Kwanzaa is an Insult to Black Americans

Here we are, the day after Christmas. Most folks are taking down their Christian decorations, but in a few places, some new holiday decor is being hung in their place. December 26 marks the first day of a week-long festival called Kwanzaa, supposedly a celebration of African heritage. But Kwanzaa is nothing of the sort. This sham of a holiday was invented by a crackpot of a man who cares for black persons about as much as the women he abused.

Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga (born Ronald Everett), professor of African studies at California State University, Long Beach. Karenga, a secular humanist, originally meant for Kwanzaa "to give a Black alternative to the existing holiday and give Blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and history rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society."

The name Kwanzaa comes from a Swahili phrase, matunda ya kwanzaa, meaning "first fruits of the harvest." To create his holiday, Karenga says he drew from African rituals and black national ideology. Each of the seven candles in the Kwanzaa kinara represent seven principles of African Heritage called the Nguzo Saba. They are as follows:

1. Umoja meaning "unity."
2. Kujichagulia meaning "self-Determination."
3. Ujima meaning "working together."
4. Ujamaa meaning "cooperative economics."
5. Nia meaning "purpose."
6. Kuumba meaning "creativity."
7. Imani meaning "faith" (in people, not God).

The colors of Kwanzaa are represented in the kinara candles: green represents the fertile land of Africa, black represents the color of the skin of its people, and red represents the blood that was shed in the struggle for freedom. Kwanzaa decorations include colorful art and foods that represent African idealism. Ceremonies consist of showing gratitude to ancestors, drink offerings and feasts, and reading the African pledge and principles of blackness.

Once the holiday grew in popularity, Karenga softened his position on establishing Kwanzaa as an alternative to Christmas, and he encouraged black Americans of all faiths to participate. Still, as much as Karenga wants to insist that Kwanzaa is a secular holiday, it's more religious than even Hanukkah is. Drink offerings, or libation, are ritual offerings to a god or spirit—in the case of Kwanzaa, they're offerings to the spirits of dead persons.

Kwanzaa is a celebration of humanism, a worldview in which human values and fulfillment are the focus. The humanist proclaims people to be inherently good and moral and insists that we seek strictly secular or irreligious means to solving human problems. The Christian should recognize that this mindset is of the flesh and incompatible with our faith in Christ.

Romans 8:6-8 says, "For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile toward God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God."

James put it this way: "You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, 'He yearns jealously over the spirit that He has made to dwell in us'? But He gives more grace. Therefore, it says, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'" (James 4:4-6).

For the sake of argument, let's say Christmas once was a pagan holiday that became a Christian holiday. I don't believe Christmas originated from something pagan, but let's say that it did. Why can't people do that with Kwanzaa? Because even if Christmas came from, say, Saturnalia (the Roman feast held on December 17), it has since become something completely different. We don't call Christmas "Saturnalia" with Christian themes. Christmas is an entirely different holiday altogether. Therefore, if Christians were to do the same thing with Kwanzaa, it would become something so different, it wouldn't be Kwanzaa anymore.

Kwanzaa's seven principles teach that people can improve their lives by sheer will and determination. Even the holiday's founder hasn't lived up to that. Karenga experienced deep paranoia due to frequent drug use. He spent time in prison for torturing women, one of whom his own wife. He also started a black-power group called US, responsible for killing two members of the Black Panthers on the UCLA campus in 1969.

The Bible says, "None is righteous, no, not one," and, "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment" (Romans 3:10-12, Isaiah 64:6). No matter how good we think we can be, we will never solve the problem of our sinfulness. Jeremiah 17:5 says, "Thus says the Lord: 'Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.'"

Ironically, humanism never unifies humans. It always divides. Titus 3:3-5 explains that apart from Christ, we are "foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy."

Kwanzaa is strictly the invention of Maulana Karenga, a self-appointed name that means "Master Teacher" and "Keeper of Traditions" in Swahili. He was motivated by racial bitterness and piece-mealed bits of east-African lore and lingo to lure an audience into his anti-Christian, anti-people rhetoric.

In the book Scam: How the Black Leadership Exploits Black America, author and radio host Jesse Lee Peterson wrote the following:

Kwanzaa isn't a celebration of the African harvest; it is a political statement for the establishment of a separate black nation and racial hatred against whites.

When once asked why he designed Kwanzaa to take place around Christmas, Karenga explained, "People think it's African, but it's not. I came up with [the name] Kwanzaa because Black people wouldn't celebrate it if they knew it was American. Also, I put it around Christmas because I knew that's when a lot of Bloods would be partying."

Karenga has explained that his creation of Kwanzaa was motivated in part by hostility toward both Christianity and Judaism. Writing in his 1980 book Kawaida Theory, he claimed that Western religion "denies and diminishes human worth, capacity, potential, and achievement." He clearly opposed belief in God and other "spooks who threaten us if we don't worship them and demand we turn over our destiny and daily lives."

Remembering and celebrating one's heritage is not a bad thing, but Swahili is not the heritage of most African-Americans. To declare Kwanzaa is a celebration of what it means to be an African-American is an insult to black Americans. No one's heritage should be so cheap that their emotions can be manipulated by any felon that comes along using skin color to push his own agenda.

The Apostle Paul wrote, "So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us" (2 Thessalonians 2:15). The greatest tradition is faith in Christ, who has made His followers "a chosen race, a holy nation, a people for His own possession… Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people" (1 Peter 2:9-10). No ethnicity is greater or less than another, "for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).

It's unfortunate that Christmas can sometimes be as secular as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. But the underlying message of Christmas is still the gospel of Christ. Hanukkah and Kwanzaa often elevate man above God. Christmas is about how God became man. Jesus condescended Himself so that we might ascend to where He is!

This is the promise for those who fear God. Jesus said in Matthew 5:5, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." James 4:10 says, "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you."

This was taken from a chapter of the book "25 Christmas Myths and What the Bible Says," available on Amazon in print or for your Kindle. Click here!

5 Marriage Myths

This past Sunday, I preached on Ephesians 5:22-33, a sermon entitled Marriage as Christ Loves the Church. Wife, submit to your husband, as to the Lord. Husband, love your wife as Christ loves the church and gave Himself up for her. Marriage is not a man-made institution—it is made by God. He created marriage and gave it to us as a picture of the way Christ loves His church.

Jesus defined marriage this way: "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate" (Matthew 19:4-6).

Contrary to what the culture continues to impress upon us about the sexes, men and women are different. God has designated specific roles for the husband and the wife in a marriage, and they complement one another in strength and weakness within this one-flesh union. Ephesians 5:33 says, "Let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband." The husband and wife are both called to service, and they each serve in their own respective ways.

At the close of the sermon, I had planned on addressing and dispelling common marriage myths, but I ran out of time. Instead, I figured I could use that material for a blog! The following are five myths about marriage we need to stop repeating and believing.

MYTH: "It takes two to make the marriage stronger."

Surely you've heard, "It takes two to tango," or "It takes two to make a marriage, but only one to destroy it." There's some truth to these statements. Unfortunately, they are often made to shift blame in a troubled marriage—as if to say, "I did my part, but he wouldn't do his part. It takes two to tango, you know?"

The fact of the matter is this: if one person is willing to change, it can change the whole marriage.

When I'm alerted to a troubled marriage, I often hear first from one spouse. Very seldom does a couple come together and say, "We're a mess; please help!" In speaking with one spouse, I only hear one side. But one person who admits fault and wants counsel is enough to turn a marriage around for the better. There are things that one person can do that will transform the relationship.

In 1 Peter 3:1-6, the apostle Peter addresses the wives of unbelieving husbands. He says, "Even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives." The apostle Paul likewise says, "For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband... How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband whether you will save your wife?" (1 Corinthians 7:14, 16)

MYTH: "Marriage is 50/50."

This is the one myth I actually did get to in the sermon on Sunday. Another way of saying this is, "We need to meet each other half-way." But where is half-way? What is 50/50? Who draws these lines? The fact is, your spouse deserves all of you. Again, a wife is called to submit to her husband, and a husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church and gave Himself up for her (Ephesians 5:22, 25). How can you get out of that anything less than a total commitment to your marriage?

In the musical Oklahoma, the character Will Parker, an honest cowboy, is attempting to woo Ado Annie, a fickle girl who tends to lose self-control around men. He sings to her:

With me, it's all or nuthin'
Is it all or nuthin' with you
It can't be in between, it can't be now and then
No half and half romance will do

Even Rodgers and Hammerstein understood this! How much more should we as Christians?

Romans 12:10 says, "Outdo one another in showing honor." That doesn't mean you compete against one another in showing charity. It means you're willing to lead in showing charity. You will show love, patience, kindness, and overall grace toward others before they have given you a reason to love them. Apply that to your marriage. There is no in-between. It's all or nuthin'.

Consider also 1 Corinthians 7:4, which says, "For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does." A husband and a wife are one flesh (Genesis 2:24, Ephesians 5:31). Be so united to each other, you would not even be able to identify where that line would be if you tried to split it in half.

MYTH: "Marriage is all about compromise."

The reason I don't like this saying is because it sounds like marriage is about one or both persons continually having to concede to the other and often out of reluctance. Can that ever be a happy marriage? One of you will be happy, but not both of you, and even then you'll only be happy some of the time. Yes, there are occasions you may have to compromise, but that's not what marriage is all about.

In defining marriage, John MacArthur said, "Marriage is the one and only human relationship that includes sexual activity; and it is designed by God to be full of love, it is designed by God to be fulfilling." MacArthur went on to detail that marriage is designed by God for procreation, for partnership, and for pleasure. On Sunday, I added a fourth "P" and said that marriage was also for praise. We are to worship God with our marriage.

Ephesians 5:29-32 says, "For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of His body. 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This mystery is profound! And I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church." Then verse 33 again: "However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband."

Marriage is about Christ, not compromise. When we understand that our marriage is to point to our Messiah, it will change the entire marriage! We understand having the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). We understand forgiving one another as Christ has forgiven us (Colossians 3:13). We understand serving each other as Christ has served us (Mark 10:45). On and on it goes. We do all of this not out of reluctance but with joy, to the praise of our great God and Savior!

MYTH: "Don't air your dirty laundry."

Yes, there's this persistent lie that no one else needs to know about the problems you have in your marriage. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to discourage couples from taking that approach. If you want to have a healthy marriage, you need community. You need people to help you. That means you're going to have to let people in to your filthy closets sometimes.

Now, I'm not saying you have to live in a glass house where you're transparent about absolutely everything to everyone. But you also cannot put on these facades and fake personas making everyone believe that everything is okay. That is not going to help your marriage. In fact, it will do serious damage. You will find yourself wanting to live the lie believing you're happier in the dark than walking in the light of the truth.

We read in 1 John 1:6-7, "If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." That is as true for your marriage as it is for any other part of your Christian life.

Utilize the fellowship you have with the body of Christ, and have friends help you work out any problem areas in your marriage. Oh, and by the way, seek help from those you interact with personally, not people you know on the internet or from a distance who can't see and test the daily measure of your marriage. Galatians 6:2 says, "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." James 5:16 says, "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed."

MYTH: "Marriage counseling is for marriages in real trouble."

I've shared with my congregation how low my success rate is in helping couples turn their marriage around. Every once in a while, someone will try to use that admission against me, accusing me of being such a poor pastor that I can't even save anyone's marriage. But that's like faulting a police officer for being unable to save a jumper mid-fall.

Most pastors have a low success rate in saving marriages on the rocks. I reckon the same is true of many professional counselors. The reason for this is because many couples wait until their relation-ship has been dashed against the rocks by the storm before they put out a S.O.S. and ask for help. Again, seek assistance from others, especially from within the fellowship of your church, and don't wait until the end is nigh before you ask for it.

No marriage is so far gone that it is beyond saving. As I said on Sunday, if you know that the Spirit of God has raised Christ from the dead, He can also give life to your dead marriage (Romans 8:11). But why not call on the Lord before your marriage is being wrapped in burial clothes? You can prevent some of the biggest problems by getting help sooner rather than later. Have trusted counselors and strong accountability when the marriage is good, and the Grim Reaper of Marriages may never come knocking at your door.

In Conclusion

We come to believe myths because we hear them repeated over and over so often, they become as the truth to our ears. But we have been called not to conform to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). Build your marriage on truth, the rock of Christ Jesus, not the shifting sands of myths and endless speculations. Delight to honor God with your marriage.

I love my wife, and we have a beautiful marriage. But even the loveliest garden doesn't happen without a lot of work. Yes, it takes effort, it takes patience, and it takes love. But I promise you, with Christ's help, you also can have and enjoy a wonderful marriage. We have this guarantee: Christ will never leave us, nor forsake us; He will come to you; and His strength is made perfect in your weakness (Hebrews 13:5, John 14:18, 2 Corinthians 12:9).

Pick up the book "25 Christmas Myths and What the Bible Says" available now in paperback or for your Kindle!

40 Day Bible Reading Plan, an Overview of the Bible

This past Sunday, I preached on how to read your Bible (notes from that sermon coming in a future blog post). Toward the end of the sermon, I provided a 40-day Bible reading plan that gives the reader an overview of the Bible. What are the most important events you need to know? Several have e-mailed and asked for that list. Here it is!

Day 1
Genesis 1-2 — The Creation Account

Day 2
Genesis 3-4 — The Fall of Man

Day 3
Genesis 6, 8, 11:1-9 — The Flood and Tower of Babel

Day 4
Genesis 15, 17 — God’s Covenant with Abraham

Day 5
Genesis 18-19:29 — Sodom and Gomorrah

Day 6
Genesis 22 — Deliverance of Isaac

Day 7
Exodus 3-4 — God Calls Moses

Day 8
Exodus 20 — The Ten Commandments

Day 9
Joshua 1, 24 — Conquering the Promised Land

Day 10
1 Samuel 16-17 — David and Goliath

Day 11
1 Kings 3, 8:1-9:9 — King Solomon’s Wisdom and the Temple

Day 12
1 Kings 18 — Elijah and the Priests of Baal

Day 13
2 Kings 25 — The Siege of Jerusalem and Exile of Judah

Day 14
Daniel 1-2 — Daniel in Babylon

Day 15
Daniel 3, 6 — The Fiery Furnace, Daniel and the Lion’s Den

Day 16
Ezra 1, 3 — Rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem

Day 17
Psalms 1-2, 8 — Opening Psalms, How Excellent Your Name

Day 18
Psalms 13, 23, 42 — The Lord is My Shepherd

Day 19
Psalms 51, 91, 139 — Forgive Me, Search Me, and Know Me

Day 20
Isaiah 9, 53, 61 — Prophecy of the Coming Messiah

Day 21
Luke 1-2 — The Birth of Jesus

Day 22
John 1:1-18, Mark 1 — Who Jesus Is

Day 23
Matthew 5-7 — Sermon on the Mount

Day 24
John 3-4 — God so Loved the World

Day 25
John 5-6 — Jesus’ Miracles and Authority

Day 26
John 11-12 — Jesus Raises Lazarus, His Power Over Death

Day 27
John 16-17 — Christ’s Comfort and High Priestly Prayer

Day 28
Matthew 26-27 — Arrest and Crucifixion of Jesus

Day 29
John 20 — The Resurrection of Jesus

Day 30
Luke 24 — The Ascension of Jesus

Day 31
Acts 1-2 — Giving of the Holy Spirit

Day 32
Acts 9 — Conversion of Saul

Day 33
Acts 16-17 — The Gospel Spreads, Sermon at Mars Hill

Day 34
Romans 1-3 — Justification by Faith Alone

Day 35
Romans 6-8 — Battle with Sin, Life in the Spirit

Day 36
1 Corinthians 15 — The Power of the Resurrection

Day 37
Ephesians 1, 6 — As God’s Chosen Ones, Put On the Armor of God

Day 38
Philippians 1-2 (& 3-4) — The Example of Christ (Rejoice Always)

Day 39
Revelation 2-3 — Letters to the Churches

Day 40
Revelation 21-22 — The New Heaven and New Earth

Once Again, Critiquing the Most Popular Praise and Worship Songs

It's been three years since I first reviewed the most popular worship songs heard in church. This was a critique I planned on writing annually (Christian Copyright Licensing International releases their top 100 list every 6 months). But when 2017 rolled around, I looked at CCLI's top ten songs and saw that the list was almost exactly the same as the year before. Some of those songs are still in the top twenty even now, but I think the list has changed enough (and enough time has passed) that I'm able to do my review afresh.

Why is this important? Because the Bible says, "Test everything; hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21). The doctrine in even the songs that we sing must be as sound as the preaching. I'm going to examine not only the theology in the lyrics of these songs but also of the artists who sing them. If you wanted to enjoy these songs in the privacy of your home or singing along with them on the radio, that would be one thing. But do they belong in your church?

The following are the top 10 most popular praise songs according to CCLI. I'll give the title of the song and who the writers are, I'll mention which lyrics are good and which are questionable, and I'll conclude each entry by answering if the song is acceptable to be sung in corporate worship. The title of each song is also a link to a video, if you'd like to hear it.

1) "Who You Say I Am" written by Ben Fielding and Reuben Morgan
The same writing duo that brought us the chart-topping song Mighty to Save currently has the most popular modern praise song in the world. The official video for Who You Say I Am has nearly 100 million views on YouTube alone. It was released in June, 2018 as the first single from Hillsong church's 26th live album There Is More. Fielding and Morgan are worship pastors with Hillsong.

Good Lyrics
Overall, the lyrics are fine. "Who am I that the highest King would welcome me?" "While I was a slave to sin, Jesus died for me." "I am chosen, not forsaken. I am who you say I am. You are for me, not against me. I am who you say I am." "In my Father's house, there's a place for me; I'm a child of God." And like any Hillsong tune, many of these lyrics are repeated over and over and over again.

Questionable Lyrics
If the song existed by itself, I would say there's nothing questionable about it. But the mere fact that this song comes from Hillsong makes it questionable. When they sing, "I am who you say I am," what exactly does that mean? Does the singer understand that only those who are followers of Christ are children of God, or are they singing that everyone is a child of God?

Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church in Houston invites his congregation to stand up and repeat this kind of creed before the preaching begins. They hold up a Bible and say, "This is my Bible: I am what it says I am, I have what it says I have, I can do what it says I can do." I believe that, too. But Joel and I believe two different things when it comes to understanding "I am what it says I am." The same is true of Hillsong. If you asked them to actually define their terms, you would get a heterodox answer, contrary to the sound teaching of God's word.

Should the song be sung in your church?
No, it shouldn't. Again, if you just wanted to sing this song in your car, that would be one thing. But it doesn't belong in corporate worship on the sole basis that it comes from Hillsong church. As Dr. Albert Mohler has noted, "Hillsong is a prosperity movement for millennials." In addition to their false teaching, this is an organization that has been covering up pedophilia. Christ's church should have no fellowship with Hillsong.

2) "What a Beautiful Name" written by Ben Fielding and Brooke Ligertwood
Sung by Brooke Ligertwood, this is a wildly popular song, and it could easily hit half-a-billion views on YouTube. It was first released in 2017 on Hillsong's 25th live album Let There Be Light. The song was the Dove Award winning song of the year in 2017.

Good Lyrics
What could be wrong with singing of the beauty of the name of Jesus? In the bridge of the song, we hear, "Death could not hold you, the veil tore before you, you silence the boast of sin and grave. The heavens are roaring, the praise of your glory, for you are raised to life again."

Questionable Lyrics
I don't understand what this means: "You didn't want heaven without us; So Jesus, you brought heaven down." This has an air of saying, "Heaven wouldn't be heaven without us." Heaven is heaven for one reason and one reason only—God is there. To say God didn't want to dwell with Himself for all eternity (contrary to John 17:5) means heaven was lonely and incomplete until we arrived. Maybe you don't interpret the phrase that way, but where in the Bible could you point and conclude, "God didn't want heaven without us"?

Should the song be sung in your church?
No. It's another Hillsong tune. See reasoning above. Hillsong has the top two most popular modern praise songs according to CCLI. Almost the rest of this list is associated with Bethel Church.

3) "Reckless Love" written by Caleb Culver, Cory Asbury, and Ran Jackson
The song was released this month two years ago, rose quickly to the top of the praise and worship charts, and won the Dove Award for Song of the Year in 2018. Reckless Love as performed by Cory Asbury is a signature song for Bethel Church of Redding, CA.

Good Lyrics
The first verse starts out great: "Before I spoke a word, you were singing over me; you have been so, so good to me. Before I took a breath, you breathed your life in me; you have been so, so kind to me." Indeed, God has placed His love and affection on His elect before we were even born. Romans 8:29 says, "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son." David sang, "In your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them" (Psalm 139:16).

Questionable Lyrics
Then we get to the chorus: "Oh the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God." Uh, God's love is reckless? A word that means "without thinking or caring about the consequences of an action"? That contradicts the first verse! You can't sing of God's deliberate, intentional goodness and kindness toward us before we were born and then call that same love reckless.

Should the song be sung in your church?
No. I did a video on this song, and I've since received e-mails from some folks who have told me that they change the phrase "reckless love" to "relentless love." But please hear me on this, and I cannot emphasize this enough—Do not sing Bethel songs in your church.

Bethel is a false church that denies the power of Christ, teaches prosperity theology and other heresies, and uses gimmicks and emotionalism to manipulate people. They manufacture what they call "glory clouds" and say it's the Holy Spirit manifesting Himself in their church, or they'll dump feathers on the crowd and say they're actual angel feathers. They perform fake miracles, fictitious healings, and false prophecy. The music they do is just another manipulative tool to hook people into this synagogue of Satan. Have nothing to do with them.

4) "This Is Amazing Grace" written by Jeremy Riddle, Josh Farro, and Phil Wickham
This is the second Bethel song on the list, the number one tune when I first wrote this critique three years ago. The song first appeared in August of 2013 on Phil Wickham's album The Ascension. It was a number 1 hit on the Christian music charts in 2014. Co-writer Jeremy Riddle has been the worship leader at Bethel for almost 10 years.

Good Lyrics
I like the way the song begins: "Who breaks the power of sin and darkness, whose love is mighty and so much stronger, the King of Glory, the King above all kings."

Questionable Lyrics
In the chorus is the line, "That You would take my place, that you would bear my cross." This is likely another way of saying Jesus died for me. But the Bible doesn't say He bore our cross. It says that He bore our sins in His body on the cross (Isaiah 53:12, 1 Peter 2:24). Why would I be so particular about that line? Because Jesus said that to be His disciples, we must take up a cross daily and follow after Him (Luke 9:23). There is still a cross to bear, though we have peace with God in knowing that Jesus has paid for our sins on the cross. And it's His cross, not ours (Galatians 6:14).

There's also a line is in the second verse which begins, "Who brings our chaos back into order." I'm not sure what that means. In Isaiah 45:7, God says, "I make well-being and create calamity. I am the Lord, who does all these things." In Matthew 5:45, Jesus says the Father "makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust." The line has the potential to set a person up for disappointment: "Why is my world a mess? I thought following God would put everything back into order!"

The Bible says that all things have been subjected to futility because of sin, and all of creation is groaning and awaiting deliverance (Romans 8:21-23). A day is coming when indeed God will restore all things, but that day is not yet. When Paul begged for his "chaos" to be taken from him, Jesus said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). We are told to rejoice in suffering (Romans 5:3).

Should the song be sung in your church?
No. For more detailed information, thoroughly researched and backed with sources, I recommend you look up Costi Hinn and Anthony Wood's book Defining Deception. They lay out in detail the problems with Bethel Church in Redding, CA.

5) "Great Are You Lord" written by David Leonard, Jason Ingram, and Leslie Jordan
This song was written and recorded in 2013 by the now defunct band All Sons and Daughters, made up of Leonard and Jordan. (Random fact: In 2012 while in Franklin, TN, I sat in on a writing session with this duo and even threw out a line for the song they were working on. I don't remember what song it was. There's a very slight, remote, minuscule possibility I'm a co-writer on this song.)

Good Lyrics
The very breath of God has been given to us who are created in His image. So I like the line, "It's your breath in our lungs so we pour out our praise." All Sons and Daughters like to sing those two-phrase repetitive choruses, so you get to sing, "It's your breath in our lungs so we pour out our praise"—a lot. You sing it more often than "Great are you Lord." The title of the song should have been, "It's your breath in our lungs so we pour out our praise."

Questionable Lyrics
None.

Should the song be sung in your church?
It's up to you, but I wouldn't do it. All Sons and Daughters ran in circles that included Hillsong and Bethel, having met in one of those charismatic, seeker-sensitive, emotionally-driven kind of churches. The band broke up last year after Leslie Jordan and her husband, Thomas, left the church in which All Sons and Daughters was formed (this isn't gossip—they made all of this public online). Leonard and Jordan couldn't come to an agreement on the future of the band. Did the Jordans' theology change? Is that why they gave up fame and fortune and left their church and its problematic teaching? Maybe that's a testimony we'll hear sometime later.

6) "Build My Life" written by Brett Younker, Karl Martin, Kirby Kaple, Matt Redman, and Pat Barrett
There are a lot of names on this song. The first time I heard it was by Michael W. Smith, and there's a version that also features Chris Tomlin. But the song is mainly attributed to Pat Barrett, former lead singer of the praise and worship band Housefires based out of Atlanta.

Good Lyrics
All of the lyrics to this song are good. From the first verse, we sing: "Worthy of every song we could ever sing; worthy of all the praise we could ever bring; worthy of every breath we could ever breathe. We live for you." The chorus goes, "Holy, there is no one like you; there is none beside you; open up my eyes in wonder." My only disappointment is that the second verse is exactly the first verse. With that many names on this song, they couldn't have written another verse?

Questionable Lyrics
None.

Should the song be sung in your church?
Again, it's up to you. I hate to break to you, but like All Sons and Daughters, Housefires is part of the same movement that includes Hillsong and Bethel. Patt Barrett has a version of this song in which he sings with Bethel music's Cory Asbury, and Bethel has released several of their own recordings of this song. As I said earlier, it's one thing to sing a song like this in your car or play it as background music in your home—it's something else to make a congregational worship song in your church.

7) "Living Hope" written by Brian Johnson and Phil Wickham
This is the title-cut to Phil Wickham's most recent album. It was released in March of 2018 with the promotion of the song meant to coincide with the Easter holiday.

Good Lyrics
The chorus goes, "Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free. Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me. You have broken every chain, there's salvation in your name. Jesus Christ, my living hope."

Questionable Lyrics
The first verse begins, "How great the chasm that lay between us. How high the mountain I could not climb. In desperation, I turned to heaven; and spoke Your name into the night. Then through the darkness, your loving-kindness tore through the shadows of my soul. The work is finished, the end is written. Jesus Christ, my living hope." That's not much of a coherent thought. It doesn't even rhyme. Maybe I'm being nit-picky, but I found this song to be rather bland. There are much better songs in CCLI's top 100 than this one.

Should the song be sung in your church?
No. Though the song is primarily Phil Wickham's, this is yet another Bethel Church release, having been included on their albums Victory and Living Hope. Co-writer Brian Johnson is a pastor at  Bethel Church, the son of senior pastor Bill Johnson.

8) "10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)" written by Jonas Myrin and Matt Redman
This is the title-cut from an album released by Matt Redman in 2011, and it has been a top worship song ever since. Most people probably know this song as "Bless The Lord, O My Soul," as sung in the chorus. But that's such a popular title, the name 10,000 Reasons was chosen, as sung in the second verse.

Good Lyrics
It's hard to get that chorus out of your head: "Bless the Lord O my soul, O my soul, Worship His holy name. Sing like never before, O my soul, I'll worship Your holy name." My kids like singing this one, too. Redman has written several songs that contain lyrics about praising the Lord in any and all circumstances to the very end of life. This is one of those songs.

Questionable Lyrics
None.

Should the song be sung in your church?
Sure. There are many songs written by Matt Redman that I really enjoy, particularly his most popular, Blessed Be Your Name. But I'm not crazy about his associations. He's a great artist, but his discernment needs some work.

9) "The Lion and the Lamb" written by Brenton Brown, Brian Johnson, and Leeland Mooring
Another Bethel Church vehicle. Leeland is the band, but Bethel Music is the distributor. Again, co-writer Brian Johnson is Bill and Beni Johnson's son.

Good Lyrics
All of the lyrics are fine: "Our God is the Lion, the Lion of Judah. He's roaring with power and fighting our battles, and every knee will bow before You." There's only one verse and chorus, and like most modern praise songs, these lyrics are repeated over and over.

Questionable Lyrics
None.

Should this song be sung in your church?
No. You know why.

10) "Good Good Father" written by Anthony Brown and Pat Barrett
Another from the Atlanta praise band Housefires, Good Good Father was made popular by Chris Tomlin who released the song in 2015. Surprisingly, this is the only Chris Tomlin song on this list, and it isn't even his song.

Good lyrics
You would have to isolate lyrics to find good lines in this song. Yes, God is a "Good, good Father." Yes, He is perfect in all His ways. Yes, we are loved by Him. But taking these lyrics in with the rest, the song overall contains some terrible theology.

Questionable lyrics
Just consider the way the song starts: "I've heard a thousand stories of what they think you're like, but I've heard the tender whispers of love in the dead of night. And you tell me that you're pleased, and that I'm never alone." We do not know the love of God through "tender whispers... in the dead of night." We know His love because of what is said to us in His word.

Maybe the writer of the song doesn't intend to be so dismissive of Scripture, but the opening makes it sound like the "stories" about God we read in the Bible are just man's opinion. Those subjective whisperings we get "in the dead of night"—they are what really tell us about who God is. Or, maybe by "a thousand stories," the writer means all the varying opinions that people have about God. Then what makes his opinion—those "tender whispers" he hears at night—more valid than everyone else's whispers? How does he know those whispers are the voice of God and not his own dumb thoughts?

No matter how you cut it, the theology in this song is quite poor. It celebrates self rather than God and His word (not to mention it's very repetitive and obnoxious). Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" and Proverbs 28:26 says, "Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool."

Should the song be sung in your church?
No.

No, Benny Hinn Has Not Repented

A video was posted yesterday in which Benny Hinn—the famed prosperity preacher and faith healing hack—seemingly repents of his prosperity preaching. In the video (which you can view here), Hinn says the following:

"I will tell you now something that I think is going to shock you. I think it's an offense to the Lord—it's an offense to say, 'Give a thousand dollars.' I think it's offense to the Holy Spirit to place a price on the gospel. I'm done with it. I will never again ask you to give a thousand or whatever amounts because I think the Holy Ghost is just fed up with it. Are you—Did you hear me? I think that hurts the gospel. So I'm making this statement for the first time in my life, and frankly I don't care what people think about me no more."

He then asks his audience, "Am I shocking you?" and says, "Let's have a high-five on that one!" and he starts high-fiving members of his audience. Near the conclusion, he says:

"The gospel is not for sale. And the blessings of God are not for sale. And miracles are not for sale. And prosperity is not for sale."

"Do not be fooled," said Justin Peters. "This is not repentance." Justin has spent decades exposing these prosperity pontiffs, and he's absolutely right—we have no reason to believe that Benny Hinn understands his sin, nor has he turned from it. He's spinning around on TV handing out high-fives when he should be doubled over in mourning and giving away his wealth. "For Benny Hinn to repent," Justin went on to say, "he would need to empty his coffers, give every cent he has to good ministries, shut his ministry down, confess to his lies and false prophecies, join a sound church, and never preach again."

Brandon Kimber is the creator of the documentary American Gospel: Christ Alone, which, among other things, exposes the false teaching of prosperity theology. On his Facebook, Kimber pointed out that just today, Benny was still on television asking his viewers to "sow a seed" (that's prosperity preacher speak for "give money") and send it to the address on the screen. He even gave an amount: "I'm asking you to send $120" because "the number 120 is the number of deliverance and liberty." Is this what repentance looks like?

Notice that he wants you to send him money so God will eliminate your debt! This aired Wednesday, September 4, 2019. The clip of him renouncing prosperity theology was uploaded to YouTube September 3.

How Uncle Benny Conned His Way to Millions

Benny Hinn is one of the richest preachers on the planet, listed as being worth $42 million. He has done his traveling on a Gulfstream IV private jet (average cost of ownership: $36 million). He has stayed in some of the nicest hotels on earth, paying as much as $25,000 per night. His apparel is from from Versace, Gucci, and Bijan, and he drives around in Bentleys, Rolls-Royces, and Maseratis. Where did Benny Hinn get all that money? By conning people into believing they could be healthy and wealthy if they'd just give their money to him (though he sold it as giving their money to God).

Costi Hinn, Benny's nephew, wrote about growing up a Hinn in God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel. He said, "My uncle taught us that if we wanted God to do something for us, we needed to do something for him. This applied to everything—especially miracles. Whenever possible, Benny would preach to the masses that if they wanted a miracle for their sickness and disease, they needed to give money to God. No money? No miracle! Giving to God was the secret to unlocking your dreams. It was the secret to job promotions. It was access to our divine bank account" (pg. 46).

Costi talked about a crusade they did in Mumbai, India. About 120 billboards with Benny Hinn's picture had been posted all over the city promoting the "Pray for India Rally." Some estimated as many as 4 million people attended the rally over several days. Mumbai has about 18 million people. That means nearly 20 percent of Mumbai's population were at Benny's crusade, many of whom, Costi said, "were the most desperate of the desperate" (pg. 74).

"There, in a dark corner of Mumbai, I came face to face with a kind of despair I had never seen before," Costi wrote. "Leaving the ivory tower left me confused. From the gold palace in Dubai, to the crowd of sick and diseased people. My heart still races describing it. We were supposed to heal these poor souls Why weren't they being healed? These children were supposed to grow up healthy, wealthy, and full of joy. Why couldn't we just help them all right now? That's what we promised, but not what we delivered."

And that's just one example. Costi wrote about service after service where people were promised miracles, and received nothing. "One Sunday during a healing service, we declared everyone healed, even though half of the people were still sick when they left... At another service, people were being ripped out of wheelchairs left and right and barely limping across the stage. An elderly woman winced in pain as she was forced to wlak in front of the crowd and told, 'Just move your legs in faith! Don't limit God with your unbelief! He is healing you right now!' She was still in her wheelchair the next time I saw her."

Costi used to a be a catcher for his uncle. That meant when Benny did his "miracle working" (you've probably seen the videos of him waving his Nehru jacket around) and people fell over backwards, Costi was one of the persons assigned to catch them so they wouldn't hurt themselves more than they already were (if they were truly sick at all). This was all the power of suggestion. It was a gag. No one was ever truly healed. But they truly paid real money.

To make a long story shorter, the Holy Spirit of God continued to work on Costi's heart. He became convinced that what he was doing was evil. He repented of all of it, came to believe the true gospel rather than the prosperity gospel, and he left his family fortune. My wife and I had the chance to talk about it with him last year on our podcast. You can click here to listen to the interview. I highly recommend you pick up the book I mentioned earlier: God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel. I'd also invite you to check out the documentary American Gospel: Christ Alone, in which Costi and many others share their stories of being won out of prosperity theology, by the grace of God.

The Truth is Found in Christ Alone

The Bible says that we are saved by grace through faith and not of works (Ephesians 2:8-9). To the Romans, Paul wrote, "Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks fo the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 'Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin" (Romans 4:4-8).

God has not promised that on this side of heaven, you will be healed of all your infirmities and diseases. What he has promised is that your sins will be forgiven by faith in Jesus Christ—because of what He has done for you, not because of what you have done. Jesus died on the cross for your sins, He rose again from the grave, and He is seated at the right hand of the throne of God, interceding for His people on our behalf. By faith in Christ alone, you will no longer be under God's wrath for your sins against Him, but He will shower you with His love, a love "that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:19).

All who are in Christ Jesus have been made fellow heirs of His kingdom (Titus 3:5-7). On the day when you die, if you have died in faith, you will receive the kingdom of God. There He will "wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." That passage goes on to say, "But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death" (Revelation 21:4, 8).

Pray for Uncle Benny and Those He Has Harmed

Benny Hinn still sits in the lap of luxury, and we must pray for his true repentance. He still profits from the lies of his past and present. Pray also for those he has harmed and continues to lead astray. It costs him nothing to get on TV and say, "It's an offense to the Lord to say, 'Give a thousand dollars.'" Even that's a lie. There's nothing wrong with someone saying, "Help our ministry by making a donation." The Apostle Paul told the church in Corinth to give to help the ministry to the saints. He thanked the Philippians for giving to his ministry in Rome. What is evil is to say, "Give to receive a miracle." That's what Benny did, and that's what he's still doing. He has yet to consider the cost of repentance.

When Jesus came and ate at the house of Zacchaeus, the dishonest tax collector, Zacchaeus repented of his dishonesty and showed the fruit of repentance. He said, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." Jesus replied, "Today, salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:8-9).

That's the kind of repentance we should be looking for from a false prophet like Benny Hinn—not high fives and hand-shakes for those he continues to fool. Do not be deceived, brethren. I want Benny to repent as much as anyone, but this isn't the first time he's done this (listen to the interview with Costi I linked to above). Remorse is not repentance. Something must change. All of us must heed the word of God in James 4:10, which says, "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you."

Why Tullian Tchividjian is Permanently Disqualified

This morning, I listened to a sermon from Tullian Tchividjian. It wasn't a sermon he preached yesteryear. It was a sermon he preached yesterday. And he wasn't preaching as a guest speaker in someone else's church. He was preaching in his own church that he has planted in Florida.

Tullian Tchividjian—who is the grandson of famed preacher Billy Graham; who followed the honorable D. James Kennedy as the pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church; who made a shipwreck of his ministry when he committed adultery with a member of his congregation; who was revealed to have had another affair; who threw his wife under the bus by making it look like she was the cause of their marriage problems; who was defrocked, then received another pastorate, and broke trust with that church; who has divorced, remarried, and returned to Florida to start his own church—is back.

Truth be told, Tullian was never gone. I can't remember a time in the last 4 years since his scandals were first exposed that I wasn't seeing his name. He never truly resigned from anything. He's always been preaching even if he wasn't pastoring. Now he has founded a church called The Sanctuary, "meeting each Sunday at the Hilton Garden Inn Palm Beach Gardens ahead of a planned formal launch next month," according to a weekend article in the Palm Beach Post.

The first 7 minutes of yesterday's sermon contains moments of irony (if not outright hypocrisy). For example, he refered to God's grace as a "scandal." He's not the only preacher I've heard use this word, and I've never been comfortable with it, but it's especially strange coming from Tullian. He also called himself a good person in the eyes of others, except, he joked, when he is "flying down Alternate A1A." Really? Breaking the speed limit is what might make us question his goodness? He also said that he has been mentoring and training young preachers. Yikes!

Within his sermon introduction, he referred to himself as the pastor of those who were in attendance. So this regular Sunday-morning gathering isn't some Bible study group meeting at a hotel and we're mistakenly calling it a church. It is a church plant. People are attending, and Tullian is their pastor. Shame on them, and shame on him. Tullian has disqualified himself from ever being a pastor again.

Now, do I believe the Lord when He says in Isaiah 43:25, "I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins"? Or when Psalm 103:12 says, "As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us"? Or when 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"? Yes, I believe all of this and more!

If I didn't believe God is faithful to cleanse us of our sins, I'd be in big trouble, for I also have sinned greatly before God, and I, too, am in need of a Savior. God is "merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (Exodus 34:6). God has forgiven me of my sins. I know that He will forgive you of yours. It's what I'm devoted to preaching—"that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" (1 Timothy 1:15).

Would God forgive Tullian Tchividjian for the sins he has committed? Absolutely! He can be restored to Christ's body and partake in the fellowship of communion at the Lord's table. But does that mean Tullian can resume the office of a pastor again? No, it does not.

The first qualification of a pastor is this: "An overseer must be above reproach" (1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:6-7). Every other qualification that follows explains what that means: a pastor must be faithful to his wife, he must be sober minded, self-controlled, managing his household well, and so on. In other words, the people who know him must be able to recognize his good character as an example of God's grace and Christian maturity.

"The idea is present blamelessness," John MacArthur teaches regarding the qualifications of pastors. "It doesn't mean he had to be perfect before he was a Christian; no one could do that. Everyone, before they came to Christ, lived in sin, and more sin, and only sin. So, the point here is, that present tense, this man must have a life without blame. That is the overarching requirement." He goes on to say, "The reason blamelessness is called for at the pastoral level is because we are the example which you are all to follow."

That said, Tullian Tchividjian is a bad example for anyone, let alone as a pastor. Even unbelievers know that cheating on your wife and blaming her for it makes you a really awful person. Tullian did this as a pastor! He knew better. Think about it: Can he ever be trusted with that office again? Yes, he can be forgiven his sins and know the grace of God, in the sense that he still has an entrance in the kingdom of heaven. But for the remainder of his life, he will never fulfill the requirement that a pastor must be "above reproach."

In a recent interview, Phil Johnson, director of Grace to You, pointed out that adultery disqualifies a man from ministry "permanently." Said Johnson, "That kind of sin leaves a reproach that cannot be blotted out. And the first requirement for a pastor is that he must be above reproach. So while he can be forgiven of that sin... what he cannot do again is stand up and lead that church."

I've consistently taught this same thing (example 1, example 2). There are sins that can permanently disqualify a man from ministry. With regards to adultery, we're talking about a moral sin punishable by death in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 22:22) and given more serious warning and greater consequences in the New Testament (video 1, video 2). Praise God for His grace that an adulterous man can stand before God righteous. But with regards to standing in the pulpit, not every man is qualified, even if he is a gifted teacher. James 3:1 says teachers will be judged with greater strictness.

Though Tullian is unqualified multiple times over, he has positioned himself as a pastor again, this time free from having to answer to anyone else (The Sanctuary is unaffiliated and non-denominational). The people under his teaching should also be ashamed. When it comes down to it, they want their ears scratched (2 Timothy 4:3), and Tullian's life and teaching with antinomian undertones—that you're not held accountable to a moral law—is exactly what people will come to his church looking for. According to the article I referenced earlier, the church already has a list of 500 supporters.

If Tullian truly revered the word of God as he says he does, he needs to humble himself in the fear of the Lord and step away from the work of ministry entirely. He must attend church as a congregant, not clergy. He would still be among those who can say, "I once was that, but I've been washed" (1 Corinthians 6:11). He can still say, "Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you" (Psalm 51:13). But he must do this without holding a church office, for he has disqualified himself.

The rest of the church is responsible to hold their elders accountable. As we read in 1 Timothy 5:19-21, "Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels, I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality." It's very unfortunate that Tullian's church is not in keeping with these commands. Tullian causes his congregation to stumble, and they cause him to stumble.

I do not take lightly ever having to say that another man is unqualified for ministry. I understand full well that the call of a pastor is to be above reproach. As John Knox was famous for saying, "I have never once feared the devil, but I tremble every time I enter the pulpit." May the Lord God keep me faithful as an example to the flock, to "serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling" (Psalm 2:11).

Hillsong Worship Leader Leaves the Faith

Recently, author and former megachurch pastor Joshua Harris announced that he had left his wife and the Christian faith. The announcement came in a most 2019 way: via Instagram with a picture of himself brooding over a scenic lake (your typical Pondering Pond photo). Most known for his breakout book I Kissed Dating Goodbye, it was all too easy for a plethora of articles to emerge under the heading "Joshua Harris Kisses Christianity Goodbye."

Mere days later, Harris was posting pictures of himself at a gay pride event. Some have dared to speculate that Harris's next big announcement will be to come out of the closet. Gossip aside, it's clear that Harris does not intend his departure from the faith to be a quiet, contemplative step back. He will capitalize on his own name and the bankability of a star-pastor going rogue, having said he plans to start a podcast about his "journey." Harris is not a Christian, and he's proud of it.

Regarding Harris's apostasy, Toby Logsdon, pastor of New Beginnings Church in Lynnwood, WA, said the following: "Amazing, isn't it? That anyone could walk away from the Christian faith and feel liberated rather than absolutely terrified. But were it not for God's grace sustaining our faith and preserving our place in Christ, we would deny Christ as surely and as readily as Peter did."

With any story of apostasy, we would do well to remember the Spirit's instruction in Philippians 2:12-13, where the Apostle Paul wrote, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure."

Harris is not the first high-profile name to leave the faith, and he won't be the last—as we are being reminded even today. Yet another megachurch star has taken to Instagram to announce he's no longer a Christian. You may not know the name Marty Sampson, but you know his songs. Marty has been a worship leader with Hillsong and has written or co-written dozens of hits. His praise albums have sold millions of copies, and his worship choruses have tens of millions of views on YouTube.

In a single paragraph on his Instagram (martysamps), Marty said the following:

Time for some real talk... I'm genuinely losing my faith.. and it doesn't bother me... like, what bothers me now is nothing... I am so happy now, so at peace with the world.. it's crazy / this is a soapbox moment so here I go xx how many preachers fall? Many. No one talks about it. How many miracles happen. Not many. No one talks about it. Why is the Bible full of contradictions? No one talks about it. How can God be love yet send 4 billion people to a place, all coz they don't believe? No one talks about it. Christians can be the most judgemental people on the planet - they can also be some of the most beautiful and loving people... but it's not for me. I am not in any more. I want genuine truth. Not the “I just believe it” kind of truth. Science keeps piercing the truth of every religion. Lots of things help people change their lives, not just one version of God. Got so much more to say, but for me, I keeping it real. Unfollow if you want, I've never been about living my life for others. All I know is what's true to me right now, and Christianity just seems to me like another religion at this point... I could go on, but I won't. Love and forgive absolutely. Be kind absolutely. Be generous and do good to others absolutely. Some things are good no matter what you believe. Let the rain fall, the sun will come up tomorrow.

It looks like it was written with the grammar and reason of an adolescent who begrudgingly went to youth group because his parents made him. But Marty Sampson is 40 years old, a husband, a father, and a church leader. As with Harris, Marty is "so at peace" with his decision. I would be, too, if the Christianity I had was the flimsy cardboard box Marty had been living in at Hillsong.

Marty says, "How many preachers fall? Many. No one talks about it." Um, where has he been all summer? For the last two weeks, news of Joshua Harris has consumed evangelical social media. A couple weeks before that, narcissist Mark Driscoll came in on the raft he's reassembled from the shipwreck of his ministry to make fun of his former beliefs. A month before that, word had spread that Harvest Bible Chapel founder James MacDonald allegedly sought a hitman to murder someone. Shall I go on?

Marty says, "How many miracles happen? Not many. No one talks about it." Consider where this is coming from—Hillsong is a charismatic megachurch that started in the Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal denomination. They believe tongue-spieling, prophecy-revealing, spirit-feeling, body-reeling, super-healing miracles are going on all the time. Marty has seen through the ruse of charismaticism and recognized this stuff is totally fake. But instead of questioning the Hillsong bubble he was living in, he's blaming all of Christendom.

Marty says, "Why is the Bible full of contradictions? No one talks about it." How much has Marty actually tried to find answers for these things? The Bible has not a single contradiction. If at any point we think the Bible contradicts itself, that's our problem, not God's. For two thousand years, the church has not lacked teachers able to respond to such criticisms. One of my first WWUTT videos was dispelling the myth that there are contradictions between the four gospels. To say "No one talks about it" is absurdly ignorant.

Marty says, "How can God be love yet send 4 billion people to [hell], all coz they don't believe? No one talks about it." Hell is what everyone deserves because all have sinned against God. "But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). There are many teachers who talk about the stuff Marty says no one talks about. Now, it may be true that "no one talks about" hell at Hillsong because it's an uncomfortable doctrine that will keep people from buying CD's. Sales will truly drop if they go from singing about happy-go-lucky Jesus to the Jesus who will strike down the nations (see Revelation 19:11-16).

Marty says, "I want genuine truth. Not the 'I just believe it' kind of truth." That may be a picture of what Marty encountered at Hillsong. Maybe he tried to ask questions about these things, but the depth of the answers he got was "I just believe it." We as Christians are instructed to grow in the knowledge of God through the Bible. The Apostle Paul told the Colossians to be "bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:10). In Christ we find "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3), and we are to "put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator" (Col. 3:10).

Hillsong is not the place to find knowledge. One of their own pastors, Carl Lentz, was asked by Oprah, "Do you believe that only Christians can be in relationship with God?" Lentz replied, "No. I believe that when Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life,' the way I read that, he's the road-marker." What on earth does that mean? No wonder Marty has had trouble finding "genuine truth." Jesus said, "Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice" (John 18:37). If genuine truth is what Marty wants, he must turn to Jesus and away from Hillsong.

Marty says, "Science keeps piercing the truth of every religion," which is just his way of saying, "I'm a natural-minded man who can't discern spiritual things" (see 1 Corinthians 2:14). Marty says, "Lots of things help people change their lives, not just one version of God." This is the fruit of Lentz's reply to Oprah. Jesus is not a life-improvement plan. He's the only way to God, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection from the dead!

If this is Marty Sampson's farewell letter to Christianity, then all he reveals here is that he was never a Christian in the first place. We read in 1 John 2:19, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us."

There are many who scoff at the idea that a former believer didn't really believe in the first place. But just take Marty at his own words. It is evident that he has never understood what Christianity is. When you go to his music, you find glimpses of the truth, but it's truth Marty is now saying was never truly meaningful.

In his song Elohim, he wrote, "I stand upon the solid rock of faith in Christ," and "I know my hope shall last." Apparently that was a lie. In the song One Thing, Marty wrote, "One thing I desire, one thing I seek, to gaze upon your beauty." The bridge goes, "I will seek your face, call upon your name, Jesus, all I want is you." But Marty is no longer seeking Christ and is not calling on His name. It cannot be that Jesus was all he wanted.

The chorus of the song goes, "Lord your name is higher than the heavens, Lord your name is higher than all created things." That's certainly true, but it wasn't for Marty. How could a person believe with all his heart in the greatest truth that could ever be known, and then turn around and call it a lie? Such a thing would be impossible. The truth of God cannot be denied by those who have truly beheld its power. Marty did not have faith—he had a passing opinion. He never truly believed the name of Jesus is the name above all names. If he did, he'd be falling on his face in fear of his unbelief, not comfortably musing, "I am so happy now, so at peace with the world."

Marty says, "I've never been about living my life for others." Now, what Marty means is that the opinions of others regarding his newly minted apostasy are not going to change his mind. But unfortunately, this is, like Joshua Harris's confession, a statement of pride. That's exactly who Marty is living for—he is living for himself. He's always been about living for himself. He's never been about the work of God, even if there were times it looked like he was.

His closing words are equally sad and ironic: "Let the rain fall, the sun will come up tomorrow." When the Apostle Paul rebuked some of the Corinthians for not believing in the resurrection of Jesus, he said, "If the dead are not raised, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die'" (1 Corinthians 15:32). Without hope in the resurrection of Christ, we have no hope at all. Marty is conceding to the purposeless of life apart from Jesus, whether or not Marty is aware that's what he just confessed.

Our hearts should break when we hear of stories like Joshua Harris and Marty Sampson. They no doubt have family members whose hearts are also breaking. The day of judgment will be most dreadful for the one who heard the truth, even shared the truth, and yet did not believe it themselves. That is a frightening thing to consider. May none of us ever be too proud, but may we submit to our Father in heaven with fear and trembling. Pray for one another, that we may stand strong in a time of trial. "Keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18).

We worship a good God, and without His grace none of us would be saved. Draw near to Him, cling all the more to Christ, who has sealed us with His Holy Spirit for the day of redemption. Philippians 1:6 says, "I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."

What's Wrong With The Bible Project?

The Bible Project is an online series of free animated videos about, what else, the Bible. When I was first introduced to The Bible Project, I was quite impressed with the quality and had no problem recommending these videos to others. But someone later contacted me and suggested I take a deeper look, particularly in the way TBP creator Tim Mackie addressed the doctrine of the atonement. What I found was astonishing, and little by little more problematic teachings became apparent.

After watching dozens of videos, some of Tim Mackie's sermons, and listening to a few podcasts, I did a video of my own entitled What's Wrong With the Bible Project? (which I tried to keep under 20 minutes). The Bible Project fans weren't fans. With nearly 500 comments (edit: which have now been disabled), I've been called everything from a "chump critic," to a "hack," and a "hater." I've been told I'm "just jealous," "misguided," "still carnal," and "terrible," that I'm gossiping, I'm a pharisee, I'm on a witch-hunt tour, I'm being unnecessarily divisive, I'm cowering behind a camera, one person said I talk funny, and another said I was a pastor of a "cowboy Christian church in Texas which has 19th century neo-theology." Huh?

A fellow by the name of Ryan said, "What do you have to say to the large number of people who strongly disagree with your video?" I wasn't planning on producing another video, but I figured I could scratch out a blog in response to some of these comments. Before starting with the negative, I want to begin by answering a question from someone actually looking for biblical advice. I'll follow that up with a few of the more positive comments.

One of the things I addressed in my video was Mackie's skewed perspective on the doctrine of hell. That led to this question from a viewer:

"I have a question about this, I don't mean this rudely or a mean way but... Can you be a Christian and not believe in hell?" —R.R.

You are saved by faith in Christ, not by faith in hell. Let me put that out there first. The gospel of Christ is the power of salvation to all who believe (Romans 1:16). When you heard the gospel and became a Christian, you had an immature faith. You knew that you had sinned against God, you needed a Savior, and that Christ is that Savior. God sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for your sins, and whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have everlasting life. You at least needed to know that, or I would question if what you heard preached to you was really the gospel.

But then upon coming to faith, you did not have a robust understanding of the depth of your sin. You probably could not have defined the words "justification" or "sanctification." You couldn't have given a creedal defense of the Trinity. Even the term "God head" may have been foreign to you. Maybe an evangelist told you Jesus was knocking at the door of your heart, and all you had to do was let Him in (the Bible doesn't say that). If you were asked to describe hell, you likely would have given a Dante's Inferno picture of hell.

You come to God as a child—an infant in the faith. But just as we grow and mature in our body, so we must in our spirit well (1 Corinthians 13:11). You will demonstrate evidence of your faith and that your love for God is genuine by growing in the knowledge of Him. If you love Jesus, you will love His word. If you are growing in His word, eventually you're going to wrestle with what Jesus said about hell. No one in the Bible talked about hell more than Jesus did.

Our understanding of hell must be according to what Jesus said. He called hell an eternal fire (Matthew 18:8)—even an eternal fiery punishment prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41), but all will be sent there who did not follow Christ (v.46). He said the one who sins and does not repent will be thrown into a place "where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:48). He told us who will go to "the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8).

Why did Jesus talk about hell so much? So you would fear God, our righteous judge, and know His Son and be saved from judgment. Jesus said, "I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear Him who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him!" (Luke 12:4-5)

If you say you're a follower of Jesus, you will believe what He has said about hell. If you don't believe in hell, you don't believe Jesus. If you don't believe the word of Christ, how can you call yourself a Christian?

What else does Christ save us from but the judgment of Almighty God? And this is what Tim Mackie and The Bible Project creators do not believe, as I demonstrated in my video—they do not believe Jesus died as a propitiation for our sins, thereby appeasing the wrath of God, to be received by faith. This is the gospel, but Mackie called it a distortion of the gospel. He is a false teacher who must be avoided (2 Timothy 3:5).

Thank you for your question, R.R. I hope my answer is helpful to you. Now on with a few of the more positive comments.

"This video is truly a blessing. I've been watching your videos WWUTT and have them saved on my phone and on my laptop for the ministry. I have also seen The Bible Project videos, and I agree that some of them are good and really informational, but I've never had a chance to carefully discern the messages that are being given. Thanks to God for this video which made me realize the subtle errors that The Bible Project committed. Soli Deo Gloria." —Son

Thank you for that message, Son. Yes, as I said in my own video, the Bible Project videos are very creative, and there is some good info you can glean from them. But do you know what you won't hear much of? The Bible. Seriously! The videos feature a couple of guys telling you what they say the Bible says, often without telling you what the Bible actually says. Even when it seems they quote straight from the text, they're not actually quoting the text (as seen here). You're getting their paraphrase of the text.

"I think Mackie has been influenced by N.T. Wright. I like most of their videos. But there have been times when I have refrained from sharing some of their videos because I felt the picture of the gospel was incomplete or misleading." —Eternity

You're right, Mackie has been heavily influenced by N.T. Wright (or as John MacArthur called him, N.T. Wrong). When you go to Mackie's personal page, he has Wright listed as one of his major theological influences. Wright has gone as far as saying one doesn't need to believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ in order to be a Christian. The Apostle Paul said if that were the case, "Your faith is futile and you are still in your sins" (1 Corinthians 15:17).

"There are many serious theological errors in The Bible Project and Mackie's teaching. But because of contemporary evangelicalism's superficiality, folks don't even understand what's going on. Thanks for addressing this. Very important. If you notice the commenters who are upset are unable to provide Bible support for their argument. They just want to complain about tone, etc." —Jay

Watch out for the tone police! Yes, they're after me in person as well as online. It doesn't matter that I was patient and evidenced in my critique of Mackie's teaching. I still got accused of being uncivil. As you will see in the following comments...

"Have you ever tried to reach out to Tim to clarify instead of blasting your brother in Christ? It would've been easier to seek understanding than assume or mischaracterize him." —Alem (TX)

Did you try to reach out to me to understand a brother in Christ rather than "blasting" me on social media? There is no obligation upon me to call every false teacher before calling out his false teaching. Did Jesus speak privately with the Pharisees before He openly rebuked them as blind fools, white-washed tombs, and sons of hell producing more sons of hell (Matthew 23)? I wasn't even that harsh! The Bible says false teachers "must be silenced" (Titus 1:11).

"Have to disagree here. Although they do not talk about God's wrath and propitiation, saying that you shouldn't watch/share their videos is like throwing the baby out with the bath water. We are called to discernment, not separation from other believers who hold to different views." —Fabrizio (Louisville, KY)

We're called to discernment—why? To be a service to the church in distinguishing between spirits (1 Corinthians 12:10). We read in 1 John 4:1, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." Titus 1:9 says that a pastor "must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also rebuke those who contradict it."

You recognize, Fabrizio, that Mackie does not teach the truth about God's wrath and the propitiation of Christ's sacrifice. I demonstrated in my video that what Mackie says about those doctrines contradicts what Scripture says. He, as a teacher, has a responsibility to teach right doctrine, does he not? Therefore, doesn't it follow that Mackie may not be an orthodox believer? Am I not fulfilling my pastoral duty by saying he's an untrustworthy teacher? Am I dividing him, or would he divide himself from the body because of his false teaching?

"Dr. Tim Mackey knows more on the subject of atonement than most. He—as well as Dr. Michael Heiser—studied under an orthodox Jew in order to earn his doctorate in Old Testament." —Joe (Indiana)

An orthodox Jew may only be an expert in a modern understanding of Jewish orthodoxy. He can teach me next to nothing about Christ and His atoning sacrifice, since an orthodox Jew does not believe Jesus is the Son of God. (P.S.—Michael Heiser loves to dabble in myth and speculation. He's not a trustworthy teacher either.)

"Totally disagree for what you're saying. If you would spend time to spread the Gospel rather than mocking others, souls would have been saved. SAVE TIME." —Akash

To mock is to ridicule or laugh in a scornful or contemptuous manner. How did I do that? The gospel is presented in my video. If someone watched and listened to what I had to say, they could come to a saving knowledge of Jesus. By the way, I also make time to share the gospel with my family, my church, and my community. A pastor must do all of these things (2 Timothy 4:5).

"This video is like, 'they didn't completely cover the book of Romans in a 10 minute video, so it's heresy.' The Bible Project videos serve as introductions and summaries of pieces of the Bible. To get a more in-depth study, you will need other additional resources. And plenty exist. But TBP is doing their part. A necessary part. Don't criticize them for that. We all need simple teaching in the beginning. Not everyone graduates to the level of understanding of an R.C. Sproul or a Ravi Zacharias." —Katie (Wichita, KS)

Hey, a comment from the great state of Kansas! No, I did not say, nor did I imply, that because they didn't cover Romans the way I thought they should, they're heretics. I didn't even use the word "heretic." This comment leads me to believe you didn't watch the whole video to hear my full argument. Come on, fellow Kansan! You can do better than this.

"Not sure you can claim it's an outright lie. That's kinda assuming his heart motives which you cannot know for sure." —Breanne (New Brunswick)

A lie is a lie even if there's no intention to deceive. Most lies are not deliberate deceptions. The liar may believe his motives are right. But if what he says is not true, it's a lie. When Mackie said penal substitutionary atonement was not in the Bible and that it was a distortion of the gospel, that was a lie, no matter what his intentions were.

"He didn't say hell isn't a real place. In fact, I've heard him say explicitly that it is a real place. He said 'hell isn't just,' as in, there's more to it." —Breanne (again, a few minutes later)

I see you're leaving comments before you've watched the whole video and considered the full argument. Be quick to hear, slow to speak (James 1:19). If there is another place where Mackie said something different about hell, what he said was still wrong in the audio I played. This isn't just a difference of opinion about hell. He impugned the righteous judgment of God.

"Those videos aren't meant to be deep theological expositions. They are meant to be general guidelines to help and encourage people understand whole books of the Bible and go study the Word for themselves. If you haven't gone to him in private to figure out what he actually believes, then this video is ill willed and is creating unnecessary divisions." —Randy

Randy, you didn't come to me privately to figure out what I actually believe. Therefore, can I dismiss your comment as ill-willed and causing unnecessary division? Yes, The Bible Project videos are meant to be deep, theological expositions. One of the things I appreciate about The Bible Project is how they want to demonstrate that the whole Bible is one story. But one of the things I don't like is how they hardly ever use the Bible at all.

"This video is bad really bad. So many Pharisees in this world." —Tevin

The Pharisees added to the word of God. Are you sure you understand what a pharisee is?

"I don't find pastor Gabe's arguments compelling nor exploring anything of significance and only sounds like a minor legalistic point. I think Gabe should check his motives here and stop playing the role of 'the oppressed.'" —Bucket Bros.

As I referenced in the video, God put forward His own Son "as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith" (Romans 3:25). We read in 1 John 4:10, "In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." You don't find exploring propitiation significant? If it's in the Bible, it's significant. And where on earth did I say I was oppressed? I am not millennial, and I am not claiming a victim status.

"I’m sorry, but this is garbage. Bible Project is literally changing lives and making people want to read the Bible. These are meant to be short and summarized, so of course it won’t cover all material all the time. The same dudes have very informational and more lengthy podcasts." —Sarah (Los Angeles)

I doubt Sarah actually watched my whole video, since I went straight to Mackie's podcasts to pull an example of the nonsense he was saying about the atonement. This is one of the major problems with The Bible Project—it gets worse when you go beyond their videos. There are dozens of links to study guides, podcasts, and other sermons. Everything I had the chance to listen to in those sermons or podcasts ranks from legalistic to heretical.

I listened to three Tim Mackie sermons in a row, each an hour long, and I never heard the gospel in any one of them. I heard some fascinating historical stuff about biblical times, and Mackie gave some interesting context and language lessons. But a presentation of the gospel wasn't there, nor did he confront sin or call to repentance. What he preaches are basically life-improvement messages—Jesus just wants you to live better. That's Law with no gospel. The Law brings death, the gospel brings life (Romans 8:2).

"I think, Sir, you lack understanding about the Bible Project and their videos. You're actually saying same things like with Tim Mackie. But why do you need to slander your fellow servant, when actually you are preaching the same things? Bible Project's short videos are short, which means it was summarized. I suggest you speak to Tim Mackie personally about your concern to clarify things." —Adrian

No, I'm not saying the same thing as Tim Mackie. Nor have I slandered him—I said nothing untrue in my video. By the way, you might notice this continual theme of publicly telling me I should personally express my concerns privately.

"If the motivation behind this video is to correct wrong teaching, would it be that difficult to shoot an e-mail to the Bible Project team or to Tim Mackie? We don't need to destroy each other but lovingly correct one another because we are brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus." —Tinne

Did you shoot an e-mail to me? I'm not out to destroy anyone, but I do want to destroy every lofty opinion that contradicts Scripture. The Bible says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God" (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

"Would you please publish your discussion with Tim Mackie that you had to clarify your understanding of his view of the atonement and propitiation and Hell. Oh wait, you didn’t have that discussion? If not you didn’t act in a loving manor to correctly and contextually represent your brother in Christ’s teaching." —Kawitamamayi

Would you please publish the discussion you had with me to clarify your understanding of my video? Oh wait, we didn't have that discussion? Then by your own standard of judgment, you're not acting in a loving manner.

I fear the judgment of no man. I stand in reverent fear of God alone. The Apostle Paul said, "For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10). May the Lord examine my heart and by His grace find me faithful. I hope this was edifying for you all.