Full-Out Assault
"Since God mentions this ministry [that of a watchman] several times throughout the Bible with great clarity, we do well to read, heed, and learn to be men and women with this attitude for the church today. While we may not be under the threat of physical invasion today, or living in literal walled fortresses, Satan and his workers seek to destroy and lay siege to the church today through false teachers and ungodly philosophies. He seeks to lead us into false forms of worship and unbiblical teachings that masquerade as truth. He has engineered and orchestrated a full-out assault on the people of God today, complete with deceptive false ministers and non-prophets who no longer view His Word as the primary basis for true doctrine. The church is definitely under attack and , therefore, definitely and desperately in need of watchmen in this age."
--Steven Mitchell from his article Watchman Arise
posted by kennyo at 12:38 AM
7 Comments:
I can't help but think the greatest attack is when the centrality of Christ is missed. Anything else is merely religion. That does not minimize the need for both knowing and teaching sound doctrine but I would think the essence of sound doctrine IS the centrality of Christ as revealed through the word to the believer by the Holy Spirit.
Kenny,
Good blog as always. You are right about always having to defend these days. At the school where I teach, a Richard Foster book is being used as a text.
Any ideas you may want to put forward when I attend the first faculty meeting of the year and stand to oppose this?
Phil Perkins
Kenny,
I almost forgot. Here is a link to a Luther article. In it he was dealing with postmodern thought--though I'm certain they did not call it that.
http://aaronshaf.com/luther-on-assertions-and-assurance.html?PHPSESSID=110b0a16e59b6c60be1f7a59a6d90ae7
Phil Perkins
Kenny:
This is interesting stuff. It appears that many in a Post-Christian society are getting closer to the New Age. Such eclectic spirituality, although it is only loosely defined, pervade this nation in which 85% claim to be 'Christian'. I think the content of American individuals' true beliefs is much more significant than national demographic statistics, in which officially about 85% claim to be 'Christian', whatever that means to them. Such 'New Age' tendencies are expected in the liberal churches of many denominations. It appears that today, a church being either conservative or liberal, is much more significant than its denomination. For instance, I know that conservative Baptist churches have more in common with conservative Presbyterian churches in Florida, than they have in common with liberal Baptist churches. In fact, that state's Baptists might split because of such differences. Both denominations are dear to me, and both now struggle with this new generation of flaky liberalism!
The Institute for Creation Research is obviously an organization against Darwinism. It has some good videos and literature on the subject. In my humble opinion, Darwinism was the struggle of previous generations. We now struggle more with Post-modern erosion and New-Age philosophical hybridization. Enough of that, see you later.
Mike Oliver said
When one has a family , a wife and kids, he protects , guards, is on watch and always checking what comes in his house and what he brings into his house , if he is worth anything . This is the father's responsibility, if he fails to fulfill this duty anyone can come in and supersede his authority and steal the heart and mind of all in his house even his wife. The father that seats back and is lazy and comfortable will at the end have no power . He has to confront and run into the world head on, he has to be looking and waiting and ready. This is why God gave the position of authority to the man in the family and the church , God made us , men, fully capable to fight this battle. The father has to know his wife and children and watch them and of course he has to submit to God by obeying the Word.
We all are a part of Christ, His body , yes I am speaking of CHRISTIANS , and we all have gifts from God and they are not the same . Are we using them ?
The battle is fought on many fronts.
The deciever will always try and sneak in to mislead and then destroy , we need to watch and pray and always be ready for the fight .
Mike,
Keith here. That's 100% dead-on correct! Also, the discerning father MUST be knowledgeable of the dangers of our day. Fathers and Grandfathers as well. This means he must be aware of the trends of the day. As it applies to what we're trying to do, he must be able to recognize subtle errors in the church's teachings that are creeping into the church he and his family attend. And when recognized, he MUST confront the leadership, take a stand and pray for correction by the Holy Spirit. If these steps are not done and if he chooses to stay when they will not change then the danger sets in: The father will passively slip into a state of complacency and apathy, whimpiness (being a wuss) and confusion. And before he knows it, he just goes along to get along.
It's like what A.W. Tozer said about how we have a tendency to return to error like a horse running back into the fire.
"It is said that a horse after it has been led out of burning building will sometimes, by a strange obstinacy, break loose from its rescuer and dash back into the building again to perish in the flame. By some such stubborn tendency toward error, fundamentalism (evangelical christians) in our day is moving back toward spiritual slavery." A.W. Tozer.
-KCO
Dear Kenny and his brothers:
Your comments seem valid to me, given the situation.
Many have had to change churches because of bad doctrine or lack of doctrine. I believe the process of confrontation is well understood, at least among us. It amazes me how some think that having more meetings with certain church leaders will get them to change. Many of these leaders have already bought into Mass Marketing, Psychotherapy, Willow-Creekism, or Prosperity Gospel. In some cases, the Lord has allowed such churches to die out, because they are no longer preaching and teaching God's Truth. I support some techniques, but I stand against any form of mysticism or socio-economic theories. Usually churches which try to reach the more 'affluent suburban' types subscribe to some of these techniques. If Christianity is by its nature a faith which appeals to the lower and middle classes, then attempts to reach the upper class by such convenient methods should be viewed as foolish and greedy. Stick to the basics and stop trying to 'attract' executive and millionaires with big buildings or contemporary services. Many have strayed in such direction because they seek wealth, prestige, or societal approval. Later Dudes!
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