doctrines of demons

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Urgency and Necessity of The Truth War

Contend Earnestly for the Faith!

Why We Must Contend Earnestly For The Faith – Pastor Bob DeWaay

By Elmarie Swart

I am currently reading John MacArthur’s book, The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception , I was going to do another post on the pages 66-65 (I will still write about this)  of John MacArthur’s  book when I found this very good and relevant piece written about Chapter 3 .  I have found it very relevant and necessary to share this with all. Out in the Cyber world between Christians I do detect alot of important disagreements. Most of the time it would be because those who are into a false teaching or church have no real knowledge of the Word. Why ? Because true Biblical expository teachings are fading away. We are told to test every thing we are told by teachers and hold fast to that which is good,  and also to test because many false teachers will lead many on the wide road to destruction.  1Th 5:21  but test everything; hold fast what is good.   1Jn 4:1  Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

I  am in full agreement with this good piece of writing as to why we must fight the truth war in all earnest while still here on earth and we need to contend earnestly for the faith now even more than before. Daily more and more sheep are led astray to the slaughter house by the false winds and doctrines bellowing across the the world now more than ever. As we come to know the Word of God ,we will find that nothing of the false teachings today are really new, they  were there while Jesus and the Apostle’s walked the earth. We are given the commandment by Jesus to spread the Gospel and surely the warnings against false teachings forms part to earnestly contend for the faith!!  Jesus also said he came not to bring peace but a sword.  Mat 10:34  “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. Paul also said for Jesus’s namesake we will suffer, Php 1:29  For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,

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Discernment: Detecting the Voice of the Enemy

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on Oct 12, 2011

A shepherd protects his sheep from their enemies. Wolves enter in among the sheep. The wolves which harass the church of God are emissaries of false doctrine and of evil practice. Satan is never out of his diocese and his specialty is to destroy the pure witness and the fellowship of the church of God.

Perhaps there is no more ominous feature of members of the church than the lack of discernment; they can listen to what is good and true, and to what is bad and false, without discrimination.

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What is the Meaning of Anathema? Can a Church Pronounce an Anathema Upon Me?

By Dr Paul M Elliott

Our series on the subject of how Christians should deal with false teaching in the church generated some followup questions from readers. We take up the first today: “What is the meaning of anathema? Can a church pronounce an anathema upon a person or group?”

Several Related Questions

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What Must Christians Do When False Teachers Control a Church?

By Dr Paul M Elliott

Part 5 of a series. Read part 4.

Today we continue to address questions that trouble growing numbers of Christians: “My church is no longer true to the Word of God on essential Christian truths. What should I do? Should I leave? Should I stay and try to fight error? Will I be guilty of schism if I do either one?” Today’s focus is on the proper response when a church is controlled by false teachers.1

Recognizing the Conditions in Which We Live

We live in a time when many nominally Evangelical churches have ceased to bear (and in some cases have never borne) the marks of a true church of Jesus Christ that we discussed in a previous article. Neo-liberals — false teachers concerning the Gospel and much more — are in control of individual churches and even entire denominations, with the aid of the doctrinally indifferent. Typically this does not happen overnight. The downgrade takes years, sometimes even decades.

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How Are Christians to Deal With False Teachers?

By Dr Paul M Elliott

Part 4 of a series. Read part 3.

Today we continue the discussion of questions that are troubling growing numbers of Christians: “My church is no longer true to the Word of God on essential Christian truths. What should I do? Should I leave? Should I stay and try to fight error? Will I be guilty of schism if I do either one?” Today’s focus is on the proper Biblical response to false teachers.1

Scripture Gives Clear Instructions

The Holy Spirit has not only instructed us clearly on the marks of a true church and how to recognize false teachers; the Lord also requires believers to adopt a Biblical attitude toward false teachers and conduct ourselves accordingly.

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How Can We Recognize False Teachers in the Church?

By Dr Paul M Elliott

Part 3 of a series. Read part 2.

Today we continue the discussion of questions that are troubling growing numbers of Christians: “My church is no longer true to the Word of God on essential Christian truths. What should I do? Should I leave? Should I stay and try to fight error? Will I be guilty of schism if I do either one?” Today’s focus is on the use of the Bible as our sole standard in identifying false teachers.1

Three Marks of a True Church

Scripture teaches that a true church of Jesus Christ bears these three essential marks:

  • the faithful proclamation of the authentic Gospel (Matthew 24:14; Mark 16:15; Romans 1:16-17; Galatians 1:6-9);
  • the faithful administration of Christ’s ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 28:18-19; Acts 2:38-39; Romans 6:3-4; Ephesians 4:4-6; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26);
  • the faithful exercise of Biblical discipline (Matthew 18:15-18; Romans 16:17; 1 Corinthians 5:11-13; 2 Corinthians 2:6-8, 6:14-15, 13:1; Galatians 6:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14-15; 1 Timothy 5:20, 6:3-5; Titus 2:15, 3:10-11; 2 John 10-11; Jude 22-23).

Much of the false teaching in the church today centers on problems in these three areas:

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Why Did Jesus Tell His Disciples to ‘Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees’?

By Dr Paul M Elliott

Part two of a series. Read part one.

Today we continue the discussion of questions we receive more and more frequently: “My church is no longer true to the Word of God on essential Christian truths. What should I do? Should I leave? Should I stay and try to fight error? Will I be guilty of schism if I do either one?” Our focus in this installment is on the pernicious nature of compromise.1

Why Beware?

Jesus warned His disciples to “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” By this, He meant their heretical doctrine (Matthew 16:5-12). Their doctrine, like much that is found in today’s Evangelical church, was founded primarily on two false principles: preaching a counterfeit salvation by adding works to faith, and debasing the authority of Scripture by subordinating it to the words of fallible men. Why was it necessary for even these men, the twelve who were closest to Christ, to “beware”? It was because they were men of sinful flesh, as we are. It is easy to be deceived.

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Houses Built on Sand

By Prof. Johan Malan, Mossel Bay, South Africa (August 2011)

A house built on sand is a house without a proper foundation – it is bound to collapse when it is battered by heavy storms, despite its solid appearance above the ground. The same principle applies to individuals and nations: without a sound spiritual and moral foundation they are heading for disaster when afflicted by the storms of life (cf. Matt. 7:24-27). Jesus Christ is the only true foundation that offers lasting stability against all the storms which are incessantly unleashed from an evil world: “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11).

The unpleasant fact about our present situation is that, despite a small minority of evangelical Christians, we are essentially living in a post-Christian world which has rejected the only true foundation. Politicians are the architects of a nation’s ideological foundation and they, as well as the electorate who agree with them and have elected them to positions of authority, must take the responsibility when things go horribly wrong. Everywhere in the world problems are rapidly mounting and they sure spell disaster. We already find ourselves in a situation in which most countries are heading for a major collapse in all spheres of public life – political, social, economic, moral, as well as religious. The signs of a dramatic breakdown are there for all to see.

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Do Not Meddle With God’s Word

 
Quoting Charles Spurgeon . . .

Take care my dear friends, how any of you meddle with God’s Word.I have heard of folks altering passages they did not like. It will not do, you know, you cannot alter them; they are really just the same.Our only power with the Word of God is simply to let it stand as it is, and to endeavour by God’s grace to accommodate ourselves to that.

We must never try to make the Bible bow to us, in fact we cannot, for the truths of divine revelation are as sure and fast as the throne of God.If a man wants to enjoy a delightful prospect, and a mighty mountain lies in his path, does he commence cutting away at its base, in the vain hope that ultimately it will become a level plain before him? No, on the contrary, he diligently uses it for the accomplishment of his purpose by ascending it, well knowing this to be the only means of obtaining the end in view.

So must we do; we cannot bring down the truths of God to our poor finite understandings; the mountain will never fall before us, but we can seek strength to rise higher and higher in our perception of divine things, and in this way only may we hope to obtain the blessing. (Sermon 241)

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Source :    http://www.oldtruth.com/blog.cfm/id.2.pid.504

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How Pietism Deceives Christians: The Errors of Elitist teachings in the Church

By on Jul 28, 2011

By Apprising Ministries special correspondent Bob DeWaay

There are no extraordinary Christians; but being an ordinary Christian is an extraordinary thing. How I wish I would have understood that when I was a new Christian. But I didn’t. Soon after my conversion I began a quest to become the best possible Christian.

In so doing I fell prey to teachings that promised me a Christian life superior to that of ordinary Christians. What I did not know was that I had embraced pietism. I didn’t become an extraordinary Christian and I did walk straight into error.

My journey into the “deeper life” oftentimes involved embracing contradictory teachings. For example, two of my favorite teachers in the early 1970’s were Watchman Nee and Kenneth Hagin. One taught a deeper Christian life through suffering[1]) and the other taught a higher order Christianity that could cause one to be free from bodily ailments and poverty.[2]The hook was that both claimed to have the secret to becoming an extraordinary Christian. I found out that they didn’t.

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