Jennifer Knapp, Lesbianism, Rick Warren, and Scripture. Oh My!

Rick Warren, in his talk at TED2006, stated (at approx. 21:00 in the video) that “God Smiles when You Be You”. He states a few seconds later that God gets pleasure out of “you being you.”

Friends, there’s a big problem with this message. Rick was speaking to an audience that was primarily non-Christians. Jesus Christ was never mentioned. Instead a humanistic message that “God loves us for being us” was given. This message is not the Gospel, obviously, but the worst part, is that as a Christian pastor, Rick Warren basically just opened the floodgates for any behavior at all. Believers and non-believers alike can now simply do whatever they want, and think (based upon Rick) that God will smile upon them, and receive pleasure from people being whoever they desire to be.

Being a pastor myself, my first thoughts were, “What do Scriptures say about this?” The first passage that came to mind was this:

1Peter 1:14-19: As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, (15) but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; (16) because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.” (17) If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; (18) knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, (19) but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

Now let’s take Rick’s message and apply it to Jennifer Knapp, the “Christian” who is now publicly stating that she’s a lesbian.

She appeared on Larry King Live just the other day, and made this statement:

Larry King: You say you’re the happiest you’ve ever been right now?
Jennifer Knapp: I’m pretty darn happy.
Larry King: So you’re glad all of this happened?
Jennifer Knapp: I am not a regretfull person.
Larry King: No, but you feel better?
Jennifer Knapp: I’m… I… I feel blessed to be able to fully be who I am. I love being able to be a musician and part of that process for me as a musician is being open and honest and to not feel like I have to lie or hide anything. I don’t necessarily want to talk about it all the time, but I don’t have to hide it either.

So based on what Rick Warren states, that God takes pleasure in “you being you”, Jennifer is currently being smiled upon by God, and He is taking pleasure in the fact that she is a lesbian.

Huh? How does that work?

Peter, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote “..be holy yourselvces also in all your behavior, because it is written, ‘YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY’”

So which is it? Is Rick right, or is God right? Did God actually mean what he said in Scripture? If so, how does it apply to me? When will the evangelical world wake up and see that Rick Warren’s humanistic man-centered Gospel is at direct odds with what Scripture teaches?

I pray that Jennifer comes to her senses, and that she is “snatched from the fire.” Her behavior and blatant lesbian lifestyle have made herx profession of faith as a Christian into nothing. What a sad commentary this is on the holiness of the church and the lack of biblical discernment on the part of Jennifer.

Be sure to check out Ken Silva’s Apprising.org article here where the videos of Jennifer on Larry King Live are posted.

Rick Warren and His Pragmatic Approach to Everything

Over at the JewishJournal.com, the following article on Rick Warren was published today:

Religious Leaders Meet for Interfaith Dialogue at Sinai Temple

As extensive security and police cruisers guarded the entrance, Rabbi David Wolpe, Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church, Najeeba Syeed-Miller, CEO of the Center for Civic Engagement and Dialogue, and Reverend Cecil “Chip” Murray, retired pastor of First AME Church came together at Sinai Temple in Westwood on Tuesday, April 20 for an interfaith dialogue in honor of the 62nd anniversary of Israel’s independence. Moderated by Tavis Smiley, PBS National Talk Show host, the event was also hosted by America Jewish Committee (AJC).

During the hour-long dialogue, Smiley directed pointed questions to each of the guests. Without shying away from the difficult issues, Smiley pressed them on questions of church and state, the value of inter-religious dialogue, and the reality of what could be accomplished through events like this.

Mentioning the introduction by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel of Martin Luther King prior to King’s “I Have a Dream” speech nearly 40 years ago, Smiley asked the group to address the fact that “it seems like this kind of inter-religious dialogue has been going on for years.”

“I could suggest that the evidence suggests that it ain’t yielding a whole lot,” he said.

In response, Warren was frank: “I don’t think that dialogue has a very good track record, but working together does have a good track record. I don’t think you have to agree to get things done.”

Throughout the evening, a common theme was how to find issues upon which people of different faiths can agree, and therefore on which they can work together. The most important aspect of any interfaith effort, all panelists agreed, was that those involved treat one another with more than just tolerance, but respect, and even love.

“Tolerance is, you have your opinion, it’s wrong, but I’m not going to hurt you for it,” Wolpe said. “Love is, you have something to teach me, I have something to teach you, we have a connection that goes deeper even than our teaching. I see in you another image of God.”

Not only did this group talk on how people of different faiths can agree, but there were also prayer in multiple languages.

Did you notice that Rick went straight for the pragmatic jugular of working together? As Ken Silva at Apprising.org says in his piece “Rick Warren and Purpose Driven Roman Catholics” (concerning Rick Warren’s chameleon-like ability to change his colors):

…and this, yet again, is Warren professing to believe one thing and actually doing something else. So as I answer Dr. Piper’s request for “help to know why I should feel bad about this decision” I’ll tell you that the above would place Rick Warren, at the very least since it concerns a matter as central to the historic Christian faith as the Gospel of Jesus Christ, right here in Scripture — he is a double-minded man, which then makes him unstable in all his ways (James 1:8).

Rick is compromising the Word of God:

2 Corinthians 6:14-15 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? (15) Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

Yes, I understand that feeding the hungry, helping the poor, doing justice to those wronged are all Christian works, but where does Scripture say that we must yoke ourselves up to unbelievers to do it?

We don’t read where Rick, when given the opportunity, witnessed to these folks. Where is his concern and compassion for the LOST that were sitting in the room with him? Oh, that Rick would repent, and worship Christ alone! Then he would present the Gospel like a man of God, not a man-pleaser who downplays the very thing that makes us different from Jews, Muslims, and others of various faiths.

Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Warrengate 2010: So What is The Problem With Rick Warren Anyway?

In Ken Silva’s latest article at Apprising.org: “Warrengate, John Piper and Desiring God 2010″, an important topic comes up. Ken writes:

“Apprising Ministries made it clear in Desiring God 2010, John Piper, And Warrengate that this isn’t about Dr. John Piper because no one credible is saying he’s anything other than a dear brother in Christ who’s made a mistake by inviting Purpose Driven Pope Rick Warren to be a keynote speaker at the Desiring God Conference 2010. What’s been forgotten is there’s a very real reason why I refer to Warren as the PDL pope.”

Ken then links to several blogs (some of which use personal experiences) in order to express problems with this whole issue of someone like John Piper inviting Rick Warren (of Purpose Driven Life fame) to come speak at his upcoming “Desiring God 2010″ Conference.

In my mind, the real question becomes: Why does Piper want to invite Rick to speak at DG2010 when Rick’s man-centered “gospel” and the Gospel as revealed in Scripture are diametrically OPPOSITE of one another?

Rick’s gospel is man-centered. Yet the Bible places salvation in the sovereign hands of God Himself! (Read Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 1:16, Romans 5:8, John 1:12, Romans 6:23, etc.) The last time I checked, Piper was right on target Biblically, and I admire his zeal for the Lord and his desire to live holy. But something fishy is going on.

When I first became a Christian, I was literally surrounded by people who were falling in love with Rick Warren, and the “Purpose Driven Life”. It seemed like everywhere I turned people were talking about Rick Warren’s new book and how great it was.

I was unimpressed.

Compared to Scripture, Warren’s book is shallow, and lacks biblical substance. It compromises the Gospel by providing one of the weakest efforts at evangelism I’ve seen. Here’s how Rick explains the Gospel in the PDL:

In Rick’s PDL video that accompanies the book and study series, Rick leads everyone watching the video in the following prayer:

“Dear God, I want to know your purpose for my life. I don’t want to base the rest of my life on wrong things. I want to take the first step in preparing for eternity by getting to know you. Jesus Christ, I don’t understand how but as much as I know how I want to open up my life to you. Make yourself real to me. And use this series in my life to help me know what you made me for.”

Rick then makes this amazing claim:

“Now if you’ve just prayed that prayer for the very first time I want to congratulate you. You’ve just become a part of the family of God.”

The problem with that presentation of the Gospel can be summed up in this scripture:

1 Cor 1:21:  For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

Unlike Rick’s pragmatic, man-centered message, the Scriptures teach us that salvation starts and ends with God himself. It’s not a man-centered feel-good message. Instead the bible teaches us the following:

Acts 17:30-31:  “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

Now this raises an interesting point. Piper says in his video where he is trying to validate why he asked Rick Warren to come speak at his conference:

Uh, repentance: He’s been criticized for not highlighting repentance in the purpose Driven life and the way he would explain it is to say:
“I totally believe in the… the necessity of… of repentance and I totally am committed to the call for repentance though I may not use the word as often as some would want me to. So, check out the reality if not… if not the language.”

So Rick Warren says to John Piper that he believes in the necessity of repentance and that he’s totally committed to the call for repentance. Yet time after time when he speaks about the Gospel, he leaves repentance out.  Not only does he leave out repentance which Jesus also preached (see Luke 13), he replaces it with SINCERITY during prayer?!

In Rick Warren’s world, repentance may not be necessary, only sincerity of heart. Yet the Bible teaches us that:

Jer 17:9-10:  “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.”

The real issue with this whole dust-up online between Piper and Warren has to do with how Rick Warren presents himself. He’s like a chameleon. He will say whatever is pragmatically necessary to get the results he wants. So to him the end justifies the means.

Friends, this is not Biblical. We’re never told to compromise on the Gospel. Instead, we hear the opposite in Scripture:

Gal 1:6-10: I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.

For a more in-depth study of why Rick Warren’s gospel is inadequate, I recommend you check out: Bob DeWaay’s excellent article found here:  http://cicministry.org/commentary/issue80.htm