Is T.D. Jakes a Modalist and does it Matter?

by Mike Ratliff

4 Ἓν σῶμα καὶ ἓν πνεῦμα, καθὼς καὶ ἐκλήθητε ἐν μιᾷ ἐλπίδι τῆς κλήσεως ὑμῶν· 5 εἷς κύριος, μία πίστις, ἓν βάπτισμα, 6 εἷς θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ πάντων, ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων καὶ διὰ πάντων καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν. (Ephesians 4:4-6 NA27)

⁴ As there is one body and one Spirit–as also you were called with one hope of your calling—⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism ⁶ one God and Father of all, the one over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6 Possessing the Treasure New Testament V1) 

As I said in a comment earlier today on this blog, “I am immensely tired of the circus that the visible church has devolved into.” However, I also know that God uses these fiery trials in his church to cleanse, mature, and purify those who are his. Therefore, even though what we are about to look into is somewhat distasteful and our even bringing it up will be looked at with resentment by some, we must do this as part of standing firm and keeping watch that the sheep are made aware and are edified as they hear the truth and know who to turn from and avoid. 

The New Covenant

In our continued push to clarify the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ it has been become astounding, at least to me, how much biblical doctrine the visible church in our time has either lost or has totally ignored. As we have dug deep into God’s Word to determine the truth, God has blessed our efforts and I want to thank both Dr. James White of the Dividing Line and Dr. Michael Horton and the rest of the commentators of The White Horse Inn in pointing me in the right direction. I listened to the latest White Horse Inn show today titled “The New Covenant” and have been trying to figure out how to write something to complement it, but there is no way I can even come close.

Robbing God of His Glory

by Mike Ratliff

Therefore David blessed the LORD in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name. (1 Chronicles 29:10-13 ESV) 

As my friend Ken Silva said in a recent email, “…the visible church sinks lower…” This was in response to the response some on our discernment team had to research he had done in discovering something called “Hipster Church” by sending him this link. He followed that by asking the team if they had read my post on Tim Keller. There is most definitely a connection between what is going on at Redeemer Presbyterian Church that Tim Keller “pastors” and this latest example of “gospel contextualization” at Hipster Church. On the sidebar of their website, the leadership of Hipster Church says that their primary focus is to be a church that has no barriers for the “unchurched.” However, what about people like my wife and I? What about hearing the Word rightly divided and going deep into it so that we can be transformed through the renewing of our minds as the Holy Spirit does his work as we become those living sacrifices Paul talks about in Romans 12:1,2? Will we be fed from God’s Word? Will we be edified as we worship God in Spirit and Truth? 

Prayer for Boldness

by Mike Ratliff

18 Διὰ πάσης προσευχῆς καὶ δεήσεως προσευχόμενοι ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ ἐν πνεύματι, καὶ εἰς αὐτὸ ἀγρυπνοῦντες ἐν πάσῃ προσκαρτερήσει καὶ δεήσει περὶ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων 19 καὶ ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ, ἵνα μοι δοθῇ λόγος ἐν ἀνοίξει τοῦ στόματός μου, ἐν παρρησίᾳ γνωρίσαι τὸ μυστήριον τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, 20 ὑπὲρ οὗ πρεσβεύω ἐν ἁλύσει, ἵνα ἐν αὐτῷ παρρησιάσωμαι ὡς δεῖ με λαλῆσαι. (Ephesians 6:18-20 NA27)

¹⁸ By means of all prayer and petition, praying always in the Spirit, and to this end keeping watch with all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints, ¹⁹ and for me, that to me may be given utterance in opening my mouth in boldness to make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ on behalf of which I am an ambassador in chains, that in it I may be bold as it is necessary for me to speak. (Ephesians 6:18-20 Possessing the Treasure New Testament V1) 

In the last couple of posts we have looked at CSM or Contemplative Prayer and one of its most visible proponents in the visible church, Tim Keller. Contemplative Prayer is a cleaned up, “Christianized” name for Transcendental Meditation, which is another name for Eastern Mysticism, which God calls Divination and strictly forbids (Deuteronomy 18:10). God forbids divination as a way to know him and his will. On the other hand, he has given us sanctioned ways, by his grace, through which those who are his can know him and his will. The primary way is through his Word as the Holy Spirit guides us according the will of God by his grace. We pray and ask God and he draws us to him and imparts wisdom, discernment, and through his Word, we gain knowledge of him and his ways. On the other hand, outside of those parameters is what men like Tim Keller calls Contemplative Prayer, but it only a dressed up version of divination and God hates it. Those who practice it are given over to it, are deceived by it, and soon believe the lies they are hearing from those evil spirits are coming from God himself. 

Tim Keller and Contemplative Prayer

by Mike Ratliff

19 καὶ ἔχομεν βεβαιότερον τὸν προφητικὸν λόγον, ᾧ καλῶς ποιεῖτε προσέχοντες ὡς λύχνῳ φαίνοντι ἐν αὐχμηρῷ τόπῳ, ἕως οὗ ἡμέρα διαυγάσῃ καὶ φωσφόρος ἀνατείλῃ ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν, 20 τοῦτο πρῶτον γινώσκοντες ὅτι πᾶσα προφητεία γραφῆς ἰδίας ἐπιλύσεως οὐ γίνεται· 21 οὐ γὰρ θελήματι ἀνθρώπου ἠνέχθη προφητεία ποτέ, ἀλλὰ ὑπὸ πνεύματος ἁγίου φερόμενοι ἐλάλησαν ἀπὸ θεοῦ ἄνθρωποι. (2 Peter 1:19-21 NA27)

¹⁹ And we have something more sure, the prophetic Word to which you do well in paying attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dark place until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, ²⁰ knowing first that every prophecy of scripture is not of ones own interpretation. ²¹ For no prophecy was ever brought by the will of man at any time, but men spoke from God being carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:19-21 Possessing the Treasure New Testament V1)

In yesterday’s post, Is Contemplative Prayer Christian?, we nailed down the fact that genuine Christian prayer is not the same thing as Contemplative Prayer. In fact, Contemplative Prayer is just Eastern Mysticism labeled with Christian words to make it more acceptable to people who aren’t doctrinally educated. It is similar to what some post-modern so-called evangelicals do with the word “Gospel.” To us it is the account of Christ’s substitutionary work on the cross to be propitiation for those he came to save. Therefore, it is the “good news” because those who believe in the Lord Jesus as their Lord and Saviour have their sins forgiven before our Holy God. However, to the post-modern so-called evangelical, the word “gospel,” more often than not, takes on a liberal connotation such as transforming a society. In this post we will take a look at one of these post-modern church leaders named Tim Keller who not only practices this sort of neo-liberalism, but is a proponent of Contemplative Prayer and has been for quite some time.

Is Contemplative Prayer Christian?

by Mike Ratliff

19 καὶ ἔχομεν βεβαιότερον τὸν προφητικὸν λόγον, ᾧ καλῶς ποιεῖτε προσέχοντες ὡς λύχνῳ φαίνοντι ἐν αὐχμηρῷ τόπῳ, ἕως οὗ ἡμέρα διαυγάσῃ καὶ φωσφόρος ἀνατείλῃ ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν, 20 τοῦτο πρῶτον γινώσκοντες ὅτι πᾶσα προφητεία γραφῆς ἰδίας ἐπιλύσεως οὐ γίνεται· 21 οὐ γὰρ θελήματι ἀνθρώπου ἠνέχθη προφητεία ποτέ, ἀλλὰ ὑπὸ πνεύματος ἁγίου φερόμενοι ἐλάλησαν ἀπὸ θεοῦ ἄνθρωποι. (2 Peter 1:19-21 NA27)

¹⁹ And we have something more sure, the prophetic Word to which you do well in paying attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dark place until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, ²⁰ knowing first that every prophecy of scripture is not of ones own interpretation. ²¹ For no prophecy was ever brought by the will of man at any time, but men spoke from God being carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:19-21 Possessing the Treasure New Testament V1)

I received an email from friends about today’s tweet from Pete Scazzero, which says, “There is a mysterious attraction to interior silence in the depth of our beings. The attraction is like a magnet…” Here is the link. Of course, he is quoting Roman Catholic Monk Thomas Keating, a proponent of Contemplative Prayer. In these days where post-modernist thinking has contaminated nearly everything including deeply into the visible church, we must have clear understanding of what Contemplative Prayer, or CSM, really is. Some seemly very solid Christian leaders give it a pass as if it is just another form of Christian meditation, but is it? Let’s see. 

The Slippery Slope of Death

by Mike Ratliff

14 Μὴ γίνεσθε ἑτεροζυγοῦντες ἀπίστοις· τίς γὰρ μετοχὴ δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ ἀνομίᾳ, ἢ τίς κοινωνία φωτὶ πρὸς σκότος; 15 τίς δὲ συμφώνησις Χριστοῦ πρὸς Βελιάρ, ἢ τίς μερὶς πιστῷ μετὰ ἀπίστου; (2 Corinthians 6:14,15 NA27)

¹⁴ Do not become unequally yoked with unbelievers for what partnership has righteousness and lawlessness or what fellowship has light with darkness? ¹⁵ And what harmony has Christ with Beliar or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? (2 Corinthians 6:14,15 Possessing the Treasure New Testament V1)

Today I listened to the September 6^th, 2011 episode of Dr. James White’s Dividing Line via podcast. Most of it was dedicated to another Radio broadcast in the U.K. called the Unbelievable Radio Program hosted by Justin Brierley. In that episode there were two guests, Bart Ehrman and Mike Licona who each gave their accounts of the makeup of their faith, et cetera. Dr. White played none of Bart Ehrman’s content saying, “What’s the point since he is an apostate?” I had never heard of Mike Licona. Who is he? He is currently the Apologetics Coordinator at the North American Mission Board (Southern Baptist Convention) and Research Professor of New Testament at Southern Evangelical Seminary. He has a Ph.D. in New Testament Studies (University of Pretoria) which he completed “with distinction” and the highest mark and an M.A. in Religious Studies from Liberty University. Notice the part I put in bold. Why did Dr. White spend so much time going over this man’s “testimony”? 

In Defense of the Imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ

by Mike Ratliff

21 τὸν μὴ γνόντα ἁμαρτίαν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἁμαρτίαν ἐποίησεν, ἵνα ἡμεῖς γενώμεθα δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ
(2 Corinthians 5:21 NA28)

21 The one who knew no sin, on our behalf, was made sin that we might become the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21 translated from the NA28 Greek text)  

Mirrored in the YRR movement and probably overlapping it quite a bit is something called New Covenant Theology. Especially amongst Reformed Baptists who grew up ignorant of it (like me), but who are now enthusiastically grasping its depth and how Reformation Theology’s strengths are all found in how it is rooted in Biblical exegesis rather than the philosophies of men, most are determined “to get it right.” Unfortunately, within New Covenant Theology is a determined attack on what many call “Calvinistic sacred cows” within Reformation Theology. One of these “sacred cows” is “The Covenant of Works,” which includes the double imputation of both Christ’s active and passive obedience to the Christian at their justification. Why would they attack these things? 

Liberalism or Christianity?

by Mike Ratliff

At the core of all of what we recognize as apostate christianity in our time is really no different than  the liberalism that was fought by the theologians in the late  19th Century such as Charles Spurgeon and those in the early 20th Century such as J. Gresham Machen. In fact, our brother Ken Silva as termed it, Liberalism 2.0. On the other hand, Dr. Michael Horton has said that his mission is to bring about another “Church Reformation.” He has said that people are under the wrong impression that there has been only one “Reformation.” There have been many and also, there has never been a time when the Church was perfect. There have always been issues. Ken and I were discussing Machen earlier. He agrees that he is wonderful source for us in this time because he stood firm against a relentless onslaught of liberalism much like we have today. It seemed like he was doing it alone, but, of course, he was not alone, he had the Holy Spirit and those whom God drew to listen, believe, and come from the darkness of compromise to follow Dr. Machen into continued obedient Christian Orthodoxy. 

The Active Obedience of Christ – No Hope Without It!

On September 8th I posted Is the Christian’s Hope in Christ’s Active Obedience or Their Own Works in response to something Rick Warren had said in a Tweet against the doctrine of Imputation. The intent of that article was not to do an in-depth presentation of the doctrine of the Imputation of Christ’s righteousness at the time of new believer’s justification, but to contrast what the Bible clearly teaches about it with what Rick Warren said. I have been requested to give more of my understanding of the Reformation doctrines that are closely associated with Justification, especially in Imputation of Christ’s active obedience and why it is essential. As I researched this, I ran across an  article I had read about five years ago over at RefomationTheology.com.

The Gospel Coalition Needs to Set its House in Order

by Mike Ratliff

Οὐ γὰρ ἐπαισχύνομαι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, δύναμις γὰρ θεοῦ ἐστιν εἰς σωτηρίαν παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι, Ἰουδαίῳ τε πρῶτον καὶ Ἕλληνι. δικαιοσύνη γὰρ θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ ἀποκαλύπτεται ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν, καθὼς γέγραπται· ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται. (Romans 1:16,17 NA27)

For I am not ashamed of the good news, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone believing, both to the Jew first and to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it has been written, “But the righteous man will live by faith.” (Romans 1:16, 17 Possessing the Treasure New Testament V1)

In the passage above, the phrase “For I am not ashamed” translates “Οὐ γὰρ ἐπαισχύνομαι.” Οὐ or ou is expressing an “absolutely negative” statement by the Apostle Paul. The verb ἐπαισχύνομαι or epaischunomai is in the present tense, indicative mood, middle voice case. The verb ἐπαισχύνομαι means, “to be ashamed, embarrassed, fearful of ridicule” because of one’s actions or beliefs. This verb generally does not carry the connotation of being ashamed of the wrong things one has done. This verb case asserts something that is occurring while the speaker is making the statement. Paul is, therefore, telling the Romans and us that he is NOT ashamed, embarrassed, or fearful of ridicule and will, therefore, preach the good news when he comes to Rome. Now, this does not mean that he believes he will be spared persecution or ridicule or embarrassment, et cetera for being bold for being obedient to his calling. Remember my brethren; our Lord said plainly that he did not come to bring peace to the earth, but a sword (Matthew 10:34). Therefore, those whose mission it is to proclaim the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ are to have this same determination, this same boldness, this same willingness to take up one’s own cross and follow Jesus regardless of the cost. 

Is the Christian’s Hope in Christ’s Active Obedience or Their Own Works

by Mike Ratliff

ὥσπερ γὰρ διὰ τῆς παρακοῆς τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου ἁμαρτωλοὶ κατεστάθησαν οἱ πολλοί, οὕτως καὶ διὰ τῆς ὑπακοῆς τοῦ ἑνὸς δίκαιοι κατασταθήσονται οἱ πολλοί. (Romans 5:19 NA27)

For as through the disobedience of one man, many were man sinners, so also through one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:19 Possessing the Treasure New Testament V1) 

John Gresham Machen (July 28, 1881 – January 1, 1937), on the day before he died, wrote a note to his friend John Murray saying, “I’m so thankful for the active obedience of Christ; no hope without it.” A study of Machen’s other writings make it clear that for him “the active obedience of Christ” refers to Christ’s perfect obedience to the Father during his time on earth which is imputed to all believers who trust in him for salvation. This is the righteousness the Father sees when he looks upon those in “the Body” rather than as we are in this temporal state of being declared righteous, but having to live in this in-between state of being sanctified. The Christian’s hope in their stand before the Father is not in how well they do in this process of sanctification, but rather in the finished work of Christ and his perfect obedience which has been imputed to their account. On the other hand, many so-called Christian leaders who are drenched in pragmatism and whose “gospel” is totally “man-centered” reject this as being “passive” as per Rick Warren’s Tweet on September 6th.

@RickWarren

Rick Warren

Imputation is 1sided but fellowship with Christ is 2sided.Koinonia means PARTICIPATION! God want your passion,not passivity

6 Sep via web

Here is the link to the “Tweet” above.