FORMER SOUTHERN BAPTIST, NOW ANGLICAN, APOSTATE Beth Moore Now Fellowships With Muslims, IN HER OWN CHURCH

 

Imam Stands in Pulpit at Beth Moore’s Church and Preaches From the Koran

Beth Moore has served as a lector during worship service at St. Timothy’s. According to at least one definition, in the Anglican Church, “The lector carries out his/her primary function during the Liturgy of the Word, proclaiming God’s Word to His people so that, strengthened by the words of Holy Scripture, they might come to a deeper love of God and a fuller Christian life.”

But in an even more shocking turn of events, Beth Moore’s church has now invited a Muslim Imam to come deliver a sermon and offer a prayer of worship in front of the church. This Imam came and took the pulpit—literally stood in the pulpit of this church where the pastor is supposed to proclaim the words of God—and instead stood there and profaned the Words of God and preached blasphemies from the Koran.

Is there room for discussion with Muslims and people of other religions as the pastor of this church claims? Of course. The Scriptures compel us to preach the unwavering, convicting truth and call the lost to repentance and faith. It does not, under any circumstances, call us to allow blasphemers to stand in our pulpits and address our congregations. This is spiritual malpractice at its worst.

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SEE ALSO:

Muslim Imam Preaches at Beth Moores Church

Megachurch Pastor Rick Warren Goes Scorched Earth in Effort to Push Southern Baptists Down the Slippery Woke Slope

Megachurch Pastor Rick Warren Goes Scorched Earth in Effort to Push Southern Baptists Down the Slippery Woke Slope

Rick Warren Loses Appeal At Southern Baptist Convention

BY PAULA BOLYARD

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/columns/paula-bolyard/2023/06/12/megachurch-pastor-rick-warren-goes-scorched-earth-in-effort-to-push-southern-baptists-down-the-slippery-woke-slope-n1701104;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Southern Baptists are meeting in New Orleans for their annual convention this week. Megachurch Pastor Rick Warren, author of the bestselling book The Purpose-Driven Life, is waging war with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), hoping to push the denomination to the left on the issue of female pastors.

Warren, now “retired” but still listed as the Founding Pastor on Saddleback Church’s website, is pressuring the SBC to allow female pastors, contrary to clear biblical teaching that pastoral roles are reserved for men.

Warren has been all over Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube this past week, viciously attacking his opponents (while calling for love and reconciliation). He’s become increasingly combative, calling his opponents “angry fundamentalists,” “angry fighters,” and “legalist showmen.” (I’ll leave it up to readers to determine who’s playing the role of “showman” in this debate.)

Warren also issued a veiled threat to leaders who oppose him. During a recent podcast with Christianity Today Editor-in-Chief Russell Moore, he warned, “We [Saddleback churches] don’t need the Southern Baptist Convention. They need the 6,000 purpose-driven churches that are in the Southern Baptist Convention in our fellowship, but we don’t need the Convention. It would be for the benefit of others, not for us.” In other words, if he doesn’t get his way on liberalizing the doctrine of the SBC, he’ll take his churches and go home.

Recommended: Google Doesn’t Want You to See This Letter From a Christian Pastor About Pride Month

As background, in June of last year, the SBC Credentials Committee determined that Saddleback Church was “not in friendly cooperation with the Convention,” essentially disfellowshipping the church for having a female “teaching pastor.” Southern Baptist churches are officially self-governing, but blatant violations of the Baptist Faith and Practice (BF&P — the SBC’s statement of faith) can be cause for removing a church from membership.

The committee ruled that the megachurch “has a faith and practice that does not closely identify with the Convention’s adopted statement of faith, as demonstrated by the church having a female teaching pastor functioning in the office of pastor.”

Saddleback is expected to appeal the ruling at the convention this week, and Warren is expected to issue an emotional plea for the group to liberalize on the issue. While he claims that his goal is not to force other churches to allow female pastors, allowing Saddleback back into the SBC would open the floodgates to other churches following his lead.

As an aside, Warren’s views on egalitarianism are less troubling than some of the other statements he’s made:

Image

A study released on Sunday by American Reformer found that there are currently 1,844 female pastors in Southern Baptist churches — many more than previously estimated.

That’s a problem because it conflicts with the BF&P.

Mike Law, pastor of Arlington Baptist Church in Arlington, Va., offered up an amendment to the SBC constitution that would clarify the issue, stipulating that “a church [is] in friendly cooperation with the Convention… which… Does not affirm, appoint, or employ a woman as a pastor of any kind,” and “Affirms, appoints, or employs only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture.”

He explains the need for the amendment and reviews the biblical case for the office of pastor to be limited to men here:

It’s worth your time to watch the entire eight-minute video. Megan Basham also wrote a terrific article at American Reformer about the challenges that Law and others who wish to maintain biblical fidelity within the SBC have faced as pressure grows to bow to the culture on female pastors and other contentious issues.

The Executive Committee voted today to allow a vote on the amendment but doesn’t seem happy about it.

The American Reformer report also found that allowing female pastors tends to trigger a slippery slope:

  • The American Baptist Churches USA allowed female pastors in 1985 and failed to uphold discipline for churches with homosexual members in 1999.
  • The ELCA ordained women in 1970 and practicing homosexual pastors in 2009.
  • The Episcopal Church USA allowed female pastors in 1976 and homosexual bishops in 2003.
  • The PCUSA allowed female pastors in 1956 and then openly homosexual pastors in 2011.
  • The United Methodist Church allowed female pastors in 1956, allowed for homosexual unions by failure to discipline in 2014, and there is currently a conservative exodus from the denomination that is expected to change its policy to allow homosexual ordination in 2024.

Indeed, Saddleback, now led by Pastor Andy Wood, is already partnering with a pro-LGBT organization. Sadly, it’s likely only a matter of time before Saddleback follows the culture down the road of LGBT pastors.

At the 2022 SBC convention, Warren was allowed to address the Messengers (representatives from SBC churches). True to form, he bragged that he’d trained 1.1 million pastors, more than all the seminaries put together — a fabulist claim that Gabriel Hughes, associate pastor of Discipleship and Education for First Baptist Church in Lindale, Texas, called “egotistical nonsense.” He tweeted that Warren would have to train more than 70 pastors daily, or 25,000 pastors a year, to reach his 1.1 million number. (Strangely, Hughes’s account has been suspended from Twitter.)

Recommended: Can Our Culture Even Be Saved at This Point?

Earlier this year, Warren boasted that he’s been more successful at baptizing than anyone in history — including the early church:

“I’m the only pastor our people have ever known. Seventy-something percent of the church, I baptized in the 43 years that I was pastor,” he said. “I baptized 57,000 believers in the 43 years I’ve pastored. I don’t know any church that’s ever done that. In Acts it says, the Lord added daily to the church. That would mean 365 a year, at minimum. One a day. Well, in the 43 years I’ve pastored, we baptized five people every day for 43 years. That’s unheard of.”

(That’s six uses of the words “I” or “I’ve” if you’re keeping score.)

You may have noticed that Warren is all about the numbers — he’s a pragmatist through and through, often taking his cues from the culture rather than scripture. He famously polled non-Christians before launching Saddleback to see what they wanted from a church. Unsurprisingly, he’s trying to convince the SBC to alter its doctrine based on numbers rather than solid scriptural exposition.

He’s blaming the declining numbers in Southern Baptist Churches on the Convention’s refusal to allow female pastors, ridiculously claiming that 50% of the church “is forced to “sit on the bench,” completely ignoring the fact that women can and do serve in ministries all over the world — just not as pastors. Never a gifted (or honest) exegete, Warren claims that the Great Commission — Jesus’s command to go into all the world and preach the gospel and make disciples — is imperiled unless women are allowed to stand in SBC pulpits.

How does reserving the office of pastor to men prevent women from sharing the gospel and making disciples? Obviously, it doesn’t. Warren is smart enough to know that the former doesn’t preclude the latter, but he’s gaslighting, muddying the waters, hoping enough Messengers fall for his ruse. His arguments have largely invoked straw men, and he’s been called out continually on social media for misrepresenting people and doctrinal stances. Here’s but one example of Warren being fact-checked for attributing something to former SBC President Adrian Rogers that he never said.

He also received pushback for claiming that the SBC’s biblical fidelity resulted in a huge drop in membership when, in fact, the drop can most likely be attributed to an effort to purge inactive members from the membership rolls of local churches.

Warren now claims that, after 53 years in ministry, he only recently discovered that the Bible allows women to be pastors. For the entire history of Christianity (until a few decades ago), theologians and scholars almost universally agreed that the office of pastor was reserved for men, but Warren now knows — with certainty! — that they’re wrong and he’s right. Not surprisingly, he apologized to women and begged their forgiveness.

(We’re keeping an eye out for tweets from the Apostle Paul apologizing for his complementarianism. We’ll report back if we see any.)

One Twitter user pointed out the obvious — that Warren is the one who changed, not the SBC.

It seems the best thing would be for Warren and his 87 trillion (or whatever) members to leave the SBC and start his own watered-down, woke, unbeliever-sensitive denomination and leave the SBC alone. His view is a minority in the SBC, but he somehow feels the need to make it to conform to his new-and-improved doctrinal clarity on an issue no one was confused about until about 15 minutes ago.

SOUTHERN BAPTIST Megachurch BRENTWOOD OF TENNESSEE Comes After Evangelical Dark Web For Exposing Them

Southern Baptist Convention Cuts Rick Warren’s Church Loose

Rick Warren and his wife (far right) with Stacie Wood and Andy Wood.

Stacie Wood

Rick Warren Address SBC Messengers in Anaheim (2022) 8 Months Ago:

Asbury "Revival" Examined, Rick Warren's Church Ousted From SBC

BY CHRIS QUEEN

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/culture/chris-queen/2023/02/25/southern-baptist-convention-cuts-rick-warrens-church-loose-n1673684;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Earlier this week, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) cut ties with Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church. The influential Southern California-based congregation had been part of the SBC since its founding, but the denomination dismissed Saddleback over a decision that founding pastor Warren made shortly before he retired.

In 2021, Warren ordained three women as pastors, which caused the SBC to consider disciplining the church or kicking it out of the denomination. One of those women, Stacie Wood, the wife of lead pastor Andy Wood, is a “teaching pastor.”

On Tuesday, the SBC Executive Committee deemed Saddleback to be “not in friendly cooperation with the Convention,” which is the terminology for removing a church from the convention. The committee cited the fact that Saddleback has “a female teaching pastor functioning in the office of a pastor” in its decision.

The ordination of women at Saddleback goes against the Southern Baptist bylaws according to “Baptist Faith & Message 2000,” which unambiguously states, “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”

Interestingly enough, the only pastors listed with photos on the church website are the “leadership,” which includes Andy Wood, Warren, and the various campus pastors, who are all men. However, the bio for Andy Wood mentions “Pastors Andy and Stacie Wood.”

With over 23,000 in attendance and campuses throughout Southern California and in several other countries, Saddleback was the SBC’s second-largest congregation, and Warren’s influence as a pastor and author probably wasn’t lost on the Executive Committee, either. Needless to say, it was a decision that the SBC didn’t make lightly.

The committee stated that Saddleback “has a faith and practice that does not closely identify with the Convention’s adopted statement of faith,” citing the presence of Stacie Wood in a pastoral role.

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For its part, the church hasn’t said whether it will appeal the decision, although many in the know believe that it will appeal.

“We love and have always valued our relationship with the SBC and its faithful churches,” the elders of Saddleback said in a statement. “We will engage and respond through the proper channels at the appropriate time in hopes to serve other like-minded Bible-believing SBC churches. Meanwhile, we remain focused on following God’s leadership to love and serve our church family and the communities around our campuses.”

“Friends worldwide: I’m so touched by your love!” Warren said in a tweet that he later deleted. “We’ll respond to #SBC in OUR time & way thru direct channels.”

At the denomination’s annual convention last year, Warren stood firm on his decision to ordain women, telling those in attendance that “We have to decide if we will treat each other as allies or adversaries.”

Some churches and ministries believe in ordaining women into pastoral roles, while others — like the SBC — believe that, while there’s room for women to serve in many ways, the role of pastor isn’t one of them.

At this point, it’s not about whether the SBC or Saddleback is right about whether women should serve as pastors. Rick Warren and Saddleback have been part of the SBC for a long time, and Warren isn’t stupid. He was fully aware of the expectations and rules of the denomination.

Warren and his church chose to flaunt those rules, and the SBC has made a decision in response. Regardless of where anyone falls on the issue of female pastors, it’s commendable that the denomination stuck to its convictions rather than bowing to the whims of a large church with an “influential” founding pastor.

Major Southern Baptist Church HELD Ecumenical Conference With Roman Catholic Speakers~FBC Orlando’s Shocking Southern Baptist Capitulation

SEE: https://thedissenter.substack.com/p/major-southern-baptist-church-to;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes. This article was posted prior to the event.

SEE ALSO: https://alphausa.org/the-alpha-conference

AND: https://kingdomchange.org/article/the-catholic-charismatic-landscape

In the past, The Alpha Conference has been hosted by two ecumenical organizations — Major Change, a charismatic Evangelical organization, and Stone to Flesh, a charismatic Roman Catholic ecumenical organization. The two organizations have practically merged into one big ecumenical mess. And in the past, we've lambasted Hillsong Church for hosting the conference on their facilities.

But now that Hillsong Church is practically dead from its endless sex scandals among its leadership, Alpha seems to have found a new home—in the Southern Baptist Convention.

First Baptist Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, a Southern Baptist congregation according to both the Southern Baptist Convention's church search engine as well as the church's website, will be hosting the ecumenical conference this January 2023. On the church's website under the 'About' section, you will see the following, along with a link to the SBC statement of faith:

According to the Alpha Conference website, this year's conference will be held at the venue of First Baptist Church, Ft Lauderdale:

The address shown is one of the venue addresses for the megachurch which takes up roughly three city blocks:

According to its website, First Baptist Church, Ft. Lauderdale has been heavily involved in Alpha for quite a while. According to the church's website, "Alpha is a series of sessions exploring the Christian faith, typically run over eleven weeks. Each talk looks at a different question about the Christian faith and is designed to create conversation. Week to week we will gather as a group to connect over a meal, watch a video on the basics of the Christian faith, and discuss what we think in an honest and safe environment."

However, Alpha is a horribly dangerous ecumenical movement that minimizes the gospel in favor of a watered-down "mere Christianity" type of religious movement that denies many of the essential tenets of the faith. In fact, this year's conference will not only host several Roman Catholic speakers and a number of women pastors—all in contradiction to the Southern Baptist Convention statement of faith that FBC Ft. Lauderdale claims to hold to—it will also be partnering with a neighboring Roman Catholic Church to hold a Catholic Mass during the conference:

The entire idea of the conference is to bury the distinctions between biblical Christianity and other false churches, particularly the Roman Catholic Church and the New Apostolic Reformation. On the first evening of the three-day conference, participants will be able to take a 12-minute walk to St. Anthony's Catholic Church, just a few blocks away, to participate in a Roman Catholic Mass:

The Southern Baptist Convention's priorities are truly astounding. Rather than focusing on the pressing issues facing the organization, such as churches spreading false teachings and leading people astray, the Convention has instead chosen to prioritize the most crucial issue of all: rooting out the elusive and terrifying threat of Racism and White Supremacy. How could anyone possibly sleep at night knowing that these heinous evils might be lurking in the shadows? It's a good thing the SBC elites are on the case, devoting all of their time and resources to this vital cause. Meanwhile, the spread of false gospels and the endangerment of souls can go ahead and take a back seat, no big deal. So, bravo to the SBC for staying focused on what truly matters.

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FBC Orlando's Shocking Southern Baptist Capitulation

BY JUSTIN PETERS

First Baptist Church, Orlando, Florida, is one of the largest churches in the SBC. They have completely capitulated to the culture on homosexuality. In this video, you will see that their pastor says that a healthy church must include “LGBTQ, Transgendered people, sexually immoral people, and heretics. This is not hyperbole. Where is the outrage? Why has this church not been disciplined out of the SBC? Oh, and you will not believe who was identified as the “chief cornerstone” of 1 Peter 2. You might assume this thumbnail is clickbait. I can assure you it is not. Please watch the entire video. Links: Plagiarism and Sin in the SBC parts 1 and 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNdrU... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hirAE... Reformation Charlotte article on FBC Orlando: https://reformationcharlotte.org/2022... James and Jonathan Merritt (Homosexuality and Universalism in the SBC) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgSw_... My presentations on Social Justice parts 1 and 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwTa5... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLdHe...

BETH MOORE: FROM SOUTHERN BAPTIST TO ANGLICAN

AFTER LEAVING THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCH, FALSE TEACHER BETH MOORE MAKES HER WAY BACK TO ‘MOTHER ROME’ IN ANGLICAN CHURCH SERVICE

SEE: https://www.nowtheendbegins.com/beth-moore-anglican-church-performs-eucharist-ceremony-roman-catholic-transubstantiation/;

EXCERPTS republished below for informational, educational & research purposes:

Beth Moore is now a member of St. Timothy’s Anglican Church in Spring, TX, a church that believes and practices the Roman Catholic false doctrine of transubstantiation, complete with wearing the 'priestly garb' and helping to 'deliver the eucharist'. How much farther does Beth Moore have to fall before she is all the way out? Not much at all, actually, she is nearly there now. One of the hallmarks of the lukewarm Laodicean Church Age is their ceaseless drift to return to 'Mother Rome', the Jezebel whore of Revelation 17, and that seems to be a long-held goal of Moore. Even before she left the SBC, itself a denomination that has lapsed in Laodiceanism with their promotion of the ESV 'rubber sword' bible, Moore was intent on including Roman Catholicism as a Christian denomination, which it is not.

Not fully Protestant and not fully Roman Catholic, the Anglican church is a hybrid where doctrine is not the main thing, but form and ceremony are given the top spot.

Back in 2002, Beth Moore performed in a series entitled ‘Believing God’, which included the Roman Catholic Church in a skit that portrayed the body of Christ, bragging about how ‘interdenominational and inclusive’ she was. In 2021, she’s now Anglican performing transubstantiation. Welcome home, Mother Rome.

Ladies, if you get your Bible teaching from Beth Moore, you need to throw it in the trash can right now, she is not a Bible teacher, she is a false teacher who will deceive you with her unbiblical and false teaching. She knows nothing about Bible doctrine, and she will lead you so far astray that you won’t even be a Christian by the time the ride is over. Sorry if this hurts your feelings or bursts your Beth Moore bubble, but she stinks and you better keep your distance or you’ll stink too. But don’t believe me, watch these two videos showing you everything I just told you in this article. Don’t believe me, believe Beth Moore. She’s showing you who she is, believe her.

PROOF SHE LOVES DIVERSITY & INCLUSION, ECUMENISM, INTERFAITH, UNIVERSALISM, JUST LIKE THE POPE:

 

The Anglican Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast The Woodlands, Texas 77381

Beth Moore Seen Performing At Anglican Church Service

Having thrown off the denominational shackles of the Baptist Church, Beth Moore is thrilled to be where her Laodicean heart has always longed to be, with Mother Rome.

More on Beth Moore's conversion to "Catholic Lite" (Big Eva defends Anglican Church & Popery)

SEE: https://protestia.com/2021/12/21/ex-sbc-beth-moore-joins-anglican-church/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Beth Moore was in the news yesterday in a big way after it was revealed she became a member of St. Timothy’s Anglican Church, a liturgical church within the Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast, which is part of the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA.)

The ACNA was formed in 2009 after members of the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Anglican Church of Canada became disillusioned by the liberalization of their denominations on abortion and LGBTQ issues. On account of the nature of their breakaway, they are not in communion with the greater Anglican Communion, which is led by the effete and emasculated Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

Despite their more conservative creds, there are some glaring red flags, including the fact that the Bishops of the Diocese are given the freedom to determine amongst themselves if they allow for women priests. As stated by Hannah King

  • Some bishops ordain women as priests and commission them as church planters.
  • Some bishops only ordain women as deacons.
  • Some bishops do not ordain women but will license a woman to serve in a particular church that requests it.
  • Some bishops do not receive women in Holy Orders at all

This is especially dangerous because apart from existing no such thing biblically as a woman priest or pastrix, it creates a ready-made rift that is rife to exploit, particularly because the same scripture twisting used to allow for the ordination of women is employed to push a liberalizing position on sodomy. You’ll never find a church that is pro-LGBTQ but also doesn’t ordain women.

Furthermore, the ACNA has already forgotten the lessons from their split, as they affirm a biblical theology of marriage all the while allowing cracks to form, questions to be asked, and nuance to be developed. If they don’t go scorched earth on the issue immediately, in 20 years the conservatives will find themselves jumping ship yet again.

Several years ago Beth Moore was told by John MacArthur to ‘go home’, which she ultimately has, though not in the way it was attended. Instead, she found herself a church has holds to the same beliefs she does on women preaching- enthusiastically affirming it- so she doesn’t have to hide anymore and can feel right at home.

During a recent Twitter thread, Moore, in a stunning display of naivete that we find unfathomable, shared that her whole life she believed that only her Southern Baptist denomination loved scripture, and therefore was stunned when she found another denomination that did likewise.
On top of that, despite her having a good relationship with her church and pastor who even let her preach, she quickly threw them all under the bus.
She shared that she’d found a church that ‘highly exalts Jesus & sees the Scriptures as the Church’s final authority in all matters of faith & practice’ and that her first time there, she and her husband ‘shot to that altar like starving people begging for bread.’ ‘I’ve never needed it so badly in my life,” she said, ‘my lip quivered and the tears pooled in my eyes ‘ on account of God using the liturgy and teaching there to ‘sew up’ her ‘torn up soul.’

Becoming a member in September, Moore has quickly acclimated to the church. She’s served as an Acolyte and Verger, served during the service as a Lector, is teaching a class on “The Biblical Narrative and How to Teach a Bible Study” and has been asked to emcee their church’s Women’s Advent luncheon, which she did with gusto. She concludes:

“I’m learning to say the Nicene Creed. I’m learning how to drop down the kneeling bench. For this moment in time, we’re right where God wants us to be.”

 

Josh Buice Explains the Need to Separate From the Southern baptist convention

Josh Buice explains what brought him to a conclusion to lead his church to separate from the SBC. You can read his full explanation here: https://g3min.org/why-we-are-no-longe...

Justin Peters' Interview with Dr. Josh Buice on Leaving the SBC

Prays Mill Baptist Church https://praysmill.com

G3 Ministries https://g3min.org

Founders Documentary: By What Standard https://founders.org/cinedoc/

McLean Bible Church Teaching Jesus had "Body Dysphoria" https://reformationcharlotte.org/2022...

My video on Homosexuality and Universalism in the SBC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgSw_...

My Videos on Ed Litton's Plagiarism and Sin in the SBC

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNdrU...

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hirAE...

Why We Are No Longer an SBC Church: A Statement by Josh Buice

SEE: https://g3min.org/why-we-are-no-longer-sbc-a-statement-by-josh-buice/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

One of the great joys of my life has been serving as the pastor of three different churches that have been affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. I currently serve the church where my wife and I grew up as children on the west side of Atlanta—Pray’s Mill Baptist Church. Although our church is 180 years old and predates the SBC, our congregation has maintained a longtime affiliation within the SBC. However, in recent days we came to the conclusion that there was no profitable path forward for us within the SBC and we made the decision to officially separate.

Over the last few years, there has been a great deal of transition and change within the Southern Baptist Convention. That’s a nice way of describing the devious deconstruction plan that has been at work for many years behind the scenes. Along the way, we have witnessed scandals, controversies, and divisions. It is not my desire in this article to add fuel to the fire, however, as a lifelong SBC member and pastor, I believe it’s necessary to provide a reason for our church’s decision to officially separate from the SBC effective on January 1st, 2022.

The Commendable

What I will say in this article should not be seen as a denial of the fact that there are many good and gifted professors who are serving in the SBC entities and doing a good job of training men for the pulpit and church planting. When I look back on my time at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, I am grateful for many of the professors who invested in me and helped prepare me for the work of gospel ministry.

Alongside professors are many good pastors and local churches who have been healthy and profitable in supporting Christian education and church planting for many years within this network that we know as the SBC. Therefore, we can be thankful for these gifted individuals and churches who have sacrificed much to accomplish much for the glory of God.

But, all is not well within evangelicalism and that also includes the SBC. In recent years, we’ve witnessed quite a transformation take place within the once-beloved SBC that has necessitated separation for what I believe is far more than preference matters.

The Downgrade

Over the past decade or more, things began to shift with the SBC leadership that moved the once theologically conservative denomination in a leftward direction. The biggest catalyst to this leftward movement undoubtedly was the acceptance of the social justice agenda which has resulted in the greatest downgrade in our modern era of church history. Any denial of this downgrade is simply a refusal to report the facts about where the SBC is today, where the SBC was yesterday, and where the SBC is moving tomorrow.

While this shift did not take place overnight, it began to pick up the pace drastically over the last 4-5 years. Back in 2018, I was part of a group that assembled in Dallas, Texas for a meeting regarding the problems of social justice. As we assembled, I was concerned but hopeful. Little did I know that our meeting and subsequent Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel would not only serve as a means of confirming what was already in motion beneath the radar, but it would expose many people and institutions within the SBC and their involvement in this devious movement.

Sadly, the top-tier SBC leaders continue to double down on their positions. They have sought to deflect charges of theological capitulation and rigorously work to protect their positions through cultural virtue signals and theological word salads.

During this downgrade, we have witnessed once trusted voices and institutions accept the ideologies of the social justice movement and platform notable voices within their hallways, classrooms, and conference circuits. They came together under the banner of the gospel only to embrace a social justice gospel that resulted in confusion, division, and in some cases—a complete derailing altogether. This must not be overlooked. If left unchecked, the social justice agenda will leave an indelible mark upon preachers who will be sent out into local churches to serve as pastors.

The SBC once fought a war on the inerrancy of Scripture during what has become known as the “Conservative Resurgence.” After claiming a victory over the “Battle for the Bible” the SBC has moved into a new era where this once theologically conservative denomination has adopted the controversial “Resolution 9” at the 2019 SBC in Birmingham. How could the SBC openly champions inerrancy, at the same time adopt a resolution stating that we need to employ Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality (CRT/I) as “analytical tools” for gospel ministry? This was done, in all reality, without much public debate, and through sly political schemes.

Moving beyond the 2019 SBC, after a break in 2020 due to COVID-19, the SBC reconvened in Nashville in the summer of 2021 to discuss business and make decisions as a group of churches. During the meeting, there were multiple attempts from the floor to call upon the SBC to openly renounce the teachings of CRT/I. At each juncture, all of these attempts were rejected and generic language was adopted in place of specific language that openly rejected CRT/I.

One must ask the honest question as to why there was such an open refusal from the SBC leaders at this point? In the past, the SBC openly challenged Disney and eventually boycotted Disney in 1997. One must ask why the SBC was willing to boycott the gospel according to Disney but failed to boycott the gospel according to social justice? Why are theologians, pastors, and professors unwilling to reject CRT/I when concerned unconverted soccer moms are flooding school board meetings demanding that their local schools refuse to teach such ideologies to their children? It appears that unconverted soccer moms are more concerned about their local schools than SBC leaders are about local churches.

One must ask why the SBC was willing to boycott the gospel according to Disney but failed to boycott the gospel according to social justice?

During this downgrade, we have also witnessed a progressive attack upon the pulpit within the SBC. A movement in recent years has focused on dividing the office and function of the pastor in the life of the local church. As the progressive winds continue to blow through evangelical circles, it seems that in order to continue to maintain the big tent approach to evangelicalism, the SBC must allow for women to preach so long as they are not ordained to the office of elder. We have watched the rise of popular figures like Beth Moore continue to weave this methodology into the fabric of the SBC through the years.

This downgrade has not been a sudden explosion. It’s the result of what might be considered a crock-pot approach to compromise and failure. The SBC celebrated victory on the subject of inerrancy but never entered the battlefield to address the issue of biblical sufficiency. As a result, the slow cook of pragmatism has led the SBC to embrace theological error in order to become culturally relevant which has been quite evident through the virtue signaling of major SBC leaders in the wake of tragedies like George Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. Pragmatism demands that you do whatever works and provides the best results. Standing for biblical justice as opposed to social justice is the unpopular and narrow road that is not culturally acceptable.

When the SBC is willing to cancel Walt Disney but unwilling to cancel Derrick Bell or Kimberlé Crenshaw, we have serious problems.

Allow me to be crystal clear at this point. This is not merely a personal conviction or preference matter. The present downgrade that has encompassed the SBC is one of both methodological and theological errors. When the SBC is willing to cancel Walt Disney but unwilling to cancel Derrick Bell or Kimberlé Crenshaw, we have serious problems. To be clear, the social justice movement is not purely Marxist, but it has roots in a postmodern attempt at deconstruction, and such a dialectic will be catastrophic if not corrected. J. Gresham Machen described this theological compromise as “the modern hostility to doctrine.” 1

This downgrade involves compromise on theological levels such as complementarianism (roles of men and women in the church), ecclesiology (the office and function of elder), and most important of all is the gospel (the social justice movement has replaced theology with victimology—resulting in the rise of a new religion).

For that reason, our church which is 180 years old and predates the SBC by three years, has determined by a 100% congregational vote led by the elders who voted in a 100% eldership vote to lead the church away from the SBC due to such compromise. The SBC has failed. The leaders have compromised. The SBC must know that local churches do not need the SBC, but the SBC does need local churches—both large and small.

We as elders determined that it would be a violation of our conscience and a misuse of money to invest in a system that has clearly rejected all forms of correction in private and public settings. Therefore, we are no longer an SBC church, but we are Baptist and will continue to cooperate with other like-minded churches and pastors for the work of missions and theological education for the glory of God.

The Final Straw

As I attended what would be my final SBC in Nashville in 2021, the final straw was apparent through the election of Ed Litton as the president of the SBC. To watch leaders of SBC seminaries like Danny Akin take to Twitter to encourage the messengers of the SBC churches to vote for Ed Litton in the runoff was quite revealing. Danny Akin is entrusted with millions of SBC dollars to train pastors for the pulpit and he sent the signal that Ed Litton is a proper example for SBC pastors and future pastors to follow.  

Following the SBC annual meeting in June of 2021, the plagiarism scandal (which is being referenced as “Sermon Gate”) surfaced which further exposed the failures of Ed Litton’s pulpit practices. Rather than calling for his resignation, the 11th Commandment of the SBC appears to be in full force as the SBC elites not only enable his capitulation, but they celebrate him as a faithful leader. This was put on vivid display as Adam Greenway, who serves as the president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, extended an invitation to Ed Litton to address the student body.  Rather than preaching, they held a Q&A session where Greenway asked Litton to respond to allegations of plagiarism and then accepted his answer and applauded him.

As the pulpit goes, so goes the church. This was the final straw for me and for our local church. We refuse to be associated with a group of churches that elect and support leaders who will not be held accountable for sin.

As the pulpit goes, so goes the church.

As the final word on the matter, it is not my desire to cast stones at a sinking ship. I find no pleasure in separating from the SBC. In logical terms, when we reached the conclusion that we can no longer support the educational entities or the church planting agencies of the SBC (the very reason the SBC exists), it only made sense that we should invest our time and energy elsewhere.

A couple of years ago as we gathered together with our local church for a meeting to discuss the problems within the SBC after the adoption of Resolution 9, one wise elderly woman in our church stood and made a simple, yet profound statement. She said, “Pastor Josh, if it is true and we must eventually leave the SBC, it will not be that we left the SBC but that the SBC left us.” That accurately describes the current scenario that many SBC churches are experiencing.

As we came to a close in our congregational members’ meeting where we voted on December 26th to separate from the SBC, we closed by praying for the SBC churches and leaders. It would be our earnest desire to see the SBC repent and change direction, but since there is no evidence of such a change of direction from the leaders within the SBC, we must exit this aging battleship and move onward in this fight of the faith.

As a local church pastor and president of G3 Ministries, I find myself very committed to a high view of the local church. While this decision has been a long time in the making, I have had to come to the place where I see my commitment to the local church as far superior to any organizational or denominational relationship. At whatever point the network or denomination fails to hold to biblical positions, we must make the hard decision to separate. In so doing, I walk away from the SBC without shame. I involved myself in the SBC, attended the meetings, and sought to do my little part in the work of the SBC causes. Now as I walk away, I do so without regret knowing that this decision was not merely a reactionary decision made in haste. The decision was made for the glory of God and the health of our local church for which I do not apologize.

When Charles Spurgeon was addressing the compromise among Baptists in England, he penned “The Downgrade in the Churches” where he wrote the following:

A chasm is opening between the men who believe their Bibles and those who are prepared for an advance upon the Scripture. . .The house is being robbed, its very walls are being digged down, but the good people who are in bed are too fond of the warmth. . .to go downstairs to meet the burglars

It appears that Spurgeon’s words could be applied to the present downgrade within the SBC. We must remember the words of Paul as he penned a letter to the church in the city of Colossae. He wrote, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ” (Col. 2:8). When you’ve done all within your power to stand—sometimes the only option that remains is to separate.

OAN: Hope of Christmas with “Pastor” Paula White

Rumble — Paula White Cain, president of Paula White Ministries, gives us "The Real Story" on her hope and prayer during Christmas. Don't be fooled by this one, like Trump was!

EXCERPT FROM: https://firebrandmag.com/articles/neocharismatic-christianity-and-the-rise-of-the-new-apostolic-reformation:

"When Paula White called angels from Africa and South America to wage spiritual warfare in the aftermath of the presidential election, she was tapping into the notion of territorial spirits associated with the emergence of what Peter Wagner has called the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). Wagner coined the phrase to describe a novel kind of independent charismatic Christianity led by apostles and organized into relational networks. Many of the prophecies associated with Trump’s rise and re-election came from persons associated with these networks. Some like Kris Vallotton of Bethel Church apologized while others such as Lance Wallnau doubled down. Regardless, much of the public support for Trump came from Christians connected to this new form of charismatic Christianity, even though it has largely remained unexplored by most journalists and historians."  

SEE THE COMMENTS BELOW:

jackieQuilts, 9 hours ago

1 Cor 11 But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. 1 Tim 2 11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. 15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. 1 Corinthians 7:17 17 But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so, I ordain in all the churches. Ephesians 4 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, Women can teach, but don't have authority over the Church.... Christ is the Authority over the Church. Christ chose the 12 Apostles, it's God that gives the gifts not men.

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ZeroCarbChick, 23 hours ago

Paula White is NOT a pastor. Can we all just cut the crap. She needs to read her Bible and stop being wicked.

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BlueAero, 1 day ago

Paula White is a demon-filled false prophet. Part of NAR and supporter of antichrist. OAN - sorry- having to unsubscribe with your false promotion of the demonic dominionists.

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chesval, just now

Paula White Cain's apostate history has influenced Trump in a negative way, what with her "Word of Faith" charismatic, dominionist, ecumenical, interfaith, universalist, astral projection heresies. Plus her multiple divorces & re-marriages. Just see these posts for proof:

  • https://ratherexposethem.org/2021/07/04/john-macarthur-a-bad-sign-paula-white-at-donald-trumps-inauguration-and-other-prosperity-gospel-false-teachers-like-joel-osteen/
  • https://ratherexposethem.org/2020/09/26/prosperity-preachers-are-total-liars/
  • https://ratherexposethem.org/2020/03/13/southern-baptist-robert-jeffress-has/
  • https://ratherexposethem.org/2019/11/02/word-of-faith-prosperity-preacher-paula/
  • https://ratherexposethem.org/2019/10/23/chris-rosebrough-of-fighting-for-faith-2/
  • https://ratherexposethem.org/2019/07/12/fighting-for-faith-apostate-paula/
  • https://ratherexposethem.org/2019/05/14/paula-white-transfers-church-leadership/
  • https://ratherexposethem.org/2018/08/06/trumps-dear-friend-spiritual-adviser/
  • https://ratherexposethem.org/2018/05/18/paula-white-taking-care-of-trumps-soul/
  • https://ratherexposethem.org/2018/01/09/first-fruits-twistedapostasy-alert/
  • https://ratherexposethem.org/2015/05/16/paula-white-marries-for-third-time/

How Did Evangelicalism Turn into a Circus… Literally?

Crowds gather at First Baptist Dallas Church to hear Trump speak

The Blind Guides of the Apostate Church

Rumble — The 45th President was invited to speak about Christmas at a Texas church. Here's more on Donald Trump's message.

But Paula White is Jeffress’ partner in the White House as they serve together on Trump’s “spiritual advisory board”!
SOUTHERN BAPTIST ROBERT JEFFRESS 
HAS SOLD HIS SOUL TO THE DEVIL 
FOR WORLDLY GAIN 
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ABOVE: ROBERT JEFFRESS NEXT TO CHARISMATIC HERETIC PAULA WHITE, DIVORCED TWICE, MARRIED THREE TIMES
MITT ROMNEY CALLS SOUTHERN BAPTIST PASTOR ROBERT JEFFRESS A 
“RELIGIOUS BIGOT”
BY TODD STARNES
__________________________________________________________________
SEE ALSO: https://ratherexposethem.org/2017/10/22/reformation-aside-papist-sean-hannity/
Dr. Robert Jeffress Gleefully Interviews Sean Hannity, Who Proclaims the False Gospel of the UNCHRISTIAN Catholic Church (10-22-17)
 Dr. Robert Jeffress Interviews Sean Hannity at First Baptist Dallas
about his new “Christian” film, “Let there be Light,” as well as his (Catholic) faith
and perspective on our nation today.
__________________________________________________________________
SEE ALSO HERE WHERE JEFFRESS IS MENTIONED:
AND:
EXCERPTS FROM ABOVE:

"Then there is Robert Jeffress. Jeffress, who is another extremely prominent evangelical pastor, made many claims about the vaccines throughout 2021. For one, he repeatedly stated that the vaccines are a “gift from God.”[9] That’s odd, because the radical left-wing Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, also said that the vaccines are “from God to us and we must say, thank you, God.”[10] It sounds like the same mentality is at work in both people, to me. My personal favorite, however, is when Jeffress compared Jesus’ death on the cross to the abortion of children whose fetal cell lines were used in either the research or testing phases of our latest injections (and many others). I’m not kidding. Read his words for yourself:

“If we are talking about something from babies that were already aborted, I would just remind people that the whole Christian message is that Christ—who was innocent—died for us and brought something good out of that unjust death.”[11]

If we already have aborted fetal cells, why not make good use of them? Since Jesus willingly gave his life for the sins of the world, it only follows that those children who were unwillingly murdered should give their lives for the health of the world. In the apostate church, this message makes perfect sense.

It’s also worth noting that Jakes, Graham, Jeffress, and Lucado are collectively worth at least $60 million. Just humble servants of the Lord. I cannot help but ask a rhetorical question: are there any financial incentives involved in preaching the vaccine gospel?"

SOUTHERN BAPTIST “CHRISTIANS” JONATHAN MERRITT & azariah southworth: OUTED AS HOMOSEXUALS

The False Gospel of Jonathan Merritt

(Gay Universalism affirmed by James Merritt former SBC President)

Major evangelical figure comes out as gay

Homosexuality, Universalism, The Gospel, and the SBC

James Merritt, the current pastor of an SBC church and former president of the SBC, recently commended a sermon preached by his son, Jonathan Merritt. The problem is that Jonathan is an open homosexual and attends a church that is universalistic. I will play clips from this sermon and discuss the ramifications. In short, the SBC is in trouble. Big trouble. Links: Jonathan Merritt's full sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtZla... Dr. Owen Strachan's article on homosexuality: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thought... My video on Social Justice Cars of Economics and Racism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwTa5... My video on Social Justice Train: Cars of Egalitarianism, Homosexuality, and Entitlement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLdHe... My videos on Ed Litton and plagiarism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNdrU... | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hirAE...

Jonathan Merritt Exposed by Dr. James White on “The Dividing Line” Twitter Post Promoting Gay Pride

BY MARSHA WEST

SEE: https://christianresearchnetwork.org/2021/08/12/major-evangelical-figure-comes-out-as-gay/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

“Followers of Jesus Christ have to completely disregard the teaching in the pages of Holy Writ to cling to their belief that God condones sex outside of marriage. Anyone who is involved in sex outside marriage is committing a sin against God. Period. This I know because the Bible tells me so.”

(Marsha West – Christian Research Network) Jonathan Merritt is “one of America’s most prolific religion writers” and a reporter for various news agencies including Religion News Service. He is also the son of former Southern Baptist Convention president James Merritt. In 2019 the pastor’s son chose to denounce evangelicalism and “seek God elsewhere.” On his 39th birthday, Jonathan Merritt jumped out of the closet with both feet after years of repeated denials that he is a homosexual. Before I get to the details, you’ll need some background.

In 2012 Azariah Southworth, a “gay evangelical,” claimed he had a sexual encounter with Jonathan and chided him publicly for not admitting to being gay.  According to Azariah, Jonathan,

rides the fence because of the strong anti-gay stance his religious community continues to take. He is brave by daring to push the envelope a bit but not enough to give himself away. Exposing this truth of Jonathan’s sexual orientation is not an easy decision for me. I take no pleasure in doing this. As I type this my stomach is turning because I know of the backlash he will receive. I have thought about what all of this will mean for him and for me. I base my reasoning in the importance of living an authentic and honest life….If evidence is required to back my claim it can be provided.

The quote came from an article by Peter Lumpkins. Lumpkins reported that “Merritt routinely speaks for Baptist colleges, universities, and is a frequent speaker at Lifeway’s events. In addition, two seminary presidents–Danny Akin and Al Mohler–have in the past supported views on various social issues.” (Source)

After their encounter, Southworth sat down with a Salon reporter and shared the graphic details in “Why I Outed a Christian Star.” (You’ll have to do a search for this article.)

Following the news of Merritt’s homosexual adventure with Southworth, Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries penned a piece entitled “Homosexuality and Jonathan Merritt” where he wrote:

Here at Apprising Ministries I’ve told you that I believe a major evangelical figure will come out as homosexual “soon” serving to fully detonate this whole gay debate—currently ripping apart and dividing mainline denominations—right with the mainstream of evangelicalism itself.

Silva thought the popular pastor’s son would be that person. But at the time, Merritt chose not to live an “authentic and honest life” until his 39th birthday, when he “came out” on Instagram.  Here’s what he wrote to his followers:

In 2012, just days before my 30th birthday, I was publicly and painfully outed by a person who had earned my trust only to betray it. It took many months and a boatload of therapy to process the trauma of that experience—and to learn to love the delightful human that God made when God made me.

Some of you may not know this part of my story. I have learned to live authentically in my personal life, sharing with friends the fullness of who I am. But the experience of being outed left me bruised and untrusting and dead dog afraid to offer these vulnerable parts of myself for public consumption and critique. So, I haven’t really written about my identity online. Recently, however, this disconnect between my private and public life has felt unnecessary and unsustainable. I don’t want to live fearful of the opinions of strangers or the venom of bigots.

Today is my 39th birthday, which means I get one more trip around the sun before entering my next decade. I want to enter the second half of life with more authenticity, alignment, and integrity than I exhibited in the first half.

So today, I’m raising a glass to my full and complete self—a gay man, beloved by God, who has endured the worst the world could throw at him and fought his way to health and wholeness.

So there you have the nutshell version.

God Hands People Over To Their Idolatry And Sin

It is troubling to hear Jonathan Merritt justify his decision to live as a gay man (a chosen identity and activity) made out of whole cloth that has nothing to do with the Lord Jesus’s view of homosexuality that is in the Bible. Given this announcement, one can only conclude that God has handed Jonathan Merritt, who remains a professing Christian, over to his sin, “allowing him to store up even greater judgment for the day of the Lord.” Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul pronounced in Rom 1:19–31 that the wrath of God is revealed as God hands people over to their idolatry and sin.

The pastor’s son sinned against a holy God when he enticed another man to commit a homosexual act with him. Furthermore, Jonathan and Azariah Southworth, who is also a professing Christian, were not married – and in the eyes of God, they never could be. God calls us to sexual purity. Followers of Jesus Christ have to completely disregard the teaching in the pages of Holy Writ to cling to their belief that God condones sex outside of marriage. Anyone who is involved in sex outside marriage is committing a sin against God. Period. This I know because the Bible tells me so.

Those who read and study the Bible know exactly what sin is because God makes it abundantly clear what is dishonoring to Him. Regardless of what progressives proclaim, God hates sin – I repeat, hates sin — and He will punish unrepentant sinners.

Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven: “We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgiven. Lam 3:40-42

When a Spirit-filled believer sins, he/she is fully aware of it for the reason that the Holy Spirit convicts those who are “in Christ” of their sin. What are we to do when we commit a sin against God?  Repent. And return to the Lord.

Jonathan Merritt knows what the Bible teaches on any given subject.  He knows that the Bible teaches that homosexuality–and sexual relations outside of marriage–is sinful. He knows this but perhaps, like so many other deluded homosexuals and heterosexuals who indulge in sexual activity out of marriage, he has chosen to put the truth aside and embrace a lifestyle of his own choosing.  Merritt now wants us to believe that he is a gay man “beloved by God” who has learned to live authentically in his personal life. He can believe what he wants to, but what this tells me is that this professing follower of Jesus Christ, who brags that he’s “raising a glass to my full and complete self—a gay man” is actually thumbing his nose at his Creator.

Cringe.

Jonathan’s disagreement is not with those of us who do not condone his behavior….because the Bible tells us we shouldn’t. His disagreement is with the Lord Jesus. Jesus made it crystal clear in His teaching that all of Scripture is “God-breathed” and it is the authority by which His followers (authentic Christians) must live their lives.  As I stated above, Jesus, who is the Son of God and the Second Person of the Trinity, condemned homosexuality and sexual relations outside of marriage. Nowhere in Scripture are we told to be patient because sometime in the future sodomy–and sex with whomever you please–will no longer be considered a sin.

What people like Jonathan Merritt and Azariah Southworth fail to understand is that Jesus held to the inerrancy of Scripture. They have forgotten that God is the author of Scripture; therefore, the Bible’s teaching is 100% true…contains no mistakes…no contradictions….no miscalculations. It is virtually impossible for there to be errors in the Holy Spirit-inspired Word of God, as the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity. Which means He is God. And God is never wrong.

According To The Bible…

Those who believe there are errors in the Bible most assuredly have a low view of God. Believers who dismiss what the Bible teaches and choose to live by their own rules have a very high view of “self.” So, to be clear, regardless of how Merritt has decided to live his life so that he can love himself while he’s on this earth, orthodox Bible scholars hold to the view that the Holy Spirit has left no wiggle room when it comes to indulging in the practices that are expressly forbidden in the scriptures, sodomy being one of them. According to the Holy Spirit inspired writings of Apostle Paul:

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Cor 6:9-10

Like it or not, God has not changed His mind when it comes to the matter of homosexual activity being an abomination. The Word of God is just as applicable in the Twenty-first Century as it was when Lev 20:13 was written:

If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

(See also Genesis 19:1–13Leviticus 18:22Romans 1:26–271 Timothy 1:10)

Forgive And Forget

God’s forgiveness is available to all sinners who repent. To the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, men who practice homosexuality, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers. God will give victory over even the most egregious sins to those He has granted the faith to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (Eph 2:9) and thereafter put Him at the center of their lives:

But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Cor 6:11

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Cor 5:17

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Phil 4:13.

There are many verses in the Gospels where Jesus quotes the Old Testament prophets. (The apostles also quoted the Old Testament.) For example, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Deut 8:3Mat 4:4 and “Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Deut 6:13Mat 4:10

Paul tells Timothy:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Tim 3:16

Could Jesus Have Been Wrong? 

Today many Christians outright reject the infallibility of Holy Writ. Some say that Jesus could have been wrong and still be the Savior of the World. So, let us consider the possibility that our Lord could have been off base in His teaching. In his article What Difference Does An Inerrant Bible Make?  Theologian R.C. Sproul tells of a discussion he had with an old friend, Charlie, who proclaimed that he no longer believed in the inerrancy of Scripture and that after years of studying the Bible he thought Jesus could have been wrong at times. R.C. addressed this with his friend thusly:

Charlie’s point was that Jesus—touching his human nature—did not know all things. He then went right to the Bible to prove it, pointing out, for example, that Jesus does not know the day and hour of His return (Matt. 24:36). But the conversation I had with Charlie wasn’t really about omniscience. It was actually about sinlessness.

Touching His human nature, Jesus is not required to be omniscient to be my Savior. However, He is required to be sinless. Jesus would be numbered among the transgressors for teaching an error. He claimed to speak on the basis on His Father’s authority (John 8:2814:10). He also declared, “I am the truth” (John 14:6). That is the highest claim to teaching authority ever uttered. If a man who claims to be the truth and to say nothing except by divine authority teaches error, that’s sin. And if He sins once, we don’t have a Savior. That’s what is at stake.

When I spelled this out for Charlie, he told me, “I’ve got a problem.” To which I replied, “Yes, you do. You want to get rid of Jesus’ view of Scripture and hold onto Him as your Savior and Lord. You’re on very shaky grounds, if you want to be consistent.” Charlie was living in the delightful breeze of a happy inconsistency. But do you see what the issue is here? It is the integrity of Christ.

Sound familiar? Jonathan and Azariah want to get rid of Jesus’ view of Scripture and hold onto Him as their Savior and Lord.

Getting back to R.C., he used his friend Charlie as a “good example of a person who can deny inerrancy but still believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. But this is possible only if one is inconsistent. Does God demand perfect consistency in our theology for salvation? R.C. says no:

If that were the case, no sinner could be saved because no sinner holds to a perfect theology. That doesn’t mean, however, that we should be content with inconsistency. At the end of the day, inerrancy is inseparable from Christology. If Jesus didn’t teach this view of Scripture, the argument would be over. The issue is not the sacrosanctity of a book, a “paper pope,” or bibliolatry. The issue at stake is the integrity of the person and work of Jesus. He can save us only if He is sinless, and He is sinless only if all of His teaching—including what He teaches about Scripture—is true. (Source)

So to sum up inerrancy:

Inerrancy means that the Scriptures do not affirm any errors. The Bible does not endorse anything untrue. When it tells history, it tells us what actually happened. It may report on what a person said when he told a lie to someone else, but it does not endorse the lie. It is merely giving an accurate report of what the liar said. Where it speaks to science, it does not contradict God’s revelation in the natural world. In sum, the Bible is entirely truthful and has no errors at all in the original manuscripts that the prophets and Apostles actually wrote. We do not today possess these manuscripts, but through the process of textual criticism, we can recover the original wording of the manuscripts with a high degree of certainty. (Source)

I’ll end with a quote by Calvin Goligher from a piece I highly recommend Gay and the Gay Christian:

There is no coherent way to combine the identities “gay” and “Christian.” Homosexual practices are sins, and those who refuse to repent of these sins cannot be Christ’s disciples. The desires that incline towards these practices are also sinful (Matthew 5:28) and those who experience such desires must not entertain or affirm them, but rather resist them and put them to death (Romans 8:13). From these two points, it follows that adopting a homosexual identity is also a sin, since such an identity entails at least a tacit approval of homosexual desires (Side B), if not also of homosexual practices (Side A). For a person to describe himself as “gay,” he must believe that homosexual desires or practices are somehow natural for him. For a person to describe himself as “Christian,” he must sincerely believe that God’s “commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). When God calls us to sexual purity, he calls us to fulfill the natural purpose for which humanity was created: conformity to his commandments for the sake of communion with him. [Side A and Side B Christianity is examined in the article]

_________________________________________________________

SEE ALSO: https://www.apprising.org/2012/07/24/southern-baptist-jonathan-merritt-outed-as-gay/

 

Is It Time for the American Church to Grow Up?

BY LINCOLN BROWN

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/culture/lincolnbrown/2021/09/26/is-it-time-for-the-american-church-to-grow-up-n1481436;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Christmas is just around the corner. I know this because Halloween is a month off and around these parts, the Christmas decorations go up after the last trick-or-treater has gone home for the night. The arrival of the season (which wouldn’t surprise me if it starts this Tuesday) will come with the usual protests. Articles will be written about the War on Christmas. Facebook posts will go up about keeping Christ in Christmas, and spleens will be vented over changing school Christmas pageants to “Holiday Pageants.” And yes, we should keep Christ in Christmas. I’m not here to argue that. However, I am here to argue that perhaps for too long, American Christians have been taking their faith for granted.

It probably went under your radar, but the administration of the Putnam County School District in Tennessee announced that teachers and coaches were prohibited from leading their students and teams in prayer. This came on the heels of a letter from the Americans United for Separation of Church and State alleging “prayer and proselytizing” in the schools. This has been going on for years. An atheist group takes issue with something, threatens the school district, which caves to avoid a lawsuit.

In response, following a recent football game between Upperman and Stone Memorial high schools, the players led everyone in prayer. One person wrote on Facebook, “Satan’s power was defeated tonight, as the threat of a legal action to forbid prayer after the game was overwhelmed by player-led prayer supported by parents and fans in solidarity on Overall Field. God bless the Baxter and Stone players for their faith and courage.” While the incident makes for a good news story, I’m not sure that it constitutes a victory over Satan.

Chances are, especially in light of the church-state COVID clashes in the U.S. and in particular Canada, things like this will become more commonplace.  And perhaps, American Christians could use a little tempering with fire.

I used to volunteer for a non-profit that supported persecuted Christians. As part of my volunteer duties, I would visit churches and deliver presentations about persecution and hand out information. The idea was to raise awareness about the problem among U.S. Christians who are often blissfully or even willfully unaware of it. At one church, my presentation replaced the Sunday sermon. The service opened with the usual 30-minute worship concert of current and recurrent CCM songs. The young woman in front of me jumped up as soon as the music started and contorted herself into what I guess was a posture of praise: bent sideways at the waist, head cocked the other way, and one hand thrust into the air. Much to my amazement, she managed to stay that way for the entire time. When it was my turn to speak, she glared at me like I was offering adult magazines and bong hits. To be fair, while most of the congregation remained stoic, they did clean me out of my literature and several signed up as volunteers. But the young lady disappeared as soon as church was over after giving me one last withering look. Perhaps I ruined what she expected to be another good day at church. At another church, people cried copiously during my presentation but blew me off after the service to eat a donut and have a cup of coffee. Or make a break for the local breakfast buffet.

I have often encountered a nervous avoidance among Christians when it comes to the subject of persecution. I suppose that may be because stories of persecution are at odds with the moral-therapeutic deism that has replaced theology in so many places. The idea runs counter that the notion of a “good, good father” who has a plan for your life. It isn’t the easy Christianity of “doing life together,” “boyfriend Jesus,” and the latest hits from your local Christian radio station. It isn’t a sermon that could just as easily be a motivational speech for an MLM.

But as it turns out, Christians in other parts of the world carry actual burdens. Serious ones.

While I was a volunteer I made the acquaintance of Sarah Liu, a Chinese Christian who was the editor of an underground newspaper. She was arrested one night in her pajamas, which was not unusual for her. But this time, they took her to a secret location. They tied her to a chair and whipped her feet with a hanger and put cigarettes out on her skin. Shackled to a post in a warehouse, she was made to walk in a circle all night. In the morning she realized that she had circled the post so many times that she was walking in a trail of her own blood. She was imprisoned and forced to make Christmas lights to sell in America. Think about that when you are decorating this year. Sarah remains one of the gentlest, sweetest souls and one of the most committed believers I have ever met.

Or consider the 21 Coptic Christians beheaded by ISIS on the beach in 2015 for refusing to renounce their faith. One particularly odious discernment blogger said that as members of the Coptic Church, they were not actually Christian. Well, let’s see: They were given the option of denying Christ or having their heads cut off. They chose to die. They sound like committed Christians to me, despite them not adhering to the blogger’s preferred version of faith. How many of us would offer our necks if given a similar choice?

I could keep you here all day with stories of Christians who have been shot, scalped, burned alive, sold into slavery, and mutilated in persecuting countries. Or even shoved into ovens to be cooked alive. In some countries, people are not even considered mature Christians until they have been arrested at least once.

When James and John asked Jesus if they could sit at his right and left in the coming kingdom, Jesus said, “You don’t know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” The members of the persecuted church are drinking deep.

Are we in the USA guilty of idolatry? In the contemporary church, people equate idolatry with putting other things before God like video games, NASCAR, a home business, or a favorite sports team. But as it was originally understood in the Ancient Near East, idolatry was the practice of creating a physical idol and coaxing the god of your choice to literally come down and live in it. The god would then be pampered with the expectation that the worshipper’s needs and demands would be met. Have we tried to make God in our own image? Have we created a system that we expect God to inhabit with the expectation of Him serving us, rather than us serving him? Have we made an idol out of church?

Beyond the name-it-and-claim-it prosperity gospel heresy, one wonders what is becoming of the church. Have worship and sacrifice been replaced with vision-casting and worship teams? Is the sacred space nothing more than a concert venue? Has the biblical instruction of our children been usurped by pizza and games? And what place have we made for God in all of this?

I suspect that the American Church has made itself into an idol that it expects God to inhabit. Back when I was going to seminary online, I was deep into the Christian lifestyle and was listening to a famous national Christian radio network. During a pledge drive, a woman called in and gushed about how the radio station had changed her husband’s life and that now he was saved because of the jocks and their playlist. Apparently, Jesus had nothing to do with that. A church I used to attend now tosses beachballs into the congregation and sings Disney and country music songs in an effort to be attractional and get the numbers. This, as the big-business church model, is burning down. Even as empires like Hillsong are starting to crack.

Perhaps American Christians have come to see faith as a moneymaker in some cases. I used to work in a Christian bookstore and we sold boxed Bible studies by a very famous Christian celebrity. The cost for one of her Bible studies was $199 at the time. You got a box with a leader’s guide, a participant guide, and a DVD. It probably cost around $10 to make. $199 to learn more about a man who was happy to share his wisdom for free.

For others, it may be convenient. A place where people can feel warm and fuzzy, and cuddle with a God who will give them everything they ask for. A place where they can talk about their beards or tattoos and be secure in their salvation and the superiority of their biblical knowledge and doctrine. American Christians have never been made to even count the cost, let alone pay it. Ask for a Dietrich Bonhoeffer and you may well find a money changer. As Sarah Liu once said in a speech, “Everyone wants Jesus, but no one wants the cross.”

The time may be coming for the church in America to grow up.

Commentary: Has Beth Moore Inadvertently Become a Proponent of Critical Race Theory (CRT)?

SEE: https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/newsletters/2021/newsletter20210923.htm;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

The CRT lie is that every white person is inherently racist (whether they know it or not) [and in] a “perpetual state of guilt and apology to people of color. . . . It doesn’t matter if they never felt or acted as if they were superior to others because they were white; they are white, and therefore, according to CRT, they are racist.”

By L. Sharp

Beth Moore Background

Beth Moore has been moving away from the Bible for a while now. Lighthouse Trails has documented over the years her becoming a proponent of contemplative prayer, “emergent” doctrine, and ecumenism (most notably with Roman Catholicism).

See link: https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?s=beth+moore

Beth Moore publicly announced on March 9, 2021 that she was “no longer a Southern Baptist”

See link: https://religionnews.com/2021/03/09/bible-teacher-beth-moore-ends-partnership-with-lifeway-i-am-no-longer-a-southern-baptist/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMInIm4-fSL8gIVwj2tBh0Sewj5EAAYASAAEgLqNvD_BwE

Recently, on Twitter (July 21, 2021), she decided to vent her frustrations, specifically aimed at the fact 6 Southern Baptist Seminary Presidents had signed a statement in Nov. 2020, declaring that Critical Race Theory (CRT) was “incompatible with the Baptist Faith & Message”.

This Nov. 2020 statement was a shift from the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) 2019 statement calling CRT “insufficient to diagnose and redress the root causes” of societal ills, but could be used as an “analytical tool to aid.” Perhaps her criticism of the SBC has escalated, after the more recent June 2021 SBC Convention, where the SBC shifted very clearly toward non-support of CRT.

—————————————————————————————————————————
BACKGROUND OF SBC’s (Southern Baptist Convention) shifting statements regarding CRT
I thought it would be helpful to give you a background of SBC’s statements the last 3 years regarding CRT.

1) 2019 Statement:

In June 2019, the SBC affirmed the following regarding CRT:
WHEREAS, Critical race theory and intersectionality alone are insufficient [emphasis mine] to diagnose and redress the root causes of the social ills that they identify, which result from sin, yet these analytical tools can aid [emphasis mine] in evaluating a variety of human experiences;

see link:
https://www.sbc.net/resource-library/resolutions/on-critical-race-theory-and-intersectionality/

2) No 2020 Statement:

No SBC Meeting June 2020 (b/c of COVID-19)

3) 2021 Statement:

In June 2021, the SBC affirmed the following regarding “race and racial reconciliation” in the passing of Resolution #2:

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, June 15–16, 2021, affirm the sufficiency of Scripture on race and racial reconciliation; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we reaffirm our agreement with historic, biblically-faithful Southern Baptist condemnations of racism in all forms; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we reject any theory or worldview that finds the ultimate identity of human beings in ethnicity or in any other group dynamic [emphasis mine]; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we reject any theory or worldview that sees the primary problem of humanity as anything other than sin against God and the ultimate solution as anything other than redemption found only in Christ; and be it further

RESOLVED, We, therefore, reject any theory or worldview that denies that racism, oppression, or discrimination is rooted, ultimately, in anything other than sin; and be it further

RESOLVED, That, understanding we live in a fallen world, we reaffirm the 1995 Resolution On Racial Reconciliation On The 150th Anniversary Of The Southern Baptist Convention, which includes, “That we apologize to all African-Americans for condoning and/or perpetuating individual and systemic racism in our lifetime; and we genuinely repent of racism of which we have been guilty, whether consciously (Psalm 19:13) or unconsciously (Leviticus 4:27),” applying this disposition to every instance of racism; [emphasis mine]

see link:
https://www.sbc.net/resource-library/resolutions/on-the-sufficiency-of-scripture-for-race-and-racial-reconciliation/

4) Statement Beth Moore tweeted about:

On Nov.30, 2020 this statement was adopted by the Council of Seminary Presidents of the SBC:

“On this twentieth anniversary year of the Baptist Faith & Message (as revised and adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 2000), the Council of Seminary Presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in its annual session, hereby reaffirms with eagerness the Baptist Faith & Message as the doctrinal statement that unites and defines Southern Baptist cooperation and establishes the confessional unity of our Convention. Our six seminaries are confessional institutions, standing together in this classic statement of biblical truth. All professors must agree to teach in accordance with and not contrary to the Baptist Faith & Message. This is our sacred commitment and privilege, and every individual faculty member and trustee of our institutions shares this commitment. We are thankful for the theological commitments of the Southern Baptist Convention, standing against the tide of theological compromise and in the face of an increasingly hostile secular culture.

In light of current conversations in the Southern Baptist Convention, we stand together on historic Southern Baptist condemnations of racism in any form and we also declare that affirmation of Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, and any version of Critical Theory is incompatible with the Baptist Faith & Message.” [emphasis mine]

see these 3 links:
https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/seminary-presidents-reaffirm-bfm-declare-crt-incompatible/

https://religionnews.com/2020/12/01/southern-baptist-seminary-presidents-nix-critical-race-theory/

https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/december/southern-baptist-critical-race-theory-debate-crt-seminary-s.html

———————————————————————————————————————

BETH MOORE’S July 21, 2021 Tweet in response to above Nov.30, 2020 SBC Seminary Presidents’ statement—

Here is Beth Moore’s tweet in full:

“I hope to write calmly and clearly this AM. In my estimation, the handwriting was on the wall that this witch-hunt was tragically inevitable when the 6 SBC seminary presidents signed the statement declaring CRT incompatible with the Baptist Faith & Message BECAUSE 1) It wasn’t made clear to many what qualifies as CRT & what does NOT. 2) Many people aren’t going to do the homework on how to differentiate between CRT & BIBLICAL priorities of justice & BIBLICAL mandates against injustice. If you don’t think God frowns on injustices committed or blessed by people who claim to belong to him, you simply aren’t reading your Bible. I don’t have to be a seminary president to suggest reading the prophets if you want to know what kind of hell there can be to pay, when we, the people of God, deal unjustly or stand by silently in its midst. 3) Because of 1 & 2, the moment someone preaches, teaches or speaks against racism or injustice, many church congregations, Christian organizations, students & faculty members of Christian universities & seminaries are now primed to see devils behind every bush and holler “CRT!!”

"I beg you to hear me here: godly people are losing their jobs and WILL lose their jobs by the hundreds over this witch hunt for simply teaching Biblical righteousness. They are no more proponents of CRT than they are horned toads. I am not a proponent of CRT but I will not for one-second relent on stating the obvious fact that systemic injustice thrives in America. You have to have a blindfold on not to see it. Believing there is such a thing as systemic injustice does not equal CRT. Brothers and sisters, we are spreading lies and it is harmful and sinful. And there is no lie as binding as the one we are willing to tell ourselves in order to protect our positions and power structures. When the church is driven by fear and lies rather than by love & truth, it may be some kind of church, but it is not Christ’s. I write in lay-person terms.

"I’m not an academic. I’m a Bible studying Jesus freak who loves the church. I’ll inevitably have said some of this poorly. I require a lot of grace and I ask you to look to the heart of it and test the spirit. I have written these things in love and deep concern.”

Here is her July 21, 2021 Twitter thread documenting the above Tweet–
https://twitter.com/BethMooreLPM/status/1417848740770197507

MY COMMENTS:

Regarding Beth Moore

1) It is not surprising that Beth Moore is angry towards SBC and their move away from support for CRT. She left SBC, so now she can freely criticize unfiltered. But, why is Beth Moore so angry at these “witch-hunter” SBC Seminary Presidents? Her anger against SBC and their recent stand of non-support of CRT, reveals her lack of understanding of CRT, and her lack of biblical discernment.

2) Lighthouse Trails explains CRT well. So, we don’t have to be confused about what it is all about.

The Lighthouse Trails booklet “Critical Race Theory” points out, on p.6:

Critical Race Theory, which was birthed in the 1980s by lawyers and social activists, has to do with seeing people from a critical perspective as belonging to specific identity groups (e.g. whites, blacks, lesbians, feminists, genders) whereby each group is categorized as either “oppressor” or “oppressed.” It is the creation of “cultural Marxism” wherein the two categories are pitted against the complete overturning of the present system.

Also, on p.7 the booklet goes on to say:

Critical Race theorists believe in institutional (or systemic) racism; that is, racism is so integrated into our American society that “the systems in place [e.g.,capitalism] . . . create and maintain racial inequality in nearly every facet of life for people of color.” Furthermore, they say that all white people, whether they think, talk, or act like it or not, are racist because they are privy to “white privilege” and should therefore be in a perpetual state of guilt and apology to people of color. . . . It doesn’t matter if they never felt or acted as if they were superior to others because they were white; they are white, and therefore, according to CRT, they are racist.

3) Beth Moore complained about the Nov.2020 SBC Seminary Presidents’ statement of CRT being “incompatible” with the Baptist Faith and Message.  She calls this the beginning of their “witch-hunt.” Merriam-Webster’s online definition of “witch-hunt” is: the searching out and deliberate harassment of those (such as political opponents) with unpopular views (see link: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/witch%20hunt)

Is the SBC on a “witch-hunt”? If so, against whom? “Godly” people who support CRT (Critical Race Theory)? In her tweet, Moore basically “warns” the SBC seminary presidents by saying: “I don’t have to be a seminary president to suggest reading the prophets if you want to know what kind of hell there can be to pay, when we, the people of God, deal unjustly or stand by silently in its midst.”

It appears that Beth Moore is accusing the SBC Seminary Presidents of “dealing unjustly” or “standing by silently in the midst” (midst of what? so-called “systemic injustice”?). And, according to Beth Moore, she accuses those men of not reading the prophets properly, because if they did, they would know “what kind of hell there can be to pay” for people like “them.”

Who are people like “them”? Does Beth Moore’s stereotyping of the SBC Seminary Presidents as “them” sound like divisive talk, pitting one group against another? For a self-proclaimed non-proponent of CRT, Beth Moore paints the SBC Seminary Presidents as “them” (the anti-CRT folks), and herself (along with “godly people”) as “us” (who see systemic injustice everywhere).

CRT is an anti-gospel/unbiblical worldview

What Beth Moore does not realize is that CRT, at its core, is an anti-gospel worldview. Why?

  1. CRT is a secular worldview, so it is inherently an anti-gospel/unbiblical worldview.
  2. CRT’s view of sin, humanity and redemption is anti-gospel.  
  3. Sin: According to CRT, humanity’s original sin is “racism”. According to the Bible, man’s original sin is disobedience to God’s command (Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden). See Genesis 3.
  4. Humanity: According to CRT, humanity is ever trying to “better” itself. According to the Bible, humanity (individual people), can never “better” itself. Each person, because of his or her sin, can only turn to God, acknowledging his or her sin and disobedience against Him, and then God alone can restore God’s image in him or her. This is not becoming “better,” but becoming the man or woman God has created him or her to be (according to the Bible and its standard, not humanity’s standards). See Jer.17:9; Psalm 51:5; 1 John 1:10; Romans 3:23; 5:12,19; Eph.2:1-2.
  5. Redemption: According to CRT, there is no redemption. According to the Bible, there is individual, personal redemption in the cross of Jesus Christ. There is individual forgiveness and reconciliation with God (and with each other), through the death and resurrection (and shed blood) of Jesus Christ. God can redeem, and there is hope in His Son Jesus Christ alone and in believing the gospel. See Colossians 1:14; Ephesians 1:7; Heb. 9:14.

More specifically, according to CRT, there are only two groups of people: the oppressor and the oppressed; the victimizer and the victim; the haves and have-nots; the “us” and “them.” But, there is no redemption. There is no forgiveness. There is no reconciliation. There is no end to the “penance.”  The sin is not biblical sin (Romans 3:23), but the sin is “racism.”

The only solution offered by CRT is for the “oppressors” (whites) to pay perpetual “penance” for their “sin” of racism, whether conscious or unconscious, known or unknown.  CRT is an anti-gospel/unbiblical worldview that offers no hope of healing, restoration, or reconciliation (between one another, or with God).

Whether or not you agree with the SBC Seminary Presidents’ most recent statement (of Nov. 2020), they were making a statement of their stance regarding CRT. Did this statement of their beliefs start a “witch-hunt” (as Beth Moore alleges)? Even if that were true, who exactly were the SBC Seminary Presidents searching out and deliberately harassing?

Beth Moore and CRT
Beth Moore seems to be a proponent of CRT (based on her July 21, 2021 tweet), whether she knows it or not. Who is she defending? People of color? “Godly people” who are not opposed to CRT? She already is feeling guilty for America’s “systemic injustice.”  Look at the language in her tweet. She says:

I am not a proponent of CRT but I will not for one second relent on stating the obvious fact that systemic    injustice thrives in America. You have to have a blindfold on not to see it. Believing there is such a thing as systemic injustice does not equal CRT. Brothers and sisters we are spreading lies and it is harmful and sinful. And there is no lie as binding as the one we are willing to tell ourselves in order to protect our positions and power structures. When the church is driven by fear and lies rather than by love & truth, it may be some kind of church, but it is not Christ’s. I write in lay-person terms.

The most concerning statement in her tweet was her insinuation that anyone who does not support CRT is somehow “spreading lies” that are harmful and sinful. And she is accusing such Christians as telling lies, “in order to protect our positions and power structures.”  Sounds like CRT language to me.

She states unequivocally, that it is an “obvious fact that systemic injustice thrives in America. You have to have a blindfold on not to see it.” I agree that this is not necessarily “equal to CRT,” but it is a red flag that she is being influenced by CRT. CRT includes the pre-conceived generalized assumption that “systemic injustice” is already an inherent, structural, societal problem, and categorizes people of color as the “oppressed”, and whites as the “oppressor.” One of the basic assumptions of CRT is a blind belief that “systemic injustice” in whatever form (racism, oppression towards poor, etc.) does exist in society, period. The word “systemic” is used by CRT proponents to indoctrinate people into believing that all social structures and systems in America, are, at their core, full of injustice.

Again, Beth Moore appears to be a proponent of CRT, but doesn’t realize it . . .

What About SBC?

The SBC’s most current statements regarding “race and racial reconciliation” and CRT reveal they still are believing the basic lie of CRT: specifically, they are still “repenting” and apologizing for their history of racism, whether it was conscious or unconscious, aware or unaware. The CRT lie is that every white person is inherently racist (whether they know it or not). The Lighthouse Trails booklet “Critical Race Theory” on p.7, describes this as a “perpetual state of guilt and apology to people of color. . . . It doesn’t matter if they never felt or acted as if they were superior to others because they were white; they are white, and therefore, according to CRT, they are racist.”

Final Comments

Let’s pray that CRT gets exposed as a secular, and thus anti-gospel/unbiblical, worldview.  Let’s pray that those who loyally follow Beth Moore and/or SBC have their eyes opened to CRT as a demonic deception, leading believers down a dark path.

Colossians 2:8: Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

1 John 4:1: Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

1 Thessalonians 5:21: Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

Romans 12:2: And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Greear and Litton: Plagiarism and Sin in the SBC

Ed Litton, newly elected president of the SBC has been caught in a plagiarism scandal. The plagiarism, shockingly, continued even after it was discovered. I will not only discuss the (ongoing) plagiarism but also their teaching that God "whispers" about sexual sins.
JD Greear's full sermon on homosexuality: https://summitchurch.com/message/how-...

Southern Baptist Convention to Debate Critical Race Theory

Southern Baptist Convention to Debate Critical Race Theory

BY STEVE BYAS

SEE: https://thenewamerican.com/southern-baptist-convention-to-debate-critical-race-theory/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the annual meeting of the nation’s largest Christian denomination after the Roman Catholic Church, will convene next week in Nashville. The convention is expected to address the highly contentious issue of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and how the denomination should view what is actually a branch of Marxist Critical Theory — the belief that American society and all non-communist societies are marred by a class struggle between oppressors and the oppressed.

Many are predicting that the controversy could tear the denomination apart, which is, one could argue, exactly what atheistic Marxists would like to see.

The Southern Baptist Convention is the name both of the denomination and the annual meeting. The SBC was formed in 1845, when the Triennial Convention of Baptists (formed mainly for missionary efforts) divided into a Northern Baptist Convention, and a Southern Baptist Convention. The Northern Baptists eventually renamed themselves the American Baptist Convention and drifted leftward, theologically and politically, while the Southern Baptist Convention thrived during the last part of the 19th century and into the 20th century, at one time growing faster than the population of the United States.

Each congregation within the SBC elects its own officers and makes its own decisions on how to carry out the Great Commission of sharing the gospel message. While each congregation is independent, with no hierarchical structure as is found in many other denominations, SBC churches cooperate within the SBC in mission efforts, both nationally and internationally. In addition, the SBC publishes Sunday School literature, runs six theological seminaries, and conducts relief efforts. Most of the food provided by the Red Cross comes from the Baptist Kitchens ministry.

The annual convention is made up of messengers — not delegates — who elect convention officers, primarily a president, for a one-year term. Along with the Executive Committee and other boards and commissions, the president oversees denominational agencies.

One agency, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Committee, headed until recently by its president, Russell Moore, has been a major source of controversy. Most of this controversy has been generated by Moore, who has used his position to push the denomination into a less conservative stance. When Moore denounced President Donald Trump, for example, many in the media, and even in the general public, have taken Moore’s personal opinions as somehow the opinion of the SBC itself.

Moore’s public airing of his views has led to much division within the denomination. For example, in 2019, Moore spearheaded an effort for the convention to adopt a resolution in favor of CRT. The resolution called CRT “a set of analytical tools that explain how race has and continues to function in society, and intersectionality is the study of how different personal characteristics overlap and inform one’s experience.” The resolution did not denounce CRT, but rather blamed “individuals” who “appropriated” it to promote worldviews that are “contrary to the Christian faith.”

Still, the resolution asserted that CRT was an analytical tool that can “aid in evaluating a variety of human experiences.” While certainly not a blanket endorsement of CRT, the resolution did not reject it for what it is — a derivative of atheistic Marxism.

Mike Stone, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Blackshear, Georgia, is a leading, if not the leading, candidate for the post of president of the SBC. He is an ardent opponent of interjecting CRT into the Southern Baptist Convention. Stone is a past president of the Executive Committee of the SBC, and once led the Georgia Baptist Convention.

It was no surprise then that Russell Moore not only left his job heading the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission to join the increasingly liberal magazine Christianity Today and took a ministerial position with a non-SBC congregation in Nashville. A letter of his denouncing the Executive Committee’s leadership was somehow “leaked” to the media.

The Executive Committee was scrutinizing the ERLC and Moore’s controversial public stands, and many congregations were protesting his continued tenure by withholding contributions to the Cooperative Program — which funds the various SBC agencies, including ERLC.

In his “leaked” letter, Moore insinuated that many — without naming names — were protecting sexual abusers within churches, and that many SBC leaders were opposed to racial reconciliation. Ronnie Floyd, a former president of the SBC, has said that he has seen the letter to current SBC President J.D. Greear, and although he was present when some of the matters Moore mentions were discussed, “I do not have the same recollection of these occurrences as stated.”

Stone said the letter was a “back-door press release” that “is clearly an attempt to influence the upcoming presidential election in the SBC.” Stone added, “I think Southern Baptists can see this letter for exactly what it is. His letter contains numerous misrepresentations of me and of the leadership of our beloved Convention. More broadly, it illustrates that he holds a markedly different view of the Southern Baptist Convention than the one held by the overwhelming majority of our 14 million members who have generously paid his salary.”

Stone said, “His view is apparently of an SBC filled with ‘white nationalists and white supremacists’ … That is not the SBC that I know.”

Others running for SBC president this year include Southern Baptist Seminary President Al Mohler (a mentor of Moore) and Alabama Pastor Ed Litton.

In addition to Moore, others who have tried to push the SBC to the left include women’s Bible teacher Beth Moore and California mega-church pastor Rick Warren, a member of the globalist Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Beth Moore left the SBC, parroting the political left’s insistence that there is a huge national problem with “white supremacists.”

In the 1980s, the Southern Baptist Convention endured a decade-long battle over theological liberalism, which ended with total victory by theological conservatives. However, it now appears that, like their fellows in secular politics, those who seek to use the SBC to advance progressive politics have latched onto charges of racism and sexism against anyone who opposes their agenda.

If the Left can split the SBC and turn it into simply another vehicle for the Marxist Critical Race Theory, it would be a huge victory for them, and a tragic defeat for Bible believers in America .

An Interview With Susan Heck On Beth Moore

Beth Moore has finally eschewed biblical complementarianism and come out of the egalitarian closet. In this program, I interview Susan Heck (who has every book in the New Testament memorized and several in the Old) about her concerns with Beth Moore. I also ask Susan about the egalitarian arguments of Priscilla, the women at the tomb, and Deborah. Websites of the ladies mentioned in this video with much more information on the concerns with Beth Moore: Susan Heck https://www.withthemaster.org DebbieLynne Kespert https://headstickdeb.com Michelle Lesley https://michellelesley.com/2019/07/08... Martha Peace http://marthapeacetew.blogspot.com Elizabeth Prata https://the-end-time.org/2017/12/03/a... Amy Spreeman https://naomistable.com/author/ntable...

BTWN News | Beth Moore & James Coates

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