Soli Deo Gloria » Apostasy & Heresy

Justification by Christ Alone

Jay — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:30:14 +0000

Enjoy this outstanding lecture by the late John Gerstner as he compares the Biblical understanding of justification by faith alone to the Roman Catholic heresy and the modern day easy-believism.

Can’t I Just Ask God to Forgive Me?

Jay — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 00:46:57 +0000

“I know that if I just ask God for forgiveness, He will forgive me.” This is one of the most common responses I get when sharing the gospel with unbelievers. Shockingly, the response above is most often given by those who claim to be believers. Sadly, this demonstrates a very sad state of the American church. It would be different if I lived in an area of the United States that was more liberal and not as churched, but I live in the heart of the south – in the Bible belt where there is literally a church on every corner. (In some places there are several churches on a single corner!) We’ve become a church culture so gospel-less that the average person who attends church cannot articulate the gospel.

What alarms me is that the average church-goer believes that they are heaven-bound because 1) they attend church and have been baptized or 2) they have asked God to forgive them. I want to focus on the second response since this is one that I hear most often.

One way I like to share the gospel is to turn it around and get people to share it with me. I’ll tell them that I have lived a horrible life and I have three minutes to live and desire to go to heaven. I’ll ask them to tell me how I can be forgiven and go to heaven. What I most often get is a simple, “just ask God to forgive you and He will.” I’ll ask, “is that all I have to do?” They respond, “yep!”

This is where there is an inadequate understanding of God and how he is revealed in Scripture. God is a forgiving God. The Bible tells us He is. But the Bible also clearly tells us that God is also just and He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. He is a just Judge and must deal with sin. If he just forgave us of our sins without dealing with our sins then He would be unjust and frankly would not be good. He would be a bad judge. One of the greatest questions that fallen humanity must ask is, “how can God be just and the justifier of the wicked?” This truly is the ultimate question. I believe it was Horatius Bonar in his excellent work The Everlasting Righteousness who began his treatise on justification by asking that very question.

So, this causes a dilemma. If we really begin to delve into God forgiving sinners we really must ask how can He justly forgive sinners without there being a penalty paid for the sin? How can God be just and justify guilty sinners? In fact, I believe it was Paul Washer in one of his excellent sermons on the gospel who used Proverbs 17:15 to setup “the gospel dilemma”. This verse teaches us that it is an abomination to God if the wicked are justified and the righteous are condemned. So then, based on this verse if an unbeliever were to simply ask God to forgive him and God did, then He would be going against His own word and would be an abomination in His own eyes.

Here is where the gospel shines with all its glorious splendor. God can and does forgive sinners but only if our sin is dealt with and His justice is satisfied. It is impossible for us to do anything to satisfy that debt since we are already sinners and even our most contrite and heartfelt sorrow is in itself tainted with sin. The only solution is for someone who is without sin to stand in our place. What we need is a great transaction. This is exactly what Christ did for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 is in my opinion one of the most glorious verses in all of Scripture. It tells us that God made Christ who was perfect and sinless to become our sin so that we would have the righteousness of God in Him. Christ is the answer to how God can be just and the justifier of sinners. God imputed all the sins of the elect on Christ on the cross (allowing Christ Himself to remain perfectly sinless) and poured out all the wrath on Christ in our stead. This way, God is just and has dealt with our sin. No created thing will ever be able to point the finger at God and accuse Him of being unjust in saving His elect. The other side of this amazing transaction is that through repentance and faith, Christ’s perfect righteousness is imputed to us. When God looks on believers He sees the perfect, spotless righteousness of His Son.

So, God does forgive sin but only through the vicarious, penal, substitutionary death of His Son. No amount of tears or begging for forgiveness will work outside of faith in Christ. Think about it this way. If God just forgave everyone who asked, then Christ died needlessly. If God could just sweep our sin under the “celestial rug” and not deal with it taking only our plea for forgiveness then Christ’s death was pointless. The cross demonstrates to us not only the love of God but also His justice.

One last point. It’s is inevitable that when sharing the gospel that unbelievers will quote 1 John 1:8-9. They will use this verse to “prove” that all they have to do is ask God for forgiveness and He will forgive. There is a problem though. This verse is not written to unbelievers. It applies only to believers in Christ Jesus. There is a very important little four letter word in this verse that is essential to our understanding of the gospel. That little word is “just”. John tells us that if believers will confess their sins to God as Father that He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins. He can only be just in forgiving us our sins because Christ has stood in our place and bore the wrath. So this verse is speaking of the constant need for believers to confess their sins to God as Father so that fellowship with Him is unhindered. An unbeliever cannot claim the promises of this verse since he is not covered under the atoning work of Christ.

I hope that as you’ve read through this that you will marvel with me at the wisdom of God in the gospel. Marvel at His grace and mercy but be aware that His grace and mercy are made available only through the cross-work and merit of Christ Jesus. Our prayers as believers should go out to the church in America that it will return to proclaiming the full and true gospel of Jesus Christ and repent from the gospel of moralism and legalism. I see first hand week after week when evangelizing to people who are active church members who know absolutely nothing of the true gospel. They believe they are saved and going to heaven for every reason imaginable except for the one and only way through Christ.

I pray also that if you’re reading this and you have been trusting in your own act of asking for forgiveness for your salvation, turn in repentance and faith to the only One who can save you – Jesus Christ. Cry out to God to open your eyes to the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:6) that you may embrace Christ as your Lord and Savior. Today is the day of salvation!

Soli Deo Gloria

Rob Bell: A Brother to Embrace, or a Wolf to Avoid?

Jay — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 23:38:45 +0000

John MacArthur has penned an outstanding article on Rob Bell over at Grace To You…

Is Rob Bell truly a Christian, or is he one of those dangerous deceivers Scripture warns us about repeatedly (Acts 20:29; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Colossians 2:8; 2 Peter 2:1; etc.)?

It’s a fair—and necessary—question. Christ’s famous warning about wolves in sheep’s clothing is given to us as an imperative: “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-16). Our Lord clearly expects His true disciples to be able to spot spiritual imposters and wolves in sheep’s clothing—especially those who are purveyors of deadly false doctrines.

Rob Bell certainly fits that category. He relentlessly casts doubt on the authority and reliability of Scripture. He denies the Bible’s perspicuity, disavows its hard truths, and ridicules some of the most important features of the gospel.

Read the rest of this article…

Osteen: Religious Paganism

Osteen: Religious Paganism

Jay — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 02:16:31 +0000

I’ve admired John MacArthur as a pastor and author for many years. He speaks the truth boldly without compromise. He is one of the few Christian men behind the pulpit today that will call out false teachers and in this video clip below he describes Joel Osteen and his teachings as religious paganism and the doctrine of Satan. How’s that for bold! I commend Dr. MacArthur for protecting his flock from these wolves in sheep’s clothing. Pastors and teachers today can learn much from his bold stance. We not only need to preach and teach the full and true counsel of God’s Word but also instruct and edify believers concerning the devices of Satan and the false teachers that permeate radio and television.

Just this evening I was watching Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) as heretic after heretic was begging me to “go to my phone” and sow my $1000 seed so that I would get a blessing from God. What rank heresy! The sad thing is most of these wolves neglect to even put the sheep’s clothing on!

Enjoy this clip from John MacArthur as he quite simply tells it like it is…

The Sovereignty of God in False Teachers

Jay — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:42:44 +0000

“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘ Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. Deuteronomy 13:1-4

What an amazing passage of Scripture. In my morning time with God in His word I read this passage and immediately several points came to mind with regards to our great God:

1. We have a tendency to always look at the miracle or prophesy of people and then if what they say actually happens or comes true then we want to immediately believe that they must be from God. The world will tell us that this is a true man or woman of God and will flock to them. (Let’s face it, people flock to false teachers today who cannot even verify miracles and healings of the likes of Benny Hinn, Todd Bentley, et al.) However, this is exactly why we must stay soaked in the Word of God – for man does not live by bread alone! You see, this verse teaches us that God, in His majestic sovereignty, may send or allow a false prophet or false teacher to work signs and wonders or tell a prophecy that actually comes true – but if they speak against the Word of God or try to get you to follow after another god then we are to immediately discount them. This puts great light on those who claim to be of God but their god is money, wealth and power and they preach that you should worship and follow mammon and not God. This is a description of none other than the prosperity preachers of our day. Oh how much we see this today!

2. We also see from this passage that God can test us in this way. This is an amazing truth. God in His awesome power and wisdom will use false prophets and false teachers to test people – apparently even His own to cause discernment and discipline and likely to cleanse His church. This warns us that we are to obey our Lord, be led by the Spirit and remember that to trust in Him and “eat His Word daily” is the only antidote to the ever-increasing false teachings of the world. As our Lord Jesus reminds us – many will come in My name and will trick the masses – if possible even the elect! We are also reminded here that God works all things for our good. (Rom. 8:28) Remember that He disciplines those that He loves and may very well bring about or allow false teachers to come to you, your family or your congregation and we must be vigilant – testing the spirits! (1 John 4:1)

3. God must be first. There can be no other gods in our lives. In fact, there can be no second place in our lives with regards to God. Many people have God first but several other “gods” right underneath Him. Worse, they may have God tied in first place with another god. There are many who have a love for God but an equal love for the world. Our Lord Jesus strongly tells us that we cannot serve both God and mammon! May we humbly be reminded of the first commandment. This commandment gives us absolutely no leeway for other gods at all. God Almighty is either first place or no place. There is no middle ground. Christ is either all you have or nothing. He will not be shared. There is absolutely no place for 2nd or 3rd place gods.

4. Finally we see in this glorious passage the sovereignty of God. Here we are comforted to know that nothing is outside of God’s control – even the false teachers and false prophets. The glorious truth is that God can and does use these false teachers and the evil of the world to bring about good. (Rom 8:28) May we be humbly reminded that He used the most evil act in history – the murder of His Son – to bring about the greatest good – salvation and redemption to sinners by His grace. God can and does use evil and sin to bring about His sovereign, perfect plan all the while never being the author or creator of evil or sin. We should also never think that this would excuse man for his own sinful ways – for verse 5 of this chapter makes it clear that these false teachers will be held accountable for their sin. May we find great peace and comfort in this truth only when we are in Christ and walk by the Spirit of God – for outside of Christ it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. (Hebrews 10:31)

Father, forgive our foolish ways. Forgive us for following after false teachers and false prophets who so easily trap and fool our sinful minds and hearts. Give us a passion for your living Word that we may live for you and discern by the Spirit the false ways of this world. We rejoice in who You are – in Your awesome sovereignty and love for Your children. We thank You for Christ – for our perfect, spotless righteousness in Him and we yearn for the day when He returns for His bride with all the angels in flaming fire. Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Proclaiming the Truth!

Jay — Fri, 08 May 2009 17:20:03 +0000

War on the Sinner’s Prayer

Jay — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:58:33 +0000

How Do You Read Romans 1:16?

Jay — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 23:59:20 +0000

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” Romans 1:16

How you read Romans 1:16 tells a lot about you. Which of the following best resembles how you interpret the text?

1. Christian
For I am not ashamed of the gospel (the death burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior), for it (the preaching of that gospel and absolutely nothing else) is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (not a superficial shallow mental ascent, but a complete dependence and trust upon Christ)

2. Charismaniac
For I am not ashamed of the gifts of the spirit, for they are proof of the power of God and proof of your salvation to everyone who believes…

3. Word of Faith Charismaniac
For I am not ashamed of pleading for money, for sowing your faith seed offering is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…

4. Roman Catholic
For I am not ashamed of Mary, the Pope, and the Mother Church, for they are the power of God and the only way to salvation to everyone who believes and receives the sacraments, attends meritorious masses, is baptized, keeps the law, does good works, purchases indulgences, endures purgatory, etc…

5. Jehovah’s Witness
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of the New Earth that we peddle door to door, for the Watchtower is the only ones who speak for God and is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes and exhaustively works their tails off for the Watchtower almost every waking hour of the day for their entire life to obtain Jehovah’s favor, which is not guaranteed…

6. Mormon
For I am not ashamed of the restored gospel, even though I am ashamed and embarrassed about our church history and the things our church prophets have said (that was just their opinion and they were not speaking for God when they said all those awful things) for the Melchizadek Priesthood which only we have is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes and follows the following conditions as outlined in Gospel Principles pages 303-304 (1997 edition): 1.) We must be baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. 2.) We must receive the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. 3.) We must receive the temple endowment. 4.) We must be married for time and eternity.In addition to receiving the required ordinances, the Lord commands all of us to– 1. Love and worship God. 2. Love our neighbor. 3. Repent of our wrongdoings. 4. Live the law of chastity. 5. Pay honest tithes and offerings. 6. Be honest in our dealings with others and with the Lord. 7. Speak the truth always. 8. Obey the Word of Wisdom. 9. Search out our kindred dead and perform the saving ordinances of the gospel for them. 10. Keep the Sabbath day holy. 11. Attend our Church meetings as regularly as possible so we can renew our baptismal covenants by partaking of the sacrament. 12. Love our family members and strengthen them in the ways of the Lord. 13. Have family and individual prayers every day. 14. Honor our parents. 15. Teach the gospel to others by word and example. 16. Study the scriptures. 17. Listen to and obey the inspired words of the prophets of the Lord. Finally, each of us needs to receive the Holy Ghost and learn to follow his direction in our individual lives.

7. Universalist Unitarian
For I am not ashamed of the value found in all religions regardless of whether or not they conflict with one another on core issues , for whatever truth is for you, it is the power of God, gods, goddess, no god, or whatever you believe for a better world to everyone who believes or chooses not to believe.

8. Seeker-Friendly
For I am not ashamed of shameless church marketing, for the end justifies the means and pragmatism is the power of God for filling seats on Sundays to watch our awesome worship rock band followed by our hip and and oh, so cool pastor and we’re also giving away free gas cards to everyone who attends our local campus.

9. Liberal
For I am not ashamed of supporting any socialist cause or liberal issue, for a woman’s right to choose and a homosexual’s right to marry is the power of self-empowerment for salvation from the oppressive chains that the white, Anglo-Saxon, Capitalist, fascists have placed on the backs of everyone in this nation.

10. Emergent / Emerging
Romans? Is that in the Bible?

HT: Defending Contending

10 Indictments Against the American Church

Jay — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:35:23 +0000

Every Christian, especially evangelical pastors, should listen carefully to this sermon. Brother Washer speaks the truth in this passionate call for the American church to wake up. What a wonderful sermon to take the time to watch on this Reformation Day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7wzfvYkCW0

I’ve heard people complain that this sermon is too long. Tally up the time we spend in front of a movie screen or television set and then compare that to the time we give to God in hearing the preaching of His living Word.

The Shack – Take Two

Jay — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:29:36 +0000

I’ve already posted a while back on the problems with the popular book “The Shack” that so many professing believers claim to be a wonderful book. In fact, Eugene Peterson, author of the translation weak paraphrase “The Message” claimed it was equal to the classic book, “Pilgrim’s Progress”. I’m sorry, this book comes no where near the theological beauty of “Pilgrim’s Progress”. In fact, it’s at the complete other end of the spectrum with its heretical views of the Trinity.

Dr. Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary says, “This book includes undiluted heresy.” It doesn’t get any clearer than that.

The real truth is that the endorsements of the book from popular musical artists and liberal Christians is just one more indication of the complete lack of spiritual discernment in our world and the condition of the church visible. Maybe pastors should spend more time preaching the gospel and less time endorsing junk like “The Purpose Driven Life” and “The Shack”. It’s so concerning to see the state of the majority of professing believers in America.

Tim Challies has written an update to his review of “The Shack” and it is an excellent, Biblical review. If you or a loved one has this book (and from what I hear some churches are handing this book out like they did the “Purpose Driven Drivel Life”, I urge you to carefully read this excellent review.

So head on over to challies.com and check out the updated review. Tim has also provided his review in an elegant pdf format that you can send to your friends or maybe even your pastor. And while you’re at it grab a copy of Challie’s excellent book on discernment because it is clearly a lack of Biblical discernment that has caused books like “The Shack” to become so popular among the American church.

Todd Bentley – as False as they Come

Jay — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:47:27 +0000

I have intentionally wanted to ignore Todd Bentley, self-proclaimed revivalist in Florida, hoping that he would soon go away. I usually do not like to blog about people like this. There is no doubt that anyone claiming to be of God who speaks to angels and then tells the audience that they must believe in the angel is a false prophet. We are to believe in Jesus Christ – not an angel. Todd’s “angel dialogue” is just one of many real problems with this man’s “ministry”.

My friends we are in a time in America where there is so much of a need for discernment. We live in a time where pastors in other countries are being arrested for preaching the gospel and pastors in America are being arrested for child abuse, drugs and sexual offenses. Our American Christianity is so watered down that it is no wonder thousands and thousands flock to people like Todd Bentley and genuinely believe he is from God. Where is the Gospel? Where is Christ preached? It is clear in Scripture that when one is filled with the Holy Spirit Christ is proclaimed and glorified.

I was over at Slice of Laodicea this morning and saw a video that caused me to write this post. It’s a video of Todd Bentley kicking a man with stage 4 colon cancer in the stomach to be “healed”. That’s right – Todd physically kicked the man so hard he fell to the floor and Todd then told the man that God told him to do it. This isn’t the first time Todd has proudly announced to his audience that he has kicked people. He told his audience not too long ago that he kicked an elderly woman in the face because God told him to.

To see the video for yourself head on over to Slice and be dismayed.

My friends… pray! Pray for Todd Bentley that he will be convicted and that the Lord would bring him to repentance. Pray for the thousands that have been led into his false teachings. Pray for discernment! Maranatha!

The Shack – Is It a Healthy Read?

Jay — Sat, 10 May 2008 18:07:33 +0000

“The Shack” by William P. Young is a popular book – a top seller on Amazon.com and unfortunately a book that many young evangelicals are racing to often with support within the Evangelical church. We seem to see a lack of Biblical discernment within the church – often from leadership. Just like Rob Bell, Young’s book attracts the young crowd and just because “everyone is reading it” does not make it a Biblically sound book. “The Shack” has some serious theological problems that include promoting a false view of the Trinity and a heretical concept called modalism.

As I scour the reviews of this book I am amazed at the diverse support for it. There are the so called “heresy-hunters” that most on the liberal front consider “armed and dangerous” with solid doctrine and then there are those on the other end who say, “it’s just a book”.

Some have even be so bold as to compare this book with Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” for its symbolic imagery. I must disagree with this comparison as the teachings (whether intentional or not) are clearly wrong. William Young’s intentions are probably very noble in his book but that does not excuse the clear theological error the book illuminates. Today’s youth (especially in the evangelical church) are starving for truth and since the church visible seems to refuse to give them solid truth they will turn to popular books like this.

Of all the Christian book reviewers out there I must say Tim Challies always gives a solid, Biblical approach to his reviews. His review of “The Shack” is long and detailed and clearly covers the problems in this book.

Tim Challie’s in his excellent review of this book writes

Overall, I had to conclude that Young has an inadequate and often-unbiblical understanding of the Trinity. While granting that the Trinity is a very difficult topic to understand and one that we cannot know fully, there are several indications that he often blurs the distinct persons of the Trinity along with their roles and their unique attributes. Combined with his novel but unsupported conjectures, this is a serious concern.

If anything, the popularity of this book inside the church shows a constant lack of discernment and the lack of knowledge of core Biblical theology. It is so sad that we do not read our Bibles enough nor do American churches focus on good doctrine so as to equip their flocks to properly discern heresy when they see or read it.

Challies continues:

Because of the sheer volume of error and because of the importance of the doctrines reinvented by the author, I would encourage Christians, and especially young Christians, to decline this invitation to meet with God in The Shack. It is not worth reading for the story and certainly not worth reading for the theology.

Please take a moment to read Tim Challie’s full review of “The Shack”.

It’s time the church was more discerning in what they hear, read and see. There are those out there that will intentionally try and lead people down the wrong path and there are those that unintentionally do. I personally believe that “The Shack” falls into the latter group. But regardless of the intent, bad doctrine is bad doctrine and when it comes to essential doctrinal teachings there is no middle ground.

Update …
This post has gotten so much traffic that I have decided to also include an excellent video by Mark Driscoll on The Shack. He breaks this book down and exposes the theological issues excellently…

Another update:
Dr. Al Mohler has also put together an excellent critical review of this horrible book called “The Shack”.

Soli Deo Gloria!