Emergent Church

I am not real familiar with Doug Pagitt but I assume he is a popular emergent church practitioner. I think the the Way OF The Master crew Todd, Kirk, Ray, and others are pretty effective in presenting the true Gospel of Christ apart from the law. I do not necessarily agree on the heavy emphasis on what they call "The Moral Law" which is a unbiblical term. I would recommend you read "Tablets of Stone and the History of Redemption" by John Reisinger, God Bless in Christ.

Mormons Refuted

After doing a little research I discovered this man who was refuting the Mormons may be one of those people who claim to be a "Black Israelite." Of course that is insidious but I still thought I would post this because what he was saying in this clip was definitely accurate- God bless in Christ

Did Moses Marry a Black Woman?

My brother in the Lord Saiko sent me this article by John Piper titled,
"Did Moses Marry a Black Woman?"

I thought it was a interesting article-God Bless in Christ

Another Reformed Brother in Kansas City!!!

Sermon here .

This sermon is from a brother(Damon Horton) here in Kansas City, Missouri. He is the same age as me(27) and a pastor. He just finished Bible college and is currently attending seminary. He is very solid. Listen now-God bless

Tony Evans

Dr. Tony Evans is well respected amongst evangelical circles and has been one of the few black somewhat solid teachers that we can be somewhat proud of his accomplishments and Biblical faithfulness. He has some wonderful accomplishments. I honestly had never heard of him until I began to attend Bible college in the fall of 2006. While attending our teacher asked us to read a book called "Free At Last." It was an elementary book to say the least but Evans spoke out somewhat harshly about the Word of Faith/Prosperity Gospel movement. So I decided to dig a little deeper to see what he was about. Found out he was the first African-American to graduate with a doctoral degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. (By the way I don't get into "The first black man this" and "The first black man that"-It is really is not important but just an interesting fact.) With this mans background you would assume that he understands basic Biblical Hermeneutics without a shadow of a doubt. Lionel sent me this daily word that Evans issues out to email recipients and to our amazement we found this quote by Evans...

Evans says, "Did you know that many problems people face are linked to choices their parents, grandparents and even “great-grandpa” made? This may be a new way of thinking for you, and it is certainly not about placing blame. Yet we need to know God´s truth about generational curses and how to live free of their bondages.A generational curse is passed down from one generation to another due to rebellion against God. If your family line is marked by divorce, incest, poverty, anger or other ungodly patterns, you’re most likely under a generational curse. The Bible says that these curses are tied to choices.Deuteronomy 30:19 says we can either choose life and blessing or death and cursing.
Freedom comes when we confess the ungodly patterns, ask God for forgiveness and then walk in obedience by consistently choosing His ways.

Wait a minute...this would be the proper time for me to be improper and say.. NO HE DIDN"T!!
Dr. Tony Evans didn't say that! Please wake me if I am dreaming.. OK enough sarcasm.

Lionel wrote about his HERE. So I would like to come at this from a different angle. Let me preface this and say that I am saddened by this; in which this might seem like a small minor slip up that Evans has done but this is not just a slip of the pen. This has been a consistent habitual behavior that Evans has been rehearsing(for lack of a better term). Subtle to some but obvious to others. We know that typically when the cash flow starts coming in and you have thousands of members-people begin to change. They become more compromising and less Sola Scriptora.

September 10-12, 2006. Tony Evans spoke at New Birth, the pastor here is Word of Faith Expositor Eddie Long. Along with Eddie were Creflo Dollar, Bishop Gary Hawkins, Dr. Robert Schuller, and Dr. I.V. Hillard. We are told by Apostle Paul in Eph 5:11 not to have fellowship(sygkoinōneō) with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove [them]. You may say that me using this scripture is a harsh description but I think it is accurate. Look at some of the key words to describe these people in Ephesians 5-foolish talking, jesting, covetous, and idolater. This is a much deserved description of the prosperity preachers of our day.

Furthermore Tony Evans was the man who coined a phrase known as "transdispensationalism" in the book he wrote called, "Totally Saved." Here is the answer John MacArthur gives to a question regarding this issue....

"At the end of the book, there is a chapter in which the question comes up about people who have never heard the gospel. And, in that section, Tony writes that people who never hear the gospel, if they will accept whatever light they have, God will acknowledge that as sufficient for their salvation. That, in itself, is a—that is a departure from historic Christian gospel. We would say that if someone lives up to the light they have, then the Lord, who is not limited in His capacity to deliver the truth, will bring the full light—and that no one could ever be saved apart from Christ.
"And that’s essentially the argument of this book, that in the world, there are going to be people who never hear the gospel, and they are not going to reject the light they have. They’re going to accept the light they have, and God will count that as sufficient to save them. "

***There was a radio interview that followed that book that’s available. You can get the transcript of that radio interview, in which the host was interviewing Tony Evans and said to him, “You’re saying, if a Hindu looks up and says, ‘I know you’re up there somewhere. I don’t know who you are, but I’d really like to know you,’ God will count that as sufficient as salvation?” And the answer to that was “Yes.” ***

Transdispensationalism is somewhat hard to define but it seems to be an off shoot of universalism. It is so sad when these people start to go this direction. It hurts because this is not salvific-meaning I don't know if Tony Evans is saved or ever was, or he may be saved-i don't know. What I do know is a lot of these somewhat solid teachers or preachers we know end up going down this slippery slope and we know it only gets worse. Lionel Woods did a good job referencing the New Testament evidences that discredits any possibility of a believer in Christ being bogged down with any generational curses. So I encourage you to read his argument and also let us glance at Ezekiel chapter 18.


1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge? 3 As I live, declares the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. 4 Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die. 5 If a man is righteous and does what is just and right 6 if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife or approach a woman in her time of menstrual impurity, 7 does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, 8 does not lend at interest or take any profit, withholds his hand from injustice, executes true justice between man and man, 9 walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; he shall surely live, declares the Lord God.
10 If he fathers a son who is violent, a shedder of blood, who does any of these things 11 (though he himself did none of these things), who even eats upon the mountains, defiles his neighbor's wife, 12 oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination, 13 lends at interest, and takes profit; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself. 14 Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise: 15 he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife, 16 does not oppress anyone, exacts no pledge, commits no robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, 17 withholds his hand from iniquity, takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules, and walks in my statutes; he shall not die for his father's iniquity; he shall surely live. 18 As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, behold, he shall die for his iniquity. 19 Yet you say, Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father? When the son has done what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live. 20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
21 But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 22 None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. 23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? 24 But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die. 25 Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not just. Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? 26 When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. 27 Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. 28 Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, The way of the Lord is not just. O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?
30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.

We are called to Biblical faithfulness-Sola Scriptora. Therefore even if John MacArthur, John Piper,or who else ever goes astray,(God forbid) we stay faithful to God first and man second. We stick with the Lord at all cost. We don't make excuses because someone is our favorite teacher. We cannot compromise the truth of the scriptures for anyone. Regardless of your theology, we all agree that what Evans has done is eisegesis and continues to go down the slope. Let us pray for men like him, for we know not what the Lord has in store for him. Sola Christus.

Knowing Christ

I had the wonderful opportunity to witness to a co-worker today. He was a young man, 21 years of age. He like many have the idea that people should not go to church unless they are living "right" and then find a local church to attend so that they will not be "hypocrites."

My first question was how do you define a hypocrite? The definition is as follows:

1. a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.
2. a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, esp. one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements.

3. an actor, stage player

I told the young man picture yourself as a dirty dish after a thanksgiving meal. Let us say that you are the plate that a 300 pound man used to eat his wonderful thanksgiving meal on. Without a doubt you are considerably dirty as you can imagine. You, the dish say, " I am going to wait until I get myself cleaned up before I put myself in the water. This is and of itself is a mere impossibility since you are just a mere dish and have nothing in and of yourself or any means to do any type cleaning. You are helpless. The water in the in the dishwasher or sink is the only way or means to be thoroughly cleaned. Needless to say you will need some divine intervention, correct. I had to take him through the analogy once more before he got it. But it was clear.

I was not speaking particularly about salvation here but this is the purpose of the Body of Christ and a true Biblical church. Furthermore this is what the Word of God does. It changes us through the work of the Holy Spirit and with more knowledge we understand even more clearly that God's only acceptable sacrifice is His Son-Jesus the Christ-Our Deliverer. From here the young man began to say, "there are so many bad churches altogether so I just stopped going" From here I used an analogy of a close friend of mine and said, "When you get food poisoning do you stop eating or do you look for other good food."

Bad experiences are not excuses that we use to stay away from God standard and do what He has commanded us to do. I informed him the his bad experiences do not mean that there are not good churches out there.

After hearing of his experiences I thought of the book of 1 John and many other passages. This young man had never seen(to his knowledge) and example of true Christianity. He had never seen people who live what they say and have changed hearts to the point where they earnestly turn from sin once they learn of it and try to obey the revealed Word of God the Bible. If we love Him we obey what he has commanded in every avenue of our life. This does not mean we do not sin. 1 John makes that clear, but we do not have a lifestyle of habitual sin. Meaning we do not know of sin in our life and continue to do it contrary to what we know in scripture and our conscience. If we do the truth is that God's grace is sufficient for all sins but we have to examine our self to see if we are really in the Faith. I say this simply because the demons know God exist and even people reference in Hebrews 6 and 10 have an intellectual knowledge of Him but truly do not know him.

John's Purpose in this letter is clear here in 1 John 1:4

1 John 1:4
And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

1Jo 1:6
If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

1 John 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

1Jo 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Jhn 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Jhn 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

1Jo 3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

1Jo 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

1Jo 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

1Jo 4:6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

1 John 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

1Jo 5:18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.

Mat 7:21
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

The Greek word here in Matthew is the same one used in 1John. We understand that knowing Him is much more than just knowing about Him. Demons know about Christ and many people know about Him but do not know Him in the intimate way that the scriptures talk about. We understand that truly knowing Him is linked to obedience and obeying what He has commanded in the revealed will of God-The Bible.

ginōskō

1) to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel
a) to become known
2) to know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of
a) to understand
b) to know
3) Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man and a woman
4) to become acquainted with, to know

I ask you to examine yourself. Time out for some silly un-biblical altar call, and really wrestle with the reality that our time here on Earth is simply a vapor-here one day and gone the next. What do you desire most? What makes you happy or angry? Is Christ working in you to bring about His glory? Does you attitude and your worldview hang upon God's Word? How are you loving your neighbor, wife, husband, or co-worker? These questions need to be asked and use scripture to check yourself-In Christ.

Once Saved Always Saved?

Pastor Saiko Woods in Texas regularly witnesses. The Gospel for him and for all Christians consumes our everything. It is like a deadly(heavenly)virus that not kills but gives life. He is a Black and Reformed Pastor who is very solid. Here is his response to a Arminian pastor. It is lengthy but worth the read.

Saiko's response to the arminian theology.

The Bible supports the doctrine of Eternal Security because it is based solely upon the finished work of Christ’s atonement on the cross for those who believe. Those who fall away, are unrepentant, or refuse to accept Christ’s free offer of salvation give evidence that their salvation was never genuine to begin with. In other words, they NEVER were saved (1 Jn. 2:19)! To say that a true Christian can lose his/her salvation contradicts, conflicts, & compromises the following (3) things that God has done for the truly repentant believer:


It nullifies the Electing purpose of God in salvation

Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be  holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in  the Beloved (Eph. 1:4-6; emphasis mine).

The Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit makes this declarative statement concerning our position in Christ. If our salvation were on the basis of what we would do, then it would be according to works and not God’s electing grace (Eph. 2:8-9). If keeping ourselves saved were true, then that would contradict Paul’s teaching in Phil. 1:6; 2:13.

It nullifies Christ’s redeeming work on the cross for His elect

“I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep (Jn. 10:14-15; emphasis mine).


It nullifies the securing work of the Holy Spirit to God’s elect

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory (Eph. 1:13-14).

Paul uses the Greek word (sphragizo- pronounced “spra-gid-zo”) and it is used in the passive voice meaning that the recipient receives the action. In other words, the Holy Spirit sealed (protected, pledged, secured) those who God chose to save unto salvation. We [believers] had absolutely nothing to do with our salvation. God is the active cause in salvation; we are the passive recipients of His saving grace. Salvation is totally sola-gratia (by grace alone).

In your letter, you ask the following question:

“However, the questions remain, “Can we walk away from salvation?” Or, can we reject the salvation that we once embraced?” Clearly, the previous verses indicate that nothing external can place our eternal security in jeopardy, but what about an internal choice to reject Christ? What does the Bible say”?

No truly born-again believer will ever walk away from Christ in a saving relationship with Him. Why? Because the love of Christ constrains (i.e. to hold) us (2 Cor. 5:14). To reject a salvation that you once embraced is not biblical salvation and is foreign to the teaching of Jesus and the apostles (Jn. 10:28-30; 1 Pt. 1:5). As far as an “internal” choice to reject Christ in the life of a true born-again believer, I will refer to the scripture that you quoted from the Apostle Paul when he said,

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:38-39; emphasis mine).”

“What about the individual who sincerely accepts Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, but then subsequently chooses to reject a relationship with Jesus, wanting nothing to do with Him, or His salvation”?

No one who is truly saved will ever reject the lordship of Christ in his/her life. It is utterly impossible (1 Jn. 2:19). There are varying views concerning the interpretation of Hebrews in chapters 6:4-6 &10:26-27. However, most scholars who interpret the Bible based on the principles of hermeneutics would strongly agree that both passages do not teach that a Christian can lose his/her salvation (Heb. 3:1, 12; 6:9).

“The Bible teaches that only those who “receive” Him are privileged with eternal life (see John 1:11-12). There is nothing in the Bible to indicate that God EVER takes away our free will, especially in regard to salvation. The picture of God forcing someone into heaven against their will is terribly inconsistent with scripture”.
The Apostle John gives his readers the reason why those who receive Christ are born again in the 13th verse of John.
….who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (emphasis mine).

Jesus makes this pride-destroying statement in the 6th chapter of John.

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him…. (Jn. 6:44; emphasis mine).

The word “draw” is the Greek word (helkuo) which means to drag or to induce to come. The word is in the active voice meaning that God is the one who brings or “draws” those He desires to save to Himself. Those who come to Christ is because of the Father’s drawing them to the Son, and His drawing is irresistible (Jn. 6:37).

Also Scripture is abundantly clear that no one chooses to come to Christ (Rom. 3:10-12) because they are dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1-2). The only way a person can accept Christ is that God must first regenerate the sinner making him able to respond in saving faith to the gospel of Christ (Eph. 2:4-5). To say that man who is spiritually dead is able to “choose” Christ out of his own “free-will” is totally inconsistent to the doctrine of the depravity of man (Rom. 8:5-8) and robs God of His glory.

In closing, based on the reading of your letter it seems to me that the teaching that you hold regarding Christians losing their salvation is based on man and not the power of God that needs serious attention and consideration (1 Pet. 1:5). If salvation were up to me to keep it, I know that I would have lost it the moment I had it. Also man’s will will always consistent with his nature (Gen. 6:5; Psalm 14:2-3).