“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” (John 15:18)

Jesus Wasn’t Popular With The World And Neither Will You Be

For at least the past six years now online apologetics and discernment ministries like Apprising Ministries have warning about the growing infestation within evangelicalism of critical thinking skills-numbing corrupt Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM).

Unfortunately, it’s long been perpetrated to the younger sectors as spurious Spiritual Formation such as that taught by Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster along with his spiritual twin and Southern Baptist minister Dallas Willard.

I’ve already warned you that mainstream evangelicalism is only just beginning to pay a heavy price for its foolish embrace of the sinfully ecumenial Emergent Church aka the Emerging Church—which has now grown into a full-blown neo-liberal cult operating within its walls.

Evangelicalism was already infected with the spiritual cancer of the semi-pelagian (at best) Church Growth Movement (CGM), which was released by its host Fuller Theological Seminary, and quickly metastasized throughout virtually the entire of the professing Christian community world around.

And part of this price to be paid is how deeply the CGM arm of the Emerging Church has carried its new postmodern version of Progressive Christian theology—aka “big tent” universalst Emergence Christianity—into the bloodline of the Seeker Driven/attractional mainstream of the visible church.

Under the guise of the postmodern Humpty Dumpty language in came the new man-centered “missional” mantra, which has become the new gospel, and is summed up as follows:

God wants you to follow the lifestyle of Jesus and learn His ways enabling you to be a co-creator with God because we’re to live in community with Him. Then together we will help God make the world a better place, just as He dreams for it to be for all His children.

God loves you so much that He created you for a great purpose. He offers you hope and a wonderful plan for your life. So you need to discover the dream that God has placed in your heart and unlock your destiny as to help Him usher in the Kingdom of God upon earth.

So now, right within mainstream of the visible Christian community, we’re being led by neo-Gnostics deluded by their practice of CSM. They are attempting to ascertain knowledge from God outside of the Bible, which is His prescribed means of grace; and it’s leading to an uber-inclusivism and increasing syncretism within Christendom.

Too many of these self-professed “Christ-followers” only talk to each other and then read each other’s opinions rather than the infallible and inerrant Bible itself to see what God has said. There’s a real move inside our country  right now for an ecumenism which will bring everyone together and it’s no doubt rooted in CSM.

Unfortunately, as I alluded to earlier, the true mission of the Christian church—to preach the Gospel of repentance and forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ Name—has been obscured. Instead, in seeking friendship with the world, these Christ-followers are spreading their man-pleasing message that God dreams for us to make the world live as one.

These deluded fools have heard their mystic mush god with a man-shaped hole in his/her/it’s heart issue a new command: “You shall shut off your mind and seek me within. God is within all mankind. You must love the divine in each other, whom you worship, with all of your heart and all of your true self and all of your strength.”

As His Gospel is being changed, I personally would suspect that what’s breaking our Lord’s heart right now would be the fact that we hear nary a peep from evangelical leaders in The New Downgrade With Its Apostles Of Unbelief. You’d think with all the Spurgeon they say they read that they’d see this as another Downgrade.

And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely. And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him. And they laid their hands on him, and took him.
(Mark 14:44-46)

Our Lord said to his disciples, “In the world ye shall have tribulation” (John 16:33, KJV), and he explained it to mean that men would put them out of the synagogues; yea, that the time would come when those who killed them would think that they did God service. “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12, KJV).

Not is the opposition of the world confined to persecution, but it sometimes takes the far more dangerous form of flattery—pleasing baits are held out, and allurements are used to decoy the believer from his Lord. Many have grievously wounded by the world when it has met them with the kiss of Judas on its lips and a dagger in its right hand wherewith to slay the soul.

Woe unto those who are ignorant of its devices. This is a sore trouble under the sun, that men are false; their words are softer than butter, but inwardly they are drawn swords. This has often surprised young Christians. They imagined that since the godly were charmed at the sight of their early graces, all others would be equally pleased; they stumble when they find that their good is evil spoken of.

Is any hearer of mine one of those raw recruits? Let him learn to be a soldier of the cross means real war, and not a sham fight. He is in an enemy’s country, and the time will yet come when, as a veteran warrior, he will be surprised if he lives a day without a conflict or is able for an hour to sheathe his sword.[1]

Charles Spurgeon

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Endnotes:

[1] Charles Spurgeon, At the Master’s Feet [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005], April 12.

See also:

HENRY BLACKABY’S MYSTICISM-LITE NEGATES SOLA SCRIPTURA

JOHN PIPER, RICK WARREN & FOSTER-WILLARDISM

WORSHIP THE GOD OF SCRIPTURE