Posted in discernment, theology

The Importance of Spiritual Discernment for Believers

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Discernment is important.

Let me rephrase that.

Discernment is important.

Discernment is:

Discernment is the skill of understanding and applying God’s Word with the purpose of separating truth from error and right from wrong. ~Tim Challies

Charles Spurgeon drills down even further:

Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.

Though ALL believers must train in discernment (Hebrews 5:14), some believers are given a heightened ability to discern by virtue of possessing a gift from the Spirit.

and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:10, underline mine).

For spirit-gifted discerning believers AND all others, we must practice discernment in our walk. (1 John 4:1, Philippians 1:9-10, Romans 12:2). That means both identifying it AND acting on it. It’s non-negotiable.

Sheep, or Wolf? A Call to Discern
by Dr. Colin Eakin
Discernment: The Neglected Imperative

Where does God command believers to exercise spiritual discernment? Perhaps a better question is, where doesn’t He? The answer is Philemon. Of all the books in the New Testament, this letter of twenty-five verses is the only one in which there is no instruction for the believer to be on guard against falsehood. All remaining twenty-six books of the New Testament (and many of the Old Testament) exhort the believer, to a greater or lesser degree, to discern truth from falsehood and to act upon it.

Satan downplays the importance of discernment. How? He twists scriptures such as the ones under discussion today, two of the most abused scriptures in the Bible, plus one more-

Judge not, that ye be not judged. (Matthew 7:1)

And this one:

If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. (Matthew 18:15).

And this admonition based on nothing in the Bible but bandied about as if it was:

Be nice. Jesus ate with sinners, you know.

Sadly, when I write an essay discerning a false teacher, or speaking against a false doctrine, inevitably I receive a slew of comments from women who insist I perform one or the other of the verses above. This makes me sad, because I know from such comments these women are not operating at peak Christian condition. Their insistence that I employ one or both of these verses usually reveals two things about them:

— they hold to an errant understanding of the verses above
— they hypocritically have failed to follow their own advice and ‘come to me privately’, and to ‘judge not’.

Wise people treasure knowledge, but the babbling of a fool invites disaster. (Proverbs 10:14).

Here is my rebuttal to the commenters lobbing the most abused discernment verses:

Judge not, that ye be not judged. (Matthew 7:1).

‘Do not judge’ cannot mean ‘do not discern.’ There are calls to discern in every book of the New Testament except Philemon, and many of the Old. (1 John 4:1, Philippians 1:9-10, Hebrews 5:14, Romans 12:2, 1 Corinthians 2:14, 1 Kings 3:9, & etc.)

So, ‘Judge not’ can’t mean do not judge, because in John 7:24 we’re told to judge. Wisdom would suggest that rather than there being an inconsistency in the Bible, there is an inconsistency in our understanding.

So if Matthew 7:1 doesn’t mean not to discern and it doesn’t mean judge not, what does it actually mean? Well, first, read the verse in context. Here is Matthew 7:1-5,

Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

It means when we do have to judge something, as in test, discern, check, etc, do not do so hypocritically, harshly, or wrongly.

Resource here: GotQuestions- What does the Bible mean that we are not to judge others?

2. Have you gone to her privately?

In this one, commenters are referring to a section in Matthew 18, where the Bible outlines procedures for church discipline. Here is the passage:

If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. (Matthew 18:15-17 NASB)

This verse is about church discipline, when one member of a local body has sinned against another person in the local body. It is a local, internal procedure. It is not referring to our response to book reviews or other public statements false teachers have made in public.

Phil Johnson explained here, in a 2006 blog essay:

It would be a serious mistake to imagine that a private meeting is always a mandatory prerequisite before any Christian can legitimately express public criticism of another believer’s published work or public behavior. On the contrary, sometimes—especially when we’re dealing with a public and scandalous transgression—open rebuke may be warranted as a first response (cf. Galatians 2:11-14). Matthew 18:15-17 outlines instructions for dealing with private sins and personal offenses. These are not guidelines for dealing with false teaching or public behavior that might cloud the truth of the gospel or besmirch the reputation of the whole church.

Here is a link to a pdf “Editorial on Abusing Matthew 18” by Don Carson

Here is Tim Challies with an easy button version of Don Carson’s essay on Matthew 18 abuse.

3. Jesus ate with Sinners

Strangely, in a third most abused verse in the discernment world, many of them say ‘Be nice. Don’t condemn. Jesus ate with sinners.’ What they are referring to is Mark 2:16.

And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

If you think about it, you realize how massively ridiculous their statement that one should not cry out against false teachers or false doctrine is.

The only sinless person who ever lived was Jesus. Of COURSE He ate with sinners. He ate with sinners every time He ate. Jesus eating with sinners verse was about the Pharisees complaining that Jesus was eating with tax collectors and prostitutes whom the Pharisees believed were “sinners”, outcasts unworthy to be in polite society, while at the same time believing that they themselves were NOT sinners and thus worthy to grace Jesus with their presence.

Jesus ate with sinners, having compassion on them, because they were lost sheep. However, He never expected them to remain in their sin. He told the adulteress to ‘go and sin no more,’ for example. He also was very harsh with many other sinners. He whipped up a fury against the merchant greed-mongers in the temple. He called the Pharisees blind guides, fools, wicked, and greedy.

Of course we (forgiven) sinners will eat with (unforgiven) sinners because we are to be in the world. But if we see a friend involved in a false doctrine, do we eat their food but leave them with a poison in their soul? No.

Jesus, Friend of Sinners: But How?
By Kevin DeYoung

As precious as this truth is—that Jesus is a friend of sinners—it, like every other precious truth in the Bible, needs to be safeguarded against doctrinal and ethical error. It is all too easy, and amazingly common, for Christians (or non-Christians) to take the general truth that Jesus was a friend of sinners and twist it all out of biblical recognition.

Jesus was a friend of sinners not because he winked at sin, ignored sin, or enjoyed light-hearted revelry with those engaged in immorality. Jesus was a friend of sinners in that he came to save sinners and was very pleased to welcome sinners who were open to the gospel, sorry for their sins, and on their way to putting their faith in Him.

More:

Why is it significant that Jesus ate with sinners?

It’s the biggest problem.

People ask me this all the time, “What is the greatest need in the church today? What is the most compelling need? What do you see as the biggest problem in Christianity? The biggest problem in the church?

It’s simple for me to answer that. The biggest problem in the church today is the absence of discernment. It’s a lack of discernment. It’s the biggest problem with Christian people, they make bad choices. They accept the wrong thing. They accept the wrong theology. The are prone to the wrong teaching. They’re unwise in who they follow, what they listen to and what they read. ~John MacArthur, Principles for Discernment 2002.

You can enhance your discernment through constant training, (Hebrews 5:14), prayers for wisdom, (James 1:5) and staying in the word (Psalm 119:11). Then perhaps at some point you can help advise a sister and encourage her in her discernment walk. 🙂

 

Posted in theology

Uncle Jimmy died: What Happens After Death?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

A relative of mine died. My great-uncle’s son who would be my cousin once removed. He was 85. He was married for 62 years, ran our family business for 60 years, led an active, and by all accounts, a happy life.

I remember him as a jokester, lots of bonhomie, personable. In our large Italian family, the relatives all bought houses close to each other, and all us cousins played while the grownup men smoked cigars and played cards and the women sat around the table drinking coffee and talking. We were all around each other, all the time.

I hadn’t seen him in 50 years and I was not close. But still, as I age and my older relatives age even more, it is a time when I do think about eternity.

He was given a “Concelebrated Mass of Christian Burial at the Catholic Sacred Heart Church” which performs a Rite: Roman-Latin rite.

The life he is now living, the one living after death, is likely not as happy.

To the saved, death is something we may be concerned about, but we know our life after death will be filled to the brim with joy and love. Death is a mysterious and foreboding thing to the unsaved, woefully ignored until one’s number of days is up. But as to the other demographic of humans who will face Jesus, the unsaved who THOUGHT they were saved, departing this life into the next will come as a huge shock.

EPrata photo

Matthew 7:21-23 gives us a glimpse of that moment,

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; LEAVE ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.‘

If a person is a lifelong atheist, Catholic, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Wiccan, Druid or any of the other religions, and does not repent before death, they will go to eternal hell. That is what the Bible teaches. Jesus said,

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me”. (John 14:6).

If you do not go through Jesus who died to cleanse us, then the person will remain in their filthy sin and be punished forever for it.

Matthew 5:22, But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be answerable to the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.

Matthew 10:28, And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matthew 13:42, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 25:41, “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you accursed people, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;”

He is the ONLY way. He is the way, the door, the narrow path. All other religions are false, including Catholicism.

Milan’s Duomo. EPrata photo

Resource: Are Catholics Deceived? by Mike Gendron

What is hard to see, too, are misguided comments on the Obituary page. I see these all the time. People say things like,

You’re in the loving arms of Jesus now

Rest in peace

See you on the other side

You are now in the residence of the Lord. You will find peace and comfort in his arms.

Until we meet again

No, none of these comments are true if the person spoken of did not repent of the neglect of their soul, address their sin, and seek the One True God. But the unsaved do not really want to contemplate fiery hell, eternal torment, and gnashing of teeth. And the ones who falsely believe they’re saved think they are all set for heaven.

I don’t know the final state of the souls of my relatives who have passed, of course, but it doesn’t look good. One hopes for the best but prepares for the worst upon the Day of Judgment. Time will reveal.

The Rich Man in torment in Hades begged Abraham on the other side to send a message to the Rich Man’s brothers so they would not have to come to this place.

But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'” (Luke 16:29-31).

And Who rose from the dead? Jesus. He lived the perfectly holy life that we cannot, pleasing God the Father. Jesus died on the cross as the sacrificial lamb that God requires, shedding His blood for us. God raised Jesus from the dead, and Jesus ascended to glory to be seated at the right hand of the Father. If we repent of our sins, Jesus will apply His blood to our lives and we are covered, forgiven, and may join Him in glory when we pass.

Some say that a discussion like this at a time of someone’s mourning is inappropriate. But when, WHEN is the time? It is a perfect time to speak the truth in love. It’s evident that those giving misguided consolation need to hear this, even if it is too late for the departed.

Satan deceives many. But there is only one way to heaven. No matter how many platitudes one may write on an obituary page, there is a reality that is more real than even the real earth, and that is eternity.

for He says, “AT A FAVORABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON A DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.” Behold, now is “A FAVORABLE TIME,” behold, now is “A DAY OF SALVATION” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness” (Hebrews 3:7-8).

Romans 13:11
And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

Matthew 4:17
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.“

Posted in theology

Why ‘God Told Me’ Isn’t Biblical

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I’ve been thinking a lot about the rampant issue in evangelicalism concerning “God told me.” So many men and women are running around with alleged prophecies and all sorts of messages the ‘voice’ supposedly told them.

Even more sad is the number of people that believe that God is speaking to these so-called prophets. If God is speaking now outside of the Bible, it makes the Bible INsufficient for all teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness, and makes 2 Timothy 3:16-17 which says it is sufficient, into a lie.

What is the Doctrine of Sufficiency of Scripture?

That scriptural fact notwithstanding, there is another issue with the people who claim God is telling them things, whispering things, and/or promising them things outside of the Bible. The news He is allegedly bringing is never the kind that is spoken of in the Bible. Like, what kind, you ask? Well,

When Jesus was commissioning Ananais to go to Saul/Paul, Ananias balked a little, saying that Saul has been persecuting everyone all over the place. Jesus replied and told Ananias how much Paul must suffer for the sake of His name. Here is what was said,

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer in behalf of My name.” (Acts 9:15-16).

I remember people oohing and ahhing over the testimony of HGTV’s Fixer Upper co-host Joanna Gaines. Did God tell Joanna that she will suffer much for His name? No. Was her prophecy something like this-

But the Lord said to her husband Chip, “Go, for she is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show Joanna how much she must suffer in behalf of My name.“

Somehow, suffering for the Lord is never part of the ‘prophecies’ or conversations these ladies purport to have in these conversations with God. What DID ‘Jesus’ allegedly promise Joanna Gaines?

“I hear God say very clearly, he said, ‘Joanna if you trust me with your dreams I’m going to take Magnolia further than you could have ever dreamed so just trust me.’“

Sure. Sure. It always seems like ‘God’ says he will give the lady a comfy life and make all her dreams come true.

Isaiah was a true prophet of God. God raised Isaiah either bodily or in a vision to the throne room.

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your guilt is taken away and atonement is made for your sin.” (Isaiah 6:7)

How lovely is this. It brought tears to my eyes. Isaiah was gifted with a vision of the throne room. Aghast that a worm such as he would be near the holy God, the angel flew to him and touched his lips with a burning coal and says his sins were atoned for. Isaiah lived 700 years BEFORE the cross. In heaven there is no time. Isaiah’s sins were atoned for even though on earth Jesus had not incarnated and died yet. But God’s word is SO SURE that Isaiah’s sins were atoned for even though the event had not occurred yet in our time.

EPrata photo

But isn’t it curious how these women who claim ‘God’ comes to them never seem to have the same reaction other people in the Bible have when confronted with the presence of the actual Jehovah? Which is to cower in fear and despair that His holiness shows up the depth of our sin?

But God was not giving Isaiah this vision just to offer a tour of heaven. God had a message for Isaiah. He was calling Isaiah to be God’s prophet! What exciting personal news did Isaiah receive? It was that Isaiah was going to speak God’s word, but no one would pay attention.

Isaiah wondered how long this dire circumstance would be his calling.

Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate, 12The LORD has completely removed people, And there are many forsaken places in the midst of the land. (Isaiah 6:11-12).

Gulp. Not so cheery is it? It is one of the most supremely majestic scenes in the Bible. And yet the news was not so personally beneficial to Isaiah, as these conversations nowadays always seem to be with the claims of conversations with God.

In this scene, all is spoken in august language, reverentially, mindful of the Holy One of Israel, the Ancient of Days whose robe filled the temple.

Now we turn to a prophecy and vision Beth Moore supposedly had. She was lifted up too! She even went farther than Isaiah in that Jesus showed her things as HE sees them, not as Isaiah sees them, which is that we are undone before a holy God. No, Beth Moore was given a peek at how Jesus sees the church, and in another dimension no less!

Beth said, “You know what He said just a few days ago? “Honey, I just want you to know we’re just beginning.”

Honey?

And it was as if I was raised up looking down on a community, as I saw the church in that particular dimension- certainly not all dimensions, not even in many, but in what we will discuss tonight, the church, as Jesus sees it, in a particular dimension. Oh, glory! That meant I had begun. Hallelujah! But He was telling me, “When this ends, we ain’t done with this. Honey, this is what we do for the rest of your life.” And He said those words to me over and over again: “Believe Me. Believe Me.”

God said ‘We ain’t done with this honey’? Really?

Sure, sure.

God told Peter when he was old, that he’d stretch out his hands and go where he did not want, a prophecy most interpret as Peter’s crucifixion-martyrdom.

Contrast this to today’s prosperity prophecies. When God speaks it’s to tell women they are enough, they are a princess, so beautiful, will have a platform, will do wonderful things. God has a wonderful plan for your life, God is going to do amazing things. It’s always centered around something pleasant for the woman, not so much about advancing God’s holy plan.

Will He do as amazing as a thing as render all Israel a desolate land? An agonizing death? A suffering life? An ignored Prophet? These were actual prophecies in the Bible.

The canon is closed. God’s new revelation ended with Revelation 22. I’m not saying God CAN’T speak now, of course He can. It’s just that He closed the Bible with a warning not to add to the book nor take away from it. He said that at the present time, He would not be speaking. It’s not a question of His ability, it’s a question of His consistency.

Think carefully about the prophecies (conversations, whispers, voices) are saying to these women (and men). The content of these conversations is inconsistent with God’s previously delivered word. The language use is inconsistent with God’s previously given word. Compare to the Bible. They all come up short, because the canon is closed and the word as given is sufficient.

Study your Bible to “hear” God’s voice. His word is God-breathed.

Posted in encouragement, theology

Understanding the Aroma of Christ in Believers

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?” (2 Corinthians 2:14-17)

This is a beautiful passage, with many layered and deep elements. First, Christ uses His believers to spread the fragrance of knowledge of Him. Christ as the ultimate fragrance. The word “fragrance” can have many nuances, each with their own evocation of meaning. ‘Odor’ evokes something unpleasant, and the word ‘smell’ is simply utilitarian. But fragrance is a perfume…that is a sweet and wonderful aroma, evoking light and sweetness, as Christ is, of course.

Second, the verse moves from Christ as the fragrance to the believers themselves as having fragrance. Any believer is in Christ and due to our spiritual union, has His aroma as well. To God, this is most pleasing.

Last, the one who is perishing smells the odor of death instead of the perfumed fragrance of Christ. Why? They are perishing.

To the perishing, the knowledge of Christ is an odor unto death. They writhe under it, flee from it. If trapped with it, they try to cover it with anything handy, air freshener, orange peels… (as a metaphor) but the smell of Christ can never be covered up. The aroma remains the same, only its effects differ upon the receiver.

In this passage, Paul was evoking a common sight, the triumphal procession. The order of the participants in the procession was standard, from the generals to the soldiers carrying the spoils, to the captives in chains. Behind them, the priests come swinging the incense bowls. The captives in chains knew they would be executed soon. What was the incense smell of victory to the victors lining the streets was the smell of death to those in chains.

How’s your aroma? Is it pleasing to God? Are you in the triumphal procession? His fragrance through us spreading everywhere the knowledge of Him? Do you pass the smell test?

botanical garden flowers

Posted in theology

The Life of Hannah Hurnard: From Inspiration to Apostasy

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Hannah Hurnard (1905-1990) wrote a book that became famous. As time went on it settled into a classic in Christian publishing. The book is “Hind’s Feet in High Places”. It is a 1955 Christian allegory in the vein of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Hurnard’s main character even has the same name as one of Bunyan’s characters, ‘Much Afraid’. Hinds’ Feet was inspired by Habakkuk 3:19 and explores a young woman’s spiritual journey and God’s faithfulness, discussing the importance of trusting in God even during difficult times. It is still in print, and new editions are being issued even today. It is a beloved book, along with its sequel, Mountain of Spices. A cottage industry has sprung up around Hurnard’s book Hinds’ Feet, with merchandise such as devotionals and calendars based on it.

And yet Hurnard was apostate. She held to wildly unorthodox heresies. While not immediately evident in her first book Hinds’ Feet, or her second book Mountain of Spices, her upbringing before she wrote the book and her writings afterward confirm that her apostasy seed became fully bloomed in the end.

How can this be? You may have heard of the idioms ‘a broken clock is right twice a day’ or ‘throw spaghetti at the wall and some of it sticks.’ All false teaching has truth mixed into it. Indeed, Hurnard herself may have thought she was truly saved when she wrote Hind’s Feet. But though she rose a bit, she eventually sank back into her Quaker upbringing and again believed what she should not believe.

The Bible warns over and over not to drift away from what you have heard

False Doctrine

Hurnard later in life believed in and taught reincarnation. She even claimed that Jesus taught this and it’s found in Exodus 34:6-7 and also in John 9. This aberrant and mystical view of reincarnation is expounded in her book The School of Earth Experiences.

Hannah repudiated the notion that God would ever condemn his created creatures to an eternal hell. She wrote in Unveiled Glory, a book about her conversion and testimony, that “I am now fully persuaded that as God is Love there can be in Him no wrath such as we conceive of wrath, or any possibility that He will condemn His own creatures to unending destruction, but I must still ask, What am I to do with all the passages of Scripture which seem to assert the very contrary? The Scriptures, of course, do teach that there is a hell…yet there are many other passages which most emphatically state that, in the end, God will completely triumph over evil. I discovered that there is not one single verse in the Scriptures which uses the words “everlasting,” “eternal,” or “for ever and ever” in connection with hell.”

This belief is obviously wrong, but the nature of apostasy is that people are endlessly creative with the scriptures in seeing in them what they want to see, or twisting them into that they want to believe. Acts 20:30 and 2 Peter 3:26 warn that people would come along and distort and twist the scriptures.

In the end, Hurnard believed that hell’s purpose was a sort of purgatory, forcing people through pain to repudiate their sin. She thought that since death and hell are to be thrown into the Lake of Fire, that hell is to be destroyed and thus is only temporary for those souls inside of hell.

Her view of the Fall of Man is oddly stated too. In her book “Eagles’ Wings to the Higher Places” she wrote that “Mankind fell from God-consciousness and awareness of goodness only into self-consciousness and awareness of evil in the most frightful and agonizing forms.“

Yet in Romans 1 we know that all humankind continues to have a ‘consciousness’ about God, but we suppress it in unrighteousness. Our ‘self-consciousness’ is due to the fact that the Fall plunged us wholly (spiritually and bodily) into sin.

She advocated for vegetarianism, because she said, God is immanent, which to her meant He is IN every living thing, The Lord and Savior “is actually immanent, by His Spirit, in all the living creatures we wrong [eat]. What is done to them is done to Him, too, and nails Him with them to their cross of suffering.” Eating a hamburger does not nail Jesus to the cross again. All food was declared clean (Acts 10:9-16). If God is immanent (actually IN everything) would it not also mean He is in plants and shellfish and insects? By Hannah’s account we should not eat anything. We know the unsaved’s thinking is futile (Romans 1:21).

Hannah also returned to her Quaker roots toward the end of her life, believing in universalism. Universalism, or universal reconciliation, teaches that in the end, everyone will be saved and dwell in heaven.

Christianity Today did a short bio of her life. They ended with this paragraph:

Despite this awesome witness, later in her life Hannah showed the ever-lurking danger of trusting inner voices. She veered away from sound doctrine, embracing universalism (denying God’s wrath), pantheism (God is everything) reincarnation and many new age ideas. Her last book is sold in New Age stores.

Here is a longer treatment of Hannah’s life, “FROM HIGH PLACES TO HERESY: Evaluating the Writings of Hannah Hurnard“, by G. Richard Fisher.

From Good theology to Bad Theology

I remember purchasing, reading, and enjoying Jen Wilkin’s first book in 2014, Women of the Word. However she soon became a rebel, preaching and usurping and advocating for female preaching.

It was the same with Aimee Byrd. I was surprised and delighted when her first book in 2013, Housewife Theologian, was well-received and she was subsequently invited to become a co-host on the Alliance of Professing Evangelicals’ Mortification of Spin podcast with Todd Pruitt and Carl Trueman. However it was only a few short years later Aimee apostatized, showing her true colors in her book Recovering From Biblical Manhood and Womanhood which was a painfully tortured explanation of why God didn’t really mean that men and women have different roles. Aimee rejected the female role, and was fired from the podcast. She then parted loudly with her denomination the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, and wound up joining a liberal Methodist church with a female pastrix.

Again, we are familiar with the idiom “A broken clock is right twice a day”. It’s a witticism that makes sense…until you give a gift of a broken clock to someone and expect them to use it to tell time. It is the same with an apostate author. Just because Hurnard wrote two books that resonated with what we know to be Christianity, they are only right twice a day. The rest of the time, Hurnard’s beliefs are just plain wrong. We do not read or follow someone whose emergence into apostasy became fully formed, because her heart was not right even as she wrote earlier things that seemed OK. The apostasy was always in her heart, poisoning it, even while on the surface she said and did and even wrote a book containing ‘good’ things.

Apostasy is serious. If a person is actually saved, he or she can never be lost. If they spout error, it will be only for a time, and the Holy Spirit dwelling in them will correct it.

However, a person can wrongly believe she is saved, write a good book or two, and eventually adopt unorthodox views and stray from Jesus, to their eternal woe. It happens. Sadly that was case with Hannah Hurnard and her Hinds’ feet, her theology eventually most likely brought her to low places.

Further Reading

Apostasy from the Gospel, book by John Owen

Apostasy and how it Happens, essay by Sinclair Ferguson

What is an Apostate? short answer by John MacArthur

Posted in poetry, Uncategorized

Kay Cude Poetry: Jehova-Elohim

Posted on by elizabethprata
IN THE BEGINNING
IN THE BEGINNING

Kay Cude is a Texas Poet. Used with permission. Can right-click to open larger in new tab. Or read text below.

JEHOVA-ELOHIM
O Everlasting God, El-Olam, who can compare with Thee? Who, O Lord God, is there named amongst all creation, amongst all mankind-yea, amongst all earthly and spiritual kingdoms, principalities, powers and authorities who can speak and by his breath, creation is?

Only Thee O God, THE I AM…

Who is like unto Thee, O God, EL-Elyon, The Lord God Most High? Who can by his unspoken will instruct each star, each planet – yea, all of the universes and the trillions of galaxies, to suspend themselves in the appropriate locus? Who is able to command them–and their order and their paths and their seasons of ingress and transit, are?

Only Thee O God, THE I AM…

El Shaddai, Almighty God, The Ancient of Days, who is able to sit above the circle of the earth and the beginning from the ending of each celestial orb, or by his hand stretch out the heavens as a curtain to spread its expanse over all creation as a tent? Who can by his word, cause the sun and the moon to stand still in their circuits, and by such, testify that he is The God, The El Shaddai, The Adonai? Only Thee O God, THE I AM…

kay cude, March 2016 AD

IN THE BEGINNING,
IN THE BEGINNING,
IN THE BEGINNING,
GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE
EARTH
IT IS…
“By the Word of The Lord the heavens were made, and by the Breath of His Mouth all their host.” Psalm 33:6.

“You alone are The Lord. You have made the heavens, the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them and the heavenly host bows down before You.” Nehemiah 9:6.

“Lift up your eyes on high and see Who has created these stars. The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name, because of the Greatness of His Might and the Strength of His Power not one of them is missing.” Isaiah 40:26.

Text by author Kay Cude purposed solely for non-profit, non-commercial sharing. Image without text available at http://static.tumblr.com/tumblr_static_lazarus-nebula-space-graphics-nebula-stars-3d.jpg

Posted in theology

Prata Potpourri: Women, discernment, Piper, more

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I am conferenced out. I had the wonderful privilege of attending the National G3 conference a few times and I enjoyed it. But as I age, I am finding that being in a cavernous building filled with thousands of people overwhelms me more quickly than it used to. My energy drains away faster than two shakes of a lamb’s tail.

As an older women a few years away from retirement, it seems lately that all I want to do is come home from work and sit down. Sunday go to church. Repeat. LOL. However I am also grateful for the opportunity through the wonderful invention of the internet, to be able to consume material from present day solid ministries and past ones that have been uploaded, such as at Monergism, Grace Gems, and the like.

Being careful but savvy about what to consume on social media allows a woman to develop her discernment. As long as we are in the word, studying, reading, singing, and in church worshiping, we can extend our learning by testing it with material we find online. This includes buying books and listening to music, whether through Spotify, Pandora, Youtube, or Apple.

In that vein, below are a few links offering a wealth of information about women for women.

Always wise, always measured, and with a right-heart attitude, Amy broaches the subject that many women unfortunately stumble on, hearing God’s voice: Ladies, No One Is Whispering to You by Amy Spreeman at Berean Research

Grace Sutton muses on the different states of being as an adult- singleness and marriage. Desiring one over the other isn’t necessarily making an idol nor would it be sinful. God set apart some for singleness and many for marriage. Here’s Grace working through the issue: Let Me Be Single essay at For the Church

When the blog Pyromaniacs was going, some years ago Phil Johnson wrote about women and discernment. LOL, Don’t blame the messenger: The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Discernment Divas by Phil Johnson, essay

Aussie Daniel Schricker writes and speaks about cults because he grew up in one. Here, he identifies the markers and makings of a cult, and applies the scholarly information to a well-known woman on seemingly every social media there is, The Transformed Wife, Lori Alexander. The Cult of Lori Alexander, essay by Daniel Schricker, Ph.D

With all the brouhaha of gender studies in the recent past, documentary satirist Matt Walsh published a film asking ‘gender experts’ the simple question… What is a Woman? full documentary by Matt Walsh

Great conference content coming up for women I wrote about this yesterday, we can review the sermons and talks afterward on social media, blessedly. Good stuff here!

In 2013, Sunny Shell of Abandoned to Christ ministry wrote the following essay. It was scriptural and humble. She said that consuming Piper’s material “requires more discernment than I currently possess.” She said she loved him and considered him a brother, but she couldn’t follow him any longer, not while there were so many other good ministries out there. Sunny received a LOT of push back, even though there was not an accusatory bone in the whole essay. She took it down and it stayed down for a number of years. A few years ago she put it back up.

As for me, I do not follow Piper either. His continuationism and his multi-step justification stances gave me pause some years ago as to following him or consuming his material. Never mind his lack of discernment in inviting or sharing platforms with Mark Driscoll, Beth Moore, Rick Warren etc. an issue that Sunny pointed out in 2013. Recently, Piper spoke at Pastors’ Workshop and his recorded remarks are causing consternation among the more solid theologians. Here, Ekkie points out the conundrum in a short tweet. Below, find Sunny’s humble but accurate article. Though at this time I consider Piper a brother, I do warn that he has had many confusing stances in the past and of late. Too many bones… Why I no longer follow John Piper or Desiring God ministry


Posted in theology

A few notes about great content for women coming up

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

There is a nice little conference going on this Friday and Saturday at CrossWay Church in Kansas. Susan Heck will be the speaker at a conference titled “Forming Faithful Friendships“. Her sessions are on the topic of Biblical Friendship. A church member told me that it is her understanding that the sessions will be recorded and posted on their church website after. Some titles of Susan’s sessions include “What a friend we have in Jesus”, “What is Biblical Friendship?” and “Purity in Relationships”.

Schedule of sessions for Susan Heck’s conference and the church website here-> https://www.crosswaybibleks.org/womens-ministry.html

I am excited to look this up after. Great topics!

A very big conference is happening next week as well. Answers in Genesis is hosting a double conference, one on the weekdays and one on the weekend. It is called Resolute: Answers for Women.

Resolute: Answers for Women 2025, Weekday Conference, March 31–April 2.
Resolute: Answers for Women 2025, Weekend Conference, April 3–5.

Its topics are about refuting false gospels with biblical truth, a wonderful opportunity to learn to discern! Both conferences will look at topics such as “holy yoga”, the Enneagram number, naming & claiming, sowing a seed, tarot, crystals, oils, and more. Do you know why the AiG folks planned two conferences? They didn’t at first! The weekend conference sold out quickly so they scheduled another back to back. This is super encouraging news that so many ladies would travel so far to learn how to be Resolute for Jesus in truth!

Costi Hinn is speaking there on The Truth About Demons & Deliverance which is a topic I’d love to hear about. In my opinion we either pay too little attention to the problem of demons or some pay too much attention to them. Costi is balanced.

Amy Spreeman of Berean Research and A Word Fitly Spoken (AWFS) will be speaking on Guarding the Gospel: How Christians Can Respond to Progressive Theology. Michelle Lesley who is co-host with Amy at AWFS has a topic to Mark and Avoid the New Apostolic Reformation. Angela Mitchell of Raising Apologists (who I go to church with, I know her in real life!) is speaking on The Battle for Your Mind: Discernment in a Digital Age…there’s also talks on transhumanism, parenting, science and the Bible, and more.

According to AI, “main speaker sessions will be recorded and are expected to be available on Answers TV approximately 60 days after the conference ends.” I hope so!

Annnd just a week after that up in Kentucky, is the Ligonier National Conference down in Orlando, Florida on April 10-12. The theme is “I Will Build My Church.” Blurb: “Join us as we explore the promise of Jesus Christ to build His church (Matt. 16:18). With this assurance, we’ll consider how Christians are called to evangelism, missions, discipleship, and worship—all to the glory of God.” Slated speakers are Darrell Harrison, Stephen Nichols, Nathan Bingham, Chris Larson, Robert Godfrey, Derek Thomas, and more. The schedule for the conference with speaking topics can be seen at https://www.ligonier.org/2025. If past history is any indication, main sessions will be live streamed for free on all the usual platforms, and again if history holds, the sessions are also recorded and then posted for free later.

We (I) may complain about social media being a dumpster sometimes, but there are many positives for the wise woman who is careful of who she follows and where she goes in this Wild West of an electronic frontier. We have so many options to learn biblical material, in addition to learning from our own pastors. Though there are crazy folks, fringe ministries, and false teachers out there, remember that there are also solid ministries doing the work of God to edify the brethren and strengthen the church. If you have time, I recommend all three of these learning opportunities to you. You can also pray for the conferences, the speakers, and the hosts that those in attendance will be safe, (remember the bomb threat called in to the G3 National Conference last year), that the events will go smoothly, and for traveling mercies.

Posted in theology

Will We Recognize Each Other in Heaven?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I was speaking with a lady recently who seemed to think that the only person we will know in heaven will be Jesus. I thought about that for a while, then I did the usual thing: I consulted the scriptures. I came to the conclusion that no, we WILL know everyone in heaven. There will be no introductions, no name tags, no mnemonic devices to remember who is who. WE WILL KNOW.

Why do I think this? Well, let’s look at scripture and the biblical scenes which led me to this conclusion.

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12).

The verse less speaks to recognizing people than it does to our being freed from darkness and obscurity of knowledge; of God, of His ways, and wants. Matthew Henry says,

Now we can only discern things at a great distance, as through a telescope, and that involved in clouds and obscurity; but hereafter the things to be known will be near and obvious, open to our eyes; and our knowledge will be free from all obscurity and error. God is to be seen face to face; and we are to know him as we are known by him…We shall know how we are known, enter into all the mysteries of divine love and grace. Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible.

But … if we are freed from darkness and obscurity of the fuller knowledge of God and enter into the mysteries of the universe, and if we will see God ‘face to face’, then it stands to reason we will also know each other.

But more specifically, at the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter immediately recognized Moses and Elijah, even though both men had passed away long before Peter ever lived.

And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Peter responded and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If You want, I will make three tabernacles here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (Matthew 17:3-4).

Though some interpret the scene of the Rich Man and Lazarus as a parable, others take it as actual. Either way, the scene involved the unnamed Rich Man and the beggar at his gate named Lazarus. They died. The Rich Man went to Hades, Lazarus went to Abraham’s bosom AKA Paradise. The Rich Man looked across the great gulf that is fixed, where none may cross from one side to the other, and he recognized Abraham.

John MacArthur says of recognizing people in heaven,

In the Old Testament, when a person died, the biblical writers said he was “gathered to his people” (cf. Gen. 25:8; 35:29; 49:29; Num. 20:24; Judg. 2:10). In 2 Samuel 12, when David’s infant child died, David confidently said, “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me” (v. 23). David evidently expected to see the child again–not just a nameless, faceless soul without an identity, but that very child.

It will be a glorious day when we finally see our Savior in person. It will be wonderful to be reunited with loved ones we knew on earth. It will also be fabulous to sit with Moses, Paul, Rahab, Abigail, Dorcas…and all the other believers who are in heaven waiting for the Day of full completion.

Posted in theology

Little Known Bible Characters #7: Salome

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Previous entries in the series:

Little Known Bible Characters #6: King Chedorlaomer
Little Known Bible Characters #5: Harbonah the Eunuch
Little Known Bible Characters #4: Eutychus
Little Known Bible Characters #3: Trophimus
Little Known Bible Characters #2: ‘The List of Offenders’
Little Known Bible Characters #1: Iddo

There are two Salomes in the Bible. Both are New Testament women, but have vastly different characters.

Salome is not named in Matthew 14:6-11; Mark 6:22-28, but only says she was the “daughter of Herodius.” Josephus tells us her lineage and her name: Salome. Salome danced for Herod and Herod was pleased. He promised her anything she asked for. She wanted the head of John the Baptist on a platter, and she got it.

The Salome that I focus today on appears later in the New Testament. She IS named, and appears several times. —Matthew 20:20-24; 27:56; Mark 10:35-40; 15:40, 41; 16:1, 2. Mark tells us her name, and Matthew goes further and names her as the mother of Zebedee’s children. Zebedee was the prosperous fisherman who was mending his nets when Jesus came along and called his sons to discipleship. Who were these two sons? Mark 3:17 reveals their identity: James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, ‘Sons of Thunder’).

So, the family is Zebedee, Salome, James, and John

Given that when Jesus called the sons away from their father and the father’s work, and Zebedee did not argue or restrain them, it seems likely that he had more than likely trained his boys (now men) in the admonition of the Lord. Salome, the mother, also seems to have been spiritually prepared to accept Jesus as Messiah. She began following Jesus as well. And in the end, she along with the other women, were present through His earthly ministry, the crucifixion, and after His death when even her two sons had fled.

Salome as any mother wanted the best for her sons. Having followed Jesus through His ministry, having identified Jesus as the Messiah, she boldly but reverently asked Jesus for something…

Christ Meeting Sons and Mother of Zebedee by Paolo Veronese, 1565

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. And He said to her, “What do you desire?” She said to Him, “Say that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine shall sit, one at Your right, and one at Your left.” But Jesus replied, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to Him, “We are able.” (Matthew 20:20-23).

Mark 10:35-40 has the same scene but Salome is omitted and it’s James and John asking. Warren Wiersbe says,

Before we criticize what they did, let’s notice some commendable features in this event. For one thing, they did believe in prayer, and they dared to believe the promise Jesus had given about sitting on thrones (Matt. 19:28). The word “regeneration” in that verse means “new birth,” and refers to the new world over which Jesus and His followers will reign when He returns to earth. It must have taken faith on their part to believe He would establish these thrones, because He had just told them that He was going to die.

Eastern Orthodox icon of the two Marys and Salome at the Tomb of Jesus (Kizhi, 18th century).

But there were several things wrong with the request, as well. Wiersbe again,

Little did Salome realize that the path to the throne is a difficult one. James was the first of the disciples to be martyred, and John had to endure hard days on the Isle of Patmos. These three believers wanted their will, not God’s will, and they wanted it their way. Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 75). Victor Books.

Remember, these Bible people are human, just like us.

Most assume Salome was part of the crowd of women present, “who were mourning and grieving for Him” when Jesus turned to them and said “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not cry for me…” in Luke 23:28.

Crucifixion, from the Buhl Altarpiece, 1490s. Salome is one of the two leftmost women with a halo.
© Ralph Hammann – Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0

Salome was present at the crucifixion but a little far off as Mark records. But they were there.

Now there were also some women watching from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses, and Salome. (Mark 15:40).

Lockyer says, “Salome, along with the other women “stood afar off,” probably because of the malicious crowd, the rough soldiers, and the horrors of the cross, all of which was sufficient to make them timid. They were full of love and sympathy, even though they stood afar off. With tear-filled eyes with which they had shown their devotion on the way to the cross (Luke 23:28), they still beheld Him as He hung there in death.”

Salome was faithful not only to the end, but afterwards:

The Resurrection – When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might come and anoint Him. (Mark 16:1).

Salome was faithful with her husband in raising their children and providing a model for worship and patience waiting for Messiah to come. Probably never did she believe it would happen to her in her lifetime. When it did, she was all-in. She must have been spiritually satisfied that her sons were following. She followed, she learned, and she loved Jesus. Her sorrow at His crucifixion was real and deep. Her dedication was evident when she bought the spices to anoint His body in the little time between His death and sunset when Sabbath began. It was evident again when she arrived at pre-dawn 3 days later to anoint His body.

Salome’s godly motherhood and worshipful model in following Christ is an example to us. James was the first apostolic martyr and John the last to pass into heaven. Even if Salome was not alive to endure that grief, as Lockyer said, “The mother sought earthly crowns for her sons, but through losing their lives for Christ’s sake, they gained greater honor in heaven. … Happy and grateful are those Christian parents who live to see their offspring wholly dedicated to the service of the Lord.“

Little Known Bible Characters #8: Tryphena and Tryphosa
Little Known Bible Characters #6: King Chedorlaomer
Little Known Bible Characters #5: Harbonah the Eunuch
Little Known Bible Characters #4: Eutychus
Little Known Bible Characters #3: Trophimus
Little Known Bible Characters #2: ‘The List of Offenders’
Little Known Bible Characters #1: Iddo