True Discernment

from Slice of Laodicea:

The National Day of Prayer website claims that Ravi Zacharias will “lead the nation in prayer†on May 1st with his carefully chosen, Jesus-free words. National Day of Prayer Task Force Chairwoman, Shirley Dobson, was on the Hour of Power this weekend with the apostate Dr. Robert Schuller—the same Schuller who called New Age teacher Jerry Jampolsky’s books, “marvelous†on his TV show and the same Schuller who carried Jampolsky’s book in his store, forwarded by occultist Neale Donald Walsch. This is the same Schuller that has stated the following in his book, Self-Esteem: The New Reformation.

“What do I mean by sin? Answer: Any human condition or act that robs God of glory by stripping one of His children of their right to divine dignity. … I can offer still another answer: ‘Sin is any act or thought that robs myself or another human being of his or her self-esteem‘†(p. 14).

“Classical theology defines sin as ‘rebellion against God.’ The answer is not incorrect as much as it is shallow and insulting to the human being. Every person deserves to be treated with dignity even if he or she is a ‘rebellious sinner†(p. 65).

“The core of original sin, then is LOT — Lack of Trust. Or, it could be considered an innate inability to adequately value ourselves. Label it a ‘negative self-image,’ but do not say that the central core of the human soul is wickedness. … positive Christianity does not hold to human depravity, but to human inability†(p. 67).

“Any analysis of ’sin’ or ‘evil’ or ‘demonic influence’ or ‘negative thinking’ or ’systemic evil’ or ‘antisocial behavior’ that fails to see the lack of self-dignity as the core of the problem will prove to be too shallow†(p. 68).

“… the core of sin is a lack of self-esteem. … Sin is psychological self-abuse. … the most serious sin is one that causes me to say, ‘I am unworthy. I may have no claim to divine sonship if you examine me at my worst.’ For once a person believes he is an ‘unworthy sinner,’ it is doubtful if he can really honestly accept the saving grace God offers in Jesus Christ†(pp. 98-99)

“And what is ‘hell’? It is the loss of pride that naturally follows separation from God – the ultimate and unfailing source of our soul’s sense of self-respect. ‘My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?’ was Christ’s encounter with hell. In that ‘hellish’ death our Lord experienced the ultimate horror-humiliation, shame, and loss of pride as a human being. A person is in hell when he has lost his self-esteem. Can you imagine any condition more tragic than to live life and eternity in shame?†(pp. 14-15, 93).

This heresy bothers Shirley Dobson not at all. Biblical truth, biblical doctrine, you see, doesn’t matter. If you are a good culture warrior and only care about waving the American flag, electing conservative Republicans, protecting “Judeo-Christian†values and supporting the idea of the traditional family, that’s all that matters. Whether you are an orthodox Jew, devout Mormon, Roman Catholic, or whatever, as long as you subscribe to the above and make a donation to your favorite Culture War organization, you’re good to go.

The problem is, Jesus didn’t come to “save Americaâ€. Jesus came to earth a long time before America existed, and He will be reigning on His throne long after America is in the dustbin of history. Jesus didn’t come and die for “Judeo-Christian†values. He didn’t come to restore Mayberry or to force store clerks to say ‘Merry Christmas’. Jesus Christ came to earth to die a bloody death on a Cross, to be suspended between heaven and earth on a tree, to die an accursed death to take the penalty we deserved as corrupt and hopeless rebels. The fact is, we as humans didn’t suffer from a loss of self-esteem like Dobson and Schuller have taught. That wasn’t our core problem. Our problem is that we were utterly vile and dead in our sins. God sent His only begotten Son to bear the terrible penalty of our sins for us so that we could be forgiven, restored to a right relationship with our holy God and so that we could have eternal life with Him.

But none of this is apparently of any interest to Shirley Dobson and the National Day of Prayer Task Force. They have denied this precious Savior by removing His name from Ravi Zacharias’ prayer on May 1 so Jewish participants who reject Jesus won’t be offended. As such, they have rendered their prayer worthless in God’s sight. It is now a mere formality, a show, a religious ritual, designed to make everyone thing something powerful has been done for America, when in reality they have committed a crime against heaven.

The fact that Shirley Dobson in her position as Chairwoman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force would go to an apostate church like Schuller’s to promote her Task Force’s meaningless “Judeo-Christian†prayer says everything we need to know about her organization. God is increasingly separating those faithful followers of His Son, Jesus Christ, from the vain, unbiblical practices of big and powerful evangelical organizations. The lines are getting clearer all the time. These organizations long ago sold out biblical truth in order to have the money to stay in business. When the money flows from Mormons, Jews and other groups that reject the Scriptures, how do you keep the donations coming if you become biblically precise? Answer: You don’t. The solution is to compromise everything that matters eternally just so you can stay in the black here and now. Such is the nature of many big modern evangelical “ministries†today.

Stay faithful to Jesus, friends. Donate your money carefully. Don’t throw it away on organizations that have no biblical doctrinal standards and who are only interested in fighting liberals. Our calling as believers is to proclaim Christ and to let our light shine for Him in the time we have left here in earth. The church has been distracted by the culture wars, not realizing that the ever darkening culture is the direct result of the church losing its Holy Ghost power. So Christians are out there shaking their fist at the liberals in the streets who want to take away our rights, and in order to sustain our task forces, we have to compromise basic biblical doctrine, further destroying the church. No wonder enemies of the Cross have gotten in the doors of God’s house while Christians were out fighting in the flesh. This is the reason Brian McLaren can deny hell, the atonement and the Second Coming at Willow Creek and nobody cares. They’ve all been trained: Sound doctrine doesn’t matter.

God help us all to keep our priorities straight in these times. There is going to be a continuing separation between God’s faithful flock and the rest of evangelicalism, which in many cases has completely departed from biblical Christianity. Don’t let the division scare you. Truth always divides. We need to listen for that comforting voice of our Good Shepherd.

“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.â€

–Luke 12:32