Friday, November 10, 2006

Slanderers will not inhereit the Kingdom of God…

Slanderers will not inhereit the Kingdom of God…

It make me really wonder when those who are against the emerging church denounce us and people who do not believe in absolute truth, that we tolerated sexual perversion, that we think homosexuality is ok with God, that we deny propositional truth and on and on…

And yes within the emerging church there are those who may or do think this way or that way… yet that is true of the modern church also... and I will say that most in the emerging church do not believe as it is said that they do… in fact many critics resort to slander…

Yet in my readings I see that many critics have not issue of slandering someone…


In fact the better at it you are, it seems the more “right” with God they seem to think they are!

Let me point out some things here…

  • The bible teaches that it is wrong to slander someone… it is even in the Ten Commandments. It is called bearing false testimony. (Exodus 20).
  • God tells us over and over to not do this… (Exodus 23, Deuteronomy 5:20)
  • Jesus warns us not to do it… (Matt 19)
  • He warns it comes from an unclean heart! (Matt 15:19)
  • Paul teaches it comes from a depraved mind! (Romans 1:28 – 30)
  • We are told to not associate with such a person. (1 Cor 5:11)
  • It is in the same list as homosexuality, yet seems to be accepted by those who claim to hate homosexuals. The question then I have is how does this make you better?!? (1 Cor 6: 9 - 10. Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.)
  • Ephesians 4:31 - 32 tells us to, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” And instead, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” I do not see the second part from most of the critics I have encountered.
  • If you condone and practice slander you are part of fulfilling scripture…(2 Timothy 3: 1 – 7) But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.
  • We are to be humble… and not judge or slander another as then we sit in judgment over the law… James 4:10 - 12 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you--who are you to judge your neighbor?
  • In Jude it talks of those who those who slipped in to teach Grace as a license to do immorality… I do not know of one emerging teacher who teaches that at all… I do though see the critic who slander and say we/they/I do… and I see that… “… these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals--these are the very things that destroy them.” They think themselves greater than Angels who respond to the devils slander with, “May the Lord rebuke you.” They also think themselves greater than Jesus, who will judge all, by judging other before the appointed time. (Acts 10: 41 – 43) You deny the teachings of scriptures you claim to believe… you again judge before the appointed time. (1 Corinthians 4: 1 - 5. So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.) So in your slander and judgment you show only your lack of belief in the truth you pretend to believe and defend.

    All in all slander is not a good thing to practice… so if you do not know for sure, then it is best not to even allude to it. Yet in compassion I cry out to my own critics and others with a critical spirit, to stop and turn to Jesus in humility…

    To you who continually slander me… I forgive you and am praying for you to turn to Jesus…

    I only am praying for God’s best for your life…

    Blessings,
    iggy



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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It is true, unfortunatly, that the emergent church has within it churches that embrace such things. And it is true that those looking to discredit the emergent church often emphasize these churches.

Hopefully in time, a distinction will be made between the two.