Friendship with the World Is Enmity with God

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

1 Πόθεν πόλεμοι καὶ πόθεν μάχαι ἐν ὑμῖν; οὐκ ἐντεῦθεν, ἐκ τῶν ἡδονῶν ὑμῶν τῶν στρατευομένων ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ὑμῶν; 2 ἐπιθυμεῖτε καὶ οὐκ ἔχετε, φονεύετε καὶ ζηλοῦτε καὶ οὐ δύνασθε ἐπιτυχεῖν, μάχεσθε καὶ πολεμεῖτε, οὐκ ἔχετε διὰ τὸ μὴ αἰτεῖσθαι ὑμᾶς, 3 αἰτεῖτε καὶ οὐ λαμβάνετε, διότι κακῶς αἰτεῖσθε, ἵνα ἐν ταῖς ἡδοναῖς ὑμῶν δαπανήσητε. 4 μοιχαλίδες, οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ἡ φιλία τοῦ κόσμου ἔχθρα τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν; ὃς ἐὰν οὖν βουληθῇ φίλος εἶναι τοῦ κόσμου, ἐχθρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ καθίσταται. 5 ἢ δοκεῖτε ὅτι κενῶς ἡ γραφὴ λέγει· πρὸς φθόνον ἐπιποθεῖ τὸ πνεῦμα ὃ κατῴκισεν ἐν ἡμῖν, 6 μείζονα δὲ δίδωσιν χάριν; διὸ λέγει· ὁ θεὸς ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεται,ταπεινοῖς δὲ δίδωσιν χάριν. Jas 4:1–6, NA28

1 From where do wars come and from where do fights come among you? Is it not from here–from your pleasures warring in your members? 2 You desire and you do not have. You kill and you envy and you are not able to obtain. You fight and you war. You do not have because you fail to ask. 3 You ask and you do not receive because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulteresses, do you not know that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world is made an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that it is in vain the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Jas 4:1–6, translated from the NA28 Greek text

The Church since its inception in the 1st Century AD has been plagued by quarrels, disagreements, feuds, splits, et cetera. According to God, the problem is not with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ or his doctrines, but with the fact that people in the Church are not submitted properly to him or to each other. Pride is behind most disagreements just as it is behind those who break away from the truth to lead their followers with false doctrines and a focus that is on self rather than on God and his glory. Instead, those who cause these problems are in love with self and, therefore, in love with the world, its ways, and the things of the world. View article →

The Hard Hearts and Spiritual Blindness of False Professors

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

9 οὗ ἐστιν ἡ παρουσία κατ’ ἐνέργειαν τοῦ σατανᾶ ἐν πάσῃ δυνάμει καὶ σημείοις καὶ τέρασιν ψεύδους 10 καὶ ἐν πάσῃ ἀπάτῃ ἀδικίας τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις, ἀνθ’ ὧν τὴν ἀγάπην τῆς ἀληθείας οὐκ ἐδέξαντο εἰς τὸ σωθῆναι αὐτούς. 11 καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πέμπει αὐτοῖς ὁ θεὸς ἐνέργειαν πλάνης εἰς τὸ πιστεῦσαι αὐτοὺς τῷ ψεύδει, 12 ἵνα κριθῶσιν πάντες οἱ μὴ πιστεύσαντες τῇ ἀληθείᾳ ἀλλ’ εὐδοκήσαντες τῇ ἀδικίᾳ. 2 Thess 2:9–12, NA28

9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and wonders of falsehood, 10 and with all deception of unrighteousness for the ones being destroyed, because they refused to love of the truth and so be saved. 11 And, therefore, God send to them a powerful delusion for them to believe the falsehood, 12 that all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thess 2:9–12, translated from the NA28 Greek text

God’s truth, which is the truth and there is no other, is true whether people believe it or not. I pray for wisdom and discernment every morning before I go to work. God answers this in surprising ways sometimes. One way He does this is when I receive an email or comment from one who is opposed to what we teach here. As I read what they have to say, I often have to retreat into prayer right then in order to grasp the direction the deception is coming from. Other times I can see it quite readily. In these cases, it is very easy to spot the error because their suppositions or arguments are based on one or more invalid assumptions about God’s truth. Never forget, it is very easy to build a very deep case on an invalid or wrong point. When people do this, their entire case is nothing but a house of cards ready for the strong wind of truth to come in and blow it away. In the other cases in which I must retreat into prayer in order to ascertain how to respond to the attack, I have found that our enemy or one of his minions has caused this through some level of spiritual protection for those serving him. However, their power is nothing when compared to God’s. We may not, on our own, be able to see through the mist or haze or whatever that protects the lie(s), but when we humbly and boldly take the attack to the throne of grace, God is good and will reveal the truth to us in His timing. Through this, we will know how to respond or whether to respond at all. View article →

What Is True Christian Liberty?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙ , , ,

Τῇ ἐλευθερίᾳ ἡμᾶς Χριστὸς ἠλευθέρωσεν· στήκετε οὖν καὶ μὴ πάλιν ζυγῷ δουλείας ἐνέχεσθε. Gal 5:1, NA28

For this freedom Christ freed us, therefore, stand fast and be not held again by a yoke of slavery. Gal 5:1, translated from the NA28 Greek text

Galatians 5:1 is often used by some to teach a version of Christian liberty that is not biblical. There are some who teach that this liberty, which is for all genuine Christians, is a freedom to ignore God’s moral Law. This is a form of antinomianism. Those who teach this are giving license to believers to sin. This is not what Paul and James were talking about when they spoke of freedom in Christ and the law of liberty. View article →

What Is the Light of the Gospel?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

1 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 2 Cor. 4:1–2

In our church we have been studying the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament for the last several weeks and our teaching pastors have done a fine job of relating God’s truth there to the Gospel and the New Covenant truths from the New Testament. As always, we have been looking at why it is vital to know what we believe and why we believe it. In light of that we have also looked at the disturbing truths from God’s Word that show us clearly that his Truth is not knowable by those to whom it is not given. View article →

What Did Peter Mean When He Said, “The Day of the Lord Will Come”?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

10 Ἥξει δὲ ἡμέρα κυρίου ὡς κλέπτης ἐν ᾗ οἱ οὐρανοὶ ῥοιζηδὸν παρελεύσονται, στοιχεῖα δὲ καυσούμενα λυθήσεται, καὶ γῆ καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ ἔργα οὐχ εὑρεθήσεται. 11 Τούτων οὕτως πάντων λυομένων ποταποὺς δεῖ ὑπάρχειν ὑμᾶς ἐν ἁγίαις ἀναστροφαῖς καὶ εὐσεβείαις 12 προσδοκῶντας καὶ σπεύδοντας τὴν παρουσίαν τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμέρας δι’ ἣν οὐρανοὶ πυρούμενοι λυθήσονται καὶ στοιχεῖα καυσούμενα τήκεται. 2 Pet. 3:10–12, NA28

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with great suddenness and the elements will be burned up and destroyed and the earth and the works in it will be exposed. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed, what sort of people ought you to be in holiness and godliness, 12 awaiting and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and destroyed, and the elements burned up and melted. 2 Pet. 3:10–12, translated from the NA28 Greek text

With all of the natural disasters going on right now and those which have been going on over that past several weeks and the continued secularization of our societies with its accompanying evils that are so obviously part of the judgment of God against those who are in utter rebellion against everything having to do with him and his holiness and goodness it is easy for those of us who are in the Body of Christ to begin to “lose heart” as it seems at times that the time is coming when it may even become a crime to name the name of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. View article →

Abortion Doctor Compares Killing 27-Week-Old Baby to Flu Shot

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙

LifeNews reports:

A new undercover video shows a New Mexico-based abortion practitioner telling a woman considering an abortion that killing a 27-week old baby is no different than getting a flu shot.

The pro-life group Live Action has released the latest in a series of videos exposing late-term abortion practitioners showing no compassion over killing babies late in pregnancy. In this new video, Dr. Carmen Landau, of Southwest Women’s Options in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a counselor employed at the same facility, are shown making shocking statements.

View article →

Gender-bending Action Hero Cartoon ‘SheZow’ to Debut on Children’s Network ‘The Hub’

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News

The entertainment industry is now promoting transgender themes to young people. The New York Daily Mail reports this disturbing story:

Children’s network The Hub is introducing a new super-heroine named SheZow in an animated series debuting Saturday.

The catch is that SheZow’s alter-ego is actually a 12-year-old boy named Guy, who transforms into a female costumed crime-fighter by uttering the phrase “You Go Girl!” and using a power ring inherited from his dead aunt.

View article →

Obama Admin OKs Morning-After Pill for Young Girls, Sexual Predators

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙

LifeNews reports:

The Obama Administration has dropped its legal battle against a judge’s decision that would allow young girls to purchase the Plan B morning after pill over the counter.

The decision allows anyone to purchase the drug and opponents of the decision say it paves the way for male sexual predators to purchase the drug for girls they victimize, by removing safeguards currently in place.

View article →

Liberty Baptist Seminary’s Enrollment of Homosexual Activist Called Into Question

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙

Christian News Network reports:

The enrollment of an openly homosexual student at a prominent Baptist theological seminary is being called into question by those who wonder why the institution is seemingly overlooking immoral behavior by those it will be sending out into the ministry.

As previously reported, The Atlantic recently published an essay written by Liberty University graduate Brandon Ambrosino, in which the former student outlined his personal experience of coming out as a homosexual on campus.

View article →

What is Biblical Humility?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

μηδεν κατ εριθειαν μηδε κατα κενοδοξιαν αλλα τη ταπεινοφροσυνη αλληλουσ ηγουμενοι υπερεχοντασ εαυτων Philippians 2:3, NA28

Do nothing according to rivalry nor empty conceit, but in humility esteem others more significant than yourselves. Philippians 2:3, translated from the NA28 Greek text

One of the main contentions of the Emergents is that it is an arrogant thing to teach from the Bible as if it is absolute truth. They say that the truly humble are those who confess to know nothing precisely, but only in a nebulous sort of way. This is primarily an attempt to appear humble to the world by seeking common ground with everyone, which is only possible if truth is held loosely so there is room for compromise. In the world’s eyes this does appear to be humble, but is this biblical humility? Carefully read the following passage (John 8:30–32) and pay special attention to v. 32, which I have put in bold.

30 ταυτα αυτου λαλουντοσ πολλοι επιστευσαν εισ αυτον. 31 ελεγεν ουν ο ιησουσ προσ τουσ πεπιστευκοτασ αυτω ιουδαιουσ· εαν υμεισ μεινητε εν τω λογω τω εμω, αληθωσ μαθηται μου εστε 32 και γνωσεσθε την αληθειαν, και η αληθεια ελευθερωσει υμασ. John 8:30–32, NA28

30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him. 31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will free you.” John 8:30–32, translated from the NA28 Greek text

View article →

Error and Greed

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

1 τουτο δε γινωσκε, οτι εν εσχαταισ ημεραισ ενστησονται καιροι χαλεποι· 2 εσονται γαρ οι ανθρωποι φιλαυτοι φιλαργυροι αλαζονεσ υπερηφανοι βλασφημοι, γονευσιν απειθεισ, αχαριστοι ανοσιοι 3 αστοργοι ασπονδοι διαβολοι ακρατεισ ανημεροι αφιλαγαθοι 4 προδοται προπετεισ τετυφωμενοι, φιληδονοι μαλλον η φιλοθεοι, 5 εχοντεσ μορφωσιν ευσεβειασ την δε δυναμιν αυτησ ηρνημενοι· και τουτουσ αποτρεπου. 2 Tim. 3:1–5, NA28

1 But know this, that in the last days hard times will be imminent. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boasters, proud, speakers of evil, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, irreverent, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderous, without self-control, savage, not lovers of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, having become conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness, but denying its power. Turn away from these. 2 Tim. 3:1–5, translated from the NA28 Greek text

Life is a continual hunt or search for circumstances that will result in contentment. That is the focus for the natural man. When societal norms become relaxed from the “bonds” that restrict certain forms of self-expression we witness rising levels of aberrant behavior that are simply attempts by seekers of this “contentment” to find, experience, and practice them hoping to finally reach some level of passion or peace or whatever that will last and leave them in that “contented” state. We see this in Christianity as well. What we understand as Orthodox Christianity is not very satisfying to the unregenerate. However, religiosity is an integral part of the human makeup, therefore, with this volatile combination, we witness increasing levels of bizarre forms of “Christianity” as those desperately seeking what “satisfies” go after the “feelings” as they vainly try to fill that hole in their soul that demands fulfillment. View article →

The Christian’s Final Victory

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙ ,

αποκριθεισ δε ο ιησουσ ειπεν αυτω· μακαριοσ ει, σιμων βαριωνα, οτι σαρξ και αιμα ουκ απεκαλυψεν σοι αλλ ο πατηρ μου ο εν τοισ ουρανοισ Matt. 16:17, NA28

And Jesus answered him saying, “Blessed are Simon son of John for flesh and blood did not not reveal this to you, but my Father in Heaven.” Matt. 16:17, translated from the NA28 Greek text

My discussions with several readers over the past few weeks has centered on our puzzlement over the seemingly strange mixture of theology in some people who appear to be very genuine in their faith while holding to obviously heretical doctrines or following false teachers with joy. We must never forget my brethren that just because someone says that they have faith and believe does not mean that he or she actually does. One’s genuiness in Christ is not revealed by confession. The Bible teaches of only one way to know if one is truly in Christ. That is perseverance in the faith to the end. Christians are not saved through the good works in their walk or even by the fact that they do persevere, but  their Christian authenticity is proven through these things. Faithfulness is a mark of genuineness. View article →

What Is Apostasy?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

11 Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.  Heb. 5:11–14, NASB

Apostasy: [Middle English apostasie, from Old French, from Late Latin apostasia, defection, from Late Greek apostasi, from Greek apostasis, revolt, from aphistanai, aposta-, to revolt : apo-, apo- + histanai, to stand, place; see st- in Indo-European roots.]  Noun pl -sies abandonment of one’s religious faith, political party, or cause [Greek apostasis desertion]

Collins Essential English Dictionary 2nd Edition 2006 © HarperCollins Publishers 2004, 2006

Another good way to understand apostasy and what causes one to abandon his or her religious faith is “to forget.” In the history of civilization, the battle between intellectual honesty and intellectual barbarity is one that has cycled back and forth for millennia. When intellectual honesty is on top, truth is seen as succinct and knowable and authoritative. When intellectual barbarity is on top, truth is seen as relative and completely unknowable.  In case you weren’t sure, we are now in an intellectual barbarian stage in the early 21st Century. View article →

Are We Seeing Signs of the Close of the Age?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙ ,

Προσέχετε ἀπὸ τῶν ψευδοπροφητῶν, οἵτινες ἔρχονται πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐν ἐνδύμασιν προβάτων, ἔσωθεν δέ εἰσιν λύκοι ἅρπαγες. Matt. 7:15, NA28

“Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but within are ravenous wolves.”  Matt. 7:15, translated from NA28 Greek text

The Church in our time appears huge, but this is only in appearance. It is thousands of miles wide, but only a fraction of an inch deep. Much of what claims to be Christian is not and proves it by what is actually its focus and what (or who) it actually worships. The focus has its foundation in pragmatism and its worship is nothing more than self-aggrandizement. They give lip service to their own version of “Jesus” who bears little if any resemblance to the Jesus we read of in God’s Word. This counterfeit Christianity is the majority while the true Church, which is made up of those saved by grace through faith because of God’s election and effectual calling is the minority. This should not surprise us because the Word of God tells us that this will be case as this age comes to a close to make way for the age to come. View article →

Redeemed Through the Blood of Christ

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙ ,

13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?   Heb. 9:13–14, NASB

Central to Covenant Theology is understanding that the Old Covenant represented the former age. The Ceremonial Law given to the Israelites by Moses consisted of earthy copies of the “heavenly things,” which made up the Old Covenant (Hebrews 9:23). These were “shadows of the good things to come” (Hebrews 10:1). Our Lord spoke often of the age we are in now as “this age,” with an age still to come. The New Covenant is God’s economy in this age. Instead of our faith revolving around the earthy copies of the “heavenly things,” partakers of the New Covenant participate in the reality of “heavenly things” within it. These are the “good things that have come” (Hebrews 9:11). However, those in the New Covenant still look forward to “the age to come” (Hebrews 6:5), which will be their “Sabbath rest” (Hebrews 4:1,9). With this in mind, shouldn’t Christians remain focused on God’s promises of this “Sabbath rest,” which is to come instead of falling for the deception of the Emergents like Brian McLaren who teach that God’s will is for us to be focused on the here and now within a Social Gospel? View article →

Are You a Child of God?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

28 Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.  1 John 2:28–29, NASB

There are two types of people in the world: God’s children and everyone else. One of the reasons I love to read the Gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and Revelation is that John, the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 21:7), wrote very profound words that have no gray areas. Of course he wrote as the Spirit breathed these words through him, but God used this man’s entire makeup in that process. John was very pastoral, but he was also a Christian apologist of the highest order. He was one of the three Apostles who made up the inner circle closest to our Lord during His earthly ministry. Before Jesus called him to be his disciple, he was a disciple of John the Baptist along with Andrew, Peter’s brother. Jesus called him and his brother James, the Sons of Thunder. John had great faith, but like most of us, he could get full of himself and focus inward instead of being humble and lined up with our Lord’s will alone. View article →

The Fruit of Compromise

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion

A video has been circulating—and drawing mixed reactions—of Andy Stanley discussing creation, Adam and Eve and the infallibility of Scripture. Andy Stanley has shown over and over again that he is a leader in what has come to be known as the “New Evangelism.” In watching this video, one must listen very carefully to what Stanley says about the Word of God and the “reason” he uses to discount it as having any authority in the Church. Sadly, Stanley’s comments did not surprise me except that he actually said this publicly. Please watch the video with all discernment. View article →

Fables

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

Διαμαρτύρομαι ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ μέλλοντος κρίνειν ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς, καὶ τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτοῦ· κήρυξον τὸν λόγον, ἐπίστηθι εὐκαίρως ἀκαίρως, ἔλεγξον, ἐπιτίμησον, παρακάλεσον, ἐν πάσῃ μακροθυμίᾳ καὶ διδαχῇ.  Ἔσται γὰρ καιρὸς ὅτε τῆς ὑγιαινούσης διδασκαλίας οὐκ ἀνέξονται ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὰς ἰδίας ἐπιθυμίας ἑαυτοῖς ἐπισωρεύσουσιν διδασκάλους κνηθόμενοι τὴν ἀκοὴν καὶ ἀπὸ μὲν τῆς ἀληθείας τὴν ἀκοὴν ἀποστρέψουσιν, ἐπὶ δὲ τοὺς μύθους ἐκτραπήσονται. 2 Tim. 4:1–4, NA28

1 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, the one who is about to judge the living and dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom; 2 preach the word. Be ready in season, out of season, expose, rebuke, encourage, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For there will be a time when they will not bear sound doctrine; but lusting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers who do that very thing, 4 and turning their ears away from the truth they will be turned instead unto fables. 2 Tim. 4:1–4, translated from the NA28 Greek text

One of the major reasons why the uncompromised preaching of God’s truth is so important is because there will come a time when people “will not (οὐκ) bear (ἀνέξονται)” [i.e. “put up with”] sound doctrine or as the Greek literally says, ὑγιαινούσης διδασκαλίας, “healthy teaching.” What that means is teaching that is uncompromisingly God-centered and Biblically correct and not watered down or man-centered in order to be man pleasing or “culturally relevant.” God’s truth will never be “politically correct.” In their rebellion, “after their own lusts they shall heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” My brethren, those days are here! View article →

Churches to Have ‘Hard Discussion’ about Scouts

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙

Baptist Press reports:

With the decision Thursday (May 23) to open the Boy Scouts of America membership to homosexual youth, the 70,000 faith-based organizations, including many churches, that have championed the virtues of “duty to God” and moral straightness by sponsoring local troops must decide whether to cut ties with the Scouts or continue their association with evangelistic outreach in mind.

Of the 100,000 chartered Scouting units in the United States, 70 percent are sponsored by faith-based organizations. Some took decisive stands against loosening membership standards, while leadership from other church groups voiced murkier positions. Numerous Southern Baptist leaders voiced opposition to the policy change.

View article →

The First Word in ‘BSA’ Now Stands for Betrayal

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙

On May 24, 2013, the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) voted to revise its membership policy on the issue of homosexuality. The 1,400 voting members of the BSA voted to allow openly gay boys into its ranks.

Rick Scarborough and Robert Knight are outraged by the decision. They believe “it’s a betrayal of the boys in the Scouts’ care. It’s a betrayal of trusting parents. It’s a betrayal of a 103-year-old institution that has molded millions of boys into men. It’s a betrayal of truth and honor.” Moreover, “It’s a betrayal of God, in Whose name the organization furthered the priceless worth of being morally straight.”

Scarborough and Knight also believe the decision was motivated by the BSA’s greed for corporate dollars and the organization’s fear of being “on the wrong side” of what they deem “an increasingly coarse culture that not only rejects biblical truth but openly attacks it.” View article →

Appeals Court Hears Hobby Lobby’s Argument Against Obamacare’s Abortion Pill Mandate

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙

Christian News Network reports:

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument on Thursday surrounding the popular craft chain Hobby Lobby and its desire to obtain a federal injunction against the abortion pill mandate in Obamacare.

As previously reported, the company takes no issue with covering the birth control costs of its employees, but refuses to make provision for two contraceptives that it believes cause abortions: the morning-after and week-after pill.

View article →

More Americans Linking Homosexuality to Birth

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙

The discussion about homosexuality seemingly is never-ending. One question repeatedly raised is whether homosexual tendencies are genetic, or a choice. Baptist Press examines a recent Gallup poll that not surprisingly reveals that “a record number of Americans believe homosexuality is morally acceptable and is something people are born with.” View article →

Boy Scouts Approve Plan to Accept Openly Gay Members

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙

Fox News reports:

The Boy Scouts of America threw open its ranks Thursday to gay Scouts but not gay Scout leaders — a fiercely contested compromise that some warned could fracture the organization and lead to mass defections of members and donors.

Of the roughly 1,400 voting members of the BSA’s National Council who cast ballots, 61 percent supported the proposal drafted by the governing Executive Committee. The policy change takes effect Jan. 1.

View article →

‘Faith-based FEMA’ to Be ‘Huge Part’ of Oklahoma Recovery Effort

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News

In the wake of the tragic tornado-wrought destruction in Oklahoma, many groups of various beliefs and convictions are rallying to help the victims. Baptist Press shares an interesting observation:

Southern Baptists throughout social media took note that NBC News anchor Brian Williams and reporter Harry Smith mentioned on air the quick response of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief workers in Moore, Okla., Tuesday (May 21).

“In the briefings today it was apparent there’s FEMA and then there’s the faith-based FEMA,” Williams said, standing in front of rubble left by the tornado that devastated the area Monday. “There are no fewer — I counted — than 30 churches that are banding together, and that’s going to be a huge part of this recovery.”

View article →