THE SECRET SINS OF THE ODMs--Part III

Writing this post (Part III of the series) has been very hard. When I started I thought this would be the easiest of the three parts. It's the hardest. There is SO much to say. And it's so important. Here is my attempt:


THE PROBLEMS.
Parts I and II of THE SECRET SINS OF THE ODMs revealed four areas of sin that are altogether too common in online discernment ministries. They were being generally unethical, refusing to separate from other ODMS and ODMers in unrepentant sin, breaking the second commandment, attempting to associate themselves with Reformers and famous preachers of the past with whom they have little in common--a pretentiousness.

All of these sins cut to the heart of what discernment is about. Discernment is all about honoring Jesus Christ by staying pure. Pretention makes me a liar. Fellowshiping with "believers" in open sin makes me impure. Deciding to make up the sort of god I want makes me the same as all the false teachers whom I say I'm exposing. Lax ethics make me just plain sinful.

THE CHALLENGE AHEAD OF US.
The road ahead if we are to get to a reformation will require three things.

1. STOP COMPETING.
In Numbers twelve we read the story of Aaron and Miriam and their complaint. They accused Moses of being in sin, when he was innocent. It was an interpersonal sort of sin. The sort of sin that occurs when folks are competing for notoriety. When jealousy comes. When competition is rampant. When pride is king. Miriam said Moses had done wrong when he married a Cushite lady. The sons of Israel were still in the wilderness. In chapter sixteen, we read of the rebellion of Korah. Both were rebellions and both complaints had at their root, not the specific charges brought by the complainers, but jealousy.

In fact, I fear that some have become ODMers because they simply don't like those who lead Modern Evangelicalism. Many of us are little folks given little roles by God and we don't like that. Get over ourselves. That isn't to say that MEism isn't apostate. It is. But ask yourself just why you're here in the ODM movement. Are you here because you're torqued at certain folks or because you're burning with a fire for God's Name and its glorification among the nations?

If you're here because of the first reason, don't leave just yet. Instead, get in line with God's word. Then go back to doing God's work for God's reasons whether in the ODM arena or elsewhere.

Competitiveness is also within the ODMs. That's why you see so much of the sins I mentioned. Supposedly godly men keep tabs on what everyone on the net is saying about them. Why? You KNOW why. There seems to be a competition to say things in the most profound way possible. Find a cool quote. Why? Snarky criticism of others is the currency. Why?

Stop it.

Going back to the stories in Numbers, when Miriam was sick and white, she had to go through ritual purification. The sons of Israel had to stay in camp and wait for her until she and the priests dealt with her sin.

Don't think for one moment that sin in our camp won't cause God to take His hand off our work and stop our progress. It will. God doesn't change. Not even for us "good guys".

2. GET OVER "BIG".
Of HUGE CONCERN to most ODMers is the loss of formerly "Christian" institutions, like denominations, colleges, and seminaries. Did you know that God isn't concerned about it?

No, He isn't.

In previous articles, I mentioned that schools like Wheaton and Moody are gone. Go to Lighthouse Trails on my blogroll. You can look up folks like Wheaton. While you're there look up Regents and Cedarville, too. Go to Al Mohler's blog to an article of a week or two ago. He's on my blogroll and I'll leave him there for you to look at for a couple weeks. He proudly announced that his school, Southern Baptist Seminary, is now offering a doctorate in spiritual formation. Yes--Al Mohler's gone. Remember Billy Graham? He now denies the faith. I could go on for pages and pages. A book that catalogued all the fallen bigwigs and institutions of just the last five years would be very thick indeed.

Could it be that God is stripping His remnant in America of the props that have corrupted us in the past? (I'm not a prophet or the son of a prophet. I'm just asking.)

Even our country, the US, is falling. But the Americanization of the gospel in MEism is another topic for another time. I'll just say this--If you have an American flag in your church, shame on you. You're supposed to pledging your allegiance to Jesus Christ, the God of Israel. Remember, "Christian" churches in Germany once flew the swastika.

GOD DOESN'T NEED OUR INSTITUTIONS AND HE DOESN'T NEED US. Here are all the passages in Scripture that require Christians to build seminaries (write them down, please):




Get all of those?

And here are all the passages in Scripture that require Christians to build church buildings:





Get all of those? There'll be a quiz on Friday.

Jesus worked for the furtherance of one earthly institution and one only: His assembly. That actually takes a lot of pressure off of ODMers and our ilk. (It also explains why so many ME pastors preach the tithe.) I used to sweat the demise of the Southern Baptists. I don't anymore. God never has worked like that. Did your denomination save you? Did a fancy building on the corner of Self and Smug save you? Did a seminary save you?

No. In fact, the most heinous heresies have come in the name of "BIG". The early theological liberals came out of Germany and they wanted to broaden the appeal of the gospel by getting rid of the miraculous. Only a few Europeans were Christians and if we could persuade scientific minds that the Bible wasn't all that full of miracles, we could reclaim much of the culture. (Sound familiar?) They wanted "BIG". The Emergents want to take the moral certainty out of the gospel to get "BIG". MEs want to make the gospel "relevant" so we can get more folks and get "BIG".

Want to be like Christ? Then, get over "BIG". He gave a sermon on sovereignty in John 6 and lost almost all His followers. "TRUTH" trumped "BIG". If you value "BIG", you're not following Chirst. "BIG" or Jesus. Take your pick.

Think back, if you're a regular reader, to the last several posts. I called several ODMers and bloggers into account. One showed up here as soon as his name was mentioned. Did you notice the first sentence in his first comment? It was derision for not being "BIG". And he pretended to have expertise in the languages, but refused to offer his credentials. Where are you today? Are you "BIG"? If not, here's something you ought consider: Many of the "BIG" boys think you're second class. Why do you want to be like them? Don't. Men like Frank Turk are liars. They hate God. Jesus' ministry was miniscule compared to the Frank Turks of his day--the religious leaders. Frank would look down his nose on Jesus, too. If your website isn't like Frank's, you're not up to snuff. Frank said so, remember that?

3. CONCENTRATE ON BEING LIKE CHRIST.
NOT like some Christian celebrity.

Get to the basics. (Notice I didn't say "back".) Read the Scripture like you've never read it before. Spend hours a day buried in it. If your job is too much for that, then take all day Saturday. Do it. Yes, it costs, and even your wife may need to be informed that she, too, will have to carry some of that cost. Seek purity before you ask others to. Logs and specks.

Get your information from good ODMs and go back to your churches and put it to work protecting the flock. Many of us ought to concentrate, not on ODMing, but on spreading the gospel. Look at Paul, for instance. He did offline ODMing, naming liars and warning of false teachings in every letter. (Yes, if you're an ODMer you have quite a brotherhood.) Many are ODMers for the pure motive that few even look for false teachers, including most ME pastors. (And that biblically disqualifies a man from the pastorate, too, by the way. A pastor is a shepherd and shepherd who doesn't even care to look for wolves should be fired.)


This is a pure motive. This is good, but remember that Jesus spent most of His time with folks who knew they were sinners, not the religious. In fact, if Jesus walked around your town, would He even be recognized as a pastor? He was. But your church probably wouldn't recognize Him as such.

Which brings me to something I've decided this week. I'm changing Al Tosap. There'll be a new emphasis on teaching Scripture, God willing.

CONCLUSION:
Do your thing in the way God has equipped you and we'll see you soon enough at the feet of God. Stay holy.

In Christ,
Phil Perkins. PS--pray for me and my wife. We're witnessing on the streets and starting a home church. Pray for our holiness.