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Some Ecclesiological Issues Exposed by the Covid-19 Pandemic
The word “church” in the New Testament translates the Greek word ekklesia, which means “assembly” or “congregation,” how Tyndale translated it in his New Testament, which predates the King James Version. He was right. It means “congregation” or “assembly.” “Congregate” and “assemble” are the same thing.
It might be a little hard to read the original script from the Tyndale New Testament, but perhaps you can see the words “I wyll bylde my congregacion” from Matthew 16:18 above.
Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse (v. 17).
For first of all, when ye come together in the church (Tyndale: “when ye come togedder in the cogregacion”), I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it (v. 18).
When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper (v. 20).
Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another (v. 33).
Unsheathed: Muhammad’s Biography–An Accurate Presentation
Sin and Spirituality Do Not Coexist
True spirituality relates to the Holy Spirit. Someone is spiritual when the Holy Spirit indwells him. The Holy Spirit indwells believers, truly converted or saved people only. He doesn’t indwell unbelievers, so unbelievers are not spiritual. The Holy Spirit in His holy nature does not indwell the unrighteous. Every believer is spiritual because every believer possesses the Holy Spirit. The essence of a believer is spirituality. He is spiritual. A crucial verse for this is Romans 8:9:
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
The person who keeps drinking his alcohol, listening to his rock music, chumming around with ungodly and unbelieving friends, and using foul language is not spiritual. That is not the Holy Spirit. Just because a feeling or impression tells him differently, that doesn’t mean it is true. It isn’t true. That is a counterfeit to the actual Holy Spirit in the realm of deceit.
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
Saul/Paul’s Conversion: A Contradiction in Acts 9, 22, 26?
“And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.” (Acts 22:9)
Acts 9, Shabir Ally argued, claimed that the companions of Saul of Tarsus did not hear the voice of the risen Christ, while Acts 22, Dr. Ally claimed, affirmed that Paul’s companions did har the voice of the Lord Jesus.
Are these texts actually contradictory? Watch the video below to find out.
How Far Does Someone Need to Be “Off” About Jesus for Him Not to Be Jesus Anymore? It Is Not Good or Helpful to Accept or Approve a False Jesus
Is the Mormon Jesus, the Jesus of the Bible? The Moslem Jesus? The Roman Catholic Jesus? The Jewish Jesus? The Charismatic Jesus? Is the evangelical Jesus the biblical one?
There is only one Jesus, the One in scripture. However, the Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 11:4,
For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
Someone may preach “another Jesus,” just like there are other “gods,” according Exodus 20:3, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” John writes in 1 John 2:18,
Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
Antichrists will exist, even as they have through history since actual Jesus Christ. The doctrine of Christ relates to knowing and believing the right Jesus unto which John again writes in 2 John 1:9,
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.
Just because other Christs were invented in previous ages and in different occasions of time doesn’t mean that more of them will not still come. The false Christ relates to the imagination unto which Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5,
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
Someone can have a false Christ crafted in his own imagination. A common apostasy is the creation of an idol. The idol doesn’t need to be a physical one, but also can be a spiritual one in someone’s mind. He invents a Christ in his mind and that Christ conforms to himself, just as communicated in the warning of Romans 1:21-23:
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man.
What are the characteristics of man to which he would turn his god or his Jesus? He would turn God or Jesus into the image of his own lust. He would create a Jesus, who not only tolerates his lust, but accepts false worship characterized by lust, which is against the nature of God or the Lord Jesus Christ. This is “another Christ.”
The perversion of Jesus into another Jesus either adds or takes away from the true Jesus. One commonality of a false Jesus is He might not completely save or cannot do so, requiring then good works to save in addition to what he has done. Many Christian denominations or religions do this. Peter, John, and Paul all three in their epistles deal with what I’m addressing here. John has much in his three epistles and in every chapter.
Just as an example, in 1 John 2:9, John writes:
He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
The person John describes is either deceptive or deceived. He says he’s in the light. He either knows he’s not or he thinks he is and he doesn’t know that he isn’t. Two verses later (v. 11), John says this person is deceived:
But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
This person doesn’t even know that he isn’t walking in the light, because darkness has blinded his eyes. He thinks he’s right and he’s not. Many professing Christians think they are right for various reasons. What I’ve noticed in many of the instances is that they compare themselves with other professing Christians. They must be right, because they know other people who are like them or worse.
Is this above described hate just something arbitrary or ambiguous, just a feeling or impression? Does he detest this person? It’s not like that in verse 10:
He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
John brings two characteristics. The one who loves his brother abides in the light, that is, he abides in doctrinal and practical light. He is believing and practicing according to scripture. Second, he brings no occasion of stumbling. He doesn’t want to cause a brother to stumble. How does someone cause someone else to stumble? This is not a synonym of not walking in the light. Someone can cause someone to stumble, according to the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 8, by abusing a Christian liberty. Paul said that eating meat offered unto idols caused someone to stumble. Jesus mentions this same cause of stumbling twice in Revelation 2-3 and forbids it both times.
If someone dishonors and disobeys his parents, he is not walking in the light. By dishonoring and disobeying his parents, he could also be causing someone to stumble. Those two can overlap. Paul says that someone hates his brother by not walking in the light and then by causing someone to stumble. This is how someone hates someone.
John says much more in his epistle, but many people are deceived into thinking that have a true Jesus when they don’t. Their Jesus approves of those who don’t walk in the light and those who also cause others to stumble. Jesus is the light of the world. We walk in the light as Jesus is in the light. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
I see perpetual disobedience to the Word of Christ, to scripture, by professing Christians, and yet they think they are walking in the light. They are walking in darkness. This is why they have no problem with sensual, worldly, and fleshly worship. It’s not even that their Jesus accepts it. They aren’t thinking about whether He receives it, because they are thinking about what it does for themselves. They are shaping their music according to their own lust, and they think it’s good because they like it. Those singing it look and act like secular performers and their style is one that conforms to the world. This is unacceptable to the Lord (Romans 12:1-2).
If a professing Christian as a practice engages in false worship, is that walking in the light? Is that loving a brother? Is that causing others to stumble?
The only thing worse than a false Jesus to those with a false Jesus is pointing out their false Jesus. They love the Jesus they can conform to themselves, not the one in the Bible.
Self-Love Is the Most Potent Stupid Pill: The Recent Ascent of Self-Love
Scripture does not teach self love. It teaches against self love. If one trait characterizes apostasy (2 Tim 3:1-3), it is self love. When Jesus came to earth, He emptied His self (Philippians 2). At the root of the gospel is self-denial and yet self-love grows today rampant among even professing Christians. I thought perhaps new psychological studies on contemporary narcissism might flatten the curve for self-love into the foreseeable future, but it’s making a comeback like a second wave of Covid-19 with an acceleration of the number of cases.
Importantly, taking charge of our health and well being and proactively loving ourselves by engaging in self-care are radical actions for those of us with marginalized identities, especially in a nation whose leader’s bigotry is self-evident and who seems hell-bent on destroying us.
“Self-care can be described as the practice of taking an active role in taking care of and protecting your own well being and happiness during periods of stress,” Dr. Seely-Jefferson says. “This can involve saying no, prioritizing your own feelings, asking for help, spending time alone, putting yourself first, asking for what you need, setting boundaries, staying at home, forgiving yourself and taking a step back. These are different from the traditional ways we define self-care and are soul-affirming activities that can counter some of the negative insults we get on a daily basis.”
What Is Self-Love?
Self-love is the best love and the ultimate way to boost your self-esteem and become a fully healed and integrated human being. People often come to the idea backward. They look at attributes such as the way that a confident person walks or observe their traits.
But fundamentally, all radical change begins from within. You then start to really value yourself as a powerful creator of your own reality and deserving of love and respect from everybody. Self-love is the opposite of selfishness.
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
It’s not even good for the psyche to do this naval gazing, promoted by false teachers. Millennials especially are fed this poison, a literal stupid pill, because self-love will make you stupid, take the opposite trajectory of wisdom, which comes from above (James 3:15-17). If you can’t explain stupid behavior, many times at the root of it today is self-love. Joyce Marter titles her article, Self-Love Must Come First. Her most fundamental counsel, given in a sub-title, reads:
Self-love is a journey. It takes dedication, devotion, and practice. Resolve to love yourself each and every day and watch your best self blossom and your greatest life unfold! Self-love is an exponential force.
The emergence of social media has created a platform for self-love promotion and mental health awareness in order to end the stigma surrounding mental health and to address self-love positively rather than negatively.
Self-care is a holistic process that we all need in order to foster presence, engagement, wellness, and self-love. Self-care is not a singular skill. Instead, self-care includes a wide variety of tasks tailored to meet your diverse needs. Although there may be similarities between self-care strategies, self-care is subjective and tends to vary from person to person.
Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
I know that calling it a “stupid pill” could be controversial, but the most stupid decisions arise from me-first. God-love results in God honoring decisions that are the best for others and yourself. They bring wisdom, not foolishness. Self-love brings a multiplicity of selfish decisions with mounting stupidity. It is a recipe for disaster for a person and institution.
Baptist Churches and the Spanish Flu, 1918-1920
The government is not the friend of churches. A conspiracy of Satan exists against the church as part of his war against God. I see religious liberty in America disappearing. Is this Covid-19 shelter-in-place, no gatherings above five or ten, a part of the overall plan to stop churches? Or is it spiritually a means by which Satan disrupts the church, the churches and their leaders sending a message that assembling isn’t essential?
Related to this concern for member’s behavior, the church returned to its old custom of having members appear in person “concerning offenses” instead of sending another person to do so. In October 1918 services were called off due to the “Spanish Influenza Situation.”
In October the meetings were held with large attendance. Just then an epidemic of Spanish influenza broke out in the city. Public places were closed, among them the tabernacle. In January 1919, it was reopened and meetings were resumed.
[A]ll the churches in the State were forced on government order to suspend services for a time because of the Spanish influenza epidemic. The McMinnville First Baptist Church conducted no services from October 17 through November 13, 1918 as was the case with other congregations for similar periods of time.
Most of the churches were closed during the epidemic of Spanish Influenza , but in spite of that, a spirit of revival has existed.
Finally, December 22, 1918, “church services resumed after being closed for 11 weeks on account of an epidemic of the Spanish influenza.”
Pray for Power! (Or pray for grace?)
expect God to do what happened with Elijah and suspend the climate over
Israel for three years and then make literal fire come down literally
from heaven (1 Kings 18)? Do we mean a sign miracle, in the sense of the Greek word
semeion? Alternatively, do we mean what Jack Hyles meant when he prayed to his dead mother, the ability to get more people to repeat the “sinner’s prayer” than would have done it without praying for power? Do we mean what Scripture
means by dunamis, exousia, etc.? If we have never studied out what the Greek and Hebrew words the Holy Spirit dictated for power mean or if we don’t care what God means by the words translated power enough to see what He has revealed on the subject, do we even
know what we are asking for when we pray for power? (Note the study here on the differences between the words for “miracle,” some of which are also rendered “power,” which is very important if we are going to say we need to pray for power.)
Testament, preached expositionally through the entire Psalter, and prays
for what the Apostles prayed for, for what Christ told His people to
pray for, but does not specifically pray for “power” because there is
not even one example of that in the NT, be missing “one of the most
basic facts of the Christian life”? Is Scripture sufficient for instruction on how to live the Christian life?
epistle begins with asking God for “grace,” sees that there are actual
commands that relate to this, e. g., “let us have grace, whereby we may
serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (Heb 12:28), and so
is utterly dependent upon God for grace, prays for grace, and glories in
God’s grace. However, he does not pray for “power”
because there is not a single example of prayer for it but Scripture
actually says that God’s mighty power is working in all who believe (Eph
1:19) and what we need to pray for us to have our eyes enlightened to
this fact (Eph 1:18). Is it OK to pray for grace and depend upon God’s grace instead of praying for power? (Note that by praying for “grace” we can study Scripture to see exactly what this means in relation to prayer–something we cannot do when praying for “power.”)
8.) If you pray for “power” but have never thought about the questions above–and, even worse, if you don’t care what the Biblical answers are–is the God who inspired the Bible answering your prayer?
The Pharisaism and Sedation of Woke “Christianity”: A Coronavirus to the Church
Former Treatment A Second Former Treatment
The Great Awakening in mid-18th century colonial America, influenced by the biblical preaching of George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards, led to the American Revolution. Some say we’re now in the Great Awokening with aspirations for a different kind of revolution, perhaps something closer to that of the early 20th century Russian Bolsheviks. In 2018, Andrew Sullivan wrote in the New Yorker:
And so the young adherents of the Great Awokening exhibit the zeal of the Great Awakening. Like early modern Christians, they punish heresy by banishing sinners from society or coercing them to public demonstrations of shame, and provide an avenue for redemption in the form of a thorough public confession of sin. “Social justice” theory requires the admission of white privilege in ways that are strikingly like the admission of original sin. A Christian is born again; an activist gets woke. To the belief in human progress unfolding through history — itself a remnant of Christian eschatology — it adds the Leninist twist of a cadre of heroes who jump-start the revolution.
And religious impulses, once anchored in and tamed by Christianity, find expression in various political cults. These political manifestations of religion are new and crude, as all new cults have to be. They haven’t been experienced and refined and modeled by millennia of practice and thought. They are evolving in real time. And like almost all new cultish impulses, they demand a total and immediate commitment to save the world.
Ghosting is the form of separation for the inclusivists. Anyone who rejects their profanity and corrupt doctrine is toxic. This is how physical kingdoms are brought in. It’s how the revolution succeeds. To Robespierre, one of the fanatics of the French revolution, the purveyor of the guillotine said, “On ne fuit pas d’omelette sans casser des oeufs.” Translated, “You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs.” Deep down this is an angry group. You’ve seen them. They like the anonymity of masks, but they’ve got murder in their hearts for those who get in the way of their kingdoms of this world.
You Might Be Settled on God’s Love For You, But What About Your Love for God?
God doesn’t love us by sending on to us His sentimental feelings. That’s not love. He actually loves us, and so does Jesus. Jesus laid down His life. God does things. He provides. He gives. I can keep going, but it’s the length of the whole Bible.
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