“Blessed are you when men cast insults at you and persecute you.”

by Jeremy Clarke, Legacy Baptist Church, Northwest Arkansas

“The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods. When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” (Acts 16:22-25)

As you may recall, Luke is giving an account of Paul’s second missionary journey and recent entrance into Philippi of Macedonia.  Paul and Silas have just seen the conversion of Lydia, and shortly thereafter are met by a demon-possessed slave girl who has chosen to follow them in an effort to discredit their ministry…namely, by incessantly barking a feigned expression of the gospel. Paul, in exasperation, finally orders the demon to evacuate the young girl, much to the disappointment of the girl’s masters who were profiting from her demon-possessed antics.  Being none too happy about Paul’s vindication of their human side-show, they apprehended Paul and Silas and literally drag them to the marketplace to stand before the chief magistrates where they begin issuing accusations against Paul and Silas, even suggesting that they have somehow brought the entire city to a point of chaos (v20) in their proclamation of the gospel.  By this time a frenzied mob begins to form with an insatiable appetite for injustice, it would seem.

With this context in mind, we pick up Luke’s account now in verse 22: “And the crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them, and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods.  And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.”

Well, to the untrained eye it would seem that these wicked masters have had their way. They’ve incited the entire town to rise up against our two missionaries...and by now, Paul and Silas must have been saying between themselves, “How in the world has all of this come about?” I mean, they’ve only been in town a few days (v12). Now, all of a sudden, they find themselves naked (disrobed), encircled by a frenzied, boiling mob in the center of town…and the magistrates (supreme officials; towns usually had 2 of them) have just “order[ed] them to be beaten with rods.” And what is the indictment brought against them? Well, verse 21 says they were accused of “proclaiming unacceptable customs.”  Interestingly, the indictment is not that they’ve vindicated the slave-girl, but rather, that they are proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ…and for their testimony of Jesus Christ they have come under this severe persecution and punishment.

Now this should not surprise us, should it?  Paul said to his protégé Timothy in Phil 1:29, “To you it has been granted for Christ’s sake not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”  That seems pretty clear to me.  In other words, union with in Christ will be accompanied by suffering for Christ in the world…and both have been granted to the Christian for the sake of Christ.  The Lord Jesus Himself spoke of our imminent persecution in Matthew 5: “Blessed are you when [not if] men cast insults at you and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:11).  Now listen, the persecution of a Christian by the world is the world’s response to the Christian’s message of Jesus Christ; of repentance, and faith, and purity.  Paul states it as clear as it can be stated: “All who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12). It is the inescapable lot for the genuine Christian.

As one theologian said, “A wolf is not going to devour a plastic sheep.” How true!  In other words, the world may dislike, but it will not persecute a counterfeit Christian.  The world may scorn but it will not martyr a hypocrite.  Make no mistake, beloved, persecution is a testimony to the genuineness and reality of the Christian faith.  And I’ll say further, if you profess Christ and have never come into the experience of some level of persecution, you can at least doubt the genuineness of your outward testimony and you may have reason to doubt your profession. It is folly to suggest that God’s people and can be distributed throughout a godless world system and not experience the hostilities of that system against the testimony and message they bring. You must expect to find some form of scorn from the world.

Well, Paul and Silas don’t need anyone to tell them that.  They come into intimate proximity with scorn and persecution under these magistrates who have just ordered their flailing and beating. And for that special task of punishment they deploy some very hardened men known in these ancient communities as the “Lictors.” Allow me to introduce you to them.

Lictors were Roman civil servants assigned with the task of serving as bodyguards for the local magistrates (officials).  And to aid his work, a Lictor carried a “peacemaker” of sorts; a bundle of individual birch rods approximately 4 feet in length which he bound together by a red leather ribbon to form one tight column of solid rod.  In the center was a small ax that was carried in order to carry out impromptu executions.  So picture something like a meter-foot long nightstick weighing 4-5 pounds with a small ax head protruding outward. Now, these Lictors would lean these rods up against the shoulders much the same way a rifle might be carried today, and 10 to 12 of them would form a collective rank in front of the magistrate to which the were assigned.  Wherever the magistrate went, the rank of Lictors went, escorting him like special police entrusted to ensure the magistrate’s safety, and also to keep the local peace within the community. On occasions when civic conflict arose, these Lictors would become instruments of punishment by the magistrate’s command, and were often ordered to arrest and punish (or punish, then arrest, as we’ll see shortly) citizens that were appeared to be creating unrest.

Well with that context in mind, we see more clearly what is taking place on the occasion that Luke records here for us.  The local magistrates, with this growing mob looking on, has ordered their 10-12 Lictors to beat Paul and Silas with these meter-long, 5 lbs rods (ax heads removed).  Further, verse 23 states that our missionaries were struck, not a few times, but rather, “…they had inflicted many blows upon them.”  The word “many” literally suggests the idea that someone had lost count.  It speaks of a great number.  Further the world “blows” speaks to what is called a “stripe” or a heavily inflicted wound.  So Paul and Silas were beaten times without number in a way that inflicted very deep/heavy wounds…as one might expect when being flogged by a 4-5 pound, 4-foot long column of tightly wound birch rods.

Verses 23 and 24 go on to state that, following their beating, the magistrates had Paul and Silas “...thrown into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; and he having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison, and fastened their feet in the stocks.”  That word “thrown” is also interesting.  It means “to let go of a thing without caring where it falls.”  So that’s Paul and Silas’ introduction to their new quarters – they’re just thrown in wherever they may land – didn’t matter; just tossed in the hole – that’s the picture here.  I can assure you that in those days, prisoners there had far more reason to talk about prisoners’ rights than prisoners do today.  The inner prison noted here is nothing more than a large, dark hole carved out of rock.  The sanitary conditions, rodents and insects alone would have made this imprisonment unbearable. And keep in mind, Paul and Silas have probably had their backs beaten to a very threatening point, medically speaking, and are now placed in this dark, filthy hole, the floor of which is no doubt covered by a thick layer of human excrement. Further, their feet have been placed into stocks, which I learned were wooden holes situated in a way that stretched the legs so that they would cramp constantly.   Miserable, miserable conditions for a healthy man…let alone two severely beaten men.

But verse 25 reveals the testimony of 2 men who, by God’s grace, saw every circumstance through the grid of God’s providential purpose.  That is, they considered themselves prisoners of the Lord, not of these magistrates…and in that mind-set, verse 25 records: “But about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” I don’t have the white space to go into this verse in detail.  We’ll have to dedicate doing so to next week’s article. The short of it is this: These two men endured their circumstances by turning to our all-sufficient Lord in prayer, and by reminding themselves of His intimate love for them by way of singing hymns that saturated their minds with reminders of the care and concern of God for His people.  And soon, God would transform the circumstances of these men to place them as conduits through which to bring about the conversion of their contemporary hardened Roman jailer….and one of God’s elect. How instructive for us, beloved.

photo credit: Image courtesy Bizzell Bible Collection, University of Oklahoma Libraries.

 Additional Resources 

On Serving One Another In Love

Discontentment Is A Sin

Sola Sisters Interview

Posted by Christine Pack

Thank you to Amy Spreeman and Mike LeMay of Q90-FM's "Stand Up For the Truth" radio program for having both the Sola Sisters on their radio show....including the mostly silent Sola Sister (Cathy Mathews). We shared our testimonies of coming out of the New Age and occultism, and we also discussed how we are seeing some of the same things we did in the New Age creeping into the church, only now, these practices have been cleverly repackaged with Christian terminology.

The program can be listened to in its entirety here.

After the Darkness, Light

Posted by Christine Pack (another essay on the Reformation, this one by my younger son)

From the 5th century to the 15th century, a spiritual darkness gripped  the world. This period of time was known as the Dark Ages (sometimes also known as the Middle Ages), and was a time of war, disease, and famine. Centuries before this time, God's own Son, Jesus, the light of the world, had come to offer his life for the sins of mankind.  But now the true Church, the one set up by Jesus, had been persecuted horribly and driven underground. So the greatest problem for the people who lived in this period was not their suffering.  It was Satan's spiritual deception—the Catholic Church which had come to dominate the world, masquerading as Christ's true Church.

The Catholic Church looked in many ways like the true church.  It taught some true things of God: the biblical timeline, the creation, the fall, and the death and resurrection of Jesus. There was, however, one important flaw amongst the teachings of the Catholic Church, one mistake that was sending thousands of people to Hell.  The Catholics believed that Jesus had NOT paid it all.  The way to get to heaven, they taught, was to get there through works.  The Bible says this is wrong.

During the Dark Ages, the Bible was only viewable by priests, and then only the most highly educated ones could even understand it.  But, from about 1400-1550, some brave men started smuggling Bibles into Europe and other countries, and translating the Bible into different languages.  This was called the Reformation.

Martin Luther

Martin Luther was one of the best known characters of the Reformation.  Luther became a monk after he prayed during a frightening thunderstorm, asking for God to protect him.  God brought him through the storm, and Luther kep his promise to God.  While he was a monk, he wrote 95 challenges to the Roman Catholic Church, or theses, as most people tend to call them.  He understood from reading the Bible that the Catholic Church was wrong in what they were teaching the people. What the priests taught the people kept them in spiritual darkness.

John Wycliffe, John Huss, William Tyndale and others also played important parts in the Reformation, but Martin Luther is the one that we know best today, because of the dramatic thunderstorm, the 95 Theses, and his part in God's plan to pierce the spiritual darkness of the Catholic Church, letting the light of God's truth into the world.

 Additional Resources 

The Reformation (a short paper on the Reformation by my older son)

Luther - The Movie (2003 version, full length, YouTube)

The Reformation: Post Tenebras Lux

Worshiping in Spirit and Truth (John 4:19-26)

Pastor Ty Blackburn, Providence Duluth

October 16, 2011

The Necessity of True Worship, Part 2 (John 4:19-26)

 “The woman said to him, 'Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.' Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.' The woman said to him, 'I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.' Jesus said to her, 'I who speak to you am he.'” (John 4:19-26)

❝The word "worship" here translated, the Greek word proskuneo (Gr. προσκυνέω) is a compound word which means "toward," pros- means "toward," and -kuneo means "to kiss." It means "to kiss toward." It comes from the Oriental tradition, the eastern tradition of greeting, that when people would greet one another, they would kiss.......In Oriental culture, and in some cultures today, they greet one another with a kiss. And the way they actually greeted, when we look at historical documents, if two people were of equal rank, they would actually kiss on the lips. If they were of slightly different rank, they would kiss on the cheeks.....And if there was a great difference in rank, one person would bow down. And in an extreme difference in rank, the one bowing down would put his forehead on the ground. In the presence of this great king, for instance, you would bow down....And the idea was to bow down, and "to kiss toward." I can't come close enough to kiss you.........the idea's not just submission, it's not just reverence, it's affection. I'm "kissing toward." The idea that you can pull from this is submission, deference and affection.

Worship is to acknowledge the greatness of another and worship in the Bible is only to be given to God. Worship is to acknowledge the greatness of God, our affection for him, and to submit ourselves to him at the same time. That's what the biblical word means.

Now, what does "true" worship mean? The important adjective, true worship. We see it here in the passage in verse 23 when he says "the hour is coming and now is when the true worshippers will worship God in spirit and truth." This is a key word actually in John's gospel, an important word. The word "true" is translated alēthinos (ἀληθινός). "An hour is coming now when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth," true worshipers means "genuine," it means "authentic." In fact, a lot of times this word would be used to speak of "genuine" versus "counterfeit." "That is true currency, that is counterfeit currency." It could also mean true as in the sense of "complete" versus "incomplete." True in the sense of "full" versus "partial." You see the difference? It's not true verse counterfeit, that's one thing, that is false, this is true. But the way John uses this word throughout his gospel is not like that. He uses the word true to mean, "complete," "full," "perfect," versus "incomplete," "partial."

Let me give you an example. The first occurrence of this word "true" is in John 1:9, where John the Apostle, in talking about John the Baptist said there was a man who was sent from God, and his name was John the Baptist, and he came as a witness, to bear witness to the light. In chapter 1, verse 9, he says, "And there was the true light, which cometh into the world and enlightens every man." And he's talking about Jesus, Jesus is the true light. Now, does that mean that all the other prophets who came before were false? The Old Testament lights? Was John the Baptist a false light? Of course not, he wasn't a false light, a counterfeit light, he was just a partial light. He was truly a light, but not the true light.

You see this actually, in speaking of Jesus, in John chapter 5, verse 33, he says the following: "You rejoiced, you went out to hear John and his testimony, and you rejoiced for a while in his light." Jesus says, yeah, John was a light. All of the Old Testament prophets were lights, but Jesus is the true light.

That's true light versus partial light, previous lights.

So what he's picturing is a dramatic, earth-shattering change in the quality of worship that is available. He's not saying that in the Old Covenant they didn't truly worship. They did truly worship. But what a great distance. He's announcing to this woman, that's why he says, "Believe me, woman, an hour is coming...." and I'm telling you something that is earth-shattering and hard to believe. I mean, why would he ever have to say "Believe me...." or "Truly, truly I say to you...."?  But he condescends to our weaknesses, and he knows this woman will have a hard time believing what he's about to say, and he gently condescends to her weaknesses, and says, "Believe me...."

Let's think about this distance. In the Old Covenant, I said they really, truly worshiped, but think about what worship was like in the Old Covenant. We looked at Leviticus on Wednesday evening......All of the regulations about offerings and the sacrificial system, the tabernacle. If you and I had lived in that day, and we wanted to worship God, we wanted to restore our fellowship with God, we wanted to meet God...Remember, worship is really an interpersonal encounter. And remember, the word comes from the idea of greeting, bowing down, kissing toward, but it's something that happens when you encounter (another). It's not something you do third person....you know, you are worshiping, you are encountering.

And so, in the Old Covenant, they could encounter God. But in the New Covenant, you can really encounter God. That's what Jesus is saying. Look at the difference. In the Old Covenant, if you and I were Jews, living 1400 B.C., and you sinned, I sinned. We knew we sinned. What do we do to get right with God? Well, you take a sin offering, you take something from the flock, a goat or a lamb. And you take it and you walk, no matter how far it is to the one place you can go, the Tabernacle. And you go to the door of the Tabernacle, and you request admittance at the door of the Tabernacle. And if you're a man, you go in, and if you're a woman, you can't, you have to wait outside. But if you can go in, you'll walk into the Tabernacle court. It's basically a cordoned off area with a veil around it but open to the sky. And you'll walk to the brazen altar, and you'll bring the lamb, and the priest will have you confess your sins over the lamb, the priest will have you place your hand on the head of the lamb, confess your sin (over) it, then he will kill it, catch all the blood, and offer a portion of it on the altar there, and then you will stay there. You're at the brazen altar which is an altar in the middle of the courtyard, so to speak, of the Tabernacle. The priest will take the blood, and he will leave you there and go into the Tabernacle proper, that is the real tent part, the covering part, or later, what will become the Temple. He'll go to the inside part of the Tabernacle, into the Holy Place. He'll take that blood in and he will take it to the altar of incense there, which is just beside the veil which separates the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place.  He won't dare go behind the veil into the Most Holy Place, but the priest is representing you. You couldn't go. He will go and he will put the blood of that sacrifice on the horns of the altar and will sprinkle it there before the veil. And that is your encounter with God. Through proxy. Through mediation. You're standing outside, across the way, at the altar, waiting for him to come back, and give you the word: "I prayed. I represented you before the Lord."

But even he couldn't go behind the veil. It was like he had to wait in the next room, your representative did. What Jesus is telling (the Samaritan woman) is that something radical is going to happen, so that you yourself can worship God at any moment.To put it in that Old Testament picture, to get a picture of it, it's as if you and I now, we bypass the priest, we don't even have to bring a lamb with us, we walk right by the brazen altar, we walk - I mean, this is unthinkable! If you, a non-Levite, a priest who had not been cleansed and set apart that day to worship, if you tried to walk in the Temple, they'd cut you down with a sword. You're going to defile the Temple! In fact, you couldn't even come into the Tabernacle court if you were unclean for some reason. You had a death in the family and you helped bury the body, you're unclean. You can't come near. You start to come near, we're going to kill you. But now, because of Jesus Christ, you can bypass, you walk right into the Tabernacle court, right past the brazen altar, you walk directly in the Holy Place, and you don't stop in the Holy Place, you walk right through the veil (into the Most Holy Place), because the veil is not there, it's torn down. And you walk right up to the very Throne of God, and you talk to him.

I mean, isn't it astounding? That the Father seeks worshipers "who will worship him in spirit and truth." How astounding, how absolutely stunning that word "Father" must have been in this context.❞

- Pastor Ty Blackburn, excerpted from The Necessity of True Worship, Part 2

 Additional Resources 

A Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness, Part 1

A Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness, Part 2

The Power of the Word of God

We Can't Know Truth?

Providence Duluth 

Mark Driscoll speaking to demons: "I want to know who all is involved here and what we're dealing with."

Posted by Christine Pack and Cathy Mathews

According to the video above, Mark Driscoll has embraced a dangerous false teaching in which Christians are taught what amounts to hand-to-hand combat with demons. This bizarre teaching was once confined to the hyper-charismatic denominations but has now invaded mainstream evangelical Christianity. (Incidentally, this teaching is also pervasive in C. Peter Wagner's New Apostolic Reformation.) This teaching instructs that Christians are authorized by God to deal directly with so-called territorial demons, in which a Christian must "reclaim" dominion over a territory (spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, etc.) that has been given over to demons due to personal sin. A recently published book (by Karl Payne) that is endorsed by Mark Driscoll might give us some insight into how and why Driscoll thinks the demon world should be directly engaged. From the publisher's notes:

"Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance is a transferable, step-by-step training manual on spiritual warfare. It focuses on clarifying and explaining "how to's" for recognizing and resolving attacks from the world, the flesh and the devil." (online source, Amazon)

Mark Driscoll's endorsement of Karl Payne's Spiritual Warfare book:

From the Appendices, Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance (pp 240-242)

On a personal note, my sister and I both have had first-hand experience with so called Spiritual Warfare and Deliverance Ministries, having both been personally involved with these ministries as very new Christians. We will be writing more on this in upcoming posts, but suffice it to say, we both came out of those experiences strongly committed to warning others about the unbiblical nature of such ministries.

While we both recognize and affirm that there IS a spiritual battle raging all around us in the unseen realm, we strongly disagree with those who believe and teach that the Bible instructs us to engage demons directly, as Mark Driscoll is discussing in the video above.

At the end of this article are a number of resources which were extremely beneficial in helping both me and my sister form a more biblical worldview. Coming out of the occult as we both did, we were virtually sitting ducks for deliverance ministries. Although we were true, born again Christians, realizing how much occultic stuff we had done - and at the same time having a very high view of God and not wanting to sin against Him - rendered us very vulnerable to suggestions to get rid of past curses, generational sin, etc. through unbiblical binding/loosing and deliverance ministries. These ministries, however, instead of helping us, led us into darkness and despair.

More to come on this....

 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 

 Radio Series 

Spiritual Warfare According to the Warfare Worldview - Part 1, presented by Bob DeWaay & Dick Kuffel
C. Peter Wagner, Bob Larson, Greg Boyd and others teach a worldview in which the well-being of Christians depends on interactions between spirits and humans. They claim there is a spiritual legal system that must be uncovered and used to fight the spirits.

Spiritual Warfare According to the Warfare Worldview - Part 2, presented by Bob DeWaay & Dick Kuffel
We examine the claims of proponents of the warfare worldview that suggest we need to gain information from shamans, New Agers, and even demons themselves in order to do battle with spirits. They create a spiritual technology based on secret information.

Spiritual Warfare According to the Warfare Worldview - Part 3, presented by Bob DeWaay &  Dick Kuffel
C. Peter Wagner says that we need to use "relatively new spiritual technology" based on information not found in the Bible. He says that we need to take this secret information and do "field tests" in the world of the spirits.

Spiritual Warfare According to the Warfare Worldview - Part 4, presented by Bob DeWaay & Dick Kuffel
In this final message, we summarize the claims of the warfare worldview and show that the only logical conclusion one can come to from that perspective is that he or she is cursed and it is hopeless. We give the alternative.

False Spiritual Warfare Teachings - Part 1, presented by Bob DeWaay & Dick Kuffel
This program examines the claims of those who teach that Adam gave world dominion to Satan and that the church has to get it back through unbiblical spiritual warfare techniques. We show the dangers of dominion theology.

False Spiritual Warfare Teachings - Part 2, presented by Bob DeWaay & Dick Kuffel
This program examines shows how unbiblical spiritual warfare teachings deny God's sovereignty over all things. We show that denying God's sovereignty leads to many unbiblical errors and creates confusion in the minds of Christians.

The Bondage Makers - Part 1, presented by Bob DeWaay & Dick Kuffel
Pastor Bob offers a frank discussion of the years he spent in deliverance ministry during the 1970's, the problems with such ministries, and how God helped him out of his errors. He explains the differences between the warfare and providential worldviews.

The Bondage Makers - Part 2, presented by Bob DeWaay & Dick Kuffel
Pastor Bob offers a frank discussion of the years he spent in deliverance ministry during the 1970's, the problems with such ministries, and how God helped him out of his errors. He explains the differences between the warfare and providential worldviews.

 Articles 

False Spiritual Warfare Teachings: How the Church Becomes Pagan

How Deliverance Ministries Lead People to Bondage: A Warning Against the Warfare Worldview

The Dishonoring of God in Popular Spiritual Warfare Teaching: Refuting the Bad Theology Espoused by Spiritual Warfare Teachers

Binding and Loosing, Part 1: False Spiritual Warfare Teachings

Binding and Loosing, Part 2: False Spiritual Warfare Teachings

Generational Curses: Biblical Answers to Questions Raised by the phrase "visit the inquities to the third and fourth generation"

The Reformation

Posted by Christine Pack (a short paper written by my son)

After Christ's death and resurrection, the true church was driven underground by fierce persecution. During the Middle Ages, Satan's counterfeit church (the Roman Catholic church) began to gain control over the citizens of Europe. This happened because of the deceit of the Catholic church and its leaders. Many lies spread by the Catholic church served to keep the people in spiritual bondage. One lie was that the priests could pray to help deceased loved ones enter into heaven. The church was “selling” these prayers for money. Another lie of the false church was that dying people should deed their properties to the priests. This lie also served to enrich the Catholic church. Unsurprisingly, at this time, the Catholic church grew in power and control over the people.

The printing press

The beginning of the Reformation was, surprisingly, the printing press. Who would have thought such a humble invention would bring about such great things? Soon, the Bible and other books were being spread throughout Europe. Yet, there was another problem. The Bible had not been translated into the common languages of the people of Europe. Only priests and trained scholars could read the Bible, and they weren't exactly about to spread the Good News of how man was reconciled to God. They were too entrenched in their luxurious lifestyles. This is why the printing press did not bring about dramatic changes at first; that is, until a certain man came along. This man was Martin Luther. Martin Luther was a scholar born into a highly educated family, whose father desired for him to become a lawyer. At one point in his life, being afraid of a fierce storm, Martin Luther prayed and vowed that he would be God's servant if God would deliver him from the storm. God spared his life and Luther became a monk. But Luther became angry at the Catholic church because he read in the Bible that salvation was through grace alone by faith alone in Christ's atoning death – and this was radically different from what the priests taught the people.

Martin Luther acted boldly to free the people from spiritual bondage. He wrote ninety-five points (or theses, as they came to be known) that directly challenged the teachings of the Catholic church, and which explained to the citizens the treachery of the church leaders. He then nailed these Ninety-Five Theses on a church door in Wittenberg, Germany! This act was the spark that ignited what came to be known as The Reformation. Martin Luther, along with others, worked to translate the Bible into the languages of the people. Those who fought for truth, and against the teachings of the Catholic church, were called “Protest-ants,” (because they were protesting against Rome) and eventually became known as Protestants, a designation still used today. The Reformation was the way that God brought the light of truth into the darkness that characterized most of the known world during the Middle Ages. To God be the glory!


 Additional Resources 

Answers in Genesis FREE Weekly Download - "The New Answers DVD"

Posted by Christine Pack, from the Answers in Genesis website:

What do you really believe—and why does it matter to your life, your family, and your faith? 

We live in a culture with more questions than ever—questions that affect one’s acceptance of the Bible as authoritative and trustworthy. This video download features easy to understand answers to some of the most important apologetics quandaries of today. You’ll love these highly stylized mini-interviews, featuring authors from the best-selling books. This DVD contains twelve answers, each about 4-minutes in length. 

This DVD answers the following questions: 

- Did Humans Really Evolve from Apelike Creatures? (Menton) 

- Does the Big Bang Fit with the Bible? (Lisle) 

- What’s Wrong with Progressive Creation? (Mortenson) 

- Is the Intelligent Design Movement Christian? (Purdom) 

- Can Creationists Be “Real” Scientists? (Lisle) 

- What’s the Best “Proof” of Creation? (Ham) 

- Doesn’t the Order of Fossils in the Rock Record Favor Long Ages? (Snelling) 

- Why Is the Scopes Trial Significant? (Menton) 

- Was the Dispersion at Babel a Real Event? (Hodge) 

- When Does Life Begin? (Mitchell) 

- Does Radiometric Dating Prove the Earth Is Old? (Snelling) 

- How To Respond to Someone Who Asks, “Why Is This Important?” (Ham) 

Concise and fast-paced, this cutting-edge video download is especially great for teens and young adults. (Ten of the answers are based on topics in The New Answers Book 2, and two are totally new.)

Go here to access your FREE video download.


 Special Note to Readers 

I can't even begin to express how instrumental Answers in Genesis was in helping to form my biblical worldview. As a new Christian, I was still pretty evolutionary in my thinking. Then along came AIG.  I remember going through their LONG list of scientists on staff and just being amazed! And here's why: I had always been told and taught, from grade school all the way up through college, that science had "proved" evolution. Evolution was "fact." So, having had this life-long indoctrination, the first time I ever heard of "Young Earthers" as a new Christian, I immediately thought "cult!" But then several years later, along came Answers in Genesis, and here were all these scientists on staff, many of them with multiple and advanced degrees in the sciences.  In other words, it's not like these were guys with their PhDs in Literature or something, weighing in on subjects they hadn't studied. These were scientists who had studied Archaeology, Biology, Zoology, Geology, Physics, Chemistry, Palaeontology, etc., etc., and who, after studying the evidence, were saying, "It points to Young Earth, and here's why...." Bottom line: I just really like how these scientists, working alongside Answers in Genesis, have turned that condescending, worldly dismissal of the Young Earth view on its ear. There are no "village idiots" in this bunch, my friends. You can say a lot of things about this group of scientists, but one thing you can't say is that they're stupid. In fact, I believe that God is using the ministry of Answers in Genesis to respond to the mockers of this age:

"It is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.' Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" (1 Corinthians 1:19-20)

 Additional Resources 

Answers in Genesis FREE Weekly Download - "Why Won't They Listen?"

Radioactive and Radiocarbon Dating with Dr. Andrew Snelling

The Grand Canyon: A Trickle of Water Over Millions of Years? Or A Deluge of Water Over a Brief Period?

Answers in Genesis

Answers in Genesis Curricula

Answers in Genesis for Kids

Answers in Genesis Articles Archive

The Creation Museum

On The "Faith" of Mother Teresa: John Ortberg Strikes Out

Posted by Christine Pack

In a recent article for Christianity Today (10/17/11), John Ortberg, senior pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, addressed the issue of "When God Seems Far Away" with an account of Mother Teresa's life. Ortberg talks about Mother Teresa having an on-fire faith for Jesus as a young woman...but then at some point, suddenly and inexplicably, the "fire" goes away. And not only goes away, but stays away. In her struggle to understand why her "God" had deserted her, Mother Teresa wrote a number of letters over a long period of time (50 years), letters which were published posthumously, and which, rightfully, raised questions about Mother Teresa's spiritual status when she died.

Ortberg writes that during this period of spiritual desolation, "a wise spiritual counselor told (Mother Teresa) three things she needed to hear." These three things were:

First, that there was no human remedy for this darkness. (So she could not control it.) 

Second, that "feeling" the presence of Jesus was not the only or even the primary evidence of his presence. (Jesus himself said that by their fruit—not their feelings—you shall know his true followers.) In fact, the very craving for God was a "sure sign" that God was present—though in a hidden way—in her life. 

Third, that the pain she was going through could be redemptive. That Jesus himself had to experience the agony of the Absence of God: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" His suffering redeemed us. Like him, Mother Teresa could suffer redemptively by clinging to God in the midst of darkness. (online source)

While this person who counseled Mother Teresa might have been considered wise by the world's standards, let's look at this counsel as compared to the Word of God:

(1) "(T)here was no human remedy for this darkness." 

This is actually a true statement in that there is no human remedy for the kind of spiritual darkness experienced by Mother Teresa. However, we know from Scripture that not only is Jesus light, and brings spiritual light to his followers, but that his followers are also characterized by this light: 

“Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) 

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

(2) "(T)he very craving for God was a 'sure sign' that God was present—though in a hidden way—in her life."

In my own life, sadly, I can attest that before being born again I had a deep craving to know God and be connected to God. But my heart was not oriented toward the true God of the Bible. However, we know from Scripture that we are made in the image of God, and because of this, we are all - lost and saved alike - spiritual beings who are oriented toward worship (or, "craving" for God). And being thusly made, we all can, and will, worship. The question is: is our worship rightfully oriented toward God? or is it oriented toward the false god(s) conjured up in our vain imaginations? Having a "craving for God" does not prove that the true God of the Bible is present; it merely proves that one is human and is spiritually oriented toward some kind of worship. Muslims, Jews, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Hindus and Buddhists all seek after God, or so they think. But their "sincerity" does not somehow transform their seeking into true worship. And as Mother Teresa was a practicing Roman Catholic, what evidence is there that she sought the God of the Bible, as opposed to the false, and changeable, "God" of the Roman Catholic church?

(3) "(T)he pain she was going through could be redemptive."

This idea of redemption-through-suffering is far more Roman Catholic than it is Christian. Writes Tim Challies in his article The Myth of Mother Teresa:  

“The common belief is that Mother Teresa worked with the sick and destitute to lovingly return them to health. An examination of her missions will show that this is far from the case. Mother Teresa believed that there is spiritual value in suffering. Once, when tending to a patient dying of cancer, she said 'You are suffering like Christ on the cross. So Jesus must be kissing you.' (Christoper Hitchens - The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice, p. 41). For this reason she would not prescribe pain killers in her clinics, choosing instead to allow her patients to experience the suffering that she believed would bring them closer to Christ.” (my emphasis)

So Mother Teresa apparently "ministered" to people in her care by allowing them to suffer pain unrelieved by pain medication under the Roman Catholic delusion that their suffering had redemptive powers. But from Scripture we know that redemption comes through repentance and faith in Christ's atoning death for the forgiveness of sins, and no other way.

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”  (John 14:6)

There is also, more importantly, evidence that Mother Teresa withheld the life-giving truth of the gospel message from those in her care who were dying, and would instead encourage them to pray to the "god" of their particular religious faith, whatever that might be. Here is even more troubling evidence that Mother Teresa herself was in all likelihood not saved herself.

I consider this article by Pastor John Ortberg to be a big swing and a miss, and also a real missed opportunity to exhort Catholics to reject the teaching of salvation by sacraments/works/suffering (as taught by the Catholic church) and come out from that dark, spiritual bondage and into the light - the true Light - that only comes by hearing the true gospel message and being born again by faith in Christ alone.

photo credit: TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³ via photopin cc

 Additional Resources 

Mother Teresa

The Myth of Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa A Lost Soul

Mother Teresa in Her Own Words

Testimony of a Former Roman Catholic Priest....From Darkness to Light

Far From Rome, Near to God

Proclaiming the Gospel: The Ministry of Mike Gendron (former Roman Catholic)

CNN Reports That Mother Teresa Underwent Exorcism

BBC Reports About Exorcism Performed on Mother Teresa

A Chart With Christian/Catholic Views Side-By-Side (courtesy of former Roman Catholic priest Richard Bennett)

Mother Teresa In Her Own Words

Posted by Christine Pack 

Mother Teresa

“We never try to convert those who receive [aid from her organization] to Christianity but in our work we bear witness to the love of God’s presence and if Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, or agnostics become for this better men — simply better — we will be satisfied. Growing up in love they will be nearer to God and find him in his goodness. Every human being comes from the hand of God and we all know what is the love of God for us. My religion is everything to me but for every individual, according to the grace God had given that soul. God has his own ways and means to work in the hearts of men and we do not know how close they are to him but by their actions we will always know whether they are at his disposal or not. 

Whether you are a Hindu, a Moslem or a Christian, how you live your life is the proof that you are fully his or not. We must not condemn or judge or pass words that will hurt people. Maybe a person has never heard of Christianity. We do not know what way God is appearing to that soul and what way God is drawing that soul, and therefore who are we to condemn anybody? It matters to the individual what church he belongs to. If that individual thinks and believes that this is the only way to God for her or him, this is the way God comes into their life — his life. If he does not know any other way and if he has no doubt so that he does not need to search then this is his way to salvation. This is the way God comes into his life.” (Life in the Spirit: Reflections, Meditations and Prayers, pp 81, 82, my emphasis)

A nun who had worked with Mother Teresa was once asked, with respect to the Hindus they ministered to, “These people are waiting to die. What are you telling them to prepare them for death and eternity?” Mother Teresa replied candidly, “We tell them to pray to their Bhagwan, to their gods.”

“Are you not afraid of God? You call him Ishwar, some call him Allah, some simply God, but we all have to acknowledge that it is He who made us for greater things: to love and to be loved. Who are we to prevent our people from finding this God who has made them — who loves them — to whom they have to return?” (Letter from Mother Teresa to Indian Prime Minister Morarji Desai)

In an interview with her biographer, the following exchange was recorded:

Biographer Naveen Chawla: “Do you convert?” 

Mother Teresa: “Of course I convert. I convert you to be a better Hindu or a better Muslim or a better Protestant. Once you’ve found God, it’s up to you to decide how to worship him.”

So our question.........Was Mother Teresa a Christian, if this was what she truly believed?

photo credit: TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³ via photopin cc


 Additional Resources 

Mother Teresa A Lost Soul

Explaining the Heresy of Catholicism - John MacArthur, Grace To You

A Former Roman Catholic Priest Gives His Testimony (Why Catholicism Cannot Save)

Deeds, Creeds and Mother Teresa's Despair

Interview with Brannon Howse, Worldview Weekend Radio

Posted by Christine Pack

Thank you to Brannon Howse of Worldview Weekend Radio for recently having me on his show. I gave my testimony of having been raised faithfully attending church, but of never being born again. In my late teens, I left the church and over the next decade, became deeply involved in occultism and the New Age Movement, including such occultic/New age practices as:

- Wicca
- Paganism
- Mysticism
- Hinduism
- Buddhism
- Mantra Meditation
- Yoga (including the very occultic Kundalini yoga)
- Centering Prayer
- "Spirit Guides" (which were actually demons masquerading as "friends")
- Labyrinth
- Pendulum
- Tarot
- Runes
- Psychics
- Reiki

God mercifully saved me out of this darkness, and into the Truth. He opened my eyes to my sinful and wretched condition, and I realized that no matter what I did, all my efforts at helping myself and saving myself were futile. I needed to be saved.......I needed a Savior. I needed Christ, and I needed to be born again.

After becoming a born again Christian, I spent a brief period just enjoying being in fellowship with other Christians. But then my own church began to bring in some of the very same practices I had engaged in while in the occult. The first one was so called "Christian yoga." But this Hindu salvific practice had been cleverly repackaged, and now had Christian terminology added to it. And yet it was the same yoga I had practiced in the New Age. I remembered that the word "yoga" itself meant "to yoke" or "to unite," meaning to unite with the deities of Hinduism (not the God of the Bible). I remembered that the yoga positions themselves were prayer postures designed to glorify any one of the millions of different Hindu gods. And yet, after a few conversations, I realized that my fellow Christians had no idea of this!

"The LORD your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land, and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, "How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same." You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods. See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it." (Deut. 12:29-32, my emphasis)

Another thing that I had practiced while in the New Age was Roman Catholic mysticism (Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Disciplines, Formational Prayer, etc.). This is a practice that can be traced back to Roman Catholic monks known as "the Desert Fathers," and who lived during the 3th-5th century A.D. These monks cloistered themselves mainly in the deserts of Egypt. Situated as they were so close to the east, these monks ended up borrowing liberally from eastern spiritual practices, which they blended with Christian prayer (a practice that God detests). One of these eastern spiritual practices the Desert Fathers adopted was something that is well-known in the occult/New Age world as mantra meditation (using some kind of device for the purpose of emptying the mind so as to encounter God). This is an extremely occultic practice which opens practitioners up the demonic realm, and has nothing to do with biblical meditation.

In my innocence, I assumed that the leadership would be shocked when I explained this to them, and would rush to remove these practices. Sadly, this was not the case. After my husband and I eventually left our church and searched for more than a year for a solid, Bible-believing church, my eyes were further opened that the New Age practices in our last church had not be the exception....but by and large, were the rule for most churches today.

My sister and closest friend, who also had been saved out of New Age/occultism, was also having a similar experience in her own church, several states away. We began to talk constantly of what we were seeing, what was happening, and how our concerns were being received (or not received). Eventually, we began to write the Sola Sisters blog to sound a warning to the church today, and to encourage others who might be having a similar experience in their own churches.

For those who have discovered that their own churches are bringing in New Age practices, the good news is that whom God saves, He saves to the uttermost, and He has also promised never to leave or forsake those who belong to him. This means that if we are in churches that are straying from truth, God himself will uphold us with his righteous right hand, and will give us strength to endure whatever path He has set before us, whether that is remaining in a bad church and earnestly contending for truth or leaving to find a solid church.

Please listen to this broadcast and then send it on to all your Christian friends as well as those you know who are involved in any way with any of these New Age practices.

Listen to the entire interview here.


 Additional Resources 

What Is Spiritual Formation?

Richard Foster's 1978 Book About Spiritual Formation/Spiritual Discplines ("Celebration of Discipline") Taught as a Christian Classic in Seminaries

Donald Whitney and Spiritual Disciplines (Spirituality Without Boundaries)

The Dangers of Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Disciplines

How We Are Sanctified: Through the Means of Grace As Given In the Bible- Not Man-Made Spiritual Formation

Testimony of a Former Mystic

Mysticism: A Counterfeit Holy Spirit

"Christian" Yoga?

Julia Roberts: "I'm Definitely A Practicing Hindu"

The Yoga Deception

Doctor Prescribes "Therapeutic" Yoga For A Christian Woman

Rick Warren Promotes "Christianized" Mantra Meditation

In His Own Words: The Creator of Centering Prayer (Roman Catholic Mystic Thomas Keating) Reveals The Occultic Roots of This Practice

Rick Warren Recommends Pagan Mantra "Technique" For Christians

Is Steve Jobs in Hell?

By Jonathan Cousar, originally posted in Freedom Torch blog

I hesitated in writing this article because it has no political content whatsoever - so posting it here on FreedomTorch.com seems a little out of place.  But as I watched the news over the last two days of Steve Jobs' tragic and untimely death I couldn't help but wonder, "where is he right now?"  The news stories lauded praise and not a one raised the question of where he might possibly spend eternity - which actually seems to me to be the most important question of all.

We all know the secular media isn't ever going to get into questions like that.  And we know that non-Christians will always portray a good man as meeting St. Peter at the "pearly gates" and welcomed into heaven - thanks to their goodness.  And although that's not what the Bible teaches, even many Christians seem to want to go along with that story - because it just makes everybody feel better. But shouldn't we stop offering delusion for the sake of good feelings on a matter like eternity where the stakes are so high?

What ultimately prompted me to write about this today was when I went to theGospelCoalition website out of curiosity to see if even Christian websites were talking about his eternal destiny.  If anyone was going to speak on this issue you'd think it would be a Christian website.  But it wasn't to be - so I guess ironically - it will have to come from a political website!  I was startled to find an article on theGospelCoalition site lauding Steve Jobs and suggesting the church could learn a few lessons from him!  At the end of this article the author said that "when we see those glowing Apple logos let us take a moment to honor the greatness of our God."  I was stunned by that because what we know of Steve Jobs' Buddhist and new-age spirituality is that he was fairly militant in his hostility to Christianity.

At the end of his life none of us know where Steve Jobs stood in relation to Christ, but if we go by what we did know, then the Bible says he will be spending eternity in hell.  I don't report this to you with any glee or happiness whatsoever, for indeed it is the greatest tragedy of all.

I should say that I'm writing this as a Christian to Christians, so if you're not a Christian, please forgive my expression of these Christian views here.  This is not meant to demean or in any way disrespect the beliefs of many of our FreedomTorch members.

As I've listened to the news reports of his great, life-improving achievements, I realized that I myself have great admiration for this man and his accomplishments - they've certainly improved my life as well.  But, I couldn't help but wonder where is he now, and the words of Mark 8:36 came to mind:  "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?"

From a Biblical perspective, since we can't know for sure whether Jobs had a last-minute conversion, let me not pick on him personally, but use him as a metaphor for wealthy, powerful people who do die without Christ and try to picture what that experience - going from life to death - might have been like.

Try to imagine being as wealthy, powerful and influential as he was.  Imagine having so much wealth that you can speak things into existence by the very power of your words.  Imagine having everything you could possibly want at the snap of your fingers.  Imagine being able to literally call anyone in the world on your iPhone and have them take your call.  Celebrities, presidents, corporate chieftains, actors/actresses.  Is there anyone who would not have taken a call from Steve Jobs?  Imagine the sensation of having that kind of power and influence in the world.

You're a true Master of the Universe, you're respected, honored and adored universally.  And then suddenly - you die.  And you die without Christ.  In an instant you've lost everything.   At the moment of your death you make the most horrifying discovery that everything written in the Bible you rejected, was true. You enter into the most horrible place you've ever imagined. While people are still lauding you with praises back here on earth you have just entered a place where the screams alone are unbearable. The heat is unimaginable. Think of the tragic victims of 9/11 who were forced to jump from the highest floors. The heat was so intense that a jump from the 100th floor became the more attractive option. Now, imagine a fire unbearably more intense than that. When you arrive you hear people screaming in agony, screaming that there's no escape - it's too late. And suddenly you're faced with the reality that you are going to be there FOREVER! For ETERNITY and there's no way, nothing at all, not a single possibility you can ever get out.

Imagine going from your beloved earthly reality to that Biblical reality - in an instant.

Christians don't talk about this often anymore and I'm not sure why. It's Biblical reality.

But we really need to think about it. Liberal pastors like New York City's Tim Keller says, "the primary purpose of salvation is cultural renewal - to make this world a better place." But is it really the PRIMARY purpose? What about ETERNITY and where we spend it? Is that not made more important by the sheer fact that it will go on and on forever?

While liberal pastors and theologians are busy at work thinking of ways to minimize the Biblical doctrine of hell, many more people are ending up there because they're not being taught the truth.

In Philippians 3:18-21 the Bible tells us:

"For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.  Their future is eternal destruction.  Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and all they think about is this life here on earth.  But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.  And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.  He will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same mighty power that he will use to conquer everything, everywhere." (my emphasis)

Liberal pastors, theologians and writers like Tim Keller, Rob Bell and yes even C.S. Lewis, tell Christians they shouldn't talk about eternal damnation and hell and fire and brimstone, because they say, it turns people off from the Gospel!  But, it is an integral part of the Gospel!  It's like saying "don't tell people what the Gospel says because it might turn them off from the Gospel"!

Without a clear Biblical understanding of hell, we humans have no way of understanding just how bad even the least of our sins are to God.  And don't we use this same principle in our criminal justice system?  Don't serious crimes get harsher punishments?  And don't criminals, even the ones who think there is nothing wrong with committing the crimes they've committed, understand by the harsher punishment that society judges their crimes as more serious? You see, without knowing the punishment, we can't truly understand the seriousness of our crimes - or our sins.

It's only when we look at the serious nature of the eternal punishment that we can begin to faintly come to grips with the serious depravity of our human nature.  And it is only when we begin to understand the seriousness with which God considers our sins that we begin to dimly understand our need for a savior.  And it is only when we begin to understand our need for a savior that we begin to understand just how wonderful the word Gospel - which means Good News - really is.  For indeed, it is glorious news to learn that God has acted in human history to save us from the eternal punishment our sins have earned us.

I think it's fitting to close with the story that Jesus told in the Gospel of Luke of Lazarus and the Rich Man.  The points of this story that haunt me are that hell is absolutely horrible and there is no way of ever getting out of it or getting any relief from the eternal pain and torture.

Jesus said, "There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed and who lived each day in luxury.  At his door lay a diseased beggar named Lazarus.  As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man's table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.  Finally, the beggar died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham.  The rich man also died and was buried and his soul went to Hades.  There, in torment, he saw Lazarus in the far distance with Abraham. 

The rich man shouted, "Father Abraham, have some pity!  Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in great anguish in these flames." 

But Abraham said to him, "Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing.  So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish.  And besides, there is a great chasm separating us.  Anyone who wanted to cross over to you from here is stopped at its edge, and no one there can cross over to us."
 
Then the rich man said, "Please Father Abraham, send him to my father's house.  For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them about this place of torment so they won't have to come here when they die."  But Abraham said, "Moses and the prophets have warned them.  Your brothers can read their writings anytime they want to." 

The rich man replied, "No, Father Abraham!  But if someone is sent to them from the dead, they will turn from their sins."  But Abraham said, "If they won't listen to Moses and the prophets, they won't listen even if someone rises from the dead."  

Now that by bringing the Biblical doctrine of hell to you, I have thoroughly succeeded in making everyone despise this God who would send us to such a horrible punishment, I have to remind you, that's not the whole story. There's one more part. The knowledge of an eternal hell makes the words of John 3:16-18 truly wonderful.  These words people have read so many times that they're sick of them.  But you can only be sick of these words if you don't understand that without them you too would spend eternity in hell.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.  There is no judgment or condemnation awaiting those who trust him.  But those who do not trust him have already been condemned for not believing in the only Son of God."

photo credit: Sean Molin Photography via photopin cc

 Additional Resources

How Steve Jobs and Christ Defeated Death and Preached the Gospel

What does the Hebrew word "day" in Genesis 1 mean?

Posted by Christine Pack, from the Answers in Genesis website:

 

In this challenging presentation, Ken Ham clears up some common misunderstandings about the debate over Genesis 1 and “six days” of creation.  He addresses questions and topics such as: 

➤ Can the Hebrew word “day” in Genesis 1 mean anything other than an ordinary 24-hour day? 

➤ Why do so many Christian leaders reject the clear teaching of Genesis 1 about ordinary days? 

➤ The real danger of arguing that the “days” of creation are long ages—it allows death and disease before sin 

➤ The church’s general compromise with evolution’s long ages is undermining the biblical worldview

Go here to access your FREE video download


 Note to Readers 

I can't even begin to express how instrumental Answers in Genesis was in helping to form my biblical worldview. As a new Christian, I was still pretty evolutionary in my thinking. Then along came AIG.  I remember going through their LONG list of scientists on staff and just being amazed! And here's why: I had always been told and taught, from grade school all the way up through college, that science had "proved" evolution. Evolution was "fact." So, having had this life-long indoctrination, the first time I ever heard of "Young Earthers" as a new Christian, I immediately thought "cult!" But then several years later, along came Answers in Genesis, and here were all these scientists on staff, many of them with multiple and advanced degrees in the sciences.  In other words, it's not like these were guys with their PhDs in Literature or something, weighing in on subjects they hadn't studied. These were scientists who had studied Archaeology, Biology, Zoology, Geology, Physics, Chemistry, Palaeontology, etc., etc., and who, after studying the evidence, were saying, "It points to Young Earth, and here's why...." Bottom line: I just really like how these scientists, working alongside Answers in Genesis, have turned that condescending, worldly dismissal of the Young Earth view on its ear. There are no "village idiots" in this bunch, my friends. You can say a lot of things about this group of scientists, but one thing you can't say is that they're stupid. In fact, I believe that God is using the ministry of Answers in Genesis to respond to the mockers of this age:

"It is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.' Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" (1 Corinthians 1:19-20)

 Additional Resources 

Radioactive and Radiocarbon Dating with Dr. Andrew Snelling

The Grand Canyon: A Trickle of Water Over Millions of Years? Or A Deluge of Water Over a Brief Period?

Answers in Genesis

Answers in Genesis Curricula

Answers in Genesis for Kids

Answers in Genesis Articles Archive

The Creation Museum

What Is The New Apostolic Reformation? (And Why Should We Be Concerned About It?)

Posted by Christine Pack

We all know about pandemics, right? The World Health Organization will often track a virus that is in pigs or birds or some other known animal carrier.  The virus being tracked could stay within its animal group for years, not causing problems for humans, but sometimes, for unknown reasons, the virus will unexpectedly "jump" from its animal group......to humans.  That's what the scientists are always concerned about, and when that happens, they sit up and take notice, and start churning out public service warnings, because they know this previously harmless virus could potentially turn into a very dangerous, and deadly, pandemic.

In somewhat the same way, a new movement - with some pretty strange beliefs - inside of Christian evangelicalism called the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) has gathered lethal momentum very unexpectedly.  This movement had up until recently only been taught and believed inside the hyper-charismatic movement (think IHOP, Kansas City Prophets, Mike Bickle, etc.). But now, having somehow "jumped" from its normal carrier, rather than being "contained" as a strange belief system that would only impact a limited number of people, it suddenly began to go viral when big names on the political right began to align themselves with the big names from the charismatic Christian side.

Why exactly has the NAR, which makes alarming use of militant "warfare" language and talks of "taking dominion" over the world "one mountain at a time," gotten so big, so fast, and with so many big political names attached? In my view, it's because there are many on the political right, who, despite their moralistic stance, have a tendency to be more invested in political strategy, power and numbers than in sound doctrine and biblical truth. Thus, to the political right without discernment, Numbers = Power. And I suspect this is what happened: they looked out over the landscape of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement (which is an extremely large segment of professing Christians), decided this was representative of "Christianity," did the math, and then jumped on board.

The 7 Mountain Mandate

But let me back up here and give a little background information about the NAR. The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), as I noted, is a movement that has its roots in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements (Latter Day Rain, Kansas City Prophets, International House of Prayer-IHOP, Joel's Army). This movement is loaded with self-appointed "apostles" and "prophets" (who take Ephesians 4:11-13 out of context to to defend the idea that the office of apostle and prophet are still valid today). The leaders of this movement believe and teach that Christians have a mandate to reclaim "for Christ" Seven Mountains of influence, which they have designated as:

1 - Business
2 - Government
3 - Family
4 - Religion
5 - Media
6 - Education
7 - Entertainment 

This movement and its 7 Mountain Mandate has been very enticing to Christians who hold to a Dominionist view, which is the idea that the church's role is to "take back" dominion of the earth from Satan. This is based on a faulty understanding of Psalm 8:6 and Genesis 1:26. Dominionists assume (wrongly) that the dominion God gave to Adam and Eve extended to the spiritual realm (not just the physical realm), and that they therefore had the power and ability, when they sinned, to give the world over to Satan. Dominionists think that they are mandated by God, through these misinterpreted Scriptures, to take back all these spheres of influence, thus reclaiming the world spiritually for God, and then Christ will return. This view has also been extremely seductive to the Conservative Right, because hey, the idea of knuckling down and working hard is what America is all about, right? So there you have it: combine the errant "doctrine" of Kingdom Now/Dominionism from the Pentecostal/Charismatic camp with the moralism of the Conservative Right, and you've got one dangerous pandemic, because both groups, in their own ways, are tremendously influential and powerful.

Who are the players in the NAR movement? It's a long list that is growing longer by the day, but below are some of the names currently associated with the NAR. And please note that the presence of a name on this list does NOT mean that the person in question showed up only one time on a random list somewhere or attended one NAR conference, and then disassociated themselves. Each person on this list has had repeated associations and/or dealings with the NAR, and without any record of concern over the heretical theology of the IHOP/New Apostles aspect of the NAR. Now having said that, this doesn't necessarily mean that all who are on the list are high level movers and shakers in the NAR......I do think that some could be somewhat innocent as to the core theology they've become yoked with. So my article is not an attempt to smear or slander anyone, but to highlight some repeated associations that are causing concern:

 Pentecostals/Charismatics/Christians 

C. Peter Wagner 

Bill Bright 

Mike Bickle 

Rick Joyner 

Chuck Pierce

Pat Robertson 

"Joel's Army"

"Latter Rain" 

"Manifest Sons of God" 

Cindy Jacobs 

Mike Jacobs 

Lou Engle 

Ché Ahn 

Todd Bentley 

Dutch Sheets 

Jim Garlow 

Os Hillman 

Paul Cain  

Chuck Colson 

Lance Wallnau 

Loren Cunningham 

YWAM 

Bill Johnson 

George Otis, Jr. 

Ed Silvoso 

Jack Hayford 

Tommy Tenney 

Charles Kraft 

John Eckhardt  

Bill Hamon 

Gabe Lyons

 Political Right 

The Tea Party Movement 

Texas Governor Rick Perry 

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin 

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell 

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli 

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty 

Senator Jim DeMint 

Senator Sam Brownback 

Michele Bachmann 

Mike Huckabee 

Glenn Beck 

Jim Garlow 

David Barton 

Newt Gingrich 

Gary Bauer 

Frank Gaffney 

Chuck Norris 

Janet Porter

Friends, the NAR is a dangerous and rapidly growing movement that is, sadly, capturing the hearts and minds of many conservative Christians who have been enticed with the idea of "saving" America though Christian activism. In truth, Christians are not ever, anywhere in Scripture, promised easy lives, or even the "right" to live in freedom. But please note that the siren lure of political activism is nothing new. Do we not remember that even Jesus's disciples repeatedly jockeyed for position in the earthly kingdom they wished for and desired for Jesus to institute?

"They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest." (Mark 9:33-34)

And even after Jesus's resurrection, they were still questioning Jesus about the earthly kingdom they hoped for:

"So when they met together, they asked him, 'Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?'" (Acts 1:6)

The NAR teaches that, through the advancement of medicine, science, technology and the gospel, this world is getting better and better. That through strategically "capturing" each of the designated "mountains," we will set up Jesus' earthly kingdom, and that once we have accomplished this, Jesus will return as the glittering jewel in the crown of his earthly kingdom. But is this true? Is this what the Bible teaches? Let us let Scripture lead us on the matter of Jesus' kingdom:

"Jesus answered, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.'" (John 18:36, my emphasis)

The life of a born again Christian is not complicated. Become reconciled to a high and holy God through the shed blood of Jesus, share the gospel, be persecuted, and die. But the seductive lure of an earthly life in which we (the Christians) control the earth and all that is in it, is a dream that dies hard. And now the NAR, with its utopian vision of heaven on earth, has once again showed us that very few people are willing to do as Jesus taught us, and that is to "Count the cost" (Luke 14:25-35) and "Take up your cross and follow me"(Matthew 16:24). Flee from this movement, my fellow Christians.

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." (Prov 14:12)

A Personal Note: Please send this article to your loved ones so that they can be on the look-out for this dangerous movement sweeping through Christianity. I consider this to be one of the most important articles I have ever written, and I regret not having written it sooner. And please understand that I have only scratched the surface in this article. Unfortunately, the NAR is such a massive movement, with so many tentacles, and so many people involved, that it was almost impossible to talk about it concisely. It is almost unfathomable to me how many people have been affected by this dangerous movement. Hardly a day goes by that I don't hear from at least one person who has personally had to flee a once solid church because this teaching has suddenly swept in, or someone who has watched a loved one be seduced by it, or someone who has even been unwittingly swept up in this movement themselves.

photo credit: alexperuso via photopin cc

 Additional Resources 

The Roots of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR)

The False Gospel Message of the NAR

Why the NAR is Dangerous, and How It Gathered Lethal Momentum

The Coalescing of the Christian Right with Apostolic Dominionism

The 7 Apostolic Spheres

The Theology of the 7 Mountain Mandate

The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) Makes Strange Bedfellows

The Tea Party's Strange Bedfellows and What They Believe

Articles Documenting the Theological Problems with the NAR

Say No to Rick Perry's "The Response" Prayer Event

Do Not Be Deceived

Potentially Millions of Evangelicals Compromising the Gospel by Joining With Glenn Beck

I'm Sorry, Glenn....It's Over. It's Not Me, It's You.

Christians Putting the Flag Before the Cross? - Part 1

Christians Putting the Flag Before the Cross? - Part 2

"Why I Believe Christians Should Not Participate in Governor Perry's "The Response" and Why It is NOT "Just A Prayer Event" (by Brannon Howse)

Pastor Justin Peters Explains Why the Word of Faith Movement is Dangerous and Unbiblical - Part 1

Pastor Justin Peters Explains Why the Word of Faith Movement is Dangerous and Unbiblical - Part 2

Todd Bentley - "Kick Her In The Face"