IF YOU WON'T STAND NOW YOU WON'T STAND LATER--Why a man who doesn't witness regularly is unfit for the pulpit.

1. Silence is sin. Acts 20:20. Even Jimmy Swaggart cried some crocodile tears for his sin and feigned some sort of repentance. Non-evangelists are hard and unashamed, as if this is normal. Not even a fake tear or two.

2. Let's be honest, the reason we don't witness is we don't want to be ridiculed or punched in the mouth. You have to be ready for that if you go witnessing. Paul expected to be beaten on a regular basis. Acts 20:18-24. In this age of sliding doctrine, a pastor or teacher will have to pay a price. DON'T EVEN TRY to tell me if you aren't witnessing now you will be willing to risk your career later. Don't lie to me that way. Don't insult my intelligence.

3. If a Mand o' Gawd (shamelessly stolen from Melvin Jones of "Pulpit Pimps") wishes to disciple others he cannot do so without taking them witnessing. Jesus did so from their conversion and this was the pattern of the early Christians in Acts.

As for absolute proof of that look to the Great Commission. There were two things His disciples were to do to disciple men after they had gone to them. One was to baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The other was to teach them "all I have commanded you."

So just what were the commands He gave? Don't murder. Love your neighbor. Don't covet. Love God. Aaaaannnnnd.....

Oh, yeah. Go make disciples!!!!!!!!!!!

In Christ,
Phil Perkins.

STREET PREACHING IV--Spiritual Carnage

Last night was the first night for me to go out street preaching for the summer this year. It was a weak start because we were only out there for about one and a half hours.

Did you notice the "we"? Yes, I now have two partners and neither of them are weak sisters, either. Both are Bible college students and both are real evangelists. I am totally jacked to have some help this summer. Last summer I was alone. I'll tell you more about them another time.

Once again, I was impressed last night by what I call the spiritual carnage left by the doctrinal bombings done from American pulpits. Lost people are convinced that they aren't because some preacher lied to them. The first young men to whom I talked were at a roller skating park. They were actually part of a church group so I asked them right out how to be saved. "Be baptized." They said it in unison. When I asked them if they had heard that they must repent of their sins, one kind of acknowledged that he'd heard something about that. The other, Sam, hadn't heard any such thing. He admitted that he had never repented of his sins.

Another young man, Steven, was from Wyoming. He was a joy to talk to because he really wanted to talk about God. I asked him how to be saved, because he, too, was raised in church. THIS WAS HIS LITERAL ANSWER: "That little prayer thing." I asked him if he's repented of his sins. He didn't really answer. I asked him if he reads his Bible. "No." I told him to read it daily and obey what he reads.

Next, my partners and I talked to a Catholic fellow who really wanted to talk. Pray for him. I expect to see him again.

Lastly, we spoke to a group of three or four and that was really disappointing. One of my partners lead the way on that one and he's really had a lot of experience witnessing. That part was awesome--I have two real partners who really love God and want to preach. The bad part was that the main guy who was doing the talking in the group we approached was a typical example of what I call the Idolaters of Luuv. When we talked about judgment, he responded that God was not a judge and no one was going to hell. No matter how we talked to him, he wouldn't budge off his center. May God judge the preacher who lied to him this way.

All in all, it was a great night. It's great getting back to it and it's great having two really great partners.

In Christ,
Phil Perkins.

TWENTY-THREE GREAT SINS OF AMERICAN EVANGELICALISM--Why We Must Pray For A Reformation Again.

Many Christians today are calling for revival. They are mistaken to do so. Revival is the imbuing of what already exists with new life. In the past, Evangelical Christianity has experienced renewed vigor from the Holy Spirit in great moves of God many call revivals. These are times, such as the Welsh Revival, when God, in a special work, in response to the need of the church and the prayers of the saints, breathes into the church and individual saints new spiritual power to live holy lives and to witness.

What we need is a reformation much like the Protestant Reformation. God didn’t revive the Roman church. To make it stronger and more powerful would be to aid the kingdom of Satan because its doctrine was Satanic. God called a remnant out of the Roman church to return to biblical doctrine and practice. Thus, Historical Evangelicalism was born. Modern Evangelicalism is not the same. We have gone into sin and lost doctrines that are essential to make biblical faith possible and added others that make biblical faith impossible. We must not seek new vigor for Evangelicalism. We must change it or simply leave it to return to Historical Evangelicalism, that is, the faith once for all delivered.

May it please God, not to revive an old donkey, but to make us a lion again.

1. The Lost Doctrine of Regeneration.
If we aren’t changed, we aren’t saved. Jesus said that if we are His sheep, we will obey His commands and if we don't, we aren't His. John 10, Matthew 7:18.

2. The Lost Doctrine of Sanctification.
If we aren’t being made progressively more holy, we aren’t saved. Romans 8:28-29.

3. The Lost Doctrine of Personal Holiness.
If we aren’t radically different than those around us, we aren’t saved. Matthew 10:17 & 16:6; Luke 6:26; Ezekiel 36.

4. The Lost Doctrine of Corporate Holiness.
If our churches and institutions aren’t pure from false teaching, false teachers, and any who hold to false teaching, they are no longer Christian institutions. We must change them immediately or stop supporting them in any way whatsoever and leave them. Deuteronomy 12-13; I Corinthians 5:9-13; Revelation 2:6; 14-16, & 19-24.

5. The Lost Doctrine of the Glory of God.
If we seek our own glory or success, we are sinning. Philippians 1:12-18; Psalm 145. Matthew 23.

6. The Lost Fellowship of Suffering.
If we avoid embarrassment for being Christians, don't worry. We aren‘t. Matthew 10: 32-33; Romans 10:9-10.

7. The Lost Leadership of Men.
If men don’t act like men again with courage and self-sacrifice, all is lost. Our fathers gave their lives for correct doctrine. Many of today's pastors and leaders won't risk being called "insensitive." Men, let the ladies be sensitive. You be godly. And lead. And die. I Timothy 2:9-3:13.

8. The Lost Doctrine of the Sufficiency of Scripture.
If we read books other than the Scripture for Christian doctrine, we are blaspheming, calling God a fool or a liar. II Timothy 3:16-17. The only two proper uses of other religious works are 1) to illuminate Scripture by way of explanation or example by another more discerning or more familiar than we are, or 2) to research false teaching in order to expose the lie and expel the false teacher for the protection of those weak in the faith and for the preservation of the holiness of each of the saints and for the preservation of the corporate holiness of the church, Christian school, or any other Christian institution. I Corinthians 5:9-13.

9. The Lost Doctrine of Truth over Relationship.
If we value anyone, even our families, over being right with God in practice and doctrine, we aren’t saved. This is a call back to holiness and sacrifice, not meanness. Read and take seriously what Moses and Jesus taught in the following references. You will see that following God under either the Old Covenant or the New Covenant meant that many would be separated from families, friends, and loved ones who will not accept the truth. Much false teaching and many other sins in the church are tolerated simply because one brother will not sever ties with another who has fallen. In other words, will you be willing to be divorced by your spouse because he or she will not tolerate God in the house? Pastors, will you jeopardize your career for the gospel? Many will not. This is a disgrace unfit for the kingdom of God. Choose you this day whom you will serve! Deuteronomy 13; Matthew 10:32-39.

10. The Idolatry of Love.
If we worship the god preached in most of Modern Evangelicalism, we are idolaters, because the god of most Evangelicals is only love. The God of Scripture is much more. I John 5:6; Deuteronomy 4:24, 5:9.

11. The Sin of Reproving the Reprover. (The New Phariseeism--Unbiblical Rules Against Telling The Truth.)
If we continue to adopt the unscriptural ethics of the idolaters of love, we will continue to be like the Pharisees of old, adding laws God has never given, and honoring human tradition over Scripture. In our zeal for the soft, the sentimental, and the mediocre, we hate the prophet and make artifical rules to silence him. Amos 5:10 & 14-15; Matthew 11:16-19; Amos 7:10-17.

12. The Idolatry of the Effeminate. (Worshipping the Uber-mommy.)
The American jesus isn’t the Jesus of Scripture. It’s a bizarre mix of god, goddess, man, and an uber-mommy unknown to Scripture. We have idolatrous pictures of this imaginary girlygod standing at a knobless door, unable to conquer the human heart that Yahweh, the true God, created. This contradicts both reason and Scripture. Exodus 20:4-6; Revelation 1-3; Nahum 3:13; Leviticus 19:17-18; II Timothy 2:1.

13. Self Idolatry.
If we continue to preach self-esteem, we deny Christ, Who taught us we are filth. Filth awaiting judgment. Roman 3:23, 6:23.

14. The Idol of the God Who Serves Me.
If we continue to seek earthly blessings from God, rather than self-denial, we continue to indulge our emotions and expect riches and health on Earth, while our souls die. Luke 22:19; I Corinthians 9:27.

15. The Lost Doctrine of the Value of Doctrine.
If we continue to deny the importance of strong biblical doctrine, we are self-contradictory fools, valuing the doctrine that says no doctrine is to be much valued. II Timothy 2:14-18.

16. The Lost Doctrine of the Powerlessness of the Church and Its People.
If we continue to speak as if God cannot act without our cooperation, we will remain idolaters, blaspheming the Sovereign Yahweh, and worshipping a domesticated god we control. Deuteronomy 11:25; John 6:44-65.

17. The Lost Doctrine of Redeeming the Time.
If we continue to spend time in secular entertainment, we will remain unfaithful servants, not evangelizing those for whom God has made each one of us responsible, all the while poisoning our souls with the humor of Satan, the mindset of this world, and the desires of the flesh. Ephesians 5:15-16.

18. The Lie of “Impacting the Culture.” (Whatever That Means.)
If we continue to engage in this and other nebulous doctrinal sophistries, we will go to our graves, not fulfilling the Great Commission, which calls us to the specific task of teaching individuals the Scripture. Culture is the world, and is to be shunned. Learn the customs of politeness and modesty. Avoid the contamination of the values of any human culture. Love not the world. Romans 12:1-2; I John 2:15-17.

19. The Lost Obedience to Witness. (Evangelicals Who Don‘t Evangelize Are Lying!)
If we continue to cower, and not witness, we disobey Christ’s last command on Earth and refuse to disciple anyone as Christ taught us to. All His students were required to witness almost from day one. How have we come to the point at which a man can be called a Christian who isn't regularly witnessing? It is dishonest. It is disobedient. It is inexcusable. May God damn the preacher who says otherwise. The book of Jude; Ezekiel 33.

20. The Lie of Relevance.
If we continue to attempt to “make the gospel relevant”, we are apostates, leaving the original gospel, which God told us was plenty relevant since it, and only it, is the power to save from eternal wrath. Are we smarter than God? Romans 1:16.

21. The Lost Doctrine of God’s Hatred for the Wicked. (Lost to the people, hidden by the preachers.)
If we continue to speak and preach about the god who is only love and does not hate evil and the workers of evil, we are idolaters and lie to our hearers, damning even our own children to eternal hell unless they rebel against us and return to the God of Scripture Who is loving to the repentant and burning in His anger against the unrepentant. Psalm 5:5.

22. The Lost Doctrine of Repentance.
If we continue to preach belief without Christ's call to repentance from all known sin, we have another gospel and will spend eternity in hell, with the blood of our followers on our hands. Jude 4; Matthew 4:17.

23. The Lost Doctrine of the Fear of God.
If we continue to tell people that God is to be respected and not feared and that He will not send anyone to hell, we are liars whom God will judge eternally in hell. Most of our preachers have lied to us on this issue. Because we insist upon a god who doesn't scare anyone we either fail to speak of hell or tell the lie that our god doesn't send anyone there. Scripture says otherwise. Revelation 14:9-11; Malachi 1:14; Hosea 3:5 , 11:10-11; Daniel 5:25-26; Jeremiah 2:19, 5:22-24, 10:7, 10:14; Isaiah 2:10-19, 33:6, 50:10, 57:11, 59:19, 64:1-2, 6:5; Jonah 1:8-16; Jude 4; Habakkuk 3:2-16; Matthew 10:28.

In Christ,
Phil Perkins.

AFTER NOTE: Many have asked to reproduce this post and I will be away for a few days. Please do so. Encourage folks to copy it and take it to pastors, church boards, and denominational leaders. Use it as a petition to ask them if they will return to these biblical doctrines and practices. If not, then shake the dust off your feet.

WORSHIPPING IN THE TRADITION OF NOTHING MATTERS

Celebrating the god of nonchalance.

The headline in today's Sunday Missoulian read, "Keeping Faith Casual".

Aaaah, isn't that sweeeet?

Reading the article about Grace Pointe church, it takes until the SEVENTH PARAGRAPH to read the word "God". And, no, the lower case on "church" isn't a typo. They, evidently, don't want to be identified with God all that much so they left "church" out of their title hoping you'd not notice they were religious until you'd already been put on the Committee for the Prevention of Stupid People Who Read Their Bibles Too Much. And you never read the word "Jesus", but I'm sure "God" is mentioned in passing, or under the youth pastor's breath when he has to clean up after the "Relational Teens" volley-ball-game-tofu-sundae-and-gospel-rap-concert-for-relevance-and-world-peace get together followed by the tattoo art and body piercing demonstration lead by the head of the local chapter of Hell Angels And Drug Paraphernalia Manufacturers For Some Unidentifiable Diety That Most Americans Call God Or Jesus Or Something. After all, talking too much about God would make them psychotic killers or something worse, like fundamentalists or Bible-thumpers, I suppose. Of course, you can find "relevant", "community", "faith", "unconventional", etc. No mention of the atonement or wrath or sin. However, Pastor Coler regularly takes up topics like slavery. Evidently, the slave trade's running just rampant in Missoula, Montana these days, what with the Montana cotton crop rotting in the fields.

Interstingly, despite all this unity and love, there's rumor of a raging doctrinal debate among them, for which I have yet to find solid documentation. (Or any for that matter.) Here's the burning question at the center of the debate:

"Is our faith mysteriously undefined and wordy or vaguely elusive and conveniently undetermined so we don't exclude anyone except real Christians?" Several families of whatever kind you prefer have already gotten up in arms and left the whachamacallit! Disappointed, Pastor Coler has been quoted as saying, "This sort of conflict is so unnecessary. I keep telling them doctine doesn't matter."

Just puking,
Phil Perkins. PS The above is a mixture of fact and errr...faith. On your part. The slavery reference is real, the newspaper is real, the name of the organization and the name of the pastor is real, and the lack of mentioning God, Jesus, and sin is real. Other things are a matter of your faith in my imagination. Oh yeah--the puking was almost real.

WHEN "PROGRESS" BECOMES AN EXCUSE TO SLANDER A PREVIOUS GENERATION

Remember the evening of 911? You weren't sure what was coming, but you knew Muslims had done this, so you got in line and paid whatever you had to pay to fill every vehicle you owned. We were scared and not quite sure what to do about it.

In the June 9, 1943 edition of the Los Angeles Times an article appeared entitled "Over 600 Nisei found Openly Disloyal". This refers to first generation Americans of Japanese ancestry, the children of Japanese immigrants. In Poston, Arizona there was an interment camp for Japanese Americans. Many, possibly almost all, Japanese Americans were loyal citizens of the US at the begining of World War II. For the loyal this was an unspeakable injustice and many of today's cultural elite would have us believe the World War II generation did this simply out of bigotry, for no real reason at all.

But look at the numbers as reported by the Los Angeles Times. At Poston there were about 3,600 interred Japanese Americans. When asked the question, "Will you swear allegiance to the United States and foreswear allegiance to the Emperor of Japan or to any other foreign power?" 630 were found "openly disloyal" in the words of the Los Angeles Times. Of these, 450 answered "No." Another 180 answered something like, "I'm neutral," according to the Times. These included 606 men and 24 women.

Given these historical facts, why do so many want to paint the World War II generation as racists and bigots? Answer that for yourself. I don't care why. I only hate a lie. Yes, there were bigots then as now. No excuses. What was done to blacks was especially heinous. And, yes, minorites are safer and more accepted now than then. And many of us are still bigots. Have you ever called anyone a redneck?

Is it really plausible that the average American was convinced anyone with Japanese features was evil? Or is it more plausible that our parents and grandparents, with feet of clay like ours, were simply as scared as we were on the evening of September 11, 2001 and not quite sure what to do about it?

Just thinking,
Phil Perkins.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"We should live each day as though it might by our last day.

Because it might."

---The Late Larry Norman.

For some good clips of Larry, go here and here.