partnering with a homosexual lobby organization is certainly an enthusiastic promotion of the homosexual agenda."

To McDonald's statement that there are "numerous other Fortune 500 companies that serve as corporate partners with NGLCC," AFA responded: "AFA rejects this 'everybody's doing it' excuse …. and is asking the fast food company to remain neutral in these controversial skirmishes of the culture war."

And to McDonald's claim comments attributed to Jim Skinner are fabrications, the AFA said the comments definitely were Skinner's, because they were a direct quote from the company's own website.

"Our Action Alert assumed that Mr. Skinner's comments were specifically addressing the promotion of the gay agenda, when they were not. We apologize for any confusion this has created," the group said.

Earlier, officials with the special interest lobby expressed their pleasure at the addition of McDonald's.

"We could not be more delighted with the addition of Richard to the Board," said NGLCC co-founder Justin Nelson. "Richard brings his extensive experience in communications and public affairs to a dynamic team of leaders."

Said Ellis: "I'm thrilled to join the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce team and ready to get to work. I share the NGLCC's passion for business growth and development within the LGBT community and I look forward to playing a role in moving these important initiatives forward."

McDonald's officials declined to return a WND call seeking a comment on the placement of its executive on the "gay" advocacy organization, but did send a subsequent e-mail confirming the corporation's support for the agenda of the homosexual business lobby.

"McDonald's is indeed a Corporate Partner and Organizational Ally of NGLCC. Our vice president of U.S. communications, Richard Ellis, was recently elected to its board of directors," said the brief statement from Heidi M. Barker, senior director of media relations, to WND.

A spokeswoman for NGLCC refused to speak with WND except on "background" when asked about McDonald's financial contribution to the group. But she did confirm the organization would not release information on its sponsors.

The McDonald's logo is featured on the website of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, among other well-known companies

WND reported earlier when Wal-Mart joined the NGLCC, and how the corporation's income later started declining as Christian organizations reacted to the news.

CNN reported that Wal-Mart officials later decided to pursue a lower level of homosexual promotions.

"We are not currently planning corporate-level contributions to LGBT groups," Mona Williams, the company's senior vice president of corporate communications, told CNN only months after the issues arose.

The chamber group describes itself as promoting the LGBT community first and always.

Under a "What we do" page is listed a variety of goals, including "disseminate news and information central to the success of LGBT businesses, … ensure increased opportunity and equality for LGBT professionals, … help LBGT businesses gain more procurement opportunities, …. provide strong lobbying efforts for LBGT business causes."

And it gives credit to sponsors such as McDonald's for its financial and other support for helping in its work.

"Through the commitment of our corporate partners, the NGLCC has been able to advance the ideas and causes of the LGBT business community," the chamber said at the top of its list of sponsors.

McDonald's describes itself as "socially responsible."

Remarks on its website attributed to "Jim," McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner, include, "Being a socially responsible organization is a fundamental part of who we are. We have an obligation to use our size and resources to make a difference in the world … and we do."

It also boasts: "McDonald's is the world's community restaurant. We are proud of our long-standing commitment to a workforce that is diverse. We believe in developing and maintaining a diverse workforce that will strengthen the McDonald's system. Diversity at McDonald's is understanding, recognizing and valuing the differences that make each person unique."

Alabama Judge and the Ten Commandments

AlabamaJudge
Some of you may be wondering what Judge Roy Moore has been doing since he was removed from the bench for refusing to remove the Ten Commandments from his courtroom wall. Please read the poem he wrote. It's below his picture.

The following is a poem written by Judge Roy Moore from Alabama. Judge Moore was sued by the ACLU for displaying the Ten Commandments in his courtroom foyer. He has been stripped of his judgeship and now they are trying to strip his right to practice law in Alabama! The judge's poem sums it up quite well.

America the beautiful,or so you used to be.

Land of the Pilgrims' pride;I'm glad they'll never see.

Babies piled in dumpsters,Abortion on demand,

Oh, sweet land of liberty;your house is on the sand.

Our children wander aimlessly poisoned by cocaine

choosing to indulge their lusts, when God has said abstain

From sea to shining sea, our Nation turns away

From the teaching of God's love and a need to always pray

We've kept God in our temples, how callous we have grown.

When earth is but His footstool, and Heaven is His throne.

We've voted in a government that's rotting at the core,

Appointing Godless Judges; who throw reason out the door,

Too soft to place a killer in a well deserved tomb,

But brave enough to kill a baby before he leaves the womb.

You think that God's not angry, that our land's a moral slum?

How much longer will He wait before His judgment comes?

How are we to face our God, from Whom we cannot hide?

What then is left for us to do, but stem this evil tide?

If we who are His children, will humbly turn and pray;

Seek His holy face and mend our evil way:

Then God will hear from Heaven; and forgive us of our sins,

He'll heal our sickly land and those who live within.

But, America the Beautiful, If you don't - then you will see,

A sad but Holy God withdraw His hand from Thee.

~~Judge Roy Moore~~

Alabama Judge Roy Moore was removed from his bench for standing up for the Ten Commandments. Isn't it a shame that more churches don't stand up for God's Word like that? Isn't it a shame that more pastors don't have the guts the boldy proclaim the Word of God in all its glory and all its honor? Isn't it ashame that American Idol took a wonderful Christian song "Shout to the Lord" and removed the name of Jesus from the song AND many Christians have absolutely no problem with that? They think that people will automatically know the song is about Jesus. Click on the link to listen to the show and song and then read the many comments from "christians" who think it is great that Jesus was not mentioned because He will automatically receive the glory. That typifies so many of today's contemporary churches in that they have softened the gospel so much that the people attending those churches have no clue as to just how HOLY God is! God's Word has been perverted so much that many people cannot discern what is true and what isn't. Our churches and our pastors need to get back to preaching the Bible and they need to get back to preaching and teaching the WHOLE Gospel message and not just half of it! The God of Love is also a God of Wrath. Which God will you be facing on your final day? Unless you have repented of your sins and have been obedient to His Word and put your faith and trust in Him alone for your salvation, then you will face the God of Wrath. Please repent of your sins now! Turn and cry out to God to forgive you of your sins. Hate the sins that you do with a righteousness that comes from God. Believe in the Words of Jesus when He says that not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. Please consider your ways and do not justify your actions for you will not be able to stand before a Holy God and explain away your sins! Here is the new link to the show from last night where they actually did say the name of Jesus!

Transformed is a week away in St. Louis!

http://www.wayofthemasterradio.com/transformed_StLouis.shtml

The above link will give you the vital information that you will need to attend this free event in St. Louis on April 19th!

If you want to listen to good biblical talk radio then go to:
www.wayofthemasterradio.com

If you want to learn how to evangelize biblically, go to:
www.wayofthemaster.com

Interested in graduating from the School of Biblical Evangelism? go to:
www.biblicalevangelism.com
Curriculum Overview: These are the topics covered in the lessons . . .
• The Key to Biblical Evangelism• Using the Law in Witnessing• The Necessity of Repentance• True and False Conversion• Judgment Day and Hell• Using Gospel Tracts• Open-air Preaching• Understanding the Enemy• The Deity of Christ• Proving the Bible's Supernatural Origin
• "Contradictions" in the Bible• Scientific Facts in the Bible• Refuting Evolution• Atheism• Relativism• Understanding Other Religions - Islam, Hinduism, Mormonism, etc• Witnessing to Those Cults• Maintaining Zeal• Raising Laborers in Your Church

If you'd like more detail, see below...
Lesson 1
The Forgotten Key to Biblical Evangelism
Lesson 2
Making Grace Amazing
Lesson 3
The Problem with the Modern Gospel
Lesson 4
How to Confront Sinners
Lesson 5
The Ten Commandments Part 1
Lesson 6
The Ten Commandments Part 2
Lesson 7
The Ten Commandments Part 3
Lesson 8
The Ten Commandments Part 4
Lesson 9
The Ten Commandments Part 5
Lesson 10
The Ten Commandments Part 6
Lesson 11
The Ten Commandments Part 7
Lesson 12
The Ten Commandments Part 8
Lesson 13
The Ten Commandments Part 9
Lesson 14
The Ten Commandments Part 10
Lesson 15
Our Ally: The Conscience
Lesson 16
The Necessity of Repentance
Lesson 17
Personal Witnessing: How Jesus Did It
Lesson 18
The Sinner's Prayer
Lesson 19
True and False Conversion
Lesson 20
Hypocrisy
Lesson 21
The Certainty of Judgment
Lesson 22
Judgment Day
Lesson 23
The Reality of Hell
Lesson 24
Man's Sinful Condition
Lesson 25
Our Primary Task
Lesson 26
Fear of Man
Lesson 27
The Empowering of the Holy Spirit
Lesson 28
How to Capture the World's Attention
Lesson 29
Gospel Tracts Part 1
Lesson 30
Gospel Tracts Part 2
Lesson 31
Personal Testimony
Lesson 32
Creative Ways to Share Your Faith
Lesson33
How to Witness to Hurting People
Lesson 34
Open Air Preaching Part 1
Lesson 35
Open Air Preaching Part 2
Lesson 36
Open Air Preaching Part 3
Lesson 37
Faith Part 1
Lesson 38
Faith Part 2
Lesson 39
The Enemy Part 1
Lesson 40
The Enemy Part 2
Lesson 41
The Enemy Part 3
Lesson 42
The Enemy Part 4
Lesson 43
Prayer
Lesson 44
The Survivor's Guide
Lesson 45
Holiness
Lesson 46
Water Baptism Part 1
Lesson 47
Water Baptism Part 2
Lesson 48
The Trinity
Lesson 49
The Deity of Christ
Lesson 50
The Holy Spirit
Lesson 51
The Resurrection
Lesson 52
The Bible Part 1
Lesson 53
The Bible Part 2
Lesson 54
The Bible Part 3
Lesson 55
The Bible Part 4
Lesson 56
Contradictions in the Bible
Lesson 57
Prophecy
Lesson 58
Messianic Prophecies Part 1
Lesson 59
Messianic Prophecies Part 2
Lesson 60
Non-Messianic Prophecies
Lesson 61
Scientific Facts in the Bible Part 1
Lesson 62
Scientific Facts in the Bible Part 2
Lesson 63
Scientific Facts in the Bible Part 3
Lesson 64
Evolution Part 1
Lesson 65
Evolution Part 2
Lesson 66
Evolution Part 3
Lesson 67
Evolution Part 4
Lesson 68
Evolution Part 5
Lesson 69
Atheism
Lesson 70
How to Prove the Existence of God
Lesson 71
Atheist Obstacles
Lesson 72
Atheists' Questions Part 1
Lesson 73
Atheists' Questions Part 2
Lesson 74
Relativism Part 1
Lesson 75
Relativism Part 2
Lesson 76
Reincarnation
Lesson 77
Islam Part 1
Lesson 78
Islam Part 2
Lesson 79
Hinduism
Lesson 80
Buddhism Part 1
Lesson 81
Buddhism Part 2
Lesson 82
What Makes a Group Non-Christian?
Lesson 83
Unitarianism
Lesson 84
Mormonism Part 1
Lesson 85
Mormonism Part 2
Lesson 86
Jehovah's WitnessesPart 1
Lesson 87
Jehovah's WitnessesPart 2
Lesson 88
Catholicism
Lesson 89
Oneness Pentecostals
Lesson 90
International Church of Christ
Lesson 91
Seventh-Day Adventists
Lesson 92
New Age Movement
Lesson 93
The Will of God
Lesson 94
Our Most Valuable Commodity
Lesson 95
Consolation for the Average Christian
Lesson 96
When You've Been Wronged
Lesson 97
The Source of Revival
Lesson 98
Hindrances to Revival
Lesson 99
How to Maintain Zeal
Lesson 100
Ten Ways to Raise Laborers in Your Church
Lesson 101
The Christian's Prayer

If you want to visit a church site that is very biblical in its teachings, go to:
www.gty.org

for a free bible study go to my other site
www.openthebible.blogspot.com

sermons are posted on both of my site!

Did you realize that the Great Commission has been changed and even improved?? neither did I

A Lutheran Church in Ohio has this down as their evangelism outreach. It is too bad that they have strayed so far from what Martin Luther used to teach. It seems as though they have no confidence in the Word of God for changing lives. Read below what they think of the Great Commission... (right click to listen to corresponding sermon in a new window)

This past summer, we took 150 smoke detectors to people in lower income neighborhoods. In August, we took 200 packages of light bulbs that said "Jesus Christ, The Light of the World" to people on the north side of town. We plan to continue reaching out in this way in the coming months.
The premise behind this program is that the best way to spread the gospel to the un-churched is to make some kind of an impact in their lives in a practical way. In our modern world where everyone seems to be increasingly skeptical of religion in general, this provides us with a way to speak directly to people who normally wouldn't be willing to listen.

this form of evangelism is great for people who aren't very comfortable with the traditional forms because it is much easier to offer someone something and then talk about your own faith when asked, than it is to just walk up to someone and ask if they believe in Jesus.


Now, let's read what the Bible says...

Go into all the world preaching the gospel to every creature.


The word "go" is active in that it is the same as saying, "as you are going on your way..."

Preach the gospel!!!

To Every Creature!!!


The Great Commission does not say to wait for people to ask you about your faith. When a church is more worried about not offending people and less worried about obeying the Word of God, then there will be problems. Most likely resulting in false converts. The church mentioned above says their way is the BEST WAY to spread the gospel, and yet, not one time in the Bible do you see people doing it their way. The Bible tells us that the Law of the Lord is PERFECT converting the soul. And yet, they ignore that teaching from the Bible. They say their way is better.

The Law acts as a Schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. They think giving people gifts is a better way. The Law shuts the mouth of the unrighteous person. They feel that since people are "skeptical" about religion, then let's not mention religion until a later time.


The time is short. We do not have time to play "church!" Which it seems is what so many churches are doing these days. Too many churches are coming up with a "plan" on reaching out to certain groups of people. They make a plan to reach different ethnic groups, young people and high school drop-outs. It is about increasing the size of the church. It is about making new churches. But the problem is that unless people are being told to repent of their sins, they will all be headed for hell. And Hell is a real place as told in the Bible!


So, instead of giving people gifts, let's give them what they really need. God's Word!

Let's teach our people how to evangelize BIBLICALLY. Let's teach them to no longer ignore the Bible and to stop thinking that their way is better than the way that Jesus taught. I personally, would want to do things like Christ did and not like some of these pastor's leading their flock astray with false teachings. On this particular churches website, they have a page devoted for "what we believe." It is interesting to note that there is only ONE mention of Scripture on their whole page of what they believe. Why is that? They do not want visitors to be offended by Scripture that says we must repent of our sins. Scripture has a way of making people uncomfortable. But that is a good thing! Because it is the power of God's Word that brings about change!


What does the Great Commission look like in your church?

Like the one mentioned above?

or like the one found from the Disciples? The Biblical version of evangelism?


If you are an Elder, a Pastor, a church-member, please take a long hard look at your church and see what the Great Commission looks like. If it isn't biblical, then you might need to start seeing what else is not biblical within your church.


It is Time 2 Change Churches back to biblical teachings and no longer follow the way of man or a denomination. The hierarchy of many of the mainline denominations are becoming more and more liberal and worldly. Don't follow them blindly. Use some discernment and follow Jesus. Open your Bible and believe in the Word of God!

You can click here to read a response by a person from this church.

The Church of Oprah is growing (post one of three)

Still don't think it is dangerous in following a person as opposed to following God? There is only one way to heaven and that is through the Son, Jesus Christ. It takes a faith and trust in Him alone for salvation. It takes repentance and obedience to His Word as a sign of our love for Him. Who are you following?

Paul Washer video (post two of three)

After listening to Doug Pagitt, I wanted to make sure you got to hear good biblical preaching of God's Truths as spoken in the Bible!

Todd Friel and Doug Pagitt (post three of three)

Emergent Church leader Doug Pagitt talks with Todd Friel from Way of the Master Radio. This conversation really sounds familiar as I hear from some of my readers. I can tell those who are from the emergent churches by the conversation that they have with me. Doug Pagitt is so intent on avoiding the question about who will go to heaven and who will go to hell. He completely ingnores Scripture. This shows just how important it is that our emergent friends understand exactly how they come across to Christians, and why it is so important that they learn about hell and heaven.

Part 1



Part 2

True and False Conversion

Before I have you watch the True and False Conversion videos, I would also like to encourage you to read about a threat that has taken place over at reformationnation.
http://reformationnation.wordpress.com/2008/04/02/reformation-nation-receives-threat-mail-from-prophet-woody-ministries











Please take time to examine your walk with Christ to ensure that you are truly in the faith. We are told to examine ourselves to see that we are in the faith. My prayers are with you. (trolls need not reply)

Hell's Best Kept Secret -- from Way of the Master

Tomorrow I will be posting about True and False Conversions. Be sure not to miss it. Many people fall into the false convert category and do not even realize it. Is it you?

So you don't believe there is a Hell! Please read this...

If you are one of the thousands of people (even millions) who claim to believe in Jesus and in His Word, and yet deny that there is an actual Hell, then I would like for you to continue reading this.

in order to answer this very important question, it is important that you believe the bible to be God's Holy Word, fully inspired by God. It is without error. If you don't believe this, then don't claim to believe in Jesus. It is HIS WORD that is written down by men. Can men make mistakes? Sure, I make many of them. but the people who wrote down Scripture were inspired by God. If you do not believe that, then don't claim to follow Jesus! If you have trouble believing that all the people who wrote Scripture were inspired by God, then you MUST realize that YOUR God is very weak! Your God is unable to control what goes into His Book! If you believe the Bible to be full of errors, then realize that YOUR GOD, is not the God "OF THE" Bible. so, if you say you believe in God you must believe the Bible to be inerrant!

Now, if you believe the Bible to be true, then let's look at Scripture and see what it says about hell.

What is Hell?
It is a place of disembodied spirits.
Acts 2:31
He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

It is a place of torment?
2 Thess 1:9
Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

Luke 16:23
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

What is hell described as being?
Devouring Fire and Everlasting Burnings
Isaiah 33:14
The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

Everlasting Fire
Matthew 25:41
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Everlasting Punishment
Matthew 25:46
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Fire and Brimstone
Rev 14:10
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

A Lake of Fire
Rev 20:15
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Outer Darkness
Matthew 8:12
But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Punishment of the Wicked! (biblical but the person has a chance to repent and be saved!)
Comes from God
2 Thess 1:6
Seeing [it is] a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;

Because of their Sin and Iniquity
Jer 36:31
And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they hearkened not.

Ezekiel 3:17-18
Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

Ezekiel 18:4, 13, 20
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

Idolatry
Isaiah 10:10-11
As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria; Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols? (side note, worship of a Jesus that is the literal brother of Lucifer is equivalent to the worship of an idol. Please repent!)

Rejection of the Law of God
Nehemiah 9:26-27
Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations. Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest [them] from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.

1 Sam 15:23
For rebellion [is as] the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness [is as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from [being] king.

Unbelief
Mark 16:16
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Persecuting
Matthew 23:34-36
Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and [some] of them ye shall kill and crucify; and [some] of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute [them] from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

Is the Fruit of their Sin
Proverbs 22:8
He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.

Romans 6:21
What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things [is] death.

Galatians 6:8
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Is the Reward of their Sin
Psalm 91:8
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Hebrews 2:2
For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;

Receiving Mind
Romans 1:28
And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

Being Cut Off
Psalm 94:23
And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; [yea], the LORD our God shall cut them off.

HELL
Psalm 9:17
The wicked shall be turned into hell, [and] all the nations that forget God.

Matthew 5:29
And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast [it] from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not [that] thy whole body should be cast into hell.

Luke 12:5
But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

Luke 16:23
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

The Wrath of God
John 3:36
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Consumated at the Day of Judgment
Romans 2:5, 16
But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

2 Peter 2:9
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

There are many more Scriptures that I could post. I think this should be enough to convince even the most undiscerning person. To my mormon friends, please realize that following after a Jesus that is different the the Jesus found in the Bible is the same as idolatry. It is punishable by death and judgment will send you to hell. Unless you repent.

For those of you who are professing Christians and are still living in your sins, please repent and do it now! Hell is very real. This is why I preach on sin so much. I have heard and read where people think I am overly concerned about sin. The above is the reason I talk about sin. Because no one else in the church is talking about sin. Without repentance, all sinners WILL go to Hell. And Hell is a very real place, it is a place of fire and eternal torment. If you find yourself saying something like...
I don't think that God would send me to hell because He is a God of love. then it is time to reread Scripture and see for yourself that there will come a day when Judgment will be handed out to the unrepentant sinner.

I plead with you to repent of your sins. God loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for you. but you will miss out on that wonderful grace if you do not repent of your sins. If you do not follow the Jesus of the Bible. Jesus is the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Jesus created all things! Jesus is God! And if you don't think that God is capable of putting the right Scriptures into one book, then like I said earlier, your god is weak!

My God is more than able to handle all of my problems! If your god is weak, then he can not save you on that final day!

Repent of your sins and put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation!

Welcome to my blog all Atheist, Mormons, JW's and self-professing Christians who deny the power of God's Holy Word to be inerrant!

The following is taken from Ray Comforts Blog. I would suggest people go there for some good readings!

"Do you go out of your way to share your faith with strangers? Perhaps you know that you should, but the thought terrifies you. Please don’t let that fear stop you. It’s been well said that experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want. Mistakes are good for us. They are bruises that remind us about pitfalls in the future. No doubt you had a few falls as a baby, but that didn’t stop you getting on your feet again and walking. You more than likely crawled, and then you walked. Without the crawling you probably would never have walked (I say "probably" because a couple of our kids had “walker-trainers” and never crawled).

So look on this blog as a crawling space. Crawl into it and make a comment. Then sit back and let the atheists “bruise” you. It may hurt at little, but all they will do is prepare you for walking. They will do you (and those you will talk to in the future) a huge favor. Atheists think of themselves as the king of the beasts. They have the ultimate delusions of grandeur. They open their mouths wide and roar at the heavens as though there is no God. (even some self-professing "christians" do the same thing. they promote their own version of who God is, but it is not the God of the Bible that they promote!)

But don’t be intimidated for a moment by their loud noise. Simply do what Daniel did when he was lowered into the lion’s den. Keep your trust in God and have the joy of seeing their mouths get stopped. They bellow and snarl against the Bible, the Church, hypocrisy, creationism, etc., but their mouths are always stopped by God’s Law. They can’t say a thing against “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not kill, You shall not lie.” Watch how they react to this post. They have no argument against the Law. That’s the power of their God-given conscience at work (see Romans 2:14).So never forget why God gave us His Law. It was given “that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God” (Romans 3:19). So use it when witnessing and watch what it does. "

I have personally seen how many people are offended by God's Law. They are offended by the very Word of God (since His Law was given by Himself!) They say His Law has no place for us today. Although, they reject the fact that Jesus used the Law, as did Paul, Peter, Timothy and the others! They say, "God loves you" and feel that is all a person needs to know to accept Christ as their Lord. They say, just say the sinner's prayer and you will be saved. But no where in the Bible does it tell us to lead someone in the sinners prayer. You won't find it in the Bible. What you will find, is men of God, using the Law to show people their sinfulness before a Holy God, so that it will shut the mouth of the self-righteous person. It is at that point, that we offer up the grace of God. They want to "skip" straight to the grace of God without allowing a person the chance, the opportunity, the real need to know just how sinful they are in God's eyes. They are guilty of creating false converts. For those of you who have been directed here by a grace-only site, please know that not a single person is innocent in what they do. We are all sinners. If you have told a lie at any time, you are a liar. If you have ever stolen anything, you are a thief, if you have ever looked at another person with lust, you are an adulterer. If God were to judge you based on the Ten Commandments, would you be innocent or guilty? You cannot justify yourself before God. You would be guilty!

Now, when a person realizes that they are guilty before God, they then need to know where they are headed. The answer is easy. HELL

All people are headed for hell. All people! there is not a single person who has not sinned (except for Jesus!). By being a lying, thief and an adulterer at heart, we have broken God's Commands. And His Word tells us that no liar, no thief and no adulterer will enter heaven. Are you gulity? The answer is yes! We are all guilty!

Many people have never been told that they are headed for hell. Many people are ONLY told that God loves them and if they say a prayer, they will go to heaven. They even tell them they can be SURE they are going to heaven if they just say the sinners prayer. That is NOT biblical and is not found anywhere in Holy Scripture!

Many churches fail to give you the whole gospel message. See, they do it because they do not want you to be offended. If you are offended by God's Word, you might not come back to church. And too many churches are more concerned with having huge numbers of members, and are not concerned about actually edifying the body of believers. Since we make church nothing more than a meeting place to bring unsaved people, the whole gospel message never gets preached. We keep worrying about whether a person will come back to church or not because of what we preach to them. Again, that is not to be found anywhere in Scripture. When the rich man walked away sad from Jesus, did He go chasing after him? NO!

We are called to go into all the world preaching the gospel to every creature. Not so our church can grow, because it is not about "our" church. We do it because we want to be faithful to His Word. He has commanded us and we listen and obey! It is all for His glory! If someone rejects God's Word, that is between them and God. What we do is give them God's Holy Word and have faith in Him and in His promise that His Word will not return void! We plant the seed!

So, as we get back to our problem. We are all headed for hell. How do we change that? We are told in Scripture to repent of our sins. If you have not repented of your sins, you will not go to heaven. Why? Because Scripture tells us that no liars, no thieves, no adulterers, no covetous person, etc will enter the kingdom of heaven. Remember the Scripture where Jesus says, they will say to me, Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name and in your name cast out demons. And Jesus will say to them, Depart from me you worker of iniquity, I never knew you.

Do you want Jesus to tell you to Depart from Him because you are a worker of iniquity? The one's who are known by Jesus and by the Father are those who have obeyed His commands!

repentance is a gift that is given to those who are saved. If you have not repented, it is obvious that you have not received the spiritual gift and are not saved. (see my comments below for an explanation of this gift from God!) So, if you are still living in your sins, please see this as an eye-opener.

Yes, God loves you. In fact, He has provided a way for you ( a Hell-bound person) to go to heaven. What did He do? He sent His Son to die on the cross for your sins. That is how much He loves you. So please don't just spread your arms real wide and say Jesus loves you that much!! He loves you with His life! He sacrificed His life on the cross for you. He loves you so much more than a 5 foot wingspan! And it is because He died on the cross, that we MUST repent of our sins and be obedient to His Word.

It is not in keeping the ten commandments that you are saved. The Commandments do nothing more than just point a person to the foot of the cross. It is from there, that they bow down and humbly cry out to God, "I am a wretched sinner and I need You to save me." Having someone recite the sinners prayer does nothing to check their heart. It is when "they" cry out and it comes out from within their hearts that you can see that they truly understand the need for a Savior.

So bring it on all Atheist, all Mormons, all JW's and all "professing christians - who do not believe the Word of God to be completely true!" I am ready for you! God's Word is true and is sharper than any two edged sword!