The "Emerging Church" Has Some Real Problems

I’ve been reading an excellent book by Thomas Horn (Blood on the Altar: The Coming War Between Christian vs. Christian). I sought further help on one of his subjects, the Emerging Church, online. So I internetted an interview between two giants in the faith:  John MacArthur (Author of 150 books, pastor, radio preacher, president of Master’s Seminary in Los Angeles) and Phil Johnson (Retired U.C.-Berkley law professor, father of the “intelligent design movement.”) They’re both in their 70's now, but their hands are on the pulse of the church—and they’re very, very concerned about the church’s faithfulness to Scripture. I thought I would focus on their concern and highlight part of their interview here.  
One of the biggest threats to God's church is, would you believe, a church movement called the “Emerging Church.” So let’s start by defining it. Wikipedia says: they are post-Protestant, post-evangelical, post-liberal, post-conservative, and post-charismatic. Further, the movement hates preaching; they believe instead on “conversation” with people. This is to emphasize its developing and decentralized nature, its vast range of standpoints, and its commitment to dialogue. VERY important note: There is no central doctrine. What those involved DO mostly agree on is their disillusionment with the institutional church--and they support the deconstruction of modern Christian worship. They believe, instead, that there are radically diverse perspectives within Christianity. They say they are creating a “safe” environment for those with opinions ordinarily rejected by modern conservative evangelism. They believe that non-critical interfaith dialogue is preferred over dogmatically-driven evangelism. The movement “went public” in November 2004, when they were spotlighted in an article in Christianity Today. (I'm not saying Christianity Today likes their stance). But they’ve been around since at least 1996.

The second way to get to know how the Emerging Church is turning fundamentals on their ear is by a few relevant quotes from their founding father, Brian McLaren. In a separate interview, after he "mistakenly" spoke of God in the male gender, he had this to confess: “This is as good a place as any to apologize for my use of masculine pronouns for God…I avoid (their) use because they can give the false impression…that the Christian God is a male deity.” On the subject of the atonement, Jesus’ sacrifice for us, he calls it a “violent view,” because it presents God as the “greatest existential threat to humanity.” On the return of Christ, a reader from Sweden asked: “If Jesus isn’t coming back…what about judgment or the resurrection?” His answer was psychobabble, but you can tell he's giving it a thumbs-down: “Jesus does say ‘I will come again.’…but I think it’s a mistake to assume that when he says those things, he means what we mean…with all our dispensationalist, premillennialist…or whatever categories. The hyperbolic imagery of the New Testament, moon turning to blood..etc. is political language, signaling the fall of powerful political luminaries. Also…Jesus didn’t come just to evacuate us from earth to a future heaven but to show us how to live and make this world more and more beautiful by following Jesus’ example which would eventually lead to God’s “kingdom come on earth.”

You can see the attack on foundational Scripture going on.

Another leader, Rob Bell, also attacks fundamental doctrine: he doesn’t believe Scripture was inerrant when he mentions his greatest discovery—“the Bible as a human product.” He also denied the reality of hell and promoted universalism (its definition: yay, everyone gets saved!) in his book Love Wins.**(see note below). In summarizing the movement’s view, he says “This is not just the same old message with new methods. We’re rediscovering Christianity as an Eastern religion…” Mr. McLaren agrees; he believes in inclusivism—that other religions lead to salvation. For instance, he does not think we should convert Buddhists to Christianity; we should make “Buddhists followers of Jesus.” (Buddhism is usually atheistic, so a “Buddhist Christian” is an oxymoron. Acts 4:12 doesn’t apply any more, I guess.)

Now that we’ve read a bit of this strange group, let’s let John MacArthur tell what he thinks. He’s smarter than me anyway.  He first distinguishes the emerging church movement from Modernism. Modernism was a product of the Enlightenment during the Renaissance in which they made human reason, not Scripture, the determinant of ethics.  He says “out of that came the worship of the human mind, and (in effect,they were saying), the mind trumps God.” The Emerging Church, on the other hand, is post-modernism…In both cases, they assault the Scripture. (This movement) is a denial of the clarity of Scripture....(supposedly) we can’t really know what the Bible says. Whether it’s about sin or virtue...they don’t like rules, so their ‘out’ is…(they say) “Well, it (Scripture) is not clear.” This is just another way to set the Bible aside.”

Scripture claims to be clear, however, and God holds us responsible: ”A wayfaring man though he be a fool need not err.” (Isaiah 35:8). Dr. MacArthur also charges their leaders that “the reason they deny Scripture (clarity is because) men loved darkness rather than light (John 3:19). The light is there, they hate the light, they run from the light. The issue is not that Scripture is not clear, it is crystal clear.” Dr. MacArthur charged them with running from the light because he believes they’re heretical—which he says later on in the interview.

I would like to take the topic of homosexuality to get a thorough example of their approach. I’m sure you know (unless your head is in the sand) that the homosexual agenda is that we should all tolerate, all agree with them, not finding anything morally wrong. Scripture, however, won’t let us do that. It’s condemned in Leviticus 18:22:

You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.

As Romans 1 points out, it is among the worst deviations that men come down to, after God “gave them up” in their insistence to defy Him.

Scripture is crystal clear on this subject, is it not? Not according to Emerging Church leader Mr. MacLaren who says: “Many of us don’t know what we should think about homosexuality. We’ve heard all sides but no position has yet won our confidence…that alienates us from both the liberals and conservatives who seem to know exactly what we should think…the biblical arguments are nuanced and multilayered, and the pastoral ramifications are staggeringly complex.” The phrase that sticks in my craw--"no position has yet won our confidence." Our judgment trumps God, evidently.

But Dr. MacArthur insists that the truth is clear; it’s bad for the practicing homosexual, but it’s still the truth. He says, “the truth is what I will defend. It’s not personal. I’m not mad at people. I’m not trying to protect my own little space. That doesn’t make me popular in all circles, it creates just the opposite.” He maintains that it’s impossible for Christians to agree with the latest world's view: “there is no possible accommodation …Christianity would have to be reinvented to accommodate itself to any pattern of (worldly) culture thinking.”

But Brian McLaren, a founding father of the Emerging movement doesn’t believe MacArthur has good motives. He was asked again where he stands on the homosexuality issue in Leadership Journal in January 2006 (Leadership Journal is also produced by Christianity Today). His answer was anything but crystal, since he switched the subject to attacking motives of the questioners instead. He first accuses conservative Christians of, quote, “wanting to be sure that we conform to what I call “radio-orthodoxy,”(a slam on radio preacher MacArthur and others), i.e. the religio-political priorities mandated by many big-name religious broadcasters.” After spreading this bit of slander, he says “I hesitate in answering the homosexual question…there is more to answering a question than being right or even honest…we must understand the question beneath the question…we want to be sure our answers are appropriate to the need of the moment…We fear that the whole issue has been manipulated…by political parties…whatever we say gets sucked into a vortex of politicized culture-wars rhetoric...  I know what you guys' motives are, and I condemn them." (If their motives are to defend Scripture, that's reprehensible, I guess). He's unconvinced that God has enough love in Scripture to be appropriate "for the moment." (There is a warning to Christians here, too: Pay less attention to depending on political parties to maintain Christianity. He has a paranoia about that, some of it justified).

Really, a big question he touched on is, how do you evangelize the homosexual? They hate the church, feeling condemned if they just enter a conservative one. So they never attend. They avoid us; if we approach them, they may push us away, since we're already stereotypes to them. So we do not know them, unless they're family. The Emerging Church has decided to, as Dr. MacArthur says, capture these ignored people by “sanctifying the culture. But the Bible doesn’t adapt to culture. It confronts culture. The Emerging Church, on the other hand, not only is unwilling to believe the clear statement of Scripture, but it wants to let the culture define what Christianity should be…whatever the current sin that needs to be tolerated in the culture is, they’ll buy into.”

Dr. MacArthur then talks again about big movements in history. He summarizes Pre-modernism: “there is truth and it comes from God, it has a supernatural source…men believed in God or they believed in the gods.” Modernism (which I’m figuring covers 1750-2000), he says, summarizes as: “there is truth and we can find it by human reason…not revelation from God, not the Bible, but human reason.” But Modernism wasn’t a good idea in practice: “the world got worse than it has ever been…the totalitarian world…fascism, Nazism, Communism, and the massacre of millions and millions of people in the name of human reason.” (The Lutherans didn’t have any trouble grabbing a gun to obey Hitler). Getting up-to-date, he says: “Now the idea of post-modernism says, “We give up. There may be truth, but we can’t know it. It may be from God, but we can’t know…so we embrace mystery…you have your truth, I have my truth…truth is whatever you think it is, whatever you want it to be, it’s intuitive, it’s experiential..but it’s not universal and it’s not knowable, universally knowable.” Mr. Johnson, the interviewer, responds, “That’s why these days the highest values, the sole-remaining virtues, are things like tolerance, ambiguity, mystery..” (To me, this “mystery kick” opens the door to searching in the occult; people still want plain answers to life's issues, which they're not getting in this psychobabble.) Dr. MacArthur says, “Oh, Brian McLaren says ambiguity is really a good thing (Mr. McLaren has been quoted as saying, ”Certainty is overrated”)...it gives people a license to invent their own religion, really…no one is permitted to challenge it…it is wonderful if you want to sin without any guilt. And I think that’s at the bottom of this…they hate the light because their deeds are evil.”

He also charges, “It’s not a theology; (they say they) don’t teach…and the word “sermon” scares them… no, we want to have a conversation. But the only part of the conversation they don’t like is when you say, ”That’s wrong. That’s sinful.” So their conversation...never has an objective…that’s another way to negate the Word of God. You can deny that it’s from God. But don’t tell me God has spoken but He mumbled. The worst thing we could do would be to soften the edges of what really is clear in Scripture.” (They claim) “the Bible is irrelevant, you can’t stand up for an hour and exposit the Word of God, you’ve got to tell them stories… To quote one of their leaders, “The bible (small “b” is their idea) is no longer a principal source of morality as a rulebook. The meaning of the Good Samaritan is more important than the Ten Commandments —even assuming the latter could be remembered in any detail by anyone…” A bit of sarcasm on the Ten Commandments there. These guys should work for the government, the way they diss true religion. By the way, some of the most revealing McLaren quotes are on this website: http://carm.org/brian-mclaren-quotes-ignorance-bliss-theology.

Dr. MacArthur feels that (they should say) “since we don’t know what it means, why would we teach?  Nobody has a right to impose on anybody else their ideas.” They take a sort of reverse humility in confessing their ignorance. To turn truth on its head, they believe that if someone claims to know what Scripture means, they have committed an act of pride. “It is an attack on the clarity of Scripture and they elevate themselves as if this is some noble reality…which they call humility…(it’s) a celebration of ignorance.”

They also have this feature: “They’re really, really aggressive at tearing down the church, tearing down historic theology...that have been a part of the church’s life for centuries…that’s the lowest level of assault there is. Anybody can shred and destroy without having to build something back in its place…(they) just shred what people believe and walk away, leaving chaos everywhere…the egotism of it is pretty frightening. And the church is filled with people who have no foundation.”

He gives a few words of warning to those looking for a church home: "I don’t think a person should go to a church that isn’t answerable to a doctrinal statement…(if you do), you need to get out of there because you’re at the whim of a guy who can invent anything he wants any time. This entrepreneurial approach to the church is a very serious breach…" (There) “may be Christians who are seduced by this; in their ignorance they are the children tossed to and fro, carried about by every blowing wind of doctrine.” (Ephesians 4:14). Mr. Johnson, the interviewer, says: “And every man does what’s right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6). Dr. MacArthur maintains that young people from a denominational church that often lacks life and fails to exposit Scripture, these are the likely victims of this movement: “I don’t think it’s nearly as appealing to the non-churched people as to the marginally churched young people…they are reacting to the superficiality and…the legalism of (their church).”

Dr. MacArthur speaks again to the clarity of Scripture. (Jesus) “says things to them in His day like this, ‘Have you not read? Have you not heard what Scripture says?’ He didn’t say to them, “Oh, look, I know why you’re having a tough time with Me, because the Old Testament is so hard to understand.” Then he brings up the example of the Gentiles, who were totally ignorant of the Old Testament…”Paul (assumes they are smart as he) builds these massive cases of understanding the Christian gospel based on the sacrificial system from the Old Testament…to come along and say that the Bible is not clear is then to accuse God, and (accusing) the Scripture itself of claiming something for itself that it can’t deliver. (Charging God like that is) pretty serious.”

**Note: Mars Hill Churches was the focus of the Emerging movement.  But Rob Bell was removed as senior pastor of his Mars Hill church in Michigan four years ago. Their current senior pastor says the church lost 1000 members through his quotes and what was revealed in the book Love Wins. Mark Driscoll was removed from a separate Mars Hill pastorate in October 2014. The reason given was that "he was running an intimidating and hostile workplace." It was also revealed that church money was used to pump up his book sales so he could make the NY Times Bestseller List.
The Mars Hill Corporation is dissolving; they still have money left over that was supposed to go to Ethiopia and India to help the poor that was never sent. But there are still many, many churches that still run on these philosophies.

Acknowledgement: Thomas Horn, Blood on the Altar
Christianity Today

Are the Christian God and Allah the Muslim god the Same? Their Scriptures RevealTheir Characters

Islam is touted as being a peaceful religion.  But 450 out of 452 suicide attacks in 2015 were carried out by Muslims.  The god of Muhammad, Allah, is lately touted as being the same god as the Christian God.  But that is not the case, as I will show clearly. After I talk about Muhammad, I will compare their god with Our God—and ask you:  Which is worthy of worship?

Let’s start with the life of Muhammad, the one who brought us the religion.  He was born in 570 AD.  Orphaned as a small child, he lived mostly with his uncle.  As an adult, he had physical disorders, and spent much time alone.  At age 40, the angel “Gabreel” visited him and dictated the Quran, so he began proselytizing.  Believing Middle Easterners, who were called Muslims, considered him the last of God’s prophets.  Followers recorded his statements, called the Hadiths.  The Hadiths were the basis for sharia law.  He became involved in bloody military campaigns, by which he unified the Saudi peninsula and converted people to Islam, all at the point of the sword.  He died, presumably, in 632 AD. 

That’s the bland treatment.  Now let’s get to the real facts.  Muhammad was born four years after his named father died.  But this actually happened, Muslim “scholars” say, because the time of pregnancy can be six months to five years.  A bizarre effort to make him legitimate. The Mufti of Egypt stated that a woman can be pregnant four years.  Muhammad’s parents were idol-worshipers.  When Muhammad was in his mother’s womb, she says that “light came out of me.”  Muhammad asked Allah, the name of his god, to forgive his mother, when she died. But he says Allah refused.  So Muhammad asserts that his mother is in hell.  The real problem is, she didn’t believe in him.  Muhammad did not prophesy a single future event, so he was not a prophet.  The Quran, which was supposedly  dictated from an angel, is filled with errors and hatred. We will focus on it. The Hadiths, Muhammad's statements, had even more egregious errors, as we will show in the few that we use.  Muhammad had epileptic fits beginning at age five.  He was a shepherd and merchant.  He had at least 13 wives and numerous concubines--though the Quran “limits” the proper wife count to four total (it doesn’t limit concubines, by the way).  The purpose of one of his marriages was for her to watch over his third and favorite wife, Aisha, whom he married when she was six years old! He was 51 at the time of that marriage!

Thus, Muhammad was a pedophile—or a child molester, a sex offender.  Whichever you want to call him.  Muslim scholars say, he did not penetrate her until she was nine, so he was admirably “self-controlled.”  Muslims also say that Saudi Arabia, with high climatic temperatures, mature girls at an earlier age, so she didn't really think like a nine-year-old.  Right.  The Quran backs up early marriage.  In sura 65:4, to determine if a girl or woman is pregnant, regarding stopped menstruation, it says  “…if you doubt, the prescribed waiting time is three months,  as well as for those who have not yet begun menstruation.”  So the Quran permitted marriage and pregnancy for child brides.  Muhammad also married his son’s wife after their divorce.  In another wife, Muhammad killed her father, brother, and Jewish husband.  Then he took her as wife and had sex with her the same night after he murdered her family.  Terrible!  

Muhammad repeatedly committed the sin of adultery with Mary, a Coptic woman (a sect of Christianity).  In all reality, since he was considered a great prophet, the Quran gave him a total pass on his lust.  In sura 33:50:  “A believing woman, if she gives herself to the prophet, if the prophet desires to have sex with her, this is a privilege (for her, whether she agrees or not)…that there be no shame  on your (ed., the woman's) part.  And Allah was forgiving, merciful.”  Thus, she can be single or married, it didn’t matter, if you had sex with a great prophet like the lustful Muhammad, you're supposed to appreciate it.    

Keep in mind that Muslim scholars, who insisted in their later English “translations” (or “re-translations”) of the Quran, that in his lust for single women, they modified the wording to presume his marriage to them came first.  Don’t believe them.

Another interesting case was how Muhammad proved his prophethood, when he was “visited” by the angel Gabreel.  He was, as is often the case, spending time in solitary, a cave, but ran out and to his wife, scared of a spirit he saw, convinced it was a demon.  She told him to sit on her thighs, and asked, three times, “Do you see the spirit now?”  He answered “Yes.”   Then she uncovered and exposed herself, and asked it again.  This time the answer was “No.”   She concluded it was an angel and not a demon, because angels would not be in the presence of uncovered women.  Not considered was the distinct probability that it was indeed a demon, who knew enough to disappear at the right time.  In any event, the words given to him by that “angel,” Gabreel,  supposedly began dictating the Quran--an auspicious beginning for the holy document.  

His first 13 years of preaching the message in Mecca was a failure. That’s because he used a peaceful method to present it.  He had 72 followers at the end.  Most of his Arab neighbors, tired of his proselytizing, began to torment him. So he and his few followers had to move to Medina.   He then killed the Jewish inhabitants of Medina.  But first, a Jewish man offered to give Muhammad the entire city and all their money if he would allow the men to walk out with their wives and children.  And they would leave their weapons behind.  The “peaceful” prophet refused.  The boys and men were all decapitated, about 700, their bodies buried in a trench, and the women became concubines.   But first they were forced to walk through the corpses. Another auspicious beginning--this time, for his first missionary journey.

He now wrote a new sura in the Quran.  Gabreel now separately “told” him that Allah gave him permission to engage in war per sura 22:39:  “Permission is given to those who engage in war because they were wronged, and surely Allah is capable of helping them.”  Well, he was wronged, because they didn't believe him.  He persuaded more people from Mecca to move to Medina, and thus increased his followers.  (Might makes right, as they say. Some Jews left alive in Medina believed in him because he bribed them, or they were in fear for their lives).  Shortly after that, Allah also legalized jihad—war with non-believers, and forced conversion.  For the greater good, no doubt.

As he recognized his talent for killing, he began forming an army and raided local Arab villages, especially the rich people’s homes, and raided caravans--all for the booty and for the kill.  Now the language of the Quran, still coming from Gabreel, became more violent and harsh.  He claimed 20% of all spoils from such raids, per the Quran’s sura 8:41: “And know that whatever you take of spoil…a fifth part to Allah and to the messenger (that would be him).”

Finally Muhammad died at the age of 62, presumably, after sweeping all over Arabia.  He was poisoned—Muslims believed it was from a Jewish lady.  But obviously he had his share of enemies.  Most of his followers immediately left the religion.  But a few of his most dedicated followers “persuaded” them back so they could continue. 

Enough of his high-character life.  Now let’s show what the Quran teaches.  I have to mention, first, its doctrine of abrogation.  The Quran bluntly points out, in 6:34, that it is perfect and can’t be changed:  “no one can change the words of Allah.”  But later they found a need to change some things, so, eureka, we have sura 2:106:  “Whatever verse we abrogate, or cause it to be forgotten, we bring a better than it or like it.  Do you not know that Allah has might over all things?”  Now the big question is, How many portions of the perfect Quran contain abrogation (or, have been changed)?   The answer is, 71 suras are so affected—but there are only 114 in all.  These are serious changes;  for instance, sura 9:5, called The Verse of the Sword, abrogates 124 verses that spoke softly about other religions and other people—such as being decent to the People of the Book ("the Book" is the Bible, so this speaks to Christians.)  So evidently he weakened, wrote some tolerant verses—but these were negated, or abrogated, by “the Sword” suras.  A little history on that.  When he was way outnumbered by his enemies in Mecca, when he was a minority religion, when he was even afraid of Allah, who could be a demon, he originally softened his tune—he praised his enemies’ gods intentionally, flattering them that he was their friend—so they wouldn’t kill him.  At this time he wrote nice things about other religions in the Quran.  But when his numbers acquired strength, he decided that those decent verses in the Quran must have been dictated to him by Satan.  Thus they had to be abrogated—en masse.  As my favorite author/resource says, “When they (Muslims) are weak in a land, they lie and deceive the people…by stating that they also believe in Jesus…until they have the upper hand.  Then is when they will practice the hate of those Quran verses.”  As sura 47:35 says, “So do not be weak and do not call for peace when you have the upper hand.  And Allah is with you.”

Let’s do a comparison:  What does our Scripture say about our God vs what does the Quran say about Allah, their god?  Are they the same?  Let’s start with the Christian God.

The Christian God is a Trinity—Three-In-One

Just a few verses of proof:  Mark 12:29:

Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Matthew 28:19: 

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

II Corinthians 13:14:

 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

See also Matthew 3:16-17, I Corinthians 12:4-6, I Peter 1:2, Jude 1:20, and Ephesians 4:4-6.  So, God is One—but He has three persons.  This concept, impossible to describe, must be taken by faith—according to His Word.  It was hashed over in the Council of Nicea in 325 AD, by the greatest minds who knew their Bibles, so far be it for us or Muslims to question His Word. 

Jesus is the only Son of God.  Yet He was in God, and was God

Isaiah 9:6: 

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

John 1:1-3, 14:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made…. ¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 14:7,9,10:

“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him”…He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?

See also Romans 9:5, Philippians 2:5-11, Colossians 1;16, 2:9, Titus 2:13, Hebrews 1:8, and II Peter 1:1.  Again, a difficult concept—but the Word says it. 

God loves us, is merciful and forgiving, hates to see anyone in hell—but must judge us and our rejection of Him

John 3:16: 

God so loved the world, that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Exodus 34:6-7:

And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, ⁷ keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

II Peter 3:9:

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Jesus (God on earth) prophesied, healed, had compassion, warned the hypocrites of hell, died for us, and rose again from the dead

His compassion and healing:  The verses here are too many to count, and are well known. I can’t resist giving you one, the raising of Lazarus from the dead. John 11:32-43

Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³ Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. ³⁴ And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Jesus wept. ³⁶ Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” ³⁷ And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?” ⁸ Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying…^{. 43} Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 

Jesus predicted he would be betrayed, who His betrayer was, and Peter’s denial.

Mark 10:33:

“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles;

Matthew 26:23, 25, 26

He answered and said, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. .. ²⁵ Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?” He said to him, “You have said it.”

Mark 14:29-30, 71-72

 ²⁹ Peter said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.” ³⁰ Jesus said to him,  “Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.”…. (Later)Then he (Peter, under pressure) began to curse and swear, “I do not know this Man of whom you speak!”  ⁷² A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And when he thought about it, he wept.

Jesus predicts His crucifixion and the exact date of His resurrection from the dead

Matthew 20:18-19

“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, ¹⁹ and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.”

As He said, He rose from the dead, Matthew 28:1-6, John 20:19-21

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door,^[a] and sat on it. ³ His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. ⁴ And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay….Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled,^[c] for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.²¹ So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 

Now let’s look at the god Allah.  After you compare them, you will be asked, “Which do you think is more worthy of worship?”

Allah had no “female partner” so he had no son.  He called those who believe in the Trinity of God “polytheists.”  They say, Christian trinity worships the Father, the Son, and Mary

4:48 …Whoso ascribeth partners to Allah, he hath indeed invented a tremendous sin.

6:100 Yet they ascribe as partners unto Him the jinn, although He did create them (the "jinn") and they impute falsely, without knowledge, sons and daughters unto Him. (Jinn, from folklore, are ugly demons who give power to those who have the power to call upon them.  We supposedly ascribe these as female partners to Allah).

5:17 They indeed have disbelieved who say: Lo! Allah (which we "falsely" name Him Jesus) is the Messiah, son of Mary. (We should) say: Who then can do aught against Allah, if He had willed to destroy the Messiah son of Mary, and his mother and everyone on earth?

5:75 The Messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger, messengers (the like of whom) had passed away before him

Allah has no mercy, is uncaring, unforgiving, capricious

2:10 In their hearts is a disease, and Allah increases their disease. A painful doom is theirs since they lie.

2:15 Allah (Himself) doth mock them, leaving them to wander blindly 

2:17-18 Allah taketh away their light and leaveth them in darkness, where they cannot see, Deaf, dumb and blind; and they return not.

4:88 Seek ye to guide him whom Allah hath sent astray? He whom Allah sendeth astray, for him thou (O Muhammad) canst not find a road

13:14 The prayer of disbelievers goeth (far) astray.

14:19 If He will, He can remove you and bring (in) some new creation;

3:128 It is no concern at all of thee (Muhammad) whether He relent toward them or punish them

4:119 And surely I will lead them astray, and surely I will arouse desires in them…

2:142 Unto Allah belong the East and the West. He guideth whom He will unto a straight path.

4:168-9 Those who disbelieve and deal in wrong, Allah will never forgive them, neither will He guide them unto a road, Except the road of hell, wherein they will abide for ever. And that is ever easy for Allah.

5:41 He whom Allah doometh unto sin, thou (by thine efforts) wilt avail him naught against Allah. Those are they for whom the Will of Allah is that He cleanse not their hearts. Theirs in the world will be ignominy, and in the Hereafter an awful doom

6:25 Of them are some who listen unto thee, but We have placed upon their hearts veils, lest they should understand, and in their ears a deafness. 

6:149 …Had He willed He could indeed have guided all of you.

7:164 Why preach ye to a folk whom Allah is about to destroy or punish with an awful doom,

7:178 He whom Allah leadeth, he indeed is led aright, while he whom Allah sendeth astray - they indeed are losers

9:113 It is not for the Prophet, and those who believe, to pray for the forgiveness of idolaters even though they may be near of kin after it hath become clear that they are people of hell-fire.

10:100 It is not for any soul to believe save by the permission of Allah

23:27 (Noah)…plead not with Me on behalf of those who have done wrong. Lo! they will be drowned ..

32:13 I will fill hell with the jinn and mankind together

66:2 Allah hath made lawful for you (Muslims) absolution from your oaths (do Muslims make good citizens in court?)

17:72 Whoso is blind here will be blind in the Hereafter, and yet further from the road

Allah is a misogynist (a woman-hater)

2:222 They question thee (O Muhammad) concerning menstruation. Say: It is an illness, so let women alone at such times

2:223 Your women are a tilth for you (a plowed field) so go to your tilth as ye will (plow them as ye will)

2:228 And they (women) have rights similar to those (of men) over them in kindness, (but) men are a degree above them

 2:283 And call two witness from among your men, two witnesses. And if two men be not at hand, then a man and two women (e.g., their witness is worth half that of a man).

4:3 …marry of the women, who seem good to you, two or three or four

4:11 Allah chargeth you concerning (the provision for) your children: to the male the equivalent of the portion of two females

4:15 As for those of your women who are guilty of lewdness, call to witness four of you against them…then confine them to the houses until death (it didn’t take much for the women to be accused of “lewdness;” showing her face, or part of a leg, etc)

4:24 And all married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hands possess. 

4:34 Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient…As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them.

4:43 And if ye have touched women, and ye find not water, then go to high clean soil and rub your faces and your hands (therewith). Lo! Allah is Benign, Forgiving. I.e., dirt is cleaner than a woman.

53:27 It is those who disbelieve in the Hereafter who name the angels with the names of females

66:10 the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot, who were under two of Our righteous slaves yet betrayed them and it was said (unto them): Enter the Fire along with those who enter (but there was no proof of their “betrayal;” just Allah’s lies against women).

Allah loves war and recommends hatred and killing of non-Muslims

4:74 Let those fight in the way of Allah who sell the life of this world for the other. Whoso fighteth in the way of Allah, be he slain or be he victorious, on him We shall bestow a vast reward.

4:77 Hast thou not seen those unto whom it was said: Withhold your hands… but when fighting was prescribed for them behold! a party of them fear mankind even as their fear of Allah or with greater fear, and say: Our Lord! Why hast Thou ordained fighting for us

3:110 Ye (Muslims) are the best community that hath been raised up for mankind. Ye enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency; and ye believe in Allah. And if the People of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) had believed it had been better for them. Some of them are believers; but most of them are evil-livers.

3:118 O ye who believe! Take not for intimates others than your own folk, who would spare no pains to ruin you; they love to hamper you. Hatred is revealed by (the utterance of) their mouths

2:109 Many of the people of the Scripture long to make you disbelievers after your belief… Forgive and be indulgent (toward them) until Allah give command (uh, command to do what?)

2:191 And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out…Such is the reward of disbelievers.

2:216 Warfare is ordained for you

4:60,62 Hast thou not seen those who pretend that they believe in that which is revealed unto thee…How would it be if a misfortune smote them because of that which their own hands have sent before (them)? Then would they come unto thee, swearing by Allah that they were seeking naught but harmony and kindness.

4:89 …So choose not friends from them till they forsake their homes in the way of Allah; if they turn back (to enmity) then take them and kill them wherever ye find them

4:91 If they keep not aloof from you nor offer you peace (i.e., if they are not surrendering)… then take them and kill them wherever ye find them. Against such We have given you clear warrant.

8:39 And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is all for Allah 

8:65 O Prophet! Exhort the believers to fight…they shall overcome those who disbelieve, because they are a folk without intelligence.

9:33 He it is Who hath sent His messenger with the guidance and the Religion of Truth, that He may cause it to prevail over all religion, however much the idolaters may be averse.

9:73 O Prophet! Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites! Be harsh with them.

28:86 never be a helper to the disbelievers.

9:111 Allah hath bought from the believers their lives and their wealth because the Garden (heaven) will be theirs: they shall fight in the way of Allah and shall slay and be slain.

Allah hates Jews and Christians

2:63a, 65 And remember, O Children of Israel…ye know of those of you who broke the Sabbath, how We said unto them: Be ye apes, despised and hated!

2:96 And thou wilt find them (the Jews) greediest of mankind for life and (greedier) than the idolaters. (Each) one of them would like to be allowed to live a thousand years. And to live (a thousand years) would be no means remove him from the doom. 

5:12-13 Allah made a covenant of old with the Children of Israel.  And because of their breaking their covenant, We have cursed them and made hard their hearts.. Thou wilt not cease to discover treachery from all save a few of them

5:51 O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends

5:59 Say: O People of the Scripture! (Jews and Christians)...most of you are evil-livers 

5:60,63  Allah hath turned some to apes and swine…Why do not the rabbis and the priests forbid their evil-speaking and their devouring of illicit gain ?

62:5 The likeness of those who are entrusted with the Law of Moses, yet apply it not, is as the likeness of the ass carrying books. 

9:30 And the Jews say: Ezra is the son of Allah.  How perverse are they! (No proof of the “Ezra” charge).

Allah is a sadist

4:56 Lo! Those who disbelieve Our revelations, We shall expose them to the Fire. As often as their skins are consumed We shall exchange them for fresh skins that they may taste the torment.

5:33 The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off

5:38 As for the thief, both male and female, cut off their hands. 

6:70…For them is drink of boiling water and a painful doom, because they disbelieved.

6:137 Thus …killing of their children seems fair unto many of the idolaters, that they may ruin them and make their faith obscure for them. Had Allah willed (it otherwise), they had not done so. So leave them alone with their devices.

7:44 And the dwellers of the Garden (heaven) cry unto the dwellers of the Fire: We have found that which our Lord promised us (to be) the Truth. Have ye (too) found that which your Lord promised the Truth? (Thus, those in heaven will mock in glee the misfortune of those in hell).

8:12 I will throw fear into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Then smite the necks (i.e., decapitate) and smite of them each finger.

8:37 The wicked will He place piece upon piece, and heap them all together, and consign them unto hell. 

8:50 If thou couldst see how the angels receive those who disbelieve, smiting faces and their backs and (saying): Taste the punishment of burning!

17:58 There is not a township but We shall destroy it ere the Day of Resurrection

18:29 We have prepared for disbelievers Fire. Its tent encloseth them. If they ask for showers, they will be showered with water like to molten lead which burneth the faces

19:74 How many a generation have We destroyed before them, who were more imposing in respect of gear and outward seeming! (Allah doing his bragging).

21:15 And this their crying ceased not till We made them as reaped corn, extinct.

21:39 If those who disbelieved but knew the time when they will not be able to drive off the fire from their faces and from their backs, and they will not be helped!

22:19-22 But as for those who disbelieve, garments of fire will be cut out for them; boiling fluid will be poured down on their heads Whereby that which is in their bellies, and their skins too, will be melted And for them are hooked rods of iron Whenever, in their anguish, they would go forth from thence they are driven back therein and (it is said unto them): Taste the doom of burning

24:2 The adulterer and the adulteress, scourge ye each one of them (with) a hundred stripes. And let not pity for the twain withhold you from obedience to Allah, if ye believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a party of believers witness their punishment.

47:23 Such are they whom Allah curseth so that He deafeneth them and maketh blind their eyes.

50:30 On the day when We say unto hell: Art thou filled ? and it saith: Can there be more to come ?

113:1-4 Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the Daybreak From the evil of that which He created From the evil of the darkness when it is intense And from the evil of malignant witchcraft (Muhammad must have dealt with spirits at night).

70:15-16 lo! It is the fire of hell Eager to roast

74:56 And they will not heed unless Allah willeth (it). He is the fount of fear

102:6,8 For ye will behold hell-fire. Then, on that day, ye will be asked concerning pleasure

Allah makes errors, many absurdities

Hadith (statement of Muhammad):  Muhammad said, "All children of Adam are poked on their sides before they were born, except Isa, son of Mary; when Satan went to poke him, he poked Mary’s hymen.” (PS: Isa, their name of Jesus, has no meaning in Hebrew).

66:12 (original--since abrogated):  Mary, the daughter of Amran (perhaps they mean Miriam,  who lived 1500 years earlier, who was the daughter of AmraM, see note below; Mary was the daughter of Heli)...to continue the story..."who guarded her sexual parts, so we breathed into it (the vagina) from our spirit (to create Jesus, or “Isa”).

23:14 (original):  Then we created the nutfah into a clot…the clot into a piece of flesh…piece of flesh into bones…clothed the bones with flesh.”  Hadiths claimed these 4 stages of “embryonic development” took 40 days each, thus a typical pregnancy would last a little over 5 months!  (But wait--didn't they say, 4-5 years?)

86:5-7 (original):  So let the human look to what he was created from….(nutfah comes) from gushing water, it comes out from the backbones and the breasts (but females don’t produce any fluid from breasts for the purpose of conception…and male sperm does not come from the backbone--despite what Allah is saying)

Hadith:  When Isa knocked at the door and heard the noises inside the house, the parents lied and told him that the children were not home and that the noise was the voices of pigs and monkeys. Then Isa said, “O, Allah, may they be.”  And the children were transformed into pigs and monkeys.

Hadith:  The angel Gabreel (or Gabreel and Mika’il) helped Isa have victory over Satan by slapping him with their wings.

Hadith (on Isa’s return):  …he will descend from heaven, break the cross, kill the pig, and establish the tribute tax.  He will end religions except for Allah. 

2:34 And when We said unto the angels: Prostrate yourselves before Adam, they fell prostrate, all save Iblis. He demurred through pride, and so became a disbeliever. (But...only God is to be worshipped; He would never command angels to worship man.  And who is Iblis?)

25:54 And He it is Who hath created man from water (No, wait..) 6:2 He it is Who hath created you from clay (No, wait…) 3:59 He created him of dust (No, wait…) 16:4 He hath created man from a drop of fluid (No, darn it, wait…) 96:2 Createth man from a clot.(Yes, Allah is sure this time…man was created from a…clot!)

2:247-8 Their Prophet said unto them: Lo! Allah hath raised up Saul to be a king for you… And their Prophet said unto them: Lo! the token of his kingdom is that there shall come unto you the ark …which the house of Moses and the house of Aaron left behind, the angels bearing it (how strange is this fable!)

3:85 And whoso seeketh as religion other than the Surrender (to Allah) it will not be accepted from him (or was it…) 2:256 There is no compulsion in religion (this is the most ignored sura of all).

2:106 Nothing of our revelation (even a single verse) do we abrogate or cause be forgotten,  BUT we bring (in place) one better or the like thereof. (Well, which is it?  Is it…10:64 There is no changing the Words of Allah (or is it…) 16:101 And when We put a revelation in place of (another) revelation, - and Allah knoweth best what He revealeth - they say: Lo! thou art but inventing. Most of them know not.  (How can you be so stupid to doubt this—latest invention?)

3:7 He it is Who hath revealed unto thee (Muhammad) the Scripture wherein are clear revelations..and others (which are) allegorical. But those in whose hearts is doubt…by seeking to explain it. None knoweth its explanation save Allah (in other words, Don’t try to understand the Quran).

4:157 And because of their saying: We slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, Allah's messenger - they slew him not nor crucified him, but it appeared so unto them (they not only degrade Jesus to a prophet less than Muhammad, but now they’re implying, He was never crucified—hadiths say, by the way, another who looked like Him was substituted…Right.)

5:111 And when I inspired the disciples, (saying): Believe in Me and in My messenger, they said: We believe. Bear witness that we have surrendered (unto Thee) "we are muslims" (Yes, Islam claims that all the way from Adam through Jesus and His disciples, they bent the knee to Allah).

6:38 There is not an animal in the earth, nor a flying creature flying on two wings, but they are peoples like unto you

21:33  the sun and the moon. They float, each in an orbit (they’re saying, sun orbits around the earth along with moon).

13:3 And He it is Who spread out the earth (probably says the earth is flat).

19:28 O sister of Aaron! (speaking of Mary, mother of Jesus—who lived 1500 years later than her “brother,” Aaron.  Muhammad, or Allah, confused her with Miriam.)

19:29-30 They said: How can we talk to one who is in the cradle, a young boy? He spake: Lo! I am the slave of Allah. He hath given me the Scripture and hath appointed me a Prophet (Jesus spoke from the cradle and proclaimed his Muslimhood).

20:71 (Pharaoh) said: I shall crucify you on the trunks of palm trees (but crucifixion was invented by the Romans; Pharaoh knew nothing about it in this time period).

38:41-42 Our bondman Job, when he cried unto his Lord (And it was said unto him): Strike the ground with thy foot. This (spring) is a cool bath and a refreshing drink (mixing two Bible stories into one).

39:53 Allah, Who forgiveth all sins. (Not the case.  Verses like this are thrown in as proof texts for missionaries to proselytize).

42:30 Whatever of misfortune striketh you, it is what your right hands have earned (So misfortune is your fault.  Thank God, you can avoid a lot of grief by reading the Bible on this subject).

54:1 The hour drew nigh and the moon was rent in twain. (This would cause tsunamis, changes in tides, etc—none is recorded like that).

So which of these—Our God, or Allah, their god--has the kind of character that uplifts, that is full of loving and forgiving, and is worthy of worship?

Acknowledgements:  Exposing the Truth about the Quran, Dakdok and Skeptics Annotated Quran, Anonymous

Judge Not...Wonky Theology?

There are a lot of bad pastors and priests who are teaching unBiblical theology these days.  But for the real church to stand up and judge any of them?  Forget it.  In our PC society, culture does not give us a pass to judge anybody—especially not to judge someone who calls themselves “Christian.”  But the fact is, our society is going down the wrong road.  And they say, when the “fruit” is bad, we need to look at the “root”—and in America, the root is the real Christian church, in a muzzled condition these days.  Christians who really know Scripture need to speak up.  

Yet there is a frank lack of courage for mature Christians to judge wonky “Christians.”  Our Bible has some crucial things to say about that.  Why crucial?  Because bad pastors lead people to hell.  Would we not yell “fire,” even if we were the only one who knew there definitely was a fire; or would we be reluctant because we might offend or inconvenience somebody? Even though the world believes that the worst thing we could do would be to say, “you’re wrong”—because they believe that everyone “has their own truth.”  Has this post-modernism culture bled that much into the orthodox church to make us so timid?  Are we that fearful to express The Truth as we know is contained in Scripture? 

Todd Friel, speaker and writer for NRB TV’s “Wretched” program, cites an interesting case of a German pastor by the name of Latzel who was not afraid to speak The Truth boldly and without compromise.  His standing on the Bible did not come without cost—as you’ll see, the German culture (as ours) believes that much of that Truth is bigoted, hateful, and, ironically, “un-Christian.”  A side note:  I wonder how far we are from the Bible verse where Jesus says in John 16:2:

They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.

Pastor Latzel has been attacked in the media, investigated by the local government, even condemned by fellow pastors.  Seventy of them, behind a banner calling for “diversity,” denounced him.  The public prosecutor investigated him for hate speech.  The city of Bremen parliament has condemned him.  His crime in all of this?  He quotes the Bible, showing the Scriptural error of other religions, and attacks the spirit of compromise that he sees infecting society.  The latest controversy that he faces today is, “do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?”  Our German pastor, Latzel, says that Allah, as portrayed in the Qur’an, and our Christian God, are not the same.  The biggest difference, only one among many, is our God had a Son—Jesus Christ.  They assert that that is an infidel’s statement:  Allah-god did not have a son.  They’re not the same God just because of that.  So in Germany, as here, society calls itself “Christian,” but won’t stand up against the cultural winds.  No spine.

This kind of clash has been going around a long time.  Check out the words of Charles Spurgeon, great gospel preacher of the 1800s, who would be a Latzel fan today for sure:

“It makes me indignant when I hear another gospel put before the people with enticing words, by men who would gladly make merchandise of souls; and I marvel at those who would have soft words for such deceivers.  I would to God we had all more of such decision, for the lack of it is delivering our religious life of its backbone and substituting for honest manliness a mass of the tremulous jelly of mutual flattery.”

The irony here is that German pastors are judging Latzel for his crime of judging others.  (Did you read that twice?  It has the taint of hypocrisy, does it not?).  It seems that you can’t call people in Scriptural error, but it’s a “free for all” to judge the Christian—telling him he’s in error.  He has estimated that over 80% of pastors in the national German state church are not born again (whoops, used another hateful phrase).  They make their own doctrine—ignoring the Bible when they feel like it doesn’t say what they want. 

The Bible has many sections that make modern society uncomfortable.  American pastors know how to handle “uncomfortable” sections of the Bible—they just won’t preach on them.  They play word games in TV interviews,too.  They play God, ignoring "embarrassing" Scripture in their sermons.  I hardly ever run into a pastor whose sermon delivery consists of going through a book, chapter by chapter.  Most deliver sermons by topic.  It’s too bad, because going “by the book” means the pastor will have to cover certain controversial passages.  (Such as what Paul has to say about women’ roles.  I have a blog on that, by the way).

Now, there are some knowledgeable folk out there who are saying  ”Wait a minute, didn’t Jesus say “Judge not?”  My answer is, True, but let’s look at the context of His Words.  Let’s give the whole phrase, not just the first two words.  From Matthew 7:1-5:

“Judge not, that you be not judged. ² For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. ³ And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? ⁵ Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye

As you can see, Jesus is indicating poor motives for much judging.  But He does not rule out all judging:  I’ve got five reasons for stating that:

1.        1.  In the same passage, Jesus judges some people to be “dogs” and “swine.”  You say, “What?  Where?”  Oh, yeah, I forgot to give you verse 6 of Matthew 7.  Here it is:

⁶ “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

This has to do with picking the time to give out the gospel of God’s love.  Some people will sneer at God’s love—they are the “dogs,” etc—so for them, you just, for now, give the story of God’s judgment seat, and the reality of sin and hell.  Maybe you can dislodge a little misplaced confidence.  

2.   In John 7:24, Jesus told us to “judge with righteous judgment.”  I hope you believe, as I do, that Jesus, being God, cannot contradict Himself.  In the face of this clear statement permitting judging, we must look again at Matthew 7 to figure out what He is really saying there.

3.   Scripture tells us that, as saints, we will judge the world (I Corinthians 6:2).  There are many verses that instruct us who, what, and how we are to judge.  An example is Romans 16:17:

 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them

“Note those” implies judging.  Does God want us to sin?  Did the rules change?  No.

      4.  Jesus was very judgmental when He called some Pharisees “sons of hell,” “blind guides,” “hypocrites,” and “whitewashed tombs” (Matthew 23:15, 16, 27).  If we want to be Christ-like, and if we detect clear error that is affecting people’s eternal lives dangerously, shouldn’t we get fervent as He did about stopping that?  Are we allowed to care, to speak up about it—or should we just lie back and say, “well, evidently this works for them.”  That’s more uncaring than Christian.

5.    Never judging is entirely impractical.  You could not even order food from a menu if all judging is a sin. 

Well, then, what are the rules?  What is Matthew 7 really saying?  First, understand that there are levels of theology.  We have to believe in the Apostle’s Creed, for instance, to have a shot at being a Christian.  Here it is:

“I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.He suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead.  He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.  I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic*(i.e.,true universal) church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,  and the life everlasting. Amen.”

Beyond those major doctrines, there are still many theological differences as there are denominations—the church is really split apart on mostly minor points.  Points of difference that won’t send anybody to hell.  The point I am making is, it’s not a great idea to judge another pastor or priest on a minor point.  But--fire away if they call themselves “Christian” and waffle on any of the major requirements of the Apostles Creed.  Because then they are not really Christian.  They are deceiving people, possibly sending unwitting people to hell.  Consider Matthew 7:15:

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.   

You have to exercise judgment to obey His commands as to which people to beware of, right?

So, what was Jesus saying in Matthew 7?  Possibly these things:

1.        Don’t nitpick people to death.  Yes, we’re talking again about the minor points.  Look carefully at Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:  “…why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye…”

2.       Only judge others after you have judged yourself using the same standard.  Again from Matthew 7:

First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

3.       Do not judge with a self-righteous attitude.  Jesus called people “hypocrite” in Matthew 7—why?  Because they judged without seeing their own flaws.  There’s a lot of that going around. 

I would urge all of us to mature in the Word, and know when to speak up.  No reason for timidity today, especially since our freedom to proclaim the gospel may be taken away from us. Let us consider right motives for judging.  Here are a few:

1.        We judge because we love God and want to obey His commands.  Consider  His command in Jude 1:3: 

…contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

 Remember, a crime against God is the greatest crime there is.  Messing with God’s theology, messing with His Book, can win you a spot in hell.  Look at Revelation  22:19, almost the last words in the Bible, so they’re important:

 ^…and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

2.        We judge because we love the truth.  John Calvin once said that a dog will attack somebody who attacks his master.  Our master is God, who gives us Truth.  Are we as smart as dogs?  Don’t we love Him and His truth as much?  Paul even named names of those who disappointed him.  To quote again Charles Spurgeon:

“He who does not hate the false does not love the true; and he to who it is all the same whether it be God’s Word or man’s, is himself unrenewed at heart. ..I beg the Lord to give back to the churches such a love to His truth that they may discern the spirits, and cast out those which are not of God.”

3.       We judge because we love people.  People who follow false teaching don’t grow spiritually, and may end up in hell.  If we sincerely believe we have the Truth, can we stand by and say nothing?

4.       We judge because we love false teachers.  Even if they’re an enemy of good, Jesus commands us to love them too.  Don’t we love them enough to say, “you’re doing it wrong, you’re sending people astray, and you must give account on your own judgment day.”  Consider Matthew 5:44-45:

I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. 

I pray we get all this right, and pray and speak boldly for His truth.  Who knows how much time we have left to speak His Word freely?

Acknowledgement:  Todd Friel, writer, speaker, "Wretched" TV.