In or Out, or On the Fence?

By E. L. Bynum

In the February 2004 issue I published an article entitled, “Are They In or Out of the BBFI?” This article met with a mixed reaction among the readers, as was to be expected. Most of those we heard from agreed with our position, but of course some did not. It does make a difference whether you are in or out of an organized fellowship of churches.

The BBFI certainly knows the difference. If you support their colleges or missionaries, they definitely believe you are in. If you send NO support to their projects you can safely say you are out, because they will count you out also.

Supporting Their Missionaries Puts You In

Many pastors and churches have removed themselves from the Baptist Bible Fellowship International (BBFI) for good and sufficient reasons. If churches and pastors ought to take a stand and come out for doctrinal reasons, then it certainly would follow that missionaries should also have convictions enough to come out. If they are not willing to do so, why should a true Independent Baptist Church support them?

Some pastors take the attitude that the fellowship missionary is worthy of support. They go ahead and send their mission support through the board, and they are then considered by the BBFI to be members of their organization.

One pastor told me that he only sent the money through the mission board, because the missionaries were forbidden to receive the money directly or through their home church. That alone tells you who controls the missionary. The missionary is under the control of the board, and his sending church cannot change that.

Would it Be a Sacrifice for Missionaries to Resign from the Board?

They might very well lose a lot of their support if they left the mission board, but they would most certainly gain the support of many unaffiliated churches. They might lose some or all of their retirement benefits, but cannot our all powerful God take care of them? There are a lot of excuses that could be raised, but will any of them stand up in the light of the Bible? We say no, because right is right and wrong will never be right.

The first missionary to ever leave our shores to go to a foreign field was Adoniram Judson. In 1812 he sailed for India as a Congregational Church missionary. While on the long voyage by sea, he studied his Bible, and became convinced that he did not have scriptural baptism. When he reached India, he was baptized by an English Baptist missionary. This severed his connection with the Congregational Churches. He took a stand for truth, even if it cost him his financial support. He firmly believed that God would take care of him and his wife, so he remained in India. He did not return home to raise support, and he never starved to death. Later on he went to Burma and did a notable work there for many years.

Unfortunately Judson, Rice and other notable missionaries ended up in organizations that led to the modern day board systems. However, we cannot say that their labors were in vain, for they did do a mighty work for God.

Leading Young Preachers the Wrong Way

Mature successful preachers naturally gatherer a lot of younger preachers into their orbit of influence. When the mature leader supports fellowships and mission boards, the younger preachers will be led by example to do the same thing. Those in their College or Bible Institute will be influenced to do the same thing. The slightest slide into compromise leads to more compromise.

Another problem exists among independent Baptists. Preachers that seem to be sound in the faith will sometimes be identified with churches and movements that hold a weak view of Church truth. These people sponsor Bible Conferences, etc. where there are many speakers who are very weak on the Church. Some of those represented practice open communion, or receive members by alien immersion. That is their privilege, for we believe in freedom of religion, but that does not mean that it squares with the Bible. When sound leaders of independent Baptists attend and speak at these meetings they are extending their sphere of influence to these meetings. The younger preachers under their influence will naturally follow their example. Some will inevitably be induced to become what I call interdenominational Baptists.

Every preacher should realize that they have influence with someone else in the ministry. If they compromise, it will lead others to compromise as well. More importantly we should strive to do God’s work God’s way, which will be according to the Bible.

The question preachers must face is whether they are IN or OUT when it comes to unscriptural organizations. It is time to, “…come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” (2 Corinthians 6:17)

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“The Passion of the Christ”

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Origin of the Baptists

By Clarence Larkin

Taken from the book entitled, “Why I am a Baptist.” Almost all the Anti-papist denominations date, either directly or indirectly, from the Reformation of the sixteenth century. The Protestant Episcopal, Lutheran, and Presbyterian Churches, came from the Roman Catholic Church, and the Methodist Episcopal Church came from the Protestant Episcopal Church.

The Baptists, however, do not date from the Reformation. Though Anti-papists, they are not, in the technical and historical sense of the word, “Protestants,” though they have ever protested, and do now protest, against the heresies and abominations of the Romish Church.

Just before his ascension, Jesus said to his disciples: All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matt 28:18-20; and Mark adds, he that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Mark 16:16.

The requirements of this Divine Commission; are:

1. To preach the gospel to all nations.

2. To baptize those who believe.

3. To teach those who believe to observe all things whatsoever Christ commanded.

This the apostles did. That the churches they founded were believed to be composed of regenerated persons, is evident from the fact that they addressed or referred to them as “believers,” “saints,” “quickened,” “the faithful,” “the redeemed,” “the sanctified,” “the saved,” etc. The apostolic churches were also independent bodies; that is, separate from the State and from each other, and self governed. They are spoken of individually as, “the church at Jerusalem,” “the church at Antioch,” “the church at Smyrna.” They are spoken of collectively as, “the churches,” “the churches of Macedonia,” “the churches of Asia,” “all the churches.”

They are represented as electing their own officers, admitting, expelling, and restoring members, and acting as distinct, independent bodies.

There is a remarkable similarity between the apostolic churches and the Baptist churches of today, in their modes and forms of worship.

The apostolic churches were distinguished for the plainness and simplicity of their worship. “They had no magnificent cathedrals, gorgeously arrayed priesthood, no prescribed ritual, no splendid religious shows, no pomp of music, no parade of images and paintings.”

Quietly, and unostentatiously, they met in some “upper room,” or other humble sanctuary, to sing, to pray, to read and expound the Scriptures, and to exhort one another to faithfulness in the Christian Life.

History of the Baptists

The Baptists claim to have descended from the apostles.

It is true that the line of descent cannot always be traced. Like a river, that now and then in its course is lost under the surface of the ground, and then makes its appearance again, the Baptists claim that, from the days of the apostles until the present time, there have not been wanting those persons, either separately or collected into churches, and known under different names, who, if now living, would be universally recognized as Baptists.

Since the origin of the Baptists, long and eventful ages have elapsed. Some of them were ages of ignorance and darkness. Men were afraid to speak or to write, almost to think. The principles for which the Baptists contended were fiercely denounced as heresy and treason. To speak, was to be hushed in death. Had they not been immortal, all vestiges of them, save in the records of courts and councils, would have perished. Their existence and continuity can be traced down the ages by “the stains of their martyr’s blood, and the light of their martyr’s fires.”

Since the days of the apostles, they have come to the surface in the Novatians, the Donatists, the Paulicians, the Paterines, the various communities of Waldenses, the so-called Anabaptists of Germany, Dutch Baptists, the Baptists of England; and are seen today in the Baptists distributed all over the world.

Dr. Cramp says: “When Luther blew the trumpet of religious freedom, the Baptists came out of their hiding-places to share in the general gladness, and to take part in the conflict.”

The Baptists have suffered, in common with other Christian denominations, at the hands of wicked rulers, and of the Roman hierarchy. They have also suffered by themselves for their peculiar views as Baptists, at the hands of Lutherans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Congregationalists; and for no one thing more than their rejection of infant baptism. In Germany they were plundered, thrust into dungeons, banished, and numbers of them beheaded or burned alive. Torture was frequently employed to wring from the sufferer the names and abodes of their associates, or to force them to renounce the faith. In Switzerland, in 1526. it was ordered that if any baptized others, or submitted to baptism (re-baptism, they called it), they should be drowned without mercy. Many Baptist ministers were drowned; and they held their meetings in secret, in the woods, and under cover of the night. Finally, they left the country in large numbers, going to Moravia, where, for a season, they were tolerated; but at length a law was passed expelling them, and they left, some going to Hungary, some to Transylvania, some to Wallachia, and others to Poland.

In the Netherlands, the hand of oppression was heavy on the Baptists. In 1532, three were burned at the Hague. By edicts, published in the following year, all persons were forbidden to harbor Baptist preachers in Holland; and Baptists refusing to recant were to be slain. The torture was constantly resorted to. The victims were stretched on the rack, or thumb-screws were employed, or a similar instrument applied to the ankles. No regard was paid to sex, station, or age. Under Bloody Mary, a good proportion of the martyr blood that flowed was from the veins of Baptists; and many passed to heaven through the fire.

In the early settlements of America, Church and State were united by law, and the Church sustained by taxation and State appropriations in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Virginia; and persecutions against Dissenters were violent and severe.

In 1620 (December 20), the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, and founded the first colony in New England. They were Independents, or Congregationalists; and on board the “Mayflower,” they had made a provision for the support of the church and ministry by taxation. The Pilgrims, or Puritans, did not come to this country to establish religious liberty they came to establish their own faith, and to exclude all others from their colonies; and they were more intolerant in their colonial enactments against Dissenters than either England or Holland, whence they had fled from persecution.

Roger Williams landed at Boston, February 5, 1631. He had been a minister of the Church of England; but becoming disgusted with its corruptions, he sought a home in the Puritan colony of Massachusetts. But when he found the Puritan Church at Boston still holding communion with the Church of England, he refused to unite with it, and went to Salem. But his sentiments were quite in advance of the Puritans. He boldly preached religious liberty, liberty of conscience, liberty of worship, and declared that the civil magistrate had no right to coerce the consciences of men, nor inflict civil penalties upon men for their forms of religious faith and worship. In January, 1636, he was banished; but his persecutors, fearing that he would establish another colony, determined to send him back to England; but when the officers went to his home to arrest him, he was gone. He had fled into the wilderness among the savages, who furnished him with a home. “For fourteen weeks,” he says, “I knew not what bed or bread did mean.” He had made the acquaintance, and secured the friendship of Massasoit, and the Narraganset chiefs, Canonicus and Miantonomoh. By the last two he was welcomed to Narraganset Bay, where he founded the city of Providence. In March, 1639, he became a Baptist.

Though persecuted by others, the Baptists have never persecuted. They have always opposed the union of Church and State. In Virginia, in 1784, when they had almost conquered in their struggle for religious freedom, a compromise was proposed in the form of the famous “Assessment Bill.” Every one was to be taxed to support religion; but to have the liberty of saying to which denomination his tax was to be applied. The Baptists saw that this was an alliance of Church and State, and opposing it, secured its defeat.

In Georgia, in 1785, a law for the establishment and support of religion was actually passed, through the influence of the Episcopalians. It embraced all denominations, and gave all equal privileges; but the same year, the Baptists remonstrated against it, sent two messengers to the Legislature, and it was promptly repealed. The first modern treatise ever written upon “Religious Liberty,” was by Leonard Busher, a Baptist, in 1614.

The Baptists have not only been the firm friends of “Religious Liberty,” but of “Civil Liberty” as well.

Thomas Jefferson had much to do in shaping the government of Virginia, and of the United States. He was not a Baptist, but he was brought up in close relations to them; and about ten years before the Revolution, he attended, for several months, the meetings of a small Baptist church near Monticello, his country seat, and became much interested in their church government; and declared that it was the only true democracy existing in the world; and that he believed it would be the best plan of government for the American Colonies.

A National Constitution for the United States was adopted in 1787. Its provisions were satisfactory so far as they went; but many felt that “Religious Liberty” was not sufficiently guarded. The Baptist General Committee of Virginia, m 1788, expressed their disapproval of this important omission, and, after consultation with James Madison, they wrote to President Washington, saying, that they feared that liberty of conscience, dearer to them than property or life, was not sufficiently guarded in the Constitution. Washington sent a kind and encouraging reply, and in the very next month, Virginia proposed that immortal “First Amendment” to the Constitution of the United States:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances.

–From The Baptist Pillar

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The Lord’s Supper

James Pendleton

(James Madison Pendleton (1811-1891) was a pioneer Baptist theologian. His most important book, Christian Doctrines: a Compendium of Theology, is considered a classic. First published in 1878, this work is a masterpiece in clear doctrinal exposition. Pendleton was both a Baptist pastor and seminary professor.)

What Paul says of the institution and design of the Lord’s Supper is the substance of what the evangelists has recorded. These are his words: “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.” I Corinthians 11:23-26.

From this inspired account of the origin of the Lord’s Supper, it is plainly a commemorative ordinance. It is a memorial service. It commemorates the death of Christ and nothing else. “Ye do shew the Lord’s death.” We do not show the birth or baptism or burial or resurrection or ascension of our Redeemer, but His death. If ever the tragedy of Calvary should engross the thoughts of the Christian to the exclusion of every other topic, it is when he sits at the table of the Lord. Then the death of his Saviour should occupy all his thoughts, monopolize all the power of his memory.

Some will perhaps say that in the Lord’s Supper we express our Christian fellowship for our fellowcommunicants. This is done only in an indirect and incidental manner. Our communion, according to of His atoning death. The broken bread is the emblem of the Saviour’s broken body; for He said, “Take, eat: this is my body.” He manifestly used language as He had done in His ministry. He had said in explaining the parable of the sower, “The seed is the word of God,” Luke 8:11; and in interpreting the parable of the wheat and tares, “The field is the world,” Matthew 13:38. He meant, “The seed represents the word of God”—“The field represents the world.” So when He said of the bread which He held in His hands, “This is my body,” He meant, “This represents my body.” The Romish view, that the bread and wine are changed into the real body and blood of Christ, is utterly indefensible; as is also the Lutheran view, that “the body and blood of Christ are materially present in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, though in an incomprehensible manner.”

The Romish Theory is called “transubstantiation,” and the Lutheran Dogma is styled “consubstantiation,” neither of which has a rational claim to credence. The bread used in the supper of the Lord is bread before it is put on his table, it is bread while on the table, and it is bread when eaten. There is no sense in which it is the body of Christ, except the figurative sense in which it represents His body. So also of the *wine which represents His blood. The bread and the wine are impressive, striking emblems, but they are only emblems. They are solemn mementos of the Saviour’s crucified body and of His shed blood. They are memorials of His death, designed to perpetuate a remembrance of the greatest event which has ever taken place in the universe. It is to be deeply regretted that many persons entertain views of the Lord’s Supper which, to say the least, do in a great degree ignore the purpose of its original appointment. It seems to be regarded as a suitable way for Christians to express their opinion of each other’s piety. Some appear even to think that the Lord’s Table is the proper place for those to come together who are allied by ties of blood or ties of marriage. Alas, that opinions so dishonorable to Christ should be held by any who profess to be His disciples! The important truth should echo and reecho throughout Christendom, that the Lord’s Supper is a memorial service–that the central idea in its observance is the commemoration of Christ’s death. This must never be forgotten.

By whom is the Lord’s Supper to be observed? We answer, “By the members of a visible church of Christ.” That is to say, it is a church ordinance. It cannot be properly administered to persons in their individual capacity–for example, to the sick at their homes. The meeting of a church is indispensable to a scriptural observance of the solemn rite. As none can be members of a visible church without baptism, it follows that baptism is a prerequisite to the Lord’s Table. It will be seen from this statement of the case that baptism is a prerequisite to the Lord’s Supper, because it is a prerequisite to church membership. It is a condition precedent, in the sense that it precedes, and is essential to, church membership. It would be well for Baptists to make this view more prominent. Let them not say less of baptism, but more of church membership. In Acts 2:41 it is said, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” The three thousand were, no doubt, added to the church, “the hundred and twenty disciples,” mentioned in the preceding chapter, for in the last verse of the second chapter it is written, “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” The adding in the two verses was the same in kind; that is, it was an adding to the church. It will be perceived that the baptized were added to the church, and that this was done before the “breaking of bread”—a phrase descriptive of the Lord’s Supper. A refusal on the part of Baptists to unite in the Lord’s Supper with Pedobaptists grows out of the fact that the latter have ever been considered by the former as unbaptized, and consequently without a scriptural church membership.

Even the celebrated Robert Hall, who advocated the joint participation of Baptists and Pedobaptists with an eloquence and an energy of argumentation rarely to be found in the annals of controversy, does not hesitate to express the opinion that Pedobaptists are unbaptized. He says: “We certainly make no scruple of informing a Pedobaptist candidate that we consider him as unbaptized, and disdain all concealment on the subject.” Again, “If we join with those whom we are obliged to consider as unbaptized, they unite with persons who, in their judgment, repeat an ordinance which ought not to be performed but once, nullify a Christian institute, and deprive their children of the benefit of a salutary rite.”

–From The Baptist Vision

*We believe that it is wrong to refer to the fruit of the vine as wine in reference to the Lord’s Supper. Neither Jesus nor Paul referred to it as wine. –ELB

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Emergency Religion

By Norman H. Wells

Chapter 21 from the book “The Religion Racket.” Although most people try to keep their religion limited to one hour a week and confined within the walls of a church building, they will all agree that it is supposed to be an ever present part of life. It is obvious that most people do not consider religion as a constant influence…with them at all times. They would rather think of religion as a doctor, a policeman, or a lawyer. They only want it around when they feel they need it, and then they want it in a hurry.

There are times when even non-religious folks seem to want religion…and want it fast. An individual who has never made any pretense of needing religion and has never attended church will suddenly want a minister to come, pray, and read the Scriptures when he gets sick. It is amazing how fast some people can get religious when they get sick. . .and how fast they can forget it after they recover. Nearly all sick people will promise a clergyman to be more religious and to start attending church regularly. These promises are generally kept…at least until they are out of the hospital. If all the people in the United States would suddenly start keeping all the promises they had made to the Lord when they were sick, it would start a religious boom such as the world has never seen!

Sometimes it would seem that the only people who are religious are those who are experiencing sickness. It appears that folks are willing to give themselves to the Lord only when they are sick and cannot be used of the Lord.

The young preacher quickly learns that he must never say too much to an individual about his lack of attendance at the services of the church, but woe unto him if he is not present for a “sick call” every time someone’s ingrown toenail acts up. It seems to be some kind of “status symbol” to get a preacher to call several times during one brief illness. When an individual is sick, he expects religion to come to him, but when he is healthy he can’t be bothered about going to religion.

Another thing that is strange is that people who never have time for religion will suddenly want it when they see their home breaking up. A man and his wife will have a big quarrel, and it looks like the marriage is on the rocks, so they call for the preacher and get religion. If their marriage isn’t saved, they figure religion has failed. If their marriage is saved, then their problem no longer exists, and they no longer need religion.

Parents who have never bothered to take their children to Sunday School and church are quick to want help from religion when one of their sons has trouble with the law and winds up in jail. They expect religion to salvage instantly what it took them twenty years to destroy.

Hospitals have an “Emergency Ward” and churches should probably have a department called “Emergency Religion.” The only time most folks look to religion is in an emergency.

A lot of prisoners in jail will make a grab at religion whenever it is offered. Generally, though, when they are released they leave their religion behind…in jail. It may as well be there as locked up in a church building. Same difference!

Religion has a responsibility to help the poor and needy, and this is right and good. It is a cause for wonder, however, to observe how people who have never been religious will suddenly “get religion” when they are down and out. They will expect to receive help from a church they didn’t support when they could and don’t plan to support after the emergency. Missionaries on the field have found that the religion which can give the best food, clothes, farm equipment, etc., will get the most converts.

Another time people want religion in a hurry is when their religious parents visit them from out of town. Folks who haven’t been religious or been in church for a long time will suddenly want enough religion to last through the visit of their religious parents. They’ll get up on Sunday and take their parents to church just like that’s what they did fifty-two Sundays a year!

There are those who get religion every time the church gets a new pastor. Their religion wears off at about the same ratio as the newness wears off the preacher.

Some seem to think of their religion as a type of invisible inoculation against the effects of being nonreligious. They seem to figure that after they are one time immunized, about one or two booster shots a year is all they need. Closely associated with these folks are those who have condensed their religion into little vitamin pills. They figure if they pop one of these into their mouth ever so often they will never have to bother about getting a balanced religious diet through regular attendance at church.

An individual who has never made any pretense of religion in his life will have it forced upon him anyway…after he dies. It is strange that an individual who was never religious and never attended church will always have relatives and friends who will make arrangements for a religious service at his funeral. In some instances, the only time he ever attended church is when he is carried in at his funeral and can’t do anything to stop it!

Very few religious services display the sham and hypocrisy of today’s religion like a funeral. The most nonreligious man in town will die and then be given a religious funeral. A preacher will spend a great deal of time preparing a “few words to say” to give the impression that although the man utterly ignored all religion, he was still a good man and would be all right throughout eternity. All of the man’s nonreligious friends are present and they find a great comfort in this, because if their friend could live like he did and make it all right, then they figure they are in pretty good shape. All religious folks present will come to the conclusion that if he made it without religion they are wasting their time being religious. Since funerals are the only religious services some people ever attend, they are really important. After going to a number of funerals and hearing everybody “preached into heaven,” whether or not they were religious, it is easy to come to the conclusion that religion doesn’t make much difference…and most of what is practiced today doesn’t.

Another time when people ordinarily want religion is at a wedding. Folks who never attend church and make no pretense of religion wouldn’t think of having their young folks married anywhere but in church. Too many times the only time the couple ever attends the church is to be married. It is THE thing to have a big, fancy, church wedding even if one has utterly no use for religion.

People will go on year after year without ever attending a church or supporting it in any way, yet they always expect one to be there when they need to have a funeral or wedding. They surely have a lot of faith in religious folks to keep things going between weddings and funerals.

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News & Views

Edited by E. L. Bynum

(Editor's Note: In our News & Views column we quote from many different sources. Please understand that this does not necessarily mean that we approve of all of the publications from which we quote. We will give the name of the source in the first quote and thereafter we will give the abbreviation of that name.)

Mel Gibson’s False Theology— Gibson, who directed the movie, ‘The Passion of Christ,’ “appeared on ABC’s Primetime Live…interviewed by Diane Sawyer,” to promote his film. “Sawyer asked the film maker whether eternal life is available to non-Christians…if his traditionalist belief system barred the door to heaven to Jews, Muslims, and Protestants.” Gibson’s reply: “That’s not the case at all – absolutely not. It is possible for people who are not even Christian to get into the kingdom of heaven… . Although most Christians cite John 14:6 — ‘I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the father except through me’ — as evidence to the contrary, Gibson says he believes that it is not impossible for non-Christians to enter heaven, but that it is ‘an easier ride’ for those of his faith.” (Agape Press, 2/20/04) If you are a true believer in Christ, now you have another reason why you should not add to Gibson’s treasuries by attending this movie. His Catholicism may make him feel he is having an ‘easier ride’ now, but he will soon find out that it is not the wafer but the Water of Life that counts. (1 John 5:12) “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” —WWM

A Blatant Misnomer— “High school students in Aurora, Nebraska, have organized a Christian rock concert that will feature Christian recording artists Bleach and John Reuben. Six Aurora High School girls started sending out e-mails last summer in hopes of lining up groups for their “Ready for the Rock” concert.” (AgapePress, (2/20/04) The title of ‘Christian’ cannot be appropriately attached to rock music, or for that matter, concert. Rock music is deeply embedded in worldly activity, and concert is a performance. Some of churchanity sounds and looks too much like a rock concert, but it should not. These 6 high school girls are very likely lauded by their parents and maybe by less than discerning pastors. —WWM

PPF of America Hires Methodist Preacher— A conservative Protestant activist says he is appalled but not surprised that a United Methodist minister has been hired to serve as chaplain of the nation’s largest abortion provider. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America has selected Pastor Ignacio Castuera to fill the newly created position and communicate “the theological justification for choice, sexuality, and contraception.” (Agape Press, 3/11/04) The pastor serves St. John’s UMC in Los Angeles. He has served PP on their advisory board for years. He supports abortion rights and has worked on many pro-abortion campaigns. This is hardly the idea of spiritual directing that was in the mind of the Wesley’s (Prov. 4:14) “Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.” —WWM

Seeker-Friendly – Seeker – Sensitive— This movement is finding its way into many churches as a means of reaching numbers. What ever a particular segment of town desires, this type of service must be provided – or dry up (so they say.) “Willow Creek Community Church (south of LA), pastored by Rick Warren: Their influence is stunning. Willow Creek has formed its own association of churches, with 9,500 members. Last year, 100,000 church leaders attended at least one Willow Creek leadership conference. More than 250,000 pastor and church leaders from over 125 countries have attended Rick Warren’s purpose Driven church Seminars. More than 60,000 pastors subscribe to his weekly email newsletter.” (Berean Call, 3/04) You may regularly hear SBC members excited that they are using Warren’s purpose driven literature. Yet it is not confined to SBC churches. With all the seeming success these liberal spiritual caretakers are having, can you imagine what would have happened if they could have lived in the early years of the church. Would they have joined Ananias and his wife? Like too many churches spending the Lord’s tithes and offerings for entertainment, churches abound who do the same in joining this numbers racket. —WWM

Peace, Peace: But There Is No Peace— “Muhammad, whose word cannot be changed, imposed upon every Muslim in every age the duty of exterminating all Jews. Only then can the ‘Last Day’ (the climax of Islam) arrive.” That fact makes ‘peace’ between Israel and Muslims impossible – ever. Any apparent ‘peace’ agreements signed by Muslim leaders are not worth the ink in their signatures! In the ten years prior to the signing of the Oslo Accords, 211 Israelis were killed by terrorists; in the ten years since, about 1,200 have been killed and 5,000 wounded.” (Berean Call, 1/04) It is little wonder that the Islam religion has the backing of much of the Hollywood crowd. They will wake up too late to find their respective false religions are targeted by true Islam as is Christianity. It is Islam altogether or not at all. (Isa. 48:22) “There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.” Nor is there any peace with the wicked. (Psa. 1:1) “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly…” —WWM

Liberal Methodist Try Lesbian Pastor— The First UMC of Ellensburg, WA, a suburb of Seattle, have a lesbian pastor. ‘Rev.’ Karen Dammann is facing charges of “practices declared by the UMC to be incompatible to Christian teaching.” (Altus Times, 3/18/04) The ‘Rev.’ has been placed on leave as pastor until the UMC makes rulings. Very likely with full pay. Last week she married her partner of nine years in Portland, Ore. Officials there are following others in this blasphemous practice. The report said, “The couple has a 5-year-old son.” Among other delusions connected with this practice, this couple do not have a son. One or the other of them may have given birth to or adopted a little boy, but they DID NOT bring this little fellow forth by their union. Degenerate officials may declare same-sex unions legal, but they can never legislate same-sex reproduction.

Lesbian Pastor Acquitted Of Wrong Doing— A Christianity Today Weblog, 3/22/04, reported the Methodist Court acquitted Dammann of any wrong doing. Their claim was that they could find nothing in the Methodist “Book of Discipline” that would “constitute a declaration” against her lifestyle. Now you know the UMC is using the wrong Book. -WWM

Aborted Waiting Period For Abortion— Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano Friday vetoed a bill requiring a 24-hour waiting period for abortions less than a half-hour after it hit her desk. Miss Napolitano, a Democrat who supports abortion rights, issued the veto Thursday in spite of more than 2,000 calls, emails and faxes to her office urging her to sign the legislation and make it law. (Washington Times, 3/7/04-via Muth’ NVs) Not only are parents losing control over major decisions in the lives of their children, the conservative electorate seem no longer to have a say in decisions by their elected officials. Since any reference to the true God and Christianity has been declared offensive, if not illegal, in almost all segments of our society, any semblance of sanity is practically obscured. This is not a doomsdayer statement. Any nation without God is in jeopardy or losing their existence. (Rom. 1:28) “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient…” —WWM

Unitarian Pastor On Gay Marriage— The pastor of the “First Unitarian Church of Des Moines, was incredulous when told that two Unitarian Universalist ministers were charged with a crime for marrying gay couples.” He stated that “Same-sex commitment ceremonies are performed in Iowa all the time” and that “Most of the time, the unions are below the radar, accepted by the congregation and of little concern to the community.” Even though the majority of Americans believe same-sex marriage is wrong this Unitarian pastor said “sometimes the majority is wrong and this is one of those instances.” (Des Moines Reg., 3/16/04) It is not surprising a Unitarian pastor says this but according to Ellison Research, Phoenix, Arizona only “86% of evangelical ministers” say “homosexual activity is a sin.” That means 14% do not believe sodomy is a sin! That is a sad indication of the spiritual state of the churches. (AIBN, 3/18/04)

Morals Matter In Electing Leaders— Liberal politicians are quick to say they approve abortion, homosexuality, and gay unions. Claiming equal rights for every person. There are no rights apart from God’ declared Word. On the other hand the more conservative often avoid being clear on their stand. All issues are relevant when it comes to national survival. The most God and godliness is accepted or rejected. The abortion crowd face determined punishment for murdering babies. (Exo. 21:22) Homosexuals and all who approve are sure to be turned over to a reprobate mind in all things. (Rom. 1:28) Gay unions of any sort are abominable before God. (Lev. 20:13) Election to public office is seasonal, “but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” (Isa. 40:8) —WWM

Whence Comes Mega-Church Growth?— According to Barna Research Org. of the 2,000 to 25,000 weekend attendees at such churches come mostly from smaller churches that aren’t interested in or that can’t afford the fleshly attractions. After all it is the flesh that must be satisfied if a church is to grow. Right? Think what the 3,000 additions to the church on the day of Pentecost might have grown to if they had only had a band. Or a McDonalds in their facility. Or could have rented a carnal place to entertain their youth. Thank our Lord if your pastor and church falls into the category of being uninterested in fleshly attractions. (Rom. 13:14) “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” WWM

Muslims True To Form— Albanian Muslims are killing Christian Serbs and torching homes, churches, and monasteries in Kosovo. Alarming reports are pouring out of Kosovo as Muslim Albanians have gone on killing sprees in many cities, torching churches and homes along the way. Bill Murray of the Religions Freedom Coalition says the situation is critical for Christians. “I have just received information that United Nations administrators have fled Kosovo,” Murray says. “Virtually every church in Kosovo is in flames, and Christians are fleeing for their lives. In virtually every town, the Muslims have moved [into the Christian areas] – and the United Nations’ troops have been forced to withdraw.” U.N. police have confirmed that dozens of Christians have been killed and more than 500 wounded by rioting Muslims. At least 13 Christian churches are burning, and new fires are being reported, including one at the monastery of St. Michael the Archangel. The cities of Obilic and Pristina seem to be the hardest hit. Authorities are urging calm throughout Kosovo. (Crosswalk, 3/19/04) One of the greatest lies ever spoken by anyone is that Muslims and Christians serve the same God, and that Islam is a peaceful religion. (Deut. 4:39) “Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.” —WWM

Open Admission Of Islam’s Aim— From former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. “In October 2003 at the Islamic Summit Conference, reminds Talon News, Mohamad gave a speech where he said that Muslims will forever be oppressed and dominated by the Europeans and the Jews. He also called on Muslims to unite against Jews towards a final victory and further added that the Jews rule the world by proxy.” (Muth’s NVs, 3/20/04) While sin is deceitful by its very nature (Heb. 3:13), it is nothing new for the opposition to the true God and His worshiper to be brazenly defiant. Pray that men like David in his youth will step forward and cry, “Is there not a cause?” (1 Sam. 17) It the name of the LORD of hosts, let us be as bold toward this opposition of worshiping the true God. —WWM

Tax $’s At Work— This is the kind of education that enhances the fall of any nation. “A school library book checked out by a first-grader, in which a prince live happily ever after, has a North Carolina family upset. Michael and Tonya Hartsell of Wilmington read along with 7-year-old Olivia every weeknight before bed, but when they started reading her new book, ‘King & King,’ they were stunned at its content,…(queen mother)…tells her son he must get married and take over for the king, but the search for a spouse doesn’t go as expected.” The prince falls “for another prince and they are married. The last page has them kissing.” (Berean Call, 3/19/04) This is no isolated case of such educational(?) practices aimed at our youth. Pictures of nude statues are shown to students of very young age in public schools and it is called education. How stupid my generation must seem to those who use such tactics. Moral landmarks are being removed at a rapid rate. (Job 24:2) “Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.” The spiritual food for the survival of our flocks of youth is violently under attack. Having done all to stand, stand therefore!! (Eph. 6:13-18) —WWM

New Twist On Sodomy?— Not at all! It is the same old argument that homosexuality is an acceptable life style. “Derrick Bailey’s book, ‘Homosexuality and the Western Christian Tradition,’ Mr. Bailey argues that the verb ‘yadah’ (‘know’) used in Genesis 19:5 should be translated ‘to get acquainted.’ With this in mind, Bailey explained that the men of Sodom simply wanted to ‘become acquainted with the men in Lot’s house.’ Their continued insistence on ‘getting acquainted with’ these visitors was a serious violation of the accepted code of hospitality. In short, the Sodomites were being inhospitable.” (BC, 3/19/04) So that proves that Adam simply was getting acquainted with Eve in Gen. 4:4. Also that he was getting re-acquainted in Gen. 4:25. Each time the result was the birth of a son. The difference between the Sodom incident and Adam ‘knowing’ his wife was that one was sadistic, the other sacred. —WWM

From His Tithes or Missions?— Florida State Representative Dennis Baxley thinks the message of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ is so important that he is spending $1,200 of his own money to ensure fellow lawmakers have a chance to see it. Baxley, a Baptist who attends a weekly Bible study with other legislators, has reserved a Tallahassee theater for a screening of the controversial film next Tuesday night. Baxley says about half of the 179 tickets he has purchased have already been picked up, and expects that all of them will be taken by next week. (AgapePress, 3/12/04) Baxley’s credentials are opaqued by his convictions. One group of lawmakers put Christ on the cross, here is another group wanting to view the outcome. This would be funny if it were not so sad that one who claims to be a “Baptist” believes that a Catholic Hollywood director could possibly accurately depict Christ’s sacrifice for sin. Especially when Catholics believe in transubstantiation and that Mary is co-redeemer with Christ. Both are likely highly imaged in the movie. —WWM

Well Expressed— Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice – a Christian legal defense group — says the phrase [one nation under God] reflects one of the nation’s founding principles, that “rights emanate from God, not from government.” (AG, 3/12/04) With hype rolling from the lips of those who feel religion has no place in our national security, some are stepping up to the legal platform in behalf of true religion. Those who say God has no place in America are sure to be quieted when enough of Mohammed’s crowd comes to power. True religion has always been under fiery trials. Often the followers of Christ have to go underground to worship the Master. Maybe Warren’s next book will be ‘Purpose Driven Religion. ’That should bring all religions together. Be sure the Muslims will not fall for it. (2 Cor 6:17) “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing;” —WWM

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