JUDGE NOT by Pastor Jack Hyles (5th in the Judge not!... series)
Is It Right: To Judge, To Expose Error andTo Name Names? By Pastor E.L. Bynum (Fourth in "Judge not..." series)
***BEWARE!***
Ecumenical Excuses for Unequal Yokes
C.S. Lewis: The Devil's Wisest Fool
I am hoping this to be the first of a series on "Judge not..." nonsense ecumenicism proclaims so very loudly!
One of Satan's Big Lies!
By David J. Stewart
Satan's Lie: Preaching against sin will cause lost sinners to turn away from trusting Jesus Christ.
I get many letters from people who accuse me of spewing out hatred, and lacking the love of Christ for sinners. They are so wrong! It's amazing how Satan tries to turn everything around, and distort the truth. I received a letter today from a woman saying...
"You’re right when you say that Jesus got angry. He got angry when people were telling his children- the whores, the homosexuals ... everyone prayed upon by the religious society-- the similar things that you are saying."
That's it, blame the Christians for telling the truth. Falsely accuse us of doing Christ disservice by driving sinners away from the truth. Do you really think Jesus would be upset today with a believer who speaks out publicly against abortion, homosexuality, prostitution, or government injustices? No! In fact, this is exactly what God wants us to do. God asks in Psalm 94:16, "Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?" Malachi 3:6 states that God NEVER changes. The same God who wanted believers in the Old Testament to rise up against the workers of iniquity, still expects believers to do the same today.
Self-Righteous Hypocrisy Verses Biblical Preaching Against Sin
Jesus clearly stated that it is wrong to condemn others for their sins, "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? ... Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye" (Matthew 7:1-3,5). We see a perfect example of this in John 8:1-11, where a woman was accused by the Pharisees of committing adultery. It is greatly debated what Jesus wrote on the ground, in the dirt; BUT, whatever it was, it convicted everyone who had condemned the women. I think I know exactly what Jesus wrote ... "Where's the man?" Why were those Pharisees judging the woman; but not the man? They said they caught her in the "very act" of adultery. So why didn't they bring the man? They were hypocrites! God is the only Judge, and He has given us His Word to live by. It is not for me to judge anyone, and I certainly don't. God is the ONLY Divine Lawmaker and Judge. We read in James 4:11, "Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge." These Scriptures are telling us to refrain from condemning others for their PERSONAL SINS.
However, personal sins are completely different than exposing the evils in our society. I do not judge anyone personally for being a homosexual, for we are all sinners. However, I am commanded by God to expose the evils of homosexuality in society. The Word of God commands us as believers, in Ephesians 5:11, to refute (Greek, elencho, which literally means, to EXPOSE) all Satan's works of darkness ... "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." A perfect example of this is recorded in 1st Corinthians 5:1 where the Apostle Paul stated, "It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife." In 1st Corinthians 5:9, Paul warns the church members at Corinth not to have company with the fornicator. In verse 11, Paul tells them not to even eat with the man. Most people today would accuse Paul of being a hypocrite, and a hatemonger. I mean, what right does Paul have to tell others to ostracize a man because he's not living the way Paul thinks he should? I get letters like this almost daily from people, who are judging me for doing what God told me to do as a Christian--speak out against evil! There is not one person or organization on my website that I expose, but that they have influence over millions of people. I expose them because they need to be exposed!
As an example, I expose the so-called "Christian" rap singer TobyMac. I don't expose him to be unkind or mean; but, because he is leading many Christian young people into the world. TobyMac dresses like the world, sings like the world, attracts other worldly teenagers, and doesn't even have enough Christianity in himself to present the Gospel on his website. He has influence over millions of people, and someone needs to warn today's young people about such poor role models for our teens. I recently received a letter from a mother, who directed her son to my website, and thanked me for providing information to convince her son of the evils of Christian rock (which is a misnomer ... all rock-n-roll is of the Devil).
So, there is a vast difference between condemning someone for their PERSONAL SINS, and EXPOSING someone who is influencing others for evil. I used to live in Chicago. There was a openly homosexual man renting next door to us. Now, I never judged him, always said "hello," and I didn't mistreat him in any way; BUT, I wouldn't go anywhere with him, nor would I let my children play with his children, etc. Why? Because he is living for the Devil. He is violating God's laws against the vile sin of homosexuality. I did not condemn him. Many people today would accuse me of being "homophobic," or a discriminatory person. You're absolutely right I am discriminatory! The definition of "discrimination" is: Unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice. If I am being unfair to homosexuals by preventing my children from playing with their children, then brother I'm discriminatory! But you say, you should let your children make their own decisions. No, Proverb 29:15 states, "...a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame." We read in Proverb 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Only a careless moron for a parent would allow their children to be influence be degenerate sodomites, fornicators, adulterers, and God-haters. We are responsible to God to educate our children of the evils of homosexuality, and it's destructiveness of society. It's common sense folks, every child needs a mother and a father.
To Many, the Bible is the Most Offensive Book on the Planet
So why should we trim our message as Christians? The Word of God includes some of the most horrible atrocities known to mankind. It was God Himself who instructed the Jews to invade the Promised Land, and KILL all the males if they weren't willing to surrender control of the land. Then the Jewish men were to take the remaining women and children for themselves. We read in Deuteronomy 20:13-14, "And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword: But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given thee." The people of Jericho weren't so fortunate. In Joshua 6:21 we read, "And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword." With the Lord's approval, Joshua destroyed the city of Jericho, killing all the men, women, and children with the edge of the sword.
Now let me ask you a question ... why would God tell humanity such horrible things, in the Bible, if He wants people to come to Him for salvation? Is not this the reasoning of most people today? Most people today say, "You should pray for homosexuals, not preach against their sins, or they'll never come to Christ." Ok, but what about 2nd Samuel 24:15? ... "So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men." God just killed 70,000 men! In 2nd Kings 19:35, an angel of the Lord kills 185,000 sleeping men. Many people today view God as the biggest mass-murderer in the universe. It was the famous Mark Twain, who after reading the Bible said, "If there is a God, He is a malign thug." The Word of God is brutally honest, and It offends most people. These Biblical facts strongly refute the Satanic lie that unbelievers won't come to Christ unless Christians compromise their message, lower their tone, and accept the wicked. Nothing could be further from the truth. When God wrote the Bible, He did NOT trim or compromise His Word to make it more ATTRACTIVE to sinful men. No, God said what He had to say, and I admire and thank Him for that. The argument that Christians will never win people to the Lord by preaching hard against sin is bogus! If that be true, then no one will ever get saved, because the Bible WILL offend them completely. In fact, this is exactly why people won't come to the Light, because of their sins. John 3:20 states, "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." Jesus already told us that the wicked won't come to Him for salvation, because they love their sins. So who are we to diminish the message with Christian rock, secular seminars, watered down Bibles, etc.. Don't fall for Satan's big lie that the truth will offend lost sinners, and cause you to weaken it. No sir! Don't do it! Let's preach the Word of God as It is!!!
Christian Must Not be Intimidated into Silence!
One big lie of the Devil today is that Christians must relate to the world if we are to reach them for Christ. No sir! We must not compromise, not one bit. Homosexuality is a vile and disgusting sin in God's sight, and we are to preach it aloud!!! Abortion is cold-blooded murder, and we must try to stop it! This includes preaching against abortion. Sin is sin, and must be labeled as such. As believers, we are to refute the works of darkness. We are to rise up against the evil doers, and the workers of iniquity. Preaching against sin never sent one single human being to Hell ... not one! Not one person ever went to Hell, because the preacher offended them with the truth, and they refused to get saved as a result. No, people go to Hell because they love their sins. We read in John 3:20, "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." It is man's stubborn rebellion and pride that gets him killed. God didn't just randomly kill thousands of people in the Old Testament, it was because of man's wickedness and sinful pride. We read in Ezekiel 33:11, "Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live..." Those who were killed in the Old Testament were the ones who refused to turn from their evil way. God is a merciful God, and will abundantly pardon those who seek it. Isaiah 55:7 states, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." What a Wonderful God!!! Won't you come to Jesus Christ now to be pardoned?
Didn't Jesus Teach Love?
Yes, but Jesus also taught judgment. In Matthew 11:21-24, Jesus pronounced a curse upon three cities, "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee." This is the same exact message that true and faithful Christians are preaching to America today. We are warning the masses that America's day of judgment is coming. The sinners of Sodom didn't have the Word of God. They didn't have Christian radio. They didn't have Christian TV. They didn't have Christian books. They didn't have all the opportunities which people have today to come to the knowledge of the truth--the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Oh how horrific will be the torments of Hell for those who die in the midst of such a great Gospel witness today.
Let me give you the quote again that I did at the beginning of this article...
"You’re right when you say that Jesus got angry. He got angry when people were telling his children- the whores, the homosexuals ... everyone prayed upon by the religious society-- the similar things that you are saying."
Nothing could be further from the truth. The woman who made the above quote fails to distinguish between wrongfully condemning someone personally, and rightfully exposing those who are an evil influence in society. Why is it that homosexuals can parade up and down the streets of America promoting their sodomy; BUT, Christians are not supposed to promote the Word of God? Who's the hypocrites? If every Christian in America suddenly stopped preaching the Word of God, do you think the homosexuals would stop pushing their sick thinking onto children? Do you think they would stop kissing and petting in front of children? I was with my kids one day, and we saw two men come out of a store holding hands. We all echoed the same words ... SICK! Homosexuality is a horrible sin! The woman who made the quote above portrays Christians (i.e., the religious community) as the villains, for preaching against sin. Not true! The Pharisees and Scribes in Jesus' time were SELF-RIGHTEOUS. Jesus rebuked them for it! They condemned people because they thought they were better than everyone else. Now that's quite different from a humble Christian, who speaks out against sin, because he loves people and wants to please God by telling people the truth. I am not being self-righteous, Jesus is my righteousness, as the Bible declares ..."For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." I am simply taking a Biblical stand against the evils which are destroying America's families, and nation.
Jesus was a friend to sinners, and was willing to minister the Gospel to them, when others loathed them; BUT, Jesus did not partake of their sins, nor condone them. Out of all 12 of the Apostles, 11 were martyred for preaching the truth of God's Word. Only a fool would dare claim that Jesus was soft against sin. Hebrews 1:9 plainly states concerning Jesus Christ, "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." Jesus HATED iniquity! Don't be fooled whoever you may be, Jesus hates sin, and He wants all Christians to stand firm against all forms of evil.
John the Baptist Preached Against Sin!
Jesus never became angry at anyone for preaching against sin. If this were the case, then Jesus would have been very angry at John the Baptist, because John was a Hell-raising, leather-lunged, barn-storming, window-rattling, foundation-shaking, preacher! In Mark 6:17-18 we read, "For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife." Herod had John the Baptist arrested and put into prison, because John preached against Herod's adulterous relationship with his brother's wife. John was a true street preacher. Many people today would consider John a hatemonger, full of delusions, and a religious hypocrite. However, John was a Christ-honoring man of God! Jesus even called him the greatest born amongst women (Matthew 11:11). John wasn't judging Herod, or condemning him. No, John was proclaiming the Word of God. Most people don't understand this. If John was pointing out Herod's faults in self-righteousness, then John would be sinning. However, John didn't do that. John pointed out Herod's sins because John loved the Lord and hated sin! John was shortly thereafter executed for his crime of preaching the truth. John was willing to die for what he believed to be right. How about you? Every believer who loves the Lord is commanded to hate evil ... "Ye that love the LORD, hate evil..."
Let me say, everyone is NOT God's child. Most people have the foolish idea that EVERYONE is a child of God. This is simply not Biblical. If you've never received Christ as your personal Saviour, believing upon His name, then you're not a child of God ... "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." We are not saved by giving up bad works, or by doing good works. We are saved by confessing our sinful condition to God, and then believing upon Jesus Christ to forgive those sins. If the preaching of the Word of God offends you, then so be it! But if you go to Hell, it won't be because my website offended you, or some other Christ-honoring preacher. It will be because you love your sins, and willingly refuse to come to Jesus Christ for salvation. Jesus clearly stated in John 5:40, "And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." Notice that Jesus didn't say "cannot." No, Jesus said "will not." If you go to Hell, you'll have no one to blame but yourself. It's not uncompromising preaching against sin that turns people away from Jesus Christ; BUT, their wicked heart of unbelief and love for sin.
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