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My Encounter with a
Heresy Hunter
by Tom Brown
 After picking up the phone with my usual
cheerful greeting, a voice responded, "Hello, this is Pastor
X." My heart dropped. It's him! It's the heresy-hunter who's
been publicly criticizing some of God's choice servants. Now I
was his next target!
I shouldn't have been startled when he called.
After all, a month before, God warned me of his impending call. I
even told my wife, Sonia, this. Nevertheless there's nothing like
the actual confrontation.
I asked, trying to disguise my nervousness,
"What can I do for you?"
"I wonder if I could meet with you to
discuss the scriptures?"
I thought, "Sure??? You mean BEAT THE
BIBLE OVER MY HEAD!" But I responded, "What for? I
don't want to discuss anything with you, because you're too
divisive!"
"Well, let's discuss whether or not I'm
divisive. I promise I won't come to debate or argue with
you."
"Under those conditions, OK. We'll
meet," I answered knowing that he really wanted to argue.
But I must admit I wanted to tell him a few things too...if you
know what I mean!
I have never understood how these so called
apologists can publicly criticize other ministers who obviously
have the call of God on their life. I feel tremendous guilt if I
say just one mean, petty remark about a fallen minister, not to
mention the spiritual ones. Yet these heresy-hunters continue
day-after-day criticizing God's anointed--and publicly--without
feeling one ounce of guilt or remorse over the destruction they
cause in the the body of Christ.
I was finally going to find out what motivated
Pastor X and others such as him to judge God's people.
What did I discover? Nothing new.
Pastor X is motivated by the same thing that
motivated the Pharisees and Sadducees to criticize, judge, and
persecute Jesus and the apostles--and that's JEALOUSY!
I'm sure some are thinking, "Oh, NO!
Pastor X and his fellow workers are trying to protect the Church
from false doctrine."
Please realize that this was also the
Sanhedrin's official, public reason for crucifying Jesus: You do
not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the
people than that the whole nation perish, was Caiaphus' excuse
for murdering Jesus. (Remember he who hates his brother is a
murderer too.)
Are not the heresy-hunters using basically the
same language to justify their judgmental attitudes, which the
Bible emphatically forbids.
"We are guarding and protecting God's
Church from false doctrine," you hear them argue.
I believe the Lord can handle that job without
your help...or mine! Jesus said, "I will build my Church and
the gates of hell WILL NOT prevail against it."
The Lord is responsible for the Church. True,
we pastors must protect the flock to which the Lord has made us
shepherds. But we are not to judge God's true ministers because
we disagree over minor points of doctrine which the devil has
magnified.
Yes, let us pastors protect our churches from
religions that deny the fundamental doctrines of Christ--the
virgin birth, the inspiration of scriptures, the new birth,
etc... But let us also put away strife and dissension--and strive
the keep the unity of the Spirit.
So you might be wondering how the meeting with
Pastor X turned out. Well, I argued persuasively--but most
importantly in love--my theological stance. I have been known to
get a little hot-tempered when I debate concerning the
scriptures, so my wife warned me beforehand to watch my temper.
And by God's grace I did. (Sonia was with me and can verify
this.) And Pastor X tried his best to point out what he thought
were my errors. In the end neither of us, as expected, changed
our views.
The one thing about Pastor X that disappointed
me the most was not his inability to answer my arguments but his
mean-spirited attack on me personally.
"You're a dangerous man!" he
repeatedly said. ME...dangerous! You gotta be kidding.
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