Ecclesiastical Seperation

Romans 16:17-18, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”

I was reading some crazy comments today about “fourth degree separation” by Pastors' Paul Chappell and J.D. Greear on Twitter. What in the world is “fourth degree separation”? As far as I can tell, it is a disparaging term used by compromisers to degrade separated believers. The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a hellhole of apostasy today! Their new president, J.D. Greear says “Christian should apologize to gays,” and that Christians should stand up and “become the fiercest advocates of the preservation and dignity of LGBTQ people in the gay community.” Get thee behind me, Satan! Dr. Bob Gray Sr. has rightly expressed public concern about Pastor Paul Chappell in Lancaster, California for hobnobbing with the apostate Southern Baptist Convention, speaking for them.

No, what we ought to do is preach the dickens out the gay community! That is, we ought to preach the Devil out of them!!! That is what “the dickens” means! Pastor Jack Hyles often used that term in his preaching. We don't need anymore soft-soap, pink tea and lemonade, pantywaist, girly-boy, Shirley Temple, yuppie, sermonette-delivering, pansy, watered-down, weak-kneed, type of preachers! We need a bunch of earnestly praying, hell-fire and damnation, window-rattlin', barn-stormin', hell-raisin, people-loving, caring, King James Bible only, modern Bible exposing, sin-hating, righteousness-loving, leather-lunged, unwavering, uncompromising, Devil-fighting, free-grace Gospel, PREACHERS!!!

I went to search Google for information on ecclesiastical separation, and I found this hypocrisy from the Faith Baptist Bible College And Theological Seminary in Ankeny, Iowa. I was disturbed by the following hypocritical statements on their college's website by Dr. Arthur B. Walton:

4. Divisive brethren are to be avoided.
Paul wrote: ‘Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” (Romans 16:17). Erroneous doctrine is divisive. Avoid those whose erroneous teachings cause divisions. Since the Scripture does teach that one should separate from unbelievers, then those who do not do so are disobedient to that teaching, and they should be avoided.  

What does this all mean? It means that the Biblical church will not be a part of any association or ecumenical campaign which includes cooperation with liberals. Does not this mean that a local church should not fellowship with other evangelical churches which cooperate with liberals. [emphasis added]

SOURCE: https://faith.edu/faith-news/ecclesiastical-separation-2

In 2018, the college hired Dr. Marty Herron, former pastor of the Harvest Baptist Church on Guam (1999-2018), who is a devout follower of heretic Pastor John MacArthur in California. Dr. Herron is a graduate of Bob Jones University, a once fundamentalist Christian institution back in 1944 when Dr. Bob Jones (1883-1968) was still alive, which has changed for the worst, deteriorating into a full-blown Lordship Salvation preaching nightmare! Dear reader, these people are not Bible-believing Christians, they are Calvinists!

I have been alarmed, just as the Apostle Paul said he marveled (was astonished) that the churches in Galatia had succumbed to a partial faith in Christ plus works based plan of salvation. Paul called it “another gospel” ...

Galatians 1:6-9, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”

It's not just the apostate Bob Jones' crowd. Pacific Garden Mission's 'Unshackled' radio program is saturated with Lordship Salvation. Moody Bible Institute in Chicago openly professes now to be “generally Calvinist” on their college website. MBI has honored Dr. John MacArthur for decades, inviting him to speak at their annual Founder's School for pastors. Moody also publishes Mr. MacArthur's damnable heresy in his books! The whole country has gone to Hell theologically!!! I tell you with all Biblical authority that Lordship Salvation is not the Gospel of free grace. 

Lordship Salvation errantly says that faith in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is insufficient to save a man. In addition, the proponents of the Lordship Gospel say that you must “surrender all to Christ as Lord” and “repent of your sins” to be saved. Yet, you cannot show me these things taught in the Bible. Not one verse in the inspired King James Bible says to “turn from your sins” to receive God's free gift of eternal life. Some of the Devil's modern corrupt Bibles falsely say that you have to forsake your sins to be saved, because Satan has perverted God's Word. Hundreds of thousands of churches worldwide are filled today with counterfeit Bibles, false gospels, fake preachers, another spirit and another Jesus (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4). As unbelievable as it is, some churches are hiring women, homosexuals and even atheists to lead the church congregation. This is not God's flock, I assure you!!!

Kindly said, if the Faith Baptist Bible College And Theological Seminary are to take their own advice, and separate from those who no longer teach the doctrines of God's Word, then they would have to fire Marty Herron! Romans 16:17-18, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” Hey, I'm not the one corrupting grace, Dr. Marty Herron is!

As the new Executive Vice President of the college, Dr. Herron is getting paid a lucrative 6-digit salary. I think that is disgusting. When did Christianity become a stinking business? As Executive President of Bob Jones University, his buddy Dr. Steve Pettit gets paid even more, for preaching another gospel of Calvinist Lordship Salvation, the same as Seventh-Day Adventist false prophetess' Ellen G. White taught. Spiritual crime pays well! I heard Pastor Herron with my own two ears in 2014, while standing behind the pulpit of the Harvest Baptist Church on Guam, sinfully tell several hundred people that “it's not enough to admit that you're a sinner, you must also turn away from a lifestyle of sinning.” That is the Devil talking! Anyone who adds to grace is the enemy of the Gospel. The idea that a person cannot merely place their faith in Jesus to be saved, but must commit to turn away from sinful behavior as a requirement to receive God's free gift of eternal life, is a perversion of grace!!!

I say this with all kindness but Biblical certainty, that these people are pulling on the same rope as the Devil. They are sincere religious men. They are good businessmen. But they are deceived by Satan concerning the Gospel! Sadly, Dr. Steve Pettit seems to be their ringleader, impacting the whole group as the new apostate president of BJU. Many thousands of students, faculty, friends, associates and churches look up to Dr. Steve Pettit, so what he teaches is critically important, and must be scrutinized with the light of the Holy Scriptures (1st John 4:1). So I am not picking on BJU or Dr. Pettit, or Pastor Herron, I am examining their teachings against the inspired King James Bible, and they fail the test!

The Bible commands me and you to MARK THEM WHICH CAUSE DIVISION AND AVOID THEM. That means I have to mark (identify) and avoid Marty Herron, Sam Horn, Steve Pettit, John MacArthur, John Piper, R.C. Sproul, Beth Moore, Billy Graham, Chip Ingram, Paul Washer, Ray Comfort and thousands more corrupt preachers who pervert the grace of God. That means I have to mark and avoid Bob Jones University, because they corrupt God's grace. When someone attacks the grace of God, they are attacking the God of grace!!! They are attacking the gift of grace!!! They are attacking the guardian of grace, which is the New Testament church!!! They are attacking the goal of grace, which is the preach the Gospel to the world.