Crossing The Line

He removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. 

He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan.
2 Kings 18:4 NASB

Hezekiah was a king of Judah.  He did right in the sight of the Lord (2 Kings 18:3,) and he trusted in the Lord (2 Kings 18:5).

Was the bronze serpent a sinful thing? 

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live."

Numbers 21:8 NASB

So, if the Lord told Moses to make it, it could not have been sinful.

Yet, apparently, it was turned into an object of worship.  

That was sinful.

Many people take what was meant for good and turn it into sinful veneration and worship of objects or statues of people (or the people themselves), etc.

A crucifix with an imaginary image of Jesus easily is made into an object of worshiping the image rather than the Jesus of the Bible.

That is the way that the hearts of sinful mankind can work.

Yet, the serpent being lifted up by Moses was symbolic of something which was for the good of those who trust the Lord.

“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

John 3:14-15  NASB

The line between what is good & what is sinful is easily crossed.

We who are Christians need to be careful not to cross that line.

Grace To You & The Hillsong Controversy

Truth does divide, but we can't ignore error ....
Grace To You has posted some blog articles related to Hillsong during the past couple of days.

Hillsong Music's Weakness 

Hillsong's UnBiblical Message  

The articles by GTY aren't just about music (although one of them is focused  more on the lyrics of the songs).
I am thankful that they have addressed this.

Hillsong's music is very popular in many churches due to the music being pleasing to the ears.
While not all of Hillsong's lyrics are wholly bad, you can see symptoms of poor teaching in many of them.

Hillsong churches are not known to be bastions of solid Biblical teaching.
Like many churches today, sound theology does not seem to be a priority.

Grace To You highlighted one of  Hillsong's churches in California - where the teaching and atmosphere encourage a low view of God.
Sadly, this kind of a low view of God and Scripture, eisegetical teaching, and rock concert mentality are not all that uncommon in America.  It's not just a Hillsong issue.

A lack of sound Biblical teaching, and lack of reverence for God generally leads to unBiblical practices in the church.

Here are a just three symptoms:

Casualness about the things of God

Allowing women to teach and or exercise authority in the church

Allowing people who practice sinful lifestyles to lead

This leads to a church full of people who are either unbelievers or are spiritually malnourished.

Christianity without distinct doctrine is a powerless thing. It may be beautiful to some minds, but it is childless and barren.  - J.C. Ryle

I was rereading a portion of Chapter 2 of Reviving New England (by Pastor Nate Pickowicz) recently, and I'm afraid that many pastors today practice one of more of his examples of wrong ways to handle Scripture.
Even some seemingly good churches can fall into some error by lopsided teaching.
I believe that J.C. Ryle also talked about how it can be wrong to put too much focus in preaching on one point of doctrine to the detriment of others.

Let us never forget that truth, distorted and exaggerated — can become the mother of the most dangerous heresies! - JC Ryle

Ryle also wrote warnings of error to churches (highlighted in the following post on Monergism's site):
15 Key Quotes from J.C. Ryle’s “Warnings to the Churches”

I'm glad that GTY is pointing out serious problems to warn the flock (other Christians), and to encourage right thinking.
This is what leaders in the church should do (although some churches may go overboard when that is most of what they do).
That is not the case with Grace Community Church though.
If people think that it is, then they probably have not really looked into what is taught there.

Christians do need to to pay attention to warnings.
We need to know the Scripture better than we do.
We need to take God more seriously than we do.
It is so easy to get sucked into error and heresy when we don't filter what we believe through the lens of Scripture.

UPDATE: Additional GTY Article on Hillsong
Hillsong & Man  - Here is a partial quote in their response to what Hillsong teaches:
"..., even the greatest victim still needs to appreciate the depth of his own guilt in order to grasp his need for the Savior."

Why Christianity And Roman Catholicism Are Not The Same Thing Part 3

Mary 

Jesus actually did not place Mary in a higher place than any other person who believed.
God did show her favor, but it was not due to sinlessness.
Everyone is born dead in their trespasses and sins.  Even Mary was not sinless. (Romans 5:12; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Psalm 51:5; 1 John 1:8; Romans 3:23)
Nobody can be good enough to get to Heaven.  Not even Mary. Luke 1:46-48 has her rejoicing in God her Savior.  She needed a Savior...and she calls herself a bondslave...just like Paul called himself one.

https://carm.org/mary-unclean-offered-sacrifice-for-sin

In Luke 11:27-28 when a woman was saying blessed be the womb that bore you, etc. Jesus actually contradicted the lady.  In Luke 8:21 He did not place Mary above anyone else who heard His words and obeyed them (in Matthew 12:48 as well).  Stephen was also "full of grace" (Acts 6:8), so Mary is not above other believers on that account either.
Also, the Bible claims that there is one mediator between God and man in 1 Timothy 2:5. That mediator is Jesus.
Jesus taught his disciples to pray... not to his mother or dead saints.
People have to go with what the Bible teaches. When sacred tradition and the Pope contradict what God has said in His Word, then what?  Whose words are infallible?

Roman Catholics say they don't worship Mary, but do they?

http://www.gotquestions.org/worship-saints-Mary.html

Lying, stealing, covetousness, hate, gossip, lust are all sins deserving of eternal judgment in Hell.  A dead corpse cannot do a thing to help save itself from God's just wrath (Eph. 2 & Col 2).   Even Mary needed a Savior.

Who and what are you trusting in for salvation?  It can't be Mary. She needed the Gospel too.
What then is the Gospel?

The Gospel

Where Are The Heroes?

It seems that some people now equate someone calling someone a hero as meaning they are worshiped.  Of course, as a Christian I believe that worship of anybody but the Lord is wrong.
Nobody is perfect and everyone except Christ has sinned.  There is a big difference between calling someone a hero and idolatry however.  Hero worship is wrong, but someone being considered a hero is not.

A hero is someone admired who has been exceptionally brave or has especially fine qualities.
Hebrews 11 mentions a lot of people who obeyed God in faith.  That is heroic!  Were these men and women sinners like you and I?  For sure!  Still, God used them, and the world was not worthy of them.

I struggle myself often with feeling my faith is weak.  I realize I suffer physically, but how much have I really suffered for the sake of Christ and the Gospel?  Maybe I've been called some things online, but that is not much.  I hope that all true Christians will go out and influence the sphere that God has given us.

You may never be well-known on earth or have your name touted about like the famous people of the world or even be written about in a book, but with God's help and the faith He gives - we can do brave and heroic things by obeying and serving the Lord where we are planted.  I am thankful that we have the whole Gospel which the Old Testament people did not.    How many of us proclaim it though to those who will come behind us?

The following song asks a poignant question regarding the people of faith in Biblical times that I think that it is good to think about for all of those who claim Jesus' name.  "The world was not worthy of them.  Is it worthy of me and you?"  Is it?  Thanks be to God for working on perfecting us in the knowledge and wisdom of Him.  I focus so much on myself, but I want to follow the Lord in greater faith and I hope this song will encourage you to as well.

Free Song, Worship, Lacking Evangelism, Free Master's Seminary Lectures

• I noticed that Sovereign Grace Music has the song "Nothing In All The Earth" as a free download.  The song is very encouraging to me as someone who is struggling with physical suffering right now.  Check it out here.

• Worship is not just music and is not about entertaining people into having good feelings toward God.  Albert Mohler wrote a superb article "Expository Preaching—The Antidote to Anemic Worship" that you may also want to read (if you didn't already read it).

• Why do many Christians not evangelize?  9Marks blog had some interesting points on this subject.  I really can identify with isolation, although not entirely.  Still, people do not have to be "friends" before giving the Gospel to people.  Five Reasons We Don't Evangelize - by Michael McKinley.

• For those who would like to audit some seminary classes from The Master's Seminary free online, they have made some of the lectures free online.  There are men out there who may not be able to attend seminary, and this is one helpful tool for those interested in ministry.  You can visit the site here.

I am having a lot of difficulty doing this post, but I hope that it will edify some people and is worth the effort.  I pray that God will use it.
 

Be Unto Your Name Worship Song / Loss of a Pet

I've been sad lately, as our cat (Catalina) is now dead. She stopped eating and was throwing up and missed the litter box. Her stomach wasn't working properly...stuff was not getting through her in the normal amount of time if at all. Even after the vet tried some things (surgery and an IV...IV because of low blood sugar), she still refused to eat the next afternoon/evening. She likely had liver disease as well as a stomach not working right. She did drink some water that last day and tried to get down, but she was still weak and holding her tongue funny and refusing wet food and yogurt (favorites of hers). She was put to sleep. Lots of things remind us of her and make us feel badly. She was loved and is missed a lot. She is no longer suffering or biting at herself.  I don't believe that animals go to Heaven, but I do believe that God is capable of creating a perfect cat just like her only without the effects of the fall.  If there are cats in Heaven, then all of the cat haters will likely be cat lovers.  After all, all that God created was good even here on the old earth.

The following song is one that I believe that we sang at a previous church, and it's come to my attention from two different sources again in recent times.  While this version does run on a bit long, it really has a great tune for worship and the words are pretty good too.  This life is but a moment compared to eternity.  In Heaven, we who are are saved will no longer suffer the loss of beloved pets or human loved ones.

Biblically-Anemic Preaching: The Devastating Consequences of a Watered-Down Message

Churches so often have entertainment to try to bring people in. That can often water down the message to the level of watching an entertaining TV program that may make it seem ludicrous rather than serious. Some church programs and events I feel are actually are more of a turn off or lead to easy believism, and there have been some that I have actually walked out of with the bad language, etc., that upset me. Skits, plays, the social gospel or spending a lot of time on politics and Americanism in an actual church service doesn't help me or anybody else to grow spiritually.

I've been in a couple of churches where the music was so loud that I was afraid my hearing was getting more damaged...literally. It certainly didn't help me to worship better. In fact, I went outside to listen once or twice.
A lot of "worship" songs and even some old hymns out there have shallow and/or unBiblical lyrics which make me cringe.
Some song lyrics are even shallow to the point of devaluing Jesus in the minds of the singers and listeners.
I know there are some good songs out there with Biblical lyrics and tunes...don't get me wrong. The problem is that music directors in churches do not always have the discernment to know which songs are doctrinally sound and which are way off. They also don't all consider what will help the most number of people to actually think about the words instead of being annoyed by the music.

"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword,
and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and
marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Hebrews 4:12 NASB

I found the following article hard hitting and helpful on what to look for in a pastor. It's also very helpful for pastors to read as well...if you know one that you'd like to share it with.
It's about how preaching should be about God and the Bible instead of self, entertainment, and sticking on superficial bandages. Novel idea these days, huh?
Please check out the link:

Biblically-Anemic Preaching: The Devastating Consequences of a Watered-Down Message

"Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy." Proverbs 27:6 NASB

Hail the Day (Sovereign Grace Music)

Sovereign Grace Music has some great worship tunes with pretty sound theology in their lyrics. They have a new live album from their WorshipGod11 conference due out in November. You can check out the list for that at: http://www.worshipmatters.com/2011/08/17/song-lists-from-worshipgod11/
The one I wanted to share today with you is one that has been sticking in my mind lately from their album Risen.