LESSONS FROM HEBREWS 13: OBEYING CHURCH RULERS

[FBIS Mailing List] LESSONS FROM HEBREWS 13: OBEYING CHURCH RULERS‏From: fbis-list@fbis.talklist.com on behalf of FBIS News Service (fbns@wayoflife.org)
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LESSONS FROM HEBREWS 13: OBEYING CHURCH RULERS November 12, 2008 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org ; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

“Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.” Hebrews 13:7 “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” Hebrews 13:17 1.
Two times in this chapter the writer of Hebrews admonishes his readers to heed their spiritual rulers. Two obligations are given: remember them (v. 7) and obey them (v. 17). To remember one’s elders means to remember that one has spiritual leaders and therefore that one has an obligation to them. It means to “know them which labour among you and are over you in the Lord” (1 Th. 5:12). It means to support them properly (1 Tim. 5:17-18). It means to think about them so as to be an encouragement to them. To obey them is to submit to their teaching and follow their example. “Christians must submit to be instructed by their ministers, and not think themselves too wise, too good, or too great, to learn from them; and, when they find that ministerial instructions are agreeable to the written word, they must obey them” (Matthew Henry). Obedience to pastoral authority is something that is enjoined upon every believer and it must be performed as an act of the will.

The Spirit of God says, “Submit yourselves.” Obedience to human rulers is always a difficult matter for a sinner, even a saved one, because he is rebellious and stubborn by nature. Furthermore, elders are far from perfect. One is always tempted to think, “Who is that man to tell me what to do! He is no better than I am; he isn’t so very perfect himself; I know that he has made mistakes. Anyway, I have the Spirit of God just as he does.” Obedience even to the most respectable human authority, therefore, is an act of self sacrifice. Submit yourselves. It is an act of the will.

I submit to those that God has put over me as unto the Lord and not merely as unto a man. That is how a wife can submit herself to her husband. “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord” (Eph. 5:22). She doesn’t surrender her will to a man only; she surrenders it to the Lord through that man. Obedience to pastoral authority is a serious matter and cannot be ignored without consequences. Pastors are one of God’s gifts to churches (Eph. 4:11-12).

Many professing Christians have the idea that they don’t need pastors and elders, that God is their ruler and they don’t need men, but this philosophy flies in the face of Hebrews 13. Every believer should ask himself, “Who has the rule over me spirituality under God?” because two times in Hebrews 13 we are told how to relate to those who “rule over you.” It is certain that pastoral authority has been abused at times, but that is no reason to discard or discount it altogether. Every kind of authority has been abused in this sinful world, but that does not mean that we are free to ignore it.

Churches should be governed by a combination of pastor- elder and people rule. This is what we see in Acts 6. The elders gave the standards for the deacons, the people selected them, and the elders ordained them (Acts 6:3-6). This is a model of a church properly and scripturally governed.

Obedience to pastoral authority is not absolute, of course. Bible believers do not blindly follow their spiritual leaders. Pastors are not popes. God’s people are to follow their leaders as they follow Christ and as they follow the Word of God. We see in Hebrews 13:7 that “the word of God” is the absolute standard and as long as the leaders are speaking the Word of God, they should be obeyed. “They are not to make laws of their own, but to interpret the laws of God; nor is their interpretation to be immediately received without examination, but the people must search the scriptures, and so far as the instructions of their minister are according to that rule they ought to receive them” (Matthew Henry).

Pastors have real authority but it is not a lordly authority; it is a shepherd’s authority. “Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock” (1 Pet. 5:3). We see this in Hebrews 13:17, where the ruler’s role is described in terms of watching for the souls of the believers. See also Mk. 10:42-45; 1 Cor. 3:5; 2 Cor. 1:24; 3 Jn. 9-10. The pastor’s job is to watch over the spiritual. He watches for men’s souls.

In contrast, some pastors have attempted to lord it over every aspect of people’s lives, interfering with their every decision, forbidding them to do things that are not forbidden in Scripture, and putting obligations upon them that go beyond the bounds of Scripture. “It is for your own good that they do this [‘for they watch for your souls’], and you should, therefore, submit to these arrangements. And this shows, also, the true principle on which authority should be exercised in a church. It should be in such a way as to promote the salvation of the people; and all the arrangements should be with that end. The measures adopted, therefore, and the obedience enjoined, should not be arbitrary, oppressive, or severe, but should be such as will really promote salvation” (Barnes). 2.

Even though the book of Hebrews is not written to a particular church, as most of Paul’s epistles were, we see that the church is never out of sight. In Hebrews 10:25 we are reminded of the importance of the assembly and in chapter 13 we are reminded of the necessity of obeying church leaders. From the very beginning of this dispensation God’s people have been taught to organize themselves into New Testament assemblies. Christ said He would build His church (Mat. 16:18). From the day of Pentecost, the church has been the focal point of God’s people (Acts 2:41-42). The apostles established the first churches and left this as the pattern for the rest of the age (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5). It is the church that is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15). Much of the New Testament is written directly to individual churches. 3.

The two broad standards for church leaders are given in Hebrews 13:7, which reminds us again that God’s people are not to blindly follow men but are to submit to those who give clear evidence of a divine call and who are scripturally qualified and are living what they preach. They are sound in doctrine and practice (“who have spoken unto you the word of God,” Heb. 13:7). This refers to their teaching. They are men described in Titus 1:9 -- “Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.” They have strong faith and a good manner of life (“whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation” Heb. 13:7). This standard is described in detail in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. Godly living is a necessary qualification for pastors and elders because the character of the church depends upon it. God’s people are exhorted to follow the faith and example of their leaders.

If the pastors’ lives are not right the people will not have the proper example to follow and God’s work on earth will be seriously hindered. Therefore, pastors must have the right kind of personal testimony and family life. How often in this age have pastors failed to maintain the biblical teaching and practice and how often and grievously God’s work has suffered as a result! 4.

Pastors watch for the souls of the brethren and must give account for them (Heb. 13:17). Pastors are given watchcare over the Lord’s flock and they have the responsibility to present it back to Him in good shape. The flock is not their own; it is loaned to them for safekeeping. If they do not feed the sheep properly and do not protect them from the wolves and do not go after the wayward they will be judged by the Great Shepherd. The pastor will give account for his teaching, for his pastoring, for his example, for his decisions, for everything. Therefore James says, “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation” (Jam. 3:1). 5.

Believers must give account for how they relate to their church leaders (Heb. 13:17). The Bible indicates that it is “unprofitable” for brethren to be a grief to their pastors (apart from a clear scriptural basis, of course, which might require them to resist false teaching or sinful living) because of their rebellion or stubbornness or laziness or carnality. Unless the pastor is teaching or living contrary to the Word of God in such a manner that I must resist him in order to be faithful to Christ, he should have joy from my life and service in the church. He should be encouraged at how I love and heed the Word of God, at how I am growing in Christ, at how I am diligently serving the Lord, at how I am supporting the cause of Christ with my finances, at my faithfulness, at my zeal, at my compassion, at my holiness.

It is good for every believer to ask himself, “What kind of account would the pastor give of me if he were to stand before Christ this very day? What can I change so that the pastor has more joy when he gives this account?”

See also the following articles: “The Pastor’s Authority and the Church Member’s Responsibility” - http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/pastoral.htm “Unquestioning Loyalty to Pastoral Leadership the Mark of a Cult” - http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/unquestioningloyalty.htm [Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE or to UNSUBSCRIBE or to CHANGE ADDRESSES or to RE-SUBSCRIBE UNDER A NEW ADDRESS, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. If you have any trouble with this, please let us know. And please be patient with us. We do not ignore any unsubscribe request, but we cannot always get to your request immediately as each person involved with maintaining the Way of Life web site does this only on a very part time basis and is busy with many other major activities, such as pastoring and missionary work. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 25th year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://wayoflife.org/catalog/catalog.htm Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org. We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but from those who are. OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/offering.html . PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org

Jack Chick Tracts 2

Jack Chick Tracts

SEQUEL 2 ON RICK WARREN

Dear Friend,
In the light of the true Gospel in Part 1 of our analysis of Rick Warren’s “The Purpose- Driven Life” movement, we documented that his “gospel” consists of a formulated whispered prayer and finding one’s “true self”. In this Part 2, we highlight God’s true love as seen in the maintenance of His law and in the manifestation of His justice. In Christ Jesus, God’s love and righteousness compliment each other. This emphasis on the true love of God is necessary
to reveal the demeaning of this divine attribute that is evident in Rick Warren’s writings.
The involvement with the Catholic Church with the movement and the connection with Catholicism is also documented.

Yours in the grace of the precious Savior,
Richard Bennett
Our WebPage is: www.bereanbeacon.org

The Purpose Driven Life: Demeaning the Very Nature of God
Part 2 By Richard Bennett

There is an underlying feature of Rick Warren’s book and movement that makes an anaylsis of it very difficult. It stems from the fact that Warren presents some basic teaching regarding God’s purpose to glorify Himself and what man should do in relation to God. The fact that none of these purposes is presented in a biblically accurate way makes Warren’s work all the more dangerous to the true understanding of Who God is and His Gospel in Christ. In the first part of our analysis we documented the way in which the Gospel was vitiated by the exaltation of man and so called “true self”. This error together with the corresponding neglect to show that man is in fact spiritually “dead in trespasses and sins” showed that the book is both a hindrance and a deceit.

The most dangerous of heresies have always been those that have been presented in the context of general basic truth. In this section, too, we must continue to analyze the saving purpose of God from all eternity in Christ Jesus. Salvation comes from God to sinful man in and through Christ Jesus alone. The origin of free grace and eternal purpose of God is in Christ Jesus alone, “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”1
This elementary truth would not need to be emphasized were it not for the fact that Warren misrepresents God’s saving love for mankind as being in a man himself.
The nature of God in Scripture is proclaimed to be All Holy, thus the Bible states “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.”2 To inspire utter reverence for God’s nature, the question is asked, “Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou only art Holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee. . .”3

1 II Timothy 1:9
2 Isaiah. 6:3
3 Revelation. 15: 4

One of the most flagrant sins of Warren and his movement is the failure to respect the nature of the Almighty, All Holy God. For example, in his chapter entitled “Becoming Best Friends with God”, God is portrayed as if He were in need, “Almighty God yearns to be your Friend!”4 “Yearns” signifies “craves”,
“hankers”, or “covets”, basically meaning He needs to be your Friend. The love of God, however, whereby He gave His only begotten Son, is totally sacrificial and
giving. It in no way signifies a lack in God. On the contrary, the giving of His only begotten Son is the total outpouring of His perfect love and certainly
not needed to complete or perfect His love. The fact that God demonstrates
His love to unworthy sinners in no way implies that God needs sinners to satisfy
something lacking in Him!

Warren’s terminology misrepresents the nature of God. Warren builds on this serious
error by means of a modern corruption of Exodus 34:14, “He is a God who is passionate about his relationship with you.”5 The verse should read, “for
thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” The jealousy or passion of the LORD God is against those who would worship
another god. Such worship is utterly condemned. It is significant that the first part of this verse, “for thou shalt worship no other god”, is totally absent
from Warren’s chapter. Yet when the terms “jealously” or “passion” are used of God
in the Bible, it describes His fervor for the true worship due to His holy name.
It demands exclusive devotion to Him. By teaching that God has a passion or infatuation with the reader of Warren’s book rather than a perfect zeal for
His Holy Name, Warren has gotten the meaning of the verse literally backwards.
His use of a corrupted and partial Bible text to depict his notion that God has a
passionate devotion to man renders his work an attempt to flatter men rather than
present them with God’s truth concerning their depravity. Thus Warren teaches as
truth the very idolatry that a faithful rendition of the whole text condemns. This type of Scripture twisting that degrades the nature of God runs throughout
Warren’s book. Love is not the essence of God’s character apart from His righteousness. Warren’s teaching that God has a saving love for everyone demeans the
very nature of God. Such particular love for everyone is stated to be
“the essence of God’s character”. Warren teaches, “You were created as a special object of God’s love! God made you so he could love you. This is a truth to build your life on.

The Bible tells us, “God is love.” (I John 4:8) It doesn’t say God has love.
He is love! Love is the essence of God’s character. There is perfect love
in the fellowship of the Trinity, so God didn’t need to create you.” (pp. 24-25)

This is still another contradiction by Warren, who had just previously implied that God was somehow lacking. Now Warren has given his readers the heady notion that
God loves each one “as a special object”. With this type of assurance, the reader
has security in himself and in his sins. According to Scripture, however, we cannot know that we are the objects of God’s saving love until after we have fled from
His wrath against our sin, repented of it, and turned to put our faith in Christ
Jesus alone. Warren’s type of god, who loves everyone as a special object of His
love, is utter heresy. Love apart from His righteousness is not the essence of God’s character.
Rather in Scripture God’s saving love is always in accord with His righteousness,
“mercy and
4 Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002) p. 85. Page numbers only in succeeding
citations.
5 P. 86. Verse quotation taken from Holy Bible, New Living Translation (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers,
1996).
2
truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”6

We must accept God’s love as He himself has defined it rather than how Warren
has presented it! In Scripture God’s love is seen in the maintenance of His law,
and in the manifestation of His justice. In the Messiah there is a harmony of the divine attributes, love and righteousness.

In Christ, God’s righteousness and peace have kissed each other. In the work of the Redeemer, God’s love is shown in the Messiah being “wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him;
and with his stripes we are healed.”7

The demonstration of God is love is “that He might be just and the justifier of him, who believes in Jesus.”8 God is true to His wrath against sin and He is just in
His government to both love and pardon sinners in Christ Jesus. He is just because
Christ Jesus’ blood paid the penalty, satisfying God’s justice. He is “justifier” in that Christ’s righteousness is credited to believers. But unbelievers remain under
God’s wrath because of their own unrighteousness. In that state they have no reason
to believe they are special objects of God’s love.

Warren’s so-called love of God for unrepentant sinners as “a special object of God’s
love” is an insult to the true love of God because it attempts to redefine the very nature of God.9 The true love of God upholds His truth, His commands, His Word,
and His righteousness.

For example consider the preaching of C. H. Spurgeon, “O Sinner, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God! Think how often He has shown His love to you by
bidding you come to Himself. Think how often you have spurned His Word and refused
His mercy. Think how you have turned a deaf ear to every invitation and have gone your way to rebel against a God of love. Think how often you have violated the commands of Him that loved you.”10

If Warren wrote and preached as Spurgeon did above, he would not be as popular with
the thousands of so called “carnal Christians” across the world. However, when the
commands of God are preached together with His love, true conversions are seen as righteousness and peace come together in Christ Jesus. God’s saving love is always
particularized to those who are in Christ. It is always declared to be in Christ
and because of His grace. Thus the Bible proclaims, “according as he hath chosen
us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before him: in love having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself… To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has
made us accepted in the beloved.”11

Without exception, human beings are the objects of God’s saving love only in Christ
Jesus; otherwise, and without exception, they are objects of God's wrath! “Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength.”12
God’s focus on Christ is changed for Warren’s focus on man.

In Chapter 2, “You Were Not an Accident”, Warren emphasizes God’s sovereignty in appointing every detail of each person’s birth. Warren seems to equate being born
with being a child of

6 Psalm 85:10
7 Isaiah 53:5
8 Romans 3:26.
9 The love God had for believers while they were as yet unrepentant sinners was in Christ Jesus and not in themselves, “that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through
Christ Jesus.” (Eph 2:7)
10 The C.H. Spurgeon Collection, “Sovereign Grace and Man’s Responsibility”, Sermon #207, Ages Software
11 Ephesians 1:4, 5, 6
12 Psalm 85:10
3

God for he states, “While there are illegitimate parents, there are no illegitimate children….God never makes mistakes….God made you so he could love you.”13

Leaping over the huge difficulties such as “the vessels of wrath” in Romans 9:22, Warren moves to Ephesians 1:4 to make his case, “according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame
before him”. He teaches a distortion of its meaning, however. Citing The Message he teaches, “God’s motive for creating was his love. The Bible says, ‘Long before he
laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus
of his love.’” (p 24)

This corrupt text allows Warren to exclude the true focus of the Bible text that God’s choice of individuals is “in Christ” and not in unrepentant people who,
Warren teaches, are loved in themselves. Nowhere in the book does he deal with Ephesians 2:1 nor any of the great passages speaking of being born dead in trespasses and sin. He totally omits dealing biblically with the problem of
justification. By disregarding this central issue, Warren utterly fails to acknowledge that Paul is not addressing people who are loved in themselves but
rather to “the faithful in Christ Jesus”14, telling them of the riches of His grace
which are theirs precisely because they are “in Him [i.e., Christ].” As a magician who with one wave of his hand changes what one sees, so Warren has with one
contrived paraphrase of Scripture changed “chosen us in him” to read “he had us
in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love.” With this switch from “the faithful in Christ” to sinful individuals as they are in themselves, Warren has
removed the one Mediator and His redemption as the means by which God’s active love
has procured its goal. In the context of salvation, which is the whole theme of Ephesians chapter 1, this removal of the Person of Christ Jesus means that Warren
presents a god who has saving love for sinful individuals as they are in themselves.
His god is not the God of the Bible.

Outside of God’s choice in Christ Jesus there is no salvation.15 The love of God finds satisfaction and delight only in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. His love is
not only particularized in Christ Jesus, but His express purpose is to uphold His
own righteousness, as the Apostle Paul proclaimed, “being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…to declare, I say, at this
time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which
believeth in Jesus.”16

In all things we rejoice that God is almighty and that there is good news for all who are “dead in trespasses and sins”. In the light of God’s Word we know,
“the gospel of Christ…is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.…”17 By nature we are all children of wrath, and by practice we are rebels against the Lord God and His Word. The perfect and just law of God condemned us all and the Lord God is not responsible to rescue any of us from His just wrath. Despite our sin nature and personal sin, the Lord God has given His beloved Son for all true
believers. God is the All Holy One. His holiness is the distinguishing factor in all His essential characteristics. This is the reason why we need to be in right
standing before the one and only All Holy God on the terms He prescribes. Turn to God in faith alone for the salvation that He alone gives, by the conviction of the Holy Spirit, based on Christ’s death and resurrection, 13
Pp. 23, 24
14 Ephesians 1:1
15 There is a consistent Biblical teaching that justification is positional legal righteousness in Christ. Jeremiah 23:6,
Romans 1:17, 3:21-22, 4:6, 11, 5:18-19; I Corinthians 1:30; II Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:6; Colossians 2:10, 3:3;
II Peter 1:1, and elsewhere.
16 Romans 3:24, 26
17 Romans 1:16
4
and believe on Him alone, “to the praise of the glory of his grace.”18
The understanding of the Gospel causes us to proclaim in loving gratitude,
“not unto us, o Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy,
and for thy truth’s sake.”19

The consequences of Warren’s trifling with the Holy and Just nature of God,
Warren’s saving love applied universally to all degrades God’s holy and just nature.

His love is specifically “in Christ,”20 and for the express purpose of showing
forth His righteousness. God cannot and will not accept our sin. Thus Warren significantly distorts the biblical doctrine of the just and holy God and thus
disfigures the biblical concept of the nature of God. If God loved man as he is in
himself He would be unrighteous. Such a concept is sacrilege. “God is light” as
well as “love”, “and in him is no darkness at all.”21 His love is a holy love, as are all His attributes.

In the Scripture His Holiness is every bit as important as His love. “Be ye holy; for I am holy.”22 Equal to God’s love is His wrath and judgment which produces
healthy fear and awe of the Creator, “despisest thou the riches of his goodness
and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth
thee to repentance?”23

A sinner ought not to be comforted by assurances of the love of God apart from repentance and faith in Christ. Rather a sinner should be reminded that God hates
sinners as Scripture insists, “the boastful shall not stand before thine eyes; thou dost hate all who do iniquity.”24 “I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not
sit with the wicked.”25 Without Christ Jesus “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven…”26

God clearly depicts His Holy and just nature in the pages of Scripture. Great is the guilt of anyone who makes it seem that God’s saving love is indiscriminate, rather
than focused on sinners as they are in Christ Jesus. The Lord’s glory and redemption
in Christ Jesus are what is at stake, “let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.”27

Involvement with the Catholic Church and more similarities
Since Warren’s policy is to implement church growth without respect to biblical doctrine28, it is no wonder that Catholic Churches such as Saint Michael the
Archangel Catholic Church in Cary, NC are now enthusiastically joining in the Warren
church growth program. The Webpage for this Catholic Church states, “Having finished the first 21 days of the book, our growing group decided to push on to the end
(so if you've already read parts of the book and weren't able to join us in November,
now’s the time to hop aboard!)…”29 Another example: “In the Chicago area,

18 Ephesians 1:6
19 Psalm 115:1
20 Ephesians Chs 1 and 2, such phrases as “in Christ”, “in whom”, “in him”, “in the Beloved” are spoken of 18
times. This is the same in all of the letters of Paul the Apostle. Likewise the Apostle John consistently teaches that
eternal life in Christ Jesus, e.g. “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his
Son.” (I John 5:11) God’s love seen in salvation is always expressed as being in Christ.
21 I John 1:5
22 I Peter 1:16
23 Romans 2:4
24 Psalm 5:5
25 Psalm 26:5
26 Romans 1:18
27 Hebrews 12:28-29
28 For a very insightful perspective on the church growth movement, of which Warren is cited as a major player at
the moment, see http://www.crossroad.to/News/Church/Klenck1.html
29 http://www.stmichaelcary.org/adulteduc.shtml 11/12/04
5

more than 200 churches are participating in ‘40 Days of Purpose’ (some used it as a Lenten series). Among them is St. Walter’s Catholic Church in Roselle which had hoped 100 people would sign up for small home groups for the ‘40 Days of Purpose’
program studying Warren’s book. Instead, 700 got involved.’”30

Warren quotes from Catholic mystic Brother Lawrence, endorsing Catholic contemplative
prayer techniques, which he says are “helpful ideas”. Brother Lawrence was not only traditionally Roman Catholic but also disseminated teachings that have similarities
with Hinduism in the Bhagavad-Gita, and with many New Age writers. Warren endorses him and goes on later to recommend “breath prayers”. He teaches, “Many Christians use ‘Breath Prayers’ throughout their day. You choose a brief sentence, or a simple
phrase that can be repeated to Jesus in one breath: ‘You are with me.’ ‘I receive
your grace.’ ‘I’m depending on you.’ ‘I want to know you.’ ‘I belong to you.’”31

For centuries Catholic mystics have practiced “breath prayers” such as these. They are simply the Catholic form of old Greek mysticism and akin to the mantras of
Hindus. In this same book, Warren cites approvingly the famous Catholic mystic
Madame Guyon (p. 193). He approves also of St. John of the Cross (p. 108) and the Catholic priest mystic, psychologist and ecumenist Henri Nouwen (pp. 269- 270).
He warmly agrees with Mother Teresa (pp. 125, 231). These misleading techniques are thus propagated and lead further into the whole mystic plague that presently is
threatening believers. This plague is the imagination that there is a unity consciousness with God apart from the Person, unique life and sacrifice of
Christ Jesus.32 Warren presents a mystical agenda, which the world loves and accepts, but which is an abomination before the Lord God.

Displacement of Pastors and the Consequences

The “40 Days of Purpose” campaign of purpose and community is distinct from other movements we have seen in recent times. Warren asks pastors to devote their church
and their people to an intensive forty days of reprogramming their understanding of God, Christ, and how one becomes a Christian. He promises at the end of forty days
that the church will be transformed.

Through his book and the agenda laid out, he teaches for forty days on nearly every aspect of the Christian life. This type of interference in the running of a church
opens the way for an insidious take-over of that church. In Scripture the function of pastors is to teach and to be watchmen and guardians of the flocks the Lord has given to them. “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the
which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers.”33

To hand over their position before the Lord to another who will for seven weeks teach his own doctrinal messages based on a multitude of flawed paraphrases of
Scripture is utterly unbiblical. The church is the pastors’ and elders’ charge.
It is not theirs to bring in debased ideas that infiltrate every important
area of the church life. In Warren’s book and movement, God’s absolute sovereignty is flatly denied as men are counseled to determine their own destinies.

30 http://www.saddleback.com/flash/s_PDFs/ChicagoTribuneLivingwithpurpose42504.pdf 11/13/04
31 http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/?ID=71 10/22/04
32 See our article on The Mystic Plague on our WebPage: www.bereanbeacon.org
33 Acts 20:28
6

Conclusion
Warren and all who associate with his plans and purposes ought to fear the All Holy God for, “thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.”34
This is just one of the Ten Commandments Warren breaks.
Another is “Thou shalt not bear false witness”. Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life, is replete with fraudulent claims. The fact, however, is that the
All Holy God reigns as proclaimed by the Holy Spirit, “The Lord reigneth; let the people tremble.”35 “The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his
kingdom ruleth over all.”36 The Lord God is ruling with complete dominion, fulfilling His eternal purpose, not only in spite of but also by means of those
who would misrepresent His nature and that of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ,
and His glorious and invincible Gospel. The essence of sin is forsaking the Lord
as truly the sovereign God and presenting Him as less, in this case a god who has needs and thereby can be manipulated.

The message for our day is the same as ever: if people do not repent and believe the true Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, they will die in their sins. If people continue to run after worldly methods to propagate debased forms of what is called
Christianity, they will personally or corporately experience what the Apostle Paul
wrote under the direction of the Holy Spirit, “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in
unrighteousness.”37

The Evangelical decline into doctrinal and practical apostasy expressed in sentiment and fleshly experience should be one of our gravest concerns. Warren’s book and
movement is a vivid example of what is now so popular and devastating. Hundreds
of thousands of souls, likely now millions, around the world have succumbed to the presentation of a false gospel flowing constantly from Neo-Evangelical pulpits and presses. Consequently grandiose Evangelical church buildings, Christian colleges, seminaries, and teaching institutions are presently overrun with people that have been taught by their leadership to confuse manufactured human religious feelings with a genuine work of the Holy Spirit. Multitudes blindly credit themselves as being “born again Christians” while rejecting the Lordship of Christ and authority of His Word, which are the marks of authentic discipleship.38 Only a gracious
outpouring of the Holy Spirit to turn the hearts of His people back to Him is the
sufficient remedy to answer the assault on the true Gospel that is before us.

Pray then that the Lord may be pleased in mercy to heal the affliction of doctrinal compromise and subsequent spiritual blindness that plagues the contemporary Evangelical Church rather than to permit it to run further into darkness.

It is mercy for which we are praying. Given the age-old pattern of compromising the
Gospel to please the world, and joining hands in the dark with Rome, it is certain that the Evangelical Church deserves nothing but a more severe dispensation from the Lord’s hand. This is no time to presume upon the grace of God. Rather it is time to pray urgently for it! The Lord’s glory, Gospel, and promise are at stake!

Yet we rejoice that we have a High Priest over the house of God, the Lord Christ Jesus! “Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your
sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword.”39

34 Exodus 29:7
35 Psalm 99:1
36 Psalm 103:19
37 Romans 1:18.
38 Luke.6: 43-49; Matthew 7:21-27.
39 Isaiah 1:18.
7
The Lord God demonstrated His love for sinners in the death of Christ. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”40 His love is magnified and made illustrious in that His holy love upheld His righteousness. The biblical Gospel is that the sinners are loved in Christ Jesus. The teaching of the Apostle Paul gives the exact meaning of the Gospel, “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”41

God’s purpose was that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. As the Lord, who knew no sin of His own, was made sin for us, so we, who have no righteousness of our own, are made the righteousness of God in Him. The love we
receive from God and our subsequent reconciliation with God is only through the Gospel of Christ Jesus. Our great privilege as believers is to be accepted by God, which shows His love and care for us. God cannot thus accept us, except in and through Jesus Christ. He loves His people because of His Beloved. “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”42 We take heed against resting on any worth within ourselves and against any platitudes that change the Gospel’s focus away from Christ and towards ourselves as special persons. Multitudes have been so deceived and have perished eternally with a lie in their right hand. The Lord made the will of the Father abundantly clear when He said,
“this is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”43 Where there is true faith and love of the Lord, there is in the midst of all things a joy unspeakable and full of glory. “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”44 ♦

Richard Bennett of “Berean Beacon” WebPage: www.bereanbeacon.org
Permission is given by the author to copy this article if it is done in its entirety without any changes.
Permission is also given post this article in its entirety on Internet WebPages.
40 Romans 5:8
41 11 Corinthians 5:21
42 Ephesians 1:6
43 John 6:29
44 Romans 11:36
8

RICK WARREN'S "FALSE GOSPEL"

BRETHREN,

Tonight, as I have done many times in the past, I checked out some of the christian websites that I have visited recently. One particular site is one that I have used to make available articles to many that I have shared the Gospel with. As I browsed on the many articles available, my eyes fell upon the following article that I am now posting here in my blog. I felt compelled and a very strong compulsion seem to push me, to share this article to many especially to those in the pastoral ministry.

The following article written by a former Catholic priest must be read, studied, scrutinized and deciminated without fear by every authentic, genuine, true believers in our God and Saviour Jesus Christ to all.

I encourage and challenge every recipient of this article who name the name of JESUS CHRIST, saved by God's grace, redeemed by the "Blood" of the Lamb to make a stand, do and obey the exhortation of Jude. This is the time to be bold and courageous, to be unwilling to compromise the truth of the Pure Gospel of our LORD JESUS CHRIST and without fear of anything, not even what men might say and do, stand and contend for the faith which was once delivererd unto the saints.

Jude 1:3-4
King James Version (KJV)
Public Domain

3Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

4For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Read with an open heart and listen to the voice of Almighty God that He will open the eyes of your understanding to the things you are about to read and be exposed to. May God the Holy Spirit lead you, brethren, to receive the things that are written about, exposing the false gospel that millions have received from one who is so well-known not only in North America but in many parts of the world.

Evangelist Emmanuel P. Salvador
Ministry Blog: www.manny-knowthetruth.blogspot.com/
Ministry Email: ministerjhn33@hotmail.com


Dear Friend,

Degrading the Gospel to a formulated whispered prayer and find one’s “true self” is part of what one finds in Rick Warren’s The Purpose-Driven Life movement. With concern I have written on the true Gospel of the Lord Christ Jesus, and in its power, precision and light, thus exposing a widespread movement that is afflicting many souls. This is Part I of a two-part presentation.
Thousands across the world who are deceived by this new “success” movement of Rick
Warren need the true Gospel!
Yours in the grace of the precious Savior,
Richard Bennett

The Adulation of Man in The Purpose Driven Life
By Richard Bennett

Rick Warren’s The Purpose-Driven Life “is more than a bestseller, it’s become a movement.”1
In the words of the author himself his megachurch program is “Revival awakening or miracle… Over 12,000 churches from all 50 states and 19 countries have now participated in 40 Days of Purpose. Many of these churches have reported that it was the most transforming event in their congregation’s history.”2 “Rick is also the founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community that serves and mentors those in ministry worldwide. Over 60,000 pastors subscribe to Rick Warren’s Ministry Toolbox.”3 On this Webpage he states, “Our Purpose is to encourage pastors,
ministers, and church leaders with tools and resources for growing healthy churches…Every resource you purchase helps provide free resources to the over 1.5 million pastors and lay pastors in third world countries. God has allowed us through your support to reach over 117 different countries on all 7 continents.”4 The movement is becoming a global empire.

Warren asserts,
“God is a global God…Much of world already thinks globally. The largest media and business conglomerates are all multi-national…Get a globe or map and pray for nations by name. The Bible says, ‘If you ask me, I will give you the nations; all the people on earth will be yours.’”5

(Warren, however, has overlooked the fact that this promise was made uniquely to Christ Jesus, and not to megachurches seeking expansion). Even the business world is looking on with awe.

Forbes.com in an article called “Christian Capitalism Megachurches, Megabusinesses” acknowledged that,
“Maybe churches aren’t so different from corporations…Pastor Rick Warren, who founded
Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., in 1980, has deftly used technology as well as marketing to spread his message… No doubt, churches have learned some valuable lessons from corporations. Now maybe they can teach businesses a thing or two. Companies would certainly appreciate having the armies of nonpaid, loyal volunteers.”6

The empire of influence of which Warren boasts is echoed by thousands of pastors and
Christian leaders around the world. At least eighteen million copies of his book have been sold

1 Bruce Ryskamp, president of Zondervan. http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s03110083.htm 10/22/04
2 http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/thebook.aspx 10/16/04
3 http://www.pastors.com/aboutus/ 11/15/04
4 http://www.pastors.com/aboutus/ 10/22/04
5 http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/?id=74&artid=3099&expand=1 10/22/04
6 http://www.forbes.com/2003/09/17/cz_lk_0917megachurch.html 10/22/04

since its release in September 2002. It is now selling in many translations. Literally thousands of churches have used the book and the materials that accompany it during special campaigns called 40 Days of Purpose. The book is divided into forty chapters purporting to explain in 40 days the five purposes of one’s life.

Indeed, the thesis of the book is found on p. 136,
“He [God] created the church to meet your five deepest needs: a purpose to live for, people to live with, principles to live by, a profession to live out, and power to live on. There is no other place on earth where you can find all five of these benefits in one place.” 7

Warren is dead wrong in his list of “deepest needs”. On the authority of the Bible, the first and foremost need of any man is perfect righteousness before the All Holy God. It is Christ Jesus’ righteousness alone that God will accept as a propitiation for any man’s sin and sin nature.

This primary need of man is constantly shown in the Bible but Warren does not even mention this foundational truth in his list of “deepest needs”. Warren’s quick switch from God’s purpose to man’s methods falls under the first temptation ever recorded in the Bible. Satan offered to Eve the fruit as the way of achieving a spiritual purpose, “in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”8

Warren teaches that God “created the church to meet your five deepest needs” just as the Roman Catholic Church says,
“The Church is the mother of all believers.”9 Warren, like Rome, has switched from obedience to the Word and Person of the Living God to submission to a church to achieve one’s needs. It is the oldest and cleverest temptation known to man.

Warren’s gospel, the root flaw
The Apostle Paul showed the need for the Gospel by the fact that whole the world is guilty before God. He declared, “now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” 10 All are “by nature children of wrath” 11, guilty before the all Holy God.

To appear before Him, therefore, each needs a perfect righteousness. James summarizes the whole condition of man when he says, “for whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”12 Guilt before God shows the need for the Gospel and as such is the basis for the Gospel. Conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit drives the sinner to trust truly on Christ Jesus alone,
as the publican in the parable of the Lord cried out, “God be merciful to me a sinner.”13

With Warren, this conviction of guilt is reduced by psychological terminology to the condition of “unconsciously punishing of oneself”. He states,
“Many people are driven by guilt…. Guilt-driven people are manipulated by memories.
They allow their past to control their future. They often unconsciously punish themselves by sabotaging their own success. When Cain sinned, his guilt disconnected him from God’s presence, and God said, ‘You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.’ That describes most people today—wandering through life without a purpose. (pp. 27-28)

7 Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002) Page numbers only in succeeding
citations.
8 Genesis 3:5
9 Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994), #181 (Emphasis ours.)
10 Romans 3:19
11 Ephesians 2:3
12 James 2:10
13 Luke 18:8

Rather than sin being shown to be an evil of infinite significance because it is committed against an infinite Person, Warren’s pop psychology defines sin as acts of people “sabotaging their own success”. He continues,
“God won’t ask about your religious background or doctrinal views. The only thing that will matter is, did you accept what Jesus did for you and did you learn to love and trust him?” (p.34)
“If you learn to love and trust God’s Son, Jesus, you will be invited to spend the rest of eternity with him. On the other hand, if you reject his love, forgiveness, and salvation, you will spend eternity apart from God forever.” (p. 37)

Biblically speaking, it is absolute folly to tell an unconvicted sinner merely to “learn to love and trust God’s Son, Jesus”. No one can be saved without recognition of his own sin personally against Holy God, and without turning away from that sin. So while it is true that the only thing that matters “is to learn to love and trust Him”, this love and trust is impossible unless the Holy Spirit has convicted a person that he is a depraved sinner without any hope in himself.

Warren does endeavor to define sin when he states,
All sin, at its root, is failing to give God glory. It is loving anything else more than God. Refusing to bring glory to God is prideful rebellion, and it is the sin that caused Satan’s fall— and ours, too. In different ways we all lived for our own glory, not God’s. The Bible says,
‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’” (p.55)

While this is true, Warren still has not acknowledged personal guilt and personal need for Christ’s perfect righteousness and perfect sacrifice. Warren’s persistent declarations one’s “self worth” and “true self”, as we will shortly document, totally negates what he says about “prideful rebellion”. The book and movement, on the contrary, major in upholding “self worth” and “true self” thus endorsing the very “prideful rebellion” it states is cause of our fall, even as it was Satan’s.

This type of a contradictory statement made by Warren makes it difficult to analyze the book. While this is so, it is all the more necessary to do such an analysis. Without the Apostle Paul’s conviction, “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing,”14 there can be no true faith in Christ Jesus, nor even a growth in sanctification before God. The first key flaw in the Warren’s gospel message is the negation of the very basis needed for salvation. As the Lord Himself proclaimed, “they that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that
are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” 15
The heart of Warren’s gospel

Warren’s gospel message gets worse as he proceeds in the book. He assures his readers, “Real life begins by committing yourself completely to Jesus Christ. If you are not sure you have done this, all you need to do is receive and believe. The Bible promises, ‘To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.’ Will you accept God’s offer?” (p.58)

What Warren has neglected in his teaching of John 1:12 is that the following verse, v. 13, explains how a person is born again, “which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Warren has completely ignored the fact that to receive and believe is not of the will of man, but of God. It is the grace of God that makes a person willing to believe, for the heart is changed by God’s power alone. To leave out this essential point changes the focus from God to man. Such a change of focus from God to man is lethal to salvation

14 Romans 7:18
15 Mark 2:17

because there is no power within man to change himself. This grace must come from God. If, however, Warren had taught his readers to look to God for His grace, he would not have a ready-made message that is marketable. For Warren it is advantageous to leave out “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God”. In leaving out this essential factor of the Gospel he can in fact propose that which this verse of Scripture rules out!

The Lord is consistent in His Word, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.”16 Eternal life is bestowed on a person not because man begins the work, but it is because God gives salvation out of His mercy and grace. Such is the written purpose of God.

Warren’s written purpose is the opposite. It begins, he says, with man, “Real life begins by committing yourself…” But this is a deception for which Warren will
have to pay before the All Holy God. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked…It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”17 The power and dread of God’s vindictive wrath is great. There will be eternal misery for those who teach a false gospel, their punishment shall come from God’s own hand.

Warren progresses in his bogus gospel message,
“First, believe. Believe God loves you and made you for his purposes. Believe you’re not an accident. Believe you were made to last forever. Believe God has chosen you to have a relationship with Jesus, who died on the cross for you. Believe that no matter what you’ve done, God wants to forgive you.
“Second, receive. Receive Jesus into your life as Lord and Saviour. Receive his forgiveness for your sins. Receive his Spirit, who will give you the power to fulfill your life purpose.
Wherever you are reading this, I invite you to bow your head and quietly whisper the prayer that will change your eternity: ‘Jesus, I believe in you and I receive you.’ Go ahead. “If you sincerely meant that prayer congratulations! Welcome to the family of God!” (p. 58-59).

According to Warren’s teaching, it is the prayer that one whispers that changes a person for eternity. Instead of magnifying the enormity of sin and setting forth its eternal consequences, Warren says, “Believe that no matter what you’ve done, God wants to forgive you.”

With one sweet lie he attempts to wipe out all the teaching of the prophets in the Old Testament and the Lord Christ Jesus and the Apostles in the consistent teaching on the abhorrence of sin and the need of repentance. In place of the Gospel as “the power of God unto salvation” “in which the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith,”18 Warren merely gives a whispered prayer.

It is difficult to envisage a greater insult to Christ Jesus, whose perfect life and perfect sacrifice are the basis of genuine salvation.

The Apostle Paul declares that the righteousness of God is manifested, “But now the
righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.”19 Before God, sin had to be punished and true righteousness established. God’s holiness demanded the perfect life and perfect sacrifice of Christ Jesus to satisfy His wrath against sin. But for Warren, as we had seen, sin is said to be “sabotaging…success” so the whole concept of perfect righteousness being manifested before God is totally missing. With the omission

16 Romans 9:15-16
17 Galatians 6:7, Hebrews 10:30-31
18 Romans 1:16-17
19 Romans 3:21

goes the omission of the concept of grace as the means of obtaining that perfect righteousness.

According to Warren’s doctrine, salvation is “bow your head and quietly whisper the prayer that will change your eternity.” In Scripture, salvation is God’s action based on Christ’s finished work on the cross that is credited to the true believer, “being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”20 God’s direct action shows His grace so that our eyes are fixed on Him in faith.

Understanding Warren’s bogus gospel, and outrageously presumptuous
“welcome to the family of God”, we can but repeat the words of the Lord, “woe unto
you…for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men.”21 By a false gospel and false assurance of admittance into the family of God, Warren has excluded further seeking for the truth, “woe unto you…for ye have taken away the key of knowledge.”22 The Gospel, in which the finished work of the Lord is proclaimed, is such that it cannot be changed by a lie that ignores repentance and adds a whispered prayer that insults the meaning and application of redemption.

This replacement of Warren’s purpose for God’s purpose has dreadful consequences: “though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”23 Christ Jesus the Lord and His Gospel cannot be insulted with impunity.
As the receiver of stolen goods is as accountable as the thief, so one who promotes such a pretended gospel is as accountable in the sight of God as the impostor himself.

Self worth: the Glorification of Man
Basic to Warren’s program is the strong appeal of promised instantaneous results in the enhancement of one’s imaginations of his own self worth. What is completely ignored is the solemn fact that by nature man is a fallen creature, alienated from the life of God, dead in trespasses and sins, and that his only hope is outside of himself and in Christ Jesus alone.

Although Warren states that the book is “not about you” (p. 17), the main focus is persistently on building up one’s “self worth”. He continually appeals to the reader’s self-interests. The following are some examples,
“The way you see your life shapes your life. How you define life determines your destiny”
(p. 41).
“You are a bundle of incredible abilities, an amazing creation of God. Part of the church’s responsibility is to identify and release your abilities for serving God” (p. 242).
“The best use of your life is to serve God out of your shape. To do this you must discover your shape, learn to accept and enjoy it, and then develop it to its fullest potential” (p. 249).

This equates exactly with the Hinduism in its teaching, “By understanding your true Self, by coming to know one’s own undying soul, one then arrives at the knowledge of Brahman itself…”24 While Warren’s teaching is comparable with Hinduism, the most likely source of Warren’s teaching is Carl Jung.

Discovering one’s “power of the inner voice” or one’s fullest potential is what Jung taught, “Only the man who can consciously assent to the power of the inner
voice becomes a personality.”25 What is much more serious is that Warren’s teaching has the same basic premise as Roman Catholicism. The Vatican’s official foundational starting point is man himself. Rome states,

20 Romans 3:24.
21 Matthew 23:13
22 Luke 11:52
23 Galatians 1:8
24 Atman and Brahman as explained on www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/GLOSSARY/BRAHMAN.HTM 12/2/2002
25 The Development of Personality Collected Works 17 as quoted on:
http://www.sacredsandwich.com/warren_jung_chart.htm 11/18/04

“It is man himself who must be saved: it is mankind that must be renewed. It is man, therefore, who is the key to this discussion, man considered whole and entire, with body and soul, heart and conscience, mind and will. This is the reason why this sacred Synod, in proclaiming the noble destiny of man and affirming an element of the divine in him, offers to co-operate unreservedly with mankind in fostering a sense of brotherhood to correspond to this destiny of theirs.”26

“Discovering one’s shape accepting and enjoy it developing it to its fullest potential” is same basic foundation as the Church of Rome and Hinduism have, as we have already seen, but the same is true also of Islam and Buddhism—all of them have for their focal point the basic goodness of mankind.

Warren summarizes this basic foundation in the following words,
“If you are that important to God, and he considers you valuable enough to keep with him for eternity, what greater significance could you have? (p. 63)
The Scriptures, however, depict no such value or goodness within man. Rather the Holy Spirit teaches that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it?”27
“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.”28

Warren even goes so far as to distort a Scripture text to uphold his treasured concept of “true self.” He states, “The Bible says, ‘Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self’” (p.19). The passage he quotes is a contrived paraphrase of Matthew 16:25 from The Message. The Lord in fact said, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” The Lord clearly taught
that we are to consider our lives dead in order to follow Him. This passage does not teach anything about “true self” or self esteem.

Warren used the counterfeit paraphrase to fantasize that
the Lord had spoken of “finding yourself, your true self”. The craze of finding your “true self”, one of the hallmarks of the 1960’s hippy crowd, has now made its mark in this popularized debasing of Christianity. Self-exaltation “salvation” is worthless.

This same glorification of man Warren teaches in many different ways.
“You only bring him [God] enjoyment by being you. Anytime you reject any part of yourself, you are rejecting God’s wisdom and sovereignty in creating you” (p. 75).
“When you are sleeping, God gazes at you with love, because you were his idea. He loves you as if you were the only person on earth” (p. 75).
But Warren does not stop here with his adulation of man. The height of his glorification of man is found in the statement that makes the personal worth of the reader the purpose of Christ’s death on the cross. In doing so, “self-worth” is pushed to the point not only of perverting the Gospel but also of insulting the Lord Himself. Warren states,
“If you want to know how much you matter to God, look at Christ with his arms outstretched on the cross, saying, ‘I love you this much! I’d rather die than live without you’” (p. 79).

26 Vatican II Documents No. 64, Gaudium et Spes, 7 Dec 1965 in Vatican Council II The Conciliar and Post
Conciliar Documents, Austin P. Flannery, ed., 1981 edition (Northport, NY: Costello Publ. Co. 1975) Para 3
27 Jeremiah 17:9
28 Jeremiah 17:5

These words “I'd rather die than live without you” are part of a lyric of the “backstreet boys.”29
These words, put into the mouth of the Lord Christ Jesus by Warren, are a blasphemy. Christ Jesus the God-man, does not have a love that is dependant on man. If he had such a dependancy, He would not be God. To teach that the love of the Lord Jesus Christ is unholy, as Warren has, is both an insult and irreverence. It exalts sinful man to a position of control regarding the eternal Son of God. Can such an imagination be anything other than profanity? “He opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name.”30

In Scripture, Christ’s love and sacrifice were to demonstrate that God is “just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”31 Nevertheless, Warren’s doctrine makes living with sinful man the centerpiece of God’s purpose. In Scripture, the focus of God’s purpose was the demonstration of His justice and holiness in the Person and sacrifice of Christ Jesus. Sinful man was included in this great manifestation of the righteousness of God as a recipient by grace of the
redemption paid.

Warren’s grandiose glorification of sinful man to the extent that Christ Jesus
would rather die than to live without him totally reverses the biblical message that God does all for His own glory. All is of Him and from Him, and therefore all is to Him and for Him. He made all creation according to His will and for His praise. The Lord God Almighty’s purpose exposes the ridicule, vainglory and even blasphemy of Rick Warren.

Fallen man is depraved in every part of his nature and being, and it is not within his power to undo his depravity, to save himself or rescue himself. To try to aggrandize the fallen man, as Warren does, is futile because there is no moral salvation in man’s worth. A person’s only hope lies outside of himself, in divine worth and power. Human nature as such is dead in trespasses and sins. Water cannot flow uphill, nor can the natural man act contrary to his corrupt nature.
All human beings are destitute of the principles and powers of spiritual life. They are cut off from God, the fountain of life. They are spiritually dead as a condemned criminal is said to be a dead man. Thus the Lord Christ Jesus declared, “for from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness, all these evil things come from within,
and defile the man.”32 Christ declared, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” He signified that that which is propagated by fallen man is depraved.

If the principle of self-worth and the ability to choose Christ were true, the conclusion would inevitably follow that those who used their ability to choose Christ could lawfully boast of their active participation in their salvation.

But the truth is that faith itself is God’s gift, “for by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”33 Until one realizes his personal condition of being spiritually dead before the All Holy God, one will never properly appreciate God’s grace. Salvation begins not in self worth and self-movement but by divine power. Scripture is utterly clear on this matter: “Of his own will begat he us with the
word of truth.”34 “For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
35 God gives life to the spiritually dead will of man by giving His grace. It is the power of

29 http://sozluk.sourtimes.org/show.asp?t=ill+never+break+your+heart 11/16/04
30 Revelation 13:6
31 Romans 3:26
32 Mark 7:21-23
33 Ephesians 2:8-9
34 James 1:18
35 Philippians 2:13

the Holy Spirit that overcomes the pride of the natural man, so that one is ready to come to Christ to receive life. In the Lord’s own words, “the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.”36 As the Lord also explained, “It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that has heard, and has learned of the Father, comes unto me.”37

“Self-salvation” promoted on the basis of human worth and dignity is ingrained in human nature. It is found in all man-made religions. It is pivotal to the message of Warren’s book and movement. Warren’s teachings deny the biblical truth that man is totally depraved. Subsequently, he denies the absolute necessity of God’s grace. The relationship between spiritual death and grace is graphically given in Scripture, “that as sin has reigned unto death, even so might grace
reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”38 Without understanding the total depravity of those to whom the Gospel is given, the Gospel will remain a dead letter.

In leaving out the biblical truth that “there is none righteous, no, not one”39 and substituting for it the self-worth of man, Warren’s arrogance has reached a level predicted in the Scripture, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”40

Conclusion
Now that we have documented that a bogus gospel message is given in the 40 Days of Purpose in
The Purpose-Driven Life we are obliged to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered
unto the saints”41, and to “stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the
faith of the gospel.”42 Through the Warren movement, multitudes are being deceived on the very
meaning of the Gospel of salvation. Vast numbers sincerely believe that they have received
Christ as their personal Savior while in fact all that they have received into their right hand is a
man-made ritual and “covenant” commitment to a church, which they have obligated themselves
by vow to fulfill. While many of the articles regarding Warren commend the good things Warren
has had to say, they forget that Lord Himself and His Apostles utterly condemned the presentation
of a false gospel. How can we expect any true revival and the bringing of the everlasting
righteousness of Christ Jesus into the lives of men and women, if we are not willing to exposed
pretensions of him who embraces a “christ” unknown in the pages of Scripture, who presents a
sham gospel and who is willing to commend the devotees of the apostate system of Rome? He is
a deceiver who willfully defrauds, after all the light of the Gospel of grace has been clearly set
forth. It must not be thought strange that there are deceivers of the Lord Christ’s name and dignity
now, for there were such of old, even in the Apostles’ times. The danger and evil of departure
from the true Gospel is in effect and reality a departure from God Himself. “Whosoever
transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the
doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.”43 ♦

36 John 5:25
37 John 6:45
38 Romans 5:21
39 Romans 3:10
40 Isaiah 14:14.
41 Jude 1:3.
42 Philippians 1:27.
43 2 John 9

For more information on the false teachings of Rick Warren, the legion of false teachers he promotes,
and the false translations he uses in his Purpose Driven Life book, I recommend the documentary
book entitled: Who’s Driving the Purpose Driven Church? by James Sundquist. It is
published by Bible Belt Pubishers and available at Southwest Radio Church Ministries at:
http://www.swrc.com/offers/index.htm#h616
Or call Toll Free 1-800-652-1144
Richard Bennett of “Berean Beacon” WebPage: http://www.bereanbeacon.org
Permission is given by the author to copy this article if it is done in its entirety without any changes.
Permission is also given post this article in its entirety on Internet WebPages.

DAYS OF APOSTASY

The articles that follow is definitely controversial to say the least.
But believers in the LORD Jesus Christ are to be discerning because we live in the last days that the Bible speaks of which is characterized by apostasy.

Read and consider prayerfully the things that are written remembering the warning of the LORD Jesus Christ in

Matthew 7:21-23
King James Version (KJV)
Public Domain

21Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Pastor Manny


RICK WARREN SAYS HE IS NOT INTERESTED IN CHANGING THE DOCTRINE OF HERETICS (Friday Church News Notes, October 10, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) –

In a recent interview with Christianity Today, Rick Warren said: “We need to mobilize a billion Catholics and Orthodox. I’m not really that
interested in interfaith dialogue. I am interested in interfaith
projects. Let’s do something together. You are probably not going to
change your doctrinal distinctives, and I’m probably not going to
change my doctrinal distinctives. We have different beliefs. But the
fact is, we do serve the same Lord. Let’s work on the things we can
agree on” (“After the Aloha Shirts,” Christianity Today, Oct. 1,
2008).

To the contrary, the apostle Paul said that those who pervert
the gospel of the grace of Christ are cursed of God (Galatians 1:6-9).
Obviously, then, those who preach the true gospel and those who preach
a false one do not serve the same Lord. Christ told the Jewish leaders
who denied salvation by grace that their father was the devil (John
8:44). Beware of Rick Warren. He is the blind leading the blind and is
building the devil’s harlot rather than Christ’s bride. (See http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/howrome.htm.)

The prophet Amos wisely asked, “Can two walk together, except they
be agreed?” (Amos 3:3), and Warren replies, “Who cares if they agree
or disagree; let’s just walk together.”


BARACK OBAMA’S SPIRITUALITY (Friday Church News Notes, October 10, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Obama Grew up with the Bible and the Koran,” Lighthouse Trails, Sept. 2, 2008:

“Recently, when Barack Obama was interviewed by Rick Warren, Obama told Warren that Jesus Christ
was his Lord and Savior. Yet this ‘banner’ Obama raises is one that
has an interspiritual foundation, representing a new kind of
‘Christianity,’ one that looks more like Brian McLaren’s spirituality
than traditional, biblical Christianity. Stephen Mansfield’s book [The
Faith of Barack Obama, Thomas Nelson publishers] addresses the concern many have that Obama may be a closet Muslim, but he dismisses the possibility in the book, saying he was too young to be a ‘full convert to Islam’ (p. 18). But what emerges from this book is a man who is New Age in philosophy, believing that all religions are legitimate paths to God, and all humanity is connected together (spiritually speaking - i.e., God is in all). Obama does clearly believe that the form of Christianity that he committed to at Trinity Church in 1985 is not the
only path to God. ‘I am rooted in the Christian tradition,’ he has
said. Nevertheless he asserts, ‘I believe there are many paths to the
same place and that is a belief there is a higher power, a belief that
we are connected as a people.’ He first saw his broad embrace of faith
modeled by his mother. ‘In our household,’ he has explained, ‘The
Bible, [t]he Koran, and the Bhagavad Gita sat on the shelf ... on
Easter or Christmas Day my mother might drag me to a church, just as
she dragged me to the Buddhist temple, the Chinese New Year
celebration, the Shinto shrine, and ancient Hawaiian burial sites’ (p.
55 of Mansfield’s book, quoting from Audacity of Hope, Obama, p. 203).

After his interspiritually-based upbringing, Obama later spent twenty
years in a church, which promotes the panenthestic (God in all),
interspiritual approach. In a 2006 article in United Church News,
Obama stated that the teachings of the UCC (United Church of Christ),
of which he was a member (Trinity United Church of Christ) until
recently, are ‘foundation stones for his political work.’ Just what
are those ‘teachings’ comprised of? On Trinity's website, on the Yoga
page, the following statement is highlighted: ‘Within each [of] us is
the seed of Divinity. Each Soul is divine. I bow to the divinity in us
all!’ This is classic Hinduism that teaches that divinity resides in
every human being. It is also the message of the New Age movement--
man’s divinity! ... Obama insists that to base national ‘policy’ on
biblical truths ‘would be a dangerous thing’ to do (Audacity of Hope,
p. 220). There is one sentence in Audacity of Hope that sums up Barack
Obama’s spirituality. He states: ‘When I read the Bible, I do so with
the belief that it is not a static (stable) text but the Living Word
and that I must be continually open to new revelations’ (p. 224).”

CONCLUSION: The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in
churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental
Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are
written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of
sources, but this obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust
that our readers will not be discouraged. It is God’s will that we
know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as
serpents and harmless as doves. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the Lord’s coming.

Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far
spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of
darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly,
as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and
wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts
thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14). This material is sent only to those who
personally subscribe to the Fundamental Baptist Information Service
list. To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE or CHANGE ADDRESSES go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html
. Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061,
866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org.

THE HORRORS OF THE CATHOLIC INQUISITION

Dear Brethren In Christ,

Greetings in the most precious name of our God and Saviour our LORD Jesus Christ,
whose we are and whom we serve until He comes again! Maranatha!

The following is a video made by BereanBeacon about "The Inquisition". Most believers are ignorant of this tragic part of the human history which happened between the 12th century and up to the 18th century, a period of about 600 years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx8PdvOELvY. Click on Recommended Site (right side)

I have viewed this video and have become even more emboldened to reach my fellowmen who have been blinded by a religious system that has shackled the hearts and minds of people in many parts of the world. Majority of my own countrymen are in this grip of deception that gives them "False Hope".

In truth and in fact, they are being led into an eternity ... "that at that time ye were without Christ ... having no hope, and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12).

We live in the last days as prophesied in Holy Scriptures. Our LORD and Master Jesus Christ is coming soon, even at the door. We need to redeem the times for the days are evil. Authentic, genuine, true believers in Jesus Christ ought to be vessels unto honor.

2 Timothy 2:19-21 (King James Version)
19Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
20But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
21If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
The Apostle gives a charge to the followers of Jesus Christ as follows:

2 Timothy 4:1-4 (King James Version)
1I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.
3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
The Word of God gives warning and as brothers and sisters In Christ, we are to warn one another by speaking the truth in love as we anticipate His soon coming again.

May we be able to say like the Apostle Paul when we are face to face with our LORD:

2 Timothy 4:7-8 (King James Version)
7I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
8Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
MARANATHA! Even so come LORD Jesus!!!

Rev. Emmanuel P. Salvador
Chaplain/Evangelist
Adonai Seafarers Fellowship, Inc.
Pier 9 Red Hook Marine Terminal
Brooklyn, New York 11231
Ministry email: ministerjhn33@hotmail.com
Personal email: emmanuel.tranquil@gmail.com
Ministry Blog: http://www.manny-knowthetruth.blogspot.com/
Cell No. # 718-594-3996
Tel. No. # 718-643-0608
Fax No. # 718-643-0914

How To Raise A Brat!

How To Raise A Brat!

Tribulation Signs (Animals That Attack People)

Tribulation Signs (Animals That Attack People)

The NIV Teen Study Bible

The NIV Teen Study Bible

A PRIEST ASKED HIS BISHOP

A PRIEST ASKED HIS BISHOP

1 Timothy 4-13 - give attendance to reading, exhortation and doctrine.

1 Timothy 4-13 - give attendance to reading, exhortation and doctrine.

A TOUCHING STORY FOR WORKING PARENTS

To My Dear Family, Loved Ones & Friends,

This afternoon, after taking an afternoon nap, I went to check my email. I clicked on an email forward by a christian from the Philippines which was sent to me July 20,2008. Being a father of three girls, I was curious because the subject was on parents. Begun to read and scroll down. I was amazingly touched, blessed,
encouraged and stirred in my heart. I was filled with gratitude and thanksgiving for the one who forwarded this email to me.

On the other hand, I for one must admit that I have failed many times to give the time to you my family, loved ones and friends. I say, forgive me. I will trust the LORD to make me more sensitive in those times that you need someone the most, that I will be there by the grace of God. I will endeavor to be physically present as
much as possible. If not, I will seek to communicate by other means (telephone call, email, text messages). Do please let me know though when such times of need arises so I can somehow "Be There".

Be blessed, be encouraged, be touched as I have been touched by this email.

To my dear wife Delia, my daughters Mynes, Aissa & Love and my son-in-law Levi: I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH and am ever grateful & thankful to our God & Saviour Jesus Christ for the gift of my "family";

To my loved ones: brothers Boy & Ray; sisters Ellen, Jean & Lynn: to my extended family: brothers-in-law & sisters-in-law; nephews, nieces, uncles and aunts, I say to you all today: I LOVE YOU ALL;

To my friends, and there are so many of them: Thank you for being a friend to me and I thank God for you all;

To my Christian Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I love you all with the love of our LORD Jesus Christ. Thank you for touching my life along the way in our sojourn to our eternal home in heaven.

Sent with love and gratitude in my heart to you all.

Emmanuel

Here now is the forward!


A Touching Story For Working Parents

Date: Thursday, 17 July, 2008, 12:35 PM
> A small touching story mainly for professionals. ..
>
> A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to
> find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

> SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'

> DAD: 'Yeah sure, what is it?' replied the man.
> SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'
> DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you
> ask such a thing?' the man said angrily.

> SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much you make an hour?'
> DAD: 'If you must know, I make $20.00 an hour.'
> SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his
head down.

> SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow $10.00?'
> The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard everyday for such this childish behavior.
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?
After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $10.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often.

The man went to the door of the little boy's room and
opened the door. 'Are you asleep, son?' He asked.
'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy. 'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the man.
'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation
on you. Here's the $10.00 you asked for.' The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you daddy!' He yelled.

Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills. The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.
'Why do you want more money if you already have
some?' the father grumbled. 'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.

'Daddy, I have $20.00 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son and begged for his forgiveness.
It's just a short reminder to all of us working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts.

Do remember to share that $20.00 worth of your time with someone you love. If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family.
PLS READ WITH FAITH..
This is an awesome prayer.

Believe it and you shall be blessed.

The problem with many of us is that we don't believe that God will open a Window and pour out blessings that we won't have room to receive them.
I Dare anyone to try God. He is true to His word. God cannot lie and His Promises are sure.

Three things will happen to you this coming week:
(1) You will find favour with someone you don't expect;
(2) You will be too relevant to be ignored;
(3) You will encounter God and you will never remain the same again.

My prayer for you today:

The eyes beholding this message shall not behold evil, the hands that will send this message to others shall not labour in vain, the mouth saying Amen To this prayer shall laugh forever.
Remain in God's love as you send this Prayer to everybody on your list. Have a lovely journey
of life! Trust in the Lord with all your heart and He will never fail you because He is AWESOME!
If you truly need a blessing,
continue reading this email:

Heavenly Father, most Gracious and Loving God, I pray that you Abundantly bless my family and me. I know that you recognize, that a Family is more than just a mother, father, sister, brother, husband and wife, but all who believe and trust in you. Father, I send up a prayer request for blessings not only for the person who sent this to me, but for me and all that I have forwarded this message to. And that the power of joined prayer of those who believe and trust in you is more powerful than anything..
I thank you in advance for your blessings. Father God, deliver the person reading this right now from debt and debt's burdens. Release your Godly wisdom that I may be a good steward over all that You have given me Father,
for I know how wonderful and mighty you are and how if we just obey you and walk In your word and have the faith of a mustard seed, that you will pour out blessings. I thank you now Lord for the recent blessings I have received and for the blessings yet to come because I know you are not done with me yet.

In Jesus' most precious & powerful name, I pray. Amen !!!

TAKE 60 SECONDS and send this on quickly and within hours, you will have caused a multitude of people to pray to God for each other.
Then sit back and watch the power of God work in your life for doing the thing that you know He loves. Remain
Blessed!!!

Have an awesome day

JOHN NEWTON & GOD'S AMAZING GRACE

EPHESIANS 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith, And that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not of works lest any man should boast.


THE STORY OF "AMAZING GRACE"

A tablet on the north wall
of the Church of St. Mary, Woolnoth,
contains the inscription:

"John Newton, clerk, once an infidel and libertine,
a seller of slaves in Africa,
was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ,
preserved, restored, pardoned,
and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy."


These simple words describe in rugged terseness and brief outline the life story of the writer of the famous hymn, "Amazing Grace".

John Newton, the celebrated English preacher and hymn-writer, realized that he was a trophy of divine grace. A while before his death, a fellow minister came in to have breakfast with him. Family prayers followed the meal. Mr. Newton's sight had almost failed, and he was unable to read. He sat and listened to his friend as he read the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians. When this tenth verse was read, "But by the grace of God I am what I am," Mr. Newton began to speak:

"I am not what I ought to be. Ah! How imperfect and deficient! I am not what I wish to be. I abhor what is evil, and I would cleave to what is good. I am not what I hope to be. Soon, soon, shall I put off, with mortality, sin and imperfection. Though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be, I can truly say, I am not what I once was, a slave to sin and Satan; and I can heartily join with the apostle and acknowledge, By the grace of God I am what I am."

John Newton's conversion is a true illustration of saving grace. When he was only seven years old, his pious mother was taken from him. However, she had taught him when just an infant to pray and had sowed in his young heart the seeds of the Gospel.

When a young man he went to sea on board a slave ship with his father and learned all the evil of the seaman's life. Still later, he was forced into the navy. He deserted, but was caught and stripped and beaten, until the blood flowed from his wounds. He had now become a hardened infidel. He fell in with African slave traders. He went on from bad to worse, until he himself was sold as a slave. He was reduced to utter poverty, starving and sinning and blaspheming.

One day he found a Gospel book on board, and he took it up and read it. He was thus led to ask the question, "What if these things should be true?" The thought terrified him, and he closed the book. He had had a sight of the holiness of God. He went to his hammock that night as usual, having contrived to put the solemn question out of his mind. However, in the dark of the night he was awakened by the dash of waves. A storm had arisen, a terrible sea was sweeping over the vessel, and the cabin was fast filling with water. The cry arose, "The ship is sinking!" All was confusion and terror.

John Newton's life came up before him as on a cinema screen. He saw himself a guilty sinner in the hands of a holy God. For four solid weeks the vessel was tossed to and fro, he being sometimes at the helm and sometimes at the pumps, wave upon wave breaking over him. In the midst of his danger, he began to cry, "My mother's God, the God of mercy - have mercy on me!"

That storm was to John Newton what the earthquake was to the jailer at Philippi. It got him to his knees. It brought his sins before him. It brought before him his eternal ruin. It brought him to the Cross where he saw the love of God being poured out in the blood of Christ.

In evil long I took delight,
Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight,
And stopped my wild career.

The "new object" which met his eye, as he stood at the helm and walked the deck with the waves dashing over him was the Crucified Christ. The cross and the Son of God there bearing his sins stood out before him in the brightness of Divine love, for thus he writes:

I saw one hanging on a tree,
In agony and blood;
He fixed His languid eyes on me,
As near His cross I stood.

As it was with Simon Peter, when the Lord turned and looked upon him, so was it with John Newton. In both cases, the look of love melted the sinner down.

Sure, never, till my latest breath,
Can I forget that look:
It seemed to charge me with His death,
Tho' not a word He spoke.

That look of love, holy love, went through and through his conscience, making him feel his sin in all its vileness. Sin, which had hitherto been treated by him as a mere trifle, or being altogether overlooked, now presented itself in all its terrors. He was doomed; he was lost; what should he do?

My conscience felt and owned the guilt,
And plunged me in despair;
I saw my sins His blood had spilt
And helped to nail Him there.

He is overwhelmed. He is in despair as he sees how his sins had nailed Christ to the cross. But as he looks, he sees something more in that look and hears that voice of pardon coming from the cross.

A second look He gave, which said,
"I freely all forgave:
This blood is for thy ransom paid,
I die that thou may'st live."

The sight of the crucified Saviour not only wrought conviction of sin, but brought peace to his heart. Here John Newton saw the love of God supplying the sacrifice which His holiness demanded, the Son of God stepping into the place of ungodly men and at the hands of justice suffering the wrath and condemnation due to man on account of sin. By trusting in that finished work the "African blasphemer" was saved. Truly, this is "Amazing Grace!"

Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

The grace of God which softened and saved and raised up John Newton as a witness is unmerited and free. God is no respecter of persons. His grace extends to you. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The precious blood which cleansed John Newton's crimson stains was shed for you. "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1:7). "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:2).

The Word of God thus assures you of salvation if you will but believe on His Son. "And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." (Acts 16:31). Then like John Newton, you will be able to sing:

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!

Thro' many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace hath bro't me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.