Pester Brat's Saint and Sinner Hypocrisy Blog

A Psalm of Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart! But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, My steps had almost slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pains in their death, And their body is fat. They are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; The garment of violence covers them. Their eye bulges from fatness; The imaginations of their heart run riot. They mock and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak from on high. They have set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue parades through the earth. Therefore his people return to this place, And waters of abundance are drunk by them. They say, "How does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High?" Behold, these are the wicked; And always at ease, they have increased in wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure And washed my hands in innocence; For

Low Pressure System Hovers Over America By Chuck Baldwin April 28, 2006 (This column is archived at: http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/cwarchive_042806.html) An upcoming birthday reminds me that I have lived to pass the half-century mark. During those years, I have seen people at their best and at their worst. I believe I am also witnessing the impact that a vast cultural revolution is having on people. There is always an ebb and flow to people's lives and to the life of a nation, for that matter. However, if I were to report on the general state of people's lives today in meteorological terms, I would say a ubiquitous low pressure system envelops the entire country. By low pressure I mean the daily emotional, psychological, mental, and spiritual stress brought to bear upon people. In fact, it seems that the stress (low pressure) with which people are daily engulfed these days could be categorized as a hurricane of Category 5 proportions! I've never seen anything like it! For

Specific questions I asked a local pastor who we understood to be pentecostal/word of faith, yet were told soething contrary to that: Dear Pastor XXXXXXX You and I seem to have access to e-mail pretty regularly. I would be glad to keep our lines of communication open through this method as well if and until we ever meet personally. We are a bit confused as to where you say you stand now regarding the beliefs we have discussed so far as it relates to the church you started in 1994. On one hand you seem to agree with our concerns about those teachings, yet on the other hand you didn’t seem to approve of my use of the term “heresy.” Also some of our people believe your old church did and does adhere to these teachings we are concerned about. Do you mind answering the following questions to help us understand where you stand doctrinally on some things? 1. Do you believe the office of Apostle still exists today? And if so, do you consider yourself an Apostle? 2. Do you believe that Christia

It is your Husband who hangs bleeding there! ("The Marvelous Riches of Savoring Christ, The letters of Ruth Bryan" October 31, 1849) "I will make you My wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you Mine, and you will finally know Me as Lord." Hosea 2:19-20 Well may it be asked, Who is this wondrous Beloved, who would go to such depths for His spouse; and on whom the weak one is leaning as she comes up out of the wilderness? Ah! He is the same who, from all eternity, was the great "I Am!" the mighty God, by whom all things were created, who is before all things, and who holds all things together! It is He who, in the fullness of time, scorned not the lowly Virgin's womb, but became a babe. It is the same glorious Person who was seen coming with crimson-stained garments, traveling in the greatness of His strength, who tread the winepress of Almighty wrath alone! It is He whose

Church Covenant By God’s grace, I have entered into a covenant with Him by believing in His Son, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As a profession of my faith, I have been baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. As part of this covenant with God, I accept the Bible as authoritative in my life and promise to seek to know Him and to obey His will. Based on this covenant with God, I acknowledge my kinship with all Christians and willingly enter into a covenant with the other members of this specific church body for as long as the Lord keeps me in this fellowship. In this covenant, I and the other members each pledge to: • Love one another; • Pray for, care for, and comfort one another; • Humble ourselves and serve one another; • Contribute to needs, bear burdens, and share with one another; • Rejoice and suffer with one another; • Teach, encourage, and admonish one another; • Submit to one another and to the discipline of this church; • Confess our sins to

"If you are a genuine minister of God you will stand as a priest before the Lord, spiritually wearing the ephod and the breastplate whereon you bear the names of the children of Israel, pleading for them within the veil...The preacher who neglects to pray must be very careless about his ministry. He cannot have comprehended his calling. He cannot have computed the value of a soul, or estimated the meaning of eternity. He must be a mere official, tempted into the pulpit because the piece of bread which belongs to the priest's office is very necessary to him, or a detestable hypocrite who loves the praise of men, and cares not for the praise of God...He cannot be one of those who plough deep and reap abundant harvests. He is a mere loiterer, not a laborer. As a preacher he has a name to live and is dead. He limps in his life like the lame man in the Proverbs, whose legs were not equal, for his praying is shorter than his preaching."

The Pastor As Theologian, Part One Every pastor is called to be a theologian. This may come as a surprise to some pastors, who see theology as an academic discipline taken during seminary rather than as an ongoing and central part of the pastoral calling. Nevertheless, the health of the church depends upon its pastors functioning as faithful theologians--teaching, preaching, defending, and applying the great doctrines of the faith. The transformation of theology into an academic discipline more associated with the university than the church has been one of the most lamentable developments of the last several centuries. In the earliest eras of the church, and through the annals of Christian history, the central theologians of the church were its pastors. This was certainly true of the great Reformation of the sixteenth century as well. From the patristic era, we associate the discipline and stewardship of theology with names such as Athanasius, Irenaeus, and Augustine. Similarly, the gr

Saturday night I went to the Episcopol Cathedral in Boise Idaho with 4 other people including one man that goes to the one in Mountain Home. Interesting to say the least, but let me briefly summarize. 1. While very formal and liturgical, the scripture readings and worship in song was a blessing. 2. Not surprising, but there were two women priests (reverends) that read scripture and out of their books. 3. They baptized an infant. Now, it is no surprise that the presbyterians and I disagree about infant baptism. But the presbyterians I know, do not believe that the baptism of infants is salvific in any sense. This Episcopol Church proclaimed in their bulletin and verbally that the baby was born again through the baptism, a child of God forever, and sealed with the Holy Spirit. Not only is that false teaching, but it is giving false hope to the parents and maybe one day to that child. 4. The Very Reverend (a man), did the homily/mini sermon. He didn't teach on the literal bodily resur

Go to http://members.aol.com/pilgrimpub/questkjv.htm to see these questions.

C. H. Spurgeon: "There is a tendency in this age to throw doctrinal truth into the shade. Too many preachers are offended with that stern truth which the Covenanters held, and to which the Puritans testified in the midst of a licentious age. We are told that the times have changed; that we are to modify these old (so-called) Calvinistic doctrines, and bring them down to the tone of the times; that, in fact, they need dilution, than men have become so intelligent that we must pare off the angles of our religion, and make the square into a circle by rounding off the most prominent edges. Any man who doth this, so far as my judgment goes, does not declare the whole counsel of God. The faithful minister must be plain, simple, pointed, with regard to these doctrines. There must be no dispute about whether he believes them or not. He must so preach them that his hearers will know whether he preaches a scheme of freewill, or a covenant of grace — whether he teaches salvation by works, or

I know that I am no better than anyone else. I know that Christians are growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. I know there is Christian liberty in this and other areas. But I have to admit, it is discouraging sometimes to see brother snd sisters in Christ putting recreation or their desire of where they want to live ahead of Christ's local church and ministry. This world is not our home. We are pilgrims here, and our citizenship is in Heaven. Our homes and earthly desires of ours are going to burn up one day. Again, I know I'm no better than anyone else, but I and my family moved to Mountain Home Idaho for the church, not because of the climate, recreation (we are not much of outdoorsmen) or less population (even though this is a nice side benefit for us). It's hard enough dealing with the mandatory/can't-get-out-of-it-military transfers, without having to deal with those who move for what I consider worldly reasons. I love my brothers and sisters

I sure need to be humbled from time to time. Including doctrinally. It's amazing how we can still from time to time, read something in a text that isn't there. I was checking out a website from a person that is Church of Christ, and whose wife comes to our study or church once in a while (awkward situation that I can't share). Anyway, we know that even cults are right about some things. This man wrote an article as a lesson on exegesis (ironic isn't it?) that involed the Samaritan Woman in John 4. What he pointed out, and what I was guilty of, is the assumption that the woman had been married and divorced 5 times. I even checked out some commentaries about it, and found that this fellow was not alone. Not only do we not know for sure why she had 5 husbands, we can't be absolutley sure that she was living in sin with the man she was with at the time Jesus talked to her. I mean it's possible that she married and divorced some or all of those 5 men and was living

Ultimate Accountability Doctrinal Thoughts Well here we are together pondering for the last time the issue of experiencing a love for accountability and discipline. Why is this theme so important? Naturally people who do not have the work of God’s grace in them will not love the idea of being accountable. The very thoughts of being disciplined runs against the grain of sin that has deep roots into the soul of the person. Even a Christian who has crucified the flesh with its sinful desires (Gal. 5:24) has to still struggle not with the sinful flesh but with the immature heart. We do not know always how to live in and use God’s grace. One of the ways that so many people wind up in trouble in their Christian walk is because they cast aside accountability. But let me stop and ask you a point blank question: Can anyone truly ever escape accountability to someone or something? Absolutely not. The real question is not will be accountable but to whom or to what will be accountable to. Scriptur

What is a Reformed Baptist? The term “Reformed Baptist” best refers to those who adhere to the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689) in practice as well as in theory. The name “Reformed” refers to historical and theological roots. There is a body of theological beliefs that is commonly referred to as “The Reformed Faith.” Such Biblical truths as sola fide (justification by faith alone), sola gratia (salvation by God’s grace alone), sola scriptura (the Bible alone is the basis for faith and practice), solus Christus (salvation through Christ alone), and soli Deo gloria (the fact that God alone is to receive glory in the salvation of sinners) are the hallmarks of the Protestant and Reformed Faith. The Reformed Faith is perhaps best known for its understanding that God is sovereign in the matter of man’s salvation. That is to say, that God has, before the foundation of the world, chosen certain sinners for salvation. He has done so sovereignly and according to His own good plea

Worshiping God in a Proper Order with Fear Can Change History Doctrinal Thoughts When the evil liberalism invaded the main line denominations of America in the 1900’s it derailed American Christianity in a major way. Many even today do not realize how far south the spiritual climate has become due to the fact many have been inoculated to the sinful climate. What is one of the main areas whereby sin and Satan derailed much of Christianity? Much of Christianity suffered when false ideas of what worship means spread across the globe. For many worship means something we only do on Sunday’s in the church fellowship when we sing. Others have embraced the idea that worship means some ecstatic experience that leaves one in a euphoric state of mind, basically emotionalism. Still others have embraced the idea that worship means only an intellectual pursuit of truth. Though all of those elements, singing praise to God, emotional experiences, and seeking God’s truth with the mind have a part in wo

Homophobia or Holiness? The Bible and Homosexuality Published by Word of Life Baptist Church It was not that long ago in our country when if a person chose to practice homosexuality he had to be careful to hide it. If news of it got out he would be ostracized in one way or another, because our society viewed homosexuality as something extremely shameful. Gradually, however, homosexuals have become increasingly open about their lifestyle, describing it in more positive terms ("gay") and defying anyone who would dare to even suggest that it is in any way improper. Such is the societal "progress" which our generation has witnessed. Regularly, homosexual demonstrations are given the wholesale endorsement of the news media. People who abhor the practice as immoral are dubbed "homophobics" as though they now should be the ones in hiding. So now the evil of homosexuality has been surpassed by the evil of "homophobia." To be opposed to homosexuality has