Willow Creek Substitutes Leftism for Christianity

Pastor Bill Hybels at Willow Creek is doing a three week series entitled “His Name Shall Be Called” (focusing on 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.”). During the course of the message he gave on Sunday, December 5 (See: http://www.willowcreek.org/home1.aspx, click on “Watch Messages” and then click on “He Shall be Called“), he discussed each name given in the Isaiah passage. When he got to “Prince of Peace”, he made the following comments: 

“…Did you ever wonder what Defense spending costs our economy? I was playing around with numbers this week because I was under-challenged at work… I took the defense spending of the top 10 countries in the world, added it all up, and if we just took the Defense spending, top ten countries for one year, just twelve months, gang… it comes ups to something like 1.5 trillion dollars. What could be done with 1.5 trillion dollars to make our world a better place?…We could feed every starving person on the planet for just 20 billion…indefinitely. In addition to that…now we’re talking about 1.5 trillion dollars available if we would just stop the Defense spending of all the ten countries for one year, we could quite possibly clothe every naked person, house and educate every needy person on planet earth. A lot of diseases could be eliminated. AIDS probably could be eliminated. Cancer research could be accelerated. There’s just almost unlimited things that could happen if we could just get people to stop fighting and spending their money on military defense stuff for just one year, you see.  War is insane…and it’s insanely expensive. It restricts us from having the resources to do the kinds of things that would make this world a better place. So when Isaiah says “someone is coming and one of His names is Prince of Peace”, every sane person should yearn for the day of his arrival. And when Jesus did come…he said “Blessed are the peacemakers…” Jesus knew all about the insanity of war…”Jesus said, “Love your enemies.” Could you just say those words with me?…I’ve got a better plan than spilling blood all over the place. Love your enemies; pray for those who do you wrong…when someone decides to follow Jesus and really surrender their life to Jesus… Jesus begins to turn us into peacemakers; our taste for blood sours a little bit…Can you imagine what could happen if on this Christmas day…every world leader would come to his or her senses and say, “Look no more war; we’re done. We’ll still have our differences, but we’re done with wars. We’ll settle our differences over negotiating tables instead of spilling the blood of our sons and daughters…Isaiah says, “The greatest hope of a day like that ever happening is in a person named Jesus Christ…Every day 20,000 people commit themselves to Jesus Christ… and they become peacemakers, that day gets a little bit closer.” 

Wow. So much apostasy; so little time. Sounds like John Lennon’s song “Imagine”. Yes, imagine a world where there’s nothing worth dying for. My friends, that would be a world where there’s nothing worth living for.  

Let’s dissect some of this: 

“What could be done with 1.5 trillion dollars to make our world a better place?…We could feed every starving person on the planet for just 20 billion…indefinitely.”

Indefinitely, huh? That’s a long time… 

I also recall one of Jesus’ disciples who spoke like this: 

John 12:4-6: But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 

“In addition to that…now we talking about 1.5 trillion dollars available if we would just stop the defense spending of all the ten countries for one year…”

Adolf Hitler led the systematic extermination of 6 million Jews. It was only war that stopped him.  

Good government exists to carry out God’s justice. Romans 13:4: “For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil (emphasis mine).” When there is no sword for “him who practices evil (nations and individuals), there is no justice. Bill Hybels, there can be no love without justice. 

“…we could quite possibly clothe every naked person, house and educate every needy person on planet earth…”

Matthew 26:11: “The poor you will have with you always…” 

“A lot of diseases could be eliminated. AIDS probably could be eliminated.” 

Romans 1:27: “…receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.” But my guess is that Bill Hybels doesn’t talk about what The Bible says about homosexuality… 

“There’s just almost unlimited things that could happen if we could just get people to stop fighting…” 

Isaiah 45:7: "I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity;  I, the LORD, do all these things." 

“War is insane…Jesus knew all about the insanity of war…” 

God must have been insane in The Old Testament then (e.g., Deuteronomy, Judges, Kings, etc.)? Oh, and perhaps in The New as well: 

Revelation 19:11-15: “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God (emphases mine). 

And here’s another one from The Old Testament - the same book from which Hybels quotes: 

Isaiah 13:2-4: "I have commanded those I prepared for battle; I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath— those who rejoice in my triumph." 

“…and it’s insanely expensive. It restricts us from having the resources to do the kinds of things that would make this world a better place.”

1 John 5:19: "We know... that the whole world is under the control of the evil one." 

I’m not saying we shouldn’t oppose evil.  May it never be! But thinking that we can rid the world of hunger or war is “insane”. 

“So when Isaiah says ‘someone is coming and one of His names is Prince of Peace’”…“And when Jesus did come…he said ‘Blessed are the peacemakers…’”

And Jesus also said: Matthew 10:34: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." 

And, Luke 22:36: Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.” 

“Prince of Peace” refers to Jesus having made peace between God and us (those who repent and believe in Jesus for salvation). Are you Israel’s teacher, Bill Hybels, and you do not understand these things? 

“…every sane person should yearn for the day of his arrival.” 

Revelation 6:15-17: "Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?” 

“Jesus said, ‘Love your enemies.’ Could you just say those words with me?…I’ve got a better plan than spilling blood all over the place. Love your enemies; pray for those who do you wrong…when someone decides to follow Jesus and really surrender their life to Jesus… Jesus begins to turn us into peacemakers; our taste for blood sours a little bit.” 

Revelation 6:9-10: When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth (emphasis mine)?”   

I think you need a greater “taste” for justice, Bill Hybels. 

“Can you imagine what could happen if on this Christmas day…every world leader would come to his or her senses and say, “Look no more war; we’re done. We’ll still have our differences, but we’re done with wars. We’ll settle our differences over negotiating tables instead of spilling the blood of our sons and daughters...” 

1 Thessalonians 5:3: For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 

“Isaiah says, ‘The greatest hope of a day like that ever happening is in a person named Jesus Christ‘…” 

Revelation 19:17-21: Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God,  that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse (emphasis mine.  The “Him“ is Jesus; comment mine). And all the birds were filled with their flesh. 

From another perspective: 

Do you think I’ve been unkind or harsh? Perhaps Bill Ward’s (my husband) response is preferable: 

“…Did you ever wonder what Defense spending costs our economy? I was playing around with numbers this week because I was under challenged at work…”

That's because you don't "work", you're a beggar who peddles hope and lives off the welfare of your hope-starved flock.  How about feeding truth (good food) to your flock, instead of worrying about feeding the world and your own self-righteousness? 

“I took the defense spending of the top 10 countries in the world, added it all up, and if we just took the Defense spending, top ten countries for one year, just twelve months, gang… it comes ups to something like 1.5 trillion dollars. What could be done with 1.5 trillion dollars to make our world a better place?…We could feed every starving person on the planet for just 20 billion…indefinitely.” 

Wrong,  a 1000 times wrong.  This statement is such a grotesque oversimplification and so thick with ignorance it is painful to parse out.  Again I must ask myself, "How does one answer a fool?"  It will either be patently obvious to the listener, or the listener is like Bill Hybels and will never get it.   

Are these starving people working? Are they good or bad?  Who are they? What are their values?  What country do they live in?   We don't know, these are just the paper cutout typical "starving people"; non-violent souls, without sin, without jealousies, without greed, without sloth, without envy, without lust, or the pride of life, without cultures, without borders, without a history, and without all the evils that only exist in rich white guys like Bill Hybels.  

Clearly, without defense, will they not be overrun by barbarians who will steal all the food that the "rich" nations just gave them? Twenty billion would not even be a drop in the bucket!  We've had some 30 trillion dollars in transfer payments in this country alone since LBJ's "Great Society" of the sixties from the productive to the non-productive in this country alone and the level of poverty has not gone down.  Endless charities have given gobs and gobs of money - far more than 20 billion - over decades and decades and yet poverty in the world has not ceased nor even decreased.  The use of the term "indefinitely" should immediately indicate to the listener the emptiness and deceptiveness of this claim.  Upon hearing this claim my initial reaction was "Feed them? For how long, a month? And then what do they do?"  I'll tell you, they will start warring with each other over the few scraps of handout food there is left, then someone will suggest using stones, and then someone will build a stone-thrower machine, and then... 

But of course this total Willow Creek dream scenario can only happen when we all come together as one in a John Lennon love fest and all agree to all lay down all our arms at the same time.  Try to get 100 people in any room to agree that 2+2=4 100% of the time.  It never happens.  And you expect the whole world to come together on this - the grand Willow Creek social justice dream?   Bill Hybels is not preaching truth, he's selling false hope.  This is the height of evil because it twists the real truth and replaces it with a never-obtainable myth.   The facts don't matter to the purveyors of the myth.  Bill Hybels keeps preaching and selling the false hope because the fools keep buying it.  He thinks the Bible talks about it because he only reads the 2% of scripture that can be understood in this manner.  He tells 2% truths, much like the Father of Lies (that would be Satan for those of you attending Willow Creek).  

“In addition to that…” 

There's more?... Isn't ending world hunger enough?!  Oh, I forgot, the drivel never ends.  Hybels is really shoveling it this morning.   As long as we're dreaming, dream big... 

“…now we’re talking about 1.5 trillion dollars available if we would just stop the defense spending of all the ten countries for one year, we could quite possibly clothe every naked person, house and educate every needy person on planet earth. A lot of diseases could be eliminated. AIDS probably could be eliminated.”

Probably? come on Bill have some faith! definitely! 

“There’s just almost unlimited things that could happen if we could just get people to stop fighting and spending their money on military defense stuff for just one year, you see. War is insane…and it’s insanely expensive.”

No Bill Hybels, you are insane, and stupidity is the most expensive thing by far.  You look at your obscenely expensive "church" and are too insane to understand where the money came from.  I beg you, give it all away and send the money to the "starving people" of your choice, and that would  both feed some people for a day or two and rid us of the torture of ever having to hear you preach again.  It's the best of both worlds!  Think about it - martyring your church for your self-righteous beliefs.  The more one thinks about it the more giddy one gets.   Or even better, you could disband the church and rent the building out for a steady stream of money that could feed 1000 people "indefinitely"!  Or you could eliminate AIDS and feed 700; or you could cure cancer, eliminate AIDS, but then you'd only be able to feed 350 people - hard choices indeed. 

“It restricts us from having the resources to do the kinds of things that would make this world a better place. So when Isaiah says “someone is coming and one of His names is Prince of Peace”, every sane person should yearn for the day of his arrival. And when Jesus did come…he said “Blessed are the peacemakers…” Jesus knew all about the insanity of war…”Jesus said, “Love you enemies.” Could you just say those words with me?…I’ve got a better plan than spilling blood all over the place. Love your enemies; pray for those who do you wrong…when someone decides to follow Jesus and really surrender their life to Jesus… Jesus begins to turn us into peacemakers; our taste for blood sours a little bit…Can you imagine…”

I'm going to cry.  It's just like what Bono "the apostle" Lennon said.  Listen! Hybels is channeling Lennon from the grave! OH Glory!! Glory!!  And right at the 30 year anniversary of his crucifixion, er, I mean death. 

“…what could happen if on this Christmas day…every world leader would come to his or her senses and say, ‘Look no more war; we're done. We’ll still have our differences, but we're done with wars. We’ll settle our differences over negotiating tables instead of spilling the blood of our sons and daughters‘…Isaiah says, ‘The greatest hope of a day like that ever happening is in a person named Jesus Christ‘…Every day 20,000 people commit themselves to Jesus Christ…”

Why at this rate everyone will know Christ by the year 2525!   The simpleton Bill Hybels said it, and he pastors a very big and very influential and very rich church (which he's sadly not willing to give away in order to feed the "starving people"), so it must be true.  True, not true, who cares? It's almost Christmas - "2525 if we're still alive" - the gospel according to Willow Creek.  I wonder if there was a single person at Willow Creek who was awake enough to notice, much less be offended by, this whopper? 

“…and they become peacemakers, that day gets a little bit closer.” 

So Christ in fact doesn't need to return and cut the enemies of the Lord to pieces? (I wonder what the heavenly defense budget for that is?).  By 2525, we'll do it ourselves with eternal hope and relentless change and tweaking and seeker-sensitive churches.  There you go, the Bible is outdated and wrong again.  Bill Hybels proved it!

"Age of Grace" Excuse for Cowardice

I was quoting the following verses from Psalm 109 in conversation with a Christian the other day, concerning those who are usurping our Constitution:

(v. 8): "Let his days be few and another take his office"

(v. 7) "When he is tried, let him be found guilty."

(v. 9): "Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow."

I was taken aback when this person said to me, "That is from the Enemy!"

I said, "Those aren't my words; they are from the Bible." 

He said, "That's the Old Testament. We're in the age of grace." 

Why do I address this here? Because this doctrine is a CANCER in the Church.  First of all, "God is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8), and salvation has always been about grace and faith ("Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness": Romans 4:3, Genesis 15:6).

Further, was Jesus under the influence "of the Enemy" when He drove the money changers from the temple? When He called the POLITICAL LEADERS of his day "sons of hell", "hypocrites", "brood of vipers", "blind guides", "fools and blind", "whitewashed tombs...full of dead men's bones", unable to "escape the condemnation of hell" (from Matthew 23)? Does this NEW TESTAMENT passage fit the "age of grace" theory, as applied by my rebuker? 

Returning again to Psalm 109 (v. 8), it was quoted by Luke in Acts 1:20 concerning Judas. I guess someone forgot to tell Luke that he was "in the age of grace" and couldn't quote that passage anymore. 

Maybe Paul didn't know he was in "the age of grace" when he expressed the wish that the Judiazers would "go the whole way and castrate themselves" (Galatians 5:12). Maybe Paul's sentiments were "of the Enemy".  Or maybe someone forgot to tell Peter that he was in the "age of grace" when he declared Sapphira dead for lying to God in Acts 5:9. 

It's a good thing our Christian forebears didn't apply this "age of grace" doctrine, or the Declaration of Independence would never have been written, and the War for Independence never fought. 

It's a good thing Martin Luther didn't believe in this "age of grace" theory or he would never have nailed his 95 theses to a Church door. As he said, "WHERE THE BATTLE RAGES, THERE THE SOLDIER IS PROVED."

Obama Talks About His Faith

From the article: "Obama Talks About His Faith":

…Mr. Obama, who has been criticized by conservative pundits who have questioned his Christian faith, gave a lengthy discourse on it in response to a woman who said she had three “hot topic questions” for him. The first was: “Why are you a Christian?” The second was on abortion — the president said it should be “safe, legal and rare”…

…“I’m a Christian by choice,” the president said. “My family, frankly, they weren’t folks who went to church every week. My mother was one of the most spiritual people I knew but she didn’t raise me in the church, so I came to my Christian faith later in life and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead. Being my brothers and sisters’ keeper, treating others as they would treat me, and I think also understanding that Jesus Christ dying for my sins spoke to the humility we all have to have as human beings, that we’re sinful and we’re flawed and we make mistakes and we achieve salvation through the grace of God.”

From another article on the same speech:

After responding to the question about his faith on Tuesday, Obama added that as the president of the United States, he also deeply believes that "part of the bedrock strength of this country is that it embraces people of many faiths and of no faith."

"Their own path to grace is one that we have to revere and respect as much as our own and that's part of what makes this country what it is," he highlighted.

A response:

‎1. The president is not making abortion "rare". He voted for infanticide (partial birth abortion) on several occasions. He has expanded access to abortion in foreign countries with American tax dollars. Obamacare covers it. Here's a newsflash: if you subsidize something, you get more of it.

Matthew 7:15-20: Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

2. Jesus never mentioned "being your brother and sisters’ keeper". The first murderer, Cain, mentioned that when he was trying to lie to God about having killed his brother. “Keeping” your brother is slavery. That is where the “social justice” gospel (which is not the gospel at all) leads. Further, Obama's half-brother lives in squalor in a poor village in Kenya. His aunt lives in the US as an illegal alien in government housing. Is he really his “brother and sisters’ keeper”, according to his own definition?

3. We don't "achieve salvation through the grace of God." GOD achieves salvation through the grace of God. It is a free gift. To borrow from Chris Matthews, "it's an important distinction."

4. “People of no faith” don't have "a path to grace", by DEFINITION, unless they cease to BE atheists. But this fits with his belief in collective salvation, that for one to be saved, all must be saved.

This is the same man, who on the campaign trail, referred to “an obscure passage in Romans" as being irrelevant when he was discussing homosexuality (it's in Chapter ONE) and his “Christian” faith. This is the same man, who, in "Dreams of My Father", said that Jeremiah Wright was a big part of his Christian formation. He attended his Church for 20 years, where he heard Black Liberation Theology, and exclamations like, "God damn America!" and after 9/11, "America's chickens are coming home to roost!"

This is NOT the Christianity I know…

The world has needed surgery and we’ve given them bubble gum

Most of these quotes (which a few additions of my own) are excerpts from a sermon given by Pastor John Kirkwood of Grace Gospel Fellowship, Bensenville, IL.  His sermon was in honor of Pulpit Freedom Sunday, although every Sunday taught by John could be in honor of Pulpit Freedom Sunday.  For the full sermon, see: http://gracebeliever.com/2010/09/september-26-2010-sunday-bible-study/, especially track 1. 

“If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ.  Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.”-Martin Luther 

“Through us infinite wrong was brought over many peoples and countries. That which we often testified to in our communities, we express now in the name of the whole church: We did fight for long years in the name of Jesus Christ against the mentality that found its awful expression in the National Socialist regime of violence; but we accuse ourselves for not standing to our beliefs more courageously, for not praying more faithfully, for not believing more joyously, and for not loving more ardently.” The Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt 

“I do not want to have to sign a Washington DC declaration of guilt…we need to stand and say ‘We will not have this.’” Pastor John Kirkwood 

“The world has needed surgery and we’ve given them bubble gum.” Pastor John Kirkwood 

“The ultimate check on tyranny is the Church.” Pastor John Kirkwood 

"Brethren, our preaching will bear its legitimate fruits. If immorality prevails in the land, the fault is ours in a great degree. If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the public press lacks moral discrimination, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the world loses its interest in religion, the pulpit is responsible for it. If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it. Let us not ignore this fact, my dear brethren; but let us lay it to heart, and be thoroughly awake to our responsibility in respect to the morals of this nation." - Charles Finney 

“Because we honor justice and the common good, we will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family. We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar's. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God's.” - The Manhattan Declaration 

“If men will not be governed by God, they will be ruled by tyrants.” William Penn 

“It is when people forget God that tyrants forge their chains.” Patrick Henry 

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” Thomas Paine 

“The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time.” Thomas Jefferson  

Yes, indeed, and He let the whole human race fall because of it. 

Luke 4:18-19:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

     because he has anointed me

      to preach good news to the poor.

   He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners (emphasis mine)

      and recovery of sight for the blind,

   to release the oppressed,

    to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." 

Galatians 5:1: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. 

“If man lost his liberty, he would be disqualified for membership in the Kingdom of God. Not even God could build a society of love out of puppets or robots.” Kirby Page 

“Without free will, God isn’t God.” Pastor John Kirkwood 

“What do you call forced love? …rape

“What do you call forced servitude? …slavery” Pastor John Kirkwood 

“God has no need of marionettes. He pays men the compliment of allowing them to live without Him if they choose. But if they live without Him in this life, they must also live without Him in the next.” Leon Morris 

“I willingly believe that the damned are, in one sense, successful, rebels to the end; that the doors of hell are locked on the inside.” C.S. Lewis 

“All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find.” C.S. Lewis 

"The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water. And for that they must be free." C.S. Lewis 

“The right to liberty is fundamental. But it is what a person does with it that tells their caliber and their fiber, and that decides whether they will continue to be free and whether their nation will be prosperous.” Margaret Thatcher

Thought for the Day: Make a Righteous Judgment

Matthew 7:1-5: "Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye (emphasis mine)."

This is probably the most misused passage of the Bible. It is what critics of what is good and decent often use to defend themselves and their positions on homosexuality, abortion, living together before marriage, etc. "Don't judge!" is their mantra, while they fail to realize that they themselves are making a judgment when they make that exclamation. No judgment is allowed except the one judgment that judges that you are judging. This is akin to the relativist argument that there is no absolute truth except for the absolute truth that there is no absolute truth.

The condition necessary BEFORE making a judgment is to examine yourself, as is further explained in the following verses:

1 Corinthians 11:31: But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.

2 Corinthians 13:5a: Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!

So, after we have examined ourselves, we are CALLED to make righteous judgments:

John 7:23-24: If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath? Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment (emphasis mine)."

Proverbs 31:9a: Open your mouth, judge righteously...

Here, Paul indicates having "judged" a believer caught in egregious sin:

1 Corinthians 5:1-5: It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father's wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this (emphasis mine), as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

1 Corinthians 6:2-3: Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world (emphasis mine)? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels (emphasis mine)? How much more matters of this life?

If we will "judge the world"... and "angels", how much more are we to make RIGHTEOUS judgments in this life? Remember this next time someone tries to silence you by accusing you of "judging".

Letter to Blanchard Alliance Church: Re: Obama, Evil, and the Church's Role

On Sunday, February 20, Pastor Ron Mangin, of Blanchard Alliance Church, where we currently attend, gave a message on Isaiah 45. He presented the concept that God used King Cyrus, an unsaved and evil king, to accomplish his purposes. This is true - God is sovereign, and many times in the Old Testament used unrighteous regimes to bring judgment upon Israel.

But during his message, Pastor Ron mentioned Chinese Christian missionaries to Israel who advise other Christians not to pray against China’s communist dictatorship because persecution causes the Church to flourish. Immediately my mind went to the verse, “Shall I do evil that good may result? May it never be!” I (Jeanette Ward) thought of the prayer that delivered Peter from the jailer’s cell. I thought of God’s anger at his people when He wanted to set them free, but instead they wished to return to slavery in Egypt; apparently longing for the “community” that they shared making bricks for the Egyptian Pharaoh.

While I was still pondering these things, Pastor Ron continued, “I tire of Christians railing against the Obama administration. This attitude is not compatible with the character of Jesus Christ.”

I began thinking about the things that Jesus did and said that perhaps Pastor Ron would say “aren’t compatible with” Jesus’ character: Overturning the money changers tables in the temple? “Railing” against the Pharisees as “white-washed tombs full of dead men‘s bones“, “sons of hell“, “hypocrites“, “blind guides“, “like their father, the devil”, “blind fools”, “snakes”, and “brood of vipers”? Saying “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” and “let him who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one“? Calling Herod a “fox”? Isn’t our Jesus the one whose eyes are a burning fire—who will clear His threshing floor and burn the chaff with unquenchable fire?

I thought of John the Baptist, who publicly “railed against” Herod (a political leader) for having his brother’s wife, and was beheaded for it. Ought not we to oppose publicly someone who advocates murdering millions of unborn babies in the name of “healthcare”, and forces Christians to pay for it? Who encourages “what is vile to be celebrated among men” - with his support of open homosexuality in the military and otherwise? Who tramples on the rule of law as laid out so painstakingly by our CHRISTIAN forebears?

I thought of Elijah with Ahab and Jezebel. Was it incompatible with the character of God, and by extension of Christ, to publicly oppose them? Elijah apparently did not believe so. And would it be wrong for the people of Israel, filled with righteous fervor for the law of God, to rise up and speak out against King Manassah when he caused his children to pass through fire?

I thought about all the times David (who was called “a man after God’s own heart”) prayed against evil men and had some “railing” things to say about them, like:

- “My prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers”
- “Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety”
- “Oh that you would slay the wicked, Oh God”
- “Do I not hate those who hate You, Oh Lord?”
- “I have nothing but hatred from them, I count them my enemies.”
- “I hate those who cling to worthless idols”
- “I hate double-minded men, but I love your law”
- “When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayers condemn him.”

Furthermore, to compare King Cyrus, a foreign dictator king, (whom God used to judge Israel) with Obama, a democratically elected official of our own nation, is absurd. An evil king of Israel or Judah would be a better comparison -though still not fully appropriate because we’ve rejected the notion of kings in this country. In this way, America surmounted Israel because the very desire to have a king was a rejection of God and His law. So would it have been wrong for those who opposed this idea of a king in Israel to speak out? Furthermore, did God then use the evil kings of Israel to render judgment upon His people? Or, in fact, were not the evil kings the reason for God’s judgment? The entire comparison is nonsensical in every way.

It is true that God is ultimately sovereign and is capable of using evil for good. (Though it should be noted that the vast majority of evil in the world is not used for good, and it is unhindered by God). God values liberty very highly. It is this liberty that both allows sin and also requires responsibility to oppose it. The Bible is clear that He hates what is evil, that we are to hate it too, and that we are to oppose it through prayer, word, and deed.

We (Bill and Jeanette Ward) are not suggesting that the Church should stir up a spirit of mindless hatred against the government. What we are suggesting that it is our divine duty to hate and expose evil. It disturbs us greatly to hear a Church leader suggest that the calling out of lies or ungodly actions of our democratically elected government leaders isn’t compatible with Christ’s character. Or, God forbid, that we ought not to pray against the coming persecution of the church, lest we somehow prevent it from flourishing!?! This is a twisted self-righteousness. It’s a utopian delusion that comes from living so long in an un-oppressed state (though we’re steadily moving toward oppression in this country) and does not reflect the righteous heart of God—a God of perfect justice and liberty.

In Pastor Ron’s own words-

-We tire of Christian leaders who refuse to acknowledge evil when it is right in front of them; who live with their heads either so far under the ground, or so high in the clouds that they pretend that nothing in the news or in the political arena can ever affect them.

-We tire of Christian leaders who consider it their duty to publicly criticize fellow Christians who would expose evil rather than to support and join them in the struggle.

-We tire of Christian leaders who twist or cherry pick Scripture in order to support a popular religious caricature of Christ that is perceived to be more socially acceptable.

-We tire of Christian leaders who do not recognize that they live in one of the most God blessed nations in all human history; a nation founded on liberty - perhaps the most foundational of all values to God.

-We tire of Christian leaders that do not wake each day thankful that God placed them in this free and prosperous nation where they can preach the gospel freely and send missionaries all around the world however they choose. No other nation in history has ever come close to the generosity of America. But instead of celebrating the blessings of God, and recognizing the sacrifice of all those who secured those blessings; the leaders seem to pretend that they somehow live outside this country- in some mythical, heavenly country. They then rush to point out all the perceived failures of their country that don’t measure up to their utopian ideal. This frees them to wash their hands from any responsibility for this filthy country, lest they become defiled by it. “It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man” and “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil”.

If Blanchard Alliance Church ever closes its doors, America will not notice; but if America descends into despotism (Obama’s utopia), Blanchard will go down with it. But just like the Chinese missionaries, perhaps they wanted to go back to Egypt anyway.

We’ve discussed this particular sermon and similar issues with both pastors at Blanchard, and have been told that we need to “agree to disagree”, as if these are trivial issues and not foundational differences. Being able to recognize good from evil is foundational.

"Are you a teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?"

The character of Christ was one that was 100% concerned with what the Father was doing. "the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner." And "I and the Father are one". The Father (the author of the Law) was very concerned with good and evil and never tip toed around these politically incorrect issues; neither did His prophets or His Son.

The reason that many Christians in your congregation "rail" against the Obama administration is that they actually read their Bible and can discern good from evil. They see evil and they expose it, so that others may not be ignorant of it and vote for it. It’s not that they don’t believe God is sovereign, but they don’t use that as an excuse abdicate their Christian responsibility to shine a light and to be salt to the world. I suppose it would be wrong, according to your teaching, to speak out against the Antichrist, since he is a political leader. Will you have no problem taking the mark of the beast so as not to offend the other Christians in line? -Besides, since God is sovereign, he’ll surely miraculously deliver you from having to make that difficult choice, right?

Hosea 4:6
“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the law of your God,
I also will ignore your children.”

Our hearts break looking out at the lost sheep in your congregation as they listen Sunday after Sunday to sermons that confuse and mislead about what the Bible really says concerning the true nature of God the Father and the character of His Son Jesus Christ. An increasing number of “evangelicals” don't know what the Bible says, don't read their Bible, and are not encouraged to do so. There is an increasing fear and/or frustration among church leaders with those Christians that actually read the whole Bible and interpret it for themselves. These “unruly Christians” cannot be as easily blown about by every false doctrinal wind.

Regarding whether Christians are to talk about politics or not, consider that over 80% of the Old Testament deals with nations, kings, and peoples; and judges them all as either good or evil. In essence, all it does is speak about politics. In the New Testament, consider that the Pharisees and the Sadducees were as much political parties as religious sects. The fascist Pharisees and the socialist Sadducees not to mention the puppet King Herod brought forth Jesus’ harshest words (completely “incompatible with His character“). His answer to all of them was freedom: liberty. This is not freedom from responsibility, but freedom to be responsible.

In conclusion, consider:

Ezekiel 13:10-15,22: “Because they lead my people astray, saying, Peace, when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash, therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, Where is the whitewash you covered it with?

'Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury. I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the LORD. So I will spend my wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it, those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign LORD. '

…“Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life.”

Bill (blackwhite488@sbcglobal.net) and Jeanette Ward (summonedbyname@yahoo.com)