The Damage From Within

Have you ever heard the argument “With all the horrible things going on in this world, why must you be so concerned about all these religious discussions?”, the idea being that I am wasting my time and energies in this endeavor when I could help alleviate suffering and “evil”, as though one had nothing to do with another. And then there's the constant cry that “religion” is the very cause for much of the world's woes.

My interest will always be to do the work of a Berean, to test all things, to examine myself and gain a sound, working understanding of scripture that bears fruit in keeping with repentance.

This will probably prove to be the most damaging video to myself, and I may just now be venting several years of pent-up frustration at what I see occurring in the church; what is acceptable and still labeled “Christian”, but it's now old hat to endure the certain rage of those who will accuse me of heresy hunting, not loving the brethren, causing strife within the body etc...but may I ask:

IF, in our confessed belief in the sovereignty and providence of the Triune God, He brought forth both the Dark Ages and the subsequent Glorious Reformation, will His Word not hold true in declaring unto us that by similar means that produced the first, we are in danger of producing yet another Dark Age of biblical understanding?

The first was due to miserly enshrouding the Word in a dead language. (Latin and the Roman Catholic Church). Ours would be due to the unchaste, wanton lewdness disguised as intimacy purveyed by malevolent “men of God”. And we wonder at the decay surrounding us.

The church has always faced attacks from without from an unbelieving world, yet her greater challenge comes as she must identify, confront and drive from her midst those who would infiltrate and infect from within, those wolves in sheep's clothing who do “not spare the flock. Also from among yourselves men (and today, women) will rise up, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves.” Acts 20:29, 30


Who are these men? Are they amongst us today? YES! To name the more well known:
Most of The Emergents: McLaren, Bell, Pagitt, Jones, Bakker
The Seeker-Sensitives/PurposeDriven: Let's just say anyone whose preaching is heavily influenced by Peter Drucker. E.Young Jr., Noble, Shook, Furtick
The WordFaith-ers: Hinn, Copeland, Dollar, Price etc and all their progeny...and the Osteen-cult.
The Ecumenists: “Let's not let Doctrine Divide. Let's just all get along.” I hear haunting echoes of “Come to Mother Rome!”
The...Others, to put it kindly: Bentley, King, Mills, Jordan, Hagee, Roth


Though the purity of the church in both doctrine and worship is frequently spoken of in scripture, and heresy is defined and exposed by what can be proven contrary to these doctrines, the vast majority of today's Evangelical church must be unwilling and incapable of either defining or exposing these blasphemers.

I find that I am not saddened when dealing with the atheistic arguments, but when having to recognize the blatant and shameless blasphemy that passes for preaching, my heart sinks in despair and yet burns with anger. These so-called preachers are no longer declaring the truths of the historic faith. Their “gospel” is wholly unrecognizable when compared to the content of the preaching of the early and late Reformation yet they claim they are having the same effects in the saving of souls and the equipping of men!

I say, when we find them producing the type of profound and exhaustive exegetical work of the Reformation era and we find them engaging in the necessary debates of our own day, I'll relent...and repent of my very low view of their “ministries”. They've had time to assess and re-assess their false doctrines. They flatly reject correction and claim persecution “for righteousness sake”.

Again, I say when they prove capable of standing in the manner of a John Knox, a William Tyndale or the host of true martyrs for the glory of the true Gospel, I shall praise God for them. As it is, they are a blight upon the church, compounding the ridicule brought upon her in their shallow, ear-tickling theology that makes no sense to even the worst of the false-religionists of our day.

Yet we have thousands upon thousands imbibing and affirming their venomous message, but because they say “Jesus” and speak of the Holy Spirit and read an out-of-context passage of the bible that suits their blasphemy, the gullible open wide and swallow.

So while my main content of the World Conquered addresses the hostile and vocal sceptic, there is another element addressed in scripture that is just as hostile, yet even more damaging because it is done with such subtlety.