Naming Names

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, �But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered-down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn�t for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we�re called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.

Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

Reconsidering the Show, the New Book, and the YouTube Channel

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry. My name is Mike Abendroth, and the sun is almost out. This is the fourth show I�ve recorded in the last 24 hours, and I feel like I�m on a roll. Honestly, two weeks ago, back from California, I thought, �Why am I doing this again?

Remind me why I need to do. I know it�s not live radio, but daily radio. I know it�s only 24 and a half minutes, but still, I pretty much have said what I can say. But then other things pop up, and so yesterday it was a good time in the studio, and I am not going to commit for the whole year, but I�m recommitting for the next decade.

No, but seriously, a couple weeks ago, I thought for the first time in five years, as my father would say, �Lee Abendroth, I need that like I need a hole in my head. Oh, the other thing my dad, Lee Abendroth, would say is when the dog would come over and want to drink some of his beer, he would be laying down on the floor using the couch as a pillow, watching, all in the family, or what did he like to watch?

Hogan�s Heroes, Gunsmoke, The Rifleman. He would say to the dog, �Don�t drink out of that glass, that will give you a headache. Because he would whack the dog in the head. So anyway, I feel better today, and it just goes to show you we have ebbs and flows in our lives, and you are not to make decisions hastily.

You should ask other people. You should pray. You should just work through those troughs, troughs, those opposite of apexes, those ditches. What do you call the bottom side of a bell curve, or an oscillation, what do you call that?

So here�s the thing, when I ask you questions, you actually send in the answers, but the thing is, you�ll send this in in like three weeks. I think this is, I actually, it�s the 11th today of September, September 11th, wow, and this will be aired on the 30th of September, so Fred thinks we�re about three months behind.

It�s only about two weeks. Now, hopefully, that will grow because I�m trying to record five shows. We have the Monday sermons. I don�t know. I mean, that�s probably a good thing for me to ask you. Should we keep playing the sermons, or do we do other shows?

I don�t even really know. Maybe that sounds self-serving. You can write us at info at nocompromiseradio .com. You can go to the website, nocompromiseradio .com, to order the new book, Sexual Fidelity.

Maybe by the 30th, maybe by today, it�ll be up that you can pre-order, and it�s a book that essentially spiraled out of my discussions with my son about biblical thinking and how to talk biblically about sex.

Someone�s going to teach your children about sex. It might as well be God through his word via the parents, and this is just the overflow of that. No bad words, nothing crass. I�m not trying to use language that would be inflammatory and sell things, but I�m not a Victorian prude either, and I don�t think the scriptures speak that way.

There�s a veiled propriety in scripture, as sex is talked about, but it�s still talked about because it�s an important subject, and 30 chapters, about 1 ,000 to 1 ,200 words per chapter, designed so you could just read a chapter a day, so you could get your mind right to use the Cool Hand Luke movie illustration.

You�ve got to get your mind right about this topic to think properly. Whether you�re single, married, man or woman, there�s chapters in there for you. Probably at the end of the day, probably more men will read it, is my guess.

If you are in a men�s Bible study looking for a discipleship book or something like that, that would be a good book. Sexual Fidelity, No Compromise, Lord of the Rings will be the first in a series of no-compromise style books, instead of more technical, scholastic books that I�ve written in the past.

It�s kind of like things that go bump in the church on steroids. What else? There�s a YouTube channel. Some people in the social media area did not know we had a YouTube channel, so there�s 100 plus videos on there.

There are things that can probably help you, and that is my segue into today�s show. When I looked the other day, there�s an analytics page for the NoCo YouTube channel, and you can see which videos were watched the most.

The older ones from three years ago were probably watched more than the newer ones, of course, that type of thing. But I saw the top five videos, and of course, the top five videos are all dealing with other people.

People who taught the wrong thing or did the wrong thing. I don�t think they�re all heretics. I�d have to look at the list. But people who just are teaching the wrong thing. Maybe they�re in the direction, the trends, the trajectory, rather, of heretical teaching.

So people want to know about those folks. I will say on No Compromise Radio here, proudly, that I could be more controversial, but controversy is planned here. So first and foremost, well, I�m a Christian first and foremost, but I�m a pastor, and so I have tried to restrain myself.

I mean, some of you don�t think that�s probably true, but I�ve tried to restrain myself over the years because I could go ballistic. I could just go for it in such a manner that I would get better ratings, there would be more buzz about the show, probably more Twitter action.

But there is some restraint. I feel restraint because I don�t want to be�I want to be discerning, but I don�t want to be categorized as a discernment show. We talk about all kinds of things. I mean, what kind of discernment show was when we were talking about propitiation or how to visit people in the hospital or why you should take your children to a funeral, how you could encourage your pastor, what does it mean to be a church member, how do you serve your wife as Christ loved the church sacrificially, what is substitutionary atonement, why is penalty substitution so important, where would we be without the resurrection?

Those are all positive, encouraging, K-love kind of shows now, aren�t they? So I did listen to some K-love this summer. I usually don�t. When I�m in the car, I�m either listening to a book on CD, I was going to say book on tape, or I listen to the New England radio sports talk.

I don�t know why. I find it fascinating to listen to some of these guys. So anyway, I�m about done with that because I need to move on. I�ve officially watched more NFL football games or as many NFL football games this year as I watched all of last year.

So last year I watched one NFL game from start to finish and that was the Super Bowl. Did you notice the score for that game, by the way? And then I watched the game last night, I don�t get cable TV, but NBC .com carried the Patriots game and so I thought I�d watch that, something to do, didn�t have anything else to do, allegedly.

Why Naming Names Matters in Shepherding

So I�m leading into the YouTube channel that carries a variety of different critiques from Mark Driscoll to James McDonald and the Elephant Room. What about naming names? I was reading an article just recently, an older article by Tom Tomasella.

I don�t know who he is, I think it�s a blog article. I want to say this could be five years old, ten years old. The article is called �Naming Names� and it just made me think, it�s good to rework through, is it okay to name people�s names when it comes to teaching the Bible?

Now I would guess earlier in my ministry I wanted to name more names than I do now, from the pulpit. I�m not talking about No Compromise Radio, I mean we�re always talking about people in the news because I want you to think about, �Hey, is this right?

Is this wrong? How do we think through the issues Well, I probably named names a lot and I probably didn�t like it when people said, �Why are you naming so many names My strategy was from the pulpit, of course when you teach the truth then you show why error is chock full of erroneous thinking.

Why is error full of error? You show, I think that�s the best way to teach. This is truth and now you can see error, especially in light of the lens of that truth, i .e. biblical truth. Of course when you read pastoral epistles, especially as Satan is trying to attack, sometimes using false teachers, sometimes using probably Christian people, but they just teach the wrong things, there are names mentioned.

And, �Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself for he strongly opposed our message. At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me.

May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me so that through me the message�not the message bible� �might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion�s mouth.

The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. That�s 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 14 through verse 18. Naming names, and I think we could go overboard, but when I got here 18 years ago, people were into Shuler, so I needed to shoe out Shuler.

Some of you don�t even know who that is, for which I�m glad. Some people at Bethlehem Bible Church don�t know what an altar call is, for which I�m glad. They said when I first got here I wasn�t concerned about souls getting saved.

Why is that? Well, you don�t do an altar call. I think I probably said something smart-alecky, since we�re making up words today. If there�s an altar in the church, I probably do it, but anyway. Naming names, I mean the Rick Warren purpose-driven life came out, purpose-driven church came out first.

That was big here 18 years ago. And then the purpose-driven life came out after that, so people need to be warned. People need to know who these folks are. So if somebody�s big, if Benny Hinn�s coming to town, then I should probably say something about it.

I think that�s good shepherding. So what about naming names? Do you get mad when your pastor names names? Do you get mad when Twitter people name names? And again, it shows you that people like controversy, as my friend Carl Truman would say, when you look at the YouTube channel and see the highest rated shows are not, by the way, you got credit for Adam�s sin, and you�re going to get credit for Christ�s righteousness if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Twelve words of the gospel, how do you summarize the gospel in twelve words? Those shows, those little episodes, are not ranked as high. They like the Beth Moore ones, they like the James MacDonald, Mark Driscoll ones.

Those are the ones, you know, the Francis Chan ones. Those are the ones that quote-unquote sell, even though I don�t have any advert money on those YouTube channel video deals. So maybe we should put some ads on there, right, and then you could see some new Star Wars deal or something.

Biblical Warnings Against False Teachers

Romans chapter 16, verse 17, �Mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned, and avoid them. You know, mark them, identify them, scope them out, see them.

These are the people that are causing problems, and you need to notice them. You need to scope them out. That�s the word there for marking, in King James there, �Mark them. How do you like that? I�m just throwing that in for the trolls.

King James is a fine translation. It�s not the only translation, but it is a fine, fine translation. I need to do another show on translations, but see, you can�t remember what you�ve done shows on, and I�m getting older.

Scopeo, to scope out, Episcopalian, scope, to see, to watch, to consider, and maybe even translate it. You�ve got to, where I get a gun and on the top of the gun you put a what. I went to Cabela�s the other day with a friend, and they sell a lot of scopes so you can see things, and I would pick up a gun.

These were airsoft guns, by the way. They looked like real guns. Well, they were real airsoft guns. What about marking people and avoiding them? How are you going to let people know who these people are if you don�t tell them?

Well, there�s a guy that wrote a very popular book on Zondervan, and it was not 39 days and not 41 days. How would you work that out? Even guys like J. Sidlow Baxter. I never met J. Sidlow Baxter, but I have one of his books that was signed by him.

It�s interesting to have books that are signed by people. They�re no longer around. I have Donald Grey Barnhouse�s signature. I have Louis Spray Chaffer�s signature. I have Sidlow Baxter�s signature. I personally don�t ask men to sign the books that I buy, but when I have them, it�s kind of nice.

Sidlow Baxter, and he is no, this is not Richard Baxter, the Neonomian. Some people call Richard Baxter some Puritan, but I would call him a Neonomian. See, I�m naming names now with Richard Baxter. I�m going to do a converse of this show, a show where the people that I don�t name, and that would be evangelical leaders that I would prefer you don�t listen to and study from.

You can pick somebody else instead, and then it�s the unnamed namers. That would be interesting. Baxter, such are the people who today, with sickly kindness, will tolerate teachers of errors in our pulpits because they are such smooth-mannered and amiable gentlemen.

They would rather allow to be preached and souls to be deceived than hurt the preacher�s feelings. Let Baal be worshipped rather than drought come. Let the cancer kill its victim rather than the cruel surgeon use the knife.

The best thing that could happen to some so-called Christian ministers of today is that they should be denounced in God�s name by their hearers. Pretty amazing. That�s pretty amazing by Sidlo Baxter.

So you can imagine the tolerance language, the tolerance chants, the mantra, the mantra, the mantra of tolerance, and why would we critique them? There�s lots of people that follow them. God must be blessing the ministry.

I know the person, and he�s gracious, and she�s kind, and they couldn�t be doing some of those things. How about Jay Adams? It�s interesting to quote from Jay Adams since I critiqued New Thetic Counseling last week.

In some circles, the fear of controversy is so great that the preachers and congregations following after them will settle for peace at any cost, even the cost of the truth, God�s truth. The idea is that peace is all-important.

Peace is a biblical ideal, but so is purity. The peace of the church may never be bought at the price of the purity of the church. Let me repeat that on No Compromise Radio today. Jay Adams, the peace of the church, P-E-A-C-E, may never be bought at the price of the purity of the church.

The price is too dear. The price is too dear. So when you look at biblical qualifications for leadership, leaders need to encourage and feed. Peter, tend my sheep. Peter, feed my sheep. But there�s also the shepherding aspect of protection.

And so there are people, pastors, elders, who must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught so that they may be able to give instruction in sound, hygienic, healthy doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

I like preachers who just tell it like it is. Who tell me what God says clearly, plainly, simply. So, when they talk about false teachers and they discuss insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, they then plainly talk in a way that would silence said false teachers.

Titus 1 .11. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, �Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.

This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith, not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who are turning away from the truth. To the pure, all things are pure.

But to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

But as for you, Titus, teach what accords with sound doctrine. So, my name is Mike Ebendroth. This is No Compromise Radio. We want peace. Of course we want peace in the church. Do you like trouble? Do you like war?

Do you like discord? Do you like a bunch of that chaotic stuff going on in church? Well, if you don't like that stuff, then I think you need to teach the truth because you're going to have more discord and more upset if you run from the biblical exhortations.

Wisdom from Above Is First Pure, Then Peaceable

Wisdom from above, James 3. Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.

This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder in every vile practice. On the other hand, verse 17, but the wisdom from above is first, what do you think?

I'll give you two words, pure or peaceable. God's wisdom, if we have to rank peaceful and pure, which one comes first? But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable. I don't want you to forget that on No Compromise Radio or any other time.

Pure then peaceable. Back to Jay Sidlow's comments, they're true. Then, when you begin to think about watching people that cause divisions, and then you have to name names, you think to yourself, well, I need to be a good steward of what the Bible teaches.

The pastor loves me. The elders love me because they warn. And they tell me, don't listen to that guy anymore. When I got here, the Joyce Meyer books were everywhere. Everywhere. And I have a little proverb for you.

You can tell me if it's a biblical proverb or not. Open rebuke is better than secret love. Well, we know the answer is true because Proverbs 27, verse 5 is in the Bible. And I would carefully try to talk to some of the ladies.

I'm sure men like to watch Joyce Meyer too, to their shame. But I would try to tell them, well, instead of reading this, and she's got this view about the atonement, and why don't you read this other book instead?

Here, this one is better than that one. And this is the reason why. And as time went on, we were learning together and growing together. I was probably nicer. And the people were more receptive. Why would I want someone in the local church?

Why would I want anyone? Why would I want even an enemy to follow people who on the outside seem slick, who seem professional, who seem biblical? They've got a suit or they've got nice clothes on. They stand behind a pulpit.

There's a dove pictured someplace. There's a cross around there. They've got a Bible. All the people in the audience have a Bible. And by the way, there are thousands of those said people in the audience.

But when that person's talking, they talk from the Bible, but they make a mash out of it. They make a hash out of it. They chop it up in such a way where they disconnect it from truth and the Bible. And they are like clouds.

This is what Jude would say of them in verse 12, clouds without water, carried about by winds, trees whose fruit withereth, who's without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots. Oh, hey, there's a cloud coming.

It's going to be bringing us water for our crops so we can live and we could eat. And there's nothing coming out of that cloud except a big hodgepodge of everything. We wouldn't want people who are valiant for the truth as Jeremiah 9 would talk about.

Closing Thoughts and Contact Information

So today on No Compromise Radio, we've talked a little bit about naming names. You want to be careful so you're not the name slayer, name thrower outer. Do we have those kind of words? You can write me at info at nocompromiseradio .com.

Maybe you've got a question. Maybe you've got a comment.

Maybe you've got a critique. You send those to Fred Butler. No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life-transforming power of God's Word through verse-by-verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We're right on Route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.

The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff or management.