The dangers of the Emergent Chruch…

We've been hearing more and more about the emergent church movement and the dangers that this new theology poses to Christianity today. Here is an article from christianpost.com about a recent Inter-Spirituality Day event. This article discusses some very serious concerns based on some talks given by Doug Pagitt and Rob Bell, who are well know emergent church proponents.

Ingrid Schlueter of Crosstalk Radio warned the public that emergent leaders Rob Bell of Mars Hill Bible Church and Doug Pagitt of Solomon's Porch would promote universalism. Others weren't surprised Bell and Pagitt joined the interfaith event. "They teach that you really can't understand the Bible, nor are you supposed to. Rather you need to experience it; it's not what God says, but how you feel about it; its content is to be received really subjectively or experientially." McMahon told OneNewsNow, adding that such teaching essentially rejects the authority of the Bible. "They believe that preaching or teaching Bible doctrines is too authoritarian, so they turn to conversation… about the Bible – and [in many emergent churches] that replaces teaching from the pulpit."

We are actually in the process of working on an article that will be posted on our website very soon, which will also address (in depth) the dangers of this movement. We want to make sure that everyone is aware of this group and their intentions as it pertains to the Christian faith. The emergent follower would like us to think that they are just trying to appeal to a younger crowd who has become disillusioned with the Church today. This may be true in one sense, but what we will bring out in the article is the truth about the gospel that the emergent church is preaching to their new converts. As you will discover, it is a far different message than what orthodox Christianity has been and is currently teaching. We believe that the gospel of the emergent church is a false and dangerous one that will only lead many to spiritual destruction. Please continue to visit our website and this blog site for more information about the posting of our emergent church article.

Kudos to a Southwest Florida Church for making a stand against Liberalism

If I was able to give out awards, I would have to say that Covenant Presbyterian Church in Fort Myers, Florida deserves one in a big way for their recent congregational vote to leave the PC(USA). This church was able to recognize the fact that liberalism was sneaking in the back door of their denominational organization.

The vote was 76% "for", and 24% "against" the departure. The only bad part in the whole decision was the fact that the 24% wanted to remain behind, while the 76% continued in their effort to leave and align themselves with the more conservative Evangelical Presbyterian Church denomination.

The new church of Senior Pastor Bill Stephens, who led the effort to leave the PC(USA), is going to be known as New Hope Presbyterian Church. When asked about the move from the church he used to call home to his new one, Stephens said, "We will do it quietly and in a way that will honor Christ," according to The News-Press. Click here for the full article.

While it is sad to see a church divided, on this topic, it is also a good thing that the majority of people stood up for God's word, because they recognized that it would not survive in a liberal church. Liberalism has caused many good churches to become bad ones. Some churches are so worried about what society thinks, that they just throw God's word right out the window. Subjects like gay marriage, gay clergy, gender friendly terms and politically correct doctrines are just some of the things that have been debated (sometimes very heatedly) within the walls of our sanctuaries. Churches have tried so hard to cater to certain individuals or groups that they have lost sight of the Gospel message due to their twisting of scripture in order to suit their own needs.

If you would like to learn more about how liberalism is destroying our churches today, please go to our website to read about this topic. People tend to think that they can change God’s word to their own benefit, and that nobody will notice. Guess what?...God honoring people do notice. And whether you like it our not, God’s word will ALWAYS prevail.

Do good works save you…what did Jesus teach?

Do we need to do good works for salvation? That is a big question in some religious circles. Both Christian and Non-Christian groups alike teach that we need to do good works in order to obtain salvation.

The big question that we need to ask is, “Is this biblical or man-made?” So where do we need to go to find an answer to whether or not works are needed for salvation? The best source I believe is Jesus Christ Himself, and Matthew chapter 7 is where you will find His teaching on this topic. In this chapter Jesus is still preaching the Sermon on the Mount, and at verse 13 of this chapter Jesus starts to tell the people about the way to heaven (narrow is the gate…). He then goes on to tell the people to beware of false prophets who will come to deceive them into believing something else, and at verses 21 – 23 we find the following words of Jesus:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ Matt 7:21-23 (NASB)

Obviously, “on that day” is talking about the day when Jesus comes to judge us all, which will determine where we will spend eternity. Right before Jesus passes judgment, what does Jesus say the people will appeal to in order to show Him that they are worthy of a heavenly reward?...their good works. Jesus listed out a bunch of things that the people said they did in His name, and what was Jesus’ response to all of this? Did He say, “Well done, your heavenly reward awaits you”? No, Jesus told them to depart from Him because doing those things isn’t what saves you. Only our relationship with Christ, our acceptance of Him as Savior and our obedience to Him will matter. No faith in an organization or denomination will save you...it's only our faith in Jesus Christ that will save you.

New Blog Page

Hello all. Since everyone else seems to have their own blog page, I thought that I might give this a try. Right now, I will just be posting observations, thoughts, etc on what I see happening in the world today (through the internet and other sources) from a Christian point of view. Topical subjects as well as issues within Christianity will be discussed. The comments section will be turned off for the time being until I see how this goes, but I hope that what I post is informative to all. I will also use this blog site to announce new content on our website (www.truth4christ.com) just in case you visit this blog site more than our main website. Keep coming back for new content, or subscribe to this RSS feed.

- Tim