Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Tim Challies: Rick Warren Loves The Lord? Wrong!

2Co 11:4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.


"While I don’t doubt that Rick Warren loves the church and loves the Lord, neither do I doubt that he does harm to the people and to the Name he loves so much. To invite him to this conference is to downplay all of the harm brought about by his unbiblical and pragmatic style of ministry." ~ Tim Challies

If Warren is teaching a “gospel” that is void of essential truth...and he does
If Rick Warren teaches a “gospel” that makes man the center and not Christ…and he does
If Warren is promoting Easter Mysticism…and he does
If Rick Warren promotes Roman Catholicism…and he does
If Rick Warren shares the platform with homosexuals and their organizations…and he does
If Rick Warren shares the pulpit with Word of Faith heretics…and he does
If Rick Warren promotes the Emergent Church Movement…and he does
If Rick Warren lied about his Syrian trip…and he did
If Rick Warren approves of women pastors…and he has
If Rick Warren steers his followers away from studying Scripture…and he does
If Rick Warren distorts and twists Bible verses taking them out of context and misapplying them…and he does... (go here for the full list and links)

....then the man is a false teacher. 2 Peter 3: 16b “ There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.”

A wolfe isn't a sheep. Warren doesn't preach the Lord of Scripture nor His gospel.

Challies has neither wisdom nor discernment, and refuses to seperate from false teachers. He finds "truth" in everyone it seems. This isn't charity nor grace. This is treason. He's as bad as Piper.

2Jn 1:10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, 11 for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.

Such harsh but necessary words of separation and rejection of false teachers comes from the Apostle of Love.

I would suggest Challies take Spurgeon's words to heart (Pink and Tozer said very similar things as well):

"I have not much patience with a certain class of Christians nowadays who will hear anybody preach so long as they can say, "He is very clever, a fine preacher, a man of genius, a born orator." Is cleverness to make false doctrine palatable? Why, sirs, to me the ability of a man who preaches error is my sorrow rather than my admiration.I cannot endure false doctrine, however neatly it may be put before me. Would you have me eat poisoned meat because the dish is of the choicest ware? It makes me indignant when I hear another gospel put before the people with enticing words, by men who would fain make merchandise of souls; and I marvel at those who have soft words for such deceivers.

According to modern efficiency he ought to have said, "Let him be kindly spoken with in private, but pray make no stir. No doubt the thought was original, and we must not question his liberty. Doubtless, he believes the same as we do, only there is some little difference as to terms."

~ Spurgeon from "Under Constraint," Sunday morning 28 April 1878 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London

1Th 2:5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed--God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.

Rom 16:17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

Calling Warren a brother in the Lord when the man teaches a false gospel, is man-centered, has a gathering of Goats not sheep, praises himself, promotes false religions and homosexuality, is treason. Its disloyal to Christ Jesus and the Gospel. Shame to anyone who would do so. They seek the approval of man, not God, and put up easily with the wolves and call it love. God calls is sin.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

hi denise. i used to read challies every single day...until i realized i always left feeling double-minded. i left the blogosphere for a few months and substituted it for the youtube wilderness. during my time there, the LORD has stripped me of more idols than i knew i had. people are waking up to a lot of things that the reformed community is asleep to. it was there God prepared my heart for this move by Piper. anyways, i think we are going to start seeing more of this. i don't know if it's that piper lacks discernment (where were his counselors?) or if the Holy Spirit is truly doing something we can't see, but we have no choice now but to watch and see and most importantly, pray.