Paul's Passing Thoughts

“Get it? Church membership is a ‘means of salvation.'”

I received a solicitation for a donation to The Gospel Coalition this morning by email. Why their false gospel is false is explicitly stated in the email:

” In the waning hours of the decade, we at The Gospel Coalition rejoice at how God has used our ministry over the last 10 years—serving more than 130 million people with thousands of free digital resources to help them grasp the gospel and apply it to all of life.
Our mandate for the next decade is clear. As the internet grows darker, and the search bar becomes ever more a spiritual battleground, ministries like ours must be steadfast in our mission to offer gospel-centered hope for the searching.

If you have read our articles, attended our events, or supported TGC in any way over the last decade, thank you. A coalition cannot exist without its stakeholders, and our impact thus far could not have happened without you. As we look to the next decade, we need your support more than ever before. We are seeking to raise $100,000 by year’s end to propel our Hope for the Searching campaign in 2020 and beyond.”

Simply stated, the TGC gospel makes salvation a PROCESS and not a onetime finished work by God alone for eternity. If salvation is a process and you are living in that process, you, in same way, must be a part of that process; that enters human activity into salvation and that’s works salvation in all cases.

The email was sent by false teacher and president of TGC, Don Carson. Like with all TGC double-speaking liars, “salvation” is replaced with the word “gospel” for purposes of nuance and deliberate deception. Hence, here is what is really being said: “…free digital resources to help them grasp the gospel salvation and apply it to all of life.” Note that we must apply salvation to our whole life. Maybe you have heard it stated this way: “We must preach the gospel to ourselves every day.” It is, as Carson also writes, “gospel-centered hope.”

We are not sanctified by salvation—salvation is finished by God in your life apart from anything you do or don’t do with intentionality. This is a fact IF you believe the true gospel of justification by new birth. Salvation (justification) is a completely finished work and totally separate from the Christian life (sanctification). Only sanctification progresses and depends on our activity apart from the finished work of salvation. Any doctrine that conflates the two is overtly false; TGC teaches a blatantly false gospel in broad daylight. One of their favorite truisms is, “Justification and sanctification are distinct, but never separate.” Of course, this is just more deliberate double-speak. In ALL instances where a soteriology does not completely separate justification and sanctification; justification by the law is present. There are no exceptions to this rule.

Furthermore, according to this false gospel, submission to the institutional church is needed to facilitate the salvation process. Church is where you access what they call, “the ordinary means of grace.” That’s really saying, “the ordinary means of salvation.” Get it? Church membership is a “means of salvation.”

Everyone knows what the word “means” means in that context, so the word “salvation” is deliberately replaced with the more ambiguous word, “gospel.” It’s deliberate deception.

paul

Don’t let all of the various and sundry stripes of Protestantism whether Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, or Charismatic confuse you; it is all a variation of Double Imputation soteriology. I was reminded of that when I stumbled upon the below (bottom of post) tweet by Joel Osteen which I responded to.

The problem here, once again, is Protestantism’s fundamental error concerning the new birth which totally distorts a true Christian understanding of reality and salvation. In Protestantism’s Double Imputation soteriology, everything boils down to a single perspective on how God sees us regardless of what’s really going on. Hence, the Charismatic side of the Double Imputation coin (Osteen et al) posits the following: because of what Jesus has done, God only sees His approval of Jesus when He looks at us. Think, “covering.” This circumvents a fatherly view of his child according to reality and makes everything about the fulfilling of the law by Jesus. As children of God, why make it “our goal to please him” when, supposedly, because of Jesus, He only sees approval to begin with? To make any effort to please Him would be circumventing the work of Jesus, no? This under-law thinking restricts our relationship with the Father to a yes/no question of perfect law-keeping accomplished by Jesus. Therefore, of course, Osteen is going to preach a don’t worry, be happy lifestyle that pleases us as anything we do to please others is circumventing the salvific works of Jesus.

On the other side of the Double Imputation coin, viz, Baptists etc., again, a true fatherly relationship with God is circumvented. According to this version, we are totally depraved spiritual losers but whenever God looks at us, again, He only sees Jesus. According to this construct, likewise, why try to please the Father when there is nothing we can do to please Him anyway? Indeed, “all of our works are as filthy rags.” God is not really our father, he is a god of wrath that would be please to devour us with fire in an instant if not for Jesus the god of grace.

One side states that we should live like God sees us so we will be happier and richer while the other side states that we should mortify self and find joy/gratitude in Christ’s grace. Both really boil down to the same thing from two different angles: our love for the Father through the wisdom of the law will be relaxed because of the same soteriology that supplies a double substitution: Jesus is a covering rather than a true brother to those who have been transformed from death to life as a state of being. It’s a true Fatherly relationship; we are eternally secure and loved by our Father, and because of that reality, just like our fatherly relationships in this life, our Father is not always going to approve of our actions. And, by the way, He may want us to have the approval of others in many circumstances because like true realty a child’s behavior reflects on the parents.

However, Osteen’s approach is a pushback to the other side of the coin which is why he is wildly popular. Everyone following him got sick of hearing what a loser they are Sunday after Sunday.

That’s the difference, but in both cases the true new birth and how it results in a true Fatherly relationship with God is missing.

paul

First, elite Churchians call the church a “train wreck,” so, I am merely agreeing though I disagree with the soteriology that makes such a confession virtuous. Like many, I have thoughts running in the back of my mind that we may call “peripheral thoughts,” that is, thoughts that are in the peripheral but have not been brought into full focus. For some time, former victims of “church hurt” that are now “advocates” for those who suffer various and sundry abuses from the hands of the church has been running in the background of my mind. That is, until my daughter shared a post with me from one of many “advocates” peppered throughout the internet yesterday; now my thoughts about these advocates are running in front of me.

I read the post and commented on the stream, but latter in the day when my daughter visited me and started a discussion on the post, she said something that solidified my former peripheral thoughts into a monument in the middle of the road. More on that later.

John Piper is a primary predator of the church. As Andy Young pointed out in last year’s conference, all of these people are filthy rich. There are vast problems with making salvation an institution. Salvation is a family affair and an spiritual/organic body affair, and an organized body doesn’t function like an institution; one is a cooperative or collective effort of different gifts, and the other runs almost entirely on authority resulting in caste and top-down rule. You know, the “ruling elders.” Such a term is laughable on its face.

The post was a pushback to Piper’s statement that godly women should endure some occasional roughing up from abusive husbands before going to the church for help. My comment on the stream follows:

John Piper’s worldview flows from his false gospel. Evangelicals need to decide what they believe about the new birth once and for all. And by the way, the “church” is not going to help you. ALL, I repeat, ALL instances of rendered justice for ills taking place in church have been by the hands of the secular government. For one thing, if you are a “sinner saved by grace” and your husband is a sinner saved by grace, who are you to judge your husband for beating you? Piper et al are continually ridiculing the idea of “greater and lesser sin” which comes from their new birth rejecting progressive justification. Piper believes Christianity is a PROCESS of salvation. As he has said in no uncertain terms, “Christians still need to be saved.” Come now woman, are you going to drag the unregenerate into this and ruin your husband’s life and throw him off the path of salvation because his sins are supposedly worse than yours and miss the opportunity to “show forth grace”? All of these statements by these loons come from their distorted view of justification and it is totally annoying how people focus on what this jerk says rather than why he says it.

Now we come to my daughter’s follow-up comments later in the day which I am paraphrasing: “That lady who posted it was a former victim of church abuse and is now writing to help other women. She speaks at conferences and churches and has written a couple of books, and never dreamed she would be able to make a living sitting in front  of her laptop with a cup of coffee.”

Bingo.

Hence, in regard to the subject of discernment bloggers, spiritual abuse recovery blogs, etc., I have no more peripheral thoughts but only one focused indictment: most, if not all, are secondary predators making bank on the carnage produced by John Piper et al. They are scavengers working on the leftovers. Note my comment that, “All of these statements by these loons come from their distorted view of justification and it is totally annoying how people focus on what this jerk says rather than why he says it.” It may indeed be annoying, but I must practice what I preach and focus on WHY these “advocates” do that and not WHAT they do.

Because there is good money in it, and true problem solving results in you working your way out of a job. I never cease to be amazed at how much money there is in religion. First, look at the massive infrastructure and lifestyles of celebrity pastors supported by the church serfs. Then, past that, the victim priesthood that makes up spiritual abuse blogs. We can also add church missionaries that are the biggest bunch of do-nothings in the world. And by the way, MOST good causes supported on the backs of the laity like Samaritans Purse and Habitat for Humanity are extremely profitable business enterprises that pay many people six figures.

Abused church women are trapped by church orthodoxy. Being a “keeper at home,” and the “husband’s help-mate,” and wanting to honor God by having a “quiver full,” they have no money of their own, no career, six kids, and their salvation owned and overseen by the church hierarchy. What are they going to do? Well, indeed, some flip out and drown all of their children in the bathtub. That’s one way out, though rare. Some fall into deep depression and check out of reality. That’s more common. After all, good Churchians can’t stay drunk all of the time but they can get happy pills from the doctor with blessing from the church to boot. “Hit me with your best shot baby those morning meds are kicking in bigtime, and hurry up, we don’t want to be late for church.”

What these women really need is a refuge to start a new life. My vision, a massive home fellowship network that could facilitate that, is the real cure. We have a home for you and your children, and everything else you need to start a new life. Pack some bags and if you don’t have a car with a title in your name we will pick you up. And in the meantime, now that you have some control over the situation, your dumbass husband may see the light; his call. To a significant degree, this is exactly what TANC Ministries has done and hopefully can do more in the future.

But the idea that these women can be helped by blogging is not only completely irrational, but detestable.

paul

Let’s talk about root causes. All political victories start with your base being united and activated. The Democrat party is girded by leftist ideology; without leftist support, the party will collapse. Now, what is the crux of leftism? It’s self-esteem built on being better than others. It’s self-esteem and self-worth based on how many people worship you because you have what they don’t. People in general don’t realize there is a minority of people in the world seeking to be gods in their own right. As much as I like movies, movie stars have a god complex. Obviously. As much as I like many musicians, most have a god complex. As much as I like sports, many have a god complex. Journalists think they are the gatekeepers of truth and justice; that is, according to their own version.

And politicians primarily protect their right to godhood. There is a reason most musicians are politically left. There is a reason most athletes are politically left. There is a reason why most movie stars are politically left. There is a reason why movie stars are called before congress as expert witnesses on a variety of social issues which on its face makes no sense at all. They can act, or sing, and that makes them an expert on climate change?

And regardless of what seems to be the case, you never criticize God because any criticism of God must be based on a misunderstanding because our universal presupposition is that God is love and perfection. I agree with that; but such is hardly true of the press. We must ask ourselves why Trump’s “fake news” mantra is deemed sacrilegious by journalist icons like Chris Wallace despite overt and incessant misrepresentations of truth by the press. Obviously, the press deems itself above being questioned; to do so is a violation of the First Amendment via debate and contrary ideas which has never had anything to do with free speech. The opposite is true.

The essense of sin is a desire to control others. Sin is the basis for caste systems that dominate the world. Another angle on this is self-worth based on comparing yourself to others rather than being the best YOU that you can be.

Please note: leftist ideolgy is predicated on others being less. Self-worth is predicated on where you are located on the caste social ladder. Individualism makes all of that irrelevant. Individualism seeks its purpose in self-assessment that is true, earned, honorable, and pleasing to God; leftist ideology is predicated on being worshiped. It is predicated on being a legend in your own mind. The shortcut to all of that is being a victim; self-pity is not only self-worship, but a way to get worship from others on the cheap.

Trump, as an individualist, has committed the unpardonable sin. He is actually working to enable the little people to be the best they can be. In contrast, according to leftist ideology, the little people are preordained to worship the elite. And the best way to injure an individualist is to destroy his or hers legacy. “You didn’t build that.” Individualists want to be remembered by their truthful accomplishments and the example they set for others after them. They are purpose-driven.

The Democrats must satisfy their base, and we now know why their base was rabid over Trump being impeached. Rather than stating numerous examples such as what the actor Rob Reiner tweeted, I will give the thumbnail:

“Donald Trump will forever be known as the only third President in American history to be impeached.”

Bingo. That’s it; the goal was to inflict the ultimate injury. A political cartoon also shows Trump at the cleaners with mud on his suit labeled, “impeachment” and the clerk telling him, “that isn’t going to come out.” Again, bingo. My reply to the cartoon which appeared on Twitter follows:

“And that was the whole point of why they did it knowing that the stigma of impeachment is WHAT [impeachment, period, the big “P”] and not WHY especially in a low information society. They were going to find a reason to impeach him and when you have the majority it can be for eating a ham sandwich. Sad. Petty. Evil.”

The tweet was pulled down shortly thereafter and I am unable to find the cartoon.

This isn’t about Trump at all: he’s just the lightening rod for the whole issue; the collective rise of individuals leads to elitism and their lust for godhood being diminished. Individualism is the primary nemesis of caste.

And caste must confiscate every pursuit of individual liberty and happiness and demand that it be burned on its alter as a living sacrifice. And at some point, we the people must question our funding of these religions for our own entertainment.

While we celebrate their gifts, what they really want is the surrender of our right to exist other than what our existence contributes to their worship…which is our reasonable service in their eyes.

paul

I was again struck by a quotation from the late RC Sproul that I observed on the internet: “The only way sinners can get past the gates of heaven is by wearing the robes of somebody else’s righteousness…the righteousness of Jesus Christ.” Not only is Sproul a Protestant icon, but this is a mantra we hear often in church circles.

And the statement is a false gospel on its face because it denies a biblical new birth. When Jesus said we must be born again, He was talking about a literal rebirth that makes us literal children of God. Consequently, we are not merely declared righteous; we ARE righteous because of our new state of being.

The true gospel is not a coverup; in fact, Jesus criticized doctrines that He likened to whitewashed tombs full of dead people’s bones. We are not tombs whitewashed by the righteousness of Christ, we are the temples of God in which the fullness of the Trinity dwells. God’s righteousness is not outside of us; it is infused within us by the new birth. And please note, this is not a righteous state of being that enables us to finish our salvation; justification is a one-time and for all time finished work within the believer. So, no, we are not Catholic either; you can save that accusatory drivel. Once you are born again of God you cannot be unborn. And to Catholic and Protestant alike, salvation is NOT a process as both teach. And yes, the born again do move on from the finished work of the gospel. And yes, we build on our faith which is the foundation; we don’t make every day the sabbath and slumber on the foundation.  Faith works through love.

“So, Paul, are you saying that the whole Protestant tradition is a lie?” Yes, that’s exactly what I am saying.

“But Paul, we still sin!” Sigh, please, let’s start using our Bible words. Sinning because we are weak is not the same as sinning because we are enslaved to sin. And by the way, weakness is not sin. Christ was weaker when He was on earth as a man, but He was 100% holy. The “holy angels” are weaker than God, but also 100% righteous. If you are not enslaved to sin, you are holy as your Father in heaven is holy. When you were enslaved to sin you were a “sinner.” As an unbeliever you didn’t sin perfectly, and as a born again believer you don’t obey perfectly. Obviously, someone enslaved to righteousness “purifies himself even as he is pure.” You are pure; you are washed; you are holy; you are to be holy as your Father in heaven is holy.

You are either under grace or under law; under grace is not a covering for remaining under law. Under grace is not a “legal declaration.” How is a legal declaration a “righteousness manifested APART from the law”? As we continue to say, who keeps the law is not the issue; the issue is the law…period. We ARE righteous because we have God’s seed within us, not because someone kept the law perfectly that came 400 years after “The Promise.” If that’s the case, righteousness is of the law and not promise, and the law gives life, not God’s seed. If the law justifies and perfect law-keeping is the standard for justification there is more than one seed. This is Paul’s cardinal point in Galatians chapter 3.

And again, being under grace doesn’t mean we are not obligated to obey the law out of love for God and others. But it’s love that fulfills the law, not participation in church ritual so Jesus’ perfect law-keeping will be imputed to our lives. You cannot dichotomize good works and love; if all of your works are as filthy rags, so is your love.

Nor can you dichotomize righteousness and salvation. If you are saved you ARE righteous, and salvation is either a gift or a loan with salvation doled out on a church installment plan.

Trust me, it’s a gift.

paul