Archive for the ‘Defending the Faith’ Category

Defending Doctrine: The Genesis Account

Posted: 02/18/2020 in Absolute Truth, Biblical Creation, Christian Doctrine, Creation vs. Evolution, Defending the Faith, Defense of Doctrine, worldviews
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It’s no secret that the foundational truths of the Christian Faith are under intense attack today, with the primary target being the credibility and authority of the very Word of God. Nowhere is this more evident than with regards to the very first book of the Bible–Genesis. Due to widespread acceptance of evolution as a proven fact (which it is not), many Christians have been made to believe that it is necessary to reinterpret Genesis 1:1-2 in a myriad of different ways to allow for millions or billions of years in the Creation account. What most do not realize, however, is that, in doing so, they are unwittingly abandoning the authority and truth of the Bible in favor of the opinions and ideas of fallible man (yes, scientists are human too and are not unbiased in their reasoning about these issues!) in the process.

This compromise leads to a whole host of problems, as once the door is opened, the opening never gets smaller—only larger. After all, if Genesis can be reinterpreted to fit the beliefs of man, why not reinterpret other areas of Scripture as well (such as those which forbid homosexuality, for instance) if that’s what people want to do to fit their personal preferences, lifestyles, or individual bias? The results of abandoning God’s Word as one’s Ultimate Authority are devastating, as we are witnessing in our culture today. Remove the foundation of any structure, and you can be sure that it will ultimately collapse. This is the reason that there is such pressure today from the world to force these secular philosophies (or dare I say, religions?) upon people in general, and especially Christians. Once an evolutionary mindset is adopted (even inadvertently), one must forsake a straightforward, literal approach to the Scriptures and the game begins of trying to make the Word of God fit our beliefs, rather than adjusting our beliefs to fit the revealed Words of Almighty God. This is the same tactic satan introduced in the garden of Eden (also in Genesis….!), when he subtly said to Eve: “Yea, hath God said…?“. Once we lay aside God’s Word as our final Authority, we (like Adam and Eve) become highly susceptible to the pervasive lies and deceptions that permeate the world today. Consider the very relevant question posed by the psalmist in Psalms 11:3. He asks:

If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

Our only hope is to unapologetically return to the Romans 3 verse 4 mentality of ‘let God be true, but every man a liar’. That is, letting God’s Word have the final say in all areas of our lives including how we interpret the world around us. I’d like to show you what that looks like. A while back, I came across an article on a Christian website which was authored by a well-meaning, professing Christian named Brandon. In his article, he argues for the position that the earth is indeed billions of years old and even cited several Biblical references (out of context ) to support his position that a large gap of time should be inserted between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 (commonly referred to as the ‘gap theory’), in order to make the Bible harmonize with ‘scientific’ (read: evolutionary) theory. I posted a response to him back then in hopes of gently exposing and correcting the error of this line of reasoning. I am reposting that response here in hopes that this may also serve to aid others as they prayerfully consider and think through this crucial issue. Here is my response to Brandon (with minor alterations for better readability):

Hi Brandon! I am new to this site and just ran across your article. You have certainly done a lot of work and research in compiling the information you have posted. I commend you for your desire for truth, as that is the mark of a Christian and is something that should grow more intense in us as we grow in the Lord. With that said, I am a born again Christian who happens to hold to the position that the earth is indeed around 6,000 years old based upon God’s revelation of the Creation account in Genesis and elsewhere in the Bible. For many years, I believed and even taught that the earth was millions/billions of years old based upon my erroneous understanding of the Scriptures which resulted from attempting to force my own (and others’) preconceived notions about this subject on various texts (including many of the same ones that you listed above) to make them fit my belief, rather than allowing the Bible to dictate to me what my belief(s) should be regarding this issue. I have come to realize that this is a terrible mistake to make, as doing so only results in the compromising of the Authority of Scripture (often inadvertently) in the process. Please consider the following:

1) In your article, you cite 2 Peter 3:6 as evidence of an old earth, and the existence of a race of humans prior to Adam and Eve, due to Peter’s usage of the phrase ‘the world that then was’. However, just before this in 2 Peter 2:5, we see that Peter’s reference to an ‘old world’ (same meaning) directly alludes to that which was destroyed at the time of Noah’s flood and we are told that God ‘spared’ it not (i.e. he destroyed it), but saved Noah. There is no logical (or Biblical) basis for attempting to force a different meaning upon the phrase ‘the world that then was’ in 2 Peter 3:6, as this is simply a reiteration of what Peter was just speaking about (i.e. the race of humans and the societal structure destroyed by Noah’s flood) a few verses before, with the fact that Noah and his family survived being a given.

2) Exodus 20:11 plainly tells us that God created the heavens and the earth, the seas, ‘and all that in them is’ in 6 literal days. We know the days were literal days, because each day consisted of a morning and an evening (Genesis Chapter 1). I am aware of the arguments which try to make the Hebrew word for day (i.e. yom) mean ‘an indefinite amount of time’. However, those arguments are easily refuted in that Adam was created on day 6 and lived through the remainder of that day and then all of day 7 (and beyond). If the word ‘yom’ means millions or billions of years here, then Adam would have to have been muuuuuuuch older when he died than the 930 years of age the Bible tells us he was. Also, it is inconsistent to try to force this meaning upon the word ‘yom’ in Genesis, but then interpret the same word to mean a literal day elsewhere in the Bible (such as in the book of Joshua when we are told that Israel marched around the city of Jericho for 7 ‘yoms’). No one interprets this to mean anything other than literal days, yet many do so with the passages in Genesis describing the days of creation in order to ‘make’ it mean something different than what it says due to their presuppositions (i.e. already held beliefs) about the age of the earth.

3) Your arguments using Jeremiah Chapter 4 would be invalidated by Exodus 20:11, since we know that ALL of creation took place in just 6 days, with no ‘Gap’ in between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 to allow for a separate ‘age’ or race of humans prior to Adam and Eve. When Jeremiah speaks of there being no man present, it is a description of what one would have seen during Noah’s flood. At this point, it is already understood and is taken for granted (based upon earlier revelation) that Noah and his family survived IN the ark, but the rest of humanity was completely destroyed OUTSIDE of the ark, which is clearly what is being described here (if we take the text at face value). Jeremiah’s vision is entirely consistent with the promised and fulfilled aftermath of Noah’s flood described in Genesis 6:13, 6:17, 7:4, & 7:22-23, as these verses repeatedly use the imagery of total destruction in their description of that event.

4) In order for there to have existed cities before Adam and Eve, there would have also had to have existed people before them as well. This means that death would have also existed prior to Adam and Eve if God destroyed the ‘first world’ and everyone in it. This is contrary to what the Bible clearly teaches about the existence of death and its origin through Adam (Rom. 5:12-17, 1 Cor. 15:21-22). There is no Biblical basis whatsoever for assuming that death existed before Adam sinned and brought God’s curse upon the earth and humanity.

5) You said in your article: “In closing, I hope it has become apparent to you that the earth is not merely 6,000 years old, but that it is billions of years old as science tells us.”

This is a very telling statement, and is really the crux of the issue at hand. One of the primary reasons that I have seen for people teaching an ‘old’ earth is to somehow try to make the Bible conform to what scientists tell us about the age of the earth. In other words, the word of scientists is held above the authority of Scripture, which is reinterpreted (again, often inadvertently) to fit man’s opinion of what happened in the unobserved and unobservable past, rather than taking the text at face value as an eyewitness account from the One who was there—God. This is very dangerous, as many of those scientists who advocate an old earth do so due to their presuppositions that God’s Word is not true and that God doesn’t exist. Instead, they begin with a purely naturalistic/ evolutionary worldview and then interpret all evidence via that worldview, which leads them to faulty conclusions based upon faulty assumptions (e.g. no global flood ever happened during the time of Noah, etc.). These faulty assumptions are also present in many of the dating methods (i.e. radiometric and Carbon-14 dating) used to ‘prove’ that the earth is very old. Since the data is interpreted through faulty assumptions, the conclusions about the data are also faulty.

You see, if we should reinterpret the Creation account in Genesis based upon the word of fallible scientists and their beliefs about the past, then should we also reinterpret the resurrection account of Jesus as well, since these same people would also tell us that men do not rise from the dead after three days and then walk through walls? What about the other accounts in the Bible which they would reject, such as Balaam’s talking donkey, the floating ax head, the parting of the Red Sea, the talking serpent, etc.–should we reinterpret those texts as well to mean something different than what they say if the consensus is that they are impossible due to the naturalistic worldview held by certain scientists? Of course not!

When we begin with the Word of God as our ultimate authority and base our interpretation of evidence and our subsequent conclusions about the world around us solely on the revealed truths of Scripture, we find that there is overwhelming evidence to support a young earth (especially in light of the knowledge of a global flood during Noah’s day which caused drastic change to the face of the earth via rapid erosion and geological processes in just a short amount of time). Brandon, I understand the extreme pressures to conform to the majority’s way of thinking on these issues so that we can avoid potential ridicule for holding to what amounts to a highly unpopular position (mostly because of the widespread acceptance of evolution as a proven fact, which it is not), but we must remember that Christianity itself is an unpopular position in the world. Jesus told us that we can expect the world to hate us because of our allegiance to Him and to the Word of God as our ultimate authority. In other words, we shouldn’t be expecting to win any popularity contests when we stand for Christ and the truth of the Bible.

I encourage you to give these issues some serious thought and to realize that, as Christians, we need not compromise the Word of God based upon the opinions and erroneous thinking of man. Instead, the Word of God must have the final say in every area of our lives, with regards to our thinking, and how we view the world around us (Rom. 3:4). When we begin with God’s Word as our sole foundation, we will always be on the side of truth and need not be concerned about being in the minority. There are numerous resources available that you can take a look at if you’d like. I for one have found the Answers in Genesis website to be extremely informative and helpful in thinking through these issues. Take care and God Bless!

Isn’t It Confusing…?

Posted: 09/22/2018 in Absolute Truth, atheism, Biblical Creation, Christian Doctrine, Christlike living, Creation vs. Evolution, Defending the Faith, Discipleship, Jesus Christ, Moral absolutes, Preaching the Gospel, presuppositional apologetics, secular humanism, self-deception, subjective morality, The Bible, Ultimate Authority, Value of life, worldviews
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downloadfileTo hear many of the arguments put forth by advocates of the transgender/transsexual movement? For instance, some would argue that undergoing ‘gender transitioning’ is no worse than changing one’s hair color/length or altering some other superficial aspect of the body. Unfortunately, many have been convinced by these types of arguments, but is it really the case that ‘transitioning’ to another gender is the equivalent of merely changing one’s hairstyle from one type to another? Of course not.

First of all one’s gender is not merely a superficial aspect or ‘accessory’ of the body, but an inherent, fundamental aspect of their true God-given identity as a human being (Genesis 1:27, Matthew 19:4, Mark 10:6). Gender transcends merely the corresponding physical features of one’s body (e.g. male and female reproductive organs, etc.), as it also correlates directly to the emotional, psychological, physiological, and sociological (i.e. spiritual) make up of the individual self. Whereas one can alter the length/color of a non-essential physical feature, such as their hair, or even have a malfunctioning gall bladder removed without compromising their true God-given identity, attempting to alter one’s pre-determined gender via body modification, hormonal ‘therapy’, and other ‘transitional’ processes/procedures is but an attempt to suppress the truth about who they really are as determined by God. Thus, it’s on par with trying to turn a rabbit into a dog by trimming its ears, giving it a spiked collar, and naming it Fido. Sure, you may have produced one intimidating looking rabbit, but a canine it ain’t!

In the same regard, attempting to alter one’s prescribed, inherent gender identity ultimately amounts to an exercise in self-deception and is the equivalent of lying about one’s true identity for the purpose of obtaining something that does not rightfully belong to them (and to which they have no legitimate claim)–the identity of the opposite sex. No doubt, all who engage in such behavior would immediately cry foul should someone else decide to arbitrarily assume (steal) THEIR identity for the purpose of obtaining something (like the money in THEIR bank account, for instance) which does not rightfully belong to them.

This type of behavioral inconsistency/double standard only serves to further illustrate the inevitable vain and foolish reasoning that one is ultimately forced into when the truth and absolutes of the Biblical Christian worldview are exchanged for the lies and deception of an ‘arbitrary morality’, as promoted by man made religions such as secular humanism and atheism (Romans 1:21).

Now, this is not to say that those who struggle with feelings of confusion regarding sexuality are not deserving of dignity, respect, and love–nor is it to imply that they may not have legitimate (and, often, serious) underlying issues that should be addressed–but to simply point out that acting upon self deception and engaging in suppression of the truth (regarding one’s God given gender identity or otherwise) is never the right course of action and, therefore, should never be encouraged or defended (via silly arguments equating the altering of one’s hair length/ color to the act of ‘gender transitioning’ or via any other means, for that matter).

After all, to fight against the truth is ultimately to fight against the One in whom all truth is–the God of the Bible. May those who are presently doing so repent quickly and turn to Christ that in Him their identity may be gloriously affirmed even as the scales of satanic deception are lifted from their eyes. So let it be.

The Value of Life

Posted: 08/12/2017 in Absolute Truth, Defending the Faith, evolution, Moral absolutes, subjective morality, Ultimate Authority, worldviews
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 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?   For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.   ~Psalms 8:4-5

To a Christian, one of the most valuable things in this world is human life.  This is because we know that each and every individual is fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God, regardless of their physical appearance or genetic makeup.  As such, each and every person is deserving of human dignity and love.  However, as we see a moral and spiritual decline in our country (and in the world, for that matter) due to a rejection of God and His Word, we also see a corresponding diminishing of the perceived value of human life in society.  Case in point: While watching a recent news broadcast, my wife was telling me that she was sickened and  horrified to learn that a hospital in the UK was found to be burning the aborted fetuses of  unborn babies right along with the rest of the hospital’s trash as a new ‘green’ way of heating their building.  That’s right, these innocent little children were first murdered and then their lifeless bodies were simply tossed into the trash pile and incinerated, with absolutely no regard whatsoever.  How utterly despicable to think that the remains of these dear children were used as the means of providing warmth to the very hands that had so coldly ended their lives. 

Once again, we see that when the Absolute Authority of the Bible is discarded and replaced with atheistic and evolutionary notions, there remains no ultimate reason to value human life above that of any other ‘evolved’ mass of cells.  In fact,

if we are all nothing more than rearranged bags of molecules, why should anyone care what happens to someone else?  We wouldn’t get bent out of shape over a dead cancer cell or a housefly we squashed with our flyswatter, after all. 

Why not do what we want to one another and even rearrange each other a little more if we feel like it (especially if it benefits us and we can get away with it)?  We wouldn’t put a lion in prison for killing a zebra or for maiming a gazelle, would we?  Besides, didn’t murderers, thieves, and terrorists evolve too? Why should they be punished for acting out the thoughts produced by the random chemical reactions in their evolved brains, if that’s what their DNA tells them to do?

Think about it: if one person’s brain fizz produces a standard that tells them that murder is OK and someone else’s brain fizzes a standard which says that protecting life is what they should be doing, then ultimately, what is the difference if both people are eventually just going to die anyway without consequence? Followed to its logical (read: illogical) conclusion, this corrupt line of reasoning tells us that it truly does not matter if one lives their life like Mother Theresa or if they live like Adolph Hitler, as both of them are now on equal footing—dead forever. 

Like it or not, this is the result when we abandon the absolutes of the Christian worldview for the subjective standards of atheism, which postulates an accidental, random-chance, evolving universe.   Apart from an absolute law giver,  there can be no moral absolutes–only subjective personal preferences with regards to behavior.  As such, ANYONE is then free to stipulate their own personal moral standards (including rapists, murderers, thieves, and child molesters), and there is no way to resolve the conflict, as one personal standard is just as valid as another.  As such, ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ become meaningless terms, as differing personal opinions are not ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, they’re just…..well….’different’.  In an atheistic, evolutionary universe, that’s the most one could ever say about anybody else’s behavioral standards (no matter how personally offensive they may be).

Fortunately, we do not live in such a universe.  We live in God’s universe where we all know that things like rape, murder, and stealing are absolutely wrong, since He has ‘hardwired’ His moral law into each of us and has given us a conscience to affirm that He has done so.  This is an inescapable reality, as even the most diehard criminal locks his own doors at night to keep someone else from perpetrating upon him the very acts that he does to others, because he knows in his heart of hearts that his deeds are absolutely morally wrong, and not just a matter of personal preference.  Likewise, the staunchest professing atheist not only expects to be treated with a certain level of reasonableness, dignity, and respect by his fellow human beings–he demands it!  In doing so, he undermines his professed atheism and reveals plainly that, deep within, he knows that God exists as Creator and that he also has inherent value, being made in His image.  In summary, it has been rightly observed that:

Humanism or atheism is a wonderful philosophy of life as long as you are big, strong, and between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five. But watch out if you are in a lifeboat and there are others who are younger, bigger, or smarter.    ~William Murray

 

 

The Folly of the Unbeliever

Posted: 08/10/2017 in Absolute Truth, Defending the Faith, folly of atheism, irrefutable truth, Moral absolutes, Preaching the Gospel, presuppositions, Ultimate Authority
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It is important for Christians to understand and note that, when the Bible refers to those who deny the existence of God as ‘fools’ (Psalms 14:1), it is not merely engaging in name calling.  This is the proper term for someone who willfully refuses to acknowledge that which has been so plainly and openly revealed.  Imagine this:

You have agreed to participate in a live formal debate.  After weeks of preparation, the big day arrives and you take your place on stage behind your podium as the auditorium begins to fill with people.  You look to your left and see your opponent behind his podium with a confident look upon his face.  The moderator gives the introduction and then it’s time to start.  Your opponent goes first and begins his opening statement.  His position? That air does not exist (an a-airist?).

Now, what would you say in response to such an obviously absurd position?  Sure, you could produce graphs, charts, tables, and endless other pieces of evidence to show that air does indeed exist (which your opponent may or may not find compelling and which he may even be able to explain away and rebut via his counter arguments), or you could take a decidedly different approach:  You could simply expose the glaring inconsistency of his position by pointing out that, if air did not exist, he could not possibly be doing what he is doing.  You could (and should) draw attention to the fact that, without air, he could not possibly be breathing, and, as a consequence, he also could not be talking since there would be no air in his lungs to create the vibrations in his vocal chords and, therefore, no way to produce the sounds used to form his words.  Not to mention the fact that, if air does not exist, there wouldn’t even be anything to convey the sound waves from his mouth to the ears of his hearers anyway!  In short, his entire ability to breathe and speak (much less to argue) depends completely upon the very thing that he is denying—-air!  He is defeating his own position with every breath he takes and with every word he speaks, since any argument he puts forth AGAINST the existence of air actually turns out to be an argument IN FAVOR OF the existence of air!!

Such is the predicament of the professing atheist.  The Bible teaches that the existence of God is so obvious, that no one has an excuse for denying him (and are, in fact, behaving foolishly if they do so–Romans 1:18-22).  In other words, the evidence is all around us, but there are many who do not wish to accept it, and who will even go to great lengths to deny it.  So what do we do?  I submit that, just as in the example above, we should gently and lovingly expose the inconsistencies of such positions in hopes that the unbeliever will come to see the folly of what they are doing and repent.  For instance, suppose someone puts forth a moral argument against God (e.g. claiming that He is evil, that certain acts in the Bible are immoral, etc.).  Now, we could spend a lot of time and energy providing evidence as to why that is not the case (only to likely have our evidence discarded or dismissed due the presuppositional bias of the unbeliever), or we could simply ask them how they arrive at absolute, objective standards of behavior in a universe without God in the first place.  After all, if God does not exist, there could be no absolute moral Authority and, therefore, no binding standard of behavior by which anyone (least of all, God) SHOULD conduct themselves.  If moral standards are arbitrarily stipulated, then the unbeliever loses any rational foundation for their complaint against God.  In fact, the argument itself reveals the internal inconsistency of their position and, as a result, makes this objection AGAINST God’s existence a valid proof FOR His existence!

Now, let’s suppose the argument comes in the form of a ‘logical’ complaint against God (e.g. the Bible is illogical, Christianity is nonsense, etc.).  Again, much time and energy could be spent providing ample solid evidence to the contrary, only to likely be told “well that doesn’t prove anything.”  Instead of putting God on trial before the unbeliever, the more effective (and Biblical) approach would be to expose the self-defeating nature of such an argument by simply asking how there can exist any objective, universal standard of logic and reasoning in a world without God.  Obviously, if there is no Ultimate Authority, then there can be no absolute standard by which we should think and reason.  Therefore, no thinking or reasoning could ever be said to be ‘incorrect’ or ‘illogical’—just ‘different‘.  This internal inconsistency yet again testifies to the inescapable, self-evident truth of God and that, like the air, one must assume His existence to even begin to argue against it (which makes doing so the very epitome of ‘foolishness’).  To paraphrase Acts 17:28, it truly is IN HIM that we LIVE and MOVE and HAVE OUR BEING!

As Keith, the ex-atheist, so accurately pointed out in #10 of his expose’ here:

https://christianammunition.com/2014/06/25/how-to-be-an-atheist/

The ultimate goal of the atheist is not to remain rational or logical in these types of discussions, but to just keep arguing no matter what—due to the emotional nature of their beef with God.  Such is the tell-tale sign of someone who simply has an ‘ax to grind’ and, as a result, cannot ultimately maintain any meaningful rational standard or logical integrity with regards to their argumentation.  Hence, the folly of the unbeliever is exposed for what it really is–suppression of the Truth.  It has been rightly stated that the professing unbeliever cannot find God for the same reason a criminal cannot find a policeman.

I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.        ~C.S Lewis

The Ultimate Deception

Posted: 08/09/2017 in Absolute Truth, atheism, Biblical Creation, Creation vs. Evolution, Defending the Faith, evolution, folly of atheism, Jesus Christ, Moral absolutes, secular humanism, subjective morality, Ultimate Authority, Value of life, worldviews
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John 10:10

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: …

Consider the words of Jesus in this passage of Scripture and their relevence to the destruction of humanity taking place all around us.  The Chief of all thieves is none other than satan himself, and it his supreme desire to steal, kill, and to destroy each and every human being made in the image of God.  In fact, through the pervasive deception of evolution theory, secular humanism, and atheism, untold multitudes of people have been duped into believing that they are nothing but merely  evolved masses of molecules with no ultimate value or real purpose in this universe.  According to this worldview, everything–their families, their work, and even their own existence–is all utterly pointless in the end.  If we consider the possible ramifications of such a hopeless view of one’s existence and the world in general, it’s plain to see the damaging effects of such a position, since people tend to behave according to their beliefs.  For instance, with no ultimate reason to value human life, why SHOULD anyone care what happens to another person, in a purely evolutionary universe?  After all, if people are just rearranged assemblages of atoms, what does it ultimately matter if they get rearranged a little more by someone else in this ‘dog eat dog’ world?  In fact, according to this misguided and twisted line of reasoning, there is no ultimate reason why extermination (of one’s self or others) SHOULDN’T be the primary means of dealing with any conflict (internal or external) in the world.

Remember, according to evolution theory, defects and weaknesses in the gene pool must be eliminated in order for the continued advancement of higher life forms to occur.  By that logic, someone suffering from, say, depression due to a chemical imbalance in their brain or some other ‘abnormality’ is doing everyone else a favor in eliminating themselves or being eliminated by someone else (along with their defective genes), sooner rather than later.  This is the type of warped and horrendously destructive reasoning that abandoning God and His Word as one’s ultimate Authority inevitably makes a person vulnerable to (Hitler, anyone?)

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way.  Jesus finishes the Scripture above by providing mankind with a blessed hope and refuge from satanic deception when he says in contrast:

“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”. 

Part of that abundant life in Christ is the blessed assurance that comes from acknowledging the truth of God’s Word which tells us that each human life is of the utmost value and deserving of the highest esteem, since each person bears the image of the God who created them and are the object of His supreme love, as manifested by the willing sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the cross.  While it’s too late for those who have gone to their graves under satanic deception to undo what’s been done, you don’t have to be deceived and robbed of your intrinsic value like they were—-simply repent and submit to Jesus Christ today as both Lord and Savior.  God will save you and then transform you by the renewing of your mind unto the Truth (Romans 12:2)—–you’ve got His Word on that!  Please go to http://www.needgod.com and take the test.

 

 

Beware Diotrephes! (or Cultivating A Cult)

Posted: 08/08/2017 in Christian cults, Defending the Faith
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3 John 1:9-10
I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church

Here, John writes of a man named Diotrephes who had made it his ambition and desire to ‘have the preeminence’ among the people within this particular church. As a result of his own pride, haughtiness, and thirst for power, he had evidently refused to share an epistle from the Apostle John which had been addressed to this congregation and, adding insult to injury, he even refused to allow the people access to John or any of the other elders who were acquainted with him. In his description of Diotrephes, John presents us with a picture of a man possessing a desire to control people for the purposes of accomplishing his own agenda and for his own glory, rather than the Lord’s. Due to his deep-seeded disdain for (and, no doubt, jealousy of) the disciples and their rank in the Kingdom of God–coupled with his strong desire to be the sole recipient of honor and allegiance from those under his authority–he had not only forbidden the people from fellowship with John and other true Believers in Christ, but also sought to turn the peoples’ hearts against them through the devilish means of slandering them with malicious words whenever the opportunity arose.

In case that wasn’t enough to achieve this devious goal, Diotrophes also retaliated against any who dared disobey his unreasonable and ungodly commands by making public examples of them in casting them out of the church. Though he may not have physically thrown them out or even demanded that they leave in every circumstance, he would have no doubt made remaining in his presence (and under his authority) unbearable for those who would not bow to his self-centered demands and, in a sense, would have ‘driven them out’ via hostilities and abuse. Hence, if these dear saints were not ‘cast out’ in word and deed, they were certainly done so in spirit; being forced to choose between remaining in such a hostile environment or departing in the interest of their own spiritual and physical self-preservation (which is really no choice at all). It is a terrible thing when those who are charged with the nurture and care of the Lord’s sheep take it upon themselves to become ‘Lords over God’s heritage’ and, as a result, become tyrants and taskmasters over those whom they have been charged to love and protect. Such is the sign of a wicked and perverse generation which is to precede the coming of the Lord. As it was in John’s day, so it is in ours.

Diotrephes’ overbearing behavior is reminiscent of the type normally associated with many of the modern day religious cults that seem to be popping up everywhere nowadays. Normally, when we hear the term ‘cult’, we usually think of the more obvious and most extreme examples such as the Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Moonies, Scientologists, Branch Davidians, Jim Jones, etc. However, many of the same unhealthy and destructive behavioral patterns found in these groups have crept into many mainstream Christian churches where they are cultivated, promoted, and at times, even celebrated (though often inadvertently and in more subtle, less obvious ways). Here are some warning signs to look for which may indicate that you are indeed part of a cult:

1) You are told not to question what is being taught because the leaders are honest and want the best for you, so you must trust them.

2) Someone in your group has replaced you as the one who makes your choices in life.

3) You are told not to ask questions why anyone left your particular group or church. Rather you are to accept the answers the leaders give you such as: ‘they fell into sin’, ‘they didn’t receive correction’, ‘they weren’t open’, or ‘they had a bad heart and didn’t want to be disciples’.

4) You are told that you must be with their certain church or group to be saved (rather than by faith in Jesus Christ alone).

5) If you want to leave, you are being told there is no other church/denomination that practices truth and you will be led astray or go to hell in doing so.

6) You are constantly being made to feel inferior, having your past failures brought up again and again in a non-constructive and condemning fashion.

7) You are taught to have an excessively exalted view of the leaders of your group or church via their use of (primarily Old Testament) scriptures that are taken out of context in order to discourage you from ever challenging them and as a means of making themselves appear above reproach.

8) Those in authority put down other churches (and people) as a means of building themselves up or making themselves look better.

9) Your leaders call those who leave their particular group or church ‘fall aways’, ‘enemies of the cross’, ‘dogs returning to their own vomit’, etc. while using the examples of Korah and Judas or citing Bible verses out of context (such as I John 2:19, Romans 16:17-18, 2 Thessalonians 3:14, and Hosea 4:17), as a means of discouraging you from fellowshipping them.

10) They recommend for you to primarily be around their people, expecting you to be at all the group activities; if you aren’t, your spirituality and dedication are questioned.

11) Those in authority defend or justify all that they do (sometimes to irrational and absurd lengths), even though it can be unbiblical, harmful, or wrong.

12) The leaders of your group lack humility in their shepherding duties and arrogantly demand that you blindly obey what they say. In addition, there is subtle manipulation in the way they deal with you (and others) on an individual basis via statements such as: ‘real Christians obey their leaders’, ‘if you were truly following Jesus you would see what I’m saying is right’, or ‘true disciples did not question Jesus’.

13) The personal preferences/opinions of those in authority are taught as doctrine and forced upon the hearers, who are then expected to adhere to them with the same (or greater) esteem as that of actual sound Biblical truths.

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