Women & Another Jesus

A Study on John's Second Epistle

“All false religion is but a choice of other things
for women to place their trust in,
with a neglect of Christ.”[1]

Listen to the Bible study on 2 John HERE

The Apostle John’s second epistle is a more obscure book of the New Testament. It is seldom studied, and sermons are rarely preached on its content. Yet its message is pertinent, with lessons applicable to today. 2John is addressed directly to a woman. It speaks specifically about the need to exercise godly discernment.

Listen to Sarah H. Leslie's Bible study for women on 2John delivered at the recent conference at the Community Church of Devore in Devore, California HERE. Lynn D. Leslie followed this up by teaching the entire group on Biblical Separation HERE.

Listen to Biblical Separation HERE

“If there come any unto you,
and bring not this doctrine,
receive him [or her] not into your house,
neither bid him [or her] God speed:
For [s]he that biddeth him [or her] God speed
is partaker of his [or her] evil deeds.”
(2 John: 10,11)[2]

Endnotes:
1. This is a paraphrase of quotation from John Owen's 7 volume commentary on the book of Hebrews, substituting the word "women" for "men".
2. The feminine pronouns were added to these two verses to emphasize the point that this warning includes both men and women.

Warren B. Smith on YouTube

Hear About the New Age Movement!

Warren Smith YouTube channel HERE

Recently we spent several days visiting in California with our longtime friend Warren Smith and his wife Joy. While there we were privileged to meet Chris Lawson of Spiritual Research Network, who is currently rebuilding his website. Chris has especially been working hard to compile Warren Smith's three decades of writing. He has also taken Warren's many conference talks and speaking engagements and is putting them up on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/warrenbsmith.

Regular readers of this blog will be blessed and appreciate all of Chris's hard work. You can access Warren's YouTube channel HERE. Be sure to subscribe so you can get all of the latest updates.

For those who want to read the back story, Warren has published his testimony of coming out of the New Age Movement in his groundbreaking book The Light That Was Dark: From the New Age to Amazing Grace. His many other books and booklets can be accessed HERE.

Over the past fourteen years Warren B. Smith has been a frequent contributor to the Herescope blog, both in writing and research. He has authored many articles about the New Age Movement, and has also written about how it has been entering the evangelical church world.

The Discerning Walk

A Testimony of God's Goodness

"Quicken me after Thy lovingkindness;
so shall I keep the testimony of Thy mouth."
(Psalm 119:88)

Recently the publishers of this blog (Lynn & Sarah Leslie) had an opportunity to share some of our personal testimony at the Community Church of Devore in Devore, California. Our friend Pastor Marco Quintana asked us to do a question and answer session with him for their Palm Sunday morning church service. Readers of the Herescope blog might enjoy listening to a few of our stories about the early history of the Discernment Research Group.

Watch HERE or HERE

This testimony is available on the church's YouTube channel HERE or it can also be accessed at the church's website HERE. We hope that by sharing a few of our stories our readers will be blessed and encouraged to remain faithful and continue standing strong in the Lord.

"Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord,
nor of me His prisoner:
but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel
according to the power of God;"
(Paul, 2 Timothy 1:8)

"Presenting an issue sharply
is indeed by no means a popular business at the present time;
there are many who prefer to fight their intellectual battles
in... a "condition of low visibility."

Clear-cut definition of terms in religious matters,
bold facing of the logical implications of religious views,
is by many persons regarded as an impious proceeding.

May it not discourage contribution to mission boards?
May it not hinder the progress of consolidation,
and produce a poor showing in columns of Church statistics?

But with such persons,
we cannot possibly bring ourselves to agree.

Light may seem at times to be an impertinent intruder,
but it is always beneficial in the end.

The type of religion
which rejoices in the pious sound of traditional phrases,
regardless of their meanings,
or shrinks from "controversial" matters,
will never stand amid the shocks of life.

In the sphere of religion,
as in other spheres,
the things about which men are agreed
are apt to be the things that are least worth holding;

the really important things
are the things about which men will fight."

- J. Gresham Machan, "Christianity and Liberalism," Introduction.

For further reading: 

• Reference was made to a portion of our testimony which is published on Berit Kjos's website crossroad.to. For those who are interested, see "Homeschooling Under Fire." https://www.crossroad.to/articles2/04/homeschooling_under_fire.htm
• The late Ed Tarkowski, and his 1990s formation of an Internet discernment group, was credited several times in our talk. His research files and writings can be accessed HERE. 
• Bill and Joyce Priebnow are mentioned as the older couple who helped us with discerning early in our Christian walk. See the Herescope article "Joyce the Discerner" for this story. 
• Some of the story of Pastor Bob Cutbirth, who we mentioned was discipled by A.W. Tozer, and who discipled us during a time in our lives when we were learning to stand, is contained in the Herescope article "'Another Jesus' Calling." We would go on to plant an inner city mission church with him in the mid-1980s.