IGNORANCE IS NEXT TO GODLINESS, Evangelicals vs. Jesus--Part III of II?

Most Evangelicals can’t name the ten commandments. Most CAN quote “Knowledge puffs up,” “God is love,” and “Judge not that you be not judged.”

And not much else.

Night before last I saw a Bible college student I'd met some time ago. He is a young man who is outwardly humble, quiet, and seems to be very concerned about his relationship to God. Yet, Dan is currently going to a “Christian” college that uses a text book that is in favor of homosexual marriage. I was shocked and angry. I reminded him that, as Christians, we aren’t to have anything to do with someone who calls himself a brother, yet knowlingly brings false teaching into the assembly. He didn’t know that. He squinted, furrowed his brow and slowly said, “There IS that verse that says we're to treat them as unbelievers,” thinking extra hard to remember anything at all.

That's all he knew about a central theme of Scripture?

Yep.

That's all he's got. And in a matter of months he may be your pastor or youth pastor. Does that scare you?

Several weeks ago, I read an article by Zac Poonen. Poonen is a Christian celebrity, a pastor, and author. Thousands read him and listen to him. He’s an authority. In his article he said that the first time believers were filled with the Holy Spirit was Acts 2, obviously oblivious to the fillings in the Old Testament and the filling of John the Baptist. When I corrected this, complete with biblical references, his defenders came out of the woodwork. They didn’t even MENTION the biblical mistakes Poonen made--let alone defend them. But they WERE mad at me.

Poonen's in sin. And so are his defenders. He isn’t doing the job of an elder while publicly holding the position. He isn’t studying the Scripture. Else, he’d remember John the Baptist and Bezalel and would know better than to say Acts 2 was the first time.

I could go on with example after example, from “Christian” nobodies to “Christian” celebrities. These folks hate the biblical Jesus, too. After all, the Jesus of Scripture kept saying “…have you not read…” and “…it is written…” Unlike today's Evangelicals, Jesus seemed to think that Scripture ought to settle any argument. And religious folks hated Him then, too.

Ironically, Poonen ended his article with “He who has ears to hear, let him hear," quoting the Jesus he ignores.

"Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear." Deuteronomy 29:4.

In Christ,
Phil Perkins.

BELTS LINES AND BIBLE VERSES

There are sins that a man can't hide if he's made a lifestyle habit of them. If your face is red and puffy and your breath smells like alcohol at 10 in the morning, you're a heavy drinker. You've spent years in the sins of self-indulgence and drunkenness.

If your waistline is huge, you eat too much. You've spent years in the sins of self-indulgence and gluttony.

If you have the ignorance of Scripture typical of almost all Evangelicals, you don't know or love God. You've spent years in the sins of self-indulgence and laziness.

And hypocrisy.

No excuse,
Phil Perkins.

IGNORANCE IS NEXT TO GODLINESS, I guess--Part II of II

"THE TEXT! THE TEXT! I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE TEXT!"

Let's do an experiment today. I am going to give you a set of quotes. I spend time with lots of folks. I witness on the streets and to my fellow workers. I speak and write to the irreligious and the religious. So I put together a set of five quotes. I will ask you to take a guess. Were these quotes made by a.)a preacher, b.)a church officer, c.)a person who regularly goes to an Evangelical church and claims to be a Christian, d.)a person who seldom, if ever, goes to church, e.)I made it up?

Quote #1. "The text! The text! I don't CARE about the text (of Scripture)." (Yelled loudly.)

Quote #2. "I don't care about logic. I'm just mad!" (Again, yelled loudly.)

Quote #3. "I wish you'd stop throwing the Bible in my face!" (In a burst of anger, but in a hushed voice so no one else could hear.)

Quote #4. "I think you're right, but..." (Spoken over the phone to tell me that sin would continue, despite biblical evidence presented.)

Quote #5. "I prayed to accept Jesus." (In response to a question concerning where he thought he might go for eternity, referring to an event in his youth.)

THE ANSWERS:
1. The text! The text! I don't CARE about the text!

c. An Evangelical church-goer who claims to be a believer. This fellow was a recent graduate from Southern Baptist college and attends an SBC church. It was in a discussion in which I took the historical position on a particular doctrine and advanced multiple Scriptures in its defense. My friend denied this doctrine vigorously, but quoted no Scripture, though asked repeatedly.

2. I don't care about logic. I'm just mad.

c. An Evangelical church-goer who claims to be a believer. Again the same fellow in the same discussion as in quote #1.

3. I wish you'd stop throwing the Bible in my face!

a. An Evangelical pastor. His name is Paul Ostrander of Billings, MT. He is not what he says he is. One would think this came from a tense time in street evangelism, but the non-churched don't seem to hate the Scripture that much.

4. I think you're right, but...

b. A church officer. This fellow is a deacon named Jerry. The church he attends and helps run knowingly supports teachers who deny the veracity of Scripture. He admitted that isn't okay with the Bible, but was angry that I had run around the church telling folks what the leadership was up to behind closed doors. So he continues in the sin and so does his church.

5. I prayed to accept Jesus.

d. A person who never goes to church at all. He was a drunk lying next to the trash bins behind the Denny's restaurant in downtown Billings, MT. He was a Southern Baptist.

SOOOOO.....how many did you get right? 5 for 5--A+. Apply now to Mensa. 4 for5--B. You're pretty smart, but no genius. 3 for 5--C-. Not quite college material. 2 or lower. I'll bet you teach adult Sunday School!

If you didn't do so well, here's an extra-credit quote to bring your grade up:

EXTRA CREDIT QUOTE. "I love God and want to know Him, so I study the Bible constantly."

EXTRA CREDIT ANSWER. e. I made that one up.

Never heard it.

Ever.

Think about it,
Phil Perkins. PS--Really. I've NEVER heard that one. Probably never will.

IGNORANCE IS NEXT TO GODLINESS, I guess--Part I of II

I recently met a commenter on a blog. I'll call him "Bob". "Bob" is probably a sincere Evangelical. His view of scripture is very high as Evangelicals go these days. However, his view of actually studying the Bible is typically Evangelical. While he SAYS we ought to know what Jesus teaches, biblical knowledge is optional, at best. And those who spend the time and energy necessary to know the Bible are actually bad.

Read what Bob wrote and see if it's not the sort of thing you hear in your church:

Christianity is not about How much one knows about Jesus or believing How rich God wants us to be. Neither is it about claiming to know more than others or claiming that God speaks to them audibly or in person. It is not about thinking and living as we like or what we think is right or holy. It’s about dying to self which means not only in actions but in our thinking, bringing every thought to the obedience of Christ (i.e his teachings).In short it means complete obedience and full surrender to Jesus the Christ. What we think or believe or hope is not gonna save us even if we have faith that can move mountains unless we abide in Christ (i.e live according to his word). He sent the Holy Ghost to teach us his will so that we may abide in him. So, any spirit that does not teach the commandments or complete obedience to Christ is not holy.
Lord I pray that you help us to understand the teachings of Christ that we may abide in HIM.

THERE. Does what Bob wrote sound familiar?

Well, if you're a Bob, this is my answer to you:

Bob,
Parts of your comment are VERY GOOD. The fact that we are to die to self isn't taught anymore. And the idea that we ought to bring our thoughts into line with Christ is both good and biblical.

Yet, I have some questions. One, if it's important to bring our thoughts into obedience to Christ's teachings, where did He say in His teachings that "how much one knows about Jesus" isn't vitally important? Is that one of His teachings?

Two, if it isn't important to know about Jesus, why do we speak the gospel? It's about Jesus, after all. Can folks be saved without knowing about Jesus?

Three, when did Jesus say we are to be rich at all? He and His disciples blew that one. So did Paul and most of the Prophets.

Four, if it isn't important to know as much about Christ as possible, why did God send "the Holy Ghost to teach us", as you say? What is He going to teach us, since knowledge isn't all that important?

The truth is that Christ came to die for our sins and to be the Light of the World. Light in Scripture is a metaphor for the giving of knowledge. If you are a saint, your number one job, after sanctification, is to become a Bible student.

The word "disciple" means a learner. We are ordered to make disciples--students. What do you do with that? Throw it away?

Christ, through His Holy Spirit, said in Psalm 119:9-11, "How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy word. 10 With all my heart I have sought Thee; Do not let me wander from Thy commandments. 11 Thy word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against Thee."

So, while you've disparaged biblical knowledge, you've actually done even worse than that. You disparaged those who have done their homework. You said, "Neither is it about claiming to know more than others..." Actually, that IS IMPORTANT.

Do you have any idea how many hours it takes to become fluent in Scripture knowledge? I can tell you almost no Evangelicals, including their pastors, do know. We know they don't know because they don't know their Bibles.

Scriptural knowledge is one of the qualifications for leadership, so comparing the knowledge of different brothers and sisters is mandated in the Scripture.

Did you know that? Do you even know where? Did you know why? If not, why not?

When was the last time you thanked someone who has studied the Scripture and put that blessing into your life? Christ, in His Scripture said we are to honor those elders who perform their duty well. You, Sir, have dishonored God's best servants.

Instead, you ought to seek their help.

Think about it.
Phil Perkins.

THE HOLY SPIRIT MADE ME DO IT

Comedian Flip Wilson had a character in his arsenal of goofball personas he invented to make the rest of us laugh who always had the same ready excuse for the stupid or bad things "Geraldine" did. "The Devil made me do it." Audiences laughed hysterically because it was entirely obvious that the excuse was just that--an excuse. In today's Evangelical community the excuse has been changed.

But only a little.

Today, males in the pulpit who are SUPPOSED TO actually study the Word and report to us in sermon form what that Word says, often resort to "and God told me..."

If God has spoken to all these men, why do they contradict each other? Is God confused? Is He a liar? Like the Catholics who have a piece of the cross in this cathedral and one in that cathedral and other cathedrals until, when added up, the cross must have weighed several tons, even so Evangelicals could put all their and-God-told-me's together and start a new religion.

Christo-hindo-buddho-islo-mormo-watchtowero-psycho-scientologo-confusitarianism.

Take this quote from "Jenn" who wrote, "You have to study - and hard. Then pray that God will open your eyes and heart about the questions at hand."

Now think this through. There are two sources of spiritual truth available to Jenn, evidently, and the best one for the hard questions isn't the Scripture. After you study, if you still have questions after a time of study, ask God. Notice she didn't say to ask God and then go back to studying. No, when we can't get anymore out of that Bible Ouija board, we go to our other Ouija board. Pray and wait for the unholy tingles, call it "the Holy Spirit" and you're on your way.

And He will "open your eyes and heart", according to Jenn. (Where does it say in the Bible that God will give us important truth without study?)

This sort of thinking is unbiblical and misses the seriousness of dealing with God. We have forgotten the holiness and fierceness of God. We have forgotten that false teachers will live for eternity in hell. We have forgotten that God ordered the death of all who claim God has spoken what He didn't say.

Study is hard work. Why would we think for a moment that the God Who designed the eye and the stars the eyes sees would be simple or easy? Did He not tell us that we are to pursue Him with everything we have?

Here are some questions for those who seek God in the tingles, instead of Scripture:

1. If the Scripture isn't the final authority, why waste our time there at all? Go around the road block and get the answers right away.

2. Is your "Holy Spirit" confused, a liar, or are there more than one since your "Holy Spirit" has so many opinions?

3. If the Scripture can't do the job and you need the tingles, why not admit in all your doctrinal statements that your final authority isn't Scripture, but the spirit or spirits you call "Holy"?

4. If you really believe that your "Holy Spirit" is right, why don't you challenge the other "Holy Spirits" who give doctrines that contradict your "Holy Spirit"?

5. Ought you not warn others of teachers whose "Holy Spirit" isn't holy at all if yours is?

I wonder what God will say to me next Tuesday. Perhaps we'll start releasing buterflies during service. The doves were just too messy.

In Christ,
Phil Perkins.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK--October 2, 2008

The seeming contradictions that are in the word of God are great stumbling-blocks to men of corrupt minds.

Matthew Henry in his commentary on Jesus' discussion of divorce in Matthew 19.