so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. - 2Corinthians 2: 11 (ESV)
Churchianity has succeeded in implementing the purpose driven church model in this country. Millions attend huge churches that allow them to serve in a ministry, tithe their ten percent, and learn absolutely nothing about the Gospel. Never come to penitent faith in Christ, never desire anything more than the tepid milk of self help messages and narcissistic sermons, and as a result are relatively illiterate biblically. Being able to quote Jeremiah 29:11 out of context is not biblical literacy. Being able to boast that you can do all things through a Christ you do not actually know, is not biblical literacy. Even sadder however are the tens of thousands saved Christians who turn their blind eye to it. Who view any honest discussion of what the devil is doing in the church as divisive or critical. What it comes down to unfortunately is we have become woefully ignorant of the designs the devil has for us. We have become outwitted by the enemy to our souls and seemingly do not care or are not aware.
One of the primary designs the devil uses is to cast any sliver of doubt upon the inerrant and infallible Word of God. Why is that one of his greatest schemes? Because if one part of the Bible is viewed as not being accurate then it becomes so much easier to dismiss other portions. If one part can be removed than other parts can be removed. We often see secular folks who consider themselves Christians even though they live in admitted alternate lifestyles and we wonder how can they be so deceived? The answer is that they have decided which parts of the Bible they like and which parts they consider as discardable. We do it inside the church too. Salad bar Christians. Take some faith, grace and love for your plate but leave the sin, wrath and judgment for the next guy. How do we see so many professing believers fall into such damnable heresies? Because something has been deemed as not important anymore despite it being biblical. It affects all of us. Consider the story this week about Michael Gungor. Son of a pastor, Gungor with his wife are worship leaders who have won Dove awards, been nominated for a Grammy Award, and last year won an Independent Music Award for their 2013 live album, "A Creation Liturgy." This is a child of the church. Someone raised in church, by the church, and makes his living through the church. Somewhere along the line however, the devil outwitted Michael Gungor. Science whispered in his ears and seduced him. Human logic began to make more sense to him than doctrine. He has been captured by the empty philosophies and high sounding nonsense this world has offered him.
Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. - Colossians 2: 8 (NLT)
Gungor made the news this past week when he admitted that he no longer views the Genesis account of creation as literal. He claims that as a musician he sees it as poetry, with stanzas and refrains. In his blog post entitled "A Worshipping Evolutionist", Gungor said he can no longer believe that there was a couple named Adam and Eve that lived 6000 years ago. He can no longer believe that there was a flood 4000 years ago that covered the highest mountain. He can no longer believe that all of the species of animals once fitted on an ark. Comparing believing these things to belief in Santa Claus, Gungor said instead of throwing these stories out he chooses to find value in them. Translation? Michael Gungor has taken the pen out of the hand of the Author and Finisher of his faith and has decided he know better. God help those who will follow him simply because they like his music. In one of the responses to the comments, Gungor revealed the source of his heresy:
The foundation of the Christian faith ought to be Christ, not the Bible.
How ridiculously carnal is that statement? It is something I would expect an unbeliever to say because they do not have the Holy Spirit leading them into all truth. Perhaps amidst writing all of his "worship" songs Gungor has forgotten the Bible altogether:
In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. - John 1: 1 (NLT)
Beloved, the Bible is Jesus. The Word is God. To say that our foundation should be Christ and not the Bible is to admit that you do not understand the Bible or Christ. This of course is what happens when you start cherry picking portions of the Bible you think are no longer "logical." Eventually, the entire Bible is downgraded in its importance. In the end, none of it matters. We can continue to simple recreate God in our own image until we think we have achieved some level of enlightenment. The problem is of course that it will not be of God. There will be no God in it. It will be entirely carnal. Sound harsh? Let's take a look at what Michael Gungor's next project is.
He is now teaming up with renowned heretic Rob Bell. For the uninformed, Bell is a former mega-church pastor who woke up one day and decided that hell no longer exists as he rushed to embrace universalism - where everyone goes to heaven. Bell promotes contemplative spirituality, new age mysticism, denies the virgin birth, denies the Bible as a divine document and swears by many other obvious blasphemies. One of the early tracks this new group is working on is called, God Our Mother, where they try to move off the notion of a masculine God. One of the lyrics is reported as follows, "God our Mother/Leading us into peace/Drawing and comforting all those in need." From his blog post:
"Why do you care whether you are made from literal dust or some guy's rib or from chimp descendants? What does it matter? Is one really better than the other? What does that have to do with whether or not Jesus rose from the dead? What does that have to do with whether or not we ought to love God or our neighbor?"
Let me explain for Michael since he seems to have forgotten how he was raised. We as Christians believe that the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God. That means we believe that it is theópneustos, or God breathed. This is what established absolute truth. It is what assures us of our salvation. It is what keeps us from slipping into the shades of grey the devil sells, like the idea that maybe God is our mother and not our Father. It is what keeps us from slipping into the shades of grey the devil sells like maybe everyone gets to go to heaven. Without the divinely inspired Word of God, we are simply walking monkeys. What does creation have to do with Christ rising from the dead? Dear Lord, Michael - everything! Without creation there is no fall of man. Without no fall of man there is no sin problem. Without no sin problem there is no separation from God. Without separation from God there is no reason for a Savior. Quite frankly, without creation there is no reason for Jesus to rise from the dead! That is the problem Michael. You have recreated God and now He has no reason to save you. You have saved yourself. The only problem Michael; is you cannot save yourself. Neither can your new friend Rob Bell. Only Jesus can and you just told the world that you no longer believe Him. One last nugget from the blog post:
Let the scientists do their work, and then look for God within that work.
So, let man say what he has to say and then see where you can fit God into it? No thanks. Man makes a horrible god. Just look at our history or turn on the news today. Especially when dealing with a subject like creation because all science can do is guess. No one was there to witness it so it is not observable science - it is theoretical science. Man has a theory, that usually displaces God, and men everywhere rush to embrace it. In order to embrace it however we are forced to reconsider what we had accepted as faith from the Word of God. The choice however is not "logical science" over "blind faith." Believing in evolution is just as much blind faith as believing in creation because none of us were there to witness it. I just happen to believe that God was there and He made sure the account got written down for us so that when the devil comes and whispers monkeys in our ears we can turn to the inerrant Word of God and know he is a liar. That is being aware of his devices, lest we get outwitted. As in the sad case this past week of Michael Gungor who once sang about the one true God but now no longer believes Him.
Rev. Anthony.
