“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” Matthew 7:15
Now listen to me, in the case of the sheep’s clothing, what you have here is not some guy crawling on all fours into the flock with a sheep’s head hanging over his head. Shepherds for the most part, wore cloaks made of the wool of the sheep,’ do you see? The wool of the sheep when it was sheared was made into cloth for garments, the mark of a shepherd was he wore a wool cloak. Israel is much like California the evenings are very cold, even in the summer it cools down, and they needed that. The idea is not that he comes dressed like a sheep, the idea is that he comes dressed like a what? Shepherd, wearing the garment made from the sheep, sheep’s clothing is just another term for wool, And so as the false prophet wore the garment of the prophet, the false shepherd wears the garment of the shepherd. It isn’t that we’re dealing with a sheep who’s infiltrated,
Read the rest over at DefendingContending…click HERE.
Ever wish you had more meat in your spiritual diet? Have you felt as though the ultra light go-get-em’-tiger sermons at your regular church might be wearing on you? HERE is an article you might identify with. Check it out… for the love of meat.
Do you love other Christians? How about you, Pastor? Do you truly love those you shepherd? Read this short challenge (1 minute to read) over at Berean Wife to find out if you love others the way you think you do….click HERE.
Click HERE for a great article comparing how modern churches evangelize (go fishing) with what Scripture teaches. Whether you are the Pastor of a Church or a regular Churchgoer, you need to read this one. In fact, even if you don’t attend Church and are just plain tired of all the local Churches trying to get you into the door, you should read this as well. It has to do with modern preaching topics, invitation methods, bait, nets, hooks…..oh, you’ll see when you read it! Good stuff!
“Love God and love others.” It is a modern english summary of the greatest commandment found in Mark Chapter 12. But let’s take a quick look at exactly what the Scripture really says: “One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord.30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” When Jesus taught we should love God and love others, it was in response to the question “What is the greatest commandment?” So in Jesus own words, this is a summary of the commandments, or the moral law of Moses. So now the puzzling part; Why are so many American churches telling us that the Gospel message is “Love God and love others”? Paul made it very clear in Romans Chapter 3 that ”No one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are” So if following the law doesn’t save us, why is it being taught as the Gospel that brings salvation? It may sound good, it may sound loving, but all this message really teaches is salvation comes through your obedience to the law, and that is NOT the Gospel. The Gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ suffered in our place on the Cross and lived the perfect life that we are unable to live ourselves. Go ahead and try to fulfill the “Love God, love others” commandment. You will fail, and fail big. The law was designedby God to expose your sin and drive you to Christ. To try earning salvation on your own is to rebel against God’s call of repentance, and to spit in the face of Jesus, the one who cared enough to die for you. The only way to actually fill the commandment of “Love God, love others” is to be made into a new creature with a new heart and the indwelling spirit of Christ. This comes only through the salvation offered by our savior. Think about it.
The folks over at 9 Marks have some interesting articles posted right now on how many American Churches have allowed themselves to be influenced by liberal heresies because of their zeal to reach out to the culture. Read the intro below, and if you want some good browsing, go check it out.
In general, the danger of liberalism, which we define broadly as gospel-denial within the church, occurs when we allow the world’s demands to ring a little too loudly in our ears. It occurs when we let the world dictate the terms of our beliefs or practices. Or when we let the world determine, “These things are good and worthy, not those things,” or, “This is the salvation we are looking for.” As soon as we let the world influence the terms of the church’s life and mission, we have let another authority enter the house and tie up the king of the church, Christ.
A question for evangelicals to ask themselves is, has the way we think about church prepared us for compromise? The challenge for churches, we’re told, is striking the balance between isolation and assimilation. Usually, this translates into, “Change your church structures and the way you talk, but not your doctrine.” The trouble is, changing our structures and the way we talk changes the way we think, because words and structures shape thinking. For instance, change how you talk about the gospel and your congregation will think differently about the gospel. Change what membership means, to use another example, and your congregation will begin to understand the inclusiveness and exclusiveness of God’s love–and so God himself–differently. (more…)
“Do not be like the fellow, in one of the American towns, who saw a traveller leaning against a lamp-post, weary and worn with his journey. The traveller asked him how far it was to a certain destination, and was told that it was ten miles. The weary traveller sighed, and said, “I shall never hold out. I shall collapse on the road.”
“Ah!” said his sympathizing informant, “I did not know you were so tired, I will knock off three miles, and make it seven for you.”
Of course, changing his words did not alter the fact, nor really reduce the ten to seven. Yet this is the method of many weak and timid preachers; they tone down the truth, forgetting that what they say does not affect the fact.This obligation is too severe; so it is suggested that it may be relaxed a little. This doctrine is too stern; so make it a little milder and less offensive. Pleasing everybody at any cost is the style of the period. If sin, human depravity, repentance and the like are strongly spoken of in the old theology, run off to the new theology, and soften things up a bit. If the punishment of sinners too much alarms men, treat it lightly, and hide it away; who wants to win converts by fear?
Yes, yes; “make it seven.”
But what comes from all your soft words? The distance is all the same for your lying; and when the deceived one finds out, he will pour no blessings upon your heads.
May the Lord save us from the doom of deceivers of souls! May we be watchmen who will be clear of the blood of all men! Be firm yourselves; and then, like men who themselves stand fast, you will be able to help others whose feet are slipping.”
Ask any good Pastor what his job is and he will tell you, “My job is to bring glory to God through by feeding and guiding the flock of God’s people, the congregation of my Church. I am to use the Word of God to feed them, to help them grow in knowledge, understanding and relationship with their Heavenly Father who has adopted them. I am to lead them into what is spiritually sound and protect them from what is false.” If the above description of a Pastor’s job is accurate, then that explains why most sermons are the way they are. Almost all sermons are structured to feed God’s Word to the congregation, made up of believers. OK, that seems Biblical. In the 21st chapter of John’s Gospel we see Jesus instructed Peter to “feed His sheep”, which he did for the rest of his life. Almost all modern churches are trying like crazy to get people to come in and try them out. We hear ads on the radio saying, “We are the relaxed church for people like you” and billboards inviting people to try a church that, “Builds families” or acknowledges that “We all need choices”. All this marketing is being aimed at getting unsaved people in church. The big question is Why? When they get there they will hear a message designed to be heard by believers, they will most likely not hear the Gospel….
Read the complete article Church DesignHERE (PDF file)
This video gives a comparison of the salvation message most commonly preached in America with the salvation message preached in the Bible. It provides a lot of food for thought. Check it out, compare with Scripture and let us know what you think!
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” Matthew 7:15
