Apologetics
Are you Gospel Driven or Purpose Driven?
By Tracye Gano
Are you being motivated and driven by the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to the Word of God or are you being Purpose Driven by a false gospel? Your eternal life could depend on the answer to that question.
Everywhere you look true Christianity is under attack. The world does not readily accept those who are unwavering in standing on the truth of Scripture and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is not necessarily a bad thing. Jesus said we would be hated for His sake and that the world would not want us.
Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Therefore when we preach Jesus Christ and His Gospel, we should not expect a huge acceptance. There are those who will hear His call on their lives and they will be led through sound biblical teaching to recognize their sin and need for a savoir. They will hear and know that Jesus Christ is the one and only Savior who has fully paid for our sins on the cross. But to those who only want their ears tickled it will be a message that rubs, and aggravates them. The Gospel calls one to make a decision, an eternal decision. What you do with that decision will determine your place in eternity.
Throughout history we have seen apostasy, and heresy in one form or another. There have always been people who would have us believe that there is another way, but Jesus said otherwise.
John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Jan Markell said at her recent Bible Prophecy conference that she least expected the apostasy to come out of the Church as we know it today. I have to agree with her. This has been one of the hardest things for me to get past. Church's that in the past have preached sound doctrine and accurate biblical messages are moving at alarming speed to usher in the "new and improved" gospel according to Rick Warren.
I realize I am going to step on toes here, but so be it. I would rather be known as having said something and ticked off some people rather than sat idly by while thousands if not millions of people are led straight to hell because they have believed a false gospel.
I am notified whenever Mr. Warren shows up in the news and it is almost daily. He is everywhere and his purpose driven teaching is slithering its way into churches across this nation. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find a church that teaches the whole council of God.
It is no longer ok to assume that just because a church holds a well known denominational title that you will be or are being taught sound doctrine. It seems that more and more churches are taking the Bible and putting it on the shelf replacing it with Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life book.
Mr. Warren says in a news article titled Simple Purpose (1)
"He's hopeful -- even cocky -- that The Purpose-Driven Life will become to Christians what Dr. Spock's child-rearing book became to parents. A bible".
This folks is the height of arrogance. Nothing should be exalted above the Word of God.
A recent article Political and business leaders join to bring Warren's rally to Orlando (2) reports on this Florida town’s effort to bring the Purpose Driven Life teaching into their community. According to this article donors have donated or pledged about $1 million dollars for this effort. One of the things they will be using this money for is to buy 50,000-100,000 copies of the Purpose Driven Life to hand out to their citizens. It is my opinion they would be better served handing out Bibles rather than the Purpose Driven gospel according to Rick Warren.
The Word of God says in the last days that man would heap upon themselves teachers that would tickle their ears. I believe we are seeing that ear tickling today with the Purpose Driven Life and all that comes with it taking over church after church.
2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
2Ti 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
The stakes are high. People need to know what they believe and why. I believe that as we march toward that final call, doctrinal truth is going to be more and more difficult to find.
As Christian's we need to know the Word of God so that we may test the spirit and doctrines we hear. It is no longer ok to assume that because someone holds impressive titles and graduated from a well known seminary that they are somehow above deception and above deceiving the congregation.
We will not be able to stand before God and say, but I was taught this or that. You will be accountable for who and what you believe in. In fact in Acts 17:11 Paul tells us that we are to test what we are being told against the number one benchmark the Word of God. His Word alone is to be our plumb line.
Act 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Christ tells us in Matthew 7:22-23 what will happen to many. These verses make more since in light of what we are seeing today. It should be a sobering scripture for everyone professing to be a Christian to read and contemplate.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
When you meet the Lord Jesus Christ, what will He say to you?
In the end whose doctrine have you placed in your heart, men or God’s? Your eternal life will depend on it.
Jesus Christ is the only Savior. It is Him alone who paid for our sins and when He died on that cross, He gave up that last breath saying "It Is Finished". Everything for life that we need is provided in His Word and through His son Jesus Christ the Savior.
Joh 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Our purpose is to glorify God in all that we say and do.
1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
We are not called to solve the world’s problems. We are called to share Jesus Christ with them. Love and a servant heart apart from Jesus Christ are but sinking sand. It is not of ourselves but through Jesus Christ that we are made effective.
Mat 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Endnotes:
(1)http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/living/religion/12971600.htm
(2)http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-warrenside05nov12,0,606279.story?coll=orl-news-headlines-orange
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My church used Pastor Rick Warren's book not to replace the Bible but to motivate us to be more biblically oriented, and Christ centered. I respect your point of view, but I believe that Pastor Warren is not a false teacher, rather he is inspired by the leading of the Holy Spirit, a humble, selfless man of God. And may God bless him more for being the man of God that he is.
Thank you for responding.
I have done long hours of research concerning Mr. Warren's teachings. His theology is at best sloppy and to and at worst apostate.
His foundation/mentors that he draws from are anything but Christian.
In my opinion his teachings are doing far more harm than good.
There are several well researched, well documented books and websites exposing the things that most never hear of about where Mr. Warren draws his ideas and underlying beliefs from; they are anything but biblical.
These are people who have taken the time to read Mr. Warren's books and then put them under the light of God's Word. Believe me...they come up short.
Mr. Warren is notrious for taking Scriptures out of context to fit his theology. He is notorious for using faulty and paraphrased translations. The list goes on, but I think you get the idea.
I would encourage you to look beyond the hype, and search the Scriptures. When all is said and done we all have to give an account for what we believed.
If you would like some of my research reading email me and I would be glad to pass it on to you.
Proverbs 16:25 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
Tracye Gano