Apprising Ministries alerts you to Scazzero’s Women In Ministry, which begins to tomorrow. You’ll see the evidence from his website showing he’ll be using it to promote antibiblical women pastors.
If you don’t think this is important, then consider that Peter Scazzero is already partnered with the highly influential Willow Creek Association and comes recommended by both Rick Warren and Tim Keller.
Steven Furtick and many other Seeker Driven pastors dabbling now with Word Faith mythology essentially were coming of age during the 90’s.
As such, they’re preaching similar to the way WF preachers were in that time period, which is just after evangelical apologists like Walter Martin had thoroughly exposed WF heresies. This would cause WF perpetrators to hide their more pernicious doctrines underground.
My point being, these quasi-WF preacher wannabes and their fickle followers really have little to no idea about what Word Faith theology is. That’s why Apprising Ministries is pleased to bring you this session from Justin Peters.
And if you are Christ’s then you are of Abraham’s seed and according to promise, heirs. Gal. 3:29, Possessing the Treasure New Testament v1
I mentioned many times on this blog that I grew up going to church. Some of my first memories were as a small child in church in 1950’s Oklahoma. I doubt if many today would feel real comfortable in the “church environment” I remember from that period. Of course, I did not come to faith until I was in my mid-thirties so I saw most of what went on during that period as a child, a pre-teen, and a teen in the youth group then as a College and Career young adult as an exercise in religiosity that seemed to have something to do with getting better and better at being righteous. When I went into the military in 1973 I left church until the mid-1980’s, married and with a family of my own. What was so interesting was that it was little different than I remembered. I still couldn’t wait for that last verse of the never-ending invitation hymn to get over with so we could get home.
13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; 15 for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation. 16 For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 (as it is written, “A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. Romans 4:13-17, NASB
One of the comments from yesterday’s post, Only One Gospel Part 6, stated succinctly that as I presented the message of this series, “Mike – you are swimming up stream in the self-centered culture.” My friend who stated that is right. However, isn’t that what Jesus told us would be the case? If we are his disciples and prove it by following him, obeying him, living by faith, not conforming to this world, et cetera then this world would hate us just as it hated him. However, it wasn’t until I got quite deep into this teaching and discernment ministry that I discovered the shocking truth that most of the push-back to the truth from God’s Word, getting Doctrine right, not compromising for the sake of unity, et cetera was coming from professing Christians. Some of those professing Christians had quite well known ministries and their apologists were quite brutal, underhanded, and played dirty. What am I saying? The self-centered culture that is in darkness that these truths expose is actually most of the visible church.
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Cor. 5:21, NASB
This morning, as I worshiped at our church, we had what some call “The Lord’s Supper” and others “Communion.” No matter which name is used, I rejoiced as I took the bread and the cup and meditated on what my Lord Jesus went through to become my propitiation, to become separate from God the Father, one who knew no sin to be sin on behalf of those he came to save so that they might become the righteousness of God in him. The reason the joy was so intense for those who “get” the magnitude of this is that they also know that not one of those could ever have become reconciled to God the Father by any action or deed or by attempting to keep the Law. No, there was no other way other than a sinless sacrifice paying their penalty for them and that is exactly what our Lord Jesus did.
Apprising Ministries continues to alert you that spiritual darkness is growing and with it apostasy spreads across contemporary evangelicalism.
It deceives those who fall for it into believing that God is moving people to set aside key doctrinal distinctives in favor of His desire for them to be in unity before the world.
I tell you, this is dead wrong. However, here’s yet another example. James MacDonald, curator of the Elephant Room, wants us to believe T.D. Jakes has repented of Word Faith heresy.
Really? Then why is he having three of the more notorious WF prosperity preachers—already in rebellion against God’s Word claiming to be pastors—in again to preach at his WTAL?
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Romans 10:17, NASB
Justification by Grace alone through Faith alone is a core or central doctrine to true or Orthodox Christianity. This justification is God’s declaration (as we he did with Abraham) of righteousness based upon believers believing and obeying God by turning to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour as they receive the Spirit as they hear the proclamation of the gospel. Now, compare what I just summarized there with what goes on in most “culturally relevant churches” in our time. You know, those churches that are focused on following the person on the stage, but in fact, it is really about self-glorification. That is why people go to those “churches.” They go to hear how good of a person they really are and what the “secret” is of unlocking their potential so that God will give them everything they could ever want because, hey, they are worth it! Sigh, sorry, but that is not even close to being biblical Christianity. It’s some other religion.
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. Rom. 6:1–9, NASB
The Christians with whom I have the most “disagreement” are those who are confused about our Justification and Sanctification. I have noticed that most of the articles and videos online that claim to prove R.C. Sproul, Dr. James White or John MacArthur wrong and that their gospel is not biblical while those producing those articles and videos have the real gospel are all of the same bent. They are all infected with the same lack of faith that the Judiazers had in the sufficiency of saving grace made available through Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross. They all, like the Roman Catholics and the Judiazers Paul was dealing with in his epistle to the Galatians insisted that, yes, we are saved by grace through faith, but there has to be something added to it called works.