An example is the 40 days of tempting Christ went through; Satan quoted the bible in a way to tempt Jesus to do something that wasn’t meant in the scriptures.
Just because someone quotes the bible doesn’t mean that he is heading in the right direction. Hitler even quoted the bible to suit his purposes. I guess you could say he was purpose driven long before Rick Warren came up with the idea. We are told to test the spirits and determine through the Holy Spirits guidance what is right. But if we don’t use the Spirit for guidance then we don’t know where we will end up.
Psychology is a secular tool used to heal people spiritually or emotionally (hmm… I thought that was God’s role) It has replaced our reliance on God and put it in the secular arena or Satan’s domain.
Through psychology we can read other people and determine what is needed to head them in a certain direction in other words to manipulate them. Governments have used this in warfare and now our churches are using it.
Rick Warren believes strongly in reading people and knowing what makes them tick through questionnaires (I won’t mention again that replaces the need for the Holy Spirit). He teaches that people need to feel comfortable and focus on their feelings. This make church people centered, if we have a people centered church where we concentrate on people feeling good we are no longer a God centered church. We have missed the mark entirely. Rick’s underlying theme is that compromise is the answer to feeling good about ourselves. The idea that if someone or something (scriptures) makes you feel bad then it’s wrong (New Age).
You need to pay attention when your church starts embracing ideas and events popular in the secular world and start adapting them to the church, it might be heading in the wrong direction. It’s easy to see how the church can be watered down if we allow ourselves to change values to make the church more acceptable to the world. That’s the whole idea behind Ecumenical Movement and that is to have a “consensus” with other beliefs and incidentally with non believers as Rick states. Consensus is just another way of saying you need to give up some of your beliefs so that you can get along with others and have an easier time of it. I wonder what Jesus would say to that? This is what Margret Thatcher had to say about consensus:
"Ah consensus … the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies in search of something in which no one believes, but to which no one objects; the process of avoiding the very issues that have to be solved, merely because you cannot get agreement on the way ahead. What great cause would have been fought and won under the banner 'I stand for consensus'?" Margaret Thatcher
“In this movement, it is imperative that unbelievers are brought into the church; otherwise, the process of continual change cannot begin. There must be an antithesis (unbelievers) present to oppose the thesis (believers), in order to move towards consensus (compromise), and move the believers away from their moral absolutism (resistance to pagan changes). If all members of the church stand firm on the Word of God, and its final authority in all doctrine and tradition, then the church cannot and will not change. This is common faith.”—Robert Klenck, The 21st Century Church.
What does God's word have to say?:
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword. For
I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother,
and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own
household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matthew 10:34-37
Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful
generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of
his Father with the holy angels. Mark 8:38
The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire
taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the
Lord, and from the glory of his power.. 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9
One way pop psychology works is to label people and things, and many of the basic beliefs in
scripture is being targeted. You are called dogmatic if you stand firm on biblical doctrine. Standing on the word is no longer acceptable, you are called unchanging not able to adapt to the times. But I see that as good thing because is God unchanging.
Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them, for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee. 1 Timothy 4:16
From a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness... 2 Timothy 3:15-16
Dogmatism has come to refer to anyone who stands firm and unwavering on God’s word. Helen Blavatsky used this word dogmatic when speaking about Christian beliefs; Helen was the founder of what we know today as the New Age movement, back in 1875. She claimed that Satan was a victim of an evil God, a belief that underlies many secret societies today and is the main theme in Satanism. Her group founded the
“Lucifer Trust”, which is still around today with a new name “Lucis Trust” which promotes many of the New Age material, and is involved in the United Nations (United Nations New Age? Never).
The targeted scripture and ideas changes from church to church but unless you know and obey the Word of God you will be fooled. Since there is no set area that is attacked in the scriptures, the only way to protect yourself from it is to know the word of God and maintain a strong relationship with Him.
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
(Note above that it refers to a "deceivableness of unrighteousness". If we do not obey the Word of God, we will become part of the coming apostasy:)
Every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. Matthew 7:26-27
Rick Warren suggests to give questionnaires, I have been asked to take these questionnaires and they are little more than psychology profiling questionnaires. They are called spiritual gifts surveys and many other names, but usually have little to do with the label. Warren promotes reading the people and giving them
what makes them happy, like a used car salesman tell them what they want to hear to get them to go in a predetermined direction (manipulate them), all the while making people think that they did it themselves and were not lead by anyone. Something very off the mark with this way of thinking but it is prevalent in our churches today. Similar surveys can be learned about in any university psychology class. I am not saying that all spiritual gifts surveys are evil or misleading and most are not, but we should be aware of the difference of what is a gift survey or something else entirely.One of the most important things God has instructed us to do is to bring others to Christ and be saved and I believe that strongly, but never at the expense or compromise of his Word. There are many more things that could be said about this but for now this is where I will leave it and let the reader think about it.
Many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Matthew 24:11-13
For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Matthew 24:24
for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order, if possible, to lead the elect astray. Mark 13:22
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. 1 Timothy: 4:1
"Your wisdom and your knowledge, they have deluded you; For you have said in your
heart, 'I am, and there is no one besides me'." Is 48:10
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