the danger of false teachers
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070127/LIVING09/701270386/1111
Tom Ehrich is an Episcopal priest, writer and consultant. I have written about him and criticized him before, but never as strongly as I'm going to do right now. Mr. Ehrich is a false teacher, or, as John wrote in 1 John 2, an antichrist. Look at what John had to say on this: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=69&chapter=2&version=65
You can read Mr. Ehrich's latest column, linked above from IndyStar.com, to see what I'm talking about. I have been reading the man's columns for months now, and, as far as I can tell, Mr. Ehrich believes the following:
1. God's Holy Word--The Bible--is an ancient document that isn't necessarily applicable to 21st Century man.
2. Mankind has evolved to a point where we are free to interpret God's Holy Word in terms that are consistent with the customs and mores of today's world. For example, the world today doesn't necessarily see anything wrong with homosexuality, so Christians, in the name of "love" and "tolerance", should accept homosexuality as mainstream as well.
3. Conservative Christians who reject this notion, and who actually quote scripture supporting their position, are guilty of firing "scripture bullets", and of being hateful and intolerant, and of being childish.
Ehrich talks at length in his latest column about this last point. He says, "It's the law of the sandbox. If high morality works, use it. If a threat of parental intervention works use it. In conflicts, the air rings with cries of 'No fair', 'You're mean', 'I'll call my mother', and 'God will get you.' When those fail, comes violence."
So that's how it's going to be, is it? Those of us who happen to believe that EVERYTHING God tells us is true, and who believe in ALL of the teachings of His Son Jesus, and who reject the false teachings of the liberal apostates, are nothing more than unruly children throwing a tantrum in our sandbox? That is utter and total garbage, and I won't sit still for it!
Paul wrote to Titus about false teachers like Ehrich. In those times, many of the false teachers, or antichrists, were found in Crete. Paul wrote:
"For there are a lot of rebels out there, full of loose, confusing, and deceiving talk. Those who were brought up religious and ought to know better are the worst. They've got to be shut up. They're disrupting entire families with their teaching, and all for the sake of a fast buck. One of their own prophets said it best: The Cretans are liars from the womb, barking dogs, lazy bellies. He certainly spoke the truth. Get on them right away. Stop that diseased talk of Jewish make-believe and made-up rules so they can recover a robust faith. Everything is clean to the clean-minded; nothing is clean to dirty-minded unbelievers. They leave their dirty fingerprints on every thought and act. They say they know God, but their actions speak louder than their words. They're real creeps, disobedient good-for-nothings." 1 Titus 1:10-16
Christians everywhere must be on guard against these antichrists. We must know how to recognize them, and we must know what to do about them. In 1 John 1 & 2, John establishes a two-prong test for distinguishing between true and false believers. An authentic Christian will confess their sins and accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, and they will try faithfully to live like Jesus did by obeying ALL of God's commands. Let's apply this test to the teachings of Mr. Ehrich.
This fine Episcopal priest is sinfully trying to lead people away from Christ by preaching a more "progressive" Gospel, yet he doesn't confess this sin. He doesn't even acknowledge that it is a sin! Then, he goes about CHANGING God's commands, saying, "This is still a sin, this isn't. This is still a sin, this isn't..." Homosexuality isn't a sin anymore, gay marriage is OK, abortion is OK. On the other hand, saving the lives of human victims of Islamic terrorists is a sin. Disagreement with progressive false teachers on any subject is intolerant and hateful, therefore it's a sin. Learning and quoting God's Holy Words is childish, hateful, and sinful. Voting for George Bush is a sin (that little nugget is from another Ehrich column). Being a conservative is a sin.
What do we do with this knowledge? First, we must pray. Confess our sins to God and ask for His forgiveness. Confess to God that our great nation has become godless, and beg for His forgiveness of America's sins. Pray for a Great Awakening of America, that we might, as a nation, turn back to God. Pray for strength and wisdom and courage for ourselves, our families, our churches and church leaders, and for our military and political leaders.
Next, quit standing on the sidelines and get in the game! Speak out against sin, and against the secular progressive agenda that has infected our culture, our schools, our churches, our government, and our homes. Learn about America's Christian heritage, and promote that heritage to your family and friends. Learn about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the teachings of the Bible, and spread that Good News to all you meet. Take to heart what Paul said in Ephesians 6:10-18:
Finally, let the Lord make you strong. Depend on his mighty power. Put on all of God's armor. Then you can stand firm against the devil's evil plans. Our fight is not against human beings. It is against the rulers, the authorities and the powers of this dark world. It is against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly world.
So put on all of God's armor. Evil days will come. But you will be able to stand up to anything. And after you have done everything you can, you will still be standing.
So stand firm. Put the belt of truth around your waist. Put the armor of godliness on your chest. Wear on your feet what will prepare you to tell the good news of peace. Also, pick up the shield of faith. With it you can put out all of the flaming arrows of the evil one. Put on the helmet of salvation. And take the sword of the Holy Spirit. The sword is God's word.
At all times, pray by the power of the Spirit. Pray all kinds of prayers. Be watchful, so that you can pray. Always keep on praying for all of God's people.
That's not too hard, is it? Well, OK, it is hard. Brutally hard! It's also necessary. God bless everyone who reads this blog (1700 hits since Thanksgiving--thank you!). All of you, from the left and the right, God bless you.
I'll leave you with the following links. Enjoy!
http://www.radioliberty.com/churches.htm
http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/2109.htm
Tom Ehrich is an Episcopal priest, writer and consultant. I have written about him and criticized him before, but never as strongly as I'm going to do right now. Mr. Ehrich is a false teacher, or, as John wrote in 1 John 2, an antichrist. Look at what John had to say on this: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=69&chapter=2&version=65
You can read Mr. Ehrich's latest column, linked above from IndyStar.com, to see what I'm talking about. I have been reading the man's columns for months now, and, as far as I can tell, Mr. Ehrich believes the following:
1. God's Holy Word--The Bible--is an ancient document that isn't necessarily applicable to 21st Century man.
2. Mankind has evolved to a point where we are free to interpret God's Holy Word in terms that are consistent with the customs and mores of today's world. For example, the world today doesn't necessarily see anything wrong with homosexuality, so Christians, in the name of "love" and "tolerance", should accept homosexuality as mainstream as well.
3. Conservative Christians who reject this notion, and who actually quote scripture supporting their position, are guilty of firing "scripture bullets", and of being hateful and intolerant, and of being childish.
Ehrich talks at length in his latest column about this last point. He says, "It's the law of the sandbox. If high morality works, use it. If a threat of parental intervention works use it. In conflicts, the air rings with cries of 'No fair', 'You're mean', 'I'll call my mother', and 'God will get you.' When those fail, comes violence."
So that's how it's going to be, is it? Those of us who happen to believe that EVERYTHING God tells us is true, and who believe in ALL of the teachings of His Son Jesus, and who reject the false teachings of the liberal apostates, are nothing more than unruly children throwing a tantrum in our sandbox? That is utter and total garbage, and I won't sit still for it!
Paul wrote to Titus about false teachers like Ehrich. In those times, many of the false teachers, or antichrists, were found in Crete. Paul wrote:
"For there are a lot of rebels out there, full of loose, confusing, and deceiving talk. Those who were brought up religious and ought to know better are the worst. They've got to be shut up. They're disrupting entire families with their teaching, and all for the sake of a fast buck. One of their own prophets said it best: The Cretans are liars from the womb, barking dogs, lazy bellies. He certainly spoke the truth. Get on them right away. Stop that diseased talk of Jewish make-believe and made-up rules so they can recover a robust faith. Everything is clean to the clean-minded; nothing is clean to dirty-minded unbelievers. They leave their dirty fingerprints on every thought and act. They say they know God, but their actions speak louder than their words. They're real creeps, disobedient good-for-nothings." 1 Titus 1:10-16
Christians everywhere must be on guard against these antichrists. We must know how to recognize them, and we must know what to do about them. In 1 John 1 & 2, John establishes a two-prong test for distinguishing between true and false believers. An authentic Christian will confess their sins and accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, and they will try faithfully to live like Jesus did by obeying ALL of God's commands. Let's apply this test to the teachings of Mr. Ehrich.
This fine Episcopal priest is sinfully trying to lead people away from Christ by preaching a more "progressive" Gospel, yet he doesn't confess this sin. He doesn't even acknowledge that it is a sin! Then, he goes about CHANGING God's commands, saying, "This is still a sin, this isn't. This is still a sin, this isn't..." Homosexuality isn't a sin anymore, gay marriage is OK, abortion is OK. On the other hand, saving the lives of human victims of Islamic terrorists is a sin. Disagreement with progressive false teachers on any subject is intolerant and hateful, therefore it's a sin. Learning and quoting God's Holy Words is childish, hateful, and sinful. Voting for George Bush is a sin (that little nugget is from another Ehrich column). Being a conservative is a sin.
What do we do with this knowledge? First, we must pray. Confess our sins to God and ask for His forgiveness. Confess to God that our great nation has become godless, and beg for His forgiveness of America's sins. Pray for a Great Awakening of America, that we might, as a nation, turn back to God. Pray for strength and wisdom and courage for ourselves, our families, our churches and church leaders, and for our military and political leaders.
Next, quit standing on the sidelines and get in the game! Speak out against sin, and against the secular progressive agenda that has infected our culture, our schools, our churches, our government, and our homes. Learn about America's Christian heritage, and promote that heritage to your family and friends. Learn about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the teachings of the Bible, and spread that Good News to all you meet. Take to heart what Paul said in Ephesians 6:10-18:
Finally, let the Lord make you strong. Depend on his mighty power. Put on all of God's armor. Then you can stand firm against the devil's evil plans. Our fight is not against human beings. It is against the rulers, the authorities and the powers of this dark world. It is against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly world.
So put on all of God's armor. Evil days will come. But you will be able to stand up to anything. And after you have done everything you can, you will still be standing.
So stand firm. Put the belt of truth around your waist. Put the armor of godliness on your chest. Wear on your feet what will prepare you to tell the good news of peace. Also, pick up the shield of faith. With it you can put out all of the flaming arrows of the evil one. Put on the helmet of salvation. And take the sword of the Holy Spirit. The sword is God's word.
At all times, pray by the power of the Spirit. Pray all kinds of prayers. Be watchful, so that you can pray. Always keep on praying for all of God's people.
That's not too hard, is it? Well, OK, it is hard. Brutally hard! It's also necessary. God bless everyone who reads this blog (1700 hits since Thanksgiving--thank you!). All of you, from the left and the right, God bless you.
I'll leave you with the following links. Enjoy!
http://www.radioliberty.com/churches.htm
http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/2109.htm
posted by hondo at 9:20 PM
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