The Blog of Johnny T. Helms: Church and State

The Offense of the Cross ... at Penn State

2009-10-26T16:43:00.001-04:00

I am constantly flabbergasted by the extreme sensibilities of the educated elite. I'm just glad the six complainants and all involved at Penn State did not choose to burn buildings or behead students wearing the offensive t-shirts at the center of a controversy that turns out to be not-much-of-a-controversy. The "religion of peace" would have heads rolling if the shirts had featured pictures of Mohammed.

The t-shirts, as you will see in the picture in the link, do seem to "sport" a cross on the front when it is actually a likeness of the stripe on the helmets of PU's football team. But it certainly startled the bejesus out of a handful of folks (a "handful" if one has six fingers per hand). The Anti-Defamation League joined in to fight this perceived threat of the resurrection of the crucifixion of you-know-who. There was fear apparently, that tents were going to pop up on campus with Pat Robertson preaching to lost souls.

The problem was some who saw the t-shirts being worn on-campus saw something "that some say resembles a cross." It's kinda like those folks who see Mary in urine in the snow, Jesus on a piece of toast, and Elvis at the 7/11. Yes, it's that serious.

But all in all, the school handled it very well. Go PU!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,569665,00.html

More than a Freudian slip? Obama's "Muslim faith."

2009-10-24T13:43:00.000-04:00

It flowed from his lips as smoothly and as naturally as spit from a baseball players mouth while sitting on the bench. "My Muslim faith." He said it. And millions of Americans were shocked. But the interviewer, George Stephanopolous, smoothly corrected (?) him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKGdkqfBICw&feature=video_response

This was not a mistake or a Freudian slip; it was an admission of who and what he truly is.

Such a slip could not come from the lips of a Christian, which Obama professes to be to our nation. Can you say "taqqiya?" Of course, he did not have his teleprompter in front of him nor did he have his blackberry at hie ear.

And his forgetting how many states are in the US? He said, or wondered out loud, "57 states?" And it just so happens that there are how many Islamic states? You guessed it. There are indeed 57 Islamic states. Practicing taqqiya is more difficult than one might think when you have to do it 24/7 in the nation Islam refers to as "The Great Satan." Our puppet president, who must have his teleprompter to keep his facts(?) straight, is paving the way for his Islamist cohorts to bring America to financial ruin and the slow deliberate employment of sharia.

A brief lesson on eternal security

2009-10-22T16:50:00.000-04:00

Every work of grace completed by the Lord Jesus Christ has the approval of the Father and the seal of eternity stamped on it.

Every soul saved by the grace of God is eternally saved.

Every sin forgiven by the blood of Christ is eternally forgiven.

The wrath of God satisfied by the death of His Son on the cross is eternally satisfied.

The condemnation, the guilt, the shame, the fear, and death, are all eternally removed from the life of the believer.

The new life we have is eternal life, not "contingent life."

His words from the cross, "It is finished," His words, "And I will give them eternal life," and the words "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes on Him might not perish but have everlasting life," have the guarantee of eternal life within them.

The presence of the Holy Spirit whereby we are "sealed unto the day of redemption" places the seal of eternity upon every believer.

The covenants of God fulfilled by Jesus Christ are eternally fulfilled.

The promises fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ are eternally fulfilled.

God's will and God's law are absolutely satisfied and fulfilled for us for eternity in Jesus Christ.

Every believer lives in the eternal state of:

1. Grace
2. Justification
3. Sanctification
4. Righteousness
5. Love
6. Peace
7. Glory
8. Reconciliation
9. Union with God
10. Liberty
11. Completion
12. The Kingdom of God
13. Holiness
14. New Life

The Accounting of Righteousness: Romans 4:5

2009-10-09T09:15:00.000-04:00

"But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness."

In the immediate context of Romans 4:5, we can see that "the ungodly" refers to both Abraham and David ... and indeed, all who have faith in "Him who justifies the ungodly." And this is the argument made by the apostle in the first 11 chapters of this letter: The ungodly, the "all" of 3:23, are justified by faith and faith alone.

The question that came to me this morning as I was reading this one verse, 4:5, was "how long does this accounting last?" How long will my faith as the justified ungodly be accounted to me as righteousness? The answer is, forever.

Justification is God's way of telling us that we have eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. And that life that we now possess is indeed "eternal."

Islam at our doorstep: Muslims pray in Washington

2009-09-25T16:24:00.004-04:00

Islam has declared itself the enemy of democracy and of our Republic. The voice of Islam has been for years represented by terrorists and radicals, why would we believe that the Muslims in Washington today are any different. I am assuming that these men gathered on our capitol's steps are praying for the overthrow of our government; why not assume such?

How is it that our nation has come so far as to allow our enemies access to our nation's capitol? This is insane! Our president and our Congress have betrayed us by not protecting us according to the Constitution, Article 4, Section 4, and have in fact given Aid and Comfort to our enemies, the definition of Treason given in our Constitution, Article 3, Section 3. And our president, Barack Hussein Obama, panders to this enemy of the free world.

The rise of Islam in America amounts to no less than an invasion from which we are to be protected. They have invaded our public schools and universities and private businesses. They have successfully invaded our government institutions such as the Pentagon and managed to squelch opposition from American patriots working in the Pentagon. They have also intimidated Hollywood into changing plots in some of its movies so as to remove any negative reference to Islam ("The Sum of All Fears," for instance).

With the recent resurgence of patriotism in our nation, I hope that it will not be long before someone finally moves to impeach this lying dog in the White House.

What did "Noah's Flood" change?

2009-09-23T13:56:00.013-04:00

Besides the landscape and population, not much.

However, "hope and change" was not the purpose of the flood. The flood did indeed change the earth's population and landscape (it was very muddy for a while for the eight inhabitants). But what the flood was designed by the Creator to do it in fact did; it sent messages to the next generations through Noah (a "preacher of righteousness") and his offspring concerning the nature of God and the nature of man.

The flood proclaimed that God sees all (Gen. 6:2)

The flood proclaimed that God hates sin and the sinful nature of man (vv.3-7).

The flood proclaimed that God declares man totally depraved (vv.11-12).

The flood proclaimed that God will punish sin with severity (v.13; 2 Pet. 3:1-9).

The flood proclaimed that God will have mercy upon whom He will have mercy (vv.13, 14a; 7:1; Roms. 9:18).

The flood proclaimed that God is sovereign over all His creation (6:6-7, 13; Roms. 9:19-24).

The flood proclaimed that God is no respecter of persons "but in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him" (Gen. 6:9; Acts 10:34). (*Righteousness is worked by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, through the preaching of the gospel alone, for God's glory alone, not works of the law. Noah had faith in God; Abraham had faith in God; Lot had faith in God, etc.)

http://www.shepherdsfellowship.org/pulpit/Posts.aspx?ID=4371

The flood proclaimed that salvation is God's and His alone (7:1).

The flood proclaimed that God's every act is intentional, with His glory and the elect's good foremost in His eternal scheme (8:20-9:17).

The flood proclaimed the gospel of the Christ, the Son of God, as it did later to Abraham as well, whereby the ungodly would be justified (Gen. 9:8-9; Roms. 4:5; 5:6; Gals. 3:5-9).

The flood proclaimed the faithfulness of God to His creation through the sign of the rainbow. (Rainbows are not miraculous. But in that they are formed out of the once mysterious never-before-seen falling rain, God proclaimed them as a reminder to man of His sovereignty, ever-watchfulness, mercy, longsuffering, and faithfulness).

God's flood in the days of Noah did nothing to change the nature of man; it wasn't designed to do that. But it accomplished precisely what God wanted it to accomplish. It points mankind to his desperate need for grace and mercy and a Savior. And that Savior to whom it points is Jesus Christ ... and Him alone.

Pseudo-Christians joining Muslims in Ramadan prayers

2009-09-22T11:04:00.001-04:00

Fitting in with my just-finished series, "Stop being deceived," is this bit of news. Brian McClaren, of the Emergent Movement, is one of the false teachers spearheading this abomination.

http://www.boundlessline.org/

"Stop being deceived:" 1 Corinthians 6:9-11: Conclusion

2009-09-22T08:49:00.000-04:00

Our "First" Corinthians is a letter to a church written by the founder of that church who is responding to news and a call for assistance from that church conveyed to him by some of its members who have come to him as he is waiting in Ephesus (Acts 18; 1 Cor. 16:8). And with the many and varied sins permeating the body of Christ in Corinth as communicated by Paul's guests, Paul saw that along with correction and strong rebuke, this congregation needed affirmation, encouragement, edification and grace (1:4-9; 3:21-23).

The church of Jesus Christ has not changed in its 2,000 year existence; we still sin and we still need correction, rebuke, encouragement, edification, affirmation, and grace; the church will always need to see the love of God manifested in Jesus Christ and in and through His saints to one another; we will always need to be reminded of who we are in Christ Jesus and how we came to be here.

What is lost in a man-centered religion is the finished work of justification wrought for us by our heavenly Father. What is lost in a man-centered religion is the awe and wonder of grace. What is lost in a man-centered religion is the awful terror of God against sinners wherein is discovered the pitiful nature of man and the holy and just nature of God. What is lost in a man-centered religion is how the justified ungodly arrived at this place of justification and peace with God and this grace wherein we now stand (Rom. 5:1-2; 1 Cor. 6:11).

It is this point that the apostle Paul makes in our brief passage when he reminds the Corinthians and us, "And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." This is what a man-centered religion loses.

"And such were some of you." But by the grace of God you would still be in that miserable state of being. And you dare exalt man? You would dare deceive yourselves and the unrighteous into believing that they will inherit the kingdom of God by either their innate goodness or inspite of their vile behavior? You would dare exalt man to the exalted place that only Christ may occupy? You would make the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ a god who winks at sin? One who did not need to cause His Son the horrors of the cross?

A man-centered religion embraces the adulterer, the homosexual, the sexual pervert, the drunkard, the extortioner, the liar, the lewd, the idolator, the sorcerer, the murderer, without their having repented of their wickedness. And blesses them with false assurances, condemning them to eternal damnation. Jesus said to Peter, "Get thee behind me, Satan. You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of man" (Mt. 16:23).

What can we do about our non-representing Senators? Here is an idea whose time has come

2009-09-22T08:30:00.000-04:00

"Two Tweaks to the Constitution"
Jon N. Hall
Published at American Thinker

Sometimes, We the People discover that we have made a serious mistake, and we don't want to wait for the next election to correct it. In some states, voters can correct their mistakes with a recall election, such as the 2003 recall of California Governor Gray Davis.

The recall, however, is not available on the federal level. Federal officials are removed from office by either expulsion or impeachment. Congress uses expulsion. So, removal of bad actors in congress is a matter of elected officials ousting other elected officials; the electorate has no say in the matter. But is congress policing itself?

The U.S. Senate has not expelled a member since the Civil War, when 14 senators were expelled for supporting the Confederacy. Other than that, the Senate has expelled only one member in its 220-year history, William Blount in 1797.

Before the 17th Amendment (1913), U.S. senators were chosen by state legislatures. This amendment to directly elect U.S. senators was a very, very bad idea. There have been calls to repeal it, even in the Senate. In a fiery address in April 2004, Georgia Senator Zell Miller, a Democrat, introduced a measure to repeal:

The 17th amendment was the death of the careful balance between State and Federal Government. As designed by that brilliant and very practical group of Founding Fathers, the two governments would be in competition with each other and neither could abuse or threaten the other. The election of Senators by the State legislatures was the lynchpin that guaranteed the interests of the States would be protected.

Since the Senate never voted on Sen. Miller's measure, S.J. Res. 35, let's add a feature to it: the ability of state legislatures to recall and replace their U.S. senators.

Beyond treason and corruption, there are many reasons why a U.S. senator should be recalled. Recently, we've seen a fair amount of illness in the Senate: Sen. Kennedy's malignant glioma (brain cancer), Sen. Johnson's inter-cranial bleeding, Sen. Biden's aneurysms, etc. (Should America have to tolerate brain damage in what's billed as "the world's greatest deliberative body"?) Also, some senators are just too old. Sen. Strom Thurman set the Senate record at 100 years. Sen. Byrd is President pro tem of the Senate, therefore third in the line of succession to the Presidency. Byrd has been in the Senate for 50 years; he'll have his 92nd birthday this November. Our gerontocracy almost resembles those of the Soviets and the Red Chinese.

Because of the 17th Amendment, U.S. senators "own" their jobs. If a senator becomes incapacitated, a state will just have to accept not having representation. Because of the 17th Amendment, Minnesota had only half representation for more than 6 months while the 2008 election was contested, and is now represented by a comedian. Because of the 17th Amendment, Illinois has a U.S. senator chosen by a single man; a governor who was later impeached and removed. Is that a logical way to choose any representative?

And I was there: South Vietnam, Tet Offensive, '68

2009-09-19T12:50:00.000-04:00

In the early morning hours of January 31st, the first day of the Vietnamese New Year, NLF/NVA troops and commandos attacked virtually every major town and city in South Vietnam as well as most of the important American bases and airfields. There were some earlier attacks around Pleiku, Quang Nam, and Darlac but these were largely misinterpreted as the enemy's main thrust by those who were expecting some activity during Tet. Almost everywhere the attacks came as a total surprise. Vast areas of Saigon and Hue suddenly found themselves "liberated" and parades of gun-waving NVA/VC marched through the streets proclaiming the revolution while their grimmer-minded comrades rounded up prepared lists of collaborators and government sympathizers for show trials and quick executions.

In Saigon, nineteen VC commandos blew their way through the outer walls of the US Embassy and overran the five MP's on duty in the early hours of that morning. Two MP's were killed immediately as the action-team tried to blast their way through the main Embassy doors with anti-tank rockets. They failed and found themselves pinned-down by the Marine guards who kept the VC in an intense firefight until a relief force of US 101st Airborne landed by helicopter. By mid-morning, the battle had turned. All nineteen VC were killed, their bodies scattered around the Embassy courtyard. Five Americans and two Vietnamese civilians were among the other dead. The commandos had been dressed in civilian clothing and had rolled-up to the Embassy in an ancient truck. The security of the Embassy was not in serious danger after the first few minutes and the damage was slight but this attack on 'American soil" captured the imagination of the media and the battle became symbolic of the Tet Offensive throughout the world.

When the fighting at Tan Son Nhut was over, twenty-three Americans were dead, eighty-five were wounded and up to fifteen aircraft had suffered serious damage. Two NVA/VC battalions attacked the US air-base at Bien Hoa and crippled over twenty aircraft at a cost of nearly 170 casualties. Further fighting at Bien Hoa during the Tet offensive would take the NVA/VC death total in Saigon to nearly 1200.

The fighting within Saigon itself was pretty much over by February 5th but it carried on in Cholon until the last week of the month. Cholon was strafed, bombed, and shelled but the NVA/VC held on and even mounted sporadic counter-offensives against US/ARVN positions within the city and against Tan Son Nhut airport. B-52 strikes against communist positions outside Saigon came within a few miles of the city When the NVA/VC were finally driven out of Saigon's suburbs, they retreated into the surrounding government villages and fought there. US and ARVN artillery and strike-aircraft bombed and shelled these supposedly pacified villages before troops moved in to reoccupy them. The NVA/VC repeated this tactic again and again in a clear effort to make the Saigon Government destroy their own fortified villages and, by doing so, further alienate the rural population. A month after the offensive began, US estimates put the number of civilian dead at some 15,000 and the number of new refugees at anything up to two million and still the battles went on.

Elsewhere in South Vietnam, the success of the Tet offensive was erratic. Many of the attacks on the provincial cities and US bases were easily beaten back within the first minutes or hours, but others involved bitter fighting. In the resort city of Dalat, the ARVN put up a spirited defense of the Vietnamese Military Academy against a determined VC battalion. Fighting raged over the Pasteur Institute - which changed hands several times-and the VC dug themselves in the central market Fighting in Dalat went on until mid-February and left over 200 VC dead.

After Hue was finally recaptured at the end of February South Vietnamese officials sifting through the rubble found mass graves with over 1200 corpses and-sometime later-other mass burials in the provincial area. The total number of bodies unearthed came to around 2500 but the number of civilians estimated as missing after the Hue battle was nearly 6000. Many of the victims found were Catholics who sought sanctuary in a church but were taken out and later shot. Others were apparently being marched off for political "re-education" but were shot when American or ARVN units came too close.

The mass graves within Hue itself were largely of those who had been picked up and executed for various "enemy of the people" offenses. There is some doubt that the NVA/VC had planned all these executions beforehand but unquestionably it was the largest communist purge of the war.

Giap's ambition to win a massive victory against the Americans was thwarted by massive aerial bombardments of NVA positions. B-52's and strike aircraft dropped their loads with pin-point accuracy within a few hundred feet of Khe Sanh's perimeter. During the course of the battle, tons of bombs and napalm were dropped around Khe Sanh. The NVA launched further attacks on February 17th, 18th, and 29th but massed artillery and air-strikes broke the first up fairly easily while the second involved heavy fighting. In early April, relief forces reached the base. A 1st Cavalry helicopter assault force landed near Khe Sanh as American and ARVN forces hit NVA positions along Route 9. Khe Sanh was relieved on April 6th and, four days later, Lang Vei was reoccupied. Fighting continued around Khe Sanh for a time but Giap had long since given up any hope of overrunning the base.

Giap had been frustrated at Khe Sanh and defeated in South Vietnam's cities. NVA/VC dead totaled some 45,000 and the number of prisoners nearly 7,000. But the shockwave of the battle finished Johnson's willingness to carry on. Westmoreland was pressuring Washington for 206,000 troops to carry on the campaign in the South and to make a limited invasion of North Vietnam just above the DMZ. As the battle for Hue died out, Johnson asked Clark Clifford (who had recently replaced a disillusioned McNamara as Secretary of Defense) to find ways and means of meeting Westmoreland's request.

Clifford and an advisor group looked at the war to date and among others, consulted CIA Director Richard Helms who presented the Agency's gloomy forecasts in great detail. On March 4th Clifford told Johnson that the war was far from won and that more men would make little difference. Johnson then turned to his chief group of informal advisors (which included among others, Generals Omar Bradley, Matthew Ridgway, and Maxwell Taylor; Cyrus Vance, Dean Acheson, and Henry Cabot Lodge). Johnson soon found that they too, like Clifford, had turned against the war. According to Thomas Powers, Johnson's "wise old men" had been told that recent CIA studies showed that the pacification programme was failing in forty of South Vietnam's forty-four provinces and that the NLF's manpower was actually twice the number that had been estimated previously. Not only had Tet shown that the optimism of the previous year had been an illusion but it now seemed that the enemy was far stronger than anybody had thought and that the long efforts to win Vietnamese "hearts and minds" had largely been a disaster.

Johnson's dilemma was complete. He couldn't meet the generals' manpower requests without either depleting Europe of American troops- which was unacceptable- or without calling up the active reserves which would have been a political disaster. His most senior advisors had turned against the war and Johnson took another briefing from the CIA analyst whose gloomy reports had soured some of his most hawkish counselors. A few days after this briefing, Johnson went on TV to announce a bombing halt of the North and America's willingness to meet with the North Vietnamese to seek a peace settlement. Johnson then said that he was not a candidate for re-election under any circumstances and would spend the rest of his term in a search for peace in Indochina.

One of those present at the special CIA briefing which convinced Johnson that a change of course was inevitable was General Creighton Abrams, Westmoreland's deputy commander. Shortly after Johnson's turnabout, Abrams replaced Westmoreland as head of US forces in Vietnam.

Vietnamization is usually credited to Nixon but it began in the wake of the Tet Offensive and Johnson's turnabout.

Giap's gamble had another side effect. When the Tet Offensive began, many US officials believed that the NLF had offered the Americans a golden opportunity by fighting a pitched battle where it could be defeated in open combat. In effect, the NLF was "leading with its chin" and the massive losses it suffered bear this out The VC was not broken by the Tet Offensive but it was severely crippled by it and, from then on, the North took on the main burden of the war. Further fighting in 1968 and the increasing activity of the Phoenix Program further decimated the NLF's ranks and the role of the North grew even larger.

The northern and southern parts of Vietnam had ancient cultural and social differences and while the communist cadres at the center of the NLF had managed largely to suppress these natural antagonisms, there still were basic differences in goals and approach. The NLF had gone into the Tet Offensive in the hope of giving a death-blow to the Saigon Government and, if it couldn't capture power directly, it could at least gain a coalition leading to ultimate authority. The NLF's dream vanished in the rubble of South Vietnam's cities and it would be Hanoi that conquered Saigon.

Partly from "The Vietnam Experience Nineteen Sixty-Eight"

Is the title "czar" prohibited by our Constitution?

2009-09-12T12:11:00.002-04:00

If there are any students of the US Constitution reading this, I would love to get your input on the question "is the title 'czar' prohibited by our Constitution, Article 1, Sections 9 and 10?

"Stop being deceived:" 1 Corinthians 6:9-11: Part 7

2009-09-11T13:40:00.005-04:00

As I have already pointed out, Paul saw that the Corinthians were in the process of developing a man-centered religion. He addresses this trend in these first 6 chapters. And in these chapters we can trace the decline of the local church in Corinth and apply our observations to the church in any age that rejects Jesus Christ, whether knowingly or otherwise, as its Head. To reject Jesus as Head of His church unknowingly does not exempt one from the guilt of that heresy.

It is the natural inclination of man to set man up on a pedestal, making him infallible and worthy of our adulation. There are no better examples in history than that of the pope of the Roman Catholic cult, Joseph Smith of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints, and Mohammad of Islam. Lesser figures spring up occasionally such as Jim Jones, Jim Bakker, Robert Shuller, Joel Osteen, and Benny Hinn, who gather unto themselves huge followings. And even within genuine Christian denominations there are men who are raised to celebrity status.

I want to now propose several distinctives that characterize a man-centered religion that passes as genuinely Christian and Biblical.

First, a man-centered church is characterized by its lack of unity in doctrine. Notice in chapter one, verse 10, "that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you..."

Second, by its contentions over ecclesiastical celebrities. Verses 11-13; 3:5-9.

Third, by its emphasis on secondary concerns. Verses 13-17; 12-14.

Fourth, by its pride. Verses 18-31; 3:18-23.

Fifth, by its carnality. 3:1-4.

Sixth, by its self-exaltation. 4:6-13.

Seventh, by its pride in its embrace of the impenitent. 5:1-2; 6:9-10.

Eighth, by its continuing in sexual immorality. 6:15-20.

Ninth, by its willful ignorance of God's truths.

Tenth, by its abuse of the Lord's Supper. 11.

Eleventh, by its abuse of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 12-14.

Twelfth, by its denial of essential doctrines of the Christian faith. 15.

Thirteenth, and finally, by its active participation in and promotion of practices and beliefs contrary to the clear teaching of the word of God.

And it all comes down to this: The man-centered church does not care what the Word of God declares. But prefers to run the church as it sees fit.

It is a struggle for genuine Christians to avoid the subtle deceptions that come our way daily. But for the man-centered individual and the man-centered church, deceptions are embraced as a preferred way of believing and living. But to the genuine church of Jesus Christ, the word of God is imperative, "Stop being deceived."

The fallacy of a perfect world: Theocracy

2009-09-11T07:52:00.002-04:00

I have argued before that there is no such thing as a "theocracy," not as man has determined it anyway. A theocracy is man's idea of how a god or God would rule on earth if He were to run government. Islam is a splendid example of what a theocracy would look like if one were to ever take over the planet.

And yet, God does rule even now, but in a "now and not yet" sense. There will be a true theocracy, but it will not be man's idea of a theocracy; it will be God's.

http://www.jihadwatch.org/

"Stop being deceived:" 1 Corinthians 6:9-11: Part 6

2009-09-08T16:07:00.002-04:00

This passage in 1 Corinthians 6 is one of those Biblical passages that will just not let me rest until I feel I have covered it thoroughly; and that may never happen.

I see within these three verses and their context, a word from God that the church in our day desperately needs to hear. I do not plan on ever completely moving on from this verse but see it as always being at the heart of what I believe God has called me to do in the body of Christ, i.e., preach the word, restore Jesus Christ to His rightful place as Head of His church in the eyes of His people through exalting the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ "to the praise of the glory of His grace," call the church to repentance from its gross willful ignorance, strengthen the church in the face of great deceptions, turn the church away from man-centered religion, encourage/exhort the church to love the Lord Jesus and His written word deeply, and to recognize and submit to only those men behind the pulpits who are genuinely God-called pastors/prophets/teachers/evangelists.

The more advanced this world becomes in technology the deeper it slides into spiritual darkness. The more advanced this world becomes in its many forms and ease of accessibility of entertainment the more humanity shuns the notion of a sovereign and just and holy God. And the further the world goes away from God, the further the church goes ... and gleefully so. The church and the world are running through the darkness holding hands.

"Do you not know (and indeed you do know) that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived." And herein we find "the Corinthian Deception" as I have pointed out elsewhere. They had been deceived into believing that the unrighteous would indeed inherit the kingdom of God. The imperative, "do not continue being deceived," "stop being deceived," reflects that truth that the Corinthians were at the time of this writing being deceived in precisely this manner. And we can easily see today by reading or watching the news from mainline denominations in this country that millions have been willingly deceived into believing that the unrighteous will go to heaven. It is a damnable doctrine that the church has embraced.

Dr. Al Mohler on Obama's speech to our schools

2009-09-08T12:54:00.000-04:00

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog.php

"Stop being deceived:" 1 Corinthians 6:9-11: Part 5

2009-09-03T11:14:00.004-04:00

It would be completely within the God-given authority of every God-called pastor, teacher, prophet, and evangelist in the entire world, to shout from his pulpit, "STOP BEING DECEIVED!" In fact, it is indeed God's command to all His shepherds that we do precisely that. Pastors are disobeying their Shepherd if they are not shouting this to their people. And by disobeying God are working in cooperation with the false shepherds who are deceiving the flock.

The deceptions being perpetrated upon the 21st church are innumerable, and I say with great distress, immensely popular, one of the primary purposes God Himself set over the body of His Son shepherds (Acts 20:25-31; Tit. 1:10-16; 1 Pet. 5:1-4). And as God spoke through Jeremiah, "My people love it so" (5:31).

And just as there were false shepherds in the days of the prophets of old, there are a plethora of false shepherds in our day as well (Ezekiel, almost anywhere you turn in this book).

The false prophets/teachers/christs/apostles of our day are different only in appearance, not in substance. The false shepherds of the mainline denominations are well-educated, well-dressed, and gifted orators. They, however, are the "voice of strangers" spoken of by our Good Shepherd in John 10, which explains why believers sitting under these apostates are leaving in droves.

Other false prophets/teachers/christs/apostles of our day tend toward lavishness and decadence in appearance and lifestyles. They tend to dwell on money, health, and miracles. All things which are certainly legitimate and Biblical topics to address, but not to the extent where that is the gospel; the very purpose for Christ's coming.

Peter, in his second epistle, warns the church of these false teachers and gives a concise description of their practices, damnable teachings, and attitudes toward their dupes, as does Jude. (2 Pet. 2). Brethren, we are without excuse.

Thomas Sowell: "The suicide of the West"

2009-09-01T13:31:00.002-04:00

One would have hoped that liberal/leftist/multiculturalist/socialist/America-hating America would have been satisfied with its bogus concepts of "tolerance" and "political correctness," neither of which are actually practiced by the above named segment of our society. But, no, they could not leave bad enough alone; they had to adopt a new favorite bogus concept, that of "accommodation."

And now, the intolerant tolerant and the un-Constitutional politically correct crowd are trying their dead-level best to persuade us that becoming Muslim won't be so bad. Why, if you play your cards right (whoa, that can't be right, Muslims won't let us play cards), the Islamists just might allow us to keep our heads. We may lose a foot and a hand on opposing sides for some slight infraction, but, hey, at least we will be able to see our foot and our hand when they don't decapitate us.

All a feller need do is bend down real far and kiss the sandal of his superior (you may want to hold your nose for this gracious act) and dhimmitude is yours. And should you choose to refuse to convert or become a dhimmi, don't worry about holding your nose.

Thomas Sowell, a true American scholar and genius and hero, has a must-read column today. So, read it!

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NmMxMDZmZjdhNGQxOGRmYTFjOWRjMzhiYTAzMzVmZmE=

"Stop being deceived:" 1 Corinthians 6:9-11: Part 4

2009-09-01T10:42:00.002-04:00

Paul's command, "Do not be deceived," begs the question (at least it should), "deceived by what?" And when translated "stop being deceived," the reader should further ask, "am I being deceived? And if I am, how am I being deceived?"

In fact, the translation "stop being deceived" gives the original sense of Paul's warning, his command. The Greek text so translated presents a particular construction that let the original readers know that they were being deceived at the time they received this letter and they were to no longer allow themselves to be deceived, either unknowingly or otherwise.

"Do not be deceived," or, "Stop being deceived," comes from two Greek words, me planasthe, the "me" being pronounced like our "may." Planasthe is the imperative form (the form of commandment) of the verb planao which simply means "to deceive, to lead astray, etc." And in the form found in our text with the negative me preceeding it, we have what is called a "negated present imperative," which prohibits an on-going action, something that is taking place in the present. Thus we can translate these two words, "stop being deceived."

Paul's commandment to the church at Corinth follows the like commandment given by the Lord Jesus to the twelve outside the temple in Jerusalem found in Mt. 24:4, "Let no one deceive you." The imperative employed by the Lord in Mt. 24 is not a negated present imperative but is instead a warning against a distinct possibility, one that He knew the church was going to face.

It may not be obvious to many in the 21st century church, but being deceived is not an option; we, the body of Christ, are not to be deceived nor are we to continue being deceived when we find we are. The only way Christians can be deceived and continue in that deception is by ignoring the word of God, whether we ignore the written word itself or the sound preaching of that word. And any ignoring of the word of God on the part of a Christian is willful ignorance.

"Jihad on American shores"

2009-09-01T05:38:00.002-04:00

Would we have allowed Nazis to hold such meetings during WWII? No, indeed we would not have. And we are indeed at war with these very Islamists who are freely calling for our destruction within our own shores. This is absolutely preposterous and in violation of our governments duty to protect the United States of America from enemies abroad and within.

http://www.actforamerica.org/index.php/home/10-newsmaster/1540-conspiracy-theories-terror-support-found-in-the-islamic-society-of-north-america-isna-convention-literature

"Jesus" in Siberia?

2009-08-30T09:28:00.002-04:00

This guy has seen too many paintings of Jesus ... and smoked one too many pcp laced joints.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1209858/Jesus-Siberia-Ex-traffic-policeman-says-son-God-leads-thousands-followers-Russia.html?ITO=1490

This is one manifestation of the Lord's warnings in Matthew 24:23-26. His influence is confined to a small group but damnable nevertheless.

"Stop being deceived:" 1 Corinthians 6:9-11: Part 3

2009-08-29T16:18:00.004-04:00

"I don't care. I still love him." That was the reaction of a Baptist woman I have known for many years when I provided her with first-hand evidence that Benny Hinn is a false prophet. The "first-hand" evidence is an audio tape of three of Hinn's early false prophecies as well as my own eye-witness account of Hinn and Paul Crouch prophesying that Jesus would "appear bodily" with Hinn during one of his African "crusades." Hinn said boldly that "the Holy Spirit" had told him this would indeed happen. And all of this was proclaimed over TBN. (BTW, Hinn said that he hoped to return with "video" of Jesus' appearances).

This "I don't care" attitude on the part of millions who profess Jesus as their Lord and Savior is a present day illustration of what the apostle Paul addressed in his letters to the Corinthians when he asked eight times in the first six chapters of our First Corinthians, "Do you not know?" The problem that moved the apostle to ask this question eight times was "willful ignorance." The answer to each "do you not know" question is, "Yes, you do know because I formerly told you and you are willingly ignoring what I said." (3:16; 5:6; 6:2, 3, 9, 15, 16, 19).

And it is not only the millions who follow the likes of Benny Hinn and Paul Crouch. It is also those who occupy the pews of mainline denominations which deny the "exclusivity of Jesus Christ," the inspiration of Scripture, and embrace and promote sinful lifestyles condemned in God's word, who are willfully ignorant. (Exclusivity - Jn. 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Cor. 3:11. Inspiration - 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:16-21. Promote sinful lifestyles Roms. 1:18-32).

To willfully ignore God's plain will and His written word, His preached word, is to lay the ground work for great deception. "The ground of willful ignorance is fertile soil for the seeds of deception."

"Stop being deceived:" 1 Corinthians 6:9-10: Part 2

2009-08-28T12:56:00.002-04:00

It can happen to almost anyone ... perhaps it can happen to everyone. Spouses who never suspect their spouse of committing adultery and who never thought their spouse could ever do such a thing, come home early one day and, ... A politician, well, that speaks for itself. But it can indeed happen to the best of us; we can be deceived.

And it can happen and does happen to Christians and congregations blessed by the presence of the Holy Spirit and gifted by Him to do His will and His work. The church whose letter we are studying at this time was such a gifted church that was nevertheless deceived. And how does it happen? How are we deceived? How were the Corinthians deceived? It happens because we are Christians living in a fallen and dark world and susceptible to the temptations of the flesh and the devil. And it happens because we too often dismiss or reject the clear teachings of Scripture.

The Lord Jesus told His disciples (and that includes us), "Take heed that no one deceives you." (Mt. 24:4). And as He proceeded to lay out what the future held in store for His church, He warned of the seductiveness of deception. "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible even the elect." (v. 24). The false christs and the false prophets will be so charismatic, clever, and convincing, that even the "elect" will consider their claims for a moment. And then the Lord says, "See, I have told you beforehand."

The words "take heed" come from one Greek word, blepete, which means "to watch." "Take heed" is an excellent translation for it contains the undeniable element of warning. And the description the Lord gives us of the last days makes the warning emphatic.

But just how is the church and each individual Christian to "take heed?" We can do it by arming ourselves with the written word of God, the preaching of His word by His servants, trusting the Holy Spirit to guide us, putting on the "whole armor of God," and through fellowship with other believers. And it is by neglecting these essentials in the life of the church and in the lives of individual Christians that the church is so easily deceived.

As we go into our passage, we will see the part that willful ignorance by the Corinthians played.

"Stop being deceived:" 1 Corinthians 6:9-11: Part 1: Introduction

2009-08-28T10:18:00.004-04:00

No one wants to be deceived, but it happens. No one wants to have some unscrupulous business or repairman to take advantage of their ignorance of car repairs or air conditioners or appliances, but it happens. And when it does happen and we are deceived we look back on the experience and wonder how we could have let it happen. And we come out of the costly experience vowing to never let it happen again.

Just recently I had problems with what I assumed was my ac so I called the company that had previously serviced it. I had water leaking from the attic where some part of the ac is located and figured that the pan under the ac was overflowing. The water was coming out of the light switch in the upstairs bathroom. My small townhome was nice and cool but I did want to find out why water was leaking through the ceiling and the light switch.

A repairman came out on Monday of that week and cleaned out the pan and a drain pipe that had become clogged as well and the leak of course stopped. Then he said he needed to check my ac unit which is behind my home. After working on the unit, the repairman came inside to talk with me about a service contract. I knew that I needed to have my hvac serviced at least twice a year so I signed the contract. But there was a problem. After the repairman left, my ac quit working. It was working before he came; it wasn't working after he left.

I waited patiently for three days in the sweltering heat with nothing but window fans running to make sleeping bearable. Then I called the office of the repair service and left a message on their voice mail. The message I left was designed to send a message. I simply said, "My air conditioning isn't working. It was working before your service man came and worked on it. It hasn't worked since." The next day that serviceman was back, fixed my ac, and didn't charge me anything; I had just signed a service contract. He even installed something that is normally $89.00 for free. Go figure. And the ac that "should be replaced soon," wasn't mentioned again.

As disturbing as it may be to be deceived by salesmen or repairman, that pales in comparison to being deceived in matters of eternal consequence as we shall see in this study of 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. And just as I refused to be deceived any longer by my repairman and his company, we can also stop the deception that is occurring in the church in our day and time.

The fallacy of the "facilitator:" How not to teach the Bible

2009-08-26T14:04:00.002-04:00

"Facilitator" is one of those concepts that one would be hard pressed to find in the Bible in the context of communicating the gospel or studying the word of God. Yet the facilitator has taken the place of the traditional Bible teacher in many Sunday Schools and home Bible study groups. And while the atmosphere of the facilitated Bible study may be more relaxed and more user-friendly, the downside of this method is that it plays havoc with holy scripture and deceives those participating in such a class into believing that they have indeed studied the Bible.

The spiritual nourishment a disciple of Christ receives in a genuine Bible study cannot be obtained by those who "share" their opinions and thoughts on what a verse or text or word might or might not mean. Facilitators do not teach, they simply keep things moving along, whether issues and questions have been resolved or not. Occasionally one will find a facilitator who gets involved in actually studying the text. But more often than not, he or she is the exception to the rule.

There is no gift of "facilitator" in the Bible. Yet we have allowed and even promoted such a position in the body of Christ. A facilitator is not a teacher and he or she will usually make that clear at the beginning of the study. That means, unless someone should rise up within the class to actually teach, that class will be without a teacher thinking that this is good.

"What do you think this verse is saying" falls far short of "thus saith the Lord" or, "It is written." It also misses the mark laid out plainly in the Bible as to how a preacher or teacher is to approach the study of the word. "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." The study of the word of truth, the word of God, the Bible, is a spiritual discipline long lost on many of our churches teachers.

Facilitating a meeting by asking for opinions is not studying the Bible. The only folks who should be teaching the Bible are those who are genuinely gifted of God with the gift of teaching.

What is grace? In light of the nature of man

2009-08-23T07:45:00.003-04:00

It is probably the most popular and most used word in all of Christendom ... and not without reason.

Grace is indeed amazing. And to the ear of the justified ungodly, there is nothing sweeter.

It is the grace of God Almighty, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, that gave us life from the dead, brought us to faith in Jesus Christ, and enabled us to call upon the name of Jesus Christ and be justified, forgiven, reconciled, sanctified.

Upon reading Scripture passages such as Romans 3:9-18, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, and Ephesians 2:1-3, the Christian realizes just how amazing our heavenly Father is and the unfathomable riches of His amazing grace. It is in seeing who and what we were apart from Christ that grace moves us to gladly praise the glory of His grace.

For what else is grace but God's response to our sin.