Guest Blogger Woody Crosthwaite: Praise Doesn’t Cover for Sin in the Camp
This is a message that should be heard more often, especially in our day when the New Calvinist tsunami makes praise and contemplation the summation of all Christian duty, with whatever the Lord decides to do following. Doing anything more than observing what “Jesus has done, not anything we would do,” is supposedly “making a list of do’s and don’ts the ground of our justification.” Sin is really no big deal, Jesus is going to do what He is going to do anyways—our job is to “lift up his name” and experience any obedience He throws our way as a “mere natural flow.” These kinds of passive doctrines are wreaking havoc on the church.
Churches suppose God will use them despite sin in the secret chambers. Hardly, and most leaders are experts at praise, and flunkies in regard to showing the saints how to control their bodies/passions and put on Christ with the word of God. Music about sanctification is hardly anywhere to be found while 7/11 music flourishes. That is, gospel music that is seven verses about Jesus repeated eleven times. Without further ado, Woody’s thoughts:
Sex in the church; and what happens when we harbor ‘secret sin!’ (Ezek. 8)
Let me just jump into this topic with a broad, very broad statement. There are a few, perhaps even many (?) men in YOUR church who view internet pornography somewhat regularly and end their session with self-gratification. Does that shock you? It should. This ‘secret sin’ affects men of all ages and from every walk of life. AND, your pastor, or someone on your pastoral staff may even be involved. Certainly, statistics show that leaders, Sunday school teachers, “worship” leaders, choir members, and especially young men are all involved in and many trapped in and by pornography and all that follows a session of viewing overt sexual material.
Few, very few churches are talking about this plague that is rampant in the church, and even fewer who are actually doing something about it. I want to share some other things with you, but before I do, let me lay the foundation of what I want to say.
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul is talking about the parts of the body and what our attitude should be when we take our turn at being an arm or leg. But right in the middle of the discourse he makes a curious statement – he says that “…when one member suffers, all the members suffer with it…” (NKJV). He says right before that, that there should be no division in the body. I have always thought that he is referring to that part of the body that is persecuted; the persecuted church. (The church in Saudi Arabia, China, etc.,). I believe however, after careful consideration that anything that causes division, anything that breaks the family apart causes the WHOLE body to suffer. When the body suffers, true LOVE which is the “better way” Paul speaks of as he moves into chapter 13 is either inhibited or PROHIBITED in the church. If love, the love of Christ that John says is PERFECTED IN US (1 John 2:5) is in anyway sacrificed, then we CEASE being salt and light. Should this cause GREAT concern? Should we be SO concerned and care enough to fast, pray and cry out to God for the body to be cleansed of secret sin and be united in faith and love???? The body IS suffering, but few seem to notice or care. If the secret sin wasn’t bad enough, the lack of concern IN the Body, FOR the Body is EXTREMELY frightening.
I believe that the lust that tears at the heart and soul of men IN THE CHURCH is at such a level that we should stop, fast and pray for God’s deliverance for the men and boys whom satan has trapped and is destroying. We should take immediate, and drastic action because the “good things” that we think are happening on Sunday morning, (you know, the “vibrant, excited, and seemingly passionate worship”) is really nothing more than a facade. If a significant number of men are involved in sexual sin, and thoughts are clouded by sexual temptation then what goes on – on any given Sunday is nothing more than a continuation of a feeding of the flesh. Let me tell you why I believe this:
Read slowly and carefully, Ezekiel, chapter 8. In this vision, God takes Ezekiel in a vision to the temple. As God moves Ezekiel in closer and closer Ezekiel discovers a secret room INSIDE the sanctuary where the elders of Israel are worshipping idols. Does this story speak volumes, and LOUDLY to the integrity of the heart??? I believe it does. Men who think that they can live for the moment; live for the flesh and it’s lusts; and then just waltz in to church on Sunday morning and move to the beat of the music; clap, maybe even dance and “feel” so good…are delusional. The scene that Ezekiel saw in a vision is why God LEFT the temple. God will not share His throne with anyone or anything. Now, that speaks to personal integrity but it’s not just US that we should be concerned with! IF we suffer because God has left the throne room of our hearts, which should cause us to be VERY concerned with “secret sin,” and if that suffering spreads to the whole Body and causes the church to suffer…why are we not calling those in attendance to repentance so that the Body can be pure, whole and God honoring? Because of this “secret sin” that is without question harbored in the hearts of A LOT of men of every age, what we THINK is “worship” on Sunday morning is absolutely the product of self – centeredness and prideful, arrogant misunderstanding.
Most churches just jump right in on Sunday morning with a rousing round of peppy, even rocked out music that does little more than cover up the sexual impurity raging in the hearts and minds of more than a few men in the “service.” If we have NOT learned to take every thought into captivity, (2 Cor. 10:3-5) then the sexual appetite that has been fed all week will NOT, I repeat, WILL NOT be turned off by a few minutes of contemporary music. Guys…are you listening? You will glance at the women around you and your thoughts will be impure because you have fed your lusts all week! How then, will God be honored just because you sang a few songs??? You have been deceived, your “praise” is a stench to God and the Spirit is grieved. Again, if when one member of the body suffers we ALL suffer – what does that say about the real health of the body? I think we’re living in some sort of euphemistic world far from reality…
A NOTE TO THE WOMEN AND GIRLS OF OUR CHURCHES!
Women, you may fail to understand how a man’s mind works. Is holiness in dress just an old fashioned idea that pinned the church to some archaic and legalistic list of do’s and don’ts? Am I suggesting that you come to church looking like an 18th century puritan? No, but I am suggesting that men who struggle with impure, lustful thoughts will look at you, dressed in something short and tight and revealing and will NOT be able to worship God as God intends, because they can’t get images out of their heads. Do you WANT to be ‘sexy’ in your dress?? Then why would you NOT dress modestly, so that men could come closer to filling their minds with all that is good, rather than risk evil? There’s something really wrong with a picture that suggests that women dress for church as though they were headed for a style show as a model…I suggest you read Steven Arterburn’s book, “Every Man’s Battle.” If women don’t do their part in helping guys avoid (at ALL costs) lustful thoughts which prohibits praise, grieves the Spirit, and hinders the work of the church, then women should be as ashamed in promoting sex as men should be ashamed in exploiting sex. Girls who get up on “church day” and try to be “sexy” are disgusting to the heart of God. Girls, women; if that’s your desire – to look ‘sexy’ for your man, YOUR “praise” is also a stench in the nostrils of God).
This is serious…something must be done if we want God’s glory and His blessing to return to the church. He is NOT blessing His people in MANY places because we are not just ignoring and/or excusing sin, we are feeding and enabling it. I conclude this because too often there is fear of being too bold in the public forum and sin, therefore is not confronted. The whole counsel of God is not proclaimed. The other issue is, more importantly, one of true faith in God’s Word. We “say” we believe, but what we say, doesn’t seem to be mean anything. I have already asked you to consider the “suffering body” that suffers due to sin. But what of a more clear and non-negotiable image of what sin in the body will do? What of the story of Aiken? Will God, can God bless the church when there is “sin in the camp?”
We have settled for assimilation into a church program rather than following the Scriptural mandate to be born again as the ONLY way into the kingdom. People are coming to church and engaging in all kinds church ‘stuff’ but there is NO true life in the church because we are not sharing truth. One can ONLY be part of the church when a new life experience is gained in, by and through Jesus Christ and Him alone. There are few if any baptisms. There is no effort to help “believers” understand the imperative of seeking the Holy Spirit’s help to reveal a Christ like LIFE in, through and by His Spirit. The church discourages talk of integrity, openness, and honesty. We live individual lives, with no regard for community. Our propensity to lust after the flesh and do what seems right to us is a poison that has left the church impotent and ineffective. We are most deceived if we think that the church is having REAL and lasting change in our culture. We are impotent and it’s because we have created something we think is right, but in reality, our plans and programs are devices of our own idolatrous desire to please ourselves instead of God.
Because men hide the secret sin of sexual thought and action, our young men are even more so riddled and shredded by the same. Youth “pastors” are afraid to speak boldly and plainly about the lusts of the flesh, eyes, and pride of life for fear of alienating the students in their group. If the problem of dress is an issue between adult men and women; and women inadvertently choose attire that causes men to lust; the issue is compounded exponentially in adolescents and teens. Youth programs are often gutless as they feed the lusts of their young men by allowing the young women of the group to appear in ways that absolutely keep young men from actually worshipping God. The problem and issue of lust is as much a young women’s “problem” as a young man’s Why wouldn’t we want to share the truth about how young men think so that young women could dress more appropriately? Is it old fashioned? Then why are our young men agonizing over the trap satan has set. What’s wrong with young women who want to look like a cover girl when they know that they are driving the guys crazy?? (Sorry girls! I’m not angry or judgmental, but the cancer has to be healed!!!) We serve them up a diet of contemporary to rock to metal music and deceive them into thinking that because they spent a few minutes “rocking out,” that they have somehow closed the door on the secret sins of lust. More than likely, a short time before coming to “worship” and certainly within a short time afterwards they will have succumbed to temptation by viewing pornography on the internet and more than likely, in agony ended their session of lust with self gratification as their adult counterparts do. It is also likely that some youth ministers suffer themselves so are ill equipped to provide STRONG counsel and assistance to help youth resist temptation and live holy lives. Oh, we can’t talk to kids about holiness of mind, spirit and life however; we may cause them too much discomfort and alienate them from being part of our mind – numbing, dumb – downing multi-media extravaganzas that leave their temples as unholy as was the temple Ezekiel saw.
That’s why we have precious few youth in love with Jesus, His Word; His church and able to rightly divide Scripture, anoint the sick, preach sermons, write and teach Bible studies; bleed for the lost and grieve with the persecuted church. They are yet in kindergarten and need weekly supplies of crayons, play-doh, and construction paper to even sit for a few minutes in a gathering that is nothing more than mindless rhetoric. Time is short. God is about to do something so radical that “adults” will be in shock, much less our youth.
Shame on youth leaders, ministers and pastors that want to merely entertain rather than grow a church ready to fulfill Matthew 16. We had better get ready! We had better prepare our people for the days ahead instead of figuring out every way we can to feed our flesh. God help us!!!
What’s in a Video? Part Three: Al Mohler’s Mystic Contemplationism
The next snippet of profound unction in the 2012 Resolved Conference promotion video (http://youtu.be/3BbyzPkE_kc) is that of Al Mohler, president of Southern Theological Seminary. Along with CJ Mahaney, he is one of the “core four” of the Together For The Gospel conferences. Again, a close examination of words used in this video speak to the false doctrine they teach, and Mohler’s excerpt is no exception.
Mohler refers to us being continually “rescued” by the Scriptures. Per the usual, the verbiage is deliberately ambiguous, and could apply to initial salvation or our life as Christians, or both. There is a sense in which the Scriptures continually save Christians from the consequences of sin and instruct us on how to please the Lord. But Mohler is speaking of using the Scriptures to contemplate on the gospel with the result being, as stated by others, a “mere natural flow” of obedience. This is because it is not really us obeying, it is a manifestation of the active obedience of Christ. John Piper would say that we experience the manifestation of Christ’s active obedience in our lives when the obedience is accompanied by a willing spirit and joy. If we are confronted with the necessity to obey, and have not the joy, Piper’s counsel is to go ahead and obey, but ask for forgiveness:
I am often asked what a Christian should do if the cheerfulness of obedience is not there. It’s a good question. My answer is not to simply get on with your duty because feelings don’t matter. They do! [Especially since he makes joy synonymous with true salvation in When I Don’t Desire God]. My answer has three steps. First, confess the sin of joylessness. ( John Piper: Treating Delight as Duty is Controversial ebooklet; ch3, Desiring God.org )
This is simply the Bibliology of their doctrine: the Bible has one primary purpose; it is for contemplating the gospel and the works of Christ. Biblical imperatives are a fruit catalog of things we can’t do, and are in the Bible to evoke thankfulness to Christ for obeying the imperatives for us. The result of this Gospel Contemplationism is what they call, “new obedience,” or what Piper calls, “Beholding as a way of becoming.” If you read the Forward to Uneclipsing The Son by Rick Holland, you will also find out that John MacArthur Jr. has bought into this nonsense. The secondary use of the Scriptures is for controlling the totally depraved zombie sheep and church polity.
Of course, they are not going to say it plainly, but this all boils down to the idea that we are resaved every day. Their motto is, “The same gospel that saved us also sanctifies us.” It’s a progressive justification. They call it “progressive sanctification,” but that’s deception. Likewise, New Calvinist Paul David Tripp teaches that Romans 7:24 refers to a “daily rescue” (Paul David Tripp: Playing With The Box; Southeastern Theological Seminary chapel service, Spring 2007). Couple that with the New Calvinist maxim, “We need the gospel just as much today as when we got saved,” and the kind of “rescue” they are talking about is apparent.
And this is also exactly what Mohler means in the promo clip when he said we are “rescued by the Scriptures.”
paul
A Passing Thought on Something John Piper Wrote
“We have moved far away from the biblical Christianity of Jonathan Edwards.”
~John Piper
Actually, it has never been my goal to move toward the Christianity of any mere man; the Christianity we are moving away from is that of Jesus Christ Himself. And I really don’t care to read the musings of some guy that lived hundreds of years ago who had to write a whole book in order to communicate what Jesus Christ can say in one sentence. And I know this is utterly shocking to you Dr. Piper, but I am not going to take your word for it that Edwards followed Christ. Again, I would have to read all of his stuff , and why would I do that? The 42 guys in the closed canon are a sure bet, who is Jonathan Edwards?
What’s in a Video? Part Two: Rick Holland as Sectarian
“For the most part, these are the most influential pastors in the country being challenged with an exclusive gospel. How can that not send cold chills up the backs of discerning Christians?”
My YouTube page is not something that I promote; it is really just a workshop for my videos that are used on PPT. So, any hits on them directly on YouTube are just incidental from web surfers. However, the amount of hits on the 2012 Resolved promo clip, even in the short time that I have had it uploaded is astounding, not to mention my surprise that incidental surfers are also commenting on the video. The video has received nothing but negative comments, zero likes, and to date, 12 dislikes. Apparently, the promo clip doesn’t play well with the world in general. Keep in mind that these videos are not posted on YouTube in any particular context.
But that’s no big deal with this bunch; as others have aptly pointed out, they do not target individuals, unregenerate or otherwise, they are targeting churches, and rich ones. Note the locations of their conferences; even if many could afford the entry fee, most folks can’t afford to take one step in Palm Springs. Of course, a lot of this is being funded out of church budgets; i.e., churches (and the hard working average Joes that support them) are paying for their leaders to learn a false gospel, and to come back to take over their church with it.
Since Grace Community Church has been the promoter of this conference for nine years, the order of the pontification in the promo clip by the enlightened ones are of logical order. First, the big cheese, MacArthur; second, former GCC staff member and primary promoter Rick Holland; third, Al Mohler; fourth, Steve Larson; lastly, CJ Mahaney.
The words used by Holland are very specific and telling. The conference is very “serious” about, “God,” “sin,” “commitment,” and “the gospel.” The clear implication is that most churches don’t really know God in a significant way, what sin really is, or what the gospel really is. Farfetched? Well, words mean things. Holland states in the clip that the conference is an “opportunity” to “INTRODUCE” how to “experience” God in an “intimate” way. The clear assumption is that attenders don’t already know that. For what other reason would there be an introduction? For the most part, these are the most influential pastors in the country being challenged with an exclusive gospel. How can that not send cold chills up the backs of discerning Christians?
The biblical definition of “heretic” in the Bible is really “sect.” The word primarily refers to groups that promote false doctrine, or individuals who belong to such groups. Specifically, they are groups that divide the church with false doctrine. That is the specific biblical definition of heresy, and it is always linked to division in the church. Quibbling about the color of the carpet may cause divisions in the church, but the Bible never mentions it. Again, division is always linked to sectarianism.
Hence, churches might as well be efficient and hire Dr. Kevorkian to come in and do the job forthwith. It’s cheaper, faster, and far less painful. Congregants can also get a head start with “moving on with their lives.” And also, they won’t have to be offended by hearing about how all the sacred sacrifice that built their church was for naught, and performed by people who didn’t even know what the gospel is.
Ya, pay for your pastor to go to the 2012 Resolved Conference. Do that, great idea.
paul
What’s in a Video? Part One: MacArthur’s Fall
“CJ Mahaney could not be an elder in MacArthur’s church for many reasons, but yet, MacArthur joyfully gives him credibility as being an elder par excellent …. MacArthur’s endorsement of Mahaney assumes his innocence in a long list of unresolved conflict, and rubs salt in the wounds of Mahaney’s victims.”
The promo video for this year’s 2012 Resolved Conference is sickening for anybody that can think for themselves. I use YouTube to post my videos, and have received comments from people there regarding the clip (http://youtu.be/3BbyzPkE_kc):
Where is my barf bag? God, please deliver us from conferences and churches,
Kinda hokey. Just from the images…who do you think is being worshiped here?
For anybody who has any grey substance between their ears at all, it’s obvious who is being worshiped. But the video was not designed out of the figment of somebody’s imagination. The images and what is stated has meaning. I received the following comments on my blog concerning the light from heaven thing going on in the video:
Paul I am confused about the sparkly stuff that is falling down on these enlightened ones. Is this fairy dust?
That was very disturbing to watch.
What’s with the beams of light streaming down behind them and all the little snowflakes? It looks like they are trying to make them look like they are speaking to us from heaven or something…all ethereal and everything.
I was thinking of the same things you were about the fairy dust- strange indeed. Another thing to notice was the movie like ending of the promo- felt like I was about to watch the avengers or transformers. I guess that epic ending was to evoke a response of awe and wonder at the sheer excitement of seeing the “Christian” heros of modern evangelical movement. Next we will see them donned with capes and claim abilities of being able to see right through your depraved soul [actually, Mark Driscoll is making that claim of late].
But believe it or not, the “light from heaven” thing has meaning. Notice that the beams of light come down, but the little dots are going up. That’s the Gnostic cybernetic loop of how the totally depraved zombie sheep receive the truth of the gospel. The truth of the word is cycled from heaven through the spiritually enlightened elders. Farfetched? Well then, consider this statement from heretic/New Calvinist Dr. Devon Berry:
The text here implies that there was an interactive nature between three entities: The preacher, the hearers, and the Word. Note this cycle: Paul, from the Word, delivers words. The Bereans, from Paul’s words, go to the Word. The Word cycles from God, through the preacher, to the people, back to the Word, and this, verse 12 tells us, produced belief in the God of the Word. An important thing to note is that this happened daily – suggesting a regular interaction between preaching, personal study, and the Word.
Berry was making the case throughout the particular message that sanctifying truth only comes through Reformed elders, a belief widely held among New Calvinists. And I believe that the coming down of light, and the going up of the dots are a subtle allusion to the direct connection that New Calvinists believe these men have with heaven that is efficacious to the evangelical peasantry. Other illusions to Gnosticism in this video will be mentioned in the forthcoming parts.
In all, MacArthur’s willingness to be a part of all of this speaks for itself. It is an endorsement of the worst kind of heresy (the fusion of justification and sanctification) and those who propagate it. MacArthur’s appearance at this conference illustrates his utter indifference to basic biblical principles; such as, the importance of reconciliation, justice, and the qualifications of elders. CJ Mahaney could not be an elder in MacArthur’s church for many reasons, but yet, MacArthur joyfully gives him credibility as being an elder par excellent. MacArthur also shows his true heart towards the spiritually abused and his total lack of compassion towards them. MacArthur’s endorsement of Mahaney assumes his innocence in a long list of unresolved conflict, and rubs salt in the wounds of Mahaney’s victims.
The only thing in all of this that could be virtuous for MacArthur is the fact that this is the “Culmination” of the Resolved Conference. I strongly suspect that this is MacArthur’s way of gaining separation from Mahaney. But at the same time, it makes him a party to the concerted effort to protect the image of the New Calvinist movement which propagates a blatantly false gospel. It’s no accident that MacArthur is no longer invited to the T4G conference, and it is no accident that this conference (primarily sponsored by MacArthur’s church; ie, he has some control of it) is going to be terminated. Something is going on, but like the Piper controversy at Mac’s church, and the Mahaney controversy at RC Sproul’s church, nobody is talking. The image of the spiritual Camelot of our day must be protected. Gag.
paul
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