On March 25-26, 2022 Countryside Community EBMC Church will be hosting a “Men’s Retreat” with Steve Janz. The subtitle ad reads: “God is Taking His Men Back.” Knowing the attacks on the gospel, on sound doctrine, on the Bible, on Christianity in general taking place within this EBMC church, and its allegiance to neo-evangelicalism, I am highly skeptical as to what this man will teach concerning “God . . . taking His men back.” The sessions have a battle and warrior theme, undoubtedly meant to draw men into the fray. They are: “The Battle Cry-A Call to Action!” (“The need for ‘Battle Ready Action.’”); “The Battle Defined-What our fight is!” (“Every man needs to understand what the fight is”); Two-part sessions on “The Battle Weapons-Fight with the right tools” (“Every man needs to understand what his weapons are”); and then lastly, “The battle Strategy-fighting with the right team” (“Every man needs to understand that he is not fighting alone but shoulder to shoulder brother to brother”)
First of all, who is Steve Janz?
According to what Steve says about himself, plastered all over his social media, he is the Executive Director of Sunnybrae Campus at Millar College of the Bible and Studied Master of Christian Leadership at Crest Leadership Center. He lives in Tappen, BC. Prior to his appointment at Millar, Janz spent 16 years with Christians and Missionary Alliance in Canada, as lead pastor at Transcona Alliance Church and associate pastor at McDiarmid Drive Alliance Churc. Anyone that has any sense of discernment about them, knows that the Alliance churches are extremely heretical and this speaks volumes as to what the man believes and practices. I mean extremely heretical. Emerging church apostate heretical. The pastors, like Janz, have to be “cool” like undisciplined teenage kids in preaching with jeans and collared shirt hanging out. Ungodly rock and roll strange fire they dare call worship, truck loads of false doctrine, a false gospel, female “pastors” and “leaders,” any and every perversion of Scripture entertained, massive corruption of scripture, members accepted of many and widely varied doctrinal and practical positions (many with no true Biblical testimony of salvation yet of course treated as saved) and exorbitant worldliness to sundry degrees, and so much more. You might think I was describing EBMC churches; I’m not, but many of the same false teachings and errors and sinful practices are present (besides the female “pastors”) as in the Alliance churches. And they certainly have no qualms about associating with emerging heretical churches. These “churches” for the very most part are not “churches” acceding to Scripture but ear-tickling man-centred entertainment centres.
The Alliance churches denomination has in fact always been heretical, right from its inception. The Canadian preacher A.B. Simpson (1843-1919) is accredited with starting these churches, along with the unbiblical faith promise missions giving program (Is “Faith Promise Mission Giving” Bible-Based?). A.B. Simpson was a blatant heretic that followed after mysticism, was absolutely loaded with Keswick heresy (e.g., false faith, false and heretical sanctification and holiness, pursuing after a crisis experience, endeavoured to be “wholly sanctified” by entering into a “crisis experience,” Quaker quietism, false union with Christ, false stillness such as “Let go and let God,” two-tiered Christianity, two-rests, etc), habitually put the experiential above the Word of God, a master of pragmatism (which included having woman teach men, since after all “God is calling His Church to use all her resources and agencies” — A.B. Simpson, “Constitution of the Evangelical Missionary Alliance, 1887 — the high profile by the way that women held in the Keswick movement and the Alliance reflected the influence of the unscriptural Holiness thought which they embraced), extremely ecumenical knowing no ecclesiastical boundaries, false and anemic gospel, etc. In this, Charles Nienkirchen’s book “A.B. Simpson and the Pentecostal Movement,” is absolutely right, Simpson was a proto-Pentecostal in both theology and practice. For all his life, Simpson was pursuing after that which is only received at and through true conversion. Instead of repenting and turning from his false faith, he sought to replicate what the new birth brings through a sanctification experience. It’s the classic example of putting the horse before the cart and its what makes Keswick theology so attractive. It is the natural pathway for many who attempt to live the Christian life without being actually, genuinely, born again. That is why for the most part those with very weak or false testimonies of salvation, who demonstrate a lack of understanding of scripture, will typically embrace Keswick theological heresy. True born again believers reject it because it opposes the Bible and the doctrines of salvation and sanctification. It is unsurprising that the Christian Alliance Churches, which Simpson started, are so heretical and apostate today. They were already completely leavened over with false professing believers in that day, something even their star preacher, A.W. Tozer, admitted, declaring in his view at least 75% of the people in their churches were unconverted. I believe that number to be, conservatively in the ballpark of 99% today. So they were already of a heretical nature when they began, noted in this statement alone, “The Christian Alliance is designed to be a simple and fraternal union of all who hold in common the fullness of Jesus in His present grace and His coming glory. It is not intended in any way to be an engine of division or antagonism in the churches, but, on the contrary, to embrace Evangelical Christians of every name who hold this common faith and life…” (Preamble, 1887 Constitution of the Christian Alliance). This type of ecumenicalism completely contradicts the product of true salvation as found in Scripture: 2 Cor 6:14-18; Eph 5:5-11; 2 Jn 1:9-11; 1 Tim 6:3-5; 2 Tim 3:5-9; 4:1-4; etc.
He seems to have a certain affinity for heretics, not a shock by any means among “evangelicals” but as natural as fleshly living for the natural man as we consider the rhetorical question by Amos: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Am 3:3). His favs BFFs include the blasphemous emerging church wolf Mark Driscoll, heretic Timothy Keller, ravening apostate C.S. Lewis, Donald Whitney, John Piper, and these are merely the ones he publishes publicly on his FB; I would be afraid to took through his list of books in his personal library. Certainly they would include the murderous false teachers John Calvin and Martin Luther. Further below I will cover these in more detail.
That is who is coming to EBMC to teach turn men back to be God. Wow, unbelievable. Where is the discernment? Will he be calling men to salvation if there is possibility they are unsaved? Will he preach against and warn of false professions many may have embraced? Will he preach against worldly and ungodly music? That would of course never happen because its too “judgmental” and he is involved in some of those sins himself. He wouldn’t contend for the faith if his life depended upon it. Where is Biblical obedience when it comes to hosting heretics? I find it so ironic; so many within denominations such as this lament the loss of freedom and tyranny in our nation yet are completely blind to the fact that they are a large cause of it. When lands become apostate, they are given over by God to every evil. By denying godly, holy and righteous living, separated from heretics such as Steve Janz (only one of MANY examples that could be given, and are in fact given here: The Apostasy of EBMC), the nation will quickly become apostate and filled with every kind of evil. So we see.
Herein we also see the convoluted hypocrisy of evangelicals like EBMC. Apparently they are against Calvinism. They take a “stand” against Calvinism by asking Calvinists to leave the church (which occurred early 2019, in this church hosting this retreat, Countryside Community Church) and then preaching against the Calvinist doctrine of Predestination (Jan 2019, same church) -- while simultaneously embracing Reformed Calvinists like Janz and frequently quoting Reformed Calvinists from the pulpit, their commentaries used on a weekly basis, and teaching Calvinist heretical doctrine such as regeneration prior to conversion.
Secondly, based upon who Steve Janz is and where he comes from and what EMBC embraces, let’s consider what this “battle” is really all about. Will God be “taking men back,”whatever that means, or will they become even more heretical?
1. What is their “Battle Cry, Call to Action”?
The advertisement says: “The need for ‘Battle Ready Action.’”
What would the “battle cry” consist of?
(a) It would certainly include Modern Baal Worship, the sound track for the “battle.” Janz is neck deep into worldly and ungodly and sacrilegious rock and roll worship music, the full rock and roll bands, not just that which comes under the label “Christian” but also that which is outright wicked, all of which is worshipping at Baal’s golden calf. The first thing that came up on his FB page, which I accessed on March 18 was a full on five-person rock band, jamming electric and bass guitars with drum thumping in the background, female in male attire syncopating ice cream style into the microphone, all to the groove of the audience with their hands lifted high and many eyes closed, bodies swaying sensually to the carnal beat 👇🏻. This is post-modern "evangelical" "Christianity."
He says he is happy about these worship bands and what they produce.
Read here as to why Christian Contemporary Music (CCM), is the Soundtrack of End-Times Apostasy and here: The Incongruity of Contemporary Worship Music and Country Music (e.g. High Valley) with God's Word.
He is also into ungodly and worldly rock and roll bands that have zero pretence of religion, such as Bob Dylan:
And Pink Floyd [UPDATE: This info on Pink Floyd added April 10, 2022]:
Pink Floyd's music has been notoriously connected to suicide. A teenager in Wisconsin committed suicide by hanging himself in 1986 in his dormitory room at St. John’s Military Academy. The music playing in the background was from a morbid album by Pink Floyd entitled ‘The Wall’ with songs such as ‘Is There Anybody Out There?’ and ‘Goodbye, Cruel World,’ and ‘Waiting for the Worms.’” (H.T. Spence, Confronting Contemporary Christian Music, p. 99). In Plano, Texas 1983, two best friends religiously listened to a Pink Floyd album ‘Pink Floyd — The Wall,’ about a rock singer who builds a wall around his life to shut out the world. When one of them was killed accidentally, the other committed suicide the day after the funereal by carbon monoxide poisoning, while listening to one of Pink Floyd’s songs, ‘Goodbye, Cruel World.’ Six days later another boy in Plano killed himself by the same method and according to Newsweek, his radio was blaring the same type of music” (The Truth about Rock, pp. 54-55).
“If any music has been guilty by association, it is rock music. It would be impossible to make a complete list, but here are a few of the ‘associates’ of rock: drug addicts, revolutionaries, rioters, Satan worshippers, drop-outs, draft- dodgers, homosexuals and other sex deviates, rebels, juvenile criminals, Black Panthers and White Panthers, motorcycle gangs, blasphemers, suicides, heathenism, voodooism, phallixism, Communism in the United States (Communist Russia outlawed rock music around 1960), paganism, lesbianism, immorality, demonology, promiscuity, free love, free sex, disobedience (civil and uncivil), sodomy, venereal disease, discotheques, brothels, orgies of all kinds, night clubs, dives, strip joints, filthy musicals such as ‘Hair’ and ‘Uncle Meat’; and on and on the list could go almost indefinitely” (Frank Garlock, The Big Beat, pp. 12-13).
Steve Janz is loving and promoting blatant Satanic evil, and potentially leading people into eternal hell fire through suicide (read here on this subject: Do Professing Christians that Commit Suicide Go to Heaven?). Music that is morally corrupt, and utterly despicable, and spawned in the depths of deepest hell, of which should NEVER be found in the possession of a true born again believer. Any truly regenerate saint, which is a sinner that has been born again, understands by the Spirit of God through the Word of God that rock music is intimately associated with everything that is evil and rebellious and anti-christ. He also knows that rock music entirely fits the biblical definition of the worldliness which the Christian is not to love: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 Jn 2:16). Further, he knows that people that love this music, love the world, but God's Word says, "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1 Jn 2:15b). Only truly saved people have Gods love in them (Rom 8:34-39; Heb 12:5-11) while the lost (including false professors) do not (Jn 5:42). Individuals such as Janz live after the lusts of the world while only he that "doeth the will of God abideth for ever." (1 Jn 2:17; cf. Matt 7:21). Yet this heretic is pastoring churches and leading "Bible" schools. Absolutely unbelievable! I couldn't even make this stuff up.
The Bible tells us to “hate every false way” (Ps. 119:104) and to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” (Eph. 5:11). People that truly love God will “love without dissimulation” and thus will “Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” (Rom 12:9). This is the behaviour and fruit of truly saved people. This means to hate this CCM/“Christian” rock stuff and other worldly ungodly music (like Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd and who knows who else) and to reject professing “Christians” and “Churches” that compromise and apostatize with it. We must hate what they do and the way they do it. We must hate the philosophy of ministry that it represents and the way it misrepresents the God of the Bible. We must hate the way it deceives the people with whom it is involved and what it does to churches. We must hate the way that it harms and even ruins discernment and the way that it perverts a biblical or true understanding of spirituality and love. We must hate the way that it endorses false worship for churches. We must not tolerate it or have anything to do with it. It's disgusting. Nauseating of the face-in-palm kind. But Stanz (and the people of EBMC) appear to love what God hates, quite the opposite of what is read in Ps 119:127-128, “Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.”
One could essentially stop right here and say, ‘it is enough.’ One doesn’t need further proof to know what Steve Janz is doing is not of God but of "another spirit" (2 Cor 11:4). This music is entirely of the world and of the devil. Nothing about it is Biblical. The devil quotes Scripture as well, but does it have value or give him credibility? Does it reflect Christianity? In one sermon Janz speaks of living godly lives in an ungodly world. The hypocrisy is staggering and revolting,🤮. He is a blind leader leading the blind and the slippery slope of apostasy he and his followers are on, does not just lead to a ditch but to the eternal and unquenchable fires of hell.
(b) Will the “battle cry” be psychology driven? The love of self “gospel.” Positive-only, negativity disallowed? Don’t be afraid of the shrink? Don’t criticize, only speak soft words of encouragement? Psychological heresy that focuses on the flesh, on the “wants,” on meeting each others needs? This is not Bible-centred, even when they “use” Scripture to support their position. I suspect Scripture is more of a crutch than anything in these pep talks to “console” the minds of the afflicted. Considering his history with Alliance churches I wouldn’t be surprised.
(c) It could certainly include “judge-not.” Undoubtedly. Thats usually the first thing that exists the mouth. ‘Don’t ye be judgmental now.’ Read here on what the Bible says about it, lest ye be “of corrupt mind” and “reprobate concerning the faith” (2 Tim 3:8): The Philosophy of Judge-Not and Don't Reprove Others is Heretical. By embracing this heresy, you reveal yourself to not actually love other people (Pr 27:6; 28:23; 24:11-12; Ezk. 3:16-21; Rom 15:14; Phil 1:9-10) for its blatant disobedience to God’s Word, which may well mean you don’t know God (1 Jn 2:3-5; Eph 2:10; Heb 10:36) or love God (1 Jn 3:22-24; 5:1-3; Jn 7:16-18; 14:23-24; 15:10-14) because “this is love, that we walk after his commandments.” (2 Jn 1:6). I think more often than not, people of this persuasion are unsaved, knowing what scripture says about the subject. That would also fit the allegiance to heresies and heretics.
In a comment after I confronted Janz about his love for evil music, Pink Floyd, he pejoratively claimed I had “pharisaical and moralistic pride,” which ties to the whole judge-not philosophy. Obeying the Bible apparently is “pharisaical and moralistic pride,” which shows how far gone these wicked false professing "believers" actually are.
2. What would they claim to be “The Battle Defined” as to what their “fight is”?
The advertisement says: “Every man needs to understand what the fight is.”
I am intensely curious as to what a neo-evangelical would define as “the fight”? I fight and contend for the truth on an ongoing basis, like Scripture commands and the faith demands, but I have learnt that these type of men don’t like it. They actually hate it, even though God loves it. I’m not surprised. Jesus said they would hate it. “Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.” (Lk 6:22-23). People that don’t like to be corrected and reproved--which is the "way of life" of the saved (Pr 6:23), are unsaved (Pr 12:1; 2 Tim 3:16-17; 4:2-4).
And how can they “understand what the fight is” when many are very likely unsaved? Does God indwell and teach unsaved people? Yet the people are always treated as “saved,” even all the people that attend church in the country of Canada (according to Janz, the 23% of Canadians that attend church), even though the Bible says they are almost entirely unsaved — so where is the discernment?
How can they “understand what the fight is” when they use a book that masquerades as the Sword of the Spirit but is in fact a counterfeit? That includes every single modern English version developed on the back of the Westcott and Hort heretical Critical Text, known today as Nestle-Aland #27 or some other revision, since revisions never stop in their corrupt “Word of God.” More on that next point.
How can he understand what the fight is, when he doesn’t embrace sound doctrine? 1 Tim 1:3 however says:
“As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine.”
Paul besought Timothy to charge the elders at Ephesus that they "teach no other doctrine." That's very clear. "Teach no other doctrine" is one Greek word, “heterodidaskaleo.” This mirrors what Paul said in Ti 2:1 concerning “sound doctrine” in elders and then in 1 Tim 6:3-5:
“If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness . . . . from such withdraw thyself.”
People at EBMC aren’t withdrawing but embracing. Embracing unsound doctrine. Embracing error. Embracing heretics. Not consenting to the wholesome words of Christ. Justifying disobedience. Having heretics fill the pulpit. Me thinks it would take a heretic to invite a heretic.
Reformers and Calvinists and Neo-Evangelicals, such like Steve Janz, deconstruct the truth. The Bible says “no other doctrine” and “sound doctrine” but they twist that around to change the meaning of “doctrine” into “gospel.” "Doctrine" allegedly refers only to "the gospel" in that passage because the gospel is apparently the only “essential” doctrine while everything else is “non-essential.” That also is evil. All of Scripture is boiled down to one doctrine. Is "doctrine" "the gospel" in 1 Tim 1:3 and in 6:3-5 among other verses of scripture? Of course not. Calling "doctrine" "the gospel" is a type of deconstruction, and that is what reformers and Calvinists do. This is one example of very many on how “conservative evangelicals” misuse and abuse scripture to justify their blatant disobedience to scripture.
A teacher or preacher may dismantle Christianity by deconstructing the language. Christianity is based upon language, the language of the Bible. Rather than say you don't believe the Bible (which is suspect as it is for anyone that continues to use modern “Bible” perversions and embraces textual criticism), you can just deny a "single correct meaning." Deconstructing the biblical text allows and even instructs men not to believe and obey the Bible. They not only disobey, but they disobey while thinking they're obeying, because of the deconstruction of the language of scripture. A church can grow in numbers from the welcome of plenteous and diverse disobedience, while still labeling it obedience. Thats the sort of thing we see throughout the history of the Alliance churches that Steve Janz pastored and also what we see at EBMC.
They, Janz and EBMC, won’t fight for godly music, or godly dress, or God’s inspired and preserved Word in both the copies of the originals and translations, or for sound doctrine, or for the faith by contending for the faith, or against error (including false gospels and false Christs), or against false teachings, or against false teachers, or against worldliness, or against apostasy, or against psychoheresy, or against the massive amounts of false professing "believers" in the “churches,” and the list goes on and on and on.
So what exactly will they be fighting for?
3. What are their “Battle Weapons” since they claim to “Fight with the right tools”?
The advertisement says: “Every man needs to understand what his weapons are.”
This is true, and me thinks the truly saved would know what his weapons are. The bible says they do. Me also thinks those that are truly born again for any length of time would understand what “the whole armour of God” is (Eph 6). Let’s consider a few of these essential soldier armour analogies, all of which God would indicate as “the right tools,” and see how Steve Janz lines up.
(a) What is his “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph 6:17)?
The Sword is absolutely crucial. It’s the only offensive weapon, though the rest of the armour is offensive as well, clear from the rest of Paul's epistles. The Word of God is the instrument of the Holy Spirit. Scripture doesn't say, the voice in your head is the sword of the Spirit or the fake “Bible” versions built upon unbelieving humanism and hatred for God, i.e. Textual Criticism, are the sword of the Spirit.
Janz’s “sword” is the corrupted ESV, the product of Textual Criticism. Instead of using the KJV, he mocks it as the "old" KJV. Though the ESV was published in 2001, it is based on the 1971 edition of the RSV, which was translated by theological modernists and owned by the exceedingly ungodly and apostate National Council of Churches. It follows the Critical Greek NT that removes 3,000+ words (230 entire or partial verses) from the text that underlies true Bibles such as the English King James Bible (KJV), the German Luther, the Dutch Statenvertaling, etc, and introduces significant doctrinal changes such as omitting "which is in heaven" from Jn 3:13 and "God" from 1 Tim 3:16 and Ju 1:4, and the Godhead from 1 Jn 5:17, removes “yet” in Jn 7:8 which makes God the Son a liar, etc, etc. See here for further info as to Why the English Standard Version (ESV) is Bad. The ESV is not the product of God but of him who hates God and whispers in the ears of skeptics, “Yea, hath God said?” (Gen 3:1).
Janz embraces and purveys Textual Criticism. Modern textual criticism, the academic basis behind all the Bible perversions, is founded upon the unbelieving principle that the Scriptures were not preserved by God and therefore it was necessary for 19th century scholars to use secular principles to recover the lost Scriptures. The rabid heretics Westcott and Hort did that for you, in the Critical Text, aka. Nestle-Aland in our day. In the use of modern Bible versions, you are embracing textual criticism. In using them, you are also in support of wicked and ungodly organizations and men, and serious perversions of God’s Word, the very Word that God said was magnified above His own name (Ps 138:2). Men like Janz and EBMC ought to seriously heed the very serious and solemn warning, “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” (Rev. 22:18-19). By accepting these corruptions of scripture and the philosophy behind them, you become guilty by association. If you want to see if you have a corrupt Bible, look at verses like Matt. 17:21 Mk. 9:44, 46; Ac. 8:37; 1 Jn. 5:7 and see if they are still their just like they are in the KJV, or if they have been changed or taken out.
Since faithful and obedient Christians and churches do not add or take away from the Bible, they believe that the Lord Jesus kept His promise when He said that “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matt. 24:35; 5:18; Ps. 12:6-7; Is. 59:21), so they receive (Jn. 17:8) the pure Bible that God has preserved without corruption until today (the Received Text, which consists of the Hebrews Masoretic Text and the Greek Textus Receptus), accurately and faithfully translated in the KJV. They consequently reject corrupt translations of Scripture like the ESV, NIV, NLT, Living Bible, NRSV, NASV, NKJV, and all other products of the Critical Text.
What is the “weapon” Janz is battling with and teaching the men to battle with? A spoon? The modern Bible perversions aren’t a sword, they are not a “right tool,” so what are they? At best they are a spoon and they certainly are a Satanic attack on God’s Holy Inerrant, Inspired and Preserved Word.
(b) What about “the helmet of salvation” (Eph 6:13)? Whether salvation is based upon Calvinist doctrine or Neo-evangelical doctrine doesn’t matter — both are equally corrupt and heretical and leaves the head unprotected and the entire body armour-less. The false gospel of the TULIP can be read about here: Trampling Calvinism’s TULIP and corruption of the gospel can be read here: Does the Bible Describe Salvation as Easy? and here: Is it Biblical to Ask Jesus into Your Heart to be Saved? and here: Is Salvation Received by Asking for the Gift?
Neither Janz or the congregants of EBMC preach the gospel like Jesus did: The Religious Rich Young Ruler (Mt 19; Mk 10; Lk 18): The Standard of Christ’s Gospel Preaching. Many of these people are entering into a war that God is not fighting for them, because they don’t know Him and He doesn’t know them (Gal 4:9). To “war a good warfare” (1 Tim 1:18) requires “Holding faith, and a good conscience“ (1 Tim 1:19), and that is impossible outside of true Biblical conversion — and if they were truly converted, they would very likely not be attending this EBMC church and they would certainly not attend a retreat hosted by a heretic. “Many” of these are of those referred to by Jesus in Matt 7:22, where He says they will say: “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” But unto them Jesus will profess: “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matt 7:23).
The gospel that Janz preaches, for instance noted in a sermon on “The Mission of the Gospel” (July 18, 2021), is worse than anemic; it is thoroughly corrupted, missing major elements of the gospel such as no Biblical repentance (cf. Lk 3:3-16; Ac 3:19), no Lordship of Christ (cf. Lk 14:25–15:32; Phil 2:10-11), very scant mention of the mediatorial work of Jesus Christ and no mention of His blood (cf. 1 Tim 2:5; Jn 14:6), no pointed preaching against sin (cf. 1 Tim 1:15; Lk 13:1-5), no mention of the fear of the Lord (Ps 25:14; 66:16; 103:17; Pr 1:7, 20-31; 9:10; 16:6; 19:23; Ac 13:26) which is intimately connected to repentance, and no mention of hell (Mk 9). Removing these elements from the gospel, results in a false gospel, but that is the “message of the gospel” that Janz preaches and wants the congregants to go out and preach. The cycle of false professions is vicious and the apostasy is awful.
The “gospel” of Steve Janz is a false gospel of self-fulfilment. Have your best life now, even though you will be ashamed of Jesus. Preach "godliness" (using the word, but zero application which is useless "evangelical" preaching meant to pamper the goats which is most if not all, and tickle the ears of the fable lovers) but live ungodly, which is plain hypocrisy and always revealing of a unsaved counterfeit (Rom 2; Matt 23). It runs in complete contradiction to the gospel that Jesus preached, noted for instance in Matt 10:32-39; 16:24-26; Mk 8:34-38; 10:21-31; Lk 9:23-26, 9:57-62; 13:1-9, 23-30; 14:15–15:32; 18:1-17; 19:12-27; Jn 3:15-19-21; 12:24-26; etc.
In the aforementioned sermon, Janz is “teaching” the people in this church how to do missions using the gospel. When Paul wrote to Timothy about perfecting saints for the work of ministry (Eph 4:11), a major part of which is evangelism, it would have been knowing and teaching scripture to the extent someone could use all of it. Knowing the evangelistic sermons of Jesus and the Apostles in the NT, and then emulating those. They are filled with scriptural quotes and allusions. But that is far from what we hear and see in “evangelistic” sermons of Steve Janz, and practically all other "evangelical" sermons including those at EBMC. There is actually no comparison. When someone waters down and leaves out the most disagreeable aspects of the gospel, you end up with a perverted gospel. Read here on The Gospel is More than 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, and Repentance is an Important Component of It and Repentance is a Major Element of the Gospel and Must Always Be Preached, Including Its Description.
In the sermon Janz pulls statistics out of thin air that aren’t even remotely true. He claims there are “3.23 billion people on the earth that have never heard the name of Jesus.” That’s almost down to the smallest decimal point. Where does he get this from? Who has gone around and counted with such precision? It’s actually pure fabrication made out of sheer cloth. That number is FAR from being right. I have witnessed for Christ in some of the remotest and most paganistic areas of the world, from Asian jungles, to Middle Eastern deserts, to the frozen Arctic, and I have yet to meet anyone that has never heard the name of Jesus. Even Moslems in the nomadic deserts of Arabia have heard the name of Jesus. But many haven’t heard the complete gospel, the true gospel, and most people that have heard some form of the gospel have never heard the one complete and true gospel, such as the people that heard Janz preach this sermon--only an anemic or false gospel. But those would be excluded in his “3.23 billion.” Another statistic he went with was “77% of people in Canada do not attend church.” Therefore, “9 out of 10 people do not know Jesus” according to Janz. The math isn’t right, and even it if was, are people that attending church saved because Janz says they are saved. The truth of the matter is, upwards of 90% of people that attend these evangelical, Protestant, Pentecostal, Catholic and other churches are unsaved. They have no Biblical testimony of salvation and they live for themselves, after their own lusts, and not after the will of God. They are dead, not spiritually alive people that love God and thus obey Him. Their fruit is corrupt and God warns about it over and over in Scripture (e.g. Matt 7:13-23; Heb 3:6-4:11), stating there are many on the wide path, words spoken to professing believers and disciples (Matt 7:13-14). Why is it that erroneous false teachers like Steve Janz are always assuming people that attend church to be saved people, when clear Bible facts say otherwise? Could it be because the leadership itself is unsaved? Wouldn’t that align with what Scripture teaches? Janz is simple-minded, naive and gullible, and does not understand the truth of salvation and has zero discernment to tell the difference between “a natural man” (aka. “Carnal man”) and the “spiritual man” (1 Cor 2:9-3:4) while all truly saved people do fully understand and discern the difference (1 Cor 2:14-16; Ac 17:11; 1 Th 5:21). All true believers are led by the Spirit of God (Rom 8:14, 16).
The typical hocus-pocus contemporary “conservative evangelical” lingual of “Cross cultural context” missions, which stereotypes people of the world in contradiction to what scripture teaches, was also present. Funny how the Bible doesn’t divide people like that, but heretics do, just like they divide doctrine into essential and non-essential, exposing a denial and rejection of God's Word (1 Sam 15:22-23) The heart of sinners doesn’t change regardless of the culture or colour of your skin — whether Jew or Gentile, its all exactly the same (Mk 7:21-23; Jer 17:9), only differing in degree.
Towards the end of the sermon, Janz tells the story about the conversion of D.L. Moody. He completely misconstrues and corrupts the reason as to why Mr Kimble, Moody’s Sunday school teacher, didn’t want to enter the boot store where the boy—Moody— worked (so he could continue witnessing to him). Mr Kimble didn’t want to embarrass the boy, which had nothing to do with “ahh its going to be awkward, it’s going to be weird to talk about Jesus,” which Janz claims is the “often . . . story of my life and your life.” Ahh, No, Wrong. Okay, maybe your life and vast majority of “evangelicals,” that could certainly be true and is indeed reflective of something, that something being shame of Jesus and love of self, both of which are clear indications of an unregenerate estate (Rom 10:11; Mk 8:34-38; Lk 14:26). People that are ashamed of the gospel or Christ are unsaved (Mk 8:34-38). The repentant sinner that is truly converted is never again ashamed of Christ again (Rom 10:11; 9:33; Heb 2:11; 11:16; Rom 1:16; 5:5) -- the very act of supernatural salvation fulfills the prophecy of never being ashamed again: Rom 10:11; 9:33; Heb 2:11; 11:16; 5:5; ref. Is 28:16; 54:4; 45:15-17. Saved people love to talk about Jesus and are not ashamed, and Jesus “is not ashamed to call them brethren” (Heb 2:11). Mr Kimble was thinking of the boy, not himself; Mr Janz was thinking of himself, not the boy. The difference is the difference between heaven and hell, between saved and lost, between knowing and not knowing. Practically everything what Janz says exposes his unregenerate estate.
These type of sermons are a dime a dozen among “conservative evangelicals,” including all the other sermons preached by Janz. They are spiritually dead and practically useless sermons, and loaded with Biblical error and neo-evangelical heresy. The first picture, front page picture, he preaches in shorts, while normally he is using jeans and shirt hanging out, like if he is some cool dude, along with an immodest naked girl (what the Bible defines as nakedness) behind him, ready to continue jamming with the rest of the rock band. Unbelievable. The “gospel” and “preaching” follows the dress. Casual, lukewarm, non-reverent, while apparently loving "Jesus." Yes a "Jesus" but not the Jesus of the Bible. Far from it. The hypocrisy is mind-blowing.
In these “conservative evangelical” environments, true life-changing super-dramatic conversions are as rare as hen’s teeth, which is unsurprising, so there goes the helmet, the most important protective piece of the armour. But that is evident already when the gospel is corrupted. When salvation is false, everything else crumbles. No hemet, no armour. No helmet, no life.
So if they come with a false gospel, are their “feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Eph 6:15)?
(c) What about his “loins,” are they “girt about with truth” (Eph 6:14)? He might say “truth” but if his sword isn’t truth and their worship isn’t truth, and some doctrine isn’t truth (such as the rejection of the doctrine of preservation and separation, the perversion of salvation and sanctification) then what is girting his loins? Humanism? Opinionism? Psychology? Church fathers? Patristic fathers? Calvinist or Reformed doctrine?
Janz is heavily into Reformed theology with all its errors pertaining to God’s election and the TULIP, and thus the gospel, and its Augustinian allegoricalism and replacement theology which confuses Israel with the church — clear marks of an unconverted person since it contradicts vast majority of the Word of God and plainly reveals that Spirit of God is not the teacher in that temple. Replacement theology is an extremely heretical doctrine that perverts massive amounts of Scripture and doctrine and requires the corruption and wresting of God’s Word via allegoricalism, and though I have not heard him specifically say he believes this, I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if he does.
Janz’s preaching is almost completely void of any practical usefulness. He doesn’t preach against sin, actual sin. Saying the word every few sermons is not preaching against sin. No actual pointed preaching. No practical preaching on what godly living is. No application of scripture. Nothing ever mentioned about separation and its practicality. No warnings on error, false teachings and false teachers. This man is a hireling and should not be found behind any pulpit, let along leading a church or school. The unsound doctrine at the very least disqualifies him even from preaching.
In the sermon on “The Mission of the Gospel” (July 18, 2021), though Janz says “Jesus was fully man fully God,” he denies Jesus’s Godship upon earth in what he stated immediately following this: “But Jesus could only be one place at a time. Why? Because He was a human being in flesh.” This is why according to Janz “Jesus had promised in John 14 that I am going to send somebody in my place” because He was no longer on earth. He goes on to say “God is with us by His Holy Spirit in Scotch Creek, in Germany . . . Africa . . . all over the world because His Spirit is omnipresent. Jesus couldn’t be that so He said it is better for you so stay in Jerusalem until that day comes.” This is a contradiction. It is definitely NOT true. Janz seems to not believe that Jesus Christ is God, and that He is omnipresent. He is indicating that only the Holy Spirit is omnipresent. Jesus was fully God upon the earth and fully omnipresent. He testified that He was in Heaven and on Earth at the same time (Jn. 3:13, 31) which means He was omnipresent. Obviously Janz does not believe that Jesus was God, at least not during His time on the earth, since you cannot separate His divine omnipresence from His divine position and office. There was some other odd things that he stated in this context concerning the Triune God.
In this same sermon he approves of kids with ADHD in school, saying even his son had ADHD, which he never outgrew, “man, easily distracted!” Referring to "ADHD" on its own (not ADHD caused by autism—which is actually caused by vaccines, and often the result of brain damage), this is the fanciful word invented by psychoheretics to label children that cannot listen and remain at attention, as hyperactive, and impulsive, emotional driven and problems with executive function (i.e. politically correct words to describe disobedience toward authority), which is how the “experts” define it, but the Bible tells us they have never been adequately Biblically disciplined by the “rod and reproof” (Pr 29:15; 23:13-14; 22:15; 13:24). Now I do not know if he had autism damage secondary to a vaccine, which caused the ADHD; what I do know is the very vast majority of kids with this so-called disorder are undisciplined spoiled brats that never been disciplined consistently, if at all disciplined with the rod. In my experience in emergency medicine in dealing with these sort of patients, this is precisely what I have discovered and almost without exception.
Instead of preaching sound doctrine and standing upon the truth of Gods Word, such as the physical millennial kingdom of Christ on earth, which takes up roughly 30% of prophetic scripture, he says to this congregation, “there is some end times eschatological views on this and I’m not here to convince you otherwise.” Wow, what is there to share then? The only one “essential” truth, the gospel? If he is not there to preach the truth and convince the hearers of the truth, what is his purpose for being there? Is it to scratch their ears where they itch (2 Tim 4:3-4)? He is denying a massive amount of Scripture with his relativism. Further in the sermon he says he doesn’t “intend to shame anybody or guilt anybody, that’s not my job.” Really?! Thats certainly not what Scripture says about the one teaching and preaching the Word of God. This is Neo-evangelical garbage that hates conflict and contentions and doesn’t have the first clue how to wield the true sword of the Spirit, which is meant to “shame and guilt” — “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb 4:12). I wonder if Janz has ever read Pr 27:6, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful."
Steve Janz is a hireling but even more so, very likely a wolf in sheep’s clothing, the voice of the stranger (Jn 10:1-5). That is certainly how he should be treated.
He claims that every person is a missionary, as we know the meaning of missionary, making a very brief reference to the office of missionary. Though there is certainly truth to the personal evangelism aspect of missionary work incumbent upon every born again believer, with that I certainly agree, a missionary is however more than just a saved person that obeys 2 Cor 5:18-20 (he didn’t mention these passages or any other scripture to support his position). The word missionary in the Bible is synonymous with the office of evangelist, yes an actual office of the NT local church, alongside that of the pastor and deacon (Eph 4:11; Acts). That office is mentioned only three times in the entire NT but its still a church office. The word itself should give the first clue as to this role in the church. It’s root understanding is someone who proclaims the true good news which is the gospel, the good news that someone can and should be saved. An evangelist in the Bible is a missionary. When Paul and Barnabas were sent out in Acts 13, they were evangelists or missionaries. We know that Philip in Acts 6 and 8 was an evangelist, so looking at what he did gives another clue for the evangelist.
The Lord Jesus Christ said:
“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (Jn 4:23-24)
Janz, like many at EBMC, does not “worship the Father in spirit and in truth.” But all saved people do however, which Jesus makes clear here as He is preaching this to an unsaved woman: “they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” — which then means what when they don’t?
(d) What about “the breastplate of righteousness” (Eph 6:17)? Is listening to, loving and wholeheartedly embracing ungodly and worldly CCM and rock and roll music, “righteousness”? Is embracing the false gospel of TULIP “righteousness”? Is propagating a murderous false teacher and wolf like John Calvin, “righteousness”? Is not hating worldliness and sin and error, loving “righteousness”? His relationship with loves and hates is in complete contradiction to Ps 119:127-128, which reads: “Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.” When someone sugar coats and softens sin and error, he doesn’t hate it; he is helping you build your bridge to that world. Thats what men like Steve Janz do. Their “battle strategies” is building bridges to sin, error, the world and evil.
Those that truly love Jesus, the ones that have been genuinely converted, have the whole armour of God. In his sermons Janz talks about “loving Jesus.” How do we know if we “love Jesus”? God is love. Whatever contradicts God's Word is not love. It will bring the worst possible circumstances to your life, even if you think that things are better for you in the short term, just like Eve did in the garden with Satan. The converted sinner, the regenerate, the one born again, the beloved saint of God will obey Gods Word out of love for Him (like these passages illustrate, e.g. Jn 14:15, 21-24; 15:10-14; 17:6; 1 Jn. 2:3-6, 15-17; 3:22-24; 5:1-3; 2 Jn. 1:5-6). Actual obedience, not saying one thing and doing something else entirely different. We love Him because of conversion and the manifold things He does in the repentant sinner: “And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.” (De 30:6). It’s God that causes us and leads us to love Him, “because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (Rom 5:5). His love dwells in the saint (Jn 5:38-42). Someone can't love God without being first born again. Love is fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22). It is produced by God internally in a person, but it still always looks the same and it always obeys God’s Word. By doing the will of God and telling you what you need to hear, I am loving you (Jn 15:13). You should listen to this.
4. What is the “Battle Strategy” in “fighting with the right team”?
The advertisement says: “Every man needs to understand that he is not fighting alone but shoulder to shoulder brother to brother.”
(a) “Shoulder to shoulder brother to brother” speaks to unity, but what unity actually exists in these churches? Is it true unity, what we would find described in scripture (e.g. Rom. 12:6, 15:6; 1 Cor 11:18-19; 12:25; Eph. 4:1-16; Phil. 1:27, 2:2, 3:16) of one mind, one spirit, one doctrine, one judgement — all implications of truly saved people who are committed to sound doctrine, or is it unity divorced from the truth of Scripture, so fake unity?
Biblical unity is oneness, the same type of unity that God the Father has with His Son and the Holy Spirit (Jn. 17:11, 21). These three are one in nature or essence, but also one in purpose (Jn. 6:38-40; 10:30). The unity God expects or requires is to be found in a local, visible, autonomous church, and the following verses describe it. "Be of the same mind one toward another. . . . That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Rom. 12:6, 15:6). "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." (1 Cor. 1:10). Paul wrote to Timothy that there was to be "no other doctrine." (1 Tim. 1:3) but “sound doctrine.” (2 Tim. 4:3-4; see also Ti. 2:1). The first thing that happens at salvation is “contin[ing] stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine” (Ac. 2:42). There is no unity outside of sound apostolic doctrine, and since all truly saved people adhere to sound apostolic doctrine, only truly saved people can have true unity.
If this type of unity existed in either the Alliance church or EBMC, neither would be entertaining the appointment presently at hand.
Alliance churches and majority of other “evangelical” churches, like Mr. Janz, don’t understand this unity, only fake disunity. There is no true unity without true conversion and sound doctrine, and Alliance churches for the vast part don’t have either and very likely the same with Mr. Janz and EBMC churches. I don’t think he, or they, would know sound doctrine even if it hit them on the nose.
To have true unity you must practice separation. But evangelicals, reformers, Calvinists don’t practice separation. They reject maybe the most important doctrine for the believer, one without you have no “Battle strategy.” They aren’t satisfied with just rejecting this critical doctrine, they must also ridicule those that actually practice the doctrine. But separation is engrossed in salvation. Salvation itself is cultural separation (e.g. 2 Cor 6:14-18).
(b) Is “shoulder to shoulder brother to brother” referring to associating with anybody and any church regardless how heretical they are, as long as they come with the title “Christian”? Ecumenicalism, in other words? This is what is practiced, religiously I might add, by men like Janz. You only have to look at his history of pastoring Alliance churches to see that, a denomination of churches fully apostate and ecumenical. But the same could also be said among his reformed and Calvinist associations.
(c) Would “fighting with the right team” include having C.S. Lewis on the team? Janz loves Lewis, but the agnostic Lewis believed in theistic evolution; Platonism; completely denied the true gospel in place of a false and seriously perverted gospel that rejected the doctrine of Christ's bodily resurrection and the penal substitutionary blood atonement of Jesus Christ and that further believed any sincere follower of pagan religion could be saved without personal repentant faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; denied the verbal and plenary inspiration of the Bible and the inerrancy of Scripture, rejected the Bible as the God’s infallible Word; held to some quite horrible and wicked views on Scripture characterizing some of the Psalms as “fatal confusion,” “devilish,” “diabolical,” “contemptible,” “petty” and “vulgar”; rejected earliest portions of Genesis as mythical ways of grasping for truth; denied the finality of one’s destiny at death and taught the possibility of repentance beyond this life and also purgatory; denied and rejected the biblical doctrine of an eternal fiery hell, claiming, instead, that hell is a state of mind one chooses to possess and become; horribly apostate views on the Lord Jesus Christ Whom he likened to “sub specie Apollonius” and claimed those who sincerely serve the devil (called Tash) are actually serving Christ (Aslan), and denied His virgin birth; wrote many books based upon occultism; embraced apostate Catholicism towards the end of his life, which is completely flooded with every kind of heresy and evil, just like Rev 17-18 says; was a universalist; etc. For further reading see here: The Apostasy of C.S. Lewis.
What would compel a professing Christian to love a heretic, an apostate, and an agnostic, an utter enemy of the truth of whom Paul would have stated, he is an “enem[y] of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)” (Phil 3:18-19)?
(d) Would “fighting with the right team” include having Mark Driscoll on the team? Janz loves Driscoll. He is a fav BFF of Janz and that is frightful. Driscoll is the king of cultural liberalism, was the pastor of an extremely heretical mega-“church” (I have a really hard time calling these heretical institutions “churches”) in Seattle, WA, until it got dissolved secondary to his expulsion for gross adultery, corruption and other perversion. He is an active supporter of the “emergent church movement” (its nature is trans-denominational in constituency, and its motivation is new practical ecclesiology because of disillusionment with the “organized and institutional church”). He started the pathetic Acts 29 Network for “church” planting. He preaches his heretical Calvinism in blue jeans accompanied with foul language and risqué references. Driscoll is highly promoted by theologian D. A. Carson and pastor John Piper and that speaks volumes to his heretical epitaph. He brought much licentiousness into the “church” he “pastored” through sexual immorality (adultery, pornography, lewdness), marriage perversion and alcohol-induced parties (even ushering in one New Year with champaign dance parties at their “church”). Uses coarse language and is extremely worldly, completely in love with the world which reveals his condemnation and enmity with God. Mocks and makes light of Scripture, which is also blasphemous. Promotes Satanic Catholic contemplative mysticism. Revels in and exploits worldly and ungodly rock music. Teaches supernatural visions and gifts. Promotes tattoos which are pagan. Believes and teaches the heresy that Jesus was incarnated into the culture of this world and the Christian is commissioned to do the same thing, which he calls “missional.” All Scripture passages he “uses” to support this heresy have absolutely nothing to do with being incarnated like Jesus or being a missionary to culture. The same goes for all his other heresies used on the back of proof-texted scripture. Among other things, he clearly embraces “another Jesus” and “another gospel” and under the influence of “another spirit” (2 Cor 11:4). His corruption of scripture (2 Cor 2:17), private interpretation of scripture (2 Pet 1:16) and wresting of scripture (2 Pet 3:16-17) also reveal him to be a counterfeit and wicked imposter. He is a blatant false teacher, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, but that doesn’t stop Steve Janz from embracing him wholeheartedly.
(e) Would “fighting with the right team” include having the heretic Timothy Keller, the head of the heretical Gospel Coalition, on the team? Janz loves Tim Keller, he is yet another fav BFF of Janz’s, even though Keller is a raging heretic, an apostate and an agnostic. Keller promotes Roman Catholic mysticism and favours evolution over creationism. Though there may be many similarities (e.g. false gospel, false ecclesiology), Keller repeatedly makes absolutely no distinction between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. See here for some of the ongoing and nigh endless list of Keller heresies: The Gospel Coalition Leader Tim Keller, Embraces Evolution and Other Heresy.
(f) Would “fighting with the right team” include having the neo-evangelical Southern Baptist Calvinist heretic Donald Whitney, a bridge to some extremely dangerous things, on the team? Janz also loves Whitney. Whitney’s horrible heresy is seen in that of his contemplative mysticism. His book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life is loaded with contemplative mysticism, which is demonic and alone proves an unregenerate estate. Saved people don’t mess around with demons. Whitney favourably and repeatedly quotes mystics Richard Foster and Dallas Willard, two extreme apostates and ungodly men, absolutely loaded with heresies and every false doctrine imaginable. Very obvious wolves in sheep’s clothing. He writes “Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline has been the most popular book on the subject of the Spiritual Disciplines in the last half of the twentieth century.” (Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines, p. 22). Whitney is also a blatant liar about why he would quote apostates like Foster. When one pastor inquired as to why Whitney quoted Foster, he replied that “since it was not an academic book, I didn’t want the emphasis to be critical” and claimed he wrote the book before Foster founded the ecumenical Renovarè and “tipped his hand on some other matters” (review of Spiritual Disciplines on Amazon by Tim Challies, Feb. 7, 2005 — quoting Challies doesn’t imply endorsement. Challies is part of the problem of Reformed Theology and Calvinism). Wow, what a smokescreen and bald-faced liar, undoubtedly further evidencing his unsaved feigned estate. Foster’s 1978 book Celebration of Discipline, which is repeatedly cited by Whitney, is loaded with the promotion of dangerous Roman Catholic mystics such as Ignatius of Loyola, Francis of Assisi, Benedict of Nursia, Teresa of Avila, Brother Lawrence, Dominic, Catherine of Siena, John of the Cross, Meister Eckhart, Hildegard of Bingen, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Thomas Merton--as well as their evil, ungodly and heretical practices, such as breath prayer, centering prayer, “entering the silence,” even out-of-body experiences. In other words, Foster had “tipped his hand” for all to see by the late 1970s. Furthermore, Foster founded Renovarè in 1988, three years before Whitney published the first edition of Spiritual Disciplines. Even further, in later editions of his book (2001, 2012) Whitney has not removed the references to Foster or warned his readers about the man’s awful and demonic heresies in spite of the fact that he has been challenged on this point. This is something he could have done if he were truly concerned about this matter and if he cared about the influence his recommendation could have on his readers.
Whitney hasn’t even pretended to justify his recommendation of Dallas Willard, who is at least as dangerous a wolf and Satanic minister as Richard Foster. Willard believes that “it is possible for someone who does not know Jesus to be saved” (“Apologetics in Action, “Cutting Edge magazine, Winter 2001). He rejects the infallible inspiration of Scripture, saying, “Jesus and his words have never belonged to the categories of dogma or law, and to read them as if they did is simply to miss the point” (The Divine Conspiracy, p. xiii). Willard knows absolutely nothing about salvation, asking the very strange question, “Why is it that we look upon salvation as a moment that began our religious life instead of the daily life we receive from God” (The Spirit of the Disciplines). He rejects the traditional gospel of Christ’s blood atonement (The Divine Conspiracy, pp. 44, 49). In The Spirit of the Disciplines, which promotes Roman Catholic-style contemplative mysticism, Willard includes the endorsement of Sue Monk Kidd, a New Age “goddess.” Willard promotes the Catholic-Buddhist-Universalist Thomas Merton and an assortment of heresy-laden mystic “saints.” Willard claims that God is not concerned about doctrinal purity. In fact, he says that God loves theologians of all types. These are the men that Whitney quotes repeatedly and favourably which then obviously means Whitney is not against their views, and the further premise, Janz is in agreement as well. The Bible says that (Am 3:3) regardless of flattery and flummery and false witness or fervent opposition.
Furthermore, Whitney himself recommends the practices of “the medieval [Catholic] mystics,” which is one of the cardinal errors that Foster-Willard are guilty of (Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines, p. 65). Consider the following statement that Whitney cites with complete approval from Carl Lundquist: “‘The medieval mystics wrote about nine disciplines clustered around three experiences: purgation of sin, enlightenment of the spirit and union with God. . . . Today Richard Foster’s book, Celebration of Discipline, lists twelve disciplines--all of them relevant to the contemporary Christian. . . ’ If Lundquist is right, as I believe he is . . .” (ibid, pp. 65-66). It is unconscionable that Whitney doesn’t warn his readers that these mystics were committed to Rome’s damnable sacramental gospel and venerated Mary and that their “disciplines” were pathetic attempts by spiritually-blind men and women to find light in the midst of gross darkness. Even further, Whitney promotes the practice of silence, journaling, and spiritual direction. The “silence” recommended by Whitney is not merely to get alone with God and His Word in a quiet place. He writes: “Other times silence is maintained not only outwardly but also inwardly so that God’s voice might be heard more clearly,” and, “The worship of God does not always require words, sounds, or actions” (ibid, p. 184). Whitney also quoted A.W. Tozer in the book who believed the same ungodly and demonic heresy: “Stay in the secret place till the surrounding noises begin to fade out of your heart and a sense of God’s presence envelopes you . . . Listen for the inward Voice till you learn to recognize it” (ibid, p. 199, quoting from The Best of A.W. Tozer, 1978, pp. 151-152). This is blind and dangerous and demonic mysticism, in complete opposition to the true faith that the just live by and found in the Word of God, and Whitney misuses and wrests Scripture to prove the alleged importance of this “silence,” such as Jesus praying alone and Paul in Arabia and Moses in the desert. None of these cases support the practice of sitting in silence and trying to hear “God’s voice” or “sensing God’s presence” internally apart from simply meditating on Scripture. To be alone with God in a quiet place and to meditate on His Word is NOT the same as sitting in silence and trying to hear God’s voice internally (which is the same thing the ungodly practice of Yoga attempts to achieve). One is scriptural and profitable; the other is mystical and dangerous and demonic. The greatest danger of this heresy of contemplative mysticism, which is everywhere in evangelicalism and the Southern Baptist Convention is that it puts the unsaved people who practice it in touch with deceiving demonic spirits. It often leads to a radical ecumenical mindset and even beyond to universalism and panentheism and idolatry. But it proves undoubtedly that its practitioners have never been regenerated, simply corrupt trees producing corrupt fruit (Matt 7:15-20).
Whitney is also heavily into Reformed theology with all its errors pertaining to God’s election and the TULIP, and thus the gospel, and its Augustinian allegoricalism and replacement theology which confuses Israel with the church, and again marks of unconverted heretic. Furthermore, Whitney is a through neo-evangelical, which further reflects his heresy. He quotes from heretical neo-evangelical writers continually and in the most favourable manner, such as William Barclay, Elisabeth Elliot, Philip Yancey, and Jerry Bridges (whom Janz does as well). In typical neo-evangelical fashion he even quotes ungodly and unbiblical liberals such as Elton Trueblood without a hint of warning. He cites the apostate Billy Graham, the Prince of neo-evangelicalism and compromise, as an example of true godliness and the unwise practice of spiritual disciplines: “Through that time of solitude and the spiritual perspective he gained that night, Billy Graham was shaped into the man the world has known since” (Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines, p. 191). Wow. Graham was a ravening wolf in sheep’s clothing that rejected Christ as the only way to heaven, who instead of preaching the truth to lost Catholics gave them false assurance of their deluded estate. The list of heresies and darkness of Graham is as high as Mt Everest.
In some ways, “conservative evangelicals” like Donald Whitney and Ed Stetzer are more dangerous than the Richard Fosters and Dallas Willards and Rick Warrens, because they are bridges to the treacherous spiritual waters represented by the latter names. They are bridges because they blatantly and presumptuously refuse to practice biblical separation and instead of reproving heretics in no uncertain terms they recommend their writings. Since you can't walk together with someone except you agree (Am 3:3), these men are the same apostates as those they recommend.
That is what you are presenting your church to, since that is who Janz embraces. Is that what a true shepherd that cares for the flock does, or rather that of the hireling?
(g) The list could go on and on as to whom Janz would have on the team, considering he is a “conservative evangelical” of the reformed-calvinist persuasion. This is noted by the many such like individuals that he follows, for instance: Costi W. Hinn, John Piper, Tim Challies, Jerry Bridges, Paul Tripp, The Gospel Coalition, Ligonier Ministries, and other Reformed connections. To sundry degrees, these are blatant heretics. This is who he goes “shoulder to shoulder” with and whom he would call a “brother.”
Steve Janz loves The Gospel Coalition, an organization literally loaded with heretics on every hand. Almost an unending list. The heresies, false teachings, apostates and apostasy, corrupt unBiblical practices, massive compromise, man-centredness, worldliness, wokeness, liberalness, etc, is so long and so much by so many, it would take an encyclopedia amount of books to cover it all. TGC even calls Roman Catholicism “Full-Blooded Version of Christianity.” Here is a very brief Expose of the Slanderous Gospel Coalition (TGC) which group from its inception strayed from orthodoxy into error and heresy and is entirely apostate today, whole I am presently working on a much more detailed one.
Steve Janz quotes the big names in Calvinism and reformed theology: John Calvin and Martin Luther, even though both taught and embraced a false gospel of works, and both had a murderous hatred for anabaptists and anyone that opposed their teachings.
Read here for documentation of these charges: John Calvin's False Gospel, and Persecution/ Murder of Opponents and Martin Luther - A True Born Again Believer or a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing?
Steve Janz loves Paul Tripp and his false and unstable “Gospel” which includes the heretical TULIP, but rest assured, he would be part of “the team.” In a FB post, Janz quotes Tripp, which ended with: “If you are not resting in the one true gospel, preaching it to yourself over and over again, you will look to another gospel to meet the needs of your unsettled heart.” Is this what the “salvation” of Reformed Theology produces in its followers? Unstable, unsettled, double-mindedness? I would believe it, considering I have read enough "testimonies" of such people, their convoluted and unstable minds are bewildering. Is this part of his “battle strategy” that he will be teaching? That the gospel has to be preached over and over to self in order to rest in it, but by golly beware when you stop preaching to your self, the temptation will arise to look at “another gospel” to “meet the needs of your unsettled heart.” That in itself is unsettled and heretical and very revealing. Someone that is actually truly saved has found rest and does not need to keep preaching to himself over and over like a broken record, living on the edge of being unsettled, or eventually be swept away by a false gospel. All truly saved people have found and received “the bread of life” and thus “shall never hunger” and “shall never thirst” again (Jn 6:35). They don’t keep revisiting and rehashing and repeating the truth so as to somehow mystically keep them saved, which is much more in line with the heretical word faith teaching than anything remotely close to scripture. How unstable and heretical do these men get?! But it’s good fodder for Janz, who found the need to even publicly publish the heretical quote on his social media. It’s tell-tale. Very.
Who is this heretic that doesn’t seem to have any understanding of true salvation? Tripp studied Divinity at the heretical and apostate Reformed Episcopal Seminary and received a Doctorate of Ministry in Biblical Counselling at the likewise heretical Westminster Theological Seminary, which means he is involved with what these reformed Calvinists call “nouthetic counselling”, a brand of counselling used by most churches today under the deceptive guise of “Biblical Counselling” yet very much non-Scriptural and heretical. The schools and their gravitation towards heresy speaks volumes. In 2013 Tripp joined the board of advisors at the ungodly, heretical, immoral, perverted and wicked Mark Driscoll’s Mars Hill church in Seattle (though Driscoll is hardly different than many other “conservative evangelicals” in that circle of reformed Calvinists). In 2014 he left this advisory board in order to be a consultant at that same church. Not separation, not reproof and avoiding, not exposing but rather, ongoing fellowship and yoking. One thing is absolute certain about these “conservative evangelicals” — they wouldn’t know biblical obedience if it ran them over like a freight train. At TGC or among “conservative evangelicals,” if you are in the camp, a heretic can break any of the ten commandments with impunity. They are spineless cowards for a very important reason: they do not have the Spirit of God indwelling them from Whom alone comes Biblical principle, integrity, courage and boldness. I mean the Biblical example of these things, like we see with Paul and Peter and others. A stance upon the truth of scripture alone, regardless of man’s response or flattery or “coalitions,” as we see with Paul throughout his Christian life (2 Tim 4:7-18). Tripp is also heavily into new age psychology amongst a lot of other heresy.
Steve Janz loves John Piper and it would be unsurprising if many at EBMC do as well, considering the fact even the leaders have quoted him from the pulpit. That also reflects the terrible hypocrisy there, besides the doctrinal and practical heresy hypocrisies — they say they are against Calvinism, but then embrace staunch Calvinists. John Piper is a reformed Calvinist and wolf in sheep’s clothing who loves ungodly worldly rap and rock music; believes the unregenerate Roman Catholic Mother Theresa who embraced a works gospel is an example of true Christian sanctification; loves Charismatic/Pentecostal heresy (even taking his people to the Toronto-Blessing); is closely associated with the severe heretic and wolf in sheep’s clothing Rick Warren; loves modern “Bible” perversions of any sort but despises the true Word of God in English, the KJV; was educated by the neo-evangelical and heretical institution’s of Wheaton and Fuller Seminary, and continues to heap praises on his ex-teachers who were extremely heretical; he positively quotes, recommends and associates with many other apostates such as Rick Warren, C.S. Lewis frequently (he says he is an unabashed Lewis disciple), Augustine and the Roman Catholic G.K. Chesterton, etc (Am 3:3 puts them in the same apostate light); he is a proponent of psychoheresy and contemplative mysticism, both works of Satan, among many other doctrinal errors; the central principle of his theology is the ungodly “Christian Hedonism; he presumptuously and eisegetically wrests God’s Word, manipulating, misusing and abusing Scripture to fit his doctrine and theology; he is a neo-Reformed Calvinist which on it’s own comes with a lot of error and heresy such as gospel issues, false interpretation of allegoricalism; he embraces and purveys a false gospel which includes the Calvinistic “you must be born again before you believe” heresy, and embraces the heretical TULIP false “gospel (he writes, “The doctrines of grace [Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, Perseverance of the saints] are the warp and woof of the biblical gospel cherished by so many saints for centuries” — TULIP: The Pursuit of God’s Glory in Salvation, 2000, back cover); and the list goes on and on. Piper also is (or was) the pastor of the heavily compromised and heretical wishy washy Bethlehem Baptist Church, which entertains its share of heresy and worldliness (incl. contemporary rock worship of the flesh of course), even paedobaptism. Someone that embraces Piper is entirely void of discernment. They don’t know the Scriptures and cannot tell the difference between someone that is of the truth and someone that is of error. True saved people on the other hand “believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 Jn 4:1).
Steve Janz loves Ligonier Ministries, the ministry started by the pedobaptist and psychoheretic and blasphemer heretic R.C. Sproul. Among many reasons, here are some as to why we know he is a wolf in sheep's clothing: (a) He “baptized” infants, a heretical false practice derived from Roman Catholicism, thanks in part to the ravening wolf Augustine who was the father behind not only Catholicism but also Calvinism (practically everything Calvin believed and embraced and taught came from Augustine, including pedobaptism). (b) Sproul embraced and propagated a false gospel on a number of fronts. The false gospel of Calvinism. The false gospel of self; psychoheresy. The false gospel of neo-evangelicalism. The false gospel of doubt. (c) Sproul endorsed ungodly and humanistic psychology. In his book Pleasing God, he endorses psychological and unbiblical concepts of self-esteem and self-confidence (pp. 59, 115), “All Truth is God's Truth" (p. 69), homosexual "orientations" of some individuals (p. 80), the benefits of psychiatric help for the Christian (pp. 118, 186-187), self-forgiveness (pp. 131-133), and Freudian insights (p. 173). He was a psychoheretic indeed, embracing the occult science of psychology and uniting with and promoting psychoheretics such as James Dobson, Larry Crabb, John Coe, and Bill White. Sproul also evidently believed the blasphemy that we should "forgive God," as evidenced by his endorsement of the Dobson book “When God Doesn't Make Sense,” which teaches this evil, psychological-based, blasphemous concept. (e) Sproul publicly endorsed Hugh Ross’s book, Creation and Time, which is a polemic for progressive creationism/theistic evolution, and thereby, is a denial of orthodox Christianity's literal, factual and historical interpretation of the first 11 chapters of the Book of Genesis. This NavPress published book also openly attacks the creation movement and the major people involved (Christian News, Feb 26, 1996). Among other things, Ross teaches that the Earth is billions of years old and that physical death fully existed long before Adam. This is what Sproul likes. See here for more info on the heresies and evils of Sproul: Exposing R.C. Sproul of Ligonier Ministries; a Blasphemer and Ravening Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
Steve Janz loves Ethnos 360, but this is a heretical and immoral organization which you can read about here: Beware of Ethnos 360 (Formerly New Tribes Missions).
Steve Janz also loves J. D. Greear, who is worst than your average “conservative evangelical,” a raging Marxist, left-leaning liberal pro-sodomite heretic who is thoroughly woke; a hireling, a false prophet whose greatest fear is offending some lukewarm member of his congregation. Greear is a compromised worldly heretic, that doesn’t know the difference between truth and error. He has no issue with bashing his church to an audience of future pastors in a college chapel sermon or being in close fellowship with North American Mission Board which is notoriously horribly corrupt from whom Greear even took bribes. Greear, while president of the SVB, preached a sermon—from Romans 1—where he insisted that the Bible doesn’t really have all that much to say about sexual immorality, and is much more vocal about other sins such as materialism and boasting. He also has claimed Christians and Moslems worship the same God. Wow. The stunning claim was made in his book Breaking the Islam Code. The list of heresies and false practices of Greear is longer than this entire report. It's practically unending. He is a wolf in sheep's clothing, just like almost everyone at the apostate SBC denomination.
Janz has no issue either with Greear, in-spite of the truck loads of heresy, even noted in a quote on his FB page, where Greear speaks of “Spiritual disciplines” which is typically tied to contemplative mysticism and other new age heresy.
There are yet many many more we could address, but that should suffice to plainly show that the “Battle Strategy” of Steve Janz is not of God. The "team" he embraces is made up of deeply compromised men, mostly heretics and wolves in sheep’s clothing. His “Battle strategy” is dangerous because he is surrounded by heretics, whom he embraces.
With all that said, maybe the pastors at EBMC have no issue with these men above. Maybe heretics and false teachers influencing your church or brethren is oakley dokley. I guess we might just have to assume this to be true when we consider the massive amounts of false teachers that are promoted and associated with by those at EBMC as is, many undoubtedly overlapping with those of Janz. Like who might you ask? The following list of people, though not nearly exhaustive, have been quoted from the pulpit or carried in their church library or embraced personally: Larry Crabb, James Dobson and Focus on the Family, John Hagee, John Piper, John MacArthur, Wayne A. Grudem, Hank Hanegraaf, David Platt (Secret Church Simulcast), C.S. Lewis, Ravi Zacharias, Louie Giglio, R.C. Sproul, Peter Wagner, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, K.P. Yohannan and Gospel for Asia, and many many more. I mention these also in my report on the Apostasy in the Evangelical Bergthaler Mennonite Conference (EBMC). So in light of this, it doesn’t come as a surprise that you would invite this man into your church to preach on how “God is Taking His Men Back.”
When I read 2 Cor 11:12-15, I read of men like Foster, Willard, Whitney, Piper, Sproul, Driscoll, and Janz and many more “conservative evangelicals” like them. These men are ravening wolves in sheep’s clothing, “false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” I have no issue at all in calling out these men above including the man behind the subject here, Steve Janz, as wolves in sheep’s clothing because that is exactly what Scripture teaches they are and what spiritual discernment reveals, and all should be marked and avoided (Rom. 16:17-18), NOT embraced! It is “by good words and fair speeches” that these men “deceive the hearts of the simple [the false professing lost]” and it appears most at EBMC are simple. That would make sense.
These things are tell-tale. VERY obvious. Janz’s “Battle strategy” is to fight on the team that is on the wide path going to eternal hell fire, because that path and team is the funnest, the worldliest, the less strictest, the less costliest, the most creative, the most like him, the most positive, the less critical, the most common. Steve Janz appears to have zero discernment and for that there is only one cause.
Where is the spiritual discernment in all this and where is the Biblical obedience? The truth is left out in the “battle strategy” of heretics.
Conclusion.
In some ways, “conservative evangelicals” like Donald Whitney and Steve Janz are more dangerous than the Richard Fosters and Dallas Willards and Rick Warrens, because they are bridges to the treacherous spiritual waters represented by the latter names. They are bridges because they blatantly and presumptuously refuse to practice biblical separation and Biblical obedience and instead of reproving heretics in no uncertain terms and separating from them, they read, quote and recommend their writings. Their subtly and deception is so much greater than the obvious heretics and apostates. And then all the false doctrine and twisted scripture interpretation and corrupted gospel, further reflects the dangerous deception.
False teacher masquerade as teachers of the truth (2 Cor 11:12-15). Since when have false teachers taught men how to turn to God? Why invite a wolf into what is perceived as a sheep fold? Only wolves invite wolves into the pasture. Wolves are known for propagating falsehood (e.g. Matt 7:15; Ac 20:29) and Janz propagates a lot of falsehoods, with the above only the tip of the iceberg, I reckon. But so do you. The hireling (the one who is there to make money, the wage earner) does nothing about the wolves. The hireling does nothing about other false teachers. The pastors at EBMC are hirelings and worse.
What we are witnessing is the present sinking of evangelicalism into more and more apostasy, which has been gradually happening for the previous 70 years, evident by churches like yours. You might be attempting to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic, in the face of impending catastrophe, but let me assure you, it’s futile activity. I hardly doubt that the hymn Nearer My God to Thee played by the string ensemble in the face of pending doom, will be true though of groups like you, but rather perhaps a CCM rock song such Farther Away “My” (?) God from Thee on drums and electric guitars, with holely jeans and pelvis thrusting. Thats what’s coming because that’s what Janz embraces and that’s what vast majority of the people of EBMC embrace. They love it. And that reflects their true nature. What one does not see is genuine repentance and change, a return to biblical belief and practice. Not having ears to hear, only for the nauseating fleshly music, they won’t hear the final creaking of the ship as the it sinks below the surface into its deep watery grave. No discernment, no absolute truth, no true reverence and fear for God and His Word, no true obedience, no true worship. Just fakeness. Only dead ritualistic religion, with the pendulum simply swung in the opposite direction, from a works “salvation” to a lasciviousness “salvation,” precisely fulfilling Ju 1:4, being of those “certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”
I would ask you what Jesus asked the religious professing “believers” that followed Him in His day: “How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?” (Jn 5:44).
While some might be aghast that I expose this man and EBMC, I do so without apology. It is sinful to have a respect of persons (Jam 2:9). We are commanded to test all things by Gods Word (Ac 17:11; 1 Th. 5:21), and study it carefully as commanded (2 Tim 2:15) and warn of men that may well be false teachers who destroy people and corrupt scripture.
You don’t agree with me exposing a heretic? So let’s get this straight — people are allowed to advertise the teaching of a heretic but I’m not allowed to oppose His heresies and warn the people?! Riggght. That’s what the Bible says, right? Paul named the names of ten men in 1 and 2 Timothy alone, some of which did less serious things than what we have seen here with Steve Janz (and EBMC for that matter) and in so doing he was obeying the Word of God, some of which had been penned by him (e.g. Rom 16:17-18; Eph 5:11; Ac 17:11; 1 Th 5:21; 1 Tim 4:1; 6:3-5; 2 Tim 3:5-9; 4:1-4; etc). We don't have to guess at how Jesus or Paul dealt with people teaching error, because we can read it in the Bible. They had plenty of opportunities and we are left with lots of examples. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1 Th 5:21). "All things" is in fact ALL things. And then in the next sentence, he wrote, "Abstain from all appearance of evil." All forms of evil—those things which would not pass the test, after having proven them—should be abandoned. He doesn't say, "the essential things" or, "the violations of the fundamentals." In Eph 5:11 it is commanded: “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness [such as “conservative evangelicals“ like Steve Janz], but rather reprove them.” In Rom 16:17 Paul begs (“beseeches”) the believers at Rome to “mark them . . . and avoid them” that teach false doctrine or corrupt Biblical practices—and Janz certainly is guilty of that—“For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” (v. 18). In other words, they are fakes, feigners, imposters, counterfeits, wolves in sheep’s clothing — pretending to be teachers of the truth and servants of Christ but in reality they are hirelings that serve their belly and by their good oration abilities deceive the hearts of the simple, which are lost, naive, gullible, unsaved, unlearned, man-centred, man-followers. And that is precisely what we see in practically all “evangelical” churches today, including at EBMC.
I find certain scripted behaviour when error is exposed and heretics warned about. I might be cowardly ignored, that is common, but that also tells me that facts and truth doesn’t really matter to you. I might be maligned and personally attacked, with the arguments of logical fallacies (which is lying and bearing false witness), which is very common. The other thing that might occur is they want to “converse” over coffee. That “conversation” isn’t so much about searching the scriptures to see what the truth is so it can be obeyed, but rather to attack, ridicule and entrap, kinda like they did to Jesus, “urg[ing] him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things: Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.” (Lk 11:53-54). Is "conversation" the scriptural manner for confronting doctrinal and practical differences? The word "conversation" carries with it a different kind of meaning than confrontation. Confrontation could be conversation. However, if someone is disobeying the Bible, confrontation will occur in that conversation. The nature of the word "conversation" says that confrontation should be avoided. The word "conversation" itself is loaded as it relates to evangelicalism (and fundamentalism for that matter) and, as one characteristic of neo-evangelicalism famously was "a willingness of evangelical theologians to converse with liberal theologians." It was a part of their strategy of infiltration (something you'll hear in this discussion). This is the sort of heresy that evangelicalism has been known for over the last one hundred years. Jesus didn't just "converse." Neither did Paul. Jesus preached and confronted. If you don't know someone, so you don't know you have anything to confront, then it might start out as a conversation. Once you hear something unscriptural, then the essence of the conversation will change. It won't seem as much like a conversation any more. This doesn't mean shouting. It doesn't mean personal attack. It does mean spiritual warfare, the pulling down of strongholds in people's minds, which occurs by using the sword of the Spirit, the spiritual weapon.
Like what I am doing here. I’m not writing this or conversing with you for the purpose of understanding each other better. There's plenty to read of evangelicals and plenty of sermons I can listen to, to know what you are thinking. I am interacting with you from scripture where you and Janz are wrong, and how you can get right and I’m doing it public because all the horrible errors and scriptural corruption and sinful practices are public. That is the loving thing to do for you. It obeys the biblical example. Joining in fellowship with you, sharing in common ministry, says that the differences do not matter. It ignores the biblical doctrine and practice of separation. That’s what evangelicals do, yes including “conservative evangelicals,” but that is not what I do. The Bible forbids it.
What about Matt 18? It’s commonly used as a straw man when a bestie has been exposed. Matt 18 doesn’t even apply to this situation. Matt 18 provides instructions on dealing with private or personal sin and issues between brethren or professing Christians of a local church. That is obvious when we read verse 17. It does not deal with public teachings and actions by Christian leaders. Public error and sin should always be dealt with publicly, not privately. Unrepentant public error and sinning is done in public, before a public audience. Matt 18 doesn't apply to that person. Someone can still go to him one-on-one, to take the most charitable approach, but it isn't required. One could also leave out names, another charitable option, but it isn't required and rather in most cases necessary to do so. Public exposure is also not talebearing; it is dealing with error like the Bible states we should (Rom 16:17; Eph 5:11; Gal 2:11-14; cf. Ac 17:11; 1 Th 5:21; Ju 1:3-16). If someone promotes his sin or behaviour or false teaching in public, it is appropriate and loving to deal with it in public. It isn't gossip, it isn't talebearing, if it isn't secret. Secret is kept secret with going one-on-one (Lk 17:3) and not talebearing or gossiping. Public is already public. If you warn people about an error, or someone's false teaching that he puts out in public, or repudiate his behaviour, that isn't gossip. That is required in scripture out of love. The apostle Paul mentioned the names of false teachers 10 times in 1 and 2 Timothy (1 Tim 1:19-20; 2 Tim 1:18-20; 2:15-18; 4:10, 14-15) and these letters were not intended merely for Timothy. They are part of the canon of Scripture and public record and millions of times they have been read by people the world over. This is the example and command throughout Scripture, including by Moses, Jeremiah, Peter, John, John the Baptist, Jude, the Lord Himself, and others. What I’m exposing here is nothing personal but completely public. This isn't that difficult, but it seems to be, especially when it’s convenient.
There is nothing malicious in my public warning, I’m preaching precisely what the scriptures say, in tune with Scripture. My motive is to protect the truth and those under the influence of pernicious and dangerous error and to protest these errors and damnable heresies, and that necessarily includes naming names and exposing their heresy. I’m motivated by love for God and neighbour. I’m motivated also by Pr 24:11-12, “If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?”
We don't see a “Battle strategy” of Jesus or Paul in fellowshipping with those teaching false doctrine, but rather reproving them and separating. If the one teaching false doctrine or involved in false practice really does want to learn, he will listen to reproof and correction. Tolerating sin and error, any sin and error, or ignoring it or refusing to understand everything about the men you invite into the pulpit, isn’t a biblical strategy. It is pragmatism. It is carnal weaponry. It is a compromise. These are tools of the carnal warrior and they are employed daily by “conservative evangelicals” like Steve Janz and EBMC.
There is a lot of error and heresy, doctrinally and practically, present with Steve Janz (and that’s based upon only knowing about him what I see publicly, which is only some, and just the tip of the iceberg) and EBMC. Don’t find excuses for the heresies embraced by Janz or even by many of the leaders at EBMC.
Don’t brush this warning off. You will be held accountable before God for rejecting this Biblical reproof. Remove yourself from the shackles of heresy. If you can’t discern the errors of what is written above, you could very well be unsaved since all saved people do have discernment and know the difference between clean and unclean, between truth and error. And don’t reject correction and reproof (2 Tim 3:16-4:4). That only gives further credence to you being a false teacher.
“The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise. He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding. The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.” (Pr 15:31-33)
“No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. . . . And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” (Lk 16:13, 15)
“Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” (Lk 14:34-35)
No one should be attending this heretical retreat. Flee from the shipwreck that will destroy you. For that matter, NO one should be attaining heretical and apostate churches such as EBMC, or heretical and apostate schools such as Millar College of the Bible.
"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." (Eph 5:11)
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