The Sad Rant of a Nomad

For several years I have written and spoken about something that greatly troubles me: Christian Nomadism. For the sake of time (brevity is not my spiritual gift), I will simply point you to this, this, and this for a detailed explanation as to what I mean by the terms “Nomad” and “Christian Nomadism.”

Recently, a comment was submitted (twice within minutes) to one of my blog posts by a man named Jan Prins. I had never heard of Jan, at least not that I could remember, prior to receiving his comment. So, I did a little research in preparation for this article.

I discovered Jan follows me on Twitter. He is (or was) a contributor on a blog called Dutch Bible Research Center. It appears the most recent article on the blog was posted in September of 2015. Jan is a musician from the Netherlands.

Before you read Jan’s submitted comments, which he intended to be public, I want to make some things clear. First, I am not angry with Jan. I have nothing whatsoever against him. Second, in spite of what the title of this article may imply to some, the purpose of this article is not to mock Jan or his beliefs. It is not my intent to make sport of Jan. The title of this article is, in my view, an accurate depiction of Jan’s comments. They read like a rant. Jan presents a tone of voice that reminds me of this man. His comments give every indication he is a nomad, as I’ve defined the term.  And his comments sadden me. I’m sad for Jan. I feel sorry for him. I am concerned for his soul.

What Jan Had to Say

Here are Jan’s comments, verbatim. Keep in mind as you read what Jan wrote that he is from the Netherlands. While his English is very good, it appears that English is his second language. So, please cut Jan some slack for any grammatical errors you may notice along the way.

As a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ I don’t go to local churches. I am not getting taught by men, but by Christ. Period. The whole Christianity sits in the deepest pit of hell and the Lord Jesus Christ sits outside the churches and not on the inside. Those people who are going to church are not saved they are just religious. When we want to be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ is it there where two or three are gathered in my name there is the Lord in their midst. So we are NOT going to a local church, but we get an encounter in the inner quarters with the Lord Jesus Christ and hidden. The local churches are swine stables with all kind of false doctrine. None of those churches have the Gospel of the Kingdom or the doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am my Lord Jesus Christ thankful that I don’t see them in the Kingdom of Heaven and that they can burn in hell with all their sins. The Christianity sits in the Second Heaven under the Spirit of the Antichrist and this is Sodom. The Judaism is Gomorra, because that is Samaria and Samaria is Gomorra (Ezekiel 23:4 and Ezekiel 16:45-63). The Old Testament Jews are dead according to Jer. 31:31. The old Israel is dead as well according to Hos 8:8 and than we see one thing that the real New Testament Jews are those who are circumcised by heart. We see that in Rm. 2:28-29. Now than we look at one fact is that who is in Christ? That we see on the Elect and that we see in Rom. 11:4-5 and verse 5. That is not the Limited Atonement from Calvin, but this is the Limited Atonement from the Lord Jesus Christ and that is the 7000 and that is the Elect who are sealed in Heaven by Christ. That is the narrow way (Mark) and that is going through the narrow gate. All the local churches are the wide gate who leads to destruction with all their false doctrines.

I am a Dutch State Edition onlyist and I am saved by Grace through the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ only. Without any works from my part (Rom. 4:4-5 and Philip. 2:13-14). It is the Lord Jesus Christ who is working through me after His willings and wantings after His pleasure without any involvement from my part.

Well we see also that we need to look to each other in Christ and not anymore under the Law (2.Cor 5:16-17). A dead person can’t sin, because he is in Christ a new creature and can not sin, because he is born out of God (1John 3:9). We are dead and a dead person cannot produce sin. Do we think otherwise than we are a liars and the Truth is not in us. I am standing in the Tree of Life again and I don’t have any lust to walk in sin anymore. That is not possible, because we are too dead for it and too resurrected with the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the Gospel of the Kingdom told by the Holy Spirit to me in my inner quarters. The people are so far away from the Gospel of the Kingdom is really horrible, So no I like open air preachers and they speak the Word of God, Than there are coming with two or three gathered in the name f the Lord Jesus Christ and the Lord Jesus is in their midst. That is real church. All the other churches are coming from the Roman Catholic Brainwash Center. So we need to have Scofield and Calvin up side down hanging on the highest Tree with a chord around their testicles. Otherwise we get such people as your friend Bart who lives in Redding. Sad guy, but still a good man on his behalf. He believes in all the 5 points Calvinism. I don’t believe in 1. Accursed are they who become to believe in the full 5 point Calvinism. I know, because I come from a Calvinistic and Aremenius country, but than based on the protestant churches who believe still in baby baptism. The `Holy’ Shower. All the churches of the Christianity are super swine stables. I hope there are coming some people out of it and come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Woe who come with the teaching of Calvin, because than they become to walk in the deepest pit of hell. Because all are liars and deceivers. Amen…..

A Common Form of Hypocrisy among Nomads

To provide commentary on everything Jan’s wrote, line-by-line, sentence-by-sentence, would make this a very long article (even by my standards). So, I will respond to those comments by Jan, which particularly caught my eye.

Jan begins his rant by proudly, boastfully declaring his nomadism.

“As a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ I don’t go to local churches. I am not getting taught by men, but by Christ. Period. The whole Christianity sits in the deepest pit of hell and the Lord Jesus Christ sits outside the churches and not on the inside. Those people who are going to church are not saved they are just religious.”

Unfortunately, like many nomads Jan cannot see the utter hypocrisy in the above statement. Several years ago a nomadic group (at least they were then) out of Texas known as “Jesus Crew” spouted the same nonsensical rhetoric. “I’m not taught by men! I’m taught only by Jesus, through the Word of God!”

The hypocrisy: declaring you are not being taught by men……….while you are trying to teach men.

At least one of Jan’s goals in making two attempts to voice his opinions and concerns was to teach me–to teach me that I am wrong and he is right–to teach me that all of Christianity is corrupted and that the Christian Church only exists, well, outside the Christian Church. Jan participates in a blog. To do what? To propagate his belief system; to warn people about what he believes are specific errant teachings throughout all of Christendom; to warn people of the hell-fire that awaits them if they don’t flee Christian churches. Jan, like other nomads, does the very thing he says he opposes–he’s a teacher.

The level of arrogance in Jan’s assertion that he is only taught by Christ cannot be overlooked. Jan, like other nomads, while most will never admit it, sees himself as the only one capable of interpreting Scripture. Oh, he puts spiritual clothing on it by saying Jesus is his teacher. But make no mistake. The only spiritual accountability in Jan’s life is his own imperfect mind. Jan is not receiving direct revelation from the Lord. (“Yes, Jan. That’s what I meant when I had the apostle John pen those words.”) Jan has simply confessed himself that whatever he believes the Bible says is exactly what the Lord means.

Jan is a legalist.

“Those people who are going to church are not saved they are just religious.”

Jan declares unsaved everyone who goes to church. By whose standard? Not by the Word of God. Rather, by Jan’s arbitrary, indefensible opinion.

Jan is an eisegte.

“When we want to be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ is it there where two or three are gathered in my name there is the Lord in their midst.”

Like so many nomads, Jan rips Matthew 18:20 from its context in order to justify getting together with a few like-minded (oh, and they have to be like-minded) friends and “doing church” without calling it “church.” “I don’t need to be in a church building to be in church.” So the argument goes. “Wherever two or more are gathered, Christ is there!” Why are the two or more gathered? If, as Jan believes, Jesus and His Word are the only teachers, then why bother to gather together? Certainly no one is going to lead the gathering, right? No one is going to preach or lead a study, right? No one is going to provide counsel to any of the other people gathered, right? To do these things would involve teaching. And since Jesus is the only teacher, the gathering itself would go against what the people in the group believe.

Ah, but in these nomadic groups there are always teachers, aren’t there? And this is how cults are started. A group of “no teacher but Jesus” believers gather together and one non-leading leader inevitably rises to the surface. It’s usually the person who formed the group. Before you know it, the group morphs from “no teacher but Jesus” to “no teacher but Jesus…..and the ‘man’ (or men) who hear directly from Jesus.”

Let’s look at Matthew 18:20 in its proper context. Yes, Jan. I’m about to teach. Actually, I will let my pastor do the heavy lifting, here.

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:15-20).

The immediate context clearly indicates that Jesus, when speaking about the gathering of two or more Christians, is not talking about a “church service”. Rather, He is speaking about God’s design and purpose for meting out discipline within the Church.

In his commentary (pp. 138-39) on the above passage of Scripture, Pastor John MacArthur writes:

Jesus first assures His people that the Father acts with them when they work to purify the church: Again I say to you, that if two of your agree on earth (referring back to the two witnesses of v. 16) about anything that they may ask (in seeking the purity of the church) it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. When the church acts in God’s behalf and in accordance with His Word in matters dealing with sin, He acts in their behalf by confirming and empowering their faithful decisions and actions.

Agree is from sumphoneo, which literally means to sound together and is the term from which we get symphony. If even two of Jesus’ followers are in agreement with each other that a sinning believer has either repented or refused to repent, they can be sure they are also in agreement with the Father who is in heaven.

As already mentioned, to interpret this verse as promising believers a blank check for anything they might agree to ask God for not only does not fit the context of church discipline but does violence to the rest of Scripture. Such an interpretation is tantamount to magic, in which God is automatically bound to grant the most foolish or sinful request, simply because two of His children conspire to ask Him for it. The idea flies in the face of God’s sovereignty and completely undercuts the countless scriptural commands for believers’ obedient submission to His will.

Jesus also assures His people that He Himself acts with them when they work to purify the church: For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst. Not only does the Father confirm discipline when it is administered according to His Word, but the Son adds His own divine confrontation.

This verse is also frequently misinterpreted, though not with such serious error as in the misinterpretations of the two previous verses. To use this statement to claim the Lord’s presence at a small worship service or prayer meeting does not fit the context of church discipline and is superfluous. Christ is always present with His people, even with a lone believer totally separated from fellow Christians by prison walls or by hundreds of miles.

The context demands that the two or three are witnesses in the process of discipline. To ask or to do anything in God’s name is not to utter His name but to ask and to work according to His divine will and character. For the witnesses to have gathered in His name is therefore for them to have faithfully performed their work of verifying the repentance or impenitence of a sinning brother or sister on the Lord’s behalf. When the church gathers in the Lord’s name and for His cause and glory, it must be engaged in self-purifying ministry under His power and authority, and with His heavenly confirmation and partnership.

“Hey, let’s go plant a church. Wherever two or more are gathered…..”

“Let’s start a ministry. Wherever two or more are gathered…..”

“We don’t need a church. We are the church. We’ll just start meeting on our own. Wherever two or more are gathered…..”

Jan, and nomads like him, can’t follow the Lord’s teaching in Matthew 18:15-20. If there are no teachers but Jesus and His Word, then there are no elders. Elders are required to have the ability to teach (1 Timothy 3:1-2). If there are no elders, then there is no one scripturally qualified to supervise and mete out discipline or restore believers to fellowship. What’s left? A nomadic tribe of individuals who are a law unto themselves–rudderless, leaderless, and possibly Christ-less.

While God certainly allows that which is unbiblical. God never blesses that which is unbiblical.

Another example of Jan’s eisegesis is found at the end of the first paragraph of his rant. Jan wrote:

“Now than we look at one fact is that who is in Christ? That we see on the Elect and that we see in Rom. 11:4-5 and verse 5. That is not the Limited Atonement from Calvin, but this is the Limited Atonement from the Lord Jesus Christ and that is the 7000 and that is the Elect who are sealed in Heaven by Christ. That is the narrow way (Mark) and that is going through the narrow gate. All the local churches are the wide gate who leads to destruction with all their false doctrines.”

So, if I understand what Jan is saying, he believes the whole of the Elect is limited to 7,000 Christians. Anyone want to guess what number Jan is? I’ll bet his number is lower than 7,000.

If Jan would allow himself teachers other than himself, he could be helped along in understanding the passage he cited. First the citation:

“But what is God’s reply to him? ‘I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace” (Romans 11:4-5).

Theologian Albert Barnes, in his work “Notes on the Bible” (1934), provides the following helpful and simple explanation of the text:

“According to the election of grace – By a gracious or merciful choosing, or election; and not by any merit of their own. As in the times of Elijah, it was because God had reserved them unto himself that any were saved from idolatry, so now it was by the same gracious sovereignty that any were saved from the prevalent unbelief. The apostle here does not specify the number, but there can be no doubt that a multitude of Jews had been saved by becoming Christians, though compared with the nation – the multitude who rejected the Messiah it was but a remnant. The apostle thus shows that neither all the ancient people of God were cast away, nor that any whom he foreknew were rejected. And though he had proved that a large part of the Jews were to be rejected and though infidelity was prevalent, yet still there were some who had been Jews who were truly pious, and entitled to the favor of God. Nor should they deem this state of things remarkable, for a parallel case was recorded in their own Scriptures.”

Romans 11:4 provides a historical example of what Paul teaches in Romans 11:5 and following. Paul is not saying to the believers in Rome that there are only 7,000 people who had, have, or will make it down the narrow way. Paul is not teaching that the Elect is limited to 7,000 people. If Paul was saying that, why would he refer to all of the Christian exiles of the dispersion as “elect?”

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

“To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:

“May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”

In his classic work, “Vincent Word Studies,” Marvin R. Vincent explains the “elect” to mean:

“Regarding all whom he addressed as subjects of saving grace. The term corresponds to the Old-Testament title of Jehovah’s people: Isaiah 65:9, Isaiah 65:15, Isaiah 65:22; Psalm 105:43. Compare Matthew 20:16; Matthew 22:14; Romans 8:33.”

While in his present emotional and spiritual state he will consider the following blasphemous because of the author referenced, it would serve Jan well to consider the explanation of “the elect” provided in John Calvin’s exposition of 1 Peter 1:1.

“To the elect, or the elected. It may be asked, how could this be found out, for the election of God is hid, and cannot be known without the special revelation of the Spirit; and as every one is made sure of his own election by the testimony of the Spirit, so he can know nothing certain of others. To this I answer, that we are not curiously to inquire about the election of our brethren, but ought on the contrary to regard their calling, so that all who are admitted by faith into the church, are to be counted as the elect; for God thus separates them from the world, which is a sign of election. It is no objection to say that many fall away, having nothing but the semblance; for it is the judgment of charity and not of faith, when we deem all those elect in whom appears the mark of God’s adoption. And that he does not fetch their election from the hidden counsel of God, but gathers it from the effect, is evident from the context; for afterwards he connects it with the sanctification of the Spirit As far then as they proved that they were regenerated by the Spirit of God, so far did he deem them to be the elect of God, for God does not sanctify any but those whom he has previously elected.”

Often times those who despise Calvin and the systematized theological construct commonly referred to as “Calvinism,” accuse Calvinists of believing there is no need to engage in evangelism because God has already determined who the Elect are. Like so many, Jan confuses Calvinism with Hyper-Calvinism. Strangely, Jan expresses a theological split personality by asserting the Elect is limited to 7,000 people while, at the same time, railing against Calvinism, which includes the Doctrine of Election (see Jan’s third paragraph).

“Onlyism”

Jan then abruptly shifts gears to tell me:

“I am a Dutch State Edition onlyist and I am saved by Grace through the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ only. Without any works from my part (Rom. 4:4-5 and Philip. 2:13-14). It is the Lord Jesus Christ who is working through me after His willings and wantings after His pleasure without any involvement from my part.”

Having never heard of a “Dutch State Edition Onlyist,” I did some research. I struggled to find any information about the Dutch State Edition, let alone a group of onlyists worshiping this edition. I even sought the help of the venerable Dr. James White–likely the foremost expert on King James Version Onlyism. The fact that Dr. White was not aware of such an onlyist group made it clear to me the group may not be much bigger than Jan and his fellow bloggers.

I was able to find this about the Dutch State Edition of the Bible, which I found interesting:

“The Dutch were a very important part of the reformation era, so it only stands to reason that they would have translated Bibles for their use. Although only one complete tranlation in Dutch was printed in the 15th Century, several portions appeared as well. The earliest Reformation Bible was the Mennonite Bible, from Emden in 1558, which later became known as the Biestkens Bible, after the Printer’s name.

“Dutch reformed used a translation known as the States Translation, which was heavily dependant on the Luther Bible, this state’s edition first appeared in 1561, and this edition was finally accepted by the Mennonites as well in the mid-17th century, making it the standard Dutch Bible until the 20th Century.

“The Roman Catholic Dutch had their own translation, made by Nicolaas Van Winghe in 1548 from the Vulgate.”

Onlyism, whether KJV or Dutch State Edition, is cult-like. It’s mystical. It’s Neo-Gnostic. For more information regarding KJV Onlyism, please read Dr. James White’s outstanding book, “The King James Only Controversy.”

To my Christian brothers and sisters who prefer the KJV translation, or any other legitimate translation of the Bible, I say: praise the Lord! Read your favorite translation! Memorize it! Study it! Teach from it! Preach from it! I presently read, study, teach, and preach from the English Standard Version. I’m likely going to return to the New American Standard Version, which is the version I read for the first 20 years of my Christian faith. The reason: preference. That’s all. You will never hear or read of me looking down upon or turning my nose up to a brother or sister in Christ who differs with me regarding preferences over legitimate translations of God’s Word. I hope I’ve made myself clear on this point.

However, I will go so far as to say I am concerned for the souls of those who claim to be “onlyists” in the sense of believing that anyone who reads a translation of Scripture other than their chosen translation is sinning against God and in danger of judgment. I am concerned for the souls of onlyists who question the salvation of those who read other translations of the Bible. Therefore, I am concerned for Jan’s soul.

Sinless Perfectionism and Extra-Biblical Revelation

In his third paragraph, Jan boast of sinless perfection and extra-biblical revelation. He wrote:

“A dead person can’t sin, because he is in Christ a new creature and can not sin, because he is born out of God (1John 3:9). We are dead and a dead person cannot produce sin. Do we think otherwise than we are a liars and the Truth is not in us. I am standing in the Tree of Life again and I don’t have any lust to walk in sin anymore. That is not possible, because we are too dead for it and too resurrected with the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the Gospel of the Kingdom told by the Holy Spirit to me in my inner quarters.”

Tragically, Jan is a member of what I hope is an ever-shrinking group of people who hold to a heresy known as “Sinless Perfection.” Sadly, Jan is not alone as a subscriber to this heresy. Subscribers to this heresy include open-air agitators like Jed Smock and Jesse Morrell. (Morrell also subscribes to the blasphemous notion of God–in reality, a lesser god–being a”risk taker“–a common theological error among open theists.)

Pastor and theologian R.C. Sproul has this to say about the heresy:

“An ancient heresy of the distinction between two types of Christians, carnal and Spirit-filled, is the heresy of perfectionism. Perfectionism teaches that there is a class of Christians who achieve moral perfection in this life. To be sure, credit is given to the Holy Spirit as the agent who brings total victory over sin to the Christian. But there is a kind of elitism in perfectionism, a feeling that those who have achieved perfection are somehow greater than other Christians. The ‘perfect’ ones do not officially—take credit for their state, but smugness and pride have a way of creeping in.

“The peril of perfectionism is that it seriously distorts the human mind. Imagine the contortions through which we must put ourselves to delude us into thinking that we have in fact achieved a state of sinlessness.

“Inevitably the error of perfectionism breeds one, or usually two, deadly delusions. To convince ourselves that we have achieved sinlessness, we must either suffer from a radical overestimation of our moral performance or we must seriously underestimate the requirements of God’s law. The irony of perfectionism is this: Though it seeks to distance itself from antinomianism, it relentlessly and inevitably comes full circle to the same error.”

Jan gives every indication that his belief that he is without sin did not only come from a misinterpretation of Scripture, but also from extra-biblical revelation. Again, Jan wrote:

“That is the Gospel of the Kingdom told by the Holy Spirit to me in my inner quarters.”

Jan has something in common with the Charismatic Movement. However, what he has in common with the movement is a denial of the doctrine to which he insists he subscribes–the Sufficiency of Scripture. Jan can’t have it both ways. He can’t insist the Bible is all he needs for his theological education and then claim that he receives in his “inner quarters” extra-biblical revelation. It’s not the Holy Spirit that told Jan in his “inner quarters” that he was without sin because that is a lie. The Holy Spirit does not lie.

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:13).

But there certainly is a spirit who does.

“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

If the Holy Spirit was truly leading Jan, then he would not be engaged in the pursuit of heresies like Sinless Perfectionism, and he would not be tripping the light fantastic into the realm of one of the mainstays of Charismatic Chaos–extra-biblical revelation.

Regarding extra-biblical revelation, Pastor John MacArthur wrote:

“In other words, modern prophecy is not a much more reliable way to discern truth than a Magic Eight-Ball or Tarot cards. And, I would add, it is equally superstitious. There is no warrant anywhere in Scripture for Christians to listen for fresh revelation from God beyond what He has already given us in His written Word. In fact, Scripture unsparingly condemns all who speak even one word falsely or presumptuously in the Lord’s name (Deuteronomy 18:20-22). But such warnings are simply ignored these days by those who claim to have heard afresh from God.

“And not surprisingly, wherever there is a preoccupation with ‘fresh’ prophecy, there is invariably a corresponding neglect of the Scriptures. After all, why be concerned with an ancient Book if the Living God communicates directly with us on a daily basis? These fresh words of ‘revelation’ naturally seem more relevant and more urgent than the familiar words of the Bible. Is it any wonder that they draw people away from Scripture?

“That is precisely why modern evangelicalism’s infatuation with extrabiblical revelation is so dangerous. It is a return to medieval superstition and a departure from our fundamental conviction that the Bible is our sole, supreme, and sufficient authority for all of life. In other words, it represents a wholesale abandonment of the principle of sola Scriptura.

“The absolute sufficiency of Scripture is summed up well in this section from the Westminster Confession of Faith:

‘The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men (1.6, emphasis added).’

“Historic Protestantism is grounded in the conviction that the canon is closed. No ‘new’ revelation is necessary, because Scripture is complete and absolutely sufficient.

“Scripture itself is clear that the day of God’s speaking directly to His people through various prophetic words and visions is past. The truth God has revealed in Christ including the complete New Testament canon is His final word (Hebrews 1:1-2; cf. Jude 3; Revelation 22:18-19).

“Scripture—the written Word of God—is perfectly sufficient, containing all the revelation we need.

I’m Worried about You, Jan

Jan closes his comments with this cacophony of literary noise:

“So we need to have Scofield and Calvin up side down hanging on the highest Tree with a chord around their testicles. Otherwise we get such people as your friend Bart who lives in Redding. Sad guy, but still a good man on his behalf. He believes in all the 5 points Calvinism. I don’t believe in 1. Accursed are they who become to believe in the full 5 point Calvinism. I know, because I come from a Calvinistic and Aremenius country, but than based on the protestant churches who believe still in baby baptism. The `Holy’ Shower. All the churches of the Christianity are super swine stables. I hope there are coming some people out of it and come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Woe who come with the teaching of Calvin, because than they become to walk in the deepest pit of hell. Because all are liars and deceivers. Amen…..”

I have no idea why Jan dragged my good friend, Bart McCurdy, into this.

Little need be said about this last excerpt from Jan’s comments. What Jan has written here really does embarrassingly really speak for itself.

What I will say I will say directly to Jan.

Jan, wanting to hang anyone by their testicles is not exhibiting the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). In fact, it is the opposite (Galatians 5:19-21). So much for sinless perfection.

You, along with others, will not likely believe this. I’ve taken the time to write this sermon-length article because you have been weighing heavy on my heart. I tried. Really I did. I tried to write you off as just another unhinged reviler who is just looking for an online argument, with no intent of listening to anything I have to say. I do believe you are a reviler. I do believe by the end of your comments you became a bit unhinged. And my doubt remains that you will take to heart anything I’ve written. But, as hard as I tried, I couldn’t write you off. I had to give it a shot.

Jan, because I care about you as a fellow human being, as my neighbor, I must tell you that I believe you are lost. Yes, there is only one Lawgiver and Judge (Isaiah 33:22; James 4:12), and I’m not Him. When I say I believe you are lost, it is not with the tone of condemnation with which you expressed a similar sentiment toward me. No, Jan. I tell you that I believe you are lost as a warning, not as a condemnation. After all, friends and neighbors warn their friends and neighbors when their friends and neighbors are in danger.

You’re in danger, Jan. I believe the wrath of God abides on you (John 3:36). I believe this because your comments indicate to me that you have created a god in your imagination to suit yourself–a god that has convinced you to live and believe contrary to the Word of the One, True God. I call you to repent, Jan. I call you to repent and believe the gospel. I pray God causes you to be born again to a living hope (1 Peter 1:3). I pray God saves you from slavery to the lesser god you presently serve.

Jan, I welcome further correspondence with you via email. But know this. I will not argue with you. I will not debate. If you contact me again with the type of comments you tried to post to my blog, I will simply treat you the way I try to treat hecklers on the street. I will simply, and hopefully firmly yet lovingly, call you to repent and believe the gospel.

Whether or not I ever hear from you again, whether or not we ever have positive interaction, you are in my prayers.

I love you, Jan.