Month: April 2020

eccumenism · heresy · Theology · Uncategorized

Since When do Heretics Care What the Bible Says?

Bob SnyderLeave a comment

Have you noticed that heretics only seem to care what God says in His word when they are,

  1. Eisegeting the text to support their pet heresies, or false teacher.
  2. Telling you not to judge them/their heresies/their teacher.
  3. Telling you that you can never truly know the truth, so their teacher’s teachings are true.  You just haven’t matured enough yet to get them.
  4. Telling you that you are the one causing division, and not seeking peace, and unity.
  5. When they are playing the martyr for everyone to see.
  6. When they are playing the Pharisee card on you.

They arm themselves with the typical list of verses like arrows in a quiver to shoot your way when you expose them.  We’ve all seen the verse torn out of context with a brand new meaning attached to it that it never had in context.  Purgatory for instance, when you call it out there will be someone who cites 1 Corinthians 3:12-15.  When they are telling you not to judge them they pull out the old trusty Matthew 7:1-2.  Get ready for a mind blower.  You can’t know the truth because, Isaiah 55:6!  Here is the big unity one folks, 1 Corinthians 1:9.  I love it when they apply this one to themselves, Matthew 10:20.  You can basically take any verse that speaks negatively about Pharisees, and apply them willy nilly to your theological foes.  They are basically get out of jail free cards for many different losing positions because the person on the receiving end is a legalistic meany!

One thing you’ll notice if you look into their eisegetical abuses is that the scriptures they cite often times refute the point they are trying to make when you honestly read them in context.  Don’t expect to get them to change their minds when you demonstrate that.  Many of these folks are so concretely convinced that it will take a miracle from God to open their eyes, and ears.  If you run in to that situation, the quicker you realize it the better.  Then you can pray for them, and stop arguing.  Please don’t say, “I’ll pray for you.” in that snarky tone of voice.  Just pray for them without telling them.

They don’t want to hear what God says in His word if any of what you are quoting takes away from what they are teaching.  They use the Bible to attempt to shut up attacks against their heresies, or golden calf of a teacher.  Being a Reformed Baptist, I get called a heretic, and have many of these things said about me.  I don’t accuse someone of heresy lightly.  Heresy is more than heterodoxy.  Heresy is when you are teaching something that negates one of the primary articles of faith.  Heresy is heterodox, but not all heterodoxy is heresy.  A false teaching that doesn’t address one of the primary articles of faith is heterodox.  If a person teaches that Jesus was not God incarnate, they are teaching a heresy.  If a person teaches that Jesus was solely a man, they are teaching heresy.  If a person teaches that you should go to Church on Saturday, they are teaching a false teaching, but it isn’t heresy.

We have all been in groups on social media where we have encountered horrendous abuses to God’s word.  Due to my Bible reviews, I’ve been in many groups that were supposed to be solely about the material features of a particular Bible.  I don’t know how many times some actual heretic has come in, dropped a heretical statement on the sly, and then when people like myself mention that they are teaching heresy, and need to stop, they play it off as if they were actually asking something else.  Due to the rules of the group, I, or people like me get scolded by the admins.  Well, I am shrinking my presence in those groups.  My echo chamber is getting smaller.  One day it might be so small that there is no echo, it will only be the sound of one man’s voice.  I hope it won’t be mine, but that of Christ, from His word.   Remember, Salvation is of the Lord.  Repent of your sins, and trust solely in Christ for your justification.  Persevere in the Faith, and we’ll be with Christ in eternity.  Sola on my brothers, and sisters!

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Coronavirus, and Passover.

Bob SnyderLeave a comment

Here in my house, I sit.  It is early in the morning before my day of work begins.  A comparison of the Jews in bondage to Egypt during the ten plagues, and our current situation with the virus comes to mind.  My initial thought was, “If only we could put the blood of the Passover Lamb on our door posts, and lintel, that this creeping death would pass over our households…”  This notion probably came to mind due to my formative Christian years as a Pentecostal.  We would have anointed our doorway with oil, and prayed over the house.  We would have hoped, and expected that none of us would get sick, or die.

Now, many years later, I don’t think that way anymore.  Now, regardless of if I live or die, I know the blood of the Passover Lamb has been applied to my soul.  The shadow, of the reality was the Passover.  The reality fulfilled is the crucifixion of Christ Jesus.  What Christ did on the cross, has secured my eternal life.  He took my place, and paid the price that I owed.  I am forever marked by His blood.  Eternal dying will pass over me, due to what He did a little over 2000 years ago.  He knew He would do this, before He created any thing.  Even though, He still created.  He has done so for His glory, and our good.  God is merciful.

In the fuller sense, as Christians, we have the true Passover Lamb.  He was spotless, without blemish, or defect.  We were full of blemishes, and defects.  It was our normal state of being before we met the Lord.  Now, with regeneration, repentance and faith,  granted by God to the elect, along with the preaching, and hearing of the gospel, we have the imputed righteousness of Christ, God.  When we die, He passes over judging us as He does the unrepentant.  We have the blood of the Lamb applied to us.  Praise God, and thank Him for His wonderful love, and amazing grace.

The coronavirus may cause our deaths.  Yes, even Christians die of diseases contrary to what many false teachers preach today.  You should not believe a man that preaches health and wealth who wears glasses, or has to get medical treatment.  Trust only in Christ.  We will certainly die.  Whether it is of coronavirus, accident, heart attack, cancer, or any other condition doesn’t matter.  If we are in Christ, we will step out of this temporal material world, and in to eternity with the Lamb of God.  We will bask in His glory, and radiance, and praise Him forevermore.  We have eternal life in Jesus, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

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Coronavirus, and God’s People.

Bob Snyder1 Comment

According to the Johns Hopkins map, currently of the 321,762 confirmed cases in the United States, 9,132 have died. That is 2.8% of the resolved confirmed cases. There has been 15,044 individuals who have recovered. That is 4.7% of the resolved confirmed cases. That leaves 92.5% of the confirmed cases unresolved. Keep in mind, that there are many unconfirmed cases that will never be quantified by us. Until the confirmed cases left unresolved drops we will have a difficult time really knowing what the true mortality rate is. We still truly have no idea how many people will be infected. The H1N1 flu infected 60.8 million Americans, with around 15K deaths. We are already approaching that mortality number with the coronavirus even though we have not come close to having that number of people infected

Hopefully there have been so many unconfirmed, and resolved cases that we won’t have any more deaths, but be prepared for it. Since none of knows what is truly happening, and what will happen, there is much insecurity, and anxiety. Everyone’s plans are on hold. We are in a type of limbo.

One thing we can be sure of is our Savior. Have you repented and put your faith in Christ Jesus? God is sovereign, and in control of all things. Not a sparrow falls outside of His will. If we die, we will be with Christ. If we live, we live for Christ. We who have been justified by Christ, have peace with God. We are secure in His strength. In that security, and peace, we can be a blessing to others.

Pray for God’s will to be done, and pray for Him to be glorified, even if that means that we die. There is not sting in our death, there is no victory for death, when a saint goes home. There is no condemnation for one of God’s adopted children. Seek His kingdom first, and place your hope in Christ alone.