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My book offers a plethora of hard data and documented proof which concludes that the so-called “Church of Christ” of the “restoration” movement does not represent true, biblical Christianity at all. It never did, not even from its inception.  To deny such facts is not a “healthy skepticism,” but is rather an elusive evasion of the truth.

When did the need for post-modern skepticism take the place of the need for the supernatural illumination of one’s heart and mind by the Holy Spirit in conversion?

Because, according to Jesus, it seems clear that even if someone rose from the dead, the unconverted skeptic would still never receive a love of the truth in their hearts, unless they have been enabled to believe God’s Word by the supernatural power and illumination of the Holy Spirit (Lk. 16:30-31), which the CoC refuses to even acknowledge a need for. 

Apostle Paul stated:

“the gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance” (1 Thess. 1:5).

And he thanked God without ceasing….

“because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe” (1 Thess. 2:13).

So it seems that either God has changed His method of spiritual conversion, and post-modern skepticism has replaced the need for the “Spirit of truth; Whom the world cannot receive” (Jn. 14:17),…OR… God has made sure that His people will “be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4), for He teaches them, by opening their understanding to Scripture (Lk. 24:45).

Since God has made it clear that His word is the foundation of all truth and knowledge, I’d rather believe Him over post-modern skepticism any day, for those who savingly believe in the true Christ will not abide in darkness (Jn. 12:46), because God has ordained the means to rescue them.  And it is not through the means of empirical “scientific” evidence (falsely-so-called), which the CoC’s have always tried to utilize, as a means to substantiate God’s sacred Word, in a desperate attempt to try to fill the empty void created within their churches, due to heavily promoting the false gospel of baptismal regeneration, over and against the need for true, Holy Spirit regeneration. 

Where is the “hard data and documented proof” that the CoC founders ever knew how to rightly divide the Word of truth? Because solid, historical evidence reveals the opposite. Just for starters, Alexander Campbell’s “new version” of the Bible was wiped off many church shelves after being proven to be a fraudulent money-making scheme. And yet, all CoC’s continue to promote all of his fatally flawed and private interpretations of Scripture, which Scripture itself strongly warns against (2 Pet. 1:20)!!

No wonder so many who have been deceived by such false religious systems are now frequenting psycho-therapists, due to the absence of the true gospel in their lives and the everlasting joy of being truly born again by the Holy Spirit.  Such shipwrecked souls, disillusioned by false religion, are now turning to and trusting in secular determinism, a Freudian, psychiatric concept that dictates that we are pushed to make decisions by “forces” beyond our control.  

Where is the “hard data” and “documented proof” behind this falsely so-called science?

The irony is that although the CoC and most psycho-therapists reject the biblical doctrine of predestination, they have the audacity to dictate that we have no choice as to the circumstances nor experiences that go into making up our “subconscious” mind which supposedly “determines” in large part how we react to situations and how we make decisions. 

Sadly, this is how many psycho-therapists gain a following with their “clients;” by deceptively appearing to be the only means of overcoming the “low self-esteem” that keeps one from becoming mentally stable. Never mind that humanity’s REAL problem is sin, NOT “unconscious” needs that must be “psycho-analyzed” by secular “specialists” who over-charge vulnerable people, for their psychological “expertise.”

The CoC’s loose ecumenism represents extremely differing religious views that cannot be reconciled biblically. Yet, it is being used as a free-for-all catalyst for every false religion to weigh in on Scripture, in order to bring all religions to a common consensus.  And this is precisely what leads to spinelessly submitting to the court of public opinion. However, there are not multiple interpretations of Scripture that are equally valid. There’s a right way and a wrong way to interpret what God’s Word actually conveys, because God’s truth is absolute.

Without the standard rules of interpretation, people are led to believe truth and error are just differences in opinion.  This began in the Garden of Eden when the Serpent tempted Eve to doubt what God had actually said (Gen. 3:1). Those who are unstable and unlearned are still taking portions of Scripture that are hard to understand, and are twisting them to their own destruction (2 Pet. 3:16).

“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, Who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Cor. 4:4).

The majority view today dictates that there is no single, right way to do biblical theology, or no single, right way to read Scripture.  This is why one of the greatest hallmarks of post-modernism is “what I think,” instead of what God’s Word actually conveys.  However, no matter how much such a popular view appeals to the fallen masses, the court of human opinion is in NO position to sit in judgment upon God and His Word.

Such proud delusions lead to unbridled, rebellious responses to the true gospel.  Although people can have their own opinions, they cannot have their own facts.  And facts are discounted today by those who would rather make-it-up-as-they-go-along, for unbelief is characterized by rebellion against God’s absolute truth.  Post-modern relativism is the polar opposite of true, saving faith in the true gospel.

If language could be formed into whatever each individual wanted it to mean, a written document, such as God’s Word, would be rendered irrelevant.  Language itself would no longer have any meaning at all whatsoever!  So sadly, those who only want to believe certain parts of the Bible are ending up on such a broad way to destruction.  Jesus warned….

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Mt. 7:13-14).

CoC Arminianism is deceptively portrayed as being merely a different “view” of the same God.  And the “broader perspective’ of the progressive and emerging faith of ecumenical “Oneness” is Arminianism on steroids. This is because destructive error and its defenders will progressively get worse and worse the closer we get to the end.

“But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3:13).

John Owen, who was good friends with John Bunyan (author of Pilgrims Progress), witnessed a degree of this falling away even in the 1600’s, for he stated as follows:

“Without spiritual illumination , the doctrines of the gospel are open to scepticism. Sceptics pretend not to renounce or forsake the truth.  But they talk about the truth and argue about it with a ‘take it or leave it’ attitude about them.  They are indifferent as to whether it is true or not. Scripture, the Trinity, Christ and His offices, justification by grace and all the other great truths of the gospel are weighed and examined in the defiled, tottering scales of bold, irreverent, sceptical discussions.  They may be teachers of religion, but they show their ignorance of the fundamental difference between truth and error.  They cannot see the glory, beauty and power of truth, so it is all one to them whether it is truth or whether it is error.

Truth, truly known, will beget reverence, love and sacred esteem in the souls of men, so that they would not dare to prostitute it to scepticism or allow it to be bandied about by every foolish imagination.

Darkness keeps the mind and soul from arriving at any assurance of truth; it prevents the soul from loving the truth and so provides no defense for the person against apostasy. Each man in his ignorance of what is truth and what is error, is left to determine what is truth for himself.  But each man has his own idea and opinion of what truth is.  So with every man’s opinion equally as valid as every other man’s opinion, it becomes easy to wander from truth to error, which is the way of scepticism.

Without divine revelation, man will never have right thoughts about God.“

…..Apostasy from the Gospel, pp. 66-67

Copyright ©2021 by Lee Anne Ferguson.

While doing more in-depth research into CoC debates from the 1800’s, it has been amazing to find such striking parallels that are so reminiscent of what the Apostle Paul dealt with concerning the Corinthians and the false apostles who had infiltrated their church. 

But unlike Paul, who showed up those false pretenders with a holy triumph, Protestant preachers in the 1800’s, who had formerly been stewards of the true gospel, had already begun to compromise.  Because, the Stone/Campbell “restorationists” were vicious, vile and vindictive wolves in sheep’s clothing who stopped at nothing to try to completely destroy the lives of those who exposed their heresies.  As a result, many bulked under the pressure.

    As an ex-member of the CoC, who has since been rescued by Christ, I’ve also had to come face-to-face with some very heart-breaking persecutions.  For whenever an unusually illustrious and zealous testimony is given to exalt Christ and to dethrone false, self-righteous pretenders; many dangers, toils and snares will be encountered. 

But by God’s grace, His Word has encouraged and comforted me, by reminding me that Apostle Paul’s remarkable perseverance was a force to be reckoned with, for he did not cease to provoke the whole world against himself, by carrying on fearlessly with the Lord’s work, even when the ungodly were incensed against him.  Although the wicked attacked him with great force and fury, he continued in the cause of Christ with a fresh and unusual zeal, for God was with him.

      Apostle Paul even boasted in his infirmities and persecutions, because they were a badge of honor for His Savior, and a heavenly proof of his holy calling.  But he was careful to give all the glory to God, and he wouldn’t have boasted in his personal struggles at all if he hadn’t been so forced into it by slanderous, false charges that were being leveled against him by those who masqueraded as servants of Christ; those who tried their best to turn his godly intentions into a fault.  Appropriately, such wild and incredibly absurd accusations caused Paul to burn with righteous indignation (2 Cor. 11:29-30).

     Apostle Paul’s forceful language may have seemed harsh, but it expressed the godly concern that he had for the Corinthians and it demonstrated the seriousness of the situation. With a touch of scathing sarcasm, Paul begged their forgiveness for a falsely perceived “wrong” (2 Cor. 12:13).  Because, he knew that even his weaknesses and persecutions were a testimony to the glorious grace of God in Christ toward sinners like himself (1 Cor. 4:9-13). 

So there was no excuse for the Corinthians to fall for such wicked and jealous wannabe’s who were hell-bent on trying to destroy his credibility, in an attempt to cover up their own evil agenda to pervert the truth so that they could gain a worldly following. 

According to Jesus, His followers will be hated by the world…

“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you.  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also” (Jn. 15:18-20).

     In 2 Corinthians Paul was being forced to defend his undying love, generosity and sacrificial service in the cause of Christ, for it was all being turned into a reproach by false, ungodly, hollow pretenders of piety.  Although he sought the salvation of the Corinthians soul, and not their wealth, the false apostles were obviously projecting their own covetousness practices on to him, in order to try to take the heat off of themselves, for Paul felt the need to defend himself in that particular area.

     It seems that the false apostles may have even believed their own lies, for their minds may have been so exercised in covetous practices that they had begun to believe that everyone else thought the same wicked way that they did.  And so, they may have even thought that they were in a competition with Paul for the Corinthians money.  Whatever their ungodly motives were, they were attempting to reconstruct reality, in order to accommodate their own sinister agenda.  They were evil infiltrators who worked for the cause of Satan.

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works” (2 Cor. 11:13-15).

     Paul had proven himself to be a servant of Christ for years, and was never covetous toward the Corinthians.  And yet, they were so quick to turn on him.  Paul initially spared them from a more severe rebuke, even though they deserved it, for he decided to wait a long time before coming to them, in order to give them more time to come to their senses and repent.  

But they were under so much undue influence by the false pretenders that the Corinthians even became willing to deprive themselves of Paul’s presence, love and care; the very one who truly loved them and truly loved God; in exchange for those who were only out for themselves and for the vile and vain imaginations that they were so obsessed with (2 Cor. 10:5). 

     These idolaters pulled out all the stops to try to take the focus off of their own sinister schemes, so that the Corinthians would be stirred up into a pathological paranoia against Paul, for then the wicked wolves would be able to take them over.  By employing such a sly deflection, they were succeeding in turning the Corinthians so against Paul that they were on the verge of turning from the true gospel that he had so graciously and freely given to them.

      Even though he had a biblical right to compensation for his sacrificial and extensive labor of love in the gospel, they were not appreciative of the fact that he denied himself for their sakes and for the sake of the gospel.  Paul was so hurt by their ingratitude that he said the more he loved them the less he was loved in return (2 Cor. 12:15). They were not truly loving him because true love thinks no evil and is not easily provoked, yet they were willing to think the worst of him at the drop of a hat (2 Cor. 13).

     But Paul, on the other hand, had patiently endured their cruel treatment, time and time again.  He was obviously NOT easily provoked at all, because he had been treated so very bad for so very long.  And yet, he refused to take offense… UNTIL.. it came down to the purity of the true gospel.  Only then did he have to step up to the plate and take a strong stand against the false apostles wicked schemes and the Corinthians unfair inclination to think the worst of him; the very one who had given them the true gospel in the first place.

  Yet they were becoming so obstinate that they were even willing to disbelieve everything that he had to say.  This is how influential and damaging wolves in sheep’s clothing can be. According to his ill-intentioned opponents, Paul was a deceitful hypocrite. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!  They were trying to lay claim to what they had no right to (2 Cor. 11:22:29). For one, they were not willing to be reduced to nothing for the sake of Christ.  Instead, they weighed themselves in the false balance of public opinion; aligning themselves with the worldly majority. 

     Due to their self-seeking dishonesty, Paul was compelled by necessity to expose their underlying evil. They were false apostles who had set themselves up as judges against Paul.  But he made it clear that he didn’t have to prove anything to them, because he knew that his teachings were approved by God and that theirs were NOT (1 Cor. 4:3-5). However, Paul was so outraged that the Corinthians could ever even believe their ridiculous lies, so he had to reluctantly defend himself to the Corinthians, for the sake of the true gospel and for the sake of their eternal souls (2 Cor. 12:16-19).

     Paul even risked his personal reputation, by being willing to appear disqualified just so they would hopefully turn from their sin.  He even risked being considered a hell-bound reprobate, in order to try to get through to them with the truth.  He knew they were under an insane delusion that would only get worse if they didn’t repent.  Their excessive tolerance of false apostles deserved blame, for Christ was being offended.  But, he still had high hopes for them.  So if they disappointed his confidence in them to come to their senses and repent, it would have been even more cruel of them (2 Cor. 13:6-7).

     Because of false brethren, Paul had to endure all kinds of personal attacks that were being leveled against him, just so he could continue to try to convince the Corinthians that he cared for their soul, not their material things, which he counted as dung compared to the glorious gospel that he lived and died for.  But when Paul tried to spare them from being taken in by wolves, they wanted to hug their chains even tighter, and even tried to use his severe admonishment as an excuse to disparage his writings. Their misplaced approval encouraged the false apostles to up their game in trying to turn his godly intentions into a fault. 

     Although Paul still considered himself to be the “chief of sinners,” he was fully persuaded beyond the shadow of a doubt that his cause was right (1 Tim. 1:15).  So much so, that he even called upon God as a witness upon his soul, for he had a clear conscience concerning the cause of Christ that he lived and died for (2 Cor. 11:31).  He even gave up any right to the support that he was biblically entitled to, for they would have tried to use it against him.  He humbled himself as a mere slave, just so the Corinthians could be lifted out of sin and idolatry.

     Although their evil suspicions were causing them to see his writings and weaknesses as something that was hateful, he was still willing to be considered a fool for Christ in their eyes, by standing even more firm in his God-given convictions, to the point that he was willing to be just as “weighty and powerful” in person if it had to come to that, in order to try to recall them back to a right mind (2 Cor. 10:8-11).

      Instead of apologizing for his harsh rebukes, he stood his ground and made it clear that he would continue to rebuke with all authority, even more severely if need be, if it would snap them out of their spiritual insanity.  But he practically begged them not to force him to have to display even more of his boldness in a face-to-face confrontation, for that was NOT his natural disposition (2 Cor. 10:2).

     Like Paul, we are to initially appeal to people by the meekness and gentleness of Christ.  But when gentleness and mildness proves to have no effect, as a last ditch effort we must be willing to go the extra mile to rebuke those who are aligning themselves with the wicked, for anything less would no longer be meekness at all, but cowardice.

     Obviously many were offended by Paul’s writings, because he exalted Christ and dethroned the prideful from their high-horse of hypocrisy. Such a bold and biblical stance will never be accepted by the worldly majority.  But God gave him the grace to turn their false charges into an advantage, in order to prove that just because he was a humble servant of Christ and prone to weaknesses, there was no reason for them to doubt the truth that he was standing for, because Christians have this treasure in earthen vessels (2 Cor. 4:7). 

     Christ’s kingdom is established by bringing low everything in the world that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.  And nothing is more opposed to God’s free grace than man’s falsely perceived “free-will.”  False pretenders who have no root in themselves are eventually overcome by evil, but those who have Jesus’ perfect righteousness credited to their account through saving faith, by a sovereign act of God’s free grace, are able to overcome evil with good, so that they can rejoice in their afflictions for Christ.  

    This is how Paul won the hearts of the Corinthians back to their Savior.  May God also grant His people today the strength to endure the same unfair and evil treatment that Paul endured for the cause of Christ, so that we too will be… a force to be reckoned with.

Copyright ©2020 by Lee Anne Ferguson.

     Every time a plea for “love and unity” is used in a context where there is clearly a biblical mandate to rebuke with all authority, alarm bells against compromise should start to sound off.  But when one’s spiritual senses have become so de-sensitized that they can no longer “try the spirits” in order to discern between good and evil (Titus 2:15, Heb. 5:14, 1 Jn. 4:1), they will end up on the broad way to destruction. But those who are trained by the chastening of the Lord, against such compromise, can be assured that they are on the straight and narrow path to life.

     As seasoned parents of seven, and grandparents of seven (and counting), my husband and I have learned over the decades that rebuke and love are not always mutually exclusive. Although children will often perceive correction as hate, parents still have to be brave enough to take that risk for the sake of their children’s spiritual welfare. Biblical correction can and must be done with the goal of instilling a reverent fear of the Lord so that they will hopefully turn from their wicked ways. This is how God deals with His own children, or else they are illegitimate (Psa. 5:5, Prov. 3:12, Heb. 12:8).

So we cannot relate to any kind of Christian experience that lacks God’s severe chastening against wickedness and such unbiblical compromise, for by such severe means we have often been led to repentance ourselves.

   We are to honor all people as image bearers of God, but this is never possible when one affirms people in a way that dishonors God and puts people at risk of being even more set in their wicked ways by misleading them into a false and fatal assurance. Yet this is the very thing that many are now guilty of, so it is no wonder that there are those who now seem to be so very deceived, unrepentant and unreachable.  And this is why we do not want to be a partaker in such tragic outcomes that are the result of having a mindset that exalts the Arminian “freewill” of man over and against the sovereign, unlimited and absolute freewill of God.

    Through trials of faith and personal examination by the Word of God, it is better for us all to realize our true spiritual condition now, before it is forever too late. For when Arminians come off with “yes/but” evasions, false caricatures of Calvinism, double-speak concerning the doctrine of original sin, foolish comparisons between inanimate machines (robots) and God’s image bearers, along with unbiblical mandates for faithful Christians to back down on exposing error just because they are also capable of sin and error, it is always a HUGE red flag. Such an unbiblical stance is the very reason why so many have lost any natural conception of good and evil.

     God leads His people in paths of righteousness so that they cannot continue in a perpetual, unbroken, unrepentant pattern of sin. They can no longer in good conscience join a false religion or stay in one once they learn the truth. They can no longer in good conscience join forces with heretics, for He calls them to separation (2 Cor. 6:17). Though it takes them a while to discern the leading of their Savior, once they do, they will not be led by another spirit (Jn.10).

They would rather suffer…

“without the camp, bearing His reproach” (Heb. 13:13).

     So the burden of proof is still on legalists to biblically prove how Arminianism’s exaltation of man, partial depravity, conditional election, universal atonement, ineffectual grace (dependent upon man’s “free” will consent) and works-salvation constitute the essential content of the gospel??

Since none of Arminianisms points are the essentials of the faith, then why in the world would a professing Christian contend for that which so blatantly militates against the true gospel?

     Heresy is defined as a deviation from the essentials of the faith, and those who promote such are considered heretics. So what kind of bewitching spell could possibly cause a professing Christian to cowardly shrink back from calling Arminianism a heretical, false gospel promoted by heretics?

    Just because one may currently be a heretic, that does not absolve us from our Christian duty to love them enough to instruct and warn them (not pander to them), so that perhaps God may grant them repentance to acknowledge the truth (2 Tim. 2:25-26).

There’s still hope!

God’s sovereignty is compatible with man’s responsibility. For God has decreed the ends, as well as the means, to bring His people safely home. Therefore, we take seriously our duty to warn those who are in severe, unrepentant error.  To do otherwise would be to fall into the heresy of hyper-Calvinism.

 Please think through this scenario:

How would you feel if a professing Christian knew that you were on dangerous ground, but pandered to you by giving you false assurance that everything was okay? After finding out the truth, would you believe that they had truly cared for your soul at all? Could you still respect them, knowing they were not even willing to risk you being offended to tell you the truth? Could you still believe that person really loved you and was a trusted friend?

Or, would you believe what Scripture says…

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Prov. 27:6).

Knowing what Scripture teaches, could you still believe a compromiser was a faithful Christian who cared more about God and His approval than the approval and praise of others? Then, most importantly of all, the ultimate question is how does God feel about such compromise? His Word makes it clear that He is a jealous God, Who demands that loyalty to Him must supersede all else.

God will NOT tolerate dual-loyalty.

“For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, Whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Ex. 34:14). “Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than He” (1 Cor. 10:21-22)?

     According to God’s Word, Apostle Paul feared his people might “put up with”false teachers who proclaim a false Jesus and a false gospel (2 Cor. 11:1-4), because it would indicate that their mind had been corrupted and subtly deceived by the devil, even if they had so much as simply tolerated such.

Paul grieved jealously for his people, for he knew that if they turned from the true gospel that he was giving them, they would turn to fatally deceived deceivers, and ultimately end up turning from God (2 Tim. 3:13). And we can relate heavily with “schismatic” Paul, for the concerns he had for his people are our very concerns for those who have now fallen off the ledge of legalism into the deep abyss of apostasy.

     According to Scripture, this is the dangerous path that so many have been on all these years, and it seems to be all due to identifying too heavily with those who are in serious, unrepentant sin and error. This is why many have identified staunch CoC’ers as counterfeit Christians, for after all is said and done, they will defend evil, proving that they treasure other things more than the gospel.

     But we identify too heavily with Christ and the gospel, so therefore, we refuse to capitulate. We would rather treasure and defend the truth, not Arminianism and its popular, compromised defenders, for it has been historically, biblically and thoroughly proven to be a false gospel.  Ephesians chapter one alone completely destroys Arminianism!!

Charles Spurgeon once warned that:

     “The man who is not willing to submit to the electing love and sovereign grace of God, has great reason to question whether he is a Christian at all. For the spirit that kicks against election is the spirit of the devil, and the spirit of the unhumbled, unrenewed heart.”

     Just because we were once Arminians, and are still capable of sin, and unable to know their eternal destiny, does not excuse us from our reasonable duty to now expose their error, which we have been rescued from….in order to do just that!  Whether they are really saved or not is none of our business, for the secret things belong to the Lord.  But none of that changes the fact that we are to be about our Father’s business.

God didn’t rescue us just so we could boast that we have a “more consistent” version of grace than Arminians. God rescued us so that we can lead them to His effectual free grace and away from a false version of grace that depends upon mans unregenerate “free” will to make it effective.

     Jesus said we cannot serve two masters (Mt. 6:24). There are no lukewarm in-betweens. This same warning is reiterated in 2 John vv. 9-11, which exclaims that we’re not even supposed to give deceivers a greeting (in a way that would be approving their false doctrine), or we’ll be “a partaker of their evil deeds.” That’s how serious this situation is.

“… the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.  God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (Jn. 4:23-24).

     So when a professing Christian claims that they are believing the same gospel as that of an Arminian, they are essentially apostatizing from the faith that they profess, for they are compromising in practice and committing treason against Christ. A spiritually rooted and grounded orthodoxy leads to orthopraxy. But a mere intellectual orthodoxy that has no transformative, powerful and lasting effect on one’s heart, mind, spirit and personal life will prove to be dead, unregenerate and worthless in the end (Lk. 8:11-15).

     Therefore, we pray that God will mercifully grant repentance and enable us all to love, treasure and honor the truth way too much to be partakers of such shameful compromise, even if this means that we will lose popularity in the increasingly infiltrated camp of Christendom. We are not to fear people’s judgment of us and we are to never expect praise from the world, for God’s assessment and approval is all that matters.

The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe” (Prov. 29:25).

Although we will likely continue to be maliciously slandered and falsely accused of everything under the sun, we can take comfort in knowing that we are in good company with Apostle Paul, and others like him, for it is a badge of honor for Christians to share in the sufferings of Christ, Who has vested us with courage and conviction to fight the good fight of faith to the very end.

Copyright ©2020 by Lee Anne Ferguson.

Works Cited: https://www.gracegems.org/2016/12/Some%20men%20cannot%20endure%20to%20hear%20the%20doctrine%20of%20election.html

In the CoC, I can remember distinctly how there was always a tremendous amount of emphasis placed upon 1 Peter 3:20, simply because it mentions the words “saved by water.” Ironically, 1 Timothy 2:15 mentions the words “saved by childbearing,” yet the CoC would never touch those words with a ten foot pole, for they do not fit the CoC’s false narrative!!

     Although the CoC will boldly point to being “saved by water” and shamelessly declare that “it means what it says”…yet, it will create a double standard when it comes to being “saved by childbearing,” for neither does it literally “mean what it says.” Because, in order to rightly divide God’s Word, one must be enabled to challenge surface-level notions that contradict the full council of God, in order to interpret what is really being conveyed, for Scripture interprets Scripture.

     For instance, saved by childbearing obviously cannot literally mean that women are saved by giving birth, for that would contradict Ephesians 2:8, etc. Instead, the context conveys the fact that although daughters of Eve have always bore the stigma of initiating the Fall of mankind, those who, through faith, become the daughters of King Jesus, are exonerated from the curse, for He bore it for them (Gal. 3:13). As a result, what had initially been a curse actually becomes a blessing for those who are in Christ Jesus.

     But the CoC deceptively ignores the scriptural import of Bible terminology in order to propagate its false water gospel. So the next time you hear a CoC’er boldly declare that saved by water “means what it says”…just kindly ask them to apply that same surface-level standard of interpretation to “saved by childbearing” and just see what happens. Their reaction would actually be comical if it wasn’t so tragic, for they are sadly and severely unequipped to rightly divide the Word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15).

     It cannot be stressed enough, just how crucial water baptism is to the CoC’s sacramental system of salvation, for it is everything to this religion. In the CoC, baptism is faith; baptism is repentance; baptism is obedience; baptism is salvation; baptism is how one receives and accepts Christ; and baptism is even how one calls upon the name of the Lord!

     To put it more precisely, the CoC makes everything in the Word of God dissolve into water! This is why its preaching is peppered with references to water, in order to induce a false and unbiblical obsession with baptism as the only way to even have a fighting chance at obtaining salvation.

     Though Jesus Himself never taught such a thing, this warped “water syndrome” is the one thing that all CoC’s agree upon and show severe symptoms of, for it’s the most consistent, inevitable result of the two foundational pillars of their sacramental system of salvation: autonomous freewill and universal atonement.  Without these, all CoC’s and every other self-salvation Arminian cult would collapse.

     In 1 Peter 3:20, Noah’s family was “saved by water” only in the sense that the reality of their salvation became obvious through the trial of water, for they were enabled by God to pass safely through the destructive waters by being in the Ark, which represented Christ. The word “by” in this verse is translated “through” in the original Greek. The water itself was a means of God’s judgment, not a means of salvation! Yet the CoC could grasp for straws here and say “the ark couldn’t have floated without the water.”

     But, the fact remains, the water itself didn’t save, or else those outside the Ark would have been saved! Peter even says here, baptism does not put away the filth of the flesh (v. 21). And a symbol cannot literally purge a guilty conscience. It can only be an outward sign of what’s already occurred inwardly. There is no such thing as baptismal regeneration. Baptism, in no way, shape or form, effects what it signifies.  Yet the CoC claims that it does.

     In the CoC, Noah’s Ark and all of the “patterns” that he had to go by, in order to get it just right, was deceptively used as a perpetual illustration of how we too had to get the “pattern” just right, in order to be saved. We were never taught that the Ark represented Christ in all of His perfection, or how His perfect righteousness is all that can keep one afloat through the destructive waters of sin and death.

     In scriptural reality, the Ark was a figure of Christ; it was a figure of the true, whereas faith was the substance. Today, baptism is a figure of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection; it is a picture of the true, whereas faith is the substance (Heb. 9:9, 14, 26; 11:1, 7). The shadow and symbolism of the Ark finds its fulfillment in the reign of Jesus Christ.

     Baptism is the outward response of a conscience that has been purified by faith in Christ and what He has accomplished in the believer who then wants to identify with Him in baptism. All who savingly believe in Christ have already been baptized by the Holy Spirit into His death spiritually (1 Cor. 12:13). They, like Noah and his family, have passed safely through the waters of sin and death…in the Ark of Christ.

    But the CoC makes the deadly mistake of taking the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is how God literally puts His people into the Body of Christ (e.g. Mk. 1:8, 1 Cor. 12:13), and confuses it with physical water baptism. However, there is only ONE spiritual baptism into the Body of Christ, and it is solely the work of God almighty (Eph. 4:5).

     This is why those in the CoC have become so vulnerable to every kind of satanic device that excites the biased prejudices that have been so relentlessly pounded into their heads by heretics who attempt to hide the biblical necessity of God’s divine agency in salvation. For this is how the CoC’s sacramental system attempts to gain the monopoly on salvation, by appearing to be the only means of obtaining it, thereby making its “church” and its leaders all the more authoritative.

     Sadly, those who have been blinded by the god of this world, are unable to comprehend the fact that the only way one’s works can be acceptable to God for salvation, is if they fulfill God’s standard of righteousness perfectly, which is an absolute impossibility. 

“For as many as are of the WORKS of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them” (Gal. 3:10, emphasis mine).

God’s perfect standard of righteousness is unattainable by fallen, sinful man.  The only way one can be reconciled to the heavenly Father is by having Jesus’ perfect righteousness credited to their account by a sovereign act of God, Who alone can purify the heart by faith (Acts 15:8-9). God’s perfect standard of righteousness (the law) shows us our total depravity, whereas the gospel alone reveals the only cure….Jesus Christ.

Copyright ©2020 by Lee Anne Ferguson.

The evil spirit behind the CoC system masquerades itself under the banner of Christ for diabolical purposes, for the CoC is notorious for construing Scriptures, such as Romans 2:14-15, in order to create an obedience-based system of salvation, founded upon the common assumption that all are born with the law of God written on their hearts. Here the CoC utilized Rome’s “Natural Law” interpretation to promote the idea of man having the natural ability to get saved apart from divine intervention.

    Only by God’s sovereign, saving grace can the CoC scales fall from one’s eyes in order to spiritually see and love the beauty and cohesiveness of Scripture when rightly divided!! Because the Gentiles, being referred to in these verses, didn’t have the law of God naturally. Instead, they had the “WORKS of the law” written on their hearts, naturally, by virtue of the Fall.

“For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the WORK of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)”  (Rom. 2:14-15, emphasis mine).

God’s Word also reveals that “the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Rom. 8:7, emphasis mine). Therefore, we can only be accepted by God and have His law written on our hearts by virtue of being supernaturally regenerated by the Holy Spirit (e.g. Jer. 31:33, Ezek. 36:27). For by natural generation we are all “children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3) unless the “law of Christ” is written on the tablet of our heart by God’s gracious intervention, whereby we then become obedient partakers of His divine nature (e.g. Ps. 37:31, Isa. 51:7, 1 Cor. 9:21, 2 Cor. 3:3, Gal. 6:2).

“I will put My laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people” (Heb. 8:10).

     This true, born again conversion entirely differs from external religiosity, “common grace” and the common light of nature or conscience possessed by all humans, which distinguishes us from lower life forms that are not created in God’s image. Our heart is the seat of our conscience, and it’s at enmity with God and desperately wicked until made anew by God (e.g. Jer. 17:9, Rom. 8:7, Heb. 8:10).

     Although the CoC denies that its false version of salvation hinges on law, its so-called “works of obedience” assumes a legal standard of performance, for there must be a principle of law that’s being obeyed or performed. The very word “obedience” indicates a standard (a law) whereby behavior is determined.  So by basing salvation on works instead of true obedient faith in Jesus Christ alone, the CoC commits a fatal error, and is in complete opposition to Apostle Paul’s declaration in Romans of what true salvation is all about.

     Such a faulty foundation enables the CoC to invent false standards of performance that appeal to the unregenerate who want Christianity to be reduced to mere formalities that can be accomplished through human effort, which greatly appeals to the pride of fallen man. Such a sham salvation gives a false sense of spiritual superiority when one thinks that they are meeting such superficial standards of performance. And this is what causes many in the CoC to compare themselves with others, rather than God’s perfect holiness, which is why so many of its enslaved captives have fallen into spiritual bondage, pride and cookie-cutter conformity.

“…they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise” (2 Cor. 10:12).

Self-righteousness and vain glory must be driven out of our hearts by the supernatural illumination of the Holy Spirit giving us a divine revelation of just how fallen we truly are according to God’s perfect standard of righteousness, which has only been fulfilled in Christ Jesus. God’s sovereign, saving grace is our only hope of being given a renewed heart that is driven to Christ as our only hope of salvation. Only by God’s divine intervention can we be given a heart that will not depart from Him.

“And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me” (Jer. 32:40).

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding” (Prov. 9:10).

Just recently a leader of the satanic temple announced that satanists are now starting to share “inter-faith” platforms with so-called “Christians” who want to show their “tolerance and love” toward all “diversity” and all different kinds of “faiths.” Truly, this is the sad and tragic outcome of joining in ecumenical forces against the God and Savior of the Bible.

Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished; But the posterity of the righteous will be delivered” (Prov. 11:21).

We are truly living in the end times, where the rise of Anti-Christ is becoming more and more manifest, for God’s restraining hand is being lifted, so that all of the wicked will fulfill God’s decree for them to fill up the measure of His wrath upon them (Mt. 23:31-33, 1 Thess. 2:16, Rev. 15:1). Even though, they don’t even realize that they’re fulfilling God’s divine purpose.

“The Lord hath made all things for Himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil” (Prov. 16:4).

The wicked are so deceived that they think they will have as much “fun” in Hell as they had getting there, but they are terribly and tragically mistaken. Their post-modern view of Hell is a complete farce, for Jesus warned more about the eternal torments of Hell than He spoke about Heaven, in order to make it abundantly clear that the wicked will have no excuse for their rejection of the truth.

Arminianism has long been the preferred tool of satan, for every satanic cult partakes of the forbidden fruit of so-called “freewill.” In satanism this is re-worded as “Do what thou wilt.” They claim that this is the “whole of the law,” because their self-determining, self-governing, humanistic view of man being the measure of all things, was the original lie in the Garden of Eden. And it is still being propagated heavily today. Ever since the Fall, mankind has been corrupted with a completely messed up view of reality concerning the difference between good and evil.

For instance, Arminianism implies that the wicked hands that killed Jesus should not be held responsible if God infallibly decreed for them to do so (And He did…see Acts 2:23).  So according to this satanic view, even the devil must be held innocent….a monstrous consequence of Arminianism!!  This is how ridiculous things get when a belief system dictates that one must seek salvation through works, rather than by faith in Jesus’ perfect righteousness alone, which is imputed to all who fully entrust their souls to Him. 

“For they stumbled at that stumbling stone (Rom. 9:32).

This is why Arminianism twists Jeremiah 19:5 and other such verses, for these are commonly employed by those who display ignorance concerning the difference between God’s will of command and God’s will of decree, which I clearly go over on pages 156-157 of my book, and other chapters as well.  But I will now elaborate even more. For instance, in Jeremiah 19:5 it never crossed God’s mind to command anyone to offer their children as sacrifices to Baal.  Yet, He decreed that they would do so, or else it would have never happened.  In the same way, God never commanded the wicked to crucify His Son.  Yet, He decreed that they would do so (Acts 2:23).

God works in mysterious ways…. 

Likewise, God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac (Gen. 22:2)  Yet, He decreed that Abraham would not sacrifice Isaac (Gen. 12:2-3; 15:4-5, Gen. 21:12).  And He does all of these things for His own divinely-willed purposes. So for anyone to try to use such verses to prove that there are things that happen that are out of God’s control or beyond His ability to know, is a direct attack on Him and His Word.  

The biblical reality of free-agency within the confines of God’s decrees, is the exact opposite of Arminian “freewill.” For by nature, we inherited original sin guilt due to the Fall of Adam, or else there would be no condemnation (Rom. 5:16-18). Clearly, the Bible indicates in Ephesians 2:1 that we are dead in trespasses and sins unless our spirit has been supernaturally quickened and regenerated by the Holy Spirit.

In Romans 3:10-23, it shows us that the only thing unregenerate sinners can do is sin and run from God, unless God intervenes and changes them. That does not sound very “free” at all does it?? This is why natural, unregenerate, fallen mankind seeks acceptance and justification with God through works. For they naturally have the “work of the law” written on their hearts by virtue of the Fall. 

Now, dear reader, admire the beauty and perfect accuracy of Scripture!!….

“…who show the work of the law {in stark contrast to the singular “law of God”… e.g. Jer. 31:33, Heb. 10:16-17} written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them” (Rom. 2:15, emphasis and brackets mine).

Fallen humanity seeks to satisfy terrors of conscience by means of religious observances and moral works, in order to feel that they are at least “trying” to “do better,” which is a futile attempt to make up for the eternal offenses that they’ve committed against the eternal God of the Bible. For that would require sinless perfection this side of Heaven!!

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1 Jn. 1:8-10).

Their vain endeavors are an impossibility, for only Jesus’ perfect righteousness has fulfilled the works of the law perfectly on behalf of His people. Christians now have direct access, by saving faith in Christ, to the law of the Spirit of life that sets them free (true freedom, NOT “freewill” to reject Christ) from the law of sin and death, by virtue of His definite atoning sacrifice and constant, unfailing intercession on their behalf. This is crucial, because Christians are still capable of committing sin in the flesh. Hence, their constant dependency upon Jesus Christ, Who is their Advocate with the Father (1 Jn. 2:1).

Jesus’ earthly ministry was two-fold; He not only fulfilled God’s precepts perfectly, He also paid (IN FULL) the penalty that His people incur for breaking God’s precepts. Although Christians are perfected positionally in Christ (Heb. 10:14), they are still presently and personally in a battle against the remains of sin that indwells their unredeemed flesh and taints everything that they go to do. Or else they wouldn’t constantly need Jesus’ effectual intercession (Heb. 7:25).  Apostle Paul described this spiritual battle thoroughly….

“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Gal. 5:17).

Although God’s people cannot perfectly do all of the spiritual good that they want to do this side of Heaven (Rom. 7:19), their hope in Christ purifies their life (1 Jn. 3:3) so that they have a continually decreasing desire for anything that offends God or opposes His truth, because….

“all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world (1 Jn. 2:16).

Those who can freely sin and not be convicted and chastened by God… have no part in Him (Heb. 12:6-8). But those who are being sanctified and perfected in God’s love have a supernatural tendency to maintain a more watchful guard over their own hearts and minds. They are so effected by a sense of the love of Christ that their whole lives are ruled, dominated and motivated to stand against anything that is contrary to His holy nature.

Rather than remaining desensitized to evil and approving of it by being entertained or indoctrinated by it… their new, born again nature prefers to say…

“I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes. I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.” (Ps. 101:3).

However, those who serve the father of lies will continue to hate God’s people for standing against evil, and will continue to falsely accuse them of being hateful, unloving and judgmental for not turning a blind eye to evil.

“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12).

For the corrupt world system, that’s ruled by spiritual wickedness, promotes a skeptical and relative point of view that causes many people to bring confusion and a variety of preconceived notions to Scripture (such as a denial of absolute truth). And once they buy into all of the media addiction and indoctrination, they are then beyond the reach of normal reasoning processes. This is why “hate crime” laws are being passed all over the world now, as a prelude to the worst Christian persecution ever.

“But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now” (Gal. 4:29).

This new impending world order has been brought about by what satanists call the “law of inversion,” where good is called evil, and evil is called good, by those who hate the Jesus of the Bible. So true Christians will continue to be falsely accused, imprisoned and tortured to death, while true criminals and haters of God will increasingly be “set free” and rewarded with temporary pleasures that will only doom them for eternity.

“Whoever rewards evil for good, Evil will not depart from his house” (Prov. 17:13).

The wicked of this world think that they will no longer be “tormented” by Christians and their message of repentance and faith in Christ once they finally wipe them off the face of the earth. However, they are in for a HUGE surprise (Rev. 11:4-13)!!!!

Thankfully, God’s Word thoroughly explains the world’s emotional and irrational responses to the biblical reality of Hell and the biblical fact that there are heresies to be avoided at all costs. And Arminianism is at the very top of the list, for its false “freewill” to reject God doctrine, is at the very root of every false religious system in the world, including satanism, which should be a real eye-opener!!

“There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death” (Prov. 14:12).

“If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself” (1 Tim. 6:4-5).

Christians must learn when to put an end to strife (Prov. 20:3), for the wicked will not know when to shut up, walk away or hang up the phone. They are like “screamin’ demons,” for they feast daily upon violence and satanic influences, so that wickedness becomes a sport to them (Prov. 10:23). 

If such uncontrollable rage is discovered and encountered, it is crucial to get away from them when the opportunity presents itself, or else one will continue to be unjustly provoked by such blasphemous bullies who love to scream at the top of their lungs to try to get Christians to stumble (Prov. 28:10)

Christians must become very discerning, by learning how to test the spirits and how to put the wicked on trial before others, so that others too may fear.

“Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear” (1 Tim. 5:20).

 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 Jn. 4:1).

As a last resort, a Christian may have to take Apostle Paul’s lead and turn such deceived souls over to Satan, so that they may learn not to blaspheme (1 Tim. 1:20). Christians must refuse to be manipulated, dominated and intimidated by such aggressively corrupt souls “that call evil good, and good evil” (Isa. 5:20).   

Such master manipulators will try to magnify and exploit a Christian’s weaknesses and faults out of proportion, in an attempt to quiet their own gnawing, tormented conscience, and in an attempt to discredit a Christian’s testimony in Christ. Such cowardly perpetrators are those that take captive and capitalize upon gullible, undiscerning people, who are easy prey, for they are loaded down with guilt that gets exploited by such greedy guilt manipulators who covet everything they have, brainwash them and subvert their whole house. 

Such naïve people are always learning, but unable to come to a saving knowledge of the truth, so that they are unable to stand against the evil that overtakes their homes, their minds and eventually their eternal soul.

“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as their’s also was” (2 Tim. 3:5-9).

When standing for the truth, those who love lies will fiercely come against you. But if you ask them to prove their stance, they will NEVER be able to do it biblically or consistently.

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thess. 5:21).

As a result of their inability to counteract biblical evidence, they will become so frustrated and furious that they will try to shout you down as loud as their voice can go, for they foolishly believe that the deafening pitch of their voice can make up for their severe lack of biblical understanding. Such blasphemous bullies must be disciplined harshly and rebuked sharply (Prov. 15:10), for they subvert whole households (Titus 1:10-13), and will attempt to hinder a Christians ability to even hear themselves think.

In such cases, Christians may have to follow God’s lead to…

“Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew My people their transgression” (Isa. 51:8).

Evangelists often have to try to get their voice above scoffers that blast blasphemies against them and the truth, for such shady souls are attempting to keep others from hearing the truth. We must also recognize when a scoffer is trying to draw us into an argument and pull us down a rabbit hole.  Once we catch on to their wicked schemes, we must draw the line and let God deal with them…and He will!!  

“Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you” (Prov. 9:8). Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave, Yes, strife and reproach will cease” (Prov. 22:10).

There’s a time and there’s a place for everything (Eccl. 3).  According to Scripture, different situations call for different approaches.  Some can be dealt with compassionately, while others are so deep in sin and darkness that they must be “pulled out of the fire,” so to speak, by employing more severe methods.

“And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh” (Jude 22-23).

It is crucial for Christians to go out and witness “two by two” (at least), for that’s what Jesus commissions His disciples to do (Mk. 6:7). Because one witness can always supply what the other one lacks, which is especially valuable when dealing with unreasonable and wicked wolves. For the world is becoming more and more hostile against the gospel, and worldlings will always attempt to entangle and provoke Christians, for they are insanely jealous of a Christian’s spiritual peace.

In such cases, the second witness is often able to de-escalate the situation, so that the others can escape to safety and quietness, where their frazzled nerves can calm down, after exposure to such dark, demonic forces.  This very scenario happened to me just recently, which makes me even more thankful than ever for God’s answer to my prayers for protection, and for God’s “two by two” pattern of protection. And, thank God, in this recent situation….a threefold cord was even harder for the enemy to break!!

“And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Eccl. 4:12).

Jesus said:

“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law” (Mt. 10:34-35).

“For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three” (Lk. 12:52).

There comes a time when Christian’s must “shake the dust off their feet” against those who will not hear their words (Mt. 10:14). Jesus even warned His followers not to throw precious pearls to pigs who will only resent it, as if a stone had been thrown at them (Mt. 7:6). By their fruits one can discern what sort they are of.

“Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.” (Prov. 23:9).

Such demonically driven souls are on extremely dangerous ground, and so they become exceedingly dangerous to others. But they are so desensitized to evil that they think their ridiculously rebellious reactions are normal.  So much so, that they will tower over their victim and spew forth their flying fits of rage in the presence of small children and babies, and will defend others who do so. 

When this happened to my daughter-in-law recently (because she had defended and promoted my book), she had to try to push them out of her face, while I called for help and made sure that her and my little traumatized grand-daughters were delivered to safety before taking others in with me to confront such ravenous wolves that hate the gospel and those who stand for it. 

“Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven” (Mt. 7:20-21). “Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right” (Prov. 20:11).

From such painful experiences I’ve learned that when a Christian rebukes and confronts the disgusting filthiness of such cruel, unregenerate souls in a normal and godly way (shock and righteous indignation), they will mock and falsely accuse the Christians of over-reacting. When, in fact, someone in the flesh, rather than the spirit, would have physically went off on them, for their mouth was calling for blows (Prov. 18:6).  

Yet, such deluded souls will attempt to dishonestly slander and make more of Christian’s shortcomings than justice will allow. They will even mock a Christian’s admitted weaknesses, which would be overlooked in others, while minimizing their own extreme madness.  

“Lying lips are abomination to the Lord (Prov. 12:22). “A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame” (Prov. 13:5). “An evildoer gives heed to false lips; A liar listens eagerly to a spiteful tongue” (Prov. 17:4).

Obstinate rebels become such compulsive liars that they begin to believe their own lies, for God chooses their delusions.

“I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before Mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not” (Isa. 66:4).

Such unhinged and beguiled souls are often beyond the reach of the gospel, for they have rejected it for so long that they have been hardened for judgment, which means that we must try to keep our distance from them while God’s wrath abides upon them, or else we could become partakers of the plagues that will inevitably come upon them in due season, if God does not grant them repentance and saving faith in the true gospel.  In such instances, we, as Christians, must give place to God’s vengeance, by refusing to avenge ourselves.

“The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead” (Prov. 11:8, 12:13-22; 23:9).

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Eph. 6:10-13).

Copyright ©2020 by Lee Anne Ferguson.

What does this mean?  Does it mean that we should compromise our testimony just so we can have peace with unbelieving and possibly unreasonable parents who may try to get us to back down on the truth to the point of committing treason against Christ? Does it mean that we should subject ourselves to severe abuse or their threats to slander us or gossip about us if we continue to expose their false belief system? Absolutely NOT!

But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols: I am the Lord your God; walk in My statutes, and keep My judgments, and do them” (Ezek. 20:18-19).

Though we are required to honor parental figures, that does not mean that we should compromise with those who are ungodly, and we are under no biblical obligation to admire them at a personal level.  If a parental figure ever tempts us to do something that clearly contradicts God’s Word, we must obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29).

Nevertheless, we are obligated to pray for them and to make sure they are taken care of, if they will allow us to, for some are sadly bent on self-destruction and we cannot allow ourselves to go down with their ship.  But, we are to meekly and gently give them the gospel, despite the inevitable persecution that will likely follow. And only by God’s grace can we maintain biblical boundaries while still retaining respect for their God-given position.

“If a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Gal. 6:1).

We must also ask ourselves, would it truly be honoring a parent, or the family unit as a whole, if a professing Christian kept quiet about the gospel and pretended all was well, even though their loved ones may be in a false religious cult?  Moreover, would it be honoring Christ above all else?

Would it be truly honorable to allow the entire family to continue to think that their loved one made it to heaven based on their own morality, their own works, their own righteousness?  Would it truly be honorable to attribute a perceived entrance into Heaven to a false religious system?  Would it be honorable and loving to give false assurance to someone who is believing a false gospel that leads to Hell for eternity?

Would it truly be honoring a deceased parental figure if we led the rest of the family into believing they were surely in Heaven, even if there were strong, biblical indicators that they may be in Hell?  What if they are like the rich man in Jesus’ parable, suffering in eternal flames, begging and pleading for someone to go and warn the rest of their family? (Lk. 16:19-31). What if YOU are the one that is supposed to warn the rest of your family instead of pretending everything is okay?

Would you be doing such a deceased loved one any favors if you end up in the same miserable place they may be in?  Would you really be fulfilling their wishes if you failed to take into consideration the eternal revelation they have now received since their death? Would you be doing them any favors by not warning the rest of their family about Hell, or by neglecting the Christian duty to persuade their remaining family members of the worth of the Savior?

Throughout Scripture it is emphasized time and time again how God’s people have ALWAYS had to acknowledge the iniquity of their “fathers,” their elders, their ancestors.  And this was NOT considered to be dishonor, for according to Scripture, it has obviously ALWAYS been crucial for us to be constantly reminded and warned of what might happen to us if we follow in the same sinful pattern as our apostate ancestors.  

Jesus Himself CLEARLY exemplified this for us:

“Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” (Mt. 23:31-33)

“He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Mt. 10:37).

Jesus even said to the man who wanted to delay his discipleship in order to bury his father, “Follow Me; and let the dead bury their dead.” (Mt. 8:22).

We are to NEVER have a stronger love for people and ourselves than for God. No wonder Jesus said the first commandment is to love God with all of our heart, mind, spirit and strength (Mk. 12:30-31). THEN and only then are we commanded to love others as ourselves. Jesus made it clear that our allegiance to God and His cause must supersede all else, even our own parents whom we are commanded to honor. He warns that if it doesn’t, we are not worthy to be His disciples (Mt. 10:37-38, Lk. 14:26).

Jesus proved that what seemed to the world to be a sin of disrespect and cruelty toward His closest earthly relations, was NOT that at all, especially in light of His higher calling (Mt. 12:47-49, Lk. 2:49).  Therefore, the ultimate way to honor parents is to share the gospel with them. We do NOT honor them or do them any favors if we neglect the value and importance of their eternal soul. We do NOT honor them or do them any favors if we neglect our Christian duty to try to persuade them of their desperate need of God’s gifts of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Worse yet, that would NOT honor the Lord.

We would do well to heed the example set forth throughout God’s Word:

“We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against Thee” (Jer. 14:20).

“The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree” (Acts 5:29-31).

In Acts 7:2, when Stephen said, “Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken,” he was honoring their importance and value, for why else would he risk his life to give them an entire detailed testimony of how sinful they and their ancestors had been for rejecting the only way that one can be justified before a holy God…the blood and perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ alone.

And yet, they stopped their ears and violently killed Stephen (vss. 57-60) simply for testifying of their evil deeds against God, and for praying that God would not charge them for their sin of stoning him to death; who happened to be the very one who was LOVING AND HONORING them enough to tell them of the only way they could escape Hell…..the true Messiah.

Will we also be persecuted for such a biblical stance?  YES.

Does this stance mean that we should live in perpetual guilt over our ancestors sin?  Absolutely NOT! That’s the whole point of the true gospel!!!  Unlike the false “social justice gospel” that’s being promoted on every TV screen, the true gospel of grace offers escape from the penalty and judgment that sin is due (Jn. 3:18). Unlike false political narratives that deceive many into believing they must live in perpetual repentance for the sins of others, the true gospel is that there is personal forgiveness of sins found only in Jesus Christ and His precious blood.

Finally, we cannot forget that we are to honor ALL people (1 Pet. 2:17), and naturally, this is to be initially learned in our own family unit.  Honor means to greatly esteem and respect someone’s importance and value.  And what could be more important and valuable than their eternal soul?  The greatness of its worth is beyond description.  Jesus said, “what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”(Mk. 8:36).

That’s how important and valuable the eternal soul is.  So much so, that Jesus warned about Hell more than He spoke about Heaven.  No wonder parents are commanded to never discourage their children by spitefully provoking them to anger (Col. 3:21), for they are to raise them in the admonition and nurture of the Lord (Eph. 6:4).

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6).

By doing so, parents help their children to learn how to honor them biblically.  It is a reciprocal relationship, where iron sharpens iron unto the glory of the Lord.

But when the primarily responsible party fails to raise their children in the ways of the Lord, they cannot reasonably expect their children to hold to a standard that they themselves do not hold to. And parents cannot freely give what they themselves have not been freely given (Rom. 8:32).

This is where the gospel comes in, for at the heart level we have ALL broken ALL of the commands of God every single day of our life, for they cannot be reduced to mere surface-level formalities that can be accomplished by natural, human abilities. For the height, the depth and the width of God’s laws are unattainable by fallen humanity.  That’s why they serve as a mirror to give us a glorious glimpse of the greatness and holiness of God and how far we have fallen from His glory, so that we can realize the worth of the Savior.

I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad” (Psa. 119:96).

But false religion reduces Christianity to a mere system of moral codes that even the heathen will try to adhere to in order to feel better about themselves. For the spirit behind such systems wickedly promotes doctrines that attempt to place God within human reach by minimizing the severity of God’s judgment against all unrighteousness and our desperate need for Jesus’ righteousness to be imputed to our account by the sovereign mercy of God’s free grace so that we can be reconciled to the Father. For only then can we be renewed in God’s image by being conformed to the image of Christ in all of His ways (Rom. 8:20, Col. 3:10).

Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 18:3). So, all true Christians must lovingly and diligently warn their loved ones that unless they become like totally dependent children upon the righteousness of Christ alone, they will not be able to enter into God’s heavenly kingdom. “For many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Lk. 13:24).

Copyright ©2020 by Lee Anne Ferguson.