Living In Light Of God's Word Series

Live in Light of God’s Word

John 8:31-36

Rev. Brian Bill

January 9-10, 2021

Last Sunday, a congressman, who calls himself a “pastor,” ended the opening prayer of the 117th Congress with these words: “We ask it in the name of the monotheistic god, Brahma, and ‘god’ known by many names by many different faiths. Amen and awomen.”

While I don’t make it a practice to critique a fellow pastor’s prayer, I was deeply troubled by what he prayed and have to speak up.

1. According to Hindu cosmology, “Brahma” is the creator of the universe and of all beings. I don’t understand how one who claims to be a “Christian pastor” could direct his prayer to a Hindu god. While Hinduism recognizes over 30 million gods, the Bible is clear there is one God, who created all things and who alone is worthy of worship (see Exodus 20:3-4). 1 Chronicles 16:25 says, “For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; He also is to be feared above all gods.”

2. The Bible is absolutely clear that Jesus is the only way to Heaven. 1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

3. “Amen” is a Hebrew word meaning “so it is” or “let it be,” derived from a verb meaning “to be firm or sure.” It is also translated as “truly” or “so be it.” This word serves as a declaration of affirmation after a time of praise or prayer as seen in Revelation 7:12: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Revelation 3:14 refers to Jesus as the “Amen.”

Prayer to Almighty God in the name of Jesus has nothing to do with gender and to insert “awomen” at the end reeks of political correctness and not biblical correctness.

After sharing this as a post on Facebook on Tuesday, I was stunned to see it was liked over 745 times, over 835 have made comments and it has been shared some 550 times. This shows many others are concerned about doctrinal fidelity and the truth of God’s Word. This response encouraged me.

I begin today with some warnings and a plea for each of us to learn, love and live God’s Word. I’m sounding the alarm about the increasing rejection of biblical truth, both outside and inside the church. Here are some trends I find deeply disturbing. You might want to buckle up.

1. While there’s much to say about what happened at the Capitol this week, it’s best to pray – which is what many of us did on Facebook Live Wednesday night and how we started the service today. I realize there is some debate about who the rioters were but one of the most troubling parts of this for me was seeing flags containing the name of Jesus as the Capitol was breached. What kind of message is being sent when posters declaring “Jesus Saves” are held high while people are fighting police and storming a government building?

2. Next weekend, we’ll focusing on how Jesus loves the preborn. I don’t understand how a pastor can be in favor of abortion since it involves the taking of a human life made in the image of God. One person said it would be like a fireman who is pro-arson or a medical doctor who is pro-poison.

3. The advance of “progressive Christianity,” with its roots in the Emergent Church, is invading congregations, leading to the redefinition of marriage and gender, as well as the doctrines of the Virgin Birth, the deity of Jesus, the Atonement and Hell. Here’s a quote from the Progressive Christianity website: “We affirm that the teachings of Jesus provide but one of many ways to experience ‘God.’”

I appreciated the warning Alisa Childers shared in a post called, “5 Signs Your Church May be Headed Toward Progressive Christianity.”

• A lowered view of the Bible

• Feelings are emphasized over faith

• Essential doctrines are open for reinterpretation

• Historic terms are redefined

• The heart of the gospel message shifts from sin and redemption to social justice

4. The author of the recent “Passion Translation” claims that God downloaded the original languages to him: “He breathed on me so that I would do the project, and I felt downloads coming, instantly…it was like, I got a chip put inside of me.” In addition, he claims Jesus promised to bring him to Heaven to give him a brand new 22nd Chapter of John that has never been discovered (The Gospel of John only has 21 chapters). I’ve reached out to YouVersion and have asked them to take this off their platform. We’ve been in dialog.