Category Archives: False teachers

Bible, False teachers

Opposites

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One of my irritations with the “Christian” Left and their theology is that it pretends to be slightly different from orthodox Christianity while it is usually 180 degrees off when it comes to the essentials of the faith and any current hot topics.  Please note that by “Leftist theology,” I don’t mean the theology of political liberals.  I am referring to people who call themselves Christians but deny the essentials of the historic faith (i.e., the kinds of things countless martyrs died for — Jesus’ divinity and exclusivity, the authority of scripture, etc.) and are indistinguishable from the world on sexual ethics.  If you want to debate the disputable matters, go right ahead.  I’m flexible on those.  But words mean things, and far too many people use the term Christian in error.

For example, claiming that Jesus is one of many paths to God isn’t a little different than saying He is the only way; it is the opposite.  There is either one way, or there is not one way.  The Bible has over 100 passages teaching directly or indirectly that Jesus is the only way to salvation.  If you don’t agree that it is your prerogative, but please don’t claim to be a Christian.

Claiming that Jesus isn’t God isn’t a little different than saying He is God; it is the opposite.  He is either God or He is not God.

Claiming that the original writings of the Bible were not inspired by God isn’t just a little different than saying they were inspired by God; it is the opposite.  The Bible is God’s Word, or it is not God’s Word.  It includes roughly 3,000 claims to speak for God, so if liberal theologians think those are all false, then why do they bother with the Book at all?  Their claim is that the authors of the Bible were blasphemous pathological liars because they falsely claimed to speak for God countless times. Here’s an example:

evans

Claiming that miracles never happen (Virgin birth, loaves & fishes, healings, the physical resurrection, etc.) isn’t just a little different than saying they did happen; it is the opposite.  The first chapter of the first book of the New Testament clearly teaches the virgin birth.  If you refuse to believe that, then put the book down and stop calling yourself a Christian.

Claiming that marriage can be for two men or two women isn’t a little different than saying it is between a man and a woman; it is the opposite.  It is claiming that marriage is not just between a man and a woman and that “marriage” is now whatever we want to define it to be.  The Bible couldn’t be more clear about God’s ideal for marriage and sexuality.

Claiming that Jesus approves of killing children up their first breath isn’t a little different than saying, “Don’t murder,” it is the opposite.

The “Christian” Left claims the opposite of what historic, orthodox, biblical Christianity does regarding the essentials of the faith.   They are entitled to their opinions, of course, but it is disingenuous and misleading for them to call themselves Christians while espousing those beliefs.

They have invented their own religion, which is their right. It would just be less confusing if they gave it a new name. It would also be more intellectually honest to stop taking money from people who believe in the essentials that those denominations were founded upon.

They appear to worship a fictional Gandhi-Christ.  The most accurate description would be that of a Hindu sect (nothing personal, Hindus!).

Run, don’t walk, from the wolves of the “Christian” Left.  They are the opposite of Christianity.

Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Bible, Christian worldview, False teachers, Favorites

Churchgoers who support “same-sex marriage” are indistinguishable from the world

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In other words, they aren’t Christians.  This is a devastating but unsurprising summary of their views.  The data is right here.  While comparing the first two columns of numbers is illuminating, what really stuck out to me was the similarity of the 2nd and 3rd columns.  Note how the churchgoing people who support SSM are nearly identical to the population average in every category.  These churchgoers are even more pro-porn and pro-abortion* than the average person!  Yeah, you can tell how committed they are to Christ.

And the Gay & Lesbian “Christians” are wildly more in favor of porn, fornication, abortion, threesomes, etc. than even secular straight people.  Anyone surprised?  And this survey was done before the “trans” phenomena took off, but I’m sure that category would be no different.
Regnerus-Graph

This is just more confirmation of one of the theological Left’s biggest lies, namely that we are just misreading the Bible on the verses about homosexuality.  But if that was the case, these “Christians” who support SSM should at least be more aligned with us than with the world when it comes to porn, abortion, divorce, etc.  And keep in mind that two out of the three types of pro-gay people** (religious or not) agree with Bible believers that homosexual behavior is a sin.

Please read this carefully and note how it perfectly describes churchgoers who support SSM:

1 John 2:15–16 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

Or see this:

James 4:4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Or this:

Philippians 3:18–19 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

Or pretty much anything in the book of Jude:

Jude 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

I wish they would have added a question about whether Jesus is the only way to salvation.  That is a simple litmus test because it is taught over 100 times in the New Testament.  Anyone who disagrees with that should not claim to be a Christian.  In my experience, there is a remarkable correlation between pro-SSM people and those who deny the exclusivity of Jesus for salvation.  So you can test their authenticity without even bringing up the LGBTQX topic.

The theological Left and its false teachers love the world, not God.  They have access to the truth but delight in living out the opposite and blame others for the incredible destruction caused by violating God’s guidelines for sex.  If it weren’t for them, abortion would be illegal, Planned Parenthood would not get taxpayer funding, schools wouldn’t be teaching pro-gay propaganda, and we wouldn’t be losing our religious freedom, parental authority, and freedom of speech at such an alarming rate.

Churchgoers who support “same-sex marriage” are identical to the world. In other words, they don’t appear to be Christians.

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* Per the “Christian” Left: “According to the bible, a fetus is not a living person with a soul until after drawing its first breath.”  They think Jesus is fine with killing children for any reason up to that time, including the “partial-birth abortion” (aka infanticide) procedure that even most pro-choice people oppose.

** The three general types of pro-gay theology people:

  1. “The Bible says homosexuality is wrong, but it isn’t the word of God.” (Obviously non-Christians)
  2. “The Bible says it is wrong, but God changed his mind and is only telling the theological Left.” (Only about 10 things wrong with that.)
  3. “The Bible is the word of God, but you are just misunderstanding it.” (Uh, no, not really.)
Bible, False teachers

Black Letters Matter!

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The “red letter” Christians are nearly always false teachers who pretend that the only words of the Bible that really matter are direct quotes of Jesus (i.e., the words that are printed in red in some Bibles).  Their logic fails on many levels, and they can’t even get their own pet verses right.

If they were the least bit consistent they’d agree with Jesus’ “red letters” that say you should live on all the letters.   Matthew 4:4 But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

So, the second set of red letters teaches us to live on all the letters.  Why don’t they obey that simple teaching?

Also, note that “red-letter Christians” tip their hands at their foundational error. Jesus is God and agrees with all of scripture. He quoted the Old Testament extensively and referred to its most controversial elements without apology: Sodom and Gomorrah, Adam and Eve, Noah, Jonah, etc.

Jesus didn’t hand-write the Gospels. Like the epistles, the authors had some eyewitness accounts and some reliable second-hand accounts, and all were inspired by God.

Finally, they never seem to quote the red letters from Revelation, especially Jesus’ messages to the seven churches.   The “Christian” Left / Progressive “Christians” are the ones pushing sexual immorality and the “deep things of Satan,” as bolded below.

“ ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come.(Revelation 2:19–25, ESV)

The “red letters” crowd is full of nonsensical hypocrites.  They should be dismissed as wolves.

Black Letters Matter!

False teachers, Politics, Sexuality

Simple responses to Romans 1 pro-gay theology errors

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The entire Bible is very clear that any sex outside of a one-man, one-woman marriage is a sin*, yet “Christian” Leftists and atheists use all sorts of fallacious sound bites to deceive and distract people.  One of the passages they work the hardest to dismiss is Romans 1:26-27.

First, read or even memorize this passage.  Also, review the entire chapter to note the context: Paul explains how the world is upside down in rebellion against God and that deep down, everyone knows it.  Then, he gives this “Exhibit A” as an example.

Romans 1:26–27 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

Pretty clear, eh?  It describes the behavior of gays and lesbians and notes how it is a prime example of rebellion against the created order.  Note that if you keep reading the chapter, you’ll see that we all have rebelled in multiple ways, so don’t be smug just because homosexual behavior isn’t a temptation for you.  But the point here is that the passage does clearly state that homosexual behavior is a sin.  Yet countless wolves, such as Matthew Vines, use easily refuted sound bites to deceive people (many of whom are eager to be deceived).

Here are some of their objections to Romans 1 and some simple responses.  Note that you can give much more detailed responses, but those usually aren’t necessary.  Just these basics will show people how ill-informed they are on this topic and reveal whether they love the world or whether they love God.  For starters you can ask people when the last time was that they read Romans carefully.

“But Paul didn’t know any better about homosexuality” (and similar responses). This is a big tip-off that you are talking to a non-Christian, if the person saying it is a leader, or a layperson who is “saved and confused” at best.  Paul’s writings are just as much scripture as any of the Gospels.  Those writings are from Paul and the Holy Spirit and turned out just as God intended.  Paul does not disagree with Jesus.  And those using that argument have no proof that Paul wouldn’t have known about homosexual relationships.  In fact, he describes them precisely in the passage.  Also see this refutation of the related “Jesus never said anything about homosexuality” sound bite.

“The passage was about temple prostitutes.”  The passage doesn’t mention temple prostitutes, temples, or prostitutes.  And I have seen zero evidence, ever, that lesbian temple prostitutes have ever existed, so the description of lesbian behavior also refutes that.  You don’t need to know Greek to see that simple truth.

“The passage was about pederasty (adult/child) or coercive relationships.”  No, the passage refers to “men” and “women” every time. And note how they “gave up” relationships willingly and “were consumed with passion for one another.” There is no hint of coercion.

“The passage is about people abandoning their natural desires, so the real sin is if a gay behaves in a straight manner or vice verse.”  That is the most laughable objection, but you hear it often.  First, the Greek word is tied to natural functions, not desires. And it notes that they “gave up” natural relations.

And using their logic this key passage applies to exactly no one.  Think about it: Whatever anyone did — gay/straight/bi — they could claim was their nature, so they hadn’t sinned.  And very few people do things they don’t want to do, so everyone could cite that as proof that they are sinless on this account.

“They were born that way.”  No, they weren’t.  The causes can be complex (abuse, bad relationships, rebellion, or some combination of those), but even if they were born that way, everyone could use that excuse for the laundry list of sins at the end of the chapter.  Good luck with that on judgment day.

I hope you commit those to memory or refer back here when you encounter these objections.  They are so simple to refute and should convict those who use them of how badly they are butchering scripture.  You don’t need a degree in theology or Greek to see how clearly and quickly the pro-LGBTQX arguments fail.

If you really love your neighbors, you won’t lie and tell them that this behavior is without consequence.  The same goes for other sexual sins and other sins in general.  Don’t love the world and your popularity more than you love God.

1 Corinthians 6:9–11 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Homosexual behavior is rebellion against God.  Affirming anyone in that behavior or in other sins means that you have joined them in the rebellion.

Romans 1:32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

More stuff!

The main categories of pro-gay theology and why they are all false and un-biblical.

Responding to Pro-Gay Theology

Responding to same-sex marriage arguments

*The Bible couldn’t be more clear. Bible-believing Christians and even two out of the three types of pro-gay people** (religious or not) can see these truths:

– 100% of the verses addressing homosexual behavior describe it as sin in the clearest and strongest possible terms.
– 100% of the verses referring to God’s ideal for marriage involve one man and one woman.
– 100% of the verses referencing parenting involve moms and dads with unique roles (or at least a set of male and female parents guiding the children).
– 0% of 31,173 Bible verses refer to homosexual behavior in a positive or even benign way or even hint at the acceptability of homosexual unions of any kind. There are no exceptions for “committed” relationships.
– 0% of 31,173 Bible verses refer to LGBT couples parenting children.

Having said that, I believe that Christians should support and encourage those who are fighting same-sex attraction. And no one needs to grandstand on the issue before getting to the Good News of the cross.  Here’s an example.

** The three general types of pro-gay theology people:

1. “The Bible says homosexuality is wrong, but it isn’t the word of God.” (Obviously non-Christians)

2. “The Bible says it is wrong, but God changed his mind and is only telling the theological Left.” (Only about 10 things wrong with that.)

3. “The Bible is the word of God, but you are just misunderstanding it.” (Uh, no, not really.)

Apologetics, Bible, False teachers

Leopard Theology: Not as fun as it sounds

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Leopard on tree stump
Image via Wikipedia

Many Christians teach Leopard Theology* because they believe that the Bible is only inspired in spots and that they are inspired to spot the spots.   They don’t call it that, but that is exactly what their theology is founded upon.  And, like the leopard, they camouflage themselves and are dangerous predators.  They take on church leadership roles even though they teach the opposite of the Bible.

Although claiming that the Bible isn’t fully inspired by God may seem like a humble premise, it actually makes several strong and unfounded claims.

It implies that God couldn’t or wouldn’t deliver His word to us in a reliable way and that despite God’s alleged failings, flawed humans can discern which parts were inspired and which parts were not.  Are we to believe that humans are to correct for God’s errors?  That the Holy Spirit got it wrong the first time, and He needs the world-loving “Christian” Left / Progressive “Christianity” to fix things for him 2,000 years later?

Why is this a serious problem?  It is hard enough to follow the teachings of the Bible without having “Christians” choose what “really” came from God.  Worse yet, they ignore some parts of scripture so they can teach that the opposite is not only acceptable but desirable.  Some may do it accidentally or out of laziness, but others are just blatant false teachers.  They have made up their own god and their own religion.

If someone claims the Bible is only partly inspired, ask a few questions:

  • How did they come to this conclusion?
  • Do they think their favorite verses are inspired?  If so,  how do they know?  How about John 3:16?  How about “love your neighbor?”  Whenever “Judge not, lest ye be judged” is quoted, I never hear the liberal theologians question whether Jesus really said that.
  • If the Bible is only partly inspired, how can they be sure that their preferred verses aren’t uninspired and that the ones they don’t like are the “real” verses?
  • Why is it that God couldn’t inspire the original writings of forty writers, but He can inspire billions of people to properly determine which parts are right and which aren’t?
  • If He couldn’t get Paul, Luke, Matthew, John, etc., to record his word accurately, how can He get you to do it?
  • Why should I trust your “inspiration” over those who penned the Bible or my “inspiration?”

Then there is Advanced Leopard Theology.  It is just like basic Leopard Theology, except God is also changing spots and adding or removing spots, and, oddly enough, He is only telling theological liberals and progressives.   They use phrases such as “God is still speaking,” but they don’t mean He still speaks through his Word (that would be a true statement).  They think He is still revealing new truths and changing biblical doctrines.  They may also say things like, “The Holy Spirit is moving in a new direction.”  Indeed.

Here’s an example: A Methodist pastor named Laurie Hays Coffman did a pro-gay theology piece arguing that she wants to “unfurl our corporate sails to catch today’s winds as the Spirit blows afresh.”  She said she was challenged by the vision God gave to Peter in Acts 10-11 where God makes it clear that the Gospel is for the Gentiles, too, and that the Israelites’ ceremonial dietary laws are no longer in force.  Her reasoning is that in the same way that God overturned those laws, He is now overturning the prohibitions against homosexual behavior.  If that looks like a non-sequitur to you, then you are correct.  The problem is her poor Biblical analysis.  There are at least nine things wrong with this view:

  1. The person who received the revelation was Peter, one of Jesus’ inner circle and a key leader in the early church. It wasn’t made for you, me, or someone like Ms. Coffman. That doesn’t mean God couldn’t reveal something important like this to us; just that it is highly unlikely.
  2. The visions were clear and emphatic.  Peter was given the vision three times and the incident is mentioned twice.
  3. Peter was inclined to reject the meaning of the vision. In contrast, these Advanced Leopard Theologians have views on human sexuality that are virtually indistinguishable from the prevailing culture, and they are glad to accept this allegedly new revelation.
  4. There was external validation for Peter from the Roman centurion, including a supernatural intervention.
  5. This lesson showed up in the Bible, not outside it.  I’m not saying miracles don’t happen outside the Bible.  It is just that things appear in the Bible for a reason.  God communicating that the ceremonial laws had been fulfilled was one of those “big deals.”
  6. This vision overturned a ceremonial law, not a moral law.  There are zero examples in the Bible of God reversing his moral laws.  In fact, the more Jesus talked, the stricter the laws seemed to get because He emphasized the spirit of the law and not just the letter (i.e., lust was akin to committing adultery, anger was akin to murder, etc.).  The dietary laws never applied to Gentiles.
  7. The “God has changed his mind view” is primarily being “revealed” to theologically liberal Christians in the U.S. — the very ones who often deny the authority of his Word to begin with!  So, we can’t trust the accurate transmission of the original writings, but we can trust their new revelations?  I’m skeptical.
  8. If God is revealing a change, why is it necessarily more liberal?  Why couldn’t God make his laws more stringent?
  9. The Bible strongly warns not to add or take away from its teachings.

But the orthodox can fall prey to this in a more subtle way by claiming full inspiration but conveniently ignoring passages we don’t like.  Consider this passage on church leadership, where some exaggerate “not given to drunkenness” to mean no alcohol whatsoever but ignore the “must manage his own family well . . .” part.

1 Timothy 3:2-4 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.

Another example is correctly teaching about the sin of homosexual behavior while neglecting to give proper emphasis to Biblical admonitions against divorce, adultery, and fornication.  We need to teach all of scripture with balance.  Grandstanding on sins that aren’t temptations to us and soft-pedaling those that are not attractive or Christian things to do.

There are plenty of reasons and resources to defend the accuracy and integrity of all of the original scriptures.  We don’t need to get sloppy and just follow the parts we like.  We truly miss out when we cast doubts on every passage and question if it is really the word of God. Yes, read it in context and seek to carefully and accurately understand it, but also have the faith of a child that the one true God reliably delivered his word to us.

I’ll close with some friendly advice: Don’t mess with God’s Word.

Deuteronomy 4:2 You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.

Proverbs 30:5–6 Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

Revelation 22:18–19 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

*Also known as Dalmatian Theology.

Also see:

Bible, False teachers

Opposites

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One of my irritations with the “Christian” Left and their theology is that it pretends to be slightly different from orthodox Christianity while it is usually 180 degrees off when it comes to the essentials of the faith and any current hot topics.  Please note that by “Leftist theology,” I don’t mean the theology of political liberals.  I am referring to people who call themselves Christians but deny the essentials of the historic faith (i.e., the kinds of things countless martyrs died for — Jesus’ divinity and exclusivity, the authority of scripture, etc.) and are indistinguishable from the world on sexual ethics.  If you want to debate the disputable matters, go right ahead.  I’m flexible on those.  But words mean things, and far too many people use the term Christian in error.

For example, claiming that Jesus is one of many paths to God isn’t a little different than saying He is the only way; it is the opposite.  There is either one way, or there is not one way.  The Bible has over 100 passages teaching directly or indirectly that Jesus is the only way to salvation.  If you don’t agree that it is your prerogative, but please don’t claim to be a Christian.

Claiming that Jesus isn’t God isn’t a little different than saying He is God; it is the opposite.  He is either God or He is not God.

Claiming that the original writings of the Bible were not inspired by God isn’t just a little different than saying they were inspired by God; it is the opposite.  The Bible is God’s Word, or it is not God’s Word.  It includes roughly 3,000 claims to speak for God, so if liberal theologians think those are all false, then why do they bother with the Book at all?  Their claim is that the authors of the Bible were blasphemous pathological liars because they falsely claimed to speak for God countless times. Here’s an example:

evans

Claiming that miracles never happen (Virgin birth, loaves & fishes, healings, the physical resurrection, etc.) isn’t just a little different than saying they did happen; it is the opposite.  The first chapter of the first book of the New Testament clearly teaches the virgin birth.  If you refuse to believe that, then put the book down and stop calling yourself a Christian.

Claiming that marriage can be for two men or two women isn’t a little different than saying it is between a man and a woman; it is the opposite.  It is claiming that marriage is not just between a man and a woman and that “marriage” is now whatever we want to define it to be.  The Bible couldn’t be more clear about God’s ideal for marriage and sexuality.

Claiming that Jesus approves of killing children up their first breath isn’t a little different than saying, “Don’t murder,” it is the opposite.

The “Christian” Left claims the opposite of what historic, orthodox, biblical Christianity does regarding the essentials of the faith.   They are entitled to their opinions, of course, but it is disingenuous and misleading for them to call themselves Christians while espousing those beliefs.

They have invented their own religion, which is their right. It would just be less confusing if they gave it a new name. It would also be more intellectually honest to stop taking money from people who believe in the essentials that those denominations were founded upon.

They appear to worship a fictional Gandhi-Christ.  The most accurate description would be that of a Hindu sect (nothing personal, Hindus!).

Run, don’t walk, from the wolves of the “Christian” Left.  They are the opposite of Christianity.

Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

False teachers

Ed Litton and his supporters are frauds (with updates)

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And they are harming the body of Christ with their arrogance. Even a Leftist publication like Newsweek can see the hypocrisy.

As you’ve probably read, Litton was the presidential choice of the “woke” Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) crowd during their recent election. Shortly afterward, one video after another came out showing how blatantly Litton has plagiarized sermons of J.D. Greear – and not just sermons, but bad sermons. This plagiarism started as early as 2015. You’ll probably cringe as you watch them. He’s not just an actor, he’s a bad actor.

Litton has made one foolish statement after another. He claimed to be transparent – and his supporters lauded him as such – while his church took down 140 of his sermons from YouTube. That’s a peculiar type of transparency. And he and his church gave mealy-mouthed and conflicting explanations for the reasons. He tried to claim it was because his church was transferring files to a new server, but that is another insulting lie. They hid them on YouTube, not their own server! And his “apology” was that he was sorry if people were offended, which is a non-pology.

He claimed to have a team of eight people who help put together his sermons, yet the outlines of many of them followed Greear’s, down to the examples and “personal” stories. Litton lied about only copying the outlines, as some of the lines he uses were not in the outlines or manuscripts but were in the videos. And does it take that many people to plagiarize? Or was he throwing them under the bus to hide his sins? He is now claiming that he is mentoring this team on how to preach. But what he’s teaching them is that you don’t do your own sermons; you lift them from others and have other people do the work for you.

Litton also didn’t realize that his church’s website had a statement that misstated the Trinity. So this guy is too busy to know what his own website says and to prepare his own sermons, but he has plenty of time to be a pastor of a large church and the President of the SBC?

Seminary students lose points on papers even for improperly documenting footnotes, and they can get kicked out for plagiarism. Yet Litton’s supporters actually rationalize that any sermon speaking true things belongs to God and therefore is immune to plagiarism. He used an illustration of Jesus being a diamond and how you don’t credit the shovel and pick when you’ve found one. But Litton wasn’t taking the credit of the tools but of the other miners who labored to find the diamond. The entire line of thinking is absurd, and it is insulting that they’d expect anyone to believe it. Using their logic, you could copy any sermon word-for-word and it wouldn’t be a sin. And don’t get me started on pastors who buy sermons off the Internet. Greear took down a comment about something he previously bragged about, which is using a company called Docent to do “research” for his sermons. Litton was probably using Docent’s material without realizing it. Ironically, I’ll bet that Docent doesn’t want one pastor to pay them for research and then share it with other pastors.

A friend of mine had a pastor resign because of plagiarism, and it was far less extensive than Litton’s. Yet Litton’s church and denomination are covering for him. And watch the very end of this video to see Litton tell his congregation to ask him for wisdom “even if you have to steal it from somebody.” That’s pretty bold and cynical from a guy plagiarizing a sermon (watch the entire video to see how bad it was).

While downplaying homosexuality, they (Litton and Greear) claimed that the Bible “whispers” about sexual sin. Among countless other examples, tell that to Sodom and Gomorrah. And they pretended that the Bible is unclear about describing homosexual behavior just because of the type of transliteration used repeatedly when translating the Bible. And they foolishly claimed that homosexuality doesn’t send you to Hell because heterosexuality doesn’t send you to Heaven. In their desire to be clever and gloss over homosexuality, they used a lame and fallacious analogy.

Litton is not even good at preaching other people’s sermons. He was obviously chosen for his woke politics and not his skills. He even admitted how he had lied about his sermon preparation time. He is a disgrace and should be fired from both jobs, but I think the actions of his supporters are worse. Al Mohler, J.D. Greear, James Merritt (who actually encouraged plagiarism before speaking on holiness – talk about tone deaf!), Danny Akin, and others have permanently ruined their reputations by refusing to state the obvious. They insist that Litton is honest, humble, transparent, and full of integrity. Shame on all of those liars. They’ve actually claimed that Litton was just doing “theology in community,” which would be laughable if the subject weren’t as serious.

As false teachers count on you not reading the Bible, these woke leaders are assuming that people won’t watch the videos for themselves. Sadly, they are probably right. Mohler had been spectacularly clear in denouncing plagiarism in the past, but he’s been silent on Litton thus far. The only good thing about this is that the “woke” SBC crowd is highlighting how deceitful they are. It isn’t like Litton is the only one doing this, and they know it. Like their secular brethren, the end always justifies the means.

If the SBC can’t get rid of a serial plagiarizer and liar such as Litton, then real churches should withdraw.

2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Updates

Litton had the gall to tell a reporter that all the accusations are coming from unnamed sources. He is a serial, unrepentant liar. Epic comment from Justin Peters:

Unnamed sources? My name is Justin Peters. Let’s add to my name the names of Gabriel Hughes, Jeff Maples, Jordan Hall, Tom Buck, Tom Ascol, Josh Buice, Phil Johnson, and literally dozens upon dozens of others who have been talking about this (along with their names) for at least 2 weeks now. There, fixed it.

Here’s just one of many videos showing the copying. If you don’t cringe through this, you aren’t paying attention.

False teachers

Justin Peters exposes false teachers and “hearing from God”

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The “hearing from God” false teaching is rampant in evangelicalism and is very destructive. Consider how popular the book Jesus Calling is when it is pure blasphemy. Justin Peters does a great job of quickly exposing these awful teachers.

A popular passage they abuse is John 10:27: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. But they can’t be bothered to read the passage in context. Consider the following:

  • John 10:6 clearly teaches that this “voice” is a figure of speech, but they can’t be bothered to read in context. John 10:6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
  • This passage is about salvation. We are saved after “hearing his voice,” but it isn’t audible.
  • The Jews literally heard his voice but didn’t respond. If only the false teachers would consider that! They were right there in front of the physical Jesus and hearing every word audibly, but still, they rejected him.
  • The sheep hear because of what the Father does, not because of their holiness, practice, or spiritual disciplines.

The video also has Matt Chandler’s bizarre shark/pirate story. That message went to his entire church plus thousand more who listen to his Podcasts. It makes Christians look foolish.

As Justin Peters says, if you want to hear from God, read the Bible. If you want to hear from him audibly, read it out loud. But these wolves are too busy doing Satan’s work and making you avoid scripture while inventing your own messages from God. The lack of discernment is sickening.

And yes, when the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, He gave them the Lord’s Prayer and said nothing about listening for a response from God. If prayer was a two-way street, that would have been a good time to tell us (or in any other of the 31,000+ verses).

God told me to tell these wolves that He isn’t talking to them outside the Bible.

False teachers

Priscilla Shirer’s dangerous and false teaching

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Priscilla Shirer is a famous Christian author, and far too many people (primarily women) buy her books and believe her nonsense. She equates the Bible with hand-me-down clothes and insists that God give you something fresh and new. And even if you get it wrong, you should keep claiming to speak for God. You’d have to be biblically ignorant not to immediately dismiss her false teachings. She’s a clever wolf, actively teaching you to ignore the Bible and go with your own feelings of what God is supposedly telling you directly.  That won’t turn out well.

Years ago, we were members of a generally solid Bible-believing Baptist church.  However, the women’s group studied one of Shirer’s books that claimed to teach you how to hear from God. That’s nonsensical on its face, of course, as if God isn’t speaking to you, there is nothing to hear, and if God is speaking to you, then you couldn’t miss it if you tried.  She turned the story of Samuel on its head, claiming that Samuel needed to learn how to hear from God.  Sadly, the pastors were reluctant to get involved and correct the women.

Shirer has made a career out of her false teaching.  Via Priscilla Shirer Attacks the Bible as ‘Hand-me-down Revelation’:

In the clip, she is saying that having a preacher teach the scripture is insufficient and not personalized enough, that it gets stale, old, and is a mark of immaturity to not seek more. In contrast, it is a sign of growth and wisdom to want more than that, and so seek some “revelation” that is new, fresh, and personalized just for you.

Speaking within the context of receiving clothing hand-me-downs, Shirer creates the analogy by recounting how one year as a young girl she was not excited to get hand-me-downs, because the clothes “had not been specifically chosen for me.”

“And I’ve been okay with hand-me-downs with secondhand clothes all of these years, but all of a sudden I want of my own stuff. I wanted something to come with my name on it that had specifically been chosen for me. There ought to come a time in your relationship with the Lord, when hand-me-down revelation just doesn’t do it for you anymore.

There ought to come a little bit of disconcerting, a little bit of maturity in your walk with God where you become a little bit unsettled to only be spoon-fed the Word of God from someone else to you.

Now, we thank God for our pastors and our teachers and our leaders that help us to rightly divide the word of truth *but* there ought to come a time in your life where you’ve decided, “You know what? I want fresh revelation with my name on it that has come straight from God’s Spirit for my life.”

As with most false teachers, Shirer doesn’t want you to read the Bible.  Why?  Because you might realize how anti-biblical her teachings are!  The more you read the Bible, the more you’ll realize how awful she is. 

Pray for discernment in the church, that people would read the Bible more, and that they would never blindly trust Christian bookstores.

Here’s my lesson on decision-making and the will of God, and hearing from God.

False teachers

Step 1: Listen to false prophet instead of God. Step 2: Get killed by a lion.

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I was reading 1 Kings 13 this morning and was reminded of this post.  I also had someone I do prison ministry with send a link to a ridiculous video of Sid Roth (he’s a disgusting “prophecy”  guy who has one false teacher after another on his show).  I pointed out to the guy that Roth and his guests were shameless wolves and sent a link to a Justin Peters video (see the video at the bottom) that thoroughly exposed them.  But the guy still wants to believe the phonies!  Such a terrible lack of discernment in the church today.

I love this passage because it exposes the dangers of listening to those who claim to have heard from God instead of just hearing from him directly by reading the Bible.  What do you trust more, the Bible or some huckster who claims to have heard from God?

It is unwise in the extreme to listen to the “Christian” Left or any of the phony “prophets” who mock the word of God while claiming to be getting new and accurate messages from him (such as the “God is still speaking;” slogan of the apostate United Church of Christ).

Have you read 1 Kings 13 lately (see below), where a “man of God” initially obeyed a direct command from God but then believed a prophet who falsely claimed that God told him something different?  It didn’t end well.  And by “didn’t end well,” I mean he got killed by a lion.

Now am I saying that if you listen to false teachers about what God “really” says rather than the Bible that you’ll get killed by a lion?  Of course not.  You probably live in North America, so God will use a bear instead of a lion.

Just kidding!  Probably!  While God often uses examples in the Bible to show how serious sins are, such as with Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5, by his grace and mercy He doesn’t give us all what we deserve.  But that doesn’t mean we should confuse his patience with his approval.

We are commanded to love God with our minds and we should use good discernment when listening to people make claims about God, regardless of their titles or reputation.  Remember to be like good Bereans and test everything in light of scripture (Acts 17:11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.).  But how can you do that if you aren’t reading the Bible regularly?

If people claim to have heard from God then the burden of proof is on them to back it up.  If they are teaching things that disagree with the Bible (e.g., Jesus isn’t the only way to salvation, we don’t know what God really said in the Bible, pro-abortion, pro-“same-sex marriage,” etc.) then they should be ignored.  If they hold those views and say that God spoke to them then they are lying, just like the old prophet in 1 Kings 13.  False teachers are deadly — not always physically, but certainly spiritually.

Read the Bible, then read it some more.  Every day.  Then you’ll be much more likely to spot the false teachers.

One of the reasons to go through the Old Testament is that otherwise you’ll miss great stories like this!

1 Kings 13 (ESV)

A Man of God Confronts Jeroboam

13 And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings. 2 And the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’ ” 3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’ ” 4 And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. 5 The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. 6 And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it was before. 7 And the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” 8 And the man of God said to the king, “If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place, 9 for so was it commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.’ ” 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.

The Prophet’s Disobedience

11 Now an old prophet lived in Bethel. And his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told to their father the words that he had spoken to the king. 12 And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone. 13 And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he mounted it. 14 And he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak. And he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” 15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” 16 And he said, “I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, 17 for it was said to me by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’ ” 18 And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” But he lied to him. 19 So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water.

20 And as they sat at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back. 21 And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the command that the Lord your God commanded you, 22 but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’ ” 23 And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body. 25 And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown in the road and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived.

26 And when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word that the Lord spoke to him.” 27 And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it. 28 And he went and found his body thrown in the road, and the donkey and the lion standing beside the body. The lion had not eaten the body or torn the donkey. 29 And the prophet took up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back to the city to mourn and to bury him. 30 And he laid the body in his own grave. And they mourned over him, saying, “Alas, my brother!” 31 And after he had buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. 32 For the saying that he called out by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria shall surely come to pass.”

33 After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people. Any who would, he ordained to be priests of the high places. 34 And this thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPLN57qq8Zg&ab_channel=JustinPetersMinistries