A Response to an Apostate Pastor

I received the following text last Saturday. After a week of prayer, and feeling several times that I would not respond to it, I finally decided that a response was merited and hopefully it will edify the church and call this pastor to biblical truth. This will also allow for me to type my response instead of texting it. This was sent as a text, so understandably it had many typographical errors, I have corrected these so that they do not detract from the message. I only changed spelling and punctuation, the original is available if you would like to read it.

Hello my name is ******. I am a pastor in *******, GA. I was greatly disturbed when at a Braves game there was a tract left on my car and after I read it, I realized there was no love only condemnation. Jesus did not command us to repent He commanded us to love and His goodness will lead them to repentance.  It grieved my heart to see a church representing our Savior Jesus using condemnation.  This is not an effective tool for evangelism. I pray you will have a revelation of His great love for you that His love will begin to flow from you.  I'm sorry if this is harsh, but I choose to live in obedience to the conviction and I had to send this.  Paul admonishes us many times not to turn away from or preach any other gospel than the one he first preached. The gospel of grace according to Ephesians 2:8-10

Response

First of all, thank you for taking the time to read this tract and for your response. This is why we give out tracts, to get people thinking and to start conversations. In that regard, this tract has done its first duty.

Second, I do not know which tract you received, I was not at the Brave's game, and know of no-one giving out tracts with my website on it at the Brave's game. Based on what you have written, I expect that it was a "Pop Quiz", but it may not have been. We excommunicated a woman at the beginning of the year, an antichrist and Jezebel of the highest degree, and she may still be printing tracts with our website on them, so depending on the tract, your concerns may be well founded if there was no love on the tract. But that does not affect the rest of this response.

You stated, that "Jesus did not command us to repent", and this is where I hope to rebuke and correct you. Over and over again Jesus commands both the world, and the church, to repent. His first command was "repent and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15), his last command is "be zealous therefore, and repent" (Revelation 3:19), and repentance is a quintessential part of his message throughout his ministry (Luke 13:1-5, Luke 5:32, etc). Likewise, he tells his followers that "repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations..." (Luke 24:47) Those who preach the gospel implore hearers to "repent towards God and faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).

Your statement that our love will lead people to repentance has no biblical precedent. You've nearly quoted Romans 2:4, but that is in no wise a command to the church, but an admonition to the lost. But true love warns, it seeks to see people turned (repentance), to be saved, and this faith only comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of Christ. Your silence and aversion on the matter has most likely condemned many. Loving people without commanding repentance does as one wise preacher said, "makes the world a nicer place to go to Hell from."

A saviour who comes only to save and not preach condemnation is no Saviour at all, because there is nothing to be saved from. Jesus Christ preached salvation and condemnation regularly, see for example John 3:16-21. If this is not an effective tool for evangelism then you stand in direct opposition to the greatest Evangelist, who is Christ the Lord.

Your hatred of the justice of God as evidenced in your response does not bode well for your soul. You seem to have fallen for a tender loving jesus who does not exist. You are preaching a false jesus and this jesus shares none in common with the Living Christ than a name. Examine Romans 3:25 and 5:8, that the righteousness of God was demonstrated in Christ's death, and the love of God was demonstrated in him dying for sinners. Without condemnation, then Christ died for naught, but in Christ there is now no condemnation.

In all harshness, I pray that you have a revelation of the Living God, and that a love for his  whole character would be borne in you, and you would embrace the preaching of his full counsel, including the elementary doctrines of repentance from dead works and faith towards God.

Your gospel denies a need for grace, and therefore is anathema. See that the Lord is good, and then flee from the wrath to come. Preach the same.

And finally, if I am right in deducing that you are a female pastor from your name, I implore you to renounce your blasphemy and not step, but leap, from your pulpit role of usurping the Lord's authority.

In all love, I implore you and Christ commands you, "Repent, and believe the gospel."