By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
The article discusses Thomas Boston’s views on the inescapability of sin, emphasizing that it is inherent in human nature, even among the grace-receiving faithful. Sin follows individuals like a shadow, deeply rooted within. Our temptations arise from internal desires, highlighting the necessity of recognizing human corruption and the need for divine grace.
By Elizabeth Prata
Spiritual Warfare is real. Yet many Christians ignore this topic, which should be on our mind daily. After all, we battle the unseen realms in our own body as we kill sin in our flesh; we battle unseen spirits who tempt us; and we battle the world with its philosophies constructed by satan and his minions.
On the other side, the topic draws crazies who hyper-focus on it. We need to be balanced in our approach to any topic. Face it realistically, biblically, but not with excessive, out-of-balance focus.
The topic of spiritual warfare is outlined in many places in the Bible, but one of the most familiar is in Ephesians 6. That chapter outlines our armor available to us in the battle, which is specifically described.
While spiritual warfare is real and prevalent in our lives, and while it is a topic often addressed in the Bible, I’ve found few solid resources on it. The topic seems to invite twisted approaches, fringe ministries, lure crazies. So I compiled a few of the solid resources for you on the topic of Spiritual Warfare.
The synopsis for the book Spiritual Warfare in a Believer’s Life says, “Spiritual Warfare in a Believer’s Life is a practical compilation of sermons and teachings by Charles H. Spurgeon, England’s famous 19th-century preacher. The book cuts through mystical ideas to focus on how believers can use the power of the gospel to fight everyday discouragement, sin, depression, and spiritual opposition.”
Or listen to Spurgeon’s sermon on spiritual warfare being read here, or read along with the transcript, here
In this two part message, David Powlison sets forth a biblical demonology and explains the biblical parameters for battling the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Power Encounters: Reclaiming Spiritual Warfare, audio part 1 https://ibcd.org/power-encounters-reclaiming-spiritual-warfare-part-one/
Power Encounters: Reclaiming Spiritual Warfare, audio part 2 https://ibcd.org/power-encounters-reclaiming-spiritual-warfare-part-2/
Power Encounters: Reclaiming Spiritual Warfare Notes/Outline part 1 Powlison-Power-Encounters-1.pdf,
Notes/outline part 2- https://ibcd.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Powlison-Power-Encounters-2.pdf
Book by Donald Grey Barnhouse- Book blurb: “In this series on The Invisible War: The Panorama of the Continuing Conflict Between Good and Evil, it explores the spiritual battle involving God, Satan, angels, demons, and humanity. Dr. Barnhouse explored a theme rarely touched upon by students of the Bible: the great conflict which exists in the spirit realm. Although almost entirely unrecognized by mankind, this warfare affects, in one way or another, the life of every person on earth and especially the life of the child of God.”
Read online at the Internet Archive Digital Library https://archive.org/details/invisiblewarpano00barn
Or buy the paperback, which is widely available.
Ligonier resource on Ephesians 6 and “The Church’s Warfare”, a message given by Stephen Nichols. The synopsis states, “Having redeemed us from sin, Satan, and death, God has enlisted us as soldiers in His army, calling us to wage spiritual warfare against the enemy until Christ returns and giving us armor and weapons for the battle. In this message, Dr. Stephen Nichols looks at spiritual warfare and the armor of God as described in Ephesians 6:10–20, guiding us in what it means to be strong in the Lord.”
Voddie Baucham: sermon. The Beautiful Truth Hidden in Ephesians 6
By Elizabeth Prata
He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, and yet you are dead. (Revelation 3:1).
How could a seemingly thriving church be dead?
I want to take a look at a reason love grows cold. In my opinion, Hebrews 2:1 has one possible answer. In the NASB the paragraph is introduced with the simple but clear title “Pay Attention.” The first verse says “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.”
I love the nautical metaphors the Bible writers use. Marine allusions never change throughout time. If we picture the church as a bunch of people on an anchored boat in front of a lighthouse, and we fail to tend the anchor frequently, it slips. It slips because there are tides, and currents and winds trying to push the boat off its anchorage, just as culture buffets us in the world trying to push us away from Christ. As the anchor slips, we drift away slowly at first. As any mariner knows, the less the anchor digs in the faster the drift becomes. Pretty soon the ground under the boat deepens enough so the anchor is still attached to the boat but it’s just hanging there, not doing its job of digging in and keeping the boat close to the Lighthouse. Away the boat goes and in between the boat and the Light are many perils and things that could sink the boat. It does not take long in the neglect of tending the anchor, to become adrift on a cultural tide and too busy trying to control the boat in the currents, tides, waves, and wind to think of the Lighthouse anymore.
What are people doing on the boat that causes no one to notice the slipping anchor? Well, some are on the foredeck, sunning themselves. They say they are warm and comfortable, the sun feels good, and they leave the anchor-tending to someone else. (Sardis failed to keep watch, they are dead- Rev 3:1-3).
Others go below, to cook and eat and play cards and to watch TV. (worldly spirit- 2 Timothy 4:10). They say that they finally have a chance to relax, being on this nice yacht, and they are going to take advantage of it. (wilful sin-Hebrews 10:25-31).
Others are doing boat-things, like repairing sails, or changing the oil in the engine, but still they don’t take the time to go up and glance at the anchor line because they are too busy. (appearance of Godliness- 2 Tim 3:5). One person noticed a fraying anchor line but when he told his fellow boat-dwellers, they said he shouldn’t worry about it, the rope was strong enough for now. (They heard, but did not do- James 1:22).
What they didn’t know was that a storm was on the horizon that would fray the rest of it and cause them to drift. (Matthew 16:3; Luke 12:56). Everyone is supposed to be vigilant and take his or her watch, looking out for storms, fraying anchor line, slipping anchorage. We are a body and we all take a watch. We as individuals and corporately must monitor our position in front of the Lighthouse!
Leaving the anchor-tending to one person (the pastor) or worse, no one, means for sure sometime you will slip away. The Lighthouse is still there and always will be. It is the boat that drifted away. We have love growing cold because too many people are abdicating their watch.
I used to live on a sailboat for two years, me and my husband. We rarely went in to a marina to use a dock for the night, which means we anchored each night in a cove or sheltered open area. We handled the anchor twice a day, letting it down at dusk for the night and lifting it up in the morning when we left. We would look for two things: good anchoring ground and a protected area. Then we would make a plan for anchoring, me at the helm and him at the bow pointing us to the spot he had decided on. Next, we made a pass over the spot, ensuring there were no hidden dangers that would give a nasty surprise that night. Then we would go through the process of anchoring, making sure the anchor was well set.
Finally, though we were stopped for the day and relaxing, we never fully relaxed. One or the other of us would continually take sightings, check the anchor line and generally be on guard, even getting up in the night, lest we drift away. Props to my husband (and me) because our vigilance and fore-planning meant we never slipped anchor. We always awoke the next morning where we had stopped the night before.
We up anchor at sunrise on a Georgia river, circa 1994.
The thing that begins love growing cold is taking your eyes off Jesus the Light and replacing Him with a world view. A world view is satan. The second you give satan an inch, he will bring his crowbar in and pry you away from your first love, inch by incremental inch. That is why it takes an entire body to be on guard, you may not notice your own drift away by inches, but someone else looking at you may spot it.
1 Peter 5:8 says to be alert. 1 Peter 5:8 says to keep watch (for Jesus). 1 Thessalonians 5:6 says do not go to sleep.
Admittedly, it is a lot of work to tend the anchor of our salvation. You cannot relax, yet our carnal nature very much wants to. I understand that. What people consistently fail to understand is how devastating even a few moments of relaxing are. Ultimately, failure to tend the anchor is a neglecting of our salvation and that salvation was bought at too great a price to neglect it. (1 Corinthians 6:20).
God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns. (Psalm 46:1-5)
By Elizabeth Prata
Consider this verse-
For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. (Romans 12:3).
Paul began the chapter with talking about our bodies as a living sacrifice, and continued after verse 3 with tying it to the spiritual gifts and our entwinement with each other as members of the Body. The concepts here are service and sacrifice.
“Measure of faith” is defined at Logos as “A biblical term referring to the spiritual capacity or level of belief given by God to individuals.”
But translating and understanding what God meant by ‘measure of faith’ turned out to be not so easy. But I loved wrestling with scripture.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains the measure of faith is not justifying faith. We all have that equally. It is not the spiritual gift of faith, only some have that. He used George Muller as an example of someone given the gift of deep, trusting faith “who was was able to pray with confidence and assurance and the amazing things happened that we can read“.
So what IS the ‘measure’ of faith? Commenter Marvin Vincent (1887) wrote that it is a difficult phrase to translate. I found this to be true. Preachers or commenters Martyn Lloyd Jones, John MacArthur, RC Sproul, Matthew Henry etc all interpreted it slightly differently. However, there are three concepts that stood out- first, God gives the faith, second, for the measure of faith we are given, we use in conjunction with our spiritual gifts to serve. Thirdly, we must not become conceited about our faith or our gifts nor think more highly than ourselves over another person.
Here, J. Witmer in John Walvoord’s The Bible Knowledge Commentary acknowledges Paul’s ‘involved word play’ in this verse:
“By his involved word play on various forms of the verb phroneō, “to think,” Paul emphasized that human pride is wrong (cf. 3:27; 11:18, 20) partly because all natural abilities and spiritual gifts are from God. As a result every Christian should have a proper sense of humility and an awareness of his need to be involved with other members of Christ’s body. As Paul explained, a parallelism exists between a believer’s physical body which has parts with differing functions and the community of believers in Christ as a spiritual body (cf. 1 Cor. 12:12–27; Eph. 4:11–12, 15–16). The point is that each member functions to serve the body, not the body to serve the members.”
Marvin Vincent in Word Studies in the New Testament, (1887) focuses on the word measure, saying our entry into the Kingdom at conversion means we now see ourselves measured against God as our new standard of measurement-
“Faith, in introducing him into God’s kingdom, introduces him to new standards of measurement, according to which he accurately determines the nature and extent of his powers, and so does not think of himself too highly. This measure is different in different individuals, but in every case faith is the determining element of the measure. Paul, then, does not mean precisely to say that a man is to think more or less soberly of himself according to the quantity of faith which he has, though that is true as a fact; but that sound and correct views as to the character and extent of spiritual gifts and functions are fixed by a measure.”
As usual, the solid and trustworthy Matthew Henry in his commentary on the whole Bible (1704) brought Jesus into the discussion-
“Because God deals out his gifts in a certain measure: According to the measure of faith. Observe, The measure of spiritual gifts he calls the measure of faith, for this is the radical grace. What we have and do that is good is so far right and acceptable as it is founded in faith, and flows from faith, and no further. Now faith, and other spiritual gifts with it, are dealt by measure, according as Infinite Wisdom sees meet for us. Christ had the Spirit given him without measure, Jn. 3:34. But the saints have it by measure; see Eph. 4:7. Christ, who had gifts without measure, was meek and lowly; and shall we, that are stinted, be proud and self-conceited?”
It seems to me after chasing down all these winding trails and mulling this phrase for the last few days, that my conclusion is we need to employ trust in our Christian church relationships. We of course remember the primary notion, we are each given a measure of faith in which we operate our spiritual gifts. Do not disparage the weaker brother or be jealous of the stronger brother. We all have a different measure.
So, when we hear preaching, trust that the preacher is operating to the widest extent in his good service to Jesus. When we see hospitable women hosting the sisters, trust that she is operating her faith and using her gifts to the fullest extent according to the measure given her. And so on for each person and each gift. We are one body, and what one does affects the others.
Simply put, use grace to think more highly of others. If we are going to measure anything, measure ourselves in sound judgment to ensure we are serving Jesus with all our mind, heart, soul, and body.
Previously, the word was Transcendence. God is apart from His creation, different from it. This week the word is Immanent or Immanence,
God’s immanence refers to His presence within His creation. (It is not to be confused with imminence, which refers to the timing of Jesus’ return to earth.) A belief in God’s immanence holds that God is present in all of creation, while remaining distinct from it. In other words, there is no place where God is not. His sovereign control extends everywhere simultaneously. Source GotQuestions
Immanence: God’s presence and activity within the creation and human history. Source: Biblical Doctrine, MacArthur/Mayhue, p 931
God is so majestic! Mysterious! How can He be both apart from His creation, and present within it?! At the same time? It shows who our God is. It’s why I chose these two words one after the other to demonstrate His essential otherness.
One additional notion that is important to emphasize.
Pantheism and deism twist many people’s view of how God relates to His creation. Pantheists believe that everything is God or is a part of God, making Him equal with His creation and unable to act upon it. Deists hold that God is distinct from His creation but deny that He plays an active role in it. Contrary to these and other false views of God, the Bible says that God is both different from His creation and actively upholding it.
That they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, (Acts 17:27).
Note: Modern pantheism is seen in William P. Young’s The Shack, Oprah Winfrey’s promotion of Eckart Tolle, and in Ann Voskamp’s book One Thousand Gifts as an offshoot of pantheism, panentheism. It is easy to twist both immanence and transcendence, either by direct twisting or omitting one in favor of the other. It is why it is important to learn these terms so we retain a balanced view of God.
By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS: I critique an older essay of Jen Wilkin’s, labeling her a false teacher whose trajectory since 2014 has been downward. I translate her false teacher-speech into what she is really saying, in order to demonstrate that even seemingly soft words and faux-kindness have hidden barbs that destroy. I urge discernment when evaluating their messages.
Continue reading “Jen Wilkin has always been egalitarian, see this from 2015”
Something that always surprises me is how tolerant and soft-hearted people are when you mention so-and-so is a false teacher. They look at the person being named as false, and not at Jesus. Certainly they aren’t looking at their Bible. False teachers are of satan. But when you say someone like Joyce Meyer is false, or Beth Moore, they look at Meyer and see a woman who smiles and has a large following and has a Bible in her hand, so they say “But she’s not THAT bad”, or “Have you prayed for her?’ or “Leave her alone- God will sort it out.”
All of those are wrong responses to any named false teacher.
While many people will agree that false teachers exist, when I match the person to the claim, they will balk.
Yet the Bible describes these false ones in the starkest of terms. In just one example, we turn to 2 Peter 2:13-14 which says, ‘they revel in their deceptions’.
suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions as they feast with you, 14having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having hearts trained in greed, accursed children;
John MacArthur preached about these false teachers from the 2 Peter 2:13 verse. He said –
“Further describing their action, Peter with obvious disgust says, “They are stains and blemishes.” Boy, those are absolutely vivid words. The word “stains” is the word filth spots, dirt spots. The word “blemish” is the word scab, or the word defect. It is the idea of dirt spots, defects, filth spots, scabs. They pollute. They’re dirty. They’re foul. They’re diseased. And he says they’re reveling in their deceptions.” Creatures born to be killed.
That means someone like Joyce Meyer is a filth spot. Joel Osteen is a defect. Beth Moore is a scab. THAT is how awful a false teacher is. I’m not saying these things, the Bible is!
Next, do you notice the word revel is used twice in the same verse?! What does revel mean here?
HELPS Word-studies says
tryphḗ (from thryptō, “to break down due to over-indulgence, i.e. living in excessive luxury”) – properly, feebleness brought on by self-indulgence (luxury); (figuratively) moral and spiritual breakdown (“enfeeblement”) from over-indulging in dainty (“delicate”) things, i.e. “dainty living” that deteriorates soul and body.
Their Reveling (2 Peter 2:13–14a), as Warren Wiersbe in The Bible exposition commentary interprets the verse, says-
The words translated “riot” and “sporting” carry the meaning of “sensual reveling.” They also contain the idea of luxury, softness, and extravagance. At the expense of those who support them (2 Peter 2:3), the apostates enjoy luxurious living. In our own society, there are those who plead for funds for their “ministries,” yet live in expensive houses, drive luxury cars, and wear costly clothes. When we remember that Jesus became poor in order to make us rich, their garish lifestyle seems out of step with New Testament Christianity.
Not only do they deceive others, but they even deceive themselves! They can “prove” from the Bible that their lifestyle is right. In ancient times, it was expected that people would revel at night, but these people dared to revel in the daytime, so convinced were they of their practices. A person can become so accustomed to his vices that he sees them as virtues.
These false teachers are born to be killed. Jude 1:4 says certain men were born for condemnation. The 2 Peter verse says they will be destroyed. MacArthur again,
The Greek text actually reads this way, “In their destroying they shall be destroyed.” And that’s…that’s another way to read this, that in the destructive work that they do as they lead people to destruction through their witless, non-reasoning stupidity and living off their passionate instincts, as they consume others in that operation, they will themselves be consumed. They are abandoned to destruction, born for the flesh, born to perish. Sermon- Creatures born to be killed part 1.
It is important to look at the Bible when discerning about false teachers. Because we are sinners, our sin clouds our judgment of others when assessing their output against the Bible. We need the clear word of God to remind us that these teachers whose father is satan, are not just as good as us or just as bad as us. Do not think, “Well, no one is perfect”, or “Well, I sin too.” False teachers are an entirely different beast.
These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved. (2 Peter 2:17).
Springs without water are empty, like the promises of false teachers. They are reserved for blackest darkness in the future. Don’t follow them.
By Elizabeth Prata
Protestia article
When I was in junior high school in 1972, there was a popular thing among the students, especially girls, called a “slam book“. It was usually a ringed notebook in which the owner would write his or her name on the inside cover, and also write the names of all or some of the classmates at the top of each page. Then the notebook would circulate and other students could write anonymous comments about the student written at the top.
Sometimes the comments were nice, but much of the time the comments were cutting, sarcastic, or downright cruel. The anonymity of it tended to encourage the cruelty. Sin natures coming out, and all that. Eventually, the book would land back at the original owner after having thoroughly circulated. If your name was written in the book you wanted to read about yourself but often regretted seeing the comments that were not so nice about yourself. Positive comments were always overshadowed by the negative.
There is a thing called the online disinhibition effect. This is when people online feel less inhibited than they normally would and overshare, or do runaway commenting. The online disinhibition effect works as a boundary-less field where people act less inhibited online than they do facing a person. Then there is the worse ‘toxic online disinhibition effect.’ It’s when you get a person commenting cruelly, sarcastically, using rude language, or trolling. We have seen this all too often.
What is it about anonymity that encourages such cruelty? Being able to write anything about anyone under the cloak of anonymity brings out the worst in us. Anonymity encourages cruel comments by removing accountability, lowering social consequences, and instilling a detachment from the pain your comment inflicts on others. People slam someone and then scroll away. Boundaries and filters fade behind the cloak of anonymity, and our deeper nature leaks out in the poison pen.
It’s an online slam book culture.
At Pray’s Mill Church in Douglasville, GA last year, it was discovered that Josh Buice had been operating anonymously as a troll under eight accounts across different social media, for over three years, anonymously. He had been rebutting comments, slandering others, and generally behaving, in my view, as a junior high schooler writing in a slam book. He was found out, stepped down, and Pray’s Mill assigned other elders to take his place. All of Buice’s online content work was scrubbed. His presidency of the para-church ministry he founded of G3 was changed to now-President Scott Aniol.
Protestia reported last year when this happened,
“Both the church’s and G3’s now-removed statements in May 2025 stated: These accounts (of Josh Buice) were used to publicly and anonymously slander numerous Christian leaders, including faithful pastors (some of whom have spoken at G3 conferences), several PMBC elders, and others. These actions were not only sinful in nature but deeply divisive, causing unnecessary suspicion and strife within the body of Christ, and particularly within the eldership of PMBC.
All that was sad and shocking to us who watched G3 crumble before our eyes. It has been the fastest growing seemingly solid conference in the United States. I attended two of them and was thrilled and edified at the learning being offered. We never guessed that its president was operating a slam book behind the scenes, a deceitful move and one that cost him his ministry presidency, his pastorate, and G3’s reputation.
The Bible forbids gossip, slander, and deceit. They are listed as sins. Pastors are held to a higher standard and are judged more strictly. It was right that Buice stepped down. We were sad about this scandal but encouraged that the Pray’s Mill elders seemed to have understood the gravity of a moral and ethical behavior breach in their pastor. They recovered a bit of their lost reputation by their proper handling of Buice’s deceptive activity.
But then again, maybe they didn’t. Cut to this week.
This week, Protestia published a lengthy investigative article on new allegations coming out of Pray’s Mill Church about their elders. Apparently, as Protestia reported this week,
“Less than a year after Josh Buice’s downfall, current G3 Ministries leaders anonymously distributed damaging allegations against former G3 board member Tom Buck. And rather than admit and defend their actions, these leaders fabricated claims about David Morrill at Protestia and gaslit the Pray’s Mill Baptist Church congregation as being under Satanic attack.”
Gossip, slander, lying, deceit, hypocrisy…again- are SINS.
Incredibly, it was reported that “current G3 board member Jon Norton was personally involved in distributing the anonymous material, which was mailed from Texas while on business (versus mailing from Georgia), using FBC Lindale’s name and return address (presumably to imply that the dossier came from someone at Tom Buck’s church, and was previously brought to his elders by a known accuser), and using latex gloves during the process to ensure fingerprints were not left on the mailed materials.“
“Witnesses indicated this was done to prevent the packets from being traced back to G3 Ministries (from which Buck had recently resigned amid concerns over post-Buice leadership), and that all Pray’s Mill elders were aware of the mailings.” [bold theirs].
The accusations by Pray’s Mill elders were not even against one of the members in their own church! They circulated this packet against a former member of the board who had resigned long ago and lived quite a distance from Georgia, in Texas.
I read the entire Protestia article, I found it balanced, thorough, and credible.
Reactions have been running the range from disappointment, incredulity, and renouncing any participating in the conference culture.
I am heartbroken over the fall of any formerly credible ministry or pastor. But the deception and hypocrisy in this act is inexcusable. It is particularly grievous after this same church practiced church discipline correctly a year ago over the same issues of anonymous slander and causing division. The accusations emerging this week leveled by the Pray’s Mill elders were against a good pastor, one of whom was crafty enough to use latex gloves so fingerprints would not be traced back to their church! were found to be largely untrue, some true but minor, already handled, and less incendiary than the packet mailed around made out.
There are many scriptures dealing with how we are to behave toward one another. I’ll post just a few.
but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in trickery nor distorting the word of God, but by the open proclamation of the truth commending ourselves to every person’s conscience in the sight of God. (2 Corinthians 4:2).
For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or [a]by way of deceit. (1 Thessalonians 2:3).
The north wind brings rain, And a gossiping tongue brings an angry face. (Proverbs 25:23).
As we watch the ugliness unfold, there are lessons for us. Don’t just ‘tut tut’ from the sidelines. When we see something like this happen, remember that sinners be sinning and we’re sinners too. We need to remember our gut reaction to seeing people’s sin exposed, and remember it’s just as ugly when we ourselves gossip, slander, cause division, and deceive. I’ve been saying to myself with renewed energy, ‘Goodness, I do not want to be that person, behave honorably at all costs!’
14As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, 15but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16because it is written: “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.” (1 Peter 1:14-16).
Further Resources
Haman’s Gallows: Phil Johnson’s remarks about the current G3/Pray’s Mill scandal. “One wonders how this itch to discredit or destroy their adversaries by anonymous dirty tricks crept into G3’s DNA. This will be another scandal G3 did not need, and it is one they probably cannot survive.”
Resignation from G3 Ministries: By Ethan Jago.
About that Anonymous Accusation: By Tom Ascol (article on X)
By Elizabeth Prata
Is prophecy happening in today’s era? If not, then what about the verse in Acts that says it’s ongoing?
the-end-time.org 