Praise God for Big Eva's Foolish Words
"You shall know them by their fruit" -Jesus (Matthew 7:16)
“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of this good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgement people will give an account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." -Jesus (Matthew 12:34-37)
“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." -Jesus (Luke 9:25-26)
Over the course of the last few years in God's kindness it has become very clear that a number of public and prominent self-professing evangelical Christians are ashamed of Jesus words or will gladly confuse other Christians by promoting those who are ashamed of Jesus and His Words. My dear brothers and sisters this ought not to be so.
Take a look at the following quotes by self-professing Evangelical Christian leaders and ask yourself--are these words biblical? Do these words glorify God? Do they promote the truth? Or obscure and confuse?:
“I applaud the courage and resilience it takes for [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and others under the sexual and gender minority umbrella] individuals to live openly and authentically…As a white cisgender and heterosexual man, I have not had the same experiences, but I am committed to listening, respecting and supporting those individuals as an ally and advocate.” -Dr. Francis Collins
“I admire greatly the wisdom, expertise, and most of all, the Christian humility and grace of Francis Collins. I cannot wait to see how God uses him next.” -Russell Moore, Editor in Chief of Christianity Today and former Southern Baptist Convention professor and leader
“Francis Collins is a national treasure.” -David French
“It’s very misleading to say homosexuality is a sin…some non-Christians hear Christians say ‘if you’re gay you’re going to hell for being gay’ it’s just not true. Absolutely not true.”You don’t go to hell for being a homosexual...Heterosexuality does not get you to heaven so how in the world could homosexuality send you to hell.” -Timothy Keller, 2008
“...we should be grateful to Keller for his wisdom, scholarship, and humility.” —The Gospel Coalition
“Fifty years from now, if evangelical Christians are widely known for their love of cities, their commitment to mercy and justice, and their love of their neighbors, Tim Keller will be remembered as a pioneer of the new urban Christians.” —Christianity Today
“Do I believe that gay people can be committed Christians? Absolutely. I know far too many of them to doubt that….I hear from gay Christians who are very disappointed that I don’t condone their point of view, and I hear from traditional Christians who are very disappointed that I don’t condemn homosexual behavior. As long as I get angry letters from both sides, I feel better….I agree that the temptation and the homosexual orientation are not sin. Beyond that, I stubbornly refuse to answer. I’ll let others debate the morality and the biblical exegesis…I intentionally don’t take sides on this issue.”...I’ve attended a few gay and lesbian churches, and it saddens me that the evangelical church by and large finds no place for homosexuals. I’ve met wonderful, committed Christians who attend Metropolitan Community Churches, and I wish that the larger church had the benefit of their faith.” -Phillip Yancey
“There is no writer in the evangelical world that I admire and appreciate more than Phillip Yancey” -Billy Graham
“Wearing a mask is the great commandment: love your neighbor as yourself...Let me just say a word to the priests and pastors and rabbis and other faith leaders...This is our job, to deal with these conspiracy issues and things like that…One of the responsibilities of faith leaders is to tell people to…trust the science. They’re not going to put out a vaccine that’s going to hurt people.” -Rick Warren
“I suggest that you do go to the [transgender] wedding ceremony. And I suggest that you buy them a gift.” Oh,” she said, “what?” She was caught off guard.I said, “Well, here’s the thing: your love for them may catch them off guard, but your absence will simply reinforce the fact that they said, ‘These people are what I always thought: judgmental, critical, unprepared to countenance anything.’” And it is a fine line, isn’t it? It really is. And people need to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. But I think we’re going to take that risk. We’re going to have to take that risk a lot more if we want to build bridges into the hearts and lives of those who don’t understand Jesus and don’t understand that he is a King." -Alistair Begg (source: https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/christian-manifesto-interview/ the context only makes it worse and more hypocritical. As if you can have biblical convictions and yet brazenly and publicly violate them depending on who you are with. He should publicly repent or resign for such terrible and unbiblical counsel that in no way shape or form brings honor to the Lord who revealed Himself and gave us His Holy Word including His good law and glorious gospel and calls us to be holy as He is holy not partnering with darkness or being friends with the world (2 Cor. 6:14;James 4:4) .
Shameful. Contradictory. Confusing. Against God's Word. Unloving towards one's neighbors. Damnable. Hypocritical. Deceptive.
The Lord Jesus said, "Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34).
When people declare what contradicts God's Word listen carefully. Pay attention. Double even triple check. Ensure accuracy. And if their words do indeed appear to contradict the written and revealed Word of God in Holy Scripture, pray for them. And if you know them or have an opportunity to do so lovingly and patiently challenge them to repent. If they do not repent mark and avoid them. Do not allow your past affection for them to minimize what smacks against the God-breathed Scriptures. Ask yourself--Are these men and in particular their words above wise and godly? Do they promote truth according to God's Word and consistent application of God's Word? Are these God fearing men who turn away from evil and fear the Lord or are they promoting error and confusion (Proverbs 3:7)? Do these quotes encourage you to speak the truth in love and make the most of every opportunity because the days are evil as God's Word says (Eph. 5:16-17)? Are these publicly accessible quotes at all concerned with God's glory? God's truth? God's righteousness? God's gospel? Despite what you might find that would suggest something else in the above quotes each of these men promotes confusion, unbiblical thinking, worldly wisdom and recklessly obscures God's law and gospel.
May we be those who take seriously who we listen to and learn from examining everything against the written Word of God without compromise, shame or any hint of promoting confusion or sowing discord among the brethren. Soli Deo Gloria.