According to prominent blogger Tim Challies, there are 7 marks to look for in a person who teaches a false gospel:
No one enriches hell more than false teachers. No one finds greater joy in drawing people away from truth and leading them into error. False teachers have been present in every era of human history, they have always been a plague and have always been in the business of providing counterfeit truth. While their circumstances may change, their methods remain consistent.
Baptist Press writer Mike H. Hunter reports the chilling story of a courageous American pastor:
It was hot, stuffy and crowded in the one-room shack, deep in a labyrinth of slums of Mumbai, India, when the door burst open. Angry Muslim men ordered everyone to get out — except for one.
“You stay!” they told the pastor of one of Louisiana’s largest churches who was holding a Bible study with about a dozen Bangladeshi men.
As part of its international missions outreach, the church — unnamed for security reasons — adopted Bangladeshi Muslims, an unengaged, unreached people group who migrated to India by the millions and are despised “illegal immigrants” in the predominantly Hindu nation.
This was the second trip for the Louisiana church to meet with house church planters who were evangelizing the vast slums of Mumbai.
“The first minute or two my blood pressure rose because I knew they were angry — and I was alone — except for the Lord,” the senior pastor recounted. “But I felt courage rise. Jesus said, ‘Don’t worry before you go in to testify before kings and authorities, I will give you words in that moment,’ and in that moment the Lord was granting me wisdom to respond to what they were saying.”
CNS News reports:
Pro-life groups decried the “abortion-first” mentality of a bill approved Monday by the California State Senate that will allow nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives and physicians’ assistants to perform first-trimester abortions.
“This expansion will help alleviate a shortage of abortion providers in California,” said Assemblywoman Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), who introduced the bill, which passed by a 25-11 margin. “All women should have timely access to reproductive healthcare regardless of whether they live in urban or rural areas and without excessive expense or travel,” she said in a press release.
Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis reminds Christians that they are living in the midst of an ongoing spiritual war. Many believers “are virtually asleep while a battle rages all around them.”
A friend of ours, knowing that Mally and I enjoy watching detective programs on TV, sent us an intriguing DVD series set in World War II. As we watched the programs, I thought about what is happening today in the church. You see, while soldiers were at the battlefront overseas in WWII, people back home in England were by and large going about their daily business.
The British people definitely knew a war was going on, but they were quite oblivious to much of what was happening where the battles were raging. When soldiers came home, some with horrific wounds and startling stories, it was clear that the general population really did not know what terrible things were happening on the front lines.
Author and speaker Nancy Pearcey examines the liberal worldview that holds that a person’s sex at birth is merely arbitrary and not a scientific, biological fact.
California has just passed a new law saying school districts may not bar transgender students from same-sex settings, like men’s basketball teams or women’s locker rooms (Assembly Bill 1266). Opponents promptly submitted a referendum to overturn the law. But it will take more than the usual political activism to stop the momentum on what some are calling the next major drive for “equality.”
It will take a serious, sustained program of education in both scientific facts and real respect.
Every law has an implicit worldview, a set of assumptions that justifies it. The worldview implicit in the transgender movement is that our physical bodies have no particular value — that our biology is irrelevant to who we are as persons.
In a piece posted at LifeSite News, Hillary White examines “homosexualism.”
I have been asked recently “what is homosexualism?” I started using the term in my writing on these issues a few years ago when it became clear that we were dealing not with a group of people, but with a particular ideology that is often held by people who are not themselves homosexuals.
A few days ago in The Guardian, Peter Tatchell wrote a pretty good description not only of that ideology’s goals but its origins. This political ideology, often called “queer theory” by its proponents in academia, is what is being pushed, quite openly these days, by the “gay rights” movement. Despite what we are told all day by their collaborators in the mainstream media, from the six o’clock news to your favourite sit-com, this movement is not about “equal rights”. It is about re-writing the foundational concepts of our entire society. I predict that it will not be much longer before the pretense of “equality” is dropped, having done its work.
LifeSiteNews shares this disturbing report:
Planned Parenthood employees will soon have access to a vast federal database of sensitive information, including the Social Security number, tax form, bank account, and medical records of every single American citizen as the president seeks their help in implementing ObamaCare.
Consumers purchasing health insurance through health care exchanges will speak to “navigators,” whose job is to help them find the best coverage and determine if they are eligible for a federal subsidy.
CNS News reports:
Campus Pride, a gay rights advocacy group, released its annual list of the “Top 25 LGBT Friendly Colleges and Universities” on Tuesday, which includes schools with gender-neutral bathrooms and a minor in “queer studies.”
The top 25 schools had to achieve five stars in overall, sexual orientation, and gender identity/expression categories in order to be listed in the top 25. Each school also had to be 4.5 stars or above in eight LGBT-friendly factor areas
According to Christian News Network:
A Muslim terrorist who killed thirteen people in a shooting rampage has told a local newspaper that he was “defending his religion” in the ruthless attack.
On November 5th, 2009, former Army Major Nidal Hasan opened fire in Texas’ Fort Hood army base, killing thirteen people and injuring over 30. One of the slain individuals was a pregnant mother; the unborn baby died also. Hasan fired over 200 bullets during the rampage.
Christian News Network reports:
A Christian legal organization states that it plans to file a lawsuit against New Jersey officials in an effort to block the enforcement of a new law that bars therapists and counselors from assisting youth in turning away from their homosexual inclinations.
As previously reported, reiterating his belief that homosexuality is “not a sin,” the Republican governor of New Jersey signed a bill into law on Monday that bans the use of conversion or reparative therapy, or to otherwise help minors who are struggling with homosexual feelings to overcome their temptations.
GotQuestions.org provides us with the answer to this burning question:
The question of whether there are more people in heaven or hell is answered by Jesus Himself in one succinct passage: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14).
This passage tells us that only those who receive Jesus Christ and who believe in Him are given the right to become children of God (John 1:12). As such, the gift of eternal life comes only through Jesus Christ to all those who believe. He said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). It’s not through Islam, Buddha, or other false gods of man’s making. It’s not for those wanting a cheap and easy way to heaven while continuing to live their own selfish and worldly lives on earth. Jesus only saves those who fully trust in Him as Savior (Acts 4:12).
According to the Baptist Press:
As Hispanic populations across the United States, many of which are traditionally Catholic, continue to increase, so do opportunities for Southern Baptist churches to address the spiritual questions of current and former Catholics.
Hispanics made up 38.1 percent of the population of Texas in 2011, the U.S. Census reports. This reflects a nearly 10 percent increase since 2006, when Hispanics accounted for 35.7 percent of all Texans, according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts’ office.
The Washington Times reports that Christian churches are being burned to the ground and the homes and businesses of Christians are facing similiar “dire circumstances.”:
Dozens of churches and monasteries have been burned and attacked, a Virgin Mary statue decapitated and several Christians killed in the past few days of unrest in Egypt.
The violence against Christians has been the underbelly to the ongoing public clash between Muslim Brotherhood supporters and interim government and security forces.
Last week Fox News radio host Todd Starnes wrote about a vereran of the Air Force that was punished for opposing gay marriage. Starnes now reports:
An airman who was relieved of his duties after he told his commanding officer that he could not support gay marriage has filed a formal complaint with the military alleging he is the victim of religious discrimination.
Senior Master Sgt. Phillip Monk, a 19-year veteran of the Air Force was punished after he disagreed with his commander when she wanted to severely reprimand an instructor who had expressed religious objections to homosexuality.
Christian News Network reports:
The National Right to Life Committee has cut ties with an affiliate chapter of the organization over its desire to expand its mission efforts to defend both life and the family.
This past June, the Cleveland, Ohio chapter of the National Right to Life Committee announced that it was enlarging its borders to fight for the institution of marriage, as well as the lives of unborn children.
“So as to foster a culture of life, we promote and defend the right to life of all innocent human beings and reject such practices as abortion, euthanasia, infanticide, and same-sex marriage that are contrary to ‘the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God,’” the group’s updated mission statement reads.
According to Fox News:
A Georgia high school project that has sparked outrage among some students and parents will not be taken down, the district decided.
Alcovy High School leaders will instead meet with students to explain the context behind a poster featuring the quote, “God is Dead” from Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible.”
According to Life News:
John Barros has been ministering to women considering abortions in Florida for years and is credited by local pro-life advocates with saving more than 1,000 babies from abortions.
Now, a new video celebrates his work — and thousands have already watched it and celebrated with them.
Christian News Network reports:
A Christian Air Force Veteran has been relieved of his duties after declining to affirm homosexual marriage.
Senior Master Sergeant Phillip Monk has served in the Air Force for 19 years, and has been stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. When he recently returned from deployment, he found that he had a new commander, who was a lesbian.
Christian News Network reports:
A federal judge in Oklahoma City has thrown out the state’s ban on the use of Sharia law in government, opining that the restriction violates the United States Constitution.
The ban had been approved at the polls in 2010, and passed with the support of more than 70% of voters. However, just two days after the ban was approved as a state constitutional amendment, Muneer Awad, the then-director of the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed suit in federal court through the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), claiming that the law violated the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses of the First Amendment.
Mike Riccardi of The Cripplegate blog believes that “God’s goal in all of His creative and redemptive work is to bring glory to Himself.” In this piece Mike shares what he learned when he taught a class on basic principles of Bible interpretation, or what is termed hermeneutics. “One of the things we mentioned was the importance of interpreting the parts in light of the whole—of keeping the big picture in mind as we seek to understand the scenes frame by frame.”
Fox News radio talk show host Todd Starnes informs us that:
The U.S. Air Force said that a well-known drag queen group was invited to perform on base during a “Diversity Day” celebration because drag is a “symbol of gay pride and unity.” But the performance sparked outrage among some airmen who called the drag show “totally offensive and inappropriate.”
Jewels and the Brunchettes performed to a small crowd at the Los Angeles Air Force Base on Aug. 8, the military confirmed.
The Air Force said in a statement to Fox News that “Diversity Day” featured eight cultural groups and was meant to “foster equality and diversity in the workplace.”
Dr. Peter Jones of Truth X-Change weighs in on what liberals refer to as “Social Justice Christianity.” One example Dr. Jones offers is World Vision’s gradual move away from sharing the true Gospel of Jesus Christ with the lost as they instead encourage people to embrace a works-based social justice gospel. Jones writes:
The evangelical church is increasingly aware of the need to witness to Christ in acts of mercy, especially since some evangelicals in the past spoke almost exclusively of individualistic and future salvation. In reaction, some today are adopting “orthopraxy” (right action) as their main emphasis, downplaying or even abandoning “orthodoxy” (right belief). But good works and sound belief cannot be separated. Alas, instead of a biblical balance, we face the serious danger of a new form of the old “social gospel,” which turns the Christian faith into a system of salvation by works, Jesus into a mere example, like the Buddha, Socrates or Lao Tzu, and Christianity into one variant of interfaith good will. But orthopraxy alone cannot preach the gospel. We as redeemed sinners must “confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord.”
Christian News Network reports:
On the same day that the governor of California signed a bill into law mandating that boys who identify as girls be allowed to use girls’ bathrooms and vice versa, a California committee approved legislation which would cause any non-profit organizations that do not embrace homosexuals to lose tax-exempt status.
According to Fox News:
California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a controversial bill into law Monday afternoon allowing the state’s transgender public school students to choose which bathrooms they use and whether they participate in boy or girl sports.
The law would cover the state’s 6.2 million elementary and high school kids in public schools.
Christian News Network reports:
The mayor of Washington, D.C. disinvited a famed Gospel singer last week from headlining a civil rights concert in the nation’s capital, according to reports.
Multiple Grammy and Stellar Award winner Donnie McClurkin, who says that he turned to homosexuality for a time after being sexually abused by men as a child, posted a video statement on SocialCam on Saturday stating that he was “asked not to attend” the event that day. “Reflections on Peace: From Gandhi to King” was to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the civil rights movement in America.