Dr. Brown deals with some of the most prevalent deceptive doctrines in the Body today. Be sure to listen to today’s show to arm yourself against deception!
Hour 1:
Dr. Brown’s Bottom Line: There’s a tremendous amount of deception in the world today. Sadly, there’s a great amount of deception in the church, as well. But if we hold fast to that which God has spoken, infallibly and clearly in His Word, as we live a life in conformity with that word, we will never be deceived.
Hour 2:
Dr. Brown’s Bottom Line: Paul wrote to Timothy, 2 Timothy 2:22: “So flee youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” If we will pursue what is right, along with people who are right, we will never fall on the wrong path.
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Other Resources:
How Can We Help People Come Out of Deception? A LOF Broadcast
The Revival Answer Book, including helpful keys to avoid deception,
by Dr. Michael Brown
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What is the Difference Between Holiness and Legalism?
VOR Article by Michael L. Brown
Holiness is beautiful; legalism is binding; holiness brings life; legalism brings death. They are as different as night and day, and yet at first glance, they can seem similar, because they both stand against sinful behavior and call for holy living. How can we distinguish between the two? Let me first present some thoughts on holiness before defining legalism and its dangers. […]
you link above for What is the Difference Between Holiness and Legalism? seems to be broken.
Wouldn’t you agree that EXPERIENCE could help you UNDERSTAND the Scripture more clearly — and that those who EXPERIENCE the realities in Scripture are better off than those who EXPLAIN what [EXPERIENCES and REALITIES] the Scripture POINTS TO?
Dave, thank you! It has been fixed!
just was listening to your caller saying the cattholic Church is not worshiping Mary …Ha, don’t know about the american Church…. but here in Ialy, you bet they are worshiping Mary… giving her a greater place of worship then Jesus…… I would say, here in Neaples, there worship first Mary, then St Gennaro, then St Pio from Pietrelcina and then.maybe Jesus……
Ariane — yes, I understand! My many trips to Italy have confirmed this as well.
Dan1el, yes, experience can help us understand Scripture but not overrule it or modify it.
definitely
Dr. Brown, I listened to your show on Deception and I heard you say this (I am paraphrasing) that you do not believe a person has to be “reformed” of their sins when initially believing on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what I have been saying all along – we could have avoided the unnecessary dueling on Friday’s thread if you had just made this point clear. I don’t believe that blindly saying a line, walking down an aisle, or emotionalism makes one “Saved” either – that is a total misunderstanding.
The area that your understanding differs from mine is on who you identify as “Saved”. When a person is faced with the Gospel message, the person recognizes his total lostness before a Holy God and his sinful condition, his total inability to atone for his own sins, and the desperate need for a Savior – the Lord Jesus Christ! This person simply believes in the Salvation thus offered and he becomes a Saved person! This is the clear testimony of Scripture.
Where you and I differ is – on the FINAL outcome for this person. If I understand you correctly, if such a “Saved” person falls into sin – you call him “unsaved” to begin with – in other words, you base his “Faith” on the fruit of his life (Works). Where as I say this saved man awaits serious chastening from the Lord in the Millennial Kingdom (Rom. 14:10-12, 2 Cor. 5:10, 1Co 3:13-15). And we are not talking about EXTREME cases here – not your Serial Killer and Serial Rapist etc., if such a person professes to be saved, he stands or falls before his GOD, but I would not welcome him to “Table Fellowship” or have communion with him.
I make a distinction between “inheriting” Eternal Life and “Entering”. To Inherit Eternal Life is to qualify you as a co-regent with Christ in the Millennial Kingdom or better yet, be a “Pillar” in the Temple of God – “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.(Rev. 3:12)” – utter proximity to God.
You seem to reject every book I suggest to you, but for one last try – I will suggest “Reign of the Servant Kings” by Jody Dillow. One word about the authors, I know many of these men – they live utterly moral lives, and never condone sin, always condemn it. They never take sin lightly. They are fine upstanding men of great faith and moral character – I haven’t come across a finer bunch of Christians. Dr. Hodges never married, he gave his life to teaching the Word, and helping a very poor church here in Dallas, not a mega-church, but a very poor Hispanic church. When he passed away, he was sitting at his desk reading and writing, members of his congregation had to force his door when he did not turn up for a prayer meeting.
The incentive to a Holy living in my understanding is not a question of LIFE, but rather one that has to do with the JUDGEMENT SEAT OF CHRIST (1 Cor 5:11 “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men”) – where we must give an account of our every act. I live with Holy and reverential fear of the Lord for that day when I will meet HIM face to face – that drives my desire for Holiness. As a side note, I feel free to call you my brother in Christ; perhaps you may not have that same liberty, but that is fine too. May God bless you and I will continue to pray for you. May the Lord use you in a mighty way to call people to Holiness. Amen and Amen!
One last thing – I suggested your Book “A Queer thing happened to America” to the Grace Evangelical Society – and they are putting up a positive review of it in their Society’s Fall Journal. God bless you and your listeners.
The most persistant of all deceptions is the way Chrtistendome has done away with the figure of the Father as “the only true God” [Jn 17.1,3; 1Cor 8.4-6], in His human Son & annointed one Jesus [1Tim 2.5] and the Gospel about the coming Kingdom of God that he came to preach/teach [Mar 1.14-15; Lu 4.43].
Dr. Brown,
By definition “Scripture” IS “how we understand it”, isn’t it? Humans share a common belief, then someone comes along with an experience that explains a Scripture, and it modifies our understanding of Scripture, doesn’t it? “Scripture”, unfortunately, is never MORE than what we perceive it to be — TOGETHER with what HE reveals is true.
I mean, if it is something clear, like homosexuality — THAT IS WRONG, NO MATTER WHAT; HOWEVER, there are finer things that can only be known through experience, so my perception of/my understanding of what “the authority of Scripture” says, is modified.
Agree?
It’s a shame that there is quite a bit of deception in the church. I would really appreciate Dr. Brown conducting a teaching or radio broadcast in regards to denominational cults embedded in the Christian community. There are some denominations propagating many false teachings and doctrines. It’s my opinion that Dr. Brown can shed much light on this subject in the spirit of love.
Dan1el, no, Scripture is what it is and says what it says, and it’s our job, depending on the Lord and doing our best, to understand exactly what God is saying. Our views change. His Word does not.
Chuck, thanks for your post, but please do save any extended discussion re: your anti-Trinitarian views for the threads devoted to that subject. Grace to you!
Dr. Brown,
I agree.
So, what His Word was TRYING to say all along never changes; we change our views on what HE/IT is saying as we come to greater understanding or as it is REVEALED to greater degrees.
So, I asked the Lord just now…(I was hungry, spiritually hungry) I opened up the bible randomly and asked the Lord…”What do you want me to learn?”
I opened up the book of Obadiah. The Lord was speaking to Obadiah concerning E’dom. It says in
1:3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’
So, this topic is about being deceived. Well, it says in the word of God that pride in your heart can deceive you.
So, Lord exam our hearts and take out any pride that may exists in any one your children. Thanks for your word Oh Lord.
He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished” (Proverbs 17:5).
James, thanks for recommending the book (I really appreciate that) and thanks for your post.
A few comments:
1) I never thought for a moment that Zane Hodges or any of these men were anything but devoted servants of the Lord, nor did I think they did not take sin seriously. Again, that was an assumption you may have made without any basis in fact.
2) What I said on the show was what I have always said, namely, that you don’t have to become a good person in order to be saved, or to improve yourself before God accepts you. Of course not! It’s both ridiculous and impossible.
3) My position is simply that Jesus saves us from our sins, and salvation is a beginning of new obedience to God. If we are not saved to obedience, if salvation does not mean turning from sin, if the forgiveness Jesus offers does not require and include turning away from sin, then it’s not biblical salvation, plain and simple. That’s why repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin. (In case you missed my correction of your citation of Thayer, he actually said that metanoia was “a change of mind: as it appears in one who repents of a purpose he has formed or of something he has done, Heb. 12:17 . . . especially the change of mind of those who have begun to abhor their errors and misdeeds, and have determined to enter upon a better course of life, so that it embraces both a recognition of sin and sorrow for it and hearty amendment, the tokens and effects of which are good deeds.” Jesus enables us to repent!
4) What concerns me is that you speak of a serial killer as an extreme case. First, either your message works for a serial killer just as much as for the nice old lady next door. Second, all sin is extreme in God’s sight, without His mercy.
It still appears to me that you haven’t taken hold of what I actually believe and teach, but keep reading the Word and keep listening, and I trust it will fall into place.
Blessings to you!
Dr Brown
The topic of this thread is whether or not people are deceived is it not? Just saying…
The Gospel has been reduced to this: the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. What about the first commandment he ever taught regarding repentance and believe in the coming/future KOG [Mar 1.14-15]?
Chuck,
That’s why I said your post was fine (albeit quite wrong), but not an extended discussion on this thread, since certain topics here have hundreds, if not thousands of posts, and if you and others want to continue a discussion on such issues, those threads are available.
Dr. Brown;
Great show. I heard Norman Geisler once say experience is multitudinous and contradictory. On another occasion He was talking about a fellow who laid his Bible down and went to prayer and said now speak to me Lord. And the Lord said, I already have through the 66 books that you just laid aside.
Here is my question. After listening to you and reading your materials for many years prior to your radio show, it seems to me that you have a very experiential dynamic to your relationship with God. I have heard you say an many occasions that God “spoke” to you during prayer. Now while what God spoke to you may have not have been antithetical to Scripture, how do you know that it is still not just you speaking to yourself?
The problem I have is when two people say they have heard from God, on a subject that is not clearly delineated in Scripture, but have “heard” opposite things. How does one adjudicate between the two?
Dr. Brown, I ask this because I’m really interested in knowing your thoughts. Do you think that this impending hurricane (Irene) to the New York region might have anything to do with the legalization og homosexual marriage in New York? When this happened not so long after you published your book “A Queer Thing Happened to America,” I remember thinking, God is surely going to bring judgement for this. I believe you were used by the Lord ahead of judgement so that when it comes they would be without excuse. I’m not saying that this is the whole picture, but it seems credible to me that judgement connected at least partially in this way, is a real possibilty.
This occurred on July 24, 2011.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/24/gay-marriage-begins-in-ne_n_908120.html
By the way, I know you live in New York. Stay safe brother. (Psalm 91)
S. Johnson,
You ask a great question, and I plan to take it up on a show one of these days. We’ll let you know when it happens.
The hurricane is not just going to hit New York. It is hitting the entire East coast of the USA.
By the way while watching the news yesterday, they were talking about hurricane Irene, there was this guy that told the newscaster that “this is the wrath of God coming down”. I love when people talk about the Lord so that caught my eye.
All I can say is…you never know. I just pray we don’t lose our electricity. Its going to hit Ma on Sunday.
Though I haven’t listened to this yet I’ve been reading the posts and see there’s something about deception.
Q. Is the Church deceived into thinking that church as we know it is as it should be?
It seems to me that so much of what church is in America is a business, that religion has become big business and that many churches are run as if they were a business.
Q, Is the church to have a strong centralization of power, a select few “leaders” that run everything and everyone else being the pupils?
It was said by a social studies teacher I knew, that the greatest theme for evil in the 20th century has been a stong centralized government run by gangster statesmen. (Hitler, Stalin, etc.)
What if the churches we attend were all about justice and mercy rather than all the programs the select few (the ruling authorites) determine that we all should be about?
What if their focus was always about delivering the oppressed, justice, judgment, freeing the captives of any oppressive power, doing justice and judgment, reconciling by the gospel whenever and where ever there is any matter between two parties?
What if everyone who has heard the gospel were being taught to do that work, and if everyone were practicing the ministry of reconciliation where ever there was any kind of trouble between people?
How strong are we in the ministry of reconciliation? Do we just think we are strong in it?
Why don’t “leaders” in the church promote such work? Do they want delivering judges or not?
Do they see it as a threat to their power?
What will bring in the greatest harvest, their programs or an entire church being strong in the ministry of reconciliation?
Should we think that the way we see things done is the right way or would we be in deception?
Are people being used for material gain and prosperity more than being trained in the ministry of reconciliation?
Are people something to be used, or are they to be used by the Lord for reconciling the world unto himself?
Or, am I in deception?