
In using my gift as a teacher, given to me by the Holy Spirit, I take my responsibility to my Lord Jesus Christ seriously. I ask you to test what I write with scripture and what you sense the Holy Spirit is revealing to you. Man's word is fallible, but the Word of God is absolute truth. Never let anyone stray you from the most important truth:
Galatians 3: 1-3 1You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
I write this chapter in love. I write it out of the love I have for my
Savior, Jesus Christ, and for my fellow man.
It is a chapter of warning that comes from Jesus’own mouth.
Matthew 24: 3-4 3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" 4Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, and will deceive many.
I
was
inspired to write this chapter after reading two articles in the faith section
of local newspaper. Evidence that believers in America (and elsewhere)
are falling away from sound Biblical truth is evident in what is
happening in our culture and our society today.
We are becoming a nation that does not believe in absolute truth, but believe
truth is relative. We are setting our own rules and deciding for ourselves what
is moral and decent, instead of seeking God’s truth revealed in the
scriptures. We have false teachers
amongst us who are leading believers astray. Jesus warned us this would happen in the
later days. In fact, Jesus warned it would begin right away, beginning at
his resurrection, but be will be at its worst just before his return.
In
my study, research, and waiting on the Holy Spirit to give me truth found in the
parables taught by Jesus, and as I wrote, “I See Him!..I See Him!”
Jesus Speaks In Parables", I was astonished to find that Jesus was sounding the alarm
to guard yourself from false teachers who come to destroy you. Before you read
my commentary on the Parable of Mustard Seed and a Parable of the Leaven at the end of this chapter, I am going to show you how far believers in Jesus Christ are falling away from
scripture and absolute truth. I am
asking you as you read, to search your own heart and mind. Please look at yourself and reflect on: Is the enemy trying to deceiving you in any way?
Is there anyone or anything trying to pull you away from the absolute
truth found in the Word of God?
Please read (at least the highlighted words) in the articles below.
By ERIC GORSKI
AP Religion Writer
June 28, 2008 12:00 am
—
America remains a nation of
believers, but a new survey finds most
Americans don't feel their religion is the only way to eternal life -- even if
their faith tradition teaches otherwise.
The findings, revealed this month in
a survey of 35,000 adults, can
either be taken as a positive sign of growing religious tolerance, or disturbing evidence that Americans dismiss
or don't know fundamental teachings of their own faiths.
Among the more startling numbers in
the survey, conducted last year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life: 57 percent of evangelical church attenders
said they believe many religions can lead to eternal life, in conflict with
traditional evangelical teaching.
In all, 70 percent of Americans with a religious affiliation shared that view, and 68 percent said there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their own religion.
I must pause here and put in what God says about this.
"The survey shows religion in
America is, indeed, 3,000 miles wide and only three inches deep," said D.
Michael Lindsay, a Rice University sociologist of religion.
"There's a growing pluralistic
impulse toward tolerance and that is having theological consequences," he
said.
Earlier data from the Pew Forum's U.S.
Religious Landscape Survey, released in February, highlighted how often
Americans switch religious affiliation. The newly released material looks at
religious belief and practice as well as the impact of religion on society,
including how faith shapes political views.
The report argues that while
relatively few people -- 14 percent -- cite religious beliefs as the main
influence on their political thinking, religion still plays a powerful indirect
role.
The study confirmed some well-known political dynamics,
including divisions over abortion and gay marriage, with the more religiously
committed taking conservative views on the issues.
But it also showed support across
religious lines for greater governmental aid for the poor, even if it means
more debt and stricter environmental laws and regulations.
By many measures, Americans are strongly religious: 92
percent believe in God, 74 percent believe in life after death and 63 percent
say their respective scriptures are the word of God.
But deeper investigation found that
more than one in four Roman
Catholics, mainline Protestants and Orthodox Christians expressed some doubts about God's existence, as did six in ten
Jews.
Another finding almost defies
explanation: 21 percent of
self-identified atheists said they believe in God or a universal spirit,
with 8 percent "absolutely certain" of it.
"Look, this shows the limits of
a survey approach to religion," said Peter Berger, a theology and
sociology professor at Boston University. "What do people really mean when
they say that many religions lead to eternal life? It might mean they don't
believe their particular truth at all. Others might be saying, 'We believe a
truth but respect other people, and they are not necessarily going to
hell.'"
Luis Lugo, director of the Pew
Forum, said that more research is planned to answer those kinds of questions,
but that earlier, smaller surveys found similar results.
Nearly across the board, the majority of religious Americans
believe many religions can lead to eternal life: mainline Protestants (83 percent), members of historic black
Protestant churches (59 percent), Roman Catholics (79 percent), Jews (82
percent) and Muslims (56 percent).
By similar margins, people in those
faith groups believe in multiple interpretations of their own traditions'
teachings. Yet 44 percent of the religiously affiliated also said their
religion should preserve its traditional beliefs and practices.
"What most people are saying
is, 'Hey, we don't have a hammer-lock on God or salvation, and God's bigger
than us and we should respect that and respect other people,'" said the
Rev. Tom Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at
Georgetown University.
"Some people are like butterflies that go from flower
to flower, going from religion to religion -- and frankly they don't get that
deep into any of them," he said.
Beliefs about eternal life vary
greatly, even within a religious tradition.
Some Christians hold strongly to
Jesus' words as described in John 14:6:
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me." Others emphasize the wideness of God's grace.
The Catholic church teaches that the
"one church of Christ ... subsists in the Catholic Church" alone and
that Protestant churches, while defective, can be "instruments of
salvation."
Roger Oldham, a vice president with
the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, bristled at using
the word "tolerance" in the analysis.
"If by tolerance we mean we're
willing to engage or embrace a multitude of ways to salvation, that's no longer
evangelical belief," he said. "The word 'evangelical' has been
stretched so broadly, it's almost an elastic term."
Others welcomed the findings.
"It shows increased religious
security. People are comfortable with other traditions even if they're
different," said the Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith
Alliance. "It indicates a level of humility about religion that would be
of great benefit to everyone."
More than most groups, Catholics
break with their church, and not just on issues like abortion and
homosexuality. Only six in 10 Catholics
described God as "a person with whom people can have a relationship"
-- which the church teaches -- while three in 10 described God as an
"impersonal force."
"The statistics show, more than
anything else, that many who describe themselves as Catholics do not know or
understand the teachings of their church," said Denver Roman Catholic
Archbishop Charles Chaput. "Being Catholic means believing what the Catholic
church teaches. It is a communion of faith, not simply of ancestry and family
tradition. It also means that the church ought to work harder at evangelizing
its own members."
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.
Frankfort -- The Rev. Ian Lawton of the Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, will speak at a potluck supper and joint gathering of the Benzie County Unitarian/Universalist Congregation and Christ Community Church North, a branch of the Spring Lake church that meets in Frankfort.
The gathering will be at 6:30 p.m. July 9 at the home of (Name and address withheld).
Lawton, a student of Bishop John Shelby Spong, is a former Episcopal priest who grew up in Australia and began his progressive ministry there and in Auckland, New Zealand.
Acclaimed as one of the foremost leaders and scholars of Progressive Christianity, his sermons and lectures are now studied worldwide.
He will speak on "The Role of Progressive Religion in Today's World."
Whereas traditional Christianity focuses on beliefs, forgiveness of sin and
Divine judgment, Progressive
Christianity focuses on compassion, wisdom, inclusiveness and community.
Progressive theology also understands
religion as cultural, not revealed, and weaves scientific awareness of reality
into its understanding of the mystery many people call "God."
Those interested are invited to bring a dish to share and join the group that evening. For details or directions, call (name and phone number withheld).
|
Bishop Spong is a wolf in sheep clothing. Look what you have to deny in order to follow his false teachings What
is this New Progressive Theology? Episcopalian
Bishop John S. Spong is the prominent spokesperson for the theological approach
of the “Progressive Christian” movement.
In fact, one workshop leader called Spong “the Martin Luther King of
Progressive Christianity.” What
does Bishop Spong believe? Where is
he striving to lead the “Progressive Christian” movement? In a
watershed 1998 article posted on the Internet and published in several
magazines, Bishop Spong calls for a new reformation for the church.
“The very heart and soul of Christianity will be the content of this
reformation.” Spong sees the need
for this reformation in a dying mainline church.
“Between these two poles of mindless fundamentalism and empty
secularism are found the mainline churches of Christendom, both Catholic and
Protestant. They are declining numerically, seem lost theologically, are
concerned more about unity than truth, and are wondering why boredom is what
people experience inside church walls. The renewal of Christianity will not come
from fundamentalism, secularism or the irrelevant mainline tradition.” “My
sense is that history has come to a point where only one thing will save this
venerable faith tradition at this critical time in Christian history, and that
is a new Reformation far more radical than Christianity has ever before known
and that this Reformation must deal with the very substance of that faith. This
Reformation will recognize that the pre-modern concepts in which Christianity
has traditionally been carried will never again speak to the post-modern world
we now inhabit. This Reformation will be about the very life and death of
Christianity. Because it goes to the heart of how Christianity is to be
understood, it will dwarf in intensity the Reformation of the 16th century. It
will not be concerned about authority, ecclesiastical polity, valid ordinations
and valid sacraments. It will be rather a Reformation that will examine the very
nature of the Christian faith itself. It will ask whether or not this ancient
religious system can be refocused and re-articulated so as to continue living in
this increasingly non-religious world.” What
will this new reformation look like? Spong
sets forth twelve “theses” or statements of belief describing his position.
However, they are mostly about what he denies, rather than about what he
affirms. These twelve theses are
very instructive on how the “Progressive Christian” movement would like to
dismantle traditional Christian doctrine and theology. “1.
Theism, as a way of defining God, is dead. So most theological God-talk is today
meaningless. A new way to speak of God must be found. 2.
Since God can no longer be conceived in theistic terms, it becomes nonsensical
to seek to understand Jesus as the incarnation of the theistic deity. So the
Christology of the ages is bankrupt. 3.
The biblical story of the perfect and finished creation from which human beings
fell into sin is pre-Darwinian mythology and post-Darwinian nonsense. 4.
The virgin birth, understood as literal biology, makes Christ's divinity, as
traditionally understood, impossible. 5.
The miracle stories of the New Testament can no longer be interpreted in a
post-Newtonian world as supernatural events performed by an incarnate deity. 6.
The view of the cross as the sacrifice for the sins of the world is a barbarian
idea based on primitive concepts of God and must be dismissed. 7.
Resurrection is an action of God. Jesus was raised into the meaning of God. It
therefore cannot be a physical resuscitation occurring inside human history. 8.
The story of the Ascension assumed a three-tiered universe and is therefore not
capable of being translated into the concepts of a post-Copernican space age. 9.
There is no external, objective, revealed standard writ in scripture or on
tablets of stone that will govern our ethical behavior for all time. 10.
Prayer cannot be a request made to a theistic deity to act in human history in a
particular way. 11.
The hope for life after death must be separated forever from the behavior
control mentality of reward and punishment. The Church must abandon, therefore,
its reliance on guilt as a motivator of behavior. 12.
All human beings bear God's image and must be respected for what each person is.
Therefore, no external description of one's being, whether based on race,
ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, can properly be used as the basis for
either rejection or discrimination.” The
first eleven statements deny some aspect of Christian faith.
Only the twelfth is a positive statement, namely the inclusion of all
persons, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation.
Thus, it is no accident that “inclusiveness” or “fighting
exclusion” becomes the rallying cry of the progressive movement.
It is really the only faith statement that all progressives can agree to!
The
rest of progressive spirituality degenerates into personal experience alone
(even when experienced corporately with others) because no one can articulate or
explain another person’s experience of God.
Experience thus becomes primary, able to supersede Scripture, tradition,
reason, and even the Book of Discipline. If
“Progressive Christianity” denies the transcendence of God, original sin,
the deity of Christ, the virgin birth, Christ’s atoning death on the cross,
his bodily resurrection and ascension, miracles, prayer, and the authority of
Scripture, one must ask what of “Christianity” is left?
Indeed, “Progressive Christianity” is not Christianity at all.
They may acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, but in stripping
out all orthodox teachings about Jesus Christ, they make that statement
meaningless. It is certainly not
the biblical Jesus whom they acknowledge. They
see no need for salvation. And they
do not acknowledge his authority, only the autonomy of personal experience. “Progressive Christianity” is certainly not new. In fact, most of Spong’s criticisms of orthodox Christianity are rooted in 19th century deconstructionist ideas. Indeed, a 1998 statement by 50 Episcopalian bishops notes, “The ‘challenges’ he proposes are not new. They have been argued - and well refuted - in nearly every age since the Resurrection of our Lord. Indeed, they are challenges with which most thinking believers have had to wrestle before making a mature commitment to the Christian Faith.” |
Excerpt from Ken's latest book, "I See Him! I See Him! Jesus Speaks in Parables"
Parable of the Mustard Seed and a
Parable of the Leaven
Chapter 4
We are now going to study the next two “Kingdom
Parables”. Please note: the last five
parables found in Matthew we will study, Jesus offers no explanation at all
about what their true meanings are.
Also, the apostles themselves never even ask what their meanings are as
they did the first two parables we already have discussed. The next five parables are not what they
seem. We need all of scripture to
see what Jesus was teaching in these parables.
We will need the Holy Spirit to guide and teach us. We must try to think, in the way the
apostle’s Jewish minds would have been trained in—Eastern Civilization and
culture.
Matthew 13: 31-32 –A Parable (#3): The Mustard
Seed
Also found in: Mark 4: 30-32 and Luke 13: 18-19
31Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom
of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and
sowed in his field:
32Which
indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the
greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds (Remember the birds from the parable of the Sower.) of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
The verses above when you read them sound so wonderful and
beautiful, but things are not what they seem.
Scripture is using symbolism to describe how God planted this tiniest
and least of all seeds (the humble beginning of his kingdom) into the
world and it grows to become the greatest by growing up to be a tree (the
gospel message of Jesus Christ).
Normally, the mustard plant never grows to the size of a tree, but is
best described as a bush. It generally grows to a height of about three
feet. However; by a miracle this
particular plant is so great; it becomes a tree that the birds want to lodge
in its branches. Jesus Christ and
his message is what the birds want to lodge in. We know from the first two parables we already studied, the
seed is God’s word. The kingdom of God
had humble beginnings. As the word grew
to others, so did God’s Kingdom (the kingdom of God today is huge!). It seems the parable is saying it is the
believers of Jesus Christ that are the birds who want to lodge in his
tree. Beware—it is not!
How
can we know this? One way we can know who these birds are is from rereading the
first parable we studied. The word for
“birds” is the same word used in the Parable of the Sower found in Matthew
13: 4, and later Jesus himself explains in verse 19 of the
same chapter the birds represent the evil one (Satan).
Matthew 13: 4 4As he was scattering
the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
Matthew 13: 19 19When any one
heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then
cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his
heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
In the first parable, the birds who ate up the seed were
ministers of Satan. They are demons that
are doing the bidding of their master.
They want to keep us from the truth found in scripture. They are evil and seek our destruction. There are many false doctrines that have
attached itself to the true teachings of Jesus Christ and the Bible. They are the birds who want to lead us
astray from the truth. I am being
bold here and tell you the truth—any doctrine that denies the sound canon of
Jesus Christ is false. If anyone uses a book or books for
doctrine other than the Bible—It is false.
We should test all thought and what people say by what is written in the
Bible. I pray you are testing what I
write with the word of God. You do not have to accept what I see as the gospel
truth. I do give you this promise, I
will never steer you away from the saving blood of Jesus Christ. The death of Jesus on the cross, and then
his resurrection three days later, is the most important event that
ever happened in the history of the world.
I love the Lord so much for what he has done.
In this parable, Jesus was prophesizing that
false teaching would happen right up and until his Second Coming.
Revelation 18: 2 2And
he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is
fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every
foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Watch
out for the birds in God’s field (Satan,
his demons, false teachers, false doctrines, etc.). The evil one is using many
deceptions to keep us from the truth. We
have many deceptive teachings today. Bad
seed is teaching such things as (1) All roads lead to heaven, (2) political
correctness and tolerance run a muck, (3)
there is heaven but there is no hell, (4) man is calling what God calls evil...good and
what God calls good...evil, (5) creation never happened, (6) Noah’s flood and other stories found
in the Bible never happened, (7) Jesus did not die on the cross, but it was
someone else who took his place, (8) Jesus survived the cross, married Mary
Magdalene, moved to France, and had children and his heirs are in the world
today, and (9) many, many more we could all think of. This is only the tip of
the iceberg of the lies Satan has planted into this world. We must make sure
the Holy Spirit and the Bible is our guide.
We must get involved in a Bible believing church where the true word of
God is taught. We must test all thought
with scripture so we will not be deceived and be pulled away from the saving
grace and gospel of Jesus Christ. This
is the lesson being taught us by Jesus in the parable of the Mustard Seed.
Beware and take heed of his warning.
Matthew 13: 33 –A Parable (#4): The Yeast
Also found in: Luke 13: 20-21
33Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven
is like unto leaven (Leaven is
yeast. It is what causes dough to puff up.), which a woman took, and hid in three measures of
meal, till the whole was leavened.
This parable is only one verse long. All looks well, but it is not. One could interpret what this parable is
saying is that because the yeast is working through the entire dough; Jesus is
telling us that just as leaven works all through the dough, the word of God
will spread until the entire world knows Jesus Christ. This is not what Jesus is telling us using
this parble. It is again warning us
as the other parables we already have studied that false doctrine will
invade and pollute the true gospel of Jesus Christ until his Second
coming. In the end times, it will be
so bad that the church will be totally corrupted so that no one will be
speaking God’s truth.
In
the bible, leaven is always a symbol for sin. During the feast of Unleavened Bread (a feast
first given to the Jews by God to keep described in Leviticus chapter 23),
the Jews are to purge all leaven from their homes. Leaven is yeast. It is what allows bread to puff up. In the same way sin allows man to puff
himself up and to become prideful. The
sin of pride is probably where Satan deceives most of us. It causes us to have a big fall. God warns us of leaven—It is the sin
in our lives. Jesus himself warned us
against the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees:
Matthew 16: 6 6Then
Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the
Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
And the leaven of Herod:
Mark 8: 15 15And he charged
them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of
the leaven of Herod.
Look at the scripture
below:
1 Corinthians 5:
6-8 6Your glorying is not
good. Know ye not that a little leaven
leaveneth the whole lump?
Leaven is never good in the Bible. It will invade and corrupt the whole
person. False doctrine will invade and
corrupt the whole body of believers.
This is happening in our churches today, but it began to happen long
ago. Satan from the beginning of time
has done many things to try and corrupt the word of God with false
doctrine. Read the Old Testament and see
how he lead astray the chosen people so that they starting worshiping false
gods. Satan did not stop there. Do not be unwise that he is not doing the
same to us, we who are living in the time of the New Testament teachings. Satan is working hard to prevent the truth to
being understood in the time we live in—the “Age of Grace”. Look what the apostle Paul says next:
7Purge
out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are
unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
The apostle Paul is saying to us right now to
purge all sin from our lives, and become a new lump of dough—one that is
unleavened (without sin). How can we who
are sinners do this? Read on:
8Therefore
let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of
malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and
truth.
The
unleavened bread is Jesus Christ. He is the only person who never sinned. Jesus never had leaven in him. Neither has the word of God. All truth is found in the
scriptures. Do not let anyone or
anything pull you away from the truth that is in Jesus Christ. The Cross and by the resurrection of Jesus is
how we become unleavened. By accepting
Jesus and the sacrifice he did for us at the cross, God now separates the sin
that is in our old self from the new person (see verse 7 above) we have
become in Christ. He now looks only at
the new person and it is as if we have never sinned. It is by God’s grace only and not by our
works that we are saved. This is the gospel
message of Jesus Christ. He died on the
cross for all sinners. If you believe in
him—you will be saved.
John 3: 15-16 15That whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have
eternal life.
16For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
In the book of
Revelation, it speaks of the false prophetess who is going to bear false
witness and beguiles people to believe false doctrine and sin in God’s eyes:
Revelation 2: 20 20Notwithstanding I have a few
things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which
calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to
commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
It is going to get very bad in the last days before Christ’s return. Just as in Matthew chapter 24 when Jesus gives us signs of when the time will be right for his return, the Kingdom Parables are doing the same. It is not a pretty sight. The Bible is God’s gift to man, showing his love for his creation, but it is also a book of warnings. God desperately wants us to take heed to what he says, and to come to repentance. You do this by receiving the seed he has planted. He planted that seed in the ground for three days, and then it burst forth and sprung up a great tree. The “tree of Life” is Jesus Christ and he can be yours for the asking. If you do not know him personally as yet, please turn to the last chapter in my book now to be grafted into his kingdom.
Revelation 22: 13-15 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
14"Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
God loves you and so do I!