Ralph Brandt. Common Sense in York, PA - Correction of Church Leaders

Some of you will have a problem with this writing because you have never seen Biblical correction and discipline done in a Godly manner. Let me assure you, I cannot say that I have dotted every "I" and crossed every "t" here, but I am attempting to do it His way. If I somehow miss a detail, it is my error and I am open to correction. With His help what I do here will bring correction and repentance.

Dr. James Kennedy, a man I have only in recent years come to appreciate as a fine man of God (my error not his) said that the reason there is so many hypocrites in the church is because discipline is as dead as the proverbial dodo bird. That discipline must be revived if the body of Christ is to be healthy and strong.

Several things have happened here in the last week that warrant attention.

• A Christian leader took action to protect the flock and the integrity of the gospel from error.
• Certain criticism has been leveled at that leader.
• Several people expressed support for that leader, several objected.
• At least one person delved into issues peripheral to the central one.
• Another party came to the defense of the site that caused the original action.

I would like to examine these individual acts in light of the scripture….

• A Christian leader took action to protect the flock and the integrity of the gospel.

Traci (who I must admit I know only superficially) took action to remove and renounce a site that contained false doctrine. As the leader of this "flock" she has not only the right but also the responsibility to do so. To not act when there is danger would have been reckless and negligent. Some of you will have a problem with her being called a leader of a flock because you have always thought that must be someone that has been to Bible School or Seminary. I suggest you remember that none of the men we read about in the New Testament attended Bible School, they learned of Jesus at the feet of men who knew Him or who sat at the feet of those who knew Him. When the organized church institutionalized training ministers, the church started its downward slide.

I think the core if the problem is covered in the note I wrote. "We have a responsibility to NOT advertise for someone who would tear down the gospel. I have been in arenas where my charter has been from the government and free speech was mandated. In this area, I must allow whatever. But this ring is dedicated to serving HIM, not to any other ideal."

I might add, here He must be Savior, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Any less and He is nothing.

Acts 20:28

28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

(KJV)

1 Pet 5:2

2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

(KJV)

Matt 24:24

24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

(KJV)

II Th 3:6-7

6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.

7 For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you;

(KJV)

**** Let's assume you feel this is so wrong that you can't support Traci after this? Based on the next scripture I suggest you withdraw from the ring.

Amos 3:3

3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

(KJV)

One thing I think needs to be made clear very here. It is nice that some have supported Traci, I applaud them, but the number who are for and against are not important. It is whether we have right or wrong as defined by scripture. I will admit that it is good to have someone on your side, but then I remember the scripture…

II Ki 6:17

17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

(KJV)

When we are doing God's work, the number of men (or women) who are with us or arrayed against us is unimportant.********

• Certain criticism has been leveled at that leader.

I can only say that some of the things I saw in messages would have been better handled in prayer but that was not done. The minimum for Christian leadership is like the Hypocratic oath, above all, do no harm. Nothing Traci did in any way damaged the gospel or promoted false doctrine. (I could make a better case for her having taken staunch action in protecting it.) The minimum threshold for criticism was not met or even approached. Anyone who heaped criticism on her should have been publicly denounced. I'll pass on that for now.

• Several people expressed support for that leader, several objected.

I believe we have a responsibility to encourage one another in good works. I might add that my response to Traci was written but not sent till the criticism came. I probably erred here. I did what was expedient to avoid criticism from the e-mail anti-proliferation police.

Heb 10:25

25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

(KJV)

We need to encourage one another in all good works. It is unfortunate that Christians have to take it out on each other on minor matters of protocol when that should be handled one to one. But then read from Zech.

Zech 13:6

6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

(KJV)

Many Christians, and I am one of them, have been more often wounded in by others in the body than by the world. I for one have a bad taste in my mouth when I hear someone in the church state how bad the world does things while they are tramping on a fellow Christian.

• At least one person delved into issues peripheral to the central one.

But then there were those who shot craps at the foot of the cross. Please don't send a note to everyone that it was some other game. The game doesn't matter, it was a first century form of gambling, but the fact that they had no idea of the significance of the event and were playing games at the foot of the cross was the important issue.

Neh 6:3-4

3 And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?

4 Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.

(KJV)

I think the scripture says it well. (as usual).

• Another party came to the defense of the site that caused the original action.

This event causes me more heartburn than any other act. In fact it concerns me more than all of the other actions put together because it contains false doctrines packaged to sell. Let me address it here but first let me lay a foundation. The perversion of the right ways of the Lord is a serious matter and is not charged without a firm foundation.

Acts 13:8-10

8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.

9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,

10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

(KJV)

And when someone - even a leader, or more especially a leader, crosses that boundary, they are to be corrected - in a Godly manner, but firmly enough that people know what is right. Jesus evicted the thieves from the temple and he didn't sound too wimpy - he scared them enough that they left!. Sidebar…The men in the temple were dishonest money changers -- read the scripture -- Jesus said they made his father's house a den of thieves, he did not say they made his father's house a place of commerce! I can’t believe He would have called them thieves unless they were stealing something. In an instance below Peter was first met privately (vs 11) and then publicly (vs 14). There is no indication if Peter responded to the private rebuke or not, it appears likely that Paul was forced to handle it publicly because Peter did not. I read into the event that Peter at least did not make a public statement correcting the error, Paul took care of that to Peters embarrassment. In fact a leader is more responsible and it is more necessary to rebuke them publicly, particularly if they have taught or openly lived the error! (The leader in error here is not Traci in case you don't follow.)

Gal 2:11-14

11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.

12 For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.

13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.

14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?

(KJV)

It is interesting here that Peter got himself in trouble by trying to please the apostate Jewish leaders. I will not flaunt any credentials, I will from this point let the wisdom of my words and the spirit with which they are presented show my heart. And I will use the pattern from the word be the guide in how this is to be handled.

Here is the note from Reverend Grandma. She is by her own statement a leader in the church and by her own written statements she has attempted to make the deity universal, a violation of scripture. Here I must stand face to face with her and say: "You pervert the gospel. You are to be blamed." There is no room here for a "private note", my first thought, since the error was publicly proclaimed to about 200, more than the number in the upper room at Pentecost! Since this was presented to the whole group correction must be handled in the same forum. I have imbedded comments and scripture in her note. Please be careful when reading.

**********Begin Quote*********

Let me begin by stating that I am a minister of the Gospel, that I am a

practicing Christian, and that I fully agree with the decision to remove

a Muslim site from the Serving Christ Webring.

***** Let it be clear that I have no issue with the statement made here. The site was wrong, it had to go. *****

But.

The URL recommended by Bruce Hallman (the subject of this email) has a

significant amount of misinformation in it. Please don't believe

everything you read on that page concerning Islam - because much of it

is incorrect.

****I don't know if this site is right or wrong, I didn't bother going out to read it.*****

According to the Koran, the God of Abraham is the same God as the God

Islam. He is also the God of Judaism and Christianity.

********There are significant evidences this statement is error. We only have to take a small step from here to the universal deity. And this is one of the lies of Islam, one that is used to "bring Christians, Jews and Moslems together, for the detriment of the Christian and Jew and the watering down of the gospel. ******

The Koran itself places Mohammed squarely in the tradition of prophecy,

which includes Moses, Abraham, and Jesus. Mohammed's function was to

renew and restore the guidance given to others before him, NOT to found

a new religion.

******Correct, the Koran proclaims Mohammed as prophet. But he is a false prophet, more than a

few of his prophecies have failed. And Islam recognizes Jesus only as a prophet, not as the Son of God and the sacrifice for sin. The Reverend even states here that piece of error. "Jesus is just one of those prophets." Let me assure you, Islam is a religion of works. Jesus came to break the curse of the law, the salvation by works. He died to provide salvation by grace, thank God, because without that grace none of us have any hope. None of us are good enough. None of us could live the old covenant. Look at the lengths the "Moslem Fundamentalists" will go to, the subjugation of women for one, to make Allah happy. Paul wrote…

2 Cor 11:3-4

3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

(KJV)

We cannot bear with any who do not fully recognize Jesus as the Son of God and Saviour. Yes, we have a responsibility to present the gospel to them, but the scripture asks if light has equality with darkness. The answer is "no." And we are told that if any other gospel is presented we are to not pay attention.

Gal 1:9

9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

(KJV)

We need to present he gospel - pure, simple and firm. Any backing up is denying Jesus as surely as Peter denied him the night he was betrayed.

*******

Muslims do believe that Mohammed was the Seal of the Prophets - the last

prophet - and that God would send no further prophets to humankind.

Mormons, however, believe Joseph Smith was - and the principal leader of

their church is - a prophet.

*********But there is no indication in scripture that prophecy would end until Jesus comes back in glory. Like Islam, some of modern Christianity says prophecy ended at some time, usually with the canon. They cite I Cor. 13 as a reference. (When that which is perfect is come.) Taken out of context and misused we can prove that error. But Eph. 4:11 clearly says Prophets will exist with Pastors, Teachers, Apostles and Evangelists until He returns. Do you believe that Pastors and Evangelists have ceased to function? This is a false Prophecy, again, enough to invalidate Mohammed. As for Joseph Smith, this is some analogy. This man was a fraud, a liar, a diviner, a criminal, a bigamist and the Book Of Mormon is obviously a fictional work. Joseph Smith was too unlearned to have created it. Some of it comes from Masonic Tradition - and he dabbled in Freemasonry. It is likely it was written by someone else or with someone else's help. With this extreme tainting of the fountain, can the water from it be good? I say no, a thousand times no. In addition, the Book of Mormon has undergone over 1000 revisions. If you were able to find a 75 year old copy you could find the changes. After all, Joseph Smith thought Blacks were inferior and couldn't be saved, a popular idea of his time. Apparently JS was not 100% on. The Book of Mormon is much less than the men writing under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Compare that to the Bible that we find to be more unchanging as we find and look at older texts. Even the apostate Catholic Church of the dark ages was unable to pervert the word of God but faithfully passed it on. (Thank God.) Finally the relegation of Jesus to the role of only a prophet and teacher by Mohammed is despicable. *******

Just as many of Christ's followers have distorted His message and

believe in things He never taught, so do many of Mohammed's followers

distort his message and believe in things he never taught.

******Right, Christ's followers have perverted his message, but his message was

initially pure. We can go back to the word and find the truth. The difference is that Mohammed's message was tainted from the start. Going back to the original in Islam is to go back to error. Even the analogy here indicating equality between Jesus and Mohammed is heresy.

I Jn 4:2-3

2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

(KJV)

*******

It is well worth the time for any Christian to read the Koran to

discover what a beautiful and inspiring book it is. It isn't the

Bible. But it's still good for edification and inspiration.

*******Should we begin to read every book by every author to see if we can find Christ,

"each in our own way?" This is the sin of the OT, "every man did what was right in his

own eyes. Where do we draw the line? I can give an answer. Everyone who calls Jesus the Christ is true and everyone who does not is a false witness.

Should we also read the Book of Mormon for "inspiration"? Should we also read the Wiccan Journals? Or maybe the Satanic verses? When we stray from the truth we err. Do we need other books to inspire when they teach error? Have we fully mined the Bible and come up with nothing?

This religion smacks of the Masonic rites in which any god can be god.

These writings are what in World War II Sefton Delmer called "Black Propaganda." It is presented as loyal information but is tainted to be wrong. It is called cover, cover, cover, cover, cover, dirt. The presentation is truth, truth, truth, truth, truth, lie. Always enough truth to mask the lie. Then the lie becomes believable. This is what we have in most of the false doctrines.

When Peter recognized Jesus as the Christ…

Matt 16:16-18

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

(KJV)

The rock of Peter's faith was what the church is built upon. And it recognizes Jesus as the Christ, not as a prophet or great teacher. Oh it sounds great for Jesus to be a prophet, but if he was only a prophet he was a false prophet and we are still dead in our sins.

******

Blessings,

Grandma

**********End Quote*********

I can discount the teachings of Mohammed easily. He claimed to be a prophet and erred. I don't have to find hundreds of errors in his teaching. It is like classifying trees. I don't have to see 1000 leaves from a tree to know it is a maple. One will do. And I don't need to find 1000 errors in a teaching, one significant one will do. You give this careful and prayerful consideration.

Ralph Brandt