Pelagians

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The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women

As Spurgeon cried with deep insight: “Once a church or individual Christian gets on the downgrade, momentum takes over, recovery is unusual.” And there our modern church is found falling away in profound decadency with most churches having “ICHABOD” written on their doors.

The issue of Women Preachers is just one of the symptoms of this malaise of the church and so from all sides the word now used is “Post Christian Era”. But here we are dealing with this “cancer” of women preachers in the church. The Bible speaks too clearly on this subject for there to be any confusion. The problem is that churches too often are looking to sources other than the Bible for guidance; indeed they are fully steeped in the tenets of secularism. God loves women as much as He does men. Women are as important to the home, church, and society as men are. In Jesus Christ, women enjoy the same access to salvation and blessings before God as men do. This does not mean, though, there is no difference in men and women in their appearance and roles. There is a basic truth, which needs to be restated in the church and society today: Men and women are different and are not interchangeable! Continue reading →

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Usurping Women have been the originators of many false Charismatic movements !

One of the trademarks of Pentecostalism is that women usurp their God ordained place of submission in the church! Pentecostalism: The only religion often founded by women who usurp their place! Dominated by emotionalism!

Teaching or exercising authority over a man in the church. This includes pulpit preaching and administration.

1 Tim 2:12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. 13 For it was Adam who was first created, andthen Eve. 14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression. 15 But women shall be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.

Being a pastor/elder/overseer. 1 Tim 3 and Titus 1 explicitly identify that pastors MUST BE MEN.

1 Timothy 3:1 It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. 2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, uncontentious, free from the love of money. 4 He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity 5 (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?); 6 and not a new convert, lest he become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. 7 And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he may not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Notice that the prohibition against women teaching or exercising authority over men in the church is IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY THE CLEAR STATEMENT THAT ONLY MEN CAN BE OVERSEERS/PASTORS! One continuous text!

Miram ~ 1500 BC Continue reading →

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BRIAN MCLAREN CROSSED THE ROAD…

Matthew 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.

By Amy Spreeman

Post-modern liberalism in the Body of Christ is what gives the Emergent Church theology its wings. It helps you toss along the waves of uncertainty; question what God said is Truth.  A few weeks ago we reported the many ways in which the Church is emerging into a New kind of Spirituality, one that brings together people of all faiths.

Yesterday on 9-11, a brand new book was released by Brian McLaren: Why did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed cross the road?  Is it a bad joke? Here’s Brian McLaren’s punchline:

My answer to the question Why did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed cross the road is simply, this: To get to “the other.”

In other words, everything we know about Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammad, tells us that—if they were here today—they would be trying to lead us into an encounter with the other where, instead of killing one another, and hating one another, we would discover one another.

As all God’s children… Continue reading →

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How to Discern : Understanding the Bible (Part 2/6)

By Pastor Anton Bosch 

Understanding the Bible

Many people will agree that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God. The problem however is often how it is interpreted. How can we be sure that our understanding is the right one?

In discerning truth from error, we must begin by understanding Truth for ourselves. Many people try to discover the Truth by analyzing and dissecting error. You simply cannot do that. It is like someone trying to drive a car by looking only in the rearview mirror while trying to move forward. You cannot see where you are going by looking where others have gone wrong. So before we try to judge error or someone else’s doctrine, we need to be sure about what we believe. I agree, that many are prompted by the rise of some error to study truth. But, if you want to learn the truth on some matter, you will only learn it by studying the Bible, not by studying the mistakes of others. So what must I do to understand?

First I must ask God for wisdom. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). The same Spirit Who inspired the men to write the Bible (2Timothy 3:16, 2Peter 1:21), is available to help us understand what is written. The Bible is not an academic book which can be studied in an intellectual way only. Yes, the Bible is logically sound and intellectually deep, but it is primarily a spiritual book in which God speaks to His people. And His Spirit will lead, guide and counsel us so we may come “into all truth” (John 16:13). Studying the Bible is both an academic and spiritual exercise. Read it in a “spiritual” way without applying sound reasoning and you will not discover the Truth. But study it as academic literature without the Spirit’s help and you will most certainly end in error. Pray David’s prayer every time you approach the Word: “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (Psalm 119:18). Continue reading →

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How to Discern : How to Smell a Rat (Part 1 /6)

By Pastor Anton Bosch 

 How to Smell a Rat (Part 1 /6)

A toddler will eat anything. It does not matter if it is nutritious or poison, it has no ability to discern between food and poison.

As Christians mature in the faith they should learn to discern between spiritual poison and spiritual food. “But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14). The problem is that the vast majority of modern-day “Christians” are either not born again or have been kept in a perpetual state of babyhood and thus are unable to discern the difference between truth and error. Because of this, and because we have a new generation of church-goers who do not know the Bible, false teachers have multiplied and millions believe anything these preachers say.

Discriminating between truth and error is really not that difficult as long as we abide by a few basic principles. The first of these is that truth is absolute. I use the term “absolute” as the opposite of “relative”. For most people – Christian and non-Christian – truth is relative. We hear: Continue reading →

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Smith Wigglesworth and New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) Run…….

 

Smith Wigglesworth – The Facts Continue reading →

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On hearing God’s voice, the dangers of this way of thinking, and the sufficiency of Scripture

I have recently encountered some new Facebook friends who believe they must ‘hear the voice of God”.  But the way they claim to “hear the voice”   cannot be Biblical, it is  so sad how people think to be a Christian they must have some sort of experience or they must hear voices in their heads. As John MacArthur says : “The only trustworthy source of divine truth, guidance for your own spiritual growth, and instruction for the church is the written Word of God.  No emotional urging or mystical experience can trump the concrete, fundamental truth God has given us in Scripture.  Does God still speak?  Yes, but not in an audible voice.  He speaks through the pages of Scripture.”

I found this Biblical explanation below by  John MacArthur on hearing God’s voice, the dangers of this way of thinking, and the sufficiency of Scripture . It is my prayer that these friends will read the article that sets out the Biblical truth about this false teaching.

A Quote from a dear sisters website so4j :

Hearing Personal Words From God – is about The Problems with Hearing Personal Words From God, and How People Become False Prophets to Themselves.

Does God give NEW EXTRA BIBLICAL REVELATION to His people TODAY— speaking through MODERN DAY PROPHETS who give NEW WORDS from GOD? Answer: NO. The Canon of Scripture is Closed (Heb 1:1-2). In this Article Bob DeWaay talks about People who claim that they are Hearing Personal Words From God, when in reality they are actually becoming False Prophets to Themselves. Bob shows the reader how these Personal Words & Visions are NOT reliable— but God’s Word is 1000% Reliable. We need to be careful to NOT be deceived by Satan, and to NOT undermine God’s Word for our Personal Experiences & Special Revelations that we THINK are from God. (Heb 1:1-2) (End Quote)

This is worth a listen after reading the article below Does God Still Give Revelation? John MacArthur – Parts 1-6 

On hearing God’s voice, the dangers of this way of thinking, and the sufficiency of Scripture

by John MacArthur

I’m going to guess that you either think you’ve heard God’s voice, or you know someone who says that they have heard God speak to them.  This post, then, is for you and hopefully will help you filter through these ideas and/or experiences.  I’m going to quote John MacArthur in a letter that we received a few days ago from Grace to You.  Unless otherwise noted, all underlined emphases are John MacArthur’s, though I added the section headings. Continue reading →

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Biblically-Anemic Preaching: The Devastating Consequences of a Watered-Down Message

John MacArthur

2 Timothy 4:2

Those who are familiar with my ministry know that I am committed to expository preaching. It is my unshakable conviction that the proclamation of God’s Word should always be the heart and the focus of the church’s ministry (2 Tim. 4:2). And proper biblical preaching should be systematic, expositional, theological, and God-centered.

Such preaching is in short supply these days. There are plenty of gifted communicators in the modern evangelical movement, but today’s sermons tend to be short, shallow, topical homilies that massage people’s egos and focus on fairly insipid subjects like human relationships, “successful” living, emotional issues, and other practical but worldly—and not definitively biblical—themes. These messages are lightweight and without substance, cheap and synthetic, leaving little more than an ephemeral impression on the minds of the hearers. Continue reading →

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Calminianism, Armalvinism, or somewhere in the middle?

Thank you Amy and Mike for permission to place this interesting discussion and it is edifying indeed !!!

Faith, Podcast | February 14, 2012 by

Today we are talking about something a lot of us don’t discuss much: Calvinism and Arminianism. These are two very different schools of thought in Christian theology, and at times those who are firmly planted in one camp are at odds with those who are staunchly firm in the other. There seems to be Scripture supporting both. Continue reading →

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Religious Deception

Prof. Johan Malan, University of the North, South Africa

Abstract: The kingdom of darkness infiltrated the Christian church with a view to adulterating it by proclaiming a counterfeit Jesus, a counterfeit spirit and a counterfeit gospel.

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible except where otherwise indicated. Only very archaic terms have been substituted, between brackets, with correlating terms from the New King James Version (NKJV). All pronouns referring to the Godhead are capitalised. Edited by Bernard and Kathleen Reeves of London.

A solemn warning

Since the start of the Christian era, many churches have shown a fatal inability to distinguish between the truth of God’s inspired Word and misrepresentations of it: “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:6-8).

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Hyper-Calvinism: the perennial misnomer

GRANT SWART

In response to those who often refer to a group of people mistakenly labeled “hyper”-Calvinists, I felt it imperative to outline a few important distinctions between true Calvinist doctrine and what is referred to as “hyper”-Calvinism. If the 17 points I have listed below are those which supposedly distinguish and constitute “hyper”-Calvinism, then by that very implication, those points cannot also be what Calvinists believe. If those are the points which allegedly separate “hyper”-Calvinists from Calvinists, then those points cannot be ascribed to both sides, for then they would not be distinguishing points.

Nowhere in Calvin’s theology did he teach any of the 17 points which I list toward the end of this article, yet these points are perennially ascribed to those who agree with the doctrines of Grace. I might remind the reader here that TULIP was not Calvin’s invention, but was an acronym for the pronouncements of the Synod of Dort (1618) tasked with defending biblical doctrine, not Calvinism per se, against obvious destructive heresies of the time. Even so, it is clear that, when the doctrines as laid out in the five points of Calvinism or TULIP are understood, none of the distinguishing 17 points as I have listed below can be ascribed to TULIP. It is quite clear therefore that the term “hyper”-Calvinism is a misnomer and has no foundation in or relation to true Calvinism.

“Hyper”-Calvinism is a term which has been brandished as a whimsical weapon by those who Continue reading →

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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.

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Is Your Church a Spiritual Titanic?

By Dr Paul M Elliott

Part 12 of a series. Read part 11

In our current series we’ve been addressing these questions: “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?”

Presently we’re dealing with some of the un-Biblical responses that are common today. In this installment we focus on the untenable position of those who say that there is safety in remaining in a larger church or denomination despite its errors, rather than becoming part of the remnant that comes out and separates from apostasy. Today many Evangelical and Reformed church-goers believe it is safer to remain on a large but apostate sinking ship, rather than trust their lives to the safety of a small but sound Gospel lifeboat.1

The Safety of a Large But Sinking Ship?

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Confronting Apostasy: The Biblical Steps

By Dr Paul M Elliott

Part eight of a series. Read part seven.

You need to understand the Biblical steps in confronting apostasy — and how apostates’ allies and enablers may try to block, complicate, or circumvent the process.

We have now come to the fifth and final key to a Biblically loving response to apostasy: You need to understand the steps that God’s Word tells you to follow when you find apostasy in the church. We shall see that the Bible is very clear about this. There is no guesswork involved. God’s Word sets forth a clear process; it tells you exactly and precisely what to do.

Implementing Key 5: Three Vital Principles

Now before we consider the process itself, I believe it is important to emphasize three very important principles once again. We have discussed them before, but I want to stress them because they relate directly to this process.

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Free Will—A Slave


Delivered on Sabbath Morning, December 2, 1855, by the
REV. C. H. Spurgeon
At New Park Street Chapel, Southwark.

“And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”—John 5:40.

This is one of the great guns of the Arminians, mounted upon the top of their walls, and often discharged with terrible noise against the poor Christians called Calvinists. I intend to spike the gun this morning, or, rather, to turn it on the enemy, for it was never theirs; it was never cast at their foundry at all, but was intended to teach the very opposite doctrine to that which they assert. Usually, when the text is taken, the divisions are: First, that man has a will. Secondly, that he is entirely free. Thirdly, that men must make themselves willing to come to Christ, otherwise they will not be saved. Now, we shall have no such divisions; but we will endeavour to take a more calm look at the text; and not, because there happen to be the words “will,” or “will not” in it, run away with the conclusion that it teaches the doctrine of free-will. It has already been proved beyond all controversy that free-will is nonsense. Freedom cannot belong to will any more than ponderability can belong to electricity. They are altogether different things. Free agency we may believe in, but free-will is simply ridiculous. The will is well known by all to be directed by the understanding, to be moved by motives, to be guided by other parts of the soul, and to be a secondary thing. Philosophy and religion both discard at once the very thought of free-will; and I will go as far as Martin Luther, in that strong assertion of his, where he says, “If any man doth ascribe aught of salvation, even the very least, to the free-will of man, he knoweth nothing of grace, and he hath not learnt Jesus Christ aright.” It may seem a harsh sentiment; but he who in his soul believes that man does of his own free-will turn to God, cannot have been taught of God, for that is one of the first principles taught us when God begins with us, that we have neither will nor power, but that he gives both; that he is “Alpha and Omega” in the salvation of men.

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