False teachers creep into the church almost unnoticed. They hide their true faith, which is faith in themselves, propelled by satan and satanic desires. In other words, they oppose God in every way. They aren’t believers, but God knows this and has already marked them out for condemnation.
They think that if they adopt the right outer garments, speak the right things, adopt the right behavior and perform the right postures, they will blend in. Some do, for a while. But sin always reveals itself eventually. Either their false doctrine or their sinful lifestyle will expose them to the discerning believer. The inner becomes outer.
They think they blend in, but God has stationed discerning faithful at his watchtowers of His churches. We can spot them. This is what they look like to us. Their faces betray the twisted inner self of their nasty soul.
AI generated
Nathaniel Jolly has written an essay for G3 Ministries about the danger false teachers pose. I urge you to go to the link below and read the piece in its entirety. He goes through the book of Jude and explains the five metaphors Jude uses to illustrate the danger of false teachers. And they are dangerous.
These false teachers are hidden reefs, clouds without water, autumn trees without fruit, waves of sea foam, wandering stars.
Their aim is to corrupt your soul. If you are not a genuine believer yet, their goal is to draw you away. If you are a genuine believer, you cannot lose your salvation, but you can lose time in producing fruit for the glory of the Lord. You can be swayed from the center line of the doctrines, and minimized in your effectiveness for His church during the time you followed such and such false teacher.
Therefore, false teachers pose a very real danger to you and your local church. Many safety officers advise being situationally aware:
situation awareness conscious knowledge of the immediate environment and the events that are occurring in it. Situation awareness involves perception of the elements in the environment, comprehension of what they mean and how they relate to one another, and projection of their future states. In ergonomics, for example, it refers to the operator’s awareness of the current status and the anticipated future status of a system,” According to the American Psychological Association.
In all the definitions I read, the ultimate goal of good situational awareness is so that the person can make good decisions. You gather intel from all the situations around you on a constant basis, being aware of locations, events, atmospheres. After collecting those elements, make your decision. It’s sometimes not even a conscious process, but it always an ongoing one. Or should be. In the case of the Christian in church, first we test all things, (1 Thessalonians 5:21), so that we can make good decisions. We collect information on teachings, hymns, concepts, of whatever comes across our path in church or out that has the name of Jesus attached to it. Then we make our decisions whether to follow that teacher, sing that hymn, watch that show. We decide whether to raise an alarm with elders, share with the spouse, or protect the kids.
As always when I speak of discernment, be vigilant. Be sober. (1 Peter 5:8). And read Nathaniel’s article! 🙂
A couple of days ago, Allie Beth Stuckey spoke a good word summarizing her Episode 749 of podcast Relatable. She said the overt demonic visuals of the recent Grammy Awards dance (let the reader understand) is dangerous, but more dangerous is the soft teaching of women like Jen Hatmaker or Glennon Doyle. Listen to her teaser summary here or the whole episode here.
This week also, Amy Spreeman & Michelle Lesley at A Word Fitly Spoken in their recent February 8 segment called The Pew, warned against Jennie Allen and her organization called IF:Gathering.
This reminds me that I’ve done several essays about these women and what they teach. I always forget to unearth my previous blogs for your consideration. I should circulate them more. So with that in mind, I thought this might be a good time to unearth them and present them to you in conjunction with good reminders from Allie Beth, Amy, and Michelle.
Do listen to Allie Beth’s explanation of why teaching like Hatmaker’s or Doyle’s is so dangerous. Are we not warned in the very third chapter of the holy Word that satan is subtle? That he is crafty? In the 4th chapter of the Bible are we not warned that sin is crouching at the door waiting to have you?
Use all your mental faculties to read the word, understand the word, meditate on the word and apply the word. This is training in discernment and it is necessary to keep from stumbling. Hebrews 5:4 tells us this-
But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern both good and evil.
Discernment doesn’t happen overnight, it takes training to develop it and constant application to hone it. We need to be careful who we follow and whose teachings we absorb. Our sinful flesh likes to heap up teachers whose sinful teachings match our own desires. A false teacher’s doctrine will be subtle and it does ensnare us, but only because we like what they’re selling within our own sinful desires.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, (2 Timothy 4:3).
I wrote about Glennon Doyle in 2014, warning about her, and concerned she had gained a massive following.
These may be worth your while to read as well. I wrote them before I was doing a podcast, so it doesn’t have a ‘listen button’, but I will try to record them over this weekend and add one.
I do many types of essays, from natural history to encouragement to doctrinal to discernment. There are two things that get me riled up in discernment. One is how ‘Christian’ celebrity moms have presented a feminist lifestyle under sinful cover of ‘doing ministry’ and have distorted true biblical motherhood (see above essays). The other that upsets me is ‘Christian’ Bible teachers who claim to have had direct revelation. See this essay:
Well I hope any of these essays help you. As always, if you have questions, comments, or concerns, make a comment below or shoot me a message or email. Thanks for reading and listening!
Thank you to the newcomers to the blog! A new year brings lists, and if I’m on a list then people come over here and check the blog out. For that, I thank you for taking the time. Here is some information about The End Time and its Administrator and sole author: Elizabeth Prata (me!)
The end of the year often comes with reflection, and lists, and resolutions. It’s human nature to ponder. We like stark demarcations like borders, end of year reflections, anniversaries, things that help us say ‘this is this and that is that’.
Growing up, I never had much exposure to church. We were Methodist for a while, then Unitarian. Then nothing. Church education and attendance was spotty at best. My parents shall we say, did not practice godly living. (It was the 60s and 70s after all).
I was saved later in life at about age 43. I don’t have an exact date but a time frame, sometime in December 2003/January 2004.
Being a loner and having no understanding of what the Church is all about, for 18 months or so, I resisted attending church (even though deep down I knew I should).
I thought that watching Joel Osteen on TV every week was good enough.
Now that I was in Christendom, I thought that I was finally ‘safe’ and nothing bad would ever happen again. I was wrong! Christianity is full of strife and trouble, (but so worth it!)
When I finally got a Bible and compared Osteen’s words to it, by the Spirit’s grace, I knew that this kind of worship wasn’t proper.
I felt gypped, lied, to and upset at the notion that a pastor could be false and waste my spiritual time by hindering my walk, but I soon learned this is more frequent in Christendom than people think. But the Romans 8:28 ‘good’ that came out was that the feeling of loss and worthless worship at experiencing a false teacher now propels me into discernment. It is my desire that this does not happen to anyone else.
My first series I listened to under John MacArthur, whom I found as another graceful doing of the Spirit, was “Battle for the Beginning“. I love beginnings and endings, that’s why Genesis and Revelation are my favorite books of the Bible.
I am a faithful member of a Reformed church led by 4 elders who preach verse-by-verse with occasional topical short series.
I enjoy taking classes through The Masters’ Seminary Institute for Church Leadership (ICL), and through Ligonier Connect. ICL offers classes to individuals. You do not need to apply through the seminary, but the courses are offered by the same men. They are not expensive, and several times a year they offer one for free or half price. They also offer certificate tracks. At ICL, I’ve especially enjoyed Brad Klassen’s course on Prayer so much, and at Ligonier, Derek Thomas’ course on Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress.
I’ve kept this blog for 14 years (as of this January 9), with a blog published every day, sometimes two blogs in a day. I’ve written over 6,000 blogs with few repeats (thanks to the sustaining of the Holy Spirit).
My early years on the blog was full of breathless newspaper eisegesis, but I make no apology, because finally I was beginning to have answers to questions that plagued me so! With a sudden change in worldview, now, everything made sense! I’ll never forget that euphoria at having the big questions settled. Why are people so evil? Why is Israel always hated? Why are there earthquakes and other disasters? My worldview had shifted rapidly and I blogged in order to sort it all out. Shifting from a secular world view to a biblical one gave me answers and I was thrilled! Thankfully that focus died down and I began writing about doctrine more.
I was raised in the north and was unfamiliar with Southern Gospel music but once I heard it I loved it! I especially love Southern Gospel quartets.
My heart is for discernment, that women would think critically and biblically about their savior and their walk. It’s also for missions, and being a good student of the word, and encouraging women to live a lifestyle that exalts Jesus, no matter what stage of life they are in.
Speaking of lifestyle, I was divorced prior to salvation and have been single ever since. My idols prior to salvation were marriage and husband, but being unsaved I didn’t enter into it for the right reasons or manage it properly, since, of course, it was an idol and not part of Godly living. After conversion the Lord gave me a contentment in singleness, and I use the time and space He affords me to continue this writing ministry. (1 Corinthians 7:34).
I recently had a birthday, turning 62- officially entering a retirement age/stage of life. Let me tell you, life IS a vapor! More on that in another blog essay.
I am grateful for every reader who comes to The End Time blog. Why ‘the end time’? Because we are IN the end of time, the time between Jesus’ ascension and return. Time is short. You are never closer to your eternal destination than you are each day that passes. Make the most of the time He has given us.
Knowledge that all this will come to an end suddenly and unexpectedly should give us a fervor for right living, for proclaiming His gospel, and for speaking His excellencies wherever and whenever we can. This is my goal, and Lord willing, I’ll keep doing it in 2023.
A clip of former pastor of Saddleback Church Rick Warren made the rounds on Twitter the other day. It was Warren on camera explaining to an off-camera person Warren’s philosophy of ministry. He led the cameraman through his massive library to what he called his “Bucket of Ministry” containing tools and implements. Warren said when people ask him ‘What does a minister do?’ he refers them to his bucket. The staff represents he is a shepherd, the fruit picker reminds him that people grow fruit in their lives, the pitchfork stands for a minister’s cultivation of people, the sword stands for battle; and so on. He lifted the shovel last and said:
EPrata transcription of Warren’s statement, applied to screen shot of video
Despite having in his Bucket of Ministry a staff, a pitchfork, a sickle, a fruit picker, a fishing rod, a sword, and a tennis racket representing all the different aspects of a pastor’s work, Warren focused on the shovel as the tool representing 90% of his work. And saying straight to the camera without any sense of embarrassment, that the shovel represents his own people’s issues and concerns as excrement.
I thought this was a devastating moment, revealing the heart of this man who is in fact a wolf. Many times, people don’t accept that this man or that woman is a wolf, because they envision the wolf as an ugly, snarling, drooling, feral animal, which it is. But the wolf doesn’t appear as that, he appears as a nice, helpful, kind, soft spoken sheep. The two don’t jibe with the person’s view so they discount the wolf aspect because all they see is smiles and seeming helpfulness. But the mouth reveals all things, which pour from the heart. (Luke 6:45). We must listen, and look deeper when assessing a person claiming to be Christian, especially one who teaches.
I think not enough people understand this is an urgent verse:
“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16).
As for Pastor Rick as he is known, it would do him well in my opinion, to heed this verse:
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21).
A true, godly, Spirit-raised shepherd is supposed to care for his flock, because the shepherd knows the Lord purchased his people with His own blood. His people are only temporarily given to the shepherd, they are in truth the Great High Priest’s people. Jesus as THE Great Shepherd did not consider his people’s concerns to be excrement. He healed the blind with compassion, He touched lepers, He counseled Martha in kindness, He gently spoke to Nicodemus, addressing his concerns and questions with love. Jesus did not put on one public face to His people, then retire to Capernaum for the night and complain about having to shovel their poop.
Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. (Acts 20:28).
If you have a good pastor, who crafts his own sermons, who shepherds his monies for the betterment of the kingdom and not to accumulate and boast, who loves you with a Gospel love, you have a good pastor. Pray for him.
HOWEVER, I trust little online these days. I always want to verify. Maybe the clip went on with him saying, ‘Just kidding!’ but it was cut off so as to manipulate our view of him. Maybe it wasn’t all it seemed, and his words were cut and edited somehow.
It looked like the same one. Warren was in his massive library leading an off-camera person through it, pausing to stop and explain certain objects.
I slid the slider back and forth looking for that part about the Bucket of Ministry and did not see it. Hmmm. Maybe it was edited out. I went back and asked the original tweeter where she got it from, but received no answer after
I decided to search further on my own. Here is what I discovered. Ultimately, I still did not discover the original video containing the context around he aforementioned clip, but I found a blog article about it from people I know to be resourceful. And here’s what else I found.
Google suppresses results.
The Chrome browser using Google to search for +”rick warren” +poop” results are zero. See screenshot below.
It yielded nothing. The interview was just 11 months ago, and I saw the clip of Warren saying it, so why are there NO results? I tried various search terms, but still nothing. Hmmm, let me search on Dissenter browser, which uses DuckDuckGo for its searches, not Google.
Immediately there was a result! It is an article on Disntr, It’s not affiliated with the browser named Dissenter, it’s simply a blog that used to be called Reformation Charlotte renamed Disntr.
So isn’t that interesting, NO results at all on Google but immediately a top result came up using DuckDuckGo.
I decided to google that. I asked Google “Does Google suppress results?” and I received lots of high-minded explanations from Google explaining sincerely that if there are too many results, they limit the number, or if there is potential for identity theft, they limit results. Sounds helpful, eh? Well not so much.
If you ask the same question on DuckDuckGo using Dissenter browser, you get an article at the top of the results from Business Insider, “Google reportedly manipulates search results to hide controversial subjects and favor big business.” With what we now know for certain about Twitter thanks to Elon Musk, its new CEO unveiling the dirty acts of the Twitter execs, then, yes, of course it stands to reason Google does the same.
Even searching using that exact title on google failed to lead me to the article. It was referenced here and there, but not the blog itself. Below is that article, and a reminder to my dear readers that Google is not the be-all or end-all of searching. As time progresses and the world hates Christianity more and more, hates anything even smacking of conservatism, this kind of thing will occur as a matter of course, until the day when even posting a simple Bible verse will be suppressed.
I named this blog The End Time because we are IN the time of the end. This means the prophecies about Jesus’ return could be fulfilled at any moment, His appearing during this long era has always been imminent. So with that truth in the forefront of our minds, we as believers should be about His business sharing the Gospel and glorifying Him daily and with fervor. Right now it’s easy and free to share edifying content. It may not always be so.
We know that Acts 17:11 tells us to compare what a teacher is teaching to the Bible. Paul was not offended when the Bereans did just that. Instead, he called them noble! The main way you can tell if a person is teaching rightly, is by comparing what they teach and how they behave, with the Word.
Ladies, here is another way to begin detecting if the person you follow as a Bible teacher is false or true-
I see many Beth Moore defenders defend Moore’s teaching with emotional words and familar nicknames, such as ‘Auntie Beth’, saying they “grow closer to Jesus” through her lessons, and state other warm fuzzy type defenses of her teaching. But HOW do we grow closer to Jesus? There is only one way.
Any Bible teacher, if teaching rightly, will extract from the Bible its truths, including truth about sin and our need for repentance – not just upon salvation, but every day. He or she will then teach those truths. You will know you are “growing closer to Jesus” if said teaching-
reveals unknown sin in your heart, or if you are convicted of your sins, or if you drive yourself back to the Bible to seek Jesus, or if your affections change from carnal to holy, or if you learn more about Jesus, or if you desire to pursue holiness, or if you want to treat others above yourself, or all of the above!
Those are a few ways you can tell if you are ACTUALLY growing closer to Him.
This will happen because the true Bible teacher will be extracting truth from the Bible, which is living and active. Its writ thus delivered to you will knit conviction of sin, self-denial, and love for Jesus for who He is (not how He makes you feel or what you can get from Him).
If a teacher is false,
you will feel good and warm and have fuzzies during and after the lessons. But you know full well that emotions are fickle. They evaporate. or when the buzz of the teaching dissipates, you still feel the same, or if your knowledge of Jesus is less but your knowledge of that teacher is more, or if your prayer life isn’t energized, or your conscience isn’t pricked toward repentance, or if your affections haven’t changed, or if you still pursue carnal things at the expense of your conscience, or if you’re in a rut and decide to grab ANOTHER ‘study’ from that teacher because you need to feel good again, and not because you want to know more of Jesus, or all of the above!
then that teacher is false.
Why is she called “Auntie Beth” by so many? She makes people feel good. They enjoy her funny and charming personal anecdotes that makes them feel close to her in some way, a connection. She makes them feel cared for- but a false teacher’s love is a false love and a carnal love. It’s a carnal love because its origin is fleshly, which includes overlooking sin, love of self, and pursuit of a different Jesus than the one the Bible presents.
As for the cutesy nickname the flat screen admirers give Beth Moore, just think on this. We don’t call a Charles Spurgeon ‘Uncle Charlie’ or John MacArthur “Daddy John” or Paul Washer “Paulie dear”. Why not? Not that nicknames and familiar terms for people we admire are necessarily bad. But these men have a dignity in teaching that comes from their devotion to and teaching of the holy Word of God. Likewise older women are supposed to have a dignity as well, (Titus 2:5) exhibiting deep knowledge of doctrine and living a lifestyle that results in inhibiting such over-familiarity and pet nicknames from people.
Amy Carmichael’s sickroom was called The Room of Peace. China Missionary Gladys Aylward was called The Virtuous One. Spurgeon was called The Prince of Preachers. They received respectful nicknames and not cutesy ones because these teachers were unashamed of the Gospel. Remember, most people who call Beth Moore “Auntie Beth” don’t even know her personally, but know only the persona Beth chooses to present through a screen.
These concepts I’ve outlined in this brief blog stand for any teacher, but especially celebrity teachers such as Paula White, Joyce Meyer, Christine Caine, etc. Technology’s constant presence and our ability to stream material at-will 24/7 means that we tend to think that our favorite celebrity teachers and preachers are closer to us than they really are. True Bible teachers have students who learn and grow in holiness.
“[T]he true prophet must preach what he believes to be the truth, uninfluenced by any considerations of what will please others or profit himself, and must accept no man’s conscience as a substitute for his own, and must be ready to go on a diet of bread and water for a testimony to his sincerity-above and beyond all these, he must have laid hold of the eternal principles of divine government, and whole truths, not half-truths, must be the basis of his preaching.“
Source of above quote: True and False Prophets in 1 Kings, Chap. 22, Author(s): Dean A. Walker, Source: The Biblical World, Oct., 1902, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 272-277
Peoples’ responses to calling out a false teacher often (depressingly often) involves a statement such as this:
“You don’t know their heart!”
God is sovereign. God knows the heart. But there are specific times that we do too.
If a teacher’s doctrine has been proven false by comparing it with the Bible, then we DO know their heart! The Bible tells us this. Only God knows the hearts of the people, but if their teaching is not of the Lord, then the God who sees hearts has exposed those hearts to us by the verses of His word!
Their hearts are full of deceit. Colossians 2:8 Their hearts are filled with their own appetites. Romans 16:17-18 For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Matthew 12:34 Their hearts are disguised with light. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 Their hearts are full of greed. 2 Peter 2:3 Their hearts are ravenous. Matthew 7:15. Their hearts are inwardly full of sensuality. Jude 1:4 Their hearts are full of secrets, such as destructive heresies. 2 Peter 2:1 Their hearts are full of intent to exploit. 2 Peter 2:3 Their hearts are full of fleshly passions. 2 Timothy 4:3 Their hearts are puffed up with conceit. 1 Timothy 6:4 Their heart understands nothing. 1 Timothy 6:4 Their hearts are cunning and crafty. Ephesians 4:14 Their hearts serve the creature. Romans 1:25 Their hearts are slaves of corruption. 2 Peter 2:19. Their hearts deny the Master who bought them. 2 Peter 2:1 Their hearts prophesy lies. Jeremiah 23:26
People undiscerningly reject discernment and accept false teachings, even after confirmation by Bible verse, by thinking that a person can utter blasphemies but still have “a good heart”. No. Do we think that a person can utter falsities or even blasphemies from a pure heart? No, of course not. Out of the heart the mouth speaks.
God does know the heart, that’s true, but He has shown us the heart of the false teacher in His word. He taught us this in His word for the purpose of being mature, discerning, and so we can learn for ourselves in truth and also teach the younger to be edified and strong.
A week ago, on Reformation day 2022, (October 31) I tweeted a thread and subsequently posted a longer piece from the blog about something Beth Moore had said. She proclaimed with certainty that her 87 year old mother-in-law (who had passed 2 weeks before) was “in the presence of Jesus” and reunited with family members. The problem was, besides the fact of claiming you know with certainty anyone’s final destination, was that her Mother-in-law was a “devoted” life-long, “staunch” Catholic.
I’d said that if anyone who believes the dogmas of Rome, when they depart this world, is likely not in heaven. That was what the Protestant Reformation was all about, protesting the apostasy evident in that false religious structure. The Catholic Church by Martin Luther’s day had become apostate, rife with man-made traditions, schemas for salvation, merit, works, and indulgences (monetization of religion). It is still the same today. The Roman Catholic Church is a false church with an evil religious structure that opposes God. Believers in that church are sadly deceived that they are worshiping ‘this same Jesus’ in Acts 1:11 who departed this world and who will return in wrath and fury. (Revelation 19:21, Colossians 3:6).
Keep out, warn your discernment people. There be piranhas and brimstone.
That first tweet in my thread garnered 172,000 impressions and over 10,000 engagements within a day or two. Of the responses and discussions I’d seen, only 2 were positive or encouraging. The rest elicited a host of attacks, swears, curses, insults, and evil accusations. Some were poisonously corrupt to the Nth degree.
The attacks were almost instant, cruel, and ruthless. Many were from self-identified Christians, self-stated liberals, however, which explains a lot. Yet it was unbelievable what some of them felt it was OK to say in public the things they said.
I pondered and processed that event over the next few days, and here’s my conclusion:
1. I got to share the Gospel again and again and again. In the Twitterverse, there are not only the people you are directly engaging with, but all the people watching. There are a lot. So the Gospel was presented (as best as one can with the character limit). That is satisfying. Ultimately my first goal as a social media user is to proclaim the excellencies of Jesus.
2. I got to say several times that the Catholic church is corrupt and not Christian, and attach resources for further exploration. This is also good. It’s the second goal of mine to present credible resources to people. There is a lot of false out here. Putting out links to good ministries is a privilege and my joy.
3. I got to say many times that Beth Moore is a false teacher. I was expecting the outcry. It happens almost every time Beth Moore is presented in a negative light. It happened when I and 5 other ladies published the Open Letter to Beth Moore. It happened when I broke the news after she departed the Southern Baptist Convention that she was serving at the pulpit at her new Anglican church. Because Moore is destructive to one’s walk and one’s soul, I am pleased to say as many times as I can that she is false, in hopes that even one sister in Christ will go away from Moore. She’s one of the worst false teachers of past decades. Stating this in hopes of some eyes opening is my privilege and my joy.
4. Such activity reveals. It is an Elisha servant moment. When Elisha’s servant looked out and saw that the King of Syria’s army had surrounded them at Dothan, the servant moaned and said,
And his servant said to him, “This is hopeless, my master! What are we to do?” And he said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are greater than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “Lord, please, open his eyes so that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:15-17).
Can we see the demons? No. They are spiritual beings. But we can see their activity.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12).
In your mind’s eye, envision a still pool in a verdant forest. It looks inviting, pretty, calm. Throw a big rock into the pool, and suddenly there is motion, ripples, splashes. Waves reverberate against the shore. Cattails along the edge wave wildly. Chaotic splashing spreads poison spray on the upper reaches of the grass on shore, which wilt and some die. Piranhas lurking just under the surface leap and scream wildly, revealing themselves.
That is what happens when you throw a big rock into the polluted pool of Beth Moore defenders. At once you can see the verdant pool is not inviting after all, it is an unpleasant cauldron of malevolent schemes and percolating brimstone.
I’ll gladly take the splashback from the false teacher cesspool if whatever I post roils up the demonic so that its activity can be identified. I wish we all could be given an a glimpse like Elisha’s servant was, but unfortunately such privileges are few and far between these days. But God did give us His word, which is always available to one and all who are regenerated and can spiritually discern its contents. He did give us discernment to be trained up in. Discernment always roils the false. When you see such outcry, take note, it’s your discernment people trying to point out the mines in the minefield.
5. It became clear to me how many people need to be educated on the falsity of the Catholic church, what the Reformation was, and that there is a massive, fundamental, and eternal difference between Protestant and Catholic. The agitated activity showed us that ignorance is rife even among believers. Why?
Over the last couple of decades, the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the world (formerly led in part by the self-same Beth Moore), tolerated Catholic practices such as Lectio Divina, Contemplative prayer, and other mystical practices such as visions and direct revelation, used by the Catholic Church for centuries. When Moore herself publicly stated several times that Catholics are just another denomination, there was no public correction from the actual leaders of the SBC. In time, the undiscerning Baptists (and others) came to accept what leaders were saying overtly and by omission, and now have a hard time understanding that Catholicism isn’t Christian.
If you, dear sister, are tired of the wrangling and pushback from your social media posts, I understand. People have no common sense these days. They lack basic charity and grace. Politeness seems to have flown the coop. But also know that all things work to the good of those who love God, and He is glorified even in the disorder created by Tweet storms, Facebook posts, and blog essays. Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary. (Galatians 6:9).
The demons don’t get weary. Malignant activity still performs its evil in this world. It’s up to us to shine the light. Ephesians 5:11 says Do not participate in the useless deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;
The Gospel goes on, it is the joy and light of salvation. Its proclamation sometimes is received well, other times not. But we persist in being ambassadors for His name, THE name-
through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles in behalf of His name, (Romans 1:5).
Beth Moore and her failure to teach the truth about Catholicism
What the Bible teaches about leaders failing to preach the true word, and encouragement for those who do
1. What was the Reformation about?
October 31, Reformation Day, is a day when Christians bring to remembrance the old Catholic priest, Martin Luther. His inquiry into the scriptures, his spiritual angst over indulgences (a gross monetization of the faith), dismissal of the theology around purgatory, and his disappointment and despair after his trip to Rome, caused him on October 31, 1517 (traditionally accepted date) to nail 95 Theses to the All Saints’ Church in anticipation of a theological discussion. These theses became the foundation for the ensuing Protestant Reformation. We have been discussing ever since.
In his theses, Martin Luther had said that “It is vain to trust in salvation by indulgence letters, even though the indulgence commissary, or even the pope, were to offer his soul as security.” (Thesis #52).
He also said, “They are the enemies of Christ and the pope who forbid altogether the preaching of the Word of God in some churches in order that indulgences may be preached in others.” (#53).
And, in speaking against the gross accumulation of personal wealth by the Pope, that “The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.” (#62).
The Roman Catholic Church teaches and preaches heresy. Anyone believing the doctrines of Rome is likely not saved. If they do come to true repentance in the true faith, they soon leave the Roman Catholic Church (RCC), because it is not spiritually profitable to remain. The Holy Spirit who indwells the new believer, would not let them stay.
Ex-Catholic and now fervent Protestant Evangelist Mike Gendron, writes,
“Catholic salvation is based on Jesus plus Mary, faith plus works, grace plus merit, Scripture plus tradition and the blood of Jesus plus purgatory. Catholics do not know that any addition to the Gospel is a denial of the sufficiency of Christ (Heb. 7:25). Any addition to the Gospel also nullifies the saving grace of God, which is the only means by which God saves sinners (Romans 11:6). Catholics, who are victims of this deception, need to be evangelized with the true Gospel of grace.”
2. Beth Moore’s failure to teach the truth about Catholicism
Beth Moore’s 87 year old mother-in-law died a few weeks ago. Any death is sad, but when the person is likely a non-believer, it’s heart rending. The obituary says, “Mary and her husband John were lifelong, devoted Catholics.” If Mary believed RCC dogma, then she did not believe in the necessary elements of the faith.
“Many of the 70 million Catholics in America were born into their religion and have never examined their faith through the lens of Scripture“. ~Mike Gendron
Beth’s mother-in-law Mary Moore was devoted to errant RC dogma. It’s a tragedy that she’s likely not dwelling in peace now or forever. But another tragedy is her daughter-in-law Beth, who proclaimed with certainty that Mary Moore,
“having entered the holy presence” said, “We are greatly consoled she lived to be 87 and is now not only with Jesus but with the two children she’d buried long ago and grieved deeply and daily.”
No. It’s a tragedy that Beth has compromised on this issue, declaring that a “devoted Catholic” has entered the holy presence of God. I hope Mary Moore has, but only due to last minute repentance in true faith. That post about her mother-in-law’s death on Instagram by Beth Moore got over 21,000 likes, and Moore’s Instagram account has over half a million followers. Beth’s influence and reach could have seen Catholics as a mission field.
But she didn’t. She doesn’t. She never has.
Beth’s own errant doctrine, compromising man-pleasing, or just cowardice, for many years has instead ignored the souls of millions she otherwise could have shared the truth with. There is blood on her hands, sadly. No one who believes Rome will see glory, except on Judgment Day, when the Lord will say “Depart from me, I never knew you!” and the same to false teachers like Moore who poison the faith and confuse the naïve.
Catholics are a mission field. They do not need an influential celebrity evangelical to assure them in their error! However, I and others have warned for over a decade now, that Moore teaches that Catholics are part of the true faith. She taught from her 2002 ‘study’, “Believing God” that Jesus lifted her to another dimension and gave her a view of the global church “as he sees it” which included the Catholic Church. She used an example of various denominations with signs to illustrate this ‘vision’, naming the Catholic ‘denomination’ of St. Anne’s Catholic Church. Her mother-in-law was a member of a church named St. Anne Catholic Church, by the way.
In this screen shot from a video, Moore is teaching from her 2002 ‘Believing God’ study that a Catholic church is simply another denomination along with Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran churches etc
In her 2006 Catholic-influenced Mystical DVD “Be Still,” Moore spoke of lines between denominations being erased, insinuating the lines were between Catholic and Protestant. In effect, she was denying the need for the Reformation and rejecting that severe doctrinal differences separate Protestants and Catholics. She said,
“You know, one of the things that time gives us is that it erases the lines in between people so many different sections of the people of God. Because many years later it doesn’t matter any longer that this person was of this practice in the Christian faith and this person of another. Time somehow blurs those lines and we are profoundly moved by the historical narratives of all their lives, of so great a cloud of witnesses; that we can look back on and see what kept them running the race, what kept them running toward the face of Christ at the end of that finish line.”
In 2012 Moore participated in and led an arena full of impressionable youth in a RCC mystical practice called Lectio Divina at the Passion Conference. Clearly, Beth Moore believes that Catholicism is part of the faith, or if she doesn’t believe it, she acts like it is.
I can understand that living with in-laws who are staunch Catholics is hard when you’re an alleged evangelical. I know they scowlingly objected to her quick and ignominious wedding in an off-white dress (Beth’s words). I understand the tensions when the in-laws remained Catholics all their lives, even when moving from Houston to Tomball, changing Churches from one Catholic church to another in a declaration of their continued loyalty to Rome.
I can understand that Beth’s husband, having been raised Catholic and remained attached to it throughout the marriage, was a hard to reach mission field; Moore has often publicly complained about her husband’s lack of interest in her Baptist church or the things of God, like not being inclined to study the word, or leafing through fishing magazines if forced to come where truth is being taught.
And in 2022, confidently writing on her Instagram to half a million followers that her Catholic M-I-L is in the presence of Jesus in heaven.
Opposing satan’s doctrines often brings tension, rejection, and difficulty. Instead of using her reach if not for her family (who knows if she did, God knows) then for at least the women she draws in to her public events and studies. Yet Moore consistently affirms Rome by her affirmations of Catholics being true believers and simply another denomination of the true faith. But it isn’t.
3. What the Bible teaches about leaders failing to preach the true word, and encouragement for those who do
“And now behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all people. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.” (Acts 20:25-27).
That’s the Apostle Paul speaking. Other translations say ‘I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God’. As Paul prepared to leave the believers in Ephesus, his conscience was clear. Why? Barnes’ Notes says,
“‘I have not kept back’; I have not been deterred by fear, by the desire of popularity, by the fact that the doctrines of the gospel are unpalatable to people, from declaring them fully. The proper meaning of the word translated here, “I have not shunned” ὑπεστειλάμην hupesteilamēn, is “to disguise any important truth; to withdraw it from public view; to decline publishing it from fear, or an apprehension of the consequences.” –End Barnes’ Notes Commentary
Paul said the same in Acts 18:6, But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.
Hebrews 13:17 reminds us all of the weighty task that leaders have. They will give an account regarding the souls they’d had under their charge. “Obey your leaders and submit to them—for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account—so that they may do this with joy, not groaning; for this would be unhelpful for you.”
While we learners have an obligation to submit, the leaders/pastors/teachers have an obligation to preach boldly. Paul and Barnabas did, even facing down a hissing mob of Jews who were blasphemously contradicting their teaching. (Acts 13:46). They must offer the entire teaching. An incomplete gospel is no gospel at all. But the whole counsel of God (with nothing added!) is sufficient to save! What glorious Good News!
Finally, we forget, or ignore, the evilness of false teaching. Spurgeon never wavered on proclaiming the truth and never shrank from denouncing the false. He said of the Catholic mass-
“The mass is a mass of abominations, a mass of hell’s own concocting, a crying insult against the Lord of glory. It is not to be spoken of in any terms but those of horror and destestation. Whenever I think of another sacrifice for sin being offered, by whomever it may be presented, I can only regard it as an infamous insult to the perfection of the Savior’s work.” ~ Charles H. Spurgeon
For the leaders who are faithful, you have aspired to a noble task (1 Timothy 3:1), and no doubt if done with persistence, humility, and in truth, will hear our Lord say “Well done good and faithful servant… Enter into the joy of the Lord!” (Matthew 25:21). What a day that will be!
Finally the long, hot Georgia summer is letting go and we are experiencing cool mornings and bearable afternoons. Fall in Georgia really is glorious. It lasts a while, which is one of the many reasons I enjoy it. The Fall season in Maine is about 2 weeks long, I’m not joking. In Georgia it’s about 8 weeks and the slow slide into ‘winter’ is beautiful with clear skies, low humidity, and turning leaves. I put winter in quotes because even after 16 winters in Georgia the fact that winter temps rarely even get below freezing overnight, and usually remain in the 40s and 50s during the days, is not winter to me but a Maine Spring, lol. On to today’s news-
Of course, discernment essays are the ones that people view the most. I don’t know if that is good or bad. I think it is good. People need discernment. John MacArthur has regularly said over the years that lack of discernment (which is caused by biblical illiteracy) is the biggest threat to the church.
I recently mentioned that I’ve enjoyed Todd Friel’s Wretched series called “Drive By______”. Drive By Marriage, Drive By Biblical Counseling, Drive By Theology, Drive By Discernment, etc. These are short, systematic lessons in audio, focusing on the topic, that anyone can listen to as they drive to work. (Or listen to anywhere). Audio lessons range anywhere from 10 minutes to 15 or so. They are short.
I’ve listened to several of these series and I especially enjoyed the series on discernment. Discernment as a biblical skill and applied to practical life is rarely explicitly taught. But Hebrews 5:14 says,
But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (ESV).
So we CAN practice discernment and train up in the skill, even if we are not blessed specifically with the gift of discernment as some possess. Bottom line, discernment is for everybody.
I saw that the Drive By Discernment bundle at Wretched is on sale. The team has put together a bundle of excellent resources with the Drive By Discernment audio lessons, which includes some great stuff. Normally this bundle would sell for $96.00. The bundle is now for sale for not much more than the lone Drive By lectures would be, $39.00. Their blurb says,
This bundle is the perfect arsenal to help you defend the truth and refute false teaching. Each resource has been carefully selected and is guaranteed to strengthen your discernment. The bundle includes the following:
Joel Osteen “This bundle is giving me my worst life now.”
Benny Hinn “This bundle makes me so mad I want to whack someone with my coat.”
Kenneth Copeland “I found the one thing scarier than my soulless stare, this bundle.”
Creflo Dollar “Don’t spend your money on this bundle. Give it to me instead. My jet needs new gold platted seatbelt buckles.”
Steven Furtick “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
LOL, to be clear, if you are not familiar with Todd Friel’s jocularity, those reviews are Wretched-type witticisms of course, not real reviews. But they are pretty funny. The lectures are not given by Friel, there are a variety of noted speakers who give each lesson, many of which are from the Psalm 119 Conferences. Lecturers like Justin Peters, Phil Johnson, James White, Tim Challies (who wrote a book on discernment, see below) and others. In the Drive By Discernment series of lectures alone, there are 63 lectures. In the Drive By False Teaching series included in the bundle, there are 79 lessons. (Remember, each one is short enough to listen to on a short commute, like 15 minutes).
But I am serious when I say it would be worth it to look into either this bundle, or at least one or more of the items in it separately. If you are serious about training up in discernment and you regularly already read your Bible, this is a good deal. And for the record I am not a Wretched employee nor do I receive compensation for this. I am simply always on the lookout for credible and edifying resources, and discernment resources are scarce. When they come to my attention, I like to pass them on to you, my sisters. 🙂
Other Resources in discernment
The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment. Challies said: “Written for the general reader and in a way that is suitable for a wide audience, the book teaches people to think biblically so they might act biblically. It appeals for discernment, teaching the importance of this discipline in guarding the good news God has entrusted to us.“
“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.”
“Over the past several months, we’ve seen how quickly news and social media can elicit fear, provoke anger, and fuel movements. This information overload is sometimes more than we can bear and has sent believers and unbelievers alike spiraling into despair and hopelessness as we’re simply trying to discern what to believe.“
Podcast by Alistair Begg: Who is Wise? part 1 of 2. Description-
“What’s the proof of wisdom? Is it found in the diplomas you have, the books you’ve read, the knowledge you’ve gleaned? Well, on Truth For Life, Alistair Begg demonstrates the biblical measure of wisdom and discernment.“
“Education can provide important facts, but it can’t offer us wisdom. On Truth For Life, Alistair Begg says it’s not intelligence, but faith, that makes a person wise. Hear how to employ wise discernment by trusting in God’s Word.“
the-end-time.org 
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