My name is Mike Ratliff. I am a δουλος (slave) of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have been a Bible teacher since the late 1980's. I am currently learning Koine Greek, which I began in 1992 and will continue to do so until the Lord takes me home. I am Reformed in my theology because I recognize that God is Sovereign over all things. I write these posts as God directs. I am also part of the discernment team at Christian Research Network. by Mike Ratliff
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV)
A pernicious lie currently permeating the visible Church in our time says that all who profess Christ are genuine believers. This lie conveniently overlooks that even our Lord’s chosen 12 contained one devil. Another closely associated and equally detrimental lie says that Christians must never judge. If taken together, these two lies create an environment of deceit in which professing Christians who prove their disingenuousness by their words, their actions, and their doctrines, which is their “fruit,” cannot be brought before the ecclesiastical court of their church brethren for discipline. In fact, in this environment, to even address the issue is to be classed as a judgmental hypocrite. Read the rest of this entry »
