Another “Christian Star” Fails to Defend Christianity

Are you like me and you get really aggravated when a high-profile “Christian” preacher get on TV or in an interview and cannot express what or who is a Christian is? They make fools of themselves and degrade Christianity as they hem and haw when asked if so-and-so is a Christian or not, and they stutter around trying not to upset the antagonist reporter or anybody else instead of giving a solid biblical answer to those types of questions.

Recently, Franklin Graham, Billy Graham’s preacher son, was interviewed by a MSNBC panel on "Morning Joe" (http://www.christianpost.com/news/franklin-graham-not-so-sure-president-obama-is-christian-video-69929/) that asked him if President Obama was a Christian. Graham responded, “You have to ask him. I cannot answer that question for anybody. All I know is I'm a sinner, and God has forgiven me of my sins… You have to ask every person. He has said he's a Christian, so I just have to assume that he is”. What a cop out!

Yes, I realize that we cannot truly know a person’s heart nor the extent of their relationship with Jesus, but come on… Do you really think that a person who has used every ounce of the power of the presidency of the United States to crush anything to do with Christianity is a Christian? He promotes abortion on demand, homosexual marriage and forced contraception funding; his best friends and contributors all atheist, communist and Christianity haters.

The Bible says that we shall know a tree by its fruit, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7:15-20)

Obama is not a Christian and Graham should have had the sense to have said so. But can we expect? Graham also said this concerning Mormonism in the same article, “They believe in Jesus Christ. They believe a lot of other things, too.”

Does Franklin Graham even know what constitutes Christianity? Does he not know what the basic tenants of Christianity are? No wonder the media loves guys like Graham and Joel Osteen… all the journalists have to do is sit back and pile up the ratings as they allow these supposed Christian leaders make fools of themselves and Christianity.

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: Kenneth Copeland

I was a follower of Kenneth Copeland for several years back in the 80’s, I subscribed to his magazine, the Believer’s Voice of Victory Magazine, and devoured every word of it like it was sweet candy. If Copeland said it, it was straight from God’s mouth as far as I was concerned.

I was 100% sold into the name it, claim it way of thinking about God and His dealings with His children. But fortunately, the Spirit of God spoke to me as I was reading Copeland’s magazine one day. I don’t remember exactly what it was that I read, but I know that the Spirit clearly showed me that Copeland was wrong and it hit me like a ton of bricks!

I got out the Bible and compared what Copeland wrote and what God wrote and they were different. I then reread that entire magazine, and several of the older issues, comparing everything in the magazine to the Word of God. I was shocked at what I found. I had been duped and lead astray by a swindler!

Kenneth Copeland is not a Christian; he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing! The prosperity gospel he preaches is false and it is deadly. He teaches, among many fallacies: God has a body and lives on a planet, God created Adam and Eve as gods and that we are gods also, the words Christians speak have power and affect us, Jesus did not claim to be God, Jesus died spiritually and went to hell.

According to Gary A. Hand of “On Doctrine: Discerning truth from Error”:

Kenneth Copeland uses portions of the Bible to support his teachings, but his beliefs are completely different from what is actually revealed in the Scriptures:

1. Kenneth Copeland teaches a god that is different from the God in the Bible.

· The God of the Bible is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, eternal and immutable.

· The god of Kenneth Copeland is "...the biggest failure in the Bible."

· The God of the Bible creates by His power.

· The god of Kenneth Copeland creates by the use of Faith.

· The God of the Bible is a Spirit who cannot be seen.

· The god of Kenneth Copeland is about the same size as an average man and looks like Adam and Jesus Christ, which is classic Mormon doctrine.

· The God of the Bible fills the earth and the universe.

· The god of Kenneth Copeland lives on a planet, which is classic Mormon doctrine.

· The God of the Bible created Adam and Eve as human beings, not gods.

· The god of Kenneth Copeland created Adam and Eve as gods just like himself

· The God of the Bible is omnipotent, possessing all power.

· The god of Kenneth Copeland is limited by "spiritual laws".

· The God of the Bible created, owns and upholds the earth.

· The god of Kenneth Copeland lost possession of the earth to Satan because of the sin of Adam and Eve.

· The God of the Bible is Truth and cannot lie or be deceitful.

· The god of Kenneth Copeland must deceive Satan in order to get his words recorded in the earth.

2. Kenneth Copeland teaches a Jesus Christ that is different from the Jesus Christ of the Bible.

· The Jesus Christ of the Bible died on the cross for the sins of the world.

· The Jesus Christ of Kenneth Copeland was tortured in hell by Satan for three days for the sins of the world.

· The Jesus Christ of the Bible died physically of the cross, but His Spirit was continually alive.

· The Jesus Christ of Kenneth Copeland "died spiritually".

· The Jesus Christ of the Bible was raised from the dead, the same person and spirit as He was previous to death.

· The Jesus Christ of Kenneth Copeland died spiritually, so he had to be re-created by God, therefore he is not the same person or spirit as he was previous to death.

· The Jesus Christ of the Bible was the only person who was worthy to die on the cross for the sins of the world.

· The Jesus Christ of Kenneth Copeland could have been replaced by any "born-again" believer, who could have accomplished the same thing.

· The Jesus Christ of the Bible left no record of His appearance.

· The Jesus Christ of Kenneth Copeland looked and talked just like Adam.

· The Jesus Christ of the Bible was sinless, righteous, without flaw or blemish.

· The Jesus Christ of Kenneth Copeland accepted a sin nature and gave up his righteousness while on the cross.

· The Jesus Christ of the Bible conquered death and hell.

· The Jesus Christ of Kenneth Copeland was conquered on the cross by Satan and was taken by Satan to hell.

· The Jesus Christ of the Bible was the Son of God, in whom He was well pleased.

· The Jesus Christ of Kenneth Copeland was forsaken "Because God was not His Father any more" while he was on the cross.

· The Jesus Christ of the Bible said, "I and the Father are one."

· The Jesus Christ of Kenneth Copeland says, in a direct conversation with Kenneth Copeland, that he never claimed to be God while on the earth but only that he claimed to walk with God.

· The Jesus Christ of the Bible died on the cross as a ransom paid to God.

· The Jesus Christ of Kenneth Copeland died on the cross as a ransom paid to Satan.

· The Jesus Christ of the Bible claimed to be poor and without a place to rest.

· The Jesus Christ of Kenneth Copeland is claimed to have been rich because, "It would have been impossible for Jesus Christ to have been poor".

3. Kenneth Copeland teaches doctrines that are different from the Bible

· The Bible teaches in Ephesians 4:11-16 that the unity of the body of Christ is based on teaching to equip the saints for service.

· Kenneth Copeland teaches that the unity of the body of Christ will not be based on doctrine.

· The Bible teaches that walking in the Spirit is walking with the Holy Spirit.

· Kenneth Copeland teaches that walking in the spirit is walking in your own spirit.

· The Bible teaches that believers are children of God by adoption.

· Kenneth Copeland teaches that believers are gods.

· The Bible teaches that believers are subject to the will of God.

· Kenneth Copeland teaches that God is subject to the spoken wills and desires of believers.

(http://www.ondoctrine.com/10copela.htm)

I can attest to each and every one of the above statements as I followed Copeland and was fooled by him for several years. I believe hundreds of thousands true Christians are caught up in his evilness and are being led astray. Just as many people believe that they have become Christians under his ministry when in fact, they have not because he teaches a false christ where salvation cannot be attained.

Kenneth Copeland is leading people to hell, please don’t be one of them! Believe in the Jesus of the Bible; compare every sermon every preacher gives to the Bible to ensure you are being fed the good meat of God’s Word.

Is America Going to Hell?

Is America going to hell? I think it is. I've read that 85% of adult Americans claim to be a Christian; if this is so, why is there over a million unborn babies murdered each year? Why is pornography a billion dollar industry? Why are our prisons overflowing? Why do we elect, and continue to re-elect, corrupt, drunken, whoring, lying politicians? Why don't we have pray in school? Why is church attendance dropping faster than my house's market value?

I believe God has turned His back on this county; not on the true Christians who live here, but the country itself. God did this because we, as a nation, turned our back on Him first. This is not a Christian nation! It was once; but it has embraced evil, yes evil, and enjoys it to much to turn back to God.

We are a lot like Israel before Christ came. They were chosen by God to be a special people; to be a guide for others to follow. But they continually forgot God and followed the ways of pagan nations. No matter how often they were shown the light, they refused to follow it for long.

America is like this. We were a chosen people, to be a beacon of light to a fallen world. And we were for a while! Great advancement is all fields of science, medicine, theology, etc. were made by Americans. Then we, just as Israel did, decided that we could do it better. God? we don't need no stinking god! We have evolution as our god! We have naturalism as our god! We have ourselves as our god. Look how great we have become...

Those of us who still believe in and worship the true God can hope and pray for revival; it's happened before, maybe it'll happen again.

Holy Father, reach down your mighty hand, take a hold of us and place us on the righteous path. There are those of us here who want you to be the Leader of this nation. With You all is right; without You, we have a nation like what we have now - lost and wandering in the darkness; thinking it knows what is best when it's actually blindly running headfirst into the abyss. Only You can save us from ourselves. Please place holy men in national leadership positions, and give them Your Spirit to guide them as You see fit. Above all, thank You for Your Son, Jesus. May all the glory and blessing be His.

Amen.

A Good Saying

I’m reading a book that has many quotes from the many pillars of the Christian faith, one of them being John Wesley who was the founder of the Methodist denomination, which also gave birth to the Wesleyan denomination as well. Wesley was a great man of faith who could deliver a sermon or write an essay as well as anyone who has ever lived. It is such a shame that the Methodist church he founded has fallen so far away from the true faith.

But what I want to ponder is a saying that Wesley is famous for, one that I feel is pretty much ignored by denominations that think that they are smarter than he was. This saying is, “Enjoin nothing that the Bible does not clearly enjoin. Forbid nothing that it does not clearly forbid.” In other words, when it comes to spiritual and moral matters, obey the Bible; don’t add to, nor take away from, what it says.

So many people, Christian or not, add to the Bible things that it does not say. For example, the Baptists (I was raised in a Southern Baptist church) say dancing is a sin, drinking alcohol is a sin and going to movies is a sin. None of those actions are forbidden in the Bible! Yet the Southern Baptists think that they are holier than God by adding those restrictions to their followers.

The Bible clearly shows that Jesus drank wine, yes real wine, David and others danced, and movies; well there were no movies then so we aren’t forbidden to see them. I will say that a Christian should not go to movies that show nudity, sexual situations and cussing, but there are plenty of rated-G movies for the family.

So here are several examples of what the church adds to the Bible, but what does it take away? Plenty! The Bible clearly says that women are not allowed to teach or preach, yet almost every denomination allows this. The Bible says that men are not to have long hair or women are not to have short hair, it even calls this a shame; but we all probably see this all the time. The Bible also says that we are to dress modestly, yet I see just as many cleavages and short skirts in church as out. I could go on but we all know what a lot of churches allow that would cause heart attacks to the early church fathers.

Non-Christians have followed suit, I see how people I speak with, and the media, mention things that Christians are doing that he Bible does not condemn as if it does. When asked to show me where the Bible says “that”, they of course can’t. But they do learn these things from the church.

We Christians need to learn that the Bible is our guide; we cannot be pharisaical and demand more of the followers of Christ than Jesus Himself demands. We cannot put undue burdens on Christians, Jesus condemns this.

John Wesley had it right and we should listen to him: “Enjoin nothing that the Bible does not clearly enjoin. Forbid nothing that it does not clearly forbid.”

Why do People Hate God?

This is just "off the cuff" writing, not much thought put into it, so take it as it is. I was sitting here at my computer and the question in the title just popped into my head. Why do people hate God? Why do they feel the need to push their evil agenda on everyone else? How can they be so ignorant to think that everything just "happened"? BANG!! You're here. They willingly choose to believe that there is no god yet readily believe that nothing exploded and became everything we know. How sad is that?

I work every day around people who intentionally bad-mouth Christians and conservatives. One or two co-workers, when they found out I was a Christian (and not afraid to voice my opinion in opposition with the liberal, sinful ways of our country and the world), seemed to make it a point for me to overhear them bashing Christianity and conservative people. I never pushed my ideas into a conversations with them. Yet, they loudly proclaimed their worldly thoughts in a loud manner.

Why do people seem to take perverse joy in trampling underfoot the godly, well-meaning thoughts and actions of others? Why is the concept of God so rejected?

Of course we know the answer. Jesus Himself told us in the gospel of John, chapter 15, verses 18-19: "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."

Satan is the god of this world, and he hates Christ; so of course, Christians (God's children) are hated as well. Look at this:

John 8:42-47: Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

1 John 3:10: This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

The world hates Christ! And by extension, the world hates Christians. It is only going to get worst for us Christians. God is hated, mocked, laughed at, and pushed aside. How can we expect any difference?

Holy Communion

Communion is an important aspect of the Christian’s relationship with both Christ and each other. It involves remembering who Christ is, what He has accomplished and what He is doing and will do in the future. It also is a way for us Christians to celebrate Jesus’s sacrifice for us in the corporate setting of the visible church. Plus, most importantly, it was commanded by Jesus for us to observe this ritual until He returns.

Due to my extensive travel, I’ve experienced quite a variety of communion styles. As an adult, I’ve lived in 3 different countries and 17 different cities in 8 different states here in the U.S. I have attended well over a dozen churches on a regular basis and many more churches one or more times while seeking a church after one of my many moves.

I’ve seen communion served every Sunday, the first Sunday of the month, the last Sunday of the month, once every 3 months and once every six months. I’ve seen cracker crumbs, bread crumbs and wafers as the “bread”, but I’ve always seen a thimble of grape juice as the “wine”. (Although when I was on a short-term missions trip to Belize, the little rain-forest church we visited ran out of grape juice so 7-Up was used -- I sure hope that I’m not going to hell for that sacrilege!)

Something else I’ve seen churches do differently is deciding just who can partake in the communion service. I’ve heard pastor’s tell everyone that only members of that church can partake, I heard others say that only Christians is welcome to eat and drink and I’ve seen pastors include everyone present.

So, with all these different who’s, how’s, and when’s that are out there, let’s see what the scripture says about communion.

The Who

Who should or can partake in Holy Communion? To me, this is a simple question to answer – believers. Those who know the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did for us are the ones to partake in Holy Communion.

1 Corinthians 10:16-17 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.

I also believe that this can include the young children of believers who are old enough to know of Christ but too young to have reasoned out their belief. I realize that this is not spelled out in scripture, so it is my opinion only.

The How

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell of the first communion; Matthew tells it like this in chapter 26:

26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the[b] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Here is where I’ve heard several disagreements: some say we must use real wine because that’s what Jesus did (and I believe that He did), some say grape juice is alright even if Jesus was drinking wine. Some say we should use a loaf of bread, others say any bread, i.e. crackers, are okay to use.

We can’t be too concerned with what the actual substance is that we are using to remember Christ during this ritual. Jesus said “Take this cup…” yet I’ve never heard a preacher discuss what a “cup” is! If we are following Jesus’ word to the letter, how is using a thimble to drink from anywhere close to drinking from a cup?

Please, Jesus was having a meal when He commanded us to do this, so why are we sitting in a pew and not at a table with a full spread of food before us? I actually brought this up to the pastor of a church I attended once because the church members had a pot luck on the last Sunday of every month and we celebrated communion on the first Sunday of every month. I asked the pastor why we don’t combine the two to be even more like the actual event in the Bible; but he just said no, that things were good the way they were (I’m paraphrasing).

One thing we should always remember though is that when we are to have communion, we do so with respect of others, to wait until we all are ready. 1 Corinthians 11:23-34 spells out how to partake of communion; some feel that this passage refers to unconfessed, personal sin, but I do not. We all commit so many sins of both commission and omission in ignorance that we just can’t confess every sin by name; we’d never be able to take communion!

Paul says in verse 18, “I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you…”; and in verse 29, “For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves”; the context here is of a divisive church, not a healthy, loving church. It isn’t personal sin that should keep us from communion, but church-body sin. Do not take communion if your local church body is at odds within itself.

The When

Lastly, when should we celebrate communion together? 1 Corinthians 11:26 says, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” I see no specific time-table to follow in this matter. If you want to do it every Sunday or twice a years, do what you feel the Lord asking you to do.

I personally would like to do it every Sunday, right before the pastor speaks. This would help to get everyone in the right frame of mind to learn and grow in the Word.

Summary

In closing, let me quote Jesus in John 6:46-51:

“No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

Jesus is the reason for communion, not wine or grape juice, not bread or crackers. Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life, and I hope you know Him as such.