Apprising Ministries was among those who covered Warrengate, which began because John Piper suffered a lapse in judgment by inviting Rick Warren to be a keynote speaker at the Desiring God Conference 2010.

Unfortunately, it would get even worse when Dr. Piper decided to defend his decision:

At root I think [Rick Warren] is theological and doctrinal and sound. (source)

You can hear this for yourself below as Piper would even go on the record via video concerning Rick Warren. ((Beginning at 3:05 into video.))  Sadly, it serves to reveal Piper’s lack of understanding re. the unbiblical man-centered methods of Warren:

[mejsvideo src=”https://www.apprising.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/PiperOnWarren.mov” width=640 height=360]

Previously I’ve shown you, e.g. in Rick Warren And Teachings Of Demons, that the pope of Purpose Drivenism had issued the following PDL bull ((http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03052b.htm, accessed 12/16/13.)) pontificating his view of the long apostate Roman Catholic Church (RCC).

The below originally appeared in a 2005 report on Rick Warren by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It’s crystal clear in what you’ll read that Warren does consider the RCC to be a viable member of the Body of Christ.

In contradistinction to the Lord’s Protestant Reformers PDL pope Warren  would emphatically declare:

“Now I don’t agree with everything in everybody’s denomination, including my own. I don’t agree with everything that [Roman] Catholics do or Pentecostals do, but what binds us together is so much stronger than what divides us,” he said.

“I really do feel that these people are brothers and sisters in God’s family. I am looking to build bridges with the Orthodox Church, looking to build bridges with the [Roman] Catholic Church,… (source, emphasis mine)

As I mentioned a while back in Southern Baptists Assist The Roman Catholic Church To Infiltrate Evangelicalism, no one’s arguing here that there are not individual Roman Catholics who have been saved.

The point is that these find the Gospel in spite of what the RCC teaches. Out of one side of his mouth Rick Warren affirms the RCC as a Christian church; yet out of the other, he tells us he believes the five solas of the reformation:

Theologically, I am a monergist and firmly hold to the five solas of the Reformation. (source)

But what needs to be understood here is that these five solas, ((http://bit.ly/1gyxNKJ, accessed 12/16/13.)) particularly sola gratia and sola fide, separate Christians from the RCC. No, Rick Warren is not to be considered as doctrinal and sound a la John Piper.

Rather, Warren should be avoided because he’s actually among those who are causing divisions and creating obstacles within the Christian community:

17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. (Romans 16:17-18)

The truth is, Dr. Michael Horton is dead-on-target when he brings out the chameleon-like appearance, i.e. double-mindedness (cf. James 1:8), which Warren so often exhibits:

Pastor Warren tailors his appeals to his audience.  To Calvinists, he stresses his support for the “solas” of the Reformation.  Yet he tells prosperity evangelist David Yonggi Cho, “I’ve read your books on Vision and Dreams – speak to pastors about how you hear the voice of the Holy Spirit?…What advice would you give to a brand new minister?…Do you think American churches should be more open to the prayer for miracles?” (“Breakfast With David Yonggi Cho And Rick Warren,” Pastors.com).

In a June 2006 article in JewishJournal.com, editor-in-chief Rob Eshman reported on a speech that Warren gave for Synagogue 3000, after Rabbi Ron Wolfson became involved in the Purpose-Driven pastoral training seminars. “Warren managed to speak for the entire evening without once mentioning Jesus — a testament to his savvy message-tailoring.”

When USA Today asked him why Mormon and Jewish leaders are involved in his pastoral training programs, Rick Warren reportedly said, “I’m not going to get into a debate over the non-essentials.  I won’t try to change other denominations.  Why be divisive?” (USA Today, July 21, 2003).  Rick Warren endorses a host of books, from New Age authors to Emergent writers to conservative evangelicals.  So why not include Calvinists?… (source)

Christian apologist Bob DeWaay is the author of Redefining Christianity: Understanding the Purpose Driven Life Movement; one of the best refutations of Rick Warren’s synergistic people-pleasing pragmatism I’ve seen.

Let me also remind you that DeWaay has personally met with Rick Warren and confronted him face to face about his apostasy. Later Bob DeWaay would speak about what he called the “file cabinet orthodoxy” of Rick Warren.

DeWaay explains that this is an “orthodoxy” where:

You stick it in a file cabinet, and someone questions you about it, you pull it and show [it to] them. Then you put it back in there; but it really doesn’t influence what you do, how you write, how you preach, how you speak. And it’s not very useful orthodoxy.

It’s against this backdrop I’ll now point out that the other day at Baptist Press (BP) we read about Rick Warren’s greater fear: God’s disapproval. Warren would also have the article posted at his Pastors.com website as well. ((http://pastors.com/rick-warrens-greater-fear-gods-disapproval/, accessed 12/17/13.))

BP assistant editor Erin Roach informs us:

Pastor Rick Warren spoke a line to CNN’s Piers Morgan that has resonated with people who, like him, have tried repeatedly to explain why they won’t change their stance to support same-sex marriage.

“I fear the disapproval of God more than I fear your disapproval or the disapproval of society,” Warren, of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., told the host of “Piers Morgan Live.” Warren appeared on the show amid a media blitz for his new book “The Daniel Plan”… (source)

Now, I personally can’t help but wonder: Does Rick Warren really feel that God approves of his attempts to reverse the Reformation? For you see, a key question at this point is: Has The Roman Catholic Church Really Changed?

Follow the official RCC sources I cite within that article and you’ll see that the answer is: No. It’s dogma concerning the Gospel remains the same as it was in Luther’s day because of Rome’s doctrine of papal infallibility.

Warren is then further quoted by Roach as saying:

I don’t get to change what God says is right and what God says is wrong. (source)

For our purposes here we’ll leave aside the condemnation of God’s Gospel by the RCC. ((e.g. see THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH HASN’T CHANGED ITS CONDEMNATION OF THE GOSPEL.)) Instead, let’s focus upon how the Lord has told us in n no uncertain terms that not all people are in fact children of God:

 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12)

This is what God has said is right; and common sense will tell you that if you need the right (Gr. exousia, “right, power, authority”) to become something—in this case a child of God—then you were not that thing before.

Further, God has informed us non-Christian religions do not worship Him — what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God (1 Corinthians 10:20). Note the Lord told us such as these actually worship demons.

It should be obvious that God doesn’t want His regenerated children referring to pagans who worship demons as brother, or sister. Now, no one credible is arguing that we shouldn’t be kind to them, etc. (cf. Matthew 19:19).

The fact is, we need to lovingly bring them the genuine Gospel of Jesus Christ, not offer them the false hope that somehow they are a child of God because of some social gospel of good deeds. Remember, it is written:

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 

8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you,let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:6-9) 

That is what God has said is right. Yet inspite of all of this, below you’ll hear Rick Warren—whom we saw John Piper insist is actually doctrinal and sound—refer to a practicing Muslim as his “Islamic brother from Italy.”

We realize that likely Warren refers to this follower of Islam as brother in the Adamic sense; i.e. in the family of human beings. However, in today’s time of timid tolerance, that’s not the way most non-believers hear it.

So, we have another example of Rick Warren creating an unnecessary obstacle in the way of someone possibly coming to saving faith in Jesus Christ and beginning a real relationship with the one true and living God:

[mejsvideo src=”https://www.apprising.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/WarrenIslamic.mp4″ width=640 height=360]

Further reading

• RICK WARREN AND HIS BROTHER, “HIS EMINENCE” TIMOTHY CARDINAL DOLAN ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK
• AL MOHLER AND SBTS EXECUTIVE TEAM VISIT RICK WARREN
• MARK DRISCOLL LOVES RICK WARREN AND SO DO MANY OTHERS