Marvin posted...

《《 Now, I make no argument for watered-down versions of sin, repentance or the cross, but I must give place to the Spirit of God speaking as he wants, how he wants, in the way he want through who he wants. 》》

I think our brother hit the nail on the head. Are we really giving place for the Spirit of God to speak. And to use the vessels that He would use to speak His truth.

Since my move into the Denver Colorado area I have found myself fellowshipping with Seventh-day Adventist. I do not hold to their view of the Law or the Sabbath. But amazingly inside the Adventist movement I have found brothers and sisters who have a deep heart passion for Christ.

These brothers and sisters have spoken to my heart as I pray that I have spoken to theirs. Ultimately it is Jesus who is at the center of our hearts. Also these Adventist brethren are aware of the urgency of the hour and of the need for Jesus to save souls.

I am very aware of some of the shortcomings of Adventist doctrine. But I'm also aware of the heart passion of some of these brothers and sisters for Christ. And their desires to see souls saved before the return of Jesus.

I can extend mercy to those the Adventist movement because of my prayer ministry to the persecuted church. When one is in a restricted nation such a Somalia. And the johadists are attempting to hunt you down like a dog and kill you for your faith in Christ. There is no luxury in arguing over the finer points of theology.

A brother once remarked to me that when we argue over theology we have too much time on her hands.

I honestly do not know anything about Tim Keller other than the fact I heard his name. But he seems like a brother who wants to take the gospel to the Skeptics. Let me ask this. How many of us in this forum are doing what this brother is doing.

There's an Adventist brother who's giving a series of messages on Revelation here in Denver. I can sit back and judge his views of the law and the Sabbath. What this brother sees the urgency in the hour and wants to see souls come to Jesus. Before I judge him I need to ask do I have his heart urgency to see souls come to Jesus. Am I attempting to preach the gospel to the Lost.

Just some thoughts for consideration.

Blaine

Tim Keller Completes Translation Of Bible Into Elven-Tongue

NEW YORK, NY—Emerging from his study after months of grueling work, pastor and author Tim Keller proudly announced Wednesday that he had finished his complete translation of the Old and New Testaments into Sindarin, the language of many Elven cultures in Middle-Earth.

Sustaining himself only on water and lembas bread for nearly half a year, Keller had reportedly locked himself into his study late last summer and began his work on the translation on a whim, just after completing one of his weekly readings of The Lord of the Rings.

http://babylonbee.com/news/tim-keller-completes-translation-bible-elven-tongue/

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Wayne Kraus

Over the last year and a half I have visited four different Redeemer locations (3 in NYC, one in NJ) and have heard Tim Keller (and his son and others) preach numerous times. At first the services seemed quite orderly, the music impeccable (especially at the W. 83rd St. location where the hymns are played by classical professionals, many of whom perform at Lincoln Center - world class musicians). The preaching was very articulate as well. But something was amiss...

After the first or second sermon I began to notice that ALL of the pastors were making constant references to secular media (movies, books, etc.), and not in a way that encourages discernment or separation from worldly entertainments. At the book table I saw volumes by Tim Keller (as well as John Piper)...and J.R.R. Tolkien (yes, you can buy LORD OF THE RINGS material at Redeemer). From the pulpit I have heard references to Harry Potter in a positive way (Keller has said in interviews that it is a wonderful "redemptive" story). It is clear that they were instructed by Keller to do this.

There is no separation from the world there.

A friend of mine and I took two young ladies out to lunch there a few months ago. One is in ministry, and said that she wanted to start a "happy hour" ministry where they take people out to the bar for a drink. "Christians can have fun, y'know!" she opined, saying she was going to talk to the pastor about it. Appalling.

Though I am no Calvinist (or Arminian, for that matter), I found this website by a former Redeemer attendee to be quite telling:

http://www.newcalvinist.com/tim-kellers-false-gospel/testimony-former-redeemer-attendee/

We are living in a VERY apostate time, especially in the western world. Our personal walk with Jesus is vital, now more than ever. There are incredible levels of deception going on in the church right now.

For those who don't know, the 'Babylon bee' is a satirical website attempting to add an 'edge' of humor to current events.

It's not the work of fine investigative journalism.

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Marvin

Thanks alec for the link and the testimony.

The link sent me to an anonymous author making various claims, that in and of itself almost disqualifies the report whether its bad or good. How does one contact this author to validate his attendance, groups or even if he had a fiance'?

The testimonies given and the books I've read are very different.

I didn't have any difficulty with Tim Keller dealing with sin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDuXlGSV7l4

I'm not attempting to whitewash errors or issues that may be present but I'm not sold on Keller being false in any way.

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Marvin