The Masoretic Hebrew Text and the Traditional Received Text gives the Bible believing Christian stability knowing they have the very Words of the Living God. John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Bible
This is the first lecture for the Received Text given recently at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London.
The following is just another reason why one should be a Biblical Independent Baptist rather than a denominational Baptist and in this case Southern Baptist.
‘The Baptist General Convention of Texas, one of few Southern Baptist groups that has not specifically excluded women from church leadership roles, passed a resolution at its 2021 General Convention earlier this month to “affirm and celebrate” the contributions of women in “advancing God’s kingdom.”
“Be it resolved that the messengers of the 2021 Texas Baptists annual meeting affirm the ongoing efforts of Texas Baptists following Christ’s example of engaging, empowering, and entrusting women with the gospel,” the resolution said, acknowledging that women have served and continue to serve the denomination in “numerous and complex ways,” including being elected to church offices, serving on committees, doing local and foreign mission work, holding positions in higher education and working within local churches.
The move distinguishes BGCT from the overall Southern Baptist Convention, which does not affirm pastoral roles for women. Conservatives within the SBC — complementarians — believe God created men and women for different roles, designating men to have authority in churches and at home, Baptist News Global reported.
A brochure written by the staff of the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention noted that just two of 5,000 Southern Baptist churches in Texas — and about 30 of the 40,000 SBC churches overall — currently have women leading their congregations.
Titled “Southern Baptists and Women Pastors,” the brochure, copyrighted in 2021, outlined the denomination’s position on women pastors, saying, “The question at hand is not whether women are of equal value to men, nor is it whether they can minister effectively.” Rather, the issue is that “the Scripture assigns the role of pastor to males.”
“Critics argue that Baptists are merely behind the times or have been unduly influenced by a ‘patriarchal’ society,” it said. “However, we think Baptist churches have male pastors because they believe they are so instructed by the New Testament.”
“Even a cursory reading” of pertinent texts in the New Testament leads to the conclusion that “women cannot have a pastoral position, or perform the pastoral function, for that puts them in authority over men in the life of the church,” the brochure went on to say, quoting verses from Timothy and Titus.’https://julieroys.com/women-pastors-sbc-texas-baptist-celebrate/?mc_cid=d19d51b218&mc_eid=b13d34ad49
Titus 1:6 ¶ If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. 7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; 8 But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; 9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.
‘One way to get a Nobel prize in something, you’ve got to break some new ground or discover something no one has ever seen. In the world, the making of a printing press or light bulb changes everything. People still try to invent a better mousetrap. It happens. The phone replaced the telegraph and now our mobile devices, the phone.
Everyone can learn something new from scripture. You might even change or tweak a doctrine you’ve always believed. On the whole, you don’t want to teach from the Bible what no one has ever heard before. The goal is the original intent and understanding of the Author.
From the left comes progressivism. The U. S. Constitution, just over two hundred years old, means something different than when it was written. Loosely constructed, it has a flexible interpretation into which new meanings arise. Hegelian dialectics say a new thesis comes from synthesis of antithesis and a former thesis. Everything can be improved.
Early after the inspiration and then propagation of the Bible, men found new things no one ever saw in scripture. Many of these “finds” started a new movement. People have their fathers, the father of this or that teaching, contradictory to the other, causing division and new factions and denominations. Some of these changes become quite significant, a majority supplanting the constituents of the original teaching.
At the time of the Reformation, it was as if the world first found sole fide and sole scriptura. Men often call justification the Reformation doctrine of justification. This opened a large, proverbial can of worms. Many could read their own Bible in their own language. Others now dug into their own copy of the original languages of scripture. Skepticism grew. “If we didn’t know this before, what else did they not tell us.” It became a time ripe for religious shysters and this practice hasn’t stopped since then.
Socinus
The Italian, Laelius Socinus, was born in 1525 into a distinguished family of lawyers. Early his attention turned from law to scripture research. He doubted the teachings of Roman Catholicism. Socinus moved in 1548 to Zurich to study Greek and Hebrew. He still questioned established doctrine and challenged the Reformers. Laelius wrote his own confession of faith, which introduced different, conflicting beliefs. They took hold of his nephew, Faustus Socinus, born in 1539.
Faustus rejected orthodox Roman Catholic doctrines. The Inquisition denounced him in 1559, so he fled to Zurich in 1562. There he acquired his uncle’s writings. His doubt of Catholicism turned anti-Trinitarian. The Reformation did not go far enough for Socinus. His first published work in 1562 on the prologue of John rejected the essential deity of Jesus Christ.
Socinus’s journeys ended in Poland, where he became leader of the Minor Reformed Church, the Polish Brethren. His writings in the form of the Racovian Catechism survived through the press of the Racovian Academy of Rakow, Poland. His beliefs took the name, Socinianism, now also a catch-all for any type of dissenting doctrine.
Socinianism held that Jesus did not exist until his physical conception. God adopted Him as Son at His conception and became Son of God when the Holy Spirit conceived Him in Mary, a Gnostic view called “adoptionism.” It rejected the doctrine of original sin.
Socianism denied the omniscience of God. It introduced the first well developed concept of “open theism,” which said that man couldn’t have free will under a traditional (and scriptural) understanding of omniscience.
Socinianism also taught the moral example theory of atonement, teaching that Jesus sacrificed himself to motivate people to repent and believe. His death gave men the ability to be saved by their own works, who weren’t sinners by nature anyway.
Unitarians
The work of Socinus lived on in the belief of early English Unitarians, Henry Hedworth and John Biddle. Socinian belief was helped along also by its position of conscientious objection, a practice of refusing to perform military service. This principle was very popular with many and made Socinianism much more attractive to potential adherents. The First Unitarian Church, which followed Socianism as passed down through its leaders in England, was started in 1774 on Essex Street in London, where British Unitarian headquarters are still today.
As the Puritans of colonial America apostatized through various means, Unitarianism, a modern iteration of Socinianism took hold in the Congregational Church in America. After 1820, Congregationalists took Unitarianism as their established doctrine. The doctrine of Christ diminished to Jesus a good man and perhaps a prophet of God and in a sense the Son of God, but not God Himself.
Spirit of Skepticism
I write as an example of the diversity in the history of Christian doctrine and why it takes place. When you read the beliefs of Socinians, you easily see them in modern liberal Christianity. They influence on religious cults that deny the deity of Jesus Christ.
A limited amount of skepticism wards away the acceptance of false doctrine. Better is a Berean attitude (Acts 17:11), searching the scripture to see if these things are so, and what Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:21, proving all things, holding fast to that which is good.
As I grew up among fundamentalists and independent Baptists, I witnessed regular desire to find something new in the Bible. Many sermons espoused interpretations I had never heard and didn’t see in the text. A preacher often said, “God gave it to me.” You should know God used the man because no one had seen such insights into scripture.
The same spirit of doctrinal novelty continues today in many evangelical churches. The same practice led Joseph Smith in his founding of Mormonism. Many cults arose in 19th century America under the same spirit of skepticism of established historical doctrines.
The Temptation of Novel Teaching
The temptation of novel teaching preys on anyone. Faustus Socinus accepted many orthodox doctrines of his day. He rejected Christ as fully God and fully human because it was contrary to sound reason (ratio sana). This steered Socinians toward Enlightenment thinking, where human reason took the highest role as arbiter of truth.
Warren Wiersbe wrote that H.A. Ironside, longtime pastor of Chicago’s Moody Church, said, “If it’s new, it’s not true, and if it’s true, it’s not new.” Elsewhere I read that Spurgeon first said that. I don’t know. Clever new interpretations, teachings, and takes on and from scripture corrupt and overturn scriptural, saving doctrines in the hearts of men. They condemn them through all eternity.’https://kentbrandenburg.com/2021/11/22/the-regular-history-of-clever-new-interpretations-teachings-or-takes-on-and-from-scripture-socinianism/
Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
‘Online church is now here as a part of the outreach of churches around the world, but California megachurch pastor John MacArthur is not one who is a fan of it.
MacArthur, the senior pastor at Grace Community Church in Greater Los Angeles, is the kind of pastor who speaks his mind. He doesn’t feel the need to provide answers that please the general Christian community. So when the discussion came to church, he didn’t mince his words.
While most churches closed their doors during Covid last year, MacArthur risked prison time by keeping his open.
John MacArthur says by definition, an online church service “cannot fulfill the New Testament’s commands for Christians”. During a recent Question and Answer session, Macarthur stated: “There’s nothing about that (online church) that fulfills the biblical definition of coming together, stimulating one another in love and good works. Singing, speaking to yourselves in Psalms [and] spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord, sitting under the Word of God, praying together, being led by those who preach the Word and open the Scripture.
“The definition of a church is crystal clear in the New Testament. We see the picture of it. They came together on the first day of the week. They worshipped the Lord. They prayed. It was fellowship, and it was the breaking of bread and the Lord’s Supper. So the church is defined clearly. And it’s the communion of the saints. It’s fellowship, it’s partnership.
“Zoom church is not Church. It’s not Church. It is watching TV. There’s nothing about that that fulfils the biblical definition of coming together, stimulating one another to love and good works, coming together.
“We are only the Church when we are together.”’https://mychristiandaily.com/its-not-church-it-is-watching-tv-says-john-macarthur-on-online-church/
Isaiah 45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
Now, of course that is from the Bible which many today do not recognize as any authority on almost anything. That’s why some say ‘…there is actually plenty of oxygen on the Moon. It just isn’t in a gaseous form. Instead it’s trapped inside regolith — the layer of rock and fine dust that covers the Moon’s surface. If we could extract oxygen from regolith, would it be enough to support human life on the Moon?’ https://theconversation.com/the-moons-top-layer-alone-has-enough-oxygen-to-sustain-8-billion-people-for-100-000-years-170013 Oh, there’s plenty of oxygen on the moon BUT! One wonders why the oxygen isn’t there available for humans to live there as they do on earth? Is it because the earth was FORMED to be INHABITED by God the Creator?
See, many seek to bypass the fact that the earth was made for man to inhabit. We have what we need here, including OXYGEN! It’s as Paul wrote in Romans 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.
Exodus 12:12
“‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.’”
Modern skeptics of the Bible, including skeptics within the church, often deny the Bible’s description of God’s actions in the ten plagues against Egypt. However, our growing knowledge of ancient Egypt tells us that the plagues described in the Bible were exactly what God Himself said that they were. They were indeed the true God’s judgment against the false gods of Egypt.
When God turned the Nile water into blood, He was acting against Hapi, the Egyptian god, who was honored as the giver of life. When the river turned to blood it was no longer able to give life. When Egypt filled with frogs, God showed that the frog-headed goddess Hekt, responsible for creation and fertility, could not even control the fertility of frogs. The massive death of Egypt’s cattle was an attack on Hathor. Hathor was the cow-headed goddess of love, one of the oldest Egyptian gods, and the one that was worshipped by Pharaoh.
The hail was God’s judgment against the sky goddess Nut who was also mother of the sun god. It was her job to protect the land from destruction that came from the heavens. The three days of darkness showed the powerlessness of Amon-Re, one of Egypt’s main gods. Finally, the death of Pharaoh’s firstborn and then Pharaoh, both considered living gods, left no doubt about the all-powerful nature of Israel’s true God.
Today people still look to things in the creation to give them what only the true Creator God can give them. Yet it is the creation itself that bears witness to the only true God.’ https://creationmoments.com/sermons/one-god-against-the-gods-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=one-god-against-the-gods-2&mc_cid=094bf6d747&mc_eid=00c1dcff3c
I was introduced to Dave Hunt and the Berean Call years ago while in Bible college. Dave is now in glory but the Berean Call continues to help Christians in their walk with the Lord.
‘There’s a saying that underscores what the Scriptures declare continually: The Bible is not a book that men could write if they would…or would write if they could. Regarding the first part of the saying, finite man obviously lacks the omniscience [1] of our infinite God, so he cannot know the hearts and minds of his fellow man.
As to the latter part, fallen prideful man would hardly be inclined to expose his wickedness, as is presented in Matthew:15:18-20
and numerous other places: “…[t]hose things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man….”
Clearly the Bible is at odds with psychology [3]’s view of the nature of man, which this pseudo-science [1] proclaims is inherently good. Therefore, any issues adversely affecting our lives are said to be caused by external factors, i.e., parents, friends, enemies, our environment, the media, etc. Moreover, the issue of sin cannot even be addressed in psychotherapy (except for those therapists who will negatively point to belief in it as an obstruction to achieving a healthy mental condition).
Numerous other problems with psychological counseling have been presented in the many volumes authored by Dr. Martin and Deidre Bobgan [4] and a host of others, including books by various researchers and academics. Even so, common sense is often a valued means for discerning what’s wrong with psychotherapy. For the believer in Jesus Christ and His Word, he or she is without excuse regarding turning from God’s Word to psychological counseling for help related to mental, emotional, and behavioral problems.
For all the claims of believing in the inerrancy and authority of Scripture, many, including biblical Christians and pastors, do not hold fast to the sufficiency of the Word of God, which the Bible claims. “…as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter:1:3).
For a believer, what does not pertain to “life and godliness”? Isn’t the Bible wholly sufficient to meet the needs of our Christian walk? For example, Psalm:119:9 declares, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” Psalm:1:1 adds an instruction that certainly relates to psychological counseling: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”
Even a cursory review of the lives of the founders of psychotherapy and their latter-day disciples reveal their blatant ungodliness, let alone their false teachings. Consider 2 Timothy:3:16-17
: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be complete, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
What could psychological counseling possibly supply regarding “instruction in righteousness” and the enablement of a counselee to manifest “good works”? Nothing…and worse. The entire field of psychotherapy is spiritually bankrupt, creates confusion and hopelessness, intimidates through its deception and promotions, and keeps people in mental and emotional bondage. Many years ago, secular psychologist Dr. O. Hobart Mowrer, definitely not a biblical Christian, asked this question: “Has evangelical religion sold its birthright for a mess of psychological pottage?”
Time has shown that the answer is “yes!” That’s the bad of “the good, the bad, and the ugly” that has influenced counseling in the church. There is much more that could be said to inform Christians about the unbiblical teachings and practices of psychotherapy. And most of those things can be readily discerned by simply being a Berean (Acts:17:10-11
), those who compared what they were being taught with what the Word of God teaches. Furthermore, as has been noted, a biblical Christian has no grounds for turning to psychological counseling.
Yet many would agree and declare with great assurance that they have turned from psychology [3] to one of the programs that are a part of the Biblical Counseling Movement. That would include the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC), the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF), and the Biblical Counseling Foundation (BCF). That may seem to be a good thing but sadly, it’s rarely the case.
What’s the problem?
Biblical counseling programs look to the Bible, for the most part, for its teachings about the curse of sin, the fallen nature of man, the ways and means of how we can be reconciled to God, and receiving the gift of eternal life by putting one’s faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin. And they are acutely aware that such beliefs are rejected by the psychological approach to counseling. Nevertheless, they have drifted (maybe even rushed!) into some of the methods of clinical counseling that inevitably are counterproductive regarding the spiritual welfare of those involved, and that includes both the biblical counselor and the counselees.
There are a host of practices performed in Biblical Counseling that have no basis in the Scriptures. They include searching one’s past to discover the basis for one’s sin issues through personal data inventory (PDI), setting up a position of counselor within a fellowship, females counseling males and vice-versa, charging for counseling services, either within the church or external to the church, obtaining licenses from the state in order to counsel, earning degrees and certification in counseling, scheduled fifty-minute counseling sessions, and maintaining an air of professionalism.
None of those things can be found in the Bible as relating to ministering to brothers and sisters in Christ. They are in fact the modus operandi of psychological counseling that inevitably compromises biblical truth. As destructive as they are to ministering biblically—and they are really bad—they are not the ugly part, although they are related.
“Problem-centered counseling” is the chief cause of the ugliness.
The Bobgans underscore the unbiblical facets of problem-centered counseling in their books Christ-centered Ministry versus Problem-centered Counseling and Stop Counseling! Start Ministering! They begin by making an important point in their distinction between the terms “counseling” and “ministering.”
“Counseling” is a word that carries a lot of baggage, often bringing to mind psychological ways and means when that is never intended. They chose to distinguish the term counseling (because it is generic enough to cover both psychological and biblical counseling) and ministering, because it puts the emphasis on Christ and the teachings of His Word.
So, when does biblical counseling not become biblical ministering? In two very critical areas. First and foremost, when the counseling becomes problem-centered. Predictably, that leads away from a focus that is Jesus-centered and obedience-to-His-Word oriented. As the Bobgans point out, “We contend that as long as personal ministry remains problem-centered, and therefore person-focused, there will be less spiritual growth and more superficial fixing of the flesh.” Once a problem is “fixed,” it usually lingers on and comes up in future counseling sessions. Whether the counselor is secular or biblical he or she becomes the “fixer.” And the approach becomes a revolving door of dealing with new problem after problem.
On the other hand, the ministering approach focuses primarily on encouraging brothers and sisters in Christ to strengthen their walk with Him, thereby maturing the believer in the faith and attaining to godliness. Remember, godliness is one of the traits gained for believers in the verse telling us of the sufficiency of God’s Word (2 Peter:1:3). That will not only help reduce life’s troubles without the need for specifically addressing each one, but it will eliminate many future issues from developing and rearing their ugly heads. Besides that, it does away with dependence upon a fellow human being as the “fixer” and shifts one’s reliance to the Holy Spirit, where it should be.
The problem-centered method is common in the Biblical Counseling Movement, and that may seem reasonable to some. Counseling is in the business of resolving problems. Right? No, not according to Scripture. The problem-centered method is not biblical and has created situations that foster sin rather than bringing about repentance. And it often gets really ugly. For example, counseling, as we noted, is talk therapy. It is conversation. The counselor, in attempting to resolve the conflict between a husband and wife, has them air their problems (which is a problem in itself). That nearly always produces accusations, one against the other, which often results in consequences found and condemned in Ephesians:4:31: “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.”
The problem-centered exchange between the counselees often exhibits sins such as slander, self-serving biases, backbiting, blame-shifting, etc. Rather than a biblical counselor halting the sinful speaking, he or she often fosters it by asking probing questions that supposedly give insights that reveal the heart of the problem. The methodology of exploring problems in depth in search of solutions related to sin is an act of vanity. It goes nowhere and, in the process, it exacerbates the conflict. Furthermore, and most important, it’s a diversion from what the Bible clearly says, which can be understood and obeyed without difficulty.
Problem-centered counseling rarely, if ever, directs the counselees past the problems to Christ himself and their walk with Him. Some of the Biblical Counseling organizations have produced videos utilizing their people role playing as counselees. What’s presented in their own productions shows clearly their approach to counseling as I’ve just described. The Bobgans “are not saying ‘Do not talk about problems.’ We do listen to problems; but the way we respond and the direction we take differ from those in the biblical counseling movement.” The ministering approach does not major in addressing problems in contrast to the biblical counseling movement’s problem-centered approach. The goal of the ministering approach is to “turn the attention back to the Lord and His Word and the daily walk as soon as possible and as often as necessary. Of course there are exceptions, as when immediate action needs to be taken. For instance, if gross sin has been committed, such as a crime, physical or sexual abuse, or unfaithfulness in a marriage, there must be evidence and there must be action beyond the conversation of personal ministry.”
What of the good in regard to counseling in the church? I know of some, who, although they don’t make the distinctions between the terms “counseling” and “ministering,” nevertheless do not subscribe to either psychological counseling or the hybrid of that found in the Biblical Counseling Movement. They do not refer their people out to professional psychotherapists, do not set apart individuals as counselors, nor do they adhere to any methodology of counseling.
They believe that the full counsel of God, taught through verse-by-verse sermons, Bible studies with like-minded believers, individuals studying the Scripture, much time spent in prayer, and obedience to the Scriptures through the power of the Holy Spirit enables all biblical Christians to be fruitful and productive in their life in Christ. Those things are sufficient in dealing with life’s problems.
Hopefully, the Lord will use these two articles to speak to those who have been confused by, even deceived by, practices and experiences they have had either as counselors or counselees and be encouraged to “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thessalonians:5:21).
I believe the Bobgans have pointed the church back to the old paths, which the Holy Spirit inspired the prophet Jeremiah both to restore and to warn his people. “Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah:6:16). My prayer is that the church will not respond as the Israelites did: “But they said, We will not walk therein.”
I can’t think of a better way to end this message than to quote the conclusion given in the Bobgans’ book Stop Counseling! Start Ministering!
“We urge all believers to grow in grace, in faith, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and to be ready to minister to one another as the Lord provides opportunities and wisdom. New believers can certainly testify of the Lord’s work in them, which can be a great encouragement to others. As believers talk with one another, they will find opportunities to give a word of comfort, encouragement, and exhortation.
“They may have opportunities to remind one another of essential truths of Scripture that need to be emphasized. And, they may find themselves sought out for personal ministry by those who are enduring trials and various problems of living. Those who are trusting the Lord and His Word, who are giving themselves as ready vessels for the Holy Spirit to work through them, and who have been walking daily with the Lord through both sunny and stormy days are equipped to minister in some of the most difficult situations that fellow believers may be experiencing.
“We thank God for those individuals who, without counseling certificates, degrees, manuals, books, or programs, are not intimidated by a lack of counseling education and training and who minister to others just as believers were doing prior to the rise of the psychological and biblical counseling movements. We say to all who have been prepared by the Lord and are dependent on Him rather than on the wisdom of men: Go forth and minister by grace through faith.”’
Dr. Jimmy DeYoung unpacks Isaiah 38 http://xtremeprophecy.com/XtremeProphecy/HOME.html
whatyareckon 