Friday Church News Notes
May 31, 2024 - Volume 25, Issue 22
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.
Stryper on 30th Anniversary Tour
STRYPER: STILL CONFORMED TO THE WORLD (Friday Church News Notes, May 31, 2024, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Nothing is more blatantly worldly, more clearly conformed to the world, than Christian rock. It is a major sign of end time apostasy for those who have eyes to see. It is the sound track of the “live according to one’s own lusts” type of Christianity prophesied in 2 Timothy 4:3-4. The “Christian” rock band Stryper was formed in 1983 by the brothers Michael and Robert Sweet. Aping heavy metal/glam bands and their unisex rebellion to God’s laws, with skin-tight leotards, big hair, earrings, mascara, lipstick, eye shadow, a worldly-cool, derisive attitude, and raging rock & roll, they obliterated every remaining boundary between “Christian” music and the world. As evidence of the depth of the apostasy within “evangelical” Christianity, Stryper’s 1986 album To Hell with the Devil sold more than 2 million copies. The title song reflects the band’s biblical ignorance. The devil is not destined for hell, but for the lake of fire, and it is God’s business to curse him, not man’s. Even Michael the archangel did not rail against the devil. “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee” (Jude 1:9). Imagine Peter, John, Paul, and Barnabas dressed in leotards, sporting long hair, dancing and prancing, and singing “To Hell with the Devil” at the Ephesus theater, if you can! It is beyond ridiculous. Heavy metal was my music at the end of my rock & roll career, but that ended when I was born again in 1973. Biblical repentance is a renunciation of the things that God hates. Paul defined it as to “turn to God, and do works meet for repentance” (Acts 26:20). Stryper disbanded in 1993 then reformed in 2003. In the 1990s, members of the band admitted in interviews that they drank and partied. In 1997, bass guitarist Tim Gaines told HM magazine that he had been intoxicated practically every single day since 1988. In 1986, Robert Sweet said, “We honestly believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior, but we’re about the most unreligious Christian band you could imagine” (Hit Parader, Nov. 1986, p. 21).
Greg D’Angelo, drummer for the rock band White Lion with whom Stryper toured, said, “We threw a party ... About two in the morning ROBERT SWEET WAS WHACKED! DRUNK! He was being dragged around on his tiptoes by two women holding him up!’ (RIP, June, 1989, p. 41). “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame” (1 Corinthians 15:33-34).
STRYPER: STILL PREACHING HERESY (Friday Church News Notes, May 31, 2024, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Not surprisingly, the pioneering Christian glam band Stryper hates “judgmentalism.” The “non-judgmental” philosophy is the heart and soul of end-time apostasy. It is the philosophy that is building a one-world “church.” Biblical warnings are not harmful; they are necessary for spiritual and moral protection. But in a recent interview with Crosswalk Headlines, Stryper’s Robert Sweet said, “People use the Scriptures about judging and how we’re called to judge people. ... What that means is we’re supposed to hold each other accountable, but you’re not supposed to go out with a hateful heart and in a godless spirit and judge people because all that does is turn people away from God” (Crosswalk, May 22, 2024). This is a sad, dangerous statement. How does he know that certain people have a hateful heart and a godless spirit when they judge sin and error? He doesn’t, of course. The Word of God demands that God’s redeemed people reprove sin and error. It is not an optional part of biblical Christianity. Consider one example. “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:11). Here we see that God’s Word demands separation from sin and reproof of sin. Stryper disobeys both commands. Rock & roll is filled to the brim with the unfruitful works of darkness as Stryper knows all too well. The apostle Paul named the names of false teachers (such as Hymenaeus and Philetus) and worldly compromisers (such as Demas) and warned of their error multiple times in his public epistles (e.g., 1 Timothy 1:19-20; 2 Timothy 1:15; 2:16-18; 4:10, 14). Paul didn’t have a hateful heart or a godless spirit. He cared about those who were in danger of being led astray by these men and he cared about God’s work to keep it pure. Demas probably misjudged Paul just as Stryper is misjudging Biblical Christians today.
ANSWERS IN GENESIS AND THE GETTYS (Friday Church News Notes, May 31, 2024, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In October 2019, Answers in Genesis hosted the Gettys in concert at the Ark Encounter in northern Kentucky. Though the lyrics to the Getty-Townend hymns are typically more Scriptural than the majority of contemporary worship songs, and the Gettys are fairly conservative in their own theology and personal lives, they have no boundaries in music or in association and are, therefore, a dangerous bridge to the “broader church.” Their concerts feature traditional hymns mixed with out-and-out rock & roll, blues, jazz, rap, anything. Rapper Trip Lee was featured at the Getty’s Sing! An Irish Christmas 2019 and Sing! 2021 conferences. Keith Getty has spoken positively about the Beatles, Sting, Elton John, Bono, and others, with no warnings of their wickedness. The Gettys don’t believe in biblical separation. They are positive-only, non-judgmental, ecumenical. Keith Getty says to the mixed multitude crowds at the annual Sing! conferences, “We are one in Christ; the things that unite us are far greater than the things that divide.” Yet the vast majority of these people are strangers to him. He doesn’t know who most of these people are, whether they have actually been born again, how they live, what churches they attend, if any, or what doctrines they hold. The Gettys join hands non-critically with Roman Catholic musicians (e.g., Matt Maher, Margaret Becker, Máire Brennan). The Gettys are representative of evangelicalism today, at the heart of which is “a renunciation of separatism,” as Harold Ockenga stated in the late 1940s. The Gettys don’t draw clear lines as the Bible requires. They don’t speak out against error and issue warnings as the Bible demands. They don’t earnestly contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints or mark and avoid those who teach false doctrine, as God’s Word clearly necessitates. Because of the lack of boundaries, the likable Gettys are a bridge to the exceedingly dangerous world of the “broader church” with all of its sins and heresies, as surely as Hillsong or any of the other contemporary worship groups. See the report “The Gettys - Pied Pipers of Contemporary Worship Music” and the video presentation “Bob Jones, Majesty Music, New Calvinism, and the Gettys.”
https://www.wayoflife.org/reports/the_gettys_pied_pipers.html
https://www.wayoflife.org/s3/satanic_attack_on_sacred_music.php
I WISH I DIDN’T HAVE TO WARN ABOUT THESE THINGS (Friday Church News Notes, May 31, 2024, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - I would love to issue no warnings about the Gettys and Ken Ham, et al. I like these people as people; I don’t doubt their salvation; I like a lot of their teachings, particularly those of Mr. Ham. I realize that the warnings come across as mean spirited and petty and “legalistic” to the Christian world at large, even to a rapidly-growing number of “fundamentalists” today. The non-judgmental, ecumenical philosophy is in the very air that we breathe. The vast majority of pastors have so neglected biblical warnings that their people are shocked when they hear such things. The non-judgmental, ecumenical philosophy has unthinkingly captured the hearts and minds of the vast majority of professing Christians. This is true to such an extent that there is a negative knee-jerk reaction against warnings about popular Christians. But I am sure that I cannot be faithful to the Christ who purchased me by His precious blood and who called me to preach His infallible Word if I do not warn about these things. It is a matter of earnestly contending for the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3). It is a matter of warning about end time apostasy (2 Timothy 4:3-4). It is a matter of wanting to provide spiritual and doctrinal protection for those who have ears to hear. It is a matter of properly guarding the flock (Acts 20:28; Eph. 4:11-16). It is a matter of love for Christ and truth (John 14:23). It is a matter of proclaiming the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:26-28). Ecumenical bridge building in the midst of end times apostasy is no small issue, and those who will take the time actually to read what we are saying and to measure it by God’s Word, rather than by their emotions, will see this, I am sure. Should we not imitate the noble Bereans? “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). Should we not obey 1 Thessalonians 5:21, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good,” and Hebrews 5:14, “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil”?
MAGNETIC BIRDS (Friday Church News Notes, May 31, 2024, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, May 22, 2024: “Most of us have heard a few of the theories that are offered to explain how birds are able to migrate for thousands of miles to an exact spot. The arctic tern migrates 22,000 miles a year to winter in the same spot where it wintered the previous year. But most birds seem to have this amazing ability even if they don’t use it as often or to travel as far. In one study, scientists took a sea bird called the Manx shearwater from its nest on the coast of Wales to Boston and released it. The route back home across the featureless Atlantic is not a familiar one to the shearwater. Yet, twelve and one half days later the shearwater showed up back at its nest, over 3,000 miles from Boston. The most dramatic research in recent years led to the discovery that many birds have a small amount of magnetic material in their brains, which seems to act like a built in compass to help them tell where they are and where they are going. But additional research has shown that birds usually use more than just one method to navigate. They also use the sun, stars, changes in barometric pressure, low frequency sounds made by the wind and sea … and even odors. A bird’s ability to navigate using only one of these methods would be amazing enough. But the fact that birds have several methods available to them is a testimony to their Creator, who provided them with back up methods as well. If no detail of a small bird’s need is too unimportant for His attention, imagine how much more He is concerned about the details of our lives. Ref: Cook, Patrick. ‘How do birds find where they’re going?’ Science 84. p. 26.”
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).
Greg D’Angelo, drummer for the rock band White Lion with whom Stryper toured, said, “We threw a party ... About two in the morning ROBERT SWEET WAS WHACKED! DRUNK! He was being dragged around on his tiptoes by two women holding him up!’ (RIP, June, 1989, p. 41). “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame” (1 Corinthians 15:33-34).
STRYPER: STILL PREACHING HERESY (Friday Church News Notes, May 31, 2024, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Not surprisingly, the pioneering Christian glam band Stryper hates “judgmentalism.” The “non-judgmental” philosophy is the heart and soul of end-time apostasy. It is the philosophy that is building a one-world “church.” Biblical warnings are not harmful; they are necessary for spiritual and moral protection. But in a recent interview with Crosswalk Headlines, Stryper’s Robert Sweet said, “People use the Scriptures about judging and how we’re called to judge people. ... What that means is we’re supposed to hold each other accountable, but you’re not supposed to go out with a hateful heart and in a godless spirit and judge people because all that does is turn people away from God” (Crosswalk, May 22, 2024). This is a sad, dangerous statement. How does he know that certain people have a hateful heart and a godless spirit when they judge sin and error? He doesn’t, of course. The Word of God demands that God’s redeemed people reprove sin and error. It is not an optional part of biblical Christianity. Consider one example. “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:11). Here we see that God’s Word demands separation from sin and reproof of sin. Stryper disobeys both commands. Rock & roll is filled to the brim with the unfruitful works of darkness as Stryper knows all too well. The apostle Paul named the names of false teachers (such as Hymenaeus and Philetus) and worldly compromisers (such as Demas) and warned of their error multiple times in his public epistles (e.g., 1 Timothy 1:19-20; 2 Timothy 1:15; 2:16-18; 4:10, 14). Paul didn’t have a hateful heart or a godless spirit. He cared about those who were in danger of being led astray by these men and he cared about God’s work to keep it pure. Demas probably misjudged Paul just as Stryper is misjudging Biblical Christians today.
ANSWERS IN GENESIS AND THE GETTYS (Friday Church News Notes, May 31, 2024, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In October 2019, Answers in Genesis hosted the Gettys in concert at the Ark Encounter in northern Kentucky. Though the lyrics to the Getty-Townend hymns are typically more Scriptural than the majority of contemporary worship songs, and the Gettys are fairly conservative in their own theology and personal lives, they have no boundaries in music or in association and are, therefore, a dangerous bridge to the “broader church.” Their concerts feature traditional hymns mixed with out-and-out rock & roll, blues, jazz, rap, anything. Rapper Trip Lee was featured at the Getty’s Sing! An Irish Christmas 2019 and Sing! 2021 conferences. Keith Getty has spoken positively about the Beatles, Sting, Elton John, Bono, and others, with no warnings of their wickedness. The Gettys don’t believe in biblical separation. They are positive-only, non-judgmental, ecumenical. Keith Getty says to the mixed multitude crowds at the annual Sing! conferences, “We are one in Christ; the things that unite us are far greater than the things that divide.” Yet the vast majority of these people are strangers to him. He doesn’t know who most of these people are, whether they have actually been born again, how they live, what churches they attend, if any, or what doctrines they hold. The Gettys join hands non-critically with Roman Catholic musicians (e.g., Matt Maher, Margaret Becker, Máire Brennan). The Gettys are representative of evangelicalism today, at the heart of which is “a renunciation of separatism,” as Harold Ockenga stated in the late 1940s. The Gettys don’t draw clear lines as the Bible requires. They don’t speak out against error and issue warnings as the Bible demands. They don’t earnestly contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints or mark and avoid those who teach false doctrine, as God’s Word clearly necessitates. Because of the lack of boundaries, the likable Gettys are a bridge to the exceedingly dangerous world of the “broader church” with all of its sins and heresies, as surely as Hillsong or any of the other contemporary worship groups. See the report “The Gettys - Pied Pipers of Contemporary Worship Music” and the video presentation “Bob Jones, Majesty Music, New Calvinism, and the Gettys.”
https://www.wayoflife.org/reports/the_gettys_pied_pipers.html
https://www.wayoflife.org/s3/satanic_attack_on_sacred_music.php
I WISH I DIDN’T HAVE TO WARN ABOUT THESE THINGS (Friday Church News Notes, May 31, 2024, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - I would love to issue no warnings about the Gettys and Ken Ham, et al. I like these people as people; I don’t doubt their salvation; I like a lot of their teachings, particularly those of Mr. Ham. I realize that the warnings come across as mean spirited and petty and “legalistic” to the Christian world at large, even to a rapidly-growing number of “fundamentalists” today. The non-judgmental, ecumenical philosophy is in the very air that we breathe. The vast majority of pastors have so neglected biblical warnings that their people are shocked when they hear such things. The non-judgmental, ecumenical philosophy has unthinkingly captured the hearts and minds of the vast majority of professing Christians. This is true to such an extent that there is a negative knee-jerk reaction against warnings about popular Christians. But I am sure that I cannot be faithful to the Christ who purchased me by His precious blood and who called me to preach His infallible Word if I do not warn about these things. It is a matter of earnestly contending for the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3). It is a matter of warning about end time apostasy (2 Timothy 4:3-4). It is a matter of wanting to provide spiritual and doctrinal protection for those who have ears to hear. It is a matter of properly guarding the flock (Acts 20:28; Eph. 4:11-16). It is a matter of love for Christ and truth (John 14:23). It is a matter of proclaiming the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:26-28). Ecumenical bridge building in the midst of end times apostasy is no small issue, and those who will take the time actually to read what we are saying and to measure it by God’s Word, rather than by their emotions, will see this, I am sure. Should we not imitate the noble Bereans? “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). Should we not obey 1 Thessalonians 5:21, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good,” and Hebrews 5:14, “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil”?
MAGNETIC BIRDS (Friday Church News Notes, May 31, 2024, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, May 22, 2024: “Most of us have heard a few of the theories that are offered to explain how birds are able to migrate for thousands of miles to an exact spot. The arctic tern migrates 22,000 miles a year to winter in the same spot where it wintered the previous year. But most birds seem to have this amazing ability even if they don’t use it as often or to travel as far. In one study, scientists took a sea bird called the Manx shearwater from its nest on the coast of Wales to Boston and released it. The route back home across the featureless Atlantic is not a familiar one to the shearwater. Yet, twelve and one half days later the shearwater showed up back at its nest, over 3,000 miles from Boston. The most dramatic research in recent years led to the discovery that many birds have a small amount of magnetic material in their brains, which seems to act like a built in compass to help them tell where they are and where they are going. But additional research has shown that birds usually use more than just one method to navigate. They also use the sun, stars, changes in barometric pressure, low frequency sounds made by the wind and sea … and even odors. A bird’s ability to navigate using only one of these methods would be amazing enough. But the fact that birds have several methods available to them is a testimony to their Creator, who provided them with back up methods as well. If no detail of a small bird’s need is too unimportant for His attention, imagine how much more He is concerned about the details of our lives. Ref: Cook, Patrick. ‘How do birds find where they’re going?’ Science 84. p. 26.”
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).
_____
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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