James McDonald: Ignorance? or Denial?

I went to Starbucks this afternoon with my wife (yes, i love their coffee... for all you starbucks haters) and i came across a blog entry by Dan Phillips. He was speaking about James McDonald and his ignorance or denial (which ever you decide) of T.D. Jakes Oneness (no, not some kind of Buddhist practice or thought... oneness Pentecostalism). The entry triggered some sort of anger inside of me at first. It has to do with this event called the "Elephant Room" where he gathers a bunch of "Christian leaders" together to "talk" about "issues". I don't recommend going to this site or watching any of the videos if you get sick easily..... of garbage.

The interesting thing out of this entire discussion about the upcoming Elephant Room 2 is James McDonald's acceptance of T.D. Jakes as a "brother" in Christ. In one of James' articles he states the following:

In the Elephant Room, we are gathering those who are brothers in the national sense and profess to be brothers in the gospel sense, to act like brothers in the relational sense.

Now, knowing that he has invited T.D. Jakes to the Elephant room, this concludes that he believes that a heretic (yes, straight-up heresy) is his "brother" in Christ. He thinks that Jakes believes the same Gospel that is in Holy Writ. T.D. Jakes believes in Modalism. As was stated by Dan, Jakes' teachings are documented.

I also find that such statements as:

The goal is open conversation between Christian leaders who see and do ministry differently.

Or:

Most importantly, we are attempting to model an ethic of behavior and expression of love that adorns the gospel.

Or:

Gospel belief without Gospel behavior is NOT orthodoxy.

First, if Jakes is a Christian leader then we need to redefine the word Christian. Secondly, modeling "an ethic of behavior and expression of love that adorns the gospel" isn't sitting there arm-in-arm with a rancid heretic stating that he's your brother in Christ. That isn't true love. True love would be to tell him that he is in sin and must repent. Put your faith in Christ and turn away from your sins. Thirdly, this just shows the ignorance and anti-intellectualism of so-called "leaders" in the "Christian" realm. Orthodoxy comes from two Greek words "Orthos" which means right, true or straight, and "doxa" which means opinion or belief. Literally, true belief. He obviously can't understand a distinction between orthodoxy and orthopraxy.

Anyways, I find this whole thing ridiculous and I just wish that "organizations" like the Elephant Room would be consistent and call themselves anything but Christian.

Jesus Our Mediator

Kim Riddlebarger wrote a great article today reminding us of Christ and Him as Mediator. Fully God and Fully man. Both natures were necessary for the redemption of many. Dr. Riddlebarger writes:

no human sacrifice can pay the infinite debt we owe to the holy God. The sacrifice for our sins must be made by someone whose death can actually pay the debt. Then, there is the fact that no human can apply their sacrifice or obedience to another so as to pronounce forgiveness. Only God can apply the fruits of Jesus’ redemptive work to others under the terms of a covenant of grace, which he alone can establish on his oath. This is why Jesus must also be fully God.

Since Jesus is truly man, he truly redeems human nature–which he took with him when he ascended into heaven after his resurrection. Not only do we have hope that the Son of God will redeem our souls, the two natures united in one person also means that God will redeem our bodies as well. Jesus not only has paid for our sins, and provides for us a perfect righteousness, presently he is in heaven in a body of glorified flesh–a body in which he will return to raise the dead, judge the world and make all things new. Because our Lord has redeemed human flesh, we are certain that our flesh will likewise be transformed so that we might live with him forever and ever.

This is definitely comforting. Knowing that Christ has fully redeemed both soul and body. We have our "already" where we experience the Kingdom of God through the redemption of our souls. Then we have the "not-yet" where we will experience our hope through the resurrection of our bodies into ever lasting life.

Remember that this has always been the Christian faith, from the scriptures:

In the beginning was bthe Word, and cthe Word was with God, and dthe Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 eAll things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.... 14 And zthe Word abecame flesh and bdwelt among us, cand we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of dgrace and etruth.(John 1:1-3, 14)

To our Creeds:

1. For the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man.
   
   
2. God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and made of the substance of His mother, born in the world.
   
   
3. Perfect God and perfect man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting.
   
   
4. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood.
   
   
5. Who, although He is God and man, yet He is not two, but one Christ.
   
   
6. One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking of the manhood into God.
   
   
7. One altogether, not by the confusion of substance, but by unity of person.
   
   
8. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ;
   
   
9. Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead;
   
   
10. He ascended into heaven, He sitteth on the right hand of the Father, God Almighty;
    
    
11. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

Discovering Your Calling

Michael Horton has written a great article on God's "calling" for your life. I know that this is an old article but the truth in it is long-term. The article is more on getting rid of the mysticism behind the idea of your "calling". It also gives advice and wisdom on how to discern what to do in your life.

Horton tells us that "God does give us the desires of our hearts." It's not as if your calling would be separate from what you really desire to do; however, there might be some cases in which you must sacrifice your desires for bringing the "bacon" home to provide for your family. He continues:

He is not out to get us, or to make us wander the vocational wilderness forever. Sometimes we are "dumped" into short-term vocations which to us seem utterly meaningless and yet in some way providentially equip us with a skill which will be vital in our as yet unknown calling in life. We just cannot figure out God's secret plan, but we can trust it and learn from natural as well as biblical sources how we might better discern our calling.

Growing up I've heard so many people ask "what does God want me to do?" It's almost as if they are sitting around waiting for a mystical bomb to drop on their head. Some actual say that God speaks with a "still, small voice", or that "you will know when the time is right". God revealing His decreetive will to man? Almost sounds like someone with schizophrenia...