discernment – Page 31

Did God really say “You are precious to me, you are honored, and I love you”? Women’s ministries today

Posted on January 6, 2017January 6, 2017 by elizabethprata

Sure, I walk around every day in Renaissance hair and a wedding dress
clutching a crumpled leaf. FYI, read to the end regarding this very verse.

Over these last ten and twenty years we have become used to women’s ministers and Bible teachers preaching the consistent message of female empowerment of one sort or another. They put out messages like, “You are beautiful”, “You are wonderful.” “Jesus created you with a cosmically important job that only you can do”. These Bible teachers seek to encourage women, which is good, but they do so by appealing to our self-esteem and growth on the basis of strengths and qualities we possess. What their message boils down to is that we become God-approved by becoming more of ourselves. The cumulative message from all these teachers leads to a place no Christian wants to be. The end result is not growth, but apostasy; not encouragement, but despair.

Here is an example of the mixed messages we see, these are from Christine Caine, founder of Propel, a female empowerment ministry. Caine is an activist, not an evangelist, though she claims the opposite.

Live an unexplainable life, because you were chosen uniquely for a cosmic task ONLY you can accomplish (not God?) so press through and take risks. But don’t be arrogant, self-assertive or self-confident about it! #Mixed messages, Mrs Caine.

That’s the trouble with appealing to women’s emotions and qualities. While these teachers want to make affirmations to women that we are sensitive snowflakes melting in love with Jesus who is in turn melting in love with us, we also possess power, accomplish important tasks, and live a risky unexplainable life to accomplish it all. That is why the encouragement turns to despair- it doesn’t add up. The cognitive dissonance grates.

While previous generations of Bible teachers like early Kay Arthur and Elisabeth Elliot taught that our power is in God through submission to Him within the limits of the roles He has outlined for us, these past few generations of Bible teachers teach that our power is in us as women and it demonstrates sanctifying growth when we act on it, which God affirms by giving us more power.

Blogger Phylicia Delta wrote this week on the topic. It’s a good essay that makes the point, from which I’ll post some excerpts below-

Dear Women’s Ministry, Stop Telling Me I’m Beautiful

If I judged Christianity by its women’s conferences, I’d be led to believe that the Bible is no more than a series of compliments from God to man. Instead, the real story is far less complimentary and far more humiliating. Jesus didn’t come to earth because we were beautiful, special, or great. He came because we were too grossly sinful to bridge the gap between ourselves and God.

That’s not a message we want to hear from the stage of Extraordinary Women, is it? But it’s the one we need, because women who think they’re pretty awesome don’t need a Savior. [emphasis hers]

The truth is that I’m not beautiful, special, or all that unique. I’m born into sin, bent to rebellion. My insecurities and fears are too deep, pulsing through Adam’s blood in my veins. They can’t be rooted out with shallow “encouragements”.

The solution is simple. Stop preaching the easy message, and start preaching the right one. Stop exalting us as women and start exalting Christ.

A few days later, I noticed this satirical post from the Babylon Bee, which makes the point about the end result of all these esteem-laced female “encouraging messages”.

Woman Unsure Why She Needs Jesus After Preacher Spends 30 Minutes Telling Her How Amazing She Is

TWIN OAKS, AZ—According to reports coming out of Hope Community Church, first-time visitor Brittany Wilson remains unsure about why she needed “this Jesus guy” in her life after the pastor spent the entire Sunday sermon reiterating how awesome, amazing, unique, and special she is.

“The message was super-encouraging. It was all about how I need to let the goodness within me shine and ‘just do me,’ without worrying about all the haters,” Wilson said after the service.

“But then the pastor said I needed Jesus, out of the blue. Like, what? It made no sense. I’m not sure what He has to offer that I don’t, based on how wonderful the pastor said I am.”

Do you see the devastating cumulative effect of the mixed messages? The point of these particular kind of women’s studies and Bible teachers is to appeal to the pride of life. Satan did it in the Garden with Eve. Resist, ladies! The main way to resist being deceived is to stay in the Word. Read and study the Bible. Another way is also feed on good and solid books and studies, like this one-

Women’s Ministry in the Local Church

I have not read this book but it is on my ‘to-read’ list.

There is a way to do women’s ministry biblically. This book addresses that. Here is the publisher’s synopsis:

Susan Hunt and Ligon Duncan walk through the Scriptures to help readers better understand what it means to have an effective, biblical women’s ministry in the church. The benefits of women’s ministries are great: training and discipling, evangelizing, and reaching out to the poor and needy. This book, written by seasoned ministry leaders, provides many proven tools to help start a women’s ministry in your church.

Here is a verified purchaser’s review of the book:

This book was very helpful in understanding the biblical view of women’s roles in the church. It encourages the empowerment of women in a positive way. This is an excellent guide for developing a meaningful ministry to women of all ages within the church body. Women want to know how God can use them to make a difference for His kingdom and this book addresses that concern very well.

As for the difficulty with many female Bible teachers in this day and age, and the Instagram, Pinterest, & other Social Media picture verses they put out… the Isaiah 43:4 verse above is a partial verse! Usually when a partial verse is written, it’s proper to indicate so, either by stating it or by putting a or b after the verse to show if it’s the beginning part of the verse one has excerpted or the latter part of the verse you’ve excerpted. In this case, the verse should read Isaiah 43:4a since the author saw fit to only paste the first half of it.

The FULL verse reads:

Since you were precious in my sight, you have been honorable, and I have loved you: therefore will I give men for you, and people for your life.

The word “since” here is key. It connects the former verse to the latter verses. It is a concluding thought. As a reader one must have the previous verses in mind when arriving at the conclusion, which in this case begins “Since”. Excising the since off the verse destroys both the meaning and the context.

So first, ladies, when you re-post a social media verse like this, check the actual Bible to see it is at the address stated and if it is the entire verse.

Secondly, CONTEXT is key. In the verse, God has been talking to the Prophet Isaiah to tell the NATION ISRAEL His message, not special snowflake ladies in the 21st century. Moreover, He is not telling them that He is so in love with them, as the way the verse is presented over the photo. He is saying that he is setting apart the NATION and will keep it intact, even to the point of KILLING men (nations) to do so. Puts a different spin on the whole thing, doesn’t it? Barnes’ Notes explains the verse:

Since thou wast precious in my sight – This verse contains another reason why God would defend and deliver them. That reason was, that he had loved them as his people; and he was willing, therefore, that other people should be overcome in order that they might be saved.

Thou hast been honorable – This does not refer so much to their personal character, as it does to the fact that they had been honored by him with being the depository of the precious truths of his religion. It means that he had made them honorable by the favors bestowed on them; not that they were honorable in reference to their own personal character and worth. [emphasis mine]

Therefore will I give men for thee – As in the case of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba Isaiah 43:3. He would cause other nations to be destroyed, if it were necessary, in order to effect their deliverance, and to restore them to their own land.

Puts an entirely different spin on things, doesn’t it?

I hope you have enjoyed reading this two-fold lesson. Firstly, we looked at women’s ministries and how their skewed emphasis perverts the mind of women into thinking their inherent worth is the reason God is so concerned with them. I quoted from two articles, one was a well-written article from Phylicia Delta and the other was a satire piece from the Babylon Bee.

Secondly I used as an example one of the women’s ministry photos I found on Pinterest to demonstrate how verses are twisted to falsely emphasize how God is allegedly concerned with women as special women He is in love with. Double check all memes before posting, please.

Now that you are aware of these discernment issues, what can we do about them? You can buy the above mentioned book by Duncan and Hunt about Women’s ministries. You can pause before clicking the meme to check that it’s actually a verse, the whole verse in context, and the correct address. You can check out the MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) offered for free at Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary called Biblical Theology of Womanhood I and II. It’s free. I have not taken it so I can’t say one way or another if it’s good. I have signed up. I’ll let you know. There are many free courses, usually MOOCs, that can be taken either through colleges or seminaries or places like Ligonier or other parachurch ministries. As always, use your prayerful discernment when submitting to teaching.

Ladies, don’t be taken in by pop psychology self-esteem teaching. We love who Jesus made us to be, but we love him more for who He is.

discernment, Uncategorized

What does it mean, you will recognize them by their fruits?

Posted on January 4, 2017January 4, 2017 by elizabethprata

Sinclair Ferguson preached on the Sermon on the Mount in a recent series (Sermon on the Mount)
In the second-to-last sermon called Ultimate Choices delivered on January 3, he taught about how we recognize the false ones by their fruit. There are some spiritual tests to discern whether they are true or not. He said (and I recommend the entire half-hour sermon!)

You will recognize them by their fruits. What does this mean?

1. Does this person remind me of the character and speech of the Lord Jesus Christ? Spiritual fruit in scripture, especially in the NT, is first and foremost likeness to Jesus in character and in speech. Alas, so often, that spiritual test will enable you to see thru a spiritual charlatan.

2. And then you need to ask the question what is the fruit if this ministry and those who are influenced by it? What is the fruit of this teaching as you see the impact of it? Jesus is saying not only look at the person’s teaching and their character, but look at the impact he makes on others.

See if this person’s teaching enables them to grow in fruit of the spirit. See if what he teaches sets them free from himself, to live for the glory of God.

3.Many will say Lord Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name etc … Jesus will say to them depart from me I never knew you. Here, Jesus is teaching us to distinguish, to judge, to discern between the possession of abilities that impress us, and the presence of grace that draws us to Jesus Christ. It’s possible to preach wonderfully eloquently, to prophesy, but apparently not really be a genuine Christian believer.

4. The test is this- does the teaching draw my eyes to the Lord Jesus? Or does it draw my eyes to him, her, the gifts they have, the impression they make? It is this that helps us make the judgment of whether we follow this teacher.

In the January 2 sermon from the same series, called Condemnation and Discernment, Ferguson looked at the verse from Matthew 7, “Judge not, that you be not judged” is the most misunderstood teaching from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus who says judgment in the form of condemning is dangerous, but judgment in the form of discerning is absolutely essential.”

I recommend that half-hour sermon also.

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Crouching at sin’s door: Lessons from Lot

Posted on January 2, 2017January 2, 2017 by elizabethprata

Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.” So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting. (Genesis 19:12-14).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When their combined flocks grew too large to sustain them on the land, Abraham suggested to Lot that they separate. Abraham said he would go left if Lot chose to go right, or he would go right if Lot chose to go left. Lot had his choice of anywhere to settle. Interestingly, Lot pitched his tent NEAR Sodom. (Genesis 13:12).

We meet Lot again, and this time he is living IN the city. (Genesis 14:12.) No longer a sojourner in a tent, he has a house.

The next time we meet Lot he is serving as magistrate FOR the city. (Genesis 19:1).

What is meant by the term in Genesis 19:1, “he was sitting at the gate” is that Lot was part of its government. Middle Eastern men of that time were not simply whittling as they rocked in leisure at the front gate. This term ‘sitting at the gate’ means they were the officials of the city, both to greet visitors and determine their business, friend or foe; and also to settle disputes among its citizens.

In 2 Peter 2:7–8 Lot is called righteous. We know that God considered him so because he did not destroy Lot when the angels came to overthrow the cities. When brimstone came down, Lot had already been warned to leave. Lot had (weakly) tried to warn the aroused mob that what they were doing were evil deeds (Genesis 19:7). Perhaps he had tried to be a good leader to his household and a righteous example in the city, because the 2 Peter verse says Lot was vexed by the sin all around him.

Putting aside the ‘perhapses’, when push came to shove, Lot’s testimony had been so tarnished that his family thought he was joking when He spoke of imminent judgment from God. Joking.

And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it. (Genesis 4:6b).

Despite the city’s reputation for evil and sin, Lot had chosen to pitch his tents near it. This was a mistake. The Bible warns us to flee from sin, not test it. (1 Corinthians 6:18, Ephesians 4:27)

My own prayer is that I beseech the Lord to aid me in fleeing sin, cutting it off, resisting it. (Genesis 39:12, Matthew 5:30, Hebrews 12:4), so that when I speak of Him, the words are taken seriously. What a crushing blow to love the Lord and to have hated sin, but to have lived so weakly that when speaking of Him, it’s a joke to the hearers. Lord, let it not be so. Let my words be honoring to You and let my life exalt you also.

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2016 By the Numbers, part 1. Top blog essays this year

Posted on December 28, 2016December 28, 2016 by elizabethprata

It was a good year, fast coming and fast leaving. It seems like it was just 2008, and now it’s nearly a decade later. Time hurries. Where does it go?

I haven’t done as much as I’d hoped for the Lord and yet I’m sure there are things I’ve done that I’m not aware of that pleased Him more than things I purposely did for Him which didn’t. I worked, laughed, studied, rested, helped, worshiped…all the things. I hope it was not striving after wind!

The Preacher wrote,

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

The end of the matter, the end of the year. All has been done…

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

Before we get too maudlin, we do rejoice in His cyclical march of time and seasons. We even rejoice that there is nothing new under the sun. Our God is ever stable, never changing, the same yesterday, today and forever!

As for me, the march of time includes another blogging year. This year I started another, mirror blog to this one, over at WordPress. http://www.the-end-time.org. It’s a back-up in case the blogger blog gets suspended for “hate speech”, something that seemed to happen a lot after last June’s Supreme Court decision legitimizing (to the secular world.) homosexual marriage.

The Lord in His grace allowed me to blog each and every day, or more. I published over 365 essays that had the intent of glorifying Him and/or edifying the sisters in faith. Of the most popular essays, that is to say number of views, because one particular essay was certainly not popular, are the essays in the discernment spheres.

I write essays in three spheres: discernment, prophecy, and encouragement. Of the three kinds, the discernment essays garner the most views. Of the top ten viewed essays this year, 9 were discernment essays. Most of those discernment essays that received the most views were about Beth Moore. Apparently people still need warning about her. I would hope that the interest in discernment is because these essays help sisters grow in faith. There is nothing worse than false doctrine deceiving many, with the sole exception of dying in sins.

I know part of it is that people like a good fight, and the discernment essays to some are just that. Juicy fights they can wrap their fleshly mind around. But I write them because they are necessary. What someone does with them in their mind is up to them and the Holy Spirit. Discernment is so important to me, just as much as it was 12 months ago at the last year-end blog review and 8 years ago when I started this blog. I’ll relate an example of how important discernment is that I’d I shared on the blog last month.

I’ll follow that up with a real example that happened to me in the discernment realms two weeks ago. I write about the dangers of Beth Moore a lot. I’ve written about her numerous times. I was getting tired of writing about Beth Moore. Surely everyone knows she’s false. Surely everyone is up to speed, I’d begun to think.

Well, someone, somewhere posted a link to an old essay I’d written about Beth Moore. It suddenly was getting a lot of traction. I mean, like thousands of views per day. I received an email from a younger woman. She said thank you for the essay, and she said “this is the first time I’ve ever heard anything bad about Beth Moore.” I wept in gratitude that the Spirit is so faithful. So yes, I point fingers, and I always will.

I was speaking with a young lady the other day about this and she said she didn’t know until recently there were problems with Beth Moore. So, discernment will continue.

Overall, I hope that every encouraging article, every discernment lesson, every prophecy explained, glorifies Jesus and helps someone out there. With that, here are the top ten viewed essays in 2016 on The End Time. After those, my own personal top favorite essays 🙂

10. “Anyone can find the dirt in someone”… How Facebook helps twist God’s Word
Facebook memes using God’s word…be careful. Facebook is wonderful for perpetuating false teaching and ridiculous memes. I’d written,

No matter what translation you look at the verse in, the sentiment expressed on the photo is not the same as the one stated in the Word. Every translation mentions evil, but the scripture photo mentions only good. … That’s the trouble with Twitter, Facebook, etc. Only half the verse is shown. Or it’s ripped from its context (Jeremiah 29:11 comes immediately to mind).

9. Here is the one non-discernment essay that made the top ten. Kay Cude is a Texas poet, an elder woman with wisdom in her mind and love for Jesus in her heart. He gave her a talent for combining the two in poetic language, and I’ve been blessed to be the recipient of it and allowed to publish her work here.

Kay Cude poetry: Endurance

Here is an excerpt

8. Most of the discernment essays had to do with the ubiquitous and ever false Beth Moore. I cannot wait until the Lord stops her mouth. (Titus 1:11). This essay looks at the story she often tells, The Hairbrush. I have a personal connection to this story via her LPM lesson and a ladies retreat.

Discernment Lesson: Deconstructing Beth Moore’s most popular story

A third way to look at this popular story of course is to compare it directly to scripture. It’s hard to know exactly where to start because Moore doesn’t teach scripture. She teaches feelings, events, and stories. Joel Osteen waves his Bible at the beginning of every broadcast. The crawl along the bottom of the TV flashes scripture addresses, but Osteen never really says what the scripture is about. Thus he and Moore and others look like they are teaching the Bible, but they really aren’t.

7. Unbiblical divorce is an issue in Christendom. Two high-profile ministry parents, James R. White and Beth Moore, had daughters who divorced. One did so biblically nad publicly in 2016 and one did so secretly and quietly in 2013. This essay looked at both dovorces from women who say they are in the faith.

Two divorce cases: Summer White and Melissa Moore

6. Beth Moore again. People must need constant teaching as to why this dangerous woman must be avoided. This essay received over 4000 views. It’s a biblical look at the verse in Matthew 18:18–20 about what we bind on earth is bound in heaven, and how Moore’s increasing Charismaticism is destructive to solid exposition-

Beth Moore binding prayers

5. I looked at a sermon by Martyn Lloyd-Jones and Beth Moore teaching the exact same verse, and showed through a point-by-point discernment lesson how Moore’s varied from scripture, and why. Though it is helpful and biblical to point fingers at false teachers and warn, it is more helpful to show why and how. I seek to do that. However, be it known that I have no problem with pointing fingers, naming names, or warning incessantly in discernment for the protection and help of the weaker sisters. I am unapologetic and unhesitating about that, because the Bible tells us to do it, and because it is a spiritual gift the Holy Spirit delivered to me.

Discernment Lesson: Comparing a Beth Moore & Martyn Lloyd Jones teaching on on the same verse

4. Ravi Zacharias. What a sad essay I had to write with that one. No one is above being looked at for their teaching, if they claim to speak God’s words and do any evangelizing, witnessing, or missionary work etc., on His behalf. Ambassadors must be examined to see if they are:

A. Teaching rightly according to the word (not twisting or introducing false doctrine as per 2 Timothy 2:15),
B. Delivering the King’s FULL message (Acts 20:27).

Was there any part of God’s word Paul shrank from delivering? Was there any message Paul felt was too delicate, too incendiary, too strong for the people to hear? Was there any message Paul felt was not a part of contending for the faith? No. However, there is much from the Word that Zacharias will not speak. My essay shared that, plus looked as his lack of discernment in partnering with heretics and also endeavoring in rhetoric and fine sounding arguments from philosophy. This essay resonated. It received almost 10,000 views.

On Discerning Ravi Zacharias: It’s time to say what needs to be said

3. My little blog gets help from some other bloggers when they link to mine. Thanks, fellow bloggers! Someone linked to this one, and it received over 12,000 views. Thank you so much!

The problem with tolerating false teachers is…

A friend and I were talking about the younger church generation. A kind of “Kids these days” conversation, lol. She said, “They’ve been swimming in Beth Moore stuff for so long they don’t know if they are even in troubled water.” She and I, and others I’ve spoken with, notice the younger generation of 16-25 year olds simply do not have a solid theological grounding. They do not approach Bible study credibly. They infuse it with feelings, mysticism, romanticism, and subjective experience. They think this is the norm.
This is wrong.
And it is our fault.

Home and Garden TV (HGTV) presently has on its schedule a very popular show called “Fixer Upper.” Its hosts are Chip and Joanna Gaines, a married couple from Waco Texas. The show gained popularity because of its wholesomeness and the design of the home-stager Joanna. It gained more popularity when local Baylor University and Gaines Alum Joanna partnered to produce a testimony video which allegedly shared her Christian faith. I was troubled by what I’d heard and seen in the video and more troubled when I’d watched three seasons of Fixer Upper straight through. The Gaines lifestyle didn’t seem to match up with what they were saying in interviews and videos and articles and on their show. So…I did two articles which looked first at Joanna’s testimony, and secondly at their life compared to the Bible and to what they say. To this day, these essays are the most popularly viewed on the blog. Number two received 18,410 views.

2. Looking at HGTV’s Fixer Upper Joanna Gaines’ testimony: Christianity, or Prosperity Gospel?

Several years ago a Waco business developer/realty/design/construction company generally named Magnolia run by Chip and Joanna Gaines were contacted to star in a HGTV fixer upper show. The first episode aired in April 2014 and has become an instant hit for the network. Ratings in the first season were through the roof. This phenomenon was largely attributed to the couple’s likability and charisma, good looks, and business savvy.

1. Below is part 2, the top blog essay of the year, 91,365 views. Unbelievers HATE lifestyle discernment essays. But we look at both the doctrine and the behavior of a person who claims Christ as their savior. When Paul was outlining the credentials of potential leaders and elders to Timothy, only one attribute related to skill. (“able to teach” 1 Timothy 3:2). The rest were behavior and lifestyle attributes.

The Hypocrisy of Chip and Joanna Gaines

With all the national attention given to folks who claim to be Christians, and have been given a platform to speak it or live it out for all to see, we should examine both their theology and their lifestyle to see if indeed what they are saying lines up with the Bible. In Ms Gaines’ case, her testimony was not biblical. That’s what we saw in yesterday’s essay. Today we examine the Gaines’s lifestyle.

Discernment still matters, sisters. Just because another year has passed and we have grown in faith, does not mean we have outgrown discernment. We haven’t. Some might find it distasteful, but beware. Dispensing with contending for the faith brings with it its own problems. There are always those born into the faith who do not know. Our own discernment must be, as Sinclair Ferguson says below, “constantly nourished”

What is Discernment?

Most of us doubtless want to distance ourselves from what might be regarded as “the lunatic fringe” of contemporary Christianity. We are on our guard against being led astray by false teachers. But there is more to discernment than this. True discernment means not only distinguishing the right from the wrong; it means distinguishing the primary from the secondary, the essential from the indifferent, and the permanent from the transient. And, yes, it means distinguishing between the good and the better, and even between the better and the best.

Thus, discernment is like the physical senses; to some it is given in unusual measure as a special grace gift (1 Cor. 12:10), but some measure of it is essential for us all and must be constantly nourished. The Christian must take care to develop his “sixth sense” of spiritual discernment. This is why the psalmist prays, “Teach me good judgment and knowledge” (Ps. 119:66).

Ferguson continues with defining discernment, showing 4 impacts of how discernment affects the way we live, and teaching how such discernment it to be obtained.

John MacArthur writes What is Biblical Discernment and Why is it Important?

In its simplest definition, discernment is nothing more than the ability to decide between truth and error, right and wrong. Discernment is the process of making careful distinctions in our thinking about truth. In other words, the ability to think with discernment is synonymous with an ability to think biblically.

So those are the top ten essays that the public viewed and consumed this year. My personal favorite essays, though, were

Wynter Awakeneth All My Care

Ex-Wham! singer George Michael dead

The Forgotten Victorian Craze for Collecting Seaweed, and other biblical thoughts on women’s roles

Jachin and Boaz, two named Temple columns

The beauty of creation at the microscopic level

East is from the west: cardinal directions in the Bible

I live a small life in obscurity. Can I really make a difference for God?

It was an ordinary day, and the woman was thirsty (I love, love, love the woman at the well story. It’s my favorite, along with Hagar in the desert)

God’s word goes out and does not return void: Faroe Islands

Relief in Christ, a soul rejoices

The curse of thorns and the crown of thorns

I love the encouragement essays and the praise essays. I like writing them and I pray they encourage others as well. I also love researching the natural history essays, learning about linen-making or the onions of the Nile or the animals in the Bible.

Lord willing I’ll still be blogging as much and in truth throughout 2017. Happy New Year all!

discernment, Uncategorized

Examining Christmas traditions #1: Do angels sing?

Posted on December 16, 2016 by elizabethprata

It’s the Christmas season and the lights are up inside homes and all over the neighborhood. Children are having photos with Santa and moms and dads are hurriedly finishing their shopping lists. Kids at school are doing Christmas crafts with paint and Popsicle sticks and teachers are counting the days until Christmas vacation. Churches have cookie swaps and families enjoy the annual classics, “It’s A Charlie Brown Christmas”, “Frosty The Snowman”, and “It’s A Wonderful Life”. In the south where it is warmer and more rural, many places host a live Nativity, where animals roam in an enclosure and a manger is set up with shepherds, Joseph, Mary, and a baby (or a doll) for the enjoyment and interest of the locals. These are some of our annual traditions here in America.

There are traditions regarding the Christmas story within the faith, also. We have Christmas carols with lyrics that say that angels sing, set up nativity scenes with Wise Men, erect Christmas trees, and more.

Do these traditions have any bearing from scripture? If not should we care? If not, should we abandon them? Accept them? Are we disrespecting Christ by perpetuating them? Or not?

In this essay from Answers In Genesis, “Hark! The Herald Angels Said?“, the author wrote,

The idea of angels singing on the night of Christ’s birth has become so common that many are surprised to learn that the Bible does not unequivocally state this. This example provides a good opportunity to discuss traditions. In and of themselves, traditions are not wrong, but they must be based on and consistent with Scripture. If they contradict Scripture, then they must be rejected. …

One of the points of this series on misconceptions is to lead us all to look closely at what the Bible teaches. Far too often traditions have been the basis of our thinking, and we end up believing things that are not found in Scripture. We have heard and sung about angels singing on that night so often that many do not bother to look closely at the text.

Looking at the specific issue of whether angels sing, we do know there are a great many Christmas carols saying they do. However, scripture never indicates once that the angels sing. They shout, proclaim, and praise, but not sing. However, given the various contexts in which they are rejoicing, such as on the night Jesus was born, it is possible they they sang, also.

Answers In Genesis explains things from their view:

As we wrap up this Christmas article (pun intended), you are probably wondering if the angels did sing to the shepherds. In light of the fact that there is a strong connection between praising and singing in the Bible, and since angels, in all likelihood, are capable of singing, there exists biblical support for the tradition of singing angels found in the Christmas hymns.

GotQuestions thinks they do. Robin Schumacher thinks they do. John MacArthur thinks they do. J. Vernon McGee doesn’t think so. Phillip Holmes at Desiring God doesn’t think so either.

Since scripture doesn’t say one way or the other if angels sing, we are not being unscriptural by singing carols that say they do. It’s a tradition that isn’t harmful to a person’s faith if they want to believe angels sing. The point of the season is to focus on Jesus, His incarnation, and respond with song, praise, and worship.

AiG finishes this way:

In any case, when we think about God’s amazing gift of a Savior to mankind on that night, we should glorify and praise God, whether in spoken word or in song, just as the shepherds did on that incredible night after they had seen the newborn King.

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Link-a-palooza: Melton, Shack, amillennialism, discernment, reading challenge

Posted on December 7, 2016December 7, 2016 by elizabethprata

Here are some links that will hopefully edify you, or at least get you thinking. I read a comment from Michelle Dacus Lesley the other day and it stuck with me. She wrote on her Twitter stream

It’s getting hard to tell people to examine false teachers against Scripture for themselves. They’re biblically illiterate & don’t know how.

This is a wise and perceptive statement. Women have been led in Bible study groups for a generation now in study of false teachers like Beth Moore and Joyce Meyer. They’ve been told that social justice is where it’s at and to just go out and ‘do something’. They’ve observed that they way to ‘study’ the Bible is to have an emotional discussion about what the verse means ‘to me’ and worse, ‘how I feel about it’. They have experiences they’re told substitute for theology. They have been given coloring books, stickers, and craft activities and told these activities help in sanctification. Many women don’t know HOW to discern any more.

Rule #1: Read the Bible. Just reading it on a regular basis will be the 80% start to a proper perspective, which is a biblical worldview. To start, you do not need a fancy theology class, a glossy set of text books with fill-in-the blank workbook, or any other materials or skills. Just start reading God’s word.

Rule #2 for gaining discernment is prayer. Asking the Holy Spirit to deliver illumination and wisdom is important for our discerning growth. He will do it. He said so in the verse He inspired.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (James 1:5)

And none of us possesses all the wisdom we need, do we? God is the source and fount of all wisdom. He will deliver understanding to his children. But this is where the partnering with God comes in. As RC Sproul taught in the Justification by Faithonline class at Ligonier,

Regeneration is the sovereign, monergistic work of God the Holy Spirit. Monergism means “one working.” God is the only one who is active in regeneration.
The rest of the process of salvation is a synergistic, cooperative work. We are not passive in our sanctification. Our sanctification is to be a diligent labor that we undertake knowing that we have the grace of God working in us.

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, (Philippians 2:12)

I won’t go into a lengthy discernment lesson here today. Sometime soon, perhaps a discernment series. Meanwhile, here is an excellent essay on how to detect false teachers by William Swan Plumer (1802-1880) who was an American Presbyterian minister. His commentaries on Psalms and Romans are still widely appreciated.

False doctrines and false teachers; how to know them and how to treat them

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Today, you will see by the list of links I’ll post below that discernment is much needed by all in these days, and especially for women, because we are so vulnerable to false doctrine. (1 Timothy 2:13–14, 2 Corinthians 11:3). There are many realms necessary for a heightened attention to discernment, from books, movies, false teachers, false doctrine, and celebrity pastors.

I wrote against Glennon Doyle Melton in 2014. Melton is a hugely popular writer and blogger, who purports to be a Christian. Even back in 2014, I saw very troubling holes in her doctrine. Even before 2014, others could see Melton’s stance was troublesome. When I’d written two years ago I’d flatly and clearly said that she is not a Christian. I wrote an update against Melton last month. Since 2014, Melton has become softer in her doctrine, divorced, become a lesbian, and now she calls God a ‘she.’ With these evidences, no one by any stretch of any imagination can one still say Melton is a Christian. In this post by Amy Spreeman at Berean Examiner, we read more on the latest.

Glennon Doyle Melton calls God a ‘she’.

She’s not the first to call our heavenly Father, Son and Holy Spirit a female. But Melton may well be one of the few “Christians” to do so. (The Washington Post and People Magazine have both referred to her as a Christian writer, though you won’t see her proclaiming the Gospel or talking about Jesus Christ much.) And thanks to the upcoming The Shack movie, calling the God-head a woman will soon be pretty ho-hum and why not.

Speaking of The Shack, the blockbuster book from 2007 is now being released as a movie.

The Shack is an upcoming American drama film directed by Stuart Hazeldine and co-written by John Fusco, based on the 2007 novel of same name by William P. Young so begins the obligatory Wikipedia entry.

I’d written against The Shack in 2008 and twice in 2009.

The Shack is a devilish deception
The Shack is a doctrine of demons
Why Christians Should Not Read The Shack

This week, Dr. Albert Mohler, President of Southern Seminary and Boyce College, wrote an important piece titled,

The Shack — The Missing Art of Evangelical Discernment

In the shack, “Mack” meets the divine Trinity as “Papa,” an African-American woman; Jesus, a Jewish carpenter; and “Sarayu,” an Asian woman who is revealed to be the Holy Spirit. The book is mainly a series of dialogues between Mack, Papa, Jesus, and Sarayu. Those conversations reveal God to be very different than the God of the Bible. “Papa” is absolutely non-judgmental, and seems most determined to affirm that all humanity is already redeemed.

Photo from The Shack Movie site.
Depicted from left are “Jesus”, the main character Mack (in jacket)
“God”, and “Holy Spirit”. This is offensive in the extreme.

I’ve received the comment quite often that The Shack “is only fiction” and by tacit extension, therefore harmless. Not so. However Dr. Mohler said,

it is also a sustained theological argument, and this simply cannot be denied. Any number of notable novels and works of literature have contained aberrant theology, and even heresy. The crucial question is whether the aberrant doctrines are features of the story or the message of the work. When it comes to The Shack, the really troubling fact is that so many readers are drawn to the theological message of the book, and fail to see how it conflicts with the Bible at so many crucial points.

I recommend his essay highly.

Speaking of ‘Christian’ books, Steven at the Author of My Faith who is a “a Doctrines of Grace, Credobaptist, Complementarian, Cessationist, Amillennial, Christian who loves Jesus Christ’ writer, comments on the lack of integrity in the ‘Christian’ book industry

After witnessing first-hand the lack of integrity that is involved in Christian publishing, the video below helps to make sense of it all. It’s all about the money. It doesn’t matter if the story is true or even orthodox, the bottom line is; can it sell?

The video IS helpful, it explains the connections between the process of raising up a celebrity pastor and his books, and why those books are important to the publishing industry.

The blogger Steve I linked to above said on his About page that he is an amillennialist. A friend of mine recently asked why so many Reformed believing pastors and leaders seem to dismiss the biblical truth that Jesus is planning to gather the saints before the tribulation begins, return when it’s concluded and reign from his earthly kingdom for 1000 years (Millennial Kingdom). Disbelieving the earthly reign of Jesus, or treating the verses referring to is as symbolical only, is amillennialism. I really didn’t have an answer, but I agreed with her that it seems that though many Reformed pastors preach expositorily and well on many verses and doctrines, when it came to eschatology, especially the post-Tribulation events such as the 1000 year reign, they whiff it.

Here is a book recommended by Grace Community Church’s Mike Riccardi. It’s called Amillennialism and the Age to Come by Matt Waymeyer. This book is a solid and charitable defense of premillennialsim (the stance that Jesus is going to gather His saints before the Millennial Kingdom is physically established on earth when the Tribulation is concluded). Here is an excerpt from the preface of Waymeyer’s book.

One of the most encouraging developments in evangelicalism over the past several decades has been the remarkable resurgence of reformed theology. This rediscovery of the doctrines of grace has not only captured the Bible’s emphasis on the sovereignty of God in salvation but also strengthened the unity of the church around the centrality of the gospel.

In the area of eschatology, however, I have noticed two concerning trends among those who have joined this reformation. The first involves what I call eschatological agnosticism. To be sure, eschatology is one of the most difficult theological issues to understand, especially when it comes to the finer details. But some Christians, although diligent students of Scripture in every other area, avoid the topic altogether and appear content to place themselves in the category of undecided. Some even seem proud of their agnosticism, as if ignorance about the meaning of biblical prophecy is evidence of a commitment to more significant matters. But affirming the centrality of the gospel should not mean dismissing the importance of how God will accomplish the restoration of all things to Himself. Scripture reveals too much about the subject of eschatology for Christians to be content in the dark, especially those who preach the Word and shepherd the flock.

A second trend is the way that some Christians are quick to embrace amillennialism simply because they see it as the reformed position on the end times. This appears to be most common among former Arminians. After an initial exposure to reformed theology, they spend the next several years diligently studying the Bible’s teaching on predestination before finally identifying themselves as Calvinists. But their subsequent conversion to amillennialism takes place overnight—and oftentimes with very little first-hand study of the biblical text—simply because they see it as an indispensable part of the reformed system.

If you want to get ready for a reading challenge of some GOOD books, not the false doctrine kind of shallow and misleading books like The Shack, Tim Challies is gearing up for the 2017 reading Challenge. He’s got a pace from everything from slow to light-speed.

The Light Reader. This plan has 13 books which sets a pace of 1 book every 4 weeks.
The Avid Reader. The Avid plan adds another 13 books which increases the pace to 1 book every 2 weeks.
The Committed Reader. This plan adds a further 26 books, bringing the total to 52, or 1 book every week.
The Obsessed Reader. The Obsessed plan doubles the total to 104 books which sets a demanding pace of 2 books every week

Check it out! I would like to read the books of various genres Challies recommends at the Avid level, or 1 book every 2 weeks. But I’ve tried and utterly failed at reading challenges, Bible reading plans, and anything smacking of structure. It’s not in me. I might give it a try anyway, but if I’m like I always have been, I not only fail, but fail immediately, like by the third day. Oy. Maybe you will do better than me! Give it a go, it’s an interesting list of books!

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Further Reading

Review: Burning Down The Shack

discernment, Uncategorized

Looking at Joanna and Chip Gaines and their church’s stance on homosexuality

Posted on December 3, 2016December 3, 2016 by elizabethprata

In February 2016, I’d done a discernment two-part essay looking at HGTV personality hosts Chip and Joanna Gaines. The duo are at this time are hosts of a reality television home decorating and renovation show. Their show has gained massive popularity and widespread influence. In addition, the Gaines’ claim to be Christian and are using the resulting platform of popularity from the show to promote their faith.

In light of this increased influence, I had decided to look into their claims of faith, especially when Mrs Gaines issued a Baylor University-produced video of her Testimony.

I wrote the two-part essay looking at Mrs Gaines’ testimony, their life, comparing what they said with what they did. These two essays have consistently been the top viewed essays on the blog, bar none. They are linked below.

In August 2016, the magazine Jezebel wrote about the Gaineses and their decorating and impact the couple has had in Waco. Though not a Christian, the author of the Jezebel piece loved the Fixer Upper show and the Gaineses in general. The article was laudatory toward the hosts. Someone in the comments linked to my discernment essays, and from there, hundreds of comments were made at Jezebel about the judgmental Christian hypocrite (me) daring to judge the Gaines’. The essays received thousands of views, on one memorable day, tens of thousands which is not usually the case for my little blog. All of the comments at Jezebel regarding my discernment essays on the Gaineses were negative, yelling with a vitriolic screed the name Jezebel suggests it would, given its namesake. The comments were all in the vein of ‘How dare I malign their faith! Nobody should judge anyone else. Typical judgmental Christian hypocrite,’ and so on.

Now, this past Tuesday when I read Jezebel again (because hits were picking up and I saw another link), the writer at Jezebel had done an about face on the Gaineses. She had discovered they belong to a church that preaches homosexuality is a sin. O, the horra. Let me just say Jezebel is no longer entranced with shiplap, and there’s a whole lotta judging goin’ on at her blog.

I knew it would not take long for the homosexual community to put together the fact that Fixer Upper has never had a gay client on that particular show, (though HGTV has featured other homosexual house hunters on other shows) and that the church the Gaines’ belonged to preached against sin, all sin, including homosexuality. I knew the issue would alert the LGBTQ crowd and there would be a brouhaha about it. Sure enough, Buzzfeed reported on it. They found out that the Gaines’ pastor Jimmy Siebert at Antioch Community Church preaches staunchly for biblical marriage as one man and one woman for a lifetime, and that adultery pornography, and homosexuality are sexual sins which God looks upon with wrath.

The review and update concluded, I want to make two points.

1. Never underestimate the relentless, unbending intent of satan to promote his agenda, no matter what it is. Some of his agenda in the world is to push temptation, chaos, false doctrine, and homosexuality. Homosexuality is a particular pet of satan’s and he will push it with a malicious force we can only begin to imagine. The Genesis 19 passage below gives some idea. When a nation or an individual has succumbed to it, we know they are under judgment, God has given them over. (Romans 1:26-27). Of course God can and does give the grace of the spirit of repentance to nations and individuals to forsake homosexual sin, but make no mistake, homosexuality is a deep sin and satan will do all he can to encourage all to either engage in it or bow down to those who do. (Romans 1:32). The pressure will only increase, and I can only imagine the firestorm of pressure this has created for the Antioch Community Church pastor. I applaud his biblical stance in the face of unyielding satanic pressure (so far). I pray he remains strong.

2. Biblical adherence in one area does not necessarily mean the individual or the local church as a whole is committed to biblical adherence in other areas. At Antioch Community Church, so lauded for its biblical stance on homosexuality, seems to have caved to this generation’s demand for female leadership. Today the Antioch Community Church About page under ‘Who We Are’ lists two women elders and three women pastors. Yet their ‘Beliefs’ pages states that the church considers the Bible inerrant, infallible and is their authority for all practice.

Antioch Community Church elders and leaders include several women,
which is not biblical

Antioch Community Church lists several women pastors, which is not biblical

Antioch Community Church’s stated beliefs, first paragraph,
says they follow the Bible in practice. But they don’t seem to be doing that,
as noted above.

Friends, the Bible does not give permission for women to be elders at church, nor pastors, which is biblically the same thing. (1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). Women are not qualified as leaders to give oversight. This is what I mean when I tell you to look at what they say, but also look at what they do. The church SAID they submit to the Bible, what what they DID was rebel.

GotQuestions explains about women not being biblically qualified to serve as elders/pastors on the basis of the above verses-

Can women serve as elders in the church?

Can women be pastors/preachers?

GotQuestions also explains about women being biblically unqualified to serve as pastors, yet Antioch CC lists three. So they MIGHT be strong on homosexuality as a sin (we’ll see) but they are not strong on other aspects of clear doctrine and sadly, seem to be in rebellion.

The discernment lessons here are:

1. Do not let down your guard against satan because his energy is unflagging and he is a predator looking for prey, all the time (1 Peter 5:8). We relax. Satan doesn’t.

2. Do not let down your guard against false doctrine in church, look at both what is said and what is lived in all areas, not just one.

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Offensive words from Nebuchadnezzar, Herod, and Perry Noble

Posted on November 30, 2016 by elizabethprata

Let’s compare some statements of kings in the Bible who spoke offensively.

and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” ~ King Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel 4:30.

Grabbing God’s glory is never good. In Nebuchadnezzar’s case, the Lord gave him a declaration that his sovereignty had already been stripped from him even as Nebuchadnezzar’s words were still in his mouth. God said Nebuchadnezzar would be driven from mankind and live like a beast eating grass for 7 years. God was gracious to Nebuchadnezzar, because the time of beast-like living and insanity only lasted 7 years and when Nebuchadnezzar came out of it, he repented and gave God the glory for everything under the sun.

This next one is King Herod.

On the appointed day, Herod donned his royal robes, sat on his throne, and addressed the people. And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!” Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. (Acts 12:21-23).

In this second case where someone was stealing God’s glory, God employed His perfect judgment upon Herod, and did not allow him to repent. Herod was killed immediately for speaking like a god in God’s place. Grabbing His glory is never good.

This third case is a modern one. It’s Perry Noble. Noble was the pastor of the largest church in the Southern Baptist Convention, NewSpring Church, located in Anderson, SC. He was fired for alcohol abuse, Perry’s posture towards marriage, other unnamed behaviors, and a refusal to be corrected. Since his firing, it turns out in news this week that Noble has decided to become a church consultant. He issued a letter explaining this, and in the letter he outlined his skills.

“What separates you from other church consultants,” you ask.
Simple – I’ve actually planted and built a great church

The Bible says something about planting and growing-

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. (1 Corinthians 3:7).

God surely is gracious. Noble is receiving a reprieve so far, because he has not been turned into a grass eating beast nor has he become a worm-eaten sack of flesh. But remember, grabbing God’s glory is never a good thing.

For, “In just a very while little, He who is coming will come and will not delay.” (Hebrews 10:37)

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Mail call #3: Why can’t people who follow false teachers bear to hear disagreement about them?

Posted on November 29, 2016November 29, 2016 by elizabethprata

Occasionally I receive email, blog comments, or Facebook messages asking questions about various topics and issues within the faith. Here is a question I received recently about false teachers and the people who follow them.

Q. Are they truly deceived and cannot bear to hear any disagreement about the theology of their beloved [false] teacher?

A. The scriptures say that in the latter days (now) “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,” 2 Timothy 4:3.

Note the action here. The false teachers are not accumulating followers. It’s the believers who go out and heap up false teachers for themselves! These false teachers like Joyce Meyer or Beth Moore would not exist if they had no followers (because there would be no money- the Bible’s explanation for the reason false teachers go into the false teaching business). The people who heap up these false teachers cannot endure sound teaching. It’s that simple. There is some sin in them that clings to what the false teacher is offering that will not allow them to endure the full truth.

When the false teacher’s aberrant theology is pointed out to the follower, the follower shrinks back in anger and defensiveness, the need to protect their pet false teacher rising hard and fast in their darkened heart. We will go to great lengths to protect our sin.

This good quote from Tom Ascol is the antidote for falling into the sin of heaping up a false teacher:

Mature Christians are those whose lives are marked by such stability that they are not easily led astray by teachings and practices that are contrary to the Word of God. On the contrary, mature believers are “growing up in every way” into Christ. —Tom Ascol in Tabletalk Magazine

The way to avoid being tossed by every wind of doctrine and landing in partnership with a false teacher in the sin-dance is to stay grounded in the Word. Read it, study it, and meditate on it.

Charles Spurgeon had some things to say about the false teachers-

He who does not hate the false does not love the true; and he to whom it is all the same whether it be God’s word or man’s, is himself unrenewed at heart. . . . substituting for honest manliness a mass of the tremulous jelly of mutual flattery.

Oh, if some of you were like your fathers you would not have tolerated in this age the wagon loads of trash under which the gospel has been of late buried by ministers of your own choosing. You would have hurled out of your pulpits the men who are enemies to the fundamental doctrines of your churches, and yet are crafty enough to become your pastors and undermine the faith of a fickle and superficial generation. I cannot endure false doctrine, however neatly it may be put before me. Would you have me eat poisoned meat because the dish is of the choicest ware? It makes me indignant when I hear another gospel put before the people with enticing words, by men who would fain make merchandise of souls; and I marvel at those who have soft words for such deceivers.

~Charles Spurgeon, sermon “Under Constraint,” 1878.

discernment, Uncategorized

The word eros is not in the Bible

Posted on November 27, 2016November 27, 2016 by elizabethprata

How are we women to love Jesus? What is the nature of our love to our Savior? Or even of His love to us corporately and individually? Are there different kinds of love?

There are different kinds of love. In English, we use the word love in many ways, but it’s still the word love. I love ice cream. I love a short commute. I love my sister. I love my husband. I love Jesus.

In the Greek however, the language of the New Testament, there are different words to express different kinds of love. There is agápe, éros, philía, and storgē.

Storge is used in the Greek to indicate a strong familial affection. I love my family, Also, I love my country. Storge is not in the Bible.

Philia was famously used by Peter in his response to Jesus when Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” (John 21:15-16). Philia is a kind of strong brotherly affection. It’s where the word Philadelphia comes from. When Jesus asked Peter if Peter loved Jesus, using the word agape, Peter (ashamed) persistently used the word philia in reply.

Agape love is used in the Bible several times and it an important version of the word. Agape means love but when it’s used in the Bible it specifically means a love from God, defined by God. It is the very nature of God, “God is [agape] love”. (1 John 4:8). Agape is a sacrificial love. It’s the kind of love displayed by the Good Samaritan to the beaten and robbed man in the road. It’s the kind of love we’re called upon to love our enemies with, by the way. (Matthew 5:44). It’s God’s love, holy and good.

Eros is a sexual love, or at the very least, an intimate physical love. It’s a fleshly sensual love.

I’ve written about the romaticizing Jesus movement. This is a movement where a female “Bible teacher” teaches or sings or speaks about a Jesus where we have intimacy with Him. These women use language to indicate physical activity with Jesus is part of our normal relationship with Him. These women have taken the concept of love and twisted it. They have stretched the metaphorical biblical language in the Bible of Bride (church) and Groom (Jesus) into realms where the actual marital bedroom benefits with an actual husband on earth are also part of our heavenly relationship with Jesus.

Ladies, this should not be.

“While it is true that the Bible utilizes images of marriage to parallel Christ’s relationship to the church, two things must be taken into account. Firstly, Christ relates to the church as a collective unit. He is married to the community as a whole and not to billions of individuals who claim to serve him–he is not a polygamist. Secondly, the love Christ shares with his church is not defined by the Greek term “eros” from which the English word “erotic” is derived, but is expressed with the noun “agape” (pronounced ah-gah-pay) which denotes love demonstrated in deeds. Those who view themselves as children of God are not called to exercise eros but agape; they are not invited to brief episodes of self gratifying sexual intimacy but to a lifetime of social and spiritual interaction.” (Spectrum Magazine)

The word eros is the kind of love to Jesus and from Jesus these female teachers write about. I could post many examples from popular female “Bible teachers” who constantly express this kind of love in their lessons, or who describe their relationship with Jesus in this way, but I won’t. You know what I’m talking about.

The word eros is not in the Bible. Not once. This erotic kind of love between a woman and her husband is fine and biblical. It’s implied for example in Paul’s missive to husbands and wives in 1 Corinthians 7. Yet even when Paul alludes to marital bedroom activity however, he never uses the word eros.

So for a teacher to use the word eros between women and her Savior is not biblical at all.

Ladies, when you hear a Bible teacher saying we love Jesus like a boyfriend, we are being enfolded in His arms, and worse things relating to our body, you know this woman is not teaching rightly. She cannot be rightly dividing the word of truth when she discusses physical intimate love to & from the Savior because that kind of love is not in the Bible. So where would she be getting this aspect of love from? Her flesh. False teachers always appeal to the flesh.

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. (2 Peter 2:1-2).

We see so often depicted in this lyric by Kelly Carpenter and many other woman teachers a Jesus depicted romantically, but it’s false.

You are my desire, no one else will do
‘Cause nothing else could take your place
To feel the warmth of your embrace
Kelly Carpenter – “Draw Me Close”

As a final thought, ladies, we can know Jesus through His word and learn of His many and infinite attributes through study of it. His character is endlessly fascinating, and it’s deeply satisfying to ponder His attributes. Why add an attribute to our relationship with Him that does not exist? We have enough in Him already. His grace alone is sufficient. He is wonderful and true and good. He is not our lover and He is not our boyfriend. He is not our cheerleader. He is the Ancient of Days, come to take His seat and make the earth His footstool! He is-

the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. (Revelation 1:5)
the first and the last, who died and came to life (Revelation 2:8)
the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. (Revelation 2:18).

The moment you hear or read of a singer or teacher speaking of Jesus is this eros way, now you know to avoid her immediately, and why. It’s simply not biblical.

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