2 Timothy 4:3: says “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” I can’t imagine a prophecy anywhere in the bible that has so clearly come to pass in our time.
As I look at the state of the modern church, it pains me to see how far we have strayed and continue to stray from the teachings that Christ and His Apostles left for us to follow. Mega Churches that preach a bastardized, warped version of the gospel that tells people that God wants them to be rich, mainstream churches more concerned with what we think about God than what God actually says about Himself, churches that have embraced popular culture, bringing the profane into the temple celebrating the demonic music and images of the world, and churches that are so desperate to increase membership and offerings that they have defiled what is holy and become a reflection of our twisted sinful society instead of an influence on it. The Burning Sword will take a look at these issues and many more as we attempt to hold the church accountable and expose the lies and false doctrines running rampant through the modern Church.
The Apostle Paul was not shy about using the names of those preaching false doctrines and we will not be either. We will be calling out many popular preachers, teachers and so-called prophets by name when necessary, just as Paul did, challenging them and inviting them to defend their teachings and line them up with the Word. We will be using the names of Churches when appropriate, just as Paul did, calling out practices that we do not believe are consistent with the Word of God and inviting them to defend these practices using ONLY the Word. Everyone claiming to be a follower of the one called Jesus Christ will be fair game (including me) and every place of assembly that meets under the sign of the cross will be eligible for scrutiny (including my own).
As we engage is this exercise, let us be clear about one thing, this is NOT a review or critique of traditions, preferences or cultures in the church. We fully recognize and embrace the importance of everyone - young and old, rich and poor, traditional and contemporary, orthodox and progressive to enjoy a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, to experience an indwelling of the Holy Spirit and to express themselves in the worship of the one true God. However, when our practices, traditions and customs, - no matter how old or new – do not line up with the Word of God as presented to us in the Bible, we believe that it is errant or heretical at best and blasphemous or demonic at worst.
The rules of engagement are simple. There will be no profanity, no character assassinations, no gossip and no name calling. Violators’ comments will be edited or deleted. Most importantly, the only source of reference that we are interested in is the Bible. Mention other texts if you choose but comments that cite other texts without reference to the Bible will be deleted. Use any version of the Bible you prefer but where versions differ, we will go immediately to the original Greek and/or Hebrew Texts. We don’t expect to agree on everything, men (and women) much smarter than us have been debating the Word since there was a Word to debate. However, everything we do, say and teach regarding the things of God must line up with certain universal truths of our Christian faith. If it does not, then we are exactly what Paul describes – hypocrites and liars with dead consciences. (I Tim. 4:1-2)
We look forward to a lively dialogue in the weeks and months (and hopefully years) ahead. We invite your questions, comments, concerns and even topic ideas as we embark upon this journey to see that the Church of Jesus Christ becomes more a reflection of Him that called us than the world he has called us out of.
Thank you for checking in with us. Please join our site by using one of the links to the right or below. God Bless you, and we look forward to whatever God has in store for us.
Darrell J. Davis
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