Yes... I'm Intorerant!
By George Stroh
March 12, 2012
I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His Kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
(2 Timothy 4:1-4)
Last night I watched CNN personality Piers Morgan interview Pastor Mark Driscoll, the Pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. It was hard to watch and one of those times when you just want to scream at your TV! The subject was Driscoll and his wife Grace's controversial new book; "Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship and Life Together".
Piers Morgan, a Roman Catholic, made a number of outrageous and offensive comments such as, "We need to drag the Bible, kicking and screaming, into our modern-day culture. The church needs to be tolerant and accepting of loving homosexual relationships." Not much mystery about the lack of Mr. Morgan's biblical understanding and faith. Anyone who believes that the Bible should be brought into conformity with the culture, simply doesn't understand that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, eternal, totally sufficient word of God. It transcends cultures and is completely sound doctrine and truth.
Mr. Morgan's biblical ignorance and his blasphemous comments about the Bible, while not surprising, are representative of the thinking of most lost sinners. They want Christians to set aside any idea of absolute truth and be more tolerant of their sin, false teachers and false or unsound doctrines. These unbelievers are comfortable in churches where biblical truth is either not emphasized or not correctly preached; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:1-4).
I will not be reading Pastor Mark Driscoll's book. I have heard and read enough about him and his ministry to know that he is one of those teachers that attracts weak Christians and unbelievers who like to have their "ears tickled". Pastor Driscoll, like every Pastor, has a solemn responsibility to "preach the word". Someday, every Pastor's preaching/teaching ministry and motives will be judged by God Himself. And only that preaching/teaching that is of "sound doctrine" will be acceptable to Him; All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16)
At Maranatha Bible Church we seek to please God and preach His Word alone which often rightly describes us as being intolerant! Those looking for a church where biblical truth doesn't matter, where there are no absolutes, where modern day culture, mores and philosophy trump biblical commands, where everyone and everything is tolerated and where preaching "tickles your ears", won't like our church.
That's OK... What matters is what God likes; To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:21) Maranatha!
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