The more I deal with those who “resent” the doctrines we hold to here at Possessing the Treasure, such as the doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone, the doctrine of Regeneration, and the doctrine of Election, among many others, the more I have prayed for God to show me why it is that so many reject what is clearly presented in His Word. The answer to those prayers seems to be that those who have a problem with Paul’s presentation of the Sovereignty of God in Ephesians 1 & 2 and Romans 9, for example, have that issue because they are somehow centered in their pride while looking at the Sovereignty of God as some sort of insult to it. It is as if they are demanding “their rights,” and see the Sovereignty of God as something that violates those rights. The Apostle Paul did not have this issue and neither should we.

(click here to read this post)

More detail and link to his video here.

Today someone who’s been on the inside of the emerging church informs us why they’ve left it. You’ll find the link in this piece.

Startling evidence from a recent Fighting for the Faith program of CRN contributor Chris Rosebrough which you can listen to here gives real reason to ask this question concerning the spiritual formation guru.

The lack of tolerance within the visible church for the exclusivity of the genuine Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is rooted in the “Hermeneutic of Humility.” Even amongst some pretty solid Christians that I am close to, I have noticed that pained or shocked look on their faces when they hear me succinctly define the Gospel the way our Lord Jesus did and the way the Apostle Paul did. These reactions are rooted in the “Hermeneutic of Humility,” which is a way of looking at our faith and interpreting the very Word of God through a filter that sees certainty as a product of pride and uncertainty as a virtue. It looks so humble to these people when they hear a Christian leader say that they don’t know the full truth about this or that, but as far as they know, “blah…blah…blah.” These people contend that to be certain divides people while uncertainty creates an environment of unity. I have been accused of being filled with pride over the last several years so many times by some people because I will not agree with their interpretation of scripture or whatever. My brethren, our God does not give us His truth in shades of gray. He tells us succinctly what is truth and what is not. The Gospel, for instance, is very well defined and those who insist on a variegated version of it do so because they view certainty as divisive and uncertainty as being truly humble and uniting.

(click here to read this post)

Probably the quickest way for a Christian to discover the truth of the incredible depth and breadth of spiritual darkness in this present world is to stand firm on God’s Truth, and within that firm stand, tell that truth boldly to professing Christians. It will not take very long for those who hold to a version of Christianity that is apostate to make the reality of their spiritual darkness known in ways accompanied by fiery darts from our enemy. However, we are commanded by our Saviour to let our ‘light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.’ The believer who cowers from this or backs away from the firm stand to be that light, φως, is revealing the reality that they are ashamed of the Gospel. So how are we to be this φως in this present σκοτια (darkness)?

(click here to read this post)

With a dark and threatening same-sex storm growing closer to your evangelical church, in this article we debunk an old liberal argument advanced by Robinson today in a Christian Today report.

Phil Shepherd aka the Whiskey Preacher tells us he’s “Church Planter of The Eucatastrophe,Outlaw Preacher, Speaker, Writer, Consultant, Paranormal Investigator, and Follower of God Through The Way Of Jesus.”

Below we take a shot of the Whiskey Preacher’s first vidcast of the emerging church of the future. And as always with these emerging “pastors” we must also issue a bad language warning.

Restoration Theology Part 1: Perfection vs. Good from Phil Shepherd on Vimeo.

 Details and the NBC affiliate News 8 video expose here.

More detail in this post here.

The New Progressive Christianity is Rebranding Old Liberalism and thousands of evangelicals under the spell of the Seeker Sensitive & Purpose Driven movements are being led into the abyss of religious pluralism…

“The progressive Christian Movement started by deconstructing the dominant paradigm of the faith in America, taking apart its patriarchy, litealism and chauvinism. But the last few years, our movement has turned in a positive direction.

We begun to construct a new model of Christianity with deep spiritual, religious pluralism, sound science, good common sense, compassion for the needs of humanity, the inclusion of all people, and respect for the environment”- The Center For Progressive Christianity

“The unity of religious experience can only be founded upon the fact that we are all indwelt by the spirit of the One God. It is this divine spirit in men and women that gives origin to the unselfish urge to love and serve their fellows. Each of us is unique, and therefore we will inevitably have different interpretations of the leadings and urges of this divine spirit of God that lives within our minds and souls. Even though we cannot obtain philosophic and/or theological uniformity, we surely can experience the spiritual unity of divine love that emanates from this indwelling divine spirit of God.”
- Interfaith Dialogue at the Jesusonian Gospel

Some further thoughts on the emerging church morphing into Liberalism 2.0 built around a post from EC theologian Scot McKnight.

This only would I learne of you, Receiued ye the Spirit by the workes of the Lawe, or by the hearing of faith preached? Are ye so foolish, that after ye haue begun in the Spirit, ye would now be made perfect by the flesh? Haue ye suffered so many things in vaine? If so be it be euen in vaine. He therefore that ministreth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it through the workes of the Law, or by the hearing of faith preached? (Galatians 3:2-5 Geneva)

In our recent discussion of all things “missional,” we did achieve much of what I intended. We did reach a point of clarification, which is the point isn’t it? When it comes to Justification by God of His people, shouldn’t the clutter be removed and the rubbish swept away? All aspects of our salvation should be clarified and those things that are only meant to cause confusion or misdirection (showing those with discernment their true source) should be shown for what they really are and cast aside. Then, with a sharp focus, we must look at the truth, which means we go to the source; i.e. The Word of God not some emergent or missional guru. Therefore, in this post we will look at part of Romans 10, in which the Apostle Paul, showing that God has provided a way to justification in His eyes to both Jews and Gentiles, further nails down from where salvation comes, who possesses it, and how they got it. What could be more important than that?

(click here to read this post)

The Baptist General Association of Virginia’s (BGAV) Mission Board shares The Parish Paper :

The Virginia Baptist Mission Board is proud to provide copies of the Parish Paper free of charge to members of our constituency!

The April 2010 edition asks the question: What Can We Learn from the Emerging Church Movement? ( Good timing considering the 2010 BGAV’s 21-C church growth conference was immersed in emergent methodology).

Within the text is favorable reference to emergent mystic and author, Phyllis Tickle. The article claims that the emergent movement is no threat to Christianity.

Chris Rosebrough’s Fighting for the Faith shares Tickle’s own words to include:

We are hearing more about the FACT ( emphasis mine ) that all religions are the same…they go to the same place…to the same God.

An erotic relationship exists between man and the daughter of the voice of God.

When we take communion we are eating our God, the body and blood of our God ( that is the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation ).
We are “FEEDING THE “GOD” WITHIN US”.

See the rest at Watcher’s Lamp.

“Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” (Acts 2:36-39 ESV)

When I was a new Christian, through many interlocking circumstances, I moved my family back to the same town in Oklahoma in which I had grown up. We joined a very traditional Southern Baptist Church just a block or so from our house. We remained there about 13 years. When we first joined, the emphasis there was evangelism. We supported missions through the SBC. We had annual mission trips to Mexico and Central America. We had a very well run Evangelism Explosion program that was tightly integrated into our weekly prayer and visitation programs. I went from a trainee to a trainer after a year or so. That emphasis on evangelism was always outward. We went into areas outside of the Church and evangelized. God blessed this sometimes by using us to bring people into the Kingdom. However, in the early 1990’s, as I have shared in this post, we lost our pastors and the man who replaced them changed our church drastically. The emphasis was no longer an outward facing evangelism. Instead, it was on reshaping the church to be more attractive to those outside. The emphasis on the Gospel was muted.

(click here to read this post)

More in this short post concerning Warren’s Radicalis conference next week.

“My guy Erwin McManus (Mosaic Church) created a Doritos Superbowl Ad!” tweeted fellow megachurch pastor Rick Warren last week in support of “Casket.” “Church could win $! VOTE 4 him!”

From Church Executive Magazine:

Two of his buddies apparently know the scheme and called it a “genius” plan that provides free Doritos and gets him at least a week off of work.

The commercial ends when the man overly excited after a touchdown, overturns his casket and is seen alive and well eating Doritos in front of mourners. One of his friends tries to cover for him by leaping into the aisle and proclaiming, “It’s a miracle!”

The idea for the comical ad was inspired by one of the “Casket” team member’s funeral experience. The team member’s grandfather had requested to be buried with a beer and cigarettes.

“Thx to your help Casket is at 35,000 views,” tweeted McManus, on Monday. “Help us make it 40,000 by tomorrow! (and u could win tix to the Bowl).”

This is the fourth annual Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” contest. The makers of each of the top six entries have each won $25,000. It is now up to online voters to decide which three commercials will be aired during the Super Bowl. Votes will be taken until Jan. 31. The winners will not find out until Super Bowl Sunday when they actually see their commercial aired. Creators of the top three ads will win $1 million each. Doritos is also giving away two Super Bowl tickets every day to voters.

HT: Watcher’s Lamp

Sola Scriptura In Sacred scripture alone we find

Sola Gratia Salvation is by grace alone

Sola Fide Through faith alone

Solus Christus In Christ alone

Soli Deo Gloria! For the glory of God alone!

Then came to him the tempter, and said, If thou be the Sonne of God, commande that these stones be made bread. But he answering said, It is written, Man shall not liue by bread onely, but by euery worde that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:3-4 Geneva)

Unbelief is the fruit of arrogance. I hear nearly every day from some Emergent/Post-Modern know-it-all that certainty is the product of pride and the only ones who are truly humble are those who view uncertainty in all things as a virtue. What is unbelief in this context? To define it we must first define its opposite, belief. In John 6:35 Jesus said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” So those who “believe in Jesus” are those who do what? Those with belief come to Jesus to partake of this promise instead of seeking fulfillment elsewhere. These believe God; therefore, those in unbelief are those who do not believe God. They may believe Him in some things, but they do not do so to the level that causes them to place all their trust in Him and His promises as their Lord. Those in belief live within the context of Jesus Christ being their Lord while those in unbelief do not. Oh, they compensate to be sure. They create their own Jesus who is more to their liking. Since they created him, they have him being “lord” in their context, but most certainly not according to that which we are clearly given in Sacred Scripture.

(click here to read this post)

This post shows what’s really at the heart of interfaith/interspiritual “dialogue.”

Built around a post from Phil Johnson some things here that may make you go hmm.

The best way to deal with counterfeit “truth” is to exposit the real truth so clearly that there can be no doubt about its veracity and the vileness of the counterfeit. This does two things. God verifies in the hearts of His people His truth and those deceived people who are bound up in their false versions of the truth lay further groundwork in the preparation of their coming judgment. The February Issue of Tabletalk Magazine from Ligonier Ministries focuses primarily on one topic, “What N.T. Wright Really Said.” In these days of growing apostasy, it is quite refreshing to read the solid doctrinal truths from godly men in defense of the Gospel in light of Bishop Wright’s attacks via his New Perspective on Paul. Instead of focusing on personal attacks and attempts at character assassination, the writers of the articles in the series focus on one thing, what N.T. Wright said, and why what he said is unbiblical, and therefore, an attack on Orthodox Christianity and especially the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(click here to read this post)

I completed reading John MacArthur’s book Ashamed Of The Gospel over the weekend. This fine book has the following subtitle, “When The Church Becomes Like The World.” There are several editions of this book. The one I have was marketed in 1993 as the Expanded Edition for it contains several Appendix sections. While this is not a “new” book, I still found it very up-to-date for MacArthur paralleled the trend in our time of “church marketing,” “seeker-sensitivity,” and “soft-selling the Gospel” with the Down-Grade Controversy that consumed the last several years of the ministry of C.H. Spurgeon in the 19th Century. Our enemy may enlist his followers because of their supposed innovations in ministry, but honestly, there is nothing new under the Sun. The very same error being made by seeker-sensitive ministers such as Rick Warren and emergents like Doug Pagitt is simply a repeat of the very same errors made by the liberals in Spurgeon’s day, which is to attempt to minister pragmatically rather than by faith.

(click here to read this post)

It’s hurry up back to the Dark Ages for evangelicalism:

This site has been created to promote networking and collaboration around the world and in the UK, for those who are seeking to build ecclesial communities out of contextual mission, utilising a new monastic model. To be clear, we are wanting to focus on those particuarly involved/engaged with new monastic communities, rather than yet another social network of those involved in general church groups. Some have been doing this for a while, some have just started, whilst others are still conceiving.

Some specifically have created intentional communities where people live together, whilst others have built networks of a dispersed community of intentionality. Some are very friar in their outlook, seeking to serve a particular place practicing radical hospitality, evangelism and mission in places some forms of church would not tread. Some are more monk like, seeking to build places of solace and community in but not of the world…

Marin feels slighted by the UK Anglican church as you can see here.

Christian Retailing tells us:

InterVarsity Press (IVP) books topped Leadership Journal’s top 10 books for church leaders from 2009, recently announced by the magazine.

Selected by a group of more than 100 pastors and leaders, including contributing editors of the magazine, the winners of the Golden Canon Leadership Book Awards were divided into two different sections–the Leader’s Inner Life, which focuses on communion with God, and the Leader’s Outer Life, which points to church leadership’s best practices.

Three IVP books were chosen for the Leader’s Outer Life list: …