Every American Christian attempting to examine his or her ideas about Jesus ought to read American Jesus. The author, Stephen Prothero, does not establish his own Christology (or so he says), but he seems to come from the  camp that sees Jesus as a myth; not a real human who lived here on earth for a few days. He asks : "How did the Son of God become a national icon beloved by Jerry Falwell and the Dalai Lama alike? How did the United States become a Jesus nation? These are the guiding questions of this book, which charts the development of the American Jesus from an abstract principle into a concrete person, and then into a personality, a celebrity, and finally an icon" (pg. 12).

So, in his opinion, Jesus, the American Jesus, started from an abstract principle. He shows how this principle progressed in American culture starting with a Thomas Jefferson-Jesus and ending with a Buddha-Jesus. And in this, the author would be correct in saying that Jesus is only a principle and never existed, because for many men who claim that they have Christian principles, Jesus isn’t real. And yet, as Mr. Prothero documents, our American nation, from sales to sanctions, is dominated by idealizations driven by dearly beloved icons of Jesus.

I totally agree with this concept. That’s why I like this book. It is not a Christian book, and yet it is a fairly presented history and social commentary on the Jesus of the common people. This Jesus is like a fast-foods Jesus, but in an attempt to cater to a larger consumer base, the American Jesus is a Jesus-the-way-you-want-it burger. Any Texan President or Zen Buddhist can feel at home at a MacJesus, because he can customize his order and continue to call himself a Christian. His Jesus can be ordered with or without ketchup. The Hindu/Adventist can get it without meat. So we have a nation of politicians, priests, practitioners and parishioners, all post-Christianity consumers, who can munch down on their favorite incarnation of Christ.

Mr. Prothero fails to distinguish between the Christ of the Bible and the Christ of the masses. Not that he has attempted to. His book is about a cultural Jesus, not a real Jesus. He says so. The Jesus he investigates is the Jesus who is an icon. Whether or not a real Jesus ever existed is of no account: It is the Jesus that Americans have fashioned from their imaginations that counts for the author. This is not his fault. The American Church, based on the American Jesus, has failed to portray the true Christ. Mr. Prothero, like the average aimless parishioner, has nothing left but to laugh sardonically along with the rest of the world. He closes: "What would Jesus make of all this? That is anybody’s guess. Might he be leaning back and laughing?" (pg. 303).

The value of American Jesus is that it shows, in a well-documented way, that our estimation of the United States of America as a Christian nation has some serious flaws. It traces how the questionable beliefs of our founding fathers have matured into a pluralistic Christendom with antichrist elements. As Christian as this nation appears to be, its Jesus is plural and merely a binding element for the American idealism of Freedom of Religion. Our American history books are being rewritten to eliminate the Protestant slant previously foisted off on unsuspecting schoolchildren. Now Jesus, more than Jefferson or Joseph Smith could have hoped for, is a mishmash of seminary and sorcery; a midrash of Jewish fables - all of which are for sale at the church of your choice.

American Jesus, pub. 2003 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Stephen Prothero is the chairman of the Department of Religion at Boston University.

- Chris Simonson  11/30/2006

A Sunday sermon: Overheard at a Calvary Chapel, Placerville, CA

"Serving God is a total blast. You didn't do anything. He does it all. The number one thing in my life's experience was my salvation. Number two is serving him."

"He doesn't want us to go out there with a gospel contaminated with the traditions of men." "When someone demands good works, then they are today's Pharisees. They are following in the footsteps of the Jewish legalists who, as in the Old Testament, are continually demanding good works. This is who Jesus rebuked when he was here on earth."

"Every good thing that God is doing in you - let it be displayed. Let's say, you were angry. But, now that you are saved, you feel this gentleness being poured into you. If that's you, let the gentleness flow. Maybe you were a "guy" before you were saved, you know, huh, huh. Now, God is making you "sensitive". You cry now. You find yourself crying at the movies. They touch your heart. Go with that. Let it be seen in you. Its message is grace. It shows compassion. Amen?"  

(Women in audience give hearty amens). -end of quoted sermon-

The foregoing is not the entire sermon, of course. But, these things were said and they are not quoted out of context. These things are not Biblical nor are they of God. Let's see why not:

Serving God is not a total blast. Philippians 2:12, Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Romans 9:1-2, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. 2 Timothy 2:3-4, Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that wars entangles himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

Salvation is not a "was"; it is either "now" or it doesn't exist. 

Romans 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 2 Corinthians 6:1-2, We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (For he says, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

You cannot be saved unless you serve Christ.  It is not number two after salvation. Luke 19:13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, "Occupy till I come". Luke 19:20 And another came, saying, "Lord, behold, here is your pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin:  For I feared you, because you are a harsh man: You take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow! "And he says to him, "Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant!  If you knew that I was a harsh man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow, then why didn't you give my money to the bank, so when I came I could demand my own money back with interest?" And he said to those who stood by, "Take from him the pound, and give it to him who has ten pounds."  (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) "For I say to you, that to every one who has will be given more; and from him who has not, even what he has shall be taken away from him.  But those enemies of mine who hoped I would not reign over them, bring here, and slay them before me!"

Everyone claims to have the true gospel, unpolluted by tradition. But, Paul said this: "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle." 2 Thessalonians 2:15.

Today's gospel despises good works. Luther is quoted, but he knew what he was talking about. Many of today's churches borrow from Luther but despise Luther's meaning. But we'll let the scriptures speak for themselves.

Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

John 10:32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? Acts 9:36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

1 Timothy 2:9-11 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with fancy hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becomes women professing godliness) with good works.  Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Titus 2:7 In all things showing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine showing incorruptness, gravity, sincerity;

Titus 3:7-8 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

Titus 3:14 And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.

Hebrews 10:24-27 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.  For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins,  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

1 Peter 2:12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Are we saying that good works are necessary for salvation?  If the question is: Can we earn our salvation? Then the answer is no.  If the question is: Are works inherent in the definition of salvation? Then the answer is yes. Those that say otherwise may find themselves in a gospel that requires no good works: Titus 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

But this is not preached from the pulpits because it would drive away the pleasure seekers who want to be saved nonetheless.  It is a dangerous but necessary thing to preach that good works do not save men, but good works are required as a part of salvation (as Martin Luther put it in his Commentary on Galatians).

Now we get to the crux of the new age church. They feel justified because they cry once in a while or get a charge out of something normally seen as feminine. Anger in a male is feared greatly by the new age church. The hyenas that harass the true believers do not want anyone to see their cunning ploys. They work under cover of darkness and pretend much love. However, they have their goal of weakening God's people to the point where they can no longer defend themselves. Once weak, they must submit to the leadership of the hyena pack. Once in a while, however, a lion gets fed up with the whole thing and comes after a hyena or two. Such occurrences are also a message of God's grace.  In so alerting his elect through uncovering doctrines of demons, He is being gracious, not imputing to them their sins of rank unbelief, but sending deliverers along who preach the true message of the gospel.

Let us be compassionate and bear with one another. When we see a brother falling for the feminized gospel, let us warn him and show him the scriptures. If we are passionate, let us be vehement towards the gospel. If we cry, let us cry over the sins committed so casually by our fellow believers and ourselves. If we have joy, let it be for seeing the evil routed by the truth. If we have feelings, let them be controlled by the Spirit and not by the flesh.  

Romans 12:9,  "Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good."

- Chris Simonson  11/29/2006

Christian Garage Sale

We had a garage sale the other day. I suppose this might qualify for, “Go and sell all that you have, give the money to the poor, and come, follow me” but, unlike the command, we were only selling off things that we had no more use for. The clutter is becoming unbearable, and unlike some other Christians who can afford to rent a mini-storage, or buy a large house capable of storing much worldly wealth, we must live the small spaces left over between it, or sell the junk.

Some friends and neighbors brought up their goods to sell. They are trading up, and had to get rid of old doors and windows, furniture, bicycles, lawnmowers, children’s toys, children’s clothes, children’s computer games, children’s computers and other electronics, and children’s trinkets to make room for the new. We adults talked of weddings and anniversaries. We talked of college careers and the price of tuition. We talked of jobs and health insurance, retirement and health insurance, and the high price of living and dying.

New pickups and SUV’s and sedans drove up all day long, disgorging ardent rag pickers. The children witnessed the haggling of prices and the handling of cash. If they were paying attention, they were absorbing the realities of American Christianity.

This is Saturday. In order to keep up appearances, we will go to church tomorrow and see all our friends in a religious setting. We will talk of sales and real estate, and how the Lord watches over us and gives us deals. We will neglect the fact that our riches come at the expense of some Chinese or Koreans or Mexicans or Indonesians or some other sweat shop community. We will show up in our new summer outfits sanctioned by Casual Chapel and blessed by Consumers Guide. We will tell our fellow parishioners how much money we made at the garage sale (just look at my new outfit!). And we will drop the tithe in the plate because we know this is God’s command for good little Christians who go to church and think holy thoughts during the worship service.

The stuff we didn’t sell wound up at “U-Turn for Christ,” at their thrift store. The money goes to help this Christian ministry that uses recently released inmates to buy and sell things in order to teach them how to be useful citizens and worthy consumers, hopefully keeping them out of jail. I suppose these ex-cons substitute for the poor of whom Jesus spoke in his command to go and sell everything. I notice they wear better clothes than the migrant fruit pickers who work in the adjacent orchards; work that the inmates disdain. The leader drives them around in the new van the ministry purchased with church funds, and takes them on missionary trips to Thailand for a couple of weeks at a time. They do work around the neighborhood, if you are willing to “donate.”

Well, I hope we are fulfilling Jesus’ command to love anyway, because I really can’t part with my collection of Beanie Babies. See you at church.

- Chris Simonson  11/28/2006

The Tame God

"He’s not a tame lion, you know," said several characters in the series of books called The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. They speak of Aslan, a huge lion, the counterpart of the Lord Jesus in Lewis’s fictional world. There is always this uncertainty about Aslan’s whereabouts, his agenda, his true nature. But whether or not the men and other creatures of Narnia know of Aslan’s plans, he always shows up on time and with everything under control. He can be quite terrifying to those whom he is about to destroy. Even his loyal subjects know his power and intelligence are nothing to be tamed.

The God of many churches today is, however, very tame. He is very easy to find, and we all know exactly what he is up to at any given moment. The proof of this comes every Sunday, when the music and the banners and the announcements and the bake sales and the anecdotes and the jokes and the air conditioning and the stage lighting and the balanced sound system and the message of unconditional love, all come together to form a perfect showcase for the "Christian" God. This God performs on cue. The pastor, at any given moment, has this God roar or jump through hoops. The pastor, depending on his abilities, has this God open his mouth and he sticks his head in, or the God runs around in a circle a few times and then jumps up onto a tiny stool, growling the whole time, but obviously completely under the control of the pastor (the cage around the whole arena lends just the right touch). The pastor has thus proved that this fearsome-looking God is just no more than one of man’s useful objects for entertainment, religious as it may seem.

Now we who are real Christians know that the real Lion of the tribe of Judah does not sit on tiny stools for anyone. The question arises: Then who is the awesome lion running around inside the cages of many churches? Well, I can’t answer that definitively, because the lion changes from church to church or from week to week, depending on the crowd’s likes and dislikes. I just know that it isn’t the God of the Bible.

But now, I wonder, what kind of people sit there in the crowd watching this sideshow? If for one instance they thought they were watching a fake lion, they would go down the street to a better circus. No, they want the lion to behave ferociously, as ferociously as possible, to show how very mastered he is. The pastor shows how very loving his lion is by sticking his head in the gaping mouth, the mouth capable of swallowing worlds whole, the mouth that spoke everything into existence, the mouth that must do the pastor’s bidding. In this fashion, the pastor acts as the mediator between the lion and the parishioner. He dispenses the secret of how to manage this God and have him accept us just the way we are, we little tiny fragile less-than-perfect fearful humans. Then we can be assured that God loves us and will respond to our whips.

But while all this may or may not be true of us, there is a lion running around outside of these cages, and this lion is hungry and wants to consume souls (Ps 7:2, 17:12, etc.). Modern prophets, called psychologists, deny this and write profusely against such primitive concepts. Elaine Pagels, for instance, writes extensively against the existence of a real devil, and she is becomingly wealthy as her book sales flourish. She is like many women of today who have suffered from the oppressive domination of male religionists. She is now free to independently whip this devil into line. She does not know he desires her, his prey, and is restrained from killing her only by the real lion, Christ himself. She flatters herself that she will be free of the devil if she can only use her education to argue him away.

Can we sense the outrage and folly of all of this? While we mock the true God, he of whom it is said, "The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their food from God," the devil, as a roaring lion, seeks whom he may devour. We may feel safe because the Lion of the Tribe of Judah is the Lamb who was slain (Rev. 5:5), but we must understand why he is a lamb. Christ died for us because we assumed that God can be tamed. But if we continue to make him out to be a trained circus animal, he will come and tear us at a moment we did not expect. That he uses the devil to hunt us down and kill us in no wise makes him any less loving as his only Son dies there on the cross for the sins of the entire world.

Me must tremble before this God. He is not a God of the Sunday sermon. He is not a God of the Right Church. He is the God who will judge every man (whether he is a man, child or woman) for the works he has done. God does not evaluate us by some secret, vague, or unknowable criteria. He judges us according to his own righteousness, spelled out by Jesus Christ himself. Who then can stand before him? Our efforts to soften him and mold him into a warm, cute kitten will only result in our being judged for that. We should listen to the roaring of the lion (Rev 10:3) and listen to the prophetic message as Israel once again rises to slay the nations. Their lamentations (Ezekiel 19) will shortly cease when the Lion of the Tribe of Judah takes his throne.

Having been thoroughly convinced that our God is an all-consuming fire, One who needs no taming or counseling from man (Romans 11:34-36), we should humble ourselves as James and Peter told us to do (James 4:6-10, 1 Peter 5:5-9). This is the only way we can hope for God’s mercy and his protection from the devil. In this we can find great comfort, because only through much affliction can we find any comfort. The comforts offered by the devil and this world are snares by which he attempts to anger God against you. It is better to stop attending the churches of the tamed God altogether if we find that the true God has been completely shut out. However, we can always find comfort in fellowship with the brethren who suffer the same afflictions because of the Name of Jesus Christ and the testimony of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 1:3-11).

"Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, when they crouch in their dens, and lie in wait in their lair? Now gird up your loins like a man; I will ask you and you instruct Me. Will you really annul my judgment? Will you condemn Me that you may be justified? Pour out the overflowing of your anger and look on everyone who is proud and make him low. Look on everyone who is proud and humble him and tread down the wicked where they stand. Then I will also praise you, that your own right hand can save you.

"Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook? Will he make supplications to you? Will he speak soft words to you? Will you play with him as with a bird? Can you fill his skin with harpoons or his head with fishing spears? Nothing on earth is like him, one made without fear. He looks on everything that is high; he is king over all the sons of pride. No one is so fierce that he dares to arouse him! Who then is he that can stand before Me? Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Everything under the whole heaven is mine!

"Then Job answered the Lord and said, "I know that Thou canst do all things, and that no purpose of Thine can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ I, therefore, have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Hear now and I will speak; I will ask Thee and do Thou instruct me... I repent in dust and ashes."

He is not a tame God, you know.

- Chris Simonson  11/27/2006

Sunday Service Trilogy

Sunday Service Trilogy - Episode 1

One evening, as I sat in my chair sipping my lukewarm coffee, the pleasant sound of the telephone reached my ears. Upon answering it I heard a greeting from someone speaking in behalf of Chapel. The person asked me how I had been and that they had not seen me (paraphrasing here) at Chapel lately, to which I replied that I had been taking a hiatus from chapel. The person paused then asked if everything was ok. I said it was just fine, that I had been fellowshipping with some brethren elsewhere and had been hosting some brethren from out of town. He responded, “oh, ok... I just wanted to make sure everything was ok.” He asked if I had found another Church, to which I answered no, there is only one Church. I then said, “I am not a big fan of Chapel's Sunday morning services, nothing against the pastor, I just don’t care for the way our society does ‘church’ on Sunday morning.” At these words the gentleman cleared his throat and said, “well, I was just calling to make sure everything was alright.” I said, “yes, everything is just fine. Thank you.” We politely hung up soon after.

Just a couple observations and questions: Why would one assume because I have not attended on Sunday mornings to a certain church building that I have fallen into sin or that something is wrong? For over a year I attended Chapel, and not received so much as a peep from them, until I stopped going for a few weeks.

Sunday Service Trilogy - Episode 2

If someone thinks I have fallen into sin because of a lapse in attendance, why cannot that person be honest and come out and say so to me, to rebuke me for it? Why play silly, sectarian religious games with one another? Why is there so much weight on one showing up on Sunday morning, and very little weight placed on men meeting together on a regular basis, which the Scripture specifically commands; do not neglect the assembling of yourselves together (Hebrews 10)? Would I be considered a rebel if I decided I would attend Sunday service every couple months?

As I told my fellow brother on the phone, I have been in continual fellowship, fellowshipping with brethren nearly every weekend and at times preaching on the streets with them and shall continue to fellowship with them. If this man tonight had called and asked, “are you in fellowship with brethren and can I have their names and phones numbers?”... I would have gladly given them. Also if he had asked, ‘are you struggling with sin’, I would have answered him willingly. I believe a brother has the right to be his brother’s keeper, in accordance with the Scriptures, not abusing his power. Frankly, I am tired of playing church. If one would show me from the Scriptures where I have gone wrong I would be more than willing to take a look at it. If the question is: Do I think myself better than others or view myself above others? The answer is No. I just want to taste the real Church, and the power which He has bestowed upon His Body.

Sunday Service Trilogy - Episode 3

I am tired of tasting the salt-substitute; it is like the difference between a delicious, vine ripe tomato that has been nourished by the sweetening Son, verses chewing on a flat and flaky dried tomato that has been long on the shelf. Or, it is like laboring hard in the field, sweltering in the sun, and someone hands you a warm Coke, when all you crave is a tall glass of ice water, that is cool and refreshing.

I am not complaining about the gentleman who called me; he was just doing what he has been trained to do. I am just not convinced that God is honoring this lukewarm manner of 'playing church'. I look down the road and I see persecution coming as well as hardship for the Body of Christ, and yet, we seem to be asleep at the wheel; no matter how one may yell warnings, the drug of covetousness has induced a deep slumber.

I would love to be able to fellowship with more Brethren, but the way that modern christendom has designed things seems to go against that, in that we go to church and then go home, or that we have pagers, phones, 'ministries', families, work and all other sorts of distractions; in short we have better things to talk of than Christ. When we do gather outside of our Sunday church building the fellowship is confined to the regular groups of people who have become clannish and been dogmatized into believing that regular attendance on Sunday is 'godliness'.

Although I may not agree with some methodology I have seen at Chapel, I am convinced that God has a specific purpose for all these things and that my eye is too short to see it, and my hand is too short to save, but by the grace of God go I.

- Steven  11/24/2006

- Steven 11/23/2006

The Antithesis of Grace

The seeker-sensitive movement and most 'progressive' modern congregations would unequivocally agree with such opinions as these, regarding preaching the Gospel: ‘Don’t warn them about Hell, or the wrath of God’, ‘Just let your light shine’, etc. However, these sentiments smack in the face of Biblical hermeneutics, reformers such as Martin Luther, great preachers like Spurgeon and Jonathan Edwards, whom stress warning the lost of Hell as an essential component of Grace through Faith.

This newer, overbearing doctrine is but a slice of modern church corruption; no personal offense intended, but I feel these seeker-sensitive teachings are schismatic and have been one of the chief offenders of causing corruption in the Body of Christ, thus making gain of the sheep. It turns the Grace of our Lord Jesus into lasciviousness, telling the lost that they can come to Christ via taking the term "saved" and disconnecting it from the eternal wrath of God that will be poured on them if they reject Christ, the only way of salvation; this in turn creates ‘churches’ full of false converts, whom are ready and willing to pay tithes, like buying indulgences. This is the antithesis of Grace.

Let's face it, the thing that the lost hate to hear the most is the fact that God will judge them one day for their wickedness, and will throw them away from Him into eternal darkness; what the modern false church has done is try to convince the lost that ‘God loves you just the way you are’, as if God would want pigs in the Holy of Holies. These assertions imply that God, instead of pouring His wrath out on the lost did it to his Son so now God’s wrath is really no big deal, misapplying the Scripture of “God’s kindness leads us towards repentance’, overlooking the fact that God’s kindness is what stopped Him from casting us all into hell as wicked and unprofitable sinners. But, for the righteous, mercy triumphs over judgment, and we rejoice in His grace, knowing the depths of the punishments we were saved from.

When we warn people of Hell, we know that God’s wrath is terrible, but by believing in Christ as Lord, the only way of salvation, we can be spared God’s wrath and judgment, and be made sons and co-heirs with Christ in the Kingdom of God for all eternity. For us, through Christ, crushing brought healing, but for the wicked crushing brings death. Why would anyone forbid warning the lost of an eternal death so horrible and terrible, leading them instead into modern religion, thus denying them the Way of Salvation. What then have these supposed converts been saved from?

As Jesus our Lord said: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.” Matt 23:15

- Steven  11/22/2006

Equipping the Saints

I handed the tract to a middle-aged man. “What’s this about?” he asked, seriously studying the back page. I had already told him it was about Jesus, so I began to explain how that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and he stopped me, explaining that he already knew Christ. He wanted to know what church I was representing and why I was out on the street passing out tracts that did not have the name of a church printed at the end of the message. We run into this all the time.

After some lengthy conversation, in which he showed good grasp of the Scriptures, he made it pretty clear that we ought to be ought serving a particular church and inviting people to it, not preaching the gospel and leaving them on their own. I said that I cannot recommend a particular church because I’m not sectarian. He said that he had felt the same way until God had showed him that he must submit under authority to a church (of our choice, of course), no matter what. I asked him what was the point? He said that this is how God equips the saints to do the Lord’s work. I asked him if his church was equipping him for his ministry. He said it was, sort of. I asked him what his present ministry was (obviously, he wasn’t downtown at 10:00 p.m. doing any evangelizing). His reply: “I mow the yards at the church."

- Chris Simonson  11/21/2006

Wake-Up Call (Archive)

Tuesday, April 12, 2005. I have decided to check out Richard’s Anti-Theosophy meeting. He has been very active in time past in preaching against public schools and homosexuality. He knows his Bible pretty well. So, now, is he starting to take on false religion too?

He is talking about government and the effects of Theosophy on our children and our society at large. He passes out a sheet with lots of graphics on it showing in simplified form how Theosophy has progressed since the 1800's into the nightmare it is today. There are about a dozen men and one woman in the room. I am not following any of this. It’s like a dream.

I ask (for the group’s sake as well as mine), “What are the main philosophical differences between Theosophy and Christianity?” He seems stumped. He says, “I haven’t really done an analysis, but I don’t see how a comparison between them would help define our goal here.” This irritates me, because I know that this is a good question that will bring the perversity of Theosophy into the light. I say, “It isn’t as though I had asked you to compare Theosophy and Communism. There may be 50 other basic philosophies besides Christianity, but I don’t think any of them were used in forming this government.” I figure if I stick to the word ‘philosophy’ and the subject of government, he has no excuse to go around the obvious use of the gospel here. He fails to get the message.

I’m thinking, I’m going to give him one last try and if he flunks the third time, I’m leaving and having no more to do with his causes. I’m trying to think of something else to say. There is silence. Suddenly, the woman goes into a litany about God and love and the necessity for loving, not hating anyone or anything...I woke up from the dream and it was 4:00 a.m. Later in the day, I saw the front page of Monday’s paper and there is a picture of Richard dressed up as a bright red devil in front of the high school with a large sign that says, “Tolerate Perversity Workshop” with an arrow pointing to the building in which the school is having a workshop to prevent hate against gays. Nothing about Theosophy. Whew!

Chris Simonson 

I am glad that the Lord shows me my foolishness. If I were to go on thinking I was wise, then I would remain a fool. If my wisdom were really foolishness, how then could I attain wisdom?

“Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.” 1 Corinthians 3:19

Now the wisdom of this world has its uses, but only in this world. If a man can devise a way to get somewhere faster, get more for doing less, or build bigger structures; but has not been rich towards God; this man’s wisdom is really foolishness.

So, a man, if he find himself wise in some things on this earth, but loses his soul, he is the most miserable fool. He should count those things he does know as rubbish and purchase for himself riches in Christ: which neither moth can destroy nor thief break in and steal (and might I add, nor forgotten with time).

Once God has shown a man how his wisdom is foolishness, then a man, seeing that he is lacking in wisdom can ask God; and God will give him wisdom from above. “Now the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy, and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” James 3:17

I have not attained this wisdom from above, at least as I ought to have had by now; but I can thank God that He has shown me to count myself foolish in the things of the world, that I might become truly wise.

Actually the wisdom of man is quite foolish. Man’s wisdom, I think, at its best, can be summed up in one word: “Psychology”. This psychology is man’s wisdom peaking, but even the foolishness of God tops this; it even blows it away. Through psychology men have attempted to pin point problems such as evil behavior, guilt, confidence, restlessness, anxiety, the list goes on. But as psychology experts increase and their diagnosis’, these problems prevail. As long as man pursues the wisdom of this world, he will not find peace in any of these areas. There is only one true peace; and Jesus the Christ, whom was crucified, is the King of that peace. As a matter of fact, the wisdom of man, now known as “psychology”, professes the recorded works of God to be foolishness.

It is this “foolishness” of God that is precisely the cure for man’s hopelessness in his “wisdom”. For the foolishness preached, that is Christ and Him crucified, is only foolish to those perishing; but to those who find peace in it, it is to them the power of God.

So do not lift up your head, or shoot out the lip, but humble yourself before this mighty God; who will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. (1 Corinthians 1:19)

I am not suppose to attain all wisdom/knowledge in this world, nor can I; but I am suppose to count myself foolish in the things of this world. For with the foolish things of this world God confounds the wise, and I know with my seeking of the wisdom from above, that is actually everything. So God can even make me wiser than scientists and psychologists if He so chooses; because He made the world and everything in it. He even knows the words which men will speak before they are formed on their lips.

So, become foolish in this world that you may obtain the wisdom of God; for the things the world holds in high regard, God despises. “Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.” (Psalm 119:98-100)

Matt Simonson  11/17/2006

THE WORD OF TRUTH, THE GOSPEL OF YOUR SALVATION:

It makes a good headline. Instead of the daily news, what if every household in the world received an issue of the Good News one day, and everyone read it and believed it? As far as I am concerned, we'd be done here. Heaven would be right around the corner. The end of this world would be the next good news. Eternity would take over immediately.

However, many people, even if they read about the gospel of their salvation, would refuse to believe it. For them, it would not be the word of truth. Perhaps they would see it as a lie, carefully crafted by men who want to control their lives. Many others would refuse to read it at all. Why? They have more important things to do. Or they are forbidden by their religion to even look at good news. Or they have preconceived notions about it and condemn it without reading it. Or there must be a thousand reasons why.

But let's just say that you are concerned about truth, and about salvation. Fortunately, the word of truth and the good news of your salvation are one in the same.

We don't have to invent a gospel. Paul preached it to the Gentiles and it is recorded in the New Testament. The gospel to Paul was "to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ" (Ephesians 3:8). He prayed that Christ might live in our hearts through faith; that we, being rooted and grounded in love, might have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that we might be filled with all the fullness of God (also in Ephesians 3).

He also warned that we should stop being children, tossed back and forth and driven with every doctrinal breeze conjured up by the cunning of men, crafted in purposeful lies. On the contrary, he told us to speak the truth in love, so we can grow up in all areas of our lives into a mature man, "into him who is the head, into Christ," (Ephesians 4:15).

If the gospel can be seen as a straight line, cutting through the time and space of our existence, then the universe can be split into two parts. On one side of the line are the lies of men driven by doctrines of demons; on the other side is the truth. The gospel pleads with men to listen to the truth that is in Christ. Those that refuse to cross over the line remain in their sins and must perish. Those who listen to the preaching of the gospel and do what it says leave their old lies behind and come into the light of the truth.

Knowing this, we preach Christ and how he was sacrificed for our sins. In him we have redemption by his blood shed for us. We have the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us. According to God's own purpose that he accomplished in Christ, he has given us all wisdom and insight into the mystery of his will. It is a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Jesus - things in heaven and things on earth. In him, according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will, we who hope in Christ have been predestined and appointed to live for the praise of his glory.


In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Salvation is a plan. It is based on God's will, not ours. We, however, are the recipients of God's love in this plan. The plan is that we are to praise God for the glory of his grace he lavished upon us in Christ Jesus. Salvation is not just a quick prayer, or a moment in time and space, or a list of things to do. Salvation is the work of God in his creation and he guides it according to his own will. Our part is to listen to him and believe what he says about this plan. If we are coy, or smug, or deaf, we will surely perish according to the gospel. But if we humble ourselves and listen to the preaching of the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation, we will live.

The gospel of Jesus Christ can only be found in what the church calls the Holy Bible. The seeker of God must critically examine all other sources against the Bible. Other "inspired" sources contradict the Bible, or they would be admitted as Scripture. If you don't know this, then you owe it to yourself to compare and contrast the messages presented. If you refuse to listen to the word of truth as presented in the Bible, then you will surely miss "so great a salvation" (Hebrews 2:3).

The kernel of the gospel is presented in 1Corinthians 15. "...the Gospel, which you received, in which you stand, by which you are saved, if you hold it fast--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures." If you receive the kernel and it is watered with the truth, then you will grow up into a mature crop. If not, you will wither and die. Salvation contrasted with destruction. May God himself direct your path to Him.

- Chris Simonson   11/16/2006

The question, “Are you saved,” is unlearned. If you ask a person who considers himself or herself saved no matter what, they will tell you that that are indeed saved. So, what was the point of asking them? They remain ignorant of any danger and so do you.

“Are you saved?” is a rude question because by answering it, only disputes come. It assumes that the person you are asking can give you a meaningful answer. Let’s say the person doesn’t buy into the concept of being saved. The person whom you ask, “Are you saved", will be offended, but for the wrong reasons. They are offended not because they have been convicted of sin, but because they have been asked a question about a subject they know nothing about, makes them respond defensively (they judge themselves to be A-OK, which they aren’t) and makes you the judge of their unlearned response.

Go back to the person who thinks they are saved and answers in the affirmative. Easy-does-it Christianity says that a person is saved because they said the sinner’s prayer. This is not found in the scriptures. However, we read that we saved not because of anything we have done, but because of the grace of God. So we can come forward, get baptized, say the sinner’s prayer and the rosary a thousand times, and we will not be saved if we make that the basis of our salvation. Oh, sure, we’ll attach the name Jesus to our works system, but instead of coming to Him, we are satisfied in our works. And more dangerously, we spread the good news of our works system, whatever form it takes.

For instance, one of our works systems may be “witnessing” to others. We go around asking them if they are saved. When they respond in the positive, we pretend great joy and pat them on the back, knowing nothing about their belief system. When they respond in the negative, we tell them the three easy steps to heaven, just like we were told to do, and when they respond positively to that, we tell others how that the Lord saved them. Otherwise, we smile and tell them God loves them anyways. Lukewarm Christianity.

Even those who preach the good news of the kingdom correctly are not saved thereby. If they obey not the words of Jesus Christ, even though they preach them, they are worse off than if they had never known the correct path. Our works will be judged on that day when God brings every work into judgment. Our works will judge our belief system. Many will say to the Lord on that day “but didn’t we do many wonderful works in your name?” (They cannot stop patting themselves on the back), and He will say to them, “Depart from me, you workers of iniquity.” Their works systems will be considered as works of the devil himself. He will also tell them, “I never knew you.”

Does Jesus know you? Do you really know Jesus?

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”

Chris Simonson  11/15/2006

Angels We Have Heard On High

Men have always been interested in angels, good and bad. Angels are very real; they are all around us, but are usually invisible. People have portrayed angels as winged men, women and babies. However, angels are not human, man or woman. They are very powerful spiritual beings. Just one angel destroyed 185,000 Assyrian warriors in one night!

There are good angels, who serve and worship God for ever and ever; but there are also bad angels called fallen angels, and these will be destroyed at the end of the world. These evil angels are what the New Testament calls demons, and they resist God by working for the Evil One.

Jesus Christ, on the night before he was crucified, told his disciples that he could ask his Father for more than twelve legions of angels to defend him, but that he must instead go to the cross to die. A legion of Roman soldiers was 6000 infantrymen, plus 120 cavalry, plus all the auxiliary troops necessary to keep a legion running. If one angel could destroy an entire army in one night, imagine what over 72,000 of them could do!

The good angels protect God’s children against the Evil One, who directs the fallen angels. The fallen angels also rule over the wicked on the face of the earth by using their powers to deceive men into thinking that lies are the truth, and that truth is a lie. Very seldom do angels take direct physical action in this earthly realm, but when they do, some very weird things can happen. But mostly, they cause men’s minds to be affected to the point they imagine things that are not true. But angels can assume human form and you probably wouldn’t know it until afterwards.

Some day, God will use His mighty angels to gather together all of the wicked people at the end of the world. The angels will cast them into a furnace of fire in which there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The bad angels will also be thrown into this lake of fire. So will their boss, the devil. Everything that causes sin and death will be tossed in along with the wicked. There are many more things that could be said about angels.

But, more importantly, will you be among those whom the angels hunt down at the end of the world, or will you be among those who will rejoice at the coming of Jesus Christ with all his mighty angels? Starting today, bow your knee to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the mighty Lord of Armies, Jesus Christ. You will make an enemy, but the devil hates you anyway. You will also be protected by the angels of God.

You should realize that you deserve the judgment God renders upon his enemies, but you must also realize that the only way to come out of that dreadful place is to believe that this same God sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, in order to put away all the judgment against you. He did this by dying the death that you deserve. By coming to this truth, you will be protected by God Himself, not only by his holy angels, but by his Holy Spirit, and by the Name of Jesus Christ.

For to what angel did God ever say, "Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee"? Or again, "I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son"? And again, when he brings the first-born into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."

Of the angels he says, "...who makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire."

But of the Son he says, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever, and a ruling rod of justice is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved justice and hated lawlessness; therefore God, thy God, has anointed thee with the oil of rejoicing, placing thee above thy companions." And, "Thou, Lord, in the beginning founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands; they will perish, but thou remainest; they will all wear out like a garment, like a cloak thou wilt roll them up, and they will be changed. But thou art the same, and thy years will never end."

But to what angel has he ever said, "Sit at my right hand, till I make thy enemies a stool for thy feet"? Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those whom are to obtain salvation?

Chris Simonson  11/14/2006

Church Authority

Church Authority usually means that you must submit to the authority of the church in order to belong to the church. What does Paul, the founder of the Gentile churches, say?

"... and I submitted to them..."

This phrase occurs in the letter to the Galatians, written by the Apostle Paul over 1900 years ago. He was relating his visit to the Church in Jerusalem and his interaction with the authorities there. The letter to the Galatian church was written because Paul was concerned that the Church in Galatia was going after a false gospel. Some of their church authorities had decided to adopt Judaism as a furtherance of Paul’s gospel. It seems that the church had willingly gone along with this, causing Paul no small consternation. He boldly tells them that such promulgators of a false gospel should be rejected as accursed of God.

Whose authority are they under, anyway? Paul asks. He says that even if he, Paul, were to present a different gospel than the one he had already preached to them, that he himself should be included on the "accursed of God" list. The letter to the Galatians is all about church authority and to whom it is given and how. That is why, in this letter, Paul tells us about his visit to Jerusalem. The purpose of that visit was to settle the matter of church authority and its relationship to the gospel. He met with the "so-called pillars of the church," James, John and Cephas (St. Peter). He was not sure how he would be received by them.

He knew there were many in the church at Jerusalem who were in fact false brethren sent by the devil to search out and destroy the freedom of the true brethren. The church there, even though the original apostles were present and supposedly ruling over the church, had their problems just like the Galatians. Paul evidently had a run-in with the false brethren while he was there. Of these false brethren and their false authority Paul says, "we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so the truth of the gospel might remain with you" Galatians 2:5. He did not submit to them because there was something very important at stake: the gospel.

So he met privately with those of "high reputation" (but it made no difference to Paul - God shows no favoritism, why should he? Besides, they were not superior to Paul and they had nothing new to contribute to him - Galatians 2:6). Instead of flaunting their church authority, or getting into a "one-upmanship" contest, the "pillars of the church" recognized that Paul had authority too, and "gave him the right hand of fellowship." This meant that they were not lording it over him, but giving him their blessing in the fellowship of the gospel (by the way, is there another kind of fellowship in the Spirit?). So, Peter, James and John became friends of Paul and sharers in the work of the Lord.

So, to whom did Paul submit? We opened this study with the phrase, "...and I submitted to them..." This comes from Galatians 2:2. In context, we see that he did not submit to them as lords over his faith, but he submitted to them his gospel for their review, and hopefully, approval. He wanted to make sure they were all on the same side. It was only after he had determined that the other apostles and leaders were on the same page with him, did he accept their authority, and they accepted his. But there is more to the story about his relations with Peter.

"But when Cephas [St. Peter] came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned," says Paul. These are strong words. Paul, the apostle born out of due time, rebukes Peter, and that publicly and without apology. One should really read Galatians to listen to the message preached to Peter. Church authority, which Paul exercised, gave him the right to expose wickedness in any form and whether it was the pope himself. Of course, we do not believe that Cephas was or is the first pope, because that is a Roman Catholic tradition and not the truth. It is an early church tradition, but it is a lie nonetheless.

Well, this run-in with Peter happened at least 1,900 years ago. Since then, the churches have been vying for authority, just the same as they did then. The biggest and earliest church is the Roman Catholic church. The Orthodox Church would heartily disagree. Bearing this in mind, the Catholic Church wasn’t the Roman Catholic church until Rome made it the official Rome religion, but the error had its origins in the very early church indeed. It, the so-called "catholic" church, assumed that the authority it had over men’s souls could usurp the authority of God Himself. But we have Paul’s word on it: "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery" Galatians 5:1. Then, as now, the freedom under fire was the believer’s direct faith in Jesus Christ and not in a system of laws written by the Jews or the Gentile church, or an angel of light.

Since the early days of the church, Judaism has lost most of its stranglehold on the church. But this was replaced by the Greek philosophers, the Hindu and Buddhist concepts of love, the shamanism of Africa and America, and any other Gentile tradition fancied by local sentiment and current fad. These have taken over the believers’ freedom in Christ. The church should have used these traditions to contrast them with the gospel; instead, it substituted Gentile philosophy for Jewish law. This they touted as their authority, and everyone who did not come under their authority was anathema, or at least ostracized. In a weird twist of irony, those who were anathematized (cursed) by Paul, became the authorities in many of the Christian churches and movements.

We must remember that God is not up in heaven watching this all take place, worrying Himself sick. This is all unfolding according to the perfect will and purpose of Him who decrees the very borders of countries. If we read our Bibles carefully and reverently, we see that false authorities are warned against, from Genesis to Revelation.

Church authority consists of one thing only: "The power of the message preached." The devil hates this message and this authority. That is why he has come up with so many other gospels and their attendant "authority." We can spot some of these false authorities easily. These false authorities love the power and they belittle others, even the true authorities. As the apostle John wrote more than 1,900 years ago, "I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say." Even in the very first days of the church, false authorities were setting themselves up against John, Paul, Peter and others. If the church authority in question does not accept what John has to say, or Peter, or Paul, etc., then we can know their authority, however powerful it is, is not to be obeyed or feared. Our faith, in many cases, is tested by these principalities and powers in high places. This is God’s plan for the believers. He wants them to live by faith, not by church laws. If the church law is good, then obey it. But don’t think to yourself that by obeying these church laws that you have fulfilled the saying, "the just shall live by his faith."

Respect those who have the rule over you. If God has appointed them to be your jailers, then treat them as having that authority. If he has appointed them as the IRS, give them their due. This carries over into all areas of our life. If we do not recognize the authorities whom God has put over us, then those authorities do not bear the sword in vain. We need a ticket, or a court date, or some prison time to convince us. But when it comes to the church ruling over men’s souls, we have found that for the last two thousand years there have been continual abuses. Paul rebuked them: We should, too. Many churches today feel they are the superior evolutionary product of the last two thousand years of trial and error. They believe their gospels are superior to Paul’s. They are better than Martin Luther. They are children of the 60's who don’t know that their gospel comes from the hippie movement that proclaimed "Peace, truth, love" and fulfilled the scripture that says, "they will turn the grace of God into lasciviousness." This accounts for the great church authorities like the Episcopalians ordaining homosexuals over their hell-bound parishioners.

If we belong to a church that is plainly abusive and contrary to the Scriptures, we should leave. We should test them first, giving them the opportunity to repent. If the authorities there cannot justify themselves with the doctrine that is according to godliness, then no matter how powerful they are, we should pull away. This is to be released into the freedom we have in Christ. We should not jump out of the frying pan into the fire, however. If we are truly Christ’s, we will prayerfully submit to God our petition to find like-minded believers with whom to fellowship. The answer may not come instantly. We should be on the lookout for cultic principalities who prey on Christians just escaped from the pit.

Many times we hear of those who have fallen away from Christ. They left a church seeking freedom and found complete bondage under the devil. The false churches point and say that this will happen to anyone who leaves their grip. This is part of the manifold tactics of the enemy. But there is a remnant, called according to grace, chosen according to the Father, and no man can pluck them out of His hand. This is the true authority in Christ. When we submit to one another, we should be submitting under this kind of reverence for God. All other authority and all other submission is suspect, unless it has nothing whatsoever to do with the church. Then we should submit under the ordinances of the land, knowing that these authorities will surely use the sword against us, in accordance with God’s provision for our obedience.

Having said all that, it will do good to close with Scripture. "For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more" 1 Cor. 9:19.

Chris Simonson  11/13/2006

End Times, According to Paul

We may think to ourselves that Paul was not into end-times stuff as much as John or Peter or Daniel. By thinking this, we cut ourselves loose from the plain teaching of the New Testament that there is a judgment  after death, and that’s the final wrap. In his usual clever methods of deception, Satan uses the Holy Scriptures as a smoke screen for his real intents. He just wants our attention off salvation and onto something else. He assures us we are saved no matter what and that it’s time to go onto bigger and better things, like eschatology (end-times stuff). By doing this, he makes our salvation unsteady and we focus on things other than godliness in Christ Jesus. This has been proven over and over again by various sects and cults that pop up whenever a thousand years goes by, or a big meteor shower or comet shows up unexpectedly, or somebody gets a message from God.

Paul says to the Thessalonians, "Let no one deceive you in any way, for the Day of the Lord will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction." He does not go on to speak of Hal Lindsey-type prophesies or other pop theology, but he explains very carefully that God will send upon them (those who are perishing) a deluding influence in order that they might believe what is false. We may think to ourselves that we know what 2 Thess. 2:7 means where it says "until he is taken out of the way." Pop theology says that this is the secret rapture of the church. The holy scriptures in no wise say this. This is a fabrication using wishful thinking and several scriptures relating to the visible, only, coming of Christ. That’s why the Greek text calls the second coming the "appearance" and not the "disappearance."

But let’s say you just don’t believe any of this and want to hope that you will be raptured out of here before anything bad starts to happen. On what are you placing your hope? Are you ready? Are you of those who think they are saved and yet they are so locked into this world that even if there were a rapture, the Lord himself couldn’t drag you up into the sky because you got your arms locked around the things of this world? And why do you find yourself in this fashion? Isn’t it precisely because of the doctrines you hold about the end times?

You probably find yourself absorbed in things that are totally unrelated to salvation in Jesus Christ, and yet you feel that God has called you to do them anyway. Let’s say you go around trying to sell your fellow Christians life insurance, or annuities, or legal advice, or real estate, or automobiles, or automobile insurance, or...you get the drift. You are a modern-day American Christian whose hope lies in the things of the earth and you focus others’ attention on you and your false hopes. You run the youth groups and are active in organizing all the church’s activities. You are a Sunday school teacher and the pastor lets you preach whenever he is on his vacations to Tahiti and Barbados. You can really shine.

But you hate the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Oh sure, you believe in the four spiritual laws. You know that Jesus came into the world to save sinners and that God loves you. You even believe that Jesus died on the cross and that he rose again on the third day. You know all of this, but you still hate the gospel. If you really thought that you were saved by the gospel, then why are you so angry when someone presents it to you in a Biblical form that shows you that you must repent in order to be saved? That’s the Gospel that Jesus Christ himself preached. No, you want to give intellectual assent to a few things that Christ did for you because he thinks so highly of you. Or, if you like the gospel so much, why do you spend a fortune making yourself comfortable here and pleasing your flesh, and then giving a pittance to the Lord’s work? You base your entire life on this misunderstanding. And in order to remove the true Gospel of repentance from your mind, you think a lot about the rapture and everything that happens after you are out of here. You can be a distant observer and judge of events then, even as you are now, engrossed with holy entertainment.

Now you may say to yourself, this man is brutal and crude. He should be tender and gentle with my conscience, like Robert Schuller or Pope what’s-his-name. Let me speedily add that I trust you are not a follower of either of these men, but if you are, please reconsider your salvation. Tenderness and gentleness await those who call upon the Lord out of a pure heart. But... as Paul says, "If any man does not love the Lord Jesus, let him be accursed."

Not all men have faith, even though they take great pains to assure themselves they do. They spend their days on theological issues that they cannot prove and that lead to doubtful disputations. They are ever anxious to tell you about some new accomplishment their church has accomplished (like winning the inner-city basketball championship). They will tell you that 500 people were saved during that conference (they have signed cards to prove it). And, they are very nice.

The end times are upon us, brethren. Of course, this has been said since the inception of the church, but it is the way it is. One or two thousand years to the Lord is like a couple of days to us. But the end could come suddenly, once the apostasy has reached its fullness. One after another of the big-name churches have fallen away. The best indicator is their acceptance of homosexuals. It starts with ordaining women, then goes to lesbians. By default, male homosexuals are also included.

Mark those 'churches' who love wickedness and have nothing to do with them. If they ask you, tell them to repent. Don’t even attend their end-times conferences or their plays or their spin-the-bottle fellowships. That’s why the end-times scriptures were given to us. So we could know when things are happening and what to do. If we can’t repent, then we are of the class: "in order that they may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness."

But, we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. And it was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. Finally, brethren, pray for us that we may spread the word of the Lord rapidly, and that it be glorified, just as it was with you. (2 Thessalonians 2).

Chris Simonson  11/10/2006

Predators in our Pulpits

A Book Review:

 The title of this little book says it all. It is a warning about false teachers in our churches, placed there by the devil himself. If this book were written by a man who was noted for exposing various conspiracies or other forms of demon-chasing, then I would not recommend it for serious readers. But, this book was written by the author of "A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23" and "A Layman Looks at the Love of God" - not what you’d call whistle-blowing epistles.  

And yet, there it is, a book written by a solid Christian brother against the worst predators there are: Christian preachers and teachers. In his own words: “We have preachers, evangelists, teachers, educators, radio broadcasters, publishers, authors, television personalities, and a score of other spokesmen who claim to speak for Christ while actually destroying His people with diabolical deception” (pg. 72).  A person who claims to speak for Christ is ordinarily a Christian, is he not?

You may not be interested in this book, you say, because it is just another attack against a loving spirit that must be nurtured by Christians no matter what they believe. Once again the author:  “Contrary to what most might consider a negative emphasis, this is in truth a most positive appeal for a lofty life of loyalty and love for Christ” (pg. 15). The book is broken down into two parts. Part I is the warning of what to look for in false prophets. Part II is the call for repentance by a true prophet.

The value in this book is that it clearly identifies current false teachings in the church, and the marks of false prophets (their fruit).  It does so in a very few pages, so as not to tire the reader with high theology. If the reader has understood Part I and agrees with the prognosis, then he can go on to Part II, which offers the cure. He calls the cure “sacrifice” which seems appropriate. His main point is that the false prophets teach that self-indulgence of any kind is not only O.K., but to be earnestly contended for. Having established that by example after example, he contrasts that with the Bible teaching of self-sacrifice.

The first subject he tackles is that of the tendency of man to follow the leader (of his or her own choice).  He points out that men do not usually follow leaders that call them to face their sins and die to self.  They usually seek for themselves leaders who have “personal charm, eloquent speech, academic credentials, or organizational ability” (pg 27).  He goes on to say, “It is almost as if they were advertising for a business executive to run a commercial corporation rather than searching for God’s spokesman. Little wonder that they frequently end up with predators in their pulpits!” And, “…people come for food, fun, and fellowship.  God’s work in the world is not advanced, but the people are deluded to believe the opposite.  They are deceived and know it not.”

Chapter 2 uncovers the wickedness behind “the success syndrome.” He denounces our educational system for making success the goal of life. He applies this to the church. “The basic idea [of the successful church program] is to provide something so sensational and appealing that it attracts crowds and stimulates a substantial increase in attendance” (pg 30). If we have been so successful by buying into these never-ending gimmicks for success, then “Why do not 55 million so-called Christians in North America make it one of the truly righteous regions of the earth instead of one of the most corrupt?” (pg. 33). The author reasons that there is a cover up of leadership because they want so badly to be seen as successful. They are willing to exaggerate or just plain lie about their success. He contrasts this with the life of our Lord Jesus.

 Chapter 3 is named “Misplaced Faith.”  We are shown that in the attempt to be successful, the leadership has the followers buy into some concept or another, and this is called “faith.”  By misusing Scriptures regarding the true faith in Jesus our Lord, the predators lure the unwary into a relationship with a god called “mammon” by our Lord Jesus Christ.

Chapter 4 warns against the trap of self-love, so admired by today’s Christian counselors. Once again, the “success syndrome” rears its ugly head.  There is a beautiful quote in this chapter I just can’t pass up:  “In many areas of Christian activity and teaching the common people have been seduced by their leaders to believe that it is imperative to turn to psychology or psychiatry or other social programs for mental or emotional healing.  Because those in the pulpit do not themselves know the life of the Risen Christ in their own experience, they lead their followers to try to find help in the ways of the world…the broad, barren paths that lead ultimately to self-delusion and self-destruction” (pg. 50).

 Chapter 5 is titled “The Decadence of the Western World.” If you don’t know about this already, then I suggest you read this chapter first. Comfort is king and the modern church, itself in decadence, exonerates evil. The modern church is afraid to be labeled legalists so “The current concept is that Christians should be so warm, so loving, so sweet, so tolerant that almost anything goes” (pg. 58).  “They [their leaders] live in abject fear of being despised or rejected of men as was the Master” (pg. 59).

Chapter 6 is “Peace, Peace – at Any Price.”  I will quote the author thusly, “Read carefully John 14” (pg. 73).

Chapter 7, “Emotional Experience Versus Disciplined Obedience,” is the last chapter in Part I and discusses the ever present danger of false spirituality. The makeup of man is such that he will gladly participate in gross fleshly entertainment for stimulation and then goes to a religious revival for the same sort of stimulation. This cannot be spiritual. He receives stimulation from the same source: His carnal desires. The author likens it to flies hovering over a rotten carcass. They come searching for something to satisfy their souls; they leave having been “deceived into believing that they have been touched by God’s Spirit when in fact it was largely a sham and a show” (pg. 77).

The author makes a most important statement in this chapter.  If you have been involved in any sort of pastoral counselling, then I urge you to listen carefully:

“Many who are in positions of influence prefer to have their followers become devotees of themselves. They love to bask in the affection and adulation which others lavish upon them for one reason or another.  One of the most insidious and widespread means used to this end is the current craze of pastoral counseling which has swept through the church.  Again, it is a page lifted from the casebook of the psychologist or psychiatrist. The intimate personal encounter, the increasing dependence on human interaction, the sympathetic ear and the inevitable emotional involvement – all these cater to the self-interests of both the parishioner and pastor” (pg. 81).

Part II of the book goes on to urge “laypersons” to personal devotion to Christ. If you have read the preceding with some interest, then I suggest you buy the book, or at least read the Bible where it admonishes us to pick up our cross and follow Jesus. At any rate, I hope you have decided that there are indeed predators in our pulpits and that you shouldn’t believe everything they say. Certainly, do not follow their pernicious ways. Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” Matthew 7:13-15.

"Predators in Our Pulpits", by W. Phillip Keller, pub. Harvest House Publishers, 1988.

Chris Simonson  11/09/2006

Paul, in the book of Ephesians, directly correlates a man’s relationship to his wife, to that of Christ’s relationship towards a man. Specifically that the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church and Paul tells husbands: love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.

Now Christ gave his own life on the cross. There is no greater love than this, that one would lay down his life for his friends. We are His friends, if we follow what He says. Is it not Christ’s commandment, given through Paul, that we love our wives as he did the church?

Look at Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Now if husbands could see the outcome of their long-suffering with their wives, and giving themselves to washing their wives with the word of God, then they too would see the worth in loving their wives as Christ gave himself for the church.

A virtuous woman is more rare than rubies. Are we only to love our wives if they be that virtuous woman who is harder to find than precious rubies? If “Yes”, then what hope have we who are needful of a savior; who will suffer long with our foolishness? Christ did not die for the virtuous, but sinners. It is our foolishness before God that causes us to go astray. So then, husbands must love their wives even if they tend to be foolish.

This can (and I say will) be grievous to a crucial point. Unfortunately, on top of sinful flesh, we have a generation of women, young and old; who have not been taught by older women (be it their mothers or mentors) to be obedient to their own husbands. This presents a goliath of a problem, but the command remains the same: “husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church.”

A husband may be accustomed to repeatedly quoting thus to his unruly wife: “It is better for a man to live in the wilderness, than in a house with an angry and contentious woman”. And it is better for a man to escape to the wilderness, lest such a woman provoke him to violent reaction. It is a shame for a woman to provoke her husband so. Let it be known to such a contentious woman that though love is not easily provoked, it can be provoked. She should also know that a stone is heavy, and sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath (or provocation) is heavier than them both. (Proverbs 27:3)

This is when it comes to that crucial point; will the husband become bitter against her? Will he turn his face from her in disgust? Or, in his agony will he remember the agony that Christ went through on the cross? Will he remember the many times he tested the Longsuffering, and grieved the Spirit of the Lord?

It must be that a husband, in such a situation, could only keep from hardening his heart against his wife through submitting to Christ’s command. Thus realizing his own inability to do so, and lack of strength to keep up such a weight; he must cast it upon the Lord. He must admit that such a woman is too hard for him to deal with and ask God for the wisdom to rule her; and knowing she will not be ruled by her husband, ask God to teach her and cause her to submit under him. For any woman that will not be ruled by her husband is contrary to Christ and His commandments.

The goal is for a husband to present his wife as spotless and without wrinkle before Christ upon His return. The responsibility of the soul of the wife is on her husband. This is why a wife must submit in everything to her husband, the overseer of her soul; as the church submits to Christ in everything.

Matt Simonson  11/08/2006

Let Him Be Accursed

Paul wrote that we should bless, and not curse, our persecutors (Ro. 12:14 et al). Jesus said that, too. And yet, Paul says, "if any one preaches to you a gospel that is different from that which you received, let him be accursed" (Gal. 1:9). And again, "if any one does not love the Lord, let him be accursed" (1 Cor. 16:22).

This is no relapse on Paul’s part. Many today might accuse him of being a Pharisee, as they accuse anyone who gets between them and their gelatin 'jesus', but they in their ignorance don’t know that Paul was indeed a Pharisee, but one converted from phony religion to actual service for God. In his service for God, he was persecuted more than any of us will ever be. Did he curse them? No, he brought them the blessed gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s why they were persecuting him. In today’s perverted Christianity, we pat the wicked on the back and tell them God loves them just the way they are. This is, to the jaded religionists who pretend love, the same as blessing our enemy. They suffer no persecution as a result, and are opposed to the religion of Paul, the converted Pharisee.

These are the people of whom Paul speaks when he says, "if any one preaches to you a gospel that is different from that which you received, Let him be accursed." These are the ones who love a different jesus than the One presented by Paul. But, as Paul says, "if any one does not love the Lord, Let him be accursed." Jesus, who had to put up with the Pharisees who prided themselves in their outward show of love but inwardly hated him and his God, much as do the Casual Christians of this age, offended them as we must offend the hypocrites in the church today. His disciples were bothered by this, and came to him and said, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?" He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be plucked up. Leave them alone; they are blind leaders. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

Jesus was discussing outward religion as practiced by the Pharisees. They did not love their mothers or their fathers, thus breaking the commandment. They did not love those who were less fortunate, figuring them to be accursed by God anyway. They did not love, but were experts in pretending great love for God. They knew how to say good, solid prayers. They knew how to walk around looking real religious-like. The fad in those days was to look real somber and real stern. The fad today is to look like fools and jesters. Or we mix them up, depending on who we think is watching. A video clip of Clinton, when he was the president of this great nation, showed him laughing and joking at a funeral procession (for his best friend), until he realized he was being filmed, at which moment he became very somber and sad, and that’s the way we must play it when we are hypocrites.

There is a pit waiting for the blind leaders and their blind followers. They say (highly offended) to Jesus, "Are we also blind?" Jesus says, "If you were blind, then you would have no guilt. But because you say you see, your guilt remains." Let them alone, Jesus says. Let them be accursed, Paul says. These are the folks who teach at our universities and those whom they have taught. They are experts at religion. They fancy themselves theologians. They know exactly how to interpret the Greek as translated "accursed" in all Bibles, so that it doesn’t mean "accursed" when they get through. These are the ones who persecute the true believers in Christ, what with their two-cent credentials given to them by man for a certain tuition.

We who are true Christians should bless them when they persecute us, but let us not for one minute forget they are accursed. Because they have a degree, or because they own better stuff than we own, have big churches and admiration from their followers, and are well-spoken of in the media, let us not fret, because evil comes of that. Let us not try to cover it up or make it better. Let us not get wrapped up in trying to fix something that God is not fixing, or punish something that only God can punish. No, let us on the other hand adopt this little dictum: Let them be accursed.

Chris Simonson  11/07/2006

Steven  11/06/2006

In the 80's, the church bells tolled in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which, up until then had been merely a small town made up of some blue-collar workers, military personnel and some rowdy eccentrics. Over the last 20 years this town has become the ‘Mecca’ of modern Christendom in the United States, where modern para-church organizations congregate, like Focus on the Family, whose campus is so extensive they have their own zip code.

In 1985 Ted Haggard saw the religious opportunity and established New Life Church, which started out with about 20 people; today New Life Church can boast14,000 members and lays claim to the title of largest modern-christian ‘church’ in the state of Colorado.

Ted Haggard graduated from Oral Roberts University in 1978 and received two honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees; he was the president of the 30 million-member National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), the largest evangelical group in America and as such was essentially the representation of the American modern-christian pastor. In fact, he was named one of the 25 Most Influential Evangelical Christians in the nation by Time magazine; Focus on the Family and New Life Church have been called “Two of the nation's most influential evangelical Christian groups”, by FoxNews in an April 2005 article.

Just last year, both Haggard and Focus on the Family announced efforts to push a statewide ‘gay marriage’ ban for the 2006 ballot, with a small, atomic glitch: Haggard recently has admitted to buying meth and getting a massage from a gay prostitute. According to FoxNews, the prostitute in question emphatically charges that he has had ‘sexual relations’ with Haggard for over three years, and that Haggard was using meth before their sexual encounters. Haggard admitted to buying meth once out of “curiosity”, but denies using it; he’s also admitted that he did get a massage from the gay prostitute after being referred to him by a Denver hotel.

Mr. Haggard’s behavior leaves a lot of questions un-answered and empowers those whom are anti-christ in the given-over homosexual community with one more brick laid in the rainbow-colored road towards the persecution of true Christians. Haggard’s lavish and flesh-controlled lifestyle has brought another stain upon the modern christian church, which as of late has been drunk on it’s luscious dollars generated by lukewarm preaching.

The fact is, Christians, we must clean up our act. Those whom practice fornication, adultery or homosexual acts, sodomites, drunkards, liars, thieves, the covetous, mockers and idol-worshipers are NOT true believers; these are things we were redeemed from and washed of, and no longer practice as followers of Christ, since we testify that we have been saved from sin, filled with the Holy Spirit and walk in His righteousness. Those whom continue to practice these perversities need to be excommunicated, thrown out of the Church and given over to Satan for the destruction of their flesh, until they repent of such perversities and turn from them.

We, as The Church, have been commanded to restore them as Brethren, but not until they repent and turn from these practices, lest they bring a reproach upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Steven  11/03/2006

Chris Simonson  11/02/2006

Blessed Are They That Mourn

When we mourn, we are not comforted thereby. It would make no sense to say a person is happy when he is mourning. And yet, we have false gospels out there that try to convince us that when Jesus said, "Blessed are they that mourn" he meant that we should not mourn but be happy. These are fools and blind. So, if you are mourning, do not look around for relief from false happiness. You will be taken out by the pleasures of this world. The Bible says so.

Jesus actually warned those who were presently happy that their end was grievous, not blessed. "Woe you who laugh now!" he said, "For you will mourn and weep!" Luke 6:25. So their end is misery. Now, if we want to believe our Lord and keep his words, we will pick mourning over laughing any day of the week. Otherwise, we do not believe his words.

If we believe his words, then we believe that, eventually, we will be comforted. In the story of Lazarus and the rich man, we see the once comfortable rich man is now in torment, in flames, while Lazarus is "in the bosom of Abraham." He is now and eternally comforted while the rich man is eternally condemned to hell. We may try to twist the moral of the story and be sidetracked into word-games, but the Lord is not kidding around with doctrines about heaven and hell. Those that are presently mourning will be comforted.

The end is coming, but it is not yet. We can presently have full assurance that we have all things in Christ and this will bring the true peace and joy that comes with righteousness. Let us not be led astray by false gospels of wealth and health now. Let us join our Lord in suffering, knowing the joy that is set before us. Let us love one another in the Spirit, and not in the lust of the flesh. We may not be comfortable in so doing, but true comfort is coming and is just around the corner. Let us presently come before the throne of grace in time of need, and our Father in heaven will receive us and give us our petition, if we obey him through proper faith. Yes, we can now know the peace that passes all understanding, but we are going to have to suffer first.  Let us therefore mourn, only in the Lord.

Chris Simonson  1/01/2006