“Progressives are not just a group of Christians who are changing their minds on social issues and politics…they often deny core essential doctrines of the faith, which leads them to preach an entirely different gospel.” @alisachilders
PRAY THAT THEY SEE THE LIGHT OF JESUS! MY HEART BREAKS! America is changing so very fast………my heart breaks….its enough to make my head swim.
THE CHRISTIAN POST REPORTS:
A progressive Nashville church has drawn the ire of the internet after sharing a message on social media declaring the Bible isn’t the Word of God, inerrant or infallible.
Two Sundays ago, GracePointe Church, led by Pastor Josh Scott, shared a recap of the day’s message on Facebook, discussing the Bible and the question: “What Is Progressive Christianity?”
Nashville church says Bible isn’t the Word of God, then draws ire
How to Recognize Progressive Christianity Through Theology
Five Signs Your Church Might Be Heading Toward Progressive Christianity
I also have included two very timely posts from the last few days………………
Why is there no exponential growth in the American Church?
Around the world we see persecution on the rise. Or, maybe its just that we are looking more closely at the progression of indifference and apathy here in America. In the countries I have served, especially India, persecutions of Christians has been around for a long time. I have read of great persecution and abuse in China. India, China, Africa and North Korea have the greatest persecution. However, it is in those countries where there is persecution that you find the church of our Lord Jesus Christ growing and growing exponentially. WHY? What is going on in the “church” here in America that we don’t see exponential growth. Why is there so much division.
When I served in India I realized that there was no Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal…it was black vs white, good vs evil, God vs Satan.. AND, Satan and his demons were very evident. The light of believers was very evident. Darkness stood to oppose the light of those Christians. Henceforth much persecution of the believers.
One of the letters in the New Testament, which is called ‘one of the most neglected books in the whole Bible’, is Jude. Jude (or Judas the brother of James, both half brothers of Jesus), sets out in his letter to build up Christians and write about their salvation in Jesus Christ. However, the Holy Spirit directs in a different direction. The apostasy, corruption and tainting of the church of Jesus Christ according to Jude, comes from the inside. Internal rather than eternal persecution. Wherever there is persecution from the outside the church of Jesus Christ, it grows. When the attacks come from the inside, the church, slowing eats itself and eventually dies. It suffocates itself. There is lack of spiritual oxygen so the church suffers asphyxiation.
Jude gives us reasons for the stagnation of the church of Jesus Christ in his day. I believe we can apply those same reasons to the lack of fortitude and strength in our congregations today. Let’s look at those mentioned by Jude.
1. Teachings: The infiltration of false teachers began almost immediately after the start of the church in the book of Acts. In Jude, they were teaching that God’s grace allows us to do whatever we want and His grace will cover. Forgive and forget attitude. God wants us to be happy, right?
This is the attitude in many today. I have a “right” to be happy. So, I can do whatever I want just as long as it makes me happy. Jude 1:4, “…they are against God and have changed the grace of God into a reason for sexual sin…”. Jude reminds them, as we can also learn, that God punished the Israelites for their sins, kicked the angels out of heaven, and cites the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Jude says, these suffered punishment because their constant and continual sin. God doesn’t overlook sin, He deals with it as He will in our age. Paul reminds us that grace is not a license to sin in Romans 6. Plus, in their teachings, they spoke against the lordship of Jesus Christ, Jude v. 4…’they refuse to accept Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.”
2. Behavior: Once you corrupt the Godly teachings of the apostles and teachings from Jesus himself, ultimately your actions begin to follow. Beliefs dictates our behavior. And to that end Jude levels his most severe condemnation to their behavior. He uses Cain, Balaam and Koran as examples. When we forsake Godly teachings, we follow in the footsteps of Cain (jealousy), Balaam (greed) and Koran (desire for power – overthrow Moses). In all three of these examples given by Jude, show forth in “selfishness”. When people become selfish and think only of themselves the desire for power begins to raise its ugly head in divisions within the body of Jesus Christ. Most of the division I have witnessed within the body has come from one of these ailments: jealousy, greed and selfishness i.e. power. Rather than dive into God’s word for leading and obedience, they regress to their own selfish desires and wants. All 3 were guided by self and caused death to others.
3. Conversation: Once conduct is changed then it begins to express itself in our words. Jude writes, “people complain and blame others, doing the evil things they want to do. They brag about themselves and the flatter others to get what they want” v.16. We must watch what we think and what we say. Our words convey our mindset and eventually into our behavior. Jude says, “these people will divide you, those whose thoughts are only of this world and not of the Holy Spirit.
So, what are we to do to overcome this inside this internal church disease. Jude’s answer is, “dear friends, use your holy faith to build yourselves up, praying in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the Lord Jesus Christ with his mercy to give you life forever.”
Stay in the Word of God. Stay close to Jesus. Keep your eyes on the eternal not on the temporary. Obey the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us stop quoting and following others. Ephesians 5;10, “learn what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the things done in darkness, which are not worth anything. But show that they are wrong.” Empty ourselves of selfish desires for power, greed and jealousy. Stand for what is right. Oppose that what is evil. Let our lights shine and let us be salt in a depraved world. Persecution arises when we Christians do these things. When we don’t. When we fight, devour and eat one another, Satan allows us to desecrate that what God has called holy. Satan allows us to suffocate ourselves.
Let us rise up and BE THE LIGHT and reveal the false teachings. “WAKE UP sleeper! Rise from the death and Christ will shine on you!” Ephesians 5:14.
If not us, WHO? If not now, WHEN? God has no other plan. He is depending upon every Christian to be “Christ like”, live and show the world JESUS!
WILL YOU? How about ME?
Praying for you and your families,
Leonard Navarre
Lubbock, Texas
A Revival, If You Will Have it
People right, left and center believe there is trouble in the United States of America and that we are more divided than we have ever been. Both sides accusing the other of fake news and spreading false information.
As Christians, we look at our world and wonder if these are indeed the last days before the great tribulation and the return of Jesus Christ. It appears that the falling away of 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is happening right before our eyes.
The left is pushing hard the very sins of Revelation 9:21 as they promote abortion, eliminate the death penalty, legalize harmful drugs, defend all forms of sexual immorality, and the stealing of personal wealth through envy.
This can have the effect of sending Christians to their collective bunkers and await the rapture. Especially when we are silenced by Big Tech or denounced by the elite class.
Jesus promised that we would have trouble in this world. He also promised that we would be blessed when we were persecuted for His name’s sake. He wants us to not only hold the line but to advance the Kingdom of God.
From time to time in American history, there have been what we call revivals. When the nation returns to God, some pretty amazing things happen. The first Great Awakening happened just before our nation’s founding and the Revolutionary War. Coincidence? I think not.
The Second Great Awakening occurred just before the Civil War and the fight to free enslaved people in the south. A similar return to the Lord occurred before liberating the slaves of Great Brittan producing great hymns of praise such as Amazing Grace.
There have been many ebbs and flows in human history that are not recorded as well as the two Great Awakenings, the pendulum has swung back and forth from our society approaching the brink of judgment and destruction to sending out missionaries in obedience to God’s call to share the gospel around the world.
Examples of these “smaller” revivals would include the sinful times of the roaring ’20s leading to the turning back to God of the ’30s which in turn was used by the Lord to fight the evil rising worldwide and establish the modern state of Israel.
The revival of the late seventies countered the defeatist mindset following the resignation of Richard Nixon and the presidency of the progenitor of Barak Obama, Jimmy Carter. This brought about the election of Ronald Regan and eventually the defeat of the Soviet Union.
Obviously, these are but the broad strokes of history but are these purely acts of God with no input from believers, or is there something we can do to bring about revival in 2021 when there seems to be such hopelessness for America and Christianity.
The answer, I believe, lies in the history told in Daniel 9. Daniel was reading the prophecies of Jerimiah and discovered that the time of exile was coming to an end, but he did not take the declaration for granted and began to pray and fast, with sackcloth and ashes.
This is much different from our modern reaction to biblical prophecy where we are waiting for God to act as we shelter in place hoping that we will survive the storm. There does need to be a move of God for sure, but He chooses to work with His people and He calls on His people to act.
When Jesus ascended to heaven, His disciples expected His immediate return, yet they got to the work of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ after much prayer and fasting. In fact, they dedicated themselves to this so much that they created the office of the deacon.
Scholars have researched revivals of the past and found that before each one there was a movement among God’s people to pray and fast. This aligns with 2 Chronicles 7:14 that says, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
The truth is that America is under the curse of Deuteronomy 28. We see this in our reproduction rate, our food supply, our debt, and even our immigration policy. The cure is not to elect any more crazy people to issue more executive orders. Nor is it to change the hearts and minds of people using the various tools we have available.
Rather, if we want something better, we should look to Jesus. I am not talking about a cursory prayer or skipping a meal or two, but true prayer and fasting while seeking the grace and forgiveness of the Lord.
The writer of Hebrews speaks of a great cloud of witnesses that has come before us that the world was not worthy to host. How many of us today, claiming to be followers of Jesus, have even a fraction of the grit these believers had? They endured such persecution and yet still they prayed and fasted for people who would hurt them badly for speaking the truth in love.
I believe there are such men and women today but are they found in enough of our churches to have an impact on this broken world? I am optimistic yet realistic that we may be living in the last days. Even if that were true, I believe we are still called to fast and pray, to share the gospel even if no one listens.
There can indeed be another revival if you will have it.
