But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.

Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. (2 Peter 2:1-3)

Once Upon A Time, In A Place Far Away, Proper Doctrine Used To Matter To The Church

This apostasy continues to grow; the spiritual blindness becomes darker, and mainstream evangelicalism has largely rejected Sola Scriptura in favor of Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism and for spiritual adultery with the egregiously ecumenical Emerging Church aka Emergent Church—morphing into Emergence Christianity (EC). And so we’ve now reached the exact same place in the visible church as that once encountered by Charles Haddon Spurgeon with the encroaching liberals in the Baptist Union of his day.

What seems to be largely forgotten today within the Christian church is the command that the pastor-teacher must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it (Titus 1:9). Unfortunately, right now far too many evangelical pastors are not willing to refute those who oppose sound doctrine; and have instead, become more like Peter in Mark 8:33 where our Lord ended up having to rebuke him — “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

In fact the following comment from respected evangelical scholar Dr. D.A. Carson in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary will prove enlightening to those who have ears to hear:

Jesus’ words to Peter were not only very severe, they were deliberately spoken in the presence of the other disciples (”Jesus turned and looked at his disciples”). They probably shared Peter’s views and needed the rebuke, too. The severity of the rebuke arises from Jesus’ recognition in Peter’s attempt to dissuade him from going to the Cross the same temptation he had experienced from Satan at the outset of his ministry. Satan offered him the option of using the world’s means of accomplishing his mission (cf. Matt 4:8-10).

On that occasion Jesus rebuked him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: `Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’” (Matt 4:10). Here, too, Jesus recognized the satanic opposition in Peter. “‘Get behind me, Satan!’ he said. `You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.’” Peter was opposing the divine will. He had in mind a popular messiahship. That was the way the world thought; it was not how God had planned Jesus’ ministry and mission (Matthew, CD Rom, emphasis added).

So you see, it’s not as if we haven’t had the chance to listen to the Spirit’s subtle warnings not to think like men and then try to preach the Gospel the way men think it should be preached in this biblically foreign mission field of fading postmodern America. For those who have eyes to see, it’s really right there in the text of Scripture, and even our own biblical scholars have said it—though apparently they haven’t realized that God the Holy Spirit is using them to speak. Or is it only with bored indifference and a false humility that we pray: “Lord use me as Your vessel.”

And I do wish the reader to know I fully understand that there are many who ignore my warnings—as well as those of other online apologetics and discernment ministries—considering us some kind of warped “ODMs.” But, at the same time, I offer that it might not be wise to so easily dismiss what some of us are saying. O, without a doubt, the accepted way of writing today is to do a kind of “plus-minus” assessment of a given subject; but I wonder have we really actually considered this from the Lord’s perspective, or could it rather be, simply the things of men in secular academia?

Suppose I were to write an article about cancer. Would I really need to elaborate on some of the more “positive” aspects of this terminal disease; like how it can suddenly metastasize, and just how completely dead it kills a body? As a pastor-teacher the Bible tells me there are times where I have to — command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer (see—1 Timothy 1:3-7), and I am also not afraid to speak the truth from God’s perspective — “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters” (Matthew 12:30).

The truth is clear, conveniently and comfortably the evangelical community has now assimilated itself into the pragmatic business methods of the world ala Rick Warren on the one hand, and on the other its embracing Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism, which has led to a wider acceptance of the quasi-Christian stories they have made up e.g. Rob Bell. Do you really not know that when when we are shown from the Bible these things are not in line with what God Himself would have us do, the only other ultimate source left is that of Satan himself.

In other words, these variant levels of compromised, aberrant, and/or heretical doctrines ultimately originate from the same rotten root. They come from the same serpentine source and then seducing spirits manipulate men until their doctrines of demons merge onto the broad way, and they—and all who foolishly follow them—will eventually arrive at the same eternal destination. Laugh if you will, but no matter how much we’d like to try and convince ourselves that God will just sort it all out in the end, the absolute fact remains that Jesus has left us here as His ambassadors (see—2 Corinthians 5:20).

Our Lord has said unambiguously — “As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you” (John 20:21). Clearly then,  just as it was also once a part of His job, the Master has now entrusted us to warn people who are in sin—and particularly those claiming to be within the Body of Christ—to leave that practice immediately. Sin means “to miss the mark” of Christ; and when we do miss this mark, it’s God’s Name which is sullied, and it is His Church that is mocked. Just take a look below at the garbage this pseudo-Christian EC is dragging into the visible church today.

1 Thessalonians 2:4 instructs ministers of the Gospel that, irrespective of prevailing opinions, and regardless of whatever culture into which our Lord sends us — we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God. Well the come has come to realize this isn’t a drill; to be a pastor-teacher is not a game, and some of the saddest words in the Bible are — Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me (2 Timothy 4:9). And how it breaks our Lord’s heart today that there are far more Demas’ in the church right now than there are Pauls.

See also:

DECONSTRUCTING THE GOSPEL-LESS GOSPEL OF ROB BELL

IF YOU TRULY LOVE “JESUS” THERE ARE NO BOUNDARIES FOR THE “CHRIST-FOLLOWERS”

CHRISTIANITY 21: EMERGING VOICES OF A PSEUDO-CHRISTIAN FAITH

THE NEW CHRISTIANS WITH CHRISTIANITY WORTH BELIEVING—NO SOLA SCRIPTURA: YES, WOMEN PASTORS AND QUEER CHRISTIANS

QUEERMERGENT AND NOW ADULTERMERGENT!?

YOU LOVE JESUS; GOOD FOR YOU, BUT WHICH ONE?

HOMOPRESSIVE AS JAY BAKKER