Jim Miller
Gray, Maine
It is no secret that Liberal/Progressive’s will do and say anything it takes to justify their heresy’s. When they can’t justify or prove their error they will personally attack those who teach the truth. One of the most blatant ways they use to justify their unholy teachings is to redefining scripture, changing the meaning of words to fit what they choose to believe. The L/P preys upon those who do not study and when confronted by those who have and do study properly they are angered and become slanderous using any thing they can to assassinate the character of the one speaking the truth.
This is nothing new just look at what the Jewish Pharisee’s did and said about Jesus. They even went as far as to accuse Christ of being in league with Satan. Mat 12:22-24 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and
dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
The L/P is one who is man centered rather than God centered. An L/P person is one who modifies Christianity so that they may be able to do as they please whenever they wish. L/P’s will not let the word of God be the final authority. The purpose of becoming a Christian is to praise and worship God and we must do that in the way God would have us. God must be the center of our religion, not anyone or anything else.
The New Testament scripture gives warnings of L/P that can be found in our spiritual life. Jesus tells us “Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29). The words of Christ point out that we can be deceived
by not knowing the scriptures. The L/P relies upon impure passions instead of the infallible truths of God’s word, If we allow impure passions to rule our life and in the church our acts of worship and service to God are in vain. We must
study the Bible and meditate upon God’s word so that we can know the truth and see the path that God would have us take. When the L/P is allowed to take place in religious matters, we have stepped off the highway to heaven and have started down a swift road to destruction. The L/P goes beyond the prescribed limits of worship is not abiding in the doctrine of Christ. When we go beyond what is written in the Bible, we have gone off the deep end, and if we do not stop, that path will lead to an eternal punishment.
Christ explained what happens to us when we teach the commandments of men in Matthew 15:7-14: “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'” When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch” (NKJV). Jesus is scolding these people for the things that they are doing. Jesus is telling them that their worship is idle, empty and without profit because they are teaching the doctrines of men (v. 9). This shows that when a man has written some creed, confession of faith or church manual, that is not accepted! This rebuke that Jesus is giving is to the Pharisees who had added to the Law of Moses many traditional human precepts. This teaching applies to All L/P’s even today who have modified the Christianity of Christ and the apostles.
The liberal/Progressive’s attack the Bible and it’s teaching in many ways: They are pushing for changes in how the Bible is to be viewed and interpreted. They have sought to establish a “new hermeneutic” (i.e., a new set of rules of Bible interpretation) They would have us believe we do not have any law under Christ, but that the New Testament is merely a “love letter” from Heaven. They deny that the Bible contains the pattern for mans behavior or that God intends for us to strictly follow it. The L/P’s push for changes in worship. They seek to install entertainment such a praise teams and rock bands in substitute for singing as an assembly to God and in edification to one another.
Bible-quoting preachers were long ago replaced in many congregations by “hip” promoters giving pop-psychology pep talks laced with funny stories. Drama and theatrical productions are frequently filling the normal sermon time in some congregations. The practice of those in the congregation lifting their hands up over their heads during songs and prayers and applauding at points of agreement with the preacher, at a baptism, or at some announcement is on the rise. Some have already done away with a Gospel invitation and ridicule those who continue to offer one at each assembly. It has become increasingly common for congregations to meet only on Sunday morning and to replace the normal evening worship period with “cell” or “life group” meetings in homes. Some congregations now have two morning worship assembles. One is structured along “traditional” lines and is conducted for those who might be offended by “non-traditional” practices. The other is for the L/P’s who care little or none for Scriptural authorization for what they say or do, but who want to experiment with the old hollow, worn out practices of sectarianism, as if they possessed some magical formula for creating “spiritual worship.”
L/P’s push for changes in the role of women in the church. The secular, social, political, and humanistic “women’s liberation movement” of the 1970s and 1980s has had an obvious influence on some brethren who seem to care more about being “politically correct” than about being doctrinally correct. The L/P’s are pushing women into leadership roles in the church as rapidly as they can. Their usual beginning point is to use them as ushers and to pass the trays during the Lord’s supper, then they “progress” to have them lead a song or a prayer, then they further “progress” to have them teach mixed adult classes, with the intent eventually to move them into the pulpit. The L/P agenda see’s no harm in appointing women as deacons, then as elders, and finally, turning the pulpit over to them. All these actions are in direct contradiction to the teaching of scripture.
These are but a couple of examples of the destruction wrought upon the church by these wolves in sheep’s clothing.
