Pleasing Men or Pleasing God?
by Fred T. Di Lella

 

I have never been much of a fan of Bob Dylan.  Some of his lyrics, however, are quite interesting and thought provoking.  His song, “Gotta Serve Somebody,” really helps to illustrate a lot of what I have been thinking for several years:

“But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed.

You’re gonna have to serve somebody,

It may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” 

—Bob Dylan 1979 song “Gotta Serve Somebody.”

Dylan’s lyrics are reminiscent of several verses in Scripture. 

Will we …

• Serve life OR death,
• Serve good OR evil,
• Serve and love the world OR the Lord,
• Serve the devil OR God,
• Love money OR God,
• Please man OR God and His precious truth???

Deuteronomy 30:15-20 “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

Romans 6:16, 17 “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.”

Romans 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Ruth 1:15-16 “And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:” (AV)

2Peter 2:19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

We must ask ourselves the following questions every single day:

For whom are we living?

Whom are we serving?

Whom are we trying to please?

Whom do we fear?

As I have often mentioned in previous emails, I spend time studying church history and the contemporary church.  I must say that the contemporary church has caused me much grief and many hours of lost sleep.  Today, so many churches (and seminaries) are trying to please the world.  I am not just talking about the liberal, modernist churches, which openly deny that the Bible is the infallible, inerrant, true, authoritative, sufficient Word of God.  I am finding this horrific trend in “churches” that openly proclaim that they “believe” the fundamentals of the faith, whatever they independently have decided the fundamentals to be.

Instead of being loyal to God, these “churches” are men-pleasers.  They are so concerned about not offending other people, that they dishonor God, His Name, His holy person, His works, His statutes, His commandments, His worship, His church government, His sacraments, and His perfect and holy word.

Someone might say, what on earth are you trying to say, man!?  I will tell you what I am saying: Most of the current day church is a compromised mess and is blaspheming the Lord’s Holy Name.  This lukewarm brand of religious pseudo-christianity deeply hurts and offends me.  It breaks my heart, echoing the words of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 13:22 “Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:”

I will provide some very obvious examples first.  There are abominably defiant congregations that wrongfully call themselves churches that have women pastors and Elders.  Some of these false churches call their women “elders” trustees.  The Bible is 100% clear on the issue of the role of men and women.  There is no gray area.  Shame on you, who tolerate this wicked behavior.  Besides the Roman church, the feminist movement is the worst terrorist organization in this country. 

The feminists are the cause of so many wicked behaviors, attitudes, practices, and outcomes around the world.  Some of the horrifying DIRECT results of the wicked feminists are:

1. Abortion (Abortions have brutally murdered millions of precious babies in their mothers’ wombs, and even slaughtered some that have actually been born. This is all in the name of a “woman’s right to choose.”  Cold blooded murder is cold blooded murder.  No man or woman has the right to murder their offspring.)
2. Open And Accepted (and expected) Fornication
3. Flagrant Immodesty
4. Unlawful Sodomite And Lesbian perversions, and even“Marriages.”
5. Sodomite and Lesbian Movements – It is a scientific fact that over 90% of homosexuals come from a home where the woman is the dominant individual in the marriage and family. (I am talking about actual science, not the fake science of today.)
6. Transgenders
7. Transvestites
8. Effeminate Men
9. Aggressive, Outspoken, Unsubmissive Women (As God declares: “It is better to live on the corner of a house top than to live with a contentious woman.” God commands women to be submissive to their own husbands in all things, just as to Christ.  God commands man to be the head of the home.  God commands women to be keepers-at-home.  God commands that women are to be silent in Church.  God commands women to be modest and quiet. As police studies reveal, the majority of domestic violence situations commence with the woman hitting the man.  Undeniably, there are also situations where the man is physically abusive.)
10. Women Officers in Churches
11. The Rampant Divorce Rates
12. The Abysmally High Percentage of People “Living Together” (That is living in Fornication)
13. Due to Number 12, the divorce rate is actually much higher, when you include all the “’fornication ‘marriages’” that almost always end in dissolution of the relationship.
14. Isaiah 3:12 says that it is a woe, a curse, a judgment for women to rule. (We surely can see how accursed our church and society have become by the number of weak-kneed, linguine-spined, effeminate men, sodomites, transvestites, and transgenders; and also the growing numbers of women in “power and leadership.”)

In light of God’s Commands and the disastrous consequences of women unlawfully having positions of teaching and authority, I have seen many “churches,” even so-called “reformed” churches, that are claiming that the role of women is a “non-essential.”  I will ask: A “non-essential” for whom?  This is certainly not a non-essential to God!  Feminism is an abomination to God and to all genuine Christians.

The roles of man and woman are designed and commanded by God.  In whose church do you claim to be a member?  With some prodding, most individuals will eventually say that it is God’s Church.  If you claim that it is God’s Church, then how can you totally disobey HIS rules for HIS Church?  God absolutely forbids women to be teachers or leaders in HIS Church.  God does not even allow women to speak in HIS Church.  God does not permit women to ask questions in HIS Church.  Women are to asks their questions from the Head of their homes, namely their Husbands.  There is no excuse for a church to have a woman teacher, elder, or deacon.  God forbids women to be in authority over men, or to teach men.  What right do you have to say that God’s Commandments are NON-essentials?

Then, there are the “churches” that say that all christians (i.e., all christians by the compromisers’ definition) comprise the true church.  They say that we are all brothers and sisters.  These tolerationist “churches,” even some so-called “reformed” churches, neglect almost all the orthodox creeds, confessions, and catechisms of the Church, which is the pillar and ground of the truth.  They brazenly spit on their spiritual ancestors’ suffering and accomplishments in formulating creeds, confessions, and catechisms, which were prayerfully and studiously written for the purity and protection of God’s holy Church. 

These “loving” and all-embracing “christians” establish broad and primitive creeds for their churches.  Say they, “Oh, we embrace everyone that holds to the Apostles’ Creed.”  What a ridiculous confession for a church, especially for a so-called reformed church in this day!  What about the creedal and confessional progression, as orthodoxy was attacked on various indispensable doctrines such as: the Trinity, the Deity of Christ, the Persons of the Trinity, the two natures of Christ, the Church, True Worship, the Anti-Christ, the Sacraments, etc.!?  The Apostles’ Creed did not even touch on many of the above examples of issues that the later Creeds, Canons, Councils, Confessions, and Catechisms prayerfully and passionately outlined in accordance with the Word of God.  A Pelagian, a Nestorian, a “Modalist,” an Arian, an Arminian, a Non-trinitarian, and many other types of heretics could say they agree with the Apostles’ Creed! 

These pernicious heretics (e.g., Pelagians, Nestorians, Modalists, Arians), however, would not be able to agree with the later Creeds, Canons, Councils, Confessions, and Catechisms, especially the Confessions of the Reformation.  What right do you have to besmirch the name Reformed, when you do not even embrace the Reformation Confessions, and also commit to them as your Church’s Confession of Faith.  I will answer: You have no right to call yourselves reformed, when you are not; just like a man cannot suddenly call himself a woman, and mandate that we call HIM “she” and HIM “her.”  Yes, I am being forthright.  Frankly, I am getting so weary and sick of all this compromise and toleration, especially the perpetrators’ phony “loving” smiles and gentle voices while they condescendingly spue their compromise and condemn the true Christians that obediently despise and stand against evil.

1John 2:3-5 “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.”

John 7:7 “The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.”

John 15:18-20 “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.”

John 14:15-24 “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.”

Then these same “reformed” people claim that it is o.k. to be an Arminian.  What?!  As the Reformers taught: “Arminianism is not Christianity.” The Reformers also declared that “Arminianism is Pelagianism of old raising its wicked head up out of the pit of hell.”   

A cardinal truth of the Bible, which, by the way, is also not taught in the Apostles’ Creed, is that Justification is by Faith alone in Christ alone.  If a person does not believe that his salvation and justification depend entirely on the Lord Jesus Christ, he is not a Christian.  An Arminian definitely does not believe in Biblical Justification and Salvation.  One example among many is that an Arminian believes he can lose his salvation.  An Arminian, therefore, believes that he personally must maintain and keep his salvation.  An Arminian is, therefore, trusting in himself and not entirely in the Lord Jesus Christ. An Arminian is not completely trusting in Christ.  (Actually, a Arminian is not trusting in Christ at all.)  An Arminian does not believe in total depravity; so, he does not understand the Gospel and the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Ultimately, an Arminian is working for his salvation.

These same “loving,” “reformed” compromisers say that Charismatics are dear brethren, too.

Note Well à CHARISMATICS do NOT believe in the Sufficiency of Scripture. 

• Surely, denying the sufficiency of Scripture is not a mere NON-essential.
• We have absolutely no liberty to add to God’s words. God pronounces curses and woes upon people that add anything (or take away anything from) His Word.
• In addition, these so-called Charismatic prophecies, tongues, “words of knowledge,” and “Rema words” are often chaotic in nature and in direct contradiction of God’s word.
• Moreover, most Charismatics are Arminians.
• There are also numerous Charismatic women “pastors and preachers.” God undoubtedly and categorically forbids women to be pastors and preachers. 
• The CHARISMATICS provide a clear example that: Heresies and heretics never stand alone!

I must take the next step.  There are at least four major disastrous characteristics evident among these “reformed” compromisers and tolerationists:

1. The compromising, tolerationist churches do not hate evil. This may be because they do not know what evil is.  It may also be that they do not fear God, because “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.”  I could spend a lot of time on this one point.  I have written a document called “Ye that Love the Lord, Hate Evil.”  Oh, if only the Church would realize how indispensably important it is to obey God in hating evil.  Look at the Old Testament Church.  They disobeyed God by tolerating and not hating evil.  This compromise and toleration, which was outright disobedience to God, led to Israel themselves practicing the same evils that they were commanded to hate and destroy.  Justly and inevitably, the disobedience of the Jews in not hating evil led to their captivity and ruin.

Psalm 36:4 He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil. [Note well: The wicked are the people that do not hate evil.]

Psalm 97:10 “Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.”

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

Psalm 119:104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.

Psalm 119:27, 28 “Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.”

Psalm 119:163 I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.

Proverbs 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Romans 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation [without hypocrisy, literally, without acting]. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

2. The compromising, tolerationist churches are men-pleasers. Almost assuredly, these compromisers and tolerationists have no desire to offend others.  They want everyone to be their friends, even though the orthodox Creeds, Canons, Councils, Confessions, and Catechisms, and especially the Confessions of the Reformation, which condemningly call these compromising churches’ friends heretics, and their pernicious beliefs “excrement.”  Remember, “Friendship with the world is enmity with God!”

Galatians 1:10 “For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”

Luke 6:26 “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.”

1Thessalonians 2:4 “But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.”

James 4:4 “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”

1John 2:15 “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

3. The compromising “churches” fear men and not God. They are afraid to hurt other peoples’ feelings and do not fear God, who receives the greatest offense from their compromise and toleration of evil.  The compromising “churches” are not terrified to often God.  The tolerationist “churches” are not terrified to offend God’s true people that obediently hate and stand against evil.  (These compromisers do not fear “the dread of Jacob.”) These compromising “churches” are also fearful that other people may not like them.  They are scared that the world may call them intolerant and unloving.

Isaiah 5:20 “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

Proverbs 8:13 – The fear of the LORD [is] to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Psalms 34:4 – I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

Proverbs 29:25 – The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.

Isaiah 43:5 Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;

Isaiah 51: 12, 13 I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?

Proverbs 8:13 – The fear of the LORD [is] to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

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

John 12:43 “For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”

Luke 6:22 “Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you [from their company], and shall reproach [you], and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.”

John 7:7 “The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.”

 John 15:18 “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before [it hated] you.”

1John 3:13 “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.”

Matthew 10:21-22 “And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against [their] parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”

Proverbs 9:10 – The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy [is] understanding.

Isaiah 41:10 – Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

2 Timothy 1:7 – For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Psalm 3:1, 2, 6, 7 (A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.) LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.  Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.

Joshua 1:6-9 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Ezekiel 2:6-8 And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.

4. These compromising, tolerationist churches do not really love the truth. If you love the truth, you will hate evil. 

Psalm 97:10 “Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.”

Psalm 119:27, 28 “Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.”

Romans 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

Psalm 119:104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.

Psalm 119:163 I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.

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

Proverbs 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Psalm 34:14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

The wicked do not hate evil.  As Psalm 36 states: “he abhorheth not evil:”

Psalm 36:4 He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.

Over and over again throughout history, the Church outlined orthodox doctrines for the purity of the Church and the protection of its members from savage wolves (i.e., heretics) and the rest of the world.  At the same time, the church pronounced woes upon the individuals who taught false doctrines, along with their followers that believed and practiced the heretical false teachers’ beliefs. 

Repeatedly, we see the godly, orthodox church pastors proclaiming woe and anathema upon proponents of false doctrines.  The Church, the pillar and ground of the truth and the City of Righteousness, never ever said that any heretics were dear, beloved brethren and that these heretics had the liberty to believe “such unimportant,” “NON-essentials.” 

The Church, the pillar and ground of the truth, declared a heretic to be what he actually was: A Heretic.  Do we love the truth?  Are we genuine members of the Pillar and Ground of the Truth?

Or are we members of a conclave of compromising tolerationists, who say?

1. “I’m o.k. You’re o.k.”
2. “The Bible is loaded with NON-essentials, and therefore, you [heretics] have the right to believe and do whatever you want in regard to the abundance of all the NON-essentials.”
3. “See, we can all get along. After all, we are all brothers in the Lord.” 

What a horrific travesty!  This compromise and toleration does not come from God or from His Word.  This compromise and toleration is an abomination to God.

These compromisers and tolerationists remind me of the border crisis in deep south Texas, where I live.  The ungodly administration has opened the doors for all kinds of dangerous felons to enter the country.  As a prison chaplain, I personally met and talked with many illegal immigrants such as a head of the Mexican Mafia, a Drug Cartel Leader, Sex Traffickers, International Criminals wanted in several countries and by Interpol.  Once the church leaders remove the borders, the cornerstones, and the ancient boundaries; they are putrefying, and not purifying the church.  They are placing the Lord’s flock, whom they are supposed to protect, into grave and soul-destroying danger.

These compromisers and tolerationists turn the visible church, which is commanded to be the pillar and ground of the truth (and the very city of truth), into a putrefied cesspool of false doctrine and world-loving practices.  All this compromise and toleration is under the guise of “’Loving and accepting all ‘the brethren.’”  In reality, every bit of this compromise and toleration are clear signs of these compromised, tolerationist “churches:”

 

1. being men pleasers,
2. not hating evil,
3. loving the world,
4. not loving the truth,
5. fearing men, and
6. not fearing God.

My dearest Christian brother, Joe, went to be with the Lord last year.  He served God’s people for decades.  He also served 3 active-duty tours in Vietnam.  I have often read the eulogy of the Reformer John Knox: “Here lies a man that never feared the face of a man.”  I would also pay that same tribute to my brother Joe with those very words.  He served as a missionary at his own expense, refusing remuneration from the mission group.  He preached the true Christian religion boldly.  He courageously and articulately spoke out devoid of any fear against so-called “reformed” professors that taught in contradiction to the Westminster Standards.  Joe publicly challenged the “reformed professors’” violations of their ordination vows, and of course, their heretical teachings. 

On one occasion, Joe told a Professor that what he was teaching was a direct contradiction of the Westminster Standards.  The Professor told Joe that he did not believe what the Westminster Standards taught on that subject.  Joe then asked the Professor if he had been ordained in the XXX Presbyterian Church.  The Professor said: “Of course, I am ordained in the XXX.  I could not teach at this Seminary if I were not ordained in the XXX.”  Joe then said: “Did you not make a solemn vow that you would teach, uphold, and defend the doctrines contained in the Westminster Standards.  You also took an oath before God and man that you would notify your session, the Seminary, and the Presbytery if you ever disagreed with any point in the Westminster Standards?”  The President and Professor of the Seminary then said: “You are really naive, Joe.  There is no Presbyterian that actually believes the Westminster Standards.”  Joe responded: “I believe the Westminster Standards.  I know others like Professor Fred Di Lella and Pastor Sinclair Lewis that firmly believe the Westminster Standards without any exceptions.”  The President and Professor of the Seminary then repeated: “You are just so naive, Joe.  Every Presbyterian says that he believes the Westminster Standards, only so he can be ordained in the XXX.  But no one actually believes the Standards.”  Joe, then said: “You may think that I am naive, but I know that you are a Liar!”

Another Professor, the Dean of the Seminary, argued with Joe and poisoned many other students’ minds (and future pastors) about Isaiah 7:14. The Dean said that Isaiah 7:14 did not refer to the Virgin Birth.  Joe responded: “God says that Isaiah 7:14 is a prophecy of the virgin birth in Matthew 1:23.” In lengthy double-speak, the Dean and Professor told Joe that he was wrong. 

I could continue but will not.  I will only say that the President and Dean of this allegedly conservative and Reformed Seminary followed the inevitable pattern of heresy: Heresies and heretics never stand alone.

Joe was a godly man and friend.  Joe regularly wrote warnings to people he loved regarding the church’s slide into apostacy.  I quote an excerpt of one of his letters as an example:

“Warning:  The following article prefaced by my comments are going to offend many if not all readers, therefore you should feel free to delete [it] immediately.  If you are offended, it is not me that offends you, it is the truth that bothers you.

[Read the following] Interesting article.  We continue our return to Rome and deny it.  The Reformers and Puritans would be appalled at our disregard for the Protestant principles recovered in the first and second Reformations. We celebrate a “holy day” with no Scriptural warrant, in clear violation of Scripture, the Confessions, the Regulative Principle Of Worship and a strong desire to be conformed to the world to maintain high membership and giving, rather than Glorifying and Honoring the Triune God.  So called leaders and weak cowardly ministers compromise in so many ways trying to be “relevant” rather than faithful to Scriptures and God Almighty. The church that I attend didn’t cancel, but greatly modified to accommodate this idolatry and abomination called “Christmas”. 

Entertainment has replaced Worship in many churches.  Emphasis on things like Handel’s Messiah, rather than Scripture and proper worship meant to draw crowds and tickle ears.  How very sad that we have “advanced” beyond scripture, the Protestant Standards, history and [we] now believe that we are smarter and better qualified than God and the great men of the past to “know” what is: “what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”. 

John Knox (the great Scottish Reformer) wrote the following syllogism concerning the idolatry of the Mass:

John Knox [THE FIRST SYLLOGISM]

“The Mass is Idolatry. All worshipping, honoring, or service invented by the brain of man in the religion of God, without his own express commandment, is idolatry. The Mass is invented by the brain of man, without any commandment of God; therefore, it is idolatry.”

[I add my comments here: John Knox rightfully called the mass cannibalism and idolatry. Please also realize that the title “christmas” comes from the Papists’ “Christ’s Mass.”]

Below, I am listing additional results of the Church’s compromise and toleration.  These examples are only the tip of the iceberg in contemporary Christendom’s plethora of heretical doctrines and practices.  Heresy never stands alone.  It produces more and more wicked heretical offspring.  Heresy also befriends and begets other heterodox teachings, deceived disciples, and passionate proponents of heresy: 

A self-proclaimed “reformed” church’s Pastor Search

Requirements and Duties for our new Pastor

Requirements:

• Open-minded theology
• Compassionate with good communication skills
• Leadership ability to lead the governing Session and our deacons.
• Develop relationships with the congregants, the local community, the Presbytery of Long Island, and the Presbyterian Church.
• Able to get people to collaborate and work together fostering open dialogue.
• Act as a change agent as the world changes and the church must follow suit.

Duties:

• Lead us in reverent worship with inspiring sermons and perform baptisms, marriages, funerals, and communion as required.
• Enjoy the shared fellowship among churchgoers and counsel them or refer them to professionals if needed.
• Visit the sick and elderly.
• Develop a rapport with our children and grow our vital Christian education program.
• Help support our diverse congregational population: young, old, business owners, blue collar, different races, nationalities, sexual orientations.

God’s Word clearly teaches the opposite of what the above, abominable “church” desires in its future “pastor:”

1John 2:15 “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

James 4:4 “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”

Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Another “reformed” church’s horrid example

– seeks a pastor who is spiritually mature [My comment: spiritually mature in what???], compassionate, and collaborative. They [My comment: “They” does not refer to one person.  Rather, it is a sorry euphemism for He or SHE] must be an effective communicator, an inspiring and intellectual preacher and worship leader who is authentic and possesses the ability to attract a diverse/ecumenical congregation. WHC’s vision is to continue to nurture and grow this friendly and inclusive ecumenical church while providing a sanctuary for people of all ages to worship, and to demonstrate God’s love by providing assistance in our community and the world. We strive to evolve along with societal changes and to keep open minds. We appreciate intelligent, thoughtful, and relevant sermons combined with traditional liturgies and music. The congregation places high value on our ecumenical style of worship and the freedom to explore and understand our faith. Our vision includes the illumination of challenging concepts, greater involvement with one another and our community, growth in church attendance, and the preservation of our sacred grounds.

Another “reformed” church in its pastor search posting:

• “We are decidedly and delightfully diverse!”
• “We are wildly inclusive!”

Another “reformed” church

An allegedly conservative “reformed church” from a self-proclaimed “conservative” denomination notified me that they would not consider my application materials, because they said that the church and I were not in theological alignment.  The church website said that they fully agreed with the Westminster Standards.  My cover letter, my resume, and attending documents all make clear that I earnestly embrace and fully subscribe to the Westminster Standards.  I asked the Church what they could possibly mean by their statement about us not being in theological alignment.  I also reminded them that all church officers in their denomination must take an oath before God and the Presbytery that they are in full agreement with the Westminster Standards. 

All the leaders of that church had individually and solemnly vowed that they would teach, uphold, and defend all the doctrines contained in the Westminster Standards.  Each of the leaders had also sworn that he would immediately notify his session and his presbytery if he ever came to disagree with any teaching in the Westminster Standards.  (The leaders of that Church were oath breakers, blasphemers, and deniers of the true religion.  As I had also expected, the “Church leaders” also did not respond to any of my questions.)

 

Christianity Today Staff Made Extensive Campaign Donations Between 2015 And 2022 …All Went To Democrats. | The Daily Wire

www.dailywire

[All their donations were to pro-feminist, pro-abortion, pro-LGBQTDemocrat candidates!]

 

End Wokeness

 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1703831762902622542

See the Above Video Link for “‘Cathedral of ‘Hope’ church’” in Texas.

• The meeting was entirely WOKE. The guests of honor were transvestites, men dressed like very flashy and immodest women.  It was an utterly disgusting “celebration” of perversion.
• An editor’s comment: I don’t know what religion this is, but it sure as hell isn’t Christianity.

@EndWokeness

 

I don’t know what religion this is, but it sure as heII isn’t Christianity

1:02 PM · Sep 18, 2023

848.2K

Views

Again, Please Note Well à ALL CHARISMATICS do NOT believe in the sufficiency of Scripture.  Surely, denying the sufficiency of Scripture is not a mere NON-essential.  We have absolutely no liberty to add to (nor take away from) God’s words. God pronounces curses and woes upon people that add anything (or take away anything from) His Word.  In addition, these so-called Charismatic prophecies, tongues, “words of knowledge,” and “Rema words” are often chaotic in nature and in direct contradiction of God’s word.  Moreover, most Charismatics are Arminians.  There are also numerous Charismatic women “pastors and preachers.”  Heresies and heretics never stand alone!

 

More Charismatic heresies à Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more   Bethel Pastor Says You Can Dictate What the Devil Does and What God Does Through Prayer and Prophecy. [Charismatic Pastor] Greg Locke Tapes Bible to a Baseball Bat and Smashes Barbie Dreamhouse During Sermon Illustration.

 

Female Pastor From Ministry Promoted by NOBTS Compares “White Christianity” to “Easy Mac.”

…According to Wilkes, white Christians are basically dishing out runny, microwaveable theology, whereas black Christianity is akin to a time-honored baked mac and cheese that “requires some sweat and requires some recipes that have been passed down verbally and not written down.” In her view, the former is inferior, almost a counterfeit, while the latter is authentic and superior. The entire analogy not only mangles biblical orthodoxy but also pits one race against another in matters of faith, suggesting that white Christians are not only theologically lazy but also arrogantly assume their “Easy Mac” version of Christianity is the only one that exists…

 

During “Worship Service,” SBC Megachurch Raves to LGBTQ Activist’s Song.

[The song,] which features Chris Stapleton was released in 2018 as part of Timberlake’s album “Man of the Woods.” The song delves into the idea of the difficulty in communicating effectively, especially in today’s world where everyone has a platform to voice their opinions. It questions the value of speaking out just for the sake of it and suggests that sometimes saying nothing at all can be more meaningful. Apparently, Church by the Glades is attempting to pre-empt criticism on social media by poisoning the well with the idea that not saying anything at all is better.

But one has to ask: why would this pastor believe that saying nothing about issues is better than speaking out? Why would he want to plant the idea in the collective mind of his congregation that it’s okay to listen to what a blaspheming pro-homosexual social activist has to say so long as it is hailed from the weirdos on stage at his church, but other people, particularly those who hold a biblical worldview on issues like sexual ethics, should just keep quiet? One can only wonder.

 

How the Contemporary Church Has Eroded and Perverted True Worship of the Living God.

 

When we take a look at biblical history, we find a pattern of worship that couldn’t be more distant from what we see in most modern churches today. Ancient Israel, a people set apart by God, given was meticulous laws and guidelines on how to worship the Creator of heaven and earth. It was an awe-stricken approach, deeply rooted in reverence and governed by God’s holy Word. The worship of God was never viewed as optional or negotiable. The intricate details of offerings, the role of the Levites, and the majesty of God displayed in the Ark of the Covenant—all were aimed to point God’s people to His glory. It was the central element of Israelite life and a failure to do so always ended with drastic consequences and judgment.

Fast forward to today, and what we witness is a drastic departure from historic biblical worship. Worship has been grossly misshaped, stripped of its sacredness, and redefined according to the impulses of popular culture. Worship leaders and their music teams have become nothing more than performers on stage broadcasting their talents to whatever agents might happen to run across them rather than humble servants leading the congregation in singing praises to God. While the capriciousness of collective ideology shapes the church’s worship service, the Word of God is often sidelined, reduced to a few-minute devotional tacked onto the end of a high-octane music set.

But let us be clear—true worship has always revolved around God’s Word. Whether it was the Levites reciting the Law, the reading of the Psalms, or the apostles expounding on the teachings of Christ in the early church, the proclamation of the Word of God was central to worship. In fact, it is impossible to genuinely worship God without acknowledging and submitting to His revealed truth. How can one claim to honor God while neglecting the very Word He has provided for our instruction and edification?

Many contemporary Evangelical churches have bifurcated worship, separating the music from the preaching of the Word. In such settings, “worship” typically refers solely to the musical or concert portion of the service, while the preaching is often viewed as a separate, even lesser, component. This is a serious error as the preaching of the Word of God is not a mere add-on. It is the foundation of worship. Our response to the preached Word—repentance, faith, obedience, awe, reverence—is itself an act of worship, honoring God by receiving and applying His truth.

Yet, the current trajectory is a grave one, where emotional experiences have supplanted biblical truths as the primary aim of worship. Take, for example, the many Evangelical and charismatic church movements that revolve primarily around their musical products. These congregations, widely popular and influencing millions globally, have clearly put a premium on creating an environment of emotionalism. The weightiness of God’s glory and the richness of sound doctrine have been sacrificed on the altar of a fleeting ecstatic high. Songs with repetitive lyrics and hypnotic musical arrangements or songs that mirror the pop culture around us are deliberately chosen to foster an emotional surge… 

SBC [Southern Baptist Church] Picks Pastor Who Brags About Women Pastors in His Church for Lady-Pastor Study Committee

Children’s Director at Acts 29 [a “fellowship of heretical churches”] Board Member’s Church Openly Supports Transgenderism and Black Lives Matter 

 

From the Babylon Bee — Dear Bee Reader of Indeterminate Gender,

 

Before science existed, the world was populated by primitive savages who thought there were only two genders.

 

Horrifying.

 

Then, a few years ago, SCIENCE was invented, and we learned that men could become women, women could become men, and anyone could actually just be any of hundreds of different genders. It was a time of enlightenment, inclusion, and jaw-dropping profitability at children’s gender clinics — but it was also a time of deep confusion due to widespread bigotry, factually accurate biology textbooks, and so-called “common sense.”

 

That’s why the minds behind The Babylon Bee have written The Babylon Bee Guide to Gender — not just to clear away your confusion, but to shame you into compliance. You will learn more about gender theory than you ever knew existed, find out how to choose your own gender (from our updated list of 437 possible genders), and more.

 

Gaggle of Queers and Queer Activists Crash

at the “Christian” Dove Awards

JEFF of the Dissenter, October 18

 

Annually, TBN hosts the Dove Awards, which is the Christian-themed version of the Pagan celebrity culture’s Grammy Awards. Like the Grammy Awards, the Dove Awards spotlights popular Christian artists and platforms them to receive all the glory and honor for their contribution to the music industry.

Yet, you will be hard-pressed to find a single recipient of a Dove Award to be a biblically sound, passionate Christian voice in the Church. I can’t think of a single one. Dove Awards are generally given to those who approve of homosexuality…

 

[I have inserted the following verses into this grievous narrative.]

Galatians 1:10 “For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”

1John 2:15 “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

James 4:4 “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”

Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

1Thessalonians 2:4 “But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.”

 

The Dissenter: Preston Sprinkle and Guest Say Christian Parents Should Allow “LGBT” Children to Start Dating at 16.

 

Andy Stanley and his associated churches have all been under fire in recent months after a series of exposés outing North Point as not simply tolerant, but completely embracing of homosexuality.

The Dissenter has published numerous articles demonstrating Stanley’s complete apostasy on this issue as well as other publications.

A few years ago, it became clear that Andy Stanley was beginning to embrace a pro-homosexual, pro-feminist worldview for his church. Andy Stanley’s co-pastor once told the mother of an openly gay and practicing lesbian that her daughter was saved.

A few years ago, we broke the news, his church baptized an openly gay man who clearly identifies himself as a homosexual living a homosexual lifestyle. Unreal!

Since we broke that news in 2021, an avalanche of information has been coming out of North Point regarding their pro-homosexual stance. A few months ago, another video surfaced where Andy Stanley told the congregation that some homosexuals who “love Jesus” have a stronger faith than most Christians.

Recently, it also came to our attention that not only is North Point baptizing open homosexuals, but also baptizing openly “transgender” people. In this video, a woman pastor named Elaine Scott baptizes Troy Zapp, a woman who is a practicing lesbian and now identifies, acts, and dresses like a man and has assumed a male name.

So why is it that so many open, practicing sexually immoral people feel so comfortable expressing their aberrant sexuality at North Point? Well, our friends at our sister publication, Protestia, infiltrated North Point Community Church’s gay-affirming Unconditional Conference and has published what they heard. To say the least, what was said at this conference explains so much…

Former Southern Baptist Convention president, JD Greear, once said that churches should be the safest places for homosexuals to come out of the closet. In that same sermon, he said that Christians should stand up against discrimination in the “LGBTQ community,” and that those Christians who don’t, well, they’re “dressed up in Satan clothes.” So if a church were to take Greear’s advice and implement that into church policy, what exactly would that look like?

It would look like Andy Stanley’s North Point Community Church.

 

You’ve probably heard of Zach Lambert if you follow Christian social media or the blogosphere at all. Lambert is a radical.

PUMPKIN SPICE COMMUNION with Idolatrous Crosses engraved.

(A “presbyterian” “church”)

 

As fall arrives in the Christian world, the occasional woke church and cringe congregation will advertise on their signs that they are serving pumpkin spice communion, which invariably ends up being just a gag or a way to get attention, such as the following congregations over the years.

[My additional comments:

Notice that the “church” not only blasphemes God in its “celebration” of the Lord’s Supper, but it also utterly defies God by having a woman so-called “pastor.”]

Recently, I wrote the following response to a Reformed pastor friend, who was crying out to me regarding the terrible mess in our country and around the world:

“Yes, things are very bad. Our ONLY hope is in the Lord. Today, our country is like a bus without brakes that has already gone over a cliff. The only answer is the Lord Jesus Christ. Sadly, the churches are so disobedient with rampant false teaching and idolatrous fake worship. The Reformers would be weeping if they could see the wicked condition of the contemporary church. The Lord commands us to be faithful and to endure to the end. When the church is in such abominable disobedience, how can we expect the world to be living righteously. The Lord said: the truth will set you free. When the church does not believe, teach, or obey the truth; what can we expect the society to do. Where the church goes, society goes. (Tragically today, the church is going where our wicked society is going.) 

The church is supposed to be “the pillar and ground of the truth,” the city of truth,” “a City of Righteousness.”  When the church hates the truth, what will society think about truth? The Lord Jesus Christ is the Truth and the Only hope. As the Lord Jesus prayed in John 17, “Sanctify them in the Truth, your Word is Truth.” My heart is breaking over the state of the church and our society.

I am praying for you, brother.”

 

 

“WRONG” PRONOUN USE: Murderer goes free.

[My comment: “You might ask how this outrageousness could ever take place? The answer is obvious: When the church is so messed up, how can you possibly expect society to be doing what is right?”]

Imagine a scenario where, after several months of searching, the police finally found a killer on the loose. All the evidence points to him being the killer. There’s video footage of him committing the crime. And yet still, during the trial, he gets off on a technicality: the judge used the wrong pronouns when referring to him.

Just last Wednesday, Michigan’s Supreme Court voted in favor of enacting a new rule that will force all of the judges and court personnel in the state to refer to plaintiffs, defendants, and lawyers by their preferred pronouns. Or, if they don’t wish to refer to those people by their preferred pronouns, they now have to use some verbal gymnastics.

“Ye that Love the Lord, HATE EVIL.”

Psalm 97:10

 

 

NOT MEN PLEASERS:

Galatians 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

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

Acts 4:19-20 “But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

Acts 5:29“Then Peter and the [other] apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.”

MEN PLEASERS:

Leviticus 26:17 And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.

Leviticus 26:13-21 “I [am] the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright. But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, [but] that ye break my covenant: I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits. And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.”

Acts 24:27 “But after two years Porcius Festus came into Felix’ room: and Felix, willing to shew the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound.”

Acts 25:9 “But Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure, answered Paul, and said, Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these things before me?”

1Corinthians 2:4, 5 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

Ephesians 6:6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

Colossians 3:22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God.

Rev. Fred Di Lella is pastor of Covenanted Reformation Church in TX which is part of The Biblical Reformed Synod of Christ the King.