If you have read my blogs, you will know I am not afraid of writing about controversial topics. I pray before every blog I write that I will be guided by the Holy Spirit. Great change can come through controversy. It forces thinking people to consider perspectives and possibilities other than their own. Jesus was controversial, and He changed the entire world’s understanding of the nature of God. I also pray that, though my words may be strong, you will accept them in love, as they are given to you in love and great concern about where you are going to spend eternity. I realized long ago that God has given me the gift of teaching. I teach and witness to people on a personal level, through these blogs, and through the lyrics to my music God gives me the inspiration to write to you.
The Lord has recently given me a great burden on my heart to speak against what is becoming one of Satan’s greatest tools in robbing souls away from Heaven. That is, the movement of the Revisionist sect of the emerging church. The first seeds of the emerging church began in the early 1970’s, and has grown into an extremely diverse and complex movement with a vast variety of philosophies and definitions of what a Christian is today and how they are to live their lives. I’m not even going to attempt to cover all the theologies and doctrines involved. I’m only going to cover why the Revisionist sect of the emerging church is flat out a work of the devil himself.
This sect seeks to destroy the veracity of the Bible. They are literally throwing away the parts of it that they deem are “inclusionist” and that might offend those that are seeking God in ways other than through Jesus Christ, the cross and the resurrection. They deny that the Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, and are simply the written words from the minds of men. Thus, the Bible is no longer to be viewed as the absolute guideline as to how a Christian is to live their life. This way, they can simply ignore II Timothy 3:16 and II Peter 1:20,21 and make up any “theology” that suits the desires of their carnal spirit. Their argument is that the teachings of the Bible can no longer be applied to post-modern society – that vast sections, sometimes entire books of the Word were written primarily for the benefit of the readers back in that time for specific problems that needed to be resolved. I’ll be honest, I believe there are a few scriptures I have come across that I have really had to study to understand. But after I studied their historical and societal aspects, I then realized that the writer of the book or epistle was referring to specific customs of a specific people in a specific location that I am not required to adhere to in my life. But make no mistake – just because there are a few things in the Bible I need not apply to my life now gives me no reason to believe that the scripture was not still inspired by the Holy Spirit! The people that benefited from those scriptures back then were divinely blessed by the wisdom of the Word.
So, all the while, there are more and more people who call themselves Christians who are taking it upon themselves to decide which parts of the Bible they choose to believe in – the parts that they can live comfortably with. They have this idea that if only more people will believe that there are many paths that lead to God, the sooner this world will live in peace. Take a look at the history of the world. From the very beginning, after the Great Fall, there has never been true peace. As long as man (humankind) rules the earth, as long as Satan is the prince of this world, there will never be true peace. That will only come when the King of Peace returns from His Father’s throne and establishes His spiritual kingdom on earth. (We know the devil has his plan to counterfeit that!)
These words are going to sound harsh, but again I remind you, I have the destiny of your soul in mind: If you are a person who professes to be a Christian, and you are finding that you are beginning to stray from the truth of the teachings of Christ and compromising the constant admonitions to lead a pure, holy life as written in the Word of God, you are playing with hellfire! If you claim to believe in Jesus, but do not believe He was and is the very Son of God, you will pay dearly! If you believe that God is only a God of love and He would never allow a person to go to Hell, you are admitting that anyone can commit the most unbelievable crime or injustice (sin, if you even believe in sin), and never be ultimately punished for it. Adolph Hitler will be in Heaven with you enjoying the reward of eternal life.
Make no mistake. God sends no one to Hell! He desires none should perish! It is we who send ourselves to condemnation by rejecting God and the love He has shown us through the sacrifice and resurrection of His own Son.
There are no second chances to believe in God or accept Christ after you die or after He sits on His earthly throne. God’s judgments are final. Beside that, God in this lifetime gives us thousands of chances to accept Him. If we’re too wrapped up in the world to stop and listen to Him whispering or sometimes crying out to us, then, you know, He did all He could.
If we believe in Jesus’ teachings, we need to constantly take this to heart; Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep my commandments”. In other words, if you don’t love Him, don’t try to keep His commandments. So, what are His commandments? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart (feelings) and with all your soul (your spirit; being) and with all your strength (ability) and with all your mind (mental understanding), and love your neighbor (fellow human beings) as you love yourself”. That’s what we all must contribute to our relationship with God in order to call ourselves Christians. If we are not trying to do that, we are no more than hypocrites posing as Christians, and hypocrites have no place in Heaven.
If you think because you’ve accepted Christ as your Savior and been baptized that you can just slide on into Heaven because He’s “covered you with His blood”, if sorry to inform you “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:2) Jesus is talking about believers here. Look at the words “in me”. Jesus is not talking about just good works that we do, for all of our works we do that are not to the glory of God are as filthy rags. They mean nothing to Him. It is becoming widely accepted in the emerging church that you’ll get to Heaven just by doing good works. This is supposed to be a hallmark of Christian behavior. But an atheist can do good works. In fact, it’s written in their moral code. Jesus was talking about bearing spiritual fruit – fruit that pleases the Spirit of God. And the only original book that has ever been written that defines exactly what pleases the Almighty Creator God is the Bible. Others have tried to piggyback off of it or try to extend it with supplementary books to create their own religion or Christian denomination. But again I say, because the Bible is the user’s manual for how to live a Christian life, if you start compromising the doctrine of the Bible, then the only option left is for you to substitute its message with a doctrine that is watered down, only so that more may be attracted to its less stringent “demands” on neglecting their carnal desires.
True Christianity is a tough road to travel. It’s not for the faint of heart. Think about it. Doesn’t it just stand to reason that if you’re going to believe in the reward of a Heaven, then you can expect to have to pay a pretty heavy toll to get there! As the saying goes, “You don’t get something for nothing”. God sacrificed His Son because He loved His creation so much, He wants us all to live with Him forever in bliss. But He also gave us free will to reject Him if we desire. That is proof enough right there that God is not only merciful, but He’s also just and fair.
He gave us a book chock full of blessings, lessons and even warnings of the outcome and repercussions of our behavior. Yes, we have so amply been warned! Woe to any who slip away from the Truth into the hands of the secular-oriented emerging church. Part of the second epistle of Peter concerns false prophets at the time who were either teaching a different version of the gospel, or they were Jewish converts who were teaching new Gentile Christians that they had to be circumcised and follow certain rules of the Mosaic Law in order to fully become saved Christians (Judaizers). Understand that, if these young Christians fell for the Judaizer’s doctrine, they would in essence be rejecting the grace of Christ on the cross that freed humankind from the Old Law. Here’s II Peter 2:20,21: “If they (the young believers) have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.” A very solemn message indeed! “...Knowing our Lord and savior...” here means having a full knowledge of the gospel and the way to salvation. “Entangled” means that some of these new Christians had strayed from the Truth and fallen back into the ways of the Old Law, rejecting the grace of Christ on the cross. What is amazing to me is, for those who fell, “...they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.” Think about that for a minute. “The beginning” means before they knew the gospel, when they were totally lost (like we all were at the age of accountability) and condemned to eternal banishment from the presence of God. Could the consequence of a sin be any greater? Could there be any more of a severe judgment placed upon a soul? According to these verses, the answer is yes! If you've accepted the Truth of the Word of God, then reject it, it's not going to be a pretty picture.
So now you know why the Lord has so burdened me with writing this blog. I want to see all of you make it to eternity with the Lord. The emerging church is trying its best to make it as easy as possible for people to believe in God. The only problem is, the God they now believe in is not the God of the Bible. It would not surprise me at all if Satan put it in the minds of the emerging church leaders that Satan's existence is just a biblical fabrication! Writer Charles Baudelaire once wrote that the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist. I guarantee you he is very real and active in this world to lead biblically illiterate, weak in prayer, worldly-minded believers astray. Do you know how I know that? Because the Bible tells me. And the Bible has proven its divine validity in my life in very personal ways hundreds of times. God has used His Word to talk to me, supply answers to humanly unsolvable problems, and teach me lessons to be a better witness to others and to please Him more effectively. It brings joy and peace unsurpassed by any other book I’ve read, because it is the only book ever written that tells humankind how to have a personal relationship with their Creator. Start disbelieving or compromising the Bible, and watch your salvation slip through your fingers. The choice is up to you, and that’s the way God planned it. He wants you to prove your dedication, trust and reliance upon Him and His Word. There is no other way you can call yourself a Christian.
With great love, God’s humble servant, David L. Renfro
The Lord has recently given me a great burden on my heart to speak against what is becoming one of Satan’s greatest tools in robbing souls away from Heaven. That is, the movement of the Revisionist sect of the emerging church. The first seeds of the emerging church began in the early 1970’s, and has grown into an extremely diverse and complex movement with a vast variety of philosophies and definitions of what a Christian is today and how they are to live their lives. I’m not even going to attempt to cover all the theologies and doctrines involved. I’m only going to cover why the Revisionist sect of the emerging church is flat out a work of the devil himself.
This sect seeks to destroy the veracity of the Bible. They are literally throwing away the parts of it that they deem are “inclusionist” and that might offend those that are seeking God in ways other than through Jesus Christ, the cross and the resurrection. They deny that the Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, and are simply the written words from the minds of men. Thus, the Bible is no longer to be viewed as the absolute guideline as to how a Christian is to live their life. This way, they can simply ignore II Timothy 3:16 and II Peter 1:20,21 and make up any “theology” that suits the desires of their carnal spirit. Their argument is that the teachings of the Bible can no longer be applied to post-modern society – that vast sections, sometimes entire books of the Word were written primarily for the benefit of the readers back in that time for specific problems that needed to be resolved. I’ll be honest, I believe there are a few scriptures I have come across that I have really had to study to understand. But after I studied their historical and societal aspects, I then realized that the writer of the book or epistle was referring to specific customs of a specific people in a specific location that I am not required to adhere to in my life. But make no mistake – just because there are a few things in the Bible I need not apply to my life now gives me no reason to believe that the scripture was not still inspired by the Holy Spirit! The people that benefited from those scriptures back then were divinely blessed by the wisdom of the Word.
So, all the while, there are more and more people who call themselves Christians who are taking it upon themselves to decide which parts of the Bible they choose to believe in – the parts that they can live comfortably with. They have this idea that if only more people will believe that there are many paths that lead to God, the sooner this world will live in peace. Take a look at the history of the world. From the very beginning, after the Great Fall, there has never been true peace. As long as man (humankind) rules the earth, as long as Satan is the prince of this world, there will never be true peace. That will only come when the King of Peace returns from His Father’s throne and establishes His spiritual kingdom on earth. (We know the devil has his plan to counterfeit that!)
These words are going to sound harsh, but again I remind you, I have the destiny of your soul in mind: If you are a person who professes to be a Christian, and you are finding that you are beginning to stray from the truth of the teachings of Christ and compromising the constant admonitions to lead a pure, holy life as written in the Word of God, you are playing with hellfire! If you claim to believe in Jesus, but do not believe He was and is the very Son of God, you will pay dearly! If you believe that God is only a God of love and He would never allow a person to go to Hell, you are admitting that anyone can commit the most unbelievable crime or injustice (sin, if you even believe in sin), and never be ultimately punished for it. Adolph Hitler will be in Heaven with you enjoying the reward of eternal life.
Make no mistake. God sends no one to Hell! He desires none should perish! It is we who send ourselves to condemnation by rejecting God and the love He has shown us through the sacrifice and resurrection of His own Son.
There are no second chances to believe in God or accept Christ after you die or after He sits on His earthly throne. God’s judgments are final. Beside that, God in this lifetime gives us thousands of chances to accept Him. If we’re too wrapped up in the world to stop and listen to Him whispering or sometimes crying out to us, then, you know, He did all He could.
If we believe in Jesus’ teachings, we need to constantly take this to heart; Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep my commandments”. In other words, if you don’t love Him, don’t try to keep His commandments. So, what are His commandments? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart (feelings) and with all your soul (your spirit; being) and with all your strength (ability) and with all your mind (mental understanding), and love your neighbor (fellow human beings) as you love yourself”. That’s what we all must contribute to our relationship with God in order to call ourselves Christians. If we are not trying to do that, we are no more than hypocrites posing as Christians, and hypocrites have no place in Heaven.
If you think because you’ve accepted Christ as your Savior and been baptized that you can just slide on into Heaven because He’s “covered you with His blood”, if sorry to inform you “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:2) Jesus is talking about believers here. Look at the words “in me”. Jesus is not talking about just good works that we do, for all of our works we do that are not to the glory of God are as filthy rags. They mean nothing to Him. It is becoming widely accepted in the emerging church that you’ll get to Heaven just by doing good works. This is supposed to be a hallmark of Christian behavior. But an atheist can do good works. In fact, it’s written in their moral code. Jesus was talking about bearing spiritual fruit – fruit that pleases the Spirit of God. And the only original book that has ever been written that defines exactly what pleases the Almighty Creator God is the Bible. Others have tried to piggyback off of it or try to extend it with supplementary books to create their own religion or Christian denomination. But again I say, because the Bible is the user’s manual for how to live a Christian life, if you start compromising the doctrine of the Bible, then the only option left is for you to substitute its message with a doctrine that is watered down, only so that more may be attracted to its less stringent “demands” on neglecting their carnal desires.
True Christianity is a tough road to travel. It’s not for the faint of heart. Think about it. Doesn’t it just stand to reason that if you’re going to believe in the reward of a Heaven, then you can expect to have to pay a pretty heavy toll to get there! As the saying goes, “You don’t get something for nothing”. God sacrificed His Son because He loved His creation so much, He wants us all to live with Him forever in bliss. But He also gave us free will to reject Him if we desire. That is proof enough right there that God is not only merciful, but He’s also just and fair.
He gave us a book chock full of blessings, lessons and even warnings of the outcome and repercussions of our behavior. Yes, we have so amply been warned! Woe to any who slip away from the Truth into the hands of the secular-oriented emerging church. Part of the second epistle of Peter concerns false prophets at the time who were either teaching a different version of the gospel, or they were Jewish converts who were teaching new Gentile Christians that they had to be circumcised and follow certain rules of the Mosaic Law in order to fully become saved Christians (Judaizers). Understand that, if these young Christians fell for the Judaizer’s doctrine, they would in essence be rejecting the grace of Christ on the cross that freed humankind from the Old Law. Here’s II Peter 2:20,21: “If they (the young believers) have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.” A very solemn message indeed! “...Knowing our Lord and savior...” here means having a full knowledge of the gospel and the way to salvation. “Entangled” means that some of these new Christians had strayed from the Truth and fallen back into the ways of the Old Law, rejecting the grace of Christ on the cross. What is amazing to me is, for those who fell, “...they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.” Think about that for a minute. “The beginning” means before they knew the gospel, when they were totally lost (like we all were at the age of accountability) and condemned to eternal banishment from the presence of God. Could the consequence of a sin be any greater? Could there be any more of a severe judgment placed upon a soul? According to these verses, the answer is yes! If you've accepted the Truth of the Word of God, then reject it, it's not going to be a pretty picture.
So now you know why the Lord has so burdened me with writing this blog. I want to see all of you make it to eternity with the Lord. The emerging church is trying its best to make it as easy as possible for people to believe in God. The only problem is, the God they now believe in is not the God of the Bible. It would not surprise me at all if Satan put it in the minds of the emerging church leaders that Satan's existence is just a biblical fabrication! Writer Charles Baudelaire once wrote that the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist. I guarantee you he is very real and active in this world to lead biblically illiterate, weak in prayer, worldly-minded believers astray. Do you know how I know that? Because the Bible tells me. And the Bible has proven its divine validity in my life in very personal ways hundreds of times. God has used His Word to talk to me, supply answers to humanly unsolvable problems, and teach me lessons to be a better witness to others and to please Him more effectively. It brings joy and peace unsurpassed by any other book I’ve read, because it is the only book ever written that tells humankind how to have a personal relationship with their Creator. Start disbelieving or compromising the Bible, and watch your salvation slip through your fingers. The choice is up to you, and that’s the way God planned it. He wants you to prove your dedication, trust and reliance upon Him and His Word. There is no other way you can call yourself a Christian.
With great love, God’s humble servant, David L. Renfro
RSS Feed
