Ashamed of His Name

Acts 20:29-30 - For I know this, that after my departing shall grevious wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.


This past weekend a conference was held in Seattle, Washington called Seeds of Compassion conference. It dealt with discussing the plight of suffering in the world and with an emphasis on children. A noble humanitarian effort. The speakers were going to be religious men and women from all perspectives of spiritual truths and the conference was headed by the head of the Tibetan monks, the Dalai Lama. Many would be given prominent places to speak and share their views on spirituality to those in attendance as well as in the distributing of recordings around the world. There were two Christians pastors that were also invited, Doug Pagitt of the Solomon’s Porch Church in Minnesota, and Rob Bell of the Mars Hill Church in Michigan.


These two men were given parts in a panel discussion, but no place to speak alone. A discernment blog called A Little Leaven has posted the two recordings of what Mr. Bell shared when given the chance. As you view these two video clips, remember that the overwhelming majority of people there were lost and followers of all sorts of different gods. If they were going to hear the name of Jesus, it would have to come from Mr. Bell. You can listen to both discussions in their entirety here. On the event guide side, scroll down to the last two events and click on the Interfaith Discussion. Christianity was not represented.

This is the type of Christianity that is being processed to the lost in today’s Christian world. In these inter-religious discussions we can hear idol worshipers bolding stating their spirituality while a Christian pastor speaks some gibberish which means nothing in a Biblical context. Many thousands of believers went to their death and many more were sent to prison for speaking the name of Jesus Christ, and yet today His name gets no mention before the gods of the heathen. Sports figures say His name sometimes on television but pastors are too sophisticated or intimidated to even give Him a slight mention.

If you are a sincere follower of the Lord Jesus you should, no, you must be offended and grieved as well. This is not New Testament Christianity, and all this double speak about the “journey” or the “destination” ministers nothing to anyone and fits in nicely with the New Age teachings on spirituality. We must continue to pursue love and grace, but in these issues the Lord Jesus is being misrepresented and by their silence they lie. We have taken what is sacred and meshed it with the profane. Even some “clown” churches give some form of the gospel and even speak his name. But this intelligent Christian representative of Jesus speaks some well crafted and intellectually palatable sentences that everyone on the panel can agree with, including a feeble reference to the resurrection without Jesus. Using the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as a rationalistic metaphor to personal well being, couched in some “endure suffering so you can be a better person” philosophical advice, is blasphemy.


Jesus is a stumbling block, or in the Greek, a scandalon (σκανδαλον). His claims are so outrageous, so divisive, so embarrassing, and so eternal that they are scandalous. And so we have men who claim to be building bridges, but they continually build bridges to...nowhere. Why? Because the Lord Jesus is a scandalon and will make others uncomfortable. Jesus Himself said He was the I AM, the Greek for YHWH, and they took up stones to kill Him. Jesus claimed to be God in front of a Jewish conference, but His professing followers are embarrassed to speak that name before men. And the Lord Himself said "If you will not confess me before men, neither will I confess you before my Father".


It would be better to stand outside the building and speak His wonderful name, than to sit on a platform with idol worshipers and say nothing, which is what Mr. Bell actually said. Rare are the platforms like this one that carries with it the opportunity to speak a word in season like “apples of gold in pictures of silver”. One could even supply some caveat like “I do not wish to start controversy but…”. Something, anything about our Savior should have been said. Jesus was tortured, nailed to a cross, and died almost naked in front of, as it turns out, all of history, and we cannot say His name in front of those for whom He died? What a disgrace to His everlasting redemption.


We as Christians are called to be Christ on many, and in fact, all levels. Is the servant above his master, asks our Lord. If they hated Me, Jesus says, they will hate you also. Why would some hate us? Not because we have set out to be hated and not because we speak words of hate. It is because we preach Christ, and Him crucified. And when we preach Jesus as Lord and Christ, some will receive that Word with joy while others will hate us for His sake. When all men love us and feel no sense of contradiction about the god of their hearts and Jesus the Christ, we then have done them a grave disservice and indeed we have besmirched the Lordship of His name.


There is only one Lord, and although we can speak words of grace, words of compassion, and words of hope, they must contain the Lord Jesus and His gospel. Panel discussions with other religions are ineffective at best, but worthless and disgraceful is the discussion where a follower of Jesus will not even speak His name. Every knee will one day bow before that name and many have been put to an early death because of that name. Millions are in eternity worshiping the bearer of that glorious name and more millions in hell curse that name. His name means salvation and there is no other name under heaven whereby men must be saved.


To be asked to be on an interfaith panel that is built upon religious pluralism probably is a reflection of the lukewarmness and pluralistic nature of that man’s ministry, for he would never have been invited had he been clear and uncompromising about the Lord Jesus. We now live in an evangelical world where Dagon invites the ark to dwell with him because God’s presence has left and the word Ichabod, the glory of God has departed, is unmistakably etched above thousands of church doors in the west. And like lava running into a town the deception continues to invade believers and unbelievers alike.


Knowing the Bible does not insulate you from deception, and knowing some type of rabbinical structures and procedures does not mean you have not embraced deception. To sit among the idol worshipers of the world and offer your intellect instead of the only hope they need is an exquisite showcase for liberal Christianity. This was not a discussion on plumbing, although an anointed preacher would find a way to present Christ even in that context. This was a conference on spirituality and as one of the videos clearly showed some were not afraid to present their spiritual views and quote from their holy books and describe their gods.

One lady quoted the Koran, some spoke of their god, and the Dalai Lama spoke of Buddha. But Mr. Bell said nothing of Jesus, while in the second session Doug Paggit mentioned Jesus as an adjective referring to his faith as a “Jesus tradition”. To say it was compromise is to give it more legitimacy than is warranted. It is a captured revelation of how far astray the evangelical world has gone until there is actually no Jesus left.


I appeal to all me brothers and sisters, all the discernment ministries, that we all grieve in our hearts for the day of betrayal has come and we must warn others with tears in our eyes and hearts. The craftiness of man has replaced the offense of the cross and the gospel message that tells the story of the glorious redemption in all its suffering majesty is now not worth telling. Someone may be offended but He was not ashamed to call us friends. We dare not go outside the world’s topics while Jesus came to suffer the contradiction of sinners against Himself. We should retain our public dignity while He was mocked. He was called Beelzebub while they call us "wonderful reverend”.

When I first came across the Emergent Church movement it was through a brother named Ken Silva and his ministry. I will be indebted to him for bringing to my attention a growing apostasy about which I knew nothing. It will always be a difficult challenge to exhibit love and grace while speaking against deception and error. May we consistently take inventory of our own lives and walk with Christ, and may Christ be our one surpassing passion.

Watch for other posts in which I will provide a written transcript of both Bell and Paggit’s comments and consider them line by line against Biblical truth.