Posted in A Day the Lord Made

I've not finished pondering and questioning why the church has been compromising.  We are to love one another and it is sad to see our brothers and sisters fall prey to the works of the devil.  It is a heavy responsibility indeed for a Pastor to shepherd those who continually desire the lusts of the flesh.  We need to be proper ministers in our own homes, studying God's Word and I applaud my fellow brothers and sisters who have taken on the full responsibility for educating their children.  Dr. John MacArthur, host of the syndicated radio program Grace to You, has recently said that we lack the discernment necessary to refute errors and He is right!  This is another reason why we see such compromise.  Here is a segment from the Grace to You website:  

"Not only are biblical terms used imprecisely, thereby spreading confusion throughout the church, but erroneous teachings of every kind are readily tolerated. This is because so few people have the discernment necessary to identify and refute such errors. And if they do sense that something is wrong, their powers of discernment are too weak to put their fingers precisely on the point where the error lies. Or, if they do point out the error, other people denounce them as heresy hunters" ([Eugene, Oreg.: Harvest House, 1987], pp. 35-36)."

I have to refer to AIG again when I say that the Lord has raised up a mighty ministry. I could never effectively defend the Gospel "from the beginning in Genesis" until I had been taught the truth" and shown directly from God's Word why it is dangerous for a Christian to follow evolutionary thought.  Here is another segment from Grace to you;

" Some say that doctrine divides. That's true! If you set aside biblical truth and remain silent for fear of offending people, opposition will disappear, but so will some other things like truth, holiness, and God Himself. Jude 1:3-4 says we are to "contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed ... who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ." Diluting doctrine only ends up making things easier for those who stealthily seek to victimize the church."

And here again, we not only compromise our worldviews and actions, but we directly compromise the Word in an effort to get along and not to offend, if you will.  We are called to please God and in doing so we will be properly equipped to serve our brothers and sisters.  And here is one last quote from Dr. MacArthur;

"Instead of integrating worldly ideas with God's truth, the psalmist made a clear distinction between the two: "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night" (Ps. 1:1-2). Titus 1:9 says we are to refute doctrinal error by "holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching."

We need to hold fast, hold fast....when we receive truth we need to hold onto it with our very lives!  I don't think that there is too much more that I can add to that.  May you be blessed as you go about your day and continue to hold fast to the Word of the Lord!

Love, Cathy

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Comments

Posted by gottsegnet

Excellent points...I was talking to someone today about this issue and how relativism creeps into the church. It seem we have nothing fast to hold onto. Yet the bible promises that to build a life on Him is to build it on a firm foundation, not shifting sands.

Something must be amiss. I think too many people are too worried about offending people than they are about offending God. The gospel message is offensive. If it isn't, we aren't sharing the whole story.

I think the problen is twofold. First, and most obvious, is that we lack foundational knowledge of scripture. At one time, it was the only text used in school...it is what children used to learn to read from! It was likely one of very few books children ever even saw at the founding of our nation.

Second, we lack the ability to reason. Without this ability, an argument may "seem" a little off-base, but as you said, you just can't put your finger on why. So you hear it a few more times and next thing you know, you are repeating it.

Then, just because I always end up with one more point than my intro alludes to, there is the problem of literacy. Enough people CAN read, but in choosing not to, they have made themselves functionally illiterate. While watching TV, your brain waves slow to less than during sleeping! There is absolutely no thought going into the images and ideas we expose ourselves to...it's like daily submitting to brainwashing.

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Posted by Kristal

Thanks for the link! that did help alot, I do pray every night for our daughter but they gave me a few new ways to pray for her!!

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Posted by Mileshouse

My husband taught a class last November about Creation and relativism in our culture. He began by saying, "If you don't believe the first 5 words of the Bible, you may not want to read the rest." Would you believe about 1/2 the class of 40 or so didn't believe in Creation from a Biblical account?! It was an intense class.
To top it off, the Anchor Group director received so many comments that he suggested we no longer cover any "controversial" topics and focus on more lighter and "seeker-friendly" topics like ways to witness to co-workers without actually saying a thing.
We think he was suggesting "Subliminal Salvation", but we're not sure. Needless to say, we finished the commitments we had through December and began having church at home while we await God's direction for us. (See my blog for updates on job stuff.)
Anyhoo, thanks for the spiritual update today!
Melanie

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Posted by danib

Ladies, you're the ones I've been hoping to find in this community. You have no idea how blessed and happy I am to read the posts and subsequent comments!

I too have been frustrated by the total compromise. The Lord said this would happen, but it's so hard to watch friends and loved ones -- who honestly love the Lord -- be totally swept away by programs, new sin-free Bible versions, and pastors who would rather evict you from their congregation than question the direction the church is going.

I wanted to comment further on the comment by gottsegnet. I remember as a child being told that logic was the realm of pagans and the ancient philosophers, and "we all know they weren't believers. Besides, God is all about faith." I could never understand that. Everything of the Bible is logical -- just not the logic of man necessarily. God explains everything, so that even when our logical thinking says the wrong thing, we have His logical thinking and we can begin to see His plan and His heart. How is that not logical?!

I've spent my whole life pursuing critical thinking and how to "give an answer for that which I believe." (I even sell HS materials in the critical thinking department because of it!) What I see in the church is that none of us have been taught IN THE CHURCH how to make a logical argument for our faith. Isn't that the point of discipleship?

We have so been sucked into the world's way of thinking ("consensus" and "relativism"), that we can't even understand half of what the Bible says anymore. As much as I love my pastor, I missed half his lesson this morning because the logic wasn't there; I was trying to figure out what he had said and what he meant. (I think he's almost frightened to see me approach him now because of the logic issue; he's always gracious to correct faulty logic and be more clear, but I think he dreads it.)

I want so much for the others to catch on and desire to know Scripture more fully and more literally. Sounds like you all do too.

Again, thanks for being my encouragement today. Some days I feel so alone.

Dani

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Posted by spunkyhomeschool

I just posted the Ten commandments for the homeschooling mom. Number one was very similar to this. We must remember to honor the Lord by honoring His word. In our lives and in our homeschool.

Thanks for a great post.

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