Friday Church News Notes
Volume 22, Issue 13 - March 26, 2021
The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, though this does not imply an endorsement.
WHEATON REMOVES PLAQUE HONORING MURDERED MISSIONARIES BECAUSE OF THE WORD “SAVAGE” (Friday Church News Notes, March 26, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In the latest example of “evangelicals” who are following vain secular thinking instead of God’s Word, Wheaton College has removed a plaque commemorating the 1956 martyrdom of five of its graduates because the word “savage” is now considered offensive (“Wheaton College scrubs ‘savage,’ The Spectator, Mar. 17, 2021). The plaque, which was presented in 1957 by the student body class of 1949, stated, “Go and Preach the Gospel ... For the Love of Christ Constraineth. Dedicated to the glory of God and in loving memory of Edward McCully, President of the class of 1949, and James Elliot, likewise an outstanding athlete and leader. Because of the Great Commission, Ed and Jim, together with Nathanael Saint, Roger Youderian, and Peter Fleming, went to the mission field. Willing for ‘anything--anywhere regardless of cost,’ they chose the jungles of Ecuador inhabited by the Auca Indians. For generations all strangers were killed by these savage Indians. After many days of patient preparation and devout prayer, the missionaries made the first friendly contact known to history with the Aucas. On January 8, 1956, the five missionaries were brutally slain--martyrs for the love of God.” The new “woke” Wheaton College is far too worldly wise to use the term “savage” to describe lying murderers of peaceful missionaries, even though it is a perfectly apt description by even the most modern dictionary definition. It means “lacking the restraints normal to civilized human beings, fierce, ferocious, wild, uncultivated, malicious” (Merriam-Webster). Wheaton president Philip Ryken says, “Recently, students, faculty, and staff have expressed concern about language on the plaque that is now recognized as offensive. Specifically, the word ‘savage’ is regarded as pejorative and has been used historically to dehumanize and mistreat indigenous peoples around the world.” But the missionaries were not dehumanizing or mistreating the Aucas; they loved them sacrificially and tried to warn them of eternal judgment and preach the good news of Jesus Christ to them. As for the Aucas of that day, the Bible itself uses terms such as “haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things ... without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful ... with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways ... There is no fear of God before their eyes ... children of disobedience ... children of wrath ... having no hope, and without God in the world” (Romans 1:29-31; 3:13, 14, 15, 16, 18; Ephesians 2:2, 3, 12). The good news is that the college has appointed a “task force to review the wording of the plaque and make a specific recommendation by May 1 for its careful rewording and replacement.” It will be interesting to see what they come up with to describe murdering savages inoffensively.
AMAZON’S WAR ON GOD (Friday Church News Notes, March 26, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Bible prophesies that in the end time the whole earth will rebel against God’s laws in an unprecedented manner, particularly the rulers. “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us” (Psalm 2:1-3). We see the fulfillment of this everywhere, which is evidence of the nearness of Christ’s return. The “kings” today include the captains of transnational mega-corporations, which have wealth and power unknown to previous generations, and they are indeed taking counsel together against the LORD and His Christ and His laws. One of the most fundamental of God’s laws is stated in the very first chapter of Holy Scripture: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27). The LGBT agenda, which is universally supported by global corporations and the most powerful of the social media entities, is a direct and brazen affront to God’s law. The rebellion now extends to censorship of voices against their agenda. For example, this year Amazon banned Ryan Anderson’s When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment and banned ads for Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. There is little to nothing that God’s people can do about these things politically and judicially, but we are not powerless by any means. Prayer can hinder the mystery of iniquity, which is the spirit behind the lawlessness and anarchy, because God is currently in the business of hindering it, and He answers prayer. “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way” (2 Thessalonians 2:7). A few verses later, Paul asks the churches to pray “that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men” (2 Thessalonians 3:2), and he would not model such a prayer if God were not interested in answering it. We would beseech God’s redeemed people to pray daily against the devil’s antichrist agenda. Eventually, God will allow the mystery of iniquity to prevail briefly, but that will not occur until after the Rapture. As for what God thinks of the mega-corporations’ war on His laws, we are not left to wonder. “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure” (Psalm 2:4-5). This refers to the day of the Lord which is always “at hand.”
ISRAELI SCIENTISTS GROW MOUSE EMBRYOS IN ARTIFICIAL WOMBS (Friday Church News Notes, March 26, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “In breakthrough, Israelis grow mouse embryos,” The Times of Israel, Mar. 17, 2021: “Israeli scientists have grown 250-cell embryos into mouse fetuses with fully formed organs using artificial wombs, in a development they say could pave the way for gestating humans outside the womb. ‘We have grown hundreds of mice in this way, in a method that has taken seven years to develop, and I’m still captivated every time I see it,’ stem cell biologist Prof. Jacob Hanna of the Weizmann Institute of Science told The Times of Israel. ‘This could be relevant to other mammals including humans, though we acknowledge that there are ethical issues related to growing humans outside the body,’ he said. Hanna said that his research will advance understanding of organ formation in mammals--and could facilitate medical advances--as it allows unprecedented views of the process unfolding, unconstrained by the need to image the inside of the uterus. ... ‘We took mouse embryos from the mother at day five of development, when they are just of 250 cells, and had them in the incubator from day five until day 11, by which point they had grown all their organs. By day 11 they make their own blood and have a beating heart, a fully developed brain.’ ... The fetuses were healthy but died at 11 days, as this is currently the longest they can develop in the artificial womb and they can’t be transplanted back into a mice uterus. But Hanna hopes to develop his technology to take mice to full term.”
CHIEF RABBI SAYS PASSOVER REQUIRED FOR 2021 (Friday Church News Notes, March 26, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem,” Israel365News, Mar. 18, 2021: “During a virtual conference on Wednesday, Rabbi Aryeh Stern, the chief rabbi of Jerusalem, ruled that the Korban Pesach (Passover sacrifice) is incumbent upon the Jewish people today. ... ‘The Passover sacrifice is similar to the feast offerings in that it is offered for all of Israel at one set time.’ ... The rabbi concluded that in his opinion, it is possible for us today to perform the Passover sacrifice even before the construction of the Temple. This is based on the principle that the normal rules that prohibit the Kohanim (priests) and public from performing Temple rituals while in a state of ritual impurity are not applicable regarding the need to bring a sacrifice for the sake of the public. In this case, when a Temple does not exist, an altar of undressed stones is sufficient. ... Rabbi Aryeh Lipo, the secretary of the Sanhedrin, agreed with the conclusion of Rabbi Stern, adding that it is entirely correct according to Halacha to renew the Temple service immediately. ... Rabbi Hillel Weiss, the former spokesman for the Sanhedrin told Israel365 News. ‘The only thing preventing the Jewish People from performing the Passover sacrifice is the Israeli government. If the government decides to allow it, we must be ready to go up and begin the service.’”
CANADA PASTOR RELEASED FROM JAIL (Friday Church News Notes, March 26, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - On March 22, James Coates, Pastor of GraceLife Church of Edmonton, Alberta, was released from jail without conditions after 35 days of incarceration. The judge fined him $1500 and reduced it to time served. Pastor Coates was arrested on February 16 for conducting church services contrary to Covid-19 restrictions (i.e, exceeding 15% fire code capacity). Coates told the judge, “I am not a political revolutionary, I am simply here in obedience with Jesus Christ, it is this obedience that put me at odds with the law.” Coates believes the entire church body must congregate together, which it has continued to do during his incarceration. One report noted that “other churches also violated health guidelines after Pastor Coates’s arrest without similar applications of the law against them” (The Gospel Coalition Canadian Edition, Mar. 23, 2021). On February 26, John MacArthur and the elders of Grace Community Church in California, issued a statement supporting Coates, who is a graduate of MacArthur’s Masters Seminary. On March 18, Mrs. Erin Coates appeared on Tucker Carlson’s program on Fox News and shared the gospel with the viewers.
CHURCH DISCIPLINE: PSYCHOLOGY VS. GOD’S WORD (Friday Church News Notes, April 2, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “Modern psychology objects to a negative approach and opposes commandments and warnings. God’s Word does not support such a theory, for the theory ignores the awful fact of a depraved human nature. It would be ideal if men could be encouraged to live godly lives without any warning of judgment upon ungodliness. But to suppose they will do so is idealistic and contrary to all observation, as well as to Scripture. God warns of impending judgment and says, ‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God’ (Heb. 10:31). ‘Because there is wrath, beware...’ (Job 36:18). If sin goes unjudged in a church, we are thereby inviting others to become self-indulgent. It will not do to plead ‘love’ as a basis for neglect. ... God does not put love and punishment in opposition to each other. He says, ‘For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth...’ (Heb. 12:5-11). The church has a solemn responsibility to restrain sin by proper discipline. If we do not exercise the judgment, the Lord will (1 Co. 11:31-32)” (Paul R. Jackson, The Doctrine and Administration of the Church).
CONCLUSION: The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will not be discouraged. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14).
AMAZON’S WAR ON GOD (Friday Church News Notes, March 26, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Bible prophesies that in the end time the whole earth will rebel against God’s laws in an unprecedented manner, particularly the rulers. “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us” (Psalm 2:1-3). We see the fulfillment of this everywhere, which is evidence of the nearness of Christ’s return. The “kings” today include the captains of transnational mega-corporations, which have wealth and power unknown to previous generations, and they are indeed taking counsel together against the LORD and His Christ and His laws. One of the most fundamental of God’s laws is stated in the very first chapter of Holy Scripture: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27). The LGBT agenda, which is universally supported by global corporations and the most powerful of the social media entities, is a direct and brazen affront to God’s law. The rebellion now extends to censorship of voices against their agenda. For example, this year Amazon banned Ryan Anderson’s When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment and banned ads for Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. There is little to nothing that God’s people can do about these things politically and judicially, but we are not powerless by any means. Prayer can hinder the mystery of iniquity, which is the spirit behind the lawlessness and anarchy, because God is currently in the business of hindering it, and He answers prayer. “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way” (2 Thessalonians 2:7). A few verses later, Paul asks the churches to pray “that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men” (2 Thessalonians 3:2), and he would not model such a prayer if God were not interested in answering it. We would beseech God’s redeemed people to pray daily against the devil’s antichrist agenda. Eventually, God will allow the mystery of iniquity to prevail briefly, but that will not occur until after the Rapture. As for what God thinks of the mega-corporations’ war on His laws, we are not left to wonder. “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure” (Psalm 2:4-5). This refers to the day of the Lord which is always “at hand.”
ISRAELI SCIENTISTS GROW MOUSE EMBRYOS IN ARTIFICIAL WOMBS (Friday Church News Notes, March 26, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “In breakthrough, Israelis grow mouse embryos,” The Times of Israel, Mar. 17, 2021: “Israeli scientists have grown 250-cell embryos into mouse fetuses with fully formed organs using artificial wombs, in a development they say could pave the way for gestating humans outside the womb. ‘We have grown hundreds of mice in this way, in a method that has taken seven years to develop, and I’m still captivated every time I see it,’ stem cell biologist Prof. Jacob Hanna of the Weizmann Institute of Science told The Times of Israel. ‘This could be relevant to other mammals including humans, though we acknowledge that there are ethical issues related to growing humans outside the body,’ he said. Hanna said that his research will advance understanding of organ formation in mammals--and could facilitate medical advances--as it allows unprecedented views of the process unfolding, unconstrained by the need to image the inside of the uterus. ... ‘We took mouse embryos from the mother at day five of development, when they are just of 250 cells, and had them in the incubator from day five until day 11, by which point they had grown all their organs. By day 11 they make their own blood and have a beating heart, a fully developed brain.’ ... The fetuses were healthy but died at 11 days, as this is currently the longest they can develop in the artificial womb and they can’t be transplanted back into a mice uterus. But Hanna hopes to develop his technology to take mice to full term.”
CHIEF RABBI SAYS PASSOVER REQUIRED FOR 2021 (Friday Church News Notes, March 26, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem,” Israel365News, Mar. 18, 2021: “During a virtual conference on Wednesday, Rabbi Aryeh Stern, the chief rabbi of Jerusalem, ruled that the Korban Pesach (Passover sacrifice) is incumbent upon the Jewish people today. ... ‘The Passover sacrifice is similar to the feast offerings in that it is offered for all of Israel at one set time.’ ... The rabbi concluded that in his opinion, it is possible for us today to perform the Passover sacrifice even before the construction of the Temple. This is based on the principle that the normal rules that prohibit the Kohanim (priests) and public from performing Temple rituals while in a state of ritual impurity are not applicable regarding the need to bring a sacrifice for the sake of the public. In this case, when a Temple does not exist, an altar of undressed stones is sufficient. ... Rabbi Aryeh Lipo, the secretary of the Sanhedrin, agreed with the conclusion of Rabbi Stern, adding that it is entirely correct according to Halacha to renew the Temple service immediately. ... Rabbi Hillel Weiss, the former spokesman for the Sanhedrin told Israel365 News. ‘The only thing preventing the Jewish People from performing the Passover sacrifice is the Israeli government. If the government decides to allow it, we must be ready to go up and begin the service.’”
CANADA PASTOR RELEASED FROM JAIL (Friday Church News Notes, March 26, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - On March 22, James Coates, Pastor of GraceLife Church of Edmonton, Alberta, was released from jail without conditions after 35 days of incarceration. The judge fined him $1500 and reduced it to time served. Pastor Coates was arrested on February 16 for conducting church services contrary to Covid-19 restrictions (i.e, exceeding 15% fire code capacity). Coates told the judge, “I am not a political revolutionary, I am simply here in obedience with Jesus Christ, it is this obedience that put me at odds with the law.” Coates believes the entire church body must congregate together, which it has continued to do during his incarceration. One report noted that “other churches also violated health guidelines after Pastor Coates’s arrest without similar applications of the law against them” (The Gospel Coalition Canadian Edition, Mar. 23, 2021). On February 26, John MacArthur and the elders of Grace Community Church in California, issued a statement supporting Coates, who is a graduate of MacArthur’s Masters Seminary. On March 18, Mrs. Erin Coates appeared on Tucker Carlson’s program on Fox News and shared the gospel with the viewers.
CHURCH DISCIPLINE: PSYCHOLOGY VS. GOD’S WORD (Friday Church News Notes, April 2, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “Modern psychology objects to a negative approach and opposes commandments and warnings. God’s Word does not support such a theory, for the theory ignores the awful fact of a depraved human nature. It would be ideal if men could be encouraged to live godly lives without any warning of judgment upon ungodliness. But to suppose they will do so is idealistic and contrary to all observation, as well as to Scripture. God warns of impending judgment and says, ‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God’ (Heb. 10:31). ‘Because there is wrath, beware...’ (Job 36:18). If sin goes unjudged in a church, we are thereby inviting others to become self-indulgent. It will not do to plead ‘love’ as a basis for neglect. ... God does not put love and punishment in opposition to each other. He says, ‘For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth...’ (Heb. 12:5-11). The church has a solemn responsibility to restrain sin by proper discipline. If we do not exercise the judgment, the Lord will (1 Co. 11:31-32)” (Paul R. Jackson, The Doctrine and Administration of the Church).
CONCLUSION: The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will not be discouraged. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14).
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Distributed by Way of Life Literature., publisher of Bible Study Materials and reports for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. Established in 1974, Way of Life Literature is a fundamental Baptist preaching and publishing ministry based in Bethel Baptist Church, London, Ontario, of which Wilbert Unger is the founding Pastor. Brother Cloud lives in South Asia where he has been a church planting missionary since 1979. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY (REPORTS AND FRIDAY NEWS) IS NOT DEVOTIONAL. IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR.
David Cloud, Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org
The Way of Life Literature preaching and publishing ministry is based at Bethel Baptist Church, London, Ontario, of which Wilbert Unger is the founding Pastor. A mail stop is maintained in Port Huron, Michigan.
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