A “Call to Discernment” (registration now open) – Justin Peters

July, 7th 2012

10:00 am – 5:00 pm

This is a 1 day seminar titled “a call to discernment” presented by Justin Peters of Justin Peters Ministries (sadly his hyperlink is blocked by Facebook so we recommend that you just google Justin Peters Ministries for his website).

The seminar presents the dangerous and false doctrines of the “word of faith” movement and “prosperity gospel” sweeping through the modern church. Justin is a genuine brother in Christ and presents a solid Biblical and Gospel-centered presentation on the origins, implications and the non-Biblical nature of this very popular false teaching.

Other speakers include:

Continue reading

Beth Moore and John Piper Lead Lectio Divina-Lite at Passion 2012

By on Jan 6, 2012

Apprising Ministries has been warning for years concerning the evil effects of the neo-liberal in the Emerging Church aka the Emergent Church.

It’s an incontrovertible fact that right from its hatching in hell corrupt Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM), such as that taught by Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster along with his spiritual twin and Southern Baptist minister Dallas Willard, was a core doctrine.

Spreading as a spiritual cancer throughout apostatizing evangelicalism, we even see that it’s slithered all the way into the New Calvinst neo-reformed camp e.g. as in Acts 29 Network And Reformed Counter Reformation Spirituality? One of the fruits of CSM is a blurring of doctrinal lines, which is particularly dangerous in this time of postmodernism and growing spiritual blindness.

Continue reading

Beth Moore recommends “JESUS CALLING” Book Claiming Direct Divine Revelation !

By

on Dec 21, 2011

The largely pretending to be Protestant evangelical community continues its pilgrimage back to the legalistic spiritual bondage of apostate Roman Catholicism and its evil author the Church of Rome.

As an online apologetics and discernment work Apprising Ministries does what we can to document this woeful walk away from the truths recaptured during the Lord’s Reformation.

How sad He must be to see James Robison And Rick Warren Working To Reverse The Protestant Reformation. Bottom line is this: If sinful ecumenicists like Robison and Warren are right, then the Reformers were wrong.

Beyond question Southern Baptist Bible teacher Beth Moore still remains enormously popular within today’s anything goes evanjellyfish.

Continue reading

Charismatic Chaos – John MacArthur

Charismatic Chaos Part 1

Continue reading

Voices across the Big Wide Ocean and me reading The Truth War of John MacArthur

I am reading The Truth War by John MacArthur as some of our readers are aware.

Below is an excerpt from Page 135, in the book I shared on my Facebook page this morning.

A dear Friend Amy Spreeman from Stand up for the Truth in Wisconsin USA, read my post and Quote, and shared it with others on her radio show at Q90FM. To hear your name mentioned Red Clover (my facebook name) across the big wide ocean is very humbling and to have a little piece of my heart and thoughts shared with other sisters and brothers in Christ is a very big honor. So I decided to post my thoughts here too and the podcast were Amy mentions me and reads the John MacArthur quote from his book.

Continue reading

WIDE IS THE GATE: The Emerging New Christianity

Bob DeWaay, Roger Oalkand, Mike Gendron, Ray Yungen, Tom Mc Mahon  and more ……..

A look into the Invasion of the old New Age Movement in today’s Post Modern Church.

FROM THE BACK COVER

Once there were two Church choices, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, but in recent decades Christianity has been redefined giving rise to unprecedented quasi-Christian spiritual philosophies and practices. Claiming to be “revivals” are these the counterfeits Jesus warned would occur before His return? (Luke 18:8)

Many so-called Christian leaders are introducing innovative teachings based on new Bible translations and paraphrases that alter the timeless truths of Holy Scripture. A more progressive spirituality, with roots in eastern mysticism, is replacing faith in God’s Word. This “New Christian Spirituality” poses as a more relevant “New Gospel” for today’s Postmodern culture that prefers subjective and emotional feelings, rather than absolute truths.

Continue reading

A Survey of Heresies

I have worked through all these sermons/teachings and have found them very informative and detailed. I am sharing here for you the reader and my hope is you gain better Biblical understanding about false teachings and their origins.

By Phil Johnson

It’s important for Christians to have a grasp of heresies that the church has battled over the centuries, because they often return with new clothing, and the unprepared Christian is likely to fall into these old pits. Phil does an excellent job of looking at some of the major heresies that are revisiting the church today: Socinianism, Arianism, Pelagianism, Gnosticism, and Judaizing. This is an excellent 6 part series that will shore up some weak points in the church today.

Continue reading

How is the Church like the moon?

Dr Paul M Elliot

Like the moon, the Church shines with reflected light – is bigger than it looks – is the “lesser light to rule the night” – affects the world greatly but silently – has different phases – and at times, has its eclipses!

Just as God “appointed the moon for seasons,” He has appointed the Church for His eternal purpose. Commenting on Psalm 104:19, Dr. J. Sidlow Baxter draws some pithy parallels between the moon and the Church:

A scoffer who was as empty of truth as he was full of bluff derisively remarked, “Religion is all moonshine.” Unwittingly he came close to uttering a remarkable similitude. The moon and the Christian Church have much in common! What the one is to the physical world the other is to the spiritual; and we should be dark indeed without either! Trace the parallel.

The moon shines with reflected light. It has no light in itself. It shines with the reflected light of the sun. So the Church reflects the light of Christ. Apart from Him it has no light to give. In these days when the ecumenical movement gives large prominence to the so-called “world church”, and talks more about it than about HIM, it is well to remember that the Church was never put into the world to witness to itself. It can only give light as it forgets itself in reflecting Christ….

Continue reading

Spiritual Deception, Revival and Angus Buchan (South Africa’s Charismatic “Hajj”)

Prof. Johan Malan, South Africa (May 2010)

Spiritual deception and apostatising keep on proliferating as we are moving deeper into the end-time. We know that the Spirit of truth wants to guide us into all the truth of God’s Word – including the correct understanding of end-time prophecies (John 16:13). On the opposite side there is the spirit of error who is intent on deceiving people spiritually with a view to preparing them on the coming of the Antichrist (1 John 4:1-6). More than ever before we need discernment to be able to observe the full counsel of God and to allow the Holy Spirit to teach us and keep us from all forms of deception.

It is not always easy to keep our ways pure in all respects by correct discernment of these two spiritual influences since there is, by the devil’s doing, a grey area between them. Satan has the ability to present himself as an angel of light, thereby also deceiving Christians with noble intentions (2 Cor. 11:13-15; Matt. 24:4-5,24). It is one of his main objectives to confuse   believers by inciting them to entertain erroneous views on Christ and the Bible. There are many examples of such satanic influence in the Bible.

Peter was conscious of the fact that Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God and honestly thought that he made a very positive statement when he expressed himself against the idea of Christ’s crucifixion. However, it was clearly evident that he was deceived by Satan to take this stand (Matt. 16:14-23). Maybe Peter can be excused for this action since he did not yet have the full enlightening of the Holy Spirit.

Continue reading

There’s Only 2 Religions

The Way to Heaven

Grace to You – John MacArthur

July 09, 1995

As we look together to the Word of God in this very special session together in the gospel of Matthew, our attention falls on two very important verses that are the high point of the great Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is recorded in chapter 5, 6 and 7 and the high point comes in chapter 7 verses 13 and 14. And these are the words with which our Lord brings that sermon to its climax. “Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction and many are those who enter by it, for the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life and few are those who find it.”

Continue reading

Pictorials of Self-Proclaimed Gods, Messiahs, Modern-Day False Prohets and False Teachers


Mat 7:15-20  “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  (16)  You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  (17)  So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.  (18)  A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.  (19)  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  (20)  Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

Continue reading

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,

Continue reading

Does God Still Heal?

John MacArthur – Grace to You

(Part 9 of 13 of the Charismatic Chaos (Sermon Series)

Well as you know, we are involved in a study of the Charismatic movement, the contemporary movement, and tonight we come to a section entitled, “Does God Still Heal?” Now in the messages that I have been giving we have intersected with the thoughts about healing, and we have said some things about that in some of our prior studies and we’re not going to repeat those things, but there is much more that needs to be said tonight as we evaluate a movement that advocates healing. In fact, if there is anything that would be typically Charismatic or typically characteristic of the modern Pentecostal movement, third wave movement, or Charismatic movement, it would be a major emphasis on healing, and we need to understand that.

Let me begin with some illustrations that set the scene for us. A familiar name to anybody who studies the Charismatic movement and delves into the issues of healing is the name of a man, Hobart Freeman, a very interesting man, at one time a professor of Old Testament at Grace Theological Seminary, from which our own Dick Mahue graduated, and when he was a professor there in Old Testament, he was considered to be the finest communicator, the finest teacher there. In fact, Hobart Freeman wrote a very significant book entitled, “An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets,” which in 1969, was published and printed by the Moody Bible Institute. So he was considered by everybody to be a mainline evangelical professor, one who not only understood but could adroitly teach the truth of Scripture.

Continue reading

What Is The New Apostolic Reformation? (And Why Should We Be Concerned About It?)


By Christine Pack

A Personal Note: Please-please-please send this article to your loved ones so that they can be on the look-out for this dangerous movement sweeping through Christianity. I consider this to be one of the most important articles I have ever written, and I regret not having written it sooner. And please understand that I have only scratched the surface in this article. Unfortunately, the NAR is such a massive movement, with so many tentacles, and so many people involved, that it was almost impossible to talk about it concisely. It is almost unfathomable to me how many people have been affected by this dangerous movement. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t hear from at least one person who has personally had to flee a once solid church because this teaching has suddenly swept in, or someone who has watched a loved one be seduced by it, or someone who has even been unwittingly swept up in this movement themselves.

Continue reading

Why is The Message (Bible) not safe ?

By Justin Peters

A Brief (and by no means exhaustive) Summary of Passages Contained Within “The Message” by Eugene Peterson Which Directly Compromise Fundamental Tenets of Orthodox Christianity.

What follows is a comparison/contrast and analysis of several well – known passages as found in major translations such as the KJV, NASB, and NIV as well as these same passages as found in The Message authored by Eugene Peterson. Any intellectually honest assessment of the following notes leads to the inescapable conclusion that The Message compromises some of the fundamental doctrines of orthodox Christianity.

I began this study when I was made aware that the high school seniors of a nearby church were given copies of The Message as graduation gifts. I did not at the time own a copy of The Message nor had I read it. My exposure to it at that point was seeing it cited in other works. I purchased a copy and began to read and study this paraphrase more in depth. What I discovered stunned me. The Message is not only a poor paraphrase, but it is, in fact,heretical.

Matthew 6:9

New American
Standard Bible : 1995
Update

9 “Pray, then, in this
way: ‘Our Father who is
in heaven, Hallowed be
Your name.

The King James Version

9 After this manner
therefore pray ye: Our
Father which art in
heaven, Hallowed be thy
name.

The New International
Version

9 “This, then, is how you
should pray: “‘Our Father in
heaven, hallowed be your
name,

The Message

9 With a God like this loving
you, you can pray very
simply. Like this: Our Father
in heaven, Reveal who you
are.

This is a passage from what is commonly referred to as “the Lord’s Prayer.” There are two problems with Peterson’s rendering of this familiar passage. The first is that Peterson includes an imperative from Jesus to the Father that is not in the text. The second, and much more serious, problem is the nature of His imperative – Reveal who you are. Why would Jesus Christ who is the revelation of God (Heb. 1:1-3) ask God to reveal  Himself? The Revelation of God is the One Who is praying the prayer! This imperative by Jesus certainly strongly implies that Godhas yet to reveal Himself. I beg to differ. Also, notice the room which is implicitly provided for a later revelation of the antichrist who will, of course, claim to be the revelation of God.

John 10:30

New American Standard Bible
: 1995 Update

30 “I and the Father are one.”

The King James
Version

30 I and my Father
are one.

The New International
Version

30 I and the Father are
one.”

The Message

30 I and the Father are one
heart and mind.”

This is another familiar passage. The NASB, NIV, and KJV are all practically identical, save for the insertion of a personal pronoun found in the latter. Not so The Message’s rendering. The Message denigrates the uniqueness and deity of Jesus. Let us remember that David was a “man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22) but he was not God.

1 Timothy 4:1-5

New American Standard
Bible : 1995 Update

1 But the Spirit explicitly
says that in later times
some will fall away from
the faith, paying attention
to deceitful spirits and
doctrines of demons,

The King James Version

1 Now the Spirit speaketh
expressly, that in the latter
times some shall depart
from the faith, giving heed
to seducing spirits, and
doctrines of devils;

The New International
Version

1 The Spirit clearly says
that in later times some will
abandon the faith and
follow deceiving spirits and
things taught by demons

The Message

1 The Spirit makes it clear
that as time goes on, some
are going to give up on the
faith and chase after
demonic illusions put forth
by professional liars.

Of the passages which I have cited in this letter, this is the least worrisome but is worrisome nonetheless. Paul is clearly referring to demonic powers but note the unmistakable human spin which Peterson employs. He diminishes the demonic powers by referring to them as mere “illusions” which are forwarded not by demons but by “professional liars.” Such a reference could encapsulate a carnival barker.

Matthew 5:5

New American Standard
Bible : 1995 Update

5 Blessed are the gentle, for
they shall inherit the earth

The King James
Version

5 Blessed are the
meek, for they shall
inherit the earth

The New International
Version

5 Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the
earth

The Message

5 You are truly blessed when
you are content with just who
you are – no more, no less.

Not only does this not have anything to do with the passage at hand, it is stunningly un-biblical. What if a homosexual is reading this? Should he be content with “just who he is?” What about an agnostic? A Hindu? What about one who believes himself to be a “Christian” but is living in sin? This is not even true for a Biblebelieving, committed Christian! There should never be a time when we are “content with just who we are.” This is a profoundly unbiblical statement.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

New American Standard
Bible : 1995 Update

9 Or do you not know that
the unrighteous will not
inherit the kingdom of
God? Do not be deceived;
neither fornicators, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers,
nor effeminate, nor
homosexuals,

10 nor thieves, nor the
covetous, nor drunkards,
nor revilers, nor swindlers,
will inherit the kingdom of God.

11 Such were some of you;
but you were washed, but
you were sanctified, but
you were justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus
Christ and in the Spirit of
our God.

The King James Version

9 Know ye not that the
unrighteous shall not
inherit the kingdom of
God? Be not deceived:
neither fornicators, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers,
nor effeminate, nor
abusers of themselves
with mankind,

10 Nor thieves, nor
covetous, nor drunkards,
nor revilers, nor
extortioners, shall inherit
the kingdom of God.

11 And such were some of
you: but ye are washed,
but ye are sanctified, but
ye are justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus,
and by the Spirit of our
God.

The New International
Version

9 Do you not know that the
wicked will not inherit the
kingdom of God? Do not be
deceived: Neither the
sexually immoral nor
idolaters nor adulterers nor
male prostitutes nor
homosexual offenders

10 nor thieves nor the
greedy nor drunkards nor
slanderers nor swindlers
will inherit the kingdom of
God.

11 And that is what some of
you were. But you were
washed, you were
sanctified, you were
justified in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ and by
the Spirit of our God.

The Message

9 Don’t you realize that this
is not the way to live? Unjust
people who don’t care about
God will not be joining in his
kingdom. Those who use
and abuse each other, use
and abuse sex,
(Guess what’s missing!)

10 use and abuse the earth
and everything in it, don’t
qualify as citizens in God’s
kingdom.

11 A number of you know
from experience what I’m
talking about, for not so long
ago you were on that list.
Since then, you’ve been
cleaned up and given a
fresh start by Jesus, our
Master, our Messiah, and by
our God present in us, the
Spirit.

This one is serious. One of the sins to which the Apostle Paul is clearly referring is that of homosexuality. Notice that The Message completely omits the word. In its stead, Peterson inserts the phrase “those who use and abuse the earth.” The earth? From where in the world (or the text as the case may be) did he get the earth? There seems to be an environmental agenda at work here. One could not read this passage in a real Bible and come away believing that homosexuality was permissible under any circumstances. One would never know from reading The Message, however, that it was a problem in any sense.

Romans 1:26-27

New American Standard
Bible : 1995 Update

26 For this reason God
gave them over to
degrading passions; for
their women exchanged
the natural function for that
which is unnatural,

27 and in the same way
also the men abandoned
the natural function of the
woman and burned in their
desire toward one another,
men with men committing
indecent acts and receiving
in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

The King James Version

26 For this cause God gave
them up unto vile affections:
for even their women did
change the natural use into
that which is against nature:

27 And likewise also the
men, leaving the natural use
of the woman, burned in
their lust one toward
another; men with men
working that which is
unseemly, and receiving in
themselves that recompence of their error
which was meet.

The New International
Version

26 Because of this, God
gave them over to shameful
lusts. Even their women
exchanged natural relations
for unnatural ones.

27 In the same way the men
also abandoned natural
relations with women and
were inflamed with lust for
one another. Men committed
indecent acts with other men,
and received in themselves
the due penalty for their perversion.

The Message

26 Worse followed.
Refusing to know God,
they soon didn’t know
how to be human
either—women didn’t
know how to be women,
men didn’t know how to
be men.

27 Sexually confused,
they abused and defiled
one another, women with
women, men with men—
all lust, no love. And
then they paid for it, oh,
how they paid for it—
emptied of God and love, godless and loveless
wretches.

This passage dealing with homosexuality is quite a bit more problematic for Peterson. In 1 Cor. 6:9-11, he had only to omit one word. Here, he has two entire verses with which to wrestle. What to do here? Well, Peterson provides a loophole: all lust, no love. The not-so-subtle insinuation is that ‘Well, if these people had just done this out of love, then it would have been ok.’ There is clearly in The Message room for a ‘committed, loving’ homosexual relationship. In Peterson’s rendering of the Bible, it is not the nature of homosexuality in and of itself that is the grievous sin, it is simply the absence of love.

1 Timothy 1:10

New American Standard
Bible : 1995 Update

10 and immoral men and
homosexuals and kidnappers
and liars and perjurers…

The King James
Version

10 For
whoremongers, for
them that defile
themselves with
mankind, for
menstealers, for
liars…

The New International
Version

10 for adulterers and
perverts, for slave
traders and liars and
perjurers…

The Message

10 but for the irresponsible, who
defy all authority, riding
roughshod over God, life, sex,
truth, whatever!

The Message again simply leaves out the reference to homosexuality and replaces it instead with the generic “sex.” Inexplicably, the NIV appears to do the same. There are 3 passages in the N.T. that deal with homosexuality and The Message utterly fails on all three.

Note: The Message does, in fairness, appear to be relatively on track in regards to Leviticus 18:22. This, though, does not excuse its abject failure in the N.T. Let’s be honest, how many people (teenagers especially) are realistically going to do devotional reading from Leviticus? They are far more likely to spend their time in the New Testament

Romans 8:35

New American
Standard Bible : 1995
Update

35 Who will separate us
from the love of Christ?
Will tribulation, or
distress, or persecution,
or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or
sword?

The King James
Version

35 Who shall separate
us from the love of
Christ? shall tribulation,
or distress, or
persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril,
or sword?

The New International
Version

35 Who shall separate
us from the love of
Christ? Shall trouble or
hardship or persecution
or famine or nakedness
or danger or sword?

The Message

35 Do you think anyone is going to
be able to drive a wedge between us
and Christ’s love for us? There is no
way! Not trouble, not hard times, not
hatred, not hunger, not
homelessness, not bullying threats,
not backstabbing, not even the
worst sins listed in Scripture:

This one really is troublesome. Notice that all of the elements which Paul rightly asserts will never separate us from Christ are very earthly and temporal (tribulation, persecution, famine, etc.). Paul is basically talking about hard times. Eugene Peterson brazenly inserts into the passage: not even the worst sins listed in Scripture. Wow. This should trouble any clear thinking believer. Sin IS what separates us from God! That is why we need a Savior! For the one who is lost, sin separates from God positionally. For the believer, sin separates from God relationally. Sin is not even remotely in view in this passage. This is heresy.

Conclusion:
Pick up a copy of The Message and you will see on its front cover “The Bible in Contemporary Language.” The Message is NOT the Bible. It is one man’s commentary on the Bible, and an extraordinarily poor one at that. Some object to criticism of Peterson’s work by saying The Message is not a literal translation but rather a paraphrase. True. But even paraphrases should be an accurate thought for thought rendering of the original biblical text. We are not talking here about a paraphrase of “Green Eggs and Ham.” We are talking about the Word of God. God holds His name and His word above all things (Psalm 138:2). His Word must be rendered and handled accurately. What we believe about God is derived from what we read in His Word. If one reads an erroneous Bible, then it logically follows that what one believes about God will also be in error.

The Message is, in large part, marketed toward teenagers, young adults, and young believers – the most impressionable among us. Youth ministers are reading this to their students and teaching from it. Many preachers are, sadly, quoting it in their sermons. Hopefully, much of this is being done in ignorance. The question must be asked, ‘Would Jesus Christ approve of this rendering of His word?’ Certainly any honest intellectual assessment would have to lead one to the answer of “no.” If Christ would not approve then certainly we must not either. In a concluding thought, it is not Mr. Peterson’s intentions or sincerity which is important. In fact, they are irrelevant entirely. Peterson may well be sincere. Sincerity, though, is not the issue – Truth is the issue. Misplaced sincerity is a profoundly dangerous commodity.

In Him and for His Truth

Most respectively submitted,

Justin Peters

Source : 

http://justinpeters.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=15&Itemid=26

DOWNLOAD THE FULL PDF :  The_Message[1] beware