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The Danger of a Large Ministry
For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be abond-servant of Christ. – Galatians 1:10 (NASB)
There is nothing wrong per-se with mega-churches and worldwide ministries led, often times, by authors of hundreds of books reaching vast audiences. Yet for myself, I cannot think of one worldwide ministry or mega-church that is not promoting some serious errors or folly in its teaching that does not directly assault some fundamentals of historic Christianity.
Take, for example, the Grace-to-You (GTY) organization led by John MacArthur. It is a large ministry which has outlets in various media, and, without question, is a worldwide ministry reaching untold numbers. Yet GTY’s major folly is tickling the ears of thousands who desire sensational prophetic messages in the form of premillenial dispensationalism – a rank heresy.
Another example would be John Piper’s Desiring God ministry, or the Gospel Coalition (TGC), both organizations having widespread audiences and who’s major assault on biblical Christianity comes in the form of New Calvinism, with a major tenant of that system being Gospel contemplationism and a severe downplaying of the necessity of obedience to God’s Word. They are ‘the grace boys’ and their major error is antinomiansm – lawlessness.
Granted, no Christian, or Christian organization is perfect, and we all have faults to struggle with, but large ministries seem to have particular dangers associated with them, namely, the need to tickle ears with false teachings in order to maintain the numbers. The temptation to please men rather than God is a very real danger that increases exponentially as a ministry takes on a larger audience; a danger not because a ministry is large, but because they are run by men.
Food for thought.
Would you comment on Alistair Begg and Truth for life? Thanks, Jim Thompson
Amen.
Salvation is, and has always been, by [God's] grace through [our] faith. Without grace we’re all destined for hell.
It’s impossible for us to obey God’s commands perfectly. If they couldn’t obey 1 commandment in the Garden, how is it possible for us to perfectly obey 3 or 10 commandments? We can’t.
“I do not nullify the Grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” (Gal 2:21)
What God couldn’t accomplish through Law (our justification and sanctification), Christ accomplished by dying on the Cross for our sins.
Grace is not an excuse unto lawlessness, but is humble acknowledgement that we could never do enough right to earn our way to Heaven.
Thanks be to our Holy, EverRighteous, Almighty God for His unmerited Grace toward us who believe. ~Brenda
Isnt calling premillenialism a little harsh and over the top…Many early church fathers such as Iraneous,Papias, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Hippolytus and others taught that there would be a visible kingdom of God upon the earth after the return of Christ….were they heritics also?