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
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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.
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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
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