Biblical Refutation of John Mark Comer's Polytheism from "Solid Rock" Portland

The Opening of Fighting for the Faith and the Need for Biblical Discernment

It's time for another edition of fighting for the faith. Tuesday January 29th 2013. Got to tell you as I come to the microphone today I Never in my apologetics career thought that I would be having to do a program like today's.

Thank you for tuning in you're listening to fighting for the faith. My name is Chris Roseboro. I am your servant in Jesus Christ. And this is the program that dishes up a daily dose of biblical discernment the goal of which help you to think biblically Help you to think critically.

Help you compare what people are saying in the name of God to the Word of God and the reason why this is Important is not because I have an axe to grind. It's because Jesus himself Said this is important.

Let me remind you again of the words of our Lord from the Olivet discourse. In Matthew chapter 24, here's what here's the setup I'll read verse 1. Jesus left the temple and was going away when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.

But he answered you see all of these do you not truly I say to you there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down and As he sat on the Mount of Olives the disciples came to him privately saying well tell us When will these things be and What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age.

Jesus answered to them see to it that no one Deceives you or leads you astray for many will come in my name Saying I am the Christ and they will lead many astray you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.

So that you may not be alarmed, but these must take place, but the end is not yet. So Jesus is first warning regarding the end times is that you are not Deceived or led astray by false teachers false prophets false Christ people who are teaching false doctrine.

And so this is the reason why we do fighting for the faith to help you not be deceived now real quick. Little bit of house cleaning that I need to take care of. I want to address that Give you some information and then we're going to move on to the program for today.

We're gonna be dealing in a way with a singular topic. It's going to be a long program. There's gonna be a lot of Bible teaching in the first hour. You need your Bibles. In fact while I'm getting this information ready If you don't have your Bible get it.

If you don't have access to a Bible then get ready to write down the references or Don't listen to this episode until you are in a place where you can take notes that just let's put it that way. Okay.

Now yesterday I told you all that I will be lecturing in Norfolk, Virginia on March 2nd. I have the details regarding my lecture engagement and Want to share those details with you so that if you want to come and attend That you can be in the audience and and and be there.

It's a free admission, by the way they don't know charge to show up and the name of the event by the way is Is how not to be deceived bamboozled or snookered by religious hucksters snake oil conmen or your own Idolatrous notions.

That's the name of the event here. Let me read it again. How to not be deceived bamboozled or snookered by religious hucksters snake oil conmen or your own idolatrous notions? Okay, it's hosted by Trinity Lutheran Church in Norfolk, Virginia and they're at six zero zero one Granby Street in Norfolk and The doors open at 9 in the morning and the first series of lectures begin at 930.

I'll be lecturing from 930 to noon. There will be a one-hour break from noon to 1 and then the second round of lectures begin at 1 o 'clock. And we'll be finishing up around 3 in the afternoon. So Admission is free.

And even though Lutherans are monergists, we will be taking a freewill offering. So just want to let you all know that again. It's on March 2nd at Trinity Lutheran Church at six zero zero one Granby Street in Norfolk, Virginia would love to if you can attend would love to see some of you all from the fighting for the faith audience and Just bring something to write with bring your Bible.

It'll be a hopefully a good informative time and my goal in this is try it, you know kind of Pull back the curtain a little bit so you can see the framework that I work with theologically so that you know You can have these same tools yourself.

There's no point in me keeping them to myself. They belong to the church anyway. Okay, so that's the the bit of business that needed to be taken care of. Let's talk about what we're gonna do on today's edition of fighting for the faith now as I said at the opening of the program.

In my apologetics career. I don't think I ever anticipated Having to do a program like today's and what I mean by that is this, okay. How many gods does Christianity believe in and well, I hear the answer from all of you going one.

Right. You've heard of the term monotheism. Yeah, there are three religions on the planet world religions that teach monotheism. Okay, they are Judaism Christianity and Islam, okay. Here's the fun part okay today in our number two, we are going to be listening to a Sermon from a seeker driven multi-site church in the Portland, Oregon area.

Okay named solid rock. That's the name of the the church and you're going to hear their pastor John Mark Comer. You're going to hear him literally teach polytheism. I Am NOT overstating that that is not an exaggeration.

No, I have not been exposed to any illicit drugs nor do I you know, or have I been drinking? Okay. Yes, you heard that right? You're going to be listening to a Sermon and we're gonna be reviewing it and you know the way we do our sermon reviews here from a seeker driven Pastor now I called the church by the way I called solid rock and I talked to one of the staff members there today and I wanted more information about solid rock church because apparently they're not so solid and You wanted to get just a little bit more information about them about their pastor and so I called and was asking questions and the secretary passed me through to one of the the the members on the the staff there and Well, let me kind of relate to you how the Conversation went.

I asked the lady that I was speaking to I asked her straight up. I said How many people attend your church, you know, I mean, are you able to give out? I mean, I see I'm from your website that you're a multi-site church and I was just curious how many people attend there.

You know between your different campuses or camp I on any given Sunday. She was happy to tell me that that that you know that they have literally 7 ,000 people attending on average Every weekend there.

It's solid rock. They've got a downtown Portland campus. They got a west side campus. They got a sunset campus and I think they even have one I don't know if it's up and running yet, but one that supposedly going up in Raleigh North Carolina, I guess but solid rock.

Okay, so they they are they are multi-site seeker driven church and with an average of 7 ,000 people in attendance on any given Sunday. Okay, and then I asked the question has your lead pastor been to seminary.

To which she that by the way, their lead pastors name is John Mark Comer's John Mark Comer and and she said, you know I don't know and I said, is there a way to find out? She said I think he's been to seminary or maybe he's going I Think he may have gone to Multnomah or he's still going to mow.

I'm not sure. That's what she said. Okay, and so I asked if there was anybody that I could talk to to find out and she gave me the information Contact information and so then I asked her. Okay after listening to the sermon I asked her straight up I said so let me ask you do you believe in many gods that there are many many many gods out there?

She says. Oh, yeah, I believe that I Said you are aware that Isaiah 43 verse 10 Says that there are no other gods beside God. Okay before me No, God was formed nor will there be any after me no sooner.

Did I say that she said who is this? I said well my name is Chris Roseboro and I am I work for pirate Christian radio and I host a radio program called fighting for the faith and she says well Yes, I believe my leaders this is what she said I believe my leaders are telling me the truth about the Bible and I said So I just quoted to you the passage and I said so you're going to believe your leaders Rather than the written Word of God.

Regarding whether or not there's one God or many gods. She said yes, I trust my leaders in the Thing that came to my mind is cult. Okay. This is a full-blown theological cult at the very least and so what we're gonna do today and you know You sense a sense of urgency in my voice while there is We're gonna spend some time today.

We're gonna take a look. First of all, we're going to look at what the Bible teaches regarding their only existing one God. There's not there's not many gods out there. There exists only one and the Bible doesn't teach this unambiguously.

It teaches it teaches it straightforward in very clear and succinct and non confusing language, which was to me one of the frustrating things in listening to John Mark Comer's Sermon that you're gonna be hearing in our number two is that he was purposely suppressing and not even bringing these Passages to bear.

Okay, what you're going to hear in our number two is a full-blown seeker driven multi-site church. Teaching that there are many Gods, I'm not making that up. So now like I said You're gonna need your Bible and just so you know, there's not gonna be a break here.

Normally, I you know We have a break at the bottom of the hour and then we do a break at the top of the hour. The first break for today's edition of fighting for the faith will be the only break that we do for fighting for the faith today.

So be advised that we're only doing one break today okay, and the reason why is because I want to spend some time in the biblical text looking at the biblical case for monotheism not polytheism monotheism mono one theism God one God the belief in one God.

This is not I mean Christianity has been monotheistic from its beginning. Judaism has been monotheistic from its beginning. There's reasons for that by the way, because this is what God has said. Okay, so Make yourself comfortable.

I don't have any update music for this make yourself comfortable grab a pen and paper. Get a Bible if you have it follow along. I will be reading from my from the English Standard Version the ESV translation.

So, you know, you know what I'm working from and if necessary I mean I could I could dive into the Hebrew text or the Greek text if I needed to because I I've got them open both on, you know parallel windows here on my on my laptop.

So with that, let's take a look at what the Bible teaches regarding their existing only one God and what we're gonna do is we're gonna start in Deuteronomy chapter 4. I'm gonna start at verse and look at verses 15 through 35.

Deuteronomy chapter 4 15 through 35. Okay, let me read Moses speaking to the children of Israel as they're getting ready to you know. They're hearing the law a second time as they're you know. Getting ready to want wind up their wilderness wanderings and go into the promised land.

Here's what Moses says. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire. Beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves in the form of any figure the likeness of male or female the likeness of any animal that is on the earth the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth and Beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven and when you see the Sun and the moon and the stars All the hosts of the heaven you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven, but the Lord has taken you and Brought you out of the iron furnace out of Egypt to be a people of his own inheritance as you are this day.

Furthermore the Lord was angry with me because of you and he swore that I should not cross the Jordan and that I should not Enter the good land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.

For I must die in this land and I must not go over the Jordan. But you shall go over and take possession of that good land take care lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which he made with you and Make a carved image the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you.

For the Lord your God is a consuming fire and a jealous God when you're when you father children and children's children and have grown old in the land if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything and By doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God so as to provoke him to anger.

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that you will soon Utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it But will utterly be destroyed and the Lord will scatter you among the peoples and you will be left few in number among the nations Where the Lord where the Lord will drive you and there you will serve Gods of wood and stone the work of human hands that neither see nor hear Nor eat nor smell.

But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him if you search after him with all of your heart and with all of your soul when you are in Tribulation and all these things come upon you in the latter days.

You will return to the Lord your God and obey his voice. For the Lord your God is a merciful God and he will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant With your father's that he swore to them for I for ask now of the days that are past Which were before you since the day that God created man on the earth and ask from one end of the heaven to the other whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or Was even ever heard of?

Did any people ever hear the voice of a God speaking out of the midst of the fire as you have heard and still live? Or Has any God ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of an of another nation by?

Trials by signs by wonders and by war by a mighty hand in an outstretched arm and By great deeds of terror all of which the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes. To you it was shown that you might know that the Lord Yahweh is God.

There is No other Besides him. Okay. Now I read all of that in context because There is a in the sermon that you're going to hear. This secret-driven pastor is literally going to try to make the case that listen if you make an idol, you know.

You invent it. That's not really a god, but there are real gods out there Other than Yahweh, there are other gods other than Yahweh, but if somebody carves an image, well, that's not a real God. That's just an idol.

Okay. Now the reason I read all of that in context is so that you can see what's going on here and here's the verse to Deuteronomy 435 to you. It was shown that you might know that Yahweh. That's why it's capital L capital O capital R capital D whenever you in fact whenever you're reading your Old Testament.

Not this isn't the same in the New Testament whenever you're reading your Old Testament. Okay, and you see capital L capital O capital R capital D. There's a reason why the Lord there is all caps and the reason why is because the Hebrew word behind it.

Is the is the actual name of God Yahweh? Okay. So here's what it says to you. It was shown that you might know that the Lord is God. There is no other Besides him. Okay. According to that statement. There is no other God besides Yahweh.

How many other gods are there in the universe or? Anywhere to be found. Answer. There are none. There's not even one. There are no other gods besides Yahweh, this is what scripture reveals now fast forward first Kings chapter 8.

First Kings chapter 8 in This passage we see we're watching the dedication of Solomon's temple. Okay, the speaker here is Solomon. Here's what he writes or this is actually what he said publicly. Blessed be the Lord Yahweh who has given rest to his people Israel according to all that he promised.

Not one word has failed of all of his good promise. Which he spoke by Moses his servant the Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us that he may incline our hearts to him to walk In all of his ways to keep his commandments his statutes his rules which he commanded our fathers.

Let these words of mine with which I have pleaded before the Lord be near the Lord our God Day and night and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel as each day. Requires that all the peoples of the earth may know that Yahweh is God.

There is no other. Okay noticing a theme here. So Deuteronomy chapter 4 first Kings chapter 8 verse 60. Yahweh is God. There is no other. How many gods are there? One now by the way God exists in three persons father son and Holy Spirit.

There are not three gods, but one God, but the topic of the Trinity is for another time here at fighting for the faith today. We're just establishing what the Bible teaches regarding the fact that there is only one God.

Fast forward to Isaiah chapter 43. Okay, we're gonna spend a little bit of time in Isaiah. And unfortunately, I'm not gonna read all of these in context. But I strongly recommend take some time to read through the 40s of the of Isaiah.

I mean, I mean it like start at like chapter 39 and read all the way through to like 49. Huh? When you read this this entire section in context, it's brutal and It's straight to the point but Isaiah 43 verse 10 is the verse we're gonna look at next Isaiah chapter 43 verse 10.

And here's what it reads. Yahweh speaking to the nation of Israel. You are my witnesses. Declares Yahweh. That you and my servant whom I have chosen so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he before me.

No, God was formed. Nor shall there be any after me. Okay, so the two passages we read says Yahweh is God there is no other. They both say the same thing and now in case You were confused Yahweh goes on to basically say before me.

No, God was formed. There are no other gods before me. No, God was formed. Nor shall there be any After me. Now this should alarm anybody who believes in Mormonism. Why. Because the ultimate goal of Mormonism is for you to become a god here.

Yahweh in Isaiah 43 10 makes it absolutely patently clear in Unambiguous language, there's not gonna be any gods formed after him. So if your goal is to become a god a deity you're gonna fall flat because according to Yahweh before me.

No, God was formed nor shall there be any after me. Isaiah chapter 45 verses 5 and 6. Here's what they say. I am Yahweh. There is no other besides me. There is no God I Equip you though. You do not know me that people may know from the rising of the Sun from the West that there is none besides me.

I am Yahweh. There is no other. Isaiah 45 verse 18. Here's what it says for thus says the Lord Yahweh who created the heavens. He is God who formed the earth and made it he established it. He did not create it empty.

He formed it to be inherited. I am the Lord. There is No other. Isaiah 45 verse 22. Turn to me and be saved all the ends of the earth for I am God. There is no other. Isaiah 46 verse 8. Remember this and stand firm recall it to mind you transgressors.

Remember the former things of old. For I am God. There is no other I am God. There is none like me now. Just in those passages alone. Do you think that's enough evidence to say? Okay, there's no other God except for Yahweh.

I'm pretty convinced. I'm hoping you're convinced as well, but let me dogpile for a little bit. Okay, this by the way is not just an Old Testament phenomenon. First Timothy chapter 2 verse 5 the Apostle Paul writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit says this.

For there is one God and there is one mediator between God and men the man Jesus Christ. Paul also writes 1st Corinthians. Let me read to you from 1st Corinthians chapter 8 starting at verse 4. Here's what he says therefore as to the eating of food offered to idols.

We know that an idol has no real existence. Okay. In fact, all false gods are idols especially in the ancient world because that back then what they took idolatry. Seriously at least serious enough to actually go out and and make images of the deities that they claim that they believe in and faint.

In fact, I think it the idea of a non Idol deity that was fairly new to the ancient world. In fact, who was it? Um, there was one Roman general and He actually probably, you know, I think this is about Historically I got to get my date right here.

This is Roseboro's memory. So it's a little bit off but there was it wasn't Antiochus Epiphanes. I think it was him. Okay. Okay. There was a guy who? Who's a Roman general or a pagan? He may have been Greek even he actually violated the temple okay, the the Jewish temple there in Jerusalem and he went into the Holy of Holies and I think it's Josephus that noted the fact that when he went back in there He was shocked and the reason why he was shocked is because There was no Idol inside the Holy of Holies in the ancient pagan temples they had the area called the noose or the mind it and the mind of the temple and in the noose is where the the deity resided and lived and and usually there would be a large statue of the deity inside the inner sanctum the noose of the pagan temples, so this guy goes back in there and There's a lampstand and you know showbread and you know, it's.

This is weird. Okay, we go on I'm in this temple and there's no deity here. Right because God forbade that right? Okay, so, um. Anyway, okay. So let's fast-forward again back to the New Testament. So the time of Paul.

Okay in time of the book of Acts, okay as the church is expanding out into the pagan world. Corinth was a pagan town. In fact, it was a pagan seaport town. Think of it like Like you wouldn't like Las Vegas for the ancient world.

It's kind of like that and and so in order to eat meat a Common practice if you wanted to have fresh meat you would go down to the local temple. Like the temple to Apollo out there in in Corinth and They would sacrifice animals there and then sell the meat.

And so the question is if you're a Christian, can you eat food that's sacrificed to an idol? Can you do that? Because some Christians they you know, you can't do that and other Christians say yeah, it doesn't matter.

Well, this is what Paul's addressing here in 1st Corinthians chapter 8. Here's what it says starting in verse 4 therefore as to the eating of food offered to idols. We know that an idol has no real existence and that there is no God but one.

Again, listen again. There is no God but one. For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth as indeed There are many quote gods and lords yet for us. There is one God the Father from from whom all things and for whom we exist and one Lord Jesus Christ.

Through whom are all things and through whom we exist. Okay, but again the important verse there is verse 4 1st Corinthians 4 8 4 there is no God. But one. Okay fast forward a little bit to chapter 10 of the same book.

Therefore my beloved flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people judge for yourselves. What I say the cup of blessing that we bless is it not a participation in the blood of Christ the blood the bread that We break.

Is it not a participation in the body of Christ because there is one bread. There are many. We who are many are one body for we all partake of the same bread. So consider the people of Israel are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar.

What do I imply then that food offered to an idol is anything or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagan sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be Participants with demons.

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he is? Okay.

So those are the you know, the passages that are very didactic at least they say it straight up. Okay. Now there's also in the Bible several narratives that have to do with Well Christianity or in the Old Testament the case of Judaism coming up against False gods now there according to Yahweh.

There is no other God except for him. No other God was formed before him. No other God will be formed after him. He doesn't know of any other gods. Paul says there is only one God, right? So these narratives that I'm gonna read to you only make sense With the belief and understanding That there are no other gods Except for the one God Yahweh.

Okay Acts chapter 14 verse 8 now at Lystra. There was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking and Paul looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be well Said in a loud voice stand upright on your feet and he sprang up and he began walking and When the crowd saw what Paul had done they lifted up their voices saying in the light in the Laconian language.

The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men. Barnabas they called Zeus Paul Hermes. Because he was the chief speaker and the priest of Zeus whose temple was at the entrance to the city Brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifices with the crowds.

But when the Apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it They tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd crying out men. Why are you doing these things? We also are men of like nature with you and we bring you good news that you should turn from these vain things to a living God Who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them in past generations?

He allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways yet He did not leave himself without witness for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful season Satisfying your hearts with food and gladness even with these words.

They scarcely restrained the people from offering a sacrifice to them. Now notice Paul here Says that their gods are vain. That they aren't even living and he wants them to turn from these vain things to the true and living God.

Do you think Paul for a second believed that there were many gods out there? No, he only believed that there was one. Okay, that's why he said what he said. Let me give you another example game Acts chapter 19 game Verse 23, this is an event that took place in the city of Ephesus now about that time There arose no little disturbance concerning the way.

It's the one of the ancient names for Christianity for a man named Demetrius a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis. He brought in no little business to the craftsmen these he gathered together with the workmen in similar trades.

He said men, you know that from this business We have our wealth and you see in here that that not only in Ephesus But in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people.

Saying that gods made with hands are not gods and there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as Nothing and that she may even be deposed from her magnificent Magnificence she whom all Asia and the world Worship and so when they heard this they were enraged crying out great as Artemis of the Ephesians.

And so the city was filled with confusion and they rushed together into the theater dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus Macedonians who were Paul's companions and travel but when Paul wished to go in among the crowd the disciples wouldn't let him and even some of the Asiarchs who were friends of his sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater.

Now some cried out one thing and some another for the assembly was in confusion and most of them did not know why they had Come together some of the crowd prompted Alexander whom the Jews had put forward and Alexander motioning with his hands Wanted to make a defense to the crowd, but when they recognized that he was a Jew for about two hours They all cried out with one voice Greatest Artemis of the Ephesians great as Artemis of these it right.

Okay. Now this is recorded for us. This is historical narrative, but it's very clear What's being taught here that and that's this idea the reason why Christianity came into conflict with these? With these pagan religions is because it was teaching.

Well, the Apostles were teaching Christianity and saying that Idols are not real gods that there is only one God and that would be Well Yahweh, that's what they were teaching. And the reason why they were teaching that is because that's what God had revealed regarding himself.

Let me give you another Historical account that I think will be helpful here. And this is Acts chapter 17 Starting at verse 16. Here's what it says now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens he was you know, he was waiting for the other brothers a His spirit was provoked within him as he saw the city was full of idols.

So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons in the marketplace. Every day with those who happened to be there now some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also converts with him and some said What does this babbler wish to say.