a blog done by my close friend and brother in the lord Caleb Phillips

For the Sake of Argument.

First off, I want to say that I'm back & I apologize for not keeping up with things here on my blog. But, anyway, I want to get back to my topic.

Many of my readers may be aware of the "The Elephant Room" conference at Harvest Bible Chapel here in Chicagoland yesterday. There has been a lot of talk about the invitation of T.D. Jakes, a well known minister involved in the Word-Faith movement & has an affiliation, or at least HAD an affiliation, with the Oneness Pentecostal Movement which rejects the doctrine of the Trinity.

The invitation of T.D. Jakes by James MacDonald has been controversial, along with the interview of T.D. Jakes by Mars Hill pastor Mark Driscoll at the conference. There also has been talk about the handling of the meeting from Mark Driscoll and James MacDonald's end.

It's worth posting the discussion here.

Jakes: "My struggle is that sometimes oneness fit but sometimes it didn’t. I didn’t want to force the Scriptures to fit my theology.

Such as Jesus baptism. Or creation 'Let us.' 'I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.” That helped me rethink some of the things I was taught. I began to realize there are things that could be said about the Father that couldn’t be said about the Son. There are distinctives in the work of the Holy Spirit.

Here is where I find the problem. I don’t think that anything any of us believes cannot fully describe God."

Driscoll: "We would agree there is mystery. But within that, the issue between Trinitarianism and modalism is one God three persons, or one God manifesting in three ways."

Jakes: "I stand today on one God, three Persons. You describe manifestations as modalism, I call it Pauline. 'For God was manifest in the flesh.' The semantics can be this way or that way, but before the controversy started, Paul used the word manifested.

There are distinctives. Father didn’t bleed and die. The person of Jesus did that. We are baptized into the body by the Holy Spirit. That is consistent with my belief system.

I’m with you. I have been with you.

When we get to know people by their labels. Then comes all the baggage of how we define those labels.

We are taught in our society that if we disagree in a movement, we leave. I still have relationships and leadership with in oneness because I believe that we need to humble and say we are attempting to describe a God we have not seen fully, seen in a glass darkly.

Why should I throw rocks at you when what I understand through a glass darkly?

None of our books on the Godhead will be published in heaven.

Because people’s descriptions differ, it doesn’t make it demonic."

For those who want to read the whole thing, they may read it here

Interestingly, in a February 2000 article, Jakes gave a similarly vague statement.

"My association with Oneness people does not constitute assimilation into their ranks any more than my association with the homeless in our city makes me one of them.....While I mix with Christians from a broad range of theological perspectives, I speak only for my personal faith and convictions. I am not a theologian, and I avoid quoting even theologians who agree with me. To defend my beliefs, I go directly to the Bible.

My views on the Godhead are from 1 John 5:7-8, 'For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.' (NKJV)

I believe in one God who is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I believe these three have distinct and separate functions—so separate that each has individual attributes, yet are one. I do not believe in three Gods.....In spite of all the distinctives, God is one in His essence. Though no human illustration perfectly fits the Divine, it is similar to ice, water and steam: three separate forms, yet all H²O. Each element can co-exist, each has distinguishing characteristics and functions, but all have sameness....The language in the doctrinal statement of our ministry that refers to the Trinity of the Godhead as 'manifestations' does not derive from modalism. The Apostle Paul himself used this term referring to the Godhead in 1 Timothy 3:15, 1 Corinthians 12:7, and 1 John 3:5-8. Peter also used the term in 1 Peter 1:20. Can this word now be heresy when it is a direct quote from the Pauline epistles and used elsewhere in the New Testament?....I deeply appreciate the chance to respond to any misunderstandings that may have resulted in part from my silence on these subjects. Little if any attention is given to any of them in my books or sermons. My silence has not been some veiled attempt to disguise my faith, which is demonstrated daily in the works I have been called to do. My voice may have seemed muted on these subjects, but I have made a distinct sound regarding the matters that I have been assigned to discuss with my generation. I have spoken boldly against domestic violence—and against physical, sexual and emotional abuse of women in this nation. I have thundered as an advocate of reconciliation between races and denominations, and for restoration of hurting souls to the healing properties of Christ's love.

I confess that I have remained aloof from the theological controversies. And I confess I have been universal in my associations, purposely ignoring opportunities to be divisive. But it was not lack of conviction, or absence of proper Christian ideals, that had taken my attention—I love the great principles and tenets of our faith, and I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet it is not the oneness of God for which I cry, it is for the oneness of His people.

Here's my thought on this. Driscoll & MacDonald have shown gross disrespect to those who disagree with them. In fact, it must be noted that Christian (Lutheran) apologist Chris Rosebrough was threatened with arrest yesterday at the Elephant Room after having his press pass revoked.

Yet, here's my OTHER issue. T.D. Jakes has acted like this matter is just a minor quibble, as if this is a debate on eschatology. This has been an essential issue in church history. There have been various heresies in the history of the church regarding this issue.

These heresies include:

Tritheism, which teaches that there are 3 Gods in the Trinity

Arianism, which teaches that Christ, while the first of God's created beings (a point which is heretical right there), was not fully divine. In fact, this is the heresy embraced by the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Partialism, which teaches that the Father, Son & Holy Spirit are part of one God & that they only become God when they work together.

Macedonianism, which teaches that the Holy Spirit is a created being

Adoptionism, which teaches that Christ was born completely human, but was only adopted by the Father

Finally, the heresy that Jakes has been accused of adhering to is Sabellianism or Modalism, which teaches that the Father, Son & Spirit are simply "modes" or "manifestations" of the God.

Jakes, if, for the sake of argument, is not a Modalist, he would do well to strongly repudiate modalism & condemn it as heresy. He also would do well to study to the Athanasian Creed which firmly defines the doctrine of the Trinity. I also think that he would do well to apologize to those who he so cavalierly dismissed & saying that this was just a matter of semantics.

Furthermore, I also think that MacDonald needs to repent for inviting Jakes. While the particular context is different, the Apostle John is clear: "If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works." (2 John 1:10-11)

I close with a quote from Dutch Reformed theologian Herman Bavinck. He writes: "The doctrine of the Trinity is of incalculable importance for the Christian religion. The entire Christian belief system, all of special revelation, stands or falls with the confession of Gods Trinity....Re-creation is one divine work from beginning to end, yet it can be described in terms of three agents: it is fully accomplished by the love of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the communion of the Holy Spirit. A Christian’s faith life, accordingly, points back to three generative principles… We know ourselves to be children of the Father, redeemed by the Son, and in communion with both through the Holy Spirit. Every blessing, both spiritual and material, comes to us from the triune God. In that name we are baptized; that name sums up our confession; that name is the source of all the blessings that come down to us; to that name we will forever bring thanksgiving and honor; in that name we find rest for our souls and peace for our conscience. Christians have a God above them, before them, and within them. Our salvation, both in this life and in the life to come, is bound up with the doctrine of the Trinity."

Code orange review by Empowered By Christ

Code Orange Revival ~ Code heresy ABound 

Well this Sunday marked the last days of the 12 days of heresy brought to us by Steven Furtick’s Code Orange Revival at Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. With the closing of the event that seems to be set to launch Furtick’s career as TBN’s (The Blasphemy Network)  next Televangelist is over does not mean the fallout from this prodigious heretical event is over. The damage from the bankrupt teachings of this event will be with us for something.  Leaving us to deal with a triage of wounded brothers and sisters that bought into the heterodoxy sold at what are now calling the Code Vomit Revival.

Over the last 12 days of this event  we have heard from 12 different speakers, 10 of which where definitely teachers of heretical narcissistic eisegesis such as; Steven Furtick, host and seeker-driven pastor of Elevation Church; Craig Groeschel, visionary and creator of the Propensity Gospel preaching LifeChurch.tv;  Prosperity preacher Jentezen Franklin; Hillsong darling Christine Caine; Joel Osteen’s worship leader, Israel Houghton; Word-Faith proponent Stovall Weems, lead pastor at Celebration Church in Jacksonville, FL: Ed Young, the sex pastor and author best know for such recusancy books as “Sexperiment”; Modalist (Non-Trinitarian) “Bishop” T.D. Jakes; Perry Noble senior pastor of New Spring Church in South Carolina, a most prominent mega-church. Noble has rapidly become a favorite among those who shrink away from "traditional" church services; Lastly we have on the ducat of heresy Pastor Kevin Gerald.  Gerald pastors Champions Center in the Pacific Northwest along with his wife, Sheila. Yes, you read that correctly. The Geralds are co-pastors, so already we have a significant problem. The motto of this "church" is "Equipping people to live successful Christian lives." I would love to know Kevin Gerald's definition of "success," because I have a sneaking suspicion that someone like, oh, the Apostle Paul, would never measure up to such a definition.

Well there were a few bright spot among the theological murkiness and monkary that was prevalent at the Code Orange Revival. One of those bright spots was Matt Chandler who serves as lead pastor of The Village Church in Highland Village, TX. Chandler spoke a very powerful and biblically centered message. He chastised those who were making the bible and their preaching of the bible of them. He told those in attendance, to the dismay of Steven Furtick, that the bible was NOT about them but about Jesus Christ from Genesis to Revelations. This message was not received well by Furtick.  This could be seen by his body language and the fact that the Elevation 24/7 TV network did not rebroadcast his sermon until they where exposed for not rebroadcasting it by bloggers and Tweets. Steven Furtick the next day sent out an apology Tweet stating that they would after all be rebroadcasting Chandler’s sermon. It seems that Furtick’s idol chart of narcissistism was tipped over by Chandler’s clear cut and Christ centered message.

Another bright spot was Pastor James MacDonald, senior pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel in the Chicago land area and voice behind his radio program called “Walk in the Word”. MacDonald spoke twice during this event once on Saturday night and again on Sunday morning. MacDonald’s message on Saturday night was a biblical message about repentance and the need for both people and the church to repent of sins. His message was strait on and direct.  Judging by the body language  of Furtick he had that worried look about him like maybe it was the first time he himself actually heard biblical teaching and the Gospel being preached and not the law.

 If you were following our Twitter feed at EBCApologetics on his sermon you would have seen a blow by blow analysis of his sermon. We graded his sermon as a B+ overall. He could have earned an A if was not for the weak ending by the out of context use of Revelations 3:20. He sadly misstated this verse as Jesus knocking at the door of your heart wanting to come in. When we look at this in context we see that this has nothing to do with Jesus wanting to come into our hearts.  Instead Jesus is rebuking the Laodicea church telling them to repent. Revelation 3:20 is a call for churches to repent not for Jesus to enter the door of your heart.

As I mentioned earlier MacDonald spoke twice in this event the second time was on Sunday Morning. In this message he spoke on Tithing. I wish this message was as solid and biblical as his first message was. Sadly it was not  only earning a C by our standards of biblical accuracy. MacDonald Sunday talk was on the subject of money and Tithing during which he misquoted Malachi 3:6-12. He spent an adsorbent amount of time telling us that if we do not tithe we will not be blessed by God, which is an Old Testament teaching not a New Testament church teaching. He even went as far as to state that the LAW of tithing superseded Christ’s completion of the Law on the Cross. That in Christ’s death on the cross did not stop the law when it comes to tithing and that tithing was still in play for today. Did you hear that ripping sound? Oh that was Macdonald taking Malachi 3 out of context. First all when Christ died on the Cross fully completed the Law at 613 laws of the Old Testament. Secondly, by MacDonald stating what he did has ineffectively said that Christ’s atoning work on the Cross and our Justification by His imputation was not enough. Thirdly, there is no New Testament admonition to pay tithes. The reason is because we are not under law; that is, we don't "have to" pay tithes. We don’t see paying tithes in the Acts 2 as a required function for the church.

While we shouldn't feel obligated to pay tithes. We should what you give to our church and that is between you and God. Not you, your pastor and God.  We should be giving because it is Christ that lives within us and the Holy Spirit that makes us want to give and give graciously to others and our churches.

Sadly Macdonald took a time that could have been spent preaching a solid biblical message and giving the Gospel to those in attendance and watching online and wasted it on preaching the Law. The only thing his preaching of the Law did was bring people closer to sinning because the preaching of the Law is a school master to show us our sin. The Law does not save us from it. So sadly I would say since there was no Gospel given Sunday by James MacDonald in his message Sunday no one heard the saving call of the Lord because of the Law of the Tithe being preached.

Over all the Code Orange Revival was no revival at all. I would venture to say that the Holy Spirit was not there. There may have been a Spirit there but it wasn’t holy. Steven Furtick had a real good chance to make something good of this event by enlisting some solid biblical teachers to speak at this event. Instead he choose to promote heresy and narcissistic eisegesis that only raised the ego of the speakers and the flesh of those watching. While some may argue with me and others calling us "haters"  and say that “life change” was happening at this event. I have news for them a “life change” may have happen but when you have emotionalism and unbiblical preaching that “life change” is not a Christ change. It is a change based on human emotion, humanism and  one's ego wanting pumping.  

The Code Orange Revival was not a success as Furtick wished it would be. Instead it exposed his unbiblical alliances and actually has helped those defending the true Christian faith against wolves in sheep’s clothing job a little easier by castings a light on all the heretics he associates with.