Archive for March, 2011


“Idols of the Heart”

Filed under: Edifying Quotes, Emergent, Truth — Leave a comment
March 20, 2011

Put off the old man, don't search it out!

“One does not have to analyze the heart through hunting out a myriad of idols in order to walk according to the Spirit. These so-called idols (motivating, ruling desires, etc.) are only inner expressions of the flesh or “the old man.” Jesus took care of the matter fully and the New Testament clearly tells believers all they need to know about walking according to the new life in Christ, without extensive analysis of possible idols lurking in the hidden depths, because they can only be lurking in the flesh, the old man, which is corrupt and must be put off (Ephesians 4:22).

Martin and Deidre Bobgan, “Paul Tripp and Syncretism,” PsychoHeresy Awareness Letter, Volume 19, Number 2, March-April 2011.

“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24.

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“What’s Inside?”

Filed under: Creation, Parables, Truth — Leave a comment
March 16, 2011

“Every door science opens there are ten unopened doors on the other side and the more we learn the more we realize we don’t know.”  -Dave Hunt

One evening a man opens the door, entering into a beautiful new library.  He begins exploring its books, computers, and music.  Then looking up, he sees a large door at the end of the room.  Excited to explore the next space he opens the new door.  Inside is a large room filled with maps, more books and exciting technologies.  After exploring this second room, the man discovers ten more doors along the back wall, each leading to even more amazing rooms filled with even more fantastic items.  As the man searches through all these rooms, a mysterious and wonderful idea overcomes him. “All of this wonderful information is powerful, so powerful that I can use it to make myself great. I will search through it all and attempt to discover as much as I can.”  “But wait,” interrupts his conscience. “The information amassed in these rooms doesn’t point to you, rather to the ones who have supplied it.”  “Ah,” says the man, answering his conscience, “True, but I know what to do.  I’ll tell others that this information didn’t originated from any intelligence, rather from a process of time and chance. Then I will receive all the glory for everything that I discover.”  “But no one will believe such folly,” argues his conscience.   Then a smile grows across the man’s face.  “It will if I allow others to enter the library knowing all the information they discover will be to their own fame.”  

“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.” Romans 1:21

Quote above by Dave Hunt: http://www.thebereancall.org/node/7093

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The Good News of Man??? Part 1

Filed under: Emergent, The Good News, Truth — Leave a comment
March 6, 2011
Recently I was online ordering some Gospel tracts and ran across a number one, best-seller of all tracts in the 10 years of this website’s sales.  Naturally, I was intrigued. So guess the title of this number one tract. 
 
A. God’s Gift  
B.  Jesus, Our Savior 
C. Sin and Salvation
D.  You are Special. 
 
And the answer is… “D”—“You are Special”, written by Ted Griffen in 2007. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                  
So what is the main idea of this number one selling ‘gospel’ tract?  Almost anyone reading this is left with one thought, and one thought only… I’m not that bad, actually I’m really wonderful. But is that the truth? 
 
 
 
Consider several verses about the state of man found in God’s Word (all emphasis mine)
  • Jeremiah 17:9– “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
  • Job 42:5– “I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
  • Luke 7:6– “Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof.”
  • John 2:23-25–  “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in His name, when they saw the miracles which He did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because He knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for He knew what was in man.”
  • Romans 7:18, 24, 25–  “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I  thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”
 
 
Here are several glaring errors found in the tract written by Ted Griffen.  (The tract can be read in full at: http://www.goodnewstracts.org/product/663575730996)  (All emphasis below is mine.)
Note: Part 2 of this blog will address each point below in light of Scripture.
  • Believe it or not—no one else is just like you. Your physical appearance, your voice and personality traits—your habits, intelligence, personal tastes—all these make you one of a kind. Even your fingerprints distinguish you from every other human being—past, present, or future. You are not the product of some cosmic assembly line; you are unique.
  • But the most important fact of your identity is that God created you in His own image (Genesis 1:27). He made you so you could share in His creation, could love and laugh and know Him person to person. You are special indeed!
  • But even here we are precious to God, for He continues to love us even when we pay Him no mind. He still sees us as individuals with great value. No wonder the psalmist declared, “How precious are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand” (Psalm 139:17, 18).
  • He cares, and He considers each one of us important enough to love.
  • Because you and I are special to God, He wants to forgive us and give us a full, meaningful life. When we trust in Jesus Christ and let Him put our lives together, the Bible says that we become “God’s masterpieces, created in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:10, paraphrase). Can anyone be more special than that?
  • Yes, you are valuable to God! 

Is not the Gospel called the Gospel of Christ and of God?  It is NOT called the good news of man!

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16

***See Part 2 for a biblical response for each point above. ***

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“Science or God” vs. “Science and God”

Filed under: Creation, Truth — Leave a comment
March 4, 2011

“Underlying this whole business, there’s a confusion of thought that it’s either design or science, it’s either God or science. God is …the personal Creator, He is the agent who causes the universe to exist.  But science explains mechanisms, and the existence of mechanisms certainly doesn’t provide an argument for the absence of an agent who designed those mechanisms. So the more science goes on, far from dispelling an illusion of design, it increases the evidence for design.  It’s God and science, not God or science.”  Prof. John Lennox, Web Interview, http://www.bigquestions.com/bonus-interviews

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