Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)

The Emerging  Evangelical Cave-In On Scripture

Keep watch here at Apprising Ministries as I’m going to be returning to this theme, but for our purposes in this particular work we note the absolute truth that it is God the Holy Spirit Himself Who tells us something of critical importance about Jesus Christ of Nazareth through the Apostle Paul, who happens to be His chosen human vessel – God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is [Yahweh–the] Lord. By this statement Paul is without question attributing Deity–Godhood–to Christ here.

Let me remind you once again of what the Bible says about this critical issue of how mankind is to be saved from our sins from the historic text in the book of Acts. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved – Acts 4:12. And just 2 verses before that we are told that this “Name” being discussed here is none other than Jesus Christ of Nazareth. As I’ve pointed out before that’s why you so often see me say here Jesus of Nazareth when I mention our Lord and Savior. This is precisely to distinguish the actual Jesus of history from all the other impostors who appear in the modern-day myths which will be increasing as this apostasy explodes.

What needs to be fully understood here is that the time in which we now live is already witnessing the post evangelical Emerging Church, which is the reimagined cult of neo-liberal theology, openly deny the inerrancy and absolute final authority of the Bible. But I tell you in the Lord that through Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism you will also see the evangelical section of our Lord’s Church cave-in on biblical inerrancy as well. Be forewarned, the nanosecond that this has happened within any of the many mainline denominations killed by liberal theology, the Lord has immediately removed its Lampstand and the inevitable decay set in. This corrupt spiritual bowel movement of the postmodern Emergent Church, the step-sister to modernism, will be the Devil’s champion to accomplish this goal. I tell you in the Lord that men like Brian McLaren (who are heretics) will be successful in convincing other men like Dan Kimball (who are at best compromised neo-evangelicals) to reject what Scripture plainly says on more and more doctrinal issues.

And truthfully, I couldn’t care less anymore that I am being branded an extremist because it is far better to be shot down in flames than to quietly sit by and watch our Lord’s Church defiled by pathetic weak-kneed compromisers like Purpose Driven Pope Rick Warren and Rob Bell and Joel Osteen. We need to understand that a man like Dan Kimball is a pastor and a leader within the Emergent Church, which can at best be called a schismatic new evangelical movement. The Emergent Church relies heavily on Gnostic mysticism in its “alternative” approach to the historic orthodox Christian faith that it purports to be a part of and is beginning to emerge as a full-fledged cult. As Lighthouse Trails Research Project points out the Emergent Church advocates and encourages very dangerous forms of pagan worship practices such as – “labyrinths, icons, incense, chanting, candles, centering, [yoga] and contemplative prayer… Without contemplative spirituality, the emerging church would be nothing more than couches and candles.” (Online source)

Further in his book The Emerging Church pastor Dan Kimball himself says:

We have neglected so many of the disciplines of the historical church [Desert Fathers], including weekly fasting, practicing the silence, and lectio divina. Emerging generations, in their search for proven, ancient, authentic forms of connection with God, are very much attracted to these ancient disciplines and historical spiritual rituals (223)

However, the real danger with a compromiser like Kimball is this: If we are neo-orthodox (at best) and are aligning ourselves with blatant heretics like Brian McLaren: 1) It casts a very bad light on your own relationship with Christ to begin with. (see–2 Corinthians 6:14-18) and 2) This lends credibility to these false teachers at best, and without a doubt lures undiscerning sheep away from Christ and into this heretical movement at worst. Either way Dan Kimball strikes out; and in the love of His Savior I urge him to skip that next Brian Setzer concert and to instead prayerfully spend the night in silent contemplation as he meditates on James 3:1.

Read The Signs Of The Times

In the time in which we live we need to read the darkening red sky this morning and hear Christ’s call to His remnant that we need to immediately disassociate ourselves–maybe as never before in the history of the Church–from anything that is not pure Biblical Christianity. For the words of 1 Peter 4:16-19 are beginning to be fulfilled right now:

However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

Beloved, as much as we don’t like to do it–and we will be branded unloving and harsh by the tepid alleged followers of Jesus today–we must now begin to publicly name the names of these false teachers and new evangelicals of the emerging neo-liberal cult of the Emergent Church as we warn people to have nothing to do with them: 

Now as you can see from the definition, with its leaders like Brian McLaren who are denying the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible, the Emerging Church movement has already emerged to cult status and mark my words they will tolerate within it those who would deny that Jesus of Nazareth is God Himself manifested in a human body. Those who believe anything other than what the text of the Bible clearly teaches about Christ Jesus as the Creator God in human form have placed themselves outside of the Body of Christ, whether they wish to call themselves “Christ followers” or “followers of Jesus” or not. No matter how many of their voices are lifted profanely, if Dr. Martin were alive today, he most certainly would be speaking out against the cult of the Emergent Church.

And when someone denies Who our Lord actually is, this in turn places them clearly outside of any chance to have a saving relationship to the actual historic Person Christ Jesus of Nazareth (see–John 8:24). Do you see how this works? For example we are not being mean when we speak of the Jehovah’s Witnesses or the Mormons using the term non-Christian cult. In fact it’s quite the contrary, in love by addressing the issue for what it is, we can then begin learning how to bring them to faith in the real Jesus. Remember that Scripture says – For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the One you received, or a different gospel from the One you accepted, you put up with it easily enough – 2 Corinthians 11:4. It is from the first part of that verse – For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached that we see there is such a thing as another Jesus.

Now it will be helpful in this vapid generation of emerging inclusivism and tolerance to arrive at a definition as to what a “Christian” is. Just what is it that makes one a Christian? A Christian according to the Bible is someone who answers the call of God the Father has been born again through God the Holy Spirit by God’s grace alone; through faith alone; in the historic Person Jesus Christ of Nazareth–God the Son–Who died for his sins. The book of Romans chapters 5 and 8 explain this in great detail. A Christian is a “disciple,” which just means “student.” Incidentally Dr. Luke–the first Church historian and companion of the Apostle Paul–records for us that – The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch (Acts 11:26).

A Christian disciple, as a follower of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ of Nazareth, is part of the Body of Christ also known collectively as “the Church.” The Greek word from which we get our word “church” is ekklesia. This word itself is taken from two other Greek words, one of which means “assemble,” and the other “a calling out.” In the original Koine Greek ekklesia means “those who are called out to assemble.” So the universal “Church” is not a centralized organization–such as the apostate Church of Rome–or a building at all, but rather it is made up of all the regenerated people who have answered God’s call to come out from the world to obey the Lord and assemble to worship Him. Where they assemble to worship Him is irrelevant as Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:20 – For where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them.

The historic orthodox Christian Church, and by the way the word orthodox here means “correct beliefs,” has several cardinal–or essential–teachings that we cannot compromise under any circumstance. As always when dealing with human beings all of us have a fallen sinful nature so there is some debate on the more minor issues. However, on these essential doctrines the historic Christian Church has been agreed from the very beginning. Dr. Martin–whom I mentioned previously–wrote a book on this very subject which I highly recommend called Essential Christianity. In it he covers those Cardinal doctrines in detail using language that is quite easy to understand.

To Be A Christian Is To Believe What Christians Believe

Another time we’ll look in detail at these important and non-negotiable beliefs held by the universal (Greek katholikos) Church which was founded by Jesus of Nazareth, but the issue right now is that if one’s belief system or world-view does not conform to those doctrines he is not a Christian. It is at this point where people will often say: “How can you say that; a person has a right to believe whatever he wants to!” Let me say categorically that I agree. However, this is to miss the point of what we Christians are saying. Let me illustrate; suppose I claim to believe in democracy but I define it in the following manner: I believe democracy means that no one has any say in the laws of the country, or who gets elected to govern it except the most powerful leader who can seize total control of the country by force. And then, this person has the right to make the inhabitants of that country do whatever he commands them to do; and furthermore he has the sovereign right to use military force to enforce his laws and to crush any opposition.

As any reasonable person can see I have not described a democracy at all, but rather a military dictatorship. And how do we know? We know because words must mean what standard dictionaries and encyclopedias have defined them to mean–in context–or we have lost any ability to communicate. It’s no different when it comes to discussing what a Christian is and what Christianity teaches. If someone claims to be a Christian but does not believe the same things Christians believe–the classic doctrines held by the historic orthodox Christian Church for nearly two thousand years–then this person simply is not a member of the Christian faith whether they call themselves a follower of Jesus or not.

This person would be no more a Christian than someone who would claim to be a basketball player and then use a baseball bat to smash the ball into the stands whenever it is passed to him. Basketball rules do not allow baseball bats to be used on the court. Man, the NBA is crazy enough already; just imagine how scary Shaquille O’Neill would be with a bat! And so one simply cannot be a Christian without believing in the Jesus of the Bible and without believing what the Master and His Apostles taught. No true Christian would try and stop a person from believing whatever they wanted to; within reason of course, but a person who professes to be a Christian must indeed believe what Christians believe or be obliged to call themselves something else. This is the only point being made here.

You see the eternally mistaken idea today is that love doesn’t confront wrong. And this is an especially false idea when it comes to wrong views about God. In fact in the Gospels we see Jesus of Nazareth would regularly confront false religious leaders who insisted on flaunting their own “traditions” over what He taught them. You may recall this would eventually cost the Master His very life. O, but then there was His glorious Resurrection from the dead! Stop and think about it; Christ Jesus our Lord made these religious hypocrites so angry that they had Him nailed to a cross and left Him to die. And in the case of the cult of neo-liberal theology, which is the Emergent Church, the question becomes: Are you going to make your stand?

see also:

BRIAN MCLAREN: THE EMERGENT CULT LEADER

ROB BELL AND HIS EMERGENT CULT

Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene.

Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” (2 Timothy 2:14-19) 

From time to time I have been talking about the various views concerning Who Jesus of Nazareth really is and in doing so I’ll sometimes refer to “non-Christian cults.” Cult comes to us from the Latin word cultus and simply means “group.” It’s taken on a kind of sinister meaning after Jonestown and Waco, but all the word cult itself really means is a group of people. The classic definition of the term non-Christian cult was given by the late Dr. Walter Martin, a pioneer in this mission field, who defined a non-Christian cult as a group of people claiming to be Christians–gathered around a specific person–or group of people’s interpretation of the Bible. The group then denies Cardinal doctrines of the historic orthodox Christian faith, and most notably the full Deity of Christ.