Should we love false teachers?

Reblogged from the-end-time.blogspot.com
Posted: 12 Jun 2015 11:51 AM PDT

It's always nice to talk about love and tolerance. We know that God loved the world. He loves His Son. We are told to love each other, that is how they will know us (John 13:35). But sometimes love is not appropriate or warranted. Do I mean this, really? Well, we know we are supposed to hate sin. We know there are six things, no, seven, that the Lord hates. (Proverbs 6:16-19). We hate sin so much we're supposed to kill the old man in us. (Colossians 3:5). We don't endlessly give the Gospel to those who hurl it back, those hurlers are called swine. So when it comes to love, we know we don't 'love' everyone or everything, at least not according to the romantic or secular definition of love. So here is the question: are we supposed to love false teachers?

At The Berean Call, the question is posed:

To the world it might appear that all is well in the Christian realm. Much-beloved speakers hold forth from the pulpits of some of the largest churches in the world. Believers and nonbelievers alike buy their books, avail themselves of their programs, and utilize their methodologies. One might come to the conclusion that Peter must not have been referring to the church in our day regarding false teachers. Tolerance is the word of the day. We hear admonitions on a regular basis to "just get along" with those of opposing faiths. "Love" reigns supreme.

But what is this "love" of which they speak? What about those who identify a false gospel or a false teacher among some of the popular speakers these days? Does this "love" still apply to those who expose the ones who are actually deceivers among the flock?

A dear sister in the faith posed the question to me. To love those who are deluded and cannot understand the Word and care for them and not be critical. I thought about it for a long time, because I love poorly and I'm always appealing to the Lord to teach me love better.

So I began to think hard, should we love false teachers? Are they to be pitied? I decided, no. Though I value the opinions offered and they DO make me think, I don't necessarily always agree. I'd like to offer an alternate view about how far not to go in pursuing love, and to offer a different perspective of what love actually is.

If we read Jeremiah 14:16, there is not even a hapless non-believer who accidentally can't understand God's truth and accidentally follows false prophets because they don't know better. They DO know better. God said He will pour out their evil upon them because they knew better but followed false prophets anyway. 2 Timothy 4:3 also puts the blame on those who choose to follow false teachers because they wanted their ears tickled, so they went out and accumulated for themselves false teachers who told them what they wanted to hear.

But back to the false teachers themselves. I reserve my highest caring in this situation- for Jesus. We do care for the state of our neighbor's souls, and we do care for brethren, but in all this let us not forget caring about Jesus.

I care about His name and what people do in His name. The harshest criticism in the Bible from everyone, (Jesus, Paul, Peter, John the Baptist, John, James, Jude, etc) was aimed at those who pervert God's word. It is not a situation where we say "poor, poor false teachers. Let's understand them and open our hearts to them and care." I do hope they are saved someday, but beyond that they get no caring from me. I am highly CRITICAL of them in righteous indignation. Here is why-

The Bible tells us they do it on purpose. They disguise themselves- that isn't an accident. (2 Cor 1:13). They do it for greed. (1 Timothy 6:5). They do it to put us in bondage again. (Gal 2:4). They do it because they hate Jesus and love themselves. (1 Tim 6:4). They do it because they enjoy lying. (2 Peter 2:1).

These false teachers are already cursed and destined for hell. In the essay "The Pathology of False Teachers" we read,

Unfortunately, their prognosis is not hopeful. Their spiritual condition is terminal. Those who are deprived of the truth are headed for judgment. Hebrews 6:6 solemnly warns of such men that “it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame.” Peter says that they bring “swift destruction upon themselves” (2 Peter 2:1). The severest hell will be reserved for those who, having been exposed to the truth, turned away from it (cf. Hebrews 10:26–31).

The goal of the false teacher is not to create an environment of love, but to feed his ego and fill his pockets.
~John MacArthur
You notice they don't pervert Buddha's words. They don't pervert Allah's words. They don't pervert Shiva's words. They choose to pervert Jesus' swords for gain, for fame, for an audience, and all the other reasons. I am critical of that because I care about Jesus.

The Berean Call again:

Every epistle in the New Testament was written to correct error in the church. Did Paul, Peter, James, John, and Jude not understand that to correct those who were in error was in truth a failure to love them? Did they believe that it was none of their business to bring correction to the false teaching? Do we consider them divisive for confronting error and holding fast to the truth? No! They boldly addressed the error and at times even named the offenders.

No, I do not love false teachers. I do not care about false teachers. I care about Jesus. I love His followers. Tim Challies said in his essay 7 Marks of a False Teacher,

False teachers are concerned with your goods, not your good; they want to serve themselves more than save the lost; they are content for Satan to have your soul as long as they can have your stuff.

Jesus called false teachers broods of vipers and hypocrites. (Mt 23:33)
So did John the Baptist in Mt 3:7
Paul said they were cursed. Twice in 2 sentences. (Gal 1:8,9)
Paul said their talk is gangrenous. (2 Tim 2:17)
Jesus called them ravenous wolves (Mt 7:15)
John called them deceivers (2 John 1:7)
Jude calls them ungodly perverters (Jude 1:4)
Peter called them depraved, disobedient, and destined for hell (1 Peter 2:8, 2 Peter 2:1,2)
John called them antichrists (1 John 2:22)
Never mind the harsh language from God in the OT against false prophets.

So. Were they wrong not to "love" the false teachers?

Indeed, we are told repeatedly we are to mark them, avoid them, not listen to them, close the hospitable door on them, put them out, warn them, keep away from them, give them to satan, but nowhere does it say to love them, care for them, or pity them.

Indeed, John advises the elder lady and her children not to even allow false teachers into their house NOR give them a greeting! If we do, God considers that we are participating in their evil deeds. (2 John 1:10). The John MacArthur Commentary on 2 John 1:10 says this-

Irenaeus relates that the church father Polycarp, when asked by the notorious heretic Marcion, "Do you know me?" replied, "I do know you, the firstborn of satan." (Against Heresies, 3.3.4)

John himself once encountered Cerinthus (another notorious heretic) in a public bathhouse in Ephesus. Instead of greeting him, however, John turned and fled, exclaiming to those with him, "Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of truth, is within." (Against Heresies, 3.3.4)

Charein, (greeting) means 'Rejoice' It was a common Christian greeting, conveying the joy believers had in one another's presence. But it is an affirmation of solidarity that is totally inappropriate for false teachers, who have no part in the truth of genuine Christian fellowship.Such emissaries of satan must be exposed and shunned, not affirmed and welcomed.

False teachers like to decry such treatment as harsh, intolerant, or unloving. But love forbids dangerous spiritual deception to gain a foothold among Christians. John's pastoral admonition is perfectly consistent with Jesus' denunciation of false teachers as ravenous wolves, thieves and robbers, whose only purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy. The church cannot aid or abet such spiritual outlaws by doing anything that would acknowledge them as Christians. The one who does so, even by doing something as seemingly innocuous as greeting them, participates in their evil deeds by helping them to further their deception.

I reserve all my criticism, judgment, and righteous indignation for the false teachers, and all my love for Jesus the Man-God, His people, and His revealed word. During the few times I've had opportunity to engage directly with a few of the false teachers I've written about, I hope I was lovingly showing them the error of their ways. THAT also is love, though the world doesn't call it love. Love is to admonish and correct so hopefully they do not persist in their tragic path, or worse, taking others with them.

Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:14)

Source

Here are two resources on the subject:

How to Treat False Teachers

The Danger Facing the Church
Love also comes out of sincere faith, not the hypocritical faith manifested by false teachers. Faith that has no pretense creates love. A false teacher has a dirty heart because it's never been cleansed by the true gospel of faith in Christ. A false teacher has a guilty conscience because his impure heart triggers it. But his conscience may have reached the point where it's so scarred that it's lost its sensitivity. And a false teacher has hypocritical faith. He's a phony--he wears a mask. That kind of life will never produce the love of God. The goal of the false teacher is not to create an environment of love, but to feed his ego and fill his pockets.

A Final Warning: Beware of False Teachers

Lesson 107: A Final Warning: Beware of False Teachers! (Romans 16:17-20)
Years ago, a seminary professor told his class at the beginning of the semester that they would work together on one major project during that semester. They would move systematically through the New Testament to categorize every area of truth and determine how many times each area is addressed. Their goal was to find what one thing is emphasized more than any other in the New Testament. When they completed the project, they were amazed to see that warning against false doctrine is emphasized more than any other thing, even more than love, unity, and experience (Renald Showers, in “Israel My Glory,” [April/May, 1995], pp. 24-25). I have not verified their conclusion, but they’re probably right. ...

J. C. Ryle was a champion for the truth in the Church of England during the 19th century. I’d recommend that you read him. In Warnings to the Churches ([Banner of Truth], p. 110), he wrote about how difficult yet necessary controversy in the church is. Then he added, “But there is one thing which is even worse than controversy, and that is false doctrine tolerated, allowed, and permitted without protest or molestation.” After acknowledging that many would view what he writes as exceedingly distasteful, he states (p. 111), “Three things there are which men never ought to trifle with—a little poison, a little false doctrine, and a little sin.”

Read more: http://thelightseed.blogspot.com/#ixzz3d1tfrkcj

Men giving up on women (and women who hate them)

REAL AMERICA 

Exclusive: Patrice Lewis sounds off on 'increasing chasm between sexes'

Published: 11 hours ago

image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2011/12/Patrice-Lewis_avatar.jpg
Patrice Lewis About | Email | Archive 
Remember when a woman named Jackie claimed she was gang-raped at a University of Virginia frat party? Rolling Stone magazine conducted an extensive interview with the so-called victim and ran an enormous editorial on the crime, without bothering to interview the presumed attackers.
Turns out there were so many “discrepancies” in Jackie’s story that Rolling Stone was forced to print a humiliating retraction. Whatever “issues” Jackie has in her life, it didn’t involve a gang-rape by the members of the fraternity she accused.

This kind of feminist-fueled nonsense just feeds into the “rape culture” hysteria plaguing colleges today, in which men are presumed to be rapists merely for possessing the right equipment, and women are presumed to be honest and virtuous whenever they interpret a passing glance from a man as a preliminary attack.

“The feminist power agenda has caused serious problems on college campuses,” wrote David Usher in a column entitled “Feminism: Today’s women’s Ku Klux Klan.” “California just enacted ‘Yes Means Yes,’ a widely criticized law converting college life into a witch hunt for a non-existent campus rape ‘crisis.’”
While this situation is horrible, unfortunately it reflects a growing trend of an increasing chasm between the sexes. Women are claiming everything from an appraising glance to a misplaced word are “sexual assault,” and as a result a growing number of men are withdrawing from any association with women at all, as a means of defense or survival if nothing else.

Thus was born a movement called “Men Going Their Own Way,” or MGTOW. I had never heard about it before last fall, but once brought to my attention, I’ve seen related stories cropping up all over the place. Many men, it seems, have decided women aren’t worth the trouble. They are eager to participate in one-night stands, but that’s about the extent of their willingness to commit. This in not just a case of “Why buy the cow when the milk is free?” Instead, for many men it seems the cost of the cow is simply too high.

In a lot of cases, I can’t say I blame them. I may not like their misogyny, but I can understand the sentiment.
“Never before in history have relations between the sexes been so fraught with anxiety, animosity and misunderstanding,” notes Milo Yiannopoulos in a Breitbart article. “To radical feminists, who have been the driving force behind many tectonic societal shifts in recent decades, that’s a sign of success: they want to tear down the institutions and power structures that underpin society, never mind the fall-out.”

This article interviewed European men who are grim about their future. “Marriage is dead,” noted a young gamer. “Divorce means you’re screwed for life. Women have given up on monogamy, which makes them uninteresting to us for any serious relationship or raising a family. That’s just the way it is. Even if we take the risk, chances are the kids won’t be ours. In France, we even have to pay for the kids a wife has through adulterous affairs.”

“[T]he sight of society breaking down, and ordinary men and women being driven into separate but equal misery, thanks to a small but highly organized group of agitators, is distressing,” continues Yiannopoulos. “Particularly because, as increasing numbers of social observers are noticing, an entire generation of young people – mostly men – are being left behind in the wreckage of this social engineering project.”
You can hardly blame men for withdrawing from society, Yiannopoulos concludes.
“Cruelly derided as man-children and crybabies for objecting to absurdly unfair conditions in college, bars, clubs and beyond, men are damned if they do and damned if they don’t: ridiculed as basement-dwellers for avoiding aggressive, demanding women with unrealistic expectations, or called rapists and misogynists merely for expressing sexual interest.”

This is confirmed by another article, which recounts how “Seventy percent of American males between the ages of 20 and 34 are not married, and many live in a state of ‘perpetual adolescence’ with ominous consequences for the nation’s future. … Far too many young men have failed to make a normal progression into adult roles of responsibility and self-sufficiency, roles generally associated with marriage and fatherhood. … The high percentage of bachelors means bleak prospects for millions of young women who dream about a wedding day that may never come. … Young women who adhere to a moral code and refuse to participate in the ‘hook up’ culture are now considered social misfits. … And they face even more daunting odds of finding a husband than their promiscuous sisters.”

That’s because if young women are not willing to “put out,” many men won’t have anything to do with them. And if women are willing to sleep around, the men take advantage of this for purely sexual reasons, not as a means to a deeper commitment.
Then, of course, the men will wonder if they’ll later be accused of rape, no matter how willing the female participant might have been.
In short, men and women are so suspicious of each other’s motives, neither can trust the other and often withdraw into eternal singlehood rather than risk ugly consequences. The result of this mutual distrust is rampant meaningless uncommitted sex and a dearth of solid, happily married couples. Can you see this as a recipe for a stable society in the future?

I find this trend poignantly sad. As one reader put it: “Trust me, nobody wants to be on their deathbed and only see the people who want their money gathered around. Which is what happens when you abandon the role of father and protector, and instead ‘go your own way’ as some kind of weird Peter Pan, never growing up, but always getting older. … Victory isn’t achieved by living your life alone. Victory is achieved when you find someone who fits you to a ‘T’ and marry them. Modern feminism hasn’t corrupted all women, you just need to get outside of your comfy life and find them.”

This attitude is countered by a bitter comment from the Breitbart article from a man who went his own way: “For the past, at least, 25 years, I’ve been told to do more and more to keep a woman. But nobody’s told me what they’re doing to keep me.”
So many women who hate men. So many men who hate women.

Why does this concern me? After all, my husband and I just celebrated our silver anniversary. We couldn’t be happier.
We have no sons who might someday get accused of rape for no reason. But we have daughters, daughters who show every promise of someday being a good man’s dream wife – if there are any good men left who are willing to risk marriage at all. But too many men will look at statistics, facts and figures and decide to foreswear off all women. And I couldn’t blame them.
It’s just sad.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2015/06/men-giving-up-on-women-and-women-who-hate-them/#mtIdkX61v6LfJphh.99

The End of The Age - EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS MAY 2015

Obama Wants to Forcibly “Desegregate” Wealthy Neighborhoods Through Socialism…AKA…”Government Grants”.

Reblogged from https://kingsjester.wordpress.com         

 
From the get-go, President Barack Hussein Obama’s motto has been “Share the Wealth”. Not his, of course, but, ours.
This “Quest for Equality”, i.e., lack of individualism, i.e., forming a collective society, if you will, springs from his love for the teachings of Karl Marx and Saul Alinsky, and his upbringing within an American Communist Family, which led to his association with people who wanted, with all their hearts to “radically change” America…by any means necessary.

Obama wants to limit our freedom…by making our choices for us.
And, by taking away individual achievement.
For example…
Thehill.com reports that

The Obama administration is moving forward with regulations designed to help diversify America’s wealthier neighborhoods, drawing fire from critics who decry the proposal as executive overreach in search of an “unrealistic utopia.”
A final Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rule due out this month is aimed at ending decades of deep-rooted segregation around the country.

The regulations would use grant money as an incentive for communities to build affordable housing in more affluent areas while also taking steps to upgrade poorer areas with better schools, parks, libraries, grocery stores and transportation routes as part of a gentrification of those communities. “HUD is working with communities across the country to fulfill the promise of equal opportunity for all,” a HUD spokeswoman said. “The proposed policy seeks to break down barriers to access to opportunity in communities supported by HUD funds.”

It’s a tough sell for some conservatives. Among them is Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), who argued that the administration “shouldn’t be holding hostage grant monies aimed at community improvement based on its unrealistic utopian ideas of what every community should resemble.”

“American citizens and communities should be free to choose where they would like to live and not be subject to federal neighborhood engineering at the behest of an overreaching federal government,” said Gosar, who is leading an effort in the House to block the regulations

Civil rights advocates, meanwhile, are praising the plan, arguing that it is needed to break through decades-old barriers that keep poor and minority families trapped in hardscrabble neighborhoods.
“We have a history of putting affordable housing in poor communities,” said Debby Goldberg, vice president at the National Fair Housing Alliance.
HUD says it is obligated to take the action under the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which prohibited direct and intentional housing discrimination, such as a real estate agent not showing a home in a wealthy neighborhood to a black family or a bank not providing a loan based on someone’s race.
The agency is also looking to root out more subtle forms of discrimination that take shape in local government policies that unintentionally harm minority communities, known as “disparate impact.” 

“This rule is not about forcing anyone to live anywhere they don’t want to,” said Margery Turner, senior vice president at the left-leaning Urban Institute. “It’s really about addressing long-standing practices that prevent people from living where they want to.”

“In our country, decades of public policies and institutional practices have built deeply segregated and unequal neighborhoods,” Turner said.
Children growing up in poor communities have less of a chance of succeeding in life, because they face greater exposure to violence and crime, and less access to quality education and health facilities, Turner suggested.

“Segregation is clearly a problem that is blocking upward mobility for children growing up today,” she said.
To qualify for certain funds under the regulations, cities would be required to examine patterns of segregation in neighborhoods and develop plans to address it. Those that don’t could see the funds they use to improve blighted neighborhoods disappear, critics of the rule say.
The regulations would apply to roughly 1,250 local governments.

Hans von Spakovsky, a fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, called the Obama administration “too race conscious.”
“It’s a sign that this administration seems to take race into account on everything,” Spakovsky said.
Republicans are trying to block the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule. Before passing HUD’s funding bill this week, the GOP-led House approved Gosar’s amendment prohibiting the agency from following through with the rule.

Though segregationist policies were outlawed long ago, civil rights advocates say housing discrimination persists.
HUD is looking to break down many barriers, but Gosar suggested the regulation would have negative repercussions.
“Instead of living with neighbors you like and choose, this breaks up the core fabric of how we start to look at communities,” Gosar said. “That just brings unease to everyone in that area.”
“People have to feel comfortable where they live,” he added. “If I don’t feel comfortable in my own backyard, where do I feel comfortable?”

Critics of the rule say it would allow HUD to assert authority over local zoning laws. The agency could dictate what types of homes are built where and who can live in those homes, said Gosar, who believes local communities should make those decisions for themselves rather than relying on the federal government.

If enacted, the rule could depress property values as cheaper homes crop up in wealthy neighborhoods and raise taxes, Gosar warned.
It could also tilt the balance of political power as more minorities are funneled into Republican-leaning neighborhoods, he suggested.
The Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on housing discrimination in a related case in the coming weeks. At issue is whether government policies that unintentionally create a disparate impact for minority communities violate federal laws against segregation.

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs is facing accusations that it makes low-income housing funds more readily available in minority neighborhoods than in white neighborhoods. This promotes segregation, critics argue, by encouraging minorities to continue living in poor communities where government assistance is available.
Court observers say the case could have a profound impact on HUD’s rule.

“Government-Funded Upward Mobility”?
Are we still in America?
How does that work in cities that are already 90 % minority population, like Detroit or Memphis?
As Charles Barkley pointed out a while back, Racism is not just a one-way street. How do you think that these cities go this way? Not all of their White citizens moved out because they wanted to.
But, I digress.

On a Sunday, in October of 2008, outside of Toledo, Ohio, Democratic Presidential Nominee Obama met a plumber named Joe Wurzelbacher. Joe, who owned his own plumbing company, dared to ask Obama about his proposed tax hikes. In fact, he told Obama that he did not want to pay higher taxes, he was already paying enough. Obama told him,

Now, I respect the disagreement. I just want you to be clear – it’s not that I want to punish your success – I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you – that they’ve got a chance at success too.”
…I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.

Evidently, the “fairness” Obama seeks, includes making everyone’s housing “fair”, too.
No individuality allowed in the Proletariat.
Welcome to the USSA, “komrades!”
Until He Comes,
KJ

Watchman Warning: Unless The Lord Guards The City

 Reblogged from http://www.hallindsey.com/

It’s been a tough few days for the Transportation Security Administration.  First we learned about auditors slipping mock explosives and weapons past TSA checkpoints 67 out of the 70 times they made the attempt.  That’s a 95% failure rate in an area that should have zero failures.

In 2004, testifying before the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, Condoleezza Rice said, “Those charged with protecting us from attack have to be right 100 percent of the time.  To inflict devastation on a massive scale, the terrorists only have to succeed once.”  

In other words, even a 1% failure rate could be catastrophic. The TSA failure rate is 95%!

But it gets worse.  This week, John Roth, the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security, told a congressional committee that his office found 73 airport workers whose names were listed in a federal database of possible terrorists. 

“TSA acknowledged that these individuals were cleared for access to secure airport areas despite representing a potential security threat,” Roth testified. 

Have you traveled by air much recently?  TSA still knows how to make the lives of travelers miserable.  They still bully too many disabled children.  They still pull elderly women out of line for extra scrutiny.  Yet they allow people known to the government as possible terrorists to work at the airport with full access to secure areas. 

How does this happen?

 Psalms 127:1 explains it simply.  “Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.”  

God keeps giving America warnings.  He’s telling us that without Him, our systems of defense will fail.  But America refuses to pay attention.  We glibly go our way as if pleasure were the ultimate purpose in life.  Heedless of God, we rush forward “as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.”  [Proverbs 7:23 KJV]

Even though good jobs are hard to find, police departments around the country are having more and more difficulty finding qualified recruits.  One of the main reasons is that they want officers who have never used marijuana or other illegal drugs.  Writing for the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Lieutenant Wade Derby of Pittsburg, California said, “Now more than ever, agencies are being forced to take a hard look at the idea of modifying prehire drug use standards to ensure enough candidates to fill vacancies.”

Question: "Can a person be born with the wrong gender?"

Reblogged from http://www.gotquestions.org/born-wrong-gender.html

Answer: 
We live in a confused and fallen world, and that confusion extends everywhere, so that even the most basic questions, like “what gender am I?” become difficult for some people to answer. Some people claim they were born as the wrong gender, or at least in the wrong body. A man may believe he is actually a female, but his soul is “stuck” in a male body. Such claims receive support from others who advocate a “gender-neutral” society. But those who view gender distinctions as nothing more than arbitrary labels or a “box” to be broken out of are actively rejecting God’s design in creation.

Fundamental to our understanding of human sexuality is that God created two (and only two) genders. Currently, the world likes to consider gender (based on a social construct) as having nothing to do with sex (based on physicality), but the Bible makes no such distinctions. The Bible cuts through the world’s confusion simply: “Male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). All the modern-day speculation about multiple genders—or even a gender “continuum” with unlimited genders—is unbiblical. An individual may claim to be transgender or “gender-fluid,” but that doesn’t nullify God’s design and purpose in creating him or her.

Children growing up in this confused world are bombarded with messages of confusion. Little boys are told they don’t have to be boys; girls are told they might not really be girls. Whatever they feel they are is what they are—boy, girl, or a mixture of the two. The world tells them it doesn’t matter. The confusion and ambiguity are reinforced in many ways: gender-neutral days at school, the banning of terms such as boys and girls in the classroom, the proliferation of unisex restrooms, curricula that promotes homosexual marriage, etc. It’s little wonder that some people grow up struggling with their sexual identity. But our Lord warned against leading children astray: “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble’” (Luke 17:1–2).

Some people today state that they have “felt like the opposite gender since they were children.” But how would one know that? To what are they comparing their feelings? How people feel is all they know, and, for each person, how he feels is “normal” for him. Any comparisons to other people’s feelings would only be an assumption. Some people may become convinced that they “felt like the opposite gender” at some point in their lives, but they don’t truly have a baseline comparison.

Given enough conditioning, any one of us can be convinced that we identify more as the opposite gender. Too often, certain individuals are labeled as cross-gendered because of natural differences in mannerisms and responses, and those individuals “back-paint” the concept into their understanding of their childhood.

But this reimagining of one’s childhood is different from wishing to be another gender. A person can wish he was the other gender for many reasons, but that doesn’t make it internally so. A parent can instill that desire in a child, or a child can observe benefits enjoyed by the other gender and desire them. The child can also desire to be seven feet tall, but it doesn’t change reality.

The Bible says that God created “male and female” and He pronounced His creation “very good” (Genesis 1:27, 31). God’s plan was perfect, but, as with everything in mankind’s sphere, perfection was corrupted by sin. Sin brought anomalies, and we would be hard pressed to understand where the touch of this contamination ends in the creation. Could an anomaly sometimes occur in gender, physically or mentally? We acknowledge that a person can be born with a combination of male and female organs—although one’s true, biological sex can be determined through medical tests.

This we know, that we are involved in a spiritual battle for our souls. The world seeks to conform us to its mold, which is why we must be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1–2). Satan attempts to deceive us and urges us to question God’s plan. One of the devil’s ploys is to make us dissatisfied with how God made us. To some he whispers, “You’re fat and ugly.” To others, “You’re stupid and clumsy.” And to still others, “You look like a boy, but you’re really a girl.” In each case, the underlying message is the same: “God messed up on you.”

This we also know, that the whole creation groans for release from the curse and damage of sin (Romans 8:20–22). The ruin wrought by sin is addressed through the redemption of Christ. Through salvation, Jesus Christ grants us forgiveness of sin, reverses the effect of our poor choices, and compensates for our brokenness.

Each of us faces a different set of battles. Yet Christ sets us on the path to victory. Hebrews 12:1–2 states, “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The cross is key. Jesus pioneered our faith, and He will perfect it. His victory will be ours as well.

Some may battle heterosexual temptation, greed, pride, anger, or any number of sins. Someone else may battle gender confusion. Regardless of the battle with sin and the devil’s lies, the question we must answer is, “Is Christ and His redemptive work sufficient for our battles?” Jesus definitely claims to be sufficient for any and all of our battles, and He desires to sanctify us through His Word of truth (John 17:17).

As children of God, we should be content in this life (Philippians 4:11; 2 Corinthians 12:10). We realize that we all have limitations, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. But through Christ those limitations will not interfere with the plan God has for us to honor Him and serve Him. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

If a person feels he or she has been born as the wrong gender, the answer is not gender-reassignment surgery, hormone therapy, cross-dressing, etc. Those are simply worldly ways of acquiescing to the devil’s lies. “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6). And God does not make mistakes. The one who feels he or she was born in the wrong body needs, first and foremost, to experience the transformative power of Christ. When we “participate in the divine nature,” we escape “the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (2 Peter 1:4).

Recommended Resources: What Does the Bible Really Teach About Homosexuality? by Kevin DeYoung and 101 Frequently Asked Questions About Homosexuality by Mike Haley and Logos Bible Software.

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Related Topics:

What does the Bible say about gay marriage / same sex marriage?

What does the Bible say about homosexuality? Is homosexuality a sin?

What does the Bible say about cross-dressing / transvestism? Is transvestitism a sin?

What was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah?

What does the Bible say about bisexuality (bi-sexuality)? Is being a bisexual (bi-sexual) a sin?

Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/born-wrong-gender.html#ixzz3chSnDnwC

Ferguson, Baltimore, and McKinney: Reaping the Whirlwind of Irresponsibility

Reblogged from https://kingsjester.wordpress.com/ 

Well, it appears that a veteran police officer’s career has been sacrificed on the Altar of Political Correctness.
Foxnews.com reports that…

The police officer whose video-recorded actions at a North Texas pool party have drawn national attention and comment has resigned from the police force.
Officer David Eric Casebolt resigned Tuesday from the McKinney Police Department after almost 10 years on the force. His resignation was confirmed by his attorney, Jane Bishkin of Dallas.
A viral video showed him pushing a bikini-clad girl to the ground on Friday and brandishing his gun at other black teens after he and other officers responded to complaints about the pool party at a community-owned McKinney swimming pool.
McKinney Police Chief Greg Conley had placed the 41-year-old former Texas state trooper on administrative leave after the incident.
Bishkin declined to say where Casebolt is now and said he had received death threats. The attorney said she would release more information at a news conference Wednesday.

By now, anybody who is reading this has heard the story behind this police officer’s resignation.
Parents were swimming with their children in the community pool in a gated community in McKinney, Texas.
The use of the pool was supposed to be just for the residents of the community. However, a local DJ got the bright idea to…well…let this member of the community tell you…

Of course, the Main Stream Media, the “Perpetually Aggrieved’, and the Professional Race-Baiters, including their cadre of “Professional Protesters”, descended upon McKinney, spinning a different narrative, which has become their modus operandi.
Remember “Hands up! Don’t Shoot!”?
What is going on around us?
It appears that America is experiencing a trifecta of “Caitlin” Jenner, Youth Mobs, and Petulant President Pantywaist.
Is America “going to Hell in a hand basket”?
Benjamin Franklin said,

Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.

What Dr. Franklin was talking about is the fact, as you’ve seen me state time and time again, that with Freedom comes Responsibility. Our actions have a direct effect on those around us.
Furthermore, man is a corrupt animal. Every child learns how to lie, at an early age. That is why we are told as parents to “raise a child in the way in which they should go”.
And, as those of us my age have observed, in the last couple of generations, there are less parents heeding that admonition from God’s Word.
Walk into any Walmart across America, and observe the behavior of children and their parents. It have become almost impossible to walk though a Walmart without almost running over a kid. And, please don’t stand there and wait for an apology from the mother of the “precious darling”, those come few and far between.
To be bold, a lot of these undisciplined children, grow up to be young adults, who seem to be allergic to responsibility. These are the ones, who, after college, refuse to leave home. Like the movie title, they experience a “Failure to Launch”.
Their every breathing moment is a quest for self-fulfillment, and an all-consuming involvement in a love affair…with themselves.
This selfishness guides their political ideology, as well. Usually these individuals become, either Liberals, or, they identify themselves as (l)ibertarians. Those who identify themselves as Liberals, believe that their intellect is innately higher than the rest of us, and, therefore, they should be able to be the Elite Class, political party in charge of our nation. Those who choose to identify themselves as (l)ibertarians, claim to believe in Fiscal Conservatism, and  Social Liberalism.
There is also a different sort of Libertarian in America….those who believe in the Constitution and the liberty of the individual. These “Constitutionalists” are not the ones to whom I am referring.
Where the problem arises is the fact that Liberalism, (l)ibertarian, and Libertine all share the same root word “lib”, which means “free”. The word “Liberty” contains that word, also.
The problem is, “Freedom” or “Liberty” without conscience, is licentiousness. And, unrestricted  licentiousness will destroy an empire.
If man is left to his own devices, he usually builds his own Golden Calf.
And, I am afraid that is what has happened in this sacred land.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.- 2 Corinthians 3:17 (ESV)

America’s Progressives, who are presently in power, are relentless in their mission to remove the God of Our Fathers from “the Shining City on a Hill”.
Just as the Ancient Greeks and the Roman Empire, through their acceptance and acquiescence to the trappings of a morally bankrupt society, allowed their enemies, foreign and domestic to overrun them and destroy their civilizations, so is our nation, carved out of the blood and sacrifice of those who have gone before, in danger of allowing the Tyranny of the Minority to subjugate the rest of us, including the 74% of us who claim Jesus Christ as our Personal Savior.
The thing about a slippery slope is: once you start down it, its hard to climb back up.
The Good News? 

I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. – John 12:46 (ESV)

Jesus Christ is over all…and, He loves us.
Stay strong, Americans…and PRAY FOR OUR NATION.
Until He Comes,
KJ

Literally, Your ATM Won’t Work…

Reblogged fhttp://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015
By Bill Bonner Of Bonner And Partners


While we were thinking about what was really going on with today’s strange new money system, a startling thought occurred to us.
Our financial system could take a surprising and catastrophic twist that almost nobody imagines, let alone anticipates.

Do you remember when a lethal tsunami hit the beaches of Southeast Asia, killing thousands of people and causing billions of dollars of damage?
Well, just before the 80-foot wall of water slammed into the coast an odd thing happened: The water disappeared.
The tide went out farther than anyone had ever seen before. Local fishermen headed for high ground immediately. They knew what it meant. But the tourists went out onto the beach looking for shells!
The same thing could happen to the money supply…

There’s Not Enough Physical Money

Here’s how… and why:
It’s almost seems impossible. Hard to imagine. Difficult to understand. But if you look at M2 money supply – which measures coins and notes in circulation as well as bank deposits and money market accounts – America’s money stock amounted to $11.7 trillion as of last month.
But there was just $1.3 trillion of physical currency in circulation – about only half of which is in the US. (Nobody knows for sure.)

What we use as money today is mostly credit. It exists as zeros and ones in electronic bank accounts. We never see it. Touch it. Feel it. Count it out. Or lose it behind seat cushions.
Banks profit – handsomely – by creating this credit. And as long as banks have sufficient capital, they are happy to create as much credit as we are willing to pay for.
After all, it costs the banks almost nothing to create new credit. That’s why we have so much of it.

A monetary system like this has never before existed. And this one has existed only during a time when credit was undergoing an epic expansion.
So our monetary system has never been thoroughly tested. How will it hold up in a deep or prolonged credit contraction? Can it survive an extended bear market in bonds or stocks? What would happen if consumer prices were out of control?

Less Than Zero

Our current money system began in 1971.
It survived consumer price inflation of almost 14% a year in 1980. But Paul Volcker was already on the job, raising interest rates to bring inflation under control.
And it survived the “credit crunch” of 2008-09. Ben Bernanke dropped the price of credit to almost zero, by slashing short-term interest rates and buying trillions of dollars of government bonds.
But the next crisis could be very different…
Short-term interest rates are already close to zero in the U.S. (and less than zero in Switzerland, Denmark, and Sweden). And according to a recent study by McKinsey, the world’s total debt (at least as officially recorded) now stands at $200 trillion – up $57 trillion since 2007. That’s 286% of global GDP… and far in excess of what the real economy can support.

At some point, a debt correction is inevitable. Debt expansions are always – always – followed by debt contractions. There is no other way. Debt cannot increase forever.
And when it happens, ZIRP and QE will not be enough to reverse the process, because they are already running at open throttle.

What then?
The value of debt drops sharply and fast. Creditors look to their borrowers… traders look at their counterparties… bankers look at each other…
…and suddenly, no one wants to part with a penny, for fear he may never see it again. Credit stops.
It’s not just that no one wants to lend; no one wants to borrow either – except for desperate people with no choice, usually those who have no hope of paying their debts.

Just as we saw after the 2008 crisis, we can expect a quick response from the feds.
The Fed will announce unlimited new borrowing facilities. But it won’t matter….
House prices will be crashing. (Who will lend against the value of a house?) Stock prices will be crashing. (Who will be able to borrow against his stocks?) Art, collectibles, and resources – all we be in free fall.

The NEXT Crisis

In the last crisis, every major bank and investment firm on Wall Street would have gone broke had the feds not intervened. Next time it may not be so easy to save them.
The next crisis is likely to be across ALL asset classes. And with $57 trillion more in global debt than in 2007, it is likely to be much harder to stop.
Are you with us so far?

Because here is where it gets interesting…
In a gold-backed monetary system prices fall. But the money is still there. Money becomes more valuable. It doesn’t disappear. It is more valuable because you can use it to buy more stuff.
Naturally, people hold on to it. Of course, the velocity of money – the frequency at which each unit of currency is used to buy something – falls. And this makes it appear that the supply of money is falling too.

But imagine what happens to credit money. The money doesn’t just stop circulating. It vanishes. As collateral goes bad, credit is destroyed.
A bank that had an “asset” (in the form of a loan to a customer) of $100,000 in June may have zilch by July. A corporation that splurged on share buybacks one week could find those shares cut in half two weeks later. A person with a $100,000 stock market portfolio one day could find his portfolio has no value at all a few days later.

All of this is standard fare for a credit crisis. The new wrinkle – a devastating one – is that people now do what they always do, but they are forced to do it in a radically different way.
They stop spending. They hoard cash. But what cash do you hoard when most transactions are done on credit? Do you hoard a line of credit? Do you put your credit card in your vault?
No. People will hoard the kind of cash they understand… something they can put their hands on… something that is gaining value – rapidly. They’ll want dollar bills.

Also, following a well-known pattern, these paper dollars will quickly disappear. People drain cash machines. They drain credit facilities. They ask for “cash back” when they use their credit cards. They want real money – old-fashioned money that they can put in their pockets and their home safes…

Dollar Panic

Let us stop here and remind readers that we’re talking about a short time frame – days… maybe weeks… a couple of months at most. That’s all. It’s the period after the credit crisis has sucked the cash out of the system… and before the government’s inflation tsunami has hit.

As Ben Bernanke put it, “a determined central bank can always create positive consumer price inflation.” But it takes time!
And during that interval, panic will set in. A dollar panic – with people desperate to put their hands on dollars… to pay for food… for fuel…and for everything else they need.
Credit may still be available. But it will be useless. No one will want it. ATMs and banks will run out of cash. Credit facilities will be drained of real cash. Banks will put up signs, first: “Cash withdrawals limited to $500.” And then: “No Cash Withdrawals.”

You will have a credit card with a $10,000 line of credit. You have $5,000 in your debit account. But all financial institutions are staggering. And in the news you will read that your bank has defaulted and been placed in receivership. What would you rather have? Your $10,000 line of credit or a stack of $50 bills?
You will go to buy gasoline. You will take out your credit card to pay.
“Cash Only,” the sign will say. Because the machinery of the credit economy will be breaking down. The gas station… its suppliers… and its financiers do not want to get stuck with a “credit” from your bankrupt lender!

Whose credit cards are still good? Whose lines of credit are still valuable? Whose bank is ready to fail? Who can pay his mortgage? Who will honor his credit card debt? In a crisis, those questions will be as common as “Who will win an Oscar?” today.
But no one will know the answers. Quickly, they will stop guessing… and turn to cash.
Our advice: Keep some on hand. You may need it.

Jonathan Cahn: 2 times 7 Cows appeared in America like in Pharaoh's Egypt

Repentant Transsexual Warns Jenner: The ‘Hangover’ Is Coming

Reblogged from www.breitbart.com via wnd.com

by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.3 Jun 20151183

Amidst the media euphoria surrounding the former Bruce Jenner’s gender reassignment surgery and cover photo on Vanity Fair, a 74-year-old transsexual who deeply regrets his decision has come forward to caution those who think that transgenderism solves people’s psychosexual problems.

In a CNN interview on Tuesday, Walt Heyer warned viewers that the relief accompanying gender reassignment surgery doesn’t last. After Jenner expressed exhilaration over the Vanity Fair cover, Heyer responded that such elation is normal, but transient.

Heyer acknowledged that “this is really the most exciting time in a transgender’s life.” It is, he said, “the debut,” when “all the things that you had hoped and thought about are coming about.” From personal experience, however, and from the many transgender people who write to him, Heyer says he knows “this doesn’t always last.”

“It’s sort of like, you know, going down to the bar and you’re having a good time and you drink it up good and then, you know, you wake up with a hangover,” he said.

In an essay earlier this year, Heyer offered a chilling autobiographical account of abuse and gender confusion, sexual reassignment surgery, a short reprieve from anxiety and eventually deep regret at his decision.

Heyer, now reverted to his male identity and married to his wife for 18 years, spends his energy raising public awareness of the disastrous penalties of gender reassignment.
“Changing genders is short-term gain with long-term pain,” writes Heyer. “Its consequences include early mortality, regret, mental illness, and suicide.”
Clinical studies would seem to confirm Heyer’s conclusions. A review of more than 100 international medical studies of post-operative transgenders carried out in the UK in 2004 found “no robust scientific evidence that gender reassignment surgery is clinically effective.”

In a published online column, Heyer commiserated with Jenner’s situation.
“As a former transgender myself,” he wrote, “I found it painful to see Jenner looking so fragile, exhibiting an uncertain nervousness throughout the interview. I see Jenner and my heart sinks with sadness; my stomach aches in pain.”
“When Jenner said, ‘I want to know how this story ends, you know?’ a rush of concern filled me. I know one possible outcome of the story—great pain to kids, wife, family and even to himself. I want to yell at him, ‘Stop! The bridge is out,’” he wrote.

Heyer’s prognosis for Jenner is not bright, though he admits there is always hope:

As long as the television lights are on and the cameras are rolling, being in the spotlight he enjoys, Jenner will be fine. But when the lights go dim and the cameras are no longer rolling, he will face the most difficult time of his life. His celebrated change of gender could turn on him and become the cause of deep depression, which, left untreated, according to those who study the causes of suicide, is the number one cause for suicide.

Having been incorrectly diagnosed and pressured into a sex-change operation, Heyer is deeply sensitive to the plight of the many young people today who are confused about their own sexuality and receive mixed messages from a society eager for them to take steps that can never be undone.

“Instead of encouraging them to undergo unnecessary and destructive surgery, let’s affirm and love our young people just the way they are,” he wrote.
Heyer has little patience for “enlightened” parents who think they are doing their children a favor by playing up their confusion and catering to their “dreams of being the opposite gender.” Though motivated by a desire to be open-minded and supportive, this parental behavior is ultimately destructive, says Heyer.
Walt Heyer now runs a website, SexChangeRegret.com, as well as a blog, hoping in this way to educate the broader public on the tragic consequences of transsexualism.

His books include an autobiography, A Transgender’s Faith and Gender, Lies and Suicide.
Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter @tdwilliamsrome