Taste and see that the Lord is good; and before I share the below words of encouragement from Charles Spurgeon, which were in my morning devotions just today, there’s something I wish to say as a pastor. Years ago when Dr. Walter Martin was first rising up through the ranks in the early 60’s doing counter-cult evangelism he immediately found that the Lord had an even broader purpose for his ministry than he initially realized. Bottom line: Dr. Martin would eventually go on to become “The Bible Answer Man” in no small part because after his lectures on the cults he would spend much time answering people’s questions.

So you see, the Church didn’t need Rob Bell and the Emergent rebellion against Sola Scriptura to bring up that people have questions. Not surprisingly, this particular service to the Body of Christ by Martin created a bit of controversy. Finally, in his often ebullient way Martin stated: “Well, if people were getting the answers in their churches, there wouldn’t be a need for a ministry like mine.” And so it is with labors in the Lord  Apprising Ministries, and its sister outreach Christian Research Network. God knows that I never imagined doing this kind of discernment ministry and I sure didn’t ask for such a controversial, and thankless, task.

But echoing Dr. Martin, and as further encouragement to those in the discernment camp long before I ever came along, I say: If evangelical leaders weren’t so worried about protecting their businesses, oops, minstries, there wouldn’t even be a need for online discernment ministries. Let me also take this opportunity to publicly express my sincere thanks for the work these people have done, and are doing, to make necessary information i.e. provisions available for foot soldiers anonymously fighting “The Truth War,” which is every bit a spiritual Vietnam. Even so, my brothers and sisters, you just keep fighting on.

And before I share the words of C.H. Spurgeon, I will point out that I also find it rather odd that so many today, reveling in ignorance, um, *ahem* mystery—put so much such stock in Bible college and seminary degrees. Why; aren’t they the same ones who constantly tell us that we can’t understand what Scripture says anyway? So, why should they then disparage those who are not formerly trained? O, by the way, what ordination and degrees did “The Prince of Preachers” have? But unlike this man, powerful in Christ, today I’m seeing more and more evangelical “names” sucuumbing to relentless indoctrination not to make firm stands on Scripture.

Case in point: Emergent Church Theologian Tony Jones and his Unrepentant Homosexual Christians. Now maybe you get the idea why it is that the Lord is bypassing that kind of spiritual spinelessness and is instead e.g. using the foolishness of one such as I. Be that as it may, let this serve as my public appreciation for fellow soldiers who kindly opened doors for me and accepted me when I first came onto the Internet Front of this war back in 2005. Had they not been so willing to link my initial articles I know I would never have come this far. And may we also remember what Dr. Martin once said to the counter-cult ministries: We need to hang together; or, they’ll hang us separately:

Instruments in God’s Hands

And ye have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the LORD your God is he that hath fought for you. Behold, I have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the great sea westward. (Joshua 23:3-4)

A great many mistakes are made about the promises of God. Some think that if God is to be with them, they will have nothing to do. Joshua did not find it so. He and his troops had to slay every Amonite and Hittite and Hivite who fell in battle. He had to fight and use his sword-arm just as much as if there had been no God at all.

The best and the wisest thing in the world is to work as if it all depended upon you, and then trust in God, knowing it all depends upon Him. He will not fail us, but we are not therefore to fold our arms and sit still. He will not forsake us; but we are not therefore to go upstairs to bed and expect that our daily bread will drop into our mouths.

God does not pander to our laziness, and any man who expects to get on in this world with anything that is good without work is a fool. Throw your whole soul into the service of God; and then you will get God’s blessing if you are resting upon Him. Oliver Cromwell had a commonsense view of this truth too. “Trust in God,” said he as they went to battle, “but keep your powder dry.” And so must we. (At the Master’s Feet, December 4)

See also:

RICK WARREN ON HANNITY AND COLMES: HE ALMOST GOT IT!

TODD FRIEL: A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE ROB BELL SAYS PUBLICLY PRACTICING HOMOSEXUALITY IS OK FOR CHRISTIANS

THE CULT OF LIBERAL THEOLOGY ROTTEN ROOT OF THE POSTLIBERAL EMERGING CHURCH

CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY OF RICHARD FOSTER ROOTED IN THE EASTERN DESERT AND THOMAS MERTON

THE TERMINOLOGY TRAP OF “SPIRITUAL FORMATION”

QUAKER MYSTIC RICHARD FOSTER: CIRCUMNAVIGATE INCONSISTENCIES IN THE BIBLE