Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:21-23)

The Emerging Purpose Driven Spiritual Circus Of Faithless Words

If ever a period existed when the above command from God the Holy Spirit should be of the utmost concern for Christians, it would certainly have to be these spiritually tumultuous times in which we are now living. The Bible clearly warns – Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20, KJV). Men and women, welcome to today’s American Christian Church! We need only consider the ignominious example of the video promoting the 2006 Purpose Driven Worship Conference reported on at Slice of Laodicea here and here. And even more amazingly the apologetic for this grievious work from a “pastor Rod” here.

These more recent counterfeit Christian movements such as the Purpose Driven Church for the self-centered adult set and the Emergent Church for the younger postmodern rebel crowd are now finding more and more common ground with the WWF-like spiritual circus that is the Word Faith Church. And it is this combined Ecumenical Church of Deceit (ECoD) which is now gaining amazing acceptance within rapidly apostatizing evangelicalism. In fact, so strong is this ECoD becoming through its core practice of contemplative spirituality (transcendental meditation for the spiritually obtuse Christian) that it has all but reversed and obliterated the Protestant Reformation itself!

A Rapidly Accelerating Apostasy

I’m afraid that if you are not able to see this apostasy as it comes sweeping through American evangelicalism as a spiritual wildfire then you had better beg God to open your eyes for you surely are suffering from spiritual blindness. Our opening text admonishes the Christian to examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good (NASB). Test and examine everything – notice this is not saying “some” things, and the rest just go by your “feelings” about them. No! The Scripture implores us to Test everything. Yet someone says: “But there is so much going on in the Church today that appears good; surely, that must be of God.”

Men and women, if I had a dime for every time I have heard or read that I’d probably be number 59 on Forbes Celebrity 100 list just ahead of Rick Warren himself. Don’t you think that by now even Satan knows this is how easy it is to trick non-discerning Christians who simply refuse to read God’s Word and then do what it says? It’s not like God the Holy Spirit didn’t warn us a long, long time ago that – Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. And it’s not like satanic forces are going to walk up to you and say: “Hello, we’re deceiving spirits and we’re going to teach you now.” Although through the mind-numbing Contemplative/Centering prayer they have already introduced these demons probably could do so to the average professing Christian.

How it must grieve our Lord that the Devil is still so easily duping mankind–and even more tragically Christians–with the oldest lie he has: “Yea, hath God said?” He knows what we are to test everything by, God’s Word in Holy Scripture. These absolutely true and unchanging principles in the Bible, which have originated with the Spirit of Truth from our unchanging Creator in order to live as He wills us to. And yet today it’s as if people are actually doing their best in this seeker sensitive man-centered human potential movement passing for Christianity to do the exact opposite of the b clause of verse 21 above – Hold on to the good. The various flesh-pandering facets of the ECoD have begun an ill-fated attempt to have peace with the world while they preach the kingdom of their mush god.

What God Really Thinks Of The ECoD

But through His inspired apostle James the one true and living LORD God Almighty as revealed in Holy Scripture categorically states His opinion on this travesty: Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? (James 4:4-5, KJV). And there is no way to escape this unchanging Truth today because it even says the very same thing in a more modern translation as well: You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?

What we are witnessing right now is another fulfillment of Proverbs 29:18 – Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law (ESV). You need to understand that this doesn’t mean that prophecy has ceased (as it hasn’t), rather it is telling us that just as in times long ago there are false prophets who arise with no revelation from God. O sure, they will speak their “word,” but:

This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. They keep saying to those who despise me, ‘The LORD says: You will have peace.’ And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’

But which of them has stood in the council of the LORD to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word? See, the storm of the LORD will burst out in wrath, a whirlwind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. The anger of the LORD will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart. In days to come you will understand it clearly.

I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds.” (Jeremiah 23:16-22)

Come Away From The ECoD

Friend, if you have been among those who are listening to foolish leaders within the ECoD such as Rick Warren and his phony peace plan, Brian McLaren and his postmodern Christian agnosticism, Living Spiritual Teacher Richard Foster and his reimagined “Christian” mysticism or Rod Parsley and his bankrupt “breakthrough,” today I exhort you in the Spirit to – “come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you” (2 Corinthians 6:17, KJV). And further – If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command (1 Corinthians 14:37) when I tell you:

Fear the LORD and the king, my son, and do not join with the rebellious, for those two will send sudden destruction upon them, and who knows what calamities they can bring? (Proverbs 24:21-22)

…and…

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:7-10)

…he who has an ear, let him hear…and obey…for to obey is better than sacrifice…