Yesterday, I was reading a blog post over at gay christian movement watch entitled, "GCM Overcooks the Shrimp Theory"
Catchy title.
It (the title) could almost be considered quite humorous...if only the subject matter weren't so deadly serious.
I know what many readers are probably thinking. There she goes again! Making a mountain out of a molehill.
Well, if you are thinking that way, please read on.
The matter regarding compromise was covered yesterday in my blog post about the Rethink Conference. There are many in Christendom today who just want "everybody to get along for unity's sake."
Well guess what?
True biblical, orthodox Christian faith is too important to allow such compromise.
If you have any doubt about these statements and beliefs on this issue, please read any and every post over at Steve Camp's Camp on This blog. The man is a master at sharing the gospel truth through sound biblical exegesis!
Like I always say, it's very difficult, if not impossible, to argue against the absolute truth of the Bible!
But this does not mean that people won't try!
Oh yes...they will!
Unfortunately, heresy abounds today!
It takes Holy Spirit lead, born-again, Jesus believing and loving followers who remain in the Berean mission (see Acts 17:11) in their study of God's Word to be thoroughly equipped in order to not fall into error, heresy or apostasy.
Gay christian movement watch describes one heretical movement that continues to spread lies. In doing so, the gcm adherents are guilty of endangering those who are trusting of such men who produce and spread heretical lies. Many who are in the pursuit of gaining salvation through the true, genuine, Gospel message of Jesus Christ are being led astray by the gay christian movement heretics.
In John MacArthur's "The Truth War," chapter five describes two types of heresies that began in Rome and became most troublesome false doctrines over the person of Christ. One was called "Sabellianism," and the other, "The Arians."
MacArthur:
Sabellius stressed the oneness of the Godhead to the extent of denying any meaningful distinctions between the members of the Trinity. He did not question the essential deity of Father, Son, or Holy Spirit. But he pointed to passages like Deuteronomy 6:4 ("Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!") and insisted that the unity of the Godhead rules out any possibility of three distinct person. Instead, Sabellius claimed, the three names all belong to one divine person, who simply manifests Himself at different times as different characters.
MacArthur goes on to describe such a belief as also being called "modalism." This view sees God as having three different "modes" of expression; transforming Himself from one of these manifestations to another consecutively, as if changing costumes.
I can think of several Bible verses that expose such heretical beliefs. One that stands out is:
Jhn 1:1 ¶ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Jhn 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
We know that Jesus Christ is called the Living Word of God. We can clearly see that he was (and is) WITH God. So, just this one verse exposes the error of Sebellius.
The second heresy was an even more significant threat to the very essence of gospel truth. Arianism was a frontal assault on the deity of Christ.
MacArthur:
The Arians flatly denied that Jesus is eternal God incarnate. They also fought obstinately for recognition as authentic Christians. So the conflict over Arianism literally became a fierce battle for the identity of the true church - and ultimately a war for the survival of Christianity itself.
MacArthur goes on to describe how Arius was very clever as he found crafty ways to popularize and spread his false teachings. Arius did admit that Jesus was more than a mere man. The trouble is, he also taught that Jesus was something less than fully God, labeling Him and "archangel." This resulted in downgrading Christ's full deity to a kind of quasi perfection; being and object worthy of worship, nearly God, but not quite.
MacArthur:
Careful nuancing of Arius' system allowed him to mask the seriousness of his error with orthodox-sounding words, and he became very skilled at it.
Later, MacArthur describes the reason that Arianism took hold so easily:
Unfortunately, a mood of ease and comfort had lulled many Christians in that generation into a state of blithe passivity about doctrine.
That deserves to be repeated:
Unfortunately, a mood of ease and comfort had lulled many Christians in that generation into a state of blithe passivity about doctrine.
See what happens when Christian believers refuse the utmost responsibility to be watchmen of God's Word?
In 325, the Council of Nicea ruled against him and excommunicated him. However, the controversy didn't die. Arius, unfortunately, gained visibility, sympathy, and influence when he was forced into the role of an underdog.
There was another rise of the heresy of Arianism after its initial defeat!
Get MacArthur's book if you would like to read all of the details. It is interesting to note the the final demise of Arianism happened eleven years later in 336!!
Now. Why am I sharing all of this? Because one of the new heresies in Christendom today is the gay christian movement. You might want to argue and state that this movement doesn't deny anything important, like Christ's deity, as was done in the heretical movements of the past (briefly described above). Well, that's not exactly true. Take a look at this post entitled Gay christian cleric rejects Christ's sacrifice as insane if you don't believe me!
After reading that post, can you still say that the gay christian movement poses no threat to true gospel doctrine?
The worldview of that homosexual "cleric" in that post proves what a dangerously slippery slope its adherents (and the heterosexual supporters of this movement!!) are currently on. Are we to stay silent on such issues and let them slide further down right into the pit of hell...pulling many others with them along the way? Or, are we to remain diligent as watchmen of the true gospel and expose such blatant heresy? I think we all know the answer to that question.
It won't be easy. It wasn't easy for the faithful clergy and people who opposed Sabellius and Arius, either. Remember, because so many Christians at that time were asleep at the wheel of doctrinal truth, a lot were swayed into false doctrine started by these charlatans. Don't let it happen to you, your loved ones, or your church!!
Among the wide variety of twisted Scriptures used to advance their cause, are two famous arguments posed by homosexual christian adherents.
The first one is described, and refuted quite well, by Neil in his post entitled, Favorite dish of liberal theologians and skeptics: Shellfish.
Pastor D.L. Foster expands upon the idea in his GCM WATCH blog post, "GCM film overcooks the shrimp theory.
The second most used excuse to spread homosexual christian "doctrine" is that those who adhere to, and spread, the Bible's warnings regarding the fact that homosexual behavior is sin, an abomination to God and needs to be repented (which means confessing and willfully turning away from the sin) are "haters."
This is exactly how compromise is being veiled as "love."
Utilizing “love” as a veil over their blatant compromise, allows the homosexual christian movement to make such outrageous claims.
Their error knows no bounds.
I am so grateful for blogs like GCM Watch, Neil’s blog, Camp on This, and many other TRUTH blogs that refuse to allow “compromise disguised as love” to skew God’s Word and the true gospel message.
What does this “love veil” of compromise do for the homosexual christian movement and other heretical churches?
The one common denominator is their lack of acknowledging and/or recognizing the need for repentance.
In the comment section of a post called "Exposed: Saints Are You Awake Yet?" at GCMWATCH, we read a perfect example of how gcm adherents try to use compromise veiled as "love."
David Sosa, on January 17th, 2008 at 10:05 am Said:
Gcmwatch, Love has restraints? What biblical passion is this? There is no sin greater than the other right? All sin is bad right? Did not Rahab Lie, in order to save Gods servents [sic] ? And was this not over looked and was she not blessed by God because of her heart condition?
I think we have to be careful with messages where WE, IMPERFECT human Beings start dictating How things should be in and out of congregations, and try using scriture [sic] as a way to keep people away.
Most homosexuals would tell you they didnt [sic] choose to be Gay, they were born that way. I dont [sic] argue with God and or his creation. If he feels it is wrong he will deal with them, I have the upmost [sic] faith he can handle that. WE dont [sic] need to intercede and try to do His Job. I will instead Follow Jesus example and Love all, Sick, young old, gay, straight and so on. Most people God chose to do his work were the most unlikely of people. Noah a drunk, Saul later Apostle Paul a Murderer, Rahab a prostitute, David a mere boy….I mean whos [sic] to say Gofd [sic] wont [sic] use a Gay to bring his message of course. And here we are doing a [sic] darndest to block that…I dont know yall!!!
There are many wonderful comments in the thread, but one recent commenter there posted a biblical and accurate refutation of Sosa's false allegations:
JulianofGod, on January 19th, 2008 at 1:45 am Said:
Sosa, all the people that you mentioned erred either before or after their encounters. Now this will be the same for both: They did not continue in their sin! All repented and all went on to do what was needed to for Israel and the Saints (in ref. to Paul). Furthermore, is it not loving to warn of the coming hell-fire and to do our best to help people from being engrossed by it? When Ezekiel spoke of the watchmen on the wall he said that were to warn the people. That warning wasn’t a silent wink to get someone’s attention. The watchmen blew their trumpets, shofars and yelled at the top of their lungs to get the people’s attention. Now, for those that were warned and prepared themselves and managed to live- they were grateful. But those who did nothing to ready themselves paid the price with their lives.
Christians are to be watchmen. Anything less is to ignore the scriptures which say “compel them to come in.” You might think you are being loving by not speaking against their sin and allowing them to make up their own mind, but it is only a sign of cowardice on your part. Fear. The fear of men, the fear of rejection, the fear of having someone ask a question that you cannot answer because you are not studied up. I preach Christ with compassion, but I also warn with fear. And remember, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. I really do hope you will take what I have said into consideration.
Absolutely excellent!
Pro 1:7 The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge: [but] fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Pro 9:10 The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy [is] understanding.
Do you, perhaps, disagree with Julian of God's reasons to warn those who ignore the need to repent because they wish to compromise the true gospel through a veil of "love"?
Then I suggest that you read 2 Peter 2 followed by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's commentary about those verses.
Here are key verses in 2 Peter 2 which are followed by part of the commentary from the above link:
2Pe 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2Pe 2:21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known [it], to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
2Pe 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog [is] turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
Commentary:
20. after they--the seducers "themselves" have escaped ( 2Pe 2:19 ; see on JF & B for Heb 6:4-6).
pollutions--which bring "corruption" ( 2Pe 2:19 ).
through--Greek, "in."
knowledge--Greek, "full and accurate knowledge."
the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ--solemnly expressing in full the great and gracious One from whom they fall.
latter end is worse . . . than the beginning--Peter remembers Christ's words. "Worse" stands opposed to "better" ( 2Pe 2:21 ).
21. the way of righteousness--"the way of truth" ( 2Pe 2:2 ). Christian doctrine, and "the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour."
turn--back again; so the Greek.
from the holy commandment--the Gospel which enjoins holiness; in opposition to their corruption. "Holy," not that it makes holy, but because it ought to be kept inviolate [TITTMANN].
delivered--once for all; admitting no turning back.
22. But--You need not wonder at the event; for dogs and swine they were before, and dogs and swine they will continue. They "scarcely" ( 2Pe 2:18 ) have escaped from their filthy folly, when they again are entangled in it. Then they seduce others who have in like manner "for a little time escaped from them that live in error" ( 2Pe 2:18 ). Peter often quoted Proverbs in his First Epistle ( 1Pe 1:7 2:17 4:8, 18 ); another proof that both Epistles come from the same writer.
Jamieson, Robert; A.R. Fausset; and David Brown. "The Second Epistle General of Peter." Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. Blue Letter Bible. 19 Feb 2000. 19 Jan 2008.
I am preparing to do a blog post about this topic concerning “compromise trumping over repentance” this weekend.
Don't allow those who would claim that you are a "hater," (simply because you share the biblical truth about such matters), to force you into silence. As the commenter named Julian of God wrote:
When Ezekiel spoke of the watchmen on the wall he said that were to warn the people. That warning wasn’t a silent wink to get someone’s attention. The watchmen blew their trumpets, shofars and yelled at the top of their lungs to get the people’s attention. Now, for those that were warned and prepared themselves and managed to live- they were grateful. But those who did nothing to ready themselves paid the price with their lives. Christians are to be watchmen. Anything less is to ignore the scriptures which say “compel them to come in.”
Compel them to come in!
Compel them to renounce the hidden things of shame!
Compel them to not walk in craftiness!
Compel them to not handle the word of God deceitfully!
As 2 Corinthians 4 exhorts us - "but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God."
2Cr 4:2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
2Cr 4:3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
2Cr 4:4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
2Cr 4:5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.
2Cr 4:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
HT's: GCM Watch
Eternity Matters
The Bereans Apologetics
Camp On This
Posts
3 comments:
It is interesting to note that as far as the Arian heresy went, in the end, the conflict between the parties at Nicea turned on a single word - or more precisely, just one small letter.
MacArthur:
"The orthodox bishops proposed a statement affirming that Christ and the Father are "of the same substance" - or homoousion in Greek. The Arians offered a compromise: they would affirm a statement declaring Christ and His Father homoiousion, or "of like substance." The difference between the two words is so small as to be almost imperceptible. It boiled down to one iota (the Greek letter correspoinding to an "i") in the middle of the word. But the whole doctrine of Christ's deity hinged on that letter."
I am reminded of Christ's words:
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Jesus himself reveals how important every single letter of God's Word and the Law are until heaven and earth pass.
Luk 16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Mar 13:31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
Luk 21:33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
When will heaven and earth pass away?
Rev 21:1 ¶ And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God.
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
What beautiful promises the Lord Jesus Christ has in store for us!
Christine, great post.
Some people have yet to see the magnitude of damage 'gay christianity' does to the church at large.
As a offspring of postmodernist ideology it has incorporated one of deadliest sinful traits: pride. The pride is not in one's new life but the celebration of sexual immorality. The CELEBRATION and unquestioning defense of sexual immorality. I find that shocking for ANY Christian to do. Yet is is standard, expected and a matter of practice with them.
Romans 1 is no fluke nor is it the ramblings of a 'homophobic' man with latent homosexual tendencies himself. The Apostle Paul was spiritually sickened at what he saw in the homosexual community of his day and he FORCEFULLY described it and by inspiration of the HOLY SPIRIT cited it as a singular example of all that is inherently evil nature of sin.
What's more, he directed it at those who claimed to 'know God', so he was not talking to "temple prostitutes as the gcm claims so often. They cannot see or refuse to see the obvious: the degrading picture painted in Romans 1 has their face on it.
The word cunning comes to mind when you thing of the gcm. Postmodernism is the perfect time for satan to reintroduce this heresy. The "thou shalt not judge" mantra is a major plank of postmodernist ideology. The movement is careful not to offend. Perfect covering for the gcm. They easily fit within the framework of the emergent church and other liberal slanted church organizations simply because they are "nonjudgemental". Thus they can gain credibility because their is no "plumbline". And...they have. As you noted, it is veiled intentional deceit) in the most powerful word in the bible: love. They have co-opted the word and like many others erased it biblical meaning and rewritten it so that it originates in their sin.
All concepts and precepts from the scripture which conflict with this have been summarily executed all the while loudly proclaiming to be "victims".
We have documented the horrible horrible spiritual theatrics of the gcm. Yet, people still think its just because we hate homosexuals, are homophobic, are obsessing over people's private sex lives, ad naseum. Stunning blindness.
The gcm has become the crown jewel of satan's plan to usurp authority in the church. That is no exaggeration, nor is it a statement out of any personal animus towards the people involved. It is simply a fact we have proved many times over.
Anyone who thinks there is a more important fight for the church is simply foolish. Even police know that arresting two bit drug dealers on the street is useless if the kingpin is still loose. The gcm has the potential (which they are aggressively capitalizing on) to destablize the church they way no other false movement has come close to.
You said it best: their error is boundless.
This is why we MUST with steely resolve warn, watch, pray and fight for the faith once delivered to the saints.
Thanks Christine for your insight and concern for Christ's church.
Thank you so much for your excellent and informative comment! I appreciate your added insight more than you could ever know!
Sometimes I sit here at my computer and wonder why these people cannot see what we are trying to convey to them. Why do they allow their error to be boundless?
I recently found some answers to that question.
In the first case, I was looking at definitions of the word "repentance." I found this, and it was an "ah HA!" moment for me:
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Repentance
There are three Greek words used in the New Testament to denote repentance. (1.) The verb _metamelomai_ is used of a change of mind, such as to produce regret or even remorse on account of sin, but not necessarily a change of heart. This word is used with reference to the repentance of Judas (Matt. 27:3).
(2.) Metanoeo, meaning to change one's mind and purpose, as the result of after knowledge. This verb, with (3) the cognate noun _metanoia_, is used of true repentance, a change of mind and purpose and life, to which remission of sin is promised. Evangelical repentance consists of (1) a true sense of one's own guilt and sinfulness; (2) an apprehension of God's mercy in Christ; (3) an actual hatred of sin (Ps. 119:128; Job 42:5, 6; 2 Cor. 7:10) and turning from it to God; and (4) a persistent endeavour after a holy life in a walking with God in the way of his commandments. The true penitent is conscious of guilt (Ps. 51:4, 9), of pollution (51:5, 7, 10), and of helplessness (51:11; 109:21, 22). Thus he apprehends himself to be just what God has always seen him to be and declares him to be. But repentance comprehends not only such a sense of sin, but also an apprehension of mercy, without which there can be no true repentance (Ps. 51:1; 130:4).
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
I could not help but notice the difference between the "Judas" type of repentance described in that definition vs. genuine repentance.
This is something that I have been attempting to communicate to all who would pridefully label themselves as "gay christians."
Even the fact that the term "gay" comes before the term "Christian" is an alarmingly dead giveaway as to the lack of depth in their repentance! They do not have the kind of repentance that leads "to which remission of sin is promised."
They may THINK they do, but they don't!!!
We see the definite, distinct difference in the definition of evangelical repentance:
Evangelical repentance consists of (1) a true sense of one's own guilt and sinfulness; (2) an apprehension of God's mercy in Christ; (3) an actual hatred of sin (Ps. 119:128; Job 42:5, 6; 2 Cor. 7:10) and turning from it to God; and (4) a persistent endeavour after a holy life in a walking with God in the way of his commandments. The true penitent is conscious of guilt (Ps. 51:4, 9), of pollution (51:5, 7, 10), and of helplessness (51:11; 109:21, 22).
The gay christian adherents may THINK they have #2 on that list (e.g. - (2) an apprehension of God's mercy in Christ); but in reality, they don't because they have willfully ignored all the rest of the criteria for true repentance!
I am planning on doing a more detailed post about genuine repentance and what that means. But even this brief synopsis proves that the efforts of your gcmWatch blog is so highly crucial in this day and age!! Rather than subject your Holy Spirit led and valiant efforts to scorn, these naysayers who post at gcmWatch should be so very grateful to you and your Truth Warrior blog Pastor D.L.!!!
This comment is becoming long!
However, I want to include your comment, my reply, and some additional information regarding the evil of false teaching in an upcoming blog post.
John MacArthur has an awesome chapter on this subject. He drives two very important points home. Here's a taste:
MacArthur:
Jude makes the main idea stand out as boldly as possible when he says the false teachers are marked out for condemnation. Here, in simple terms, is the whole point of the matter as Scripture lays it out for us: God will ultimately overthrow every wicked deed and every malicious intention of every evildoer. In the meantime, He is free to use every evil deed done by fallen creatures to bring about ultimate good. In fact, He does so without fail. But in no case does God ever do evil so that good may come.
MacArthur goes on to describe that God has zero tolerance for apostates. The threat posed by apostasy and false teaching is evidence of critical error. As believers, we are called to oppose it!
He also discusses the fact that many of these false teachers remain blinded to the truth...even when the shining light of absolute truth is shared with them! In other words, there are some who will never turn from their false teachings!
However, there is much hope in that true believers (who know Christ, are born-again, Holy Spirit led, Bible believing and following members of God's children) will work to help rescue those who might be badly influenced by the false teachers.
I will cover all of this in more detail in my post.
However, I will share this magnificent quote of truth:
The picture of Divine Sovereignty in Scripture is that God positively ordains whatsoever comes to pass. He always acts with a purpose. Even the wicked unwittingly do His bidding, and they thus fulfill His sovereign purpose in the end.
Now, there is a LOT of detail in the book about that quote, but suffice it say that we can see an example of this when we see the cross of Christ and how satan thought that Jesus' crucifixion was a victory for his evil intent. Instead, God turned that terribly awful act into the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ...for the salvation of man!!
MacArthur:
Even the most stubborn actions of the worst sinners turn out to be no actual impediment to the divine purpose. He simply employs them as tools to accomplish His will.
That, after all, is precisely what Scripture says happened at the cross - which was the worst atrocity ever carried out by the collective forces of evil. But in the hands of a sovereign God, it was also the greatest good ever accomplihed on behalf of sinners (Acts 2:23-24; 4:27-28).
Here are God's own words:
Isa 46:8 ¶ Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring [it] again to mind, O ye transgressors.
Isa 46:9 Remember the former things of old: for I [am] God, and [there is] none else; [I am] God, and [there is] none like me,
Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times [the things] that are not [yet] done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
Isa 46:11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken [it], I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed [it], I will also do it.
Isa 46:12 ¶ Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that [are] far from righteousness:
Isa 46:13 I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.
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