Friday Church News Notes
Volume 22, Issue 38 - September 17, 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.
WRESTLING AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD (Friday Church News Notes, September 17, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Bible says that God’s people do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but a great number of professing Christians are doing just that. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:12-13). The apostle Paul, who wrote this under divine inspiration, modeled obedience to it. He lived in an empire filled with flesh and blood wickedness, corrupt emperors, scandalous governors, crooked businessmen, disreputable politicians, nefarious military leaders. Paul could have stayed very busy indeed wrestling against flesh and blood corruption and conspiracies, but he didn’t. This was not because he was ignorant of what was happening or that he didn’t care about such things. He understood that the real enemies are not flesh and blood. He had more important things to do in God’s business: preaching the gospel, the only message of salvation, discipling the saints, building New Testament churches as the pillar and ground of the truth in a dark world, building godly families as a bulwark against evil. Unlike Paul, political conservatives in America most definitely wrestle against flesh and blood. Their enemies currently are Biden, Harris, Fauci, Pelosi, Soros, Gates, Newsom, liberal Supreme Court justices, Wokists, the CIA, the FBI, the CDC, Xi, Putin, and a bunch of others. Political conservatives wrestle against flesh and blood because they don’t have Paul’s knowledge of spiritual realities or his divine calling or his weapons. But born again Bible-believing Christians do know what Paul knew and do have the weapons Paul wielded and do have the calling to Christ’s Great Commission that Paul had. Why, then, are so many of them aping political conservatism?
WHY AMERICA HAS NO PEACE (Friday Church News Notes, September 17, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - America is in shocking turmoil. There are many reasons, but one is stated clearly in Holy Scripture, and that is churches that are not obeying God’s clear command to pray for their nation. Here it is: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). This is a divine command given in the context of Paul’s instruction about how to behave ourselves in the church of the living God (1 Ti. 3:15). It is a command to churches, and America has a great many Bible-believing churches of various sorts that at least preach a sound gospel, believe in the new birth, hold sound doctrine in the “fundamentals,” etc. There are thousands of Baptist churches. If those churches would obey God and seriously pray for that which God has told them to pray, would America not have a lot more quiet and peace and godliness and honesty? There can be no doubt. Since God has specifically commanded that churches pray this very prayer, it can be certain that He is ready to answer it. But as James said, “Ye have not because ye ask not.” Why aren’t pastors leading in this matter?
EPISCOPALIAN BISHOP GOES TO HIS REWARD (Friday Church News Notes, September 17, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of” (2 Peter 2:1-2). Episcopalian bishop John Shelby Spong died on Sept. 12 at age 90. He represents the apostasy that is described in Bible prophecy. John Spong is evidence that the Bible is the infallible Word of God. He was ordained as a bishop of the Episcopal diocese of Newark, New Jersey, in 1976 even though he denied practically every doctrine of the Christian faith. In 1988, Spong published Living in Sin: A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality, stating, “The time has surely come not just to tolerate, or even to accept, but to celebrate and welcome the presence among us of our gay and lesbian fellow human beings.” That year Spong visited a Buddhist temple and said, “As the smell of incense filled the air, I knelt before three images of the Buddha, feeling that the smoke could carry my prayers heavenward” (“A Dialogue in a Buddhist Temple,” John Spong, The Voice, Jan. 1989). In his 1991 book Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, Spong wrote, “Am I suggesting that these stories of the virgin birth are not literally true? The answer is a simple and direct ‘Yes.’ Of course these narratives are not literally true. Stars do not wander, angels do not sing, virgins do not give birth, magi do not travel to a distant land to present gifts to a baby, and shepherds do not go in search of a newborn savior. ... To talk of a Father God who has a divine-human son by a virgin woman is a mythology.” Spong also said the apostle Paul was “a self hating, repressed homosexual.” In 1998, Spong said, “I would choose to loathe rather than to worship a deity who required the sacrifice of his son” (Christianity Today, June 15, 1998). In 2000, Spong wrote in his diocesan newspaper, “I do not believe that God is a Being sitting above the clouds pulling strings. … I do not believe that human beings are born evil and that only those who come to God through the ‘blood of Jesus’ will be saved” (“John Shelby Spong,” The Washington Times, Sept. 12, 2021).
HARVARD UNIVERSITY APPOINTS ATHEIST AS PRESIDENT OF CHAPLAINCY (Friday Church News Notes, September 17, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Harvard Appoints,” Premier Christian News, Aug. 30, 2021: “Harvard University in America has appointed its Atheist chaplain to be the President of its chaplaincy. Greg Epstein, 44, who already worked as a Humanist chaplain at the college, will organise the other 40 or so chaplains from the Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu and Sikh faith. He was voted for unanimously by his other chaplain colleagues. Mr Epstein, who was raised Jewish, is the author of Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe, and wants to be there for those on campus who do not believe in God but still want to make good choices. He told the New York Times: ‘There is a rising group of people who no longer identify with any religious tradition but still experience a real need for conversation and support around what it means to be a good human and live an ethical life.’ ‘We don’t look to a god for answers,’ he added. ‘We are each other’s answers.’” CONCLUSION: God’s Word says, “The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?” (Jeremiah 8:9).
PROMINENT SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCH HOLDS CHARISMATIC-STYLE “HEALING” SERVICE (Friday Church News Notes, September 17, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - On September 5, 2021, Steve Gaines, a former Southern Baptist Convention president, conducted charismatic-style “healing” services at Bellevue Baptist Church, Memphis, Tennessee. The people came forward in mass “to be anointed with oil and prayed over for healing ... that God will heal and restore.” Some of the men on the platform held their hands out charismatic fashion over the people as if healing rays were emitting from their hands. Contemporary rock music was playing during the “anointing.” Gaines preached from James, but he did not obey James, which says, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (Jas. 5:14-16). James describes a private, individual anointing for physical healing, not a public mass anointing for vaguely defined “healings” and “restorations.” James describes prayer for saints that are known to the elders, known members of a church, but at Bellevue the people had to tell the anointers their first names, because many were complete strangers and casual visitors. James calls for confession of faults, but at Bellevue the pastor made it clear that they didn’t have enough time for such things. Charismatic doctrine and practice has been leavening the Southern Baptist Convention since the 1980s. (See “Why I Am Not Southern Baptist,” www.wayoflife.org.)
SERVING THE WORD OF GOD (Friday Church News Notes, September 17, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “Are we willing to serve the Word of God? If we are, we will not be a people of influence in Washington, D.C., but we will be a people of power with God” (Richard Clearwaters, The Great Conservative Baptist Compromise).
YOUR BUSY BRAIN (Friday Church News Notes, September 17, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, June 22, 2021: “Not only is the human brain the most complex structure in the universe, it is also one of the busiest. In fact, during intense concentration, your brain can burn as many calories as your muscles do during exercise! Intense thinking can literally be as exhausting as a physical workout! More than 100,000 chemical reactions go on in your brain every second. Among the brain’s many jobs is chemist. The brain produces more than 50 psychoactive drugs. Some of these are associated with memory, others with intelligence, still others are sedatives. Endorphin is the brain’s painkiller and it’s three times more potent than morphine. Serotonin is produced by the brain to help keep our moods under control. The brain also makes dopamine. Dopamine makes people more talkative and excitable. Another hormone regulates hunger. The brain is also a radio transmitter that sends out measurable electrical wave signals. In fact, the brain continues to send these signals for as long as 37 hours after death! Our tiny knowledge of the brain is enough to show us that this incredible organ is no accident. The brain is much more than a powerful testimony to our Creator. Its incredible powers convince us that there is much more to existence than this material life. However, we can learn only from the Word of God about eternal life through the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ. Author: Paul A. Bartz. Ref: McCutcheon, Mar. 1989, The Compass in Your Nose, Los Angeles: Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc.”
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).
WHY AMERICA HAS NO PEACE (Friday Church News Notes, September 17, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - America is in shocking turmoil. There are many reasons, but one is stated clearly in Holy Scripture, and that is churches that are not obeying God’s clear command to pray for their nation. Here it is: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). This is a divine command given in the context of Paul’s instruction about how to behave ourselves in the church of the living God (1 Ti. 3:15). It is a command to churches, and America has a great many Bible-believing churches of various sorts that at least preach a sound gospel, believe in the new birth, hold sound doctrine in the “fundamentals,” etc. There are thousands of Baptist churches. If those churches would obey God and seriously pray for that which God has told them to pray, would America not have a lot more quiet and peace and godliness and honesty? There can be no doubt. Since God has specifically commanded that churches pray this very prayer, it can be certain that He is ready to answer it. But as James said, “Ye have not because ye ask not.” Why aren’t pastors leading in this matter?
EPISCOPALIAN BISHOP GOES TO HIS REWARD (Friday Church News Notes, September 17, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of” (2 Peter 2:1-2). Episcopalian bishop John Shelby Spong died on Sept. 12 at age 90. He represents the apostasy that is described in Bible prophecy. John Spong is evidence that the Bible is the infallible Word of God. He was ordained as a bishop of the Episcopal diocese of Newark, New Jersey, in 1976 even though he denied practically every doctrine of the Christian faith. In 1988, Spong published Living in Sin: A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality, stating, “The time has surely come not just to tolerate, or even to accept, but to celebrate and welcome the presence among us of our gay and lesbian fellow human beings.” That year Spong visited a Buddhist temple and said, “As the smell of incense filled the air, I knelt before three images of the Buddha, feeling that the smoke could carry my prayers heavenward” (“A Dialogue in a Buddhist Temple,” John Spong, The Voice, Jan. 1989). In his 1991 book Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, Spong wrote, “Am I suggesting that these stories of the virgin birth are not literally true? The answer is a simple and direct ‘Yes.’ Of course these narratives are not literally true. Stars do not wander, angels do not sing, virgins do not give birth, magi do not travel to a distant land to present gifts to a baby, and shepherds do not go in search of a newborn savior. ... To talk of a Father God who has a divine-human son by a virgin woman is a mythology.” Spong also said the apostle Paul was “a self hating, repressed homosexual.” In 1998, Spong said, “I would choose to loathe rather than to worship a deity who required the sacrifice of his son” (Christianity Today, June 15, 1998). In 2000, Spong wrote in his diocesan newspaper, “I do not believe that God is a Being sitting above the clouds pulling strings. … I do not believe that human beings are born evil and that only those who come to God through the ‘blood of Jesus’ will be saved” (“John Shelby Spong,” The Washington Times, Sept. 12, 2021).
HARVARD UNIVERSITY APPOINTS ATHEIST AS PRESIDENT OF CHAPLAINCY (Friday Church News Notes, September 17, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Harvard Appoints,” Premier Christian News, Aug. 30, 2021: “Harvard University in America has appointed its Atheist chaplain to be the President of its chaplaincy. Greg Epstein, 44, who already worked as a Humanist chaplain at the college, will organise the other 40 or so chaplains from the Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu and Sikh faith. He was voted for unanimously by his other chaplain colleagues. Mr Epstein, who was raised Jewish, is the author of Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe, and wants to be there for those on campus who do not believe in God but still want to make good choices. He told the New York Times: ‘There is a rising group of people who no longer identify with any religious tradition but still experience a real need for conversation and support around what it means to be a good human and live an ethical life.’ ‘We don’t look to a god for answers,’ he added. ‘We are each other’s answers.’” CONCLUSION: God’s Word says, “The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?” (Jeremiah 8:9).
PROMINENT SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCH HOLDS CHARISMATIC-STYLE “HEALING” SERVICE (Friday Church News Notes, September 17, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - On September 5, 2021, Steve Gaines, a former Southern Baptist Convention president, conducted charismatic-style “healing” services at Bellevue Baptist Church, Memphis, Tennessee. The people came forward in mass “to be anointed with oil and prayed over for healing ... that God will heal and restore.” Some of the men on the platform held their hands out charismatic fashion over the people as if healing rays were emitting from their hands. Contemporary rock music was playing during the “anointing.” Gaines preached from James, but he did not obey James, which says, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (Jas. 5:14-16). James describes a private, individual anointing for physical healing, not a public mass anointing for vaguely defined “healings” and “restorations.” James describes prayer for saints that are known to the elders, known members of a church, but at Bellevue the people had to tell the anointers their first names, because many were complete strangers and casual visitors. James calls for confession of faults, but at Bellevue the pastor made it clear that they didn’t have enough time for such things. Charismatic doctrine and practice has been leavening the Southern Baptist Convention since the 1980s. (See “Why I Am Not Southern Baptist,” www.wayoflife.org.)
SERVING THE WORD OF GOD (Friday Church News Notes, September 17, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “Are we willing to serve the Word of God? If we are, we will not be a people of influence in Washington, D.C., but we will be a people of power with God” (Richard Clearwaters, The Great Conservative Baptist Compromise).
YOUR BUSY BRAIN (Friday Church News Notes, September 17, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, June 22, 2021: “Not only is the human brain the most complex structure in the universe, it is also one of the busiest. In fact, during intense concentration, your brain can burn as many calories as your muscles do during exercise! Intense thinking can literally be as exhausting as a physical workout! More than 100,000 chemical reactions go on in your brain every second. Among the brain’s many jobs is chemist. The brain produces more than 50 psychoactive drugs. Some of these are associated with memory, others with intelligence, still others are sedatives. Endorphin is the brain’s painkiller and it’s three times more potent than morphine. Serotonin is produced by the brain to help keep our moods under control. The brain also makes dopamine. Dopamine makes people more talkative and excitable. Another hormone regulates hunger. The brain is also a radio transmitter that sends out measurable electrical wave signals. In fact, the brain continues to send these signals for as long as 37 hours after death! Our tiny knowledge of the brain is enough to show us that this incredible organ is no accident. The brain is much more than a powerful testimony to our Creator. Its incredible powers convince us that there is much more to existence than this material life. However, we can learn only from the Word of God about eternal life through the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ. Author: Paul A. Bartz. Ref: McCutcheon, Mar. 1989, The Compass in Your Nose, Los Angeles: Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc.”
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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