A "Purpose Driven" Plea to Pastors

Ok, so I changed the title a bit from the original...but wow...Todd says it straight. Is he right? What do you think?
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A Purpose Plea to Pastors
By Todd Friel

Would you let a surgeon operate on you or your family if he didn’t know the procedure perfectly? Of course not. How much more accurate should a pastor be with the Gospel that is the power unto salvation?

If you are responsible for introducing the Purpose Driven Life to your church or small group, please consider the following verses. “I (Paul) have laid the foundations like an expert builder. Now others (you) are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.” I Cor.3:10.

How careful have you been in endorsing the Purpose Driven Life? Did you study it with a critical eye? Did you know the theology and history of Rick Warren before you fed Purpose to your sheep? Were you “very careful?”

“There is going to come a time of testing at the judgment day to see what kind of work each builder has done. Everyone’s work will be put through the fire to see whether or not it keeps its value. If the work survives the fire, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builders themselves will be saved, but like someone escaping through a wall of flames.” (I Cor.3:13-15)

Hold it, it gets worse. Paul tells us that “God will bring ruin upon anyone who ruins this temple.” (v.17) Uh oh.

For 57 pages, Pastor Warren does not describe sin, righteousness, judgment, God’s holiness, hell, repentance, shedding of blood, atonement or resurrection. Yet on page 58 of PDL, Pastor Warren invites the reader to become a Christian by “whispering the prayer that will change your eternity.” This prayer better be surgically accurate or we have a pastor who is guilty of malpractice (pardon the mixed metaphor). So what is the prayer that will save?

“’Jesus, I believe in you and I receive you.’ Go ahead. If you sincerely meant that prayer, congratulations! Welcome to the family of God.”

If you believe that James 4:9,10 describes the conversion experience of godly sorrow that leads to repentance, then you recognize that Pastor Warren’s presentation of salvation is, and I state this very carefully, not Biblical.

Friend, we can argue about many things in Christianity, but salvation is one message we must have complete accuracy and agreement on. Paul warned that any other Gospel is no Gospel at all. “Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including myself, who preaches any other message than the one we told you about. Even if an angel comes from heaven and preaches any other message, let him forever be accursed.” Gal.1:8

We cannot say, “Well, he sort of presents the Gospel.” Jesus shed His blood for this Gospel, we must get it right. Eternity is at stake.


“Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’” (Mark 1:14,15) “Repent and trust” is the Biblical response to the Gospel, not whispering a prayer. God commands all men everywhere to repent.

Imagine your spouse committed adultery against you and returned to you and said, “Honey, I believe in you and I receive you.” Would that be acceptable to you? Why would we think that is acceptable to God? It isn’t. That is a false Gospel. That is a damning Gospel.

Luther, Calvin, Moody and Tozer all preached repentance and trust. Charles Spurgeon proclaimed, “While the gospel is a command, it is a two-fold command explaining itself. "Repent ye, and believe the gospel.’"

If you believe that is the only saving Gospel, then you stand at odds with PDL.

While we could discuss the Pastor Warren’s faulty forty day premise, man-centered theology, rampant mis-use of Scripture, using a dozen liberal translations and his questionable connections and endorsement by Robert Schuller, his salvation message alone should disqualify Purpose from being promoted in evangelical circles.

Please, you are the shepherd of your flock. Your sheep are being fed another Gospel. You will be judged for this. All I ask is that you consider what I am saying and check it with Scripture. This is your duty.

Too much talk on repentance?

I don't think so. I haven't heard first-ear (pun intended), but I do understand by way of my friend, Michelle, that Mark Driscoll is on fire for repentance lately. I'm not sure, but that's what I've heard. Why?

How 'bout John Piper in his latest release, What Jesus Demands from the World? He mentions what the Bible does, ironically, that Jesus demands we repent (agree with God that our sin is wrong and offensive to Him AND that we'll stop) and we should not because it's moral improvement (what Ray Comfort calls "life enhancement"), but to escape God's judgment of hell. Hmmm...

John MacArthur, affectionately referred to hereon as JohnnyMac, has written prolifically about the subject, especially from his 1993 release of The Gospel According to the Apostles, but also took it further just recently on The Way of the Master Radio with Todd Friel, and probed him further on it.

Alistair Begg is hitting the bandwagon with hard-hitting questions in his radio show on Expository Preaching and it's lack from the pulpit. He's suggesting the same thing. Hard, but necessary, stuff.

And, finally, those wacky guys at Way of the Master and Way of the Master Radio continue to yell, "WAKE UP! Jesus is coming soon, or you might die soon!" Often, the exclamatory is more towards God might just get impatient with you (OUCH!) and send you to hell for ignoring His grace in allowing you to breathe each and every breath.

Hmmm...your thoughts?

Paul Washer - Firey sermon

ARE YOU SAVED?

I'm not going to talk much right now, other than to say that the folks who run the CreationFest business do not know what it means to be TRULY SAVED. Wanna know? Check out this link... Are you truly saved? This is via "The Way of the Master Radio" with Todd Friel. Be prepared to either eagerly agree or be vehemently angry, claiming heresy.

Way of the Master

What a month. I've gone through so much, spiritually speaking, that I don't know where to begin. I guess it started with a (seemingly) random conversation with a youth pastor at the local Calvary Chapel. We started chatting, and he handed me and Dale (Moog) a gospel tract with a web address to Living Waters. Well, what I thought was just another cool, but goofy, website turned out to be an eye-opener. Let me explain... No, no, wait a minute. You should go ahead and visit www.livingwaters.com and check out their message. It's not one that most people have heard, and it's one that my spirit has been praying will return to this planet to reap a harvest before the devil has his way with the remaining damned. Oh, I know I sound heavy, but the Bible says that it's appointed a man once to die, then comes the judgment. Folks, it's so necessary that you review your life, think about it in terms of the 10 Commandments, and once you realize you have transgressed the law, and thus have sinned (1 Jn 3:4), repent (turn from your sin), and put your trust in Jesus.

See, there are a lot of people using other things as draw cards for salvation - love, joy, peace, and lasting fulfillment, among other things, say like prosperity (the old "health-and-wealth" gospel," which is no gospel at all!).

Jesus didn't come for you to have a great life. Look at St. Paul, Stephen (in Acts), and the apostles. They died for their faith. I can't think of the word "wonderful" while simultaneously hearing whip lashes, rocks being thrown as weapons, and nails being pounded through flesh. Jesus came "to seek and save that which was lost." That's it. We're lost through sin - transgressing the law of God, and God found us through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus. Please think about that today!

Love,
Jeff <><