F4F | Rediscovering Bethel's Heresies Part 2 - False Unity

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Welcome to another installment of Fighting for the Faith. My name is Chris Roseborough. I am your servant in Jesus Christ.

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This is the channel that compares what people are saying in the name of God to the Word of God. All right, this is installment two, two of many,

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I'm sure, of the Rediscover Bethel's Heresies. Yeah, the

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Bethel Church right in California, Bill Johnson, the so -called Apostle Bill Johnson, they've put together a series of videos called

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Rediscover Bethel. We're rediscovering their heresies, and today I want to spend a little bit of time on one that I don't think anyone else is going to cover, but I think is quite important, and that is

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Bethel's false doctrine regarding Christian unity. This is a sneaky one, but the best way

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I can put it is that Christ warns us that beware of false prophets who are wolves in sheep's clothing, and Bethel isn't listening to scripture on this.

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They're taking a text out of context, turning it into a pretext for basically saying, kind of like theologically, anything goes in Christianity, but that ain't true.

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Not even close to true. So let me whirl up the desktop, and there we go, and let me pull this up.

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And what we're gonna do here, just a little bit of a note, the audio is sped up. We're gonna distort the video because Bethel seems to think that they're above the laws of fair use, and so we are transmogrifying things for the purpose of transformational copyright stuff.

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If they would like us to go ahead and play things at normal speed in the future, all they have to do is email me and say, we repent, we will allow you to criticize us, and we recognize that fair use applies to us as well.

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If they send me an email to that effect, then I'll be happy to play them at normal speed.

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But since they think they're above the laws of fair use, and always give people like myself and others copyright grief when we're clearly using video snippets for the purpose of offering critique and criticism, which is protected under the laws of fair use, they seem to think they're above that.

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That's why we transmogrify things. Keep that in mind. But listen carefully now.

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They are going to have, I'm gonna jump in at 2 minutes and 11 seconds into this video, and they're talking about their departure from the assemblies of God.

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Bethel Church in Redding, California used to be part of the assemblies of God. I think they did a stint in the vineyard, and even the vineyard, they were way too crazy wackerdoodle for them.

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And we'll listen to this as they build up to giving us their concept of what they think regarding Christian unity, because it's the exact opposite of what the

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Holy Spirit has said. Now notice I said that, the Holy Spirit. Why am I saying the Holy Spirit? Because Scripture is clear, that all

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Scripture is God -breathed, and that people wrote the Scriptures as they were carried along by the

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Holy Spirit. So of all the talk that Bethel gives regarding their allegiance to their belief in the

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Holy Spirit, they sure do have a weird thing they do, and that is they ignore the express will of God the

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Holy Spirit as written in the pages of Scripture. I'll prove that along the way. Here we go. When the

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Lord was moving on Bethel to kind of create networks, and to have a, it felt like we were trying to do something in somebody else's house, to do what we were called to do within the assemblies, and so that's the time that we moved out of the assemblies.

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Yeah, we basically asked permission to leave, but you know, our relationship with them was good, and it still is. I mean, we just, we really feel indebted to them.

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In fact, we give the same, you know, the financial support that we gave when we were in the assemblies we do now. I mean, nothing in that sense has changed, but it's difficult to experiment the way we experiment with things that causes problems for other people.

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Petey It's difficult for us to experiment the way we experiment with things.

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So immediately I'm going to ask the question, where in Scripture does it teach us that we are to experiment with manifestations of the

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Holy Spirit and things like this? Nowhere. So, if I understand the story correctly, and the history that they are conveying, they were in the assemblies of God, and they felt the

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Lord was taking them in a different direction, and they were going to be experimenting, or they were already experimenting the way they were experimenting, and it was too much.

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It was too crazy even for the assemblies of God. And so, they said, hasta la vista, but they still continued to financially support the assemblies of God.

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Okay. Petey We just felt it was wisdom to leave as honorably as we knew how, but still keep connections.

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And so, that's what we've tried to do. So, we've worked hard to do. Kevin Yeah, absolutely. And so, and the Holy Spirit was hitting in unusual ways at that time. And so,

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Petey The Holy Spirit was hitting in unusual ways. Why should we believe that was the

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Holy Spirit? Petey That was kind of difficult for the vineyard to navigate, for the assemblies.

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So, the assemblies of God in the vineyard, Bethel was too crazy even for them.

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Let that sink in. That's kind of an important point. Kevin To navigate. And so, we don't say it to be critical, but it's just part of, we love the global church of Jesus, and it feels,

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I get grieved when I hear somebody attacking another believer. I get concerned when I hear somebody like, I know your motives. It's like, oh, really?

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It's not ideal. And so, the value for the church, I think, is absolutely central to who we are and what we're doing. I call the assemblies of God, I wasn't raised in them, but my pastor had left that denomination and was kind of, those were his roots.

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But I call them the dread champions of the Lord. I mean, in some ways for the last hundred years, they've been doing an amazing work for King Jesus. Petey Oh, absolutely.

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You're right. Kevin It's gorgeous work for King Jesus. Petey You're right. Some of the godliest people I've ever met are in the assemblies, some of the most courageous people I've ever met, some of the boldest, faithful people.

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Yeah. Yeah. So, I live indebted. Very thankful. Kevin Beautiful. And so, let's just talk about your love for the church in general, not just our particular slice of it.

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So, let's talk about, quote, your love for the church in general. Now, here's where I'd like to point out what

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Christ says. Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

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You'll recognize them by their fruits. Now, note, sheep's clothing. When a false prophet or a false teacher comes to us, they come to us in the name of Jesus, but they have, well, camouflage.

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They're dressed like sheeps while they are actually wolves. So, pointing to, like,

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Christian trappings, like, oh, they pray, or oh, they tithe, or oh, they support, you know, orphans in Haiti and stuff like that.

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And that is the sheep's clothing. The fruit is their doctrine.

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You have to pay attention to the doctrine. Notice it says, false prophets. Okay. A false prophet is one who prophesies falsely in the name of the one true

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God, or they twist the scriptures, or they teach us to follow after God in ways that we're not authorized to, or worse, they have us believing in a different deity, even if the deity they're invoking, they've named

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Jesus. So, you'll recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes?

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Nope. Figs from thistles? Not even close. So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.

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A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. So, then every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

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Thus, you will recognize them by their fruits. Now, watch where Jesus goes with this then. Same breath, under the same topic, in the same context, not everyone who says to me,

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Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

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Now, we're going to talk about this. What is the will of the Father? The Apostle John gives us clearly what that is, and I'll explain that in a minute.

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But note then where Jesus goes. He's going to give us an example of what the day of judgment is going to be like for these false prophets.

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On that day, many, not some, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?

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Did we not tell people that they would have suddenly in a breakthrough that the coming season was going to be filled with a

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Kairos moment and things like this? Bingo! Right? So, note, even the prophesying itself is sheep's clothing.

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They're wolves, right? And cast out demons in your name, that's sheep's clothing too in this case.

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And do many mighty works in your name, sheep's clothing. That's what

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Christ is pointing at. Okay? Listen to their doctrine. And then I will declare to them,

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I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Huh?

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All right? So, keep that in mind. Now, what is the will of the Father? So, Jesus says this. He says, not everyone who says to me,

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Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

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Thankfully, the Apostle John, in the same context of warning us about false teachers, he tells us the will of the

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Father. So, this is going to be one of those cases where scripture will interpret scripture. And here's what

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John says. In his epistle, 2 John, one chapter long, it's written to a woman called the

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Elect Lady, and this was before Christianity was legal, and Christians met privately, oftentimes, sometimes even in secret, in people's homes or in other places.

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And so, this woman has a congregation meeting in her home. This woman has a

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Christian congregation meeting in her home and the Apostle John, the disciple whom

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Jesus loved, he is now writing a letter of encouragement to her, but also a letter of admonishment.

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And here's what he says, I rejoice greatly to find some of your children, and watch what he says, walking in the truth.

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The Apostle John, in writing to this woman, says, oh man, I was rejoicing about the fact that some of the people who are attending your church,

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I was greatly encouraged to see that they were walking in the truth. Remember what

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Jesus said, the one who worships the Father will worship him in spirit and in truth.

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Truth is paramount. It's not unimportant, it's necessary, absolutely necessary.

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So, I rejoice to find that some of your children were walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the

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Father. So, remember what Jesus says, the one who does the will of my Father. John here, in the same context, then talking about false teachers, says that it's the will of the

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Father that we walk in what? The truth. And now I ask you, dear lady, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we had from the beginning, that we love one another.

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Okay? So, love one another is vital, and watch where he goes. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments.

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This is love, we walk according to the commandments. Where are we going to find those? In the written word of God, rightly exegeted, rightly expounded, right?

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So, this is the commandment, just as you heard from the beginning, so you should walk in it.

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Why? Because many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh, such a one is a deceiver and is the antichrist.

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So, watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.

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For everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have

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God. We're not called to experiment. We're called to abide in what?

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Abide in the teaching of Christ. Only place you're going to find that? Scripture, right? And then watch what he says, whoever abides in the teaching has both the

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Father and the Son. And if anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, don't receive him into your house or give him any greeting.

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Whoever greets him takes part in his wicked deeds. So, the one who doesn't abide doesn't have

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God. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God. This is vital.

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What's the church to be about? Experimenting with signs and wonders and prophesying and liver shivers and glory clouds and things like, no, we're supposed to be abiding in the teaching of Christ.

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And anyone who doesn't bring to us correct doctrine, we're not even supposed to greet them in the church.

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Otherwise, we take place, take part in their wicked works. So, truth is a high priority, like number one priority to the apostle

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John, don't receive somebody who's not even abiding in the doctrines and the teachings of Christ.

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And it's the will of the Father that we do this. I remember what Jesus said, right?

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Romans 16 says it this way. Paul writes, he says, I appeal to you brothers to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you've been taught.

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Avoid them. Who are the ones who cause divisions in the body of Christ? It ain't guys like me who are calling people back to the scriptures.

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The ones who cause divisions in the body of Christ are those who are teaching false doctrine, innovative doctrines, inventive doctrines, creative doctrines, right?

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Avoid them. Scripture says, such persons do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites.

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And by smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the hearts of what? The naive.

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So, in other words, I hate to say this, but the people who are under the sway of men like Bill Johnson and the

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NAR and stuff like this, it's because they're naive. They don't really know the scriptures. This is one of the reasons why on this channel, we do a lot of Bible teaching, right?

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So, note, scripture says, avoid, mark and avoid the people who are causing divisions and teaching contrary doctrines.

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Paul also says in the first Timothy six, and this is kind of a strong one. If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our

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Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he's puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.

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He knows nothing, okay? He has unhealthy craving for controversy, for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, constant friction among people who depraved in mind and deprived of the truth.

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Imagining the godliness is a means of gain. So, the person then who doesn't agree with the sound words of our

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Lord Jesus Christ, you know what the scripture says? That person is puffed up with conceit and knows nothing.

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Nothing. They are not serving the Lord. We are to mark and avoid them.

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This is what scripture says to do regarding those who are teaching false doctrine. Now, all of this was basically to kind of lay a little bit of track, if you would, for what's coming next, because already we're having problems.

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And that is that in talking about their history, we had to leave the assemblies of God, you know, in other words, have no doctrinal accountability.

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We had to leave the vineyard, you know, have no doctrinal accountability because we were experimenting and the

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Holy Spirit was hitting in weird ways. So, what did they do?

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They left every church body that would exercise any kind of doctrinal and biblical discipline over them.

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Uh -oh. That's a problem. Yeah. Yeah, I really do. I was raised in a household that really valued the body of Christ, period.

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My dad was such a champion of diversity. When we say body of Christ, it's people who have put their faith in Jesus.

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Exactly. And people who are born again are a part of this thing called the body of Christ, the church of the living God. And my dad was such a champion of diversity.

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Champion of diversity? The apostle Paul doesn't teach diversity. The champion of diversity, that's a foreign concept in scripture.

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In fact, diversity is the exact thing we're not supposed to be following after. Let me give you some more texts along these lines.

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In Titus chapter 1, we have the qualifications for a pastor in Christ's church.

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You know, so the part that they, you know, that everyone would agree with, he must be a steward above reproach, he must not be arrogant, quick -tempered, a drunkard, a violent, greedy for gain, hospitable, a lover of good, self -controlled, upright, holy, disciplined.

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Everyone says, yay, amen. Ah, but here's the next part. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

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Huh. God the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul is not a champion of doctrinal diversity.

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In fact, anybody who engages in diversity when it comes to doctrine, according to scripture, that person is to be rebuked.

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And a pastor is supposed to be involved in that. For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers, and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party, and they must be silenced.

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Uh -oh, God wills not diversity of doctrine, but that those who are teaching diverse doctrines be silenced since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.

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One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons. Well, this testimony is true.

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Therefore, rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith, not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth.

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So, note already here in our, in this video, you know, just a few minutes in, you know, of episode one, we're already at odds with the scriptures.

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And he's making it sound like his father is a champion of diversity within the body of Christ.

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Oh, that sounds so contrary to what God said. You know, exact opposite.

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In fact, the half -brother of Jesus, whose name is Jude, in his epistle, hang on a second here,

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I got to spell it right. In Jude, in fact, let me get the whole context here.

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Jude writes, beloved, although I was eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you appealing to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

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For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation. They're ungodly people who pervert the grace of our

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God into sensuality and deny our only master and Lord Jesus Christ. Jude here is not a champion of diversity, but calling for Christians to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints.

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There's one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all.

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Yeah, we got a problem here. And then I think about, you know, the Apostle Paul again, in the book of Acts, Acts chapter 20.

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Hang on a second here. I need to tell this. We're going to look in a book. Hang on a second here.

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Acts chapter 20. And I would remind you guys over and again,

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I get questions from people. What is the name of the software? The name of it is Accordance.

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There's always a link below down in the description for the software. So, if you'd like to figure out how to, you know, get a copy of Accordance, always in the link.

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And they're not, they don't sponsor us. So, this is a tool I've been using since the 1990s.

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Yeah, since the 1990s. Anyway, the Apostle Paul in his farewell address to the churches, to the pastors of the churches in the city of Ephesus, he says this.

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I'll start at verse 18. You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the

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Lord with all humility and with tears and trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews, how

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I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance towards God and of faith in our

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Lord Jesus Christ. And now behold, I'm going to Jerusalem constrained by the

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Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there. And then you'll note, I'm just going to fast forward just a little bit here.

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And he says this, pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the

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Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

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When did God bleed? I know, on the cross, right? I know that after my departure, listen to what

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Paul says, fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock and from among your own selves, where does this attack come from within?

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Will arise men who are speaking twisted things in order to draw away the disciples after them, after themselves.

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Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years, I did not see stay a night to admonish you, every one of you with tears.

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Okay. So, Paul in his farewell address is warning us about false teachers who are going to rise up, wolves will rise up within our ranks.

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And you'll note nowhere in scripture is doctrinal diversity celebrated, embraced.

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Is it somehow a value? Doctrinal diversity is the hallmark of a false teacher and a wolf.

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Uh -oh. Yeah, we're way off track. Petey - You hear the phrase, people will say, I want to be celebrated, not tolerated. And he lived that.

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I mean, he really, really loved the diversity. He didn't tolerate it, he loved it. And he would bring people in to minister to us here at Bethel.

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I'll never forget the diversity of people, but they all had this love for God. They all had a prayer life. They all had this affection for Jesus. They all were worshipers.

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They all loved the scriptures. And - That could all be sheep's clothing. They had all these things in common and they would come and minister to us here at Bethel when my dad was a senior leader.

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So, I learned that from him. And in fact, to illustrate the diversity, one Sunday morning, he had a Catholic priest come and speak at this assembly of God church.

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And the very next Sunday, a Baptist evangelist. Wait, wait, wait, wait, what? You had a

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Roman Catholic priest preach a sermon at Bethel? Actually, it was his dad.

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And he thinks this is a good thing. The Roman Catholic church has anathematized the biblical gospel and you are pointing to the fact that you had a

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Roman Catholic priest preach a sermon at Bethel as a celebration of the diversity within the body of Christ?

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Hello? So, that's about as diverse as you can get. I mean, it really taught us, people responded so well.

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We could see what the priest had to say that was so powerful for us and the Baptist evangelist and on and on it goes. But a real -

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Petey And anyone else seeing the problem here? Because I don't think I could be any clearer.

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Is he exegeting a biblical text that's telling us the importance of diversity? He's exegeting a life experience that he had as a result of his father's false theology.

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And he's embracing that and putting it forward as, oh man, if you could be in tune with the Holy Spirit like us, you'd have the freedom to embrace diversity.

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You too can have a Roman Catholic priest come and preach at your church. And then a Baptist evangelist the next week.

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Why not have a Muslim imam come? Hmm? Real celebration. Yeah. My dad, there was a pastor friend of his here in town that he had breakfast or lunch with one day.

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And the pastor was from a denomination that didn't believe quite the same as we did regarding the Holy Spirit. And he made a comment to my dad.

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He said, you guys call yourself full gospel. And he said, that really hurts when you say that because it implies you have the full gospel and we have a part gospel.

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Jared That's correct, by the way. The way that has been historically used by the Pentecostals, that's on purpose.

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I mean, have you ever heard a Pentecostal say, you know, you know, Pastor Roseborough's church or maybe somebody else's, right?

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Yeah. You know, I mean, yeah, they're going to hear the Bible there and sure they're saved, but they're, they're missing out.

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They're missing out because they don't have prophets. They don't have people speaking in tongues and prophesying and barking like dogs and spinning around like whirling dervishes.

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I mean, so, I mean, yeah, they'll, they'll make it to heaven, but they're totally missing out. See, we have the full gospel because we have people barking like dogs and clucking like chickens and speaking in gibberish and, and prophesying and stuff.

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So we've, they've only got part of it, but they're saved. I mean, so we'll still see them in heaven, but they're just missing out.

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That's how that's been used, by the way. My dad looked at him and said, I'll never use that term again. And he dropped it there.

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He would never use that term again. And he had full gospel fellowship guys in his church. He never used that to describe himself versus another group.

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It's kind of a lead term. I don't think it started that way, but you know, it wasn't, it's not a competition, but it ends up that way. You know, when we have something you don't have and there's this arrogance thing.

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Yeah. That's how Pentecostals are. He was such a champion at, at valuing what a person had. So beautiful. I love that.

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Talking about the leap thing, we ran into that with our core values at some point, trying to not, at one point we're calling them apostolic distinctions, you know, and it's like, yeah, it works.

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But it did feel like it was drawing lines and fences that weren't in our heart, that actually isn't in our theology, saying these are our distinctives.

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But actually we started calling them, these are emphasis, the things the Lord's taught us to emphasize in the global church. So now, now, now they're, they're theology, the things that make

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Bethel distinct. These aren't distinctives, they're, they're emphases.

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And so this is where something really sneaky is happening in this video. And that is, is that they're going to take this concept of an emphasis, which they've just made up and say, well, you know, in other churches, you know, they have different emphases, emphases than we do.

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You know, the Lord has told us to emphasize these things. And maybe in the Calvinist churches, they emphasize something else.

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And those Lutherans, they're probably not even saved, you know, especially Pastor Roseborough.

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And, and, and the Lord has taught them to emphasize something else, but we're all, we're all, we're all in.

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It's just, these aren't doctrinal distinctives and fences and stuff. They're just different emphases.

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Sneaky. I mean, this is super sneaky, but what he's saying, he's not saying from a biblical text, not even one.

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And what he's saying, he's just making up. You know, your note that they are creating doctrines without biblical texts.

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How do you do that? And not only are they creating doctrines without biblical texts, the doctrines they're creating right here, this idea of the emphases, that contradicts the clear biblical texts that I've just read out.

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Yep. I'm going to back this up and I want you to hear it.

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I'm even going to slow it down just a smidge because I want you to hear this one a little slower because this, this is snaky.

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Saying these are our distinctives, but actually we started calling them, these are emphases, the things the Lord's taught us to emphasize in the global church.

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Realizing that the Lord and his genius beauty is calling other denominations, other works to emphasize other things to his glory.

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How come the apostle Paul doesn't allow for these different emphases, but always and again, when somebody teaches divergent doctrines, they are wolves.

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Why does Peter warn us the same way? Why does Jude warn us that same way? Why does Jesus give us warning that same way?

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Where in scripture does it teach that within the body of Christ, that different groups can emphasize different things?

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Paul made it clear that he didn't shrink back from teaching the full counsel of the word of God. That's what every pastor is to do, preach the full counsel of the word of God.

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Where'd you get this doctrine of emphases? Peter That's true. He's a gloriously, you know, gigantic God.

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He takes a full fellowship in order to. Peter He's a gigantic God. So, yeah,

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I'm sure God's probably gigantic. No problem there. But the giganticness of God, where is that used in scripture to say then there's a variety of theological emphases that are going to be necessary to fully explore and explain how

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God works? Peter Accurately reflect who he is and what he cares about. That's true. There's many tribes in the nation and each one contributes.

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And one of the things I. Peter Many tribes, each one contributes. Wow. This is the exact opposite of what

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Jesus said and his apostles. So much with the travel that I do, I travel a fair amount of the year is

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I'm with so many different groups that are so different than we are, but they'll take the risk, you know, and ask me to come.

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And I love being with them so much. I love, I love even hearing a teaching that maybe in some measure contradicts something that I hold dear.

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Peter You enjoy hearing a teaching that contradicts something you hold dear. Like what?

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Peter Obviously, if it's absolutely against scripture, then I'm going to have, I'm going to struggle. Peter If it's against scripture, you're only going to struggle.

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Okay. Peter But if, you know, if it's, you know,

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I hear somebody, I'll have a friend teach on Calvinism and predestination when I would emphasize free will.

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I love hearing that. I really do. Peter I want to make something very clear here. Calvinists and Lutherans both teach something called monergism, and that's exactly what the scriptures teach.

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Synergism is what he says that he believes. Those are two completely mutually exclusive categories.

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Either synergism is true or monergism is true, but it's impossible for both of them to be true.

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They could both be false, but it's absolutely impossible for both synergism and monergism to be true.

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And he's just describing those two concepts, synergism and monergism.

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And he says they seem to contradict, but I don't mind hearing from Calvinists who are teaching monergism, because that's what he's describing, even though it contradicts the synergism

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I believe in. This makes God into a madman. I mean, absolutely crazy.

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Where you have doctrines that are mutually exclusive, both of them being true.

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Are you nuts? This is totally antithetical and contrary to what scripture teaches.

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Exactly. But if I hear somebody, I'll have a friend teach on Calvinism and predestination when

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I would emphasize free will. I love hearing that. I really do. It doesn't offend me at all. It awakens me to not only the rest of the church, but the part of the scriptures that may not stand out to me.

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Yeah. The part of the scriptures that God hasn't emphasized for me.

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I really enjoy that journey of walking with other people. It's so fun. You know, when we're doing our membership class or deeper life class, we talk about every

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Christian has a Holy Spirit. You can't be a Christian without the Holy Spirit. He's the seal of our salvation, the spirit of adoption by which we cry out,

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Abba, Father. And so whenever we're making odd distinctions, as far as a full gospel or not, or charismatic or not.

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Yeah. You know, the distinction between false prophet and true prophet, false teacher and true teacher, one who's walking in the truth and one who's twisting the scriptures, you know, the way the

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Bible does. Again, note, the categories he's operating in are 180 degrees opposite of every one of the passages that we've already read today.

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I'm like, we're drawing these lines against each other based on the Holy Spirit or our interpretation of scripture.

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Again, not when it's the major. No, it's what scripture says. And by the way, synergism has historically, that's a heresy.

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It's called the Pelagian heresy. It's never been considered a minor.

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It's always been considered a major. I think that it's painful to experience.

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And I think, you know, it creates a dissonance and an unclear message. I mean, I was reading again, John 17 and Jesus' love of the unity of the church, like he's like, this will actually be gorgeous.

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A billboard saying. Now, he's taking Christ's expressed desire for there to be unity within the church out of context and applying it to their concept of diversity of doctrines, which are just merely different emphases.

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That is a complete misuse of God, of Jesus' concept. Uh, there's one

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Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all. We are to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints and anybody who diverges from it is to be rebuked in silence.

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That's the will of God, the Holy Spirit, who caused Paul to write those words.

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Wow. This is so slick. If you believe what these guys are saying, there's no such thing as a false teacher.

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No such thing as a false prophet. No, all of the warnings of scripture are for, for no particularly good reason at all.

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This is a demonic definition of unity. And by twisting

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Christ's words from John 17 and trying to shoehorn them into the context of this, this model that they've created, oh yeah, diversity.

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We, we, we have so many, every everybody who believes in Jesus has the Holy Spirit. It's just God, the

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Holy Spirit is given every different church body, different emphases. And so, we have much to learn from all these different church bodies that actually have doctrines that mutually are mutually exclusive to each other.

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Uh -huh. You know, like you're saved by grace through faith apart from works, as Romans 3 says, or you're saved by your works, which some denominations teach.

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Like our unity and our love for each other in the midst of these disagreements and things. The apostles were trying to figure out like, do

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I have to be a Jew in order to be a Christian? And they take, probably they were counseled 14 years later, like, no. Now notice he's not exegeting from Acts 17.

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He's just giving, you know, making an allusion to that portion of scripture. You don't have to be circumcised. Who defuncted?

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You know, they're trying to walk through what is the meaning of this, this connection with Jesus. And you'll note that when it comes to the

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Judaizers, Paul, in Galatians chapter 1, he anathematizes the

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Judaizers. He says, he says, even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you gospel other than the one already preached, let him be anathema, damned.

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So, I've said before, I'll say it again. Anyone who preaches a gospel contrary to the one we already preached, let him be anathema, damned.

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And then of course, Galatians 5 says, you who would be justified by the law, you've been alienated from Christ, you've fallen from grace.

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So, even the doctrine he's bringing up here, you'll note that the

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Christian church didn't embrace diversity when it came to those who denied that salvation was by grace through faith.

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Works are necessary. They flow from a true saving faith. That's James's point. But your justification before God is all in the merits of Christ.

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So, we've got a problem here. And that is just that even the thing that he points to right here is not an example of diversity.

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So, let me show it to you so that you don't sit there and say, well, Rosemary, you're just making it up. No, actually I'm not.

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Hang on a second here. Galatians chapter 1, again, watch what he says. Paul says, I'm astonished.

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Note that Paul isn't celebrating diversity. I'm astonished that you didn't quickly or more sooner embrace the different emphases, you know, the emphases of salvation by works versus the emphasis of salvation by grace and embrace the diversity of the

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Spirit and maintain unity. He didn't say any of that. Listen to what he says. I'm astonished that you're so quickly deserting, deserting

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Christ, who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. Not that there is another, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

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Even if we are an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached, let him be damned, accursed.

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As we said before, so again, if anyone's preaching a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

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Where's the apostle Paul's embracing of diversity of emphases? Petey Exactly.

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And so, and Jesus on the night he's betrayed is like, it's the unity, guys, it's the unity and the love. So, really, is that a direct quote?

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Hey, it's the unity, guys. No, that's just twisting what Jesus said. No, they're not exegeting.

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That's going to be a message to the world of who I am, that I accomplished what I said I would accomplish in creating a body, a family.

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So, we got to do everything we can to celebrate that. You know, and that's the point is we do celebrate. We don't, we can't create unity.

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Petey We celebrate unity by embracing the diversity of doctrinal emphases, even doctrines that contradict scripture in each other.

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Petey A lot of unity movements trying to create unity. Paul says in Ephesians 4 to preserve the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace.

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So. Petey Yeah. And the apostle Paul was quick to anathematize anybody who taught distorted and twisted doctrines and told pastors to do that.

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Petey So, you'll note here, what Bethel is teaching regarding unity is the exact opposite of what scripture teaches.

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Unity around the truth, about around a right understanding of scripture, a unity based on rightly handling the word of truth and contending for the faith once for all delivered to the saints and rebuking those who are teaching divergent doctrines, not embracing them as brothers.

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Oh man, this is just terribly wicked, but I think you get the point. So hopefully you found this helpful.

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If so, all the information on how you can share the video is down below in the description. And until next time, may

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God richly bless you in the grace and mercy won by Jesus Christ and his vicarious death on the cross for all of your sins.