WHY I APPRECIATE JOHN COLEMAN

Here's a great audio from John Coleman to take in. The specifics of the false teaching he is exposing isn't important to you if that sort of falsehood isn't effecting folks in your circles. But listen to this man's heart and his commitment. John Coleman can use your prayers and he's really defending the faith. God bless John Coleman.

Click here , scroll down to find Ram Radio The Web Cast "Confused Minds Speak" 7-29-2010 and click on the date to listen.

His website is on my blogroll, too.

Phil Perkins.

WHICH KINGDOM?

With Americans celebrating the election of our first Marxist president, perhaps it's time to reflect on just how we, as saints, ought to relate to the nation in which we live. On Fox News just this morning a video clip of the celebration outside the White House showed young folks with American flags and hammer-and-sickle flags.

That's right. The communist flag celebrated at the White House by the supporters of our incoming president.

This new day was the subject when I wrote THIS to a couple of fellows this morning:

Stan and Sola,
I've not yet read much from either of you concerning what this means to the kingdom of God. Almost all your concerns have to do with the US. (And you're both right--this is a tragedy for the nation--and it makes me very sad.)

I believe one of the great sins of the "church" is our love affair with and faith in this country. (Instead of depending on and loving the God of Israel.) Another great sin of the "church" is a disbelief in the biblical doctrine that we ought to suffer persecution or else face the fact that we aren't His. In fact, since the seventies, the youth in the "church" have been drowned in the syrup of "success"--the idiotic assumption that if one is doing the right things in the right way (read the effeminate way) folks will like them--a false teaching that has lead to silence on matters of sin and righteousness in and out of the "church". This is not only unbiblical, but can only be believed if we continue in the additional sin of non-evangelism. Thus the "life-style (or friendship) evangelism" movement (more correctly called life-style NON-evangelism). If we had actually gone out and told folks that the kingdom of God is at hand and that they ought to repent of their sins in order to avoid hell, we'd all have understood that hatred by the world is the proper experience of God's people. (Anything less is a result of sin--the cowardly sin of denying Christ by means of silence.)

I'm pretty sure that particular silliness will soon be history. And ironically, now after decades of folks calling themselves "Evangelical" while REMAINING SILENT ABOUT THE EVANGEL, it will soon be illegal to evangelize.

Tell me THAT'S not God's judgment.

It seems that many Evangelicals are more worried about having a place of freedom and affluence in the here and now than any actual concern about obedience as soldiers of Christ. According to the Old Covenant, God's people could expect peace and prosperity if they obeyed the Father. In the New Covenant, however, God's assembly actually has suffering as a promise for their obedience. Heard that in all that "God-anointed" teaching lately?

Think about it. We have entire "ministries" that have more to do with American politics than with biblical Christianity. Not exactly the Great Commission, huh?

I believe that, perhaps--just perhaps, this is a judgment on the assembly for our love of this nation over the kingdom of Heaven. (And for our faith in a "strong economy" for affluence over faith in the Father for our daily bread.)

Jesus said His kingdom wasn't of this world. What about ours?

In Christ,
Phil Perkins.
NOTE--The passages in bold were added for clarification.

Pulpit Pimps

This weekend I found a few new blogs and all were really worth reading. I have gotten permission to link to only one so far: Pulpit Pimps by Melvin Jones. Evidently, when some ungodly fence-straddler decided all Christian men were to become so polite they had to be nice to false teachers, Jones burned his copy of the memo.

Melvin Jones seems determined to expose the lies of the Word-Faith movement. Word- Faith is the brand of non-christianity that includes folks like Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyers, Kenneth Copeland, and so forth. Some call it Word-Faith, Word of Faith, Prosperity Gospel, Health and Wealth, Name It and Claim It. (I like Blab-it-and-grab-it myself.) These folks have gone well past simply being Charismatic and pushing certain gifts all out of proportion. They have actually gone into damnable heresy--the sort of heresy that will damn a man's soul. For instance, Copeland has said outright that God has a body, making him more Mormon than Christian.

So, Jones is making war on these folks. He's in a segment of the body of Christ in which he will pay a heavy price for his convictions. But he doesn't care. Pray for our brother, Melvin Jones. He is doing a great work and it seems he has a lot of readers. That's good.

While surfing this weekend I came across three other sites like Jones'. They are all good. There is Theology Today,
Doctrinetalk.com, and Pastor John's Site, in addition to Pulpit Pimps.

Pastor John's Site is by Rev. John Coleman. His site is not dedicated to battling Word-Faith heresy. It is a general site from an LA pastor and it includes warnings about Word-Faith along with general teachings. He has an excellent section on the nutty, heretical quotes Billy Graham has made over the years.

Getting back to Melvin Jones and Pulpit Pimps, I don't want to overdo my praise of the guy. I barely know of him. However, what's refreshing about all these sites is their straight talk. (Read Jones' "About Me" section and see the price and hassle he has already overcome to become straight in the faith.) They talk like men. Godly men. Go read their stuff. Then go read Team Pyro or Tim Challies. The difference you will find is both staggering and significant. At Pyro, if you find an article on an Emergent heretic for instance, you will first read a number of paragraphs about what that particular heretic says that is right. Couldn't you do the same with a Watchtower magazine? Or the Book Of Mormon?

A better question is, "Is that what Jesus, the apostles, and the prophets did?" The obvious answer is "no." Jesus made it clear to all who heard Him that the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees were wrong. No one had to guess or parse words to understand. So why don't we talk like men? Are we cowardly? Too afraid to be disliked, so that we have to put sugar on the medicine so nobody notices, not even the ones who need it most? Is this a hangover from the pop-evangelical bromide of the 70's when we were told over and over it's bad to be negative? We were supposed to be always positive. Back then I would ask if the Bible was always positive and the answer given was "no." But then biblical reasoning didn't really make much difference.

Some of you will remember when I had the nerve to suggest at Team Pyro that we ought not use gender-altered Bible versions because they were intentionally changed for reasons that had to do with pleasing certain political groups. Phil Johnson and Frank Turk then proceded to make excuses as to why it's okay to do so and chastise me for being a hillbilly in a straw hat who didn't even know the languages anyhow, so why don't I just go away and shut up. My, my. How dare I, calling sin sin. When I told them I have taught both Greek and Hebrew at the college level I didn't get an apology--big surprise, huh?.

On most sites you will find Evangelical males (notice I did't say "men") who, when they have to deal with false teaching, do so in such a gentle way one has to read for 20 minutes before one can find out whose side they're on. Why? Because it's considered impolite to say things like "liar." Why have we become so uncomfortable with such a word? Jesus said much worse than that all the time to false teachers. We're women, not men. Shame on us.

I pray that brothers like Melvin Jones and John Coleman never become like the rest of Evangelicalism. That would be a sad day.

In Christ,
Phil Perkins. PS--If you're doctrinally straight, but won't stand, what difference does it make? Fear Him Who has power to destroy both body and soul in the flames of hell.

Out Of The Abundance Of The Heart The Mouth Speaks--An Answer To Those Who Hate Reproof.

There were fourteen folks around the three folding tables. Five of them had styrofoam cups at various levels of "full" with coffee. Some were still visibly sleepy, others raring to go. The teacher was doing his thing, when Tom spoke out in Sunday School about a particular sin in the church. It was obvious to everyone there that Sunday morning that Tom was really angry and disturbed about it. Chad spoke up from the other end of the table to say that he agreed with Tom, but gently reminded Tom that if he was angry, instead of loving, Tom would persuade no one.

How many thousands of times does this sort of scenario play itself out in churches across America? If you've been a Christian for any amount of time, you've witnessed this, maybe dozens of times. Tom is bad. Chad is good. Tom is unloving. Chad is loving. Tom is new in the faith. Chad is mature. Right?

NO! Chad's heart is evil, he is disobedient to Scripture, he blasphemes against God, he is a modern legalist, and he is unable to tell the truth.

I recently had that sort of interaction with an "Anonymous" on the comment thread here. The sin I was dealing with was the infestation of the church with the agenda of the feminists and homosexuals and the mistranslations currently flooding the church that censor masculinity, such as the Message, the NRSV, and the TNIV. Please read what I said to "Anonymous." You are likely to think I was out of line and simply spouting out of anger.

I wasn't. What I had to say was well thought out and biblical. To see why, let's go back to the fictional account of Chad and Tom.

I made five specific claims about Chad.

First, I condemned his heart as being evil. Why? What right do I have to judge another's heart? Jesus put it this way: "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil." Matthew 12:33-35.

Chad's heart and the heart of Anonymous are evil and we can know that because of what they said. Jesus said that what we say is whatever fills our heart. The point of Anonymous and Chad was that we could embarrass ourselves by being too adamant in our disapproval of sin. Do you understand? That which often fills our heart is the selfish desire to be liked, and we know that opposing sin is never popular. We don't want to be seen as closed minded. Someone might furrow their brow at us or call us fundies or something horrible like that.

Another black spot of rot in the heart of those who hate reproof is evident in the fact that they do not hate sin in the church. How do I know? Chad was quick to admonish Tom and Anonymous was quick to correct me. They said nothing about the sin that motivated the reprover to harden his face as God's face is hard against sin. The hearts of Anonymous and our fictional "Chad" are cold to God and His righteousness. Their words prove it. If you reprove the man reproving sin, your heart is evil. You need to repent. Your heart is black. You are cold to God, warm to your own reputation, and in need of repentance.

Second, I also claimed that Chad and Anonymous are disobedient to Scripture. They follow in the footsteps of the Pharisees. They do not walk with the God of Abraham. Paul said, "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, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 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. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer. 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." I Timothy 4:1-6.

Anonymous and Chad refused to bring attention to the falsehood brought into the church. Scripture asks us to do so. We started this discussion with the question, "What right do I have to judge another's heart?" Now I ask this question: "What right do you have to grant approval to that which God hates?" When we allow sins to flourish among the brethren, we oppose God. I'll ask another question: "What right do you have to judge the heart of a man who expresses hatred for that which God hates?"

Third, Chad and Anonymous blaspheme against the name and reputation of God and His servants throughout history.

How? Simple. They claim their silence and apathy toward sin is right. Ergo John the Baptist was wrong. And Hosea was wrong. And Moses was wrong. And Ezekiel was wrong. And Jesus was wrong. And Spurgeon was wrong. And Edwards was wrong.

And God is wrong. Why? Because He hates sin. And He proclaims it constantly. Out loud.

Fourth, anyone who reproves the reprover is a legalist. Ironically, while those who hate the hatred of sin intend to be open minded and generous, in point of fact, they accuse the man hating sin of doing something sinful. (Which, of course, they hate.) Where in the Bible are we told not to hate evil? Or not to express hatred of evil? Or not to express it too much? Are not these purveyors of spiritual mediocrity making up rules not in Scripture? These days the Scripture often quoted is one like Colosians 4: 5-6, where Paul the Apostle said, "Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person." We are told, "seasoned with salt" means nice, polite, inoffensive. However, in the context of the life of the author, either the apostle did not follow his own admonition or "seasoned with salt" must include the reproof of sin and the rebuke of the sinner, in or out of the church. Perhaps, the "salt" of the apostle stung the wounds of the soul, as well as provide a savor for the tongue. Does not grace always precede its application to a soul with the conviction of sin so that soul can repent and receive grace?

Fifth and last, whoever hates reproof is unable to say the truth. Again, Jesus said in Matthew 12, "You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart." By their spoken hatred of reproof we know their hearts are evil. And because their hearts are evil, they are unable to speak anything but the lies they speak. They can't help it. It's in them just like the gospel is in the righteous man and he has to speak the truth. Neither man can keep what is in his heart silent for anything but the shortest time. It must burst forth like the angels that praise God and the vile man who cannot contain his profanity.

The issue is not the mouth. It is not what is said. Words only prove what is in the heart. The alarming fact is that if you hate reproof, you hate God. You are likely to be unregenerate.

Take warning from the Spirit of God. Call to Jesus.

In Christ,
Phil Perkins.

Ground Control To Pastor Tom

Here are two quotes from an eleven-year pastor on his blog:

Let me say this up front: I have some real struggles categorically condemning certain — maybe any — form of prayer.

AND

Jesus clearly condemned “vain repetition” (Matt. 6:7) and prayer distinctly practiced for show (Matt. 6:1-4).

Yep, you heard right. At the start of one paragraph he said he didn't want to condemn any certain form of prayer. And two paragraphs later, he said Jesus did just that.

The subject was Emergents and Contemplative Prayer. These folks are bringing in pagan prayer and meditation practices from the East. Obviously this is a very sinful thing.

However, our pastor friend (I'll call him Tom), wanting to seem open-minded, could not bring himself to speak against it. Only that it bothered him a bit, but not enough to actually be a mean, bigoted, Fundamentalist jerk casting dispersions on others and their groups and calling names and such.

Then Pastor Tom went on in the next paragraph to say that Jesus condemned certain forms of prayer. Pastor Tom didn't even catch his own contradiction

Let us remind ourselves that Paul told Timothy in I Timothy 3 the overseer was to be both moral and "able to teach." We can't be sure if Pastor Tom is really that dull or just blinded by his lust for approval from all quarters. Paul definitely made the moral part most important, but don't forget the smart part, too.

Grounnd controlllll to Paaastor Tommmm........

Phil Perkins.

Good Men

Someone very wise once said, "Evil prevails when good men do nothing." They were wrong. Men that do nothing aren't good. They're cowards.

The Blessings of Having a Hard Headed Dad

I was thinking of the great contrast between the way my dad thought and acted and the way we moderns and postmoderns act. To him tolerance was about adjusting valve lash, not approving of sin or some preacher that finds it easier to tell funny stories, than to actually crack the Book and deliver some grass and water to the sheep.

I can tell you all thrity-five billion things wrong with Dad. Got a week? Yeah, he's a son of Adam, just like his kid. If you have two weeks you can hear about mine, but add another week to take a VERY long shower.

My dad is very hard headed. He won't give you a lot of time to spout about some opinion. Not unless you're quoting Scripture. Then he will listen and wrestle with it. And he'll tell you if you're right or wrong or if he doesn't know. He wouldn't DREAM of just nodding approval because it "touched" him.

Why isn't anyone like that anymore? Dad is likely to call you a liar, so don't lie. Try that in church sometime and see if you're still in good graces. You may be called "mean." And you certainly will NOT be asked to give the blessing--EVER. People will just barely tolerate you. (Actually, not everyone--just the vocal ones.)

Dad is lonely right now. In fact, there is a deep-seated loneliness that comes from always feeling like the one others see as odd. And many think he is. In today's terms he is. In God's terms, he's normal.

I suppose I'm odd, too. I thank my Dad for that. And I thank God for Dad. What a blessing.

God bless you, Dad. You're a tremendous blessing. I love you.

Phil Perkins.