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“Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” We see in 2 Timothy 2:22 that separation is not just a “negative” issue. Separation is a matter of spiritual and moral protection. Timothy was told to “flee youthful lusts.” That is the image of running from some great danger. God does not want to take pleasurable things away from His people. He is the Author of every good gift (James 1:17). When He made Adam and Eve, He put them in the loveliest Garden one could imagine. He designed it for them to provide every wonderful and pleasurable thing. God is not some cruel person who wants to harass people with meaningless laws. God is the most compassionate, giving Person in existence. His command to separate from the evil things of the world is designed to protect us from spiritual and moral destruction. It is designed to keep us out of the devil’s cruel clutches. In 2 Timothy 2:22 we are also reminded that separation is a heart matter. Timothy was instructed to pursue holiness “with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” If the heart is right, the believer will respond positively to the Lord’s command to separate from evil. Before I was saved, I grew my hair long as a flag of rebellion and pride. I refused to cut it for love or money, but after I was saved I cut it when I was challenged by an elderly woman that long hair was not befitting a young man who claims to be a follower of Christ. I cut it because my heart was right with God and I wanted to do His will instead of my own, and I did not want to offend people. We also see in 2 Timothy 2:22 that separation is a replacement matter. Timothy was instructed not only to flee from sinful things but also to “follow” godly things. It is not enough to give up sensual music and worldly fashions and friends that hinder one’s spiritual walk; the child of God must add godly friends and sacred music and edifying literature and wholesome activities and get busy in the service of Christ.

(Friday Church News Notes, August 27, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

The following is from the late H. A. Ironside’s commentary on Daniel:

“I have heard Christians refer to certain precepts in the Scriptures as non-essentials. But we may rest assured there are no non-essentials in our Bibles. ‘The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.’ When people talk of non-essentials in regard to anything concerning which God has revealed His mind, it is well to ask, ‘Essential or non-essential to what?’ If it be a question of the soul’s salvation, undoubtedly the one great essential is faith in His blessed Son, whose finished work alone avails to put away sin and procure peace with God. But if it be a question of what is essential to the enjoyment of communion with God--essential to obtaining the Lord’s approval at the judgment-seat of Christ--then it is well to remember that in everything the believer is sanctified to the obedience of Christ.”

(Friday Church News Notes, August 27, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

Many speakers at the 2007 Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting said the denomination needs to lay aside “tertiary” doctrines for the sake of evangelism and unity. The theme was set by SBC president Frank Page, who was re-elected that year to his second term. He called for a passion of reaching the lost rather than infighting and finding faults with others (“Southern Baptists Hear a Call for Unity,” AP, June 12, 2007). He said that for “Jesus’ sake, and the sake of His kingdom on earth, we must not make every doctrinal issue a crusade” and “we have no right to judge others with whom we disagree about secondary and tertiary doctrines” (“Southern Baptists Urged to Overcome Factionalism to Win the Lost,” Christian Post, June 13, 2007). These “secondary” doctrines are things such as Calvinism and non-Calvinism, cessationism and non-cessationism of the apostolic gifts, views on Bible prophecy, and views on women in ministry. The New Testament’s doctrine of unity is much narrower than Page’s New Evangelical approach. Timothy was exhorted to allow “no other doctrine” (1 Timothy 1:3) and was instructed to “keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Timothy 6:14). The commandment that Timothy was to keep without spot is that which Paul had delivered to him in this particular epistle, the theme of which is church truth (1 Timothy 3:15). Paul had commanded Timothy about such things as the woman’s role in ministry (1 Timothy 2), the very type of thing that is considered “tertiary” among evangelicals today. But Timothy was instructed to keep all such things without spot, and to do so requires that we narrow our fellowship severely in these apostate, compromised times. There is no contradiction between holding to the Bible’s strict position on doctrine and having a zeal for evangelism. The Southern Baptist Convention’s failure to win people to Christ, which has been bemoaned often, is not due to divisions caused by “secondary” doctrine. That is a smokescreen. It is due, rather, to the worldliness and spiritual lukewarmness that is rampant in SBC congregations. I grew up in Convention churches, and the situation is much worse now than when I was young, and it was very bad then.

(Friday Church News Notes, August 27, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

Speaking at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in 2007 in San Antonio, Texas, Rob Zinn said the denomination must be willing to change its methodology to reach this generation, and one of those changes includes music. He asked grandparents in the audience, “How many of you love those grandkids enough you’d be willing to change your music for them?” He then said: “[I]f we’re going to win [young people] to Jesus in this culture, we’re going to have to be willing to change our mindsets. ... Folks, what you did in the ’40s and what you did in the ’50s isn’t going to win this culture to Jesus” (“Wrap-up,” Baptist Press, June 15, 2007). Zinn, who is the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church, Highland, California, has been brainwashed and led astray by the contemporary church growth philosophy and probably by fellow California Southern Baptist pastor Rick Warren. Zinn committed three errors in this one short statement. First, nowhere does the Bible say we are to win this culture to Jesus. Rather we are to win sinners to Jesus, and they are won today the same way they were won 2,000 years ago. They are won by the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the quickening power of the Holy Spirit. It is the Gospel that is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). Second, nowhere in the New Testament is music used in evangelism, so the subject of music is irrelevant to the subject of soul winning. Third, the rock music that Zinn is referring to is of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and cannot be properly used in the service of a thrice-holy God. I have grandchildren, and I love them enough to warn them not to be conformed to this world and also to warn them of confused Baptist pastors who will attempt to lead them astray from the Bible to a man-made philosophy and program.

(Friday Church News Notes, August 27, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

The following is excerpted from The Christian Post, Aug. 19, 2010:

“North Korea executed three leaders of the underground church and jailed 20 other Christians, reported a news agency focused on Asia. Although the execution and imprisonment happened in mid-May, news only got out this month. According to AsiaNews, North Korean police raided a house in Kuwal-dong in Pyungsung county, Pyongan province, and arrested all 23 believers who were gathered there for religious activity. The leaders were sentenced to death and soon after executed. The other 20 were reportedly sent to the infamous prison labor camp No. 15 in Yodok. The 23 Christians had come to faith after some of them traveled to China on business and met with church members there. ... There are an estimated 400,000 Christians in North Korea who live under the constant threat of imprisonment, torture or public execution if authorities discover their Christian faith. Being a Christian in North Korea is considered one of the worst crimes by the oppressive government. All citizens are forced to adhere to a personality cult revolving around the worship of the current dictator and his deceased father.”

(Friday Church News Notes, August 27, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

The following is excerpted from “Ed Decker Responds,” WorldviewWeekend.com, August 21, 2010:

“Let’s cut to the chase here. Glenn Beck is a dedicated Temple Mormon who claims that 80% of the Mormon faith is built around the temple and the ‘Time and all eternity’ effects of the rituals there-in. According to LDS scripture and sacred instructions worthy Mormons receive in the temple, the god Beck serves is a physical, exalted man who lives with a harem of goddess wives on a planet near the great star Kolob. This god, Elohim, is the god of this one planet earth only. He is a man/god raised up from within this universe. The God of the Bible is the One who created the universes. The Bible says that he is not a man, there were no gods before Him, none beside Him or after Him, and He knows not any. This True God created all the heavens and was before all creation. He did not have to earn his godhood being obedient to some other god up the chain of command. Beyond that, As crazy as this may sound, understand that Glenn Beck learned all the secret/sacred signs, tokens and special handshakes he will need as he, hopefully, enters his own godhood, receives his own planet and goddess wives to help him populate it. Yes, Glenn Beck strives to become a god, himself. The Jesus Beck serves, is not God come in the flesh. He is a separate 'god' who was elected to be our savior by a council of other gods. The Jesus of Mormonism is the spirit brother and equal of Lucifer until the council voted in Jesus. This Jesus died on the cross so all mankind would be resurrected to be judged for their works, their obedience to the laws and ordinances of the [LDS] Gospel. ... Ed Decker, founder of Saints Alive, was a Mormon for 20 years of his adult life. He was a member of the Melchizedek priesthood, a Temple Mormon and active in many church positions. Through a crisis in his life, Ed met the real Jesus and his life was changed forever.”

(Friday Church News Notes, August 27, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

Mormon talk show host Glenn Beck is hosting an ecumenical political gathering tomorrow at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The Divine Destiny event is aimed to help “heal the soul” of America by overlooking religious differences to achieve a unity of “shared values and principles.” The event is intended to “unite” “pastors, ministers and clergy” of “all faiths.” Beck said he has reached out to “the biggest names in faith” and “asked them to help me put differences aside and to reach out with one another.” (He has not released a list of the names of the participants.) Beck even urges his followers to “prepare to witness mighty and powerful miracles.” The fact is that Beck’s Divine Destiny is part of America’s problem rather than the solution. The root of America’s ills are spiritual and moral. It is particularly the apostasy and compromise of the churches, and Beck’s program is just more of the same. Beck is urging professing Christians to unite with people “of faith” of any and all religious persuasions. This is a direct affront to God’s Word, which forbids true Christians to unite with unbelievers and heretics. “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel”? (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” (Romans 16:17). “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” (2 Timothy 3:5). “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed” (2 John 9-10). These Scriptures could not be plainer. Born again Christians are to separate from apostates and heretics, and Glenn Beck is a heretic. God’s people are forbidden to join hands with unbelievers for spiritual activities, and Beck’s Divine Destiny event is definitely billed as a spiritual activity. How can we possibly “heal our souls” by disobeying God’s Word? Glenn Beck is doubtless a sincere man who genuinely wants to help America, but spiritually he is the blind leading the blind. His movement is confusion of the highest order, and it will only lead to greater divine judgment on our nation.

(Friday Church News Notes, August 27, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

The following is excerpted from “The Avatar Gospel,” TheBereanCall.org:

“Shamanism is the religion of nature and spirits and is the most widespread of all the religions in the world. ... Avatar is a spectacular platform for preaching shamanism. The story line is neither unique nor complicated. A distant moon planet called Pandora is colonized by a corporation that is mining a metal of great value for the earth, which has been ravaged by the exploitation of its own natural resources. The enterprise, however, is hampered by a tribe of indigenous humanoids called Na'vi, whose village and land cover the main core of the precious metal. Diplomatic attempts to persuade the Na'vi to resettle elsewhere have ended in failure, primarily because of the Na'vi's religion of shamanism. They worship Eywa, a goddess akin to what the Greeks called Gaia, or Mother Earth. Eywa appears to be an impersonal, godlike force that is responsible for maintaining the balance of all life. Everything in Pandora is linked to Eywa mystically and biologically. The biological emphasis amplifies the critical nature of preserving the planet's physical ecological system for future survival. Demonstrating the connectedness of all life forms, the spirits of animals that are killed for food or in self-defense are addressed by the Na'vi either in thanksgiving or apologetically. ... Director and writer James Cameron makes his theological (and ecological) bent quite clear in nearly every frame of the film. The movie's title and image of the Na'vi are derived from the Hindu god Krishna, a blue-skinned incarnated avatar of the god Vishnu. Hinduism teaches that throughout history avatars have manifested in human and/or animal forms to restore the balance of good and evil. The emphasis on trees in the movie is consistent in all shamanism. The huge Hometree that housed the Na'vi clan and is destroyed in the attack by the humans is representative of Eywa providing for the Na'vi through "Mother" nature. The luminescent Tree of Souls, which provides direct communication with Eywa, is also a power center that can transfer souls to other bodies. In traditional shamanism, the tree is a universal communication medium for such cultures to connect with deceased shamans, ancestors, and the spirits themselves. ... After reading dozens and dozens of comments by young people enamored with the theology in Avatar, it is apparent that its false gospel is finding fertile soil worldwide as it introduces and attracts millions of moviegoers to shamanism. James Cameron has presented what the Bible calls the "doctrine of devils" promoted by Satan, the father of lies, and taught directly by demons. Cameron's pagan beliefs are diametrically opposed to what the Bible teaches. Furthermore, his idealistic view of the natural purity of an indigenous tribe such as the Na'vi is pure propaganda...”

(Friday Church News Notes, August 20, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

1832 - Adam Clarke Died.

Adam Clarke was a Methodist preacher, commentator, and theologian. His eight-volume commentary on the Bible was the result of 45 years of work. He preached on conversion and also the sanctification of souls. He died of cholera and is supposedly one of the forerunners of modern Methodism.

Years ago, I was out soul winning one day and won a lady to Christ who was nearing eighty. After she was saved she looked at me and said, "I have something I bet you would like." Then she opened the closet and showed me an old, weather-beaten set of Clarke's commentaries. She gave them to me as a love gift on the day of her conversion. Then she told me how they belonged to an uncle of her who was a preacher, and she wanted me to have them. To this day I use them in preparation for my sermons and find them very helpful.

1867 - The Birthday of Robert R. Moton.

Robert Moton was a black educator who said, "Whatever may be the disadvantage of my race in America, I would rather be a Negro in America than anybody else in any other country in the world." Pray for our black brethren today.

1873 - The Birthday of Lee DeForest. 

Mr. DeForest was the inventor of the audio tube for radio broadcasting. Ah, here is something for which we ought to thank God. Thank God for radio. Think of all the shut-ins whose church is their radio. Think of all the people who have been blessed by great radio broadcasts through the years. Thanks be to God for this wonderful way of getting out the Gospel. 

1920 - Women's Suffrage was Ratified. 

1948 - Maud Booth Died at Greatneck, Long Island, New York.

Along with her husband, Dallington Booth, she founded the Volunteers of America in 1896. This was a split off the Salvation. She served as Commander and Chief from 1940 until 1948 upon her husband's death. She was known as the "Little Mother of the Prisons."

The following is excerpted from “Pop Moguls Mike Stock,” Christian Today, Aug. 11, 2010:

“He is the songwriting genius behind most of the hits that gave Kylie Minogue her career, but even Mike Stock says today’s pop culture has ‘gone too far’. The record producer–one third of the Stock, Aitken and Waterman songwriting powerhouse–told the Daily Mail that he didn’t think he could sit down to watch pop stars like Britney Spears or Lady Gaga with his mum or children. He warned that children were being ‘sexualised’ by modern pop culture. ‘The music industry has gone too far. It’s not about me being old fashioned. It’s about keeping values that are important in the modern world.’”

(Friday Church News Notes, August 20, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)