Discernment, Deception and One Prayer We Should All Say - JENNIFER LECLAIRE CHARISMA MAGAZINE

Do we all have discernment? (Flickr )

Discernment, Deception and One Prayer We Should All Say

11/5/2015 JENNIFER LECLAIRE  CHARISMA MAGAZINE

Jennifer LeClaire is now sharing her reflections and revelations through Walking in the Spirit, a new podcast from Charisma. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

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As I travel the nation teaching spiritual warfare principles, one truth becomes painfully clear: the body of Christ, at large, lacks discernment.

The reality is many have simply not been activated or trained to discern spirits. Yet discernment is a vital gift in this hour as false prophets, false teachers and even false christs are rising around the world with smooth sayings, rhymes and riddles.

Discerning of spirits is one of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit Paul lists in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. It is the Holy Spirit-inspired ability to distinguish between the operations of the Holy Spirit, a demon spirit or the human spirit. Discerning of spirits is especially helpful in prophecy, when we need to test the spirits to see if they are God (1 John 4:1). It's also vital in spiritual warfare so that we accurately determine what we're battling instead of just beating the air through guessing games (1 Cor. 9:26).

Do We All Have Discernment?

Although the Holy Spirit distributes His gifts as He wills—and some people clearly operate in the gift of discerning of spirits at a high level—I believe all Christians should desire to grow in discernment. With apostasy rising and the Great Falling Away underway, we need to lean into Holy Ghost discernment now more than ever.

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If the Holy Spirit lives on the inside of you—and if you are saved He does—you have access to the discernment as a partaker of Christ's divine nature. All believers can tap into all things pertaining to life and godliness, including Holy Ghost discernment. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would lead us and guide us into all truth (John 16:13).

Beyond the supernatural gift of discerning of spirits, even unbelievers can walk in some measure of discernment—how much more a child of God who is filled with the Holy Ghost and prays in tongues? At its most basic level, discerning simply means to show insight and understanding. Some have a discerning eye for art. Others have a discerning palate for food. We need to develop a discerning spirit that safeguards us from deception in this hour.

Discerning God's Spirit

With that said, I've discerned two troubling ditches in the church world. In one ditch you have those who always see a devil behind every doorknob. They see devils where there are no devils and make false accusations bases on soulish imaginations and presumption. Presumption in the Bible usually leads to death—and presumption kills discernment.

In the other ditch are those who cannot discern any spirits in their midst, even the Spirit of God. Oh, I forgot those who believe evil spirits talking to them are God and think God speaking to them is an evil spirit. Those in this ditch don't rightly discern Jesus. We see this in Matthew 14. Jesus commanded His disciples to get into a boat and go ahead of Him to the other side.

"During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, 'It is a spirit.' And they cried out in fear" (Matt. 14:25-26). Some translations say, "it is a ghost." Later, we see two disciples going to a village called Emmaus. Jesus showed up on the scene and started walking with them, but they didn't discern it was the risen Christ (Luke 24).

How Do We Develop Discernment?

Even if you don't operate in the gift of discerning of spirits, you can still develop discernment. The Word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Heb. 4:12). So if you stay in the Word, your discernment will grow.

We can also practice discernment, asking those more experienced or mature to judge our discerning. The writer of Hebrews said, "Everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a baby. But solid food belongs to those who are mature, for those who through practice have powers of discernment that are trained to distinguish good from evil" (Heb. 5:13-14).

Walking in love will help you keep a discerning heart. In his epistle to the Philippians, Paul prayed that their love would abound more and more, with all knowledge and discernment, so that they could approve what is excellent (Phil. 1:9-10). When we walk in love, we are walking close to God and we will grow in discernment. This should be a prayer we all pray for ourselves and those we run with.

The Bible warns over and over and over again not to be deceived. In fact, the Bible commands us not to be deceived. Jesus prophesied false prophets and false christs would rise and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect (Matt. 24:24). It's possible for any of us to be deceived but if we ask God for discernment, if we stay prayerful, if we walk in love, if we are students of the Word and if we practice discernment, we can be among the truth bearers in our generation who help set the captives free.

Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma. She is also director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, co-founder of awakeningtv.com, on the leadership team of the New Breed Revival Network and author of several books, including The Next Great Move of God: An Appeal to Heaven for Spiritual Awakening;Mornings With the Holy Spirit, Listening Daily to the Still, Small Voice of God; The Making of a Prophet and Satan's Deadly Trio: Defeating the Deceptions of Jezebel, Religion and Witchcraft. You can visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer onFacebook or follow her on Twitter. Jennifer's Periscope handle is @propheticbooks.

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Spiritual Suicide: When European Churches Sell Their Souls to Islam - II&ET

E, GREAT APOSTASYNovember 6, 2015

Spiritual Suicide: When European Churches Sell Their Souls to Islam

AT a time when Christians in the Middle East are being tortured, beheaded, and crucified rather than denying Jesus, so-called Christians are renouncing the Great Commission and removing the cross (literally) to make peace with Muslims

At a time when Christians in the Middle East are being tortured, beheaded, and crucified rather than denying Jesus, Christians in Europe – I should say so-called Christians – are renouncing the Great Commission and removing the cross (literally) to make peace with Muslims.

What kind of madness is this?

Last month, in Sweden, the Bishop of Stockholm “proposed a church in her diocese remove all signs of the cross and put down markings showing the direction to Mecca for the benefit of Muslim worshippers.”

As reported on Breitbart.com, “Calling Muslim guests to the church ‘angels’, the Bishop later took to her official blog to explain that removing Christian symbols from the church and preparing the building for Muslim prayer doesn’t make a priest any less a defender of the faith. Rather, to do any less would make one ‘stingy towards people of other faiths’.”

Is it any surprise that this “Christian” leader, Eva Brunne, made news in 2009 when she was installed as the Church of Sweden’s first openly lesbian bishop?

 With good reason Pamela Geller exclaimed, “Sweden has surrendered without so much as firing a shot. They’ve lost it. Sweden is sacrificing its own heritage to accommodate immigrants who will not be as accommodating to native non-Muslim Swedes. The bishop is paving the way for the Islamization of Sweden.”

But this was not an isolated incident.

In Germany, an “evangelical priest has offered his parish church up to become migrant housing, but will be stripping out most of the fittings to ensure their comfort – including all symbols of Christianity.” (Note that in Germany, “evangelical” simply means “Lutheran,” referring to the official state church.)

Obviously, this church had already removed real Christianity from its soul, as noted on the church website, “Refugees welcome… we are all citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”

So, Muslims chanting Allahu Akbar and militantly denying that Jesus is the Son of God belong to the same spiritual family as Christians proclaiming Jesus as Lord and celebrating His death and resurrection.

This is absolute theological nonsense that makes a complete mockery of the cross.

But it gets worse.

As reported on the Religion News Service, “One of Germany’s largest Protestant regional churches has come under fire from other Christians for speaking out against efforts to convert Muslims just as tens of thousands of refugees from the Islamic world are streaming into the country.”

Yes, it’s time to throw out the Great Commission!

And this was a carefully thought out strategy, reflected in a new position paper in which “the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland says the passage in the Gospel of Matthew known as the Great Commission — ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’ — does not mean Christians must try to convert others to their faith.”

Can they even believe what they wrote? Do they not realize that the only reason there is Christianity in Germany (or any other part of the world) is because someone brought the message to that country or people – sometimes costing the messenger his or her very life?

Do they not realize that, if Christianity is not a missionary faith, then it is no faith at all, and that just as Jesus came into the world “to seek and save the lost” so He sends us to seek and save the lost? As David Livingstone once said, “God had an only Son and He made Him a missionary.”

Yet this blasphemous position paper, entitled “Pilgrim Fellowship and Witness in Dialogue with Muslims,” argues that, “A strategic mission to Islam or meeting Muslims to convert them threatens social peace and contradicts the spirit and mandate of Jesus Christ and is therefore to be firmly rejected.”

 This not only makes a mockery of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. It also makes a mockery of the blood that our brothers and sisters have shed in the Muslim world as they lay down their lives to reach them with the good news.

Ironically, while these European churches are selling their souls to make peace with Islam, in Norway, it was reported that, “A Muslim interrupted a child christening in church by running to the sacristy with the Quran in hand, yelling that Allah is the only true god.”

Oswald Smith famously said that the church that does not evangelize will fossilize. The reality is that these churches already gave up the great commission years ago, becoming nothing more than fossils of the faith.

Their blasphemous actions today simply reflect the previous death of their spirit. They have no more right to be called churched than ISIS has the right to be called compassionate.

May God raise up a powerful, witnessing church in Europe before it is too late, and may He strengthen those who are still standing strong in the midst of the current apostasy.

Rabbi Jonathan Cahn: The Harbingers Have Not Stopped

Rabbi Jonathan Cahn: The Harbingers Have Not Stopped

8/20/2015 JESSILYN JUSTICE  charisma news

Best-selling author Jonathan Cahn has a message for America, and he's answering your questions about the "great shaking."

"We have watched the apostasy of America continue," Cahn says. "It has continued and is accelerating. The harbingers have not stopped. They have continued to manifest, which are indications of a nation progressing to judgment."

For example, the Freedom Tower, which Cahn says is the one of the last harbingers, will be completed this year, the year of the Shemitah. 

In addition, relations between America and Israel are at their worst as President Barack Obama pushes forward with the Iranian nuclear negotiations. 

Standing alone, these events, along with some others, would be ominous. But as they all converge as once, Cahn says we need to take warning.

So what does that mean for us? Take a look!

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Jonathan Cahn: Will America Avoid Calamity?

T 5/11/2015 JONATHAN CAHN  charisma magazine

This article was featured in the May 2015 issue of Charisma.
Learn more about Charisma magazine

"And in the midst of the greatest moral and spiritual decay in modern times, the pulpits have largely grown silent in answering it, more focused on how God can fulfill our will and desires than calling the church to fulfill the will and desires of God." (Dollar Photo Club/blvdone; Les Cunliffe)

I take no joy in being the bearer of bad news.

That might sound strange coming from the author of The Harbinger and The Mystery of the Shemitah. But that's the point. If I must be that bearer, then there has to be a very strong reason behind it. And so when I'm asked to write how America can avoid judgment or calamity, I find myself in a predicament. The reason is this: I don't believe it will be avoided. And if we don't look at the magnitude of the situation, we'll be of no effect, impact or good in the matter.

What we are now witnessing is unprecedented in the history of America and modern culture. In the 1970s Ruth Graham made the statement: "If God doesn't judge America, He'll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah." Those words were spoken at a time when the Ten Commandments were still displayed in public schools and government buildings, when marriage was overwhelmingly upheld, when the idea that God and Jesus could be mocked on national television as the object of comedy would be unimaginable, when the idea that there would come a time when half or more of American children would be born out of wedlock and the president of the United States would be endorsing homosexuality would be unimaginable. And yet if Ruth Graham could speak of God's judgment on the America of that day, how much more true is it now, and how much farther is this nation down the road to judgment?

While individual believers, churches and ministries may see success in ministry and many brought to salvation, the state of the church as a whole with regard to the culture that surrounds it is another matter altogether. Despite what many preach, these are not the best of times and things are not getting better—but decidedly worse. There has been no great national revival on American shores in years. But there has been a great apostasy. And that apostasy has deepened in its intensity, widened in its scope and accelerated in its speed. And most of the church has been ineffective in slowing it down, much less stopping or reversing it.

We now find ourselves on the defense, having our jobs threatened for merely standing on the Word of God. And rather than causing us to grow stronger, too many believers and ministers have grown timid and weak, not wanting to pay a price for their faith. And in the midst of the greatest moral and spiritual decay in modern times, the pulpits have largely grown silent in answering it, more focused on how God can fulfill our will and desires than calling the church to fulfill the will and desires of God. And we wonder why the culture around us is going to hell. If the American church had been the salt and light it was called to be, there is no way that the culture could have grown so dark and rotting.

So do I believe that we can avoid God's judgment, the hand of His shaking? No—not any more than could ancient Israel. No nation, so blessed with God's blessings, can so blatantly war against the God of its blessings and expect those blessings to continue. I believe a great shaking is coming to this nation. Does that mean I have no hope? No, not at all. Rather I believe that America has grown so far from God that without a great shaking there would be no hope. I believe America has grown so deafened to God's voice, that it will not be in His whispers but in His crying out and shouting that it has any chance of now hearing. Most of us came to the Lord, or drew closer to the Lord because there was some kind of shaking in our lives. If that's true for individuals, why do we think it less true for nations?

In the days after 9/11, it looked as if there was going to be a national revival. And there was a window of time when it could have taken place. All across the nation, people flocked to churches and prayed for God's blessing. But there was no revival because there was no repentance. And without repentance, there can be no revival. And so it was not only that America failed to return to God, but in the years following 9/11, grew much farther away from God than it had ever been before. I believe it will take an event even greater than 9/11 for America to wake up and return. I don't believe that it's a choice between judgment or revival. At this point in America's descent from God, I believe it will only be through judgment, as in a great shaking, that revival would come—to those who will hear and turn.

Do we have a role to play in this? Yes. Do we have any biblical model to give us direction? We do. The prophet Elijah likewise lived in a time of national apostasy and judgment. And yet he was powerfully used to accomplish God's purposes. What does he reveal to us about our calling in this day?

A Time of National Apostasy

Even in the face of great evil and persecution, Elijah never succumbed to the temptation to live on the defensive. He lived decidedly on the offensive. He knew that no matter what it looked like, God was in control and so as long as he followed God, he would be living on the winning side. Elijah lived, not to be acted upon, but to act upon the world around him. In the same way we must resist the temptation, in a day of great evil, to become reactionary and to live on the defense. The Lord didn't give us that option. We are of the kingdom that only advances. We must therefore live proactively, resolving that we will not be affected by the world, but the world will be affected by us. We must set our hearts, make it our goal, to impact the darkness around us with the light.

Lights in the Darkness

Elijah was engaged with the nation and culture surrounding him. He was a light shining in its darkness. We must be the same. No matter what age we live in and no matter what the state of its culture, our calling to be the light of the world remains. The light doesn't ignore the darkness. The light doesn't pretend that the darkness isn't really that dark. It doesn't tone down its light to be politically correct or not to offend. It doesn't hide its radiance in fear of persecution. Nor is it content to live a self-absorbed existence focusing on itself and its own prosperity. If it does any of these things, then it ceases being the light. What does the light do? It shines. It lights up the darkness. It changes the world around it. If we want to see revival, we must do likewise.

Weaned and Plugged In

Elijah lived in the midst of famine, and yet was unaffected by it. He had weaned himself of dependence on his culture and world. At the same time he became more and more dependent on God. The two things go together. Likewise, in the days ahead, we must become more and more independent of the world and culture around us. We must wean ourselves, our spiritual life, our emotional life, our thought life, our identity from the world. How do we do that? By becoming more dependent on God. The more plugged into God we become, the more independent of the world we will be. We must root and ground our lives all the more deeply and strongly on God and His Word. That which can be shaken will be shaken. But that which is rooted and grounded in God's Word and truth will not be shaken.

Prayer, More Than Ever Before

In the same way, Elijah was a man of prayer. And the Bible records that his prayers were heard and effective. In the days ahead, we must become, even more so, people of prayer. In days of apostasy and chaos, it will be our sustenance and our strength, an anchor in the storm.

The Righteousness Key

Elijah was a man of righteousness. The Bible reveals that his righteousness was a key part of his ability to impact what happened to his nation. If we want to impact the future of our nation, we must likewise live lives of integrity and walk in righteousness. One of the most central Scriptures of revival, 2 Chronicles 7:14, involves as a key component that the people of God "turn from their evil ways." If we walk in darkness, how can we be a light to that darkness?

If we walk in the ways of the world, how can impact it? And if we're afraid of being different, how can we make a difference? It is crucial that we do whatever we have to do to live lives consistent with our faith, and walk in righteousness.

Living to Bless

Elijah knew nothing of a self-centered faith, focused on increasing his blessings and prosperity. Had he been focused on such things, he would have become of no effect. We must reverse the momentum. Instead of living to be blessed, we must live to be a blessing. That's how Paul lived. That's how Messiah lived. And that's the vessel that God will use to impact the world.

Unadulterated, Uncompromised

Elijah never softened the Word of God and never compromised. In the same way, we must reject a watered-down gospel. If we want to see the full power of God's Word, we must take that Word at full strength.

We can't compromise to win people. Rather it is when we don't compromise that we burn with the passion of God and shine with His glory—that's when revival comes.

Your Own Revival

Elijah didn't just preach the calling of God—He lived it. So we too must not only preach revival and pray for revival—we must start living in revival now. We can't force others to walk in revival, but we can choose it for ourselves. If there is anything in our lives which has no place in the life of a saint, and which is under judgment, the time is now, not later, not tomorrow, to get it out of our lives. And if God has been calling us to answer His call, and we have not yet done it, the time is now, not later, and not tomorrow to answer it. Revival begins with us—or it doesn't begin at all.

The Time for Greatness

We must not pray that God will spare America hard times, but rather that God will do whatever it takes to bring about repentance, salvation, and revival. The ministry of Elijah wasn't hindered by calamity or persecution—rather it thrived. So the days in which we enter will not hinder our calling. In fact, these are the days that cause those who hold true to God's Word to become great. When the dark grows darker, the lights grow brighter. Choose to do the right thing, even when it's hard, even when it costs. Choose to be great and you will be—in His power. The eyes of the Lord search to and fro throughout the entire earth seeking the one whose heart is completely His. You be that person. And let us be that people. And God will greatly use us to accomplish His will on the earth for such a time as this.

Pockets of true revival are breaking out across America. Want to know more about the next great move of God? Click here to see Jennifer LeClaire's new book, featuring Dutch Sheets, Reinhard Bonnke, Jonathan Cahn, Billy Graham and others.

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Rabbi Jonathan Cahn is the New York Times best-selling author of The Harbingerand The Mystery of the Shemitah, president of Hope of the World ministries and senior pastor and Messianic rabbi of the Jerusalem Center/Beth Israel in Wayne, New Jersey. His teachings are widely known for revealing the deep mysteries of God's Word.

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Rabbi Jonathan Cahn shows how America is fulfilling Isaiah 9:10 by refusing to repent in the face of calamity at jonathancahn.charismamag.com.

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Apostasy Rising: 4 Denominations In Less Than a Week Defy God's Word - Jennifer LeClaire

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Apostasy Rising: 4 Denominations In Less Than a Week Defy God's Word

6/27/2014 JENNIFER LECLAIRE

Across American Christianity, compromise on sexuality is crumbling at the foundation of holiness. (Flickr/Nathan Bush [edited])

The United Church of Christ (UCC) bills itself as "the church where God is still speaking." Apparently, God's Word is falling on deaf ears of the leadership.

The UCC, which considers itself a mainline Protestant denomination—claiming over 1 million members and about 5,200 congregations in the U.S.—proudly announced it will serve as a major sponsor of the Gay Games. The UCC will now go down in Christian history as the first major denomination to sponsor the homosexual Olympics when the games roll into Cleveland, Ohio, in August.

I guess my jaw shouldn't have dropped when I read the news, considering the UCC in April filed a gay marriage rights lawsuit in North Carolina. But not only did my jaw drop, I'm shaking my head. J. Bennett Guess, one of the UCC's national officers and its first openly gay church executive, calls it a social justice issue and says the denomination prides itself on "being a bold voice for progressive Christianity."

In case you aren't familiar with what the term "progressive Christianity" really means, let's take a moment to define it. Progressive Christianity has a strong focus on social justice and environmentalism. Progressive Christianity focuses on concepts like "collective salvation"—where entire cultures and societies, rather than just individuals with faith in Christ, are redeemed—and bends toward a Marxist economic philosophy. And Progressive Christianity does not subscribe to the biblical doctrine of the inerrancy of Scripture.

That last line explains a lot. For example, it explains why the UCC was the first mainline denomination to affirm equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. It explains why the UCC was the first to ordain an openly gay man. And, overall, it explains why the UCC has fallen into the deception of sponsoring events that celebrate LGBT people instead of trying to love them to Christ.

But even denominations that don't consider themselves part of the Progressive Christianity movement are falling into this deception. The Presbyterian Church (USA) last week voted to allow its ministers to perform gay weddings in states where it's legal. On Tuesday, Methodist Pastor Frank Schaefer, who was defrocked for officiating his son's gay wedding, was fully reinstated and the Moravians voted to ordain gay clergy. My research shows there's a long and growing list of gay-affirming denominations, including the Affirming Pentecostal Church International. 

Saints, we're seeing 1 Timothy 4:1 playing out right before our very eyes. It's called the Great Apostasy and it's well underway. By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul wrote: "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons..."

Back in 2012, I wrote an article titled, "Is the Great Falling Away Already Underway?" In it, I explained that some have indeed departed from the faith because they have engaged with deceiving spirits and embraced doctrines of demons. We've witnessed more than one man of God with a major ministry platform bow a knee to doctrines like universalism, deceiving and being deceived with this deadly heresy. Despite many in the church lifting their voice against heretical teachings, these deceived ministers hold fast to their demonic doctrine.

In the article, I show other examples. I would not have imagined that 18 months later I would have an overflowing list of new ones. That's why I am praying for a third Great Awakening. I am committed to crying out to God to see a cultural transformation—a spiritual revolution.

Although the Great Falling Away is going to happen because it's prophesied in Scripture, I am contending for a revival—a Great Awakening—that will sweep through the nation and cause people to turn back to God. I will not give up. The arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear (Is. 59:1).

Before each of the last Great Awakenings, people of God thought it was hopeless—and they didn't see the half of what we're seeing. But I am convinced God wants to turn this around—and I am convinced God can turn this around. Nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). A Great Awakening is our only hope for this nation. Will you join me in praying for another Great Awakening?

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Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Making of a Prophet. You can email Jennifer at 

jennifer.leclaire@charismamedia.com 

or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

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The Apostasy of World Vision - Michael Brown, Charisma News

Michael Brown

The Apostasy of World Vision

3/25/2014 MICHAEL BROWN

Shortly after I broke the news on my radio broadcast and on social media, Christianity Today confirmed the report: World Vision has decided to embrace homosexual “marriage” among its employees and to recognize practicing homosexual employees who profess faith in Jesus as true Christians.

This is a betrayal of the gospel, a betrayal of the Lord, a betrayal of the family and a betrayal of the countless thousands of Christians who have put their trust in World Vision as a legitimate Christian organization.

In no way does it contribute to “building a better world for children”—one of the fundamental goals of World Vision. In fact, it does the opposite.

Last June, World Vision U.S President Richard Stearns stated, “No one ever died of gay marriage,” thereby trivializing the importance of the issue, as if it contrasted with the organization’s mission of providing tangible relief to suffering humanity.

Today, he went much further, claiming that this radical, unbiblical move is actually a “very narrow policy change” that should be viewed as “symbolic not of compromise but of [Christian] unity.”

What? World Vision redefines the nature of marriage—the most fundamental institution of society, ordained by God in Genesis 2 as the lifelong union of a man and a woman and reaffirmed by Jesus as such in Matthew 19—and ignores the explicit and repeated condemnation of homosexual practice throughout the Scriptures and then claims it is a “very narrow policy change”?

What? World Vision mocks the sentiments, convictions and sensibilities of countless thousands of its Christian constituents, rejects the historic testimony of virtually all branches of Christianity, decides to take a terribly controversial stand on the most socially divisive issue of the day, and then claims that this is “symbolic not of compromise but of [Christian] unity”?

With all respect to the massive amount of good that Richard Stearns and World Vision have done in helping the poor and needy for many years now, his words strain Christian credulity.

Stearns states, “We’re not caving to some kind of pressure. We’re not on some slippery slope. There is no lawsuit threatening us. There is no employee group lobbying us. This is not us compromising. It is us deferring to the authority of churches and denominations on theological issues. We’re an operational arm of the global church, we’re not a theological arm of the church.”

No slippery slope? No compromise? By sanctioning homosexual relationships, World Vision is “deferring to the authority of churches and denominations on theological issues”?

Worst of all, World Vision did not make this decision under duress or pressure, making their decision all the more inexcusable.

Stearns says, “It’s been heartbreaking to watch this issue rip through the church. It’s tearing churches apart, tearing denominations apart, tearing Christian colleges apart, and even tearing families apart. Our board felt we cannot jump into the fight on one side or another on this issue. We’ve got to focus on our mission. We are determined to find unity in our diversity.”

Is this not the height of self-deception? Does World Vision not realize that they have just exponentially increased that “tearing apart” of believers? Do they actually think that this divisive, destructive policy change will unite Christians around serving the poor? Does their board, which overwhelmingly approved the policy, actually feel that they have not “jump[ed] into the fight on one side or another on this issue”? It would be like saying, “Because politics can be so divisive and we don’t want to get into the fight, we’ll just vote for the Democrats.”

Anonymous sources informed me about this coming change two weeks ago, telling me how the convictions of committed Christians within World Vision were scorned when the new policy was announced. This is the way to find “unity in our diversity”? (One family activist suggested to me that the organization be renamed World DiVision.)

The fact is that World Vision claims to be a Christian organization, with phrases like this on its website: “World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization. ... Motivated by our faith in Jesus Christ ... ” As Stearns reiterates, “World Vision is committed to our Christian identity. We are absolutely resolute about every employee being followers of Jesus Christ. We are not wavering on that.”

Well, if claiming that two men can marry and their sexual acts be holy in God’s sight is not wavering, then words have no meaning.

That’s why listeners to my radio show who supported World Vision called in today to express their shock, feeling deeply betrayed.

One caller said that he and his wife recently decided to sponsor a child through World Vision after being introduced to them at a Christian concert in New York City that featured Casting Crowns. Now he was flabbergasted to hear that they were recognizing “gay Christianity” and same-sex marriage among their employees.

According to the World Vision website, their first core value is “We Are Christian,” even stating, “We proclaim together, ‘Jesus lived, died, and rose again. Jesus is Lord.’  We desire him to be central in our individual and corporate life.”

Let it be stated plainly to the leadership and board of directors of World Vision U.S.: The Lord Jesus is no longer central in the corporate life of your organization. You have denied His lordship by your actions.

Remarkably, Stearns claims that World Vision’s moral standards have not changed, explaining that they still require “abstinence outside of marriage, and fidelity within marriage” for their employees. So, just redefine your terms, and poof! Sin disappears.

This would be similar to saying that World Vision still requires sexual purity, except that fornication is now considered pure, or that they still require marital fidelity, except that adultery is now considered fidelity.

The fact is that no matter how much two men or two women love each other, their union is not marriage in God’s sight—nor will it ever be—and their sexual relations, even if totally monogamous, remain sinful in his eyes.

Now is the time for every church that works with World Vision, every Christian musician and artist that partners with World Vision, and every believer that supports World Vision to inform them that they have made a terrible choice and that they will no longer have your support.

And then, without missing a beat, partner together with other fine Christian, humanitarian organizations like Samaritan’s Purse or Food for the Hungry, and continue your compassionate giving.

And for every child who will fall through the cracks because of World Vision’s betrayal of its Christian principles, I say to Richard Stearns and those who made this decision together: You will have to answer to God.

Michael Brown is author of Hyper-Grace: Exposing the Dangers of the Modern Grace Message and host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience. Follow him at AskDrBrown on Facebook or at @drmichaellbrown on Twitter.

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