I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. (2 Peter 3:2-3)

A New Kind Of Imaginary Friend

As you share your faith in Jesus Christ, or sadly even as you testify of it to many professing Christians today, you will often run into a very common argument. This is especially true for those you talk to who are part of The Ecumenical Church Of Deceit (ECoD). They have become so conditioned by watered down man-centered teaching that the vast majority of them do not see a firm stand on Biblical issues as being Christ-like. The fantasy Jesus they have been conditioned to accept is basically their buddy who is really there to meet all their purposes and all their “felt needs.” Unfortunately this new kind of “imaginary friend” of theirs is struggling right now in trying to figure out just how he’s going to get his rather antiquated message of unconditional love through to this highly intellectual postmodern culture.

Well now, you must understand that this people’s thinking has reached such an advanced state that they have become quite certain no one can ever really know anything for certain. Um, I guess…except they are absolutely sure that no one can ever know anything for sure. Once you understand this you’ll have a better handle as to why it has become increasingly difficult to find “common ground” with these purpose driven followers of Jesus as they speak their words of faith to you. Now we have an added wave of mystic ignorance pouring over these sheep without shepherds in the Contemplative Spirituality movement. This is ancient Gnostic mysticism in a kindler, gentler form through transcendental meditation for the Christian. O yes, there will be immediate protests emerging as we say this, but for those of us who have studied this Contemplative/Centering Prayer recognize it for what it is, mind-emptying meditation.

What you might not have known is that those who practice transcendental meditation over prolonged periods of time do experience altered states of consciousness (transcending conscious reality) as well as changes in the way their brain functions. God created us as propositional beings with a reasoning process with which to communicate ideas. This sets us apart from the animal kingdom, provides additional proof that man didn’t evolve from that kingdom, and most importantly gives us the capacity to comprehend our Creator God’s revelation of Himself in the Bible. The only way that Satan could erect his imaginary Jesus as the emerging friend of felt needs in his sinner-centered ECoD is to get people to shut down their reasoning process. And what these geniuses of contemplative spirituality lost track of is that God Himself can, does, and will send delusions to “scatter” those who try and climb this spiritual tower of Babel to attempt “union” with Him as you will see below (also see–1 Kings 22:20-23; 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12).

The Wrong Kind Of Unity

Do you not remember the historic account of the original Tower of Babel? Why do you think this information was preserved in the text of Holy Scripture by God the Holy Spirit? The LORD God Almighty tells us:

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”

And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth. (Genesis 11:1-9, ESV)

There is much that can be said here, but the focus of this short work is using the text of the Bible as you teach someone else what God is trying to convey to us. So, let me point out that in the above passage of Scripture one can make a strong case against the type of “unity” the ECoD is currently attempting. This would be the false idea of bringing all peoples of all religions together into one big Global Family through the practice of contemplative spirituality. You see, this kind of thing has already been tried and it was God Himself Who scattered them from there over all the earth. And the absolute Truth is the Lord is not looking for that kind of unity even in this Age of Grace as can be quite easily evidenced by 1 Corinthians 11:18-19 – For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you (KJV).

Proof-texting With Our Lord

You see there are supposed to be differences among people who claim to know Christ in order that God will rest His favor upon those who really do know Him. O but now the Emergent will accuse me of using the proof-text method of teaching which is so frowned upon today within the ECoD. And there’s little wonder why it is; as the Biblical text has a nasty way of refuting all their pet doctrines. If you are a Christian the question you must ask yourself regarding using a proof-text, or specific passages and verses of the Bible when you make your point in teaching is: Did the Master Teacher Jesus Christ of Nazareth Himself ever use this method? The answer is an emphatic yes. We see this in our Lord’s slicing the Devil up with the Sword of the Spirit in Matthew 4. In response to Satan’s temptation to “tell these stones to become bread” in verse 4 – Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Our Lord’s use of Scripture here is where the historic orthodox Christian Church first got the idea of using what has become known as the proof-text method. I’m not so much interested here in dispassionate scholarly analysis as I am in showing you from the Bible this is a completely valid way to teach about God. As you share a verse or two of Scripture that refutes their mere postmodern speculations the misguided mystics of “Christian” agnosticism in the ECoD will usually say: “Well now, you have to remember that in context this passage was written to thus and so. And we also need to keep in mind proper hermeneutics, epistemology and etymology here as well.” As if those of us in Christ’s Church have never encountered such impressive words. Hermeneutics is simply the science of interpreting texts–in this case the Bible–epistemology has to do with how we come to know something while etymology deals with the origins of words themselves.

Let me exegete (bring out) our example here from Christ Jesus of Nazareth, Who is only the LORD God Himself in human flesh as to how He handled the Hebrew Scriptures–our Old Testament–in this instance. Now I’m guessing the Creator would have a pretty good idea of what He’d like His followers to know about handling the Word of God since it just so happens that it is actually His Word as well. This would mean that when Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 as the LORD God then we would have to assume our Lord is using the perfect hermeneutic and epistemological approach. So here is verse 3 in its entirety – He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. You will probably notice here that the Master only quotes the tail end of this verse to Satan in Matthew 4:4.

Now suppose our Lord was being taught by the brilliant scholars of today’s ECoD they would feel they need to correct His misunderstanding here. First they would tell Him that this passage of Scripture was written to the nation of Israel concerning their complaining about and testing God which would lead to forty years of learning humility in the desert and has nothing whatever to do with Satan himself. Even worse, as they would likely further point out, is the fact that Christ only quotes the part of the verse which seems to make His point. “Remember now Jesus, context, context, context there our Lord.” I hope you can see how foolish this sounds, and this is precisely my point. Oddly enough what has been forgotten in all contemplative mysticism of this purpose driven anthropocentric (centered on man) “theology” which has come emerging into new evangelicalism is the spiritual side of the Christian faith:

We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” (1 Corinthians 2:12-16)

Use The Mind Of Christ

So dear Christian, you needn’t let these arrogant Emergent Christian agnostics deter you from using God’s Word and using the mind of Christ our Lord was given you. The New Testament is full of the proof-text method as evidenced by God the Holy Spirit moving His chosen vessels to use parts of Old Testament verses in ways that people of that time period would not likely have understood them. For example we look at Romans 1:17 – For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” The Apostle Paul is talking about wanting to come to Rome to preach the Gospel. Suddenly he appeals to the Word of God as the authority to back what he is about to say in the same way our Lord did in Matthew 4:4. Paul writes – just as it is written: [written where: the Old Testament] “The righteous will live by faith.” This phrase is actually found as the b part of Habakkuk 2:4 – but the righteous will live by his faith.

However, it is beyond question that many “scholars” missed God’s emphasis of justification by faith within the contextual flow of that passage when they were reading it prior to Christ’s arrival on the planet. It’s also obvious that even in this Age of Grace with the Holy Spirit already come the teaching Magisterium of the apostate Church of Rome didn’t–and still doesn’t for that matter–grasp the correct understanding of the b part of verse 4 which seems to almost “pop” out of nowhere in that passage of Habakkuk. Here it is with the surrounding verses:

For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. “See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright—but the righteous will live by his faith—indeed, wine betrays him; he is arrogant and never at rest. Because he is as greedy as the grave and like death is never satisfied, he gathers to himself all the nations and takes captive all the peoples (Habakkuk 2:3-5).

What I am trying to bring out is that there were obviously things Christ Jesus expected people to have understood from the Old Testament, and which they surely didn’t (e.g. His mission, see–Luke 24:13-35). We see numerous places in the Gospel accounts where Jesus expresses His frustration with spiritually obtuse people that He expected to understand what was already written in the Hebrew Scriptures. Then as we move into the Church age God the Holy Spirit “enlightened” His chosen vessels to place passages of the Old Testament into the light of the New Testament text that we might more easily understand what the Lord had already said. I will also offer my opinion that there are still things in the New Testament today that we don’t yet fully understand as well, though I do not claim to know exactly what they may be. I only share this as a reminder for us not to be so bold as to think we have God’s Word completely figured out. And even this is somewhat an enigma to many of the scholars of Emergent agnosticism within the ECoD so confused in their postmodern “cloud of unknowing” who keep trying to tell us about the so-called sacred mysteries of the Divine. Please…

The truth is that men who have the Biblical position such as I express are not claiming to have it all figured out at all. We are simply trying to tell these mystified people that the Bible is more than clear enough on what we currently need to know to be saved, and it is plenty clear enough concerning what the true mission of the Body of Christ is as well. What has happened is that too many Christians have become intellectually lazy while hiding behind the ol’ chestnut: “God said it; I believe it; That settles it.” Undoubtedly this is true, although whether someone believes what God has said is actually irrelevant. But one of the reasons that the Devil could raise up his daughter the ECoD to do her Mother’s bidding in Rome is that he sold Christians on the idea that all we have to do is just quote Scripture and then leave the rest to God. He convinced people that we need not engage in argument and debate as we share the Word of God with people. However, the Scriptures say otherwise – Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:15).

Did you catch that; not only are we to quote the Scripture, it is clear that we are also to give a reason why we believe it. Without a doubt it will be God Himself Who must grant the person you speak with understanding, however this does not alleviate the Christian from his job of standing his ground and using the Sword of the Spirit in combat. Anyone who doesn’t believe we are also to prayerfully use logical argumentation at times in our witness need only read the Book of Romans where the Apostle Paul does a masterful job in the Holy Spirit of laying out a legal dissertation concerning the Christian faith. Paul was also inspired by God the Holy Spirit to write half the New Testament and it is obvious he was a well-read man with a formidable intellect. The Apostle however, was just wise enough to humble himself and let the Lord use whatever skills He had given Paul to use in a given situation. Just as the Lord Jesus Himself did before Paul ever came on the scene.

Which Spirit Do You Hear?

I’ve taught on this before elsewhere so let me just remind you that the Master Himself was known to “argue” with people regarding the absolute Truth about God and His Word. Those who opposed Him stood no chance of course but that never stopped them from trying. As we close let us consider this event from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 12:

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these” (verses 28-31).

You’ll notice here in this incident preserved for us by God the Holy Spirit in the text of Holy Scripture that Jesus was arguing publicly with people who opposed Him in what He was teaching. From this example we know the Master Himself didn’t simply quote a Scripture and leave the rest to God. Obviously the teacher of the Law heard them debating, which by definition is to exchange ideas back and forth in the hope of swaying someone else’s opinion. If you then follow this passage through you will see that our Lord’s arguing with someone in this open forum led to a private encounter with this teacher who most likely went on to follow Jesus. Now if even the Master Himself had to study and learn, and Luke 2:42 shows us that He was found – sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, then so must you and I. The more we are willing to prayerfully study and learn the more knowledge God the Holy Spirit will have to work with in us as we testify for Christ. Liken it to placing more arrows in your quiver with which to shoot from the bow of your witness while God ultimately guides their flight.

Which brings us back around to the passage from 1 Corinthians 2 that I quoted earlier, and specifically verses 12 and 13 – We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. For the obedient Christian we can expect that the Holy Spirit will empower our witness, He will speak through us not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit [which is to say God]. But this does not negate the command of 2 Timothy 2:15 –Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (KJV). Nor does it free us from having to come into conflict with false teachers such as the Judaizers that –brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them (Acts 15:2). I do pray this might also help some of you better understand the polemic I have been using re. the contemplative spirituality of the Emergent ECoD.

And while we’re at it, why don’t we meditate once again on verse 14 of the passage in 1 Corinthians 2 – The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. I find this verse is actually rather compelling in this discussion. For you know, if we will just contemplate further upon the fact that apparently all these modern Gnostic mystics in The Ecumenical Church Of Deceit with all their impressive contemplative spirituality just can’t seem to understand what the Spirit of God is saying in the Scriptures He wrote. Because they will tell us, and even as we follow our Lord’s perfect example, that our Biblical positions, which are spiritually discerned, sound more and more like foolishness to them. So I can’t help but wonder; just whose spirit are these so-called “Christian” mystics actually coming into union with in the mind-numbing, brain-altering, transcendence of their silence and solitude?