Please leave me a comment if you see any videos missing in any posts, so I may replace them if I can. Thank you!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

The Just Shall Live By Faith by Bryan Denlinger of Bible Believers Fellowship

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Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, 

the evidence of things not seen. 

Hebrews 11:1 (King James Bible)




 16For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
 17For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Romans 1:16-17 (King James Bible)

The Just Shall Live By Faith
Bryan Denlinger Bible Believers Fellowship 
SUN 07/11/2010 


More Sermon Details:
In this sermon we look at two different meanings for the word "faith". The first meaning refers to our salvation, and to our reliance on the written word of God as our final authority.

The second meaning we look at is our faithfulness to God. How faithful are you to God when times are rough?


Great Is Thy Faithfulness Hymn 

(with lyrics)




Uploaded by on Dec 2, 2009
 
A marvelous hymn. :)
(6) But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. -Hebrews 11:6 King James Version
Madacy Entertainment Group, Ltd. If you want to buy the CD get it here http://www.amazon.com/Best-Loved-Hymns/dp/B000VKBZMQ

It Means Just What It Says

Greater Vision 



Uploaded on Oct 4, 2011 TheSevenBright  
Greater Vision - It Means Just What It Says

When I was a child I was taught how the Bible was God's infallible word
That He had inspired every line that was written so His voice could be heard
But now folks are saying there's a new way of thinking, the Bible is not clear
Well friend if you're needing some interpretation, listen and I'll bend your ear

Chorus:

Whosoever means whosoever, live forever means we're never gonna die
Forsake us never means that He will never leave us.
Reign forever means He'll always be the King who rules on high.

No never means our sins are not remembered
A living Savior means that He's no longer dead.
The Father changes never, the Bible will forever mean just what it says.

I know I'm not the smartest of people you've been privileged to meet
I tend to think this life is as simple as we make it out to be
That the faith of a child and the love of Savior will open Heaven's gate
And that God in his goodness gave a simple Gospel
He even wrote it down that way.

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Monday, May 30, 2011

Old Soldiers Never Die : A TRIBUTE!! An interview with World War II Veteran Cecil Clevenger

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Old Soldiers Never Die: 

 A TRIBUTE




Uploaded by on Nov 14, 2006
 
An interview with World War II Veteran Cecil Clevenger. 

Produced by Experience Studios. Feel free to leave a comment for Cecil; we'll be sure he gets it.



"SEPARATING THE MEN FROM THE BOYS!" - I wish our youth were made to serve, as it is done is so many countries! It would certainly teach them discipline they so sorely lack today!

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Sunday, May 29, 2011

The Judgment Seat Of Christ (Pt 1 and 2) by Bryan Denlinger of Bible Believers Fellowship

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This is such a beautiful promise God makes to us through His word!
I cannot wait to find myself at the Judgment Seat of Christ!

So sad that religions like the Roman Catholic 
do not ever give you such wonderful assurance!

Now if any man build upon this foundation 

gold, silver, precious stones, 

wood, hay, stubble; 

1 Corinthinas 3:12 (King James Bible)




Bryan Denlinger Bible Believers Fellowship 
SUN 05/29/2011


More Sermon Details:
In this second part of our two sermons on the Judgment Seat of Christ, we begin by looking at the "wood, hay, and stubble" of 1 Corinthians 3:12. You will see how these three things all relate to the flesh.

Next we look at motivation for doing Christian service. Then we look at the five crowns of reward mentioned in scripture. And finally we conclude with the question of when will the Judgment Seat of Christ take place.


Bryan Denlinger Bible Believers Fellowship 
SUN 05/22/2011

More Sermon Details:

Today we begin the first part of a two part message
on the Judgment Seat of Christ. In this sermon we
will look at the three passages which deal
specifically with this coming judgment for
Christians.

In 1 Corinthians 3:11 we read that Jesus Christ is
the foundation, and verse 12 tells a Christian what
type of "building materials" are available to
construct "God's temple".

We look at the first three materials listed in 1
Corinthians 3:12. They are;

1. Gold
2. Silver
3. Precious Stones

Next we look at what is symbolized by these three
materials, and what a Christian must do to be
rewarded with them at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

We also see that Satan likes to counterfeit these
three items, but the Roman Catholic church doesn't
like one of these "spiritual metals"!

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Saturday, May 28, 2011

“Music For Good or Evil” by David Cloud

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MUSIC CONFERENCE TO BE STREAMED TODAY
11 a.m., EDT [Will be repeated several times!]
 
On Saturday, May 28th, we will be streaming two segments from our music series "Music for Good or Evil."
These are two new segments that have been added to this DVD series in the last two weeks. We recently replaced the sermon entitled "The Sound of CCM" with an expanded sermon by the same name.
The new message contains new material  addressing the fact that CCM is being adapted among independent Baptist churches.

If you purchased this DVD series when it was first released, you can get a copy of the new DVD 2 to replace your old one for $5. This will cover the cost of the DVD plus shipping.
In addition to this new material in the "Sound of CCM," we have also added a new message entitled "The Transformational Power of CCM."

Both of these messages will be aired in their entirety on Saturday, May 28th at 11 am EDT, and rebroadcast Tuesday, May 31 at 8 p.m., EDT.

If you are unable to watch this streaming conference, you can see both of these presentations on our DVD series, "Music for Good or Evil."
HAPPENING RIGHT NOW, LIVE!!
http://www.wayoflife.org/livestream/index.html
Learn about the degeneration of the so-called "Christian Music" in CONTEMPORARY Churches today!

www.livestream.com
Way of Life Literature on Livestream. The preaching ministry of David Cloud, missionary and author. Many articles and publications are available at www.wayoflife.org. - Watch live streaming Internet TV. Broadcast your own live streaming videos, like Way of Life Literature in Widescreen HD. Livestream
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Friday, May 27, 2011

ISLAM, MOVE OVER! THE JESUITS ARE COMING!! by Brannon Howse with Chris Pinto

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WHAT AN UTTERLY SICK, SICK INSTITUTION!!

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IS A CULT FOR CERTAIN!!

ISLAM, MOVE OVER!  THE JESUITS ARE COMING!!


You will read below "Jesuits are committed to ecumenicalism"

They may have to accept this when the numbers be great, otherwise, THEY WILL MURDER YOU, without hesitation! They did so in 1990's in Croatia to those Muslims, Serbs, Byzantine Catholics who were intimidated into the "Convert or Die" Vatican order resurrected from WWII, who, subsequently, were machine-gunned upon entering the churches on Sunday! 

They were extremely successful for Croatia is a Roman Catholic State today! 


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FREE WORLDVIEW MAG
FREE WORLDVIEW RALLIES

Home Conferences Radio Video News Training Brannon Howse






DonateEmail AlertsBooks and DVDsSituation RoomAffiliatesContact
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Brannon Howse: Aired on May 19, 2011
Brannon’s guest is Chris Pinto. Chris and Brannon have both been researching the Catholic Jesuit Order that reports directly to the Pope. Hear the oath the higher Jesuits swear to that includes “waging relentless war, secretly or openly, against all heretics, Protestants…as I am directed to do, to extirpate and exterminate them from the face of the whole earth…” Jesuits are committed to ecumenicalism, social justice/liberation theology, and a dominion theology that seeks to create a world government controlled by the Church of Rome. Learn about the logo of Jesuit University, Georgetown and the meaning of this logo. In 2008, the Jesuit Superior General was quoted in a Catholic News Agency as calling for giving liberation theology more time to be accepted. Learn how Jesuit priest, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin is known as one of the early leaders of the New Age Movement and how he greatly influenced the leaders of the United Nations and their quest for a cosmic global government. On May 25, 2011 a Jesuit will be sworn in as the chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives. Brannon and Chris discuss how the Jesuit Order secretly penetrates political organizations, educational institutions and media outlets. Most disturbing is their infiltration into protestant denominations, seminaries and organizations in order to introduce and promote the mysticism of the Church of Rome such as contemplative prayer, walking a prayer labyrinth, lectio divina, and prayer ropes in an attempt to move the world religions back to the Church of Rome.
Download the MP3
Right click and select "Save Target As" ("Save Link As" in FireFox)


Views: 4802

Worldview Weekend Radio with Brannon Howse is a copyrighted program. This program is not to be uploaded to other sites, sold or duplicated beyond your own personal listenership.

http://www.worldviewweekend.com/worldview-radio/episode.php?episodeid=18839

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Thursday, May 26, 2011

Why Do Christians Seem So Cruel? by Jessie Delewski of Bible Believers Fellowship

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This sermon is especially good for out thin-skinned Christians!
Be sure to have your King James Bible handy!
It is put as succinctly as possible!

(Sixth in "Judge not..." series),



Jessie Delewski Bible Believers Fellowship 
MON 08/30/2010

More Sermon Details:
In this message we look at three reasons why the lost world believes that Christians are "cruel".

The first reason is because we are "judgmental". Secondly, we preach the commands of scripture, which are offensive to the lost world. And finally, Christians believe in absolute truth!

In this message you will see what the Bible says about subjects like "judging" people. You will also see what type of attitude we should have concerning the lost world.

Michael and Debbi Pearl's Ministry: http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/ 
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Mormonism Exposed! by excatholicsforchrist.com/

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This is a most wonderful father/son duo whose purpose is to preach the true word of God!
Their site: http://www.excatholicsforchrist.com/ 

Mormonism Exposed!



Uploaded by on Dec 27, 2007
 
On going exmormons testimonies - http://www.exmormon.org/boards/w-agora/index.php?bn=exmobb_biography

DNA vs. the Book of Mormon - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GF_SxbPLb0

Videos relating to Mormonism. An iTunes podcast of videos published by MRM is available here.

Beautiful Nauvoo: Where Joseph Smith is the Superstar
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/beautiful-nauvoo-where-joseph-smith-super...
Called to be Free
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/called-be-free
DNA, Geography, and the Book of Mormon
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/dna-geography-and-book-mormon
DNA vs. The Book of Mormon
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/dna-vs-book-mormon
Does Revelation 22:18 Condemn the Book of Mormon?
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/does-revelation-22-18-condemn-book-mormon
Examining Facsimile One from the Book of Abraham
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/examining-facsimile-one-book-abraham
False Teachers Seem Nice
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/false-teachers-seem-nice
How Did Joseph Smith "Translate" the Book of Mormon?
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/how-did-joseph-smith-translate-book-mormon
How Heavy Were Joseph Smith's Golden Plates?
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/how-heavy-were-joseph-smiths-golden-plates
Interview with a Mormon Fundamentalist
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/interview-mormon-fundamentalist/part-1-ea...
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/interview-mormon-fundamentalist/part-5-be...
Jesus Christ / Joseph Smith
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/jesus-christ-joseph-smith
Lifting the Veil of Polygamy
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/lifting-veil-polygamy
Mitt Romney and Mormonism
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/mitt-romney-and-mormonism
Mormonism's Impossible Gospel
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/mormonisms-impossible-gospel
Keith Walker speaks on Mormonism's unrealistic view of repentance and contrasts it with a Biblical view of grace
Mountain Meadow Massacre
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/mountain-meadow-massacre
The Bible vs. The Book of Mormon
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/bible-vs-book-mormon
The Lost Book of Abraham
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/lost-book-abraham
The Stories of the Wives of Joseph Smith
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/the-stories-wives-joseph-smith
The Untold Story of the Death of Joseph Smith
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/untold-story-death-joseph-smith
Why Did God Decide to Save Us Through Faith?
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/why-did-god-decide-save-us-through-faith
Bonus Video from The Bible vs. The Book of Mormon (Off Site)
http://www.lhvm.org/vid_bonus.htm
Heart of the Matter (Off Site)
http://www.bornagainmormon.com/tvshow.htm
Robert Millet Speaks to Mission Prep Club (Off Site)
http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/video/robert-millet-speaks-mission-prep-club
The 30+ Wives of Joseph Smith (Off Site)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h0Ggt-Yn4M
The Mormons (Off Site)
http://www.pbs.org/mormons/view
contact@mrm.org
Unless otherwise noted, you are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute our text, audio, and video in any format provided that you do not alter the content in any way and you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. Translations faithful to the original meaning in other languages are also permitted and encouraged. For web posting, a link to our website is http://www.pbs.org/mormons
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Gaither Artfully Distances Himself From Lesbian Marsha Stevens by David Cloud

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A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

Galatians 5:9 (King James Bible)
 

 9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not
into your house, neither bid him God speed:
11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

2 John 1:9-11 (King James Bible)

It doesn't get more clear than this! Yet, we have "Christians" galore who, in the name of misguided "love," will reach out to the Devil himself, in an attempt to effectuate that which God himself cares not to do! THIS BEHAVIOR IS NOT SCRIPTURAL! IT IS NOT WHAT JESUS WOULD HAVE DONE! Jesus never ran after anyone who turned him down!

9But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. 

10A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; 

11Knowing that he that is such is subverted, 

and sinneth, being condemned of himself.  

 Titus 3:9-12 (King James Bible)


Gaither Artfully Distances Himself 
From Lesbian Marsha Stevens
 
Republished May 26, 2011 (first published May 5, 2006)
David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061,             866-295-4143      , fbns@wayoflife.org
 
On May 4, 2006, Bill Gaither issued a public statement “regarding misrepresentation” about his 2002 meeting with Marsha Stevens. He calls her story “a sad one” and says it is “unfortunate” that she has publicly declared herself to be a lesbian” (“Gaither Issues Statement Regarding Misrepresentation,” SingingNews.com, May 4).

He claims that false reports of what transpired at the December 2002 concert have surfaced on various web sites and says he wants to set the record straight; but in this statement he admits practically everything that Marsha Stevens had reported.

He acknowledges that he admitted her to the backstage area where she and her partner were greeted by him and Mark Lowry.

He acknowledges that he invited the crowd to sing her song later that night and that he told them that the woman who wrote it was in the crowd.

Gaither also acknowledged that his photo was taken with Stevens, but he says Stevens has “exploited the photo at her website.” We do not see how it can be called exploitation to display a photo for which someone obviously posed. The picture shows the four of them standing in front of a blue backdrop that features the words “Gaither Homecoming Concert.” From left to right the picture shows Cindy (Stevens’ lesbian partner), Marsha Stevens, Bill Gaither, and Mark Lowry. All four are bunched together shoulder to shoulder and Gaither is standing as close to Stevens as one can get. It appears that he has his arm around her. Both Gaither and Lowry are smiling broadly. It was not a candid shot, folks!

Gaither acknowledges that he made the following statement to the crowd after he had told them that the author of “For Those Tears I Died” was present:

“I then said that I love that song because someone may have seen a grownup with a Jesus that maybe is pushing you away, that wouldn’t let you in. And you were never good enough. The only Christ I know is the Christ in that song, with His arms out very wide, saying, ‘come to the water.’ That’s the only Christ I know--come as you are.”

Since Gaither didn’t say anything about repentance from sin (the sinner can come as he is but he is to turn around and walk as Jesus walked) and did not warn his Southern Gospel crowd about Stevens’ homosexuality, he actually confirmed her and her lifestyle by singing her song and making such a statement.

The Lord Jesus Christ did not die for tears; He died for sin. And Christ suffered to save men FROM their sins not in their sins. He taught us that there is no salvation without repentance. “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Lk. 13:3, 5). To the woman caught in adultery He said, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (Jn. 8:11). To the cripple man who was healed, Christ said, “Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee” (Jn. 5:14).

The Bible plainly teaches that homosexuality is a grave sin. It is described in Romans 1:26-28 as “vile affections” (v. 26), “against nature” (v. 26), “unseemly” (v. 27), “a reprobate mind” (v. 28).

Any sin can be forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ, but sin must be repented of and the sinner must be converted and regenerated so that he has a new impulse toward holiness and righteousness and a revulsion toward sin.

The believers in the wicked city of Corinth had committed every sort of sin before they were saved, but they had been changed. Paul warned them as follows:

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such WERE some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:9-11).

Paul warned the church at Corinth that God does not tolerate their fornication. “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body” (1 Cor. 6:18). If a professing Christian commits fornication and refuses to repent he must be disciplined out of the church (1 Cor. 5:11). Paul told the church at Ephesus that fornication should not be “once named among you, as becometh saints” (Eph. 5:3). The Bible teaches that any sexual relationship outside of marriage is a sin. “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” (Heb. 13:4).

Bill Gaither and Mark Lowry and the entire contemporary Southern Gospel crowd need to heed the solemn warning from God’s Word. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived!

Paul was saying the same thing in 1 Corinthians 6 that the Lord Jesus said to Nicodemas: “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:3).

The grace of God does not teach men that they can live as they please and still have God’s blessing. “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:11-12).

Christ did not die so that the sinner can live as he pleases and still feel that God is pleased with him. Rather he “gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14).

By God’s grace, any homosexual can repent of his sin and cast himself upon Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Saviour, but he cannot continue to live in his fornication and moral perversion and pretend that all is well between him and a holy God.

Hebrews 12 says that God chastens His children when they sin, and if someone can sin with immunity he is not a child of God.

“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons” (Heb. 12:6-8).

“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth” (1 John 1:5-6).

“He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4).

Is it wrong for believers to condemn sinful practices in this world? Is that Phariseeism? Is it legalism? Certainly not!

“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather REPROVE THEM. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light” (Eph. 5:11-13).

To reprove the sinful things of this world is the Christian’s solemn spiritual obligation. Reproof shines the light of God’s Word upon wickedness so that the sinner can be convicted of his sin and brought to repentance and faith.

The only part of Stevens’ report of the evening that Gaither attempts to refute in any way is her statement that he and his wife told her that they support her ministry. He says, in fact, that he does not endorse her or her current life and work, but that he does believe that “God can, and does still use this song to minister to people.” This is what he says now, but we still wonder what he actually told Stevens that night.

By the way, Gaither says nothing about the statement that Mark Lowry allegedly made to Stevens, which was that he was proud of what she is doing and that he wished “the fundamentalist would find Jesus. They’re going to have a lot to answer for, leaving out people that Jesus died for” (Marsha Stevens, “New Years Eve 2002 with Bill Gaither,” www.christiangays.com). That statement rings true to everything we know about Lowry and his vicious anti-fundamentalist stance.

BILL GAITHER AND ROME: THE ECUMENICAL PHILOSOPHY

Bill Gaither has had an ecumenical philosophy from the beginning of his musical career. In his autobiography “It’s More Than the Music,” he states that one of the fringe benefits of playing their concerts in “neutral, nonchurch environments” was that people from “all church denominations” attended. “Before long, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, charismatics, Catholics, and Pentecostals were all praising the Lord together. Subtly, the walls between denominations began to crumble...” (p. 115).

The Gaither hymnal “Hymns for the Family of God” was purposefully “nondenominational” and included devotional readings from a wide variety of Christians, including heretics such as Deitrich Bonhoeffer (one of the fathers of Neo-orthodoxy), Malcolm Muggeridge (a liberal Roman Catholic who did not believe in Christ’s Virgin Birth or bodily Resurrection), and Robert Schuller (who has wickedly redefined the gospel in terms of his humanistic self-esteem theology).

The Gaithers provided the music one evening at Indianapolis ‘90, a large ecumenical charismatic gathering that I attended with press credentials. One-half of the 25,000 participants were Roman Catholics. A Catholic mass was held each morning during this conference, and Catholic priest Tom Forrest from Rome brought the closing message. Roughly 40 other denominations were present. The Gaithers were perfectly at home in this unscriptural gathering and entertained the mixed multitude with their jazzy music.

The Gaither Vocal Band performed at the Promise Keepers’ second major men’s conference in Boulder, Colorado, in 1994. Promise Keepers is radically ecumenical. In an interview with the Catholic publication Our Sunday Visitor, Promise Keepers founder Bill McCartney said that full Catholic participation was his intention from the start. “Back in 1992, at our first stadium event, we very clearly stated from the podium that we eagerly welcomed the participation of Roman Catholics, and we’ve had scores of Roman Catholics attend and go back to their churches excited” (Our Sunday Visitor, July 20, 1997, p. 10). Roman Catholic paper The Tidings (March 31, 1995) stated that Promise Keepers is “being expanded to include Catholic congregations.” Catholics were encouraged to participate in Promise Keepers because “there is no doctrinal issue which should cause concern to the Catholic Church” and “there is no attempt at proselytizing or drawing men away from their [Catholic] faith to another church.” Catholic priest John Salazar spoke at a Promise Keepers meeting in Plainview, Texas, in December 1995 (Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, December 3, 1995). The Promise Keepers field representative for the upper Midwest at that time, Steve Jenkins, was a Roman Catholic. A Promise Keepers Wake Up Call brochure distributed in San Louis Obispo, California, urged pastors, churches and their men to attend special rallies during March 1996, one of which was held at the St. Rose Catholic Church in Paso Robles. In 1997 Promise Keepers appointed a Roman Catholic, Mike Timmis, to its Board of Directors. One of the speakers at several of 1997 PK rallies was Roman Catholic “evangelist” Jim Berlucchi (“Making New Catholic Men?” Our Sunday Visitor, July 20, 1997, p. 10). In June 1997, Promise Keepers hosted a Catholic Summit at its headquarters in Denver, “sounding out Catholic volunteers and leaders from around the world” (Ibid.). In June 1997, Promise Keepers organized a Roman Catholic mass as part of its Rich Stadium conference in Buffalo, New York (The Humanist, Sept. 19, 1997). Following a luncheon with Bill McCartney in January 1998, Roman Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver gave a “thumbs-up” to Catholic men who want to participate in Promise Keepers (The Catholic Register, quoted in Religious News Service, Jan. 19, 1998).

In 1999 Bill Gaither joined forces with dc Talk founder Toby McKeehan to “create a new modern worship music label, 40 Records” (CCM magazine, July 1999, p. 11). The goal is “to stretch the boundary of worship music” and to “give a youthful spirit to worship music for ANY DENOMINATION…”

Speaking of the new music company, Gaither said: “I view building bridges of understanding of different cultures and PHILOSOPHICAL POINTS OF VIEW as part of my calling. UNITY DOES NOT DEPEND ON OUR CONSENSUS OF OPINION, but on our unity in Christ.”

This is a false and dangerous statement. Biblical unity does depend on a consensus of opinion about doctrine. Ephesians 4:1-6, which speaks of Christian unity, says there is only “one faith” (verse 5). This refers to the body of truth delivered by the Holy Spirit to the Apostles and recorded in the New Testament Scriptures. Philippians 1:27 also speaks of Christian unity, and it demands “one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” That is not a description of modern ecumenism. Timothy was instructed to allow “no other doctrine” in the churches he was overseeing (1 Timothy 3:16). Paul taught the church at Rome that false doctrine is the basis for separation (Romans 16:17).

Like Gaither, McKeehan and dc Talk are unscripturally ecumenical and even accept Roman Catholics as brothers and sisters in Christ in spite of Rome’s false sacramental gospel, heresies pertaining to the papacy, Mary, the priesthood, etc. When Pope John Paul II visited the States in January 1999, dc Talk joined hands with hundreds of thousands of Catholics to welcome him. Featured at a Catholic youth rally connected with the Pope’s visit, were dc Talk, Audio Adrenaline, Rebecca St. James, Jennifer Knapp, The W’s, and the Supertones (CCM Magazine, April 1999, p. 12). dc Talk’s Kevin Max praised the Catholic youth for coming out to hear the Pope, describing John Paul II as “someone with something of substance to say” (Ibid.). Each attendee received a rosary with instructions about how to pray to Mary.

The Gaithers frequently perform and record songs that present an ecumenical philosophy. “SONGS THAT ANSWER QUESTIONS” from their Back Home in Indiana album has the following lyrics:

“Don’t want to spend my life a preachin’ sermons/ that give answers to the questions no one’s asking anywhere/ When there’s so much pain and hurting/ there’s no time to be searching/ for the needles in the haystacks that aren’t there/ I wanna spend my time a wearin’ myself out for Jesus/ with the news a cure’s been found to heal our land/ Stead of making lists, inventing creeds/ that aren’t concerned with people’s needs/ I’ll show ‘em how to touch the nail scarred hand/ Don’t wanna spend my time prayin’ prayers/ Bombarding heaven with requests to rain down fire on saints who care [unclear]/ In our methods we may differ, but if Christ the Lord we live for/ May we not forget the enemy is OUT THERE.”

This song contains half-truths and subtle errors, which can be more dangerous than plain and obvious errors. While it is true that God’s people are to be concerned about suffering and are to be showing people how to “touch the nail scarred hand,” it is not true that preaching is to be limited merely to answering questions people have. The preacher is instructed to preach the whole counsel of God and the whole Word of God (Acts 20:27; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 4:1-2). The Bible warns that it is apostate people who will desire teachers who teach merely what they want to hear, what they feel a need for (2 Timothy 4:3-4). This sounds very much like what the Gaithers are singing about.

It is also not true that “a cure’s been found to heal our land.” The cure provided by the Gospel is the cure for personal salvation, not national salvation. The Apostles did not try to “heal the land,” they preached the Gospel and discipled believers.

It is also not true that it is wrong to “make lists” or “invent creeds” that aren’t concerned with people’s needs. The lists and creeds mentioned in this song refer to doctrinal studies and statements of faith. Doctrinal studies must, first of all, faithfully represent Bible truth, regardless of whether or not it meets “people’s needs.” Sound Bible doctrine does meet man’s deepest needs, of course, but that does not mean that Bible doctrine meets the felt needs of unsaved or carnal people. The unsaved or carnal man does not feel he has a need to be told he is a sinner or that he is has no righteousness before God or that he is to repent or that he is to die to self or that he is to separate from the world or that there is an eternal hell, etc., but sound Bible doctrine tells him all of these things. The unsaved crowd does not believe it needs any of the Bible, really!

This song encourages the hearers to despise doctrinal studies and research and teaching and statements of faith, which is the attitude typically found in the ecumenical movement.

It is also not true that the divisions among Christians are merely about differing methods or that differing methods are not important. Take baptism, for example. Some denominations “baptize” infants. That is their “method.” Some baptize only those who have trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior. Some sprinkle; others immerse. These are differing methods, but they are not insignificant and cannot be ignored. It is also not true that the “enemy” is limited to things outside of the churches. The Bible warns of false teachers, false christs, false spirits, false gospels, deluding spirits, doctrines of devils--all of which will be found within churches and among professing Christians.

It is also not true that fundamentalists are praying for fire to fall on those with whom they disagree doctrinally. That is a vicious libel upon biblical fundamentalists who wish no harm upon anyone but who care deeply about the truth of God’s Word.

The unscriptural and very dangerous message of this song is put across by the effective means of a country-rock rhythm and repetition.

Another ecumenical Gaither song is “JESUS BUILT THIS CHURCH ON LOVE” from their Back Home in Indiana album. The lead on the song is performed by Candy “Hemphill” Christmas, who travels with the Gaithers. The song is sung at many of the Gaither concerts. It is done in the style of a mid-tempo jazzy black spiritual with heavy drums and bass guitar.

“Do you ever just get to wonderin’/ ‘bout the way things are today?/ So many on board this gospel ship/ Trying to row in a different way/ If we’d all pull together/ Like a family me and you/ We’d come a lot closer to doin’/ what the Lord called us to do.

Chorus: “Jesus built this church on love/ and that’s what it’s all about/ Trying to get everybody saved/ not to keep anybody out...”

This song implies that the divisions within Christianity are largely if not entirely man-made and unnecessary, that if professing Christians would merely “pull together” and exercise love the divisions would be healed. It is a feel-good sentiment, a nice fairy tale which has wide appeal, but it is unreasonable and unscriptural. The Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostles warned repeatedly that false teachers would lead many astray, that there would be false christs, false spirits, false gospels, false churches, doctrines of devils (Matt. 7:15-23; 24:3-5,11,24; Acts 20:28-30; 2 Cor. 1:1-4; Galatians 1; 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 3:13; 4:3-4; 2 Pet. 2; 1 John 4:1; Jude; etc.). The book of Revelation predicts a one-world end-time harlot Christian religion (Rev. 17). Those who preach an ecumenical unity rarely even mention these Bible warnings and never focus on them. They do not tell us where these false christs, false gospels, false spirits, false teachers, and false churches are in Christianity today. They imply, rather, that the denominational divisions are largely unnecessary and petty which could be overcome by a little ecumenical love. There are many problems among Christians which can be healed through love, but it simply is not true that love will heal the major divisions within Christianity. The differences between denominations involve serious doctrinal issues which cannot be ignored and which cannot be solved through sentimental songs. This Gaither song also says the churches are “not to keep anybody out.” That is openly contrary to the Bible’s command to separate from error and to exercise church discipline (Rom. 16:17; 1 Corinthians 5; 2 Cor. 6:14-18; 1 Tim. 6:3-5; 2 Tim. 2:16-21; 3:5; 2 John 8-11; Rev. 18:4).

Another ecumenical Gaither song is “LOVING GOD, LIVING EACH OTHER” from the album by that name.

“They pushed back from the table/ To listen to his words/ His secret plan before he had to go/ It’s not complicated/ Don’t need a lot of rules/ This is all you need to know/ We tend to make it harder/ Build steeples out of stone/ Fill books with explanations of the way/ But if we’d stop and listen/ And break a little bread/ We would hear the Master say/ It’s Loving God, loving each other/ Making music with my friends/ Loving God, loving each other/ And the story never ends.”

The song contains more half truths and subtle errors. Love is a very important part of the Christian life, but true Christian love is obeying God’s Word (John 14:23; 1 John 5:3). To say that we “don’t need a lot of rules” ignores the fact that the New Testament is literally filled with commandments! To say that we don’t need to “fill books with explanations of the way” ignores the fact that the Bible instructs us to “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). It ignores the fact that the Bible is given for “doctrine” (teaching) (2 Tim. 3:16) and that preachers are instructed to teach other men (2 Tim. 2:2), that older women are instructed to teach younger women (Titus 2:3-5), etc. Bible teaching certainly involves “filling books with explanations of the way.” That is precisely what the Apostles did in the Epistles. The Bible itself contains 66 books with explanations of the way! This Gaither song presents a sentimental, ecumenical approach to the Christian life and ministry which is simplistic and appealing to a modern crowd but which is patently contrary to the Scriptures. The unscriptural message of this song is put across by the very effective means of a driving country-rock rhythm and by means of repetition.

BILL GAITHER WARNS AGAINST JUDGING

In an interview with Kim Jones, a tattooed female rocker who writes a column for the Roman Catholic publication Holy Spirit Interactive, Bill Gaither said: “Finger pointing is never, I think, of God. Because I know that Scripture ‘judgment is mine, saith the Lord.’ When we get out of the judgment business and just get into the being business, the being what God wants us to be, it will take care of itself” (Holy Spirit Interactive, Dec. 6, 2004).

This level of biblical ignorance is frightening, especially when we consider the vast influence that Bill Gaither wields among churches in this generation.

First of all, the Bible nowhere says, “Judgment is mine, saith the Lord.” It says, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Rom. 12:19). The believer is taught to give place unto wrath and to avoid avenging himself upon his enemies, because that is strictly God’s business.

On the other hand, though the believer is forbidden to judge hypocritically (Mat. 7:1-5) and forbidden to judge in matters in which the Bible is silent in this New Testament dispensation (Rom. 14:1-5; Col. 2:16), such as in diet and holy days, he is most definitely taught to judge things by testing it with the Word of God and condemning it if it is in error. The believer is to judge sin in the church (1 Cor. 5:12). He is to judge preaching and teaching (1 Cor. 14:29; Acts 17:11). As a matter of fact, “he that is spiritual judgeth all things” (1 Cor. 2:15). That is a very far-reaching statement. The spiritual man knows that he lives in a world of sin and spiritual darkness and error and he is warned repeatedly in the Bible about false teaching and apostasy and spiritual deception. Thus he carefully tests everything by the light of God’s Word. The spiritual man does not judge by his own thinking and opinion, but by the holy Word of God, which he has in the Scriptures.

CONCLUSION

The Gaithers represent the very heart and soul of contemporary Southern gospel music today. In recent years they have held “homecoming” specials which have brought together most of the well known Southern gospel groups. These include members of the Statesmen, the Blackwood Brothers, the Cathedrals, the Goodman’s, the Speer Family, the Florida Boys, the Gatlin Brothers, and many others. Those who have attended these gatherings have put their stamp of approval upon the ecumenical-charismatic-rock music side of Southern gospel by not separating from those who are guilty of these things and by not lifting their voices to reprove them.

The Bible instructs us to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Eph. 5:11). Revelation 18:4 warns God’s people to come out from among the apostasy of the last hours “that ye be not partakers of her sins.” COMPLICITY WITH DOCTRINAL AND SPIRITUAL ERROR MAKES ME A PARTAKER WITH THAT ERROR. 2 John warns that even to bid God speed to a false teacher makes me “partaker of his evil deeds” (2 John 11). I realize this is a very hard line and one that is completely foreign to the thinking of this ecumenical-crazed age, but this is what the Word of God says.

I also realize that the Gaithers have produced some lovely sacred music in the past, but this is no excuse for disobedience to God’s Word. When the Gaithers greet 12,000 Roman Catholics, including many priests and nuns, as brethren in Christ, as they did at Indianapolis ’90, they are partakers of the evil deeds of Rome and God’s people should protest.

It is wrong to associate with those who walk in open disobedience to God’s Word and to support them with record sales and to bring their jazzed up music with its ecumenical philosophy into our churches and homes.


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Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. Established in 1974, Way of Life Literature is a fundamental Baptist preaching and publishing ministry based in Bethel Baptist Church, London, Ontario, of which Wilbert Unger is the founding Pastor. Brother Cloud lives in South Asia where he has been a church planting missionary since 1979. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/wayoflife/subscribe.html .  TO UNSUBSCRIBE OR CHANGE ADDRESSES, go to the very bottom of any email received from us and click "Manage My Subscription." If you have any trouble with this, please let us know. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 27th year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://www.wayoflife.org/publications/index.html. Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061.             866-295-4143      , fbns@wayoflife.org. We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but only from those who are. OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/wayoflife/makeanoffering.html. PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org

WAY OF LIFE LITERATURE SHARING POLICY: Much of our material is available for free, such as the hundreds of articles at the Way of Life web site. Other items we sell to help fund our very expensive literature, video, and foreign church planting ministry. Way of Life’s content falls into two categories: sharable and non-sharable. Things that we encourage you to share include the audio sermons, video presentations, O Timothy magazine, and FBIS articles. You are free to make copies of these at your own expense and share them with friends and family. You are also welcome to use excerpts from the articles. All we ask is that you give proper credit. Things we do not want copied and distributed freely are items like the Fundamental Baptist Digital Library, print edition of our books, PDFs of the books, etc. These items have taken years to produce at enormous expense in time and money, and we need the income from the sale of these to help fund the ministry. We trust that your Christian honesty will preserve the integrity of this policy.


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Forgiveness Gifts


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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

UNCONDITIONAL FORGIVENESS by David Cloud

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Unconditional Forgiveness

May 25, 2011
David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061,             866-295-4143      , fbns@wayoflife.org

UNCONDITIONAL FORGIVENESS

May 24, 2011 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061,             866-295-4143      , fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

The following is an excerpt from our new book The God of End-Times Mysticism:

Closely associated with the doctrine of unconditional love is unconditional forgiveness. Over the past two decades this has become a major element of the psychology movement. A form of therapy, it is not about reconciliation between people; it is about personal inner healing and self-esteem.

A major force behind the spread of therapeutic forgiveness is the Templeton Foundation, which is New Age to the core. Though a committed Presbyterian, John Templeton was an evolutionist, pantheist, and universalist. He rejected the Bible as divine revelation, brazenly claiming that the Bible was written by men who “were limited by cosmologies long since discredited” and whose writings were “ignorant and primitive” (The Humble Approach, 1995, p. 135). His biographical sketch says that “Templeton’s goal has been nothing less than to change mindsets about the concept of divinity.”  Templeton said, “God is all of you and you are a little part of him,” and, “No one should say that God can be reached by only one path” (The Humble Approach, pp. 38, 55).

Templeton’s books have been recommended by Norman Vincent Peale (he called Templeton “the greatest layman of the Christian church in our time”), Robert Schuller (he put Templeton’s picture on the cover of his Possibilities magazine), and Rick Warren (he was one of the judges of Templeton’s Power of Purpose worldwide essay competition).

Since the 1990s, the Templeton Foundation has funded “scientific studies” on the power of forgiveness, and there has been an associated explosion of teaching on this subject, such as Colin Tipping’s Radical Forgiveness (1997); Robert Enright’s Forgiveness Is a Choice (2001); Fred Luskin’s Forgive for Good (2002); and Martin Seligman’s Authentic Happiness (2002). There is the Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance, the International Forgiveness Institute, the Institute for Radical Forgiveness, and the Forgiveness Project. Many of these people and organizations are New Age in perspective. The Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance is “open to all religions, creeds, and beliefs” and uses forgiveness as an instrument of building a New Age of joy and peace. Colin Tipping’s mission is “to raise the consciousness of the planet through forgiveness.”

In light of the wholesale “repudiation of separatism” that characterizes modern evangelicalism and the charismatic movement, it is not surprising that Christian counselors have been quick to jump on the unconditional forgiveness bandwagon. There is The Art of Forgiving (1996) by Lewis Smedes, professor emeritus of theology and ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary, and The Importance of Forgiveness (1997) by John Arnot of Toronto Airport Church, and The Choosing to Forgive Workbook by Frank Minirth and Les Carter, and The New Freedom of Forgiveness (2000) by David Augsburger, and Total Forgiveness (2002) by R.T. Kendall, and Choosing Forgiveness (2006) by Hancy Leigh DeMoss.

The movement of therapeutic forgiveness is all about Self. It is unconditional forgiveness for my sake, to help me feel good about myself, to have personal peace of mind, to have personal self-esteem and psychological wholeness, even to gain “good karma points” and to avoid “inhibiting our very life-force.” 

Not only am I taught to forgive others unconditionally, but also to forgive myself and even to forgive God. R.T. Kendall says that since “God has allowed bad things to happen ... He has allowed us to suffer when we didn’t do anything that we know of to warrant such ill-treatment ... We therefore must forgive him--but not because he is guilty, but for allowing evil to touch our lives” (Total Forgiveness, p. 33).

What blasphemy, what foolish audacity, for a mere man to think that he can forgive Almighty God! This is definitely the worship of a false god.

Like unconditional love, unconditional forgiveness is unscriptural. Biblical forgiveness is predicated on confession and repentance.

This is true vertically, between man and God. God’s forgiveness is not unconditional; it required the payment of a great price on God’s part (the giving of His Son on the Cross) and obtaining God’s forgiveness requires repentance. Jesus twice said, “except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3, 5).

There is a repentance that is necessary for the once-for-all eternal forgiveness of justification, and there is daily confession and repentance necessary for fellowship with God in the Christian life. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Adam and Eve weren’t automatically and unconditionally forgiven when they sinned. They were driven out of the Garden of Eden and required to live in a God-cursed world and then die, death being “the wages of sin” (Romans 6:23). They and their children were required to repent and put their faith in the coming Saviour as prophesied in the promise that the woman’s seed (Christ) would bruise the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15) and signified by Abel’s lamb. Of the first two sons of Adam, Cain and Abel, one believed and one did not, and one was justified and the other was not (Genesis 4:7; Hebrews 11:4). Ever since then, God’s forgiveness has been predicated upon repentance and faith, and those who reject the witness of God’s Spirit and God’s Word in these matters are destined for eternal punishment.

This is also true with forgiveness at the horizontal level, forgiveness between men. We are to be quick to forgive and we are to love our enemies, but this does not mean that we are to forgive unconditionally. As Jesus said:

“Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and IF HE REPENT, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I REPENT; thou shalt forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4).

The apostle Paul did not unconditionally forgive Alexander the Coppersmith (2 Tim. 4:14) or the heretics at Galatia (Gal. 5:7-10). He did not teach the unconditional forgiveness for those who sin against the testimony of Christ in the church (1 Corinthians 5).

Not only is unconditional forgiveness wrong, it is hurtful. As Dr. E.S. Williams writes:

“Nowhere in Scripture is the Christian told to unconditionally forgive an unbeliever who sins against him. To do so is only a meaningless gesture; for by what authority does a Christian forgive sin? This only leads to a false view of forgiveness, and the world will gain the idea that Christians practise cheap forgiveness, like New Age adherents. For Christians to offer unconditional forgiveness to all and sundry is to make a mockery of the Cross of Christ. ... The moral wrongness of unconditional forgiveness is that it condones sin and wrongdoing. The wrongdoer is not held accountable for his sin, but actually encouraged to believe that it is a light matter” (Christ or Therapy? pp. 99, 100).

Unconditional love and unconditional forgiveness are attributes of a false god, and not surprisingly, this god is encountered through mysticism.

Emergent leader Nanette Sawyer says that she encountered this god through contemplative prayer.  She said that while “sitting in meditation, in a technique similar to what Christians call Centering Prayer, I encountered love that is unconditional, yet it called me to responsible action in my life” (An Emergent Manifesto of Hope, p. 44). This occurred AFTER she had rejected biblical Christianity and the gospel that Jesus died for our sins (p. 43).

She said that she found love and Jesus through meditation, but it is not the Jesus of the Bible nor is it the love of God as described in the Bible.

It is another god, another Jesus, another gospel, and another spirit (2 Cor. 11:4).

It is the god who is found through mysticism.


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Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. Established in 1974, Way of Life Literature is a fundamental Baptist preaching and publishing ministry based in Bethel Baptist Church, London, Ontario, of which Wilbert Unger is the founding Pastor. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/wayoflife/subscribe.html .  TO UNSUBSCRIBE OR CHANGE ADDRESSES, go to the very bottom of any email received from us and click "Manage My Subscription." If you have any trouble with this, please let us know. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 27th year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://www.wayoflife.org/publications/index.html. Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061.             866-295-4143      , fbns@wayoflife.org. We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but only from those who are. OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/wayoflife/makeanoffering.html. PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org

WAY OF LIFE LITERATURE SHARING POLICY: Much of our material is available for free, such as the hundreds of articles at the Way of Life web site. Other items we sell to help fund our very expensive literature, video, and foreign church planting ministry. Way of Life’s content falls into two categories: sharable and non-sharable. Things that we encourage you to share include the audio sermons, video presentations, O Timothy magazine, and FBIS articles. You are free to make copies of these at your own expense and share them with friends and family. You are also welcome to use excerpts from the articles. All we ask is that you give proper credit. Things we do not want copied and distributed freely are items like the Fundamental Baptist Digital Library, print edition of our books, PDFs of the books, etc. These items have taken years to produce at enormous expense in time and money, and we need the income from the sale of these to help fund the ministry. We trust that your Christian honesty will preserve the integrity of this policy.


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Self-Esteem and Unconditional Love by David Cloud

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Self-Esteem and Unconditional Love

May 24, 2011
David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061,             866-295-4143 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            866-295-4143      end_of_the_skype_highlighting      , fbns@wayoflife.org


The following is an excerpt from our new book The God of End-Times Mysticism:

Two of the fundamental principles of modern psychology are self-esteem and unconditional love.

These are blatant denials of Bible Christianity and are a rejection of the God of the Bible and are thus a pursuit of a false god -- the very god of end-times apostasy.

The doctrine of self-esteem was developed by the fathers of the psychological counseling movement and has spread throughout that field and beyond to every level of modern society.

According to the doctrine of self-esteem, man must pursue his own self-love or self-confidence for the sake of psychological wholeness, and anything that damages self-esteem is wrong. The mystical path to the development of self-esteem is psychological counseling. Since absolute rules produce guilt in those who don’t live up to them, the pursuit of self-esteem emphasizes the need for “new rules which will allow us more freedom of movement and encourage us to accept ourselves just as we are” (E.S. Williams, The Dark Side of Christian Counselling, p. 116).

Atheist Abraham Maslow emphasized the need for self-esteem in books such as A Theory of Human Motivation (1943), Motivation and Personality (1954), and Toward a Psychology of Being (1955). He taught that a lack of self-esteem can lead to “neurotic trends.” Rejecting the doctrine of the Fall, he believed that man is basically good and there is “a positive, self-actualising force within each person that is struggling to assert itself” (Williams, The Dark Side, p. 114). If it is “permitted to guide our life, we grow healthy, fruitful, and happy” (Motivation and Personality, 1970, p. 122).

Dr. Nathaniel Branden has had a massive influence in the promotion of self-esteem through books such as Psychology of Self-Esteem (1969), How to Raise Your Self-Esteem (1987), and the Six Pillars of Self-Esteem (1995). He treats self-esteem as a basic human need that is essential for mental health. He says, “The first love affair we must consummate successfully in this world is with ourselves; only then are we ready for a relationship.”

Douglas Groothuis identifies the self-esteem doctrine as New Age in character.

“Maslow’s past-breaking efforts cleared the way for an exodus from the old psychological view of humanity toward a new human that is essentially good and has within himself unlimited potential for growth. A whole host of thinkers--Erich Fromm, Rollo May, Carl Rogers and others--sound this call. In humanistic psychology the self is seen as the radiant heart of health, and psychotherapy must strive to get the person in touch with that source of goodness. ... This is the message at the core of New Age teaching” (Unmasking the New Age, 1986, p. 78).

The pursuit of self-esteem puts one into contact with the god of end-times apostasy.

The doctrine of self-esteem is at the heart of the “Christian” homosexual movement which claims that God accepts homosexuals as they are without the necessity of repentance. At the founding of the Metropolitan Community Churches in 1968, Troy Perry preached a message entitled “Be True to You,” from a line in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, “This above all: To thine own self be true.”

The self-esteem doctrine, which was borrowed from humanistic God haters like Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, has been promoted far and wide in Christian circles by a slew of Christian psychologists, with James Dobson leading the way.

Dobson claims that “lack of self-esteem produces more symptoms of psychiatric disorders than any other factor yet identified” (Confident Healthy Families, 1987, pp. 73-74). His 1974 book Hide and Seek was designed “to formulate a well-defined philosophy--and approach to child rearing -- that will contribute to self-esteem from infancy onwards.” He says, “If I could write a prescription for the women of the world, I would provide each one of them with a healthy dose of self-esteem and personal worth (taken three times a day until the symptoms disappear). I have no doubt that this is their greatest need” (What Wives Wish Their Husbands Knew about Women, p. 35). He says, “... lack of self-esteem is a threat to the entire human family, affecting children, adolescents, the elderly, all socioeconomic levels of society, and each race and ethic culture” (What Wives Wish, p. 24).

Dobson believes that lack of self-esteem is the cause of every social ill.

“Thus, whenever the keys to self-esteem are seemingly out of reach for a large percentage of the people, as in twentieth-century America, then widespread mental illness, neuroticism, hatred, alcoholism, drug abuse, violence, and social disorder will certainly occur. Personal worth is not something humans are free to take or leave. We must have it, and when it is unattainable, everybody suffers” (Confident, Healthy Families, p. 67).

To the contrary, the Bible lays the ills of society at the feet of fallen man and his rebellion against God. Jesus taught that murder, adultery, fornication, covetousness, deceit, theft, and such come from man’s wicked heart (Mark 7:21-23).

David Seamands is another pioneer of the Christian self-esteem movement. His hugely popular books Healing for Damaged Emotions and Healing of Memories seek to heal the believer of “Satan’s most powerful psychological weapon” which is “low self-esteem.”  He aims to take the client back into the past to recover and heal memories of events that injured one’s self-esteem.

Seamands has been widely recommended by evangelicals, including James Dobson and George Verwer (Youth With A Mission), who wrote the foreword to Healing for Damaged Emotions.

Seamands’ mystical path toward self-esteem is “healing of memories” through psychological counseling and New Age techniques. He promotes things as positive visualization, guided imagery, dream analysis, and venting of emotions. Through visualization, the individual is taught to imagine painful past events in perfect detail and to imagine Jesus entering the scenes to bring healing. This is not only vain fantasy; it is occultic and it is a recipe for communing with deceiving spirits masquerading as angels of light.

The self-esteem doctrine downplays and redefines sin.

The very popular and influential Robert Schuller, who was a pioneer in the “Christian” self-esteem movement, defines sin as “any act or thought that robs myself or another human being of his or her self-esteem” (Self-Esteem: The New Reformation, p. 14). He defined the new birth as “being changed from a negative to a positive self-image--from inferiority to self-esteem” (p. 68). He even said that Christ was “self-esteem incarnate” (p. 135). Schuller has been praised and promoted by a whose-who of evangelicalism, including Billy Graham, W.A. Criswell, R.C. Sproul, Christianity Today, National Association of Evangelicals, World Vision, Promise Keepers, James Dobson, Tony Campolo, Bill Bright, Paul Yonggi Cho, Jack Hayford, Ralph Reed, Bill Hybels, Paul Crouch, John Wimber, Ravi Zacharias, Lee Strobel, Chuck Colson, and Rick Warren, to name a few. (See “Evangelicals and Heretic Robert Schuller” at the Way of Life web site.)

The self-esteem doctrine promotes an unscriptural view of the conscience. While acknowledging that the conscience (an “inner voice”) produces guilt and negative thoughts, the proposed solution is not the biblical path of regeneration through repentance and faith followed by a Christian walk of obedience and confession. The proposed solution, instead, is to lower the standards of morality.

The atheist founders of the self-esteem doctrine hated the holy God of the Bible and His holy Law and sought to destroy His authority over men by denying His existence and teaching moral relativism and the pursuit of Self. Christian counsellors who have borrowed the self-esteem doctrine also tend to downplay the absoluteness of God’s Law, the necessity of strict obedience, and they replace the biblical means of soothing the conscience with psychological mumbo-jumbo.

Crusade for World Revival (CWR), founded by Selwyn Hughes, says, “If our standards are so high as to be almost unobtainable we will put ourselves forward for failure.”

Chris Leger and Wendy Bray say that “Bible verses which remind us of God’s command to be obedient may cause guilt to arise. ... We continually strive to please God, yet never feel that we have pleased him--our self-esteem tumbles down the ladder” (Insight into Self-Esteem, p. 57). Leger and Bray claim that God always accepts our best because His voice is always one of “grace, love and acceptance” (pp. 43, 44).

Dr. E.S. Williams warns:

“In all that has been written and taught about self-esteem, both Christian and secular, there is never any suggestion that the root cause of man’s low self-esteem is God’s moral law which condemns sinful behaviour” (The Dark Side of Christian Counselling, p. 140).

The self-esteem movement twists Scripture out of context. A major prooftext is Matthew 22:39, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” This is interpreted to mean that man needs to love himself just as he needs to love his neighbor, but Christ was not saying there is a need for self-love and He was not encouraging any sort of self-esteem program. He was saying that men already love themselves! Paul said the same thing in Ephesians 5:29, “For no man ever yet hated his own flesh...” The fallen man’s problem is not a lack of self-esteem but far too much of it and a gross lack of God-esteem! Fallen man is an idolater who worships himself in the place of the Almighty Creator. The very essence of sin is that we’ve “turned every one to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6).

The modern self-esteem doctrine is heresy and apostasy. The very first characteristic of end-times apostasy is that “men shall be lovers of their own selves” (2 Timothy 3:1-2).

The twisting of Scripture in the self-esteem movement reaches frightful heights for the simple fact that the doctrine of self-esteem is not taught in Scripture but is derived from modern psychology and is then forced upon Scripture.

David Seamands claims that in the Parable of the Talents, the man with one talent was paralyzed by fear and lack of self-esteem! And the reason the Israelites didn’t enter the Promised Land was low self-esteem! Seamands applies this as follows: “Where is the vision God put before you? What wrecked it? Your sins and transgressions and bad habits? I doubt it. Probably your dream has been delayed or destroyed because Satan tricked you into thinking of yourself as a grasshopper or a worm” (Healing for Damaged Emotions, p. 50).

So man’s problem is not sin but lack of self-esteem. Man is not a sinner; he is a victim. He doesn’t need salvation and sanctification; he needs psychological counseling.

Unconditional Love

The doctrine of self-esteem is intimately associated with that of unconditional love. To have the highest self-esteem we must know that we are loved unconditionally, no strings attached.

We must see God as a merciful Father who “accepts us totally, exactly as we are” (Chris Leger and Wendy Bray, Insight into Self-Esteem, 2006, p. 12).

As Larry Crabb says, “I am completely acceptable to him regardless of my behavior” (Effective Biblical Counseling, 1977, p. 70).

Like the doctrine of self-esteem, unconditional love is promoted both by secular counselors and Christian. It is taught by Rick Warren, James Dobson, Philip Yancy, Joyce Meyer, Larry Crabb, Gary Smalley, Selwyn Hughes, David Seamands, Gary Chapman, Charles Stanley, and a host of other popular Christian leaders and authors.

James Dobson said that his book Love for a Lifetime is designed to “sum up the importance of selfless, unconditional love” (“Loving Focus: Dr. James and Shirley Dobson,” Christianitytoday.com, Sept. 12, 2008).

Dr. E.S. Williams observes: “While self-esteem attempts to make man feel good about his sin, unconditional love attempts to make sinful man feel that he will not face judgment or punishment” (Christ or Therapy? p. 71).

Like the doctrine of self-esteem, the doctrine of unconditional love was developed by the fathers of the psychological counseling movement and New Agers. Erik Fromm was the first to use the phrase “unconditional love,” while Carl Rogers coined the term “unconditional positive regard,” by which “he meant the granting of love and approval regardless of an individual’s behaviour” (E.S. Williams, Christ or Therapy? pp. 65, 66).

The doctrine of unconditional love is a major theme of New Age thought. The god of unconditional love puts no obligations on people and does not punish sin. Harold Becker says the human race is “becoming consciously aware of unconditional love” (Unconditional Love--An Unlimited Way of Being, 1007, p. 7). It is “an energy and power” that is “transforming the course of all humanity.” Roy Klienwachter says, “Unconditional love means unconditional freedom. ... Retribution is a lie, it was all made. ... Anyone who tells you different, is not coming from unconditional love” (Unconditional Love, 2008).

Unconditional love is a theme of the occult. Consider Aleister Crowley, who has had a massive influence on the rock & roll culture and whose photo appeared on the cover of the Beatles’ Sargent Pepper’s album. His system was based on two principles: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law” and “Love is the law, love under will.” Crowley’s “love” was unconditional love with no obligations. The Voice of Lucifer website proclaims that “unconditional love is an unlimited way of being” and “as a way of changing our world for the better” and “the sole vehicle for our salvation.”

Unconditional love is a theme of the “Christian” homosexual movement. God accepts them as they are.

Unconditional love is also a fundamental principle of the emerging church.

In An Emerging Church Primer Justin Taylor says we must proclaim “God’s message of unconditional love.”

The God of unconditional love is not the God of Scripture. The love of the sovereign Creator God is unfathomable and unmerited, but not unconditional. God’s love is demonstrated in Christ and the Cross and to benefit from God’s love one must repent and receive Christ as Lord and Saviour. Consider the following statements by Jesus Christ himself:

“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21).

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23).

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).

“I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3).

Repent or perish is not the message of unconditional love!

The doctrine of unconditional love as typically defined denies the absolute holiness of God, the fall of man, the necessity of the atonement of Christ, the requirement of the new birth, God’s call to repentance and faith, the existence of eternal hell for those outside of Christ, and God’s call to holy living in the Christian life.

The true grace of God leads men to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world (Titus 2:11-12). The believer is to lay aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings (1 Peter 2:1). We are to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul (1 Peter 2:11). We are to eschew evil and do good (1 Peter 3:11). We are to be holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). That is the strictest, highest calling! And though the born again believer is accepted in Christ and eternally safe because of the perfect Atonement, he is subject to discipline in this present life and loss at the judgment seat of Christ if he walks in unrepentant carnality and disobedience. There is even a sin unto death (1 Corinthians 11:30; 1 John 5:17).

There are some who preach unconditional love that say that they believe the aforementioned Bible doctrines, but the message of unconditional love is contradictory to these truths and those who try to reconcile them are living in a fantasy world.

The god of self-esteem and unconditional love is not the God of Scripture; he is the god of end-times apostasy. As Dr. E.S. Williams observes:

“The concept of unconditional love only exists in a mythological world in which there is no sin, no evil and no law, in which people are free to live as they like without fear of judgment and punishment. In the real world, unconditional love is no more and no less than licentiousness -- an attitude that denies the accepted rules and morals that govern human behaviour. It is an attitude that allows us to do what we want without sanction or control. It is the essential message of pagan morality and New Age salvation” (Christ or Therapy? p. 69).

“The permissive god of ‘Christian’ self-esteem dogma longs to satisfy the needs and desires of the human heart. He delights in meeting our needs and likes to make us feel good about ourselves, no matter what. He is careful not to set standards too high or too difficult for us to meet. He is satisfied with our behaviour so long as we do our best. He is a god who is ‘mighty to save’ mankind from a lifetime cycle of low self-esteem. And if the truth were known, he does not really hate evil and sin all that much, for he accepts us totally, exactly as we are. He has commanded us to love ourselves and he loves everybody unconditionally no matter how they behave” (Williams, The Dark Side of Christian Counselling, p. 141).


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