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541

Bible Discussion / Re: "Know Your Enemy" video playlist by The Fuel Project

« on: March 16, 2021, 07:01:54 PM »

When looking into "The Fuel Project," I initially could not find much that was disagreeable, but that was because if you simply look at the website, they give generalized, vague statements in most of what they say on the surface. Their statement of faith is very cookie cutter, and non-specific.

However, there are some initial problems I'm seeing, and I haven't even looked at any of the teachings yet:
"6. What Bible translation do you use?
Mostly the New Living Translation (NLT) or the English Standard Version (ESV). We also use BibleGateway to check multiple versions so you'll occasionally see others."
http://thefuelproject.org/about-us

That's problem number one. It is very difficult to sanctify oneself from the leaven, when they are studying books that have leavened the Bible. I wanted to look into a few more details on that, but there is no search functionality on their website as far as I can tell, so I'm going to have to go about it another more complicated way.

Mark Fairley, the owner of The Fuel Project, has a teaching where he exposes the origins of Catholicism:
http://thefuelproject.org/blog/2019/10/23/answers-episode-16-whats-the-difference-between-catholicism-and-christianity
However, he ignores the fact that the Bible versions he is using were based on manuscripts that were approved by the Catholic Church. So he's happy to rebuke the Catholic Church, but doesn't want to let go of those things which help him appear to have intellectual credibility with the "theological community."

See Why I Use The King James Bible for more details.

That was just the first red flag to me. The second red flag is that the entire front page of his website is a list of "Buy Now" buttons to purchase books and DVDs.

The third red flag for me was his "About" page, which, once again, has nothing about the Lord Jesus Christ. Take a look for yourself:
The Fuel Project began around 2011 and exists to spread the gospel in creative, beautiful, and inspiring ways. Whether that be through books, videos, photography, music, or art, this ministry is to be a source of information, inspiration and most of all, a source of fuel that ignites real change.

TO-DATE, 150 PEOPLE HAVE WRITTEN TO SAY THEY BECAME A CHRISTIAN AS A DIRECT RESULT OF OUR WORK.

I say "our", because as the ministry has grown over the years, volunteers from around the world have joined together to make this a truly team effort. Animators, musicians, artists and designers have offered their services to enhance the books and videos produced by Fuel. Indeed, the eventual aim is for The Fuel Project to become a creative hub for all kinds of gospel work, with around 4-5 full-time team members. 

Key to our vision is the "Fuel Network", which is continuing to expand in every continent. We are inviting churches and small groups around the world to join together to make a commitment to true discipleship. The Bible says we're not just to be hearers of the word, but doers also, so although we love that people are watching our material, we don't want it to stop there. We want to see Christian groups rise up in local communities to apply Biblical principles wherever they live. The Fuel Network acts as an online directory that allows Christians to connect with each other for this purpose.

You'll find out more about this ministry as you go, but if you have any questions, feel free to get in touch using the form at the bottom of this page. All video series to-date are accessible through the home page too!

Finally, if you'd like to support this ministry, you can do so at patreon.com/thefuelproject. Donations are also possible using the button at the top right corner of this screen. If you'd like to volunteer your skills too, please do! There are positions available on the “Volunteer” section of this website. We'd' be happy to hear from you.

Well, I suppose that Mark Fairley does not believe that Christ or His disciples "spread the gospel in creative, beautiful, and inspiring ways." The way this is phrased, it certainly comes across to me that he has to come up with new ways to "spread the gospel." This not only is indicates that he has ways that are different than Christ's, but it indicates that new ways are necessary, and it indicates that the Holy Ghost is not the one responsible for converting people.

The problem with putting a number of how many people claimed to have been saved from your work in huge bold print on your "About" page, it creates a few problems. First of all, that depends on what Gospel Mark is preaching. I don't know that yet, I'm still looking into this as I go. Many church buildings have comment cards saying "check this if you were saved" and then they add them to numbers, put out bulletins claiming that they got 200 people saved at an event, and the entire purpose of publishing those numbers is to GET MORE RESPECT AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT. It creates prestige to which people respect him because he's got a fancy website with a 150 number.

You'll notice that I don't put such information on our site because it's irrelevant. Certainly, I've had quite a number of emails of people telling me they came to Christ because of what I preached to them, but in the end, they were saved by the Holy Ghost, not by me. Therefore, I don't need to impress people with a number count, so that set off another red flag for me.

The next red flag is this statement:
"We are inviting churches and small groups around the world to join together to make a commitment to true discipleship."
That's his stated goal. Not to bring people to Christ, but rather, he's trying to light a fire under churchgoers. He does not understand that the "fire" he is searching for in peoples' hearts is only given to them by God. He is not acknowledging false converts, and he is not trying to save people as he trying to get them to "make a commitment," and I think that's part of the problem with Vince, as I pointed out in his introduction thread just today.

I'll give you an example, and this comes directly from The Fuel Project website of what Mark believes is a "good example" of a 2-min testimony, from this page:
http://thefuelproject.org/volunteer
Here is the video:
https://youtu.be/h6Ixcunq28o

All this man said was that he was into a lot of criminal activity, then some people preached to him in prison, he "responded to the gospel" (whatever that means), and now he preaches in prisons. That is not a conversion testimony of any kind; it did not testify of much of anything. He basically spent 90 second talking about all the crimes he committed, and then in the last 30 seconds, it was like he was good to go, but there was no repentance of wrongdoing, no guilt of sin, or the blood of Jesus Christ; nothing of the sort.

This is another red flag for me.

See Why Millions of Believers on Jesus Are Going to Hell for more details.

So, that's just an introduction post concerning the subject of The Fuel Project, and I have not yet even touched on the doctrines Mark Fairley has taught yet. We have a problem already that Vince does not seem to know enough about Scripture to know if he is saved, but then assumes he has enough discernment to tell everyone to "enjoy" his suggestions without knowing what or who he is recommending to everyone. That's the danger I see in these kinds of posts from people who have just joined our forum; they do not do enough research and just heap unto themselves (i.e. pile up a bunch of) teachers without caution, thinking that everyone else should do the same.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
-2Ti 4:3

542

Introduce Yourself / Re: Hello, my name is Vince

« on: March 16, 2021, 05:15:07 PM »

Okay, now I may miss some things because there is so much conversation going back and forth, I'm not sure I can keep track of everything. I would normally not chime in, but I think the core issue is not being clearly addressed, so I'm going to attempt to do that.

Vince, what I keep seeing is like an adjustment to what we're saying, rather than a testimony of Jesus Christ. What I mean by that is whenever we point out something from your testimony that is missing from the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you simply change your testimony to match that, as if you are simply adding things in that you believe we want to hear.

I have seen this pattern many times in people who have joined the forum, in which they attempt to just say the "right words" for us to accept them, rather than them testifying of what Jesus has done for them. It was not just in your first post, but all your subsequent posts as well. From the beginning, there was nothing at all about sin, the law, guilt of wrongdoing, or anything else that would indicate that you had to be saved from something. I am not expecting you to come out and write a bunch of comments about those things, but rather, those things should be part of the testimony and conversation you have been having with us, but that's not what I'm seeing.

I want to give you some examples to help clarify this. Now, I read the conversation you had with Tim over the issue of the words I pointed out to you, namely, "striving to be one of the few," which you have said that you "repent" of that or that you were sorry you made that error. I can understand an error; that's not my issue with that. The problem was twofold:

1. The expectation that "cheesy" (as you put it) church-iaty one-liners was going to endear us to you somehow. I'm not sure why you thought that.
2. That your words don't really mean a whole lot to you.

Of course, you might take offense to that last one, but the last one is very important because it will help to demonstrate that you are simply trying to say the "right words" to us for acceptance. Let's go back to the first post:

You said "Thanks for having me onboard"
This was very interesting because you confirmed our acceptance of you before we have even had a chance to read your post. It's a prideful approach that is based on assumption. That alone tells me that you have an expectation that, those who claim to believe on Jesus are automatically expected to welcome you in with open arms, and an arrogant expectation that your knowledge and understanding has reached a level through your experiences that a community such as this would have no qualms about adding you in. So from these very few words, I already saw that, from the beginning, you had expectations that you wanted fulfilled by coming here. This is where the problem started, but I did not say those things initially because I did not want to dive that deep into what you were saying unless it was necessary. (Now, it's necessary.)

You can see it again later, when you said: "You’re at a bit of a disadvantage since you don’t have 100+ hours of my Bible teaching that you can groom through to understand my thoughts."
We can understand your thoughts by the conversation you have with us. We can understand a lot about what you do and do not know based on what you write. I can tell when you are quoting Scripture because you understand it, versus you quoting me quoting Scripture in one of my articles. I know the difference.

If you were to talk to a professional mechanic, do you think he can gauge how much you know about mechanics by having a basic conversation with you? Of course. If you talk with a physician, do you think he can gauge how much you know about medicine by having a basic conversation with you? Of course. If you talk with people who study the Bible and understand the doctrines and philosophy of Christ on a regular basis, do you think they can gauge how much you know about the Word of God by having a basic conversation with you? Of course. We can understand pretty easily the difference between someone who studies God's Word and understands it, verses someone who listens to preachers and repeats what preachers say.

Furthermore, I can understand the thoughts of your heart by what you say, and that is what Jesus taught. (I will explain the Scripture on that in a moment.) The reason you made the excuse of us not having "100+ hours" of Bible teachings from you is because you think that by us spending many hours with you over a long period of time, and getting to know every detail of your life and experience, we will one day accept you as brethren. That is FAR overcomplicating this process.

If a young lady walked into a church building in a string bikini, it would not take long for someone to cover her up and rebuke her for her lack of proper dress. Now imagine a man says, "Hold on a second everyone! I don't think this is right. I think we should allow her to wear that bikini freely among us because, after all, we don't really know her personally yet." Well, obviously, when someone is doing or saying something wrong, you do not have to have 100+ hours of teaching or time with them to learn all their thoughts; you simply rebuke and correct the error.

I don't have to know the ins and outs of everything John MacArthur teaches because he's 501c3 incorporated, teaches error on repentance, and preaches false doctrines on tithe. That's more than enough. I don't need to know everything Alex Jones teaches to know he's corrupt because he will, on the one hand, condemn Catholic secret societies, but then turn around on the other hand and sell Catholic products. That's more than enough. And I don't need to have many nights of intimate conversation with you to know that there is something wrong with what you're telling us, and you are not going to be able to say a special recipe of magic words to fix the problem because such a thing takes UNDERSTANDING, not the right combination of the English language.

You made the comment about 100+ hours because you were really saying, "Look everyone, you don't know me well enough to judge these matters about me." Vince, I can tell by your conversation that you do not have much understanding of God's Word. How do I know that? Well, let's continue to look at the "striving to be one of the few" comment, and I'll try to explain what I think others are having a hard time getting across to you.
I admit my statement of “Striving to be one of the few” was a quick attempt at a final quip, but ultimately was a cheesy wrap up line like “In Christian love”, “In the grip of grace”, or “May grace and blessings be in your path” something I’ve learned well in all my church years. I really meant it in the same vein as Paul spoke of in 1Cor 9:24-27 and not a working for salvation, but my sanctification. Sorry about that.
The "sorry about that" line was not really the purpose of your statement; it was just another added "quip" at the end of that paragraph. You just felt that is what you were expected to say, and added it at the end. There really was not any "sorrow" to go along with that; that's obvious. In reality, you simply tried to justify what you were saying, and even attempted to fallaciously use Scripture to justify yourself. Now, I won't repeat the problem with the Scripture you provided because Tim already addressed you on that, but rather, I want to address you on the fact that your words don't mean much to you.

Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
-Ecc 5:2

We are not supposed to just say whatever we want whenever we want to say it, but rather, we should take consideration of what we say. Why is this so important? Because we will be held accountable for everything we say:
But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
-Mat 12:36

As I said earlier, I can tell what is in your heart by what you say, and Jesus said this:
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
-Mat 15:18
So when something slips out of your mouth, or in this case, in your writing (which is much worse because you have more time to consider your words in writing than speaking), those things come forth from your heart. Therefore, we can understand what is in a man's heart by what he says, and knowing that, I do not need 100+ hours from you to figure that out.

What I see so far is a man who was raised in corrupt church buildings, he was told he was a Christian by false converts, and he has continued to repeat those same things that he learned from those people; maybe adjusting a few things along the way by what might be told by one false preacher here or there.

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
-Col 2:8

You learned the corrupt traditions of men and rudiments (i.e. first principle teachings) of the world, and then repeated those, while trying to force this community of Christians to accept you because you do not want to think about what it would mean if we do not accept you as brethren. Then, you began to backpedal by saying "I appreciate the vetting," even though that was not your initial expectation, but you attempted to transition so quickly that I think some folks here did not catch it.

The problem with this is that you are not acknowledging the truth because you have gained understanding, but you are simply trying to relearn saying the wrong things (i.e. that you learned from the corrupt church buildings) to saying the "right" things (i.e. by copying what we are saying to you). Saying the "right things" is not going to solve the problem because we have more discernment than that, and it's not what we are looking for from you.

We are trying to get past the surface level to get to the core understanding, but it's like we are talking to a robot. Let me show you what I mean; Tim said:
Just like the prodigal son came to his father in the humility of repentance saying that he was not worthy to be a son, that is the same repentance that God looks for in anybody that comes to Him. The same for how David came to God in repentance in Psalm 51 that I quoted earlier. Then simply believe on Jesus Christ and that He died for your sin to free you from the punishment of hell.
Then you kinda' just repeated what he said and gave a generic response:
As I consider this I believe that I am born again as being described here. As I've read the story of the prodigal son, and also how David came to God in Psalm 51 I see this as my hearts attitude towards the Lord.

That is completely robotic, almost like a politician. It's as if you are not even talking with us, but just giving a public relations response that you think will be accepted by the public at large. I'm sure you are currently familiar with the fiasco that is New York governor Andrew Cuomo. Let's say he was told that a governor should stand for the Constitution of the United States and do work out of concern for the people, and he responded by saying, "I believe that describes me best. After reading the Constitution, I see this as my heart's attitude towards the people." We would all either laugh or puke at that robotic, PR response because we know it's not real; he's just putting on a show for the media.

The more I read your posts, the more I feel like I'm reading someone putting on a show. Now, that being said, you did make an attempt to give some sort of testimony of your conversion to Jesus Christ, so let's take a look at that:
http://www.creationliberty.com/forum/index.php?topic=1304.msg10855#msg10855
Yes, right about the age of 13 I made my public confession of faith in what Jesus has done for me on the cross and committed my life to follow Him, and was baptized.
Even from the start, that's the problem. You said you don't believe in works-based doctrines, but when giving a testimony of Christ, you start out by saying (in a MacArthurian way), "Well, I publically confessed Christ, committed my life to Him, and got baptized." I don't know if you are aware of this, but that is ALL WORKS, which brings us back to your original comment, "striving to be one of the few."

Your conversation keeps pointing to the fact that, even though you may say you believe in "grace through faith," you still believe you are saved by works. That's why I do not believe that you understand the doctrine of repentance at all.

You go on to say:
From my previous post I mentioned that my Mom had left the church she had grown up in, and I'll also mention my dad grew up in as well as their parents, grandparents and ggparents, etc. and started attending a church up around Syracuse, IN when I was around 10.
Even though as I look back now there was considerable error in some of the doctrines in the church my mom started attending, they were also pretty right on in the error in celebrating the pagan holiday's we have today e.g. Easter, Halloween, Christmas, and probably the others. The bible teacher was educated and previously a professor at Grace Seminary in Warsaw, IN. I see him as a man that was very well studied in scripture, and knew how to use it to influence less knowledgeable laypeople in the church. That being said it still was the word of God being read and taught, which is what I ultimately heard and was drawn to.
It's not wrong to share information like that, but still, that's not what we're looking for. Whether some leavened church building celebrated pagan rituals or not is irrelevant to what's being asked of you.

At 13 I was aware of what sin was, and it's hold on my life.
So do criminals. We've had men in our church who visited prisons to talk with the men there, and they will tell you that they are sinners. What's the difference between you and them?

I also knew that I was ultimately powerless in getting it out of my life, and was sorry that it was in my life and really had no desire to justify it or have it in my life.
That's what I mean. There is no sorrow for what you have done, but rather you are "sorry that sin is in your life," which is distancing yourself from guilt. You speak of it as it is a thing that just happened to be attached to you, and that since you can't do anything about it, it's not really your fault.

I knew that God was the source of life and that he had created this world as good, and we had fallen from that, and our sins were against Him and the laws he has established in his word.
Yeah, this is the same standard lines repeated from the pulpits of church buildings. Knowing that God is the "source of life" does not save anyone.

I know that if I wanted to be in a right relationship with him I needed to embrace what his son had done on the cross in taking on my sins, which I hated and was sorry for. Like Chris's analogy of the man pushing me out of the way of a bus and being hit himself instead of me.
No, you didn't even understand my analogy. In the analogy, you are saying that the proper reaction to the man getting hit by the vehicle to save your life, as his blood and guts are strewn out across the road, is to say, "Hmm. Ya know, I think I need to have a proper relationship with him." Please tell me you're joking; certainly you cannot be that cold, can you?

So, all that I've mentioned before is really a testimony of the sanctification process God has been taking me through,
So here, you have admitted that you have no testimony of your conversion to Jesus Christ, which is exactly what I was pointing out to you in my previous post. You were not testifying of it before (because you just said that everything aforementioned was not your testimony), but that this was supposed to be your testimony, and I can tell you with certainty from Scripture that it is not what the Bible teaches about those who are saved by grace.

You just repeated exactly what the people in the church buildings told you that you had to say in order to be accepted when you were thirteen. And now, still today, you are repeating exactly whatever we tell you that you have to say in order to be accepted. That's not why we are here; we are here to preach repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow) and remission (i.e. forgiveness) of sins.

And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
-Luke 24:47

Doing a bunch of traditions or rituals or baptisms does not save anyone. The Bible clearly teaches that the heart that the heart must be humbled and crying out to God in the same manner that child comes in tears to his father when he has done wrong.

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
-Jms 4:6-10

I cannot teach that, meaning that I cannot bring anyone to repentance. None of us can do it. Only Holy Spirit can do that. If that is something you cannot recall experiencing, then the only thing you can do is pray that God would bring you to repentance so you can be born again.

There is not much else I can say to help you understand. I have provided everything I know how to provide in terms of information; outside of that, none of us have any power to help you any further. From what I can see, if you are telling me that you have been born again in Jesus Christ (and possibly a veteran Christian longer than I have been saved), I simply do not believe you because your conversation does not reflect it.

543

Wild Emails @ CLE / More Slap-n-Run From Churchgoer

« on: March 16, 2021, 03:09:45 PM »

THOMAS FROM "USA" - March 15th
Just wanted to drop a note to inform you that I have a difficult time reading your material. It is very clear that you do not like church buildings for that theme runs through most (if not all) your writings. I'm not fond of Western religion either, but I do not harp on it nor insult those who attend church buildings, nor their pastors. Perhaps you could use a softer tone on the sins of the world.
Please send me your website/ministry so I can take a look at it. You write as if you have a lot of experience in ministry, so I would be interested to see your articles, books, and audio/video teachings you have been doing over the years so I can see this better example you are expecting others to set. Looking forward to hearing back from you on that.
20 MINUTES LATER...
I see you still have bad behavior as you said you had in Ohio. Where is your joy?  Online ministry is for those with church buildings and for those who hate differing opinion.
It is not necessary to respond.
I'm sorry but, if we have met, I do not remember who you are. Nonetheless, you did not respond to my request for your example of ministry for me to learn from. Do you not want to teach me a better way? How do I have "bad behavior" for simply requesting that you show me your version of ministry?
If you are going to continue to provide responses that have nothing to do with what I wrote to you, then we are not having a conversation together. If you do not want to have a conversation, then I am perplexed as to why you even bothered to write an email in the first place.
Surely, you would have had no problem letting me know if you had a ministry to provide an example. Does that mean you do not have one? I would not want to presume that you spoke in arrogance without understanding, so I want to give you every opportunity to clarify what it is you do and what you believe.
36 HOURS LATER...
Okay, well, your silence confirms everything I need to know. I will not take advice from someone who cannot be reasoned with, and I will not take advice from those who speak arrogantly and lazily, without having any understanding of the subject matter. You provided no specific examples of what I have done that was wrong (or even what had offended you because you likely have no knowledgeable argument against whatever it was that upset you), and refused to provide information when it was requested of you, which means I am dealing with the equivalent of a childish tantrum. I did not want to treat you in that manner, as I began to treat you respectfully, but you have left me no other option but to rebuke the foolishness of such an immature attitude.

Furthermore, I refuse to accept any advice from someone who wars against the Lord Jesus Christ as you do. Perhaps you did not think you did such a thing in your letters, but it's obvious to those who study the Word of God and take the Bible seriously. For example:
And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.
-John 2:13-16
Of course, what Jesus did there was far more aggressive than anything I have ever come close to doing, but He was right in what He did. And yet, if Jesus Christ came to this world in physical form today, you would arrogantly say to Him: "I see you still have bad behavior as you said you had in Jerusalem."

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
-Mat 7:21-23
Such people will be cast into hell and the lake of fire. I will not be casting them there; Jesus Christ will do that. However, if He were physically on earth today, you would hypocritically turn to Him and rebuke him by saying; "Perhaps you could use a softer tone on the sins of the world."
Why Millions of Believer on Jesus Are Going to Hell
Perhaps you should try reading Revelation 8 and 9 and see what the Lord God will do to the sinners of this world in the end, and then go to Him and tell Him how wrong He is for it.

It is extraordinary hypocrisy that you expect me to be "soft" on such matters, when you have displayed no such "soft" attitude in your letters to me. The problem with Thomas from "USA" is that he believes that anyone is wrong if they disagree with the personal feelings of his heart (which is completely self-serving)...
He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.
-Pro 28:26

...instead of judging righteous judgment to look at what the Bible says we ought to do, and discerning the truth based on the Word of God.
Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
-John 7:24
For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
-Heb 5:13-14

While scoffing and scorning in the vicious, backbiting manner you have displayed, you have the hypocritical audacity to question where my joy is.
A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.
-Pro 14:6
A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.
-Pro 15:12
Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
-Pro 22:10

The problem with the churchgoers in the "church buildings" you mentioned is that they quickly (i.e. anon) with joy receive the Word of God, but when persecution and tribulation comes from the controversy of speaking the truth of God's Word (which most of them avoid doing so they will not have to suffer persecution), like yourself, they are offended. Such are what Jesus described as false converts:
But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
-Mat 13:20-21
False Converts vs Eternal Security

While skulking around in the darkness, hiding your beliefs so you will not have to come under scrutiny, you write slap-n-run letters to people and think you are justified. You will not have justification on that matter when you stand before God to give an account because you do such things without repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow of wrongdoing):
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
-John 3:19-21
Is Repentance Part of Salvation?

God gives grace to the humble, not the proud of heart who refuse to have a reasonable discussion with someone.
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
-Isa 1:18

He has called the world to be humbled, to turn their joy to heaviness, so they will understand godly sorrow (i.e. repentance):
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
-Jms 4:6-10

That is why I make my ministry, testimony, and teachings open in the light, and that is why you still hide in the darkness. (I confess that I am a bit curious though because I cannot see exactly what your for-profit company, Souls Anchor Inc, used to do in Georgia before you deregistered it.) You have the attitude of what the Bible calls a 'railer', which is one who claims to be of Christ, but resorts to evil words, curses, murmuring, and backbiting. God says they are wicked in their hearts, and we are to sanctify ourselves from them:
But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat... Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
-1Co 5:11-13

Everything you have said has opposed the Word of God, and you are willingly blind to that fact. Despite those things, I pray the Lord Jesus Christ would bless you and your family with all your needs throughout the coming week, and I also pray that He gives you as much grace and mercy as He has given to me. This is how the Bible says we should speak with railers:
Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
-1Pe 3:9
I need to get back to work now. I hope there is peace in your household. Have a wonderful day, and I pray the Lord Jesus Christ would give you repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, just as He has done for me.
In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
-2Ti 2:25
END OF DISCUSSION
This is just another typical hypocrite who is whining about something. Someone shared one of my books or articles with him, he might have read a few paragraphs of it at most, and then wanted to whine about it. I always wonder if these people expect me to read two sentence of their whining and just throw away the past 12 years of ministry because they didn't like something. I just cannot understand why someone would think that their scoffing little email is going to change everything, or why they think the world is going to succumb to their personal feelings.

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What's New @ CLE / (WEEKLY TEACHING) Corruptions of Christianity: Catholicism p23

« on: March 15, 2021, 03:08:34 PM »

545

Introduce Yourself / Re: Hello, my name is Vince

« on: March 11, 2021, 10:07:27 AM »

I had the same concerns as Tim when I read your response. As much as you claimed to understand repentance and the Gospel, your last line told me something completely different:
"Striving to be one of the few"

That indicates to me that you do not understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ because you believe that in order to be one of the "few" who find the way to eternal life, that you have to "strive" to get there. Such a thing cannot be accomplished by your works; you can't claw your own way into heaven.
And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
-Rom 11:6

You cannot "strive" your way to salvation and eternal life, and that sounds like you have the "churchgoer" beliefs of the church buildings you grew up attending. You went from skipping over that subject to talking about Q drops, and I see that you went straight from your last response over to the Insurrection thread, and that was one of my concerns before I even started that thread. I wondered if it was going to be a problem later. We've had people jump on to this forum and kind of blow past the salvation part so they can start discussing more worldly matters. Frankly, if that thread is going to be a distraction from the basis of the Gospel, I'll delete the whole thing, or at least move it to the private section of our forum; I have no problem doing that.

This subject is far more important, and I can agree with Jeanne's post too. No one is just born into salvation. That's why Jesus said you have to be born again. People CAN be born into being a churchgoer, but that's a different matter entirely. The problem is that when they're born into being a churchgoer, they think they have nothing to be sorrowful for (except worldly things), and that comes back to what Jesus said in Revelation:
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
-Rev 3:17

I’ve been a believer in Jesus Christ for as long as I can remember.
I was raised with Christian values,
Statements like that do not give any indication of what Jesus did for a sinner to save him. Saved from what? You gave us nothing. Therefore, from the perspective of those who have been saved, this is not a "testimony" of anything except your "churchianity" experiences. I cannot even imagine someone approaching the judgment seat of God and when they have to give an account, they say, "Well, I’ve been a believer in Jesus Christ for as long as I can remember. I was raised with Christian values, and I made sure to faithfully listen to the X22 Report." -- and then they think God's going to say, "Well done my good and faithful servant, you went to church buildings and listened to podcasts! You did it!" I really don't get why people have that mentality other than the fact that they do not understand what Jesus taught about repentance and faith, and what those things mean.

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
-Mat 13:23
False Converts vs Eternal Security

There was nothing in your posts that remotely involved sin, the law, guilt of anything, nor being saved from those things, and the only time you mentioned repentance (i.e. godly sorrow of sin) was because someone else asked you about it. Then, in your response, there was really nothing about your personal testimony of those things. You basically said, "Great study, I appreciate it. I was wondering about some aspects of that, and so I'll keep praying for understanding." -- and then you just moved on from there to start talking about some other preacher and your marriage.

It's like these things are just blowing right past you without actually piercing the mind and heart.
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
-Heb 4:12

Let me try to explain this a different way, and then perhaps you'll understand our perspective a little better:

Let's suppose you were walking down the street and did not notice a truck speeding up behind you, and right before it struck you, a man jumped out and pushed you out of the way. The truck hit the man and killed him instantly, but the man saved your life. In that particular moment, what is your reaction? When you approach the man who was hit by the truck, the man that saved your life, and you're looking at his bloody corpse, what is your reaction?

Would your reaction be to say, "I'll strive to do better." Would your reaction be to casually say, "Hmm, that's very interesting." Or, would your reaction be grief? We have read and listened to many testimonies, and I can tell you, I'm seeing nothing in your posts that indicate to me that you have a "relationship" with God.

Would you entertain the thought that you do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ, or is that a foregone conclusion in your mind? I'm not going to push the matter with you if that's what you want to believe; I'll just bid you a good day and move on. However, the problem is that men like John MacArthur (who is a false preacher I want to do a "Wolves in Costume" article on) puts the idea in peoples' minds that if they "love Jesus," they're salvation is secure, treating grace like it's a free sample at a grocery store (as opposed to a selective gift), and they have no understanding of what it means to be converted because John MacArthur himself was never converted. Essentially, it's churchgoers convincing other churchgoers that they're all faithful servants of God, without any concern of what it means to be saved.

That's what I'm seeing. I was waiting for others here to chime in first before I said anything, but as you can see, not very many people have responded. There is a long-standing habit of the Christians here that if they are confused or unsure about what a person says when they come here, they stay silent, and typically, it's because they do not know what to say or how to approach that person. As you can see, there are a lot of people here confused by your introduction post, or they would have said something already.

I'm not sure what else to say, so I'll stop there. All I can say is that when I'm reading your posts, I get the impression of a man who is a very experienced churchgoer, but I do not get the impression of someone who has been born again in Jesus Christ.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
-Mat 7:21-23
Why Millions of Believers on Jesus Are Going to Hell

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What's New @ CLE / (WEEKLY TEACHING) Corruptions of Christianity: Catholicism p22

« on: March 08, 2021, 01:46:50 PM »

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What's New @ CLE / (WEEKLY TEACHING) Corruptions of Christianity: Catholicism p21

« on: March 01, 2021, 03:04:04 PM »

548

What's New @ CLE / (VIDEO) CLE Insurrection Update | 2-26-21

« on: February 27, 2021, 09:21:28 PM »

549

What's New @ CLE / (WEEKLY TEACHING) Corruptions of Christianity: Catholicism p20

« on: February 22, 2021, 03:19:46 PM »

550

General Discussion / Re: Kevin, Can You Help Solve This Mystery?

« on: February 18, 2021, 11:57:43 PM »

Yeah, it sounded ridiculous, but I wanted to run it by you first.

551

General Discussion / Kevin, Can You Help Solve This Mystery?

« on: February 18, 2021, 07:59:06 PM »

Some people around the U.S. are reporting strange snow that can burn:
bitchute.com/video/8vingAfqAxGX/

I just wonder if this is some sort of normal phenomena that is scientifically valid, or if they're on to something here. Please let me know your thoughts. We tested ours, and it melts like normal.

552

Introduce Yourself / Re: "...and the truth shall make you free"

« on: February 17, 2021, 10:17:54 AM »

Steven, you're not going to like what I'm about to say. I just want to preface that to try and prepare you. If I take what you just said at face value, this reads out like the typical false convert I have seen time and time again.

In fact, your testimony is almost precisely what Jesus described in the parable of the sower:

But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
-Mat 13:20-21

The word 'anon' means "quickly," and such men receive the word with joy, rather than grief. Repentance is grief and godly sorrow of one's wrongdoing, not a "change of mind."

Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
-2Co 7:9-10

Learn more: Is Repentance Part of Salvation? (Part 1)

Since you said you were familiar with Luke, Jesus opened the understanding of His disciples before His return to heaven, after He had accomplished everything He set out to do, and gave them commandment of what they were to teach:

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
-Luke 24:44-47

Learn more: False Converts vs Eternal Security (Part 1)

Everything Christ did culminated in the doctrine of repentance and remission of sins. Again, the word 'repent' generally means "grief," and in the context of mankind, it means "godly sorrow of one's own sin." The word 'remission' means "forgiveness," which means there is no forgiveness of sins, there is no grace, without humility in the godly sorrow that is repentance.

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
-James 4:6

If you understood your own sin, and you understood what Jesus Christ had done, then you would also understand why your introduction post makes no sense to us. (i.e. Two others on this forum already noticed the same thing I noticed before I got to it.)

For example, if you were walking across the street and did not see a fast approaching vehicle, but another man pushed you out of the way, he got hit by the car, and died... what would be your reaction? Is your reaction to "keep an open mind and follow your heart?" Is your reaction to investigate the laws of physics and discover how you were deceived about the inner workings of the automobile industry?

Those of us who know Jesus Christ don't just know His sacrifice; rather, we understand it.

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
-Mat 13:23

I know you think you understand things now because you've studied the ins and outs of corporations, but that is not how the Bible says men are converted. I would challenge you to find anywhere in Scripture where men were converted by saying, "Well, I was born into this world a Christian, but I didn't take it seriously. Now I'm serious."

There are many more things that could be said, but I want to keep focus on the basics, and try to demonstrate to you that your thinking is not in line with Scripture. You said:
"I knew there were more mysteries surrounding the Bible yet uncovered, so I kept an open mind and followed my heart."

Following your heart is exactly the problem:

He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.
-Pro 28:26
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
-Jer 17:9

I can think of no more to say for the time being; only that everything you have said so far points to false conversion, and as the others so accurately pointed out, there was nothing remotely pointing to Jesus Christ in what you wrote, which strongly indicates a man who follows the feelings of his heart, rather than the truth of Jesus Christ. I hope those teachings might help, and since you said you had been listening to teachings, I gave you links to audio teachings; the links to the written teachings are in the descriptions of the videos if you need them.

Finally, I noticed that you cut out a small phrase of John 8 in your title, rather than understanding the context. The truth alone does not make men free, but rather:
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
-John 8:31-32

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General Discussion / Re: 2nd Amendment Rights

« on: February 10, 2021, 09:09:11 PM »

Just because I fixed the foreign character issue, does not mean that this forum is designed to recognize all images of any kind. Some of us may be able to view them, but others cannot. I hope everyone just keeps that in mind when using such things.

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What's New @ CLE / (WEEKLY TEACHING) Corruptions of Christianity: Catholicism p19

« on: February 08, 2021, 04:40:06 PM »

555

What's New @ CLE / Re: (VIDEO) My Last Video on YouTube (For Now)

« on: February 06, 2021, 02:33:12 PM »

I have never collected any ad revenue from any media site, and I make everything free without ads if I can help it. Rumble may have some ads on the side of the page, but that is automatic; I cannot turn that off because Rumble has to create ad revenue for itself to be sustainable (which is understandable because they are not a billionaire media giant like Google/YouTube), but please note that I am not making revenue off that, and there should not be any video ads inserted into the video itself.

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What's New @ CLE / (VIDEO) My Last Video on YouTube (For Now)

« on: February 04, 2021, 03:44:06 PM »

557

General Discussion / Forum Problems Solved!

« on: February 04, 2021, 02:19:53 PM »

I have finally fixed the issue with your posts getting cut off due to the UTF-8 coding issue! You guys should now be able to freely post from your smart phones without any problem. Just let me know if there are any other issues you are having. 

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What's New @ CLE / (VIDEO) CLE Insurrection Update | 2-2-21

« on: February 02, 2021, 10:17:23 PM »

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What's New @ CLE / (WEEKLY TEACHING) Corruptions of Christianity: Catholicism p18

« on: February 01, 2021, 04:14:15 PM »

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Introduce Yourself / Re: Not born again

« on: January 30, 2021, 12:58:23 PM »

Is this the first time you have heard the doctrine of "repentance and remissions of sin" that Jesus taught?

And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
-Luke 24:46-47