Issues

I normally don't like to do this, but I will just like to share about issues regarding the recent review of the anti-Calvinism sermon which I have done. As anyone who has read my blog or read the review has known, I have done this review and have decided to post it to set the record straight with regards to Pastor X's attack on the Doctrines of Grace.

Firstly, the reason why I have decided to keep the pastor annonymous is that it would accomplish little in the Singapore context where people in general Do NOT know how to seperate issues from people and would take such a review as an attack on the pastor in question, thus the message I have intended to convey would be lost in the emotional reactions people might have. Keep in mind that I am NOT obliged to do so. Dr. James R. White, in his Radio Free Geneva sermons on his Dividing Live broadcasts, name the people who preached sermons against Calvinism, like the late Dr. Adrian Rogers, a Southern Baptist pastor, Pst. Dany O'Guinn, Pst. Jack Graham etc. (Ref). Similarly, the Apostle Paul names people like Alexander the metalworker who did him a lot of harm (2 Tim. 4:14-15) and the Apostle John names Diotrephes (3 John 9-10), who rejects the Apostle's authority and kick out those in the church who do not follow him. The early church also condemned men such as Arius and Pelagius as heretics. Therefore, following biblical and historical precedent, I am perfectly justified if I was to name the pastor invovled. I do not do so only because I think it would stumble others.

Secondly, I wanted to meet up with the pastor regarding his sermon to show him his errors and to make sure that I am reading him correctly. I have emailed him to request a meeting. However, it seems that, after reading my website and blog (which a friend of mine has told me), he has declined and passed judgment on me and label me as being arrogant and having a critical spirit (maybe also being a schismatic). For the record, both of these allegations are wrong. After talking with a friend of mine who is in that church, it seems that Pastor X is using his own life experiences as a filter upon which he passed his judgments. Being brought up on the effeminate Christianity which is permeating most of Christianity worldwide, it would seem that he regards any criticism of any Christian, especially pastors, as showing the person to be arrogant and having a critical spirit. He has thus probably seen my criticism of Rick Warren and other abberant 'Christian' movements and thus pass judgment on me. Sadly, such an unbiblical view of conflict within the Church is ubiquitious among most of what passes as Christianity in the world today. Discernment is sadly lacking and the neo-evangelical or pseudo-evangelical bandwagon is filled with multitude of churches today. Never mind that the single most important question of determining who is a Christian is not even answered today. As long as a person calls himself a Christian, and pays lip service to basic Christian doctrine, that person is not to be analyzed and judged even if he teaches blatent heresy (like the Word-Faith teachers, i.e. Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn etc.)

Anyway, I am still awaiting a reply from Campus Crusade Asia - Mass Media Ltd. It has been about one week since I gave the letter to them. Chances are it is probably in the bin, as the person may well regard me as some idiot with a critical spirit who criticises Rick Warren out of jealousy or something like that, especaially since I am a nobody in the eyes of Man. It is not that I think of myself as someone important or something like that, but in the eyes of God, all are equal and to discriminate against someone just because that person doesn't have a ThD or is not a pastor, or is not some Bishop is totally unbiblical. If that is the case, then I don't think that I will receive a reply from Campus Crusade Asia - Mass Media Ltd. over this issue, and they will continue to promote the hetero-orthodox book that is the Purpose Driven^® Life and the 40 Days of Purpose Campaign. Therefore, I will try to contact them further, and if they do not respond, I will write an open letter exposing them as promoters of deceiving doctrines.