By Toni S. Brown
The Apostle Paul warns us:
“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” 2 Corinthians 11:13-15
No warning has been more marginalized or flat out ignored by the professing, visible church than this one from our Lord’s great servant and apostle. There are many dangerous voices of error invading the church to condemn God’s Word on the clear, biblical truth regarding the sin of homosexuality. This blog post will focus on just one movement afoot that in its cleverness and subtlety has and will continue a full, frontal assault on God’s truth.
Sam Allberry, who identifies as “gay and Christian” and pastors St. Mary’s Church in Maidenhead UK promotes the idea that one can be homosexual and Christian, and therefore must have inclusion in the Lord’s Church. The Word of the one, true God clearly proclaims otherwise:
“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Sam Allberry has established a ministry website that is solely devoted to the false teaching of “gay” Christianity; www.livingout.com. While there are many prominent, professing evangelicals supporting Allberry and his ministry, none are as devoted to Allberry’s philosophy as the ever-popular Dr. Tim Keller, who has been behind the scenes quietly and cleverly pushing the same ideas for years promoting his powerless, non-transforming and false gospel. In June 2018 Allberry hosted a conference through his Living Out ministry with Keller as keynote speaker.
The conference was promoted with an Identity in Christ theme, but it was quite clear from the beginning that they have a far different agenda, as they promote the idea of ignoring the homosexual’s sexual preference (or “identity”) and focus instead on their” identity in Christ”.
The glaring problem is that there is no more a “gay” Christian than a homicidal Christian and therefore they have no identity in Christ.
They are self-deceived, lost souls in dire need of a faithful servant of Christ to come forward and proclaim boldly to them the all-powerful, transforming gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The link below is the promo video for the conference featuring Tim Keller: http://www.livingout.org/resources/tim-keller-gives-a-taste-of-the-identity-in-christ-conference
This conference team produced a list consisting of 10 points or questions they claim every church must get in line with in order to be “biblically inclusive.” They refer to this as an “audit” for every church: http://www.livingout.org/resources/the-living-out-church-audit
Articles regularly posted by Allberry and others on the LivingOut site demand inclusion by way of deceptive, clever language, as this excerpt from an article recently published on the site demonstrates:
Contributed By Sean Doherty
I became a Christian in my late teens, and not long after that I came to acknowledge that I was gay. I was committed to celibacy. At university I said I was gay, and I never experienced homophobic treatment from other Christians. This has convinced me that love and unconditional acceptance of gay people does not require approval of same-sex activity. Love and acceptance was my consistent experience. I was involved in the Christian Union in my university and I served on its ‘exec’ for a year, working alongside other young evangelicals who all knew I was gay and only ever treated me with great respect and affection. My evangelical college chaplain, also conservative about sexuality, strongly encouraged me to pursue ordination. I found the church to be a deeply supportive and affirming place. I was nurtured, given responsibility in ministry, and encouraged towards ordination. It is undeniable and indefensible that in the church there has been prejudice and even mistreatment of people because of their sexuality. But my experience has convinced me that this prejudice and mistreatment does not come from believing what the Bible says about marriage and sex.
Please note Doherty’s notion of “homophobia” in the church. It is just this type of nonsensical language that is regularly propagated in the articles and videos published by Living Out. Also note that the many “accepting” Christians Doherty claims to have encountered in college who never judged but instead respected and accepted him “unconditionally” and with great affection, were not Christian at all, as the true believer walks in truth and will call a man to repentance:
“When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.” Ezekiel 33:8-9
This conference illustrates just how cleverly deceptive this movement really is as they manipulate the audience emotionally with heart wrenching testimonies between each and every session by “homosexual Christians” who have “decided” to be celibate for Christ, for which they surely deserve all the glory and applause!
Apparently, they do not need to be transformed by the supernatural gospel of the sacrifice of Christ, whereby they are regenerated and given a new heart that produces new desires. No, they wish instead to identify as homosexual Christians sacrificing daily by depriving themselves of their inner most sexual desire. What a bizarre concept in light of scripture:
“Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore, if anyone be in Christ he is a new creature, old thigs have passed away, behold, all things become new. 1 Corinthians 5:16-17
The video excerpt below is comprised of one of the aforementioned testimonies and Keller’s closing remarks. He makes clear that these emotionally charged personal testimonies are every bit as important as any passage of scripture because they “capture the imagination”, which Keller teaches is an essential component of “genuine faith.” I think the Apostle Paul had a little something to say about man’s imagination:
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5
Along with a heavy emphasis on an active imagination, Keller stressed the importance of thinking communally, the arts, JK Rowling, sociologist Glenn Harrison’s book on modern identity, Peter Berger’s philosophy on the sociology of knowledge and how relevant fiction really is in our understanding of theology…well, because it’s all “just too heady!”
He even goes so far as to insist that expository sermons really don’t help much to “change people’s identity”; he tells us pastors need to include more “artsy stuff” in order to affect real change. Mmmm, Dr. Timothy Keller clearly has no idea that a pastor has no power to change anybody:
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” Ezekiel 36:26-27
This conference was a travesty and this movement is widespread and dangerous. People are perishing under the weight of their sin and the clever deception of false teaching by false pastors, producing self-deceived, false converts. The false angel of light has entered the gates- speak out and confront it.
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth us not. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. 1 John:4-1,5,6
Related
5 Facts About Tim Keller | Follow up to ‘Tim Keller’s Full Endorsement of Being Gay & Christian’
Research:
Tim Keller here and here
Homosexual Agenda
Progressive (Social Justice) “Christianity”
One woman said of her abortion: “I never did think of the cell cluster as ‘my baby,’ nor the sperm donor as ‘the father.’ … My whole view on the thing was quite neutral. Scientific.” Somehow it’s “neutral” and “scientific” to deny the humanity of “the thing.”
