Psalm 119 Conference

On Friday and Saturday I attended The Psalm 119 Conference on discernment. At the outset, I want to thank Wretched and Trish Ramos for the two free tickets which I won in a drawing on her blog. It was providential since Roger is out of work at the moment, so it was a blessing to have had the opportunity to attend. Thank you for making it possible, Trish!

I discovered something about myself; I LOVE going to these things. And I'm trying to figure out what that says about me. Ha! If I had the time and the funds, I believe I'd go to more Bible conferences. I think what it may partially say about me is that I enjoy learning, and believe me, that comes from no other source than the Holy Spirit of God. I was not that interested in studying in either high school or college; way too busy with social activities, I was. No doubt now, though, that as a result of God's opening my eyes to His truth, He has put in me an insatiable desire to know His word. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, live it.

The conference theme was discernment and how as Christians we need to be practicing it. I didn't realize this, but according to Mr. Todd Friel, 40% of the New Testament is devoted to dealing with false teaching. That's a pretty big chunk. And it's vital for Christians - TRUE Christians - to know what is taught in Scripture, why we believe it, be able to give a reasoned defense of the hope that is within us, and differentiate between true and false doctrine. This famous quote from Charles Spurgeon bears repeating - "Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right." I would simply tweak it a bit to say that discernment is not *only* knowing the difference between right and wrong......, as we must also know what is blatantly wrong. We tend to view that as obvious, but not so, otherwise those like Kenneth and Gloria Copeland or Benny Hinn - who we see as glaringly wrong - wouldn't have so many followers.

The thing about false teachers is that they don't come marching down the church aisle in costume, announcing that they're false prophets and that they've come to deceive the masses. No, Jesus tells us that they will come in sheep's clothing and that inwardly they are ravenous wolves (Matt 7:15). Paul writes in 1 Cor 11:11-14 that these false teachers come in disguise. In other words, they blend in with the Church, they are among the saints. They are congregants, they're pastors and teachers - some of LARGE churches, with large membership - and much of what they say may *seem* right on the surface, but in reality, they are leading people astray.

Speaking to those of like-minded faith, Peter warns in 2 Peter 2:1-3: But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

The entire book of 1st John was written to combat false teaching and heresy that was beginning to creep into the Church. Chapter 4, verse 1 exhorts: Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Well, in no way have I scratched the surface of the 40 per cent. Perhaps, though, this will get people thinking. Church, we are not handling 'light' things or silly things. This is very serious. The Church must be what God created it to be and who Christ died for it to be. I just read on Facebook this morning about someone attending a street fair yesterday where people were handing out free copies of the Qur'an and other Islamic materials. ::sigh:: We need to wake up and smell the coffee, folks. Instead of gimmicks and giveaways to try to get and keep people's attention and attendance, maybe pastors and teachers should consider equipping the saints with the truth contained in the holy Word of God. And if you're sitting in the pews of this kind of church, you need to flee.

I know I'll risk relationships for saying this because I have friends and family who are involved in false religions or who are following false teachers of one stripe or another, but I will say it anyway....

....with all the love in my heart, I urge you to study God's word alone, and reconsider your associations with Catholicism, Mormonism, JW, Word-of-Faith/prosperity gospel teachers, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Kenneth/Gloria Copeland, Benny Hinn, Paula White, Jesse Duplantis, Rod Parsley, Marilyn Hickey and others of their ilk. Included in this list would be those who deny the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as the ONLY way by which a person is saved, or who deny the doctrine of the Trinity, which teaches God as being one God in three distinct, separate persons. T.D. Jakes and Joel Osteen fall into that category. No doubt Joel Osteen is probably one of *the* most well-known 'preachers' today... along with Rick Warren, BOTH of whom are at best wish-washy, lukewarm panderers. Regarding either of them (all of them), measure what comes out of their mouths against Scripture, and discern whether or not it lines up. Same with entertainer extraordinaire, Ed Young. I don't know...he seems to have started off in one direction, but gone another. Over time, he's become over-the-top in his antics to entertain the masses, all the while completely watering down the glorious gospel of our Savior. Likewise, it's very troubling that his congregation doesn't seem to mind at all that he lied to them about a private jet they didn't know they were paying for.

Bottom line is, KNOW the Bible - it is the only place you'll find God's revelation of Himself. It is sufficient for us as believers. Be good Bereans, examining the Scriptures to see if these things (that these people say) are so (Acts 17:11).

If anyone is looking for help with his/her discern-o-meter, I recommend the following websites:

Justin Peters Ministries Justin knows first hand what it is to be involved in the WoF movement. Born with Cerebral Palsy, he visited several 'faith healers' for healing before God saved him and brought him out of it. I highly recommend getting his DVD seminar, "A Call For Discernment - A biblical critique of the Word of Faith Movement." It is indeed an eye-opener to the dangerous origins of the WoF/prosperity gospel as well as the deep deceptions involved in them at present.

Answers In Genesis If you compromise on Genesis, if you don't believe that the book is literal history, then you jeopardize your positions on the remainder of Scripture.