Tag: red flags

Watch Out for this Leaven – It has Permeated the Visible Church

On By Jeff CrippenIn false teachingLeave a comment

I received this email from a friend this morning and am very thankful to her for taking the time to write and point out a prevailing false teaching that is soooo commonly pushed in churches. This stuff will guilt and demean and it can sound so “biblical.”  The screenshots she mentions follow below and then my reply to her after that.

Dear Pastor Crippen,

Every morning we get an email devotional from the Institute for Creation Research. I am sending two screen shots of the devotional this morning. I was quite shocked to read the commentary. I thought it would be of interest to you. The passage that is mentioned has always been confusing to me but the interpretation given here makes it sound like women remain under “a sentence.”  That doesn’t make sense since I know Jesus redeemed me and freed me from the curse of the law. He paid for it all. I would love to hear your commentary on this passage.
Thank you for fulfilling your calling. I have written before but will say it again- your ministry is literally saving lives.

A concerned friend in Christ,

Here is the devotional that she sent. As she mentioned it is put out by the Institute for Creation Research.

Continue reading “Watch Out for this Leaven – It has Permeated the Visible Church” →

Let Me Say this Once Again – Evil Claims it can Read Our Motives and Thoughts

On By Jeff CrippenIn Abusers9 Comments

1 Corinthians 2:11  For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

I have written on this subject before but it has happened to me so often that I believe it is an extremely common tactic of wicked people – domestic abusers, spiritual abusers, and others. In an effort to accuse and disempower his target/victim, an evil man will use these kinds of statements as a weapon:

  • I know why you did that
  • I know why you enrolled in that class
  • I know why you moved to that location
  • I know why you said that to me

And guess what? He will go on to complete the sentence even if you don’t want him to. He will attribute an evil or a stupid or some other kind of bad motive to you. It is all about accusing, guilting, and shaming.

Continue reading “Let Me Say this Once Again – Evil Claims it can Read Our Motives and Thoughts” →

We Must Use the Discernment the Lord Has Given Us

On By Jeff CrippenIn Churches/Church Response10 Comments

Joh 13:34-35  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  (35)  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

1Jn 2:10-11  Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.  (11)  But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

As I look back over many years of Christian ministry now, I am seeing with more clarity one way in which I was frequently duped by the enemy and his servants. As I have grown wiser in this regard, I am accused of being “too judgmental” and of “over-reacting.” Nope. I’m not.

Let me explain by illustration.

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