New Hate Mail From Vera
Dear Craig,
You are misleading these people into
believing that God accepts them in their sin. Since you are under
this deception, I am going to try and share with you why we do what we
do and hope that you will understand that Jesus did not come to this
earth simply to pardon sin. He came to set us free from sin and no
sinner will enter the kingdom. If you continue in your sin, there
remains no longer a sacrifice for sin. That means that Jesus blood no
longer covers you. Until you repent, you do not know God. If you do
not know God, you are not saved.
Does the world hate you, Craig? Do you care if the world hates you?
Let's
look at Jude 22-23, " And of some have compassion, making a difference:
And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even
the garment spotted by the flesh."
Let's look at 1 Corinthians
6:9-11, " Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the
kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters,
nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind
(homosexuals), Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers,
nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some
of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified
in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
Now
let's read that in The Message, " 9-11 Don't you realize that this is
not the way to live? Unjust people who don't care about God will not be
joining in his kingdom. Those who use and abuse each other, use and
abuse sex, use and abuse the earth and everything in it, don't qualify
as citizens in God's kingdom. A number of you know from experience what
I'm talking about, for not so long ago you were on that list. Since
then, you've been cleaned up and given a fresh start by Jesus, our
Master, our Messiah, and by our God present in us, the Spirit.
Do
you see how this piece of junk takes the warning out of the text
concerning hell's fire? And it does make it sound like Doug and me are
the bad guys and you're the good guy. But if you read this from the
KJV and the original text which you can find on blueletterbible.org,
you will see that the KJV is correct and The Message is watering down
the message.
Where is the part about there no longer being a
sacrifice for sin? It is gone. Where is the part about it being a
fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God? It is
missing. Why? Because this book was written by the enemy to deceive
people into believing they can sin and get a little spank and still get
into heaven. You tell porn stars God loves them. The Bible says that
if they don't repent, they will inherit hell's fire. You tell them God
hates the sin but loves the sinner. What is going to be in hell?
Their sin or them? You don't love them. You hate them because you are
not giving them the real message which is to repent for the kingdom of
God is at hand. That was Jesus message. 2 Tim. 3 tells us the reason
for these perilous times. It is because people have a form of
godliness but deny the power thereof. That is the missing element. Do
you believe, Craig, that God can POWERFULLY free these people from the
sin they are in?
You do not know Jesus or the apostles. You
do not know how strongly they preached against sin and judged sin of
every class of people. Think about Ananias and Sapphira who were
killed for lying. Or look at Acts 13 and while you are reading think
about this. Does Paul concern himself about offending Elymas? What is
the "sign and wonder" that convinces the proconsul that the message is
true?
Craig, you do not know the Lord. You are giving these
folks more sugar coating to their sin. What a shame that you are so
full of deceit and all fraud, a son of the devil, you are the enemy of
all righteousness, and you pervert the straight ways of the Lord.
You
have the favor of man. We do not care about sin nor concern yourself
with how grieved God is over what is happening or how these little boys
were going to the motorcycle convention were being escorted by these
whores and defiled. Jesus said it would be better for them to tie a
millstone around their neck and be cast into the ocean. Picture that.
You are descending at unbelievable speed to the bottom while your body
parts are exploding. Jesus says that this is better than what these
folks will get when they stand before a Holy God. We know how much God
hates sin. When you gloss over sin, you cause people to conclude that
the cross is no big deal. You have no idea what it cost God to die to
take away the sin of the world.
We are not trying to get people to join the Christian club. They must come to God in repentance.
May God open the eyes of your understanding.
-Vera
Read more hate mail here!
...God's kindness leads you toward repentance..
Craig, I really hope this doesn't get to you. The success of your ministry testifies to the fact this is Gods thing.
You really don't approve of their sin... otherwise you wouldn't offer porn-fighting software for free..
It genuinely offends me that these people make judgments about you and about the porn stars.
John 3:17 says that Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save it, and his lifestyle was one of sacrificial kindness and love. Accepting broken people just as they are.
What Vera and others are doing is not what Jesus asks us to. We are called to be "fishers of men" not "fish-mongers of men". This idea of pointing out peoples sin is never going to work. people know right and wrong. People know their sin, deep down. Its the Holy Spirit that convicts. We don't need to do that. We just need to be there to catch the fish that take a bite. (taste and see that the Lord is good - whey! arn't I clever :p)
Keep up what you are doing X3. You are pioneers in showing how web-based ministry works.
Second, Christ's love saves. I have never made someone so afraid they want to join my cause.
Here's to the people in their Christian Box. May God show them that there is no box.
1 John 3:4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
So, Vera, there is no difference between 'big' sinners and 'little' sinners.
In fact, for this very reason Jesus hanged out with sinners, to much dismay of the religious elite of the 1st century. I have not seen a 'big' sinner argue that he is a holy person, but I have seen self-righteous people trying to convince others that a little bit of pride and ungratefulness is not as bad as homosexuality or adultery, etc...
Now, another fact that we all need to realize is that we are NOT saved by what we DO, but by what Jesus has done. Once we trust in HIM, HIS righteousness is transferred to us.
Romans 4:6David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
(note - apart from works means - REGARDLESS of works)
Phil. 3:9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
With this in mind, lets get to the 1 Cor. 6 passage. Is Paul arguing that those that commit sins not saved?
If so, then he is contradicting himself in the following verses, where he tells Corinthians to flee immorality BECAUSE their bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit
1 Cor. 6:16Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." 17But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 18Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
Got that? Paul has NO doubt that Christians at Corinth that were comitting immorality were saved. That's why he says they should STOP committing imorality BECAUSE Holy Spirit lives in them and their bodies are His Temple.
We are saved NOT by works, but so that we can be freed to DO good works. Ultimately, good works lets us enjoy this life and get rewards in heaven, but they have NOTHING to do with our salvation.
In fact, it's possible to commit ZERO good works and be in heaven and dedicate your whole life to good works and be in hell.
Matthew 7:22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
As to the Jude passage, save by FEAR, you want to make sure that you are NOT preaching a different gospel, for the Bible says that whoever preaches a DIFFERENT gospel (a gospel that says you are saved from hell based on your WORKS) .
Gal. 1:8 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
Also, fear and trembling does not mean what many preachers interpret it. I think that fear is a synonym for respect.
1 Cor. 2:3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.
Paul says that he came to Corinthians with fear and trembling. Was he afraid of them or respected them?
2 Cor. 7:15And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling.
Titus was received with fear and trembling.
Hope this helps.
In Christ,
BigV
Thanks Craig, for following Jesus's actions and going out and making fishers of men(and woman).
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
People like this nut give Christians a bad name...
Here is my two cents on JLPS Bibles and Eugene Peterson’s “accuracy” in The Message. While I agree with your previous responder that Peterson does have a valuable, comprehensive, overarching view of the Biblical texts he is presenting, I wouldn't argue with you, Vera, or whomever about it not being perfect in accuracy. The truth is, in this day and age porn stars, porn viewers, luke-warm Christians, and seekers, we are a lazy distracted generation the majority who will not put in the effort to read or digest 400 year old dialect (KJV) in hopes of gaining truth or guidance for our lives. Beyond the obvious benefits in accessibility The Message has brought this and future generations, I am pretty sure EP’s intent was to put a subtly different tone on The Message because of the importance of its message to everyone. And while I doubt even EP would argue that his is the most historically accurate rendering, it doesn't mean that it can't itself in parts be more revealing or informing of what Christ was actually trying to say or communicate than our conventional, church-canonized, historically influenced interpretation. I think many maturing Christians can and do understand a place for his take on the Message in informing their beliefs and changing their lives. Granted we are to be watchful for teachers who tickle our ears, but his work is published by the Navigators who are known for their dogmatism and fanaticism about spiritual disciplines and scripture memory, so I for one am more prone to thank him for his work, than label him modern day heretic.
