Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Judging, Trinity, Millennium, Kenites, and more on Shepherd's Chapel.

Back again after a very long hiatus. I haven't been on this blog in a while and seen there were a lot of comments that needed to be moderated and replied to. One of the recurring themes in these posts was people saying I should not judge other Christian teachers. A person would have a hard time with Paul then. In 1st Corinthians 5:12-13 we see the following:

For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
(1 Corinthians 5:12-13 ESV)

The late Arnold Murray claimed to be a Christian teacher/pastor and his son Dennis Murray continues to teach at Shepherd's Chapel. Since they claim to be Christian, then it is right and proper to judge what Shepherd's Chapel teaches and call them out on the errors and heresy they teach and warn other to stay away.

Not to mention the multiple times Jesus and the apostles rebuked and judged those teaching false doctrine. So it is not only a good thing but it is a commandment to call out false teachers and prophets. For that I will never apologize. Murray may never use a group, person or church by name when he criticizes a belief, but Jesus sure did. How can you warn somebody of a false prophet or a false church if you don't use their name?

Shepherd's Chapel, now lead by Dennis Murray, teach false doctrines and a false gospel. How so?

One, Murray teaches that a person has earned their election and justification in a former age based on something they did. Ephesians chapter 2 refutes this completely. If you think you earned your election and thus were judged in a former age then you believe in a works based form of salvation and Paul himself would condemn you based on Galatians chapter 1 and most of Romans.

Two, even though Murray may use some of the same language and even the word Trinity his teachings are purely modalistic. The scriptures teach of three co-existent, co-eternal persons of the one true God. Wrong God, wrong gospel.

Thirdly, Murray teaches an odd form of premillennialism that says that those deceived in this earth age will get a second chance to accept Christ in the millennium. 2nd Corinthians 5:10 refutes this: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil." After you die that is it. Hebrews 9:27 shows that. Sorry no second chance. I too am not a fan of the pre-trib rapture doctrine and dispensational theology, but the Scriptures never say that a person will be deceived into following Satan in the end-times if they do believe in pre-trib rapture. As a matter of fact there are lots of scripture that speak otherwise: Revelation 13:8 and Matt. 24:22 and John 10:28-29 just to name a few. True Christians will not be deceived into following Satan. The errors of Shepherd's Chapel far outweigh the errors of dispensational theologians.

Fourthly, the serpent seed doctrine is bad, very bad. There are no physical descendants of Satan running around today. In scripture it is quite obvious that anybody that denies Jesus is a spiritual son of Satan, not literal. Although Cain was a spiritual son of Satan, Genesis 4:1 proves that Cain was the physical son of Adam. I know Murray loves to use John 8 to prove his serpent seed theory. He will quote John 8:44 to prove the Jews Jesus was talking to were literal sons of Satan. Jesus is speaking spiritually in 8:44 because he earlier identified them as literal sons of Abraham in John 8:37 and again afterward identifies they are literal sons of Abraham in John 8:56. The context is clear.

Soli Deo Gloria!