“The Lord created us in His image and likeness, and we are the image of the Lord, and He does good and all of us have this commandment at heart: do good and do not do evil. All of us. ‘But, Father, this is not Catholic! He cannot do good.’ Yes, he can… “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone!”.. We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.”

Apparently Pope Francis has abandoned the ideology of the last pope, Benedict, who believed that the Roman Catholic church was the true church and that they alone could provide salvation in Christ. Forget the fact that the pope is supposed to be infallible, just like the pope’s before him were supposed to be infallible. Pay no attention to the countless contradictions popes have created throughout time. Plain and simple, the pope is saying that there is salvation apart from belief in the gospel. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the pope even knows the gospel. I think Rome has no idea what the gospel is. It’s easy to see why Protestants throw their hands up in the air. This is ridiculous and upsetting, being that it is so offensive to the gospel itself. This man is a fool and a blind man who is leading the blind.

Ironically, many of these ‘Protestants’ still love and adore CS Lewis. I’ve brought this issue up countless times in the past, and it usually just gets me dirty looks or ridicule. But, I’ll bring it up again. Why is is that the Protestant can rightly rail against the words of the pope, and not see the issues with CS Lewis?! After all, CS Lewis and Pope Francis pretty much agree here. Notice what Lewis said in Mere Christianity:

“There are people in other religions who are being led by God’s secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity, and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it … For example a Buddhist of good will may be led to concentrate more and more on the Buddhist teaching about mercy and to leave in the background (though he might still say he believed) the Buddhist teaching on certain points. Many of the good Pagans long before Christ’s birth may have been in this position” (Mere Christianity, pp. 176-177).

It’s upsetting to hear a pastor or a would be pastor say how much they honor Lewis as a brilliant man of God. They affirm that they are familiar with what he said above, and SHRUG their shoulders about it. They just don’t care. But, they will still rightly condemn the pope. It’s hero worship that leads men to shut off their brains and embrace false teachers. I mean, “Look at all that Lewis did. Look at his accomplishments. Listen to his eloquence. He was a deep thinker.” Big whoop. The guy missed it on the gospel. This isn’t justification by faith alone in Christ alone. This is justification by works outside of faith in Christ. Is that a big deal to you?

]]> http://theproteststation.wordpress.com/2013/05/24/the-pope-embraces-cs-lewis-theology/feed/ 1 proteststation http://theproteststation.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/benny-hinn-needs-your-help/ http://theproteststation.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/benny-hinn-needs-your-help/#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 11:24:47 +0000 The Protest! Station http://theproteststation.wordpress.com/?p=2538 Continue reading →]]> Benny Hinn needs your help. Yes, you. He’s in some serious debt. How much? 2.5 million smackers of debt. Hinn says that an anonymous donor who Benny calls a “long time and beloved friend” will match the donated amount dollar for dollar.

“God wants your ministry to be completely out of debt, and I want to plant an anointed seed that will help you take a giant step toward becoming totally debt-free!” said Hinn’s anonymous friend. ”God has laid it on my heart to plant a seed of $2.5 million into your ministry, but God only wants me to make this gift if the ministry partners match the amount within 90 days! I feel so strongly that He wants them to be part of the supernatural wealth transfer that is coming to every believer who will obey God’s Word.”

Benny Hinn must not be “sowing enough seeds.” He preaches that when you give (“sow your seed”), God promises to at least doubly repay your fortunes. In fact, “lack” or “poverty” is seen as a curse in Benny’s theological circles. All in all, I think all this is really unnecessary. All Hinn has to do is sell his private jet or any of his luxury cars. Of course, then he’d be forced to fly coach or drive something lame like a beige Toyota Camry. But, he’ll certainly be out of debt. I mean, he did, after all, use the ministry’s money to buy the jet and cars. Oh well, So much for the “prosperity gospel.”

Ignatius of Antioch (35 or 50 AD) – (98 to 117 AD)
to the Magnesians

Chapter X

“Let us not, therefore, be insensible to His kindness. For were He to reward us according to our works, we should cease to be.”

______

Justin Martyr (103–165 AD)
Dialogue with Trypho

Chapter 5

“‘These philosophers know nothing, then, about these things; for they cannot tell what a soul is.’

“‘It does not appear so.’

“‘Nor ought it to be called immortal; for if it is immortal, it is plainly unbegotten.’

“‘It is both unbegotten and immortal, according to some who are styled Platonists.’

“‘Do you say that the world is also unbegotten?’

“‘Some say so. I do not, however, agree with them.’

“‘You are right; for what reason has one for supposing that a body so solid, possessing resistance, composite, changeable, decaying, and renewed every day, has not arisen from some cause? But if the world is begotten, souls also are necessarily begotten; and perhaps at one time they were not in existence, for they were made on account of men and other living creatures, if you will say that they have been begotten wholly apart, and not along with their respective bodies.’ “‘This seems to be correct.’

“‘They are not, then, immortal?‘

“‘No; since the world has appeared to us to be begotten.’

“‘But I do not say, indeed, that all souls die; for that were truly a piece of good fortune to the evil. What then? The souls of the pious remain in a better place, while those of the unjust and wicked are in a worse, waiting for the time of judgment. Thus some which have appeared worthy of God never die; but others are punished so long as God wills them to exist and to be punished.’

Chapter 6

Now the soul partakes of life, since God wills it to live. Thus, then, it will not even partake [of life] when God does not will it to live. For to live is not its attribute, as it is God’s; but as a man does not live always, and the soul is not for ever conjoined with the body, since, whenever this harmony must be broken up, the soul leaves the body, and the man exists no longer; even so, whenever the soul must cease to exist, the spirit of life is removed from it, and there is no more soul, but it goes back to the place from whence it was taken.’

______

Irenaeus of Lyons (130–202 AD)
Against Heresies

Book II, Chapter 34

And again, He thus speaks respecting the salvation of man: He asked life of You, and You gave him length of days for ever and ever; indicating that it is the Father of all who imparts continuance for ever and ever on those who are saved. For life does not arise from us, nor from our own nature; but it is bestowed according to the grace of God. And therefore he who shall preserve the life bestowed upon him, and give thanks to Him who imparted it, shall receive also length of days for ever and ever. But he who shall reject it, and prove himself ungrateful to his Maker, inasmuch as he has been created, and has not recognised Him who bestowed [the gift upon him], deprives himself of [the privilege of] continuance for ever and ever. And, for this reason, the Lord declared to those who showed themselves ungrateful towards Him: If you have not been faithful in that which is little, who will give you that which is great? indicating that those who, in this brief temporal life, have shown themselves ungrateful to Him who bestowed it, shall justly not receive from Him length of days for ever and ever.

______

Arnobius of Sicca (253–327 AD)
Against the Heathen

Book II, Section 14

“Do you dare to laugh at us when we speak of hell, and fires which cannot be quenched, into which we have learned that souls are cast by their foes and enemies? What, does not your Plato also, in the book which he wrote on the immortality of the soul, name the rivers Acheron, Styx, Cocytus, and Pyriphlegethon, and assert that in them souls are rolled along, engulphed, and burned up? But though a man of no little wisdom, and of accurate judgment and discernment, he essays a problem which cannot be solved; so that, while he says that the soul is immortal, everlasting, and without bodily substance, he vet says that they are punished, and makes them suffer pain. But what man does not see that that which is immortal, which is simple, cannot be subject to any pain; that that, on the contrary, cannot be immortal which does suffer pain? And yet his opinion is not very far from the truth. For although the gentle and kindly disposed man thought it inhuman cruelty to condemn souls to death, he yet not unreasonably supposed that they are cast into rivers blazing with masses of flame, and loathsome from their foul abysses. For they are cast in, and being annihilated, pass away vainly in everlasting destruction. For theirs is an intermediate state, as has been learned from Christ’s teaching; and they are such that they may on the one hand perish if they have not known God, and on the other be delivered from death if they have given heed to His threats and proffered favours. And to make manifest what is unknown, this is man’s real death, this which leaves nothing behind. For that which is seen by the eyes is only a separation of soul from body, not the last end— annihilation: this, I say, is man’s real death, when souls which know not God shall be consumed in long-protracted torment with raging fire, into which certain fiercely cruel beings shall cast them, who were unknown before Christ, and brought to light only by His wisdom.”

Book II, Section 35

“For if we all agree that there is one Father of all, Who alone is immortal and unbegotten, and if nothing at all is found before Him which could be named, it follows as a consequence that all these whom the imagination of men believes to be gods, have been either begotten by Him or produced at His bidding. Are they produced and begotten? They are also later in order and time: if later in order and time, they must have an origin, and beginning of birth and life; but that which has an entrance into and beginning of life in its first stages, it of necessity follows, should have an end also.”

Book II, Section 36

“But the gods are said to be immortal. Not by nature, then, but by the good-will and favour of God their Father. In the same way, then, in which the boon of immortality is God’s gift to these who were assuredly produced, will He deign to confer eternal life upon souls also, although fell death seems able to cut them off and blot them out of existence in utter annihilation.”

Book II, Section 62

“None but the Almighty God can preserve souls; nor is there any one besides who can give them length of days, and grant to them also a spirit which shall never die, except He who alone is immortal and everlasting, and restricted by no limit of time. For since all the gods, whether those who are real, or those who are merely said to be from hearsay and conjecture, are immortal and everlasting by His good-will and free gift, how can it be that others are able to give that which they themselves have, while they have it as the gift of another, bestowed by a greater power? Let Etruria sacrifice what victims it may, let the wise deny themselves all the pleasures of life, let the Magi soften and soothe all lesser powers, yet, unless souls have received from the Lord of all things that which reason demands, and does so by His command, it will hereafter deeply repent having made itself a laughing-stock, when it begins to feel the approach of death.”

______

Athanasius of Alexandria (293–373)
On the Carnation of the Word

Chapter 1, Section 4

“For God had made man thus (that is, as an embodied spirit), and had willed that he should remain in incorruption. But men, having turned from the contemplation of God to evil of their own devising, had come inevitably under the law of death. Instead of remaining in the state in which God had created them, they were in process of becoming corrupted entirely, and death had them completely under its dominion. For the transgression of the commandment was making them turn back again according to their nature; and as they had at the beginning come into being out of non-existence, so were they now on the way to returning, through corruption, to non-existence again. The presence and love of the Word had called them into being; inevitably, therefore when they lost the knowledge of God, they lost existence with it; for it is God alone Who exists, evil is non-being, the negation and antithesis of good. 

By nature, of course, man is mortal, since he was made from nothing; but he bears also the Likeness of Him Who is, and if he preserves that Likeness through constant contemplation, then his nature is deprived of its power and he remains incorrupt. So is it affirmed in Wisdom: ‘The keeping of His laws is the assurance of incorruption’. 

“I used to live for myself. Although I would say Jesus died for my sins, I didn’t live like I believed it. One day I was driving home from college, when all of a sudden, the words of Jesus in Matthew 7 came to mind. They left me white-knuckled as I gripped the wheel of my car. They were the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ I thought about my life, and how riddled with sin it was. I was a worker of iniquity. I needed to do the will of God or I would go to hell.”

Unfortunately, I went to Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 4:3 in order to define the “will of God.” “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…”. I then concluded that the problem with those in Matthew 7 was that they weren’t living holy lives. That’s why they went to hell. And I went around preaching that “You may say you believe the gospel, but are you holy? If not, you aren’t saved.” But is that what God is telling us in Matthew 7? Let’s take a brief look at it verse by verse:

Matthew 7:15-27

15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 

Jesus is warning of those who say they are prophets, but aren’t. They are like wolves in sheep’s cloth. In other words, on the outside, they have all the signs and indications of a sheep, but they aren’t.

16 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 

17 “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 

18 “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 

19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 

20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits.

The way you spot these false prophets out is by their fruit. Good trees bear good fruit, bad trees bear bad fruit. The metaphor was given in verse 16 about not being able to get figs from thorn bushes in order to make this point. In other words, a wolf may be able to put on the sheep’s clothing, but he’s still a wolf underneath. Jesus tells us that bad trees are cut down and burned. In the same way, these false prophets will be destroyed in the end.

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 

Here we are told that even though someone regards Jesus as Lord, doesn’t mean they are saved. It’s those who do God’s will. Earlier, I read that Paul tells us God’s will is holiness. That’s actually true. Don’t forget too that Paul is speaking to believers in 1 Thessalonians 4. Check out 1 Thess 1:1 – “…To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:…” There are many imperatives in the New Testament. We are given guidelines on how to live our lives in our vocations, married lives, parenting, church discipline, church government, etc. After all, we seek to divide the Scriptures correctly because we are instructed to. We are told to disciple the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We can say that all of these things are the will of God. And they are. But, Scripture is painfully clear that none of our works contribute to our justification before God. Neither do they have any bearing on the blessings we receive. Our works don’t change whether or not God listens to our prayers. The only reason God blesses us, hears our prayers, justifies us, or anything is because of what Jesus Christ had accomplished for believers. First, there was the active obedience of Christ, that is, His perfect righteous obedience in regard to the law of God that demands perfection. Secondly, there is the passive obedience of Christ. This points to His being tortured and murdered, suffering the wrath of God on behalf of those who would believe. He was buried in a tomb, and three days later rose from the dead for the justification of believers. That’s it. It’s not anyone’s obedience.

I previously hadn’t even noticed the words of Jesus in the gospel of John: For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”  John 6:40. It’s God’s will that people believe in Christ. But, the folks in Matthew 7 call Him, ‘Lord’ don’t they? So what’s the deal?

22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 

Here is the point. They are before the judgment seat of Christ, and are making a case. But what is their case? “Didn’t we? Didn’t we? Didn’t we?” That’s the problem. They were using their obedience as their defense. It was “My obedience here, and my obedience over there” even if it was done in the name of Jesus. Their answer ought to have been that it was nothing they had done, but the obedience of Christ and His death and resurrection in their stead.

23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ 

They were never known by Christ. If they were, they’d be saved, because only He gives His sheep their faith. They were practicers of lawlessness, not because they practiced lawlessness, but because Christ’s righteousness wasn’t clothing them. If it had, their sins would not be held against them. Though, their sins are many, though they sin often in thought, word, and deed, not one would be held against them.

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 

25 “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 

26 “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 

27 “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

Those whose foundation is the rock (Christ) will not be destroyed. Those whose foundation is in themselves will be destroyed, like those trees who bore no fruit. Lastly, just because someone believes the gospel doesn’t mean that all of a sudden, they have the ability to obey perfectly those imperatives in the New Testament. And I say “perfectly” because that’s what the law demands. The imperatives in the New Testament are just as condemning as those in the Old Testament. That’s why it is important that we properly distinguish between what is law and what is gospel. Without this in mind, you’ll be trusting in your own efforts and righteousness, grieved when you realize that you can’t keep the law with any level of perfection. I thank God for the law, because it makes it unquestionably clear that I am depraved and need the righteousness of Christ every. single. day.

The fruit of salvation is the belief that Christ alone perfectly atoned for the sins of His people, apart from any works that any of them would ever do.

I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. Romans 7:21-25

On the surface, this argument may seem like a silver bullet. If you’ve never given thought to this, then such a question might leave you stumped. So let’s think about this. Does it follow that if God asks us to do something, then we must have the capacity to? Actually, no it doesn’t. Let’s look at what Scripture says about the law of God.

The law, given through Moses, is impossible to keep. In fact, the law only gives strength to our sins. “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;” (1 Cor. 15:56). When the law is presented to us, we unquestionably stand condemned – dead men without any excuse. “8 But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; 10 and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; 11 for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.” (Romans 7:8-11). [underline for emphasis] And yet, in the law, God is telling us to do or not to do certain things. Only, we can’t do it.

Someone might say, “Well, we may not keep the law perfectly, but we can keep it to a certain degree just as our faith isn’t perfect.”

Firstly, God doesn’t ask for a good college try. He commands the law to be kept perfectly. It would be like saying, “Yeah, the law of the USA says not to kill. I don’t kill every single day… maybe about once every 3 years.” Breaking the law is breaking the law. One murder makes you a murderer. 

Secondly, Scripture tells us that when you break one of God’s laws, you are guilty of breaking the whole law. “10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,” also said, “DO NOT COMMIT MURDER.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.” (James 2:10-11). [underline for emphasis] 

The Bible is clear that is is impossible to please God without faith (Heb. 11:6). With this in mind, let’s see what Scripture says about “natural man” – that is, man “pre-faith”.

6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:6-8)

Those who are in the flesh aren’t said to be ‘neutral’ to God, but hostile. Sure, they may not wake up and curse Christ every morning, but they ultimately want nothing to do with being confronted with their sins and needing Christ to be the propitiation for that sin. They may say they “love God” or “seek truth” but it isn’t the truth of the true God.

Perhaps one of the most confusing of the various free will perspectives is the prevenient grace (or grace before) view. It espouses that it is true that mankind is born dead in trespasses and sins, but the Spirit of God brings everyone to a neutral state to where they then decided whether or not to believe. Unfortunately, for this view, there is not one scrap of explicit teaching pointing us to this. It is a philosophical conclusion that doesn’t have its origins in the bible.

In closing, consider John 6:37-39

37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.

What can we gather from these verses?

1. All those who the Father gives to Christ WILL come to Him.

2. Christ WILL NOT cast any of them away.

3. Christ came to do the Father’s will.

4. The Father’s will is that Christ not lose any who come to Him but RAISE them on the last day.

What can we conclude? That if the Father gave Christ everyone, then Christ has failed, because it is just a matter of plain observation that men are constantly dying in their sins.

- “I think that’s why God has used you. You can understand the listener.”

- “God is doing some great things through people like you on television…”

- “You’re such a great Bible teacher in these things, I’m sure you’ve dealt with them before…”

Yikes.

Anyhow, one of the sources that reported on Zacharias’ appearance was a site called Apprising Ministries. Here’s where insult is added to injury. One of the regular readers of Apprising decided to email Ravi’s Ministry to figure out why Ravi would appear on her show. This is the email exchange between them (the concerned reader’s name was changed for privacy reasons):

1. The READER’S concern:

Hello,

I am writing because today I had watched a video of Ravi on the Apprising Ministries website at RAVI ZACHARIAS: WORD FAITH PREACHER JOYCE MEYER “SUCH A GREAT BIBLE TEACHER” GOD IS USING.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing so I then checked the Joyce Meyer website and the show from today he calls Joyce Meyer a “great Bible teacher”.

I was rendered kind of speechless. I have great respect for Ravi, listening to him often. It was with shock to find out he was on her show. But then to call her a great Bible teacher.

Is Ravi now endorsing Joyce Meyer? By saying what he said about her and being on her show is, in itself, an endorsement. This is a serious thing. What is he doing?

Respectfully in Christ,

“Adrian”

2. RZIM’s response:

——– Original Message ——–

Subject: Response to Meyers comments
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2012 11:39:05 -0500
From: Rick Manafo
To: “Adrian”

Hi “Adrian,”

While we do not usually entertain many of the comments we receive on blog postings. We feel that a person is entitled to his or her opinion as there is great diversity in the kingdom.

My point: There is great diversity In the kingdom.

Joyce Meyers has devoted her life to the preaching of the word. She may be more eccentric than some and more charismatic than some feel comfortable with, but she has served the
kingdom well in her capacity with her gifting.

In that snippet, Ravi was referring to a verse of scripture to which he realized she must have taught on many times. Great doesn’t mean “best” or always “right”. But she has been faithful.

I could call people who write blogs like the one you mentioned  “great critics of evangelical Christian leaders.” What does the word “great” mean in that context? Does that mean I necessarily agree with them?

Does that mean that one is right in their assessment of every situation? It probably means that one has devoted themselves to it more than others and that only someone with that devotion could
turn a 2.5 second turn of a phrase into a such a “great” issue.

Joyce had Ravi on to discuss the issue of Truth … Ravi’s kind of good at that. If you watch the interviews in their entirety you will see the Ravi’s heart and the reason he  was invited: To discuss truth.

We should have more problems with the make-up job they did on Ravi than with Ravi’s comments.

Ravi has also been criticized for preaching at Temple Square … But realize that he only took the invitation if he could speak on the topic of his choosing which was all about “The Uniqueness of Christ”.

When I speak to people who have friends and loved ones who are Mormon, they can’t wait to get the CD’s to share them with their Mormon friends. The only people I know who have trouble with it are professional Christian critics.

If you enjoy Ravi, keep enjoying. Trust that he is serving God faithfully. Trust that he gets the opportunities he does with political leaders all over the world because of his gentleness. He never shies away from the Truth of the gospel. He just has a unique gift in communicating it to others in a way that validates not what they believe, but who they are as people that God loves.

So peace to you as we celebrate the coming of the One who ate with sinners and tax-collectors and turned the tables on religious expectations.

Sincerely,

Rick Manafo

Rick Manafo | Programming/Events
RZIM Canada | 50 Gervais Dr. Toronto, Ontario M3C 1Z3
p: 416 385 9199  c: 416 729 9045  | www.rzim.ca

_______________ 

Did you catch that?! Read that opening again:

We feel that a person is entitled to his or her opinion as there is great diversity in the kingdom.

My point: There is great diversity In the kingdom.

Joyce Meyers has devoted her life to the preaching of the word. She may be more eccentric than some and more charismatic than some feel comfortable with, but she has served the
kingdom well in her capacity with her gifting.“

So, apparently, Ravi’s ministry believes that Word Faith “pastor”, Joyce Meyer has served the kingdom well. Meyer, who narcissistically eisegetes the Scriptures. Meyer, who I watched on television, telling her congregation that they need to be more spontaneous if they want God’s blessing. She illustrated what she meant, saying that if you always order the same dish at a restaurant, just order something different for a change. Meyer who teaches that we are “little gods.” Meyer who teaches that our words create our reality. Oh, and in case you haven’t noticed – Meyer, the woman who is preaching. Pretty crazy. I don’t know why people think this guy is so brilliant. Yes, he sounds smarter than me, but his handling of the Scripture is deplorable. And now he is affirming a wolf in the church. This is a throwback to Piper embracing Rick Warren, and James McDonald and Mark Driscoll embracing TD Jakes. Anyhow, check out Ravi’s anthropocentric gospel to learn what he thinks is God’s greatest gift to humanity.

You can read the original article that sparked the man to email Ravi’s ministry [here]. On that article, you can even watch clips of Ravi praising Joyce Meyer. Finally, you can also check out the source article for the RZIM email exchange [here].

That being said, I want to briefly focus on one teaching in particular that is totally plaguing the church. Vision casting. In case you aren’t familiar with it, it is the view that pastors, upon starting a church, must first pray to God for a “vision” or direction for the church. Then, when God reveals this to them, “not audibly of course” (as many of them say so they don’t sound crazy), they “cast” that vision, or reveal that vision to the other leaders and congregants. That particular church’s mission is to then carry out that vision. Seems so holy doesn’t it? Seems so pious, right? Well, whatever it seems like, it sure ain’t biblical. No sir, you will search long and hard for that teaching, but won’t find it. Paul’s pastoral epistles are silent on this teaching. In fact, believing that God can speak to you in some way, outside of the Scriptures, is a denial of what has been historically called Sola Scriptura - the teaching that the Scripture ALONE is our authority. Sure, random verses might be quoted like, “Without vision people perish” (Proverbs 29:18), but such verses are quoted anachronistically. That’s just a fancy way of saying that the folks quoting verses like that are forcing the Scripture that was written thousands of years ago to fit an American idea of vision. The idea of casting vision has much more in common with the duty of a CEO of a company than it does with a pastor.

Quick scrutiny of verses quoted like that will reveal that they have nothing to do with vision casting. For instance, let’s go back to that verse in Proverbs. It is normally quoted (from the KJV) this way: “Where there is no vision, the people perish…” Problem is, that’s only half of the verse. Let’s look at the whole thing (from the NASB): “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law.” This verse isn’t talking about casting a vision as a pastor. It is speaking of a vision as in a “revelation” from God. The verse contrasts the unrestrained people without a vision, and the happy people who keep the law. It shines a light upon those who do not heed the word of God. The Scriptures are pretty clear about what a pastor should do. Consider what Paul told young pastor, Timothy:

1 Timothy 1:3-4

3 As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, 4 nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.

1 Timothy 2:1-2

I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

1 Timothy 4:1-9; 13-16

1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3 men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude;  5for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer. 6 In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. 7 But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; 8 for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance.

14 Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. 14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. 15 Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. 16 Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.

2 Timothy 4:1-2

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

Looks like it’s already spelled out for the pastor. Why would he search for God’s voice on this subject, when God has already clearly spoken in His word? The job of the pastor is to teach the Word of God. It’s also to baptize (Matthew 28:19) and administer the Lord’s Supper in an orderly manner (1 Cor. 11:17-34). Perhaps the biggest issue with vision casting is the inherent desire humanity has to live forever. Humanity has made great strides to preserve youth as long as possible, but there is a constant reminder of human mortality. What I mean is that people desire to leave their footprint on this dirt ball before they die. They want to be remembered – ie not forgotten. When I began to preach, I remember how desperate I would get with the desire to make the sermon so interesting and innovative. Sure, there was a part of me that wanted it to make sense to people. But I also enjoyed the compliments, though I knew it was sinful. I would repeat the words of John Bunyan who was approached by someone after he preached. This person praised him for his great sermon, and he said,”I know, Satan told me the same thing afterward.” Well, the story went something like that. But I’d remember that story, all the while loving that I was some sort of authority on the Scriptures. It’s shameful to think about, but it’s true. Is that you, Mr. Vision Casting Pastor? Do you want to leave your mark? Examine yourself. And while you’re at it, get rid of that false theology. God isn’t speaking to you in burps, hiccups, signs, whatever. Open your Bible and teach His word.

That isn’t relevant. That isn’t hip. That isn’t edgy. It’s boring. Opening a book and teaching its plain meaning, praying for people, baptizing, and Lord’s Supper? That seems so boring doesn’t it? It seems like we aren’t really “doing work for the kingdom” doesn’t it? And yet, that is exactly what God said to do. Vision cast if you want, but don’t blame it on God.

Moss Bluff Elementary School is a school in Louisiana that is trying to get their students through the lunch line faster. The main issue is that there are different payment methods for each student. And there are about 1,000 students in the school. Some parents wouldn’t pay for their kids’ lunches, and these unpaid lunch fees have put the school districts into hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. Check out these statistics from Huffington Post:

As of last February, New York City schools had absorbed some $42 million in unpaid lunch fees since 2004, according to The New York Times. Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools in North Carolina recently appropriated $40,000 to cover unpaid lunch fees, the Daily Tar Heel reports.

Columbus City Schools in Ohio in March turned unpaid accounts over to a collection agency in an effort to recover about $900,000 in unpaid lunch fees.

And while 70 percent of district students qualify for free lunches, Columbus City Schools still loses about $2,622 a day on unpaid lunches, The Columbus Dispatch reports.

That’s crazy. So, Moss Bluff decided to send out a letter to the parents letting them know of their new plans. They plan to use a palm vein scanner. Not surprisingly, some parents were pretty outraged. In the clip above, one parent said she reads her Bible and goes to church, and knows where this all ends. Although students aren’t being forced to use this technology, to these parents, this is a clear sign of the end. For them, this is the tool of the antichrist.

I remember being in Bible college and reading a tract that a professor passed around. This tract said that Ronald Reagan was the antichrist. I was reading this well after Reagan was dead, and so the teacher was showing us the ridiculousness of it all. That was no “odd” case either. The beast of the book of Revelation has been described to be a number of things, and with them come various interpretations of his “mark” and how one would receive it. Some people thought the RFID chips that would go in the wrist. Before that it was bar codes. People have always played the guessing game. Here is the verse that many folks get confused about:

And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17 and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six. Revelation 13:17-18

Let’s just point out some obvious things without having to explain who the beast is or anything. These upset parents take the particular Scriptures in Revelation literally – ie literal mark, etc. Okay, let’s see if it stands up. The most obvious thing is that no children are receiving a mark of any kind. This scanner reads their palms. It reads their bodies, not a mark that one receives (v. 17 – “given” a mark). Secondly, without the mark of the beast, you can’t buy or sell. The school has already said that this is optional. It’s not like the kids that don’t scan are going to starve. They can still pay. The school district just doesn’t want to be in thousands of dollars worth of debt anymore because parents want their kids fed without having to pay for it consistently. That’s it. Lastly, in verse 18, John tells his readers to have wisdom concerning the number. I’ve written about this in greater detail here and throughout the site. Here is an excerpt:

The reader is told to have wisdom. The reader is told to calculate the number. It’s highly unlikely that any of the readers in John’s day calculated 666 and came up with Ronald Reagan, Hitler, or George W. Bush. Rather, John expects his readers to understand what he means. The most relevant political figure at this time was Nero Caesar. In the Greek form of his name written in Hebrew, Nero’s name is Neron Kaiser spelled NRWN QSR. The Jews did not have a separate numbering system from their alphabet. Alef = 1, Beit = 2, Gimel = 3, Dalet = 4, and so on. When NRWN QSR is transliterated into Hebrew, we get:

N	R	W	N		Q	S	R
50	200	6	50		100	60	200

50 + 200 + 6 + 50 + 100 + 60 + 200 = 666

Some manuscripts don’t have 666 though. Instead, they place the number of the beast as 616. This is because in the Latin form of Nero’s name written in Hebrew, Nero’s name  is spelled NRW KSR. The “N” is worth 50, and so 666 – 50 = 616. As the audience of the Bible became predominantly Latin speaking, the variant was added. Nero was in power at the time of the writing of this letter.

Let me just end on this note: I find it very difficult to believe that John’s audience, those that the letter was actually addressed to, stayed up studying their Scriptures, and in an effort to exercise their wisdom, came up with hand scanners in the USA as the answer. Nope. Not happening. By the way, is the lunch lady the false prophet?

Todd Bentley is no stranger to controversy. And by controversy, I mean being absolutely crazy. If you haven’t heard of him before, you can watch a brief video here, but let me give you a quick run down. He’s a faith healing evangelist who goes around telling people of his experiences with angelic beings (like International Banker Angel… not kidding), and spouting prophetic utterances. He also was known for his outlandish healing techniques, like kicking people in the face with his combat boot OR kicking them in the stomach when they have cancer OR drop kicking people. He went big time when he had a huge revival that spanned a few days in FL a few years back. Unfortunately, it was later discovered that he was also having an affair with his kids’ babysitter. And the guys that put him in the position to teach at the revival knew it. Anyhow, he later split from his wife and married the babysitter. He fell off the grid for a while until he was restored by Rick Joyner. Now he and his wife are back at it. And, yes, things are still crazy. 

Stan Tyra is the Senior Pastor of Revolution Church in Rogers, Arkansas. And on July 29-30, 2012, Pastor Stan invited Todd to speak at his church. It apparently was a good time, because on August 11, Pastor Stan thought to give the following testimony to his congregation:

Todd Bentley had a word for me last week. He gave that word kinda semi-publicly, and we shared it in the house because it’s important to us as a church. And he said that he saw a spirit of Thor on me.

Thor is a character that some of you probably familiar with. I really wasn’t that familiar with him until he told me. But Thor carries a hammer. And Todd said, “Stan, when you teach it’ll be like a hammer, and it will break things that are so that new things may be formed.” And that’s a powerful word to me.

There yah go. Todd Bentley saw the “spirit of Thor” on him. By the way, I know lately, Thor is that cool looking, hammer wielding Marvel character. But, actually, Thor is a false god from Norwegian mythology. And people worshipped him. When Christianity was coming into Scandinavia, Thor’s worshippers wore emblems of his hammer around their neck to show their opposition to Christ and the crosses that Christians wore. By the way, here’s what the apostle Paul said about Gentiles’ worship of other gods:

No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.
1 Corinthians 10:20

So, let’s say that Todd Bentley is right. That means that Stan Tyra more than likely has a demon, right? How else should we interpret Todd Bentley saying that Pastor Stan has the spirit of a false god from Norway?