ON THIS PAGE
Emphasis Mine In Bible Verses
Day 25... Transformed By Trouble
Misapplied Promises
Day 28... It Takes Time
Jeremiah 29:11 and Habakkuk 2:3 were not promises made to Christians in every age
Day 29... Accepting Your Assignment
Will Christians who 'live for themselves' only lose "eternal rewards"?
Hebrews says absolutely nothing about Christians having a particular race to run.
Day 36... Made For A Mission
Reconciliation Not Friendship
Are we responsible if a friend, neighbor or acquaintance dies in unbelief?
Matthew 24:14 is not describing the prerequisites for Christ's return for His church
and it certainly does not say that we can hasten or delay His return, which we cannot.
Day 40... Living With Purpose
Philippians 4:7
Do we know whether Esther was created by God for a particular purpose
NOTE: To paraphrase means to restate a text or passage in another form or other words - often to clarify meaning or make it easier to understand. It DOES NOT mean to alter the meaning of the original text which, in many cases, is exactly what the paraphrases (The Message, Living Bible etc.) have done. However, to be noted is that traditional translations have very often rendered Greek and Hebrew words according to preconceived ideas or biases. See Mishandling the Word of God.
Chapter/Day 25... Transformed By Trouble
Warren opens this chapter with a quote from Madam Guyon - a Catholic mystic who was far from the only highly unsuitable person he has quoted in PDL. See The Next Chapter).
Jeremiah 29:11
On page 197, under the subheading 'Remember That God's Plan Is Good', Warren says God knows what is best for you and has your best interests at heart. God told Jeremiah, "The plans I have for you (are) plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". (Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV))
The problem is that by quoting only a portion of what God actually said Warren gives the impression that Jeremiah 29:11 was a promise made to all people - or at least to all Christians of all time. Verse 4 very clearly shows it was a message to the exiles in Babylon who were being led astray by false prophets.
"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, (Jeremiah 29:4 NASB
God was encouraging them to live their lives in Babylon and assuring them that when the seventy years were complete they would be restored to their own land. Pl read it in context. He then went on to say (the section quoted in PDL is in bold)
(10) "For thus says the Lord, 'When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. (11) 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. (12) 'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. (13) 'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. (14) 'I will be found by you,' declares the Lord, 'and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,' declares the Lord, 'and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.' (Jeremiah 29:4-14 NASB)
One simply cannot arbitrarily apply promises from the Bible to our lives when they were so obviously made to a specific individual or group of people.
Chapter/Day 28... It Takes Time
This chapter is about there being no shortcuts to maturity and urges us to be patient - which is perfectly true.
However, in the attempt to provide Scriptural support for the topic, Rick Warren once again arbitrarily applies to every believer something that God said to a particular prophet in very specific circumstances
Habakkuk 2:3:
On page 223, Rick Warren tells his readers not to get discouraged, because...
When Habakkuk became depressed because he didn't think God was acting quickly enough, God had this to say: "These things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day! (Habakkuk 2:3. LB Living Bible). A delay is not a denial from God.
Note: this comes right after Warren says that God " took eighty years to prepare Moses, including forty in the wilderness. See Chapter 1 - Why 40 Days
Reading the verse from another version and in context makes it very clear that it was a specific vision that God told the prophet would not delay. (The Hebrew word châzôn simply means "a vision, a dream, revelation or prophecy). Note: Visions or prophecies could be from God thereby true (Ex. Isaiah 1:1), or from other sources thereby false (See Jeremiah 23:16).
Then the Lord answered me and said, "Record the vision (Heb. châzôn) and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run. "For the vision (Heb. châzôn) is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay. (Habakkuk 2:2-3 NASB)
See Prophets Or Deluded Charlatans
To understand what the vision was about we have to step back to chapter one which opens with a lamentation by the prophet who was greatly upset at the wickedness he saw around him.... destruction, violence, strife and contention. The law was being ignored, justice was never upheld, and the wicked surrounded the righteous (Vs. 3-4). In response God told the prophet that He was going to raise up the Chaldeans, a "fierce and impetuous people" who are "dreaded and feared" and who's "justice and authority originate with themselves" (Vs. 6-11). Through this fierce nation God would bring judgment down on the nation of Israel.
Habakkuk, probably shocked and upset when he heard this, tried to dissuade God from His intended course of action, asking Him why He would "look with favor on those who deal treacherously?" and why he would be "silent when the wicked swallow up those more righteous than they?" However, God's only answer to the prophet is that the time for the destruction of the Jewish nation by the Chaldeans was not only fixed, but was very near. He then instructed the prophet to write the vision of this terrible subject so that all who read it may flee from the impending vengeance (2:1-4).
When God said the vision was for the appointed time and would not delay, he was specifically speaking of the judgment that would come down on an unfaithful, disobedient nation through the Chaldeans. He was not speaking of His plans for every Christian through the ages.
While there is no question that when Rick Warren says "... God's timetable is rarely the same as ours" and it often takes many years to develop character (Pg. 222), he is absolutely right. There are no shortcuts to maturity however, to use Habakkuk 2:3 from The Message to support this is irresponsible.
Chapter/Day 29... Accepting Your Assignment
The theme of the chapter is that we were put on earth to make a contribution, not just to consume resources. As Warren says
"While many best-selling books offer advice on how to "get" the most out of life, that's not the reason God made you. You were created to add to life on earth, not just take from it." (Pg. 227. Emphasis in original).
He adds that every one of us has a role to play, and each of them is important regardless of whether they are visible, or behind the scenes (Pg. 230)
All of which is unquestionably true.
Romans 2:8
The chapter goes on to say,
One day God will compare how much time & energy we spent on ourselves compared with what we invested in serving others.... The Bible warns unbelievers, "He will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness, (Romans 2:8. NLT. New Living Translation) but for Christians it will mean a loss of eternal rewards."
Note: The Greek word eritheia was translated "those who live for themselves" in the NLT, "contentious" in the King James, and "selfishly ambitious" in the NASB.
Warren says the Bible warns unbelievers that God will "pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness". What concerns me is when he adds that "for Christians it will mean a loss of eternal rewards." (Emphasis Added)
Any person who calls himself a Christian but who refuses to obey the truth and instead lives a life of wickedness is not a Christian who will simply lose rewards. He is a Christian in name only and will be the object of God's wrath and anger.
Mark 8:35
Warren goes on to say (Bold Added
We are only fully alive when we're helping others. Jesus said, "If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live." (Mark 8:35 LB. Living Bible) This truth is so important that it is repeated five times in the Gospels. (Page 232)
The Bible clearly states "whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it NOT "know what it means to really live".
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save (Gr. sozo) it. (Mark 8:35 NASB)
According to Strong's Hebrew and Greek lexicon the Greek word sozo means to (literally or figuratively) save, deliver, or protect. The following examples should make that very clear.
She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save (Gr. sozo) His people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21 NASB)
He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved (Gr. sozo); but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. (Mark 16:16 NASB)
And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Gr. sozo).' (Acts 2:21 NASB)
They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved (sozo), you and your household." (Acts 16:31 NASB)
There is a BIG difference between 'really living' (which means different things to different people) and saving ones life.
Hebrews 12:1
Warren goes on to use The Living Bible's paraphrase of Hebrews 12:1 to substantiate the teaching that individual believers have particular boundaries. He says that
"God assigns each of us a field or sphere of service" and "When we try to overextend our ministry reach beyond what God shaped us for, we experience stress. Just as each runner in a race is given a different lane to run in, we must individually; run with patience the particular race that God has set before us (Pg. 253).
The author of Hebrews says absolutely nothing about Christians having a particular race to run. In fact, the word "particular" does not exist in the Greek.
If you read it in context it clearly tells us that we are to persevere to the end in our Christian faith and not allow ourselves to be hindered by sin or anything else. In this race we are encouraged by the example of the multitudes who once ran the same race and persevered to the end. We are also to keep our eye on Jesus who suffered so very much but enduring to the end finally sat "down at the right hand of the throne of God". Considering Him will help us to not grow weary, or lose heart.
In other words, we are to continue running until we have reached the goal.
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance (Gk. hupomone) the race that is set before us, (2) fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (3) For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 NASB
It is entirely possible that God has assigned some of us a particular field or given some of us a particular task to accomplish. However, there is little question that someone can experience stress even when strictly doing a God appointed task. It is concerning that someone will read this chapter and interpret any stress to mean that their work cannot be of Him, therefore give it up. If stress had been the deciding factor, I would have abandoned this site many times in the last eighteen years.
Very often a God appointed task is difficult, and the person carrying it out will experience many obstacles. In fact, it is often the case that the more valuable their work is for the Kingdom the more they will face opposition from the enemies of the Gospel.
Chapter/Day 36... Made For A Mission
2 Corinthians 5:18
In this chapter, Rick Warren quotes the Bible as saying
"Christ changed us from enemies into his friends and gave us the task of making others his friends also" (2 Corinthians 5:18 TEV. Today's English Version) Pg. 282
However, just one page later under the heading "Your mission is a wonderful privilege", he quotes the Living Bible's version of the same verse
"God has given us the privilege of urging everyone to come into his favor and be reconciled to him" (2 Corinthians 5:18 LB. Living Bible)
In the first instance because he is trying to make the point that we all have a mission, Warren uses the TEV that says God gave us the task of making others His friends. In the second instance, he switches to The Living Bible that uses the word privilege because the focus is on getting to partner with God in the building of his kingdom.
At least The Living Bible says that people need to be "be reconciled to him". (No capitalization in the original). Almost every other version uses the term ministry of reconciliation that the TEV changed into "making friends".
Now all these things are from God, who reconciled (Gk. katallasso) us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation (Gk. katallage), (2 Corinthians 5:18 NASB)
The meaning of the word reconciliation is to reestablish a relationship between two or more parties. In the case of humans and God, it more properly applies to being restored to Divine favor that only happens when He no longer counts our trespasses against us. It is the end of the estrangement between God and humanity caused by sin. Read the following two verses...
namely, that God was in Christ reconciling (Gk. katallasso) the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation (Gk. katallage). Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled (Gk. katallasso) to God. (2 Corinthians 5:19-20 NASB)
Ezekiel 3:18
But let us return for a moment to the topic of people's mission about which Warren says
Your mission is a continuation of Jesus' mission on earth. As his followers, we are to continue what Jesus started. Jesus calls us not only to come to him, but to go for him. Your mission is so significant that Jesus repeated it five times, in five different ways, in five different books of the Bible (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47; John 20:21; Acts 1:8).
All of which is very true. However, he then goes on to say...
You may have been unaware that God holds you responsible for the unbelievers who live around you. The Bible says, "You must warn them so they may live. If you don't speak out to warn the wicked to stop their evil ways, they will die in their sin. But I will hold you responsible for their death" (Ezekiel 3:18, NCV). You are the only Christian some people will ever know, and your mission is to share Jesus with them.
Warren gives the reader the impression that the believer will be held responsible if their friend, neighbor, or acquaintance dies in unbelief.
Reading this verse in context, makes it clear that the Lord specifically told Ezekiel that if His message was not delivered (When I say to the wicked, "You shall surely die,") then the blood of the wicked would be required at Ezekiel's hand. The focus was on God's message being faithfully delivered.
Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me. "When I say to the wicked, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. "Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself. (Ezekiel 3:17-19 NASB)
Matthew 24:14
On the next page, Warren says
What we do know for sure is this: "Jesus will not return until everyone God wants to hear the Good News has heard it. Jesus said, 'The Good News about God's kingdom will be preached in all the world, to every nation. Then the end will come." (Matthew 24:14 NCV. New Century Version) if you want Jesus to come back sooner, focus on fulfilling your mission, not figuring out prophecy. (Pg. 286).
Matthew 24:14 is not describing the prerequisites for Christ's return for His church and it certainly does not say that we can hasten or delay His return, which we cannot. When Jesus said the end will only come when the Good News is preached in all the world He was referring to an event that we have nothing to do with... It is an angel that preaches the Gospel to the ends of the earth and warns that the "hour of His judgment has come".
And I saw another angel flying in mid heaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, "Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters." (Revelation 14:6-7 NASB)
This Gospel message will be preached to those in the latter part of the great tribulation. It is the very last chance that an apostate world will have to save themselves because the angels message is immediately followed by the reaping of the earth - the separating of those who are God's people from those who are not. The harvest is gathered into the barn and the tares are cast into the winepress. This is quickly followed by seven angels who receive seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God which will be poured out on the earth.
See The First Six Seals and Matthew 24
What often escapes notice is that both the Olivet Discourse and the Seven Seals of Revelation 6 include, in the same sequence the events leading up to and the actual tribulation of the church. After which, both talk about the Great Tribulation of God's wrath. (The tribulation in which Christians suffer is NOT synonymous with God's Wrath, but it happens nonetheless, shortly after the anti-christ shows up. It is then that everyone who kills you thinks that he is 'offering service' to God. In fact the spilling of the blood of the saints is one of the reasons for God's wrath falling on the planet)
The Judgment of God - The Seventh Seal and The First Six Trumpets
One often hears of the media describing one of nature's calamities as being "of biblical proportions". This extreme language makes one wonder how they would describe the true plagues that God will send on the earth, which will indeed be "of biblical proportions". The first six of these plagues are each heralded by an angel blowing a Trumpet.
That Earth-Shaking Seventh Trumpet
is the most consequential of all the judgments, since at this call significant and apparently rapid changes take place. This last Trumpet brings an end to the mystery of God... Jesus appears before the Face of God for us and, the atonement complete, He reaps the earth (what we call the Rapture). The doors to the Kingdom are closed forever.
Chapter/Day 38 - Becoming a World Class Christian
The title of this chapter is a play on words. In it Rick Warren urges Christians to stop focusing on themselves and pay more attention to the global application of the Great Commission. He touches on the fact that much of the world already thinks globally, and how much easier it has become to spread the Gospel. Facts that many of us really need to take to heart. Warren then goes on to say
"The first way to start thinking globally is to begin praying for specific countries. World-class Christians pray for the world. Get a globe or map and pray for nations by name. The Bible says "If you ask me, I will give you the nations; all the people on earth will be yours." (Psalm 2:8 NCV)
What Rick Warren neglects to mention is that the promise to give the nations as an inheritance was made to the Messiah, not to any Christian who prays over a globe or map. (All Emphasis Added) It was a warning to the kings and rulers who "take counsel together" to take a stand against God, because His Anointed One will "break them with a rod of iron" and "shatter them like earthenware." (Vs. 9)
(1) Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? (2) The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, (3) "Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!" (4) He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. (5) Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, (6) "But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain." (7) "I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. (8) 'Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. (9) 'You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'" (10) Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. (11) Worship the Lord with reverence And rejoice with trembling. (12) Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him! (Psalms 2:1-12 NASB )
The apostles who quoted this Psalm in the book of Acts specifically mentioning that the Lord's Anointed was the Christ
who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said, 'why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples devise futile things? 'the kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ.' (Acts 4:25-26 NASB)
Luke 9:62
On page 302, Rick Warren so rightly says "so much of what we waste our energy on will not matter even a year from now, much less for eternity. Don't trade your life for temporary things". He then quotes Jesus as saying "anyone who lets himself be distracted from the work I plan for him is not fit for the Kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62 LB. Living Bible).
A word for word translation says
But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62 NASB)
This was said in the context of three would be disciples who wanted to follow Christ. However, two of them wanted to first take care of something before doing so. The first wanted to bury his father, the other wished to say goodbye to his family. It seems that both men fully intended to become the Lord's disciples, but not quite yet. Although there is nothing wrong with taking the time to bury a parent or saying good bye to one, the text says absolutely nothing about God specifically planning any work for them.
The Bible makes it quite obvious that the Father picks certain people to do very specific jobs however, to say this applies to believers in general is going well beyond what is said in the Scriptures.
The emphasis in Luke 9 was simply on not looking back committing ones self. As said by David Guzik in his commentary on Luke
Jesus was not afraid to discourage potential disciples. Unlike many modern evangelists, He was interested more in quality than in quantity. In addition, Jesus was merely being honest. This is what it meant to follow Him, and He wanted people to know it at the beginning. [01]
And one more interesting fact by
phrase, "Allow me first to bury my father," is an interesting phrase of procrastination. It doesn’t mean that your father is dead. It is a phrase that they still use to the present day, that says, I want to stick around home for a while. I want to wait till my father dies, and then I’ll come. And it didn’t mean that his father was dead and was ready to be buried, because they always buried people within two hours after they were dead. [02]
Chapter/Day 40... Living With Purpose
Philippians 4:7
On page 314, Warren asks how we know when God is at the center of our lives.
"When God's at the center, you worship. When he's not, you worry. Worry is the warning light that God has been shoved to the sideline. The moment you put him back at the center, you will have peace again. The Bible says "A sense of God's wholeness... will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." (Philippians 4:7. The Message)
I have absolutely no idea what "A sense of God's wholeness" means but it doesn't really matter because the Bible says no such thing. In context, Philippians 4:7 reads... Emphasis Added
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 NASB)
As said by commentator Albert Barnes.. "The peace here particularly referred to is that which is felt when we have no anxious care about the supply of our needs, and when we go confidently and commit everything into the hands of God. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee;" Isaiah 26:3.
Esther 4:14
Warren went on to say
This phrase is the ultimate definition of a life well lived. You do the eternal and timeless (God's purpose) in a contemporary and timely way (in your generation). That is what the purpose-driven life is all about. Neither past nor future generations can serve God's purpose in this generation. Only we can. Like Esther, God created you "for such a time as this." (Esther 4:14) God is still looking for people to use. The Bible says, "The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." (2 Chronicles 16:9. NLT) Will you be a person God can use for his purposes? Will you serve God's purpose in your generation? (Pg. 318)
The verse from Esther quoted above gives the impression that Esther was created by God for a particular purpose when, in reality, because the Bible says nothing one way or the other we cannot presume she was.
Mordecai was Esther's cousin who warned her that her position in the palace would not save her from the king's decree that all the Jews in the land were to be annihilated. He warned her that if she kept silent relief and deliverance would arise for the Jews from another source but she and her father's house would perish.
Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, "Do not imagine that you in the king's palace can escape any more than all the Jews. "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father's house will perish.
And then he added
End Notes
[01] David Guzik. Enduring Word Commentary. https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/luke-9/
[02] Pastor Chuck Smith. Blue Letter Bible study tools
https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/smith_chuck/c2000_Luk/Luk_009.cfm
[03] https://biblehub.com/interlinear/esther/4-14.htm
Continue On To Part VII - Ill-Chosen, Unsuitable And Inappropriate Quotes
PDL quotes some highly questionable authors including some Catholic mystics and the pioneers of contemplative prayer. and lets not forget more than one well known new age leader. HERE
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