Don't become confused. I'm not writing about agricultural-type fruit inspections!
One of my favorite Christian blog authors, Bill Muehlenberg of Australia, has written an excellent post called "The Desperate Need for Biblical Discernment" over at his Culture Watch blog.
Please share the link with your Christian brothers and sisters. The need for biblical discernment seems to be increasing exponentially as the years go by. Why? Because the warnings that Jesus Christ himself gave us in Matthew 7:15-23 are happening at such an alarming rate these days. The false prophets, false teachers, anti-christs, etc. are creeping into the churches unnoticed at times, and the people who are being duped by such charlatans need to be awakened and shown the Truth.
My comment there (in moderation at the moment):
Bill, you have the wonderful skill, the keen ability, and the spirit of a willing soul to write essays that are so important for the times that we live in today. How timely, how excellent, and how teachable is this article!
Our former church pastor used to tell the congregation to "call him out" if what he shares in any sermon is not Bible-based. We attended that church for about ten years. Suddenly, when the church as a whole wanted to do an in home Bible study on Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life," I began to see the compromise creeping in. What stirred me to recognize it? The fact that Warren's video "welcome" and introduction to the book study course left out the fact of the need for confession of sin and repentance at the foot of the cross of Christ! Several other study leaders noticed this as well. When I raised my hand and shared my concern about this, the lecturer/leader organizer just shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'll look into it." Never heard anything back about this gross error in presenting how to be born again in Christ. So, since I was committed to being a leader I added what was missing to the prayer of salvation and during the six weeks of in home study, made sure that the people attending knew what was needed to be saved according to John 3.
I had recently contacted you via email about an error in judgment that was done by another pastor and church that we formerly attended. Thanks again for your great discernment and advice.
These are not frivolous problems or disagreements. They are huge! That's why we have the warnings in Scripture that you have pointed out here. Warnings to beware - directly from Jesus himself!
I love your last paragraph - especially the need for "vital fruit inspections." Can I borrow that great phrase for my blog post title today as I link to your essay?
God bless you Bill. Your Holy Spirit led discernment abilities shines through like a ray of light on this darkened world of sin, evil and death. I admire you greatly for your essays and articles that teach us well and bring Bible-based wisdom alive to Christians all around the world here at this blog!
Hat Tip:
Culture Watch