Justification by Slavery Alone

I argue with my mother a lot. Not in a way that I break the fifth commandment; but we do go at it. Most of our arguments are over (you guessed it): politics and religion. You see, Mom was raised in the south (Augusta, Georgia) came up through segregation and the civil rights era. Yes, she had to ride on the back of the bus and she had to drink from the "colored only" water fountain. She was called "nigger" and MacDonald's would only serve her if she went to the back door of the restaurant. So she feels that since I was spared all of these dehumanizing events I have no clue as to why we black folk can't just forgive and forget.

I know it doesn't compare in magnitude; but I have to remind her that I have had a taste of racism in my life also. I grew up in the Bronx during the 70's and 80's. My friends and I were physically attacked by white boys for riding our bikes through the Castle Hill area while being black. I've been called "nigger" while walking on the street minding my own business. I remember ambulances taking their sweet time to respond to calls from black neighborhoods (911 is a Joke! Thanks, Public Enemy). I remember Crown Heights and Bensonhurst. I can't claim the levels Mom has seen; but I'm not totally unstained by dehumanizing events.

My point here is not so much how my Mom still holds a grudge about these things. It's about how she and so many of her generation (and some of mine) have tricked themselves into believing that having experienced these events,the evils of slavery and racial discrimination are somehow salvific. It's this mindset that fuels the Jeremiah Wrights, Al Sharptons and James Cones of the world. And that is a source of great discomfort for me. Contrary to what my Mom sometimes states, I love my people a great deal. It would be tragic for vast numbers of us to experience the eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth only because we thought we had some sort of "get out of hell free" card because of slavery.

Oddly enough, Mom easily dismisses the facts that we too enslaved people in our history. She forgives the Africans who sold other Africans to the "white man" cheap for slave labor. I guess since all that happened so long ago that makes it okay. I guess it's like us calling each other "nigga". We can do it to each other; but it's off limits to you "white man"!

What Mom and many of us black folk fail to realize is that God is not particularly enamored with us. Yes, black is beautiful, but even "black" shows the stain of sin. You can try soaking it out, you can try scrubbing it out; but it won't come out until the blood of Jesus is applied.

My friend Alex Compere emailed me a very powerful video by Pastor Paul Washer. After viewing it, I watched more of Washer's videos and I thought these two, in particular, spoke to what I'm trying to convey here. The bottom line here is that all of us (black, white, yellow and chartreuse) are sinners from birth. The total depravity of man is a fact that has enabled all the atrocities of history . . . those blacks have committed also! The balancing factor and the only remedy for our sin is the love of God shown through the sacrifice of His son, Jesus. Being black and having survived slavery and racial discrimination may prove our endurance, tenacity and more likely God's grace; but it doesn't guarantee our salvation.

In his epic work "The Institutes of the Christian Religion" John Calvin stated that "without knowledge of self there is no knowledge of God". He also stated, "without knowledge of God there is no knowledge of self". Please watch the following videos . . . in some small way, I hope the first will be seed for a more Scriptural view of ourselves and the second for a more glorifying view of our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.








Keith,
B.L.B.B!!!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!(Acts 17:11)

Same-Sex Anti-Marriage and Other Signs of the Apocalypse


Well, it is certainly good to be back! However, I now know how Moses felt. I go up to the mountains for a few weeks and when I come back all hell has broken loose! As I am sure you all know, our wacky neighbors on the "left coast" have decided that their state should recognize the homosexual's "right to choose" to become wedded (I can no longer bring myself to say "married" because that was God's invention and He did not design it for homosexuals). I guess I can't honestly blame everyone in Cali for this decision; after all it was just a bunch of "U.S. Constitutionally-challenged" justices who made the decision. Fret not, they will meet the Righteous Judge one day.

Again, politics is certainly not the warp and woof of this blog; however, a couple of items have come to my attention that simply must be shared. Short of a master stroke of "Bill-like" ingenuity on Hillary's part, the presumptive candidates for president this year will be: Barack Obama and John McCain. This places Christians on the proverbial horns of a dilema. Now, I would not dare attempt to use my blog to attempt to tell anyone who to vote for. I will, however, attempt to influence the reason for your vote.

My position is plain: Christians should not be beholden to ANY political party. As Christians we are to be informed about the candidates and support those whom we have determined (as best as we can) have taken a biblical stand for the issues that confront our country and communities.

I am very familiar with brothers and sisters in Christ who propose that we cannot disqualify a candidate because of his/her position on any one particular issue (it seems uncanny to me that that one issue is always abortion). Frankly, I think they are deceived. If the issue is "life", that is the one issue on which every other conceivable issue is founded upon. God evidently thinks that "life" is so important that He put a pretty strong fence around it . . .

"Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image"(Genesis 9:6).

Then of course comes the dishonest and ill-informed question: "duh, whose to say when 'life' actually begins?" As always, our gracious Father gives the definitive answer . . .

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb"
(Psalm 139:13).

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you . . . (Jeremiah 1:5a)".

Can you handle the truth? A candidate who can't get the "life" issue right can't, from a godly perspective, get any issue right. Then of course comes the defense: "duh, well, you're never gonna find a perfect candidate". How about this, I'll take an imperfect candidate whose imperfection does not include being on the wrong side of the "life" issue!

You might now be thinking, " hey, this is a back door endorsement of John McCain!" Well, you are wrong. I personally think John McCain is like Miller Lite. Call him "Democrat Lite": Same taste as a regular democrat, but with half the guts to actually say so.

The last deception that I want to address is the the deception that "we must support someone who can actually win". Here, again, is where the "American" and the pragmatism is showing up in our Christianity. Whatever happened to being faithful? Why is "winning" the end all be all? Please define "win". Does "win" mean that the guy we voted for got the office or does "win" mean that despite the actual outcome of the election we were true to our God and to our Christian convictions? Is God less apt to complete His agenda because the guy we should be supporting can't "win"? Should we not vote for the more Christ-like candidate regardless of who "wins"? If Satan, himself, "won" the presidency of the United States would not God still be in control? Or is "God is in control" just a cliche'?

It's obvious that God is getting a lot of props during this campaign. Every candidate has made a point of reassuring us of his/her faith in God. Interestingly enough, neither Hillary nor Obama can force themselves to say that a woman carries a living child in her womb from conception. Even when the Bible which they quote and claim to believe teaches that she does. Even when cold science demonstrates this fact. Obama has famously stated that he wouldn't want his daughter to be "punished" with a baby should she accidentally become pregnant. And ol' Johnny Mac once stated that if he learned that his daughter were pregnant and wanted to have an abortion to ease her burden; he would have a family meeting with her and hope she would make the right decision. As Alan Keyes(McCain's opponent during the 2000 primaries)astutely challenged him, "what would you do if your daughter told you she was thinking about killing off grandma to ease the burden on the family"? You see, someone who is authentically "pro-life" will resolutely renounce the taking of innocent life no matter who it is.

That brings me to the real "back door" reason for this blog. There is a candidate currently running for the presidency of the United States of America who is consistently and unabashedly Christian in his stance on all the issues (most importantly "life") facing this country. I invite you to listen to this recent statement that he made and decide for yourself: have you heard this type of absolute Christian conviction from any other candidate you have observed? If you haven't, then why aren't you supporting him also?

Keyes' remarks to supporters following Constitution Party Roll call


Can Alan Keyes actually "win" the presidency of the USA? I'll put it this way: on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 both Alan Keyes and myself will have zero electoral votes. I'm not even running and I will almost beat him. The better question is: should Alan Keyes "win" the votes of Christians? My answer is "yes", what is yours? I will be writing in the name Alan Keyes on November 4, 2008. God will take care of the mess everybody else makes of this place.




Keith
B.L.B.B!!!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!! (Acts 17:11)

Oh, by the way . . . Keyes is black too! Alan Keyes: America's Revival

Separating the Men from the Rabbits


In general, I would consider myself to be a fairly optimistic person. I believe I have very good reason to be optimistic because I know God wins every time. When it comes to converting false teachers in the church and awakening their ardent followers; however, I have to admit that the prospects of overwhelming success are quite minute. The deceived are content and the deceivers love having it so.

Confronted with this reality, I have often asked myself what would have to happen to change this situation. Today I was reminded of a story that was once emailed to me. It went something like this . . .

"One Sunday morning, Rev. Smith (not his real name)was about to begin his sermon at ____________(insert name)___________(insert denomination)Church. Just as he was about to speak, the doors to the sanctuary were thrown open. Ten masked men, dressed in black and brandishing semi-automatic weapons charged into the room. The leader of the intruders stepped forward and announced, "We are going to kill every Christian in this room. If you wish to live, deny your Christ and we will spare you and let you leave." The men went through the congregation of more than 100 people and demanded their denial of the Lord Jesus. When they were through all that remained were the ten masked men, Rev. Smith and 15 of the congregants. Among those who denied Jesus and fled were: 3 ushers, 6 deacons and the entire mass choir.

When all those who had made their denial were gone, those remaining were gripped with fear as they faced their last moments of life. Just then, the masked man who had issued the ultimatum removed his mask. It was Deacon Jones, a member of the church for over forty years. Deacon Jones smiled broadly and said: "Now that only true Christians are here, Rev. Smith, we can really have church!"

What's your point, Tolbert? My point is: the only thing that will bring out the real church, the invisible church is some good old fashioned persecution. Nothing like a little suffering for Jesus' sake to separate the men from the rabbits! Now, don't get me wrong, I hope it doesn't come to this. I can't even claim to know conclusively that I would pass this supreme test; but it sure would ease those church parking and traffic problems every Sunday morning!

Yes, persecution has that peculiar power to reveal our true character and to display our true allegiances. Undoubtedly, those who are only in this for the big house, the fancy car, and the six-figure income would fold up their tent and try their luck on "Jeopardy" rather than face the big "P". After all, it's hard to enjoy routinely eating at five-star restaurants when you have been disemboweled.

I know, I know, this isn't Nero's Rome. That sort of thing could never happen here . . . right? Well, what if the secular humanism that is gaining so much strength in our society becomes the norm? What if the philosophies of Richard Dawkins and Bill Maher held sway rather than those of our founding fathers (which have lost considerable influence already)? Would the prosperity gospel have the power to sustain its adherents in the face of the loss of home, fortune and freedom. In the face of death for confession of Christ? Would black liberation theology prove to be a mighty fortress against blacks who throw in their lot with anti-Christian forces? Just as in the story, I have a feeling that only those who love the Gospel and love the Jesus of the Gospel would be left if true persecution fell upon us.

I am currently studying the book of Judges and it's words seem very haunting to me. I see so much that the church (the visible church) has in common with the children of Israel. Consider this passage from Judges 2:11-15:

" And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress."

With few alterations, can this not be said of the church(the visible church)today? We have pastors who are not content with one jet, but must have two. We have pastors who are not satisfied with their church building them 10,000sq ft homes, but also must also have attached a 10 million dollar line of credit. We have pastors who have grown weary of their Bentleys and therefore have added Maybachs to their repertoire. All of this while influencing their followers to aspire to the very same things. Can it not be said that the church(the visible church)has fallen into idolatry just like the Israelites? Are we not also kindling the Lord's anger potentially to the point that, for our sake, He must give us over to "plunderers"? Do we not deserve to be "plundered" so that the church(the visible church)may be purged of all those who fake the faith?

I get the feeling that many of us are starting to feel like Deacon Jones in the story. We want to somehow slap the church(the visible church)around and make it come to its senses. Blogs like this give us the opportunity to vent; but we realize that more times than not we are preaching to the choir. Our comfort, however, comes from the secure knowledge that God has dealt with this kind of thing before. God surely will redeem His own.

For our part, we must pray earnestly and remain faithful. We must not delude ourselves into believing that God would not allow the church to be plundered. We must continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. For, " . . . God is not mocked,for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith". Any of this sound familiar?


Now, where did I put my ski mask and grenade-launcher?


Keith,
B.L.B.B!!!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!

Feel like throwing up? Check out Richard Dawkins' website

Renouncing Their Pimp Card

Here's one for the readers. I often wonder, of all the "Pulpit Pimps" out there, who is the most likely to see the light? Which of them is most likely to recant their false teachings, forsake their vast fortunes and start preaching the Gospel?

I realize this is the height of wishful thinking; but let us not forget that God called a former persecutor of the church and made him the Apostle to the gentiles and author of two-thirds of the New Testament. The bottom-line is . . . no one is beyond the power of God to redeem. NOBODY.

So, if you were close to one of the "pimps" that we critique so often on this and like blogs and believe your ex-pimp will turn; tell us why. Perhaps you just have a hunch, who do you think would repent first and why? Dollar, Jakes, Osteen, Meyers? Who could possibly lead the way to a massive renouncing of "pimphood"?

Hey, it could happen.


Keith,
B.L.B.B!!!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!

BAA, BAA BLACK SHEEP


I have never waxed political on this blog. This has been my practice because although I have strong political opinions I want this blog to be centered on three topics only: The God of the Bible, The Jesus of the Bible and the Gospel of the Bible. This week's blog, however, is somewhat of an exception . . .

By this time most of you have at least heard about the controversy surrounding presidential candidate, Barack Obama, and his pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright. I don't intend to delve too deeply into what Wright said; but the reaction of some of his followers has truly saddened me.

For the record, I vehemently disagree with Wright's sentiments about the government's creation of HIV as a means of destroying the black race. I vehemently disagree that we brought 9/11 on ourselves. And I will never sing "God @#$% America"; because America is one of the few places left on Earth where Wright could say what he said and not find himself headless 24 hours later. Maybe if Wright took off the dashiki, turned his calendar to 2008 rather than 1968 and preached the Jesus of the Bible rather than the "Jesus" that James Cone told him about; he would understand that the "white man" is not our problem. Besides, there's a plane or a boat leaving America every 10 minutes. Anybody with that much against the country should be on one of them.

And is the government only out to get black folks when a republican is in the white house or also when a democrat is in there? If not, why didn't any of the democrat presidents expose the black-hating republican regimes and retain power forever?

Frankly, the government would be cutting its own throat by getting rid of us. Why would they want to kill us off when we are, almost singlehandedly, keeping the sport shoe, music, sports, designer clothing, child legal and abortion industries etc. afloat! We are the biggest consumers in the history of mankind and all these industries pay taxes to the government. The bottom line is that the government's favorite color is neither white nor black. It's GREEN! And whomever keeps it comin' for the government is it's darling. The government needs us!

The real shame is on the people of Trinity United Church of Christ. I watched the news in horror Monday evening as person after person expressed their support for this vulgar, gospel-free performer. Actually, I should not have been surprised; but this level of credulity was just incredible. One truly clueless member proudly proclaimed that "whatever Dr. Wright says I support him". I suppose that if Wright said this ignoramus' mother was a hamster, he'd support him in that too!

As I watched helplessly, I told my wife that anyone who was not sure and was watching this report would have to come away saying, "black people are stupid". They'd have to think we are mindless sheep and honestly, it hurts. It hurts not only because it's not true of all of us; it hurts because those of us who have half a brain will be condemned by the truly mindless ones. If any of those members of Trinity United Church of Christ were to stand up and say Wright was wrong, he'd be automatically branded as a traitor. He would be accused of hating his own race or being full of self-hatred. The truth simply does not matter to the people who would do this. Instead of standing on the infallible words of an invincible Creator. Instead of confronting the evils of racism and division the way He has commanded, they would rather play the victim. It hurts.

Al Sharpton, in his denouncing of the US' invading Iraq, said that Iraq didn't send those planes into the World Trade Center. He claimed that the perpetrators were in Afghanistan not Iraq. I ask my people: does the government have a 69% out of wedlock birth rate? We do. Does the government make up only 12.9% of the US population; but is responsible for 35.1% of the abortions in the US? We are. Does the government have an 11% high school dropout rate? We do. Perhaps it is us who are fighting the wrong enemy. Perhaps it is us who should pull out our troops from this truly unjust war.

Now, before you send all your comments about how much of a race traitor I am; and how much I sound like the "white man", etc. Let me say unreservedly that I am proud to be a black man. Wouldn't trade it for another race on the planet. But the truth is we have planks in our own eyes brethren and it is passed time that we deal with them forthrightly.

Can you handle the truth? Despite the various colors, shades and hues we come in there are really only two types of people on this Earth: the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). That is, those who are the redeemed children of God and those who are the reprobate children of Satan. The latter come in every color of the rainbow as do the former. With whom do you think our battle should be?

I know, I know . . . we have been so mistreated, so discriminated against. There’s no denying that. There’s no denying that racism is still rampant in our (yes, Our) country. But that does not excuse Wright’s venom. I can’t imagine that our Lord Jesus is in heaven saying to His children, ’’God bless the Pharisees and the Romans, No! God @$& the Pharisees and the Romans!!! They crucified Me! They beat me!" I seem to remember Him saying something like, "Father forgive them for they know not that which they do". Rev. Wright is supposed to be instructing his congregation on how to be like Jesus, how to be conformed to His image. Not to do what the heathen do, no to meet hate with hate. Oh, that’s right, he’s not familiar with the Jesus of Scripture. He’s only familiar with the "black" Jesus of liberation theology.

I coulda sworn Jesus was born Jewish!


"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12

" My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;
because you have rejected knowledge,
I reject you from being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children." Hosea 4:6



Keith
B.L.B.B!!!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!
Acts 17:11

P.S. The silence from the ACLU has been deafening in the wake of Wright's political endorsements from the pulpit . . . hasn't it?

Take My Free Will . . . PLEASE!


It's good to be back in the much milder climes of good ol' Covington, Georgia. Snow is sure beautiful to look at, but I'd much prefer warm snow!

For some reason, while I was resting in my hotel room in Eagan, MN., my mind was drawn back to this biblically-alien concept of "free will". And as I pondered it, I came to the conclusion that "free will" can get you killed! As the age old adage goes . . . let the buyer beware.

First of all, we are very inconsistent with our application of this concept. We want to enshrine "free will" when it comes to expressing ourselves, the choices we make and of course that ultimate expression: our salvation. But then we turn around and want to limit it where it comes into contact with the "free will" of others. The thinking goes something like this, " you have 'free will' as long as it doesn't interfere with someone else's 'free will'". Well, the question then becomes, how "free" is my "free will"? "Freedom", in it's most popular sense, means completely unbounded. So what does the fact that one person's "free will" might interfere with another's have to do with anything? This seems to be the perfect opportunity to prove Darwin's "survival of the fittest". If my "free will" and your "free will" come into conflict, may the "freeest" "free will" win.

Why should we get upset with murderers and rapists? They are merely expressing their "free will". If their victims were bigger, stronger or more careful then the victims' "free will" would triumph. "But", you say, "that's why we have laws and police, etc." Absolutely, and since the politicians have used their "free wills" to enact laws and the police have used their "free wills" to enforce those laws it all works out. Viva la free will!

So what it boils down to is: who ever has the biggest stick has the "freeest" will. There is one small problem; however, we still inconsistently deprive the One with the biggest stick this prerogative. Somehow, where our salvation is concerned, we deny that God uses His "big stick" in our lives. Due to either, some divine act of civility or just wanting to play nice; our Arminian/Semi-Pelagian brethren believe that God has to sit on His hands until and if man decides to place his trust in Jesus for eternal life.

"God won't violate your 'free will'" is the Arminian/Semi-Pelagian cry. Consider this . . . there was once was a man named Abimelech who wanted to bed down a woman named Sarah. His "free will" was to "know" this Sarah in the biblical sense. But God gave him the first recorded case of erectile dysfunction in the Bible when God appeared to him in a dream and said," . . . it was I who kept you from sinning against Me . Therefore I did not let you touch her" (Genesis 20:1-7). Abimelech's "free will" came into conflict with God's "free will" and God's "free will" won.

There once was a man named Onan, his "free will" was not to impregnate his sister-in-law Tamar and to go on with his life. God's "free will" was for him to impregnate his sister-in-law (according to the customs of the times, you understand) or die. Scripture bears out that Onan's "free will" was severely violated as, the Lord " . . . put him to death . . ." (Genesis 38:8-10)

What is it that we pray for whenever we ask God to save our loved ones; but that He violate their current "free will" to be a sinner and turn them into a saint? As the cliche' goes: sinners are merrily on there way to hell, minding their own business when all of a sudden God just steps right in. He doesn't ask for permission, He doesn't leave a message and wait for them to call back.

OK, so maybe you'll stipulate to a "limited free will". I'm afraid that that just won't fly either. If "free will" is an oxymoron like "jumbo shrimp" and "conservative democrat"; then "limited free will" is a bioxymoron like "mini jumbo shrimp" or "conservative democrat"! This concept of "free will" is founded upon a perverse definition of "freedom". This definition of "freedom" (particularly popular in the good ol' USA) dilutes the idea to the wanton abandonment of all restraint and responsibility. That is diametrically opposed to the biblical definition of "freedom". Biblically speaking, you are not "free" until you are submitted to Jesus Christ. And no human being, Arminian, Semi-pelagian or Calvinst, submits to Jesus Christ of his own "free will". This is because God meant it when He warned Adam that in the day he ate of the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" he would surely DIE. Unregenerate man's fallen state is one of death not just injury. He cannot choose to be saved, salvation must happen to him.

"Free will" is woefully overrated. I'm willing to wager that there is no one in hell singing, "(I Did It)My Way"! Marinate on this for a minute, "free will" will land your butt in hell!

Y'know what every roastee in hell is screaming right now? "Why, oh WHY didn't you violate my 'free will', Lord!!!

Take my "free will" . . . PLEASE!!!


Keith,
B.L.B.B!!!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!

Our Sovereign Lord's Impeccable Timing


Greetings from the frozen tundra of Eagan, Minnesota! I tell you, I cannot figure out how the native Americans ever survived up here. There aren't enough buffalo skins in the world to keep a person warm in this cold. I guess there was a heap of snuggling going on in the ol' tee pee, if you know what I mean!

I'm stealing a moment to share with you my joy and continued amazement at the boundless grace of our God. Yesterday (2/22) marked the promotion of my uncle, Andrew Stoney, from a world of sin and death to the beatific vision and eternal presence of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. I can say this both confidently and joyfully because God allowed me to witness "Bip"'s conversion.

For years now, it has been a constant part of my prayers that our LORD would save all of my family members. "Bip" (that's what we call him) was in the top three of that group. Let's just say that he was not a faithful churchgoer. Matter of fact, I can only recall being in church with him on one occasion: a Christmas Sunday back when I was about 14 years old (I'm 44 now)! The reason that that occasion stands out is because his reaction to receiving communion was so comical (o.k. it was really disrespectful, but when you're 14 it's funny!) that it has left an indelible mark on my memory. My grandmother's church in Augusta, GA wasn't exactly financially well off. I distinctly remember finding out that they had been using "Thunderbird" for the communion wine. For those of you who don't know what "Thunderbird" is; it's known for being one of the wine's of choice for winos along with "Mad Dog 20/20" and "Boone's Farm" because it's very cheap. Well after drinking his small cup of communion "wine", my uncle "Bip" smacked his lips and let out a deep and loud sigh signaling his satisfaction with the church's fine selection! My dad and I laughed hysterically (we were all "heathens" then)!

After years of pleading with God for "Bip"'s salvation the LORD made it clear to me that He was pleased with my persistence; but He chided me that I had not put any "feet" to my prayers. It was as if He had said, "Your prayers are all real nice and everything; but how about you get off your knees and go share the Gospel with your uncle". So, a couple days later I drove to Augusta and visited him. "Bip" was a bit surprised to see me as it was the middle of the week and I wasn't just seeing him as part of a larger visit to my grandmother. We sat down in his living room and I asked him, "Bip, have you come to the point in your spiritual life that you are certain that if you were to die today that you would go to heaven; or is that something you are still working on"? He kind of looked at me as though he was actually considering this for the first time. I went on, "If you were to die today and stand before God; and He were to ask you, 'Why should I allow you into my heaven' what would you say"?

Bip then listed several of his good qualities and good works that he had done. I explained to him that these were dreadfully insufficient to earn the approval of God and that the only way he would get into heaven was to receive it as a gift. I explained that we can't earn heaven and that we certainly don't deserve heaven. We are both sinners by birth and in deeds and that we are the just recipients of God's holy wrath should He not mercifully withhold that wrath. The problem is: God just can't arbitrarily withhold His wrath. "The wages of sin is death" and that sentence cannot be commuted. I explained that God is loving and merciful, but He is also Holy and just. He simply must punish sin. I told "Bip" that that's exactly where Jesus comes in. Jesus, the infinite God-man, provided the solution to "Bip"'s problem. Jesus, by living a sinless life and perfectly fulfilling God's Holy law, qualified as a perfect sacrifice for the sins of His people. Jesus took sinful man's place and endured the unabated wrath of God on the cross. And I told "Bip" that everyone who places their trust in the person and finished work of Jesus Christ, ALONE, has the promise of God that he will live forever in the bliss of God's presence.

I asked "Bip" if he thought this was good news. He said that it was. I asked him was there any reason that he would not accept this gift of eternal life that very day. For the first time in my life, I saw my uncle cry. He said to me, "I know that God sent you here to me today. I needed to hear this". I told him that I was glad he recognized God's moving in his life, "are you willing to place you trust in Jesus, alone, for salvation"? My uncle "Bip" said, "Yes".

I've only seen "Bip" one additional time since that December afternoon. He died yesterday. But due to our glorious God's impeccable timing, I can rejoice that my uncle "Bip" is reveling in His presence. Thank you, Father!

It was a difference of only two months or so before "Bip" would be facing his creator. He was just two months away from spending eternity in hell. Wrap youy mind around that. On the one hand, we can say that as long as we have breath there is time to come to Jesus. On the other hand, "TODAY is the day of salvation" don't presume upon His grace. My uncle was 65 years old, the bulk of those years were not spent glorifying God. But God is, without a doubt, most merciful. It may be a cliche', but tomorrow is not promised to you. Trust Jesus, alone . . . NOW!

I love you, uncle "Bip" . . . welcome to the family!


Keith
B.L.B.B!!!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!

Off to the Frozen Tundra


Well, I have good news and I have bad news.

The good news is I am upgrading to Captain with my airline, Mesaba! I start this Monday (2/18) and will be training over the next few weeks to fly the Canadair 900 Regional Jet. I'm looking forward to flying to some new cities and at much greater speeds than the ol' Saab 340 I'm used to flying.

The bad news is twofold:(A) I have to go to Minneapolis, MN. for the first portion of my training. The high temperature up there this time of year is like 3 degrees!!! I guess I'll survive, Lord willing. (B) I won't be able to blog for a few weeks. That's the worst part. But I'm sure that after I'm all done there will be plenty fodder for my theological ranting. So please don't bail on me, I shall return. Who knows, if I get a free half-hour or something I may still drop you a line or two!

In the mean time, if you are so inclined, I would truly appreciate your prayers for me that I get through training successfully and pass all of my flight tests. I thank you in advance. Who knows, maybe one day one of you will be on one of my flights!

Take care all, God bless you!


Keith
B.L.B.B!!!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!

You Might Be in a Cult . . .


What immediately comes to your mind when you hear the word, "cult"? Do you think of people like Jim Jones, David Koresh, Charles Manson or Rev. Sun Myung Moon? Do you think of things like: "killer kool-aid", "brain-washing", or hooded figures chanting around a pentagram? Do you think of Led Zepplin records played backwards revealing embedded satanic messages? Do you think of blue oysters?

These are just some of the things that come to mind when most people hear the word "cult" mentioned. But it would be a gross error to believe that these are the only flavors in which "cults" come. In my last post, "BooBoo's Daddy" declared that another gentleman was in a cult led by false teacher, Joyce Meyer. He made the key statement that people who are in cults don't realize that they are in cults. Certainly, cults don't use the word "cult" in their literature or on the sign at their front door. "World Changers International Cult", just wouldn't have the same ring to it! One reason why telling our friends and loved-ones that they are involved with a cult is ineffective; is that they only consider the extreme examples(like those listed above)to be actual "cults". In this, they make a huge mistake.

How should we define a "cult"? The Britannica Encyclopedia defines a "cult" in this way:

"Collective veneration or worship (e.g., the cult of the saints—meaning collective veneration of the saints—in Roman Catholicism).

In the West, the term has come to be used for groups that are perceived to have deviated from normative religions in belief and practice. They typically have a charismatic leader and attract followers who are in some way disenfranchised from the mainstream of society. Cults as thus defined are often viewed as foreign or dangerous".

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, in its three most typical uses, defines a "cult" as:

1: formal religious veneration : worship
2: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents
3: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents

Dr. Walter Martin, in his classic work "The Kingdom of the Cults", defines a "cult" as "a group of people gathered about a specific person or person's misinterpretation of the Bible".

Throughout the history of this blog, I have endeavored to identify the various misinterpretations of Scripture by the purveyors of that atheology called Word of Faith/Prosperity/Triumphalism. I have also noted the fierce loyalty that these false teachers have engendered among their disciples. So do these facts lead one to the conclusion that the adherents of these teachings are members of a cult?

Let's see, what other clues do we have . . .
(1) they are sheepishly gathered around a charismatic personality.
(2) this charismatic personality's teachings are demonstrably unorthodox, abberant and spurious.
(3) to question or critique the charismatic personality's teachings is considered to be sedition and blasphemy.
(4) said charismatic personality is frequently found to be under(sometimes)armed guard.
(5) a great deal of ecclesiastical power concentrated in the hands of charismatic personality with little or no oversight or accountability.
(6) charismatic personality's image (rather than Jesus, the Bible, etc.)synonymous with the church/cult.
(7) charismatic personality's personal indiscretions, Biblical contradictions and/or arrests have no impact on his continuing leadership or hero status.

I think it was that great philosopher, Goofy, who once said, "if it walks like a duck, it talks like a duck and it looks like a duck; then, by gum, it must be a duck"!

The cults of Jones, Koresh and Manson were undoubtedly the most extreme and immediately dangerous; however, the cults of Dollar, Meyer and Osteen cause no less spiritual damage than the bloodiest cult you can imagine. The sway that these cult-leaders hold over their minions is no less powerful. No, they will probably never lead their people to mass suicide; but why would they when those people keep them in power and rolling in cold, hard, tax-free cash. Martyrdom looks good in the history books; but it won't buy you the latest Bentley! They'd be fools to cut of their own gravy train. Jones, Koresh and Manson were/are stark raving mad (which in a minute way might explain their actions); but for the current charismatic personalities it's just business.

I agree with "BooBoo's Daddy" that there is nothing we can say to convince a "Meyerite" or a "Osteenian" that they have been brainwashed. That is the province of the Holy Spirit alone. Let those of us who have been deprogrammed by the Word of God continue to pray and shout "wolf" from the rooftops!


Keith
B.L.B.B!!!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!

You might be in a cult . . . if you believe that the U.S Congress' investigation of your preacher is persecution for righteousness sake!

You might be in a cult . . . if you believe that anyone who questions your preacher's teaching is an agent of satan!

You might be in a cult . . . if your pastor's picture upstages the name of Jesus on church advertisements!

You might be in a cult . . .

Have more? Send them in!

Get Out Before They Suck You Dry


This next post was originally posted over at my friend Melvin Jones' blog,
"Pulpit Pimps". It was so poignant that I simply had to share it with my readers . . .

"Get Out Before They Suck You Dry!!!
Posted by Melvin Jones on February 5th, 2008

( On several occasions readers have written comments [in this case it was to another reader by the name of Bill] that are so on the money [and too long be presented as simply a comment] that I see the necessity of promoting those comments to full-fledged postings.

BooBoo’s Daddy made such a comment. His experience is one of the reasons I maintain the site. Telling you about it, marking the wolves, and making sure you understand that they are out there will perhaps equip you to a) avoid getting sucked into the same thing yourself and b) give you information to use in rescuing those who are trapped inside the WoF/Pimp organizations or c) help you understand that you CAN walk away from these pimps.

These types of postings also help all of you to understand what the effects on the individual can be and thereby encourage you to be more willing to be very patient with individuals as they work through the damage done by the pimps and pimpettes. From my point of view, this spiritual pimping is very much like sexual abuse perpetrated by the predators. It’s very difficult to get over and hey, the abuser blames the victim for the abusive behavior. )


BooBoo’s Dad’s Response to Bill

Bill, you say that Joyce Meyer doesn’t run a cult, otherwise you wouldn’t be in it. Let me say that the people who are in cults think the same way! Nobody likes to think that they have been deceived,. They want to think they are smart enough to know better. I assure you that if Joyce Meyer teaches the prosperity gospel or that Jesus went to hell so you wouldn’t have to (and she does!), then she IS running a cult, and if you are supporting her, then YOU ARE in a cult and you don’t even know it!

What’s more, there is probably nothing anyone here can say to you that will convince you otherwise, and I for one will not attempt to do so. All anyone here can do for you is speak the truth. It’s up to God and you from there. If God can’t take some of what we say here and get it through to you, then you cannot be reached sir.

A few years ago, I supported Joyce Meyer with everything I had. I regarded her as a true, down to earth, sincere, and prosperous role model. I hung on every word that came out of her mouth as if they were the words of God straight to me. I never missed a show, and if I did, I watched her internet broadcasts. When she held her conferences in my area, I went to see her in person. I would do as she said to prove my commitment to God and take vacation days and drive 3 hours to Tulsa to see her preach at the ORU campus and drive 3 hours back home, justifying myself to God by reminding Him of these sacrifices.

Talking about sacrifice, not only did I give up a day’s pay to see her, but it was nothing for me to sacrifice $100 or more into the white buckets they’d pass around as offering plates, knowing all along that I’d have to sacrifice again when I didn’t have that money to pay a bill with! That, in addition to the hundreds of dollars I’d send her through the mail every month! In the typical Word of Faith fashion, I would then go to God in “prayer” and tell Him what He had to do (you [God] MUST keep your word; you MUST provide ‘pressed down, shaken-together’ etc; if I delight myself in you, you MUST give me the desire of my heart, ad nausea!).

Bill, that’s NOT praying! When a WoF preacher “prays” by saying “we bind you Satan, we come against all the powers of darkness, we rebuke all poverty and lack” etc, they are NOT praying to God! They are talking to the devil and speaking as if they were God Himself. It is NOT prayer. But I digress.

I absolutely LOVED Joyce Meyer! But God had other plans for me. I was DEEP into the Word of Faith . It was all I had ever known all my life. My grandmother latched onto the seed faith teachings of Oral Roberts back when it first came out. She taught my mother in the ways of the WoF, and my mother in turn taught us the same way!

I grew up thanking God for being numbered among those who knew the “truth!” Needless to say, I naturally equated the WoF to be the one and only WILL OF GOD, and anyone who believed otherwise was deceived and damned to hell! That being the case, I grew up feeling at one with all the T.V. ministers. I loved them ALL! As a young boy, I read Copeland’s “The Laws of Prosperity” and I was determined to make those laws work … after all they are LAWS and even God must abide by them!

But taking an honest look back over the past 30 years, I had to admit that they never worked for me. I grew up into my 40’s all along thinking there was something wrong with me. I would actually look at a mustard seed in the spice rack and wonder why my faith was so much smaller that that and didn’t work. Then I would get depressed because my faith was so much tinier than that mustard seed that God wouldn’t honor it.

I felt rejected by God. Sometimes that feeling of rejection made me angry at Him and there were times I actually told Him that he was a liar! That He WAS a respecter of persons; that He showed favoritism, and that He didn’t love me, even though I was doing everything I knew to do to keep with “His” teachings as I was taught them!

All that being said, let me say this: there was nothing wrong with my faith, so don’t even try to tell me “oh ye of little faith!” I’ve heard that all my life and now I know better. My faith was fine, but the problem was that my faith was in a LIE! The “god” I was mad at was NOT the God of the Bible! The “god” of the Word of Faith is a demon straight from HELL! I know that now, but therein lies the danger in Word of Faith teachings. The people in that CULT don’t even know who the TRUE God really is, and are damned as a result!

Back to Joyce Meyer. I supported her “ministry” with ALL of my substance, and I thought she was truly God speaking straight to me. But the more I gave to her, the poorer I got (the story of my life)! It wasn’t until I got down to where I was about to LOSE MY HOUSE the Lord began to act on the anguish inside me. I remember back in 2005, watching Joyce on T.V. One day she was talking about how she had brought her parents to St Louis and bought them a house close to her. She said “I was just in the mood to buy houses!” I almost screamed at her “why don’t you buy MINE for me?”

I pleaded with God to speak to her heart to send me a check and prevent the impending disaster facing me. Then I would know that God really heard me and loved me enough to finally do something after 30 years of giving!

But of course Joyce never did do that, and since I thought she was close to God and had his attentive ear, that it must be that God wanted me to suffer all the more! I couldn’t understand it. I had donated to her (God’s?) ministry, I helped her build her headquarters building and all the furnishings in it. According to her plea for funds back then, I was promised that I would “own” one square foot for each $100 I gave towards it (I gave $300, so I “owned” 3 square feet).

Had God forgotten that ????? Now I was in desperate need, had NOBODY to beg from like she did, and I felt God didn’t care. I told Him He was cruel and mean! But I still loved Him because even then, if I had given up on my ONLY hope, then I REALLY had no hope at all. Even then, I felt that my breakthrough might still come, so I’d pick myself up and apologize to God for my ill will towards Him.

Then one day, as I was watching Joyce on T.V. it seemed like literally “scales” fell from my eyes! Near the end of the show, as she was begging for donations, and her announcer came on talking about all her books that we could have for a “gift” of X-dollars, and then talked about “seeing Joyce in person” and hearing “Joyce preach the word as only she can do.�? God Himself spoke to my spirit in that still small voice and told me “this isn’t about God, this is about JOYCE!” “Joyce” this, and “Joyce” that! And all the dollar signs on the T.V. screen seemed to “stick-out” like sore thumbs, and the whole thing smacked of one big long INFOMERCIAL about Joyce Meyer!!

That, my friend, was the beginning of my exodus from the Word of Faith! Each time I saw her show, it got even more disgusting to me … and I stopped giving to her. S L O W L Y, by putting a stop to the hemorrhage of money flowing out of my bank account to these people, I was able to recover somewhat, and I never did lose my house. But it was close. That, my friend was GOD showing me that He really did care about my financial well-being. He didn’t want my money!!!!! And not only did He NOT want my money, I was NOT cursed with a curse if I KEPT it !!!! That is freedom!

About the same time, I just happened to stumble upon this website, Pulpit-Pimps.org, and God has used this site TREMENDOUSLY to teach me the truth about where I had been all my life and that the Lord loved me enough to lead me out of it into the truth!

Unbeknownst to me, my mother, who had raised me in the WoF, had been led out of their heresy about a year before I had! She never told me though. I asked her why, and she said that I would have thought she was backslidden and lost in heresy forever. And she was right. Some other members of my extended family are not convinced, and there is a definite divide - but even that is mentioned in the Bible. That’s why I say that nothing any of us say will EVER convince you of the truth. You will just think that we are deceived and damned to hell. If God doesn’t get through to you, then YOU are not reachable. It’s as simple as that!

I know this is a LONG post, but before I stop there is some more I want to say about the Word of Faith.

The salvation of Jesus Christ is NOT about all the things that the Lord gives to His people! And people who seek the Lord for what He can give them are seeking Him for all the WRONG reasons! A person cannot receive the salvation of Christ unless first he realizes that he is a wretched sinner who deserves HELL, not all of the worldly stuff you WoF people clamor after! It’s not about getting all the STUFF. It’s about giving up their lives for HIM and becoming His slaves. Somehow you Word of Faith people have gotten that all backwards. You think salvation is about getting, and getting more It’s just STUFF, material worldly stuff, it’s CARNAL and ungodly! You think that all your STUFF is proof that you are blessed. There is one thing that is promised for sure to all true followers of Christ and that is PERSECUTION!

You Word of Faithers only think of earthly “blessings”. But God does not promise us the things of this world. Think about it What would it profit you to gain the whole world and lose your own SOUL? Copeland, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, Paula White, all of those hellish creatures on TBN - I can’t even name all of the pulpit pimps on TV (and maybe even your pastor too by the way) all of them have their reward. They have their “Best Life Now” But they can’t take any of it with them where they go

What about later on? The Bible speaks of the rich man and Lazarus. That kind of reminds me of the relationship between all these RICH pastors and their pimped followers. I believe they will suffer the same fate!

God does promise us SPIRITUAL prosperity, but you Word of Faith people only think on things of this world. When people like you give expecting your 100-fold return, you are giving to GET !!!! But the true Jesus tells us to give, expecting NOTHING in return. Do any of you honestly do that? Neither are we supposed to give out of NECESSITY or of COMPULSION … tell THAT to all of the pimp preachers on TV who incessantly compel us to give to their ministries ad nausea! It’s WRONG! If any of them really believed what they “preach” then all they really have to do is give and expect their 100-fold return and leave their audiences ALONE! But they won’t ever do that, because they really don’t believe what they preach either. Otherwise they would practice what they preach. YOU are profitable to them, and they fear that if they don’t ask YOU for it, YOU won’t give it to them. YOU are their cash cow, not GOD.

I am not attacking you, so don’t even go there. I am speaking from a life of experience. As I said, I was all bound up and hog-tied in all that Word of Faith crap for almost 30 YEARS!!! I gave, and I gave. I did all of the right things according to our famous PIMPS! It was nothing for me to fork over almost everything I had … tithes and offerings above and beyond what was expected, because I BELIEVED what the pimps said. I thought that I was doing what GOD wanted, and I suffered the consequences of that for far too long.

Like Joyce Meyer always says “give until it hurts!” — “give SACRIFICIALLY!” My intentions were good. And I had faith. But my faith was in a LIE! I was sincere and honest, but I was sincerely and honestly WRONG. I think that the Lord really knew that, and finally got through to me to just STOP IT! Like, HELL-OOOOO! If this thing still doesn’t work after nearly 30 years, guess what - IT DOESN’T WORK!!

I see myself all over all of you defenders of these people. I was just like ALL of you. And a couple of years ago, I would have been standing right there by your side. That’s why I say that ONLY THE LORD will ever get through to you. Nobody could have EVER gotten through to me so I know that.

I guess you can tell I am just a little bit angry about this lie that is continuously propagated by the deluge of televangelists spewing this prosperity vomit into living rooms across this country and bringing millions to hell with them. But maybe somehow the Lord can use my experience to help lead someone else out of this DELUSION you call faith. It is another gospel, and the “Jesus” you think you worship will someday be crystal clear to you. I just hope that you find out who it really is before it’s too late. REALLY! The Bible is the truth, and it contains the way to the real Jesus. This Word of Faith gospel is pure MADNESS !!!!!"

Pulpit Pimps | 30 Comments »


God Bless BooBoo's Dad!


Keith
B.L.B.B.!!!
Be Like the Bereans Baby!!!

PULPIT PRINCES


Having been completely bowled over by Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile's most recent work, "the Decline of African American Theology", I just had to go back and read his first offering, "The Faithful Preacher". I believe it is actually better to read them in this order because he seems to thoroughly diagnose the problem and perform the surgery in second book. He seems to provide the healing balm and "spiritual" therapy in the first book.

In "The Faithful Preacher" Anyabwile focuses on three of black history's most neglected heroes: Lemuel Haynes, Daniel Alexander Payne and Francis James Grimke ("neglected" is a severe understatement). In the process of delineating the characteristics of a truly faithful preacher, Anyabwile inevitably reveals that many of today's so-called "men of gawd" are sorely wanting.

I would like to compare and contrast what these pulpit princes of the past have bequeathed to us with the offerings of some of the acclaimed preachers of out time.

Lemuel Haynes: "We are taught in the text (Hebrews 13:7) and elsewhere that the work of a gospel minister is not with the temporal but with the spiritual concerns of men: they watch for souls. Their conversation is not about worldly affairs but about things that relate to Christ's kingdom, which involves the everlasting concerns of men's souls. When a minister's affections are upon this world, his visits among his people will be barren. He will inquire about the outward circumstances of his flock and perhaps, from pecuniary motives, rejoice at prosperity, as though that was of greatest concern. But he will have nothing to say with respect to the health and prosperity of their souls, having no joys or sorrows to express on account of the fruitful or lifeless state of the inward man". (The Character and Work of the Spiritual Watchman Described -1792- "The Faithful Preacher" p. 27)

Creflo Dollar: "I don't have to tolerate sickness! I don't have to tolerate bondage! I don't have to tolerate debt! I don't have to tolerate lack! I don't have to tolerate insufficiency! I don't have to be broke, busted, and disgusted all my life...My God is a God that has given me the power to get wealth." (Creflo Dollar, "Growing Up In God," April 4, 2004, Product Number: 6512091)

_____________________________________________________________________________________


Daniel Alexander Payne: "First, then, the preaching of the gospel. . . it is his business to make man acquainted with his relations to God as a sinner. To accomplish this he must re-echo the thunders of Sinai until the slumbering rebel is brought into a sense of his danger and looking into his own heart sees it as a cage of unclean birds or a lair of hissing serpents - the enemy of God by wicked works and the enemy of his own soul". ("Who is Sufficient for These Things?, 1852 "The Faithful Preacher" p.85)

Joel Osteen (from June 20, 2005 interview on Larry King Live):
KING: But you’re not fire and brimstone, right? You’re not pound the decks and hell and damnation?

OSTEEN: No. That’s not me. It’s never been me. I’ve always been an encourager at heart. And when I took over from my father, he came from the Southern Baptist background, and back 40-50 years ago, there was a lot more of that. But, you know, I just—I don’t believe in that. I don’t believe—maybe it was for a time. But I don’t have it in my heart to condemn people. I’m there to encourage them. I see myself more as a coach, as a motivator to help them experience the life God has for us.

KING: But don’t you think if people don’t believe as you believe, they’re somehow condemned?

OSTEEN: You know, I think that happens in our society. But I try not to do that. I tell people all the time, preached a couple Sundays about it. I’m for everybody. You may not agree with me, but to me it’s not my job to try to straighten everybody out. The Gospel is called the good news. My message is a message of hope, that’s God’s [message] for you. You can live a good life no matter what’s happened to you. And so I don’t know. I know there is condemnation, but I don’t feel that’s my place.

_____________________________________________________________________________________


Francis James Grimke: "The minister is a moral teacher. his duty is to rebuke wrong and to keep steadily before his hearers the right. His work, mainly, is character building, to give the right direction to the budding and expanding life around him- in a word, to develop and strengthen Christian character . . . Everything is done to convince men of sin, to lead them to repentance and to show them a better way . . . Character first, last always was the keynote struck by every apostle, prophet and teacher mentioned in the inspired volume". (The Afro-American Pulpit in Relation to Race Elevation - 1892, " The Faithful Preacher" p.123)

Bishop Eddie L. Long: "We're not just a church, we're an international corporation,... (W)e're not just a bumbling bunch of preachers who can't talk and all we're doing is baptizing babies. I deal with the White House. I deal with Tony Blair. I deal with presidents around this world. I pastor a multimillion-dollar congregation. "You've got to put me on a different scale than the little black preacher sitting over there that's supposed to be just getting by because the people are suffering." (August 28, 2005 Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

_____________________________________________________________________________________


Granted these are mere crumbs from the collective teachings of these three great men. I submit to you; however, that if you were to perform a thorough investigation of their teachings, at least four things would stand out in contrast to what is popular today:

1. The faithful preacher will wrestle with Scripture. Attractive or offensive, the faithful preacher brings the entire force of Biblical text to the forefront. In other words, faithful exposition of Scripture is a hallmark of the faithful preacher.
The false teacher will always "cherry-pick" texts to fit his premise. Completely ignoring the context, he seeks passages that will seemingly support his position.

2. The faithful preacher will always return to the Cross and to the Gospel. The false teacher will always get to the temporal benefits and blessings.

3. The faithful preacher will confront sin in order to bring about godly sorrow and (with the Holy Spirit's intervention) repentance. The false teacher will appeal to emotion to bring about short-term relief.

4. The faithful preacher's message will always be God-centered. The false teacher's message is always ultimately man-centered.


The faithful preaching of men like Haynes, Payne and Grimke is in sinfully short supply in our time. Additionally, that the selfishness of our age demands "Your Best life NOW"(Joel Osteen's current bestselling self-help book) provides much reason for concern for the future of the body of Christ. This is why I believe that it is vitally important for those of us who understand the problem to irrepressibly vocal in challenging false teaching. The Church cannot evangelize a society that permits infanticide, endeavors to remove every remaining vestige of God from its public square, promotes acceptance of all manner of deviant sexual lifestyles, syncretizes all religions and generally attacks all things godly; while our greatest interest is our own personal peace and prosperity.

We can't be content with being reformed and just knowing the truth for ourselves. We must put ourselves "out there" like the Luthers and Calvins (as well as the Kings and Xs) that we admire so deeply. We must risk revilement and disdain just as they did because that is the only avenue by which change comes.

"Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ". (Jude 3-4)


Keith
B.L.B.B!!!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!

"He (Grimke) understood that two great obstacles assaulted the church: ignorance and demagogism. Ignorance he thought could be combated with education and learning. But demagogism, or 'the combination of unprincipled men within the church to get control, the monopoly of all positions of honor and trust of a general character,' needed the warring reaction of godly men who would protect the church and drive out unprincipled men. Without such warfare, Francis Grimke believed, 'the usefulness of the church [was] at an end,' and though 'it may increase in numbers . . . in moral and spiritual power it will become a constantly diminishing factor." ("The Faithful Preacher" p.117)

"Francis Grimke summed up the state of the church thus: 'Up to this time, any ignoramus who imagined that he was called to preach, who thought that the Lord had need of him, felt that it was his right to be ordained, or at least to be licensed; and no objection was interposed by the church, under the impression that if a man opened his mouth the Lord would fill it'". ("The Faithful Preacher" p.78-79)

Joel Osteen on Larry King:
"KING: Where were you ordained?

OSTEEN: I was ordained from the church there, Lakewood, under my dad's ministry.

KING: So you didn't go to seminary?

OSTEEN: No, sir, I didn't.

KING: They can just make you a minister?

OSTEEN: You can, you can.

KING: That's kind of an easy way in.

OSTEEN: Yeah, but I think it happens more than you think. But I didn't go to seminary. I have a lot of great friends that did. But I didn't. But I did study 17 years under my dad. You know ..."

The All Saints Website is Up and Running!


Just a short note gang to invite you to visit my church's new website. For those of you who don't know, I attend All Saints Redeemer Church in Decatur, Georgia. Our pastor is Michael Leach and we are a community of reformed believers. The bottom-line of that is we zealously guard the sovereignty of God in ALL things and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is vigorously and consistently preached.

Our new site contains sermons, various articles by Michael and the membership, and you can even listen to previous broadcasts of our radio program; "the Glory of the Gospel". I invite you to frequent the site and whenever you find yourself in Decatur to drop in and witness what God is doing through this ministry. Also, please feel free to contact us through the link on the site!

www.allsaintsredeemerchurch.org



Keith,
B.L.B.B!!!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!

Drawing a Line in the Sand


Happy New Year! Yes, I'm eleven days late. Please accept my apologies. I just never want to be accused of publishing "filler". If I don't have truly have something to say, I won't waste your time by just rattling off junk.

Thankfully I found something worthy of blogging about! It has been my extreme privilege to read Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile's new book:

"The Decline of African-American Theology: From Biblical Faith to Cultural Captivity

To say that this book is vitally important would be an understatment of the grossest sort. Bro. Anyabwile throws down the proverbial "gauntlet", calling us to "choose this day whom we shall serve"; the God of the inerrant, infallible Holy Bible or the god of our subjective, personal/cultural experience.

On the one hand is the omnipotent, just and providential God, who has revealed Himself in Holy Scripture; and who has commanded us in the way of true worship of Himself. On the other hand is the sympathetic, manageable and culturally-biased idol whom many of us have created in our own image. This non-God will prove to be naught in the judgement to come.

I challenge all the readers of this blog to obtain and read this challenging tome and consider whether you have inherited the original and more importantly Biblical faith of our enslaved ancestors or the personalized faith of the post-reconstruction era. Your answer is of eternal portent.

I also encourage you to visit Bro. Anyabwile's blog, Pure Church and let him know how his book impacts you. I'm sure he would appreciate it.

I leave you with this quote from his book's afterword: " . . . sincerity and truth are not synonyms. Theological errors and , in some cases, heresies have opened up fault lines that threaten to quake and destroy the souls of those inside a crumbling church. Faulty theology is not a victimless crime".


Keith
B.L.B.B!!!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!

The Difference Between Jesus and Your PC


Merry Christmas!!! Tis the advent season! The time when those who know Him kick up their celebration of our Lord's incarnation a notch. Yes, we realize that Jesus was not born on December 25th, but for the Christian everyday is both Christmas and Easter! God has intruded into His fallen creation and provided salvation for His people. Glory be to God in the Highest!!!

How is it then that even believers in the Lord Jesus Christ confuse Him with ordinary Christmas gifts? Take, for instance, the personal computer. The vast majority of PC users don't really know how these blasted things work. Yeah we know some of the component names and the functions; but as for how or why they do what they do; but only the computer geeks and manufacturers have a real grasp. The rest of us only care that if we want info, pictures, music or e-mail it shows up when we request it. Who cares how the machine does it; just as long as it does it!

Unfortunately, too many professing Christians today are treating the King of Kings (the gift who truly keeps on giving) the same way. They don't really care about the "how", the "why", or the doctrines of the salvation of man; they just want to be saved. "As long as I make it to heaven, who cares about theology, hermeneutics or pneumatology. Covenant, schmovenant, just get me out of hell!!!"

Can you handle the truth? Jesus Christ is not a "salvation machine". You don't go to www.HeSaves.com, type in Romans 10:9 and your personal information and get salvation delivered to your front door by FedEx overnight shipping. Having Jesus as Savior and Lord requires a relationship; a relationship that goes beyond just warm fuzzy feelings. Speaking of "warm fuzzy feelings"; remember when you first met your spouse? Remember how you wanted to know everything there was to know about them? How many spouses have written entire books that reveal everything about themselves that was important for us to know about him/her? I'm willing to bet that if they had we would have studied that book like our lives depended on it. Well, guess what? Our lives do depend on the book Jesus wrote for us.

Many will protest that they do indeed read the Scriptures. I'm talking about more than just reading the Scriptures. I'm talking about mining the Scriptures for all they are worth. I'm talking about absolutely making the Word of God the FINAL RULE of our FAITH and PRACTICE. Consider the following quote I read from a professing Christian. This woman was responding to the question: "What is our (the Christian's) stance on abortion"?

"Most of you are not going to like my answer...but such as life this is not a popularity contest! In the situation with a young child or rape ... I think at that time there are some instances where abortion is the answer...I know its wrong and the bible says Thou shalt not kill...But it also says he who is without sin cast the first stone"!

When she was challenged about this response (not by me, thank you very much!) she responded with this:

"Sir, I can really care less if you didn't like the answer that I gave, it was my OPINION. Who said it would be ok to have an abortion. I am not here to defend my feeling or thoughts. I am a realist and from a realist position I feel we know its wrong but at times some people are not focused on the act of sin and its result they are focused on the impact that the act of sin will make in their future...meaning if they have a baby from rape then this child may grow up not knowing the father or the criticism of others and there are so many negatives I can name...or if its a young child the impact of having a baby at a young age is a task in its self...especially if this young person is already living at home with their mother in an already crowded house. I didn't really have to justify my opinions however since you went there I decided to at least explain a little..."

I'm not questioning this woman's salvation; but I am certainly questioning her understanding of whom Jesus is and the importance of His Word in her life. Assuming she is saved, she certainly has not conformed her thinking to her Lord's. Perhaps she will someday. I only use these statements to illustrate the serious disconnect there can be between a person's profession and their practice. Of course, we're all guilty of it to some degree. I just hope, by the grace of God, to eliminate the vast majority of it in my life.

There is a huge difference between Jesus and your PC. With your PC, it's "garbage in, garbage out". With Jesus, it's "garbage (us and ours) in and: righteousness, justification, sanctification, glorification, provision, protection, peace, unconditional love, discipline, growth, adoption, wisdom, discernment . . . out"!

The single most important relationship we will ever enter into is that which we share with Jesus Christ. May we develop a ravenous appetite for Him and for His doctrines. That's all I want for Christmas. How 'bout you?





Keith
B.L.B.B!!!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!

WHAT DO YOU REFORMED GUYS HAVE AGAINST "PROSPERITY" ANYWAY?!


Nothing. It's just the "prosperity gospel", in all it's insidious forms, that I hate. Why? Well, it's not because I think that money, good health and fruitful relationships are bad things. After all, as we all know, it's not money that is the root of all evil. It's the love of money that is the root of all evil. Trust me, I'm the guy who used to hold to the "pre-tribulational rapture". Not because I thought it jibed with Scripture; but because I have a low threshold for pain!

I have several problems with the "prosperity gospel". First and foremost, it just ain't biblical! Regardless of how many testimonies you may have heard to the contrary, the "prosperity gospel" is not the Gospel that courses throughout Scripture. It is a different gospel. One that the Apostle Paul calls for the pronouncement of "accursed" for it and its purveyors (Galatians 1:6-9). Ask yourself this question: What did mankind truly lose when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden? Yes, they lost the comforts of paradise. Yes, sickness now entered their experience. And, yes, all their increase would come through toil ans sweat. These things cannot be denied; but these were mere asides compared to the reality that they had now been cut off from their Creator. Before the Fall, Adam and Eve would walk and talk with Almighty God. Now, their fellowship was entirely severed. Consider this (those of you who have been fortunate enough to have had strong and loving relationships with your earthly fathers), what do you most cherish about your earthly father? What most readily comes to mind when you remember your childhood relationship with him? Is it, how much money he earned and spent on you; or, is it how vital his guidance, wisdom and support was to your growth and maturity?

The Gospel that pervades Scripture is about a loving, righteous and Holy God. Who, although He was spurned for the selfish pursuit of prosperity (a prosperity of knowledge and autonomy), sovereignly conquered sin and death redeeming a people to Himself through the precious and innocent blood of His only begotten Son.

The "prosperity gospel" misses this entire message. It indulges man's proclivity for selfish gain and personal well-being. The Word of God consistently warns us about the pitfalls of pursuing wealth and how riches become idols and enslave us. In fact it commands us NOT to pursue riches. Yet somehow the very same people who can't stop lying, who can't stop cheating, who can't stop buying bootleg DVD's, believe they can overcome the pitfalls of earthly prosperity. How foolish.

The second reason I despise the "prosperity gospel" is that it is predicated on twisted Scriptures.One of the favorites of the prosperity preachers is Mark 10:29-30.

" Jesus said, "Truly I say to you,there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for My sake and for the gospel's sake,but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life".

This passage usually gets a few folks up and running around the building. The problem is, however, these preachers always make the "houses" and "lands" literal and the "brothers", "sisters", "mothers" and "children" figurative. These they say are the hundreds of brothers, sisters and "mothers", etc. "in Christ" that you will receive. And the "persecutions" you'll receive are just the misguided jealousy and backbiting other will do because of your blessings. How convenient.

My third reason for anathematizing the "prosperity gospel" is that it puts believers in bondage. When this "WMD" of a theology (it's unfounded, get it!)fails to work for people, what's the excuse? Usually, it' s the persons fault. Either they didn't have enough faith, or there must be some secret sin in their life. My personal favorite is that it's just not their season yet. If I see another church marquis with the message "Your Breakthrough is Coming" ever again, I think I might breakthrough it with a nice rock! Some people who really want to leave their false church are actually afraid to do so because they think they might miss their "breakthrough" if they leave too soon. And these predators in the pulpit know that they hold people with this type of message. It's down right satanic.

Fourth, the "prosperity gospel" leads believers to inadvertently contend against God.
The credo of this bastard gospel is that if one has faith one should never be sick or in want. This automatically places one in contention with God when He desires to glorify Himself through sickness, want or suffering. Remember John 9:1-3. . .

"As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' Jesus answered, 'It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him . . .'"

If the blind man had been sitting under the "prosperity gospel" he and his parents would have been binding satan and speaking sight back into his eyes. God's sovereignty and divine will would not have even been considered. The disciples and today's prosperity pushers assume sickness is due to sin. The truth is, sometimes God is glorified in sickness. A word to the predators: your arms are too short to box with God.

Lastly, the "prosperity gospel", even when it "works", gives a false sense of security. The Pharisees were prosperous; but Jesus called them "whitewashed tombs".
Solomon was prosperous; but he realized that it was all vanity, a "chasing after the wind" Dives was prosperous; but he woke up in Hades where he couldn't buy anything to drink. Oh, how much better is godliness with contentment. They're not called the "deceitfulness" of riches for nothing!


That's what this "reformed" guy has against the "prosperity gospel". I believe it is far more prosperous for us to pursue what the Westminster Shorter Catechism states is the "chief end of man". That is to glorify God and to enjoy HIM forever!

The question becomes (this is where the preacher begins to "whoop") . . .

Can you glorify God and enjoy Him forever, when you're sick and in pain?
Can you glorify God and enjoy Him forever, when you're broke and have not gain?
Can you glorify God and enjoy Him forever, when you're alone and your eyes are wet?
Can you glorify God and enjoy Him forever, when you're bank account is empty and you're deep deep in debt?
Can you glorify God and enjoy Him forever, when mother and father don't know your name?
Can you glorify God and enjoy Him forever, when wife and kids forsake you and the dog does the same?

Welllll!


Keith
B.L.B.B!!!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!


P.S. What did Lazarus die of the second time, anyway?

Representin' for the Reformation


I've been hanging out over at The Black Church Page over the last week. Yeah, I remember what I said, but I figured I'm preaching to the choir over here. So, as I expected, I found some true opposition over there.

I opened a forum on Reformed Theology and as usual it got bogged down into a debate over election/predestination. Nonetheless, I do believe I did win a friend and found another reformed ally. If you would care to review the forum here's a link for you . . .

The Black Church Page Forum on Reformed Theology


I thought I'd just leave you with my semi-closing statement (the forum is still open if you would like to weigh in) from the forum and let you tell me what you think.

"As is far too often the case, this discussion which was to deal with the whole of Reformed Theology, has bogged down to a debate over 'election'.

As my opening quote indicates RT is about much more than just this hot-button issue. The central tenet of RT is not election, but the supremacy and sovereignty of God in ALL things. It also focuses on man's faithful worship of this triune, omnipotent and incomprehensible God in "spirit and in truth". As Pastor John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN says: "God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him".

How does RT compare with much of the church ( yea, even the "black" church) today. Here is what I have observed . . .

Modern Church: Increasing emphasis on personal health, wealth and materialism.
Reformed Theology: Emphasis on personal holiness and submission to God's sovereignty

Modern Church: Triumphalism/claiming earthly territory
Reformed Theology: Rejoicing in suffering which produces endurance, which produces character, which produces hope (Romans 5:3-5a)

Modern Church: Declining emphasis on the preaching of the Gospel
Reformed Theology: Insistence on the preaching of the Gospel persistently.

Modern Church: Increasing espousal of heresies ( deification of man, the denial of the deity of Christ, etc.) False prophecy
Reformed Theology: Emphasis of the Five Solas: Sola Scriptura (by Scripture alone) Sola Fide (by Faith alone) Sola Gratia (by Grace alone) Sola Christus (Christ Alone) all for Sola Deo Gloria ( the glory of God alone).

Modern Church: Increasing "new" revelation
Reformed Theology: Contending "for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" Jude 3. Agreeing with the Apostle Paul that " even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed" Galatians 1:8. There is no "new" revelation.

Modern Church: Proliferation of female "pastors", "elders", "bishops", and even "apostles" .
Reformed Theology: Honors biblical standard for leadership in the church.

Modern Church: Lack of accountability for pastors/maverick preachers
Reformed Theology: High accountability through governing bodies.

Modern Church: Abandonment of confessionalism resulting in biblical illiteracy and doctrinal ignorance.
Reformed Theology: Strong, well established confessional history and doctrinal instruction.

Modern Church: Compromise with false religions (muslims particularly)
Reformed Theology: Firm denunciation of false religions.

Modern Church: Celebrity status of many Pastors.
Reformed Theology: Pastors castigated for uncompromising stance on biblical truth.

Modern Church: The church as a multinational corporation/ the pastor as CEO.
Reformed Theology: the church as the "house of prayer"/ the pastor as faithful servant and under-shepherd.

That's the short list of what I have witnessed.

I submit to you that a return to the foundational tenets of the historic Christian faith is what is desperately needed today. We have fallen from being the conscience of the nation to being the entertainment of the nation. As a pilot by profession, I travel widely and I frequently hear the world's impression of the church. We are more known for our conflicts, wife-beatings and world-likeness than for our flat-footed uncompromised preaching of Christ and Him crucified.

I believe this can only be because we have abandoned the principles we fought and died for during the Protestant Reformation. We have effectively been cut off from that history ( one of satan's most devious tricks). The average Christian can tell you nothing beyond the history of his own church (if that). What we fail to realize is that all our denominations are rooted in the Reformation. The great reformer,
Martin Luther, understood that when he translated the Scripture into the vulgar (common) languages he was opening a hornet's nest(denominationalism). But He fought for our right to be able to read God's word ourselves in our native tongues. But as is our way, we have turned this to a means toward our ends rather than God's ends.

As blacks we are still so wrapped up in our plight that we believe we hold the patent on suffering. We discount the persecution and suffering of our Christian brothers and sisters have faced long before our enslaved ancestors ever lived. They were fed to lions in the Roman Coliseum, disemboweled and broiled alive in the "iron chair". Their bodies were tarred, set aflame and used as human torches to light the emperor's courtyard. We dismiss the courageous stands of great men like Athanasius, Polycarp, Augustine, Wycliffe and Hus. God used these men to ensure that we'd have this faith that has sustained us through so much suffering.

As proud as we are of our black heritage, how many of us are familiar with Lemuel Haynes, a Calvinist black minister in the 18th century who argued vigorously against the slave trade. Haynes along with other 18th century black authors (Jupiter Hammon, James Albert Ukasaw Gronniosaw, Phillis Wheatley, John Marrant, Quobna Ottobah Cugoano and Olaudah Equiano) "found in calvinsm a tradition of exegesis that could be leveled against the slave trade and slavery". John Saillant, biographer of Haynes, states "early black calvinism was vigorously anti slavery" and Lemuel Haynes was its most prolific voice and writer.

Heart and Mind

Reformed Theology is both experiential and intellectual. It realizes no dichotomy between heart and mind. It's not puffing up the mind (even if fallible people do fall into that trap) leading to a cold, indifferent religion. It's about a mind nourished in the truth of the triune God, who He is and His unimaginable splendor, glory and holiness. All leading to an outpouring, from the heart, of unyielding worship, trust, obedience and love of Him who is infinite. RT recognizes that emotion is a good thing; but it must bow its knees to the truth. Truth is obtained through the mind.

When we enter into the presence of God in our churches on Sunday morning, we are not supposed to check our brains nor our hearts at the front door. I am confident that if any of you were to perform an objective and honest investigation of Reformed Theology, you will find a profound and revolutionary deepening of your walk with Jesus Christ.

If you are willing to accept my challenge, I have a suggested list of books (links) that will be indispensable in conducting your study . . .

History: Eusebius, "The Chuch History"

Not necessarily a RT book, but essential for understanding our roots.

RT:

1) "Knowing God" J. I. Packer

2) "Back to Basics" Douglas J. Wilson

3) "Grace Unknown" R. C. Sproul

4) "When Grace Comes Home" Terry Johnson

5) "The Death of Death in the Death of Christ" John Owen
Tough read. Not for the squeamish!

6) "The Holiness of God" R. C. Sproul

7) "Desiring God" John Piper

"Chosen by God" R. C. Sproul

9) "The Doctrines of Grace" James Montgomery Boice

10) "On Being Black and Reformed" Anthony Carter

11) "Holiness" J. C. Ryle

12) "Essential Truths of the Christian Faith" R. C. Sproul

13) "The Sovereignty of God" Arthur W. Pink

Special Bonus: Reformed websites/blogs (links):

Monergism

In Submission to Sovereignty - My personal blog.

Ligonier Ministries

Non Nobis Domine (Not Unto Us, O Lord)

Blaque Tulip

Council of Reforming Churches"



Viva la Reformation!!!


Keith
B.L.B.B!!!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!